Mercifully the Iowa Cubs season ended last night due to the final 4 games in NO being canceled by Hurricane Issac. Iowa started the season off with more talent than any other minor league affiliate but the promotion a thon of the last few months ravaged this roster to the point where even linking to the box score was too much effort. Look for Cardenas, Campana and a few RP's to find their way to Chicago once rosters expand.
Trey McNutt struck out the side in his only inning of relief work. I hope he gets a shot in the pen during September. Everyone else struggled a bit.
Javier Baez went 1-4 with his 2nd Daytona HR. Baez has really struggled since the promotion but will get playing time in the AFL this fall.
Pin Chieh Chen was 3-4 with a pair of walks and stole his 34th base of the year. Soler hit 2-6 and swiped a base of his own. Joe Zeller gave up 5 ER in 6 IP so I can assume the knuckle was not dancing last night.
Stephen Bruno went 2-4 and is hitting .354. Bruno is the "scrappy" Hawk. Boise starts its playoff run on Sept 3 and hopefully Amaya gets out of his first slump of the year. Amaya has been pretty dreadful over the last 10 batting under .200. I would imagine Boise will probably start Pierce Johnson & Tayler Scott.
Playoff time and AZL lost its first game. By a lot. Shawon Dunston Jr had been one of AZL's best hitters and wasn't in the lineup last night. Today he's tweeting about just wanting to go home. I guess somebody got grounded.
Mish, we’re still waiting on your sponsorship check. Please contact us through the form at the top of the page so we can let you know where to send your money.
@ Berselius:
You might want to check to see if you got a check from Bruce Wayne.
@ WaLi:
More likely it’ll be this guy:
@ Berselius:
Am I still eligible for the free dildo?
did i forget the sponsor? my brain isnt working so good
I see Volstad is pitching today and trying to improve on his 1 game winning streak.
@ dylanj:
Shotgunning PBRs will do that.
nor will drinking 40′s of Mickeys
Not sure if any of you follow this guy but he’s hilarious:
http://twitter.com/kimjongnumberun
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/adam-greenbergs-one-at-bat/
i still can’t understand how nobody from the RNC had screened that speech by Eastwood. That thing was fucking nuts. Rubio really saved the night with his speech
This whole finding a job after college thing has been scary enough as it is to think that my prospects for finding any job ever could be ruined by electing a man who takes advice from other guys who scream at empty chairs.
I think Mish summed it up with the Abe Simpson reference.
Well I didn’t see it, so here you go:
Joe Mather, leadoff hitter. I guess the Cubs want him to get some extra PAs so they can see what they have (dying laughing). Or maybe they’re showcasing him for a trade!
@ WaLi:
Will watching this make me not like Clint anymore? I don’t want to stop liking him as a director just because he’s a loon. That’s why I’ve been avoiding it.
@ Berselius:
Better get that shit handled quick then. Isn’t the post season roster deadline later today? Some team may need a leadoff hitter for their postseason run. (Looking at you, Washington.)
i feel your pain josh. its not like he says racist or mean things its just weird. and he seems really really fucking old. But hey, i’ll still go watch his movies
Sveum has a unnatural affinity for Joe Mather.
@ josh:
Should be at midnight.
@ Mish:
False. Greenberg never had an AB.
@ Suburban kid:
READ ALL THE THINGS.
@ josh:
Just watched it for the firs time. I think it isn’t as bad as people portray. It actually made me like him. It was funny and he was honest, although it was a bit nutty at times. The worst part of it is that it was at the RNC Convention. It would have been great at a roast (dying laughing)
Since he is all America is the best I wonder why he made the Spaghetti Westerns.
http://news.yahoo.com/harvard-dozens-students-may-cheated-062309521.html
I thought Harvard students would be better at cheating than most. But then again, their TAs are that much smarter (you would think).
@ WaLi:
I’m assuming because he, like most actors, preferred money to starvation.
Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters are practically polar opposites at the plate. Small sample size alert…
Brett Jackson doesn’t swing at pitches out of the zone. His pfx OSWING% is 19.5% (league average is 28.9%). His BIS OSWING% 21.8% (league average 30.6%). Jackson’s OSWING% (BIS) ranks 29th best in baseball among guys with 80 or more PA. He’s just two behind Joey Votto.
