It’s the 2nd day of Christmas and because it falls on a Sunday the feast of St. Stephen the 1st Martyr is trumped by the feast of the Holy Family.
Oddly enough according to the calendar of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops it didn’t get moved to a later day in the week (the 1st open one is the 29th as St. John the Evangalist gets the 27th and the Holy Innocents slaughter by Herod the 28th).
St. Stephen’s feast is an important one as it reminds us that while we celebrate the birth of Christ we remember that it’s his death that created “God and Sinners” reconciled.
Of course if France WAS Bacon it would be a lot more popular
The English language is so much fun because of the way you can play with words. Groucho Marx made an entire career out of it.
A perfect example of playing with the English language in that way for December 26th.
Riddle: Why is the feast of Stephen very big in the Gay Community?
Answer: Because that's the day good King Wenceslas came out.
There is a reason why I don’t quit my day job.
Speaking of Running Gags Don Surber is constantly talking about wanting a Bentley. For the fun of it I searched online and look what I found:
Don Surber’s Dream Car
Hey Under $20,000 for a car with under 42,000 miles? That not only a pretty good deal but might even be in his price range.
I wonder if he can generate the cash via his tip jar? After all there are twelve days of Christmas and he has 11 left to do so.
Finally I was about to write that the old datechguyblog.com site is finally dead as it went blanks a few days ago. But this morning I tested it out as I was writing this and it came right up.
This seems to fit my theory that all of this has been running automatically for quite a while.
I’m not going to worry about it. My record of cancelling the account is still saved and has been stated publicly so I don’t anticipate some guy coming after me with a big bill in a few years but you never know.
Either way there is where I am and where I’ll stay and eventually I’ll get datechguyblog.com to point here too.
Saturday at Pintastic NE is always a busy day. You tend to draw the largest crowds and there is plenty going on.
One of the more popular games was the Beatles 1964
Not only is the gameplay of this machine great but it of course has the best sound track of all the games here
A lot of people bring Pinball games here to sell but one of the problems is: If you sell a game how do you get it home? Well that’s where Dino of Shipmypinball.com comes in
Getting the machine from point A to point B is something that always needs to be considered when buying a machine.
Of course there are those who offer an alternative to buying game, RENTING THEM
I’m thinking the Bushey Brothers may cut the Gordan knot for many guys like me whose wives don’t want a game in their house or big money spent but might actually go along with getting a game in the house if it’s only for a month or two and someone else moves it in and out for you.
Of course there are some thing that shouldn’t be forgotten during Pintastic NE and such as God and the Sacraments. Luckily for a Catholic like me there is St. Anne’s Shrine only a mile away down the road.
If you’re wondering where the hat is , hey I’m at a church of course I have it off.
Of course if you’re buying an old game or even if you need an newer one there is always the need for the parts, that’s where Mayfair Games (not to be confused with the old wargame maker) comes in.
You will see them as the first dealer on the left at every Pintastic
Of course while the old game are big here It’s the new ones that draw eyeballs. One of those new players is American Pinball and I talked to their man David Fix.
He was in high demand and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him until the vendor room was closing. But it worked out very well because he moved one of the Legends of Valhalla games to the Extra Ball Lounge were my youngest and I started playing.
Alas my son is too good so we couldn’t show the full game
Of course I’m not the only guy filming here Todd Tuckey was Livestreaming
While the Guns and Roses Tribute Band: Welcome to the Jungle who played the event played on…
They came in to celebrate the release of the new Guns and Roses game from Jersey Jack who for some reason I didn’t manage to interview this year (more from the band later).
You might recall I talked to Michael two years ago when he brought a bunch of games, well he and Emily have graduated from hobby to Pinball Museum Proprietors in Pawtucket RI
You heard that right 28 of the machines people were playing came from them and it’s worth noting that on day four those machines were still here to play as they’re invariably the last folks out (next to Gabe of course).
But while the hobbyists and game providers are big the real question is what did the folks who paid their money to play think. I ran into four such folks who were attending Pintastic for the first time
When people are willing to come 3000 miles and say they’ll do it again next year you’ve got it right.
By this time is was late and I finished my work day talking to the tribute band after their 2nd performance.
after that I finally got to play the popular Sonic the Hedgehog homebrew which won best Homebrew game and can be played either via flippers or from a Sega controller
2 AM came very quickly and checkout is 11 AM so it was time to crash and prepare for the final day of Pinball.
Day two of Pintastic NE is always interesting because machines keep coming in the vendors are set up but its not yet the weekend so there is still a bit less of a crowd to compete for time.
I talked to Greg and Shawn who were not here together but met here,
There is a lot of meeting people who are into the hobby here and hanging out, after all why watch a game alone when you can play two, three or four and socialize a bit (and rest your wrists).
One of the things that I’ve seem this more than any other has been the rise of “Homebrew” games. These are games that are designed and made by individuals for themselves. One such creator was Zachary Frey who created a rather unique game called Poker that rather than a backglass has it’s screen built into the body of the game. We talked about his creation:
This is one of the cleverest games I’ve played in a while. it has an interesting extra two button feature with a Maga save on the left and a pop up that can save a ball about to drain on the right.
