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
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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 .

Bud Light Limbo, How Low Can Sales Continue to Go?

Posted: May 9, 2023 by datechguy in culture
Tags: , ,

Knight: You must choose, but choose wisely

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989

After some attempts to express the idea that:

  1. The Mulvaney Business wasn’t their idea
  2. They will be more careful to just talk beer in the future
  3. Murica!

without coming out and saying the words: We’re sorry to have f*****up and we won’t insult our customer base again, the good folks at Anheuser-Busch might have hoped this would reverse or slow the sales drop they have experienced so far:

It didn’t:

Bud Light sales continued to worsen for the week ended April 29, NielsenIQ data showed, amid controversy around the brand’s partnership with a transgender influencer.

The country’s No. 1-selling beer brand saw in-store sales of $71.6 million that week, off 23.4% from the same week in 2022.

How bad is it? This bad:

The company will provide “direct financial support” to workers, including delivery drivers, sales representatives, wholesalers and bar owners, Doukeris said.

Because apparently you can’t make a living selling Anheuser-Busch anymore in the US.

This means several things:

  1. This isn’t going to change until you get an explicit apology from Anheuser Busch
  2. The company is going to have to be willing to take the short term media hit when they do
  3. The salutary effects this is having on other companies thinking of going woke will continue
  4. The left will be desperate for a scalp to generate greater fear than this boycott has

In the end AB will have to choose between the gay bars in Chicago and the vast swath of beer drinkers, If their primary fear as individuals is dealing with angry leftists a permanent drop of 25% in sales might be acceptable. To a company actually interested in the bottom line it would be an easy choice.

The clock is ticking because if the decide to keep stalling eventually people will get used to their new choices in beer and the game will be over.

Is rock ‘n’ roll here to stay?

Posted: May 9, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
Tags:

By Christopher Harper

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has lost its way!

I love the music of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but they’re country artists, not rockers.

Is Kool Herc an important representative of rap because he scratched turntables?

Like many teenagers, I played in a rock ‘n’ roll band. Unlike most, we had some success, recording several songs, including one that made it to the Billboard 100. We’ve also been inducted into two rock halls of fame in South Dakota and Iowa!

That’s why rock and its cathedral in Cleveland are vital to me!

Let me name just a few of the noteworthy musicians who haven’t been honored and probably never will.

Joe Cocker has many proponents for the hall. For example,  Billy Joel voiced his support back in 2014, the same year Cocker died: “I’m amazed that he’s not in yet, but I’m throwing in my vote for Joe Cocker,” Joel told fans at Madison Square Garden while covering “With a Little Help From My Friends” as Cocker once did. He’s been eligible since 1995 but never nominated.

The Spencer Davis Group has never been nominated, despite being eligible since 1991. “[Spencer Davis] was a man with a vision and one of the pioneers of the British invasion of America in the ’60s,” former band member Steve Winwood said to Rolling Stone in 2020. “I feel that he was influential in setting me on the road to becoming a professional musician, and I thank him for that.”

Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s bid for respect for progressive rock has long been an uphill battle. That was Greg Lake’s view when considering why the band hadn’t been inducted into the rock hall, despite being eligible since 1996. Years have passed, and they still haven’t been nominated, which the late ELP vocalist took as a big slight. “Groups like ELP were playing stadiums. Not clubs, stadiums,” Lake said a decade ago. “It’s not something you can overlook: ‘Oh, I didn’t notice that.'”

Grand Funk Railroad has never received a nomination, despite five platinum albums and hugely popular hits like “Walk Like a Man” and “We’re an American Band.” The omission doesn’t sit well with Grand Funk co-founder Mark Farner. “It just shows the illegitimacy of that rock hall,” he said, “and the [fans] are definitely smart enough to know this. They need to be reminded, though, that the rock hall is not a representation of the will of the people; it is a representation of the will of the owners of the rock hall.”

Procol Harum has been eligible since 1993 but has been nominated just once for the class of 2013. Five years later, their classic song “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was inducted into the rock hall’s singles category. “We all know the history of music can be changed with just one song, one record,” E Street guitarist Steven Van Zandt said when introducing the category. “In three minutes, we suddenly enter a new direction, a movement, a style, an experience. That three-minute song can result in a personal revelation, an epiphany that changes our lives.”

Many others deserve consideration: Meat Loaf, Harry Nilsson, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Toto, Edgar and Johnny Winter, and maybe even the Monkees.

Sadly, many influential artists haven’t been considered for the hall, which means something is wrong.

A Feature Not A Bug in Chicago

Posted: May 8, 2023 by datechguy in crime
Tags: ,

Popeye: That’s all I can stands I can’t stands no more

Various Popeye cartoons

The Pols in Chicago have been moving at full speed to enable the criminal element within the city over the last few years.

And of course those in the DA’s office who have ambitions for political advancement have not had an problem going along with this business.

But what about the career people? Those who are dedicated to protecting the public.

And yet, I’m leaving. Why could that be? The simple fact is that this State and County have set themselves on a course to disaster. And the worst part is that the agency for whom I work has backed literally every policy change that had the predicable, and predicted, outcome of more crime and more people getting hurt.

That’s bad enough but now it’s becoming personal:

Many years ago my family found a nice quiet corner of the suburbs. Now my son, who is only 5, hears gunfire while playing at our neighborhood park, and a drug dealer is open-air selling behind my house (the second one in two years). If it were just me to consider, I’d stick it out. I’ve been through stupid State’s Attorney policies before. But this Office’s complete failure to even think for a moment before rushing into one popular political agenda after another has put my family directly in harm’s way.

That’s where the rubber meets the road:

I will not raise my son here. I am fortunate enough to have the means to escape, so my entire family is leaving the State of Illinois. I grew up here, my family and friends are here, and yet my own employer has turned it into a place from which I am no longer proud to be, and in which my son is not safe.

Hey I’m sure there are positions in Florida where an experienced prosecutor can find work.

The sad thing about all of this is it’s a choice that is actively being made to advance an agenda for the sake of power, wealth and position.

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