SBNation.com User Blog: mikeA

Great NYer Article on Cycling in Rwanda (not free link)

mikeA — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:12:56 -0000

Great NYer Article on Cycling in Rwanda (not free link)

Worth buying a copy.

Last two minutes of Cal vs. Duke 1993.

mikeA — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:18:27 -0000

Last two minutes of Cal vs. Duke 1993.

Snow!

mikeA — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:20:44 -0000

It's snowing at College and Alcatraz. There was a bunch of snow up on the hills behind the Claremont Hotel this morning. Snow is an interesting topic, and yet I find it difficult to compose an essay of 75 words on the subject. It is wet and white, and cold, and humanoid figures may be formed by packing it together. Snow was first discovered in 1879 by the noted man of science, Thomas Edison, who would later briefly have a baseball park named in his honor.

DLD 10/25/08-next time someone makes a DLD: Wherein I Rank the 50 States

mikeA — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:08:37 -0000

Because I like lists

1. California
-Bay Area is the best place in the country
-LA and San Diego are also among the nation's 10 best cities
-Tectonic plates will cast Orange County out to sea in due course
2. Oregon
-Portland is America's most beautiful city, populated by top flight people
-#1 in the nation on a metric I shall not mention
3. Washington
-Seattle is America's second most beautiful city, populated by even more flight people
4. Alaska
-I am fascinated by the far north
-wacky doings...
5. New Hampshire
-I love the forests up there
6. Vermont
-I love the forests up there
7. Nevada
-Beautiful, great weather
-Laudable disdain for gossip
8. Minnesota
-Of the four regions of the country, the midwest has the best people
-lakes
9. Montana
-Glacier is the best national park
-Missoula is excellent
-nickname, "the treasure state" is nation's best nickname
-the sky really does appear exceptionally large there
10. Illinois
-Chicago is a great city
-rest of the state not so good
11. Hawaii
-rebounded nicely from a crime wave in the 80s
12. Idaho
-Beautiful scenery, potatoes, people who look down on Ron Paul supporters as too moderate and pro-government
13. Michigan
-Tiger Stadium was great. The Tigers also feature mlb's #2 cap.
14. Colorado
-mountains are nice
15. Pennsylvania
-I miss Macha
16. Wyoming
-Signs there say "many visitors gored by buffalo"
17. Iowa
-not as nice as Oakland
18. Missouri
-Ex gf of mine went to wustle; "wustle" is my favorite word to say out loud. wustle.
19. Wisconsin
-Lots of box factories, I would imagine
20. Maine
-overrated
21. Utah
-Have you seen that huge arch? It's fucking huge! Amazing!
22. New York
-Calm down, people. Christ.
23. Texas
-Austin is a top 5 city
-Houston is hellish buggy swamp where heroism is synonymous with bug-killing capability
-I heard a good joke about the Alamo once, but have since forgotten it
-I like Stevie Ray Vaughn
24. North Carolina
-Bull Durham is overrated
-Coach K's credit card ads are really obnoxious
25. Rhode Island
-Lincoln Chafee was a pretty comical figure
26. New Mexico
-Not enough clouds
-Will kill us all some day
27. Connecticut
-"Hartford Whalers" was a good name for a team
-Not much else good about this state
28. Indiana
-Hoosiers is the best sports movie
-"Hoosier" is a good thing to call oneself
-Speaking of "Hoosiers", I was pretty surprised to find out that Dennis Hopper is a republican
29. South Dakota
-Better than North Dakota 'cuz it has some hills
30. Virginia
-I watched a good documtary about O. North once
-Lots of history
31. Massachussetts
-ha ha, fuck you
32. Louisiana
-New Orleans is a good city
-nevertheless, a hellish swamp
33. North Dakota
-pretty bleak
-But I know some great people from there
34. Georgia
-Did you know Anderson Cooper's show is 2 hours long now? Dear God.
-Features world's largest electronic map
-"Captital Gang" was a fun show
35. Tennessee
-Robert Altman is overrated
-Plenty of good music from Nashville and Memphis, though
36. Arkansas
-Run tourism ads for some reason
37. Maryland
-Not a good state
38. South Carolina
-Charleston is pretty charming
39. New Jersey
-stfu
40. Ohio
-Drew Carey should be in jail
-WKRP is good, though
41. Delaware
-Ought to be "crossed" off the list of states
42. West Virginia
-Attractive landscape
-Jokes/stereoptypes are all true
43. Kansas
-Edges out Nebraska due to fun history
44. Nebraska
-ugly
-I don't like corn. It's too sweet.
-Should have maintained distinctive option-based offense
-fellow-traveling Fremontists
45. Kentucky
-There is a giant bat statue in Louisville which is pretty awesome
-Joe Saunders not as ugly as Lackey, but still ugly
46. Arizona
-The sun is an enemy that must be defeated
-Way too hot
-There is nothing good about Arizona
47. Florida
-Horrific weather
-Ridiculous culture
-Loveline was a great show
48. Oklahoma
-Seriously? The OKC "Thunder"? Come on.
-State heroes are people who stole shitty land from Native Americans
-Native Americans only there in the first place because they were forced into the shittiest part of the country
-According to an article I read once, there are 0 eligible bachelors in Oklahoma
49. Alabama
-Neil Young got it right
50. Mississippi
-I would feel pretty rebellious if I lived there

Because I like lists

In Honor of his First Start: "Out Man": The Worst P.I. Ever

mikeA — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:19:05 -0000

I think my first poetic interlude is at least statistically on the mark.

Here goes:

original lyrics.

youtube

One, two, three, out!

Huh!

One, two, three, out!

There's a strike for you, strike two, strike three

can't hit our main man from Phil-yyyyyyyyyyyyy

'cuz I'm the Out Man

yeah I'm the Out Man

Should Halo "bats" appear too small

Be thankful I will throw a ball

'cuz I'm the Out Man

yeah I'm the Out Man

If you swing the bat, I'll bring the heat

If you try to sit, I'll hit your feet

If you get too cold, I'll call you "meat"

If you take a walk, I'll take the heat

Out-man!

'cuz I'm the Out Man

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

Don't ask me why my curve's so poor

If you don't want the ball at your door.

'cuz I'm the Out Man,

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

Now my advice for those who whine (Out-Man)

You won't score off Josh and Devine (Out-Man)

'cuz I'm the Out Man

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

And you're workin', for no one, but bi-LEEEEEEEEE

Out Mannnnnnnnnnn

I think my first poetic interlude is at least statistically on the mark.

