It's Friday! The weekend has started and it's time to look back a little.
Looking back to this afternoon- the Tigers won again. I like the sound of that, let's hear it again. "The Tigers won again." Yes, it has a beautiful ring to it. Today they beat a split squad from the Red Sox. But with Scuturo, Youkilis, Pedroia, Veritek and Ortiz in the line up I would say it was a fair fight.
Scherzer went 4 1/3 giving up 2 runs, 2 hits, and 3 walks. Alburquerque finished up the 5th for Max and allowed a run on 1 hit and 2 walks. After that the Tigers' pitchers shut down the BoSox with Villarreal, Ni and Thomas pitching 4 shut out innings between them. All of those goose eggs allowed the Tiger bats to get to work. Buchholz must have gotten tired (or predictable) because he allowed only a solo home run until the 5th where he gave up 2 on his own and Okajima relived him and gave up 2 more. Boesch and Raburn each homered and then Dirks put the nail in the coffin with a 2 run shot in the 9th. Overall Detroit had 9 hits for the day. I like baseball like this.
The Tigers have won 7 of the last 10 they have played (I know, "it's only spring training", I KNOW!). Just to prove that "spring training" point more- guess which AL team has a higher winning per centage than Detroit. Go ahead, guess. If you guessed the KC Royals, well see the lady at the counter for your prize. But still, 7 for 10!
Other things I missed this week:
In a very tough week for NPR yet another blow is delivered. This time from within. Garrison Keillor says that he plans to retire in 2013. It doesn't rain, but it pours for NPR! Because I vowed not to rant in this space, I will not discuss the circus that is being created around NPR right now. I will allow others to do it for me.
Monday was Pi Day (3/14 get it?). So in honor of Pi Day, here is a video showing some of the wondrous aspects of Pi.
If you could drop 20000 super balls from a 4 story building, would you? Of course not! That would be irresponsible. The responsible thing to do is to drop 20000 balls from a helicopter on to a parking lot! This is pure awesome. Since this took place in Utah, of course everyone helped clean up.
Finally, in honor of Geek Week here is a link to the best picture of Saturn moon you'll see today.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
and then there's that
I was home sick today. I pretty much slept the day away, what a fantastic way to appreciate the first day near 70 degrees this year. Ah well, there will be more.
While I was sleeping the Tigers were not, at least not all the way through the game. It was the Twins that came to Joker Marchant Stadium. I think this was the first time they have played each other this year and think that we will see many games like this between these two clubs this season. Reading the lines it seems that Brad Penny had a decent day (5 IP with 2 BB and 2 Ks with 3 ER on 3 hits). Furbush pitched 2 innings and struck out 4 but walked 3 (with 1 hit). Since I was sleeping I have no idea how wild he was, but that's a little scary to me. But no harm done (because it's spring and because no one scored). Benoit continued to be lights out (0.00 ERA so far) and Perry picked up the win while allowing only a hit. Offensively Inge had a solid day (3 for 4). Cabrerra hit a double and a HR. Raburn hit another HR while Maggs and Worth each had doubles. All together it was enough to win 4-3.
Kurt has his take on Cabrerra's success so far this spring. The bottom line is... a good spring = a good season in Cabrerra's world. Let's all hope that this is true!
Jason Beck shows how some pitchers make lemonade out of the lemons others are throwing.
MLive has an article on a different side of Cabrerra (no, not the drinking side). This shows how he is trying to improve as a base runner. That would be a good thing to see in 2011. We've seen how he has improved defensively as he became accustomed to 1B. Stretching singles to doubles or going 1st to 3rd is a good thing, it challenges the fielders and forces them to possibly make mistakes.
Both Lynn Henning and Matt Sussman feel that winning 90+ games will be tough for any team in the AL Central. This is because it is a balanced and competitive division (at least so far as Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago go).
Sussman links to another list, this time of defunct logos. Detroit has 2 on the list, the circular one that I remember from my childhood and the "tiger attacking through the D" that is very cool (and I'm painting on a wall in my basement.)
