61 thoughts on “September 18, 2014: Ugh”

  2. There is not a lot of games left, but if Brian Dozier goes on a huge walk surge he could clear the 100 walk mark. He has 87

    1. I look forward to Minnesota Power running out of coal in midwinter. That would be fabulous for all concerned.

    2. Then they put track maintenance aside until they absolutely have to, slow orders go in effect, more trains back up...meanwhile our equipment gets paid to stand by for little bitty track windows.
      An interesting industry, to be sure. BNSF serves the Becker plant also, so that doesn't bode well.

    4. *what is said here is my opinion and not that of my current employer

      I find this pretty fantastical. Coal has been THE major commodity for UP for years, but if it has (I believe) scaled back, it's been due to clean energy concerns, not due to pick-and-choose shipping. Yes, crude oil shipments are a thing now, but not THAT big of a slice of the pie (yet). And UP's customer service index has been near highs for the past couple years. Shipping lags in this article are not a "railroad" concern, they're "a railroad" concern. Get on the ball, CSX.

      Yes, railroads are good business; Warren Buffett backed up that sentiment not all that long ago. He bought the wrong railroad, though. 😉

      EDIT: Regarding track maintenance -- UP took the opportunity during the bad economy a few years back to use the down time to increase mainline miles via double track and added maintenance to reduce slow orders, and it's paid off big time. The upper management in place has had fantastic vision, and it was sad when Jim Young died of cancer recently.

        1. apropos, I looked up my own given name. Seems that my parents were (perhaps unbeknownst to them) riding a wave when they named me. I do recall that there were three of us in my 5th-grade class of ~25.

          The Boy's name was quite popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s before dropping off. The Girl's name was hot in the 1880s-1890s before virtually disappearing for the middle of the 20th century, then returning to some smaller prominence in the 1990s.

        2. I know. We've had this name picked out for a boy since before we were married and I've been watching its popularity skyrocket.

    15. Congrats Will and Sheenie!
      There's a man with the same first name two houses down. He has a stepdaughter the same age as CER.

      2. We told the grandparents the name yesterday and it was obvious Grandma Sheenie was a little confused by it. Then she came this morning and was excited to say that several of her friends (in places like NY and DC) have grandkids who have friends named Lincoln, the conversation continued like this:

        Grandma: So apparently there are a few other Lincolns. I had never heard of the name.
        Me: You live in the South.
        Grandma: So? (thinks for awhile) Oh...

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