Venezuelan View

October 18, 2011 Jeff A 1 Comment

We started this season following Aragua, which is the team we've followed the last few years. Upon further review, however, it appears that there are several Twins players on other teams in the Venezuelan league as well. We'll continue to follow the Tigres, simply because it's fun to have a team to follow, but we'll try to make the reports a little more comprehensive in the days to come.

Where they stand: Aragua is 3-2, tied for third with Caracas in the VWL, a game behind Magallanes and La Guaira.

Who's hot: Jairo Perez is 4-for-6 with a double and a walk for Lara, giving him numbers of .667/.714/.833. Many observers do not expect him to keep up this pace for a full season. Rene Tosoni, also playing for Lara, is 4-for-13, giving him numbers of .308/.438/.308. Andrew Baldwin, playing for Anzoategui, is 1-0, 3.18, 0.53 WHIP in 5.2 innings (1 start). Cesar Ciurcina is 0-0, 0.00, 0.43 in 2.1 innings (1 appearance).

Who's cold: Joe Benson is 2-for-16, giving him numbers of .125/.300/.188. Junior Subero, playing for Caracas, is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 WHIP in 1 inning (1 appearance).

Who's in the middle: Deolis Guerra is 0-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 2 innings (1 appearance) for Magallanes. Pedro Guerra, also playing for Magallanes, is 0-0, 4.50, 1.25 WHIP in 4 innings (1 start).

Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

October 18, 2011 Jeff A

Mesa scored four in the third and five in the fifth, building a 12-1 lead on the way to a 13-7 victory.

Jarek Cunningham (Pittsburgh) led the Solar Sox with two home runs and a triple, scoring three times and driving in five. Joe Mahoney (Baltimore) had two doubles and a home run, driving in three. Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh) singled and homered, and Brian Dozier had two hits. Terry Doyle (White Sox) got the win, going five innings and giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Brett Jacobson worked 1.1 scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two.

The Rafters were led by Nolan Aranado (Colorado), who had two singles and a homer and drove in three. Dixon Machado (Detroit) singled and tripled. Stephen Fife (Dodgers) surrendered seven runs on seven hits and two walks in only three innings to take the loss.

Mesa travels to Salt River this afternoon.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 18

October 18, 2011 Jeff A 5 Comments

Candy Cummings (1848)
Cliff Carroll (1859)
Walt Wilmot (1863)
Boileryard Clarke (1868)
Hans Lobert (1881)
Burt Shotton (1884)
Charlie Berry (1902)
Skeeter Newsome (1910)
Roy Cullenbine (1913)
Andy Carey (1931)
Bobby Knoop (1938)
Willie Horton (1942)
Ed Farmer (1949)
George Hendrick (1949)
Andy Hassler (1951)
Jerry Royster (1952)
Mike Walters (1957)
Alan Mills (1966)
Doug Mirabelli (1970)
Alex Cora (1975)

Alex Cora was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1993, but he did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to AMR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 18 →

Cup of Coffee

October 18, 2011: Fuming

October 18, 2011 spookymilk 94 Comments

Had a row with an in-law yesterday. Still trying to cool off.

WGOM Videos

Whitesnake – Here I Go Again

Video October 18, 2011 hungry joe 3 Comments

let's kill this travel theme once and for all...

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUxADCsPV8s
1983

(5 votes, average: 4.60 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

Solar Sox Summary

October 17, 2011 Jeff A 1 Comment

Where they stand: Mesa is 3-8, third in the AFL East, 6 games behind Salt River. They are on a one-game winning streak.

Who's hot: Brian Dozier is hitting .353/.395/.500 in 34 at-bats. Chris Herrmann is hitting .417/.533/.667 in 12 at-bats.

Who's cold: Aaron Hicks is hitting .097/.263/.161 in 31 at-bats. Brett Jacobson is 0-1, 7.36, 1.91 WHIP in 3.2 innings (3 appearances). Bruce Pugh is 0-1, 13.50, 3.64 WHIP in 4.2 innings (4 appearances). He has walked 7 and struck out 2. Dakota Watts is 0-1, 9.53, 1.76 WHIP in 5.2 innings (4 appearances). He has walked 4 and struck out 7.

Who's in the middle: Cole DeVries is 1-0, 4.50, 1.00 WHIP in 10 innings (3 starts). He has walked 1 and struck out 8.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

October 17, 2011 Jeff A 2 Comments

In a see-saw game, Magallanes scored in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-6 win over Aragua.

Jesus Flores (Washington) had three hits to lead the Navegantes. Richard Hidalgo (yes, he's still around) and Adonis Garcia each singled and homered, with Garcia driving in three. Kole Calhoun (Angels) and Bryan LaHair (Cubs) each homered. Rafael Cova walked one in a scoreless eighth to get the win. Jean Machi (San Francisco) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the save.

Aragua was led by Edgardo Alfonzo, who had two singles and a double. Lastings Milledge doubled and homered, and Ramon Castro had two hits. Joe Benson was 0-for-4. The loss went to Victor Moreno, who allowed the winning run on two hits and a walk in just one-third of an inning.

Aragua is off today. The Tigres travel to Margarita Tuesday.

