SB Nation User Blog: rungood

Daily Link Dump 8/28/08 - Ghostride2.0

rungood — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:55:14 -0000

Long time listener, frst time caller here. Well that's not entirely true, but it's been some time since I posted a Dump. In fact, it was more than 2 years ago, from a balcony in Amsterdam, and now I find myself in New York City, in a windowless office. Sigh; being an NRAF is hard, particularly this season. At least the Yankees aren't doing anything this season, though I'd prefer that to the Red Sox having success.

So, some link love, and to get the Link Dump party started right on a Thursday (forgive the shameless self-promotional links to my website, Blogadilla.com: The Tijuana of the Internet):

1) Check out this new video from the Ghostride the Volvo guys (in case you don't remember them):

Damn it Feels Good to be a Banker

2) Check out this crazy alarm clock-- entitled The Wake-N-Bacon-- that wakes you up to the savory aroma of cooked bacon:

The Wake-N-Bacon

3) Mark Kotsay is now a Red Sock, sadly (and he needs to get some sleep):

Sleep Deprived Kotsay Debuts with Red Sox, going 0-0 with a walk (Billy would be proud)

4) MC Hammer, Chamillionaire, Mistah FAB on a panel at stanford

The Pinnacle of Academic Inquiry (though actually quite interesting!)

Link away, my friends, and go A's.

Ghostride the Volvo to Keep the A's in Oakland - Video

rungood — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 04:54:54 -0000

I know it's official, the A's are moving to Fremont. I'm pretty bummed, but I'm trying to see the upside of it. Still though, I think it pretty much sucks for me as a fan from Oakland, even if I can see the reasons for doing it as a franchise.

In any case this is for all of us who have tried hard to keep the A's in Oakland, despite an owner with sights elsewhere and a city council that couldn't put together the right deal.

My friends Ben and Nate put this together, and I can't stop watching it...or cracking up. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlTvSUCCqPo

JAMBO for AN!!!

rungood — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:44:46 -0000

Hey AN,

You guys know me as rungood, but in the real world, my name is John Heywood. What's up everybody!?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love AN. I love the community and being a part of it. And what I've loved most is seeing real friendships form through AN, and reading stories about how ANers meet up with one another before, at, and after games-- and sometimes even randomly to talk A's and talk sports even when the team isn't playing. I've met a number of other users, all who have been very friendly and nice to me, and I never hesitate to approach someone when I see them wearing their Bill King or AN shirts. That is the beauty of AthleticsNation and our community.

In any case, I'm 23, and after a year in Estonia on a Fulbright Scholarship, I'm back in the US and just got my first real job out of college, with a company called Jambo Networks.

Why am I telling you all this, right? Well, for one, because I'm super stoked on the job and the company, and I like sharing good news with my fellow ANers. But I'm also writing because Jambo makes a great piece of software that is free to download and to use, and will add a few cool functionalities to AN, most notably location-based messenging capabilities.

As some of you undoubtedly know, jambo is the Swahili word for 'hello.' What we've done at Jambo Networks is create Wi-Hi technology-- that is, wireless hello technology-- that is always on and allows people to connect with members of various groups they belong to when other group members are nearby. In a cafe or sports bar, at a conference, in the airport-- even at the ballpark!

Jambo works even when there is no Internet connection, by utilizing the Ad-Hoc mode on existing WiFi and Cellular devices. It is this feature that makes Jambo particularly useful somewhere like the Coliseum, as many A's fans are already coming together every night there's a game. Jambo would put ANers instantly in touch and could enable AN-meetups, great tailgating, AN-gatherings at away games (wouldn't you want to meet other A's fans in, say, Kansas City or in Detroit), not to mention a million other things. I mean, what better reason do we all have to come together than the A's? :)

Because I think Jambo would be a great fit for AN, I've taken the liberty to create an Oakland A's fan group on Jambo. All you have to do is download Jambo and click this link, and you'll be up and running and can connect with any other ANers that sign up: http://www.jambo.net/groups/oaklandathletics.

I know many of you guys feel like I do-- that Athletics Nation is a great community and we're lucky to have it. It is with this being said that I hope you take the chance with Jambo and start making connections with one another. Invite your friends and fellow ANers, and the possibilities are limitless.

If anyone has any questions about Jambo or wants more of an explanation, I'd be more than happy to talk, anytime. My email is jheywood@jambo.net.

See you guys out there, and hope to connect with you face-to-face someday soon.
-John

Good Bay Area Sports Bars?

rungood — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:51:17 -0000

Hey Everybody!

