tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19273299391005826322011-11-27T16:20:03.551-08:00The Tank McNamara of sports blogsJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.comBlogger2261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-7916392977441411792010-07-19T06:20:00.000-07:002010-07-19T06:21:56.006-07:00

Over to another host. I'll still have to settle on a design. The one I'm using seems a little bland and lacking.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-88888871260790165762010-07-16T11:54:00.000-07:002010-07-16T11:56:32.231-07:00

More of David Foster Wallace on tennis. Here's my favorite part:Beauty is not the goal of competitive sports, but high-level sports are a prime venue for the expression of human beauty. The relation is roughly that of courage to war.The human beauty we’re talking about here is beauty of a particular type; it might be called kinetic beauty. Its power and appeal are universal. It has nothing to do

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-89607126908457109812010-07-16T09:06:00.000-07:002010-07-16T09:50:58.197-07:00

3) "Oh, I suppose you could do better?" No, I couldn't. I'd be a lousy announcer, for sure. But I don't need to know how to make a movie to know that Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a stinker. I don't need to know how to play guitar to know Loverboy was a lousy band. I don't need to know how to cook a really good burger in order to know when I'm eating a crummy one. (As it happens, I do

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-31919985378213807342010-07-16T07:52:00.000-07:002010-07-16T07:57:05.074-07:00

Dig.3) Drop the arrogance of specificity. Use ranges when possible.We’re measuring luck. Luck isn’t exact. So we’ll never be right on the money. You’ll never be able to find a season where a significant number of players have an xBA equal to their actual batting average. That makes us look stupid, when in fact, we’re just being arrogant — by being so exact.We should use ranges. xBA should

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-44120283671223740312010-07-16T06:48:00.000-07:002010-07-16T06:57:47.251-07:00

I read this for the Bethlehem Shoals parts. He can be a little esoteric for my tastes, but when I grok him, I dig him.By the time my friends and I started our sports blog, FreeDarko, I had done a decent amount of music criticism, and was in grad school for American studies. Typing for a few minutes when I had a stray thought about Kobe Bryant didn’t strike me as anything particularly special...

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-69901127033689851312010-07-14T10:34:00.001-07:002010-07-14T10:39:40.055-07:00

Allen Barra weighs in on Big Stein. I like Barra, even if he seems to have a bias for the Yankees and the Crimson Tide. He is underrated by the blogosphere. For instance, Football Outsiders didn't acknowledge his work with George Ignatin on football stats. At least this was the case last time I checked a couple of years back. I apologize if this has been rectified.Bill Veeck, the legendary

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-88375773807965948522010-07-14T08:50:00.000-07:002010-07-14T08:58:50.944-07:00

I'm dimly aware of Harvey Pekar. I probably saw him on Letterman way back when, but I never read him. I probably should rectify this. He seems like he'd be right up my alley. I'm a fan of the graphic novel form. I haven't been into superheros much. I think the peak of my fandom was one some local channel reran the Superman TV series from the 50s. But I have enjoyed such varied works as

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-92119569919083009472010-07-14T05:02:00.000-07:002010-07-14T05:04:01.887-07:00

Geeze, Louise. I couldn't come up with worse dialogue than this drivel if I tried. Killer shark issues?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-68940329678354081272010-07-13T13:37:00.001-07:002010-07-13T13:40:14.006-07:00

Was Will Clark really a well known a-hole? I don't recall that, but he was an NL West guy and I'm an AL East guy.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-13917206300738312782010-07-13T08:48:00.000-07:002010-07-13T08:54:19.668-07:00

Can't Stop The Bleeding didn't get that memo and I laughed at their headline. Roger Kahn's book October Men makes the case that his Watergate conviction was a screwjob. I wasn't a big fan of the man, but he deserves a Hall of Fame spot. I'll try to expand on that thought later.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-16438488820916523642010-07-13T06:41:00.000-07:002010-07-13T06:42:30.958-07:00

I always like it when Chris over at Smart Football makes posts like this.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-9174867430546167262010-07-13T05:09:00.000-07:002010-07-13T05:22:15.875-07:00

