Today is the first officially official day of Cubs spring training. Not much is going to be happening except guys running a few drills and whatnot, but if nothing else it's good to know that the sports universe won't be completely dominated by the NBA/NHL anymore…that is at least until March Madness.
We'll get our first "Chicago Cubs Baseball Is On The Air" on Monday, March 5 at 2pm CT, though oddly enough the first Cubs spring training game is the day before (only covered by mlb.com). The first weekend games on March 10 and 11 will be televised by WGN.
If I had real Photoshop skills I’d put a bat in Ned Stark’s hands.
Has anybody read the books that Game of Thrones is from? Do they follow pretty closely what happens in the show?
I can’t wait to see Slim Geo and Fat Tony. I’m beginning to think Theo should bring over his PED connections from his days as Sawx GM. I think a bunch of stars would develop given 20 extra pounds of muscle. I know Campana and Darwinning could use them, but I think Concepcion might be in the most need of performance assistance.
I mean, with Manny and Papi, that is what made the Sawx so successful in the first place, right?
Berselius wrote:
(dying laughing)
Pezcore wrote:
(dying laughing)
Mucker wrote:
They’re very dense books – the show mostly just hits on the major plot points as they go along. Some storylines hew closer to the book than others but they’re not taking huge liberties with the plot (the author is one of the executive producers, and writes one episode per season). Some of the characters are much more fleshed out in the book.
@ Mucker:
I read the first one. From what my friends who follow it religiously tell me, the movie was spot on with the first book.
@ Berselius:
And by “spot on” I meant what you said.
@ Mucker:
Season 1 was very, very close to the source material, but they did leave out one major character (the Blackfish). I think they’ll be generally faithful to the stories with a few slight changes.
Is anybody keeping score on who is in the best shape of their lives yet? I’ve got Geovany Soto, Marlon Byrd, Tony Campana and Matt Garza so far.
I used to love the day when pitchers and catchers reported. It was even that long ago. Now I just don’t care. I’ll be excited the first televised spring game until we start seeing Matt Camp, Marwin Gonzalez and Jack Nobody take the field.
/doesn’t like anything
I’ll add that Season 1 and 2 will translate directly to books 1 and 2. However, the third book is going to span seasons 3 and 4 as the story just gets too large to fit that into one season. 3 and 4 will be shot simultaneously.
Are the books worth reading? I really dig the show and like that mideval setting.
@ Mucker:
Uh, YES. I won’t indulge you on what books are the best/lacking, but you will have fun. I read all 5 books over the course of two months. It was the best reading experience that I’ve recently enjoyed. Lot of fun.
Mish wrote:
Awesome, thanks Mish.
I found Game of Thrones to be depressing. I haven’t tried any of the others.
@ josh:
The women were probably not hot enough for you. (dying laughing)
@ josh:
Though I will say there were days (one specifically) where the turn of events in the story made me a sad little panda and I almost lost the will to live. (dying laughing)
http://www.ismishgoingtohijackthisthreadtosploogeallovergameofthrones.com
Berselius wrote:
Though at the same time, you get more of an insight into some of the characters who don’t have POV chapters in GoT…like Varys, Littlefinger, Robert, etc.
@ Mish:
I meant the book. I haven’t watched the show, yet. I’m not the biggest fantasy fan, though. I prefer futuristic settings to medieval.
@ Mucker:
books are boring. (dying laughing)
@ Mish:
I get what GRRM is trying to do. I guess I’m just not a big enough fan of the genre in general to want to continue on. The end of the first book left me feeling miserable. I kept asking my friends who had read it if things got better. I got a lot of cricket chirping in response.
@ josh:
I prefer settings in which man did not exist. Makes for great television.
@ mb21:
Isn’t the point of spring ball to SEE Jack Nobody take the field? I’ll be honest, I want to see INF Adrian Cardenas, SS Junior Lake, OF Matt Scurzzzur, OF Tony Campana, CF Brett Jackson, RF Jae Hoon-Ha, RP Jeff Belliveu, RP Rafael Dolis, and SP Jay Jackson as much as possible. I want to know what these guys are all about, and most of them are fun to watch.