Since I just moved back to the Bay Area for the first time in 5 years, and it's the first time I've lived here since being of legal drinking age, I must confess that I'm not so hip as to which spots are good ones to watch A's games over a beer when I can't go see them in person.

So, I wanted to open up the forum to all of you, because I know that 5000 minds (plus however many non-posting trolls we have out there) are better than one, and I was hoping you could give me some insight.

I've been to Raleighs in Berkeley as well as Triple Rock, both of which are fun, but are there better places to go watch the games?

Thanks, Woo-Hoo, and Go A's!!

My old A's hats: Keep 'em, Sell 'em or Give 'em Away? (with poll)

rungood — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:55:10 -0000

After 5 years of not living at my parents house, they're turning my old room into the guest bedroom. It's kind of sad, but then again, it's really not. I don't need a bed with the sheets from Full House (if anyone remembers those, I seriously had them on my bed back in the day), I don't need my 49ers aluminum trash bin, I don't need my Pez collection on the wall, nor do I need the pennant with an inset photo of me from when I was 12 and played on the Texas Rangers (hiss) for little league beside it. So just burn it, right?

<sigh>

If only it was that easy. Some of the stuff is total junk, some of the stuff I want to keep, and some of the stuff undoubtedly has value to others.

A lot of things are easy to know if I should keep, from my digeridoo to my stereo to Alaskan art. But one thing that I'm totally on the fence about I can't decide what to do with are my old A's hats that no longer fit me. Do I hold onto them and treasure the sentimental value that remains, while keeping clutter around my place? Do I keep them around for my kids in the future? Or do I part ties with them and give them away, or even sell them at the garage sale I'm gonna have next week? The upside here is that someone else, another A's fan, gets to have a hat and show his or her support for the team. But still, somehow that seems sacreligious...or does it?

Maybe this is just what growing up feels like, but my desire for order in my life is battling the degree to which I care about order with regard to my passions. It's kind of sad, but it's almost like order is overtaking passion. Have any of you gone through situations like this, even if not about baseball or the A's?

So, back to the practical matter at hand, what do I do? Keep 'em, Sell 'em or Give 'em away?

These are the hats I have:
Green hat with White A's logo - size 6 7/8

White hat with green brim and yellow (green outline) A's logo - size 6 7/8

Old Philly A's hat (with tags) - 7

Old KC A's hat (with tags) - 7 1/8

Oh, and the green and white hat has a Scott Spiezio signature from back in 1997. Speaking of Spiezio, does his goatee really look like this?
It looks like red fur or something...

Thank you all for your insight!

Poll

Keep 'em, Sell 'em or Give 'em Away?

Keep 'em.

28 votes

Sell 'em.

2 votes

Give 'em away.

5 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

The Mojo is in Oaktown

rungood — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:47:37 -0000

I just got back from tonight's game against the Mariners, and oh man, it was an awesome game! My buddy called me at 6:45 tonight saying that this girl he was sposed to take to the game bailed on him and he had an extra seat on the 3rd base line, 10 or 12 rows up, so we jetted down to the Coliseum and entered the stadium yelling to anyone who would listen, "Who's in first place?? OAKLAND!!!" and "Who's in last place?? The Giants! and stuff like that. Everyone seemed to love it; it was the perfect way to enter the Coliseum, especially since the game had already started.

We got a few drinks and went down to our seats, just as Zito was getting out of the runners on 2nd-and-3rd-with-nobody-out-jam in the 3rd or 4th, I believe. What a way to welcome us to the park.

The energy in the stadium was awesome, even though the crowd could have been larger. Then again, it is a Monday night after all. But after FT and Ellis' homers, respectively, the crowd was jumping. And from the 7th inning on, the energy was some of the best of any baseball game I've ever been to.

I know some people don't like the wave, but it was hard not to like it tonight. In the top of the 7th inning a double wave got going around the stadium and must have gone around at least 15 times before dying out as Gaudin set down the Mariners. It was definitely the longest lasting wave that I've ever experienced in person.

And in the 8th inning, I totally called Swisher's home run. I said to my friend as the inning began, "This is our inning. Swisher's gonna hit a 2-run homer to right field." No joke.

It looked like Ichiro might come down with it, but when my buddy and I saw the umpire signaling home run, we (and the rest of the stadium) just lost it. We were hugging random people around us and slapping 5's with anyone and everyone.

The drummers in left field get a lot of the credit for the energy tonight; Once again they were amazing. I have to say, the Milton Bradley beat is just SICK. Absolutely filthy. And when you guys were playing all throughout the 9th behind Duke, it was tremendous. A tip of the cap to you all.

