111 thoughts on “June 13, 2013: Marathon”

    2. I got back to my hotel room at the start of overtime and tried to watch, but a few too many Torpedoes at the bar meant i need to get to sleep.

    3. The Stanley Cup is my favorite time of the year and playoff OT hockey is the greatest.

      And I still fell asleep on the couch in the second OT. Lame. I would blame it on age, but I fell asleep in 1990 during the Oilers/Bruins Klima game, so that's not it.

  2. Doesn't look like I have any presale codes this week. What about 60 percent off all five seasons of The Wire:

    1. I hear Black Joe Lewis tickets go on sale tomorrow. Sheenie and I will definitely be there.

      1. Black Joe Lewis looks fun but I'm saving my $$$ for this:

        It's confirmed that The Replacements are the ??????

        But I would definitely want to see Violent Femmes, Moterhead, Rancid, Public Enemy, GBV (natch) Atmosphere, Dino Jr., Best Coast, Toots & the Maytals, Dessa,

          1. Huh. Shows how much I pay attention. I didn't even know that they'd been re-uniting periodically since the early 1990s.

          2. Beat me to the punch, but yeah, X plays a bunch, mostly in California. Add them to the list of must see bands for me. Since I'm so damn old I think I might swing for the VIP tix and get out away from the unwashed teen and twenty-something masses.

          1. Although, how blink 182 and fall out boy get higher billing than some of the other acts is beyond me.

              1. <Pedantry>
                "begs the question"
                I do not think it means what you think it means.
                </Pedantry>

                1. Ugh, I hate that. I've actually never heard it used correctly, and didn't learn of the error until later in life, so I still forget about it.

                  1. For example, "philosofer doesn't get what's going because he's stupid."That begs the question. What Spooky did was raise a question.

                    3. Sure, that was the specific question begged, but it was begged in response to the statement "I'm sure it isn't just a sales thing." Surely the phrase "beg the question" doesn't preclude specificity about the question begged.

                    4. "blah blah begs the question" [of what? -- fill that part in and see if the sentence(s) make(s) sense]

                      From the Repository:

                      The fallacy of petitio principii, or "begging the question", is committed "when a proposition which requires proof is assumed without proof"; in order to charitably entertain the argument, it must be taken as given "in some form of the very proposition to be proved, as a premise from which to deduce it".[8] One must take it upon oneself that the goal, taken as given, is essentially the means to that end.
                      ...
                      "Begging the question" can also refer to an argument in which the unstated premise is essential to, but not identical with the conclusion, or is "controversial or questionable for the same reasons that typically might lead someone to question the conclusion".

                    5. This all begs the question, if one uses a phrase incorrectly and the listener similarly misunderstands the phrase, is the phrase misused?

                    8. I'm not typically this pedantic*, but when useful words or phrases slide into meaning something else that was easily said in another manner, I feel that a bit of culture is lost. Spooky meant "Raises the question". If "Begs the question" becomes synonymous with that, what do we use for something that begs the question in the traditional sense?

                      Also, I was nearly certain that Spookymilk would know the difference and would be ashamed of having made the error.

                      *For example, I'm fine with "Literally" not being used exclusively literally.

                    9. Heh. Literally is one that drives me crazy.

                      I don't know... how often does actual begging of the question come up? Reading through the entry above, nothing jumps immediately to mind. So if the phrase is generally useless, because it has so few applications, doesn't that mean we're better served using it in a different way.

                      Or does this just beg the question?

                    10. if culture is lost every time language changes, we are in a serious cultural deficit.

                    11. brianS, is the conditional in your statement close to what I said?
                      Even if I grant that, I wouldn't necessarily agree with your conclusion. Could be that some surpluses exist from elsewhere that can be tapped. Special cultural reserves. Like the yogurt hidden at the back of my fridge so the kids won't find it.

                      Phil, where did you fall on the great "Mute Point" debate at the CdL?

                    12. I fell on the "let's irritate Colin" side of the line.

                      I don't have too many strong feelings about this stuff. Or at least not consistent strong feelings. I acknowledge some strength in both the "language has meaning, and using it for what it doesn't mean has a deleterious effect" and "if we all know what something means, then that's what it means, and language isn't independent of the meaning we give it" arguments.

                    13. Last night driving home from work, the reporter on NPR used the phrase in the same way as Spooky. I chuckled. Irregardless, I don't really have strong feelings either way.

                    14. AMR, clearly I did not hear about the Mute Point debate....

                      also, UncleWalt, well played. Except why were you listening to the NPR reporter while he was driving home? Are you a stalker, or a friend?

                      And what Phyllo said about language. If it doesn't have a shared meaning, it's just babble. I want to use language and grammar "correctly," and I'm at least as pedantic as the next Citizen, but I won't get too worked up when shared meanings change.

                    15. He lets me ride shotgun in exchange for my justifying his poor grammar choices. We clearly feed off each other.

                    17. I brought up “mute point” because I know Phil is an involved and frequent commenter at the WGOM B2.0’s sister site, place where there was a big hullaballoo about it, and I couldn’t place what his interest was.
                      Being a lawyer, I thought that issues like that and misuse of “begs the question” could be things that might irk him.