Cubs non-roster invites Wow, the Cubs must really like Korea, as I counted three non-roster Koreans in spring training.
So when are the articles going to start pouring in about who didn’t report to camp 6 weeks early?
@ Mish:
Ugh. As you know I hated the Littlefinger stuff in the show. Pretty much my only complaint.
mb21 wrote:
Sounds like you only like Hard Sci-Fi
@ Berselius:
Yeah I remember. A lot of his extra scenes were Sexposition, but I really do love some of the scenes where it’s Baelish and Varys trading witticisms. Obviously there are characters who don’t have POVs in GoT but do in other books who also should have been mentioned (Jaime, Cersei, Theon, etc).
@ Pezcore:
Most of the guys you mentioned are Joe Nobody’s. I’d like to see Brett jackson play 9 innings of every game I watch. I couldn’t care less about Jay jackson. He’s not any good. I want to see the other guys you mentioned, but those aren’t the guys who are going to be playing by the 4th inning. It’s going to be Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Camp and I’m half surprised they haven’t re-signed Bobby Scales for that purpose.
@ Mish:
Yeah, the Littlefinger and Varys stuff was great. I don’t mind the Sexposition per se, just that Littlefinger should be more crafty and inscrutable rather than the mustache-twirling type we saw on the show.
mb21 wrote:
Wasn’t Marwin Gonzalez drafted in the Rule 5 draft?
and IIRC they did resign Scales.
@ josh:
That’s fair, though I hear more often than not people saying “I don’t do the whole fantasy thing but I love Game of Thrones”. The first book is generally very realism based (minus the prologue and end, really) but it builds to the fantasy stuff through the other books. I’m surprised you didn’t read on though; the way GRRM writes, not to mention the emotional investment in the characters, would all seem to me to be compelling reasons to keep reading.
@ Berselius:
Agreed. And he had a moustache on top of that! Very heavy handed (dying laughing)
@ mb21:
I like Iain M. Banks and a few other science fiction writers. Humans as they could be instead of as they are. I prefer stories like that.
Okay I’m going to the gime. If you guys interfere the GoT talk with stupid baseball shit, I will be pissed. (dying laughing)
josh wrote:
GRRM’s universe is much, much more Hobbesean.
Berselius wrote:
JRRT’s universe is much, much more Hobbitsean.
@ mb21:
What was Geovany Soto before he came up? What about Randy Wells? Were you really excited about Ryan Dempster as a starting pitcher?
The whole point of Spring is to see who might surprise you. Plus, aren’t most of the roster ‘Joe Nobodies’.
How else do you describe Ian Stewart, Brian LaHair, and Chris Volstead?
I’m somewhat dismayed Rebel Ridling wasn’t considered for Spring. He might be a good platoon guy, and I think he deserves a shot.
@ Mish:
I liked Ned a lot….
Maybe the hesitation is in that I can’t bear to go back into it knowing I’m going to see everyone get killed. I guess that means the writing was very good, since I don’t want anyone else to get hurt (except Jamie Lannister, obviously).
Mish wrote:
Also much, much, much more in need of an editor.
/ApostateNerdWhoDislikesLOTR
josh wrote:
(evil grin)
@ Berselius:
Exactly. That’s why I have a hart time reading it. It’s just brutality without catharsis. It’s well written brutality, though. I guess I’d just rather spend my time in space, pretending like this world was better than it is.
@ Berselius:
I did not enjoy LOTR reading. After going through that, I had major props to Peter Jackson for what he did with the source material.
@ Pezcore:
I agree. If for nothing else, then at least we can get a few glimmers of hope and reasons to get excited. It may end up being the steaming pile of mediocrity that we’re expecting, but maybe a gem or two will shine through.
@ Mish:
You could literally tear the first half of Fellowship out and read it without losing anything. That’s basically what PJ did. I could have even been all right with him cutting a little more.
@ josh:
Have you read any of David Weber’s Honor Harrington series, josh? Pretty good military sci-fi.
Mish wrote:
You’re not a true nerd if you don’t like 100 page asides about Tom Bombadil and Elvish history.
