99 blog postings but bitching ain't one

Blogs - But Bitching Ain't One (Ok, that may be false)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a numbers person. I have been since my youth, learning how to calculate batting averages at the age of 5. It's probably why I got so good at math and can do most basic math problems (within reason) in my head quickly. The bifocals were the perfect outfit for a math nerd like me, although I never did get into the pocket protector phase of my life (thank god).

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah - numbers. As much as I like to write, my need of numbers in life (mainly just through sports statistics) is undeniable. The reaching of triple digit blogs within a 10 month timeframe was something I never set out to do. In fact, I thought I was gonna give up writing this blog around December (did for a while) and then again in February. Whether it be just to educate people on certain goings-ons in my life or just to write for my own release, I've found a lot of different subjects to write about.


At first I thought it might just end up being about sports and gambling (and it may go more towards that when football season starts). However, I've branched out into general topics that get more views than I expected. It seems most people have connected most with my personal pieces - my grandma poem (rest in peace Grandma) and short write-up on my dad's cataract surgery and picture accompanying it have been my most read pieces.

I never know who reads this thing, but I have an idea of the few people who read it a lot. I do like people coming up to me at social gatherings and telling me they read this because it gets me motivated to write more. As the blogs keep getting posted, please let me know your opinions about my opinions or my writing style or whatever it is that you wish to discuss. I enjoy getting feedback (both positive and negative) because it means that you're actually reading it and giving somewhat of a damn to what I'm saying or writing.

Thanks for the motivation to write, and hopefully I'll be able to keep at this to get up to 999 and beyond.

Peace.

Shameless Plugging: How Sweet It Is

Anytime I hear someone do a cheap plug on something, I usually just shake my head and laugh. This is found a lot on ESPN with ABC products (i.e. why do you think Dancing With the Stars always features an athlete? It's because they can then show highlights of the show on their Sportscenter and because Disney owns both of them). This is the most common type of cheap plug - when a corporation owns multiple media outlets and promotes one of them on the other network.

The best cheap plugs are the ones that you don't even notice - such as many who probably don't think of the athlete angle with Dancing With the Stars. I have become keen to this - partly because I know which corporations own which channels/media outlets.

Stephen Colbert is the master of the corny cheap plug. He will often feature something on his show that displays blatant advertising for a product in a way that can only be described as satirical. From his consumption of Ben and Jerrys when trying to promote his flavor Americone Dream to the chowing down of Doritos, Colbert often finds a way to make the plug funny while everyone knows it is supposed to be a satire of how plugging products has become commonplace in media everywhere.

I, however, am no such master. I wrote this blog largely in part to promote my appearance in my friend's show, "Three Guys, One Room." I play the role of Swift Charlie, an unwelcomed dinner guest who ends up robbing the gents of all of their belongings.

If you can't access that from there, here's the link for the episode. Talk about shameless plugging. God, I love it.

But seriously, it's a part of our media world, and it will continue to be for as long as we live. So continue to enjoy the shameless pandering that networks (and friends like me) will shove in your face on a daily basis.

You're welcome.

*This message was brought to you by Four Seasons. For all the right reasons, Four Seasons.

Stuff Your Sorries in a Sack: The Art of a Good Apology

~What else should I be? All apologies - K. Cobain, circa 1993.

In a recent interview, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison spoke his mind on a few subjects, blasting everyone from the commissioner to his teammates, including calling Rashard Mendenhall "a fumble machine". As is the case with most apologizes, Harrison apologized for his words but said some of the content was pulled out of context.

While this may be true, I find it hard to believe apologies that come with an attachment to them. Here's some signs of a bad apology:

(1) "I'm sorry if this offended anyone."- Any version of this is usually a fake apology. What it essentially means is, "If this didn't offend anyone, I'm not sorry, so suck it!" If you're making an apology, odds are you offended someone. So stop pretending that the word "if" applies when it clearly doesn't.

(2) An apology that one reads ver batum off of a piece of paper - It's true that some people may just not be good public speakers and need to write their words down before going in front of people. But at least look up every now and then and show some eye contact. Obviously, this apology applies more to celebrities who do something stupid and then the media and public look for some sort of remorse for their words or actions.  The more someone reads off of the piece of paper, the less remorseful they are.

(3) No eye contact - I touched base on this with the second point, but this is more of a general thing and not just celebrity-based. Someone that you have wronged/offended/whatevered needs to see that you are telling your apology in an honest and straight-forward manner. If you're looking down while making an apology or watching TV, you're clearly half assing it.

