Rumor has it that at midnight (Central), Fox News will be covering the arrival of the new year in the Central time zone by covering the ball drop in my home town, Manhattan, Kansas (The Little Apple). They are going to Manhattan (the big one) for the Eastern drop, Vegas for Mountain (I think), and L.A. for Pacific. Rather than go to Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, or wherever, Central gets The Little Apple.
WOOT O DESU!
12/31/05
Relief pitchers
ESPN.com published a couple of articles this week making the Hall of Fame cases for Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter. Good stuff, though of course it's no substitute for my analysis, which is after the jump.
Notes:
Discussion
Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersly, and Hoyt Wilhelm are the only relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame. Eckersly was inducted partly on the strength of his starting pitching, while Wilhelm and Fingers were recognized for their contribution to the evolution of the position. Wilhelm and Fingers, then, provide the only known criterion for admitting a pure reliever to the Hall of Fame. Namely, historical significance.
Bruce Sutter, along with Dan Quisenberry, Goose Gossage and a few others, pioneered the shift from general purpose reliever to specialized closer. Quisenberry and Sutter were the elite closers for their era, this even though their save numbers fall short of those posted by modern closers. Arguably, Sutter made a contribution to the evolution of the position and should be admitted to the Hall on that basis. A better argument, though, would make reference to the fact that Sutter dominated his position for six seasons.[1]
Sooner or later the voters are going to have to figure out what the standard is for a Hall of Fame reliever. This year, Aguilera, Jones, and Wetteland each showed up on the ballot with 300+ saves. That number seems to be the standard for a good, but not great, run as a closer. But what about Lee Smith? He's been on the ballot for three years and has been getting about half the votes needed for admission. This even though he's the all time saves leader with 478. By any reasonable standard Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer. The question is, how long will it take the voters to settle on a reasonable standard?
---------------
1 As an olde tyme Royals fan, I can't help but notice that these arguments for Sutter also apply to Quisenberry. Since that's so, I'm perplexed and offended by the fact that Quisenberry received only 18 votes in his single year of eligibility, while Sutter began with over 100 and has climbed to 344, a whisker short of election.
| SV | ERA | K/9IP | W - L | GS | GF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Aguilera | 318 | 3.57 | 7.18 | 86-81 | 89 | 557 |
| Goose Gossage | 310 | 3.01 | 7.47 | 124-107 | 37 | 681 |
| Doug Jones | 303 | 3.30 | 7.25 | 69-79 | 4 | 640 |
| Lee Smith | 478 | 3.03 | 8.73 | 71-92 | 6 | 802 |
| Bruce Sutter | 300 | 2.83 | 7.43 | 68-71 | 0 | 512 |
| John Wetteland | 330 | 2.93 | 9.46 | 48-45 | 17 | 523 |
Notes:
- This is the first year on the ballot for Aguilera, Jones, and Wetteland.
- Rick Aguilera was named to three consecutive All-Star games from 1991-93.
- Goose Gossage was named to nine All-Star games and led the league in saves three times. He won the Rolaids Relief Award in 1978.
- Doug Jones' first productive Major League season came at age 31. He was named to five All-Star teams.
- Lee Smith is baseball's all time saves leader and won the Rolaids Relief award three times. He was named to seven All-Star teams, including five consecutively from 1991-95.
- Bruce Sutter was named to six All-Star teams and won the Rolaids Relief Award four times. He won the Cy Young in 1979 and was the World Series MVP in 1982.
- John Wetteland won the Rolaids Relief Award in 1996 with 43 saves, and also had 7 postseason saves that year on the way to being named the World Series MVP. He appeared in three All-Star games (1996, 1998, and 1999). He recorded 40 or more saves four times.
Discussion
Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersly, and Hoyt Wilhelm are the only relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame. Eckersly was inducted partly on the strength of his starting pitching, while Wilhelm and Fingers were recognized for their contribution to the evolution of the position. Wilhelm and Fingers, then, provide the only known criterion for admitting a pure reliever to the Hall of Fame. Namely, historical significance.
Bruce Sutter, along with Dan Quisenberry, Goose Gossage and a few others, pioneered the shift from general purpose reliever to specialized closer. Quisenberry and Sutter were the elite closers for their era, this even though their save numbers fall short of those posted by modern closers. Arguably, Sutter made a contribution to the evolution of the position and should be admitted to the Hall on that basis. A better argument, though, would make reference to the fact that Sutter dominated his position for six seasons.[1]
Sooner or later the voters are going to have to figure out what the standard is for a Hall of Fame reliever. This year, Aguilera, Jones, and Wetteland each showed up on the ballot with 300+ saves. That number seems to be the standard for a good, but not great, run as a closer. But what about Lee Smith? He's been on the ballot for three years and has been getting about half the votes needed for admission. This even though he's the all time saves leader with 478. By any reasonable standard Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer. The question is, how long will it take the voters to settle on a reasonable standard?