Baseball1. Baseball Reference2. Retrosheet3. Fangraphs4. Baseball ProspectusBasketball1. Basketball Reference2. College Basketball Reference3. Basketball ProspectusFootball1. Pro Football Reference2. Football OutsidersHockey1. Hockey Reference2. Puck ProspectusI think those are the major non-mediaconglomerate stat sites. Am I missing anything?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-73989422882446620342010-07-13T04:46:00.000-07:002010-07-13T04:49:15.718-07:00

I don't link many stories like this here, but this one caught my eye. Battlefield archaeology is a cool topic.MYSTIC, Conn. – Artifacts of a battle between a Native American tribe and English settlers, a confrontation that helped shape early American history, have sat for years below manicured lawns and children's swing sets in a Connecticut neighborhood. A project to map the battlefields of the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-78152478049917167232010-07-12T12:52:00.001-07:002010-07-12T12:52:42.321-07:00

However, do not park it at Jiffy Park. Lord knows what will go on in that car.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-24946272898909016332010-07-12T11:00:00.001-07:002010-07-12T11:01:48.503-07:00

He wasn't a president, but today is the feast day of Alexander Hamilton and his death was more interesting than the death of most of the presidents.Aawon Buh!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-90303152041554969242010-07-12T10:38:00.001-07:002010-07-12T10:43:27.038-07:00

Every Day Should Be Saturday makes Deadspin look like the Dick Cavett show, but I have them in my Reader. Their latest post admonishes poll voters to get a DVR and watch all the games. This might be more important for voters for individual awards like the Outland Trophy. Football stats might not mean much on the individual level, but when it comes to ranking teams, can't you just use Sagarin

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-56141885801376976232010-07-12T08:12:00.001-07:002010-07-12T08:34:26.155-07:00

A long, detailed analysis of the (Cliff Lee)deal on Monday probably has some value, but it’s so greatly diminished by the volume of things we’re going to see between now and then makes it near zero. I think the time part of the analysis is shrinking. What used to be 48 hours is now maybe 12. Anything beyond that, no matter how good, isn’t going to matter. I hate the ever-shrinking news cycle.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-72332607787791948262010-07-12T07:52:00.000-07:002010-07-12T07:53:27.763-07:00

Another one going out to p.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-19897720095752905472010-07-12T07:26:00.001-07:002010-07-12T07:54:18.114-07:00

Milford must have had a ton of snow days because summer vacation is just starting now. I must say that the Occurrence at Funky Winkerbean Bridge is more interesting than this story about an alt-country pitcher who slightly resembles Tim Lincecum, but Batiuk moves as slow as an appellate judge. The writers at Gil Thorp Enterprise pace their stuff marginally quicker. Hopefully, Clambake or Von

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-17589216824191056242010-07-09T08:38:00.000-07:002010-07-09T08:40:11.432-07:00

More recent vintage base ball. I play in one of their leagues. If you are in the area, I'll be in a doubleheader topmorrow.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-67783369430523311982010-07-09T05:14:00.000-07:002010-07-09T05:16:02.786-07:00

For p: the SI Vault story on Pete Rose's free agency.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-28459738881047007552010-07-08T08:42:00.000-07:002010-07-08T08:48:04.946-07:00

I haven't written about the concept of Maranvillains lately, but this Patrick Sullivan article brought to mind the antithesis of Rabbitt and his heirs: Dice-K.Also, just like so many other Red Sox fans, Daisuke drives me nuts. He works slowly and walks way too many batters. In his final four seasons for the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka averaged 2.3 walks issued per nine innings. For the Red Sox, his

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-27999013136586884802010-07-08T07:17:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:18:28.280-07:00

Another single strip blog. How long has the current storyline been going on? It seems like forever. Does anyone read these soap strips in a non-ironic fashion?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-21948674885894313162010-07-08T06:59:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:04:16.417-07:00

Don Coryell's offensive-minded approach helped spark a passing revolution in professional football.Mr. Coryell, who died Thursday at age 85, was the designer of the "Air Coryell" offense for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. His teams never made it to the Super Bowl—a fact that may have kept Mr. Coryell out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame—but they exemplified a wide-open style

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-58583880239254908932010-07-08T06:26:00.000-07:002010-07-08T06:27:53.365-07:00

Tennis sabermetrics. This is a sport I'd like to get into more someday.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-91890503230556855242010-07-07T17:32:00.000-07:002010-07-07T18:54:33.033-07:00

