120 thoughts on “April 8, 2014: Stress”

  1. I'm really looking forward to hearing Tinariwen after work tonight:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7At_o-mbvaM

    1. Enjoy the show! I had the album Aman Iman: Water Is Life on my playlist this past winter. It's good music, but I also thought listening to something from somewhere warm might make the cold here seem less bitter.

  3. Wild Playoff Watch

    Another Wild win. I didn't get to see any of it, but that all but puts the Wild in the playoffs, and secures the 7-spot as their own.

    MIN - 94 pts
    DAL - 87 pts (WMN = 2)
    ------------
    PHX - 86 pts (WMN = 1)
    NSH - 81 pts

    Games tonight:
    Minnesota/Boston - a point for the Wild clinches a playoff spot.
    Dallas/Nashville - if Dallas drops a point, the Wild clinch a playoff spot.
    Phoenix/Columbus - if Phoenix drops a point, the Wild clinch a playoff spot.

    2. I did actually watch last night's game while doing computer work, Bryzgalov is a beast, our defense was hardcore, and very, very little else was too exciting.

    3. Clinched a playoff spot. Didn't watch the game, but hanging 3 on the Bruins in regulation and finishing with a SO win is always a nice way to go.

  4. Shabazz Napier, college athlete, sometimes goes to bed "starving"

    this brings to mind two things: (1) Louie C.K.'s bit on hunger. dude, you are not "starving." That is distended-stomach-surrounded-by-flies-in-Africa stuff, not pampered scholarship athlete stuff. (2) EVERY teenage boy, particularly athletes, goes through life "starving" in the U.S.

    that said, I'm still sympathetic to the bargaining position. The NCAA makes bank off these kids, and the schools pay them next to nothing by collusively suppressing their earnings.

    1. Shabazz Napier also acted like the NCAA's punishment of UConn's blatantly flouting all rules (10% graduation rate, seriously?!) really harmed UConn. Boy, I bet a let of schools wouldn't mind that punishment if it results in a title a year later.

  5. The interior stairwells on the east side of my building are enclosed on three sides by glass. The panes are apparently used as a medium for soliciting public comments on initiatives. Right now, someone has asked if building occupants would like the building to convert entirely to electric hand dryers instead of paper towels.

    The comments have been predictable – some people are engaging it seriously, some are crafting straw men (if you use paper towels to dry parts of your body other than your hands, you must be one of those weirdos who bathes in public bathrooms!), and others are writing about how it's finally spring, drawing flowers, etc.

    In other words, it's like the Internet, only written on glass with expensive markers.

      1. One of the more immediately useful TED talks ever. But now how do I post this on the glass?

            2. I use paper towels by habit, but I'm glad to know it's supported by health care providers and researchers as well. I would not have known if I hadn't visited this morning. This truly is the Worlds Greatest!

              1. I also prefer paper towels, and would remind everyone that industrial hemp is a much more renewable and sustainable source of paper pulp than wood. At least it would be if politics didn't get in the way.

                2. industrial hemp is one of the greatest multiuse crops to be outlawed by stupidity.

            3. Mythbusters looked at it and determined that if everyone just washed their hands correctly (i.e., with soap) it didn't matter what you dried them with (or at all). But, if washed only with water, paper towels were more hygenic.

              1. I wonder what happens when you spill the vodka from the desk bottle on your hands...

        1. Never seen it before, but I always tried to use just one paper towel. If you actually use the entire towel, they can absorb a considerable amount of water.

  7. 4ltr rates playoff races coming down the stretch:

    The first race they reviewed: for the number one seed in the East. Indiana and Miami still play one another and the first overall seed is crucial for winning the East. In terms of watchablity, 4ltr rates this as 3-1/2 stars out of five.

    The second race they reviewed: for the eighth seed. The two teams are more than 10 games under .500. Atlanta leads by 2 games with six to play and they own the tie-breaker. The Knicks just suck. They do not play each other. In terms of watchability, 4ltr rates this as a 4 stars out of 5.

    Really? Watching Atlanta and the Knicks stumble toward the eighth seed and a certain first round drubbing is more watchable than following the best two teams in the leagueconference, who are going to play each other with the number one seed hanging in the balance is more watchable?

    That is ridiculous.

    1. I don't watch basketball, or really follow it. But as soon as I read 3-1/2 out of five I thought "whatever race the Knicks are in is going to be rated higher".

