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The Key Question Concerning that Baker +15 over Warren Pol for MA Senate

Posted: May 12, 2023 by datechguy in election 2024, politics
Tags: , , ,

Breitbart reports a poll that might cause the left some grief in the quest to keep an evenly divided Senate:

This is not a surprise for several reasons:

  1. Charlie Baker was an incredibly popular governor
  2. Charlie Baker was an incredibly competent governor
  3. On Social issues you would be hard pressed to fit a playing card between Baker & Warren

And as Breitbart notes Baker is a lot more popular than Warren:

Senator Warren has significantly higher unfavorable numbers than her fellow Democrats statewide and that seems to be creating an opening for Baker, who always enjoyed large amounts of cross-party appeal. Looking at the cross tabs, Republicans seem to coalesce behind Baker (79%) in a way that Democrats do not around Warren (56%), and Baker leads with independent/unenrolled voters 2-1 at 57-26%.

Warren’s favorability rating is 5 points above water, with 49 percent finding her favorable  and 44 percent saying she is unfavorable, including 35 percent who find her “very unfavorable.” As Craney pointed out, her favorability rating indicates she is far less secure than some of her fellow prominent elected Democrat officials in the Bay State.

Now while it would be nice to have a Ted Cruz or a John Kennedy (of LA) win a US senate race in Massachusetts, with the current state of our state voting population there would be a better chance of the Red Sox signing me as a 60 year old pinch runner off the bench next week than an actual full blown conservative winning a statewide election for US Senate. Until and unless we educate and persuade the electorate Baker is likely the best we can realistically get and in terms of competence he would be a giant step forward for Massachusetts, plus it’s always useful to have a person with executive experience in the Senate.

This should send the fear of God into the left although there would be several bright sides for the left:

  • Baker would almost certainly be voting with Democrats 10-20% of the time
  • He would be the MSM’s “goto” republican on any social issues we attempt to advance
  • He could reliably be expected to attack a President Trump and make any opposition to him be by definition “bipartisan”

But that extra vote to give the gavel to McConnell and stop Biden judges in their tracks would outweigh those disadvantages.

However there is one question that needs to be asked before we break out the bubbly.

Has anyone asked Charlie Baker if he wants the job?

Right now Charlie Baker is president of the NCAA. I’m sure like all jobs it has ups and downs but I suspect it’s a job he enjoys and I don’t doubt for one moment that it’s a job he doing well because it rewards competence which Baker has by the bucketful.

So can someone explain to me why Baker would leave that job to enter a race where he’ll be targeted, attacked and get grief from an incredibly polarized electorate and even risk physical attack (and he’s a really big target, seriously that guy is tall).

Why would he abandon the sweet gig he has for all that grief? I don’t see him doing it and until someone convinces me otherwise I’m not going to get my knickers in an uproar.

Dynasty 1996 Short Season 16 team, Draft League AL West The Story so Far…

Posted: May 12, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , , , , , ,

You’ve now gotten a glimpse of the AL east in my Dynasty 16 team short season (80 games once a week) league. Lets continue with a look at the AL West. (Current as of 5/11/23 Noon EST)

WestWLPCTGB
Toronto95.643——
Minnesota106.625____
Seattle 85.6151/2
Chicago67.4622 1/2

Toronto: 9-5 1st place (tie)

The good news : Ellis Burkes is tearing it up with a .393 avg 4 HR and 15 RBI’s He is in the AL Top three in Avg, Slugging, OBS, HR & RBI. Pat Mears has been a pleasant surprise hitting .302 with a pair of triples while Brian McRae has scored 12 runs with only 14 hits. Meanwhile Troy Percival has been lights out 5-5 in save chances and their Team ERA of 3.24 is tops in the AL and 2nd in the Majors.

The Bad News: No team has swung and missed more than Toronto with 136K’s in 14 games and Cecil Fielder (8K .174 avg) and Ed Sprague (17K’s .184) have only one HR between them in 51 AB. With the glove their .976 fielding is 2nd to last in the AL only Cleveland has done worse with the normally sure handed Mike Lansing with 4 errors in 14 games

Didn’t see that coming: Toronto Relievers Kent Bottenfield, Mike Jackson, Tory Percival and Jim Poole combined have appeared in 14 games, pitched 20 1/3 innings and have yet to give up an earned run

Medical Report: Rusty Greer was hurt early in the season and won’t be back for this homestand and isn’t expect back until the team hits LA although there is an outside chance he makes the last game in Minnesota, The prognosis on John Valentin who went down during the Seattle series is much better as he’s expected to be able to make the the Atlanta Series before the team hits the road for six.

Coming Attractions: Toronto has two more against Cleveland and hosts Atlanta for a pair before going on a six game road trip ending in LA but starting with a critical four games at Minnesota.

Minnesota: 10-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Their +23 run differential is the AL’s best fueled by Johnny Damon whose .451 avg and 1.237 OPS both lead the majors Chuck Knoblauch .354 1 HR 11 RBI, and Mark Whiten .295 2HR 12 RBI are big reasons for it. Ben McDonald 3-0 with a 1.73 leads the league.

