Beware the ides of March.
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Cup of Coffee: March 15, 2010 This entry was posted by SBG
on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 5:27 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee categories and tags. It is one of 3329 entries by the author.
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92 LTEs in response to Cup of Coffee: March 15, 2010 |
Cup of Coffee One night after the worst loss of the season, the Twins run out a September call up who wasn't even on the 40 man roster yesterday to make his major league debut against a division leader fighting the Twins for post season position. And they win. And people say this is a boring game. WGOM Map Add you today!2010 Prediction ContestSpreadsheet The third window is now open. Mail your changes to WGOMContest [at] stickandballguy, etc. Remember, the first change that you enter will be the one that I accept. The window will be open until the beginning of the 140th game. I have updated the spreadsheet and will try to do so after every game while the window is open. WGOM Sign InLog InCitizens OnlineRecent Letters to the EditorIn Response to Game #137: Twins 6, Rangers 5, brianS wrote: Ok, having seen the replay several times now on mlb.com, I can say that the umpire's call was reasonable. The third base coach had his hand extended to Young trying to get him to stop… Zack wrote: You could somehow harm his arm. Maybe you could break it? Or remove it all together? E-6 wrote: I'm booing him as I type this. brianS wrote: can we boo him in our hearts? I sympathize with your position, socal. But I too hated (err, disliked) the trade, hate overpaying for saves, and hate managing for stats. Capps is a decent reliever. He… DK wrote: I'm quite confident that there is nothing I can individually do one way or another that can make Matt Capps any better or worse at being a baseball pitcher. socaltwinsfan wrote: affect should be effect. socaltwinsfan wrote: I didn't say you had to like the guy, just don't boo him. There's a big difference. I want the guy to succeed because he's on the Twins. Booing him is not going to help… DK wrote: Actually, I wrote that because one of the few things I hate more than overpaying for saves is being told I "need to embrace" someone blindly. Rhubarb_Runner wrote: Okay, according to Gardy, the Twins lost a game in similar fashion to the Mariners in the past. Wonder if it's a Rob Neyer research project in the making? If only there was… socaltwinsfan wrote: I'm probably going to start booing him every time I see him entering the game. Please don't say that, not even in jest. The last thing we need is a bunch of Twins fans booing their… In Response to Game 137: Rangers at Twins, Moss wrote: Would he have been called out without the close play at 3rd? Would he have been called out had there been no throw to 3rd? Hard to know... socaltwinsfan wrote: How did that make you feel? spookymilk wrote: No official scorer … Machine. cheaptoy wrote: Not to mention, its entirely possible Young would have been called out on the play at third anyway. (despite Geoff's declaration that Tolbert missed the tag. Hard to say because no one's showing the… cheaptoy wrote: Its like a frat party on stage with that other toolbox joining on the "yelling is better than analysis" train. cheaptoy wrote: 7.09(h) In the judgment of the umpire, the base coach at third base, or first base, by touching or holding the runner, physically assists him in returning to or leaving third base or first base. Now,… socaltwinsfan wrote: Close but not quite. I've seen saves where the tying run was thrown out at home plate, so I'm sure someone has gotten a save when the only out the pitcher was credited with was… Big Mak wrote: enjoy is the wrong word. more like "stared in dumbfounded disbelief". davidwatts wrote: I thought the 3rd base ump was pointed at the home plate ump to say 'he saw you touch you are out' anyway, I have never seen that play before. I didnt even know it was… cheaptoy wrote: Did you enjoy his rant about what happened in Oakland calling it the exact same thing? Or going on an on (again!) about how he doesn't know what the Cy Young award is defined as.