Here goes:

original lyrics.

youtube

One, two, three, out!

Huh!

One, two, three, out!

There's a strike for you, strike two, strike three

can't hit our main man from Phil-yyyyyyyyyyyyy

'cuz I'm the Out Man

yeah I'm the Out Man

Should Halo "bats" appear too small

Be thankful I will throw a ball

'cuz I'm the Out Man

yeah I'm the Out Man

If you swing the bat, I'll bring the heat

If you try to sit, I'll hit your feet

If you get too cold, I'll call you "meat"

If you take a walk, I'll take the heat

Out-man!

'cuz I'm the Out Man

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

Don't ask me why my curve's so poor

If you don't want the ball at your door.

'cuz I'm the Out Man,

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

Now my advice for those who whine (Out-Man)

You won't score off Josh and Devine (Out-Man)

'cuz I'm the Out Man

Yeah, I'm the Out Man.

And you're workin', for no one, but bi-LEEEEEEEEE

Out Mannnnnnnnnnn

DLD 8/11/08: Some Good Memories of This Season

mikeA — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:51:24 -0000

An essay: Possibly there will be a link or two.

So... this season turned out bad, just like last season, but we had some good moments, possibly justifying our fanhood. All memories apply only to this season, not hope for the future.

1. Japan

I was a critic of this trip, as it represented an injury risk to every player, a reduction in home games, and a requirement that A's fans keep absurd hours to watch their team.

I was wrong. The Japan trip brought a measure of excitement to the opening of the A's season that would not have otherwise existed. Opening day is always exciting. Scoring the first run of the season always causes a fist-pump that doesn't occur later on, and the game outcome seems more important than any other until September, as we all forget over the offseason just how long the MLB season is. The Japan trip created great excitement for me. I felt privileged to have my team starting earlier by a week than the others, and it was exciting to change my sleep schedule around A's ball. I was incredibly pumped upon first pitch in Japan to the extent that it made me forget that the A's didn't have a good team. The A's lost that game, rather spectacularly, and I would say it was the most brutal loss of the season, causing me to scream angrily and hurl my shoes at the pavement/parked cars. But: I still have a fond memory of watching the A's open the season with a few die-hards in the middle of the night. Something magical in fact. As unhappy and pissed off as I was, in retrospect it would be hard to have worked up the requistite passion for any other A's game, and that is worth something: it was damn exciting. And the A's repaid us with a nice win the following morning. Waking up at 3:00 AM to pre-season-but-it-counted A's baseball with a 4-thread AN showing was awesome. I declare the Japan trip a glowing success.

April 27 vs. Seattle: The A's were surprsingly still in the thick of the race at this point, and so was Seattle. The A's were facing Felix H. who had dominated them over the past several starts, and has the best stuff of any pitcher in the AL. The A's were at risk of fading at this point, and dropping out of the pennant race as soon as had been expected. Felix was utterly dominant for 7 innings. I have rarely seen such dominant pitching with the exception of other Felix starts against the A's. Hope seemed lost. But the A's managed to rally, with big hits from the RBI machine and Cust, to score 4 runs in the 8th for a hugely satisfying victory.

May 7: Many bad things happened vs. the Orioles, but a kickass slide from Hannahan led to a walkoff HR by Ellis.

May 24: Duke's 1-hitter vs. the Sox. I enjoyed that a lot. A lot. Duke humiliated hitter after hitter, leaving depressed Sox fans to chant in their heads "I'm a doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooche" as they proceeded shamefully to their favored means of transportation, the douchemobile.

June 3: Jack Cust walk-off IF single. I like Cust. And he's kinda fast.

June 26: Harden gem. I don't want to introduce sad notes here, but... Watching Harden pitch was worth all the losing (though not worth all the wondering what could have been if he were able to pitch at various times.) He had a no-hitter through 5 or 6, and absolutely mowed down the Phillies. I fear we will not see a talent as great as Harden dominate hitters for a very long time, if ever, but it was a joy to watch.

No particular date: As long as Mr. BZ (the one who is good at pitching) maintains the scoreless streak, and the equally exciting (to me) no-xbh streak, the season remains exciting and well worth watching. And it had plenty of excitement before.

Add your own memories! Or links! Yes, links! I mea!nt to write something about fond memories of the Japan thing but I couldn't stop! And now I can't help but end sentences with exclamation marks! The only cure is good links and discussion from the community!

An essay: Possibly there will be a link or two.

So... this season turned out bad, just like last season, but we had some good moments, possibly justifying our fanhood. All memories apply only to this season, not hope for the future.

1. Japan

I was a critic of this trip, as it represented an injury risk to every player, a reduction in home games, and a requirement that A's fans keep absurd hours to watch their team.

May 7: Many bad things happened vs. the Orioles, but a kickass slide from Hannahan led to a walkoff HR by Ellis.

June 3: Jack Cust walk-off IF single. I like Cust. And he's kinda fast.

Batman Kinda Sucked

mikeA — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:47:49 -0000

Here is my review, which I was forced to write in light of all the love it’s getting. Spoilers, blah, blah, blah.

First the good:
Yeah, Ledger is really good, and the 15-20% of the movie that he’s in is also really good. The pencil scene, which has been noted here, is awesome. The downside of that however, is that it was good because it was a funny joke by the Joker, and I would have appreciated many more such gags, but he was actually rather "serious" much of the time, and the pursuit of mayhem ought to have been more mirthful. Still really good, though.

I enjoyed the first hour quite a bit. The opening scene was great, as was the Hong Kong action scene, and, as mentioned, all the scenes with the Joker. It was well directed and scored, and I thought it struck a nice tone.

I always respect it when major characters get killed off, so good for them on that score. I would have respected it even more if the people on the boats had blown each other up. If you want to make a dark movie, make it really dark… As an aside, another Ledger movie, The Patriot, though a terrible movie, wins my all-time respect award on that score. The movie spent 20 minutes on a rather tedious love story between Ledger and some woman, only to have the evil Brits crowd her and the rest of the town into a church which they then burned down. Awesome.

On to the (lots o’) bad:
The glowing reviews really pissed me off. It has been showered with a "purple rain" of glowing prose such as (all pulled off www.metacritic.com):

An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment

A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman

Mr. Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter, solid family man though he may (or may not) be, should be immediately sacked, as Dalesman would phrase it. I even get his point, but still….

