In Sports on
14 May 2008 tagged red sox with Comments Off
There are good losses (coming back from 7-1 on the road against one of the best closers in the game) and there are bad losses; losses that go beyond the final score.
Two players forced to leave the game (Coco - stomach / Drew - wrist), unable to score with the bases loaded and no outs, your ace (unlike previously) unable to stop the bleeding, and a general lack of energy and urgency.
I also don’t think I’ve ever seen Mike Lowell look as awful as he did striking out to end the game to finish a painful 0 or 5 night.
The Red Sox couldn’t be headed back to Fenway at a better time.
In Sports on
8 May 2008 tagged delicious irony, josh beckett, justin verlander, red sox with Comments Off
Now that’s an ace.
After the worst loss of the season Josh Beckett quickly got the Red Sox back to their winning ways with 7 innings of 1 run ball. Impressive pitching against a very good lineup. Even more encouraging was the work of Hansen and Delcarmen in the 8th and 9th. If they get rolling the bullpen could quickly turn from a weakness to a strength.
While discussing Youkilis’ home run Detroit’s Justin Verlander comically said:
Obviously the big hit was Youkilis hitting the home run. Looking back, it was because I was flying off a little bit, I was trying to go down and away, and it runs back in the middle of the plate. He didn’t hit it great but he got decent enough wood on it to get it elevated and get it over the fence.
This comment after a night the Tigers won on a check swing dribbler, two weak grounders, and a shattered bat bloop that barely made it to the outfield?
Oh sweet irony, cry me a freakin’ river.
In Sports on
8 May 2008 tagged chien ming-wang, cliff lee, hideki okajima, joba chamberlain with Comments Off
From commenter Felix Heredia on Bronx Banter regarding Cliff Lee:
This guy is gonna come crashing back to earth. 91 mph fastballs don’t “explode” through the zone. His pace and delivery is flummoxing batters, not unlike okajima’s briefly did. But it’s style - albeit subtle - over substance.
Hideki Okajima so far in 2008: ERA 0.60 / WHIP 1.07
Joba Chamberlain: ERA 3.38 / WHIP 1.13
Okajima’s style is kicking Chamberlain’s substance in the ass.
Bonus round of ignorance:
From Yankees Etc:
Chien Ming-Wang produced another gem, stopping the Yanks three-game skid. It’s kind of sad that he’s the only reliable starter right now. He might be the frontrunner for the Cy Young.
Wang so far in 2008: ERA 3.12 / WHIP 1.13 (hmm, same WHIP as Okajima)
Cliff Lee: ERA 0.81 WHIP 0.60
Perhaps by saying “maybe” the writer meant “not even close”.
Pesky statistics.
In Sports on
8 May 2008 tagged joba chamberlain, julio lugo, red sox with Comments Off
It’s rare that I’ll claim a game is lost rather than won, but it does happen. Example 1: Detroit’s 10-9 victory over Boston.
Papelbon came on in the 9th to try and protect a 1 run lead. A check swing dribbler, a slow rolling ball barely past the pitchers mound that Lugo fumbled, a bunt, a weak grounder to 2nd, and a shattered bat bloop just beyond Lugo’s reach and just like that Papelbon had his first blown save.
Detroit’s Placido Polanco:
It tells you a lot about our team. We had some really tough at-bats against Papelbon to make something happen.
I have no idea what Placido Polanco is smoking, but I’d like some. Not a single ball was hit solidly, much less hard. The gods of baseball were smiling down on Detroit. It happens, Enjoy it, but take it for what it was; a gift.
Other thoughts:
- Lugo’s error didn’t lose the game. Bad starting pitching and middle relief had far more to do with the loss. That said, Lugo makes it difficult to want him at short. A physical mistake, fine. But Lugo needed to realize he has to get 1 out in that situation. Nonchalantly flipping the ball from his glove to throwing hand is simply inexcusable.
- It’s hard to believe Mike Lowell just recently hit his first home run of the year and yet the Red Sox are in first place. Now that he’s appears to be heating up it bodes well for the offense.
- There is no crying in baseball, but after giving up a home run recently Joba Chamberlain certainly appeared ready to shed a few tears. I almost felt sorry for him. Then I remembered: Two consecutive fastballs at Youk’s head. So screw him.
Beckett goes for the series win tonight.
In Technology on
8 May 2008 tagged dumbass of the day with Comments Off
In his article Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone is NO BlackBerry number 10 reads:
The iPhone’s Not Designed for One-Handed Operation
Al Sacco continues:
I don’t know about you, but I’m often driving or taking notes when I’m using my phone…
Try dialing a number with an iPhone in your left hand while steering with your right or typing in an address on that touch screen while jotting down notes.
