81 thoughts on “April 10, 2014: Too Soon”

  1. If you're interested in a little morning baseball, Cedar Rapids takes on Great Lakes at 11:05.

  2. Wild Playoff Watch: Waiting Game Edition

    Anaheim beat San Jose to clinch the Pacific Division. They also passed the Blues point total for best in the conference.

    ANA - 112 points (2 games remaining)
    STL - 111 points (3 games remaining)
    COL - 109 points (3 games remaining)

    But that's just the boring race for the top seed. Dallas lost to Columbus, so if races for the last playoff spot are more your thing, you're in luck since both Dallas and Phoenix now control their own fate in the battle for the 8 spot thanks to those two teams meeting each other on the final day of the season.

    DAL - 89 points (2 games remaining)
    PHX - 87 points (3 games remaining)

    GAMES TONIGHT:
    St. Louis @ Minnesota -- If the playoffs started today, these two teams would meet in the first round.
    Colorado @ Vancouver -- If the Wild and Avalanche both win, Colorado moves to the top of the Central Division.
    Phoenix @ Nashville -- A chance to get back to even with Dallas.

    1. I found out yesterday that I get to go to tonight's game in my company's corporate suite, so I'm pretty excited. I've been to high school hockey games there before, but I've never been to an NHL game. Should be fun.

      1. You will have a great time. Been in the suites a few times. Depending on what they order up for your group, it is usually good grub up there.

    1. That was nice - even some of the comments (especially those refuting the hyperbole and ignorance of other commenters) were interesting.

        2. Mauer in his first 10 seasons (through age-30) and 5,000+ PA: 447 oRAR (offensive runs above replacement)

          Sir Rodney in his first 9 seasons (through age-29) and just shy of 5,000 PA: 411 oRAR

          so, in about 100 extra plate appearances, Mauer has produced 36 more oRAR -- a below-average season's worth for him.

          1. oRAR includes position, so to compare just batting and baserunning, Rpos must be subtracted. That moves Mauer to +29 higher oRAR.

        1. Agreed - I quoted you over there and I invited him to visit us and talk baseball with folks who actually appreciate Joe Mauer.

          1. You forgot to mention the 39 comments about the ramifications of trading Sulbaran. We can be a bit obsessive.

            2. In all fairness that was high because some jerk really felt the need to respond to any criticism of TR in that conversation.

                1. I've been meaning to say that the conversation about that the other day is one of the reasons I love this place so much. There's no one else in my life who even has a clue who Miguel Sulbaran is, much less would be interested in discussing whether trading him for Eduardo Nunez is a good idea. Thank you all for being here.

            3. There were only 39? Maybe just in the one game recap- I think we talked about it in two of the Cup posts as well. We need to compile our stats!

              I'm not helping with the "bit obsessive" part, am I?

          2. This is a good WGOM marketing strategy. The drawback is you have to wade through the comments.

              1. I can force new users signing up to answer questions. Like requiring them to quote Mauer's career rWAR.

                    1. Ah, I get it now. The strikethrough doesn't show up in the sidebar. I was thinking "'Tall'? No, Neck Tat is Tall."

    2. First off, his career batting average with runners in scoring position is .333. His career average with runners in scoring position and two outs is .343.

      This should be chiseled into his HOF plaque someday.

      1. I learned after his death that my great-grandfather loathed Harmon despite being a Twins fan for his entire career. So, yeah, there's nothing new happening here.

      2. In that era, they didn't appreciate how important it was to reach base. Most felt someone like Killebrew was clogging up the basepaths by walking and he should be swinging more to try to drive in more runs. He also didn't typically hit for much average, which was the most common stat used back then. This archaic thinking is probably why it took him so long to get into the Hall of Fame.

      1. I should add that there is essentially ZERO evidence that PAHs consumed from grilled meats have any deleterious health effects. All the evidence is from lab experiments. The actual amount of PAHs you consume from grilled meats is highly variable, and what happens to them after you eat them is pretty much unknown.

        So my rule of thumb is to just drink the beer and not worry about the PAHs.

    1. A boo-boo on his knee? A similar injury to Arcia is what allegedly started the #playyousissies campaign in the first place.

    1. I would consider that to be very little good news. An injury that was originally supposed to cost him a few days is now out to six weeks and maybe more.

  7. Very sad story but strongly brings up the point that if you go hiking in the Wilderness it is critical to have: 1) the gear to deal with the (wet/cold) elements 2) let people know exactly where you are going and when you will be out of the woods so that people can alert the authorities if you are late.

    http://www.startribune.com/local/west/254656951.html

    I've been in that area before, and due to lack of cell phone coverage, probably no one would have known they were in trouble until they didn't check in, but now the authorities have no idea where they are or how to find them. It seems like these guys were experienced hikers, it's astonishing that they didn't leave a map of their hike and that they were heading so high up this early in the season.

    1. My sister lives in Seward, AK, where they annually have a run up and back down Marathon Mountain on the 4th of July.
      One person disappeared recently doing that, when their route is well-defined and people are waiting for their return at the end of the day, and the town is visible from most of the trail.

    2. I am very sad since I really like The Colbert Report and really dislike late night talk shows.

      Hopefully Comedy Central picks Kristen Schaal to replace Colbert. That's my dream.

        1. I maintain that he is plenty smart so as to be able to handle this show, in new and exciting ways.

      2. I'm not a big Kristen Schaal fan (Louise excepted). Jessica Williams would be interesting. I've never seen her on The Daily Show when she wasn't great (SSS, I don't watch TDS too often anymore).

        1. I think John Oliver has shown that he can carry a show pretty well, although Jon Stewart is the Man. Also, Stewart's predecessor, Craig Kilborn, is still alive. He was pretty good.

          1. When Oliver filled in on the Daily Show, I liked him better than Stewart. It's too bad they didn't find room for him in the Comedy Central lineup before he went to HBO. My fear is they replace the Colbert Report with @Midnight. It's an okay show, but nothing I'd go out of my way to watch.

            1. I like @midnight, but it really depends on who plays the game. If the guests are not quick witted, the show stalls and is just there.

  10. cc: hj

    I uploaded a banner. Don't know where it's supposed to go, it's just sitting in the media file.

      1. I hope you will indulge an old crabby man for a day of negativity. Long term things will be better.

  13. I just noticed this, but of the six La Liga teams that qualified for the knockout rounds of the European tournaments, four are still alive in the semifinals of the Champions League and the Europa League, making up half of the remaining teams. And the other two were knocked out by other Spanish teams in their respective tournaments (Barcelona by Atletico Madrid and Betis by Sevilla).

    Apparently no one can beat Spanish teams except other Spanish teams?

    2. my brother twittered me and asked if I was watching FF because of an 8 point round.

    1. Yeah - thanks Josh. The St. Paul Saints didn't need you playing regularly anyway.

  16. Gophers scored shorthanded with 0.6 seconds left to beat North Dakota in the Frozen Four. ESPN is thrilled not to have to show a Union-UND championship game.

  18. Sioux hockey season ended later than the Twins season.

    I watched the game from ~13min in the third, and the Sioux were all over the net. That was an amazing period from the MN goalie.

    1. I am generally indifferent on the Gophers, rather cynical about them at times, but there are certain times when I am a Gopher fan. An example of that was last night.

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