Cup of Coffee

October 17, 2011: And your World Series Is…

October 17, 2011 spookymilk 55 Comments

Texas Rangers (no World Series titles) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (second-most World Series titles). Cardinals, do the right thing!

This also means LNP made the Series...

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 17

October 17, 2011 Jeff A 9 Comments

Buck Ewing (1859)
Paul Derringer (1906)
Red Rolfe (1908)
Howie Moss (1918)
Johnny Klippstein (1927)
Jim Gilliam (1928)
Pete Cimino (1942)
Dan Pasqua (1961)
John Mabry (1970)
John Rocker (1974)
Gil Velazquez (1979)

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 17 →

At The Movies

Third Monday Movie Day

October 17, 2011 spookymilk 142 Comments

TV Show of the Month: The Walking Dead (2010)

I watched the first season in one ridiculous six-hour marathon just five days ago. And...meh.

Spoiler	Select Show
This show has no focus. A bunch of people surviving works as a movie, but as a TV show, one large goal would be nice (getting to the ADA wasn't even discussed early on). It's a bunch of things happening with nothing going on in the way of story...even the best parts - and there were a lot of them - didn't feel like they were part of anything. The worst offenses were the times that they killed off two "major" characters who mostly existed to have facial reactions to things and nothing else, and they tried to shoehorn all this meaning into their deaths. Jim gets creepy in one episode after having no personality previously, and when he gets bit and left behind in the next episode, there's a long line of characters saying goodbye to someone the viewers have barely met. The far worse one, though, was how they handled Jacqui. At the end of the season, she says she's staying in the facility that's about to blow up because it's better than becoming a zombie. Andrea, despondent over her sister's death, agrees to this. Suddenly Carl gets involved, saying it's not fair for someone to come into someone else's life, then give up. He sits, saying he won't move until Andrea leaves. The play works on Andrea. She leaves with Carl. Meanwhile, Jacqui stays there. Why didn't the move work on her? Worse still, why didn't Carl give a shit enough about Jacqui to wait for her to leave as well? Hell, Andrea had just lost a sibling and it would make more sense for her to give up. Jacqui didn't even have a personality at any point, so apparently the show considered her expendable. This show didn't have a writing team, and it shows. Episode outlines were used by freelancers who didn't even know one another. There's no continuity to the tone or to the characters from show to show. Worst of all (and I keep saying this), a couple of the most interesting storylines are abandoned. For instance, in the first episode, the lead character learns the ropes from a man and his son who have survived thus far. The matriarch of the family is outside their house occasionally, wandering, looking for the living. The man wants to put her out of her misery but can't. This guy is interesting and portrayed by one of the best actors in the series, but he doesn't return. He's mentioned, though, so maybe he'll be back. So, the writing has flaws with flashes of brilliance, and the acting is mostly not that great. Meanwhile, the effects and cinematography are superb, and the show unfortunately convinces me, like a director who keeps making beautiful but lifeless movies, to keep watching until it's awesome. The second season started last night. Argh...I'll probably watch it.

Spoiler

Select Show

This show has no focus. A bunch of people surviving works as a movie, but as a TV show, one large goal would be nice (getting to the ADA wasn't even discussed early on). It's a bunch of things happening with nothing going on in the way of story...even the best parts - and there were a lot of them - didn't feel like they were part of anything.

The worst offenses were the times that they killed off two "major" characters who mostly existed to have facial reactions to things and nothing else, and they tried to shoehorn all this meaning into their deaths. Jim gets creepy in one episode after having no personality previously, and when he gets bit and left behind in the next episode, there's a long line of characters saying goodbye to someone the viewers have barely met.

The far worse one, though, was how they handled Jacqui. At the end of the season, she says she's staying in the facility that's about to blow up because it's better than becoming a zombie. Andrea, despondent over her sister's death, agrees to this. Suddenly Carl gets involved, saying it's not fair for someone to come into someone else's life, then give up. He sits, saying he won't move until Andrea leaves.

The play works on Andrea. She leaves with Carl. Meanwhile, Jacqui stays there. Why didn't the move work on her? Worse still, why didn't Carl give a shit enough about Jacqui to wait for her to leave as well? Hell, Andrea had just lost a sibling and it would make more sense for her to give up. Jacqui didn't even have a personality at any point, so apparently the show considered her expendable.

This show didn't have a writing team, and it shows. Episode outlines were used by freelancers who didn't even know one another. There's no continuity to the tone or to the characters from show to show.

Worst of all (and I keep saying this), a couple of the most interesting storylines are abandoned. For instance, in the first episode, the lead character learns the ropes from a man and his son who have survived thus far. The matriarch of the family is outside their house occasionally, wandering, looking for the living. The man wants to put her out of her misery but can't. This guy is interesting and portrayed by one of the best actors in the series, but he doesn't return. He's mentioned, though, so maybe he'll be back.

So, the writing has flaws with flashes of brilliance, and the acting is mostly not that great. Meanwhile, the effects and cinematography are superb, and the show unfortunately convinces me, like a director who keeps making beautiful but lifeless movies, to keep watching until it's awesome.

The second season started last night. Argh...I'll probably watch it.

What have you seen?

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.