A much fancier and more recognizable game was Ferris Bueller’s day off I talked to the designer and the artist.
There are only two copies of this game (which is double the production of Zach’s Poker game) and I must admit I felt very old when Redi (who is a delightful lady who I shared a game of Twilight Zone with later) said she had to watch the movie when Brian approached her about doing the game as it came out the year she was born.
There was a constant line in front of this game and I didn’t get to it until late that night. One should always play homebrew games at events such as this as it’s likely the only time you will ever see these games.
Later on in the day I ran into Jeff the hot sauce guy. He had been set up at Pintastic NE2019 and I thought at the time it was an odd mix for the place, but he was back and with an expanded product line.
Apparently hot sauces and Pinball mix pretty well. It was also interesting to hear how COVID effected his business.
There are all kind of accessories available for pinball machines one of the coolest ones I saw was a vest to be used with a sound system that was being demoed at the Pinnovators booth
It looked too cool not to try myself so Sandra kindly took over the camera and I got strapped in and gave it a go while playing Areosmith.
The Venders hall was packed and one of the big games was Legends of Valhalla. I played it a couple of times and found it my favorite of the new games there (so far). I talked to Shawn of Maine Home Recreation that was carrying the game.
The American Pinball company (which made one of my favorites from 2019 Octoberfest) is creating some excellent games for the hobby.
And old favorite is Stern Pinball was well represented by special guest and pinball designers John Borg who I was able to get a few minutes with:
Their brand new Godzilla machine was everywhere and all with lines in front of them. The lines were well earned as it’s an excellent game.
Of course Pintastic would not be Pintastic without Todd Tuckey. He gave a seminar on how to avoid buying a pinball Lemon online which was too long to put here but he gave me ten minutes during the afterparty.
Alas I could not embed the link in the video he was referring to put I’ve got the clip here from Pintastic 2017 that he was referring to here.
ah the days when I still had both of my front teeth but on the bright side I’ve finally stopped calling Todd: “Tom”
Well that’s all for now it’s just after 10 AM on day three as I’m finishing this and there is pinball to play and interview to do, so we’ll be back tomorrow with day 3 stuff.
Pitching Wins Hermanson Mon 29, ERA Hermanson Mon 1.82, IP Soto Cin 285 1/3, K’s Soto Cin 347, Avg against Soto Cin .196 WHIP Hermanson Mon 1.00 HR/9 Berenyi Cin, Anderson Pit 0.33, Saves Urbina Mon 35.
NL Playoff results
Wild card 2009 Nationals over 1993 Mets
Division Series 1982 Reds over 2000 Phillies 4 games to 2
Division Series 2009 Nationals over 1998 Expos 4 games to 3
League Championship series 2009 Nats over 1982 Reds 4 games to 1
World Series
2009 Nationals over 1970 Royals 4 games to 3
The SD Jones memorial .500 teams league is a league (all teams were no better than 2 games over .500 or no worse than 2 games under) Initial season . Games are scheduled for Tuesdays. AM Only 2 series are left to play in the entire league
Avg Carew Min .356, OBP Trout LAA .432, SLUG Trout LAA .616, Runs Trout LAA 138, Hits Carew Min 235, 2B Cabrera Det 55, 3B Durham ChW, 20, SB Carew Min 65 BB Trout LAA 119 HR Trout LAA, Howard Wash Cabrera Det 45, RBI Cabrera Det 148
Pitching
Wins Verlander Det 24, ERA Clemens Bos 2.31, IP Blyleven Minn 313, K’s Blyleven Min 297 , Avg against Cahill Oak .204, WHIP Darwin Bos 0.97, HR/9 Bibby Cle 0.30, Saves Knowles Wash Lyle NYY 33
AVG Clemente Pit .362, OBP Mitchell Cin .439, Slug Helton Col .614 Runs Larkin Cin 134, Hits Clemente Pit 234, 2B Cirillo Col 67, 3B Clemente Pit 23, SB Pierre LAD 82 BB Ashburn Phil 122, HR Helton Col 37, RBI Helton Col 141
Pitching Wins Scherzer Wash 23 ERA Scherzer Wash 2.38, IP Scherzer Wash 302, K’s Scherzer Wash 367, Avg Against Scherzer Wash .208, WHIP Scherzer Wash 0.95, HR/9 Reed StL 0.28 , Saves Face Pitt 37
3rd League All time any time Great Teams League (3rd season) Games scheduled Friday evenings. Two teams have been picked up since the last posting (oddly not the Orioles)
Avg McGee StL .365, OBP Morgan Cin .457, Slug Kendrick Wash .611, Runs Morgan Cin 114, Hits McGee Stl 186, 2B Rizzo Cubs16 40, 3B McGee StL 19, SB Morgan Cin 71, BB Morgan Cin 106, HR Ga;arraga Atl, Aaron Mil 37, RBI Foster 117
Pitching Wins Maddux Atl 18, ERA Tudor StL 1.75, IP Maddux Atl 231, K’s Johnson Arizona 295, Avg against Tudor StL .181, WHIP Tudor StL 0.82 HR/9 Buhl Mil 0.34, Saves Chapman Cubs16 32
If you are interested in taking over the management of any of the online leagues teams contact me in comments.