The Dark Knight will give your adrenal glands their desired workout, but it will occupy your mind, too, and even lead it down some dim alleyways where most Hollywood movies fear to tread

Nolan turns the Manichean morality of comic books--pure good vs. pure evil--into a bleak post-9/11 allegory about how terror (and, make no mistake, Heath Ledger's Joker is a terrorist) breaks down those reassuring moral categories.

Pitched at the divide between art and industry, poetry and entertainment, it goes darker and deeper than any Hollywood movie of its comic-book kind.

It's proof that popcorn entertainments don't have to talk down to their audiences in order to satisfy them

Gah! This movie is not "brainy" or "smart" or "morally complex" or that of that stuff! It made me dUmbEr and I actually felt a tad manipulated and even insulted by what was supposedly passing for braininess. I thought the plot and "themes" were really pretty silly, and to the extent that it stimulated your brain, you really should read better books. Or something. Here goes my laundry list of whines.

-Generally speaking, this movie had a bunch of the same (tiresome by this point) themes that every damn superhero movie has, but since it was darker, people feel the need to take it more seriously. E.g., Batman questioning whether he should give up being a superhero. Maybe he’s doing more harm than good! This happens in every superhero franchise. I didn’t find it particularly compelling the first time I encountered it, and it’s not any more interesting in this movie. I kept expecting Morgan Freeman to say "with great power comes great responsibility"….

-The DA guy’s character change: makes. no. fucking. sense. So some of those cops were corrupt… Why does he want to kill Gary Oldman’s family? Gary Oldman didn’t do anything to him. So… the Joker turned him evil by killing his gf and showing him "the folly of planning."… This does not impress me. If this plot element was supposed to be "brainy" or "morally complex" than apparently I lack a brain and also lack moral curiosity.

-The coin-tossing conceit in No Country for Old Men was awesome and rather chilling, whereas in the film, it was just rather lame and, frankly, confusing. Many films try to invoke fate or chance in the hopes of achieving some gravitas, but these attempts almost always wind up just being dumb.

-People are fundamentally good, even hardened criminals (and we know that big black dudes are the hardenedest criminals of all…)! The Joker was wrong! Wooooooooooo people! Would people really react that way if faced with that boat situation? I don’t know, but I suspect not, since it only takes one. I do know that I can’t muster up the energy to care about that particular absurd situation. The only way I would have liked that scene is if the movie had taken seriously the idea that maybe they should blow up the other boat. I might have liked that.

The ending really was awful. We were supposed to feel somber or sad or heart-swellingly proud or some such thing when Batman has to go into hiding and they destroy the bat signal. But it’s hard to feel that when it doesn’t make any fucking sense! Why should the people of Gotham hate Batman? He seems like a great guy to me. Fights crime. Why celebrate the DA guy? Why were supposed to even like him in the first place? We were I guess supposed to accept the notion that he was the somehow better successor to Batman as the savior of the city who people could believe in or whatever, but there were no reasons given for that. It is just confusing!

-It invoked some contemporary debates about terrorism and surveillance, but didn’t really do much more than invoke them, and I would personally rather than films not invoke such things at all, as they (especially action movies) are quite poor vehicles for any insight into such matters. I challenge any of you: What did the movie say about such issues that was interesting in the slightest? One can probably draw absurd lessons right (such as in today’s WSJ…) or left, but in either case it is just people projecting their opinions onto the film.

-Batman’s voice: what the fuck was up with that? It was terrible!

I miss Adam West.

Have at me, if you managed to get through all that…..

An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment

A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman

Mr. Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter, solid family man though he may (or may not) be, should be immediately sacked, as Dalesman would phrase it. I even get his point, but still….

The Dark Knight will give your adrenal glands their desired workout, but it will occupy your mind, too, and even lead it down some dim alleyways where most Hollywood movies fear to tread

Nolan turns the Manichean morality of comic books--pure good vs. pure evil--into a bleak post-9/11 allegory about how terror (and, make no mistake, Heath Ledger's Joker is a terrorist) breaks down those reassuring moral categories.

Pitched at the divide between art and industry, poetry and entertainment, it goes darker and deeper than any Hollywood movie of its comic-book kind.

It's proof that popcorn entertainments don't have to talk down to their audiences in order to satisfy them

Have at me, if you managed to get through all that…..

A's lineup

mikeA — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:46:46 -0000

A's lineup

Jemile Weeks
Andy Laroche
Barry Bonds
Jack Cust
Ted Williams

Mark Ellis: The Poll

mikeA — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:40:26 -0000

I am curious as to the predictive powers of AN. The question is: will Mark Ellis be resigned? Not should he be, etc., etc., but will he be? Many think the acquisitions of Weeks and Patterson, not wanting to spend money, and the desire to "go young" indicate that he will not. I think that he will, the reason being that it makes sense, and the FO generally does things that make sense. Also, he appears to want to stay.

So, what do you think?

Poll

Mark Ellis will resign with the A's:

Yes

165 votes

No

108 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

DLD 5/16/08 Miscellany

mikeA — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:23:05 -0000

1. Greg Smith With 6 pickoffs (next best is 3), he may have some chance at the single season record. The most since 1992 was 12, and 9-10 typically leads MLB. I don't know what the record is though.

2. Ziggy I think there's a very good chance we'll see Ziggy up with the A's pretty soon (when Petit goes back down, or Ellis is DL'd). They tried to turn him into Bradford, and his stats have been remarkably and uncannily similar to Bradford's. He's getting a ton of ground balls, dominating right-handed hitters, and has yet to give up a home run since going side-arm. He would be worth using as a roogy or a rtoogy in high leverage situations, and is fairly likely to be better than Andrew Brown generally.

3. Today's link o' horror I'm moving to Seattle.

1. Greg Smith With 6 pickoffs (next best is 3), he may have some chance at the single season record. The most since 1992 was 12, and 9-10 typically leads MLB. I don't know what the record is though.

3. Today's link o' horror I'm moving to Seattle.

DLD 3/27/08 Links and Pictures and Bonds, Go A's!

mikeA — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:28:31 -0000

A's Win!

Two final slaps for the A's on Wednesday after being an afterthought to the Red Sox all week: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Ryo Ishikawa, a teenage Japanese golfer wearing a Red Sox jersey - and because the A's were the home team, Oakland catcher Rob Bowen had to run out and catch the pitch.

A's Win!

Harden!