… In Response to Cup of Coffee: September 4, 2010, Milt on Tilt wrote: Dejection. Pierre and his noodle arm was still a plus defender. On the flipside is Damon.... brianS wrote: Jamie Moyer has a ways to go. AMR wrote: Yeah, why does the OPS graph extend past its axis? Was it supposed to be humorous? ubelmann wrote: Jeter is on the money except for average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging), where he has seen quite a … is hilarious! And that graphic was pretty hilarious in and… socaltwinsfan wrote: I love the Twins' retro unis. By my count, they are 10-4 wearing the retros. Better use them fulltime now. Better Know a Citizenpunmanbowler -- 8/25/10 spookymilk -- 3/16/09 DK -- 3/2/09 Gutzon -- 11/24/08 Yickit (eschapp) -- 8/12/08 thisisbeth -- 8/7/08 cheaptoy -- 8/5/2008 Nibbish -- 7/31/2008 FirstTimeLongTime (FTLT) -- 7/14/2008 meat -- 7/9/2008 frightwig -- 10/31/2007 SoCalTwinsFan -- 10/4/2007 kg2005 -- 10/2/2007 Will Young (Dread Pirate Will Young) -- 9/27/2007 Sheenie -- 9/25/2007 Seth Stohs -- 9/20/2007 Whiffers -- 9/18/2007 Andrew -- 9/13/2007 Greek House -- 9/11/2007 Twayn -- 9/6/2007 Kris -- 9/4/2007 Moss -- 8/30/2007 Algonad -- 8/28/2007 Banjo -- 8/23/2007 SideshowTootie -- 8/21/2007 Beau -- 8/16/2007 Aaron Gleeman -- 8/14/2007 ubelmann -- 8/9/2007 BeenAroundAwhile Guy (New Guy) -- 8/7/2007 davidwatts -- 8/2/2007 Big Mak -- 7/31/2007 zoomx -- 7/26/2007 Freealonzo -- 7/24/2007 E-6 -- 7/19/2007 Nick N -- 7/17/2007 New Britain Bo -- 7/12/2007 bjhess -- 7/10/2007 AMR -- 6/30/2007 CarterHayes -- 6/26/2007 brianS -- 6/23/2007 Jeff A -- 6/19/2007 Rhubarb_Runner -- 6/16/2007 SBG -- 6/9/2007 |
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Day late and a dollar short, Boss.
Last nightThis morning at 12:10 AM a ceiling tile collapsed in my hotel room and water began dripping on the floor. Looks like someone above me was taking a late shower and the trap sprung a leak. I got moved across the hall into a larger room (my previous room was already an upgrade) and they gave me a large box of See's Candy for my troubles. Hmmm, three days before my anniversary...buy wife's gift:) *nods*
actually, the trip to Ft. Myers was our anniversary gift to each other, so this is just icing
Another embarrassing loss for the T-Wolves last night, 114-100 in Sacto. The Wolves have lost nine straight and the next seven are @PHO, @UTH, @LAL, TOR, @CHA, @ORL, PHO. That looks like a 16 game losing streak. Upsets happen here and there, but if they get to 16 straight, that would be a 3 point win at Miami (without Wade) from a 23 game losing streak. This has gotten really ugly.
Its a race.... for Evan Turner.
That said, does anyone else feel like its pretty clear that the Wolves will probably have the 2nd worst record but end up with the 4th or 5th pick in the draft?
But when Rubio comes back it will be like making a trade for an all-star!
Meanwhile, Steph Curry dropped 35-10-6-4(steals) on the Raptors Saturday night. Mark my words, taking Flynn over this guy is gonna enter the club's Pantheon of Dumb Decisions.
™
Are you trying to tell me that taking a guy based on a SSS of one post season tournament over a guy with a proven college career was somehow a mistake? I will hear nothing of the sort, good sir.
ESPN's lottery/mock draft has the Wolves picking Derrick Favors if they don't land the 1 or 2. I hope there's something wrong with their software, because I don't know that Cannis Hoopus has enough Korean recipes for game wraps for a team with yet another forward with no one to get the ball to them.
If it isn't a top-2 pick, they should just close up the honky-tonk down at 600 North First.
Not only that, but Curry has the bloodlines. I'm not saying that sons of NBA players are necessarily great players, but he was great in college and his dad was a darned good player. And, don't let it go unsaid that David Thorpe, ESPN's rookie dude has Curry rated third (behind Evans and Collison) and Ty Lawson fourth. Yep, the same Lawson that the Wolves drafted and traded to Denver. To be fair, Thorpe is still high on Flynn ("Even though he is still struggling to create shots for his teammates, Flynn remains one of my favorite players in this class. Because, while he is focused on scoring, at no time does it appear he is doing so selfishly. I still think he cares only about winning, which means that over time he'll learn when he has to move the ball for the offense to flow more smoothly."), but I think it's clear that the Wolves screwed the pooch, again.
