For those who don't know, I've been really getting involved in the North California Wrestling Indy Curcuit and I've decided to write blogs about the shows I'm doing and basically my life on the curcuit. First let me do the introduction and tell you about myself.
My real name is Toby Reynolds and I've been a wrestling fan since I was little little kid. By the end of 2003, I decided to take a huge step in my life and get involved with pro wrestling. I moved to Bremerton WA, to live with my dad and train with a indy promotion called ICW. ICW was based out of Bremerton so me moving there made sense. Unfortunaily it didn't work out and I moved back to California.
I had a job lined up in Bremerton, I was suppose to transfer to a store out there but the transfer got screwed up and after about 3 months I got tired of not being able to find a job in WA and before I ran out of money I came back to California. Even though I was only in WA for 3 months, I did work with ICW and all the guys there treated me very well. I miss those guys and hope some day, I can work with them again.
After about a year in a half of being back in California, I found that there was a indy promotion called the WCWA in the near by city of Concord. After checking out their website I gave them a call and set up a meeting with them to talk about training. After I met the owner and two of the trainers, I had my mind set up, I would start training two days later but that will be a story for my next blog.
(I got to have something for you guys to come back to.)
Now we get to the our first holdover and someone who has received some decent support.
Lee Smith - Closer
Chicago Cubs 1980-1987
Boston Red Sox 1988-1990
St. Louis Cardinals 1990-1993
New York Yankees 1993
Baltimore Orioles 1994
California Angels 1995-1996
Cincinnati Reds 1996
Montreal Expos 1997
5th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2003: 42.34%
2004: 36.56%
2005: 38.8%
2006: 45.0%
Awards
1991 NL Rolaids Relief Award
1992 NL Rolaids Relief Award
1994 AL Rolaids Relief Award
All-Star Selections: 7 (1983, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
League Leader
1983: Saves
1991: Saves
1992: Saves
1994: Saves
Career Ranks
Saves: 2nd
Games: 8th
H/9: 97th
K/9: 11th
K/BB: 61st
ERA+: 30th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 12 (178) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 48 (512) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 13.0 (578) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 135.0 (50) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter)
Other Similar Pitchers: Jeff Reardon, John Franco, Roberto Hernandez, Trevor Hoffman, Rick Aguilera, Kent Tekulve, Jose Mesa
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1980: 2/0.7
1981: 4/2.5
1982: 13/4.5
1983: 19/8.3
1984: 15/4.9
1985: 17/5.9
1986: 17/7.2
1987: 15/7.4
1988: 12/4.7
1989: 11/3.9
1990: 17/6.2
1991: 15/6.5
1992: 12/4.2
1993: 9/3.4
1994: 8/4.9
1995: 8/5.0
1996: 4/2.1
1997: 0/0.1
Career Win Shares: 198
Career WARP3: 82.2
Would he get my vote?
No. I personally just have a hard time thinking someone who spent their career almost exclusively as a short reliever as being a HOF. As I've mentioned before a closer can rarely ever be considered the most valuable player on a team. Even though he retired as the all-time saves leader Smith was definately a notch below the elite closers in baseball history (Fingers, Eckersley, Rivera, Gossage, Sutter, Quisenberry, Wilhelm, Hoffman) and by the time he reached his mid-30s he was just padding his career save totals.
I don’t even remember who won half of these games. This should be interesting.
(2.5) Miami at Detroit. Correct
I remember Detroit playing a good Thanksgiving Day game in previous years, even if they were having a shitty season. They even played well right out of the gate. However, Miami’s in the midst of “wait until next year” mode, when every player will be one year older, slower and more susceptible to injury.
Tampa Bay at Dallas (11.5). Incorrect.
Nuts, I thought I had a sleeper pick when this game first started. I then stopped watching and saw the final score later on. Ew.
Denver at Kansas City (1.5). Correct.
Because I don’t have the NFL Network, I have nothing to say about this one.
Arizona at Minnesota (6.5). Incorrect.
Damnit. Aside from those two freak plays that gave Arizona 14 points (a goal-line fumble return and punt/kick return if memory serves), this would have been a solid win.
(4.5) Carolina at Washington. Incorrect.
I can’t read either one of these teams worth shit.
Chicago at New England (3.5). Correct.
I pulled this win out by the skin of my teeth. I haven’t seen enough of Rex Grossman to pass judgment on whether or not to bench him, but he seemed good enough when the Bears were the talk of the league. I’d let him play through this slump.
(3.5) Cincinnati at Cleveland. Correct.
When Cleveland plays tough they certainly play tough. When the don’t they sure don’t.
Houston at N.Y. Jets (5.5). Correct.
I wonder how the local New York media is treating the Jets head coach now that he’s helped put his team in playoff contention? I heard in training camp/pre-season this guy was not the most media friendly coach in the league, which could spell trouble for a New York-based team if they are performing poorly.
(3.5) Jacksonville at Buffalo. Incorrect.
The Jags are yet another week-to-week team I can’t put my finger on. I guess those losses to Houston weren’t divisional rivalry flukes and part of a bigger problem..
New Orleans at Atlanta (3.5). Correct.
I predicted one of these teams to begin a late-season collapse. I have been looking at the wrong team all along. Then again, I haven’t expected much from the Falcons as of late anyway. And regarding Vick giving the “dirty bird” to booing fans – big deal. I have to wonder though if fans at this game will get Gloria Aldred to sue Vick for offending them?
(3.5) N.Y. Giants at Tennessee. Incorrect.
Ah man. I was on the wrong end of this fourth-quarter collapse. It was still funny anyway.
Philadelphia at Indianapolis (9.5). Correct.
Colts rookie running back Joseph Addai: 24 rushes, 174 yards, 4 touchdowns. I wonder how Edgerrin James likes playing in Arizona? Oh what the heck, I’ll look at his rushing stats for this year: 226 attempts, 695 yards, 3 touchdowns. Oh well, at least he’s paid. Hope he likes putting his body on the line for a bigger paycheck rather than playing for a championship.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (2.5). Correct.
