Lookout Landing: FanPosts

Xbox LLive, Pt 3

2009-11-06T21:02:42Z

Might as well post this now, since I heard there's a big game coming out next week.

A bunch of LL-ers are on Xbox Live and play games with each other - who else out there has an Xbox and wants to join up? As of Tuesday, Nov 10, we will be playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 pretty much fulltime, so feel free to join the party and get a few games in.

A forewarning - do not put your earpiece too close to your ear when playing with me.

LL SN - XBL tag

seattlebruin - seattlebruin

Scruffy Lefty - Scruffy Lefty

tootthekazoo - TootMyKazoo

Robert - WeaselRed

BrianL - BDL88

JamMaster Jesus - imeatinbutter

Phildopip - Phildopip

BrettJMiller - Bretticus

Ralphie81 - Ralphie81

royalcurve - Royalcurve

Coach Owens - Coach Owens 00

Add your names in the comments and discuss, will update the FanPost with everyone's names as we go.

OT on a friday morning 11/6

2009-11-06T17:31:38Z

Mostly because the last one hit over 1000 comments, primarily due to a spirited discussion about meaningful things.You won't find that here, though, bucko.

Anyone watch the new version of "V"? Was there anything more to it than Morena Baccarin's cool new haircut?

Anyone going any where near the scarifying rotoscoping of A Christmas Carol?

Is Anthony Lane one of the most entertaining film reviewers working today?

"Please make sure, when you buy a ticket for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” to pronounce the title in full. I know you will. There was a plan to call it “Push,” until another movie got there first. But why not call the new one “Precious,” and leave it at that? After all, Deborah Kerr didn’t star in “The Innocents: Based on the Novella ‘The Turn of the Screw’ by Henry James,” and Dustin Hoffman didn’t star in “Rain Man: Based on the Overwhelming Desire to Win an Academy Award by Dustin Hoffman,” so why the change in rubric?"

Curiously wondering what the plan is...

2009-11-06T04:11:04Z

I'm going to start this off by saying thank you for everyone's amazing insight. I have always been an average fan (not really into advanced statistics) until i started reading the insights of Jeff and Co. My question has to do with the future. What is the plan for Ackley? Saunders seems to have found a home in left. Gutierrez is an absolute stud in center. And, of course Ichiro in right. I know Ackley played first at UNC but he is a projected center fielder. Is Saunders going to be the odd man out? Jeff compared him to Randy Winn a while ago and seems pretth high on him. I guess this is a good problem to have. It would be awesome to hear your guys thoughts on where things might sit come September call ups and how our outfield might look in the future. Sorry if the post isn't up to par with the site, I was never one to be great with words.

Is anyone else going to make fun of this picture?

2009-11-05T15:53:25Z

That was a ripoff, One of the worst World Series' I can remember. I really wanted to see Philli win, Raul would have gotten his long deserving rings, Utley or Lee would have gotten the MVP. Matsui only played in half of the series, he didn't diserve it, Plus I always kinda liked watching A-Rod not get a title.

BTW:

Is Anyone else going to make fun of this picture? I think it needs to be done.

Exploring Hit f/x, Albeit Badly.

2009-11-05T00:40:26Z

I wrote this.

I'll take it down if y'all think it's stupid.

________________

This summer, Major League Baseball revealed its newest statistical plaything, hit f/x, which records the speed of batted balls. This technological toy may not exactly revolutionize the way the game is played, but it does add a critical variable to a hitter’s value – how hard he can hit. Now teams can determine which batters truly hit the stuffing out of the ball.

Strangely, this hit-tracker data seems to go against conventional baseball wisdom. Hit-tracker results have recently revealed that players with lower batting averages actually hit the ball harder than those with high batting averages. Does that mean that to achieve a high degree of success, a hitter needs to hit the ball softer that he otherwise would? Looking beyond the numbers, we discover that this conundrum is an issue of logic.

