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.
In Uncategorized on
3 May 2008 tagged kayleigh with Comments Off
Turtlewheels
Little Bit, a young Eastern Box Turtle was hit by a car in September of 2000. Her shell was crushed and she was left partially paralyzed. There was no way she would ever be released to the wild as happens with most successful rehabs. I repaired her shell using velcro strips epoxied to anchor points on her carapace. After some weeks Little Bit seemed to have made a full recovery except for the use of her hind legs. So some wheels seemed to be the way to go.
I’ve wanted to call Kayleigh “Little Bit” for a while now but she won’t have anything to do with it. Perhaps if I gave her wheels she’d reconsider. Of course she’d demand that they were pink, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be seen with a girl rollin’ on pink wheels.
In Sports on
3 May 2008 tagged bartolo colon, curt schilling, red sox with Comments Off
Schilling could be close to throwing
When Curt Schilling spent a few minutes with the media on Friday to provide a progress report on his rehab, there was a sound and a pace to his voice that portrayed excitement and optimism. It is as if the big right-hander is getting to the point where he can envision a payoff to all of the work he’s been doing in the weight room virtually every day for more than two months.”
Bartolo Colon is also getting closer to competing for a spot on the Red Sox pitching staff. Already with a solid 1 through 5 the Red Sox will have some decisions to make if one or both are impressive in their return. Not a bad problem to have. Pitching depth can vanish quickly.
In Sports on
2 May 2008 tagged red sox with Comments Off
The Red Sox split the last 2 games of their 3 game series with the Blue Jays. Boston pitching continues to be lights out, their offense nonexistent.
Though he received a no decision Dice-K went 7 innings and allowed 0 runs in Boston’s 2-1 victory on Wednesday; his ERA shrinking to 2.52.
On Thursday Wakefield allowed 3 runs in 7 innings but failed to get any run support and lost 3-0.
Boston’s offense is approaching historical levels of ineptitude having now scored 5 runs in 50 innings. Francona’s spin is that the Red Sox have faced great pitching, and that’s true. But they’ve made great pitching look unhittable.
You can only give credit to opposing pitching for so long before taking a hard look at your offense, and that time is rapidly approaching.
Edit: As I write this the Red Sox have just scored their 7th run against the Rays tonight. Hopefully the drought is over.
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