Cup of Coffee: March 7, 2008

March 7th, 2008 by SBG

TGIF.


This entry was posted by SBG on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 6:26 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee. It is one of 2465 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.

Grateful Dead - American Beauties
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Comments Feed70 Letters to the Editor

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 7:15:26 am

Have you ever had really good news that you couldn't wait to tell everyone about, but you weren't allowed to say a word to anyone? That's the position I'm in. Something really good happened the other day, but it will be at least a week, and maybe more, before I can tell anyone about it, and I can hardly stand it. I mean, I'm really good at keeping other people's secrets, but when it's mine, it's hard to resist sharing it with everyone, even when I know I'm not supposed to. How do you handle that?

Andrew replied on March 7, 2008 at 7:36:37 am

Write it down, put it in an envelope and put it away somewhere.

Diggity Dino replied on March 7, 2008 at 7:56:34 am

Write it down on some random blog.

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:02:53 am

If I could find some little, out of the way blog that no one reads, I could do that. But when you're on a blog read by billions and billions of people, well, there's just too much danger that word will get out.

Andrew replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:17:06 am

You could start your own blog for the sole purpose of your secret. Then when you can tell people, email them the address.

 
 
 
 
SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:35:53 am

You send your best buddy SBG an e-mail and he keeps your secret, of course!

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:38:29 am

I could do that, but then I'd have to kill you, and that would look bad on my resume.

Andrew replied on March 7, 2008 at 9:10:43 am

That's right, your Boss has very strict rules against such things. I believe it's Rule #6.

 
 
 
Algonad replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:43:18 am

Can we guess?

Big Mak replied on March 7, 2008 at 9:44:14 am

My guess:

Jeff A signed up for a whaling expedition on the Pequod

 
 
brianS replied on March 7, 2008 at 9:46:20 am

confession is good for the soul. I think we're all priestly here, right?

New Britain Bo replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:21:48 pm

Quite the set-up, Padre. Anxious for the ending.

Jeff A replied on March 8, 2008 at 10:53:37 am

I hope it won't be an anti-climax, but it's a big deal for me.

 
 
 
Dread Pirate Will Young replied on March 7, 2008 at 10:32:08 am

Jeff, I forced Sheenie's parents to sit on the news of our impending engagement for 5 weeks! It drove them crazy (but also gave them time to find flights to fly in with her sister and surprise her the next morning).

 
 
Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:35:18 am

I note in the newspaper than an eight year old Brazilian boy has passed a law school entrance exam.

As should be obvious to anyone who reads the WGOM, it's not that hard.

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 8:36:38 am

Yep, lots of dummies get into law school.

Neil replied on March 7, 2008 at 10:05:40 am

I second that. It's one of the things that kept me going through it all: "just think about all the idiot lawyers out there... can't be that hard."

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:01:51 pm

Actually, that attitude is also one of the things that keeps me going through seminary.

 
 
 
 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 10:41:21 am

Sorry, should have posted this earlier. This is my writeup on yesterday's game. In my own words.

Slowey Livan is not getting it done

He is not doing the things that makes him successful. He does a good job of impersonating Joe Mays and Kyle Lohse when he is in jams. He starts giving up hits and throwing wild pitches when he is in that position. He also has control problems often as he is way off the strike zone.

He needs to do a better job of pinpointing his pitches. He has to trust his stuff instead of thinking too much on the mound. He needs to work faster. He has to find a way to throw strikes as he is capable of doing just that. If he does not do that, he will continue to struggle.

It will be interesting to see if he can get this turned around. He still has several spring training starts to get his act together. What he needs is one good outing where he can believe in himself. His problem right now is confidence, and it showed in his body language yesterday.

Besides Nick Blackburn’s one good outing, no one has really made a name of themselves to get a role in the rotation so Slowey Livan is not out of it, but he has to start showing something soon or else he will still be making starts for the Rochester Red Wings Minnesota Twins when the regular season starts.

 
SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 11:56:17 am

Boys and Girls, it's Liriano time.

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:24:35 pm

Clay Buchholz SUX! Morneau stopped lifting and started bombing! 3-0 Twins after a half inning.

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:30:18 pm

Manny Ramirez is the first K of the spring for the F-Bomb!

 
Whiffers replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:40:03 pm

I'm really enjoying the "jump to conclusions" game during Spring Training!

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:42:21 pm

Absolutely! It's not like baseball has a long season or anything!

 
 
 
New Guy replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:28:30 pm

My morning class was canceled today, which is good because I was considering skipping in order to listen to Liriano.

 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:52:21 pm

Got the Boston game streaming audio, and both live box scores running -- life is good.