This game pretty much shut everyone up in this area about playoff possibilities.
San Francisco at St. Louis (5.5). Correct.
The 49ers gave up the win, but they didn’t give it up by more than 5.5 points. Good enough for me.
Oakland at San Diego (13.5). Incorrect.
Nuts. The Chargers couldn’t blow the Raiders out twice in a season.
Green Bay at Seattle (10.5). Incorrect.
Damnit. Missed by half-a-point. Oh well.
This week’s record: 9-7.
Cumulative record: 87-89.
Hey, I’m only two games under .500 – Time to get creamed with my Week 13 picks. I just heard on the television that Cleveland has just gone up 7-0. Gulp.
Well, I promised it, so here's my review of Edward Lee's novel Coven.
In case you read this shitty excuse for a blog, you probably read my review of Lee's The Bighead and most likely didn't care. Well, it's my blog, so hey...
Anywho, Coven is a different beast than Bighead...for the most part. Sure, there's the requisite gore and sex (it's actually gorier than Bighead), as well as rednecks (who aren't psychopathic rapists this time) dark humor, and gross out moments. Unlike Bighead, there are few if any scatalogical moments, and it's much pulpier, and less interested in grossing the reader out, than Bighead.
The story deals with Wade St. John, a rich, arrogant college fuck-up who's doing bad in school. So his dad, fed up with this shit, decides to have Wade take summer coarses, and take a job as a toilet scrubber. While this damages Wades rep, he still has his buddies-Tom, a rich Republican who has a thing for really bad jokes, and Jervis (my favorite character), a philosophy fan who's been suicidal and crying rivers since his girlfriend dumped him for a body building German nazi. Oh, and the new campus police officer, a sexy girl named Lydia.
Meanwhile, somethings a miss (of course) in this university. Seems like someone with a huge axe has been killing people and abducting women. Oh, and there's some strange women in black, who giggle eat organs. It all involves aliens...
...that's right, aliens. You see, in spite of it's title, Coven is actually a sci-fi/horror story. And it's disgusting and great. There's tons of gore, plenty of sex, alien monstrosities having their way with nubile collge babes (including a scene with a man-sized cockroach-yes, you read that right), some great comedic moments, nearly unstoppable zombies, people being sliced in half, and much, much more.
So, is it good? Yes, in fact, I loved this book. Sure, theres some cliches (Wade's relationship with Lydia is a bit convenient, and some of the dialogue is a bit cliched), but this is a blast, and the best book from Lee I've read yet. The characters are great (Jervis in particular, is a laugh riot), some nice music selections (Sixousie and the Banshees? Brian Eno? Right on...), a wonderfully gallows sense of humor, gratuitous sex (hell, this whole book is gratuitious), some excellent gore, zombies, aliens, conspiracies...hell, this about has it all, and I loved it. It's a grat piece of pulp-horror that I couldn't put down.
Rating: 9/10
You can get the book here.
Its finals week and that means loads of papers, assignments and exams to prep for.
I don’t take it too seriously, it’s just school, after-all. Allison, on the other hand is driving herself and in turn, me crazy with finals prep. It took some convincing to get her off the chair and away from the books and out for the night (which is funny since I’m usually dragged kicking and screaming). We headed down to a local music club where apparently the trendy people go. Some local act, a girl whom is blowing up was playing a set and the place was packed tight since this would probably the last time to see this show for free.
I don’t drink and this essentially made me the lone sober person in the building. She doesn’t drink often but when she does? She makes up for it. She met a girlfriend of hers and they proceeded to dance with the other dancers. I hung back and chatted up with the security guy that I knew from a class last year and things were going fine. The main act showed up around 10 just at the peak of the crowd flow whom ignored the shitty DJ playing the typical stuff. Interestingly enough, the male to female population ratio was dead even. Guys either liked seeing the hot singer in a sauna of a building or got dragged to the show by their girl who was there to support the girl-powered rocker act. Basically, it was P!nk but with actual talent, good vocals and good looks. (Actually, I don’t know how I even made that comparison to begin with)
The show was going well, crowd was hot, she was (to steal a wrestling term thus dragging me back to dork status) “feeling it” and Allison was handling herself pretty well. Then came a moment that enraged me…
This chick was your basic pop-rock act, which is cool and all. That’s her thing. It worked. After her brief intermission, she came back and said she was doing a couple covers since it was her last night there…she played some wispy piano song that I didn’t recognize but the crowd did and went along with it. It was after that performance leading into her next song that pissed me off…
I’m gonna fucking change this shit up, get ready guys, this is “New Noise”!
(I’ll assume that a lot of people reading this don’t know what this song is but it’s from a defunct Swedish punk act from the 90’s that went largely un-noticed, The Refused and this was one of their best songs.)
She went into the song and I would say 20% of the crowd got it which was surprising considering it was mostly a poppy crowd. The band hit it perfectly but she wasn’t even close to matching Dennis Lyxzén' but really, who could? I was completely blown away by her effort though, I commend her for taking a stab at a song like this with a crowd that isn’t remotely connected with that style. This had me totally excited but what made it better was when Allison came up during the song and said “I can’t believe she’s doing Refused”. I never knew she heard of music outside the local pop station. I overheard, just as the song was ending some jack ass standing in the back alone looking as I would imagine a certain TSM poster to look like and started to razz on the girl for doing a “idiotic” punk song “trying to be something she isn’t”. Sort of like how he stood there and pretended to be an music aficionado but really just spewed out Pitchfork columns and went home alone, crying in his beat up van blasting The Smiths. Anyways, the fucking poser finished his little worthless diatribe and as the song finished with a huge reaction from the crowd as she went into her final song (her current radio hit), he started to protest again about her playing. I looked at this tool and shook my head.