Giants h8 Bonds. This article is about how they removed all the Bonds stuff from the Booth (now in a truck heading across the bridge?????):

I asked team president Peter Magowan if management considered some kind of visible tribute to Bonds and his record. "No," Magowan said, eloquently.

Will Cargon roam free?

A's Win!

Two final slaps for the A's on Wednesday after being an afterthought to the Red Sox all week: The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Ryo Ishikawa, a teenage Japanese golfer wearing a Red Sox jersey - and because the A's were the home team, Oakland catcher Rob Bowen had to run out and catch the pitch.

A's Win!

Harden!

Giants h8 Bonds. This article is about how they removed all the Bonds stuff from the Booth (now in a truck heading across the bridge?????):

I asked team president Peter Magowan if management considered some kind of visible tribute to Bonds and his record. "No," Magowan said, eloquently.

Will Cargon roam free?

DLD 3/20/08 Off to Japan

mikeA — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:40:17 -0000

Tournament starts today. Fun stuff. I'm rooting for the Gaels. The other day KenKo picked UCLA while Buan opted for Kansas. If Kansas wins will it presage a changing of the guard? Only time and judgment will tell.

Mike Sweeney is settling into a role of light hijinks purveyor and go-to quote man:

Designated hitter Mike Sweeney started a rumor at some point this spring that the Cactus League champions all would receive big-screen TVs.

So for several weeks, as the A's put up lots of wins, there was much chatter about big screens around the clubhouse, even though everyone (probably) knew that it wasn't actually true. But fake incentive or not, Oakland played extremely well this exhibition season, going 16-7 after splitting Wednesday's games.

"There's a lot of talent here and I don't think the way we've played in spring training is a fluke," Sweeney said. "I think we're for real and I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."

Beane on your 2008 Cactus League Champions:

"My theory is that spring training is the most important part of the season, and if you win it, you should go in as the favorite," Beane said with a grin. "I've completely reversed my (previous) thinking."

Someone "liveblogs" Moneyball. Not sure if this is good.

True basketball fans know that the NIT is the real prize, and Cal notched a titanic victory late last night in front of a screaming 1,906.

Mike Sweeney is settling into a role of light hijinks purveyor and go-to quote man:

Designated hitter Mike Sweeney started a rumor at some point this spring that the Cactus League champions all would receive big-screen TVs.

"There's a lot of talent here and I don't think the way we've played in spring training is a fluke," Sweeney said. "I think we're for real and I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."

Beane on your 2008 Cactus League Champions:

"My theory is that spring training is the most important part of the season, and if you win it, you should go in as the favorite," Beane said with a grin. "I've completely reversed my (previous) thinking."

Someone "liveblogs" Moneyball. Not sure if this is good.

True basketball fans know that the NIT is the real prize, and Cal notched a titanic victory late last night in front of a screaming 1,906.

DLD 2/25/08 Two Links Say it All

mikeA — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:21:05 -0000

Courtesy of BBTF: A's upgrade training equipment:

Among the gadgets the A's purchased at the behest of new head trainer Steve Sayles are a shockwave machine, a cold laser machine and a SABA explosive pulley system, which, for instance, third baseman Eric Chavez uses for rehab after back and shoulder surgeries.

Dear God. And: Kendall to bat ninth? Due to his OBP skillz supposedly. haha. Courtesy of BBTF: A's upgrade training equipment:

Among the gadgets the A's purchased at the behest of new head trainer Steve Sayles are a shockwave machine, a cold laser machine and a SABA explosive pulley system, which, for instance, third baseman Eric Chavez uses for rehab after back and shoulder surgeries.

Dear God. And: Kendall to bat ninth? Due to his OBP skillz supposedly. haha.

DLD 2/21/08 Into the Fray

mikeA — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:09:32 -0000

Today (wow, crazy light font) Slusser gives another version of the Duke as starter story:

"Duke is going to gain a lot of weight this year," Oakland closer Huston Street said with a chuckle. "No more third-, fifth- and seventh-inning trips to the bathroom. But it's not because he's nervous, it's because he takes it so seriously. Justin shows up at 2 p.m. and he's thinking about pitching all day." Duchscherer has consulted a gastroenterologist who told him, the pitcher said, "There's a big connection between the brain and the gut," which - for an intense personality such as Duchscherer - can translate into some painful gastrointestinal issues. So pitching once every five days should help that and Duchscherer believes it will ensure greater health, period.

Remember, Duke, you could always be Dan Johnson. On the other hand, the only thing I know about gastroenterologists is that Larry David had to pay one a visit, and his condition was Gereitis, so.... Forgot we had Todd Linden? So did I. According to the notes headline, he "likes the blue collar team":

I'm really excited because I think this side will be better. Over here, you get your hands dirty, it's a little more blue collar and I like the style of play. There's a little more youth compared to the other side

Presumably he means "the other side of Arizona" or something along those lines, as I don't think he'll be spending much time in the beautiful east bay. For the h8rs: M. Kuiper has your back. On the Giants:

"From a standpoint of a team trying to rebuild, it gives us a chance to see some young players,” he said. “It gives us a chance to see what these kids can do. Although rebuilding is probably not the right word, it’s retooling."

Well put, sir. The preview is a popup? Seriously? Today (wow, crazy light font) Slusser gives another version of the Duke as starter story:

"Duke is going to gain a lot of weight this year," Oakland closer Huston Street said with a chuckle. "No more third-, fifth- and seventh-inning trips to the bathroom. But it's not because he's nervous, it's because he takes it so seriously. Justin shows up at 2 p.m. and he's thinking about pitching all day." Duchscherer has consulted a gastroenterologist who told him, the pitcher said, "There's a big connection between the brain and the gut," which - for an intense personality such as Duchscherer - can translate into some painful gastrointestinal issues. So pitching once every five days should help that and Duchscherer believes it will ensure greater health, period.

I'm really excited because I think this side will be better. Over here, you get your hands dirty, it's a little more blue collar and I like the style of play. There's a little more youth compared to the other side

"From a standpoint of a team trying to rebuild, it gives us a chance to see some young players,” he said. “It gives us a chance to see what these kids can do. Although rebuilding is probably not the right word, it’s retooling."

Well put, sir. The preview is a popup? Seriously?

DLD 2/6/08 Really Crazy Trade Edition

mikeA — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:55:14 -0000

It's a trade so craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy that it nearly satisfies the character requirement for diaries by itself.

The Phoenix Suns have acquired Shaquille O'Neal in a stunning, blockbuster deal that sends four-time All-Star Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat.

