Month: September 2008

  • Last Call

    And so, my friends, the Total Amateur Analysis is fast approaching the end of yet another season. Now, obviously the final tallies are still pending the result of today’s game, but I thought the final series against Tampa Bay went rather well, despite yesterday’s loss. In and of itself, of course, not taking the rest of the season into account (I suppose I got punished for taking pleasure in Cleveland’s bad record back in July). I will watch as much of the ALDS, ALCS, NLDS, NLCS, and World Series as I can, but I probably won’t do full-blown posts on them. At any rate, look for a more detailed (two-part) season review sometime later this week.

    UPDATE: It’s not so much the loss today that bothers me. It’s the fact that the loss got pinned on Galarraga, plus it inched his ERA up some more. I don’t know what the deal with the wild pitches was, but Galarraga deserves better (Kinda like that Ben Zobrist three-run homer last Thursday).

  • Other Stuff


    In case you’re wondering, no, I did not watch the Emmys (or, at least, not more than about 30 seconds worth). As a matter of fact, I happened to walk in my parents’ bedroom while the credits were rolling and saw a brief clip of the show that, upon further and somewhat unwelcome elaboration from my mom, made me quite glad I did not watch it (I’m sorry, but the combination of piano games and TV theme songs just sounds exceptionally disturbing to me). When I said as much to my mom, however, she said, “I recorded it on the DVR.” That’s great. I’m still not watching it.

     

    I also did not watch the final game at Yankee Stadium, despite assertions from my dad’s friend that as a baseball fan, it was my “sacred duty” to do so. Part of the reason was the same reason I did not watch the Labor Day game at Comerica Park: It’s better to just let some things die. The other part was that I had a Pharmacology exam to study for.

     

    On most days, I eat my lunch in one of the booths in front of a place called Rocky’s Grille. Rocky’s Grille is in a rather large lounge-type area in the Student Union that has at least four TVs in it. There is a TV quite a ways away from me that is directly in my line of sight. That TV normally has ESPN on it (so I am forever seeing Sportscenter out of the corner of my eye). There is another TV that is along the same wall as the booths, so I can’t see it, but it is close enough that I can sometimes hear it (although you’d be surprised how many times the ESPN TV is louder). That TV normally has CNN (The other two TVs usually have ESPN 2 and Fox, but they’re so far away that I could see them if I wanted to, but I would never be able to hear them). As I said, the ESPN TV is usually louder than the CNN TV, but occasionally they are at the same volume. For instance, yesterday CNN was covering a John McCain speech (which I was doing my best to ignore), when all of a sudden it sounded as though someone started playing the Monday Night Football theme at his speech. This was actually a commercial on the ESPN TV, but it struck me funny nonetheless. This morning, the ESPN TV had BET on instead, while on CNN, George Bush was making some sort of speech (which, once again, I was trying to ignore). BET had some sitcom I didn’t recognize on, but what happened was that the laugh track was rather well-synced up to pauses in Bush’s speech, so it sounded as though the audience was laughing at Bush. Which is, once again, funny, in a mean sort of way.

     

    I mentioned that I often eat lunch in front of Rocky’s Grille, but I rarely actually get my lunch FROM Rocky’s Grille, and this morning made me kind of glad I don’t. I was eating my sandwich from Subway and kinda staring off into space, when I noticed a mouse running across the floor of Rocky’s Grille and behind a display case. The girl in the booth next to mine noticed it as well. We informed someone working at Rocky’s Grille once the place opened, and she happened to look down behind the display case just as the mouse decided to poke its head out. After that, she spent the entire time working the cash register and nervously peeking over at the display case. Now I know why I keep seeing that Orkin van parked outside the Student Union.

     

    Most of you who know me know that I am exceptionally bad at video games. Case in point: The only two video games I have ever “won” are Barbie and Power Rangers (If you want to throw computer games into the mix, I have also “won” Command and Conquer for both the Soviet and Allied sides, albeit on the easiest level). It took me ten years to figure out how to defeat the first boss in the Home Alone 2 Game Boy game, and I had to get the answer from a message board in the end (Though, to be fair, how was I supposed to know that, in order to defeat the master chef, you had to use your least powerful weapon to stun him and then slide back and forth across him until his pants fell down?). Also, whenever possible, I totally cheat my way through games using walkthroughs I find on the Internet. Anyways, I’m still kinda new to the Playstation world (having only just bought a PS2 last December). One of the games that I bought that I was enjoying a lot was Kingdom Hearts, which is basically a Disney version of the Final Fantasy games. However, I got stuck on the first Hercules level (Olympus Coliseum) where I had to break a bunch of barrels in 30 seconds. Now, this was actually the first of two “barrel-breaking tasks,” and while most walkthroughs suggested strategies for the second task, all they said about the first one was “you should have no problem with this.” Well, I did. For the life of me, I just couldn’t get all the barrels in time. Finally, after months of on-and-off attempts, I found a walkthrough which told me “you need to unequip the Vortex ability.” I did that, and lo and behold, I got it on the first try. You know that sense of useless accomplishment you get after beating a video game level you’ve been stuck on forever? I was so proud of myself. Oddly enough, it only took me about six tries to get through the second barrel task. Also, ever since then, I’ve only died in boss battles once, maybe twice (although it’s still annoying when you die because then you have to sit through the entire cutscene that precedes the battle). In case you’re wondering, I’ve just finished the Pinnochio level (Monstro), which was kinda funny, because the walkthrough I was reading told me to go into one of the rooms, after which the writer commented “Is it just me, or does this whale have the most screwed-up anatomy ever?”