He obviously came here, alone of course, just to heckle some very talented and probably soon to be successful singer without showing a shred of actual ingenuity. What prompts these types of people to be idiots? He was alone, so it’s not like he got dragged there and was protesting. He made the effort to show up at a very publicized event knowing full well who was playing and almost seemed rehearsed. Completely killing the mood, me and Allison walked away and he was left to his devices again. I went over to my security guard friend and pointed the idiot out (I wasn’t complaining , just making note of the douche bag) and he looks at me straight ahead and tells me “He’s here almost every night. He comes in alone, gets a vodka and red bull and stands there all night. Never moves but doesn’t do anything stupid except open his mouth from time to time, so we don’t care”.
I felt even sadder for this guy, why make the effort to go to this place, and stand alone quietly and when you do speak up, it’s just to disparage someone that obviously did something right to get a big crowd to see her. Oh well, these people do exist and there’s nothing left for them to do but sleep.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, it’s finals week and I’m not stressed at all. My scores and grades are locked in for the most part and it’ll be another typical semester. Allison won’t be going to this school anymore (she’s staying at the main campus now but I’m taking classes in Middletown next semester). Which is good, actually. Seeing her everyday, having class together and all that made it feel like high school at times.
I’m still working part time at the body shop but got out of the office. Just doing routine oil changes and brake jobs, fairly pedestrian shit but it’s pocket change, so whatever.
I managed to have 90% of the holiday shopping finished already. I got the basics done (girl and intermediate family) and I’ll grab a few gift cards for the extended family and co-workers. I’m getting quasi anxious about the holidays. I just love them and I think this year has great potential to be memorable. Usually people fake their holiday spirit to mask their resentment and I can get that, I used to be that person but I figure you’re just better off not being a impostor and just letting it be honest. This will be the first time, I actually have something serious going on in my life on all levels at this juncture. I’m excelling in school, I’ll have a good job soon (not that I don’t already, but something more permanent down the line), a fantastic relationship that actually inspires hope. I’d try to be downhearted just to keep up with the façade for others but I’m not going to. Why is it that when you’re sad and lonely, you just wish you weren’t. Then, when you’re on cloud nine, you wish you weren’t feeling guilty for feeling good.
The BCS hoopla comes down to the final day and USC choked. Earlier this season, I predicted that Ohio State would play Florida in the NATIONAL TITLE GAME and if the BCS machine does the job right and denies the idiotic rematch concept, I’ll be right. I can’t get the NFL picks right and I blew the Bored contest but at least I got this fucker.
KKK’s Top 103 Posters
Number 46: Marvin is a Lunatic
Marvin is famous around these here parts for two things. 1) His love of high definition television. 2) Troubles with his love life. Rather than go into more detail about both, I’ll just point you over to a thread that has become synonymous with Marvin. If you haven’t made your way to this thread yet, do so. As for me, I’ve always had a soft spot for him. And while I’m on the subject of virgins looking to get laid, heed these words my poontang seekers: Don’t expect much going in because when a male virgin finally achieves penetration because it’ll only last 5-10 seconds. Yes, I am speaking from personal experience. Then again, I wasn’t wearing a rubber at the time. I might have lasted 20 seconds had my scimitar been properly sheathed. I wouldn’t have lasted twice as long because the latex would have dulled the sensation, but rather I wouldn’t have wanted to waste money on using a prophylactic for that short of time.
And now a word or five from the expert panel I’ve assembled to comment on the people I’ve listed.
From Black Lushus:
From EricMM:
From Carnival:
From SFAJack:
From Kingofthe909:
• Who needs “Survivor” or “Hogan Knows Best,” when you have the kind of reality programming that I married into? For those of you that are somewhat familiar with my in-law family tree, bear with me for three sentences while I bring others up-to-date. My 40-something-year-old sister-in-law is a crack whore. Well, meth/heroin addict would be a more accurate description, but I feel “crack whore” can be used as a universal term for “loser drug addict.” The crack whore’s oldest daughter lives with my mother-in-law and has “supposedly” been going to college for the last year-and-a-half. Well, this 19-year-old is now headed off to a drug rehab center for three months. Why is she doing this? Well because a few weeks ago the mother in-law busted the niece-in-law in a web of lies that’s not worth going into. The mother-in-law then said she was taking her name off the title to my nice-in-law’s car, thus making the niece-in-law fully responsible for her car’s insurance payments; payments that are also going to be at a much higher rate than before. After the niece-in-law stormed out to live with the crack whore for a week or two, she announced to the mother-in-law that she was addicted to “pain killers” (heroin is the more likely drug of choice), and has tried to “detox herself” several times over the past three years. *CoughbullshitCough*. I’m still expressing doubt she’s actually going to go to rehab, and if she does I doubt she’ll complete the full three months. Why do I seem express such joy in other people’s pain? Because it makes for great reality television – and you don’t even need the TV set! And since she will not supposedly be home for the holidays that also means one extra gift that doesn’t have to be purchased. Wait a second: that’s TWO gifts because I’m sure her on-again-off-again boyfriend won’t be paying a visit either. The sad thing is that I wish I could trade him for her in regards to being related to a person; he’s actually normal, except for his taste in women. Then again, the niece-in-law was his first sex partner, so I understand why he accepts the constant break-ups and other bullshit that applies to “young love.”
Why do I “hate” the niece-in-law? I really don’t hate her, but I do ignore her for the most part (perhaps another story for another time). I think the best part of this story will be when she’s 30-years old and working in some go-nowhere shithole, realizing everyday as she gets up for her dead-end job that she had a near-free-ride toward a college degree and pissed it all away. She had enough grants/inheritance/etc. given to her to pay for at least half of her four-year undergraduate education, and that didn’t include the various work-study programs she had been accepted for, too. Of course, she actually needed to attend these university jobs in order to get paid, but now I’m nitpicking.