(4) "I'm sorry. I was misquoted/taken out of context/etc." - This goes back to point 1, where you add a "but" or an "if" immediately after your apology. For all the years I've been a consumer of media, I know that yes, there are times where you can be taken out of context and may not have meant what you said or what people perceived you said. There will be some people who believe apologies when they take the time to read a whole story themselves or hear out a complete story before making a judgement. If people do misunderstand your statement/actions and take offense, you may have been misquoted or they may have taken something you said out of context, but telling people that may be harder than just simply saying it. I'd say in circumstances like this, if you really believe you didn't do anything wrong, don't apologize. Sensible people will know that you didn't mean any harm with whatever you said or did.

If you're really interested in offering a genuine apology, just say it directly and simply: "I'm sorry for what I did/said." The rest of what you say afterwards (unless you're telling them how much of a dumbass you are) is usually a bunch of BS and doesn't help your case when you're apologizing.

For the inspiration for the title of the blog, here's where you can stuff your sorries in a sack, around the 36 second mark and 2:20 mark.

The Inaugural Boley Awards - 2011 Version

Inspired by the ESPYs, the sports award show that airs during one of the most dead days of sports, I wanted to create the Boleys, a list of random awards that I will give to random categories in my life. I may add to this if there's enough interest in this piece, so stay tuned.


Best 2011 Purchase: Nominees: Brian Scalabrine Jersey, New I-Pod Classic, Big Lebowski mirror
....and the winner is: Brian Scalabrine Jersey.

This narrowly edged out the mirror as purchase of the year. The jersey has had more of a chance to be recognized- wearing it during the Bulls' extended playoff run definitely helped with that. Every time I wore the jersey out to a bar, I received at least one positive comment from a complete stranger, who seemed shocked that someone would waste spend $70 on a jersey for a guy who played less than two hours of basketball throughout the 82 game schedule. The mirror will carry more value when I get my own place and it has a featured place.

Best Song in My Head from the Past Year That You Probably Never Heard Of: Nominees: Nappy Roots "Infield", N*E*R*D - "Maybe", Local H - "Toxic"


...and the winner is: "Maybe". Sure, it's not a song that was released this year, but it may be the best song from a group that does not get enough credit in my opinion. It may have close to a million views on YouTube, but I know a lot of my friends have never heard it. Something about the lyric "Maybe the laugh's on me, and life was telling me a joke" that makes me consider this one of my favorite songs in general. I highly recommend listening to Local H's version of Toxic - a cover of the Britney Spears song.

Best Thing I Am Looking Forward to in the Next Couple Weeks: Nominees: Hosting Hot Dog Eating Contest, NFL Lockout ending, Guest Starring in my friends' show "Three Guys, One Room"

...and the winner is: NFL Lockout ending. As much fun as the other two things will be to witness, the impact of the NFL Lockout ending will have long lasting implications in the rest of my 2011. First, it will give me the chance to exercise my fantasy football dominance again after taking 2010 off. Second, I am looking to match/exceed my good luck gambling last year, which reaped me about a grand in profits. And most importantly, it will assure that my Sundays in the Fall and early Winter will not be spent searching for ways to fill the void of an NFL-less existence. Now the most important thing - the lockout actually needs to end.

Best Summer Drink: Nominees: Bud Light Lime, Summer Shandy, Sam Adams Summer Ale

...and the winner is: Summer Shandy. This should be no surprise to people who know me, but this was a close race in terms of my favorite summer drink. I haven't had Shandy in a while, mainly because the times I've imbibed lately have been situations where the bar either didn't have Shandy or people that I am with want to drink buckets. Most of my friends who are more wide-versed in beer would probably choose Sam Adams among the three, but I'd put that right behind Bud Light's Lime (even though BLL is not a specific summer beverage, it is more marketable during the summer).

TV Show that I've Taken for Granted the Most Until Watching in Syndication: Nominees: How I Met Your Mother, Yes Dear, My Name is Earl


...and the winner....wait for it.....is: How I Met Your Mother. Of all networks, I've been catching this show on Lifetime and feel like I'm almost caught up to the season that just ended. This will be the next TV show that I collect DVDs for. It is well-written and does a great job of connecting previous plot points into its ongoing story on how Ted meets his future wife. I think this show is featured on Monday nights (maybe that's changed), which is when I always watch Monday Night Football in the fall. In the spring, I'm usually watching something else or am busy in an activity where I don't watch TV.


Feel free to submit categories that I will award Boleys to, and I will add to this blog. Keep the suggestions tasteful, please.

Baseballog - Midseason Review on Predictions

I didn't want to be one of those guys who makes predictions to start the season and not follow up with how they are doing, as many people who make predictions of any sort tend to do. Here's a look back at my 2011 preseason baseball predictions and my assessment on how they've looked so far. Mind you, the surprise teams were based on odds that my gambling site at the time posted and nothing to do with how a team may have performed in previous years.

