A Large Regular

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - Cleveland Guardians trademark may be stuck in a roller derby jam.

- Matt Ridley: Environmentalists have got it wrong - we're not facing an insect apocalypse.

- Matt Taibbi - Vaccine Success, Media Misery: Is Good News Taboo in the Trump Age?

- Distrust of authorities, decline in tax revenues, and just overall frustration - why new lockdowns are increasingly unlikely in US

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I do a lot of hiking and for the past few months the most common piece of trash I've seen in the woods are discarded disposable face masks. No way I, or anyone else it seems, will pick those things up and throw out on my way out... "It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover." - Henri Poincare... You learn something new every day - Vegan Oreo Ice Cream is actually a thing... "Side note: Chomsky sucks." - Elon Musk as an additional comment after posting this list on Twitter. Elon Musk has definitely taken the red pill... The Cleveland Indians should change their team name to the Cleveland River Fire. How awesome would that logo be?... "Teach thy tongue to say I do not know, and thou shalt progress." - Mainonides... Reminder that Tom Brady's high school went 5-5 his senior year even though they had him at QB. You can never tell... If Disney had just waited 8 more days they could have debuted Hamilton on the anniversary of him being fatally shot by Aaron Burr...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Is it ironic that the worst drivers can normally be found in the RMV parking lot circling for an open parking spot?... Victor Davis Hanson has a good summary of the 2-years of the Mueller Investigation... Sex Melon - band name or hipster cocktail? Fire Grilled Turtles - band name or hipster entree?... "The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust... Men in Belted Sweaters - bad idea from the 70's or hipster band name?... Johannes Factorum would be a good name for a blog (roughly translated from the Latin it means "Jack of all trades")... The Cleveland Spiders supposedly changed the team name to the Indians in hs honor after his early, untimely death...

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Bauer ice hockey gear maker files bankruptcy in US and Canada

-  OK - now Congress will absolutely come up with the money to fight Zika

- The Civil War in just 5 minutes

- If Albert Einstein dressed as Doctor Strange for Halloween

- This might be my favorite moment from Election 2016

- I think I'm rooting for the Cubs tonight just for Bob Newhart's sake. The John Belushi story is gold. Bob's the best.

- History might be against the Cubs tonight though.

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm grabbing my musket if Donald Trump loses the election. Oh wait no I won't - I don't have a musket. And I am also not insane... Heh heh... How the mighty have fallen - the Boston Globe sports department doesn't have a single reporter at the World Series. The paper that gave the world Peter Gammons, Gordon Edes and Bob Ryan is not represented at baseball's biggest event... Interesting advice on how to bet on horse racing. Can't wait to test this out... If the Indians wins the World Series look for the Paper Lace song The Night Chicago Died to have a sudden resurgence on Cleveland radio stations... I agree that this would make a great Scorsese movie. I picture Jeremy Renner as the lead...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 90th birthday to comedy genius Mel Brooks... Heh heh... Watched a Dennis Miller comedy special from 2003 called The Raw Feed last night. Let me just say Miller's comedy doesn't stand up very well... Heh heh... Just a reminder - live every week like it's Shark Week!... Is this a subtle swipe at Baseball Prospectus or Baseball America?...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Christopher Lee was a badass. RIP... I don't know why but lately I've developed a fondness for jelly stick donuts. I hope this phase passes soon (or I gain some level of will power)... From the owner on down - the Cleveland Indians seem like a very easy team to root for... If I had Donald Trump's money - I would buy a town in Central America and force every adult male to wear a Donald Trump wig. Not even kidding about this. I think it would make a great reality show... Every time I see Wheel of Fortune I can't help but think they should bring back the part of the game where the contestants went shopping with their winnings... The Wages of Sin Minus Taxes would be a good name for a band...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I don't believe in calling any one TV show the "best ever" but I do have to note that between The Wire and this season's Breaking Bad - nobody seems to be bringing up The Sopranos as the "best ever" anymore... The octopus and the beer bottle... Al Gore is the same age as Hilary Clinton and 5-years younger than Joe Biden yet nobody brings up his name when talking about serious 2016 Presidential candidates. I take that as a sign that he's become a Manbearpig of a punchline...  Ha ha - this is awesome. Can't stop watching and giggling... I really hope the Cleveland Indians can make the playoffs... Fantastic jersey!... If an apple was magnified to the size of the Earth then the atoms of the apple would be equal to the original size of the apple...

Here are my Top 5 baseball questions I'm asking myself this Sunday morning (in reverse order of importance).

5. How come the Red Sox didn't make a qualifying offer to Cody Ross? Boston strategy this off-season has been to over-pay but go for shorter terms. You can't get much shorter term than a one-year qualifying offer. They would have had to pay him $13 million for that season but if they are willing to pay that to Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino for longer contracts wouldn't a one-year deal offer make sense to Ross? Did the Red Sox cost themselves either a power bat at Fenway or a draft pick here?