Hollinger has the Wolves rated dead last -- 30th -- in the NBA. You might be aware that there's a team out there with only seven wins, but even they are playing better than the Wolves. Oy.
It would have been a totally different deal if Darko had been playing.
but seriously, the Wolves really, really suck. Other than BAJ, who is a freakin' load down low.
I see Love didn't play last night again... apparently he has a foot injury. I'm suspicious. I mentioned that it was a 14 point loss, but the Wolves outscored the Kings 39-20 in the fourth to narrow it to 14. Oy.
Love magically injured his foot the same day he bitched out Rambis about his role.
Exactly.
Wait, who's Rambis....
From what I can tell, he's Jimmy Rodgers's brother.
+53 (and counting)
Hey boss, wondering if you were successful getting tickets for the SBG convention. I heard waiting for tickets was nightmarish at best on-line and via telephone.
I didn't do it yet. Sigh. I hope that there are some left.
D'oh!! August 21st Sold Out! You're gonna be hard pressed to get any tickets during the summer months, and I think September weekends are pretty much spoken for.
I ordered tickets yesterday for my birthday (April 21) and my daughter's birthday (May 29). The seat selection was severely limited, so we ended up with upper deck behind home plate for the first game and CF grandstand for the second. At least we'll get two very different views of the game. Prices were not bad, though, but I wish they'd just build the damn convenience fee into the ticket price and stop trying to convince me it's for something other than, you know, more expensive tickets.
Ah, crap. Well, maybe no convention this year.
Maybe just a BBQ at the falls? Game on the Radio?
Maybe a softball game breaks out?
I'm in favor of a softball game.
What's pissing me off is that the scalpers are already in full force. Scores of tickets already on E-bay and StubHub for these games. It seems to me there should be some sort of regulation against buying out all of a commodity just to turn around and jack up the price. Isn't that what Carnegie did?
I imagine there will be a few sold out games this year with plenty of empty seats.
I imagine there will be a few sold out games this year with plenty of empty seats.
I agree. I tried to get tickets on Saturday and failed. I think my plan will be to wait until 5 minutes before opening pitch and see what price I can get from the scalpers.
I used that strategy for the Gophers basketball game a week ago and ended up with 13th row behind the Gopher bench for under face.
The Twins should have had a series of auctions to sell tickets--why let the secondary market get some/most/all of the benefit from excess demand?
they dont care who gets the tickets. As long as people (StubHub and the like in the case) and ponying up the cash, who cares! Fans can buy Mauer jerseys! (until they dont come to terms on a contract and he is a Yankee by midseason)
Hah, you're describing me (slightly).
I am in a group of 4 people who got a 40 ticket plan. We also paid extra for opening day. In our game lottery I also got game 3 against the Red Sox (April 15). Since I can't take 2 days off that week, I am selling the 4 tickets for the April 15th game. They have a face value of $18 and I am (hopefully) selling them for $50 each which will help pay for the whole season. I've actually turned down 2 offers for $30 each (one I am pretty sure was a fellow scalper who obviously thought he could sell them for even more).
But agree with strategy of waiting right to game time to get tix as I have had lots of experience doing this. Actually waiting 5 minutes after game time is when you get the deals as that's when the scalper see the writing on the wall and need to drop prices or eat the tix.
It seems to me there should be some sort of regulation against buying out all of a commodity just to turn around and jack up the price.
Until a few years ago, Minnesota had a law against ticket scalping and there was never a problem with price gouging. Just consider this another benefit of deregulation.
I'm pretty sure that this will lead to higher ticket prices in the future. Why should the club price tickets at X and have scalpers profit by selling at X+Y. The Twins are smart enough to figure out the price elasticity of demand and price them accordingly.
Until a few years ago, Minnesota had a law against ticket scalping and there was never a problem with price gouging. Just consider this another benefit of deregulation.
There was never a problem with price gouging before? I can't agree with that statement at all. The only reason there is any price gouging for the Twins this year is the new stadium is increasing demand (and decreasing supply).
I agree with Whiffers that the team should have taken advantage of this by having auctions of their own. Or maybe Hennepin County should have had their hands in this to recoup some of their "investment." There's no reason a third party should be able to make money on this.