It is generally accepted in the literary world that plot and character vary inversely; rarely do we find a book with an in-depth plot and intricately developed characters. Similarly, in the world of baseball, speed varies inversely with power; there are exceptions, but it is unusual for a power-hitter to steal 20 bases in a season, or for a lanky speed-demon to hit 30 homers.

A substantial percentage of the batters with batting averages over .300 in the 2009 season had around 15-18 infield hits. There were outliers, of course, but the trend stuck for the most part. Let’s take a look at how some of baseball’s top hitters (in terms of batting average) might have fared without that extra bit of speed. Obviously this is not completely indicative of how they actually would have done, but it’s an interesting experiment.

A table:

	# of Infield Hits	Batting Average	Batting Average Minus Percentage of Infield Hits
Ichiro Suzuki	50	.352	.273
Jacoby Ellsbury	26	.301	.259
Pablo Sandoval	16	.330	.302
Denard Span	23	.311	.271
Jason Bartlett	15	.320	.290
David Wright	13	.307	.283
Scott Posednik	27	.304	.254
Skip Schumaker	13	.303	.278
Hanley Ramirez	17	.342	.312
Nyjer Morgan	15	.307	.275
Derek Jeter	22	.334	.299
Erick Aybar	16	.312	.280

Notice that this trend only serves to prove the importance of speed in the batting averages of players who have an abundance of it. David Wright and Pablo Sandoval still retain high batting averages despite when we subtract a portion of their speed.

Because power-hitters tend to be physically larger and thus slower than other hitters, they don’t beat out as many groundballs as quicker hitters, decreasing their batting average by approximately 17/550, or almost .031. For example, Wladimir Balentien, formerly of the Seattle Mariners, had the fastest average batted ball speed during April 2009 (according to Matthew Carruth http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2009/6/6/901100/mariner-hitters-batted-ball-speeds), but a paltry average. Ichiro, on the other hand, had the lowest average batted ball speed but his usual high average during that stretch.

In reality, batters that hit the ball hard often aren’t quick enough to reach first base on a weakly hit ground ball, knocking a significant amount off their average.

Contact rates actually player a larger role in this issue than does speed. Players, like the aforementioned Balentien, who swing for the fences all the time usually have low contact rates. And you’re certainly not going to get a hit if the ball doesn’t leave the catcher’s mitt. Here I generalize quite a bit – not all power hitters are free-swingers, but those that do see that batting averages drop quite a bit despite hitting for power and a high hit f/x value.

What does this mean? Honestly, I don’t know. Infield hits are flawed because in using them to make a point, one must assume that the official made the right call (error vs. hit). Plenty of power hitters are disciplined.

Any thoughts?

Somewhat OT: Kid dies from aluminum bat, family now rich

2009-11-04T11:14:46Z

Mont. jury awards $850,000 in aluminum bat lawsuit

I'm sure opinions will vary, though most people I've talked to fall into two catagories. One being, what the hell was this jury smoking? And the other being that this will help get rid of "dangerous" aluminum bats in little league/high school/legion ball.

FootbaLL III (Nov 7th)

2009-11-01T21:08:55Z

Is anyone interested in some FootbaLL at Cal Anderson Park or Seattle U this upcoming Saturday at 1ish? I may be a tad late because I have tree planting again. November 7th is the 4th annual Green Seattle Day, and a number of parks in Seattle (Cheasty Greenspace and many other forested locations across Seattle.
Locations include: Carkeek, Golden Gardens, Ravenna Park, Burke-Gilman Trail, Discovery, St. Mark's Greenbelt, Leschi Overlook, Seward, Maple School Ravine, East Duwamish Greenbelt, Westcrest, Lincoln, Camp Long, Orchard Street Ravine, and West Duwamish Greenbelt) are having sponsored events, so if you have time and don't want to play football (or want to play football after planting trees and pulling up rootballs and thistles, go ahead and sign up at your local park. It's a lot of fun.

On the 24th we had flags, courtesy of tworsandtwols, and had good games of 4 on 4 and 5 on 4.

