Thursday, March 28, 2013

Jackie Bradley Jr.

The Red Sox should be announcing today if Jackie Bradley Jr. will make the Opening Day roster. I agree 100% with Fred Lynn that Bradley should be the starting left fielder come April 1st.

I'm not saying that Jackie Bradley Jr. is the next Mike Trout or Fred Lynn but think of it this way - if Bradley posts just 75% the numbers that Lynn or Trout did in their rookie years - he'd be one of the most productive hitters in Boston's line-up. Not to mention that his glove gives Boston one of the best defensive outfields in all of baseball. And hey if he's not productive - then send him down to Pawtucket once David Ortiz comes back.

It seems to be a no-brainer to me. The team could use his bat and defense and the fans are more excited to see Bradley play than any other aspect of this 2013 Red Sox team. So let it be written - so let it be done.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- 10 reasons you should drink beer. Yay beer!

- Amazing fact generator.

- The geography of tea. I've been drinking much more tea lately.

- The art and science of beer. Yay beer!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Shahid Khan Interview

Interesting interview in Forbes of Jaguars owner Shahid Khan.

You can tell that this is a guy that gets "it". As an example - he changed the policy regarding bringing water and food into the stadium and the result was stadium food and beverage revenue went up! People may have skipped on the $5 hotdog to buy more $9 beers (which I hope was at least 24 ounces).

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Coolest Alums from All 68 March Madness Schools

This list is pretty cool - albeit very subjective.

Like him or hate him - Bill Clinton is a cooler Georgetown alumnus than Bradley Cooper. You could make similar arguments for many of the schools - except San Diego State.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Wes Welker

Little late to the game on this but I had to say my two cents.

Like most Patriots fans I am sad to see Wes Welker leave. Especially sad to see him joining Peyton Manning in Denver. Unlike most Patriots fans - I think this was the right move. How many times last season did you hear in a bar, "Wes Welker normally catches that." The later in the season, and the more often it was said - the less convincing the person felt saying it.

People will, of course, bring up Welker dropping that pass in the Super Bowl but as I said before - that dropped pass didn't cost them the game. Rob Ninkovitch jumping off-sides on third down was a bigger mistake. And Tom Brady's intentional grounding was even bigger than that. Without that safety the Patriots would have been down just by 2 at the end of the game and a field goal could have won the game.

Still - there's no mistaking Welker dropped a lot of passes last year. Last year Welker dropped 11 passes - which was second most in the NFL. Sure he also was targeted a ton but consider that according to ESPN - since 2010 Welker dropped one pass for every 12.5 caught. Amendola's drop rate was one for every 21.9 caught over that same time frame.

Against the Titans in the second game of the season Welker was benched after dropping a pass. Back then the Patriots thought Brandon Lloyd and Julian Edelman could replace Wes' production. Now it seems they are hoping Edelman and Danny Amendola can shoulder the load. The main point is early last year the Patriots recognized the dropped passes problem

Welker's main value is catching the ball. Both Amendola and Edelman can catch the ball too but both also have younger legs which means they can also both run better than the soon to be 32-year old Welker. Bubble screens, a favorite play of the Patriots, gain more yards with younger, fresher legs. Plus there's no yards after catch if the pass is dropped.

Wes Welker will probably put up eye-popping numbers next year. I hope he does. But that doesn't change the fact that the Patriots made the right move.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Why don't woodpeckers get brain damage?

- Games of Thrones / Princess Bride mashup - very good!

- Awesome update on what Adrian Dantley is doing these days.

- WSOP champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer arrested in prostitute sting. [Edit - initial reports were a male prostitute - that has now been changed to a female - maybe the hooker was just extra ugly?]

- Too late for Saint Patrick's Day but still interesting - 11 things you probably didn't know about Guinness.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Player Comparison

Just a quick player comparison I have been thinking about lately:

Player A - 10.4 PPG / 2.5 APG / 2.0 RPG
Player B - 10.8 PPG / 1.6 APG / 2.9 RPG

Player A is Jason Terry who has played 62 games averaging 27:37 minutes per game. Player B is Ray Allen - the player Terry basically replaced in Boston. Even though many have been down on Terry in Boston - his production has basically been equal to Allen's this season.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Justified Question

I love the show Justified and have thoroughly enjoyed this season which revolves around the mystery of who is Drew Thompson? The answer to that question was revealed in this week's show but since then a question about the plot has been bothering me.

The whole - who is Drew Thompson question got set in motion by Arlo Givens trying to retrieve a diplomatic bag with Waldo Truth's license which was hidden in a wall of Arlo's home. Here's what's bothering me:

A: If Arlo just left the bag alone - none of this happens and Arlo would still be alive. If a new owner of the house did some construction and found the bag - it would have little or no significance to them. Why take the risk to retrieve the bag?

B: Why did Arlo keep the bag in the first place? He knew who Drew Thompson was. He didn't need the license.

C: What was the significance of the diplomatic bag? Was this a secret that died with Arlo?

The show normally does a nice job tying up loose ends and on details (for example Adam Arkin has always had mismatched eyes with one looking like it could be glass even though it was only revealed that Drew Thompson shot Theo Tonin in the eye this season). Why did they leave this loose end hanging? Or did I miss something?

Saturday, March 02, 2013

Justified

Justified is one of my top 5 favorite shows of all-time. It is one of the few must see - can't miss shows on TV as far as I'm concerned (the others being Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Archer and Mad Men).

The problem has been that unlike my other favorite shows - there was no way to watch past episodes without buying the DVD's. That's changed as Amazon Prime has announced an exclusive deal to stream both Justified and The Shield. I just powered through a re-watching of Season One and Seasons, Two, Three and Four will be re-watched very soon.

As an aside - kudos to Amazon Prime. The main benefit to Amazon Prime is the free shipping but considering that buying the Justified DVD's alone would have almost equaled the $79 yearly fee - this news is a very welcome bonus as far as I'm concerned. As another aside - I never realized how much Raylan Givens enjoys ice cream. Almost every episode there's a reference to it or a shot of Raylan eating some. It's like the sugar cereals in Seinfeld.

Jose Canseco and the Mysteries of Life

Fascinating look at how dinosaurs like Brontosaurus or Diplodocus pumped blood up their massive necks to their brains.

Interestingly enough - the discussion was sparked by known Mensa member Jose Canseco.

Lots of interesting little biology tidbits in the article. And as an aside - you really should be reading Phenomena - the National Geographics' blog section.

Friday, March 01, 2013

Seven Tips from Ernest Hemingway on Writing

Interesting compilation of seven writing tips from Ernest Hemingway.

I have to wonder if Hemingway would still recommend using a pencil. With laptops and tablets today so convenient - Hemingway might be inclined to abandon the pencil since its main virtue was the ability to make changes.