Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Friday, December 6, 2013
MLB Hot Stove
I was reflecting on the recent free agent contracts doled out to Jacoby Ellsbury (7/153m) and Robinson Cano (10/240m) and couldn't help but think of all the long-term deals that never paid off for the winning bidder. Part of the issue is age. Most players are right around 30 when they get their first taste of free agency. They've already peaked as players and teams are paying for those prime years that are now in the rearview.
More recently, however, teams have started locking up their own star players earlier so they never even reach free agency. Just look at the long-term contract extensions signed by Elvis Andrus (24 when signed), Buster Posey (26) and Joey Votto (28) in the past 2 years.
I tried to put together a list of the absolute best, no dispute, greatest long-term (7+ years) contracts of all time:
A-Rod, 2001 (10/252m)
Derek Jeter, 2001 (10/189m)
Manny Ramirez, 2001 (8/160m)
Miguel Cabrera, 2008 (8/152m)
Albert Pujols, 2004 (7/100m)
Huh, only 5? At least 2001 was a pretty good year for long-term deals. How about the rest of the bunch?
A-Rod, 2008 (10/275m)
Albert Pujols, 2012 (10/240m)
Joey Votto, 2012 (10/225m)
Prince Fielder, 2012 (9/214m)
Joe Mauer, 2010 (8/184m)
Mark Teixeira, 2009 (8/180m)
Justin Verlander, 2013 (7/180m)
Felix Hernandez, 2013 (7/175m)
Buster Posey, 2013 (8/167m)
CC Sabathia, 2009 (7/161m)
Matt Kemp, 2012 (8/160m)
Adrian Gonzalez, 2011 (7/154m)
Carl Crawford, 2011 (7/142m)
Todd Helton, 2003 (9/141m)
David Wright, 2013 (8/138m)
Alfonso Soriano, 2007 (8/136m)
Vernon Wells, 2008 (7/126m)
Barry Zito, 2007 (7/126m)
Jayson Werth, 2011 (7/126m)
Mike Hampton, 2001 (8/121m)
Elvis Andrus, 2013 (8/120m)
Jason Giambi, 2002 (7/120m)
Matt Holliday, 2010 (7/120m)
Carlos Beltran, 2005 (7/119m)
Ken Griffey, Jr., 2000 (9/116m)
Dustin Pedroia, 2013 (8/110m)
Kevin Brown, 1999 (7/105m)
Scott Rolen, 2003 (8/90m)
Chase Utley, 2007 (7/85m)
Ryan Braun, 2008 (8/45m)
Wow, 30 vs 5. Of course, it's not fair to comment on some of the recently signed deals, but just look at the number of the stinkers on that list. Crawford, Wells, Zito, Hampton and Brown are all infamous for their albatross contracts. And some of the others (Griffey, Rolen, Werth, A-Rod #2) just never had a chance.
So I guess what I'm saying is, good luck to Seattle for Cano to work out and to the Yankees, as always, go fuck yourselves.
More recently, however, teams have started locking up their own star players earlier so they never even reach free agency. Just look at the long-term contract extensions signed by Elvis Andrus (24 when signed), Buster Posey (26) and Joey Votto (28) in the past 2 years.
I tried to put together a list of the absolute best, no dispute, greatest long-term (7+ years) contracts of all time:
A-Rod, 2001 (10/252m)
Derek Jeter, 2001 (10/189m)
Manny Ramirez, 2001 (8/160m)
Miguel Cabrera, 2008 (8/152m)
Albert Pujols, 2004 (7/100m)
Huh, only 5? At least 2001 was a pretty good year for long-term deals. How about the rest of the bunch?