(Edit: Flags no longer available)

In:

PlaySportsinSeattle (aka Ocho Cinco Wes Welker)

Katal

JamMasterJesus

Baker + 1

Timdor

Jaejo

BrettJMiller

John Bai (Flippy Floppy) + Softball Wife Lindsay

KirkHarbaugh (If he wakes up)

OFFTOP: 10/30/09

2009-10-30T17:48:19Z

While in college, I was an active seeker of music. It was easy to dedicate the time needed to research, listen, and be discerning in what I listened to. After college, however, my music stagnated for a while. I had a lot of music, just nothing new.

However, when I finally discovered how great podcasts are, I immediately subscribed to some music podcasts (KEXP's Song of the Day, and Music That Matters; NPR's All Songs Considered) and started rediscovering my hunger for new music.

Here's a list of artists I've discovered in 2009 that I really really enjoy:

Alaska in Winter - Fascinating indie electronic. Check out the song Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind. Heavenly.
Asteroid No. 4 - I actually started listening to one of their albums in 2007, but didn't really appreciate it (and their other albums) until this year.
Bon Iver - Spare, ever-so-delicate indie folk.
Choir of Young Believers - Folk + dream pop + indie pop = awesome.
Dead Man's Bones - Ryan Gosling's band. Dark indie folk. Surprisingly good for a celebrity band.
Dr. Dog - Bright indie pop that's sort of a throw-back to the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Faunts - Incredible indie electronic. These guys fucking rock.
The Low Anthem - Indie folk that is occasionally quite rough around the edges, but is frequently beautiful.
Malajube - Bright indie pop from Montreal.
Patrick Watson - Crazy instruments and deep layering make for a very rich listening experience.
Sarah Siskind - Folk. She has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard.
Sholi - Complex melding of dream pop and post-rock.
Vitality - Spare, strange. Sort of rap, but not really. The "rapper" kind of sounds like Dan Aykroyd.

Who have you discovered this year? Any new favorite artists? Any previous favorite artists who have disappointed you this year?

Sounders Playoffs Gamethread

2009-10-30T02:13:34Z

CONTEXT

The Seattle Sounders FC and the Houston Dynamo will face each other in the 2009 MLS playoffs, which begins tonight in Seattle.

KEY PLAYERS

Seattle:

Roster

Houston:

Roster

Both the Sounders and Dynamo are filled to the brim with possible difference-makers.

KEY QUESTIONS

Can the Seattle Sounders outscore the Houston Dynamo?

They can.

Can the Houston Dynamo outscore the Seattle Sounders?

They can.

Will one of the Seattle Sounders and Houston Dynamo outscore the other?

Most certainly likely!

X FACTOR

Jaqua

CONCLUSION

GO SOUNDERS!!

h/t Jeff for the template

102709 OTDOD - Home Improvement Edition

2009-10-27T14:31:55Z

It's new OTD time again, folks. In lieu of the usual OT fare of video games, books, making fun of celebrities and yuppies, etc. I've decided to go with a different theme for my occasional contribution to this wonderful site - home improvement.

This is a topic that has been the bane of my existence for the past month and a half, as I bought quite the clunker and am determined to make it livable on a budget. I won't go LLFB and detail every change I've made so far, but here are a couple things that I've done, and a longer list of neat stuff I'm looking to do.

Done -
* New kitchen cabinets
* Bedroom tear out, replacing wiring (drywall going up soon!)

Neat stuff that I may want to build/do in the future -
Catwalk on the ceiling - I don't even like the cat, but I think this would be awesome, especially the carpeted pole in the front room (maybe have the carpet removable so it can serve double duty without the rug burns)
Spray foam insulation - I can't do it now because of time constraints, but this is something I will be coming back to in the near term. It's the wave of the future, and it's not a flying car this time. R-Value of 21 for a 2x4 framed wall with built-in leak sealing and vapor barrier? Yes, please.

