I'm having a month at work where every moment creeps and every day seems endless. What do you do when you have those?
73 thoughts on “February 24, 2014: Drag”
Steve Stone says White Sox broadcasts will include more sabremetrics. Sub-head: Hawk Harrelson to spontaneously combust on air.
This should be fascinating.
From the handful of times I watched the Sox on WGN, they started to incorporate advanced stats in the broadcast last year. They had graphics for run expectancy for the offense and for the pitcher.
They are certainly ahead of FSN because their generic batter graphic shows on base percentage
They're in a better position to do it because they only have to worry about one head asploding while FSN had to worry about two going off at the same time. (Bert's forays into B-R notwithstanding.)
If only they could do that with Woody Harrelson.
I'm on my way to Williamsburg again. I hope beyond how that a trip to Hooters or TGIFridays does not happen again. I'm going to give the Green Leaf Cafe a go this time around.
Another stumper...
ID the AU -- name the Twins player (current or former) whose John Doe this is:
I'll put out another call, just because... if anyone is interested in a 12-team keeper league, let me know. $50 buy-in, and we're looking for just 1 more team...
Dave Winfield was visiting the Twins camp today as a rep for the MLBPA. He was seen talking with Rod Carew and Tony Oliva. There's a conversation I would like to get in on. What would be really cool is if Jack Morris were around, maybe Winfield could do a photo op with Morris, Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer: St. Paul's Fab Four.
meanwhile Minneapolis only appears to have provided just one star in Kent Hrbek.
The City of Bloomington would like to have a word with you.
He went to school in Bloomington but he was born in Minneapolis.
only three MLB players born in Minneapolis have appeared in 500+ games:
Hrbek (1,747) George Thomas (685) Johnny Blanchard (516)
St. Paul also boasts batters Baby Jeebus, Larry Rosenthal (579 games), Walt Moryn (785), Jerry Kindall (742), Jack Hannahan (588), Chick Gandil (1147), Gene DeMontreville (922), and Jack Crooks (795); and pitchers Tom Burgmeier (1,258.2 innings), Glenn Perkins (498).
Glenn was born in Stillwater. Just sayin'
that's not what baseball-reference claims. I've done no research to confirm or deny.
It's probably why he didn't say anything when I yelled "go Ponies" at him when they were in Milwaukee.
He spells his first name with one "n" but you conveniently ignored that too 😛
I knew his name was different from Glennn Williams'.
Huh? Is it one of those deals where he was born in a hospital in Minneapolis? Because I have friends who knew him pre-Junior High from the playgrounds of east Bloomington. If not, the Hrbek family must have moved from Minneapolis to Bloomington when he was pretty young.
My kids were born in Urbana, but we lived in Champaign. Just sayin'.
Aquinas was born in D.C., but we lived in VA, and at this point he'd probably be "from" MN if we stick here.
Linds, the in-laws and I went up to Duluth for the Twin Ports Brewfest this weekend. Notable things that transpired included:
* New Surly (teamed up with a couple other breweries) - Blakkr. He only brought a couple of four-packs, so it was a lucky thing that we went there first. I know black IPAs aren't a style that a lot of people enjoy, but I really do, so this was a treat.
* Found out that I enjoy some of Fitgers selection. I hadn't really tried much from them to that point, but we stopped by the facility before we went on our way to the Brewfest and sampled some of their Sochi series. I quite enjoyed the Curling Capital.
* Lots and lots of mediocre IPAs. That's not really "of note", but it's definitely a thing that happened.
* Dropkick Murphys played after the event. The rest of the group that I came with was nonplussed, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
* Linds hated beer up until we went to Leinie's in late-2012. She's developed a bit of a taste for wheat beers, so it was fun to watch her go to the different booths with an idea of beers she might enjoy. She added "bock" to her "i like this" list over the weekend. Her mom doesn't like much beer at all, so it was amusing to hear the following exchange take place:
Linds' Mom: Here, you might like this.
(hands Linds a light beer from Fitgers - Linds takes a sip)
Linds: Thanks, mom, but I'm looking for something with a little more... flavor.
Sounds like a fun time! However, I'm not sure nonplus means what you think it does. To be fair, I only learned this in the last year or so.
I think "nonplussed" would perfectly describe my folks' reaction to a Dropkick Murphys show.
This.
mmhmm. I double checked the definition.
Sorry 'bout that. Upon further reflection, I too would probably be confused by Celtic punk.