I caught June 17, 1994 last month. It (among other things) inspired me to look up the issue of Sports Illustrated that covered that day. While looking through that issue, I stumbled upon this article about a vintage base ball team that had been playing in Ohio since 1981. I wonder if the baseball strike inspired these guys to get off the couch and play. Why not? The Cosmic Baseball

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-13276584335503228102010-07-07T12:43:00.000-07:002010-07-08T05:01:44.930-07:00

I'm ... going to choose to agree to disagree with the famous medhead here. I welcome comments. Comments, at their heart, are as much about pageviews as they are about the conversation.I am not going to get enough pageviews for it to make a monetary difference. I do desire some feedback and appreciate the comments I do get. Craig Calcaterra once said words to the effect that blogging is a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-65587618475945383152010-07-07T07:21:00.000-07:002010-07-07T07:27:50.746-07:00

I'm not posting this because I have a Joe Johnson fetish. The postscript caught my eye.P.S. Do you like the shorter posts? This was a topic discussed during the panel on sports and blogging at the Western Economic Association. Justin Wolfers says the posts at Freakonomics are supposed to be 400 words or shorter. I responded that I struggled with the 800 word limit at Huffington Post.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-26998880029191309612010-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:002010-07-06T11:36:53.959-07:00

Foghat and Blue Oyster Cult are coming to Enfield, CT next Saturday nite. I won't be around for this show, but I've seen both bands over the years. Foghat played Finnegan's in San Angelo, TX my last nite at Goodfellow AFB. One of my brothers and I went to Toad's Place in New Haven on the spur of the moment to see BOC. This was in the 90s and they had some dedicated fans. They sang along to

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-64761878205908746812010-07-06T04:24:00.000-07:002010-07-06T04:33:46.738-07:00

I got the idea for these from this post a couple of weeks back.JabberjawP Don DrydockC Carlton Fish1B Gill Hodges2B Frankie Fish3B Ken CalimariSS Luis AquaricioLF Willie StarfishCF Curt FloodRF Tim SalmonFlintstonesP Sandy KoufaxC Elstone Howard1B Stony Perez2B Ryne Sandstone3B Brooks RockinsonSS Cal RipapLF Rock Raines (Tom Tango will be pleased)CF Mickey MantleRF Stony Gwynn

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-32466990495773734782010-07-04T18:40:00.000-07:002010-07-04T19:04:47.304-07:00

Thomas Jefferson is on the $2 bill. A certain gangster-owned legitimate business near me likes to hand them out as change for some reason. Jefferson was no fan of doctors. He would gaze upwards for a buzzard whenever he saw three physicians together. He especially distrusted the practice of bleeding and purging.He had urinary problems in his last months, possibly from an enlarged prostate. But

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-43247846338154464752010-07-02T09:14:00.000-07:002010-07-02T09:15:33.188-07:00

Outstanding entry by Josh.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-46196943919244105722010-07-02T07:40:00.000-07:002010-07-02T07:51:52.231-07:00

TV Tropes discusses the Cerebus Syndrome where a lighthearted piece of art morphs (some would say jumps the shark) into serious drama. Who knows. Maybe Act III is more analogous to Trapper John M.D. of AfterM*A*SH.I actually like the current car crash storyline, but it's moving like Quaaludes-laced molasses. I don't think Funky has given up the ghost. Masky McDeath hasn't shown up yet.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-54067757176851947722010-07-02T06:26:00.000-07:002010-07-02T07:23:33.711-07:00

1. Chris Dial says that the score in that game on 6/14/1987 was 7-3. He's right. I forgot to fact-check that. Someone else commented on my blog that the game was inspired by this game. Said it was documented in Jeff Pearlman's book "The Bad Guys Won." I did read that book once when I had the notion to write about the 1986 Red Sox season, but I didn't recall that.2. Devin McC is of the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-9477638806372999312010-07-01T19:41:00.000-07:002010-07-01T20:01:03.381-07:00

Carson Cistulli is at it again. Hi, Carson. (He ego-surfs, so he might see this.) He corresponds with Drew Fairservice whose writing appears at Ghostrunner on First and other points north. I corresponded with him myself a while back. I haven't really touched on Rabbit Maranville and his bastard children lately, but I got the idea from Free Darko. Fairservice is an acolyte of them:Liberated