                      *B2.0 = Basement 2.0

                      Anyways, I don’t know how I got backed into the corner of being against language adaptation. I mostly just wanted to poke at Spooky because he’d be sensitive to it. I wouldn’t point out the error to my cousin on facebook though.
                      I am not a linguistic prescriptivist, but I am for the conservation of uniquely useful language. While “begs the question” isn’t the most unique, its slackened meaning of “raises the question” is useless in its redundancy and grammatically nonsensical, while putting on false airs, as an NPR reporter would. I’m in favor of keeping it as the Repository described it.

                      As for “mute point”, while I don’t use it because I like “moot” as a word, I don’t mind it that much. It isn’t co-opting one existing meaning with another (if a “mute point” had been something different than a “moot point”). It makes sense, too, in a vivid way: one could see how that could have developed as an idiom for “a point that can’t speak because it is irrelevant to the topic at hand”.

                    18. ...but you're fine with "irregardless," which not only isn't a word, but if it were, would mean the opposite of the intent...? Maybe you're just trolling again.

                      I actually don't know if "mute point" was the conversation over at CdL. I think it was merely about the two meanings of "moot" - the popular one, and the one that means the exact opposite. Colin wants to ignore the popular meaning, though the dictionary accepts both.

            2. I certainly don't envy whoever had to sort out the order in which the bands were listed.

        3. Wow, RFTC is getting back together too? That rules. Now we just need Speedo to get Drive Like Jehu back together and play somewhat close to me.

          I must admit that seeing Fall Out Boy and Blink 182 at the top of this list is extremely depressing.

          1. I must admit that seeing Fall Out Boy and Blink 182 at the top of this list is extremely depressing.

            I don't mind that. It just means I can head out early and get some sleep.

    2. Has anybody bought the full box set? There are a bunch of comments on Amazon about defective discs.

      1. I bought the full boxset from Amazon when they had a deal like this a few years ago, and have had no problems with any of the discs.

      2. I also bought the box set a few years ago with a similar deal. I think I had one episode in season 2 that was skippy.

  3. Minor Details is delayed a little this morning, due mostly to the fact that there were three doubleheaders yesterday. It should appear before too long.

  4. We have house guests (my wife's cousins) for the next couple of days, who arrived yesterday. All of them arrived in Minneapolis before the game started and watched it elsewhere. At 10:00, we called to tell them we were going to bed and where there rooms were.

    1. hey, Stick! did you see my link yesterday about Fresh Air? cool interview with Stones-related content.

      1. I did. Maybe the audio will be listened to tonight, although I've heard about the Gimme Shelter session before.

  9. You may be familiar with Jay Jaffe's JAWS calculation, which suggests that any player with a JAWS score above the average HOFer at his position is HOF worthy. JAWS is the average of a player's career WAR with the total of his best seven years of WAR. With 100 games to play, if Joe Mauer continues at his pace this season, he will have a JAWS score above the average at catcher, i.e., he will be HOF worthy by the end of 2013. At the age of 30.

    1. In all fairness, we probably know most hall of famers by age 30. That he'll already have the case cemented is noteworth, of course, but I think the more exciting discussion is where he ranks in the top 5 catchers of all time.

      1. If he finishes out this season at this pace and adds two more 5 win seasons (not easy, but certainly within his capability), he'll be just short of the top five in JAWS. He's not Johnny Bench, but beyond that, the list is pretty short of who's demonstrably better.

        1. which is just a reminder about how insanely good Bench was. No runs, no drips, no errors.

          1. My dad still says that every time a clean inning is pitched, much as I will likely forever refer to a 3K inning as a Snapper Mow-Em-Down Inning.

      2. If he continues to be dreamy, if his kids have bright smiles, and as long as he stays off the PEDs and Torii doesn't throw him under the bus, he's #1 with a bullet.

        1. My brother-in-law has suggested that it's already a done-deal for Mauer in the Hall, the only question is how much better the narrative gets with longevity. Does he win a ring? Does he get another batting title (probably at a different position)? Does he catch a baby falling from the upper deck? Water into wine?

          This is really very very fun to be watching.

          1. Still a well-kept secret too. People act shocked when I say he's the best player I have seen play on a regular basis.

            My kids know though.

            1. It is of great amusement to me that Barreiro has criticized him forever. Kind of like when he went after KG for a decade. I would have to believe Danny Boy has quoted his RBI total a bazillion times this year.

              (Full disclosure: I quit listening to Barreiro completely about five years ago.)

              1. I sometimes catch him on the way back from work, though prefer his segments on hockey or law. I don't recall much Mauer bashing this year and in fact remember some pretty positive things said, but I never got the impression he's converted to sanity.

          1. Jones' 62.7 WAR* and 648 Gold Gloves might be enough to get him in anyway, given that he became a regular in his age-20 season.