Not a problem. It's a commonly misused word. I only had an idea of what it really meant due to a Cracked.com list, so... yay comedic lists?
I had a busy weekend as well. Saw Mike Birbiglia at Pantages on Saturday. I think I might have a crush on him. Got to meet him, too. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time.
Yesterday took the mother-in-law out to see Mamma Mia! for her birthday. Really dumb, cheesy script, but it has some funny moments and it's good spectacle if you like ABBA music (I do). Some bizarre, out of nowhere hypersexual parts of the script that I wouldn't even repeat here.
I like him well enough, but I think I have 3 of his albums, and roughly 70-75% of the material is on all 3. Hopefully his show isn't quite as samey.
His first three albums are like that. Once he hit it big with My Secret Public Journal (Audio)/What I Should Have Said (HBO), he finally began doing 100% new material each time. Sleepwalk With Me is one of the best comedy specials ever.
Good to know because I definitely like his material. I won't be hesitant to check out the later stuff then (and I've heard plenty of good things about Sleepwalk With Me, though I don't know to check out the special or movie first).
Definitely the special. The movie doesn't provide much more material than the special, and the special is just set up way better for laughs. I did enjoy the movie, but I have not come back to it.
Apparently I need to stop watching him on YouTube and investigate those specials.
After Sleepwalk With Me is My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, which is currently on Netflix. It starts slow, then picks up. The one I just saw is Thank God For Jokes, which I don't think is out anywhere yet.
Birbiglia's hilarious, but I've experienced the same problem - not enough variety in his catalog yet. I hope he develops more material, because what he's got already is very good.
Steve McPherson is another writer I really like who covers the Timberwolves, mostly recapping games. One of the few things I go to the four-letter to read, his latest is really something- towards the end, he compares Barea to Schrodinger's cat.
I didnt know AWAW was 4ltr related. I do love reading the articles.
Yeah, in a roundabout kind of way- evidently AWAW is part of the TrueHoop Network, which is a group of ESPN affiliates? Eh, whatever- his articles are good enough I don't really care.
and now comes the reversal and reinstatement of Grunewald as winner. Sadly, not because USATF is doing the right thing, but because Hasay and her coach Salazar felt the backlash from athletes and the running community, and chose to withdraw in favor of Grunewald. And the USATF story is just full of cover-our-ass-isms on procedure. Oy.
Robot umps now!
Close enough?
The Heat are 39-14, which is the exact same record that they've had after 53 games in each season of the LeBron James era.
I laughed.
The meterological winter ends on February 28th. It appears that this will be,at about 3.93 degrees (assuming the forecasts are correct), the sixth coldest winter in Fargo since 1942-43 (as far back as the records I found went). The coldest winter was in 1979, where the average temperature for this three month period was 0.57. The average is 10.77.
I thought meterological winter ended in March. At least I learned something today.
And in my least-favorite entertainment news, Netflix is now having to pay Comcast to deliver streaming media. Given the, ahem, "wonderful" things those of you who have Comcast have to say about that company, I'm not expecting this to turn out well.
It will likely improve. It sets all sorts of precedents, but for customers of Netflix and Comcast, I think things will improve.
I guess the way I'm looking at this is that Comcast is not providing the service people are paying for (reasonably fast internet connection), and what they're doing is going to pass the costs of improving that service onto everyone who subscribes to Netflix but isn't a Comcast customer.
All kinds of precedents, all right.
Comcast is providing a reasonably fast internet connection. If you download from anyone else (or Netflix via VPN), it's fast. I will note that another player in the Netflix/Comcast fight is Cogent, a company that many others have bickered with over their practices.
correction: to deliver faster streaming media
The article has a lot of details of the whole arrangement that I left out, but yes, you're correct.
Still very bad news.
Cutthroat Kitchen has to be the worst cooking show ever.
Wait what?
The capital city of my home state is an amazing place. That's all I have to say. I come out here twice a month and I never don't feel culture shock all the time I'm here.
I just realized this is the third state capital I've lived in, after Indianapolis and Des Moines.
Steve Stone says White Sox broadcasts will include more sabremetrics. Sub-head: Hawk Harrelson to spontaneously combust on air.
This should be fascinating.
From the handful of times I watched the Sox on WGN, they started to incorporate advanced stats in the broadcast last year. They had graphics for run expectancy for the offense and for the pitcher.
They are certainly ahead of FSN because their generic batter graphic shows on base percentage
They're in a better position to do it because they only have to worry about one head asploding while FSN had to worry about two going off at the same time. (Bert's forays into B-R notwithstanding.)