      Predictably ridiculous.

    2. did they manage to work a mention or two of Jeeetahh into the equation? If not, I'm disappointed.

  8. Name W L SV G GS IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP WAR
    Kevin Correia 0 1 0 2 2 11.2 6.17 2.31 0.77 .333 51.3 % 41.0 % 7.1 % 6.17 3.64 3.96 0.2
    Kyle Gibson 1 0 0 1 1 5.0 5.40 7.20 0.00 .214 85.7 % 57.1 % 0.0 % 1.80 4.32 5.52 0.1
    Phil Hughes 0 0 0 1 1 5.0 12.60 1.80 3.60 .385 80.7 % 26.7 % 33.3 % 7.20 6.72 2.96 0.0
    Mike Pelfrey 0 1 0 1 1 5.1 5.06 5.06 3.38 .071 93.8 % 40.0 % 28.6 % 5.06 8.56 5.25 -0.2
    Ricky Nolasco 0 1 0 2 2 10.0 4.50 5.40 2.70 .389 69.2 % 47.4 % 21.4 % 9.00 7.82 5.59 -0.3

    Extremely small sample size. Sorted by WAR.

      1. #coldness?

        I watched his last start; Hard to know what to think at this point. I think he should have a long miami leash.

        1. I mean, when you sign a guy to a contract like that, it's hard to justify a short leash. The Twins also aren't overflowing with great alternatives.

          1. They could always give a young guy like Sulbaran a look!

            (I know, I know, he's a long ways away still. Give it to me because joak.)

      1. At the same time, it feels good that the Twins lead the AL in runs scored, and it feels not good that the starting pitching has generally been shaky.

  9. LENIII:

    It’s not as if Nunez is a hitting star, but he once was considered to be the heir apparent to Derek Jeter. Nunez is a career .267 hitter with a .307 on-base percentage and .372 slugging percentage. His career WAR (wins above replacement, which determines a player’s overall value) is minus-1.8 compared with 2.6 for Florimon. Nunez has a career range factor at short of 3.66, compared with Florimon’s 5.12.

    But the Twins are convinced that what Nunez can do with the bat is worth what they might lose in defense. That can be a risky stance but, despite coming off a road trip in which they scored 38 runs in six games, the Twins know they need functional hitters up and down the lineup. And Florimon has been a speed bump.

    1. That first paragraph lays out why this move makes no sense. The second paragraph is just a word salad.

      1. I think JeffA's point about the Twins knowing for 3+ years what Pedro gives you (and what he doesn't) is the most damning part of this move. That and you essentially have this guy on the 25-man roster in the form of Escobar and a similar one in Bernier...just so confounding.

        1. Maybe this is all a smoke screen and the real reason they traded for Nunez was for filler on the Rochester roster when they bring up Bernier or Beresford? (I do not think this is true, but would be preferable over another guy who only does one thing poorly.)

          1. But even if that's true, we traded a guy who has a chance to be a real big-leaguer for AAA roster filler. How does that make the trade better?

            1. I wasn't trying to insinuate that it makes the trade better, I was just in my little fantasy world where the Twins brass realizes they are not winning any time soon and actually gives some of their current guys a chance. (would have probably been a good spot for Rosario if he hadn't gotten suspended.)

                  1. When you insinuate, you make IN SIN what U ATE.
                    Still better (for ME) than when you assume.

          2. He and his career .307 OBP are absolutely going to be on the major league roster before too long.

      2. That first paragraph is the first I've read on this and it reads like condemnation of the move.
        Yet Para 2 seems to suggest that LENIII likes it? Or is that a parroting of the org's logic?

    2. I hate to see us sacrifice defence in the infield after we're already sacrificing defence in the outfield. If they add him to the big league club, Gibson needs to hold a sit-down strike.

    3. Willing to quote WAR as a metric of overall player value, but reliant on range factor to evaluate defense. If it weren't for the players involved, I would assume this article was filed in 2007.

      Perhaps Nunez was considered Jeter's heir apparent due to his similar defensive "prowess" rather than his bat?

        1. If he ever was considered the heir apparent, they apparently stopped considering him that when they saw his errs.

    4. but he once was considered to be the heir apparent to Derek Jeter

      What a load of horse manure. Nunez was the result of the Yankees never making any real plans to replace Jeter. Talent in baseball is not passed down like some ridiculous hereditary monarchy. Hell, Jeter probably has a relative somewhere with more talent than Eduardo Nunez.