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-9717738302912397642010-07-01T19:27:00.000-07:002010-07-01T19:40:58.377-07:00

I read this David Foster Wallace piece today. Wimbeldon's going on right now, after all. And Wallace seems to have a cult following that I'm trying to understand. (I think that both Bill Simmons and Bethlehem Shoals are fans.) I did like it even though Wallace and I are polar opposites when it comes to writing. I am terse while he was expansive; like a Joe Posnanski or Aaron Gleeman. Too, I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-31712373887471264172010-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:002010-07-01T10:27:47.836-07:00

The Economist discusses snowclones; those phrases like "X is the new Y" or "It's X's world. We're just living in it." I pretended to read the article.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-2553353811759602742010-07-01T04:58:00.000-07:002010-07-01T05:06:36.905-07:00

The short answer, according to the Hardball Times: Pretty accurately, but not perfectly. I wanted to link to this article by Colin Wyers because I thought it was important. Yet I didn't see much discussion about it when it came out and I hang out online in some of the some places that statheads do. Here's the important part:Some things to take away from the chart:Power hitters are far more "

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-64564865377396355602010-06-30T19:33:00.000-07:002010-06-30T19:43:26.168-07:00

Last nite, Rob Neyer posted about Lenny Dykstra at his Sweet Spot blog. To me, the most interesting part was the last graf:And speaking of books, most baseball players really aren't interesting enough to write about. Not in a serious biography, anyway. But Dykstra's different. Between his baseball career and his business adventures and the fractured relationship with his baseball-playing son,

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-64369185134938014882010-06-30T18:24:00.000-07:002010-06-30T18:31:39.836-07:00

NBC Connecticut link. I plan on aggregating these as stories are posted.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-24745562262610975752010-06-30T05:01:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:02.706-07:00

Rob Neyer would do these; even wrote a whole book of them. I was hanging out at BTF last nite (the Factory, not Backyard Tire Fire) and someone mentioned the Second Spitter Seinfeld episode. They said, " They say the game was June 14, 1987, Mets/Phillies, and Keith had blown the game on an error. It turns out that the Mets played the Pirates that day and won 7-4 on with the help of a Hernandez

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-71570827413333028972010-06-29T07:29:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.316-07:00

I saw this title and immediately thought of Baseball Think Factory instead of Backyard Tire Fire. My worlds are colliding!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-61810273649592730542010-06-29T07:10:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.317-07:00

Is Funky Winkerbean dead, alive, or somewhere in between?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-15867953082214915872010-06-29T04:54:00.000-07:002010-06-29T05:07:25.398-07:00

I found the announcement of James Madison's death in the Hartford Courant. It was in the July 4th edition of that paper. News travelled slower back then. It wasn't a separate story. Instead, it was included with a couple of other dispatches from that part of the country. One of the other ones involved a son of Francis Scott Key.His son Francis was a midshipman at Annapolis. But he was

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-4958584691643046402010-06-28T09:47:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:06:03.275-07:00

I hung a calender from the Baseball Hall of Fame on my office wall. Some days it has a brief blurb on that particular date in baseball history. Today, it notes that Frank Thomas hit his 500th home run three years ago on 6/28. Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit that day, too. As many of you know, Frank Thomas was born on 5/27 in 1968. So was Jeff Bagwell. When The Big Hurt takes The Big Sleep,

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-69974500567585979562010-06-28T04:34:00.000-07:002010-06-28T04:54:22.291-07:00

I guess that this is ostensibly a baseball blog. I love baseball and enjoyed driving through the eastern part of the state yesterday afternoon while listening to the Red Sox - Giants game on the radio, but the baseball muse hasn't been inspiring me lately, but that's okay. I got the idea for writing what may turn out to be a new series from Alice Cooper. I was listening to "Nights With Alice

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-33878105302341180942010-06-25T07:59:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:29:16.351-07:00

Stumbled across this this morning. This guy's really into FBoFW, but he takes on other comic strips as well. Today, he discusses Cathy. AAACCKK!!!