4. Even more puzzling is why the Nationals didn't offer Edwin Jackson a qualifying offer?

3. The Indians signed Nick Swisher to a 4-year $56 million contract. The signing will cost Cleveland a draft pick which makes me wonder if the Tribe would have been better off using the money they spent on Swisher to have instead kept Shin-Soo Choo? I know that Choo's agent is Scott Boras which means he probably would have gone to free-agency instead but it doesn't stop me from wondering.

2. Why did the Red Sox sign Shane Victorino to such a big contract? I'll be scratching my head over that for some time to come.

1. Why did Ryan Freel kill himself? Let me echo Roco Baldelli - "Lets pay better attention to the ones we love."

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but on day when Tom O'Brien leads NC State to a huge upset over Florida State - Boston College loses to Army. BC should have paid the man when they had the chance... The Princess Bride cast reunites for 25th year anniversary of movie's release...  I know Notre Dame won big against Miami but I still hope they drop in the polls just as retribution for those awful helmets they wore last night...  I love Terry Francona and him taking Indians job shows he'd rather be Teddy Roosevelt's "man in the arena" than a critic on the sidelines at ESPN. Good for him!... It will be very interesting to follow this story. Phil Ivey wins 7.3 million British pounds over 2-nights but casino is refusing to pay... Pop-tarts are a gateway food to diabetes... History nuggets: When Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manilla in 1898 - he only lost 1 US sailor. To heat-stroke... Apple was just 90-days away from bankruptcy when Steve Jobs returned to company he helped found. When you think of it that way - the story of what Jobs did with Apple is even more incredible...  Terry Francona returns to Fenway Park as the manager of the Indians on May 23rd... Remember Halloween shoppers - Elmo died for your sins... People claim that Barack Obama is not bipartisan but I think him creating jobs only in states with Republican governors disproves that... Always wondered if Pink Floyd song One of These Days was influenced by the theme to Dr. Who or vice versa... I wonder if Curt Schilling is going to try to replace Mark Grace as TV analyst on Diamondbacks games. I'm guessing Schilling could use the money and he was a World Series hero for Arizona... Seriously - do Democrats think David Axelrod is helpful? I can't see him convincing undecided voters of anything except possibly the fact that Axelrod looks like an unsuccessful child molester...

For a guy who is down on the Red Sox - I sure do think about them a lot. That's what it's like to be a Red Sox fan these days. It's like having a blood relative cousin who seems to be doing OK on the surface but who you know is having all sorts of issues behind the scenes. You are concerned, you want to do something but it really isn't your place.

At one point you couldn't have been more proud of your cousin. You used to brag about him to all your out of state friends. But your cousin had a couple of rough months last year and now your cousin is getting over a tough divorce (Terry Francona and Theo Epstein) and you aren't so sure that the new flame(s) are good for him (Bobby Valentine and Ben Cherington). But who are you to say anything?

You also think your cousin is not hanging with the right sort of friends. One of the guys he's hanging with is much more concerned with finding snitches than being a good member of the community. You see this as a bad thing but the professional counselors (sports writers) think anyone who wants to get rid of that bad friend is stupid because the friend has had great success when he was younger and that's all that counts.

The thing about relatives who have issues and may not be all that likable when you take a good look - you lose interest in them and their problems after a while. Even if they have some success - it doesn't mean as much to you as it once did. That's the state of the Red Sox in a nutshell.

Warning to Red Sox front office types - once people stop caring it is very hard to get that passion back. Expect lower NESN ratings. And lower advertising revenues.

Three Points:

1. Perhaps the most heart warming team success story this year is that of the first place Cleveland Indians. It should be noted that the core players for the Indians Sin-Soo Choo, Asdubal Cabrera, and Carlos Santana were players Cleveland obtained in trades for veterans. Are we to believe that Josh Beckett and Kevin Youkilis would not have the sort of trade value the Indians found for Ben Broussard, Eduardo Perez, and Casey Blake? Kevin Youkilis and Casey Blake are almost the same player!

2. Not to rain on the accomplishments of very likable Mike Aviles this year for the Sox but look at this player comparison:

Mike Aviles - 25 R/ 7 HR/ 25 RBI/ .272 BA/ .300 OBP/ .781 OPS
Player B      - 15 R/ 5 HR/ 16 RBI/ .274 BA/ .357 .OBP/ .801 OPS

Player B is Jed Lowrie who the Red Sox traded away. Would the Red Sox have been better off if they had just kept Lowrie? I think the answer to this question still hasn't been answered.