Josh Vitters OSWING% (BIS) is over 40%. Vitters is swinging at twice as many pitches out of the zone as Jackson has. Interestingly, Vitters is swinging and missing more than Jackson. Jackson is making more contact too. For every walk Vitters takes, Jackson is taking nearly 5 of them.
These are really small samples and I don’t think for a second the difference between these two players is that great, but I do think there is a huge difference in talent level between these two. Jackson is going to strikeout a lot, hit for a low average, but he’ll get on base and hit for power. Vitters will hit for a better average, but get on base much less frequently and probably can’t match Jackson’s power either.
josh wrote:
I haven’t seen it. I don’t have any interest in what he says about politics and if I happen to see it at some point I definitely won’t think any less of his ability to make movies I have enjoyed in my life. It’s not like seeing that is going to make suddenly dislike the older westerns (Josey Wales, Joe Kidd and Unforgiven especially). I couldn’t care less what any actor says about politics.
@ mb21:
Yeah, but you’re all objective and shit. I’m a reactionary asshole.
Joe Mather and Josh Vitters batting 1 and 2 today. I know Sveum said they were still trying to win games, but are they really?
@ Rice Cube:
It’s not hard to catch cheaters. Here’s what I tell my students about plagiarizing/cheating:
Imagine I had a piano in here, and I asked you all to close your eyes, and I began to play Chopin. No one in the room would ever think Chopin himself was in the room playing the piano. That’s how it is when I come across cheating or plagiarism. It never sounds or looks as good as you think it does.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Is their response “What’s a Show Pan?” followed by testicle scratching?
@ josh:
I’m really good at ignoring shit like this. It just doesn’t matter to me. I have no idea how it went and don’t care, but anyone thinking that Clint Eastwood helped or hurt Romney’s chances is delusional. A VP’s speech has little impact. The only thing that happens at the conventions is cheerleading. Those things are like sporting events and the people there generally frighten me (both sides).
im excited to see the new eastwood flick. but im a sucker for Amy Adams so thats probably why
@ Rice Cube:
Didn’t read the story, but is is it really cheating if it is a take-home exam?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I know we talked about cheating the other day and how I just couldn’t do it. Part of the reason is because there’s no way I could put my name on something that clearly isn’t mind. I couldn’t look the professor in the eye and pretend it was my work. I wouldn’t expect he or she to believe it was my work.
@ mb21:
I just watched it for comedic purposes and it was worth it.
@ dylanj:
It looks like a good movie.
@ mb21:
I agree on the convention being a pep rally, though supposedly a lot of back alley deals also happen at these events. No, I don’t care about conventions either. I called them bullshit to my elderly coworker. I think I scared him.
@ dylanj:
Yeah, saw a preview. I’m always interested in his movies, b/c he’s made so many good ones.
@ mb21:
I did it once freshman year of high school. I disliked the teacher and the class. He was a pervert and biology bores me. Anyways we had to write a final report, and I forget the topic. Anyways I copy and pasted an article I found on the internet somewhere into word, printed it, and turned it in. He wrote on it “Plagiarised?” and gave me a 60. I think I got a D+ or a C- in the class so he was lenient (dying laughing).
sands of iwo jima is one of my favorite WW2 movies. but I disagree with WaLi and MD- that speech or whatever you want to call it last night was a political fuck up of the highest order. People aren’t talking about Romney they are talking about how weird that was
@ mb21:
I think the cheerleading is also supposed to motivate the core to donate a bunch of money. Like a revival or something.
@ mb21:
This.
I know we all mock Clint and what not, but 90% of the conservatives I know (all mostly co-workers) enjoyed Clint’s speech very much. So liberals mocked it, conservatives enjoyed it, so it basically is exactly what it was: a speech at the RNC.
@ josh:
Some of them, yeah.