If only they could do that with Woody Harrelson.
I'm on my way to Williamsburg again. I hope beyond how that a trip to Hooters or TGIFridays does not happen again. I'm going to give the Green Leaf Cafe a go this time around.
Another stumper...
ID the AU -- name the Twins player (current or former) whose John Doe this is:
I got it with the hint, but that doesn't really count, so my streak is over.
That guess makes more sense than the actual answer.
That was my guess as well. I still like it better than the actual answer.
I don't know why you would have several autographs from thsi person, but I'll say ...
"Clear" is up for debate :/
I'll put out another call, just because... if anyone is interested in a 12-team keeper league, let me know. $50 buy-in, and we're looking for just 1 more team...
H/T Hardball Talk, but here is the full article: Woodrow Wilson: The First Fantasy Baseball Player
Dave Winfield was visiting the Twins camp today as a rep for the MLBPA. He was seen talking with Rod Carew and Tony Oliva. There's a conversation I would like to get in on. What would be really cool is if Jack Morris were around, maybe Winfield could do a photo op with Morris, Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer: St. Paul's Fab Four.
meanwhile Minneapolis only appears to have provided just one star in Kent Hrbek.
The City of Bloomington would like to have a word with you.
He went to school in Bloomington but he was born in Minneapolis.
only three MLB players born in Minneapolis have appeared in 500+ games:
Hrbek (1,747)
George Thomas (685)
Johnny Blanchard (516)
In addition, three pitchers born in Minneapolis have thrown 500+ innings:
Josh Johnson (998)
Steve Comer (701.2)
Chris Reitsma (609)
St. Paul also boasts batters Baby Jeebus, Larry Rosenthal (579 games), Walt Moryn (785), Jerry Kindall (742), Jack Hannahan (588), Chick Gandil (1147), Gene DeMontreville (922), and Jack Crooks (795); and pitchers Tom Burgmeier (1,258.2 innings), Glenn Perkins (498).
Glen
nwas born in Stillwater. Just sayin'that's not what baseball-reference claims. I've done no research to confirm or deny.
The resident Stillwater expert confirms.
It's probably why he didn't say anything when I yelled "go Ponies" at him when they were in Milwaukee.
He spells his first name with one "n" but you conveniently ignored that too 😛
I knew his name was different from Glennn Williams'.
Huh? Is it one of those deals where he was born in a hospital in Minneapolis? Because I have friends who knew him pre-Junior High from the playgrounds of east Bloomington. If not, the Hrbek family must have moved from Minneapolis to Bloomington when he was pretty young.
My kids were born in Urbana, but we lived in Champaign. Just sayin'.
Aquinas was born in D.C., but we lived in VA, and at this point he'd probably be "from" MN if we stick here.
Linds, the in-laws and I went up to Duluth for the Twin Ports Brewfest this weekend. Notable things that transpired included:
* New Surly (teamed up with a couple other breweries) - Blakkr. He only brought a couple of four-packs, so it was a lucky thing that we went there first. I know black IPAs aren't a style that a lot of people enjoy, but I really do, so this was a treat.
* Found out that I enjoy some of Fitgers selection. I hadn't really tried much from them to that point, but we stopped by the facility before we went on our way to the Brewfest and sampled some of their Sochi series. I quite enjoyed the Curling Capital.
* Lots and lots of mediocre IPAs. That's not really "of note", but it's definitely a thing that happened.
* Dropkick Murphys played after the event. The rest of the group that I came with was nonplussed, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.
* Linds hated beer up until we went to Leinie's in late-2012. She's developed a bit of a taste for wheat beers, so it was fun to watch her go to the different booths with an idea of beers she might enjoy. She added "bock" to her "i like this" list over the weekend. Her mom doesn't like much beer at all, so it was amusing to hear the following exchange take place:
Linds' Mom: Here, you might like this.
(hands Linds a light beer from Fitgers - Linds takes a sip)
Linds: Thanks, mom, but I'm looking for something with a little more... flavor.
Sounds like a fun time! However, I'm not sure nonplus means what you think it does. To be fair, I only learned this in the last year or so.
I think "nonplussed" would perfectly describe my folks' reaction to a Dropkick Murphys show.
This.
mmhmm. I double checked the definition.
Sorry 'bout that. Upon further reflection, I too would probably be confused by Celtic punk.
Not a problem. It's a commonly misused word. I only had an idea of what it really meant due to a Cracked.com list, so... yay comedic lists?
