Archive for April, 2020

Dynasty 100 Loss All Futility League Report: East Divisions

Posted: April 19, 2020 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, entertainment, fun, gaming, online gaming, Sable Baseball, Sports
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The latest of a weekly series on the teams in my Online (or in person) Dynasty baseball simulation leagues I run. If you have an interest in joining one leave a message in comments.

This week we visit the Dynasty All Pathetic 100 loss league consisting only of teams that lost 100 games in a season. We are in the home stretch here with about 40 games to go of a 154 game season.

AL East

1970 Chicago White Sox

With 38 games to go the Mariners are just one series away from tying. Can the White Sox continue to hold their lead with a few big bats and and the best pitching in the AL or will a suspect defense at the corners let them down?

Heroes: Bill Melton (29 HR 98 RBI ) and Ed Herrmann (30 HR 80 RBI) may be the 2nd best HR duo for a team but they have made the difference in game after game. Meanwhile on the mound Tommy John has been an innings horse 208 innings, 10 complete games and a respectable 3.72 ERA

Zeroes: Barry Moore has been much worse than his 5-5 record indicates, with a 5.69 ERA and a .296 batting avg against he’s kept many a door open. Meanwhile while Sid O’Brien has been acceptable at the bat when occasionally starting his .933 percentage at 2nd and .930 at 3rd has helped extend plenty of rallies but when it come to bad defense Walt Williams takes the cake with an .897 in left and a 917 in right.

Wild Cards: The best arms in the White Sox bullpen are looking tired as the season nears its end. That could spell disaster shortly.

Coming attractions: The Pale Hose finish a 4 city roadtrip with a pair against the 1st place 1982 Twins before a quick stop at home for a pair vs the 2003 Tigers before heading off to Baltimore for a 4 game series that will likely make or break the 2018 Orioles.

2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Tampa under it’s new manager has risen to within three games of Chicago and on occasion even closer. Can the timely hitting overcome an average pitching staff?

Heroes: No question who the heroes are on this team Aubrey Huff leads the league in batting (.358) Slugging .631 OB+Slugging (1.053) and Runs Batted in. and is top five in Runs, Hits and On Base Percentage. The only reason he’s not a lock for the MVP is teammate Randy Wynn who leads the league in Runs, Triples, Stolen bases 2nd in Avg, .(356) Hits (172) Doubles (37) and is top five in two others.

Zeroes: Estaban Yan may have 21 saves but he’s also blown 8 on the way accounting 4.11 ERA & 6-10 record, and of course a lot of runs don’t help a lot when you have starters Joe Kennedy (6-9 ERA 5.00 AVG .302) and Tanyon Sturtez (7-7 ERA 4.99 Avg .304) helping the other guys along.

Wild Cards: Almost half of their remaining games are against teams currently in or tied for 1st place in a division.

Coming Attractions: It’s two in Minnesota against the 1st place 1982 Twins before a 9 game home stand vs 2008 Mariners (4), 2018 Orioles (2) and the 2005 Royals (3).

2018 Baltimore Orioles

Despite losing their manager early in the season the Orioles still have an outside shot (a very outside shot). Can this ship without a rudder steer itself straight in the closing weeks of the campaign?

Heroes: Jonathan Villar has provided the triple crown numbers for the team (.325, 21HR 71 RBI) while leading the team in runs by more than 40 and stealing 37 bases. While reliever Mychal Givens has proved to be not only a workhorse but one of the best closers in the league with 23 saves with only 4 blown and a 6-2 record to go along with it.

Zeroes: Having a great closer doesn’t help if you can’t get to him and the O’s boast the worst pitching in the AL as David Hess (7.58 ERA 19 HR allowed .316 avg) Dylan Bundy (5.95 ERA 19 HR .305 allowed ) and Andrew Cashner (5.22 ERA .290 AVG 13 HR allowed) just haven’t done the job.