ESPN ——> racist
http://gothamist.com/2012/02/18/wtf_espn_offers_linsanely_racist_he.php
Pezcore wrote:
@ Berselius:
Could be. I thought Scales was in Japan.
@ mb21:
He just re-signed about a month ago. I guess he didn’t want to live in Japan anymore.
@ jtsunami:
Holy shit, that’s awful. I’m guessing there’s an editor slowly packing his desk into a printer paper box right now.
Also, Lin is a fucking turnover machine, always has been. Why ESPN continues to act like this is a recent development is beyond me.
@ mb21:
They signed him to a minor league deal in late Jan. Honestly, I don’t know why he wouldn’t stay in Japan. He’s probably making a lot more money there than he is in AAA here.
@ Berselius:
I have not. In terms of military SF, I’ve really only read The Forever War, but I’ve been meaning to check out David Weber and expand my horizons a little.
Pezcore wrote:
Soto was a top 50 prospect. Prior to that he was undervalued and I mentioned that back in 2005 and 2006. The guy reached AAA as a catcher at the age of 22 and performed well enough at the plate. Wells came out of nowhere in 2009, but has since regressed to what we expected of him. Is that possible? Can Jay Jackson be close to league average for a season? Probably, but it won’t last. He allowed 11 hits per 9 last year and struckout only 6 per 9. At best he’s a marginal reliever and I doubt he’d even be that good at that job.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
It would behoove the Knicks to realize this and make him the shooting guard.
I also don’t think spring training tells us anything. If there’s a backup position player battle of two relatively equal players then I’m fine with using spring stats to make a decision. Other than that, they’re mostly useless. They don’t tell us about how the player will perform in the upcoming year. Good players have crappy springs and go on to have great seasons. Bad players have great springs, unfortunately earn a starting job and then get sent back to AAA after they’ve wasted 250 plate appearances on an undeserving starter.
We’re talking about very small samples. A hitter will get about 70 plate appearances and a starting pitcher about 30 innings. One of the things I love about this front office is that I don’t think they’re going to base opinions on such small samples and that’s good.
@ jtsunami:
How the hell did that get published? Was the editor on leave?
No invite for Vitters?
Rice Cube wrote:
They can’t do that because he can’t defend a NBA 2. He’s been a nice story, and he can certainly score, but there’s a reason why he’s been a bench guy up until now. He turns the ball over too much and he can’t defend. He’s a poor man’s Ben Gordon.
mb21 wrote:
Maybe ESPN hired a Tribune sports editor to run the basketball side.
mb21 wrote:
Yeah, but what about the young guys we haven’t seen? Aren’t we excited about them? Prospects are never an exact science — and many players who are thought of poorly (Johan Santana, Gio Gonzalez and John Jay) later develop into stars while many touted players (Felix Pie, Corey Patterson) flare out. As hopeless as Barney seems, remember he came out of nowhere in ST to become an all-star candidate and provided excitement, a nickname, and a T-Shirt.
Thing of the positive.
I care more about Jae Hoon-Ha, Junior Lake and Scuzzur than guys who are returning for their nth appearance in the Show.
Saw Moneyball last night. Thoroughly enjoyed it. But I think someone here mentioned it, I can’t believe the lack of emphasis on Hudson/Mulder/Zito.
I know the story was about how he replaced Damon, Giambi, and Isringhausen, but they made the average idiot think Hatteberg and Justice were an all-star candidates.
@ Pezcore:
I think the point is more that if a guy is going to break out, it’s not over a one-month period so much as it is an entire season.
Pezcore wrote:
Jae Hoon Ha has a career .308 OBP. He’s been young along the way, but that’s just terrible. I am looking forward to seeing Lake and Sczczur play. As well as Jackson, Rizzo, Baez, Vogelbach and maybe a few others.
There are always players who break out, but you can’t spot it in spring training.
@ Berselius:
Exactly. Not only is it just one month, it’s very limited playing time. Last year only Castro, Colvin and Pena had 70 or more PA in spring training. Jackson had 29. He’ll get quite a few more than that this year. Vitters too. He had 27 last year. Jae Hoon Ha, though, he’s probably going to be comparable in playing time to what he was last year (3). Same as DJ LeMahieu, Ryan Flaherty and a few others. Only Dempster, Garza, Zambrano and Wells threw more than 20 innings.