I had a busy weekend as well. Saw Mike Birbiglia at Pantages on Saturday. I think I might have a crush on him. Got to meet him, too. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time.
Yesterday took the mother-in-law out to see Mamma Mia! for her birthday. Really dumb, cheesy script, but it has some funny moments and it's good spectacle if you like ABBA music (I do). Some bizarre, out of nowhere hypersexual parts of the script that I wouldn't even repeat here.
I like him well enough, but I think I have 3 of his albums, and roughly 70-75% of the material is on all 3. Hopefully his show isn't quite as samey.
His first three albums are like that. Once he hit it big with My Secret Public Journal (Audio)/What I Should Have Said (HBO), he finally began doing 100% new material each time. Sleepwalk With Me is one of the best comedy specials ever.
Good to know because I definitely like his material. I won't be hesitant to check out the later stuff then (and I've heard plenty of good things about Sleepwalk With Me, though I don't know to check out the special or movie first).
Definitely the special. The movie doesn't provide much more material than the special, and the special is just set up way better for laughs. I did enjoy the movie, but I have not come back to it.
Apparently I need to stop watching him on YouTube and investigate those specials.
After Sleepwalk With Me is My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, which is currently on Netflix. It starts slow, then picks up. The one I just saw is Thank God For Jokes, which I don't think is out anywhere yet.
Birbiglia's hilarious, but I've experienced the same problem - not enough variety in his catalog yet. I hope he develops more material, because what he's got already is very good.
Steve McPherson is another writer I really like who covers the Timberwolves, mostly recapping games. One of the few things I go to the four-letter to read, his latest is really something- towards the end, he compares Barea to Schrodinger's cat.
I didnt know AWAW was 4ltr related. I do love reading the articles.
Yeah, in a roundabout kind of way- evidently AWAW is part of the TrueHoop Network, which is a group of ESPN affiliates? Eh, whatever- his articles are good enough I don't really care.
This is adorable. Well done Brewers. The Milwaukee Brewers' Adopted Stray Dog Is The Best Dog
Harold Ramis, RIP.
Co-wrote Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Back to School. Epic run .
cat ghostbuster | sed s/'buster'/''/g > /dev/null
I dunno why, but this made me chuckle.
Gabriela Grunewald's terrible, horrible, no-good day.
Because Alberto Salazar? Or Because Nike Money? (or both?)
She is a graduate of Perham High, so, one of our own.
more coverage from Runners' World
and now comes the reversal and reinstatement of Grunewald as winner. Sadly, not because USATF is doing the right thing, but because Hasay and her coach Salazar felt the backlash from athletes and the running community, and chose to withdraw in favor of Grunewald. And the USATF story is just full of cover-our-ass-isms on procedure. Oy.
Robot umps now!
Close enough?
The Heat are 39-14, which is the exact same record that they've had after 53 games in each season of the LeBron James era.
I laughed.
The meterological winter ends on February 28th. It appears that this will be,at about 3.93 degrees (assuming the forecasts are correct), the sixth coldest winter in Fargo since 1942-43 (as far back as the records I found went). The coldest winter was in 1979, where the average temperature for this three month period was 0.57. The average is 10.77.
I thought meterological winter ended in March. At least I learned something today.
And in my least-favorite entertainment news, Netflix is now having to pay Comcast to deliver streaming media. Given the, ahem, "wonderful" things those of you who have Comcast have to say about that company, I'm not expecting this to turn out well.
It will likely improve. It sets all sorts of precedents, but for customers of Netflix and Comcast, I think things will improve.
I guess the way I'm looking at this is that Comcast is not providing the service people are paying for (reasonably fast internet connection), and what they're doing is going to pass the costs of improving that service onto everyone who subscribes to Netflix but isn't a Comcast customer.
All kinds of precedents, all right.
Comcast is providing a reasonably fast internet connection. If you download from anyone else (or Netflix via VPN), it's fast. I will note that another player in the Netflix/Comcast fight is Cogent, a company that many others have bickered with over their practices.
correction: to deliver faster streaming media
The article has a lot of details of the whole arrangement that I left out, but yes, you're correct.
Still very bad news.
Cutthroat Kitchen has to be the worst cooking show ever.
Wait what?
The capital city of my home state is an amazing place. That's all I have to say. I come out here twice a month and I never don't feel culture shock all the time I'm here.
I just realized this is the third state capital I've lived in, after Indianapolis and Des Moines.