From watching other drivers talking/typing away while driving I realize many don’t give a damn for the safety of others, but it’s rare to find someone who will admit it to the world.
The list was also extremely biased, but I’d expect nothing less from a site named crackberry.com.
In Technology on
6 May 2008 tagged applications, reviews with Comments Off
I’ve been using Second Gear’s Today, a new iCal add-on, for a couple of weeks now.
With a click of the mouse/trackpad or hot key you’re presented with the day’s events and tasks. You can set Today to show all of your tasks or just those due on that day.
I’ve tried similar applications before but haven’t found one to my liking. Most show either iCal events or tasks, but not both, or are available only as a widget.
Today allows you to add events and tasks without opening iCal. You can also check off tasks as you complete them. You can’t choose which calendar appear in Today, which is the only feature* missing that prevents me from forking over the 15 bucks it costs to own it.
I’m a fan of iCal, and today fills one of the few features I wish it had nicely. Second Gear’s biggest challenge will be keeping Today lean and faithful to its core purpose. Already users are asking for features that would quickly turn it into a replacement for iCal. There’s already one iCal; no need for another.
* One more gripe: You’re allowed to use Today for 7 days, which is ridiculously short, especially for an application that was released with obvious work needed to be done before considered complete.
In Sports on
6 May 2008 tagged dice-k, ignorance with Comments Off
A comment in a waswatching thread regarding Brian Cashman by Zack:
Dice-K hardly seems worth the amount they are paying him. He can try and get away with walking 8 men in 5 innings all he wants, but that only lasts so long.
So far in 2008 Dice-K is 5 and 0 with an ERA of 2.43, good for 4th in the league. He’s 9th in the league with 33 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting a pitiful .158 against Matsuzaka. Only one other pitcher (Cliff Lee) is has a lower opponent batting average at .151.
In fact, except for WHIP, Dice-K betters Chien-Ming Wang in every category. The reason Matsuzaka’s WHIP is higher is due to the walks. And yes, walks are an issue. He’ll need to get them down to stay at his current level of success. If he does he’ll be one of the top pitchers in the league.
Dice-K will be be a bargain, and Zack will still be clueless.
In Sports on
6 May 2008 tagged roger clemens with Comments Off
My three favorite revelations since Roger Clemens’ charade of being a family man came crumbling down:
He was standing up there at the charity event talking about the importance of family, then I see him in the casino with these two girls, rubbing the die on their [breasts].
News reports have described Clemens as being in attendance as recently as two years ago, dancing around the party with an 8-foot-long boa constrictor around his neck.
He had chicks stashed in every city - like every athlete, you play golf, you go get drunk and [have sex].
Clemens has apologized; for what, he didn’t say. Though he did make it perfectly clear his relationship with then 15 year old Mindy McCready (Clemens was 28) was not inappropriate. I’m sure he had all the best intentions.
Roger Clemens, always looking out for others… in hotel rooms… no matter their age.
In Technology on
3 May 2008 tagged apple fanboys, dell, mac, windows with Comments Off
Jacob Gordon recently bought a Dell laptop with a screwed up keyboard.
Looks normal, right? Look at your own keyboard… notice anything different? Okay, maybe you don’t. But try actually typing on this and it all becomes far too apparent. The whole of the bottom row of letters (Z, X, C…) is one too far to the right. The Z should be below and between A and S, not S and D.
The keyboard problem aside, the comment section is a train wreck. A commenter tells Gordon to “get a mac”. This sets Gordon off who calls him a “stupid Apple fanboy”, deletes his comment, and proceeds to list all the reasons he hates Macs, relegating the Dell keyboard a distant memory. This, of course, only brings a ton more “get a mac” comments, many obviously just to yank Gordon’s chain (I have no idea if he realizes he’s being trolled, but he comes off as clueless).
After stating that he’s bought Macs for his wife and Dad (thus giving his opinion weight, right?) Gordon goes on to sound like someone who’s never laid eyes on a Mac, at least not since the turn of the century.
One button mouse? No delete key? Crashes? All wrong, and have been for a while. Sadly, no matter how long these complaints have been invalid, they’ve been repeated for so long they’ve taken on a life of their own.
A couple of reasonable Apple users try to clue Gordon in on his ignorance, but he’s too busy complaining about Apple fanboys to notice.
Physician, heal thyself*.
*and get a mac.
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