@ jtsunami:
The Big 3 not coming up was surprising. I also really liked the movie. I know some baseball fans haven’t, but I thought it was really well done.
mb21 wrote:
No longer with the Cubs (dying laughing)
@ jtsunami:
That certainly lessens the possibility of MB getting excited.
Anybody here every heard of Magic Dust? I cook quite often and just made myself this mixture of spices to use. I’ve tried it on a couple things I have made. Just wondering if any of you have ever heard of it or used it before.
@ jtsunami:
Since I’m an addict I probably should avoid magic dust.
I don’t think I’ve tried it before. It’s a rub, right? What’s in it?
jtsunami wrote:
I tend to make my own rubs, it’s much cheaper. And I am a poor grad student who likes to eat good food.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I think you’re right. I heard him being compared to Steve Nash but I don’t recall Nash hemorrhaging turnovers like that.
@ Rice Cube:
Yeah, the Nash comparisons are just not apt, for a number of reasons. He’s Ben Gordon with worse handles and a more consistent jump shot.
@ mb21:
http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bl50617d.htm
It’s a smokey rub with a bit of heat (from the cayenne and the ground mustard). I wouldn’t try it on everything. However I recently made buffalo wings with it and they were delicious. I also just made a simply chicken breast with that rub on it and sauteed it in cooking oil. It was pretty good considering it was only chicken and Magic Dust (dying laughing).
If you don’t have the ingredients already, to make the portions listed in the recipe above it will cost about $30. It does make a shit ton though.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
So you’re saying he has a chink in the armor?
/espn
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
You are a craft beer drinker right?
My bbq rub is that list plus 4-5 other things and it doesn’t cost anywhere near $30 to make, but I don’t make big batches.
@ jtsunami:
I’ll give it a try. I’ll definitely make it myself rather than buying it. Those mixed spices are needlessly expensive.
@ jtsunami:
Indeed. In fact, at the moment. (It’s the weekend, I’m a grad student, don’t judge me. (dying laughing))
mb21 wrote:
Spices in general are insanely expensive. I miss our WI grocery store that had generic brand spices for 20% of the price that McCormick gouges people for.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Got my hands on 3 Floyd’s Zombie Dust about a week ago. It is delicous if you are an IPA fan.
jtsunami wrote:
MO : IPAs :: bubbles : Tim Tebow
@ jtsunami:
I’ve had this. AMAZING. But I have a strong bias towards IPAs. My favorite beer.
@ Berselius:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
I was going to reply with something about josh and Kim DeJesus, but didn’t know the appropriate punctuation (unless it’s: =/=).
jtsunami wrote:
Berselius : IPAs :: josh : Kim DeJesus
@ jtsunami:
Oh, that’s a great beer. You have to try some of 3 Floyds’ DIPAs” Panzer Wolf, Arctic Panzer Wolf, and Dreadnaught. All world-class beers, IMHO.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’ve had all of them and also Broodoo (wet hops) & Apocolypse Cow. I grew up a town east of Munster where 3 Floyd’s is so I’ve good fortune of getting it whenever I come home to see my parents.
My friend got me their Behemouth. It’s Barley Wine. I’ve never actually tried that style before, but I really liked that too. It is a little less hoppy than a normal IPA but the taste still reminded me of a pale ale.
I don’t think I’ve had one of their beers that I didn’t like (dying laughing)
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
@ jtsunami:
I had Behemoth at the Map Room for the first time two weeks ago. I agree, wasn’t what I expected but still loved it.
@ jtsunami:
If you’ve got a nice dark cupboard in the house, buy a couple bottles of the Barleywine and age them. Amazing after only a year, even better as they get older. There’s a place here that makes beer for aging (Hair of the Dog) and you can do vertical tastings at their taphouse. I’ve had 13 YO and 10 YO beers there and they were fantastic. I’ve got 2010 Matilda, 2011 Oakshire Hellshire American Barleywine, 2012 Sierra Nevada RyePA, and 2009 Schlafly Barleywine in my “cellar” right now.