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-68978961296189633262010-06-24T08:43:00.001-07:002010-06-30T12:29:24.673-07:00

... was that kid from Harvard the best college point guard last year? I guess you have to adjust for age, so John Wall has room to improve. I also understand that many folks prefer Hollinger's metrics over those from Dave Berri, but does anyone know how this works? Moses? Are they adjusted for competition level or is Lin the modern day Bill Bradley?Speaking of Bradley, someone suggest that I

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-81201755266251510442010-06-23T04:54:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:59.603-07:00

Punice: A play on a name using a stone Age pun a la The Flinstones. I was reading the Whiskeypedia entry for Jabberjaw and that cartoon did the same thing with watery puns like Aqualaska. Never you mind why I was reading about Jabberjaw before work.Anyways, the All-Punice baseball team will be managed by Stony LaRussa and he'll use a bunch of LOOGYs like Stony Fossas, That's all I have for

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-47142744890086157512010-06-22T09:23:00.000-07:002010-06-22T09:26:23.648-07:00

Buzz Bissinger on his membership in the Twitterati.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-61028307450914313082010-06-22T08:14:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.318-07:00

Today's Crankshaft is funny if taken together with yesterday’s strip. But reading the funnies shouldn’t be this much work. You’re supposed to look at three panels and laugh. It isn’t like this is a graphic novel where you can read the whole story in one fell swoop. The way this is playing out, it is like Chinese water torture. And don't let me get started on Funky Winkerbean. Other folks do a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-82836119345776296542010-06-19T07:16:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:46.120-07:00

Stumbled across this site thanks to Senator Blutarsky. There series on program and talent rankings intrigues me. It reminds me a little of the work that Chris Jaffe has done on evaluating baseball managers. Could we evaluate college football coaches on how well or poorly they convert bluechip recruits into NFL performers? I don't think that's the only mission of coaches, but let's be honest.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-83478070386566484972010-06-18T07:44:00.000-07:002010-06-18T07:45:35.663-07:00

Never heard of this sport before. Sounds like polo without mallets.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-68098461598055446022010-06-18T06:52:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:29:49.674-07:00

Mark S reviews some political noir.American Tabloid by James Ellroy was a giant curveball by the hard-boiled detective writer. Those of us who loved his L.A. Quartet didn't know what to expect when Ellroy finished with the 50s and started on the 1960s. The writing stayed as hard-boiled as ever, but Ellroy upped the scope from Los Angeles to the entire nation with a book that covers Kennedy's

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-25677998002302990412010-06-18T04:53:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:46.121-07:00

I expand on my thoughts from yesterday and Howard Megdal (future GM of the Mets) chimes in as well. I really enjoy writing for the Perpetual Post. I find that it challenges me and I hope my writing becomes stronger for it. Plus, I learned how much Dan Szymborski likes cheese.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-9496587769759371372010-06-17T07:19:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:46.122-07:00

The Wall Street Journal weighs in on college conference realignment. Right now the Great Realignment of 2010 is more of a whimper than a bang. The way folks were talking, it sounded like changes would've been more radical. Then again, the Pac 16 would have still been more Pacific than the Pacific Coast League.I don't know about relegation, but there are some big conference/small conference

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-46567576813377943772010-06-17T05:22:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:30:02.655-07:00

The low-speed O.J. Simpson chase took place 16 years ago today. I was at work, so I didn't catch it on TV, but I saw the ESPN documentary last nite. I've dabbled in writing about sports and crime before . I'm thinking about doing it more often. There's the murder of Jasper Howard. There are also a few other high profile incidents that I'd like to discuss in the near future. Be patient,

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-8650997406125294522010-06-16T09:52:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.319-07:00

Gil Thorp has a character that is a dead-ringer for Napoleon Dynamite. Is that even legal?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-77551093652437436752010-06-16T04:14:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:06:03.277-07:00

Craig Calcaterra deserves partial blame for this blog. When I heard that NBC signed him, I decided to start blogging again. Why? Did I think it would be a path to fame and fortune? I'm not sure, but here we are and I believe that I've written more in the past nine months than I had before. I should have a couple of pieces elsewhere later this week.Craig still contributes a daily column at

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-21749848203340012132010-06-15T04:27:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:20:51.427-07:00

I loved the song "Big Bad John" as a kid. Let's see one of these modern guys do a song like that. Maybe Steve Earle could, but I doubt he'd be up to starting a sausage empire afterwards.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-57458329584271477072010-06-14T07:49:00.000-07:002010-06-14T07:50:56.093-07:00