Will she complete rehab? Will she go back to college? Will she graduate? Will she get knocked up? Will she get back with one of her fuck-buddies who recent went to jail for robbery and act as the get-away driver in his next caper? I have to tune in and find out. Well, maybe not “tune in;” just listen to what Mrs. kkk tells me after wrapping up the latest chat with her mother. Even though you never really know what to expect from the script that life provides you, I have a feeling this story will end up with the niece-in-law being a crack whore. Just like her mother. This of course means I’ve been watching a repeat all along. Well, maybe not a “repeat.” I think “spin-off” would be a more appropriate label.
Tony Gwynn- Since World War II, only Ted Williams hit for a higher batting average than Tony Gwynn. Gwynn hit .338 over his career, and .368 over a five year stretch from 1993-97. Eight batting titles makes Gwynn as sure a candidate as anyone in the history of the balloting.
Cal Ripken- What surprised me in looking up the statistics is that Cal doesn't appear on many lists of shortstops in terms of percentages. His case is based largely on longevity. Nothing wrong with that, as Cal's peak was plenty good too. Ripken won two MVPs and hit more home runs than any shortstop in history.
Mark McGwire- We all know McGwire's candidacy comes down to a moral choice and there's really no arguing that. This is where I stand and I respect where you stand for the time being. What I would address is the notion that McGwire was a undeserving player except for his late home run surge. McGwire was the percentage leader amongst first basemen in home runs prior to 1998. He ranked eighth in OPS, Offensive Winning Percentage and Runs Created per game, and second in Secondary Average. McGwire walked nearly as often as he struck out. Yes, he probably used steroids, but he was a Hall caliber player before 1998.
Bert Blyleven- The sabermetric darling of the Hall ballot. I think Blyleven's big problem is that he had his great seasons early and then stayed around as an above-average pitcher for a long time. I'm not going to slog through the stats because the arguments have been presented before. Let me just state that if Blyleven had 13 more wins, this wouldn't even be discussed.
Alan Trammell- Trammell and Ripken were roughly contemporaries. Ripken outslugged Trammell .447 to .415. Trammell had a higher career OBP however, .352 to .340. Ripken's career ERA+ was 112, Trammell's was 110. Now, remember that Trammell stole 236 bases to Ripken's 36, largely offsetting the edge in extra bases. Trammell had a better range factor at shortstop and won more gold gloves. Ripken lasted two years longer than Trammell. Ripken's considered an automatic inductee, while Trammell fell below 20% of the vote. Now ask yourself, was Cal Ripken really THAT much better of a player than Alan Trammell?
Andre Dawson- Poor OBP be damned. Dawson hit 438 home runs, stole 314 bases and was a GOLD GLOVE center fielder in his prime.
Goose Gossage- If you are going to elect relievers, you need to elect the Goose. Now that a standard is established thanks to Bruce Sutter, I think Gossage will earn induction (but not until next year).
Bret Saberhagen - Starting Pitcher
Kansas City Royals 1984-1991
New York Mets 1992-1995
Colorado Rockies 1995
Boston Red Sox 1997-1999, 2001
Awards
1985 AL Cy Young
1985 Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year
1985 World Series MVP
1989 AL Cy Young
1989 Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year
1989 AL Gold Glove - P
All-Star Selections: 3 (1987, 1990, 1994)
League Leader
1985: WHIP, BB/9, K/BB Ratio
1989: Wins, ERA, Win %, WHIP, Innings, Complete Games, K/BB Ratio, ERA+
1994: BB/9, K/BB Ratio
Career Ranks
WHIP: 47th
BB/9: 35th
K: 97th
K/BB: 10th
ERA+: 56th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 20 (88) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 124 (139) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 32.0 (123) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 70.5 (158) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in the HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: John Candelaria, Ron Guidry, Ed Lopat, Jimmy Key, Ed Morris, Scott Sanderson, Doug Drabek, Bill Gullickson, Dave McNally, Rick Rhoden
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1984: 10/4.1
1985: 24/10.2
1986: 8/4.4
1987: 23/10.1
1988: 15/6.6
1989: 28/11.7
1990: 7/5.0
1991: 16/7.6
1992: 5/2.5
1993: 9/4.5
1994: 16/8.7
1995: 8/3.3
1997: 0/0.1
1998: 12/5.5
1999: 12/6.3
2001: 0/0.2
Career Win Shares: 193
Career WARP3: 90.7
Would he get my vote?
No. At age 25 he had already had two Cy Young's and a World Series MVP but three straight years where he through over 250 innings took it's toll on his arm as he would only throw enough innings three more times in his career to qualify for the ERA title. Certainly a great "What If?" case if he could have stayed healthy. When he was healthy he pitched like a HOF but didn't pitch enough to warrant consideration.
75.
This will be more of a sad entry. And although it doesn't entirely have to do with TSM, it's a fine example of the mentality we have here.
I'm saddened I had to end a friendship with the poster Ortonsault today. A victim of the high school mentality that many grown-ups have... which also happens here. The high school mentality of going with whatever your friends say. And since this mentality is so childish, usually the dumbest people get the ball rolling within it.
It's sad to think that I'd probably have more good acquaintances on this board if it wasn't for this mentality. Which is truly a shame.
And does it make me better than most of you because I don't think this way? Yes. It does.
74.
So, Princess Leelee has decided to once again liven up this blog. No more gambling, unfortunately. The next group of entries will be purely on the many negatives of forums.thesmartmarks.com. Think of this like HTQ's blog, except I'm not some wrestling geek that sucks on Dave Meltzer's teat.
Part I:
kkktookmybabyaway.
This poster is a fine example of what's wrong with this board. Stick with some lame, negative shtick long enough, and people will like you. This poster probably should be banned for his constant derailing of topics in the conversation forums. He's aggravated many a new poster with his silliness. But, it's ok, because kkk is a "good guy". That's just "how he is".
That's fucking bullshit.