Yeah, I'm with Algonad a little on this one. In 1991, when demand was high, I was paying a premium for Tix, no doubt about it. But for the most part, it's pretty hard to be a scalper and drive the price way up unless there's no available seats. Having it legal, though, makes it a little easier to do.
Next year, I'm going to find a season ticket package holder and do a group sale before the single game tix go on sale. Hmmm, I wonder who might be able to help me out.
Remind me next year and I'll look into it.
I have my ticket draft this Sunday. I'm a little less concerned with which games we get as any game is a good game this year.
Work will have groups of 2 tickets per game instead of 4 this year.
Boo!
I've been the lucky recipient of those seats twice. This cuts my chances of a third in half.
The thing about bloggers is that they come up with unsubstantiated stuff and publish it. And hey, I think the Twins should kick around proposing trading Justin Morneau to the Cardinals for Pooholes, because as much as I like the big Canadian, Albert!
Well, okay, but they'd have to sweeten the deal. How 'bout we give them Perkins, and they throw in Wainwright. And $9M.
It's only a matter of time until Top Jimmy is writing about a Mauer for A-Rod trade.
brianS mentioned that Peter Graves died this weekend. How many of you knew this?
Peter Graves and James Arness were brothers??
I thought you were an old guy, Boss? I sure as hell knew that, 30 years ago! (but I did NOT know they were Minny-sotans until last night) Those were two guys with some seriously craggy facial features.
as noted in the article I linked to last night, the family name was "Aurness". Graves was a family name on their mother's side.
the part I liked the best in that obit was that he met his wife in college and they stayed happily married for 60 years.
Marshall Dillon was a WWII war hero too. I did not know that.
They went to Washburn High School a few decades before I did. Take that, Southwest High (our rivals)!
When did you attend? I was only there for two years ('99-'01). And I wasn't really good with the whole cheering thing.
I was not good at the cheering thing either - though we were state football champs my senior year. So that puts me about a generation ahead of you. I think Hrbek and I are peers.
Top Jimmy is at it again, implying Joe Nathan is more important for the Twins over the next two years than Joe Mauer. I won't even link to the article, it's so ridiculous.
It's kind of amazing. Although La Russa's creation of the closer was interesting, he made the entire baseball world stupider.
crap, LaRussa even did a mid-inning pitching change last Tuesday when I was there. Really, in a Spring Training game?! why?
I'm of the mind that a closer by committee (that is, no closer at all) isn't the worst idea in the world.
To be fair, Souhan wrote that an injured Nathan was more detrimental to the Twins than not re-signing Mauer. Which has some merit since Nathan has a pretty big contract and would be paid while providing no value to the club, while Mauer could still provide return in a trade or a pair of draft picks.
Is Nathan's contract insured? Because if it is, then you have to readjust your calculus.
And, apparently, it is insured.
The Mayor of Duhloot knows a thing or two about marketing. Not necessarily good things, but things.
for some reason, this all reminds of sean young lobbying for the role of "catwoman"...
Just turned on the FLA-MIN game on the radio, thankfully in time to hear the Marlins' PBP guy give the Twins a verbal BJ for their ability to do the right things, all the time, no matter who they have. Oy.
Shortly after this long love letter to the Twins, Kubel hit a three-run homer to put the Twins up 3-1 with a very big thing.
Now they're talking clumsily about the Twins and signing Mauer...I'd really like to go a day without thinking about it.
...I'd really like to go a day without thinking about it.
That won't happen until:
a) The signing is formally announced
b) He's traded for the entire New York Yankees baseball team (we might have to throw in Perkins, too...)
So
Hinske!Kubel tattooed one, eh?No, really Stick. I think we need to retire that one.
Believe when I say that it will be retired, but did you see Hinske's tattoos? He's got ink on his entire torso and arms to his elbows.
Pray that Kubel never gets that sort of ink. Hinske looks like a tool.
Furthermore, there is apparently "no special significance to the design." Who gets that monstrosity on a whim? Tool indeed.
I'm sure there was a bunt, or a productive out that lead to the 3-run homer, right??
Oh, of course. There were twelve productive outs in that half-inning alone.
They did go on about how good a bunting team the Twins are. I had to fight back vomit.