 
 
Andrew replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:11:16 pm

For those interested - Algonad - you can stream Drake's MVC tournament game right now at KRNT

Algonad replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:31:42 pm

Thanks. I just pulled it up. I'm going to a sports bar to watch the second half.

 
 
Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:53:01 pm

I can't listen to the game, but I just saw in a box score that Liriano came out after 1.2 IP. Please tell me the reason he was removed in the middle of an inning was because of a pitch count and that he has not reinjured himself.

twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 12:59:50 pm

F-bomb was on a 40 pitch count today, and was lifted right at 39 or 40 pitches.

 
 
twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:04:25 pm

I don't know about anybody else, but I'm getting a lot of pleasure from roughing up those Yanks and Sox pitchers who were 'untouchables' in the Santana trade talks. Kennedy, Chamberlain, and now Buchholtz. Sure, it don't mean nothin', but I have to take satisfaction where I can find it.

ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:29:04 pm

It feels better than having them shut us down, anyway.

twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:11:45 pm

Yeah, we tend to reserve that for junkballers off the scrap heap.

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:21:29 pm

Or Rule 5 pitchers from our own system that can't get anybody else out.

twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:40:30 pm

Them, too.

 
 
 
 
 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:15:17 pm

Gladden: "Kubel's leading off first; he's no threat to steal."

SB: Kubel (1)

Nice job, Dazzle.

KUUUUBBBBEEEELLLLLLLL!!!!

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:16:48 pm

His one speed must have been good enough.

 
SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:22:46 pm

Sweet Jeebus, we are in mid-season form around here.

 
 
SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:30:05 pm

Meanwhile, the Twins are up 3-0 in the fifth of the other game, where Perkins goes three scoreless and Humber Humber is in pitching his second inning.

ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:36:15 pm

GoGomez is 2-3 with a triple and a ribbie. Without his slip the other day, that'd be his second triple so far this spring. I remember back in '00-'01 when Guzman was getting triples left and right--that was pretty fun.

 
SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:42:40 pm

3 Ks in two frames for Mr. Humber!

 
E-6 replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:52:05 pm

Stick works in a Nabokov reference. Cute.

SBG replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:57:53 pm

I knew that couldn't slip past everyone around here.

greenmachine replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:59:17 pm

Does that make our cocky young CFer Golita?

Tempting, but might be more prudent to wait for maturation.

 
 
 
 
Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:34:59 pm

Looks like a very good outing for Nick Blackburn today.

Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:48:46 pm

Things are coming up roses all over the place for Twins players today.

 
 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 1:54:05 pm

Varitek is in serious "I just don't care" mode today.

 
Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:36:42 pm

Looks like Jesse Crain had a good inning. It seems like everyone has forgotten about him, but it would sure be nice if he could pitch well again.

E-6 replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:42:51 pm

Agreed. Wasn't his injury initially thought to be potentially career-ending? This seems like a much better scenario.

twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:56:39 pm

Crain had a torn labrum (cartilage) and a torn rotator cuff (muscle/tendon), the same injuries that ended Radke's career. But I heard that the tears Crain had were not as bad as originally thought and the surgery went very well, so he's pretty optimistic about regaining full motion and arm strength.

ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:06:56 pm

Everything about Crain has been positive so far, but I'm still keeping my expectations low. Anytime pitchers get injured like Liriano and Crain did, the range of possible outcomes when they get back is very wide. If both of those guys are at or near full-strength compared to where they were pre-injury, the Twins will be very, very lucky.

frightwig replied on March 7, 2008 at 4:50:56 pm

I don't know that anybody has ever come back to pitch really well after labrum surgery. I think the best cases so far were a couple relievers who were just mediocre.

ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 5:05:43 pm

Curt Schilling tore his labrum back in '95 and had surgery to fix it. (I'm not sure how else you would deal with it, anyway, as I don't think that it would just heal on its own.) Still, the odds are heavily against Mr. Crain.

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frightwig replied on March 7, 2008 at 5:22:18 pm

I'm not sure how else you would deal with it, anyway, as I don't think that it would just heal on its own.

Right, but the point is, it almost never helps a pitcher come back to pitch effectively like other arm surgeries can, which is why I figured that Crain was essentially done. Typically, pitchers who need labrum surgery either call it quits when the pain is too great to go on or shortly after a frustrating, futile attempt at a comeback post-surgery. I hadn't read about Schilling's surgery before, so maybe there's the basis for some thin hope.

 
ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 5:33:28 pm

Right, but the point is, it almost never helps a pitcher come back to pitch effectively like other arm surgeries can...

Yeah, even if Crain's labrum tear wasn't as bad as most are, and they are better at labrum tears than they used to be, labrum surgery is much, much, much less effecting than Tommy John surgery and such.