3. People are still talking about moving Daniel Bard back to the bullpen. Why? Despite a bad first inning the other day - Bard has been perhaps the most consistent Red Sox starter this year. Why mess with the guy? Especially when you have Mark Melancon (the guy Lowrie was traded for) tearing it up at AAA Pawtucket. Melancon has a 0.00 ERA in 13 games for the Pawsox but he hasn't been recalled because the Red Sox bullpen has been doing so well. But if they are doing so well - why do people want to chuck Bard back into the mix and out of the rotation?

Red Sox vs Cleveland

Strange Reception

Driving back to Worcester from Syracuse tonight I had a strange smörgåsbord of radio listening sequences. I started out listening to the Red Sox pregame in Syracuse. Deep in Yankee country the local Syracuse ESPN radio outlet carries the Red Sox - I just find that strange (and interesting). Once that signal drifted out I started listening to the Yankees / Blue Jay game first on one channel then another. (As an aside - how can the Yankees keep Suzyn Waldman employed? She is beyond awful.) Then the Mets / Braves broadcast became my clearest sports option. Then - just east of Albany - it got weird. I started picking up the Red Sox game again but it was from a channel out of Cleveland.

In upstate New York I started picking up WTAM - 1100 AM out of Cleveland. That was just weird. I listened to their broadcast for the 7th and 8th innings. It was amusing to hear their take on the "scrum" between the two teams after Adrian Beltre took exception to a pitch thrown behind him. The Cleveland broadcasters went right after Josh Beckett as the root cause of the belligerence. One broadcaster went as far as to exclaim, "Josh Beckett has always been a punk!" I found that amusing.

Once east of the Berkshires I listened to the 9th inning on the Red Sox radio network channels.

Listening to the Cleveland channel reminded me of the time in July of 2007 when I somehow picked up a Red Sox broadcast while in the middle of Pennsylvania. Funnily - they were playing the Idians that night too.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The top Cleveland Indians prospects according to Baseball America. I find it interesting that they project Nick Hagadone to be their #1 starter and Justin Masterson to be their #3 starter in 2013. Those are the two players the Indians got from the Red Sox for Victor Martinez... You do so much better at poker if you stop doing things you know to be stupid. The same is true with life. Such a simple observation that could have such a profound impact on your life if you took it to heart... Heh heh - waaaaiiiitttt!!!!.... The beer can and Elvis were both introduced to the world 75-years ago. Coincidence or conclusive proof of aliens in our midst?... Wow - woman plays kazoo with her hoo-haa - yes her hoo-haaa... The wife of Moses was named Zipporah. It's kinda amazing how lost in history she has become. People literally know zip about Zipporah... Drew Brees writes eloquently about NFL vs. American Needle Supreme Court case in Washington Post. Nicely done. That Purdue education did not go to waste... Heh heh - great quote from Ian O'Connor "It would be pretty cool if Mark Sanchez said he didn't think Pete Carroll was ready to make the jump back to the NFL." Heard ESPN use it but Ian had it first... Tweet of the Day from @DrZibbs "If you asked someone from the #jerseyshore to point out a douchebag..who would they point to? Seriously"... Heh heh - sleep talking man... Who knew? Richard Nixon and Otis Nixon shared the same birthday...

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

The Cleveland Indians are 1.5 games ahead (behind?) the Orioles for the worst record in the American League. Who saw that coming? I know I saw some people picking the Indians to go to the World Series in their pre-season picks. I can't recall anyone picking them to contend to be the worst team in the league... For all the complaining that their are no races this year in baseball - only less than half of the teams in the league (14) are numerically eliminated... Of all the teams that will make the playoffs - the Detroit Tigers have by far the worst road record (33-44). They also have the worst overall record of any team who will probably make the post-season. Which means they probably win their first round match-up with the Yankees... Alex Rodriguez needs one more RBI for 1696 and to pass Cal Ripken for 23rd place on the All-Time RBI list. He also needs just 1 more run for 1677 and to pass Mickey Mantle to move into a tie with Bid McFee for 26th place on the all-time runs list. I'm guessing that privately both these milestones mean a lot to A-Rod... Speaking of milestones - did you know that Todd Helton was tied with Babe Ruth for 44th place on the all-time doubles list with 506? Helton needs 4 more doubles to catch Rickey Henderson. As impressive as Helton's record of hitting doubles has been - he's only 5th among active players for two-baggers - behind Garrett Anderson (515), Ken Griffey (522), Manny Ramirez (530) and Ivan Rodriguez (547)... Quietly Florida's Chris Coghlan has made a pretty good case for NL ROY. Coghlan is hitting .314 with a respectable .836 OPS. I think JA Happ of the Phillies has the nod for the NL ROY though with a 10-4 record and a 2.77 ERA. In the AL - I think Rick Porcello of the Tigers deserves the award with a 14-9 record with a 4.14 ERA... Today is Rafael Palmeiro's 45th birthday. Has anyone ever fallen off the grid as quickly as finger-wagging Palmeiro?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In 2006 the Red Sox picked Kristopher Johnson with the 40th pick of the MLB draft. With the next pick the Yankees took Joba Chamberlain. Johnson is 3-9 with a 6.14 ERA for AAA Pawtucket... I'm a Nathan Fillion fan and I would pay money to see this movie. Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern. Pretty impressive trailer. Too bad it was put together by a fan and isn't real... Scrabble Champ - Toronto's Marc Rzepczynski has a tough name to spell but in Scrabble it would be worth just 38 pts - the Braves Javier Vazquez's name is worth 43 points... A vastly underrated movie from the 90's was Barbarians at the Gate. You never see this movie anywhere and that's too bad. James Garner was great in this HBO flick... Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - going into yesterday's game, Vernon Wells of Toronto is hitting just .172 at home but a smoking .337 on the road.... I caught the pilot of Warehouse 13 and I must say I was impressed. This series has lots of potential and I'll be sure to tune in for future episodes. The casting is very good and you can't help but like Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen... The American League record for pitchers used in a season is 32. The Indians have now already used 26 and we're not even at the All-Star break... In case you haven't been following it or haven't heard - Mariners Single-A prospect James McOwen had his hitting streak end at 45 games last night...