Wild Cards: What as bad as having the worst pitching in the league, having the lowest fielding percentage in the majors (.978)

Coming Attractions: after a pair vs the slugging 1973 Texas Rangers the O’s have 4 at home vs the 1970 White Sox and then start a road trip that begins in Tampa Bay with a pair against the 2002 Devil Rays. If they are to climb back into the race this will be their chance.

2003 Detroit Tigers:

The math still says that the Tigers have a shot but with pitching only slightly better than Baltimore and Hitting that is meh. It will take a real run of luck for these cats to roar into the playoffs.

Heroes: Dimirti Young has been at the top of his game all year with 26 HR 91 RBI a .341 abg and an OPS of .992 On a bad pitching staff Wil Ledezma has managed to put together a 6-3 record mostly from the bullpen with a few starts for good measure and Chris Spurling has thrown 106 innings all in relief with an era under 4 on a team whose ERA is over 5.

Zeroes: While Omar Infante (.205 0HR 25 RBI in 111 games is an obvious choice if you list the Tigers pitching by ERA their four primary starts are at the bottom with only Jeremy Bonderman with an ERA below six (5.45) but Nate Cornejo (9-11 6.14 ERA .343 avg) Gary Knotts (3-10 6.28 ERA 16 HR allowed) and Mike Maroth (6-16 6.75 ERA 24 HR allowed .327 Avg) have been the gifts that keep giving to opposing batters.

Wild Card: Whatever is to blame for Detroit’s problems it’s not the glovework as the Tigers are tied for the best fielding percentage in the league.

Coming Attractions: If Detroit is going to make a move the best time for them is now with a pair at Chicago followed by 4 at home vs the last place 2005 Kansas City Royals and then back on the road for the 1973 Texas Rangers.

National League East

2009 Washington Nationals

The Nationals have dominated the National League since almost the start beginning with a pair of 4 game win streaks to start and never looking back. The only question left is can they sustain this level of winning when the playoffs come around?

Heroes: Adam Dunn has been a monster a the plate with 36 HR and 105 RBI’s meanwhile Morgan Nyjer has not only hit .335 but has stolen 63 bases and scored 96 runs meanwhile John Lannan’s 13-5 record is driven by a .203 batting avg against and 2 k’s for every walk 114 vs 57 (despite 17 HR)

Zeroes: It’s hard to find zeros on a team that has only lost 37 games but while starter Livan Hernandez has given up just one less HR than Lannan he’s also allowed a .312 avg against and a 6.41 ERA on a team that has outscored their opponents by over 175 runs certainly qualifies. How good is this offense? Their “Zero” in the hitting column Elijah Dukes is hitting .235 with 13 HR 83 RBI and 24 doubles. Even their least productive overall hitter Wil Nieves whose .261 avg 1 HR & 39 RBI in 353 AB are not impressive is hitting .315 with runners in scoring position.

Wild Card: Since acquiring their new manager the Nationals who were already solidly in command have won 12 of their last 14.

Coming Attractions: The Nats welcome the NL West with series vs the 1st place 2012 Houston Astros (2) and the 1973 Padres (4) before heading off to a three city Road stand that will take them to Milwaukee, Florida and Pittsburgh.

1998 Florida Marlins

If you moved the Marlins to any other division in the league they would be leading by anywhere from 3 to 8 games instead they find themselves 10 games back with 38 to play. Can they recover?

Heroes: The Marlins have won with pitching (3.72 team ERA) and Starter Livan Hernandez (12-9 2.68 ERA .140 avg .228 avg against) has been the biggest part of an excellent staff, it helps when your closer Matt Mantei is 14 of 16 in save chances with a 9-3 record and workhourse reliever Vic Darensbourg with a 1.51 ERA in 101 1/3 innings and a 9-2 record in relief. Of course Cliff Floyd’s 18 HR and 92 RBI’s haven’t hurt either.

Zeroes: The only dark spot on the rotation has been Andy Larkin (0-7 in 15 starts with an era of 6.63 almost double the team avg. At the plate Derrek Lee has 14 HR but has only hit .201, .180 with runners in scoring position and managed an OBP of .288 while Gregg Zaun has managed only .212 with 4 HR and 44 RBI.