Good news for the Warriors.

It's a trade so craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy that it nearly satisfies the character requirement for diaries by itself.

The Phoenix Suns have acquired Shaquille O'Neal in a stunning, blockbuster deal that sends four-time All-Star Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat.

Good news for the Warriors.

DLD 1/29/08 re: Giants; re: Other Stuff

mikeA — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:17:58 -0000

re: Warriors
Webber to return

But this brief proclamation to confirm that he's returning to the team and city where he began his NBA career in 1993 -- and where he lasted only one season because of a fast-crumbling relationship with Nelson -- will be sufficiently stunning to longtime Warriors fans who believe that the breakdown of the initial Webber-Nelson partnership doomed Golden State to more than a decade of despair.

Ratto wrote an article about it, but I didn't read it.
What is my reaction you wonder?
I have two comments:

The gigantic sign they used to have on Arco that said "C-Web's House" was really irritating.

The Warriors could use some rebounding.

re: Warriors
Webber to return

But this brief proclamation to confirm that he's returning to the team and city where he began his NBA career in 1993 -- and where he lasted only one season because of a fast-crumbling relationship with Nelson -- will be sufficiently stunning to longtime Warriors fans who believe that the breakdown of the initial Webber-Nelson partnership doomed Golden State to more than a decade of despair.

Ratto wrote an article about it, but I didn't read it.
What is my reaction you wonder?
I have two comments:

The gigantic sign they used to have on Arco that said "C-Web's House" was really irritating.

The Warriors could use some rebounding.

Good news for the Giants: according to a letter from Sabean they are going to be the next braves:

In recent years, you have become accustomed to us building our teams with an influx of veteran players, in many cases on a one-year basis. Moving forward, we are looking to build our teams with solid all-around players from within our system and supplementing them with high-integrity[haha], impact players who will play major roles on our club for years to come. We have seen this formula work for clubs such as the Atlanta Braves of the early-1990s -- whose strength much like the Giants was strong starting pitching -- and we all know that they went on to win an unprecedented 14 consecutive division titles.

One of those players who will make a huge impact not only on the 2008 team, but over the next five years is our new Gold Glove center fielder Aaron Rowand. As we stress pitching, speed and defense in the new era of Giants baseball, the 30-year-old All-Star embodies those three attributes while also coming off the finest offensive season of his career in 2007. Perhaps his most marketable trait to us as we look to change the culture around our team is his "all-or-nothing" attitude once he takes the field.

When Rowand takes the field, he will be roaming center field at AT&T Park behind one of the top starting rotations in the National League. This winter our assumptions that Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are two of the top arms in the game today were confirmed by all of the teams which wanted to acquire them. While off-season acquisitions often make headlines, I think our best moves have been the ones we did not make. In holding onto Cain and Lincecum, they combine with Barry Zito and Noah Lowry to be the foundation for a very strong rotation for years to come.

re: A's
The official site has some sort of audio dealie with Greg Smith. Watch it if you like. The invitation I keep getting to download the "New MLB Media Player" is one of the more frightening proposals to have come my way recently.

Poll

Happy About Webber?

Kings fan

10 votes

I love Monta

44 votes

Yes

38 votes

No

10 votes

Don't Care

43 votes

145 votes | Poll has closed

DLD 1/25/08 Science Update

mikeA — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:20:35 -0000

While we all peck away at our typewriters speculating about the Oakland A's, science marches forward.

Dude who looks like Bill Gates, Two Other Guys Develop Alzheimers Helmet

This story about creating artificial life describes someone as "controversial celebrity U.S. scientist Craig Venter." I would like to be thought of as a controversial celebrity linker.

While we all peck away at our typewriters speculating about the Oakland A's, science marches forward.

Dude who looks like Bill Gates, Two Other Guys Develop Alzheimers Helmet

This story about creating artificial life describes someone as "controversial celebrity U.S. scientist Craig Venter." I would like to be thought of as a controversial celebrity linker.

Chimp beats Human Memory Champion:

Mr Pridmore, who spends his evenings memorising 400-digit numbers, ruefully acknowledged that he had met his match.
...
It is thought that young chimps are blessed with photographic memories, allowing them to remember patterns and sequences with amazing accuracy.

I have to believe that there is a place for a team of low-wage chimps in the A's front office. Along with memorizing stuff, they could taunt Scioscia. And remember how to spell his name.

In Soviet Russia, brains took pictures of YOU.

Poll

In the Future

There will be a fragile yet ultimately stable Chimp/Robot/Human Detente

15 votes

The A's will sign Bonds

15 votes

Technology will destroy us all

17 votes

Technology will create heaven on earth

6 votes

53 votes | Poll has closed

DLD 1/22/08 [Title]

mikeA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:52:29 -0000

So I found a good link from Colorado Fan over in Zonis's diary, and we need a DLD, so here it is; our man Farhan gushes about all the prospects.
Turns out Sweeney is awesome:

It's easy to forget that just a year ago this guy was ranked as the White Sox' top prospect and as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. His numbers went backwards this year, but he was fighting through wrist issues for a good part of the season. The knock on him is his power, but he played last year at just 22 and still has time to mature as a hitter. On top of that, he has actually shown good power vs. right-handed pitching -- .294/.361/.481 with 22 HR in 572 AB over the last 2 years in AAA.

So I found a good link from Colorado Fan over in Zonis's diary, and we need a DLD, so here it is; our man Farhan gushes about all the prospects.
Turns out Sweeney is awesome:

It's easy to forget that just a year ago this guy was ranked as the White Sox' top prospect and as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. His numbers went backwards this year, but he was fighting through wrist issues for a good part of the season. The knock on him is his power, but he played last year at just 22 and still has time to mature as a hitter. On top of that, he has actually shown good power vs. right-handed pitching -- .294/.361/.481 with 22 HR in 572 AB over the last 2 years in AAA.

Also surprisingly awesome: Greg Smith.

Greg Smith is a guy whose stuff and numbers don't jump out at you, but he knows how to pitch. Statistically, he looks a lot like Micah Owings did after 2006, and from a scouting perspective there are similarities as well - both guys have average stuff but pitch above it with their moxie and willingness to go right after hitters.

More awesomeness: Arnold Leon.

