Monthly Archives: March 2017

First Monday Book Day

First Monday Book Day – The Comic Book Store

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So far, 2017 has turned out to be the year of the comic book for me.  Here's five series that I've been reading.


Monstress		 This is my favorite new discovery of the year. It's kind of steampunk, kind of high fantasy with definite Asian influences and a dash of Elder Gods thrown in for good measure. It's a little gory, and a lot convoluted, but I've really enjoyed it. I've read through issue #10, and I'm struggling over whether to wait for the collections, or buy the issues as they become available. The art is really really good. Although the story seems like something you've heard before (orphan girl struggling against forces much greater than herself), there are plenty of factions and intrigue to keep it interesting.

Mooncop		 It's sparse and a little funny and a little sad. A policeman on the moon drives through his patrol. The moon is emptying out, but still there are just enough people around to create small stories.

It's not a big book, but you will be pulled in.
Trees I didn't really know of Warren Ellis, but reading this and the next series on the list, he has a pretty incisive way of world-building.  Trees are alien spaceships landed without explanation that seemed benign until the end of volume 1.  Volume 2 gets a little bit more into how governments and other systems are reacting to a threat they don't understand.  Volume 1 was very good.  Volume 2 I hope is building toward something else that's as good.

Injection		 Another Warren Ellis book.  Another fantastic introduction to a new world.  In an attempt to spur more global innovation, The Injection occurred, and now it has taken on a mind of its own.  It sounds like its the singularity, but probably not in a good way.  I was really into the first few issues of this, and I have another 3 or 4 sitting on my bookshelf to read soon.  Ellis loves a dystopia that's not quite a dystopia yet, and he does it pretty well.

Paper Girls		 I have only read the first issue of this one, but it seems very cool.  Set in the 80's, a group of four newspaper delivery girls are defending their routes from Halloween pranksters when they find a ... time machine? maybe?  I don't really know yet, but when I get the chance I plan to keep reading.

So, what have you all been reading?  Comic book/graphic novel or otherwise?

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-five

KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 26.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a run.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Danny Tartabull was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his thirty-first) and two runs.  Steve Balboni was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fifth) and a walk.  Kevin Seitzer was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Kirby Puckett had a two-run single in the first inning to put the Twins ahead 2-0.  Balboni homered in the second to make it 2-1.  The Twins threatened in the third and fourth and finally scored again in the fifth on Hrbek's RBI single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.  In the sixth, Jim Eisenreich's pinch-hit two-run double to tie it 3-3.  The Twins got the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on a Randy Bush single, but the Royals tied it 4-4 in the seventh.  It stayed tied until the ninth.  Jeff Reardon came in to pitch and struck out Willie Wilson, but then Seitzer singled, George Brett doubled, and Tartabull hit a three-run homer to put Kansas City ahead 7-4.  The Twins did not threaten in the bottom of the ninth.

Notes:  Bush was used as the designated hitter in this game...Puckett was 1-for-5 with two RBIs, making his average .329...The expanded rosters were again felt, as the teams combined to use four pinch-hitters (Eisenreich, Jamie Quirk, Thad Bosley, and Roy Smalley) and three pinch-runners (Lonnie Smith, Chris Pittaro, and Billy Beane)...Steve Carlton started and pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts...Bret Saberhagen started for Kansas City and pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and six walks with six strikeouts...The win went to John Davis, who was in his rookie season.  It was also the only good season he had, going 5-2, 2.27, 1.26 WHIP in 27 appearances (43.2 innings).  He was traded to the White Sox after the season in a deal that brought Floyd Bannister to Kansas City.  He flopped with the White Sox, going 2-6, 6.46, 1.92 WHIP in 38 appearances (69.2 innings).  Unsurprisingly, he spent part of those seasons in the minors as well.  He was released at the end of spring training of 1990, signed with Milwaukee, was released again, and signed with San Diego.  He made six appearances with the Padres, became a free agent, made five AAA appearances with Atlanta in 1991, and then his playing career was almost over.  I say almost because he tried to make a comeback in 1995, making four AAA appearances with the White Sox.  After that, his playing career was really over.  At last report, he was living in Colorado Springs and owned a franchise of American Leak Detection which, as you might guess, finds water leaks in pools, plumbing, sewers, drains, and under slab foundations.