Wild Cards: If you’re going to beat the Marlins you had better do it in nine innings. They are a perfect 15-0 in extra inning games.

Coming Attractions: Florida finishes a home stand with 2 against the 1973 Padres and a pair against the 2002 Brewers before heading on the road to try and knock the 2012 Astros off their perch at the top of the NL West.

2010 Pittsburgh Pirates

After a horrible start the Pirates have somehow managed to make it back to .500. With only 38 games to go can they rally to make a respectable finish?

Heroes: Brian Giles (.327 20 HR 72 RBI) numbers are nothing to sneeze at but for pure power i’s been Aramis Ramierz with 30 HR (2nd in NL) and 117 RBI (1st) that has really done the job

Zeroes: While the injury bug has not been kind to Bronson Arroyo it’s not a good excuse for an ERA 2 full runs over the team avg and a .310 avg .062 above the rest of the staff. Jack Wilson has been a disappointment with a .221 3 28 triple crown line and an OBP under .300 (.291)

Wildcard: The Pirates have been incredibly average everywhere with identical 29-29 records at home and on the road, but have blown 22 out of 56 save chances.

Coming Attractions: Pittsburgh’s quest to go beyond avg continues with a pair vs 2004 Arizona and then 4 at 2002 Milwaukee before they come home for a nine game set that begins with the 1967 Mets

1967 New York Mets

In a league of 100 loss teams the 1967 Mets have been a loser among losers as with 38 games to go they are a single loss away from being mathematically eliminated. Dare I say Amazing?

Heroes: No question who the hero is on this team Tom Seaver is 15-8 with an ERA of 3.36 and 167 K’s vs only 58 walks he’s also pitched 8 complete games which is seven more than the rest of the rotation combined. Despite playing in 103 games Bob Johnson has only managed 167 at bats but in those limited at bats he’s hit .365 with an OPS of .880

Zeroes: At the plate Jerry Grote has been the lowest of the low lights for the gothamites (.170 1 HR 26 RBI in 317 AB) on the mound despite Jack Fisher’s 2-16 record the biggest villains in the rotation are Don Cardwell (4-12 3.16 avg 5.58 ERA) and Dennis Bennett (4-10 6.26 ERA 19 HR in 100 2/3 innings)

Wild Cards: Polhittingly Correct The Mets bats are careful not to offend anyone. They are not only the last in the league in HR, but last in Runs, Doubles RBI’s OBP Slugging and OPS

Coming Attractions: the 1974 SanDiego Padres get the honor of trying to officially eliminate the Mets at their home but if they fail to do so, the 2004 Arizona Diamondback get four chances to do it in Shea before they head off to Houston to face the 2012 Astros.

The Wrong Stuff

Posted: April 18, 2020 by julietteochieng in News/opinion, Uncomfortable Truths
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Getty Images

Made in China

by baldilocks

From The Epoch Times:

The British government paid $20 million for COVID-19 antibody tests from two Chinese companies, only to later find they didn’t work properly, according to multiple reports.

Half a million of the China-made tests are now in storage, according to a New York Times report.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the kits “[a]s simple as a pregnancy test” in a March statement announcing negations to buy the product, adding “it has the potential to be a total game changer.”

“Because once you know that you have had it, you know that you are likely to be less vulnerable, you’re less likely to pass it on, and you can go back to work,” Johnson said, referring to the way widespread antibody testing could help the country cope with the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from mainland China last year and causes the disease COVID-19.

Good thing for Johnson that the one used on him worked.

But an Oxford University trial later found that the tests were faulty. The China-made tests did not pass sensitivity and specificity tests, according to British news outlet The Telegraph.  (SNIP)

“Sadly, the tests we have looked at to date have not performed well,” he wrote in the post titled “Trouble in testing land.”

“We see many false negatives (tests where no antibody is detected despite the fact we know it is there) and we also see false positives,” [Oxford University professor Sir John Bell] noted. “None of the tests we have validated would meet the criteria for a good test as agreed with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This is not a good result for test suppliers or for us.”