(Note: If you take a look at my picture that opens my prediction blog, you will see that I could not have been more wrong about Adam Dunn. High on-base percentage and 41 home runs, my ass!)

Predictions vs. Reality (at the All-Star Break)

AL East
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays....Reality: Rays. Even though they are 6 games back in baseball's toughest division, they are showing that they are better than the price that oddsmakers put them on.
Division Winner- Prediction: Boston....Reality: Boston and NY are looking like they will be in a neck and neck race for the division title. Boston has survived a terrible start and lots of injuries and NY's pitching has been deeper than expected thanks to the resurgence of Bartolo Colon. I'll stick with my Boston prediction but now I think NY will be the Wild Card winner.

AL Central
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: Minnesota....Reality: Oops. The Indians were paying close to 15/1 or 20/1 to win the division. Clearly I fumbled the surprise team in this one.
Division Winner- Prediction: Minnesota....Reality: Oops, Part II. This looks like a two-horse race to me (sorry Chicago, too inconsistent for me to trust with my preseason prediction). I think Detroit holds off Cleveland and wins it.

AL West
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: Los Angeles Angels....Reality: Solid prediction. One game out of the division lead. Getting 3/1 on them to start the year would have been a good deal.
Division Winner- Prediction: Texas....Reality: Another AL division, another 2 horse race. At least like my Boston prediction, Texas looks like they can live up to my Magic 8-ball prediction of winning the division. I'll stick with Texas as my division champ.

NL Central
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: Cubs....Reality: Uhm.....Next. Pittsburgh takes the cake here no doubt.
Division Winner- Prediction: Brewers.....Reality: Milwaukee is in a 4-team race for the division title. I like the move to get K-Rod, although I wonder if there will be a closer controversy if Axford blows a save that might get fans going and get egos riled up in the dugout. St. Louis has survived so much and is still right there. I'm rooting for my original prediction, but I see St. Louis winning this for some reason.

NL East
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: Florida....Reality: It looked good for a month or so, but now Florida sits at the bottom of the division despite riding a 5-game winning streak into the All-Star break. The Mets being over .500 (albeit one game over) would probably be the biggest surprise.
Division Winner- Prediction: Braves....Reality: I think I was trying to be cute and go against the grain of picking the obvious Phillies pick here. Even though Philadelphia's up only 3.5 games over the Braves, I don't see the Braves overtaking them. I do see them taking the Wild Card though.

NL West
Surprise Team to Contend- Prediction: San Diego....Reality: While San Diego is playing better than most people probably thought they would, the winner of the surprise team goes to Arizona, projected for a win total in the mid 70s and currently sitting 3 back.
Division Winner- Prediction: Giants...Reality: This division pick is the one I am most comfortable with, despite an injury to their best player, Buster Posey. Despite their offensive woes, the Giants find a way to grind out just enough runs to support their outstanding pitching staff.


Prognosis:
Surprise Teams: Only really hit on the Angels and Rays, with the Angels being the only of the surprise teams that have a shot at the division crown this year. The others, I soon found, were longshots to win their divisions for a reason.
Division Winners/Wild Cards: There's a chance I could hit all 4 of my NL playoff teams, albeit with the NL East winner/Wild Card switched. I had the AL Central completely wrong (and probably will barring a White Sox/Twins hot 2nd half) but feel solid with Texas and Boston.

New World Series prediction: Philadelphia over Detroit

Make it Meaningless to make it Mean More: Why Baseball Needs to Ditch Its All-Star Format

The All-Star Game can still mean something on its own without World Series implications. Just ask Ray Fosse.

In 2002, when the MLB All-Star Game ended in a tie, a huge uproar was thrown by everyone on this fiasco that was caused by the common over-use of bench players and pitchers in these exhibitions games. This is done so that everyone who gets invited to play gets an actual chance to play. Never before had there been such an uproar and over-reaction to an exhibition game that was played more to entertain the fans than it was to decide a winner.

The highlight of this overreaction was making the all-star game mean something to the league that won it - specifically homefield advantage in the World Series for the winner. From 2003-2009 we saw the AL squads win all 7 all-star games in that span and 4 of the 7 World Series. None of these series went beyond 6 games, and only 2 went past 5 games. So clearly, homefield didn't affect things as much as it would in other sports (but this argument is nothing new to baseball).

It's not that the winner gets homefield that is my biggest pet peeve about the game, but that there is any reward for the winner to begin with. Outside of maybe some victory bonus in their contracts (which for most of these guys, probably means as much to them as a penny does in change jar), there shouldn't be anything tied to the All-Star game in terms of the winner's league getting something.

