Summer's finally over my friends. And you know what? I'm ready. So far, this fall has been good to me, working our way gradually into the winter. Seasonably warm days, cold nights. Just like should be the case when you live in Maine. The steadily shrinking days are going to be a problem though, as they are already starting to cramp my golfing schedule. I mean, at some point I have to go to work, right? Right?
Anyways, a few random things today.
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Read a couple good books in the last few weeks.
The Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo - For those who have read and enjoyed anything else by Richard Russo, this is a must read. For everyone else, I would start with Nobody's Fool or Empire Falls, both of these are better books. Still, if this is not Russo's best effort, that still makes it better than most any other books out there right now.
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski - For baseball fans, this is a must read. Joe Posnanski is one of, if not the best sports columnist out there, and this is his story about taking road trips with Buck O'Neill, a former Negro League player and manager. O'Neill loved three things, baseball, jazz, and women, and in many ways this this book serves as on ode to all three. Like I said, a great read for anyone loves baseball.
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As always, there are a bunch of new tv shows out there this year, a few of which have actually captured my attention.
Pushing Daisies - Wednesdays at 8 - Don't read any reviews of this show, as a description doesn't do it justice. Don't worry yourself about the plot, as that is largely irrelevant. This is a show about tone and look. The tone of this show is overtly light-hearted, with a dark, dark sense of humor as a backdrop. Visually, Pushing Daisies does remind me of Amelie, or of Pan's Labyrinth possibly. (If you haven't seen either of these, go rent them today.)
Life - Wednesday's at 10 - I know, I know, yet another cop show. This one throws some curveballs, and has a structure that works for me. The main character of the show, Crews, is a former cop turned convict who spent 11 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, was found innocent, and as part of his wrongful charges settlement was reinstated as a detective. Each episode focuses both on one "smaller" crime, as well as some portion of Crews' ongoing investigation into how he was wrongly convicted. The acting is good, the writing is good, and for you Replacements fans out there, Crews' lawyer is played by none other than Brooke Langton.
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Maybe if I have time tomorrow, I'll throw something out there about the returning shows we have been watching, and how some of them better get their shit together.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
An Impossible Situation
I suppose I should chime in about the Yankees situation. Thanks to Mr. Steinbrenner, the only possible success for a Yankees season is to win the World Series. While they may have won 4 out of 5 back in the late 90's, it's just not that easy to win it all. The most interesting stat from this postseason for me is the fact that 7 of 8 teams that made the playoffs this year, didn't last year. While football gets all the parity talk (somewhat deservedly thanks to their salary cap), it's baseball that has had 7 different champions in 7 years.
Anyways, getting back to this year's Yankees, according to many, this year was a failure. I'm just not sure I agree with that. It may have been the last gap of the group from the nineties, but in many ways I think was a re-building year for the Yankees. There's a real chance that next year the Yankees will have three starting pitchers who were rookies this year. Just making the playoffs with rookies carrying the weight is an achievement, never mind making up a 14 game deficit.
All that said, the thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Yankees lost because the Indians played better for four games. (Even the game the Yankees won.) They had better all around pitching, better hitting, better fielding. If they had played more games, would this have changed? I don't think so actually, I think the Indians were a better team this year. It happens sometimes.
As for next year, there is also a real chance that the Yankees will have lost ARod, Posada, Pettite and Rivera. (Honestly, at this point, losing Clemens is addition by subtraction.) Even for a team with the resources of the Yankees, that's a lot to lose. It would leave them with a team that looks something like this:
C - Me
1b - Giambi/Minkyvitch
2b - Cano
SS - El Capitan
3b - Betimit
LF - Damon/Matsui
CF - Cabrera
RF - Abreau
DH - Giambi/Damon/Matsui
SP - Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina, Chamberlain?
Closer - Chamberlain (If he is not starting)
And a mishmash of relievers who may or may not be returning. Seriously, I'd pick that team to compete against most teams. Even without ARod and Posada, they'd still score some runs. They'd miss Pettite and Rivera the most out of those two I think, by a long shot.