Record:  The Twins were 83-72, in first place by five games over Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 7

Ed Willett (1884)
Dave Danforth (1890)
Andy Phillip (1922)
Bobo Holloman (1923)
Red Wilson (1929)
Galen Cisco (1936)
Jimmie Hall (1938)
J. R. Richard (1950)
Jeff Burroughs (1951)
Albert Hall (1958)
Joe Carter (1960)
Jose Cano (1962)
German Gonzalez (1962)
Mauro Gozzo (1966)
Jeff Kent (1968)
Tyler Ladendorf (1988)

A member of the basketball Hall of Fame, Andy Phillip played minor league baseball in 1947, 1949, and 1952, batting .281 in 123 games.

Bobo Holloman is sometimes referred to as the worst pitcher ever to throw a major league no-hitter.

The father of Robinson Cano, Jose Cano appeared in six games for Houston in 1989.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to strategery's son.

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Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-four

KANSAS CITY 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 25.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base (his twenty-fifth), scoring twice.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  Keith Atherton pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  George Brett was 2-for-2 with a home run (his twenty-second), a double, and three walks, driving in three.  Steve Farr struck out four in 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and a walk.  Danny Tartabull was 1-for-4 with a home run (his thirtieth) and a walk.

The game:  RBI singles by Puckett and Brunansky gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Les Straker did not give up a hit until the Brett's RBI double in the fourth, which cut the lead to 2-1.  The Twins got two in the bottom of the fourth to go up 4-1, but the game turned in the fifth.  Jamie Quirk led off with a home run to make it 4-2.  Bill Pecota singled, stole second, and scored on a Kevin Seitzer single to make it 4-3.  Straker came out, Dan Schatzeder came in, and the first two batters he faced hit home runs.  Brett homered to give the Royals their first lead of the game at 5-4 and Tartabull followed with a home run to give Kansas City a 6-4 advantage.  Farr then came in and shut down the Twins offense.  They did load the bases on a walk and two errors, but Brunanasky flied out to end the inning.  The Twins did not get a man past first base after that.

Notes:  Puckett raised his average to .331...Gene Larkin was at first base, with Kent Hrbek out of the lineup.  Hrbek came in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and struck out...Straker pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts...Kansas City starter Danny Jackson pitched four innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and four walks with one strikeout...Steve Farr had other good years, but he was a dominant reliever from 1990-92 (1990 with KC, 1991-92 with the Yankees).  He was not a closer in 1990, but was in 1991-92.  In those three years, he was 20-14, 54 saves, 1.95, 1.11 WHIP and 191 strikeouts in 249 innings (167 games).  His 1993 numbers look terrible--4.21 ERA, 1.53 WHIP--but they are skewed by two really bad appearances at the beginning of the season and two other really bad ones at the end.  Other than that, he had an ERA of 2.42 and a WHIP of 1.23.  The Yankees let him go at the end of the season, though, and he split 1994 between Cleveland and Boston, not pitching well for either team.  After that, his playing career was over.  At last report, Steve Farr owned a trucking company and was living in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina.

Record:  The Twins were 83-71, in first place by six games over both Oakland, who lost to the White Sox 2-1 in ten innings, and Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 6

Ring Lardner (1885)
Lefty Grove (1900)
Bob Swift (1915)
Pete Gray (1915)
Ted Abernathy (1933)
Cookie Rojas (1939)
Willie Stargell (1940)
Karl Best (1959)
Scott Stahoviak (1970)
Terry Adams (1973)
Marcus Thames (1977)
Clint Barmes (1979)

Author Ring Lardner wrote about a variety of subjects, but is probably most famous for writing about baseball.  If you haven't read any of his stuff, you really should.

As you probably know, Pete Gray played in 77 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945 despite having only one arm.

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