Reports have generally been good about Crain's return, but that is probably meaningless given the rose-colored glasses that are in vogue this time of the year.

 
 
ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 5:17:36 pm

A little bit more digging (apparently no one has a convenient list of pitchers who have undergone labrum surgery) has uncovered Chris Carpenter and Gil Meche. It's probably in Crain's favor that he's just a reliever, but I'm still not expecting much.

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frightwig replied on March 7, 2008 at 5:37:04 pm

My memory is fuzzy on the details, but as I recall, Meche's supposed labrum problems were initially misdiagnosed, and still often inaccurately reported, but it turned out that his problem was an abnormal shoulder blade that stuck into the muscle. Once the surgeons shaved down the bone, that was the end of his "labrum tears."

Carpenter seems to offer another ray of hope. But he also reminds me, one of the amazing aspects of Crain's comeback so far is that he's back on the mound in the spring immediately after the year he had his surgeries. Carpenter had to sit out a full season after he had surgery in mid-2002. I don't know, but Crain's recovery timetable seems incredibly ambitious.

 
ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 6:23:58 pm

I think you're probably right on Meche. I've seen conflicting reports, some of which say labrum tears, so I thought I'd mention him.

I agree that Crain's timetable does seem incredibly ambitious and that is why I remain skeptical that he will make anything like a full recovery. To be clear, I went to look up the exceptions mainly because I vaguely remembered there being a couple of exceptions, and wound up finding even fewer than I thought I would.

Crain has had an incredibly bizarre career path at any rate. Dominant minor league reliever with a fastball/slider combo, then Rick Anderson tinkered with him and his strikeout rate went way, way down, and they they let him go back to doing what he was good at, he showed significant improvement again, and then he tore his labrum. What seems to be some good ERA luck in '05 and '06 probably makes his initial success look better than it actually was.

 
 
 
 
ubelmann replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:10:10 pm

Oh yeah, regarding Radke, his injuries were probably exacerbated by pitching through them for half of a season. I think his desire to play was kind of at an end, and he just wanted that one final shot at a title. He was still relatively young and other guys in his position might have shut it down, gotten the surgery, and lived to play another day, but considering that Radke was willing to settle for a 2-year deal when he was a free agent, it makes me wonder if early retirement was part of the plan all along.

 
Andrew replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:18:28 pm

I think I've mentioned this before, but I tore my labrum and rotator cuff in my leff (non-anything) arm. I have no idea in the world how Radke threw through the pain.

 
 
 
twayn replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:45:41 pm

I saw a little interview with Crain on TV a few days ago. He says his shoulder is feeling good and he's pretty much back to full speed. He sounded eager to be playing ball again. If he can pitch the way he did in 2006 and 2005, or even close to that, I'd be very happy. And I didn't realize until I looked at his b-r.com page that he placed 8th in ROY voting in 2005, one spot ahead of Scott Kazmir.

E-6 replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:57:27 pm

Yeah. Let's hope '08 is less of this, and more of this.
Crain Kept-A-Rollin'

 
 
 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 2:53:48 pm

So, does Sideshow need to pitch in every single Spring Training game, too? Well, okay, I exaggerate, but it's because I care.

brianS replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:01:26 pm

How else does he get into mid-season form (tired arm) by opening day?

 
 
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:39:41 pm

Happy times at the Runner household. Daughter's HS basketball team just won their state semi-final game in Columbus, MO, and play tomorrow for the championships. St. Charles West is lead by ousted-SLU basketball coach's son Kramer Soderberg, and coach Hollander, in his last year, has >500 wins.

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 3:51:04 pm

Good luck to them. Be sure to give us updates tomorrow.

 
brianS replied on March 7, 2008 at 4:11:27 pm

Kramer Soderberg

Socks, Layups and Videotape?

Congrats to the girls, Rhu_Ru. Looks like the Nation has a Horse in that race :-)

Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 7, 2008 at 4:27:34 pm

Yi! Okay, let's straighten this out. It's the BOYS team at state. Daughter Runner is a participant via pep band only. Sorry for the confusion.

And updates will be tough, as I'm a judge (and a co-writer of questions) for the band's trivia night fundraiser. The timing sucks, but we'll be following via the local college radio station's coverage.

maybe I'll share some of the trivia questions at a later date.

Jeff A replied on March 7, 2008 at 4:34:31 pm

Good luck to them anyway. It's exciting to have your high school play for the state championship, even if you're in the band. Let us know how it comes out.

brianS replied on March 7, 2008 at 6:23:04 pm

well yea. Maybe the band can contribute to her school winning the Miss Congeniality Trophy or whatever they call it in Mizzou for sportsmanship!

 
 
 
 
 

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