Other happenings today? Hmmm, let's see? Did anything of consequence happen on March 17, 2011? Well, let's take a look.
Japan avoided nuclear catastrophe for another day. They are still trying to pour water onto radioactive fuel in a desperate attempt to contain the radiation until the normal cooling process can be restarted. The BBC is reporting that engineers have been able to lay the needed electrical cable for that process. It strikes me that not enough hero worship has been directed at the people who are working this problem. If you consider that while everyone else is being told to leave the area, these men and women are putting on plastic suits and going into the danger zone. I remember the first responders of 9/11 and this reminds me of the same courage and resoluteness. When you're one of the 50 people who stay in the plant, well you know that you probably aren't going to play with your grandchildren- don't you. Yet, they go in anyway and do what they can. Finest hour, indeed.
Oh, another little thing happened a little while ago. The UN decided that they had had just about enough of Muammar Gaddafi. Well, France, Britain, Lebanon and the US did. China, Germany and Russia abstained. I just don't know folks. Maybe I'm a cold hearted bastard, but every news report I have heard describes the rebels in the same way. That description is of kids playing army. This is not Egypt or Tunisia. I wouldn't even say that the rebels are "pro-democracy". They are anti-Gaddafi, and who knows what that means? The bottom line is that the rebels are getting their butts kicked very systematically by the Government Army. Just exactly what can UN/ NATO air power do to change that? The UN resolution allows "all necessary measures" except ground occupation. France is chomping at the bit to strike. I don't understand this at all. Here are my questions right now:
The Tiger play Boston on Friday (at 1:05). Baseball reflects life, but it's easier to understand.
While I was sleeping the Tigers were not, at least not all the way through the game. It was the Twins that came to Joker Marchant Stadium. I think this was the first time they have played each other this year and think that we will see many games like this between these two clubs this season. Reading the lines it seems that Brad Penny had a decent day (5 IP with 2 BB and 2 Ks with 3 ER on 3 hits). Furbush pitched 2 innings and struck out 4 but walked 3 (with 1 hit). Since I was sleeping I have no idea how wild he was, but that's a little scary to me. But no harm done (because it's spring and because no one scored). Benoit continued to be lights out (0.00 ERA so far) and Perry picked up the win while allowing only a hit. Offensively Inge had a solid day (3 for 4). Cabrerra hit a double and a HR. Raburn hit another HR while Maggs and Worth each had doubles. All together it was enough to win 4-3.
Kurt has his take on Cabrerra's success so far this spring. The bottom line is... a good spring = a good season in Cabrerra's world. Let's all hope that this is true!
Jason Beck shows how some pitchers make lemonade out of the lemons others are throwing.
MLive has an article on a different side of Cabrerra (no, not the drinking side). This shows how he is trying to improve as a base runner. That would be a good thing to see in 2011. We've seen how he has improved defensively as he became accustomed to 1B. Stretching singles to doubles or going 1st to 3rd is a good thing, it challenges the fielders and forces them to possibly make mistakes.
Both Lynn Henning and Matt Sussman feel that winning 90+ games will be tough for any team in the AL Central. This is because it is a balanced and competitive division (at least so far as Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago go).
Sussman links to another list, this time of defunct logos. Detroit has 2 on the list, the circular one that I remember from my childhood and the "tiger attacking through the D" that is very cool (and I'm painting on a wall in my basement.)
Other happenings today? Hmmm, let's see? Did anything of consequence happen on March 17, 2011? Well, let's take a look.
Japan avoided nuclear catastrophe for another day. They are still trying to pour water onto radioactive fuel in a desperate attempt to contain the radiation until the normal cooling process can be restarted. The BBC is reporting that engineers have been able to lay the needed electrical cable for that process. It strikes me that not enough hero worship has been directed at the people who are working this problem. If you consider that while everyone else is being told to leave the area, these men and women are putting on plastic suits and going into the danger zone. I remember the first responders of 9/11 and this reminds me of the same courage and resoluteness. When you're one of the 50 people who stay in the plant, well you know that you probably aren't going to play with your grandchildren- don't you. Yet, they go in anyway and do what they can. Finest hour, indeed.