The Bad News: Brad Radke 5.21 ERA and no decisions in three starts. Javy Lopez has disappointed with the bat .191 1 HR 8 RBI and the glove he and Brian Johnson have a combined 25 stolen bases and 4 errors between them with only 5 caught. Whiten is wowing with the bat but already has 2 errors in the outfield and Jason Giambi .220 1 HR 7 RBI .270 OBP, and Garret Anderson .182 0 HR 1 RBI 1 R scored have underperformed.

Didn’t see that coming: Pedro Martinez 2-1 3.94 ERA

Medical Report: They feel fine

Coming Attractions: Minnesota’s home stand continues with Florida in for 2 and a huge 4 game series with Toronto interrupted briefly for a pair in St. Louis before they come back home for 3 vs the Yanks

Seattle: 8-5 .615 3rd place 1/2 GB

The good news : Albert Belle has been a monster at the bat hitting ,339 with 6 HR and 13 RBI. A-Rod only has 3 HR but has driven in 10. Jeff Cirillo his hitting .333 and has an OBP over .400

The Bad News: Dan Naulty has a 1.08 ERA but with an 0-2 record with only a 50% save rate (1 in 2 chances) Ken Griffey Jr. .214 1 HR 5 RBI

Didn’t see that coming: Randy Johnson in the bullpen 1-0 1.29 ERA 3 saves in 4 chances

Medical Report: Daren Oliver who was hurt in his 2nd start will be available for the final game of their series with Boston but with a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 10.29 the question is, will he come back to the rotation?

Coming Attractions: Seattle faces Boston and Pittsburgh on their current homestand before traveling for 4 against the White sox in Chicago and a pair in Houston before they see home again.

Chicago : 6-7 .313 4th place 2 1/2 GB

The good news : Marty Cordova has been a pleasant surprise with his .351 avg he and Steve Finley both have six doubles tied for 3rd in the AL Frank Thomas line is .300 4 HR 10 RBI with a 1.004 OBS. Alex Fernandez is making other teams earn their way on as his 1.57 walks per nine innings demonstrates. Steve Finley already has 2 outfield assists and Robin Ventura and Omar Visquel have only one error in 113 chances and the White Sox are tied for the fewest runs given up in the majors.

The Bad News: Unfortunately while giving up the fewest runs Chicago is also dead last in the AL in hits, batting avg (.242) and OBP. .311. White teams don’t score runs on Chicago they sure can run against them as Mike Macfarlane has caught only 1 of 11 runners trying to steal 0.91.

Didn’t see that coming: Mark McGuire .132 0 HR 2 RBI BUT .353 OBP 13 walks (3rd in league)

Medical Report: Every is healthy just not contributing much

Coming Attractions: Chicago has a nine game homestand with the Yanks coming in for 3 Cincy for two and then four huge games vs Seattle before hitting the road.

UPDATE: Had Baltimore coming attractions for Chicago, fixed.

The Good Trump As Seen on CNN

Posted: May 11, 2023 by datechguy in election 2024, elections, media
Tags: , , ,

One of the things that I argue over and over again is that you have to take for where and what they are.

There are things about Donald Trump that drive people absolutely nuts. Almost all of them are about style and ego but in the end you can’t get all of the positives from Trump without the rest of him. He is who he is and all of those things that he is what made his administration, in my opinion the third most successful presidency in the history of this country.

And the CNN Town hall demonstrated why.

Trump took no prisoners and doggedly took all that was thrown at him and made the case for his second term.

CNN wanted to talk election 2020 and January 6th and Trump swatted it right back at them making point that the left ignored for years and then still moved forward on the issues that people actually care about.

The best measure of how well Trump did is the absolute meltdown the left is having over the American people being able to see Trump make his case in his own words.

The angriest people in the world seemed to be the CNN folks in the panel afterwards but it also produced what was in my opinion the best moment of the night where Congressman Byron Donalds was quoting testimony given under oath vs Anderson Cooper trying to “correct” him by quoting a book which is not written under oath.

Put simply we saw Donald Trump at his best, willing to say the truth to people who push a lie, willing to talk straight and make his case. I disagree on his comment concerning Disney vs DeSantis but that’s OK, he used the media well making his best case to the American people without the filter that the left so wants to keep on.

This is the Good Trump and if he wants to win the GOP nomination that is the Trump we need to see.

Dynasty 1996 Short Season 16 team, Draft League AL East The Story so Far…

Posted: May 10, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , ,

It’s been a while since I’ve done a top to bottom eval of one of my leagues so let’s look at my once a week 1996 draft league currently in progress. Lets start with the AL East.