The easy choice here is Arnold Leon, who we recently signed out of Mexico. In the Mexican League this summer, he posted a sub-2 ERA as an 18-year old, an incredible feat at any age given the extreme hitter-friendly environment in that league. He continued to pitch well in Winter Ball, where our scouts saw him up to 94 and had high praise for his command and feel for pitching. He will probably start out the year in Stockton, but given his success in the Mexican League (which is generally viewed as being equivalent to a AA/AAA level), he could move quickly.

Read the whole thing! These interviews over at MVN with the #1 Z-man are always stellar.

DLD 12/12/07 Hey, the Day and Month are the Same

mikeA — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:23:19 -0000

There's some A's news (or maybe "news") today, which doesn't happen every day. Even though it's already been linked, I'm going to try to milk this article for all it's worth. It's hilariously headlined "A's are hoping for a healthy meeting." Yes, that would be nice.

When the A's convene today in Phoenix, the topic will be health. If he gets very good news on that front, Oakland general manager Billy Beane might decide to decline offers for starters Dan Haren and, perhaps, Joe Blanton, and go for it in 2008. Less positive info, and Haren and Blanton might be heading elsewhere.

Hmmm, are they actually serious about this evaluating the health and deciding where to go thing?

When the A's convene today in Phoenix, the topic will be health. If he gets very good news on that front, Oakland general manager Billy Beane might decide to decline offers for starters Dan Haren and, perhaps, Joe Blanton, and go for it in 2008. Less positive info, and Haren and Blanton might be heading elsewhere.

Hmmm, are they actually serious about this evaluating the health and deciding where to go thing?

There are a few paragraphs about Harden in there. Good spirits, etc.

"If we have our starting staff together and all healthy, I think we could do something special," Harden said. "I've got to stay healthy, and it definitely would be nice to have that (current group) as our rotation. I'm excited to have Justin in there, too. Hopefully, we'll get a shot to stick together and do something."

Justin has to stay healthy too. When no one has to pitch though, we can just imagine that rotation.

According to Harden, Chavez is "looking really good."
Super!

Rumor about the Reds:

The Reds, who are chasing Baltimore's Erik Bedard, also might turn their focus toward Haren with an offer that could include starter Homer Bailey.

Probably not, though.

Kiko is likely to be nontendered. I'm glad to hear that. I want Mulder back though.

Two new players:

On Tuesday, the A's sent left-handed reliever Jay Marshall outright to Triple-A Sacramento and announced they have signed left-hander Ryan Wing and infielder Brooks Conrad to minor-league deals with an invitation to big-league camp.

Fun names to replace Kiko! Nice work, Billy.

Anyone who questions the A's commitment to character hasn't read this article from the official site about A's values:

"Lakeview Pride means that you follow the school rules, are obedient, have excellent behavior and respect for others," fourth grader Vicky Ly said.

End.

DLD 11/27/07

mikeA — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:56:30 -0000

This interview by Jeff is great. Very funny. You should read it.

Uh oh: Leaky valves.

However, the gunk was sticking to the tires and spreading onto secondary roads in the region. He added that the grease caused a "really funky" odor.

This interview by Jeff is great. Very funny. You should read it.

Uh oh: Leaky valves.

However, the gunk was sticking to the tires and spreading onto secondary roads in the region. He added that the grease caused a "really funky" odor.

As the days shorten, and the weather cools, links become scarce...

In lieu of more links, how about a poll?

Poll

My favorite thing is:

The Oakland A's

44 votes

Brian Boitano

8 votes

"The Canterbury Tales"

5 votes

The "House Party" Series

3 votes

Mustard

7 votes

action36.com

7 votes

Gary Busey

8 votes

Treasure

8 votes

Traffic Circles

4 votes

Ron Paul

8 votes

102 votes | Poll has closed

OT: Crazy

mikeA — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:04:20 -0000

I went to the city to see "No Country for Old Men" this afternoon. It was extremely violent and suspenseful (in a good way), and the violence was still reverberating as we left.

So, I got out to the sidewalk and walked for half a block when an unmarked police car with sirens on top sped around a corner onto the sidewalk right in front of me, so that I had to step back. Three guys rapidly jumped out of the car, they all drew their guns (at me! given the angle), screamed FREEZE!, and then ran by me, guns still drawn, and tackled some guy in the middle of the street, yelling "YOU THINK WE'RE FUCKING AROUND?!!" From what I gathered, someone had gotten shot at the metreon (not the theater where I was), as there were ambulences and 30+ police cars, and they taped off the entrance. The guy they arrested struck me as being under 20 years old. Let me tell you: when a car screeches up in front of you, and several guys with guns drawn rush towards you, even though that was a 2-second experience, it is damn creepy.

Left me shaken for awhile. Scary and sad.

I went to the city to see "No Country for Old Men" this afternoon. It was extremely violent and suspenseful (in a good way), and the violence was still reverberating as we left.

Left me shaken for awhile. Scary and sad.

DLD 11/7/07 I Really Hope That's the Date

mikeA — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:00:32 -0000

I think a quickie is in order.

Fight between George Clooney and Fabio, wherein Fabio tells Clooney to "stop being a diva."
haha.

I think a quickie is in order.

Fight between George Clooney and Fabio, wherein Fabio tells Clooney to "stop being a diva."
haha.

Thread where some dude gets made fun of:

Smiling Joe Hesketh Posted: November 07, 2007 at 11:16 AM (#2607944)

I’m excited about the futures of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Who isn’t? But please tell us – in layman’s terms – why you think they will post a 150+ ERA?

First it is useful to picture any statistical projection as one looking through an aperture (the aperture width and direction is set by the current conditions of interest - more positive indicators tilt the aperture ever so slightly above the horizontal). Close by the aperture (in the near future) the range of possible outcomes seems fairly narrow, but the farther away one looks the extreme ranges that represent all possibilities get much wider apart. Imagine that the wider range indicates that in the future, farther into the future, it becomes more likely that given the current vantage point (aperture setting), it is still reasonable to envision very positive outcomes (seen at the top-most edges of the range), and it is possible to see an ever wider range of possibilities that will leave the outcome grounded (poor outcomes).

O RLY?

That clears things up nicely.

haha.

Stavin Gavin is back! That's good news for the DLD, I should think.

If any of you have, links, I suggest you post them here.

DLD 11/2/07 Some Links for you to click if you like

mikeA — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:01:06 -0000

Today I bring you four links, for which I searched far and wide.
1. South Carolina Democratic Party rejects Colbert candidacy:

The executive council of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 13-3 to keep Colbert off the January primary ballot, saying the Comedy Central star did not meet guidelines requiring a candidate to be viable and to campaign actively for the job. Dissenters suggested their colleagues lacked a sense of humor.