@ dylanj:
I never saw that one. I was disappointed by Flags of Our Fathers so I kind of let that one slide.
josh wrote:
Just like I don’t give a shit about what athletes do off the field, I couldn’t care less what any actor believes. I still think Mel Gibson knows WTF he’s doing, despite the anti-semitism. I still went to see Milk despite Sean Penn’s retarded views on Venezuela and Chavez. etc etc.
sands is many times better than Flags. Really well done
@ Mish:
What Women Want ruined Mel Gibson for me more than his stupidity.
@ Mish:
I’m glad you guys can compartmentalize. I can’t. I’m an ape.
@ dylanj:
I’ll have to check it.
Mish wrote:
Exactly. It’s a pep rally so just about anything that goes on there is going to energize the base.
@ Mish:
Same here though I’ve lost interest in Gibson because his latest movies just haven’t been as good as his earlier ones. Don’t like Sean Penn, but I’ll gladly watch any movie he makes.
I’ve never liked Eastwood as a person. I have no idea who the fuck he is and never cared. The guy has made a lot of movies that I’ve enjoyed. He’s made a lot of movies I’ve enjoyed multiple times. He can say whatever the fuck he wants and that won’t change. It’s not like I’m suddenly not going to stop when I see Josey Wales or Joe Kidd on tv. Watch those any time I find them on the guide and probably always will.
josh wrote:
It’s just a lot easier for me. Cubs fans have helped me learn to do that so that’s one thing I can actually thank them for.
Well yeah, Gibson has fallen off, I’m just thinking of the South Park quote “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch knows story structure.”
@ mb21:
I really liked apocalypto.
@ mb21:
Apparently the last living American WWI vet died today.
@ mb21:
Not an ape.
Joe Mather walks! Eat that shit motherfuckers!
I apologize for my outburst.
If I didn’t compartmentalize famous people I don’t know if I’d like any of them. Except Ryan Gosling. He’s cute.
@ GW:
that may be the most recent movie of his that I’ve seen and I didn’t make an effort to watch it. I think I watched it a couple years ago. i did like it.
I gotta see this castillo play
@ josh:
It’s up now.
mb21 wrote:
So they mentioned twice now how Buster isn’t blocking the plate anymore. I’m fine with that. If I were a Giants fan, I wouldn’t want to see him hurt again. Let the Castillos and the Koyie Hills of the world block the plate, that’s fine.
josh wrote:
Don’t tell me what to do
@ josh:
I liked the way Beef Castle kind of stumbled into home plate there.
Giants announcer: “Hard to imagine what Blanco was looking for.”
I (dying laughing)’d
Is there a story behind (dying laughing)? I’ve always wondered.
Jeff Baker ——-> unemployed
Upon further reflection, RIZZOBOMB
I wonder if he could’ve gotten the inside-the-parker had he run hard all the way. Probably not as the CF got to the ball pretty quick, but Rizzo was doing the trot before he turned on the jets.
Pat and Keith’s Turning Point storyline is probably the most annoying baseball announcing trope I’ve ever had to listen to. It really makes me want to punch myself.
@ josh:
A regular troll at 1060W and ACB used to punctuate his over-long and hilariously profane comments with it.
Josh, read this to get an idea how fucking stupid TheHawk (that’s what he went by) was: http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/newsstand/discussion/the_bad_news_cubs_the_great_rbi_statistic/
Make sure to read all 375 comments. You can thank me later. It’s better than watching a comedy.
brett jackson is really good at taking walks.
aside: http://www.obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/a-legal-performance-enhancer.html
Is this game still happening? Am I completely bored with baseball, or what?
Good god, can we mercy-kill the “guest conductor” thing already? The only thing this stunt accomplishes is making me appreciate Harry Caray’s singing skills.
@ josh:
I’m not bored with baseball. Bored with the Cubs, certainly, but not baseball.
@ Rizzo the Rat:
I can’t get any enthusiasm going these days. The Nationals? The White Sox? The Reds? I don’t care
Maybe that’s just lack of sleep talking.