No one wants to play in it

This year, there will be over 80 players recognized as All-Stars, with all the people who either had to miss the game (pitchers who started on Sunday are not allowed to pitch in the game), are injured and cannot participate, or just want the rest/3-4 days off. I can't say I'd blame them for wanting some rest, especially given the daily grind that baseball can be. However, with how easily some of these players blow off the All-Star game, that just goes to show you how little some of these guys actually care about World Series advantage. They know that home field will be secondary to the skill of their team vs. their opponents if they should be blessed enough to make it to baseball's last series of the year.

They still let all teams be represented

The fact that every team has to be represented is the biggest head scratcher in this whole "This game matters" rhetoric. In every other sport, where the All-Star game is an exhibition, they don't even have this requirement, so why should MLB - whose game is supposed to decide the home field advantage for the World Series - allow players who are likely less deserving on bad teams potentially be the deciding factors in whether Game 1 of the WS featuring the Yankees and Phillies? It makes no sense to feature a player on a last place team - let's say the Astros - in a situation that could decide who hosts the World Series. If they got rid of this rule, which is as stupid as it is archaic, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the home field stipulation.

The overreaction in giving the winner homefield advantage in the World Series was a product of the 2002 game and would have never been instituted if there were no tie. To be honest, at the end of the day, years later - does anyone remember who won the All-Star game (or really even care)?

Turn it back into its meaningless state and let the players do their thing. The true competitors will look to win no matter the stipulations of the game.

Dunn but Not Finished: Adam on the Eve of Returning to Normalcy

Statistics of a White Sox player at the All-Star break (named to an All-Star appearance once before):

.197 average, 5 HRs, 22 RBIs in 76 games played.

If you are not an active statistics follower and just happened to hear the previous sentence and statline presented to you, your answer would likely be Adam Dunn. You'd be wrong, of course.

Those statistics belong to none other than 5-time All-Star Paul Konerko in 2003. After producing All-Star worthy numbers the previous year (.304 average, 27 HRs, 104 RBIs), Konerko started terribly in 2003. In addition to the #s mentioned above, Paulie had a meek .267 on-base percentage (current career # is at .357), .300 slugging percentage (currently career at .502) and only 4 multi-RBI games.

Post All-Star #s were more in line with what you'd expect from Paulie. In 67 games to finish 2003, he batted .275 with 13 HR and 43 RBIs. His on-base percentage of .346 and slugging of .507, in addition to 13 multi-RBI games, were representative of the Paul Konerko that we've gotten used to on the South Side.

"The field of play is that way, not right behind you".

If we look at Dunn's statistics, we see a similar out-of-nowhere drop/dip in numbers. Entering the All-Star break, we see a man that is a far cry from his 35 HR, 88 RBI and .380 on-base percentage that he accumulated in an average season for his first 10 years in the National League.

As of blog posting time (7th inning of the Sox game to close the All-Star break), his current stats (.160 average, 9 HR, 34 RBIs and striking out about 1.5 times/game ~ 116 in 78 games) are pathetic to say the least. His on-base percentage of .292 is astounding considering his hitting woes. He still draws his share of walks (actually has more walks than hits: 46-43), but certainly not enough to make up for his lack of production at the plate. With Dunn, a .250 career average (as he has now) is what we Sox fans should expect, especially given his ability to draw walks and allow others behind him a chance to drive him in.

These bad numbers could be the result of an injury that we just don't know about. I doubt it's an issue of age, considering most guys can still have their peak years into their mid 30s - Dunn is 31. Paulie was only 27 when he had that horrible first half start, so he had a little bit of age on his side. Still, I don't think age has anything to do with it.

Could it be just a bad adjustment to becoming a full-time DH that is doing him in? If that's so, then we may be in more trouble in future years - since Konerko is not going anywhere and I doubt we'll be moving Dunn full-time to the outfield. I know certain guys can't be DHs since it takes them out of the game and has them stressing more about bad at-bats than if they had something like fielding to take their mind off of their hitting.

I'm hoping it's more or less just a half-season slump and we will see second-half numbers of around .250 average, 16 HRs and 40 RBI, with a better OBP as a result. I don't mind the strike outs (we knew we were getting those when we signed him), but they do need to drop if he's gonna be hitting more. If he is to produce numbers like that, his season stat line would be 25 HRs, 74 RBI, average around .200 - numbers that seem like a phantom at this point.

I'm gonna go out on a limb (yeah, like that's saying a lot) and say we'll see a better Adam Dunn in future years. This start for him is not representative of what he has accomplished in his career.