Bizarre thread. Fantasy books. Prospects. Spring Training. Spices. Beers. (dying laughing)
Or is this better?
Kate upton not being in here made bubbles sad.
Tebow>Lin
@ GBTS:
Is that Tony Campana’s hat?
Here you go, Bubbles…
@ mb21:
Like an old ACB thread, minus random pics of fat naked men.
Bubbles loves marlons new tattoo
BTW, for those that don’t know, my girlfriend’s brother-in-law started a craft brewery in St. Louis, so if anyone finds their way down there for a game, check it out. Pretty good stuff. The Double IPA has gotten some good pub, and I personally like their Vanilla Porter and the Wheat/Pale Ale hybrid they dubbed “Whale.”
http://sixrowbrewco.com/
@ Aisle424:
Bubbles watched that for 30 mins at work yesterday
/coolstoryhansel
I’m really just killing time until the Bulls game. (dying laughing)
@ Berselius:
I don’t like IPAs either, if that helps.
Tell you what: spring training about to start and I’m in the best shape of my life:
@ GBTS:
Me too. Would be nice if rose plays
Berselius wrote:
fixed
Berselius wrote:
Kim DeJesus doesn’t think josh is hot?
GBTS gets extra faget points for using a spring training cap.
D rose is out today
This is Kate Upton correct?
Are the Cubs going to get Strasburg on opening day?
@ GBTS:
Only if they are willing to trade Jeff Baker.
ESPN from the ’08 Beijing Olympics: http://deadspin.com/5040753/espn-headline-writers-probably-shouldve-opted-for-something-less-chinky
What are the bulls doing. Wtf
Every Bull except Scalabrine played the first quarter.
I hope people who diminish Rose’s value based on efficiency metrics have watched these last four dogshit Bulls’ performances.
Red Sox don’t expect to get Bert or Vitters
I don’t know if I’ve brought this up at this blog before, but Shelden Williams = Ken Griffey Jr. in “Homer at the Bat.”
Reed Johnson said:
@ GW:
(dying laughing)
GBTS’ photoshops were some I recently enjoyed.
@ GW:
Can’t wait for the “we’re trying to win games here” comment from Sveum. (dying laughing)
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing) how did you even think about doing that? That’s awesome.
@ mb21:
That’s real. Al was too busy writing up his front page “Jim Bullinger – 547th Greatest Cub of All Time” post to notice Kate’s photo shoot.
@ GBTS:
It looks like he is holding a “shake weight” (dying laughing)
@ GW:
Marlon Byrd was saying the same shit. I hate this rah-rah bullshit, and this stupid fucking “now that the team is hustling, they’ll win.” This team blows, and no amount of effort, heart, or any other such bullshit is going to change that.
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing)
I like how in Photoshops he looks oblivious to his surroundings. It’s awesome.
@ Rice Cube:
He’s just a really busy guy.
@ GBTS:
I wonder if he was texting headline ideas to ESPN. That would’ve explained some things…
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I don’t mind it. What else are they supposed to say? They can’t talk about the talent and how that’s a reason they’re going to win, but they’re not giving up. You’ll hear the same stuff in the Houston Astros camp and they’re likely to finish 6 or 8 games below the second worst team.
That doesn’t mean it’s not funny because it is. It’s just what these guys are going to say. They have to have a reason to show up and play and when the team lacks talent they find other reasons why the team may win.
Like last year, these comments are telling because they aren’t talking about the talent. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 these guys talked about how they were going to win because they were talented.
mb21 wrote:
Exactly. It’s not like these guys are going to say “I sure look forward to getting paid to lose this season”
@ Berselius:
@ mb21:
Fair enough. I guess what I’m really objecting to was the first part of Reed’s comment where he really talked up the “hustle=winning” mantra. I’m already sick of that shit, and it’s all we’re going to hear this year, especially if the Cubs have some fluky streak to being the year.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I look at that in a different way than you do. If the team had talent Reed would be talking about that. The fact he’s talking about some shit like that means he doesn’t even think the team can win on talent alone.
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/daily-facepalm-2-18-12.html
mb21 wrote:
No, but he hasn’t ruled out the positive thoughts corollary.