Oh, another little thing happened a little while ago. The UN decided that they had had just about enough of Muammar Gaddafi. Well, France, Britain, Lebanon and the US did. China, Germany and Russia abstained. I just don't know folks. Maybe I'm a cold hearted bastard, but every news report I have heard describes the rebels in the same way. That description is of kids playing army. This is not Egypt or Tunisia. I wouldn't even say that the rebels are "pro-democracy". They are anti-Gaddafi, and who knows what that means? The bottom line is that the rebels are getting their butts kicked very systematically by the Government Army. Just exactly what can UN/ NATO air power do to change that? The UN resolution allows "all necessary measures" except ground occupation. France is chomping at the bit to strike. I don't understand this at all. Here are my questions right now:
- Who are we helping? By that I mean, what are their motives? How do they help the US to improve?
- What is the goal? In other words, "Why?" Is this about humanitarian crisis (I doubt it)? Is it oil? Is it to prevent a flood of immigrants going to Europe?
- What are the measures to be taken? Do we use cruise missiles to destroy targets from afar? Do we send aircraft over Libya? Do we attack Government ground troops? Do we send in our own troops to bolster the rebel fighters?
- Who wins? Just who comes out ahead if the UN/NATO succeed in stopping the fighting? Who gives peace keepers? Who splits up the oil revenue? How do you deal with Gaddafi (if he survives) once the shooting stops?
The Tiger play Boston on Friday (at 1:05). Baseball reflects life, but it's easier to understand.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Passing thoughts from the day
Here is quick round up of stuff from March 16
Samara listened to a game and enjoyed Jim and Dan's commentary. Money quote: “Nothing the trainer can do except come out and offer moral support.” After Max St. Pierre got hit in the replicators.
This is from a couple of days ago, but is worth going back to. Kurt at Bless You Boys interviews Dan Dickerson (radio voice of the Tigers). Part 1 is here. Hopefully part 2 will be posted soon!
In moves that surprised no one. Beck reported that Guillen and Zumaya will be on the DL when the Tigers head north.
I miss Johnny Damon. I loved seeing him in the Old English D and I thought we would see him in Left for 2011. Apparently he thought we would too. MLBTradeRumors.com linked to a Twitter feed where Damon says he thought being back in Detroit was a "slam dunk". I wish it were true.
Dave Pinto at BaseballMusings.com has done his prognostications about how often the Tigers will score. He sees quite a few runs (5.10 runs per game). I like that number and I hope that he is right.
I am sure that this was keeping you up at night, so I'll help put the controversy to rest. The Tigers have the the 5th best hats in the MLB. MLive linked to the list today. Suck it Justin Bieber! Take your purple Yankees hat and go back to the dugout. BTW, the Indians have the worst hats.
Off of baseball...
Netflix has decided to run with the big dogs! They are going to publish their own content, a TV show called House of Cards. Last fall we cut off the satellite and have gone strictly with Netflix and Hulu for mind-numbing entertainment. It has been no problem for anyone! I'm excited to see Netflix survive and thrive.
Can you compare an airplane to a continent? Dominic Tierney does just that as he tries to bring the costs of the F35 jet fighter into perspective. A thought provoking article.
Finally, a Quote for the Day from Rand Paul. I'm not a big fan of his, but truth is truth no matter where you see it.
Sweet dreams!
Samara listened to a game and enjoyed Jim and Dan's commentary. Money quote: “Nothing the trainer can do except come out and offer moral support.” After Max St. Pierre got hit in the replicators.
This is from a couple of days ago, but is worth going back to. Kurt at Bless You Boys interviews Dan Dickerson (radio voice of the Tigers). Part 1 is here. Hopefully part 2 will be posted soon!
In moves that surprised no one. Beck reported that Guillen and Zumaya will be on the DL when the Tigers head north.