            *higher than ICHIRO!, higher than Jim Edmonds, who also has an outside shot, higher than Jackie Robinson, Pops Stargell, Hank Greenberg, Harmon, Sisler, Tony Perez, WAY higher than Dale Murphy, etc. etc.

            1. looking at JAWS for primary CFers

              18 HOFers, with an average JAWS of 57.3 and WAR of 70.5

              Jones is 10th at 54.5 and 62.7, behind Kenny Lofton (55.7/68.1; wow, why is he so easy to forget?) and Carlos Beltran (55.2/66.2) in the top 10. Edmonds is 14th (51.4/60.3). Richie Ashburn, Andre Dawson and Billy Hamilton, HOFers all, lie between Jones and Edmonds.

              1. behind Kenny Lofton (55.7/68.1; wow, why is he so easy to forget?)
                Berted (Blylevened?) plus glut of candidates.

    2. Ha! But if that was me, it probably wouldn't say "World's Greatest" or "Qualified" on the packaging.

  11. Twins 29th round pick Logan Shore pitched a no-hitter today for Coon Rapids in the state tournament. He's going to FSU, but I'll enjoy following and hope my high school produces its first major leaguer. Dan Johnson is also from Coon Rapids but I'm pretty sure he went to Blaine.

    1. Yup, Johnson went to Blaine.

      If you didn't see it, Shore was at my sister's grad party (the day before he was drafted). He was decked out in Florida gear. The rumor had it he was aiming for a particular slot before signing, and when he didn't get it, FSU was the choice. Which, I think, explains why he fell to the 29th round, despite being way higher on some draft lists I saw (well, one list I saw).

      1. I read he was working with the Indians for a 3rd or 4th round pick but he wanted a higher bonus than they were willing to offer.

      2. similar thing seems to have happened to the Sactown regional stud, Rowdy Tellez. Lots of people were saying 1st-day talent, but he ended up going very late, allegedly because he had a big bonus target number. he's headed to USC unless something very unexpected happens.

    3. Richfield HS has produced two MLB players, IIRC. Mike Sadek and Pat Scanlan, both in the mid-70s. Scanlan's daughter was on my kickball team the last few years.

      1. Related to Matt Scanlon? Who maybe had a twin or a brother? That played for Richfield? Who were our summer baseball nemeses my entire childhood?

      2. continuing on the (presumed) thread of MLB players from home towns, somewhat surprisingly to me, Spamtown has only produced one modern MLBer (Michael Wuertz), despite a very rich baseball history. (three others have been drafted; two got as far as AAA; plus some dude named Bill Burdick played 2 seasons in the late 1880s for Indianapolis, then a National League team; plus one guy who went to Pacelli who got as far as AAA).

            1. Hey, looks like I can add Jim Rutherford's one year to Glen Perkins for my hometown.

        2. Our family had a Finnish friend from Menahga, MN who got somewhere in the Twins organization, not sure how big - last name was Makala. Talked with him briefly after my dad died.

      3. Oh, and I should add that I absolutely went out my way to acquire both in my OOTP league. Somehow snapped Sadek up from me in the Rule V draft one season, but I got him back and he's back to catching for me in the minors.

    4. Four from my town. Brad Nelson was two years ahead of me in school (4 sports-wise, though), but he went to Catholic school. He started for varsity in 8th grade. He played 28 games for the Brewers from 2008-09. Then Dave Skaugstad pitched 2 games for the Reds in '57. George Stueland appeared in 45 games for the Cubs from 1921-25. And Solly Salisbury appeared in 2 games for tthe 1902 Phillies.

      Others from the county include 2 time All-Star for the Reds Denis Menke (whose granddaughter was in my brother's class), Joe Hatten who appeared in 233 games for the Dodgers and Cubs in the 40s and 50s, and Showboat Fisher who appeared in 138 games over 5 years for the Senators, Cardinals, and Browns.

  12. Dustin Morse ‏@Twins_morsecode
    Minor Moves: The #MNTwins signed free agent RHP Cody Eppley to contract at Triple-A Rochester & released RHP Anthony Slama.

    1. Best thing to happen to Slama, assuming he latches on with another organization. He's got ugly numbers this year, but he deserved more opportunities in prior seasons.

  13. Finally back from two weeks on the road. Week one, in Minny, working at the house in Scandia and week two, conquering two more States (was at 40, now added NoCar and SoCar).

    Took on an additional assignment at work which will require the trek to the South probably for a whilst. No direct from H'town to Columbia, so I flew to Charlotte, and then drove the rest of the way.

    I may have to reconfigure my future trips to take advantage of all of the b'ball/f'ball greatness in the area (Tar Heels, NC State, Clemson).

    One highlite of the trip is that I found a place to rent a bike, and brought my stuff (pedals, shoes, kit) and got in a group ride out of OutSpokin Bike shop - did a 25 mile ride through Ft. Jackson. Down side was TSA confiscated the CO2 cartridges from my bike repair bag on the way back (my bad!).

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