Cleveland Indians

Since being one game away from going to the World Series in the autumn of 2007 - the Cleveland Indians have gone a combined 114-135 (that's a winning percentage of .463). A record like that won't keep a manager in his job. Despite Mark Shapiro's statement of support - I'd guess that Eric Wedge will be out of a job well before the Indians report to Spring Training.

If there was any justice then Mark Shapiro should be joining Wedge on the unemployment line.

Pick of the Day

Tonight's pick of the day (POTD) is the White Sox with Mark Buehrle starting against the Indians with Jeremy Sowers. Chicago is a -$153 favorite which is a much better price than the Red Sox -$260 (should be a lock with Beckett pitching).

Buehrle is in a 11-1 / 2.38 ERA stretch pitching at home. The White Sox are hot lately (7-3 in their last 10) and hot when Buehrle pitches (12-4 in his starts this year). Buehrle is also 6-0 pitching at night this season. Meanwhile Jeremy Sowers has never been able to beat the White Sox (0-5 with a 6.23 ERA in 6 career starts vs Chicago).

All signs point to the White Sox.

That doesn't mean that I'm over confident though. Baseball is still baseball and all signs pointed to a Colorado victory last night and while they did win - they needed some luck to pull out a 1-0 W.

POTD record - 9-3 and plus a mythical $553

Andy Marte's Not Dead Yet

Andy Marte was considered a bust after failing to live up to his prospect reputation for the Indians but don't bury him yet. According to the Indians:

Yesterday, INF ANDY MARTE was named the International League’s Batter of the Week for the period of June 29-July 5 as he batted .458 w/ 2HR & 6RBI becoming the IL’s 1st back-to-back Player of the Week since May 2006 (Cole Hamels, WB)

Back to back International League batter of the week - not bad. Maybe he'll help out the Indians yet.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I've never understood the appeal of Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson. He's the highest paid player on the Pirates and yet his career OPS+ is just 79 (an average player would be at 100). Pirates management even saw fit to give a player who has a career batting average of just .270 a limited no-trade contract. Maybe this, in a nutshell, explains why the Pirates suck... At one point Edwin Jackson was the highest regarded pitching prospect in baseball. The Dodgers wouldn't trade him for anyone. Then Jackson's decline came. Last year I pretty much took the over in any game Jackson started for Tampa Bay and I must say that was a nice little run for me. This season Jackson started out with a 7 1/3, one run no-decision for the Tigers and you have to wonder if he's finally put it together. Today's start against Kevin Millwood and Texas should go a long way in answering that question... The Cleveland Indians sport a league-worst 9.86 ERA and their pitching staff has allowed opponents to hit .357. That's beyond putrid... I've said it before but I expect Matt Holliday to be a bust in the American League. I wish there was some place that would take a prop bet that at least one Rockies outfielder will have as many or more HR than Holliday this season. I'd guess that two Rockies outfielders will out-homer Holliday... 17 years ago today Boston's Matt Young pitched eight no-hit innings at Cleveland but lost 2-1 in the opener of a doubleheader. Young was not officially credited with a no-hitter because he did not pitch a full 9 innings... Pick of the day - Atlanta (-$200 - meaning you would have to risk $200 to win $100) with Jair Jurrjens starting over the Nationals (and yes I know the odds are steep but they are steep for a reason)...