As for my feelings about this Yankee's team? Thanks to the wonder of mlb.com, I watched more Yankees games this year than any year since I moved to Maine. I liked watching this team. Watching rookies learn on the fly, making mistakes and great plays at equal rates, is to me one of the easiest things to root for. Red Sox fans know what I mean, after watching Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, and Buchholz this year.
To make a long blog short, I wasn't all that disappointed in the Yankees this year. I think they lost to a better team, and I think they battled the whole time. As a fan, I can accept that. (By the way, Red Sox fans, the Indians should scare the crap out of you. This is a good team.)
Anyways, getting back to this year's Yankees, according to many, this year was a failure. I'm just not sure I agree with that. It may have been the last gap of the group from the nineties, but in many ways I think was a re-building year for the Yankees. There's a real chance that next year the Yankees will have three starting pitchers who were rookies this year. Just making the playoffs with rookies carrying the weight is an achievement, never mind making up a 14 game deficit.
All that said, the thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Yankees lost because the Indians played better for four games. (Even the game the Yankees won.) They had better all around pitching, better hitting, better fielding. If they had played more games, would this have changed? I don't think so actually, I think the Indians were a better team this year. It happens sometimes.
As for next year, there is also a real chance that the Yankees will have lost ARod, Posada, Pettite and Rivera. (Honestly, at this point, losing Clemens is addition by subtraction.) Even for a team with the resources of the Yankees, that's a lot to lose. It would leave them with a team that looks something like this:
C - Me
1b - Giambi/Minkyvitch
2b - Cano
SS - El Capitan
3b - Betimit
LF - Damon/Matsui
CF - Cabrera
RF - Abreau
DH - Giambi/Damon/Matsui
SP - Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina, Chamberlain?
Closer - Chamberlain (If he is not starting)
And a mishmash of relievers who may or may not be returning. Seriously, I'd pick that team to compete against most teams. Even without ARod and Posada, they'd still score some runs. They'd miss Pettite and Rivera the most out of those two I think, by a long shot.
As for my feelings about this Yankee's team? Thanks to the wonder of mlb.com, I watched more Yankees games this year than any year since I moved to Maine. I liked watching this team. Watching rookies learn on the fly, making mistakes and great plays at equal rates, is to me one of the easiest things to root for. Red Sox fans know what I mean, after watching Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, and Buchholz this year.
To make a long blog short, I wasn't all that disappointed in the Yankees this year. I think they lost to a better team, and I think they battled the whole time. As a fan, I can accept that. (By the way, Red Sox fans, the Indians should scare the crap out of you. This is a good team.)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Why? Why I ask you? Why?
Q: Why can't I write more often?
A: Because I am a boring sack of shit.
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So. Since the last time we talked, I have done nothing that is remotely interesting to anybody, especially myself. Unless you count finally running my speaker wires through the basement so that I could stop constantly tripping on them.
I haven't been reading, or watching movies recently, as I've simply been brain dead. The wifey tried to talk to me last night, and I quite honestly didn't even know it was happening.
It could be the heat, I suppose, but while it is unseasonably warm for this time of year, its not so hot that I should actually be suffering mental consequences.
It could be work, which has certainly been busy enough to wear out the old cranium.
Dunno what it is, but I need a nap, and I am hours and hours from the ability to take one. Unless of course, I pull a Costanza.
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Quick congratulations go out to the Goose and Danielle, who celebrated the arrival of their second baby the other day.
A: Because I am a boring sack of shit.
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So. Since the last time we talked, I have done nothing that is remotely interesting to anybody, especially myself. Unless you count finally running my speaker wires through the basement so that I could stop constantly tripping on them.
I haven't been reading, or watching movies recently, as I've simply been brain dead. The wifey tried to talk to me last night, and I quite honestly didn't even know it was happening.