The point of a message board is to have conversation and this poster only tries to defeat this purpose. And the worst part is that he can show he's intelligent at times (as he often does in his blog), but he just continues the bullshit. That's the definition of someone who needs to be told to cut it out. If he wants to do that, go post in the flaming folders.
And the worst part is that so many people like this poster. For reasons completely beyond me. If any of you find his shtick funny, then you're just pathetic.
We'll continue on later with Part 2, a poster fairly similar to this, but posts exponentially more.
Now that I wrongly predicted the Ravens/Bengals Thursday night game, I can get back to my riveting tale of my first-ever “real job” interview. I spoke with Altoona Mirror News Editor Joe Frollo about my upcoming interview, and he said to bring a work portfolio with me to the Mirror’s headquarters. He added that if I could get a copy of the Mirror and “copyedit” for him that would be great, too. My interview was scheduled for early that next week, so I got the Sunday’s edition of the Mirror and put my little red pen to work. Now here’s the funny thing. For as much as I suck at speling and grammer, I am great at picking out stupid errors or inconsistencies that nobody else would care about checking. For example, at one job I picked out on a page a period that was one font point size smaller than all the other text. While the graphic artist who made this correction was amazed that I noticed this mistake, I felt more pathetic than anything else. But I digress. So there I was scanning through this newspaper when I came across some mistakes in this publication’s template areas, particularly one in the “Editorial Board” box that got run every day. When I arrived at my interview, I showed Joe everything I had found, and he was … surprised. He especially appeared so when I showed him the “editorial box” where a period was breaking up one editor’s name. As I sat down to take my editing test, he asked if he could have this page and walked away. I knew I bombed this test, but nevertheless it was off to talk with Joe and this other editor who seemed a bit smarmy. I knew I wasn’t getting this job, but they were taking me out to dinner to continue the interview process, so who am I to turn down a free meal?
As I talked with Joe and this other guy, the nameless editor began asking for my opinion about the newspaper, and I gave it to him. Full blast. I don’t remember much of what I said, and most of it wasn’t even negative, but I do remember the guy getting pretty defensive about a number of things. One question I do remember was asking if the Mirror had a Web site because I couldn’t find one after looking through the newspaper and on-line (this was in 1999, so the Internet “revolution” hadn’t hit small publications such as the Mirror yet). I got an answer dealing with how it wouldn’t make the paper any money and that they mail a few copies to subscribers out of state and they would lose that revenue (yeah, all $10/month). When the meal was over and we were back at Mirror headquarters, the interview was wrapping up and Joe said to me in a low voice that he agreed with nearly all of my comments about the newspaper and that he was trying to get his smarmy boss to do many of the things I mentioned. That was when I knew for sure I was never coming back to this place. Sure enough, I was right.
From the moment I left this interview, there were no harsh feelings. I knew I wasn’t qualified for the vacancy (I’m probably still not), and if you think this is some 500-word bitchfest about how the Mirror is run by a bunch of Jew-commies, then you’re sadly mistaken. However, the best part of this story came later when I got the “official” rejection. A few weeks went by and I got this letter from the Mirror. Knowing what it was, I just read the letter’s first sentence and tossed it aside. Mrs. kkk picked it up, thinking there could be some glimmering hope in what was written, and asked how the word “periodically” was spelled. I told her. She agreed with my spelling and said that the letter had it spelled as “periotically.” So not only did a fellow journalism grad misspell a job rejection letter to me, but he also felt me unworthy of a spell-check. Here’s how part of the letter went.
How do I remember this? Because I have kept this letter and have it framed.
Jay Buhner - Rightfielder
New York Yankees 1987-1988
Seattle Mariners 1988-2001
Awards
1996 AL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 1 (1996)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
AB per HR: 31st
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 31 (733) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 25.8 (436) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 34.5 (502) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Hank Sauer, Jeromy Burnitz, Roger Maris, Cecil Fielder, Darryl Strawberry, Bob Allison, Danny Tartabull, Eric Davis, Dean Palmer, Jesse Barfield
Year-by-Year Win Shars & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1987: 0/0.0
1988: 7/3.4
1989: 8/2.0
1990: 6/1.7
1991: 13/7.0
1992: 16/6.8
1993: 22/7.7
1994: 13/7.7
1995: 16/5.0
1996: 22/6.3
1997: 19/8.0
1998: 8/2.4
1999: 8/1.8
2000: 16/4.3
2001: 0/0.3
Career Win Shares: 174
Career WARP3: 64.6
Would he get my vote?
No. Buhner's trade for Ken Phelps is a part of pop culture thanks to Seinfeld but he certainly won't be part of the HOF. Very consistent peformer when he was a line-up but he had several injuries at various parts of his career and only played more than 100 games once during the final four years of his career. Even if he had been healthy it's unlikely he would have kept up a level of performance high enough to warrant HOF consideration. His Gold Glove in 1996 was a complete joke even by the very low standards of the Gold Glove awards.
Like I said in yesterday’s entry, I was getting ready for my first “real job” interview… aw sonofabitch. The NFL has some hippie Thursday night game. I guess tonight’s entry is time for this week’s pickkks.
Baltimore at Cincinnati (3.5)
I think Cincinnati will be up more for this game. In addition, the Bengals need this win more than the Ravens. However, I’ll take my chances with the underdog Ravens in this one.
Arizona at St. Louis (6.5)
Both teams have been stinking up the place as of late. The only reason I’m taking the Cardinals is that six-and-a-half point spread.
Atlanta at Washington (1.5)
Hmm. The Falcons are on the decline and the Redskins are … well, I have no idea. I might as well go with the devil I know and guess that the Redskins won’t be as bad as the Falcons this week.
(4.5) Dallas at N.Y. Giants
There’s turmoil in the Big Apple and now the national sports media is talking about T.O. and the fact they haven’t had anything to talk about regarding him. Shit. I don’t know how to go at this one. Dallas has to lose sometime, but the Giants are in some trouble themselves. I’ll go with Dallas.