After the game ended and my bud and I were leaving out of the north exit, we heard the drummers and saw the left field brigade leaving the game. Saint, Duke of Left Field and High Street were playing their hearts out, and I was able to say whats up quickly to them, but I'm not sure if they realized it was me, since we'd only met once before, last Wednesday. Everyone's energy was so high after the Ichiro pickoff put us 5.5 up on the Angels and Rangers, it's understandable if they didn't.

In any case, on the walk back to the BART parking lot, I felt like I was on Cloud 9. What a great game. My friend said to me that tonight showed him that the A's have a good shot to win the World Series this year. Normally this comment would get me freaked out over potentially cursing ourselves, but tonight it didn't. The fact of the matter is that he's right: tonight's game is proof that this team is resilient and resurgent, and can pull out the necessary games to go far in September and (hopefully) October.

Then again, just to be safe... <knocks on wood>

08/08/06 & 08/09/06: A Tale of Two Ballgames

rungood — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 09:12:21 -0000

As many of you know, I was in Estonia this past year, but I'm finally back. I got back like a week ago and it's been crazy. From family and friends to my dog, to all of the comfort foods, 700 channels and TiVo, I'm realizing all of the things I took for granted before moving to Eastern Europe.

But the one thing I was missing most? Our Oakland Athletics.

No doubt that I had you guys this past year, which was tremendous in terms of satisfying (and intensifying) my baseball addiction throughout the offseason, spring training, and the first half, not to mention the all-inclusive MLB.tv package I got by forking over $100 (~€77.8). But this was no comparison to actually going to the games in person and feeling the Oakland mojo flow.

But as my job search has yet to fully materialize, I've made it a point to get to as many games as I can, while I still can. I hit up the Coliseum Yesterday and Today (well, I guess technically it's yesterday and 2 days ago, but who's picking nits...besides monkeyball?) for the 2nd and 3rd games of the Rangers series, and I had a great time both days, but the games were entirely different, as you guys know.

Tuesday night was one of the best games I've been to in recent memory, as it was exciting throughout, not to mention the fact that I was sitting 5th row behind home plate thanks to some tickets my friend somehow acquired. I was there with 5 high school friends (wow, high school was 6 years ago, I feel old), so it was great to see them, and the highlight of the game was definitely the Back-2-Back magic of Swish and JayPay. When "Nicholas," as the people next to me were calling him, hit his 3-run homer, the stadium erupted. Then, just as we all were realizing that the game was starting again and that we needed to calm down, JayPay unloaded, as if to say "Keep cheering, OAKLAND!!!" It was the encore of encores, and I slapped 5 with complete strangers around me.

Saarloos came in and dominated, which made him the player of the game, in my opinion. He bailed the rookie out; I hope Komine was taking notes.

Street gave us a scare in the 9th, as we easily could have lost the game, or at least gone to extras, but he got the job done. Or rather, Kendall got the job done. But regardless, a win is a win, even it is not the prettiest thing in the world.

Less than 14 hours later, I was back at the the stadium formerly know as The "Net-Ass Coliseum," where I was hoping to witness a sweep of the Rangers and the A's head to an off day with a 7 game winning streak. Problem is...exactly the opposite happened.

14-0?!? That's a football score, after the first quarter. Zito gave up 4 homers...what gives? I mean, we haven't had a loss like this since Opening Day, when the Yankees trashed Zito. But luckily, he bounced back after that start, and hopefully can do the same thing this time. I'm not worried, but this wasn't pretty today. But, then again, just as a win is a win, a loss is a loss. It doesn't matter if your opponent scores 1 or 14 runs, if you don't score any yourself.

But while the A's just didn't have it today, it still was a lot of fun at the game. Today I was in the more economical (though nothing compared to the $2 seats of old) left-center field bleachers with my parents, and as the game progressed, I scarfed down 5 dollar dogs. YUM.

Before leaving for the game, I'd posted back and forth briefly with saint , and knew that we'd be in same the vicinity during the game. So when I spotted who I thought to be him, I went over and said whats up. Nice meeting you, bud! I also met Duke of Left Field, high street, and JLaff. Hopefully sometime soon I'll get a chance to catch a game with them and chill drummer-style in left field. They definitely do it right and the energy, mojo, or whatever you want to call it, that they generate is off the charts. It's definitely one of the reasons I love the A's so much, and one of the reasons that catching games live in person is so much fun. Rock on guys and gals.