A-Rod, 2008 (10/275m)
Albert Pujols, 2012 (10/240m)
Joey Votto, 2012 (10/225m)
Prince Fielder, 2012 (9/214m)
Joe Mauer, 2010 (8/184m)
Mark Teixeira, 2009 (8/180m)
Justin Verlander, 2013 (7/180m)
Felix Hernandez, 2013 (7/175m)
Buster Posey, 2013 (8/167m)
CC Sabathia, 2009 (7/161m)
Matt Kemp, 2012 (8/160m)
Adrian Gonzalez, 2011 (7/154m)
Carl Crawford, 2011 (7/142m)
Todd Helton, 2003 (9/141m)
David Wright, 2013 (8/138m)
Alfonso Soriano, 2007 (8/136m)
Vernon Wells, 2008 (7/126m)
Barry Zito, 2007 (7/126m)
Jayson Werth, 2011 (7/126m)
Mike Hampton, 2001 (8/121m)
Elvis Andrus, 2013 (8/120m)
Jason Giambi, 2002 (7/120m)
Matt Holliday, 2010 (7/120m)
Carlos Beltran, 2005 (7/119m)
Ken Griffey, Jr., 2000 (9/116m)
Dustin Pedroia, 2013 (8/110m)
Kevin Brown, 1999 (7/105m)
Scott Rolen, 2003 (8/90m)
Chase Utley, 2007 (7/85m)
Ryan Braun, 2008 (8/45m)
Wow, 30 vs 5. Of course, it's not fair to comment on some of the recently signed deals, but just look at the number of the stinkers on that list. Crawford, Wells, Zito, Hampton and Brown are all infamous for their albatross contracts. And some of the others (Griffey, Rolen, Werth, A-Rod #2) just never had a chance.
So I guess what I'm saying is, good luck to Seattle for Cano to work out and to the Yankees, as always, go fuck yourselves.
FIFA 2014 World Cup Draw
Well, it's over. The US has already lost next year's World Cup. Welcome to the Group of Death:
Germany
Portugal
Ghana
I may be overreacting, but only a little. Germany is ranked #2 in the world behind only Spain. Portugal is ranked #5 and have one of the best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo (as well as my influence from being half Portuguese). Ghana is ranked #24 but has knocked the US out of the last two World Cups (both times by a score of 2-1). So, that's fun.
But wait... there's more. Due to where they were drawn, the US also has the FURTHEST TRAVEL DISTANCE OF ALL TEAMS with 8,866 miles between their three game sites in Brazil. Just wow.
I am ahomer patriot though so I've already worked out a way they could get out of the group and advance to the knockout round. The USMNT will want to avenge 2010's (and 2006's) knockout by Ghana so they'll be in top form and get the W. Portgual isn't a strong "team" so much as they are 1 star and some scrubs (not really, but I'm simplifying) so that could be a draw. Then, since we play Germany third, they may have already punched their ticket to the next round and would therefore have nothing to play for. See, we can sneak into Round 2! It's that easy!
If nothing else, it gives us something to talk about for the next 6 months. You never know how injuries will play into the situation or other distractions that may arise. Remember how surprisingly poor Italy, France and England were in 2010? Let's hope that's Germany, Portugal and Ghana in 2014!
Germany
Portugal
Ghana
I may be overreacting, but only a little. Germany is ranked #2 in the world behind only Spain. Portugal is ranked #5 and have one of the best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo (as well as my influence from being half Portuguese). Ghana is ranked #24 but has knocked the US out of the last two World Cups (both times by a score of 2-1). So, that's fun.
But wait... there's more. Due to where they were drawn, the US also has the FURTHEST TRAVEL DISTANCE OF ALL TEAMS with 8,866 miles between their three game sites in Brazil. Just wow.
I am a
If nothing else, it gives us something to talk about for the next 6 months. You never know how injuries will play into the situation or other distractions that may arise. Remember how surprisingly poor Italy, France and England were in 2010? Let's hope that's Germany, Portugal and Ghana in 2014!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Town Line Luxury Lanes
Last weekend Brig and I were figuring out what to do and decided to use the LivingSocial deal we bought for a bowling alley one town over. Just check out this website... fun and classy. The place turned out to be huge with 40+ lanes, an arcade, a grill (w/ alcohol!) and even a night club next door. Our deal allowed us 1 hour of bowling, shoe rentals, arcade tokens and a large cheese pizza. We had a great time!