      And just for the sake of completeness:

      .308/.386/.416 -- Jeter, minors
      .272/.315/.365 -- Nunez, minors

      1. Seriously, the nerve* to even try this is ridiculous.

        *I mean this in the best possible way

        2. That's great- the last cameraman is so confused by what's going on he can't even find Hamilton or second base.

    2. So Joe has to not only play 1B every day, but pitch every day as well? That's gonna be tough.

      1. Well, if Smalley was hitting .372 with 15 homeruns on July 4, and he finished at .271 with 24 homeruns... yeah, he was a lot worse after Independence Day. I wish I knew how to split it out so I could see if it was a huge dropoff (yay arbitrary endpoints!) or a slower slide throughout the season as he wore out.

        1. The game logs for a season allow arbitrary endpoints. Doing that we find he hit a Buterian .178/.257/.302 from July 5 through the end of the season.

          Looking at the monthly splits it was a fast drop after June.

          Split BA OBP SLG OPS
          April/March .382 .462 .592 1.054
          May .392 .466 .627 1.094
          June .347 .425 .554 .979
          July .217 .300 .365 .665
          August .200 .282 .345 .628
          Sept/Oct .145 .229 .248 .477

          1. Thanks, sean! I started to wade through bb-ref and got to Smalley's page, then figured I'd be better off leaving things to the experts (if they were so inclined).

          2. I remember that season well; he was flirting with .400 for quite some time, and then hit the wall got old fast regressed to the mean crapped his bed did really poorly.

    4. Looking at b-r.com, Jerry Koosman and Butch Wynegar also look like they contributed to the team's respectibility.

        2. When I celebrated my second birthday, the Pirates had just won that year's World Series, so I had to look to a source.

  13. Beer: I routinely visit Heritage Liquor in Maplewood or Summit Liquors in WBL due to their great beer selection, sampling events, good sales/prices and proximity to home. But for those of you further east than I am, perhaps the addition of a new craft beer store in Woodbury might be of interest.

    Now, it seems to me that if I put money into a business looking to expand, a business that I hold no ownership in, I'd either be considered a "donor," an "investor" (or something else) right? That may be completely wrong as my knowledge of the business world is largely a by-product of exposure to my wife's career (and some retail/serving jobs in the past). Nor do I claim to understand the intricacies of crowdfunding. I do, however, really like beer. Anything I can do to improve my access to good beer is going to get some consideration, even if I'm not getting an ownership stake or any financial return on investment, and am simply "buying" stuff*, or donating in the hopes of seeing more BEER!

    *basically, schwag.

    1. You have no equity with any funds pledged. I think this would be similar to donating to (M|N)PR, except without the tax deduction.

      2. Edit: That's a Both very good analogy takes. I also thought it as similar to the purchase of Packers "shares".

  14. So I just got a job interview scheduled in a couple of weeks! Maybe I'll escape Family Court!

  16. So that was Chelsea scoring in the 86th minute to secure a place in the Champions League semi-finals. Incredible goa by Ba. I'll post a video later if I can find one.

    1. heh. I'd read an article or two in the Spamtown Daily Herald, but hadn't actually seen the logo before.

      1. and more generally, I find that "rebranding" efforts are mostly good for branding agencies, and pretty useless for governmental bodies. Worry about the content, not the can.*

        *My agency went through a frustrating exercise two years ago, working with a self-proclaimed hot-shot marketing firm from the Bay Area (thanks to our then-agency head). I thought most of what they brought to the table was crap. Eventually, so did the rest of our leadership team, and the contract was terminated before any lasting damage was inflicted.

  18. Hey, my son has two tickets to the Cake show this Thursday at First Avenue. A friend backed out and no one else wants to go because of Gopher Puck. He's willing to sell them for face value $40.00 It's sold out I believe. Let me know if interested.

    1. I will already be there. That may or may not be a selling point to people considering attending.

    4. 'Spoiler' SelectShow
      1. 'Spoiler' SelectShow

  20. So, UConn is beating the crap out of ND tonight in the nat'l title game. Be careful what you wish for, Muffet McGraw.

    1. The UConn Men's and Women's programs are a combined 13-0 in National Title Games. Stupendous.

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