LA Times:

Last week, the Netherlands asked to return 600,000 face masks purchased from China that had inadequate filters and fit incorrectly. On Tuesday, Finland tested a shipment of personal protective equipment, or PPE, from China and found the items unsuitable for hospital use. Australian border officials have also reportedly seized 800,000 faulty or counterfeit masks from China.

The problem is worse at home [in China]. On March 12, officials at a State Council news briefing announced that authorities had seized more than 80 million counterfeit or faulty masks and 370,000 defective or fake disinfectants and other anti-coronavirus products in the prior month alone.

That many nations have learned an expensive lesson is no longer a new story. I simply wanted to point to the irony of the fact that the virus’s origin is China and that the PPE and medical equipment manufactured will neither protect a person against nor help a patient recover from this Chinese virus.

“Made in China” used to be a joke. It still is, but it’s not a funny one anymore.

By the way, be sure to search for the “Made in ____” on the labels of everything, even on items you thought was made in America.

Your bar soap, for example. Yes, I’ve had that surprise. Blessedly, there was no harm, but you never know.

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng has been blogging since 2003 as baldilocks. Her older blog is here.  She published her first novel, Tale of the Tigers: Love is Not a Game in 2012.

Follow Juliette on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, Patreon and Social Quodverum.

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On Conspiracy Theories

Posted: April 18, 2020 by ng36b in catholic
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People never cease to amaze me. I am used to reading Chinese, North Korean and Russian propaganda. It’s comical to read, but sad when you think that 20% of the world’s population has to read this garbage due to censorship.

So imagine my frustration when a friend sent me this:

And I’m pouring myself a glass of plentiful water being like

How are you supposed to respond to these things? It’s not the first time, and over the years, I’ve tried various strategies. The three I’ve settled on I like to call Truth, Ridicule and Instigation.

Truth

You can always fight lies with truth. A while back I was trying to sort through the hype about the HPV Vaccine. My doctor at work said it was fine, but I had heard stories about it acting as a contraceptive. So I dove in, reading an awful lot of technical papers. Turns out, the one study that said the vaccine was a contraceptive was poorly done, and every Catholic source I found said the vaccine is fine, although also recommending it not be mandated.

Ridicule

Watch Baghdad Bob in action at about the 7 minute mark!

The invasion of Iraq exposed many Americans to the Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, or more commonly known as Baghdad Bob. During the invasion, we were inundated with interviews where Baghdad Bob would deny claims that any American forces had entered Iraq or Baghdad, with such memorable quotes as “They’re coming to surrender or be burned in their tanks.” and “There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!” Americans, in typical American fashion, were not impressed, and soon al-Sahaaf was featured on countless memes, YouTube videos and even had a website devoted to him.

From http://www.holtorf.com

Instigation

Instead of fighting the allegation, you force it one level deeper. When someone asked me whether 5G caused COVID-19, I told them “Only the Huawei 5G. That’s why we have to build 5G from Verizon.” Or when someone claims that climate change is a government conspiracy, I tell them “It’s worse than that. Ever since the U.S. captured the Nazi weather machine in Svalbard, our scientists have been making all sorts of dangerous changes!”

A good instigation has a kernel of truth that is easy to find on the Internet. In the 5G case, its the push by the U.S. to build their own 5G infrastructure. In the climate case, its the (true) fact that the Nazi’s had a weather outpost on Svalbard that was one of the last places to surrender during the war. Heck, the Nazis even had a weather station in Canada! Maybe the Inuits were working with the Nazis to overthrow the Canadian government…nah, couldn’t be true, could it?

You can easily do your own instigation, and you should! The best format is:

  • Hyperbole – Actor – Kernel of Truth – Outright Lie –

My favorites are:

Hypberole:
It’s worse than you know…
I have insider information…
A study that was covered up said…
I found this site on the Dark Web that said…

Actors:
The radical left
The vast right-wing conspiracy
The underground Communist movement
Russian spies
Vatican II
The Nazis
The Illuminati

Truth and Lies are easy, a bit of Googling and you’ll learn some interesting history. Occasionally, places like the Onion help you out, like when they reveal that government vaccine trackers malfunctioned.