---------------
1 As an olde tyme Royals fan, I can't help but notice that these arguments for Sutter also apply to Quisenberry. Since that's so, I'm perplexed and offended by the fact that Quisenberry received only 18 votes in his single year of eligibility, while Sutter began with over 100 and has climbed to 344, a whisker short of election.
12/30/05
Dumb joke blogging, Bellman edition
We get a lot of hits from Sweden. Why? Well, because those swinging Swedes have a whole genre of dumb jokes called 'Bellman jokes' and if you google a string that includes 'Bellman', 'dumb' and 'jokes' we rank pretty high. Yay for us. But I can't help thinking that the average Swedish googler is disappointed to click through to this site only to discover that none of our dumb jokes are about Bellman.
Not any more.
Not any more.
- Bellman, a Russian, and a German wanted to see who could swim from Europe to America the fastest. First out was the German. He swam 1 kilometer and drowned. Next came the Russian. He swam 1 mile and then drowned. Now it was Bellman's turn and he swam and swam until he almost reached the coast but he got tired and swam back.
- There was a Norwegian, a German and Bellman, and they were all bragging about how small their fathers were. The Norwegian proudly stated that his father slept in a dresser drawer. The German said, "Bah, my father sleeps in a matchbox." Then Bellman said, "I don't have a father... He fell off a ladder and died when he was picking strawberries..."
- Bellman was pushing a heavy wheelbarrow up a hill. When he was almost at the top the wheelbarrow tipped over and Bellman got so angry that he swore out loud. Just then a priest walked by and said, "If you use foul language, Bellman, you'll never get to heaven." To which Bellman replied, "I'm not going to heaven, I'm just trying to get up this hill!"
- Bellman once tried to learn how to play golf. He hit ball after ball on the driving range without much success. "I've tried with six different clubs and I still can't hit the damn ball!" he sighed. "Maybe it's not the clubs' fault," suggested his golf instructor. Bellman looked down. "Can it be the ball's?"
- A Dane, a Russian, and Bellman were walking through the forest when they came upon a track. "I think it's an elk track," said the Dane. "No, no," said the Russian, "it's clearly a bear track." Bellman didn't have time to answer because he was hit by a train.
Friday dumb game blogging, lost souls edition
This week's game comes via Jay Bibby and is, well, a little odd. Scroll down to find the game, War of the Hell, and follow the link to Jayisgames for an English language explanation of game concepts.
Speaking of Jay Bibby's game blog, he's hosting a best of 2005 web games poll. Vote while you can.
Speaking of Jay Bibby's game blog, he's hosting a best of 2005 web games poll. Vote while you can.
harridan
[Possibly from French 'haridelle', gaunt woman, old horse, nag]
n.
A woman regarded as scolding and vicious.
n.
A woman regarded as scolding and vicious.
12/29/05
Translation wanted
Written on the restroom wall at the Conoco station in Royse City, Texas:
"North Korea, can you say Guam?"
Huh?
"North Korea, can you say Guam?"
Huh?
Genius!
Just in time for next Christmas, I've come up with ideas for a couple of educational toys. They're posted here in the hopes that a passing venture capitalist will see them and decide to finance my startup.
Yo-yo no-throw training device
Components: adjustable headband, elastic cord, safety goggles
How it works: Simply attach your toddler's favorite toy to the elastic cord and place the headband so that the cord connects at mid forehead. Now when your child throws her toy it will rebound and smack her on the head. Through the miracle of negative reenforcement, junior will learn that throwing things is bad.
Decibel shock training collar for tots
Components: collar with sound-sensitive toddler shocking device
How it works: The built in microphone measures the volume of your child's voice. If a pre-set volume is exceeded, a small shock is administered, humanely teaching your child to keep it down.
Note: In early testing, a slight problem with this toy has emerged. Here's a transcript from one of our tests:
Our engineers are working to resolve this issue.
Yo-yo no-throw training device
Components: adjustable headband, elastic cord, safety goggles
How it works: Simply attach your toddler's favorite toy to the elastic cord and place the headband so that the cord connects at mid forehead. Now when your child throws her toy it will rebound and smack her on the head. Through the miracle of negative reenforcement, junior will learn that throwing things is bad.
Decibel shock training collar for tots
Components: collar with sound-sensitive toddler shocking device
How it works: The built in microphone measures the volume of your child's voice. If a pre-set volume is exceeded, a small shock is administered, humanely teaching your child to keep it down.
Note: In early testing, a slight problem with this toy has emerged. Here's a transcript from one of our tests:
Toddler A-37: Bwah bwah bway tway...Yay!
The last utterance exceeded the pre-set decibel limit and a shock was administered.