Normal projects in the pipeline -
Make a real front door
Built-in office desks and shelving
Tear down and rebuild shed
Replace deck/patio

Links to sites that I read about housing/remodeling/design -
http://diydiva.net/
http://www.inhabitat.com/
http://www.doityourself.com/

So, now comes the sharing portion of the show. What things have you done to make your place more livable? Good ideas that maybe you don't see everywhere? Any questions about work you want to do? I know I have quite a bit of experience in roofing, siding, electrical, insulation and tree work. I'm sure there are other people here that know about other things as well.

As always, normal OTD rules apply - talk about whatever within the rules.

It's Friday, 10/23/09, and we need another OTFPOTD

2009-10-23T20:14:29Z

The recent OTFPOTD has exceeded the critical mass of 1000+ posts. I was going to save this one for Monday, but eh, I've never done one of these and I'm way overdue anyway.

Possible Questions:

* Fall has been a topic of late, both in Seattle and NYC, where we are jumping wildly from low-60s to low-40s and back again on any given day. We've talked holidays and nature and football and BEER, so here's another question with a different spin on it: do your music listening habits change with the leaves? Do certain bands or albums typify fall for you more than any other season? Extra credit: what about reading?

* Strangest book you have ever read? Strangest movie you have ever seen? Explicate. Was it worth it?

* What non-curse, non-buzz word would you care to never hear again?

* Via MarinerJohn, what's your favorite archipelago?

* Via waldo rojas, most overrated board games?

* Let's talk disappointment... in music. Who is an artist that you were really excited about back in the day that never followed up in the way you expected, or otherwise got mired in prolonged periods of mediocrity?

* Movie series reboots have probably been done. What about video game series reboots? Any particular successes, failures, or ones that generated mixed reactions?

Go.

So, I broke both my wrists...

2009-10-21T23:57:31Z

So, I broke both my wrists. Both of them. Crack! Happened in a flash. I was locked out of my apartment. It was late. I thought, “No problem, I’ll just climb right up to the fire escape and go through my kitchen window,” which I routinely kept unlocked because I had once taken a look at the fire escape and the protruding, seemingly-climbable bricks on the side of the wall below it and thought “Hmmm…if I’m ever locked out I can just get in that way. Easy!”

It didn’t go as planned.

I remember the moment I realized I was going to fall. I had climbed up several feet of brick wall and felt pretty confident about the transfer to the fire escape. I reached back to grip it, and I felt my other hand slipping. It was out of my control at that point. Crack! Sir Isaac was right.

I like to think that I reacted like a cat. That I spun around in the air from my back-facing position and let out a subtle purr before I broke my fall…and my cheekbone…and my eye socket…and my right wrist…and my left wrist.

I suppose I laid there, in a pool of my own blood as they say, for a little while. It was around midnight in a particularly nice neighborhood in San Francisco. The kind of neighborhood where people don’t simply walk around outdoors at midnight. Eventually, I woke up and looked at my wrists. Sometimes one’s palms are facing them. And that was true in this case. But the way my arms were positioned, I was pretty sure I should have been staring at my knuckles. My immediate thought was: “Now how am I going to get up there to sleep this off?”

An hour or so later, I walked alone into an Emergency Room. I remember looking at my crumpled wrists after the fall, and I remember walking into that ER, but I do not remember the interim. I believe there must have been an intervening Samaritan, but I don’t know who it was. Was it you? If anyone out there helped a rather unsightly and disfigured young man, wearing a stylish black suit, to an emergency room in a nice neighborhood of San Francisco at midnight recently, please contact me. And tell me why you wouldn’t escort me through the frickin' ER door! Was it really that much further to take me? Was I bleeding on your precious purse? What if I’d have tripped on the way in? I think I will write you a Missed Connection on Craigslist.

The woman at the front desk told me she had some forms for me to sign. This is where my memory returns. I did not sign the forms. Instead, I held up my mangled arms. That is mangled-armeded-person speak for “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not sign those forms.”