EastWLPCTGB
Boston76.538——
New York (A)76.538____
Cleveland58.3852
Baltimore511.3133 1/2

Boston: 7-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Jose Canseco is tearing up the joint hitting .367 (4th in the AL) and driving in 16 (1st in the League) on 4 HR and 3 doubles. Mo Vaughn has 7 HR leading the majors and a .424 OBP. One the mound Turk Wendell has yet to give up a run in 5 1/3 innings of relief.

The Bad News: Starting pitching Roger Pavlik is 0-2 7.94 with batters hitting .326 against him. Donovan Osborne isn’t wowing anyone with a .313 avg for batters and a 6.17 ERA

Didn’t see that coming: Roger Clemens 2-1 3.57 ERA

Coming Attractions: Boston has three at Seattle before coming home for a pair against San Diego and a critical 4 game series vs the Yankees

NYY: 7-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Andres Galarraga & Juan Gonzalez are both part of a six way tie or 3rd in AL Homeruns with 4 each. the joint hitting .367 (4th in the AL) Todd Stottlemyre is 3-0 tied for the MLB lead in wins, leads the AL in ERA (1.03) all while 3rd in Innings pitched. Jeff Juden in 6 relief appearances has yet to give up an earned run (WHIP 0.87).

The Bad News: Joey Hamilton (0-2 8.36 ERA WHIP 2.00 .361 avg against) has been bad but Andy Pettite (0-3 13.89 ERA WHIP 2.91 and batters hitting .426 ) has been much worse and are the reason why the yanks don’t have a lead in this division and was likely the prime driver in the trade of Mariano Rivera to Atlanta for John Smoltz (yes you read that right).

Didn’t see that coming: The Rivera / Smoltz trade should rank 1st but Bernie Williams stat line is interesting. He only has 10 hits .244 10 for 41 but has 10 RBI on those ten hits.

Medical Report: Pete Harnisch got hurt in his very first start and won’t be available against the White Sox but will be back for Houston unless they won’t to hold him for the big 4 game series vs the Red Sox

Coming Attractions: The Yanks have spent a lot of time on the road with three more vs the Pale Hose but they have a quick pit stop at home for a pair at Houston before heading to Fenway park for a critical series vs the Red Sox.

Cleveland: 5-8 .385 3rd place 2 GB

The good news : Bobby Higginson was a late draft pick but he’s been hitting like a first round pick batting .393 (3rd in AL) with 13 RBI (2nd in AL) all without a single HR. Jim Thome leads the AL with a .479 OBP and Edgar Martinez leads all the majors with 15 walks and Benito Santiago currently injured is part of that 6 way tie for 3rd in HR..

The Bad News: Cleveland has a team ERA of 5.85 2nd to last in the majors and three pitchers with ERA’s over 10 including Charles Nagy who in three starts has an ERA of 10.80 ERA an Avg against of .378 Their team is also dead last in the AL in Home Runs (9)

Didn’t see that coming: Despite the 2nd worst ERA in the Majors and the AL’s worst fielding percentage (.970) they are only 2 games out of first.

Medical Report: Both Kevin Appier and battery mate Benito Santiago went down vs the yanks and won’t be back in time for Toronto but they should both be around for St. Louis

Coming Attractions: The Tribe has three north of the border with Toronto and a part at home against St. Louis before heading to Baltimore for 4 games a stretch which give them their best shot to threaten for first.

Baltimore : 5-11 .313 4th place 3 1/2 2 GB

The good news : Hard to find good news here but the O’s lead the majors in fielding with a .993 avg and of teams with 15 attempts against them have the best caught stealing rate .462. They are also 2nd in the AL in walks as a team (59) Meanwhile while their starting pitching with the exception of Rheal Cormier (1-0 2.45 in 18 1/3 innings) has been suspect Jay Powel, Lee Smith and Randy Myers all have ERA’s of 2.08 or lower and are a perfect 4-4 in save situations.. The only good news at the plate is Quilvio Veras 3rd in the AL in Runs scored and tied for 4th in walks while Quinton McGracken who acquired with Mike Hampton for Danny Darwin and team leading hitter Brady Anderson has matched Anderson’s .333 batting avg and team lead in OBP since joining the club.

The Bad News: Baltimore is dead last in ERA (5.99) Last in the AL in slugging (.376)2nd to last in the AL in homers 2nd to last in avg .249 Starting pitchers Mike Hamption (6.00 ERA) Doug Drabek (8.36 ERA) Mike Mussina (9.82 ERA) Danny Darwin (12.10 ERA before being dealt to Houston) and Jimmy Key (ERA 13.50) have not benefited from the solid gloves of the team.

Didn’t see that coming: Pitchers Doug Drabek, Danny Darwin and Mike Hampton are a combined 5-5 at the plate with 4 RBI’s

Medical Report: Baltimore remains two starters down. Jimmy Key was lost after his 2nd start. He won’t be back to face LA but should be back in time for the end of the Cleveland series. Musinna will miss the entire homestand but will be able to make the trip to Florida.

Coming Attractions: Baltimore starts a six game homestand with 2 vs LA and 4 vs the Tribe before heading off to Florida for a pair then three in Seattle .

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