Toddler A-37: Ow!
The last utterance exceeded the pre-set decibel limit and a shock was administered.
Toddler A-37: Ow!
The last utterance exceeded the pre-set decibel limit and a shock was administered.
Our engineers are working to resolve this issue.
New labor blog
John Ryan, the principal officer of the Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, has started a weblog. Well worth checking out.
In other labor blogging news, I'm hoping to restart the labor blogging roundup in a few weeks, after I get settled in Ann Arbor. I'm also hoping to put together some kind of labor blogging aggregation using bloglines or some such service. Stay tuned.
In other labor blogging news, I'm hoping to restart the labor blogging roundup in a few weeks, after I get settled in Ann Arbor. I'm also hoping to put together some kind of labor blogging aggregation using bloglines or some such service. Stay tuned.
12/27/05
A reminder for later
The next time that folks argue that the left-wing bloggers are "unhinged," I need to be able to find this post, for starters. So, I'm blogging it now as a down payment on my eventual research.
12/24/05
Excerpts from my nephews' Christmas wish lists, part I
A, age 10
Segway Human Transporter
Comment: "only if you can afford it, and if you can, don't get anything else on the list"
Excerpts from my nephews' Christmas wish lists, part III
R, age 12
Men's sterling silver wedding band
12/23/05
Dumb game blogging, bad blogger edition
For the last week I've been sitting on a post that I promised to write for a friend, and here it is Christmas Eve eve and all I've been doing is writing about transit strikes and dodging bullets. Bad, bad blogger.
On the other hand, I broke the 10,000 point barrier.
On the other hand, I broke the 10,000 point barrier.
The flaw in the law
Now that the NYC transit strike is apparently over, I've managed to find time to take a look at the Taylor Law. As I mentioned before, I'm suspicious of any law that takes away a union's right to strike. That said, I'm willing to believe that there may be some strikes which are so disruptive that a legitimate public interest is served by outlawing them.
If you're going to ban strikes, however, you'd better make damn sure that workers have a viable alternative. In the case of public employees in the state of New York, the alternative is to submit to binding arbitration at the hands of the Public Employees Relations Board. The problem with this is that appointment to PERB is (more or less) controlled by the same people who control appointment to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. That is, both boards are appointed by the governor[1] and confirmed by the legislature.
The upshot is that public employees in the state of New York lack both a right to strike and the right to substantively neutral arbitration. Throw in the fact that there appear to be no penalties for violations of the Taylor Law by employers, and it's pretty clear that the legal playing field is uneven.
---------------
1 In the case of the MTA, the governor makes appointments partly on the basis of recommendations from NYC, surrounding counties, and other stakeholders.
If you're going to ban strikes, however, you'd better make damn sure that workers have a viable alternative. In the case of public employees in the state of New York, the alternative is to submit to binding arbitration at the hands of the Public Employees Relations Board. The problem with this is that appointment to PERB is (more or less) controlled by the same people who control appointment to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. That is, both boards are appointed by the governor[1] and confirmed by the legislature.
The upshot is that public employees in the state of New York lack both a right to strike and the right to substantively neutral arbitration. Throw in the fact that there appear to be no penalties for violations of the Taylor Law by employers, and it's pretty clear that the legal playing field is uneven.
---------------
1 In the case of the MTA, the governor makes appointments partly on the basis of recommendations from NYC, surrounding counties, and other stakeholders.
Violent Video Games given Reprieve in California
A Federal judge has issued an injunction against California's Violent Video Game law.
Fortunately for parents all over the country, there is a new video game coming out that teaches children to be mindless drones, the type of inculcation kids need these days.
There's also a longish post on the educational aspects of video games at the Fireside.
Fortunately for parents all over the country, there is a new video game coming out that teaches children to be mindless drones, the type of inculcation kids need these days.
There's also a longish post on the educational aspects of video games at the Fireside.
12/22/05
pretermit
[Latin 'praetermittere', from 'praeter', beyond]
tr. v.
1. To disregard intentionally or allow to pass unnoticed or unmentioned.
2. To fail to do or include; omit.
3. To interrupt or terminate.
tr. v.
1. To disregard intentionally or allow to pass unnoticed or unmentioned.
2. To fail to do or include; omit.
3. To interrupt or terminate.
Conspicuous consumption carols
From a whole website devoted to cool stuff--Smart Stuff--here are a couple really cool stuffs:
Speed laces: Never tie your shoe again. I hope these work, and if they work, I hope they catch on.
The Water Cone: You can't buy this thing, but you can apparently purchase the product. That is, they are looking for someone to buy the patents and trademarks in order to make a bit of money. What it does is use the power of the sun to desalinate sea water, rendering it suitable for consumption and, presumably, very small scale agriculture. Never let that potted plant die again!
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