A doctor saw me, despite my inability to write down my address and phone number and to check a box for whether I was experiencing any pain. She fixed me. By fixed me, I mean she told me to hold my breath and reach out my arms, and then she pulled on both my hands, and repositioned them so that they were facing the right way. I checked. Yep! Those are my knuckles now. Much better.

I ended up having surgery on my face and both arms over the course of two weeks. All the nurses call me “Spiderman,” with subtle irony after my wall-scaling ability. Robocop is more appropriate. I am chock-full of titanium. Some of it will be taken out with later surgeries. Some of it will stay, and become a part of me, and enable me to sense human body heat and fire lasers out of my eyes.

I am still in the healing process. There was a time when I could do nothing. Literally, nothing. Now I can do most things. I can even type, though not as fast as before. That is why every word that I write here is so carefully thought-out and eloquent. Because it takes longer to produce each one, so I must be more particular.

I moved to Seattle and started a new job a couple of weeks ago. It was a couple of weeks after my surgeries. I called ahead to tell them that I would be disfigured. Luckily, I am not a model or a yo-yo champion. But still, I feel a little bad for my new employer; they thought they were hiring a much better looking fellow. A fellow who would maybe play ping pong with his co-workers on occasion, or be able to operate a stapler without using his chin.

I took a profile picture for the company website today. I was very nervous about it beforehand. When you get surgery on your face, it disturbs the nerves quite a bit and takes time for them to get sorted out. For the longest time, it hurt for me to smile. I got mad whenever anyone cracked a joke and then I would laugh and cry at the same time. And not in a "I'm crying because it is so funny" way,"but in a "I'm crying because it is excruciatingly painful" way. It is a little funny in retrospect. It was even funny at the time, but that just made it more painful. Anyway, now smiling does not hurt, but my grin is a little droopy. Half of my face is still a bit numb, though it is no longer swollen, and no longer that noticeable, unless you stare at it in a mirror for hour after hour, which I do. So pictures are nerve-racking. Hehe, sorry.

I think the picture came out okay, but it is only thanks to a good photographer, creative lighting, and Photoshop. It makes me really wonder what all those Maxim girls really look like in person. They might all have swollen faces and subconjunctival hemorrhages.

I have been to many doctors lately. Sometimes I try to memorize the words they say like “subconjunctival hemorrhage” and then I drop them in a sentence like it’s no big deal. I don’t even flinch. I am very matter of fact about it.

I am the pride and joy of my physical therapy clinic. They are very impressed with me. I am well ahead of schedule in my movements. I can now touch my thumb to each finger, rotate my wrists to almost 85 degrees each way, and bend my left wrist to about 50 degrees forward and 45 degrees back. I can also high five with a person of below-average strength and I can almost make the live long and prosper sign. That’s all meant to impress you. Unless you are recovering from a broken wrist -- then it is meant to put you to shame. Do your exercises, loser.

Some people say how lucky I am. And it’s true, in a way. I survived. I will make just about a full recovery. I can supinate my wrist to almost 90 degrees. (Ha, did it again!) My swelling has gone way down. I live in a time of Photoshop. On the other hand, I did not make it up to my kitchen window to get to sleep that night. And I had been leaving that kitchen window unlocked day after day for no reason. I guess it’s all relative.

So how does this relate to the Mariners? Well, I don’t know. Relax. I’ll get to that. But don’t you think there are more important things to think about? Yeah, you have two working wrists and a winning smile now, but that could all be taken away from you in a freak accident after your attempt to scale a wall in the middle of the night.

I guess it relates to the Mariners because this is the only place I have to write down thoughts and receive comments and this blog is about the Mariners. But also because of how much I enjoyed this season. The Mariners were out of the playoff hunt from late-July on. Griffey did not hit 45 homeruns and win the batting crown like I thought he would after the first game. Three of the guys I was most looking forward to watching at the start of the season (Bedard, Morrow, and Clement) did not break through and become great players. We had our injuries. We had our heart-breaking losses. Our top prospect fractured his fibula.

