Monthly Archives: September 2016

Friday Music Day

FMD: Music Consumption

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On my way to a conference on Monday, I brought along my iPod and the auxiliary cable. I also have Spotify, Pandora and 3-month trial subscription to Apple Music. I only have about 45 songs actually 'on' my phone and I have not taken the leap to download podcasts. I'm not commuting for long enough to hear 1 full episode per sitting and I usually use the limited time in my car to get caught up on news (NPR, KFAN, ESPN, etc.).

The aux cable is about 5 years old and has seen some hard use - the connection was crap: right (passenger side) speakers only. My Rav4 does not have Bluetooth and my data plan is not really big enough to want to do 3+ hours of streaming anyway. I let my satellite radio subscription lapse in 2009. Terrestrial radio between Clear Lake, St. Cloud and points north didn't grab me so I fell back to the old stand-by: CD's!

I had two, 20-disc CD books (containing nothing released more recently than about 2005) in the small holding space in the rear cargo area, in addition to the 6-disc changer holding at the time:
Monolith of Phobos - Claypool Lennon Delirium,
Currents - Tame Impala,
BLURRYFΛCE - Twenty One Pilots,
Plastic Beach - Gorillaz,
Best of the '00's - mixed CD gift from my sister,
-and-
Things I Forgot - Son Little

Having, through repetition, exhausted a desire to listen to any of those already in the player, I stopped for gas and pulled out the CD books. Do you know what caught my eye?

Spoiler SelectShow

I hadn't listened to either in a very, very long time, but I enjoyed them.
If you had an old book of CD's (or tapes/records/etc.) that hadn't received any new music in a decade or two, what do you think you'd find and select for an extended listen?

Also, drop your list.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–September 16

Due to personal time constraints, this is essentially a reprint from last year.  I added Robbie Grossman's name, but did not have time to write a biography for him.  Maybe next year.  Sorry about that, Robbie.

Heinie Mueller (1899)
Hillbilly Bildilli (1912)
Gary Ross (1947)
Robin Yount (1955)
Orel Hershiser (1958)
Tim Raines (1959)
Mickey Tettleton (1960)
Mel Hall (1960)
Chris Pittaro (1961)
Mark Parent (1961)
Paul Shuey (1970)
Desi Relaford (1973)
Bobby Korecky (1979)
Brandon Moss (1983)
Robbie Grossman (1989)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–September 16 →

Keeping Track

Notes and Team Leaders: Chattanooga Lookouts

We're using an arbitrary standard of 150 at-bats and 50 IP to determine rate leaders.

OPS

Daniel Palka, .894
Niko Goodrum, .808
Edgar Corcino, .754

AVG

Zach Granite, .295
Corcino, .284
Goodrum, .275

OBP

Goodrum, .357
Ryan Walker, .349
Palka, .348

SLG

Palka, .547
Goodrum, .451
Corcino, .421

HR

Palka, 21
Mitch Garver, 11
Travis Harrison, 7

DOUBLES

D. J. Hicks, 27
Garver, 25
Stuart Turner, 22
Harrison, 22

RBI

Garver, 66
Palka, 65
Hicks, 59

SB

Granite, 56
Harrison, 15
Walker, 13

ERA

Stephen Gonsalves, 1.82
Kohl Stewart, 3.03
Aaron Slegers, 3.41

WHIP

Gonsalves, 1.08
D. J. Baxendale, 1.21
Jake Reed, 1.22

WINS

Slegers, 10
Stewart, 9
Gonsalves, 8

STRIKEOUTS

Slegers, 104
Ryan Eades, 91
David Hurlbut, 90

SAVES

Trevor Hildenberger, 16
J. T. Chargois, 7
Raul Fernandez, 6

STARTS

Slegers, 25
Hurlbut, 23
Eades, 19

GAMES

Reed, 41
Mason Melotakis, 36
Hildenberger, 32

INNINGS

Slegers, 145.1
Hurlbut, 136
Eades, 113.1

Daniel Palka seems to fit into the Adam Brett Walker II category.  He hit 34 homers combined between Chattanooga and Rochester, but he also struck out 186 times, giving him a strikeout average of .370.  He'll be twenty-five next month.  I'm rooting for both of them, but it's hard for me to believe you can be successful in the majors when you swing and miss that often in the minors.

Zach Granite was named the Lookouts' player of the year.  His .295 average and 56 steals get you excited.  His .729 OPS and the fact that he struck out one more time than he walked does not.  I don't know anything about his defense, but he strikes me as a Ben Revere type player, one whose offensive value is going to be tied to his ability to hit singles and steal bases.  If you can do enough of those things, you can have a long career (see Pierre, Juan), so we'll see how it goes.

Niko Goodrum quietly had a pretty good season, batting .257/.375/.451.  He's a third baseman and will be twenty-five next season.

D. J. Hicks was okay, but no more than that.  He was .264/.348/.371.  I don't know why I had it in my head that he was expected to be pretty good--maybe it was his 2013 season in Cedar Rapids.  But he was a seventeenth round draft choice, and he seems to be playing like one.  He'll be twenty-seven next season.

I mentioned Mitch Garver yesterday, but he had a solid season in AA before doing even better in AAA (in a small sample size).  He was hitting .257/.334/.419.  If his catching defense is improving, and if his stint in AAA is for real, the Twins may actually have a catcher coming.  Those are big ifs, of course.  He'll be twenty-six next season.

Stephen Gonsalves was pretty tremendous when he was brought up to AA.  He went 8-1, 1.82, 1.08 WHIP, 89 strikeouts in 74.1 innings.  He turned twenty-two in July.  He's done well everywhere he's been so far.  It's hard not to get excited about him.

Kohl Stewart wasn't bad, either, but he struggled some with control.  He was 9-6, 3.03, but with a 1.47 WHIP due largely to 44 walks in 92 innings.  He only struck out 47.  He's worth keeping an eye on, but it seems like those numbers are going to have to improve.  He'll only be twenty-two next month, though, so he has time to do that.

Felix Jorge is another pitcher who's stopped striking people out.  He went 3-5, 4.12.  His 1.28 WHIP is fine, but he only struck out 32 in 74.1 innings.  He had done quite a bit better in Fort Myers, 77 Ks in 94 innings.  He'll be twenty-three next year, so he still has time to improve, too.