I don't really think it's that humorous. Been done, etc.

2. We all have a favorite cousin, who we might kick the ol' ball around with at family gatherings. Scientists have discovered some new fun-loving cousins: flying lemurs:

Found in Southeast Asia, colugos are colloquially called "flying lemurs," although they are not lemurs and they don't truly fly.

Boo

Today I bring you four links, for which I searched far and wide.
1. South Carolina Democratic Party rejects Colbert candidacy:

The executive council of the South Carolina Democratic Party voted 13-3 to keep Colbert off the January primary ballot, saying the Comedy Central star did not meet guidelines requiring a candidate to be viable and to campaign actively for the job. Dissenters suggested their colleagues lacked a sense of humor.

I don't really think it's that humorous. Been done, etc.

2. We all have a favorite cousin, who we might kick the ol' ball around with at family gatherings. Scientists have discovered some new fun-loving cousins: flying lemurs:

Found in Southeast Asia, colugos are colloquially called "flying lemurs," although they are not lemurs and they don't truly fly.

Boo

3. Bonds says he won't attend his HOF ceremony if asterisked ball is displayed:

"I don't think you can put an asterisk in the game of baseball," Bonds said, according to a release from MSNBC, "and I don't think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk in their Hall of Fame. You can't, you cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history, you can't do it. There's no such thing as an asterisk in baseball."

Well, at least I don't think his publicist wrote that one.

4. Girardi picks #27:

Joe Girardi stepped to the podium, put on his new pinstriped jersey and showed off a most appropriate number -- 27.
As in, now it's his job to lead the New York Yankees to their 27th World Series championship.

That's really irritating.

Well, that does it for links.

DLD 10/30/07 A's! Warriors!

mikeA — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:41:39 -0000

Over at The Drumbeat, there's talk of the Japan opener, featuring this crack:

With Matsuzaka and Okajima returning home, plus Manny and Big Poppy in the lineup, the Red Sox are like the Globetrotters, which makes the A's the anonymous Washington Generals.

I think he means that the Sox turn baseball into a joke; a carnival sideshow. Yeah. (Only an ANer would spell it "Big Poppy.")

<---------Good vibes over there.

Oooh, but:
Bad vibes down below...

Over at The Drumbeat, there's talk of the Japan opener, featuring this crack:

With Matsuzaka and Okajima returning home, plus Manny and Big Poppy in the lineup, the Red Sox are like the Globetrotters, which makes the A's the anonymous Washington Generals.

I think he means that the Sox turn baseball into a joke; a carnival sideshow. Yeah. (Only an ANer would spell it "Big Poppy.")

<---------Good vibes over there.

Oooh, but:
Bad vibes down below...

After an interminable three week absence, NBA basketball is back!
A's first-pitch-tosser and sometime crowd member Baron Davis and the Warriors open against the Jazz:

None of the current Warriors expects the chippiness to resurface, and Jackson, who was twice thrown out of the Dallas series, said that keeping composure was one of the biggest lessons learned from last season.

Glad to hear it!

Couple more links:
77-year-old gets carded in beer purchase:

Supermarket manager Lars Hakan Olofsson said the cashier followed the store's policy to demand ID from all customers buying alcohol because it is difficult to guess people's ages.

Where did this take place? Only in Sweden.

Judge rules against tree sitters. Personal story corner: The other day I got off the best and went up to I-house, where I like to sit, and I had some, uh, rather urgent business to attend to. So I go into the bathroom and all three stalls were filled by people who had hung up there clothes over the sides and seemed unlikely exit in the near future. So, yeah.

Finally, to steal a joke from some LL poster, did you know that the Oriole's director of baseball operations is named Andy McPhail?

Update: Giant sic for every sentence

Rockies DBacks Open thread

mikeA — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:18:52 -0000

No thread yet, so here goes. 1-1 in the second. Webb vs. Not sure.
Lineups
I know Arizona has Byrnes, so that'll do for now.

etc.

No thread yet, so here goes. 1-1 in the second. Webb vs. Not sure.
Lineups
I know Arizona has Byrnes, so that'll do for now.

etc.

Poll

Who are you rooting for?

Diamondbacks

6 votes

Rockies

32 votes

38 votes | Poll has closed

DLD 9/26/07 OCD

mikeA — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:32:59 -0000

Call me OCD (yeah, you know ME), but it is simply intolerable that no link dump has been created today. (Viewers of my apartment would be quickly disabused of the notion that I'm OCD. Similarly, the gay men in the depressing 2:1 male/female ratio in the category of "people who have hit on mikeA" would not have been so optimistic in their assessment if they could have seen my apartment.

Anywho, this link is a fantastic article that really must be read. However, it probably ought not be discussed. I am on a roll DLD-commentwise, so the first comment-less DLD would not be so unwelcome.

Oh: I'm glad the A's didn't make the playoffs this year.
"Whaaa?" you exclaim to yourselves in disbelief.
Two words.

Dane

Cook

(In case any more data was required about the Sox(surely not), Dane Cook is a Sox fan.

DLD 9/21/07 Now with Title

mikeA — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:55:22 -0000

Chron (John Shea) has an article about DJ's uncertain future.

He gets a little carried away in the first paragraph:
Dan Johnson used to be Daric Barton. The first baseman of the future, a left-handed hitter, right-handed thrower, someone who would man the bag, put up big offensive numbers and play every day, the first permanent and prominent first baseman for the A's since Jason Giambi.

... Not good when you have to pull this one out:

Of course, Johnson has no answers. It's management's call. There's only one thing he wants to say about 2008.
"I can say I'm due," he said, "due for a big year."

Chron (John Shea) has an article about DJ's uncertain future.

He gets a little carried away in the first paragraph:
Dan Johnson used to be Daric Barton. The first baseman of the future, a left-handed hitter, right-handed thrower, someone who would man the bag, put up big offensive numbers and play every day, the first permanent and prominent first baseman for the A's since Jason Giambi.

... Not good when you have to pull this one out:

Of course, Johnson has no answers. It's management's call. There's only one thing he wants to say about 2008.
"I can say I'm due," he said, "due for a big year."

Well, that's enough baseball.

Amsterdam red light district partially closing". Amsterdam is as good a city as there is, but the women-standing-in-the-door thing is pretty creepy.

In unsurprising news, MIT chemical engineers are inept.