But all that said, it was my most enjoyable season as a fan since 2001. Easily. There is hope. There is progress. There are reasoned hands at the reins. There is Felix Hernandez.

When one breaks his cheekbone…and his eye socket…and his right wrist…and his left wrist…and suffers a subconjunctival hemorrhage, one learns the importance of taking a step back and not taking anything for granted. There were so many great moments this season. There are so many great things to love about this team moving forward. So many exciting players in the big leagues and in the minors. And if things go a bit wrong, we have Photoshop.

I am not taking any of it for granted.

The ALCS: A case for rooting for the Yankees

2009-10-21T09:27:10Z

Based upon the game threads over the last week or so, it has been quite clear that this year's version of the ALCS has brought about a heated debate concerning who the average M's fan should root for. Of course, the real nature of this debate is not about who we want to see win, but who we want to see lose. Thus, by pulling for, say, the Yankees, what this action really means is that we're going against the Angels. I was a touch surprised to learn of the results of an October 12 poll, which revealed that 7 out of 10 M's fans were pulling for the Angels. The substance of recent game threads also seems to have reflected this ratio.

I thus find myself drawn to lay out my reasoning for rooting for the downfall of the Angels, with a Yankee triumph being the necessary evil that will bring about that end (I do realize this would have been more timely had I posted it before the series was a possible one game away from completion!):

1. The Yankees are always winning. This is one of the reasons why we despise them in the first place. This constant winning, though, has made us numb. Seeing the Yankees win is nothing unusual; we're used to it. Having to endure an Angels victory, however, is not as easily coped with. Like the immmunization process, a Yankees victory I can handle because I've been exposed to it over and over again. I have not, however, built up a sufficient resistance to Angels victories, and thus such a thing would be much more difficult to digest.

2. Based upon the advanced statistical nature of this website, I'm sure most of us here realize that the Angels play in the same division as us, while the Yankees do not. These division boundaries do not, of course, play a part in the postseason, but their lingering affects cannot be ignored. A regular season victory against the Angels is more valuable than a win against the Yankees because of the direct affect it has on the standings (which were, at least for a while, somewhat important). This divisional setup brings about an element of loathing which can be directed at the Angels, but not the Yankees. The Yankees I despise out of luxury, and the Angels out of necessity.

3. (This point only applies to California residents/anybody who has a friend who's an Angels fan). If 2002 was any indication, if the Angels advance any further, we will never hear the end of it. The world series triumph of 2002 wasn't simply something we were constantly reminded of during 2003; for years afterwards I was told of it. The Angels were always better than my team, I was told, because they won the world series a few years ago (the original notion was, of course, for the most part always true, but the reasoning never quite drilled the point home for me). It took years for people to stop talking about 2002, and I most certainly don't want to invest several more of them recovering from a 2009 Halo triumph. (I realize this point could also be made for Yankees fans, but I imagine there being more M's fans in southern California than New York, and therefore less suffering for M's fans if the Yankees do the winning)

4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

It is for these reasons that I have, for seven games at least, tossed my hat into the Yankees camp. Neither possible outcome is desirable, but one of these poisons I have found to be the lesser.

Additional thoughts or discrediting of my reasoning are welcome!

FootbaLL II

2009-10-20T22:44:43Z

LL football went off without a hitch last Saturday. (Unless you count little girls taking our field a problem)

I know I would like to play again ASAP, and other people seem excited to play again too. So what I'm suggesting is that we all meet again at 1 o'clock on Saturday (the 24th) at the Cal Anderson playfield. If worst comes to worst (worst being those infamous little girls) we will move to Seattle U's playfield. It held up pretty well considering the monsoon like weather that preceded us and all the good trampling we gave it.

So who's in?

People who are playing:

JamMasterJesus

Mariner John

Two Rs and Two Ls

Kirkharbaugh

Play Sports In Seattle

Jaejo

BrettJMiller

Tentative:

Fuzz

tootthekazoo

john bai

Johjima opts out of his contract

2009-10-19T16:44:17Z

here is Larry Larue's note; Jack Zduriencik is supposed to have a press conference at 10:30

"After lots of very deep thought and deliberation, I have decided to return home to resume my career in Japan," Johjima. "I have had a wonderful experience competing at the Major League level. The last four years have been extraordinary, with great teammates and great coaches.

