29 thoughts on “December 19, 2014: Yep, I’ve Got It”

  2. Man, have the Padres made some interesting moves. I'm pleased they kept Wil Myers, a bit concerned about how Matt Kemp's body will hold up, and intrigued by how they plan to find enough playing time for Derek Norris, Seth Smith, and Carlos Quentin. This is starting to look like the best roster Bud Black's had to work with since his first year in 2007.

    Shout out to Rene Rivera, who appears to be the Rays' new Jose Molina.

      1. And now they're sending Hanigan (not even offically acquired from the Rays yet) to Boston for Middlebrooks.

        Wow.

  3. I didn’t have a chance to add more to this conversation yesterday, so I’ll put my response into today’s CoC.

    Philo, I’m curious how Serial made you feel exploited. Can you say more about that?

    Mags, I didn’t find Serial all that This American Life-y. I feel like and Sarah Koenig had a different approach than Ira Glass in terms of how the story unfolded, the pacing, her role in the narration, etc.

    By the time I started listening, I already knew the show had become a “thing.” So I felt like I was listening to it on a couple different levels:
    1. To hear the story and find out what happened, insofar as it’s possible to know.
    2. To study how the narrative was structured and try to understand what about this story had drawn in so many people.

    I read an interesting article about the podcast that included this:

    The soul of “Serial” has been in the way Ms. Koenig has done her digging so transparently, airing niggling doubts along the way. She’s incorporated new evidence, sometimes from people who called her only after having their memories jogged by the most recent podcast. As she has moved along, she has uprooted the way murder mysteries are usually told. She’s allowed us to feel like Harper Lee, riding shotgun with Truman Capote as he reported “In Cold Blood,” before he conveniently mangled facts in his telling.

    1. Oops, and now I see that Philo did respond. Yes, Koenig for sure put too much emphasis on insignificant details or details that seemed significant and were later deemed insignificant. I think part of the appeal of Serial is her non-expert point of view on everything, though to someone with expertise already, I can see how it would be annoying. I also think the fact that no one, including her, knew where it was going to end up held people's attention. It adds a certain amount of suspense if you know it's possible she could just crash and burn in the final episode. But that also made for a meandering program. If you found the meandering interesting, then then show was enjoyable. If you wanted her to just cut to the chase already, then I'm sure the approach Koenig took would only make you crazy.

      1. Yeah, I guess I fell into that later category. Only, of course she was going to crash and burn in the final episode. Unless the dude confesses or has already been exonerated we're going to be left with an "inconclusive" outcome. The legal process is not beholden to the schedule of public radio.

        1. I never felt like there'd be a conclusive outcome, and I never expected one anyway. In fact, I'm not sure why anyone would have expected one based on the first few episodes, barring some miracle.

          A lot of times it felt like 12 Angry Men. Sarah is basically doing what Fonda's character is doing, which is being the investigator and lawyer. I love that movie, but half of what Fonda does in that movie violates jury conduct. It's fun, but ultimately not all that helpful. Of course, 12 Angry Men is just a movie, and Sarah is dealing with real people's lives. I'm not sure I would want another series just like this; I'm holding out hope that she'd make improvements in the approach and that if she uses red herrings it's because she herself has been led off track and not just a way to get the audience in a tizzy.

          1. There's something to be said for an actual investigation reaching an actual conclusion. And there's something to be said for just being along for the ride on an exercise in investigation with no answer, full of meaning philosophical musings.

            This felt to me like it was missing a critical component of either possibility. It lacked a conclusion and I was left unimpressed by the philosophical musings that we did come across.

            But that's just me, and my lawyerly disposition probably played a role. And apparently I have far too strong an opinion for how little time and attention I actually paid. That's a pretty regular fault of mine.

  5. Corey Brewer to the Rockets. He's completely out of control sometimes and the Wolves should have taken the other Gator (Noah), but I've always liked Brewer. Maybe he can help the Rockets to another title.

    2. He's a really genuine guy, and you could tell he really loved Minnesota. I'll miss his "Go Wolves!" at the end of every interview. I might actually be sadder about him leaving than K-Love based on their personalities when they were here.

      2. Who would have thought some 18 months ago those words would have been written here at the WGOM?

        1. by the same token, who would have thought back in 2010, before the Wolves unloaded him the last time, that we would eventually lament Brewer's leaving?

    4. I'm a Brewer fan, too, but it will be hard to cheer for him as a Rocket. I have no time for the Beard and/or Dwite.

  7. Darko lost his kickboxing debut tonight. Sometimes the punch lines just drop in my lap like manna from heaven.

  8. The Bison will play for a fourth consecutive National Championship. They are now 57-3 over the last four seasons.

    1. vaguely apropos, I watched a chunk of the California D-I title game last night between Folsom High (sacramento area) and Oceanside High. Folsom's 3-year starting QB has set a national record for career TD passes (229) and a Cali single-season record (91).

      the game was tied 7-7 after one quarter. It was 41-7 Folsom at the half and finished 68-7. Folsom scored 915 points over 16 games, scoring fewer than 50 only 3 times (49 once and 42 twice) and allowing as many as 21 only once (last week in the NorCal D-I title game, which they won 52-21) despite regularly playing their second- and third-strings for most of the second halves of games, with running clocks. This concludes a run over the last three years in which they went 44-2. They have probably a half-dozen D-I caliber kids on the roster, including the QB, who's going to Washington.

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