Even though it was H-O-T, I had a great time, and can't wait to get back to the Coliseum again soon. I'm out of town for the TB series, but I'm back again Monday and think I'll catch at least 2 of 3. I'll definitely be going to the Wednesday game-- would anyone be down to do a mini-tailgate before, possibly in the BART lot, and then hit up the $1 Dogs inside while watching the A's mash the Mariners for the 15th straight time? {crosses fingers} {knocks on wood} If there is interest we can definitely make sometime happen.

Well, it's great to be back, to be going to A's games, and to be meeting some of you guys. Let's hope our August mojo continues-- 6-2 so far, with the D-Rays and the M's next. Go A's!!

[editor's note, by rungood]

{crosses fingers} {knocks on wood} {breaks finger} {cries} {bandages finger} {types using hunt & peck method} {injures back while squinting at keyboard} rungood placed on 15-day DL

Weekend DLD 22/7/06 - 23/7/06: Euro A's Sightings!

rungood — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 22:25:45 -0000

Hey gang-

I'm a long time listener, first time caller to the DLD, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I will.

In any case, it's midnight on the 22nd of July where I am: Amsterdam. I'm actually comin' to you live from the balcony of the Hotel Di-Ann here in The Netherlands, using stolen wifi from the building next to me. I'm about a 5 minute walk from the Flower Market, right next to the post office, for anyone who knows the area.

I just finished up my European Fulbright adventure in Estonia, and since leaving Estonia on July 14, I've been in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and now Amsterdam. Tomorrow I head to Munich, then to Milan and finally to Paris before flying back to OAK on July 29th. After being gone for a year from the US, I'm both sad to leave Europe and excited to come home. I'm a bit scared as to what I'll find has changed-- either my home environment or...god forbid...myself.

In any case, walking/stumbling around the Amsterdam streets today, I had 2 A's sightings!! I've written a post or two on A's sightings around the world, and it always gets me really excited to see some A's representation outside of the Bay Area, let alone outside of the country.

The first was an Asian tourist and the colors of his hat weren't really the exact A's colors (it was a tan/green A's cap), so it's possible he just had the hat without knowing the A's...but of course I hope he does know the team. Possibly a Yabu fan?

The second A's sighting was a hat on a 10 year old kid in the Van Gogh Museum. Based on his parents' accent when speaking, I'd likely guess that he's from the Bay Area (Piedmont, I'd guess....haha, Piedmont).

While I didn't talk to either of the A's fans, I thought you guys would dig the fact that there are A's fans all the way over here, even in Amsterdam.

Has anyone out there had A's sightings outside of Oakland? What was the most ridiculous place you saw the A's logo?

A few links for fun, European style:
-Check out the Heineken Experience where I went yesterday...10 Euro for a tour, 3 beers and a free gift. Oooh la-la.
-"Chocolate Factory" theme park to open in Amsterdam
-For anyone who wasn't paying attention the last few days (and might care) Manchester United Rejects Real Madrid's Bid for Van Nistelrooy

And just for fun, a poll. If Lew Wolff moves the A's out of the country, what city would best suit the team?

Update [2006-7-23 14:13:59 by rungood]: As I posted below, I've made this into a weekend DLD. Thanks J^3-6^2 for the heads up on why there was such low volume... all this travelling has left me confused as to what day it is! ~rg

Poll

If Lew Wolff moves the A's out of the country, what European city would best suit the team?

Athletik Munchen

12 votes

Paris A's

5 votes

Los jugadores di Roma

5 votes

Os Jogadores Do S?o Paulo

6 votes

Los Atl?ticos de Barcelona

14 votes

De Spelers van Amsterdam

12 votes

54 votes | Poll has closed

Antonio P?rez Fan Club Seeking Members!

rungood — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 14:04:16 -0000

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Antonio Pérez Fan Club has just initiated a new membership cycle, and you're invited to join!

There's never been a better time to join than now!! And in honor of Antonio's recent playing time and Chavez' likely trip to the DL (d'oh!), we've even waived the already low membership fee of $.092!

So join now and become part of a one of a kind club, dedicated to the A's Dominican Dandy, Antonio Pérez.

Not this Antonio Pérez:

Or this Antonio Pérez:

Or even this Antonio Pérez:

Nope, this is the guy I'm talkin about:
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . .
. .

I know, I know-- you're thinking something like, "MAIN MAN???/ WHAT? This guy's OPS is only .376. Not is OBP, his OPS!"

or,

"He's K'd in 5 of his last 10 at-bats and in 31 of 65 at-bats all year!"

or,

"Maybe one of the 3 guys above our Antonio could actually hit better than .092 this year."