I miss Johnny Damon. I loved seeing him in the Old English D and I thought we would see him in Left for 2011. Apparently he thought we would too. MLBTradeRumors.com linked to a Twitter feed where Damon says he thought being back in Detroit was a "slam dunk". I wish it were true.
Dave Pinto at BaseballMusings.com has done his prognostications about how often the Tigers will score. He sees quite a few runs (5.10 runs per game). I like that number and I hope that he is right.
I am sure that this was keeping you up at night, so I'll help put the controversy to rest. The Tigers have the the 5th best hats in the MLB. MLive linked to the list today. Suck it Justin Bieber! Take your purple Yankees hat and go back to the dugout. BTW, the Indians have the worst hats.
Off of baseball...
Netflix has decided to run with the big dogs! They are going to publish their own content, a TV show called House of Cards. Last fall we cut off the satellite and have gone strictly with Netflix and Hulu for mind-numbing entertainment. It has been no problem for anyone! I'm excited to see Netflix survive and thrive.
Can you compare an airplane to a continent? Dominic Tierney does just that as he tries to bring the costs of the F35 jet fighter into perspective. A thought provoking article.
Finally, a Quote for the Day from Rand Paul. I'm not a big fan of his, but truth is truth no matter where you see it.
"Would Republicans have given Obama and his party a free pass in carrying out the exact same agenda as Bush? It's hard to imagine this being the case, given the grief Bill Clinton got from Republicans, even though his big government agenda was less ambitious than Bush's. Yet, the last Republican president got very little criticism from his own party for most of his tenure. For conservatives, there was no excuse for this,"
Sweet dreams!
Relaunch- 2011 edition
It has been a long time. Much has happened, the world continues to turn. I think about this blog often. I work on it much less often. The world goes on anyway. As I muse about Section 148 I keep coming back to the same issue- I can't keep up with just Tigers' baseball as much as I should to do a blog justice. As much as I love the Tigers, my brain just isn't wired that way. To paraphrase one of my favorite movie lines- "(My) focus needs more focus."
So, rather than go against my own nature, I'm going to go with the flow and readjust my focus. Well, broaden it actually. I will hit on the things that strike my fancy, my brain or my bowels- it will depend on the day and the events of the day. You won't see rants here (at least not in my opinion), that's not my style. You may see some commentary, both mine and stuff I see as I bounce around the web. You may see some funny stuff (I enjoy the weirder side of life). You may see things that I believe are touching, poignant or worth pondering. For certain you will find things that I have learned and thought to be revealing/ interesting.
You will continue to see Tigers' stuff. I may comment about the day's game or something. I will certainly link to posts from the Tigers and baseball blogs that I read regularly. Please follow the links to those sites, I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I want others to also.
This is the relaunch post. Opening Day is only two weeks away. (I was amazed to find out that some people think of November 15 as "Opening Day" recently. It just goes to show how different people can be.) A huge earthquake and tsunami have recently struck Japan and they are desperately trying to prevent a nuclear disaster as a result. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day (so my daughter and I are off to buy a green scarf).
Slainte!
So, rather than go against my own nature, I'm going to go with the flow and readjust my focus. Well, broaden it actually. I will hit on the things that strike my fancy, my brain or my bowels- it will depend on the day and the events of the day. You won't see rants here (at least not in my opinion), that's not my style. You may see some commentary, both mine and stuff I see as I bounce around the web. You may see some funny stuff (I enjoy the weirder side of life). You may see things that I believe are touching, poignant or worth pondering. For certain you will find things that I have learned and thought to be revealing/ interesting.
You will continue to see Tigers' stuff. I may comment about the day's game or something. I will certainly link to posts from the Tigers and baseball blogs that I read regularly. Please follow the links to those sites, I get a great deal of pleasure from them and I want others to also.
This is the relaunch post. Opening Day is only two weeks away. (I was amazed to find out that some people think of November 15 as "Opening Day" recently. It just goes to show how different people can be.) A huge earthquake and tsunami have recently struck Japan and they are desperately trying to prevent a nuclear disaster as a result. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day (so my daughter and I are off to buy a green scarf).
Slainte!
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