Detroit at New England (13.5)
New England favored by two touchdowns? Against Detroit? At home? This is a steal.
(7.5) Indianapolis at Tennessee
The Titans have been playing tough, but the Colts usually blowout their weaker division foes.
Jacksonville at Miami (2.5)
I’m picking the Dolphins just so they’ll lose and this talk about “wait until next year” will be aborted while still in an early trimester.
(5.5) Kansas City at Cleveland
The Chiefs will continue their playoff push, and unlike last year they just might finish the job this time.
Minnesota at Chicago (9.5)
Divisional opponent. Chicago will probably win, but I’m hoping Minnesota will keep it close.
(1.5) N.Y. Jets at Green Bay
Both teams have played better than expected. Even though they are on the road, I’ll go with the team that’s improved more this year.
(5.5) San Diego at Buffalo
At first I was going to go with the Bills, but then I thought otherwise because I then got the hunch that this was going to be a letdown game for them. Besides, five-and-a-half points on the road doesn’t seem too bad for San Diego.
San Francisco at New Orleans (7.5)
The 49ers have been playing good for the past month, but I’ll take the Saints, even with the spread.
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh (7.5)
With some key injuries on the Steelers’ side of the ball, I’ll take the Buccaneers to either win or keep the game close. Besides, Tampa’s starting quarterback is from the Shittsburgh area; hey, if Roethlisberger gets hurt and Charlie Batch comes in that means two hometown products will be playing quarterback for each team in this one. Good for them.
Houston at Oakland (3.5)
Oakland’s been losing by close margins and now they’re favored. I’ll go with Houston.
Seattle at Denver (3.5)
Tough one here for me. It’s in Denver, but the Broncos are struggling a bit. I’ll take Seattle in this one.
(3.5) Carolina at Philadelphia
If McNabb was playing in this one I’d go with Philadelphia. However, he’s not. I’m not thrilled with the Panthers, but whenever Donovan went down last year so did his team.
-Well, Bush is still saying he won't pull out of Iraq. I would be angry, but at this point, it's such a non-suprise, I just can't throw a fit. It still pisses me off, but I can't do anything about it, so what's the use in complaining?
-Be sure to check out Masters of Horror...oh, why bother? I'm obviously the only person on this board who watches MoH, so what's the fucking point?
-As far as Christmas goes, I want an IPod, two t-shirts, a CD, and maybe a DVD. Yep, that's it. Hey, IPods are damn expensive.
-I rented "See No Evil" recently, and as expected, it sucked. Fortunately, it's laughably bad, and has two or three cool kills, so I'll give it that. That out of the way, I don't think Jason Voorhees would see any competition in Kane.
-Speaking of Horror movies, I'll probably check out "Turistas" tomorrow. I doubt it will be good, but T want to see an R-rated Horror movie in theatres, and I missed "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning."
Dante Bichette - Outfielder
California Angels 1988-1990
Milwaukee Brewers 1991-1992
Colorado Rockies 1993-1999
Cincinnati Reds 2000
Boston Red Sox 2000-2001
Awards
1995 NL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998)
League Leader
1994: Games, At Bats
1995: SLG%, Homeruns, Hits, Total Bases, RBI, Runs Created
1998: Hits
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 19 (112) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 81 (284) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 30.5 (275) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 82.0 (203) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in the HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Garret Anderson, Moises Alou, Shawn Green, Ted Kluszewski, Tony Oliva, Fred Lynn, George Hendrick, Tim Salmon, George Bell, Greg Luzinksi
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1988: 1/0.3
1989: 2/1.2
1990: 7/3.1
1991: 7/3.8
1992: 8/3.8
1993: 19/6.3
1994: 13/5.8
1995: 23/5.8
1996: 20/4.1
1997: 15/4.0
1998: 17/6.2
1999: 15/3.0
2000: 14/3.9
2001: 7/2.3
Career Win Shares: 168
Career WARP3: 53.7
Would he get my vote?
No. Bichette's numbers were heavily inflated by playing in Colorado and even if you took his counting stats at face value he still is no where close to a HOF. He's a good example of similarity scores not always being very reliable because they don't adjust to the era a player played in. Of his Top 10 similar batters only Garret Anderson has a lower career OPS+, who just happens to be his most similar batter, and Bichette was no where near is good as the likes of Tony Oliva and Fred Lynn.
Well today I had a job interview, and it went as I pretty much expected it to go. Do I anticipate a call from this place in the near future? No, but to tell the truth I never even expected to get called in at all. It’s funny, but for all the places in my life where I hoped for a call back, this was one where I shipped off my resume with the thought, “eh, whatever.” For anyone that has worked at a place where nametags and fryer experience were not necessities, the job interview can be a pretty intimidating place. Then again, a job interview doesn’t seem quite as intimidating when you’re already gainfully employed and have a steady source of legal income coming in.
I went to today’s interview for two reasons. 1) to use up a half-day’s worth of comp time I built up over this current pay period at my current job. 2) to polish my interviewing technique just in case I get called in by a place with a job that I really desire. I don’t want it to seem like I’m dissing the place I interviewed at today; that’s not the case. In fact, I must say that the human resources chick I dealt with at this place has by far been the best at her position at any organization I have ever interviewed at. Not only has she responded to every inquiry and request I had over the past week or two, but also she seemed to genuinely enjoy doing her job. Now I’ll be curious to see how she handles rejected employment candidates. But then again, I’m sure the people I interviewed with in the department that had the vacant employment position will have more to do with the sure-to-be unprofessional way this place handles rejected job candidates.
Like I said above, I treated today’s interview as a steppingstone for later encounters; think of this like a major-league player rehabilitating in the minors. My favorite part of these interviews is when you know you’re not going to be considered and they ask if you have “any questions.” I figure since I’ll never see these people again I might as well have some fun, and today’s encounter was no exception. I especially liked this paraphrased question I threw out, “With my resume in front of you, and with all that you have heard from me so far today, what do you think will be this position’s biggest challenge for me?” Talk about a deer in headlights. These people then talked for about five minutes and didn’t really say anything – kinda like my entries at this place.