Instigation seems cruel, but the more I used it, it made me realize two things. First, when you learn about history, you realize that governments are made of people that are flawed. Conspiracy theorists will connect a few dots of information to come up with some wild accusation, while the reality is a lot more mundane. I tell people that the golden rule for government conspiracy is “Never attribute to government conspiracy what is better left to incompetence, greed or lust for power.“

Applying that to the current status of Michigan’s COVID-19 shutdown is perfect. The current Governor is a jerk. She’s using the crisis to push her own agenda, beat down on people she doesn’t like, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she profits from it in some way. But is she part of a bigger conspiracy? Doubtful. You’d be giving her too much credit by saying that.

The other thing I realized is that we’re all sucked into conspiracy. Plenty of people reading this will think they are somehow too smart to be fooled by conspiracy. To that I say, you’re not. Lots of people believed Bernie Sanders and/or Donald Trump was being funded by the Russians. People doubted whether Barack Obama was a U.S. citizen, despite the FBI having investigated the matter. People still believe there are UFOs at Area 51.

On a small scale though, we all fall victim to this. How many people think drinking 8 glasses of water a day is recommended? Or that flossing your teeth is a good thing? Despite living in the information age, we’re terrible at actually challenging our beliefs. We could read about vaccines and flossing, sift through campaign finance records, and learn about unique history…or we could share social media posts that appeal to our emotions instead of reason.

Humans are unique for many reasons, but perhaps the biggest is our ability to reason and logically question the world around us. Social media makes it too easy to be lazy, put people in stereotyped boxes, and accept old-wives tales as truth. We could all do better.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency.

Right Thing Smart Thing Sugar Daddy Edition

Posted: April 18, 2020 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Guy to woman at bar: Will you have sex with me for $1,000,000?

Woman: Well, [pauses] yeah, sure.

Guy: Will you have sex with me for $100?

Woman: [offended] What kind of girl do you think I am?

Guy: We’ve already established that, we’re just haggling over price now.

Very old joke unknown author

Two days ago Stacy McCain took down a post on the murder of Mackenzie Lueck due to objections by some of his kids to its tone.. In said post (which he stands behind despite taking it down) he objected to Ms. Lueck’s friend’s instance that we must to critique the choices that led to her murder and closes thus:

If grown-ups don’t warn girls against this stuff, peer pressure will continue leading many of them down the same road that led Mackenzie Lueck to her grave. Her anonymous friend can try to rationalize this “sugar baby” racket as something other than what it really is, and argue that “society” is wrong to condemn such behavior, but none of that can change the bottom line: “When they’re dead, they’re just hookers.”

The final line being from an episode of the Adult animated series Archer which by an odd coincidence I had just watched the day before.

Now while I see how that might offend some the point is very correct so let me put this into a context that might be readily understood and be less offensive to those of delicate sensibilities.

It is my understanding that young women have turned to “Sugar daddies” to pay for expensive colleges much like Miriam Weeks choose to become porn star Belle Knox porn star to help pay the tuition at Duke. That being the case let me ask this hypothetical question:

If a college operated a program where rich boosters could buy the, shall we say “companionship” of these young ladies (either for themselves or for student athletes as a perk for recruitment) how would feminists react?

Would they suggest that this is an excellent idea as these would be known men who would be less likely to present a physical danger and would not involve traveling and meeting people at 3 am somewhere? Or would they be shocked and angry at a college facilitating rich boosters using their wealth to obtain sex from young woman?

I submit and suggest that there is no moral difference between the pair. They’re both prostitution under a different name and the spiritual and psychological consequences are the same and I would highly advise any young woman considering such a path to reconsider. Once you start renting yourself out as a man’s sexual property you’ll find men will start treating you as property to be bought and sold. Much better to go to a less expensive school and own yourself completely instead of being the rental property of others.

After all is that really the “equality” you want for yourself?

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