It could be the heat, I suppose, but while it is unseasonably warm for this time of year, its not so hot that I should actually be suffering mental consequences.
It could be work, which has certainly been busy enough to wear out the old cranium.
Dunno what it is, but I need a nap, and I am hours and hours from the ability to take one. Unless of course, I pull a Costanza.
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Quick congratulations go out to the Goose and Danielle, who celebrated the arrival of their second baby the other day.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
quickly confidential
Not a ton of time today, so just a quick book recommendation. I just finished reading L.A. Confidential, by James Ellroy. Apparently it was the third in a series of four books, but you don't need to have read the other ones to read this one. If you liked the movie, I would highly recommend the book. There are definitely some similarities, but they are more in the rough character outlines than in the plot points. (Which was nice actually, as I didn't know what was coming next, not that the plot twists were the hardest to decipher.) Anyways, the casting of the movie was done so well, that all the descriptions of the characters fit those cast to play them in the movie.
Not necessarily a quick read, as it took some time for me to get used to the changes in narrators, but not a hard read either.
There might be more later today if I have time, we'll see.
Not necessarily a quick read, as it took some time for me to get used to the changes in narrators, but not a hard read either.
There might be more later today if I have time, we'll see.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Return of Football Sunday
Or... An excuse to take naps, resumed.
Football gets much PR nowadays as the "New" American Pasttime. While I personally think this is a criminal reflection of the ever-shortening American attention span, and a reflection of the fact that there are only 16 games in the regular season, there is an undeniable draw to the first weekend of real football. I am not one of those people who are so desperate for something to do that they would deign to watch Pre-Season Football.
But really, there are only three real reasons to enjoy football.
Football gets much PR nowadays as the "New" American Pasttime. While I personally think this is a criminal reflection of the ever-shortening American attention span, and a reflection of the fact that there are only 16 games in the regular season, there is an undeniable draw to the first weekend of real football. I am not one of those people who are so desperate for something to do that they would deign to watch Pre-Season Football.
But really, there are only three real reasons to enjoy football.
- Sunday afternoon nap time baby. I love my Sunday afternoon naps in the fall. In fact, I can't remember the last football game I watched all the way through without at least a little bit of shut-eye.
- Fantasy football. There's nothing to make a bad football game interesting like the fact that your defense is getting the shit kicked out of it by Eli Manning. Not like this just happened to me last weekend or anything. Seriously, if you can't stop Eli, Dallas Defense, we may have to go our separate ways. America's team my ass.
- Gambling. The not so hidden secret behind football's success. Can you think of another sport that routinely makes as big of a deal about point spreads and over/unders? Oh, you thought those were just for fun? Let me tell you another one: The NCAA Men's BB Tournament is a big deal because people enjoy the level of competition.
I suppose there are people out there who watch the games for the lure of the violence and mayhem, but to be honest, I get enough violence just taking the dogface for a walk. Seriously, the mutt can pull pretty hard.
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In case you can't tell, I'm not the biggest football fan in the world. I do like the Patriot's I suppose, but not in nearly the same way in which I am a fan of either the Celtics or the Yankees. Still, this Sunday was a difficult weekend for me, testing my team loyalties against my fantasy team needs. The team I was facing had both Brady and Moss, and my team had Jerricho Cotherie of the Jets. Needless to say, I'm getting the shit kicked out of me. How did I resolve my loyalty conflict?
By napping. I do, after all, have my priorities.
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In case you can't tell, I'm not the biggest football fan in the world. I do like the Patriot's I suppose, but not in nearly the same way in which I am a fan of either the Celtics or the Yankees. Still, this Sunday was a difficult weekend for me, testing my team loyalties against my fantasy team needs. The team I was facing had both Brady and Moss, and my team had Jerricho Cotherie of the Jets. Needless to say, I'm getting the shit kicked out of me. How did I resolve my loyalty conflict?
By napping. I do, after all, have my priorities.
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