If someone tells you that baseball is the only sport that receives this pining-for-the-old-days type of treatment in the press, they should know better after reading this.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-45629077918828240792010-06-14T06:16:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:26.294-07:00

When I first started this blog, I toyed with the idea of calling it What's Pastime Is Prologue and comparing a story in the headlines to one from the past. Some folks have done this with Stephen Strasburg and we are now acquainting ourselves with or reaquaintanting ourselves with Karl Spooner. In Boston last Thursday, the Celtics beat the Lakers in Game Four of the NBA Finals thanks, in large

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-14125362898283435242010-06-14T04:58:00.000-07:002010-06-14T05:04:14.015-07:00

The link is in the title. I'm not sure if this is a new feature, but I just noticed it. Anyhoo, this guy is a football game theorist, not a racing one. He raises an interesting point, but I used to watch a lot of NASCAR when the Hayseed still lived up here in Connecticut and there are a lot of other considerations. Sometimes drivers play it safe and race for points instead of the win. You

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-85261988339325426632010-06-11T04:51:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:30:50.847-07:00

Crossposted from Residual Prolixity:The Catch was disappointing. I was hoping that it would go into more about how San Francisco overtook the Cowboys as an NFC power. The book does touch on that, but it could have gone into more depth.Sure, they mentioned the West Coast Offense, but the author didn't explain how the rule changes a few years earlier made it feasible. Or how those changes may have

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-23074656267953613802010-06-10T04:55:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:26.295-07:00

I appear in a Perpetual Post piece about UConn's men's hoops along with Howard Megdal. We also discussed the team (and college sports in general) on the radio along with Jason Clinkscales.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-23586422653414457712010-06-09T13:36:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:31:24.398-07:00

LinkHat Tip to Chris at Smart Football.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-15675767163677038512010-06-09T10:48:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.320-07:00

That Comics Examiner is a hidden gem. His style differs from Josh Fruhlinger’s, but it’s just as funny. If I had to explain the difference between CE and CC, I’d guess that it’s less hipster-inspired, but I’m not good at deconstructing stuff like this. In any case, it’s sort of too meta for even me to be commenting on comics commentators.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-24204667943291025482010-06-09T09:17:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:31:59.737-07:00

Soccer's a pretty low priority branch on my sports tree, but I liked this article from Marketwatch. I think I'm more of a strat(egy)head than stathead. Hence, I find sites like Smart Football* interesting. Differing ethnic styles of sports also interest me as well, so this was right up my alley.* It's about the other football.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-2378102466068793662010-06-09T09:01:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:32:10.595-07:00

Jack Nicklaus and Joseph HartWarren Beatty and Richard Corriere

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-32498772632804751152010-06-09T08:51:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.659-07:00

And Jason Beattie is there to mock him.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-72816914441731938302010-06-09T05:27:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.661-07:00

S. Strasburg (as OldHossRadbourn might call him) wasn't the only hyped prospect to debut recently. There's also Mike Stanton. Mike Stanton (reliever) and Hanley Ramirez played together on the '05 Red Sox. Ramirez now plays with Mike Stanton (prospect.)

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-52809434521914564172010-06-07T04:29:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.662-07:00

This one links two Joe Jacksons.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-29631545860274826702010-06-04T10:50:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.663-07:00

Josh Wilker opines about the Joyce Call at Huffington Post.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-20909927474985040152010-06-04T04:46:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.321-07:00

The Comics Examiner

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-59618710522294225442010-06-03T06:45:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.664-07:00

I feel tempted to say something about events from yesterday. But then I recall a lesson I learned.Don't sound more like everyone else than anyone else is able to sound like everyone else. Write meaningful and original thoughts and write them well.I think I have the originality part down. I'll occasionally link a blogpost that catches my fancy, but I don't intend for this place to become

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-58131406218235392202010-06-03T04:38:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:32:28.561-07:00

I have a new piece over at Seamheads. I think I know what to call these literary exercises now. They are loops with a twist; sort of like Mobius strips. IMO, that's the best term for these.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-34030700330393368582010-06-02T08:49:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.666-07:00