I may go into more detail about this interview later, but what I really wanted to talk about was my first “real job” interview. I had recently moved to the State College, Pa., area in 1999 and was full of hope and optimism that I could find a good career- starting job. Boy was I naïve. Anyway, I forget when I first applied to a nearby newspaper called the Altoona Mirror, but it was sometime in the spring. The local minor-league baseball team, the Curve, was looking for a beat writer, and I sent in my resume, samples and all that other stuff. Time went by and nothing happened, but some time later I received a call from a gentleman named Joe Frollo. He was from the Mirror and asked if I would be interested about a copyeditor’s position that his publication was looking to fill. Seeing how I was still without a full-time job I immediately jumped at the opportunity to put my edumacation to good use. (I was working a seasonal third-shift job at a yearbook publishing company, and while I liked this position it wasn’t going to be around forever.)
So what happened at my first “real job” interview? Did I wow my soon-to-be bosses with accurate speling and good grammer? Tune in tomorrow to read the exciting conclusion!
Scott Brosius - Third Baseman
Oakland Athletics 1991-1997
New York Yankees 1998-2001
Awards
1998 World Series MVP
1999 AL Gold Glove - 3B
All-Star Selections: 1 (1998)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
HOF Standards: Batting - 12.6 (1349) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 19.0 (780) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Ed Sprague, Bill Melton, Mike Pagliarulo, Scott Spiezio, Tom Tresh, Jim Presley, Steve Buechele, Dave Hollins, Aaron Boone, Jim Tabor
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Leve (WARP3)
1991: 1/0.8
1992: 2/0.3
1993: 5/1.5
1994: 6/4.1
1995: 10/3.2
1996: 19/7.9
1997: 5/2.1
1998: 27/9.3
1999: 13/5.5
2000: 8/4.1
2001: 15/5.6
Career Win Shares: 111
Career WARP3: 44.3
Would he get my vote?
No. Like Witt there is really no point in having Brosius on the ballot. Unlike Witt though you can figure out why he got through the nomination process, likely due to his World Series MVP in 1998. He was an excellent defensive third baseman but even if you had a Hall of Fame based soley on fielding he'd have no shot due to only being an everyday player for six years of his career, playing in more than 150 games just once.
• Uh-oh. Jesus at a Christmas festival. Egads. Actually, I think a better argument would be complaining about the commercialism of Christ’s birthday, but whatever. This reminds me of an episode of M*A*S*H* when Hawkeye and McEntire were trying to get some medical device and eventually ended up at a general’s press conference. After the general said some powder-puff remarks, our commie surgeons started asking what M*A*S*H* units weren’t properly equipped with devices that could help save soldiers. The reporters then began following up on this inquiry. Flustered, the general says, “This is a press conference. The last thing I want to do is answer a bunch of questions.” Not sure if this is relevant here, but it just popped into my mind.
• Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards doesn’t like Wal-Mart, even though his staffers don’t mind trying to get Playstation3s from the retail giant.
But that’s not what I want to talk about. This is funnier:
Maybe the reason limousine liberals don’t like Wal-Mart is because it doesn’t offer valet parking.
• So I was goofing around with Comcast's On Demand again and came across this gem of a movie called “Pumpkinhead.” Oh dear God. I’m not going to bother talking about the plot, so let me rip off what someone at IMDB said.
OK. First question. Who the hell would name a demon Pumpkinhead? Oddly enough, rather than looking like a pumpkin, this demon looked more like that thing from the Hellraiser movie that just roamed around in that hallway and fought the leading lady over that hippie cube toward the film’s climax. Pumpkinhead was one of those movies that was so bad I couldn’t stop watching. I will say that I liked how the guy who called up Pumpkinhead slowly turned into him, or whatever the hell it was he did. And at least the dog lived, or I think it did.
Oh, man. There are Pumpkinhead sequels? I’m sure they will appear On Demand in the next month or so.
2007 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out so as planned I'm going to do individual profiles on each player on the ballot. I'll go in the order of career Win Shares starting at the bottom. No player on this year's ballot is nearly bad as Gary DiSarcina being on last year's ballot and there are quite a few Hall of Very Good players making their first appearance on the ballot. But we start off with a very dubious addition to this year's ballot.
Bobby Witt - Starting Pitcher
Texas Rangers 1986-1992, 1995-1998
Oakland Athletics 1992-1994
Florida Marlins 1995
St. Louis Cardinals 1998
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1999
Cleveland Indians 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 2001
Awards
None
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
K: 69th
K/9: 64th
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Pitching - 33 (696) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 11.0 (696) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 7.0 (1050) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Kevin Gross, Mike Moore, Jim Clancy, Steve Renko, Scott Erickson, Steve Trachsel, Bump Hadley, Tim Belcher, Floyd Bannister, Tom Candiotti
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1986: 3/2.0
1987: 6/3.9
1988: 10/3.8
1989: 5/2.0
1990: 17/6.4
1991: 0/0.2
1992: 8/4.5
1993: 11/5.8
1994: 4/2.8
1995: 9/4.4
1996: 10/4.7
1997: 11/5.4
1998: 1/0.3
1999: 8/2.8
2000: 0/0.0
2001: 2/1.1
Career Win Shares: 102
Career WARP3: 49.9
Would He Get My Vote?
No, shockingly as that might seem. Only had one good year in 1990 when he went 17-10 with a 3.36 ERA which was one of only four seasons that he had an ERA+ of 100 or better. Now any player who played at least 10 years can appear on the ballot but there is still a nomination process where a handful of players don't get on the ballot but there is always a few that make no sense as to why anyone would nominate them and Witt is definately one this year. If you're going to include Bobby Witt on the ballot why even bother with a nomination process? Not that it really matters in the end.