We played almost 4 full games (I scored my best ever... 163!) and then hit up the arcade for some skee ball (hadn't done enough bowling, apparently) and air hockey. We came away with enough tickets for 2 Airheads and a Tootsie Roll. Then we ordered a pizza which took longer than you would think but was pretty good even though the cheese would all slide off if you held it a certain way. Still, we came away with a fun, new place to drink and play!
We played almost 4 full games (I scored my best ever... 163!) and then hit up the arcade for some skee ball (hadn't done enough bowling, apparently) and air hockey. We came away with enough tickets for 2 Airheads and a Tootsie Roll. Then we ordered a pizza which took longer than you would think but was pretty good even though the cheese would all slide off if you held it a certain way. Still, we came away with a fun, new place to drink and play!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Kanye West "Yeezus" [ADVANCE]
Speaking about the album's minimal promotion, West stated: "With this
album, we ain't drop no single to radio. We ain't got no NBA campaign, nothing like that. Shit, we ain't even got no cover. We just made some real music." He spoke of radio play and said "But honestly, at this point, when I listen to radio, that ain't what I wanna be no more."
I was looking for a quote like that [source: Wiki] which would really sum up the feeling of just how quiet it's been on the Kanye front... even though he was on SNL, is always seen with Kim and has a new album dropping. He's doing things differently this time around and it's never more evident then when you're listening to it.
If you watched Kanye perform on SNL and heard the two new songs he did you might think this is a racially charged album. I certainly went in thinking it would be dark, angry and make a statement. It did that (and more) but race was only one conversation; religion had a place and even some present and past romances formed the crux of this album.
Musically, it's all over the place. Per the wiki quote, you can tell Kanye isn't trying for radio hits. There are a lot of uncommon song structures -- verse, hook, bridge, hook, verse -- and with that comes a myriad of musical changes sometimes happening multiple times per song. The beginning doesn't sound like the middle doesn't sound like the end. At times, it's hard to keep the melody and follow the flow and as a listener it can be disorientating.
You'll also hear any number of influences. One song goes all 808's & Heartbreak with its use of Auto-Tune. A couple songs feature Justin Vernon, who was all over My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The first half of the record brings to mind Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. There's even some repeated use of screams throughout.
If I had to make a recommendation, the songs that stuck out to me are Hold My Liquor and Blood on the Leaves. Just know there were at least 6 songs I was considering here.
I was looking for a quote like that [source: Wiki] which would really sum up the feeling of just how quiet it's been on the Kanye front... even though he was on SNL, is always seen with Kim and has a new album dropping. He's doing things differently this time around and it's never more evident then when you're listening to it.
If you watched Kanye perform on SNL and heard the two new songs he did you might think this is a racially charged album. I certainly went in thinking it would be dark, angry and make a statement. It did that (and more) but race was only one conversation; religion had a place and even some present and past romances formed the crux of this album.
Musically, it's all over the place. Per the wiki quote, you can tell Kanye isn't trying for radio hits. There are a lot of uncommon song structures -- verse, hook, bridge, hook, verse -- and with that comes a myriad of musical changes sometimes happening multiple times per song. The beginning doesn't sound like the middle doesn't sound like the end. At times, it's hard to keep the melody and follow the flow and as a listener it can be disorientating.
You'll also hear any number of influences. One song goes all 808's & Heartbreak with its use of Auto-Tune. A couple songs feature Justin Vernon, who was all over My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The first half of the record brings to mind Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. There's even some repeated use of screams throughout.
If I had to make a recommendation, the songs that stuck out to me are Hold My Liquor and Blood on the Leaves. Just know there were at least 6 songs I was considering here.
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