I liked this post today about recruiting baseball players with non-traditional backgrounds. Football has been converting power forwards like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates into tight ends. I don't see why someone doesn't try this with pitchers. Plenty of past pitchers had hoops backgrounds; Tim Stoddard, Gene Conley, Ron Reed, and Bob Gibson are just a few. They probably have less wear and

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-31787413531911444492010-06-02T05:17:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:33:13.148-07:00

Fred Thompson was minority counsel during the Watergate hearings and worked with Senator Howard Baker. Baker was later Ronald Reagan's chief of staff. Reagan was in The Girl From Jones Beach with an actor named Eddie Bracken and Bracken appeared in Baby's Day Out with Thompson. There's a longer loop involving Thompson that goes all the way through Jason Sehorn, but I haven't figured out all

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-29305581227859337972010-06-01T04:16:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:02.708-07:00

Saw this article on Law and Order over the weekend. I like how it compares L&O to a classic detective story whereas other cop shows like Homicide or NYPD Blue were more hard-boiled. Interestingly, they are both part of the Tommy Westphall Universe thanks to Detective Munch. But real life links interest me more. Through Fred Thompson, L&O (sounds like a railroad, doesn't it?) can connect the

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-58084758366367976532010-05-31T13:58:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:26.296-07:00

Speaking of Snipes....One of my early posts here was about sports and ethnicity. I was discussing the Irish and baseball 130 years ago. Around that time I talked a bit on this site about my admiration for the hoops blog Free Darko. Here's a post there that I missed on basketball in the Philippines. I'm more than three months late on this one, but I wanted to pass it on. Enjoy.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-58916182278839522982010-05-31T13:45:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:59.604-07:00

Dennis Hopper passed away the other day. Over at Twitter I remarked: "Hopper one of the best links in the Kevin Bacon game last time I checked. RIP" I was more right than I thought. Last time I checked was when I was writing The Astigmatic Eye. He had moved up from #10 to #3 from 2001 to 2005. Turns out he was the Center of the Hollywood Universe at the time of his passing. No one should

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-7238864037019912172010-05-28T10:20:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:46.124-07:00

I started following this blog because Chris at Smart Football kept linking and mentioning it. The fact that the writer's nom de blog is Senator Blutarsky and that he has a cool pic of James Brown and (I believe) Vince Dooley sealed the deal. Anyways, he links to a preview that names the University of South Carolina as a darkhorse candidate for the 2010 national championship. Guess who beat

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-82239987757078613212010-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:002010-05-28T09:26:20.491-07:00

For those who know me from The Factory. I can't figure out how to upload it, so here is the link.It's serendipity that's it is two years old today.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-69083447261998355012010-05-28T07:29:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:59.605-07:00

Werner Herzog or Whitey Herzog?

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-76591194982332715862010-05-28T05:21:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.670-07:00

1. Saw Robin Hood the other day. Had no idea it was supposed to be a prequel. I'm not a Medieval history buff, so I thought it was an alright way to spend a couple of hours. Also, the end credits and some of the music reminded me of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.2. Ronnie James Dio died earlier this month. He was older than I thought he was. When I went through my heavy metal phase in high

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-69887678965699615742010-05-27T08:27:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:10:46.125-07:00

I think that this links to my piece on Mike Morgan. If not, run it through archive.org and see if it comes up. I used up a lot of my creative capital on that one and it was a while before I wrote something that I thought approached it in quality. I even ripped myself off once and wrote about George Blanda. I submitted that piece to Football Outsiders, but they rejected it. It was

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-16623995461511853732010-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:34:28.518-07:00

TFTIO want to see some of my non-baseball scribblings. For a while I had a blog I called The Astigmatic Eye that was basically a dump of various things from my My Documents folder. The Golfing Bear was Opus 1. That's what got the ball rolling. The formatting is all fouled up for some reason. My apologies. Here's a mini-mystery story. And, last but not least, this is a how I envisioned a

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-49911665099470468752010-05-27T06:31:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.672-07:00

Josh Wilker and Bill Lee. I love 'em both. Saw Lee a couple of times when he rolled through greater Hartford. He was a joy to talk to. As far Josh: I've said it before. He has the best baseball blog out there.I'll have some more stuff to say later today about writing, God willing.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-88538918543021743602010-05-26T09:45:00.001-07:002010-06-30T12:35:00.106-07:00

I give it to them as Ennui Willie Keeler in comment #3.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-55329577653703789162010-05-26T07:41:00.001-07:002010-06-30T12:38:25.506-07:00

The best writer at Fangraphs (Carson Cistulli) has been doing a series called Why We Write. Here's the latest entry. I'm no rock star of the sabersphere, so he's not gonna ask me. But I'll try to answer anyways.In my high school entrance exam, I tested pretty high across the board and wound up thrown in an English class I wasn't prepared for (it had the pretentious title of Literary Arts.)