As a bonus here are the standings of our face to face draft league which first began playing in 1987 in Fitchburg Massachusetts. We have two divisions with 4 teams each playing a 60 game season every other Saturday at Zeda’s Pizza in Fitchburg MA. The individual leagues are named for deceased members of the league. Five teams make the playoffs, the best record gets home field throughout and 2nd best record of the division leaders gets a home series against the best non-division winner while the final two teams play a one game playin for the right to face the best division winner in the playoffs.
New players are always welcome
Lynn Division
W
L
PCT
GB
WCGB
Tampa Bay Rays (x)
41
19
.683
—-
n/a
San Francisco Giants(w)
35
25
.583
6
Bye
St. Louis Cardinals(w)
32
28
.533
7
Home
Colorado Rockies
24
36
.400
17
2
w clinched at least wildcard game x clinched playoff spot
Dan Division
W
L
PCT
GB
WCGB
New York Yankees (XY)
39
21
.650
—-
n/a
Washington Nationals
28
33
.459
11 1/2
_____
Seattle Mariners
27
34
.442
12 1/2
E
San Diego Padres
17
43
.283
22
E
Playoff results
Wild card playin StL over Washington
Playoffs round 1 NYY over SF 4 games to 2
Tampa over Stl 4 games to 3
World Series Tampa over NYY 4 games to 3
The 1969 Draft league is a continual draft league in its first season (1969) All teams drafted full rosters (max 35) while being allowed to keep one player from the teams picked. In subsequent season (next year 1970) teams will retain rights to new rookies plus 4-12 currently held players based on their finish. There are no wildcards and 1969 rules are in play.
AL
East
W
L
PCT
GB
Baltimore Orioles
12
8
.600
—–
Cleveland Indians
11
11
.500
2
Washington Senators
10
10
.500
2
NY Highlanders (Yankees)
9
13
.409
4
West
W
L
PCT
GB
Minnesota Maul of America (Twins)
13
9
.591
—–
Oakland A’s
13
9
.591
—–
Chicago White Sox
9
13
.409
4
Seattle Pilots
9
13
.409
4
AL Leaders
Avg Billy Williams balt .444, OBP Harmon Killebrew Cle .516, Slug Frank Howard Wash .768, Runs Jimmy Wynn Cle 19 , Hits Billy Williams Balt 36, 2B Dick Green Oak, Johnny Callison Wash 8, 3B Billy Williams Balt , Ron Fairly NYY, Johnny Callison Wash 4, BB Mike Fiore Sea 26, HR Frank Howard Wash 10 , RBI Harmon Killebrew Cle 27
Pitching Wins Andy Messersmith Balt 4, ERA Mel Stottlemyre Cle 1.83 , IP Larry Dieker NYY 41, K’s Sam McDowell Cle 49, Avg Against Jerry Koosman Oak .152, WHIP Jerry Koosman Oak 0.82, HR/9 , Wally Bunker Oak, Mike McCormick Sea 0.00 , Saves Tug McGraw Twins, Moe Drabowski Wash 6
NL
East
W
L
PCT
GB
New York Metropolitans (Mets)
17
8
.680
—–
Pittsburgh Pirates
12
10
.545
3 1/2
Montreal Nos Amours (Expos)
8
12
.400
6 1/2
Atlanta Braves
7
13
.350
7 1/2
West
W
L
PCT
GB
Los Angeles Dodgers
14
8
.636
—–
Cincinnati Cin City (Reds)
13
9
.591
1
St. Louis Cardinals
14
11
.560
1 1/2
San Francisco Seals (Giants)
4
18
.182
10
Leaders NL
Avg Bobby Tolan Mets .376, OBP Rusty Staub Mon .485, Slug Reggie Smith LAD .761, Runs Reggie Smith LAD 21, Hits Bobby Tolan Mets 41, 2B Curt Flood StL 9, 3B Sal Bando Mets, Jerry Grote Pit, Tim McCarver mets, Bobby Murcer SF, Reggie Smith LAD, Doug Rader Pitt, Rich Reese Stl, Maury Wills Stl 2, BB Willie McCovery LAD 21 SB Cesar Tovar mets 7, HR Dick Allen Reds 8, RBI Bobby Tolan Mets Hank Aaron Atl 21
Pitching Wins Tom Seaver Mets 5, ERA Nelson Briles StL 1.50, IP Bob Gibson Mets 50 1/3, K’s Bob Gibson StL 46, Avg against Jim Palmer SF .170, WHIP Jim Palmer 0.84, HP/9 Dave McNalley SF 0.00 Saves Ron Taylor Mets 7
We Expect to expand by at least 2 teams next season
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