Game update: Liriano 3 IP, 6 K, 0 BB, 3 R, 1 HR (hits and walks are not getting mentioned for some reason). The last two runs came from a Mike Stanton homer that the announcers acknowledged was greatly aided by today's wind.
I like the K:BB ratio there.
I love the deadpan deliver of this article about wind turbine-generated electricity (the bulk of the story is about local restrictions on heights of turbine installations; I'm just talking about the first few paragraphs).
So, to recap, the guy got a $20,000 subsidy to install a $36,000 piece of equipment, then bought a new dryer and installed a new home heating system, and it "only" took six years to earn back his nominal cost of installing the turbine? Which means probably another ten years or so to reach the social "break-even" point, not factoring in environmental values or upkeep (or talking about his opportunity cost)?? Oy.
Boss, I know you have family in the wind business, but this is the sort of stuff that I really struggle with.
So, about $3000 a year in cost savings on a $36,000 investment. That's about 8%. You getting 8% a year on the stock market? Plus, no emissions. Plus, how's that grid out there?
well, no, that's not about 8 pct in net returns, because you have to figure in depreciation of that capital investment. If I buy mutual fund shares with my $36,000, I'm reasonably confident that I can re-sell them at any time. What does the secondary market look like for 6+ year-old wind turbines and towers on which no maintenance has been done (or if it has been done, for that matter)? I presume the expected life span of these things is on the order of 15-20 years (assuming prudent maintenance)??
This is not to say that I'm opposed to wind power. Far from it. I just find these wide-eyed articles disconcerting. Who do people think is paying for the $20K in tax breaks? I want us to be honest about the economics and serious about how we price the environmental effects.
but your point about the grid in relatively remote places is a really good one. There are lots of places in the U.S. (and around the world) where connection to the grid is really, really, costly.
[addendum: this guy says 20-25 year expected lifespan, assuming the owner spends an average of 1.5-2 pct of purchase price annually in maintenance.]
S&P 500 close, March 2001: 1,160.33*
S&P 500 close, March 2010: 1,149.99
Adjusted for stock splits and dividends.
Now, admittedly, this has been a crappy decade for investing, but an investment in the stock market made at the same time as those towers were built would have gained you a negative return. The opportunity cost has been pretty low. I get your point, though. It's a costly venture.
But, look. Wind power is still in its infancy -- these guys are early adopters. More towers will drive the price down. Having an alternative green energy source break even over the long haul is good news! There are societal costs associated with relying on fossil fuels, you know.
Exactly. Even if I got zero ROI, I'd consider doing it just for the environmental aspect. You know, if I had the startup money lying around, that is.
whaddya talking about? My retirement is making 7.75 pct -- I know this is true because Calpers tells me so. ;-)
Is there a WGOM Bracket?
There's a bracket, yes.
Group ID: 29441
Password: 12346
sweet. thanks. I need some reason to get pissed off at the TV this weekend. Or rather the radio as I drive to pick up my new dog on Friday.
And you're dang right I picked my alma mater, and reluctant employer, to go to the Sweet 16. They'd go farther but Farve's gonna force it.
That's nothing. I picked my current employer to go to the championship.
Is this espn or something? I've never done this.
Never mind, I found it on the Ya!Hoo.
Oops, sorry. I don't know why I forgot that above.
I'm ScrewYouIlliterateJuanDixon. My old roommate Adam and I always refer to Juan Dixon, formerly of Maryland, as The Illiterate Juan Dixon. Through him, my hatred for Maryland basketball is 3rd to only Purdue and Kentucky.
If someone sets it up, I'll enter a bracket. Winner gets sidebar recognition.
I believe I received an invite from a Citizen, following up from last year's debacle (on my part). Spooky??
I wonder if Connors and McEnroe hate each other.
And Sampras never even mentioned crystal meth.
Hey, Boss. Any chance you could put up a link to the Meat Store in the Links area? I've already forgotten, and I'm sure other Citizens will want to get in on the WGOM-approved apparel opportunities.
I'll do that, what is it?
Meat?? Calling Meat!!!
hey, E -- http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rEgPZZmjwg4/S50CVv-JLTI/AAAAAAAAHgU/0XZdB5NZTyc/s1600-h/e.png
Ack!!
that is awesome.