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-57761222251716723012010-05-26T06:54:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.675-07:00

LinkI appreciate the fact that Baer is one of the few younger guns of sabermetric writing that hangs out at BTF, so I'll let his anti-Catholic bigotry slide. But I think he overstates some saberist conclusions. For instance pitchers control over the batting overage on balls put in play against them (commonly referred to as BABIP.) Ever since Voros McCracken came up with his Defense Independent

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-54243036029058735332010-05-25T11:46:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.675-07:00

This is what I've been talking about.Did you know that Moyer's first start was against Steve Carlton? When Carlton was a rookie, he once appeared in the same game as Warren Spahn. Also in the article, we get to know what wezenball does during the day.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-7409272947583676862010-05-24T04:16:00.001-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.676-07:00

Opening Day was this weekend for me.It turns out that Hi And Lois may be from Connecticut after all.I made a throwaway reference to Skunk Baxter on Thursday. It turns out that he is quite the polymath. There aren't too many other missile defense experts who play guitar like him.I've continued watching Mad Men. This time I went right to the first several episodes. Not only is it a period piece

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-58288003861475239342010-05-21T07:03:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:02.709-07:00

About six weeks ago, I came across a video store that was going out of business. Scarfed up Season Two of Mad Men for $8. Better late than never, I suppose.One disappointment. I kept waiting for Betty Draper to get out of some domestic mess by wiggling her nose. If that happens, it happens in one of the other seasons. Too, Mark Moses plays "Duck" Phillips. I didn't realize it, but he was

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-50414993982086801362010-05-20T06:33:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:19:02.710-07:00

I don't know if NBC still uses that slogan. They did back in the days of Cheers and Seinfeld. And they still have a pretty strong Thursday comedy lineup: Community, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, and The Office (although I hear that's in the Ken Griffey phase of its career.)Chevy Chase is in Community. He's had a varied career. He was a municipality in Maryland at one point. He played drums in an

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-70092828050023211662010-05-19T07:01:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:38:50.139-07:00

Mark touches on Bloom County. To me, the 80s were the golden age of comic strips with Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, and The Far Side. I think I still have a collection or two of this strip lying around.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-47853102123901809002010-05-19T04:50:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.677-07:00

Gary Cooper portrayed Lou Gehrig. Lou Gehrig played with Dixie Walker. Dixie Walker played with Duke Snider. Duke Snider played with Gaylord Perry. Gaylord Perry played with Rafael Ramirez. Rafael Ramirez played with two Gary Coopers. Both were cup of coffee players; one Brave and one Astro. The Brave had one assist, two steals, and no hits. He never started a game and was mainly used as

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-59172191280396245732010-05-18T08:37:00.001-07:002010-06-30T12:38:50.141-07:00

That's one of the blogs in my Reader. I know Mark from The Factory. Our tastes don't always match, but we both like James Ellroy. Mark's a pretty voracious reader. Check his site out if you get a chance.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-31133913943920759412010-05-18T06:59:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:07:23.678-07:00

Ty Cobb and Ted Williams were friends until they had a spat over Rogers Hornsby and The Georgia Peach kicked The Splendid Splinter out of his hotel room. They don’t have nicknames in “The X Y” format anymore. I think the most recent notable one was The Mad Hungarian (Al Hrabosky), but I digress. Williams thought that Hornsby was a better hitter than Cobb. He may’ve had a point. There’s one

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927329939100582632.post-27657204529283515392010-05-17T12:14:00.000-07:002010-06-30T12:12:17.322-07:00

Witness today's Hi and Lois. In fact, that looks like Burnside Ice LLC on Tolland Street in East Hartford.

Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com0