60 thoughts on “March 29, 2021: 4AM”

  1. I've told you before about my great-nephew Talon, who has had success in rodeo and wrestling. Looks like he's not going to be the only top athlete in the family. My great-niece, Talon's little sister Mesa, won the state AAU wrestling championship in the girls forty-pound division yesterday.

    1. Well, for one thing, it's not for much money. I mean, it would be a lot of money to you and me, and at this stage it might be a lot of money to Dobnak. But in the baseball universe, it really isn't. If he turns into a pumpkin, it doesn't particularly hurt the Twins. If he does well, the Twins have him at a bargain price. Of course, if he does really well, the contract probably gets renegotiated.

      1. yeah, i'm fine with this.

    2. While talking about it with my brother yesterday, I thought about the message it sends not just to prospects in the Twins’ system, but to other minor league free agents & independent ball guys they might want to pursue:

      “We have a good development program. Sign with us, use our information to improve your stuff, and when you succeed we’ll reward you with opportunities & generational wealth.”

  4. I just booked my first business trip to Omaha in quite a long time: hotel price is down slightly from previous rate, and airline ticket prices look comparable. What has changed, though, are flight availabilities -- there are no OMA->STL Thursday afternoon options, leaving me with a Friday 2PM flight home via Denver. Hopefully SWA remedies this before any subsequent trips.

  6. So for the first time in I don't know when, probably before Bird-Magic were playing college hoops, I have taken literally no interest in the men's NCAA BB Tourney. I did a Brackef of course, but it was an autofill and I just glance at the standings from time to time. I have not watched one second of one game but I have a somewhat general knowledge of of who's playing, Chicago Loyola beating Illinois, etc.

    It's weird, I used to obsess over the tourney, my bracket, etc. I even ran the bracket for a couple of years at an old job. I definitely had been showing less and less interest but a total lack of attention has surprised me. It wasn't a deliberate decision.

    I have been watching a lot of the college hockey playoffs (boo Gophers) and USMNT soccer (boo under 23 year olds!). I'd watch more Wild hockey but the TV gods don't want me to watch games but once a week or so.

    1. We have been getting updates each weekend regarding Alabama's BB team from good friends of ours (in spite of their insufferable C.Tide), so it was good that Mrs Runner's alma mater put an end to that nonsense.

    2. I still run a pool for some friends and family (and tried to usurp Spooky's role too!), but I have also been far more distant in my interest this year than I ever recall. I expected that absence was going to make my heart grow fonder, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.

      Indeed, I think this has been an unexpected blessing of the pandemic - sort of a "crave" vs. "cut" effect. Things I really crave, I know are important to me. Things that I don't crave? Distractions that I can cut (or if not cutting entirely, ala NCAA Tournament, I at least don't get caught up in). It's been like Marie Kondo for the soul.

      1. I opined about a year ago that this pandemic could have a real long term impact on sports culture in the US. NFL was down 7% (they think it's because of protests, ::eyeroll::, MLB continues its downward trend, and the NBA was down drastically in the bubble, which is odd because I found the bubble basketball to be absolutely riveting. But the NBA viewership is up this year and the new NFL TV rights are through the roof. So, I could be wrong about that. But, I'm sure that there is a significant group of people who feel like you do (I'm one of them). Sports are not a necessity and in fact, they are a pretty unproductive use of leisure time. There are far better things to do.

          1. I'm of the mind that using leisure time wisely is kind of important. I have, from time to time, been sucked in by MMO games and I now avoid these like the plague, because unproductive and a gargantuan time waste. I'm happiest when I have some sort of purpose to my leisure time. Maybe I'm going out for a walk, maybe I'm in contact with friends and family. I'm just saying that hours and hours of passive couch potato activity is not good for my mental health.

            1. I'm happiest when I have some sort of purpose to my leisure time.

              This is the point of difference, I think. I certainly agree that the best leisure time is restorative. And also that your idea of restorative is maybe not the same as mine. The most important factor for me personally that makes time "leisure time" is the lack of obligation. So that fine line between purpose/obligation and restorative/productive is probably one that is tough to settle.

              Also, I'm just a word nerd, so the phrasing of unproductive leisure time kind of tickled me and I couldn't let it pass unremarked upon.

              1. "restorative" is a good term.

                I know that I have a tendency to couch potato. Some of that is good, to be able to turn off the brain and just passively consume some entertainment. Too much is bad for me, physically. Particularly with having been working from home 90 percent of the time for a year now, I have to pretty much schedule breaks for myself to go for walks.

                Some people have a hard time turning off and need "projects" to redirect themselves from their day jobs or relationships for personal restoration. I do some of that, but not a ton. I need some "productive" hobbies, and will really need that in another 5-7 years when I retire.

                I find that I'm less invested in sports (football, both college and pro, basketball, both NBA and especially college, etc.) than I used to be. And the last four years were exhausting in a variety of ways, both personally (physical ailments), professionally, and forbidden zone-wise. I don't spend nearly enough time reading for leisure/pleasure, and probably too much time on certain social media sites....

        2. I think part of it is our own generational adjustments. Most of us on this site are in a similar age range. For me, I used to follow a lot of sports quite a bit. I now find myself gravitating to just a select few. I watch a lot of hockey from youth up to the pros. I watch a lot of golf, as I am golfing more myself, and am infatuated in how deep the list of elite golfers is in the PGA right now. Of course, I am fanatical about the local MLB team. After that, I have become disinterested in all basketball, football and many others. I do watch the women's national soccer team, as they are so much better than the men on the international stage. I agree with your statement that sports are an unproductive use of our leisure time, so I have reduced my viewership and online scrolling to a handful of sports or teams.