-Well, Adult Swim has a new show called "Assy McGee." It's about a hard drinking, foul mouthed, tough cop...who's a naked, talking ass who occasionally farts.
Seriously. I'm not making thid up.
This idea would be amusing as a one time SNL TV Funhouse skit, but as an 11 minute series...come on. Normally, I don't complain about this kind of thing, but give me a fucking break. Clearly, William Street is no longer trying if this is what they think should be greenlit. Then again, they probably know that it sucks, and are just testing our patience. Now normally, I'm all for that. Hell, I thought showing "Saved by the bell" on Adult Swil was hilarious. This isn't hilarious though. It's just...stupid.
-Now that I'm done ranting, I finished Edward Lee's book "Coven" earlier today. It's a real blast, that's a bit cliched, but still good fun. Expect a review of it in the future.
-Finally, it seems like British music magazine NME has voted this girl as the coolest person in rock.
She's Beth Ditto, lesbian frontwoman of a band called The Gossip. At least she's from the US.
No offense to British TSM posters, but I'm glad I don't live in the UK all the sudden.
I seem to remember last year when Katrina was still fresh in everybody’s minds hearing how we were headed to a new generation of hurricanes, thanks to global warming and George W. Bush. Why, they were going to be bigger and badder; super-sized even! Well, now it’s one year later, and where are these uber-hurricanes? Where’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in that god-awful annoying-as-fuck voice of his trying to make me feel guilty for driving to work rather than taking a dozen transfers in order to show up at my job after a five-hour commute courtesy of public transportation? Buck up enviro-weenies. There’s always next year.
While I’m on this subject I feel like taking a trip down memory lane. I’ve noticed during the last few years an AccuWeather meteorologist by the name of Joe Bastardi has made a few appearances on Sean Hannity’s radio show, among other places. Having worked at AccuWeather years ago, I’ve been around this guy. Now you may be expecting me to bring up some stories of how he sliced Asian children in half and drank their blood. Not quite. I will say that this guy is a horrible-ass writer. (I know. Pot. Kettle. Black. Fuck you.) Every morning I had to proofread this daily column of his that was posted on AccuWeather’s Web site. Holy fuck. If you people thought I rambled on and on and on and on, don’t EVER read his stuff. It was so bad that when I started working there I was told to just glance through it and just move it along because it wasn’t worth revising. Besides, there were a few hundred other clients that needed worked on, and those were of more importance than “WebJB,” which was the filename of Bastardi’s daily column.
Ha. I just went on Wikpedia and found this. No, I didn’t write it.
Actually, what I really want to bitch about regarding Bastardi was during my final weeks at AccuWeather. My boss knew I was leaving. No, I wasn’t burning any bridges. The better half had just been accepted to the University of Dayton and I let my boss know at least 4-5 months ahead of time that I was going to be leaving. During this time the other copyeditor on my shift got promoted, and the company had just hired this chick to take over her full-time slot. (I was a part-timer and my replacement didn’t get hired until 2-3 months later.) Now we were always busy, and I frequently stayed past my scheduled shift (getting paid, of course) to help her out. One of my selfless acts of charity was to edit WebJB. Every day. Ugh.
Not many women worked at AccuWeather during my time there, and couple that with the fact she wasn’t 300 lbs with five kids, this chick, who just graduated nearby Penn State University, was much more popular with the male meteorologists than I could have ever been. She of course knew this, and we actually had an inside joke going about my status as “phantom” copyeditor. Well, one day Bastardi came over to our station and began showering this chick with praise about what a great job she was doing and how his columns looked great. Never mind the fact I was reading those bastards every fucking day. When I went to ask Joe about a letter to the editor he wrote the other day in the local newspaper, he told me to shut up! You bitch. Needless to say, his WebJB columns weren’t as readable for the rest of my time there.
But I can’t be all that hard on Bastardi. After all, there were many days when he wore sweatpants to work. Respect due.
This is a bit of a throw away entry but I had been wanting to rundown the 23 MVP redos I've done entries for. I have other redos that I've done (including the entire decade of the 80's) but haven't done entries for yet. What I decided to do is group the redos into categories in terms of how good or bad the choice was by the writers. Thought it would be a good time to do this after the writer's awful choice of Justin Morneau. I had Morneau 9th on my 2006 A.L. MVP mock ballot.
Writers Made the Right Choice
1980 A.L. George Brett
1989 A.L. Robin Yount
1999 N.L. Chipper Jones
Writers Choice was Pefectly Acceptable (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1985 N.L. Willie McGee/Dwight Gooden
1986 A.L. Roger Clemens/Don Mattingly
1988 N.L. Kirk Gibson/Will Clark
1991 A.L. Cal Ripken/Frank Thomas
1995 N.L. Barry Larkin/Greg Maddux
2003 A.L. Alex Rodriguez/Carlos Delgado
Writers Made the Right & Wrong Choice (Writer's Picks/My Pick)
1979 N.L. Keith Hernandez & Willie Stargell/Keith Hernandez
Bad Choices by the Writers (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1979 A.L. Don Baylor/Fred Lynn
1987 A.L. George Bell/Alan Trammell
1991 N.L. Terry Pendleton/Barry Bonds
1998 N.L. Sammy Sosa/Mark McGwire
The Justin Morneau Achievement Awards (Writer's Pick/My Pick)
1960 N.L. Dick Groat/Eddie Mathews
1974 N.L. Steve Garvey/Joe Morgan
1981 A.L. Rollie Fingers/Dwight Evans
1984 A.L. Willie Hernandez/Cal Ripken
1987 N.L. Andre Dawson/Tim Raines
1992 A.L. Dennis Eckersley/Frank Thomas
1995 A.L. Mo Vaughn/Edgar Martinez
1996 A.L. Juan Gonzalez/Alex Rodriguez
1999 A.L. Ivan Rodriguez/Derek Jeter