"I will always be indebted to the Mariners organization for giving me the opportunity to follow my dream. This was a very difficult decision, both professionally and personally. I feel now is the time to go home, while I still can perform at a very high level. Playing close to family and friends was a major factor. I will miss the Seattle fans and their gracious support. Thank you all."

SoDo Mojo is Having a Free $100 Gift Certificate Giveaway

2009-10-18T22:28:33Z

Awhile ago, I made a fanpost here about a raffle we were having at my blog (which Taylor H writes at), SoDo Mojo. It became apparent pretty quickly that people weren't willing to pay for the raffle tickets, and that was completely understandable, so we completely scratched that idea, and decided to just go with a free giveaway.

It is completely free, and the prize is a $100 gift certificate to sportsmemorabilia.com, where an extremely wide variety of stuff is available. All you need to do to enter is shoot me an email at gregrabble@yahoo.com, and include your name. We'd love to get as many entries as possible to make it more interesting, so please feel free to not only enter, but tell any friends who you think might be interested in free shit about it.

The drawing will be next Saturday - it will just be a picking names from a hat kind of thing. Good luck to anyone who decides to enter. Thanks.

Just in case I left anything out, the original post at SoDo Mojo is here

The Brilliance of Jack Zduriencik

2009-10-17T05:38:26Z

The single most important aspect of sustaining a successful business is to distribute value equally amongst one’s assets.

The single most important aspect of sustaining a successful baseball organization is to distribute value equally amongst one’s assets.

Sense a similarity?

It ain't easy being a playa.

Jack Zduriencik is single-handedly proving that the “big-name free agent” is an inessential part of a winning baseball team. In fact, I would argue that GMZ is proving that the “big-name free agent” often causes more harm than good to a baseball team because by investing in one particular – and potentially spectacular – player, a high degree of risk is involved. Two problems are inherent in placing a significant amount of a team’s total value in one player.

___1) Injury: If the player gets hurt and has to miss a large amount of time recovering, the team as a whole loses a disconcertingly big amount of value (think ‘09 Chicago Cubs).

___2) Sporadic lack of production: If the player suddenly stops being productive for one reason or another, you’ve just bought yourself an albatross, presumably for a regrettably long period of time. (Note: this phenomenon is generally due to some overlooked factor like age.)

Exhibit A (The 2009 Mariners): On June 21st, with the M’s in the thick of the playoff race, Yuniesky Betancourt decides to collide with slick-fielding Endy Chavez in midair, knocking Chavez out for the season. Ryan Langerhans, Bill Hall, and Michael Saunders step in and make us forget Endy ever existed in a Mariners uniform. Later in the season, Adrian Beltre misses 6 weeks, and M’s fans are ready to put themselves on suicide watch. Fortunately, Z pulls Jack Hannahan out of a hat, who turns out a Beltre-esque UZR and even adds a respectable .311 OBP to boot. Then, newly acquired Jack Wilson injures his heel. No problem: His “J Wilson” counterpart, Josh, produces at a similar level both offensively and defensively during Jack’s absence.

The Seattle Mariners are going to be a successful baseball organization for years to come because Jack Zduriencik spreads value amongst an entire team instead of clustering it in several outstanding players.

(PS: If this is not LL-worthy, tell me, and I'll take this down.)

Your Friday Morning Fresh Slab of OFFTOP Goodness

2009-10-16T14:52:57Z

The last one was filling up, and I don't want to see Bruin's LLemmie voting post (go vote already if that's your thing!) get sidetracked with random stuff, so here's a new OFFTOP for all you eager little guys and gals to play with. What's on my OFFTOP mind this morning? Hmmmm.