So I left work 2 hours earlier than I had to and decided to get to the airport earlier. I was driving in downtown Wilmington, NC and came across an open door that had a steal your face logo on it. Told my friend (who was driving me to the airport) to stop so he did. Went inside and they had great beer in bottles. Unfortunately they couldn’t put the Cubs game on so I had them put on ESPN classic which had 2007 Sox vs Orioles. Started off with a Bells Two Hearted (which I made a clone of and was delicious) then a Founders Dirty Bastard and topped it off with a 10% Decanters Imperial IPA. Very delicious. Now I am am at the airport and needless to say, I am drunk.
‘/
While I was at the bar, they had the SEC version of USC on highlights. It got me to thinking… what happened to bubblesthechimp?
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Yup this. I haven’t thought hard about it, but I’ve found far more compelling storylines (not Cubs or necessarily Rays either) around the league this year than most previous. Though that just might be my perception and not true.
I like “RBIs” as opposed to “RBI” plural. I don’t see anything wrong with pluralizing a well-used abbreviation. RBI as a plural rubs me the wrong way.
@ Mish:
Here are some headlines a quick Google search turns up.
Fox News: Clint Eastwood brings down house at GOP convention
Huffington Post: Clint Eastwood Mocked For Republican Convention Speech
Sounds about right.
@ mb21:
I think I read some of this before. I’ll go over it more now.
@ josh:
I generally use RBI rather than RBIs.
@ josh:
Shouldn’t it be RsBI?
@ josh:
I read through that entire thread and didn’t see one god damn comment on seasoning a cast iron skillet. What the hell kind of baseball blog are they running?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I don’t think so, we pluralize lots of well known abbreviations by sticking the ‘s’ on the end. To me, the test is when people look at it do they think “Runs batted in” or “RBI.” I read “RBI,” so RBIs is fine with me. I also don’t really think there’s a right answer, because I’m a language hedonist.
@ josh:
i agree, in no small part because RBI the abbreviation is also commonly used to describe a single run batted in. if we define it as plural, then we really shouldn’t ever use it when a player gets one. just pluralize it when necessary and call it a day, imo.
Stat stuff aside, this was my favorite comment in that thread:
My guess? He closed a navigation toolbar and can’t figure out how to get to another website, thus ruining the internet for him for the rest of his life.
Maybe one RBI and many should be like one moose and many moose.
MLB.TV free game is Wainwright vs. Gio.
Brain dump:
I wondered about Adam Greenberg when I saw the One Season in the Sun book I linked to in the Forum. It would be a feel-good kind of move, and this comment on the Fangraphs article sums it up:
I think Sean Penn is a fabulous actor. In general, I don’t get to worked up about actor’s pet projects, but I do think there is some value to their publicizing issues, even if I don’t agree with their take. George Clooney on Sudan/Darfur, for example (though I do agree mostly with his take there) has at least sensitized 587 more Americans to a tragedy they’d otherwise not have heard about.
@ Aisle424:
well, if you are making the abbreviation somewhat independent of the underlying construction (by using it when singular), might as well use standard rules for making it plural.
KG —> astros scouting director
(dying laughing)
@ Mish:
@ Mish:
I heard the Ryan Gosling dildo was fantastic.
Apparently there is also a puppy model (actual dildo not shown):
Hey GW. I guess I missed the announcement that you’ve been obstructedly added to the OV headliner roster. Congrats. You’ve finally ascended to the position to which we all aspire!
@ GW:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
@ GW:
Will Carroll will agree to be their head of sports medicine only if Astros fans donate $50,000 to find a cure for mononucleosis
@ Berselius:
(dying laughing).
btw, tried to publish the tweet on the main page and failed.
@ SVB:
thanks! and yes, i suck at it.
@ GW:
I put Heyman’s tweet on the main page (not sure who was first). I’ll send you an email with directions on how to do it.
So I watched the first 6 minutes of Eastwood from WaLi’s clip. Then I started to wonder: Is he funnier than Will Ferrell doing Harry Caray? Then I turned it off.
If the best you can for comedy is Clint Eastwood, you’re in bad shape. I imagine the RNConv-goers that are part of the gun lobby were stoked to see Dirty Harry though.
meh, either way.
Stale shit up http://www.obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/aramis-ramirezs-2012-season.html
.