But mark this day, my friends. Saturday, July 15, 2006. The Ides of July. Today is the day that Antonio Pérez turns it around. Right? Right??

Hmm...well maybe not today, but if not today, then tomorrow. Or the next day. My point is just that Pérez isn't a bad hitter-- he hit .297 last year and had a .360 OBP! All he needs to do to get back on track is to have standard playing time, which he's finally gonna get.

To date, he's been Ginterized...and you can't really blame a guy for sucking when there's no real opportunity to get in any type of a rhythym.

And the strikeouts-- I chalk them up to trying to hard to do too much. Now, with more constant playing time, our boy can chill out at the plate a little bit, and not chase pitches. I'd be curious to see how many of his strikeouts this year have been swinging versus looking.

With Pérez' inevitable increase in playing time in mind, the APFC is looking for members. Or at least to try and increase the Pérez-Mojo going around AN. Hopefully we can inspire him to shines given this opportunity and he can be one of the plusses for our guys in the second half. If Pérez can turn it on and spell Chavez so that he actually is healthy for a run up and into the playoffs, then we can still do big things.

Go A's and Go Pérez! Who's with me?

Chris Denorfia

rungood — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 22:39:19 -0000

I know, I know, I qualify as a lurker, and for that I apologize. But I'm an Oakland A's fan for the most part, and usually spend my time over on AthleticsNation.

In any case, I have no beef with the Reds, and in actuality, I'd love for them to do well this year and in general. I love Hatteberg from his A's days, I wish Griffey wouldn't get hurt so often, I've always liked Jason LaRue, and I've been watching Austin Kearns since the beginning. I was sorry to see Wily Mo get traded, but I'm so stoked for Reds fans that Arroyo has been tearing it up, both offensively and defensively. Those 2 homers he hit were legit bombs. I hope he keeps up his great year and shows the Red Sox they were stupid to trade him after he gave them the ol' hometown discount.

In any case, I decided to post this diary to ask what's up with Chris Denorfia? I was searching for possible pickups today in my fantasy league, and I searched by OBP for the 2006 season, and there, at the top of my list, was Chris. 3 appearances going 2/2 with a single, a double and 2 runs scored. Not so bad, if you ask me.

But he's N/A and appears to have been demoted to AAA. So what exactly happened on April 8, anyways? OK, so he was sent to Louisville, but who came up? And with Griffey going down, why isn't Denorfia back on the roster in Cinci?

Looking at the Reds' transactions, I see that the Reds traded "A Player to be Named Later" for Cody Ross, who's now the 5th outfielder on the Depth Chart, but what does this mean for Denorfia? Why would they trade for another outfielder when they have Denorfia tearing it up in AAA?

Did they just feel as if he wasn't MLB-ready? Or is it possible that Denorfia is the player to be named later? Or do they see Denorfia as a AAAA player? I mean 2/2 in the big show along with his .977 OPS in AAA this year seem to dictate otherwise. And last year's .785 OPS in 18 games in the bigs isn't terrible either. On the contrary, in 20 MLB games over 2 seasons, Cody Ross has managed only a .529 OPS, while batting a measly .182.

OK, OK, I know what you're thinking: small sample size. So let's compare the 2005 AAA stats of the two. These should better tell the story.

Chris Denorfia (Louisville):
90 Games, .310 BA, .391 OBP, .505 SLG, = .896 OPS

Cody Ross (Las Vegas):
115 Games, .267 BA, .348 OBP, .509 SLG, = .857 OPS

Denorfia is 5 months and 8 days older than Ross, but has an additional year on his arbitration "clock" than Ross, it appears. Both are right handed batters (though Ross throws lefty), so there's no real difference there. And Denorfia's listed as OF, indicating that he can play all of the OF positions, whereas Ross is listed only as a RF.

So what gives? Why is Denorfia in AAA still? It seems he's more deserving of the shot in the bigs than Ross, but to no avail. So perhaps some of the Red faithful can shed some light on this subject. Is it possible that this move is only the product of what the Reds think they are supposed to do with a straight-from-high-school former hotshot prospect, rather than a division III college player who has earned it at every level? Or is there something else going on here that I'm just not aware of, cuz I don't follow the team as closely as you all?

Fill me in, Reds Nation.

[editor's note, by rungood]I should note that much of my interest in Denorfia stems from the fact that he and I both went to Wheaton College (MA). Although I didn't know Chris and wasn't even aware of him when we were both there (he was a senior when I was a freshman), it's still exciting to have someone from a small school like ours make it to the big leagues. I hope he gets his chance!