......
Here's a picture of Mark Ellis.

DLD 8/27/07 Should I Read BTF? Let's Find Out

mikeA — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:12:42 -0000

Aside from checking out stats, this is the only baseball website I visit on anything resembling a regular basis (well, LL too). Some of you like to link to BTF and I invariably enjoy the links. Ought I visit on a regular basis, or should I continue to rely on AN readers to alert me to the cream of the crop?

Let's find out.

First up:
US deploys baseball coaches to Vietnam:

US baseball coaches will be sent to Vietnam to help develop the sport in the Southeast Asian country.

Sounds like a recipe for good comments. I found the results mildly disappointing. Many were guilty of the (ruinous of their contest) New Yorker Caption Contest sin of just restating the already obvious joke. If any of you weigh in saying you enjoy the caption contest in its current iteration, I shall update this diary with a personal rebuke, which will strike you where you are most weak.

Cal Ripken is an out and out commie, endorses ties.
Jokes aside, and validity of his points re: learnings lessons blah blah blah in youth baseball, ties in baseball are completely abhorrent.
chris p. said it best:

i think all of my t-ball games ended in ties. at least that's what the coaches told us.

He didn't exactly say it best, because he didn't make my point, but there were ties in my youth sports career that irritate me to this day (and certainly much more at the time), whereas the losses have faded away. AN parents, take notice. (Certain Expecting AN parents: your son may or may not excel in Little League, but the Flynn Effect dictates that he will surely one day rule us all, so just try to prepare him for that.)

This was a good one: Bonds's (proper names ending in "s" should have the possessive form "xxxs's" although pointing that out ends in a long and confusing link) predictable power progression.
The author apparently argues that Bonds's power surge was part of a natural upswing. I'm something of a Bonds defender, but come on.... Commenters don't pull their punches.

Bonderman:
What's wrong with Bonderman?

FACT: Jeremy Bonderman, who is advertised as one of the better pitchers in baseball, has posted an ERA better than league average only once in five seasons. His career ERA+ numbers: 77, 92, 93, 111 (last year), 95 (this year). So the truth is, even though ESPN has you convinced Bonderman is an ace, he’s really just a good LAIM (League Average Innings Muncher).

By odd coincidence, I had made the same discovery just yesterday, and was very surprised that he had done so poorly. But what stuck out was not his poor performance, but that fact that he's 24 and in his 5th full year (i.e. younger than most A's pitchers in their first full year). Bad job Detroit. He apparently also consistently underperforms his FIP and struggles in the first. I was interested to learn that.

Our own Mike Piazza on Clemens (leave it to the Globe to bring that up in 2007):

We’re just different people, I guess. I don’t carry a resentment or anything like that. Someone made a comment to me the other day in Canada that, ‘With all your accomplishments, you’re going to be remembered for that.’ Are you that shallow that you only remember me for that? If that’s true, then you’re too stupid and I can’t help you. I don’t look back in any sort of regret. He’s who he is, I am who I am, we’re two different people, but we’re both very competitive and strong-willed. He does his own thing and he’s had a very successful career. I’m sure we can coexist in the future in some way, shape, or form.

Commenter Chip wins for (ostensible) Boston h8:

Is there a beat writer who knows less about baseball than Nick Cafardo? Whatever the last scout he spoke to said becomes the theme of his piece that day - even if it completely contradicts what the next-to-last scout said the previous day. Isn't he supposed to be out in Foxboro covering Pats camp by this point in the calendar year?

Racist or just really old?
"Andrew Aitken Rooney" had the right spirit, but lost some steam by the third sentence:

I am very sorry for those that I've hurt. In a long life, you can sometimes regret an action or two, such as the afternoon when some chums and I took the streetcar to Chinatown and boxed the ears of a Chinaman. Have you ever noticed that they don't make racists like they used to? Today's racists couldn't terrorize a Negro-run drugstore soda fountain.

What have I learned, you may ask. Well, a daily visit to btf is probably not worth it.

What's more, I would advise against hemming in your DLD by committing to what is probably an ex ante dubious theme.

For redemption's sake, I offer this quote from Martin Amis:

What we eventually run up against are the forces of humourlessness, and let me assure you that the humourless as a bunch don't just not know what's funny, they don't know what's serious. They have no common sense, either, and shouldn't be trusted with anything.

Lesson: Good jokes are serious business. They can sometimes be hard to come by, but I find them here. Get to it.

DLD 8/21/07 Get Your Cool Link/Blockquote Patterns Elsewhere

mikeA — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:28:14 -0000

A's win! A's Win. Good job Hannahan.

Turns out Donnie Murphy is also hurt. What's the problem? Starts with an "O"..... Read the Chron notes, now with boldface instead of italics if you are still wondering. Also in the Notes, apparently Rich Harden is "throwing 140 feet." That is fairly comical in two senses that I can think of.

A's win! A's Win. Good job Hannahan.

Did any of you watch the Angels-Yankees game last night? F-Rod is clearly 100% batshit insane.

Good news on the public health front. Venezualan metabolisms set to improve:

Moved by claims that it will help the metabolism and productivity of his fellow citizens, President Hugo Chávez said clocks would be moved forward by half an hour at the start of 2008. He announced the change on his Sunday television program, accompanied by his highest-ranking science adviser, Héctor Navarro, the minister of science and technology. "This is about the metabolic effect, where the human brain is conditioned by sunlight," Mr. Navarro said in comments reported by Venezuela’s official news agency. Mr. Chávez said he was "certain" that the time change, which would be accompanied by a move to a six-hour workday, would be accepted.

How do some of you think up and stick to themes with these things? Seems pretty hard. Oh well, here it is.

DANDP&LD 8/6/07

mikeA — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:53:26 -0000

I don't have any ANDPs or stories, since I didn't go (I actually did go to the game, but I don't like any of you), but you do. I moved last week and didn't have internet access over the weekend. Whoa. Blessing. In. Disguise. Apparently the Oakland A's corporation is run on the same principles as the Bluth corporation (I watched the entire Season 1 of Arrested Development over the weekend, due to the lack of internet connection.) So..... let's just forget about all that business.

I might as well toss in a few links.

Apparently, white vinegar cures jellyfish stings. It also appears that there is such a thing as a "beach official." My heart is really not in it as far as finding links.

Here's just one more then. Bloggers consider forming union:

Front-page bloggers Nico and monkeyball complained that the medical benefits on offer were only those available to players on the Oakland A's baseball club.