        3. I think it is more generational. I don't think kids watch as much sports now. It is just going to keep going this way unless something changes.

          1. I can definitely see this point too. Part of it has got to be the cost to watch. Getting harder and harder to watch on TV or in person. Plus, when I was a kid there was hardly any programming choices on TV, so sports were always where we gravitated. Also, we always had sports on the radio in the kitchen. Too many other entertainment options for the younger generations.

            1. The portable radio is definitely going to get a workout this summer. At first, I was kind of vexed about the fact that I'm not going to see any Twins on TV, save for the occasional nationally televised game, but then I realized that I never got to see the team on TV during my introductory years. Honestly, having the radio on while we play outside sounds like a more enjoyable time than sitting in the basement, anyway.

    3. I watched maybe 5 non Gophers/ non conference tourney games this year. Just not interested in college hoops when the Wild are watchable and I will always watch the Wolves,

      For me, the fractured cable channel world got to me. I remember during conference tournament week ESPN was pretty non stop with CBB from Saturday (small conference title games) through Saturday when then the action switched to CBS and ABC and ESPN. This year there were a lot of games on the ACC and SEC channels which I dont get. Big East basketball was on FS1 which I forget about and B1G was on the B1G net (which I get).

    4. I can only speak for myself, but I simply don't have the time to devote to sports that I used to have. I still pay a lot of attention to MLB (obviously), but I watched very little football and no basketball, other than the local high school teams. I miss it, but I just have too many other things to do right now.

    5. I was taken aback by how little attention I paid this year as well. I think a lot of things compounded it. COVID last year cancelling it, I was already pretty far removed from college hoops, but I always had liked just the bracket aspect in the past. But this year we were also planning a two week vacation during the opening weekend. Just killed my interest.

      Sports in general have also greatly declined as I've gotten older. Football was pretty good when I was in college, surrounded by other fans as well, but since getting married and having kids, football has really fallen off the radar. Don't even watch the Super Bowl anymore unless there's a party, and even then, don't really care. Baseball will always be #1, but even then, I barely spend time listening to games and rarely watch them. I still like the team and follow the Twins more than anything else, but I just can't bring myself to watch it more than I barely do. Never cared for NBA. NHL I've wanted to get into, but just don't spend the time, similar to baseball.

  7. Season starts soon so we need a game log schedule.

    Sunday: Daneekas Ghost
    Monday: hungry joe
    Tuesday: freealonzo
    Wednesday: sean
    Thursday: Twayn
    Friday: Philosofer
    Saturday: nibbish

    Last year's schedule SelectShow

    5. I can take one of Wed/Thur/Fri. But also don't want to step on toes of those who had 'em last year.

      1. I gave you Sunday, Phil Friday, and I took Wednesday. That leaves Thursday, the day with the fewest games. People can either pinch hit for them as needed or someone else can pick them since it's almost part-time.

  8. Okay, I'm starting what may end up being the baseball B league if rpz doesn't show up. It's essential the same scoring with some minor tweaks. No keepers, and we'll figure out what to do with them next year should we get to that.

    Sign up here! Draft is tentatively set for 3/31 at 8:30 CT. I've no problem with making any changes, so let me know if you'd like any.

    1. It's a shame, because I won the last keeper year (2019) and felt like I had a team that was ready to compete for the next few years.

      I'm in, obviously. Is it going to be head-to-head?

  9. Thanks for the thoughts on Ducks, Newburyport. I started the podcast and it does bring a little more interest for me. I think I'll just keep it going for another 100 pages or so and see how I feel. The last 10 pages or so seemed more dense with plot than anything to this point, so we'll see.

    There's a little bit of not being in the mood to be flooded with the myriad of the narrator's anxieties, but I think it is mostly tiring for me because there are no breaks. Or put differently if I could mentally just read everything after "the fact that" and skip the interlude streams, I might be OK. Even hitting "the fact that" over and over is getting to me. Especially because it has become painfully obvious that I read via a voice in my head, and I'm tired of hearing it say "the fact that" over and over. lol

  10. It looks like the Twins are starting the season with Garlicky and Cave in left field. I assume that will last about a month.

    3. Garlick is kind of interesting. He's hit well throughout the minors, but he's never really gotten a chance in the majors. He's 29, which is obviously pretty old to be a prospect. The odds are against him, but I wouldn't be stunned if he was able to hit well enough to stick.

        1. And Kirilloff is still waiting in the wings. I suspect this is Garlick's one chance to play. I'm hoping he makes the most of it.

            1. A slash line of .068/.068/.068. The only good thing about a line like that is that it can't get much lower.

                    1. So he's due for some good luck and being even more productive then. His batting average over the last three seasons is .236, so obviously batting average isn't why he's been a better than average hitter.

                    3. Interesting, particularly given his spray chart. Other than HRs, it sure doesn't look like he should be that easy to shift on.

                      Although, if you restrict the timeframe, it becomes more obvious that he makes a lot of outs on pulled grounders to the deep right-side infield. Which is probably pretty common, I'd guess.

    4. I expect Arraez to play a lot of LF. I can't imagine him being on the bench on Opening Day with Garlick or Cave in LF. Hopefully, Cave will be pinch-runner, late-inning defensive replacement and then start when Donaldson or Simmons need a day off against a right hander and then have Garlick start in LF against lefties. I expect Arraez to be leading off against right-handers with Kepler batting cleanup. Hopefully, Simmons will bat 9th most days. It'll be interesting to see if they'll play Astudillo in the outfield so Cave won't have to start against a lefty when Kepler needs a day off.

      1. Arraez is leading off and and playing LF in the final spring training game with the rest of the Opening Day lineup, so I expect to see him a lot out in LF against righties, at least until Kiriloff is recalled.

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