1. The album's a few months old now, but I've fallen back in love with The Thermals' Now We Can See. Big, meaty power-pop chords, sharp, clever lyrics, and a relentless beat. What's not to like?

2. My entire team is off work on a team-building day at OMSI today. One of the joys of being a contractor is that I do not get to participate in team-building activities, which normally isn't a problem, but OMSI's pretty cool. But at least I get the whole floor to myself at work today. Does your work group ever do any sort of team-building thing? What's the best one you've ever done? Worst?

3. It's Garagefest this weekend. If any of you are going to be in town for it, let me know.

4. Championship Series favorites? I'm going with the Dodgers and the Yankees. But I wouldn't really care if the Phillies won. Anybody but the Angels, really.

Apart from LL football, anybody else have plans this weekend? Anything else to talk about?

2009 LLemmie Voting

2009-10-16T08:28:15Z

One vote per person in each category unless you're Jeff and you get Fogel's votes too

BEST FRONT-PAGE POSTER

Jeff - Matthew - Graham - "Robert"

Best Commenter

Fogel - Robert - abender20 - Eyebrows - Kermit. - acblue

Rookie of the Year

abender20 - royalcurve - Decatur - Attractive Nuisance - JamMaster Jesus

Comment of the Year, Non-Image

Foot Fetish by Fogel - Line Breaks by Matthew - The Lore of Coach Owens by OlSalty - I CAN HAZ FRANKLIN'S PENIS by Jeff - BBQ by abender20 - Silva Kiss by acblue

Comment of the Year, Small Subthread (comments < 10)

ASCII 9/11 by Eyebrows - Matthew Can Suck Fogel's Dick by Fogel & Matthew

Comment of the Year, Images Permitted

This is My Belief by Fett42

Comment of the Year, Images Permitted, Non-Fett Division

Stephen Strasburg Dead Due to Masturbation by Vatinius - Griffey Scooter by Wilder. - MSPaint Guti by Gihyou

Best FanPost

The Poem by Attractive Nuisance - Felix by Robert - Why Graham is Right by Graham

Best Front Page Post

Mariners Win the World Series - First Half Review, M's Go Driving - LL QC - Is This SPARTA?

Best Thread or Subthread

Scruffy .gif-bombs LL, Franklin Wins Game - Aumont to the Minors - Corcotopia - How to Get Lost in San Diego

Best Random Thread

Pike Street Stench - IS THE KID ON HIS WAY HOME -

Best LL Meltdown

LoLCat Night Announcement by Lookout Landing - THE NCAA FUCKED THE HUSKIES by Robert

Peoria Javelinas

2009-10-15T17:55:20Z

Seriously! Peoria Motherfucking JAVELINAS!!

Dustin Ackley is a vicious little fucker.

Peoria Javelinas! What a great team name. What's a Javelina? A miniature spear? Nope, it's a Peccary, a nasty hippo-pig native to the desert Southwest, and Central and South America.

Peccaries are medium-sized animals, with a strong superficial resemblance to pigs. ... By rubbing the tusks together they can make a chattering noise that warns potential predators not to get too close. Peccaries, indeed, are aggressive enough in temperament that, unlike Eurasian pigs, they cannot be domesticated as they are likely to injure humans. Indeed in recent years in northwestern Bolivia near Madidi National Park there have been reports of people being seriously injured and killed by large groups of peccaries.

Hell yeah! I love this pig-like Tayassuidae! So now I can go to MLB.com, click "Minor League Shop" and find me some motherfucking Peoria Javelinas gear, right? No? What?? NO! Nothing!! Fack!!! Why the hell not? Hello, LOST REVENUE. Check out these Arizona Fall League logos:

Peoria Javelinas

Mesa Solar Sox

Surprise Rafters

Peoria Saguaros

Phoenix Desert Dogs

Scottsdale Scorpions

I like the Solar Sox logo too, and the Surprise Rafters nickname. But I really want a Javelinas cap. How do I get one?

Fuckin' Javelinas dude.

Ackley, concerned that an actual Javelina might be on his tail.