  • In This Corner…

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    Well, up until Shin-Soo Choo’s second homer, last night’s game was certainly…entertaining. At least, that’s one way to put it. I was thrilled that Miguel Cabrera kept driving the ball out of the park and Armando Galarraga looked like his old self. Then came the exhibition match between Gary Sheffield and Fausto Carmona. There’s a bunch of things I could say, but here’s the odd thing I noticed: When Sheffield and Carmona charged each other, Victor Martinez ran out to join in, with Brandon Inge hot on his tail. As Brandon was trying to pull Martinez off someone, he got knocked over and kinda pulled underneath the big pile (you can see his legs in some of the shots). I have no idea how he did not get spiked. As for the Choo homer, well, it was a shame that one of the runs got charged to Galarraga, cuz that meant his ERA didn’t budge. It’s also unfortunate cuz that was probably going to be the game where the Tigers had the best shot of winning. Verlander may have made some inroads as far as US Cellular Field is concerned, but he’s still not pitched well at Progressive Field. And you don’t know what you’re gonna get from Dontrelle Willis.

     

    By the way, I saw a little bit of the rookie hazing that went on last night. Armando Galarraga was wearing an outfit that looked like something the Chiquita banana lady would wear, minus the headwrap. I have not seen anyone else yet, but I’m sure I will during tonight’s game.

     

    By the way, as far as playoff teams are concerned, I’m liking the Rays cuz they’ve got the best story of anyone, but I’m not digging the mohawks.

  • Friday Quick Bits

    Well, this morning I had some idea for a long post, but sometime between eating lunch and now, I’ve forgotten what it was. If I remember it at some point, I’ll post it, but I get the feeling that it was a “sooner-the-better” type post. In the meantime, the Tigers just look…tired, for some reason. At least, more tired than they should be. And I don’t know why. Especially the pitching staff. Well, I guess in the case of the rookie Armando Galarraga, it’s at least understandable. Minor League seasons end in August, so he’s in uncharted waters and he’s never pitched this much before. From what I can tell, it’s only natural for rookie starting pitchers to run into a wall in about late August/early September, and for that reason. The same thing happened to Justin Verlander in ’06. Still, it’s hard to watch him struggle, and I’d like to see him finish strong in his final three starts, which, as it stands right now, would be Texas (very good offense), Kansas City (not a good offense), and Tampa Bay (not-especially-prolific-but-good-enough offense). Speaking of rookies, the Tigers are embarking on their final road trip of the season, which means at some point there’s gonna be that hazing ritual where they make the rookies wear stupid outfits. I’m not sure how it “usually” works (other than knowing that it happens on getaway day and the veteran players steal the rookies’ clothes from the locker room and put the stupid outfits in their place), but apparently last year was somewhat unorthodox and because of that, the FSN camera crew was not there. And judging by their tone last year, I get the feeling that they are there most years. I don’t know when it will happen this year, but I’d just as soon the camera crews NOT be there, because I don’t especially want to see Matt Joyce in drag or Jeff Larish in a Teletubbies costume or anything like that (though, given his dubious position as unofficial team barber, someone with a good sense of humor should make Freddy Dolsi dress up as Sweeney Todd).

     

    I was reading MLB.com today, and I came across their press statement which described their postseason coverage campaign:

     

    The campaign highlights the increasingly popular digital trend, blogging, by featuring players at a computer writing a blog entry about their anticipation and excitement for the postseason. For each unique spot, images of the players blogging are interspersed with video highlights of the featured Club and its rivals.

     

    That’s part of the excerpt. I kinda question the fact that they’ve already chosen the players that will be featured in the ads. Mark Teixera and Torii Hunter are foolproof, since the Angels have already clinched a postseason berth. They’ve also got Evan Longoria and Carlos Peña, which should be okay, as the Rays would have to have a massive collapse to not get in. Same with Kosuke Fukudome and Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs. However, they’ve got A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Howard. The White Sox are still very much in a battle with the Twins, so the postseason is no guarantee for them, and right now, the Phillies aren’t even in position to claim either the NL East or the Wild Card (though if the Brewers continue to fade, that may change). What happens if one of those two don’t make it? Then these ads would look really stupid. I didn’t really like last year’s ads either, mostly cuz they tried to portray the Boston Red Sox as some sort of loveable, scrappy underdog team, when in reality they are one of the most dominant, high payroll teams in all of baseball (I’m not criticizing the fact that they have a high payroll, and even if I wanted to, I am in no position to do so. I just don’t like that they’re pretending to be something they’re not). I actually liked the ads they made two years ago, with Tommy Lasorda coaxing the fans of teams who didn’t make the postseason to come out of hiding (Let’s see…there was a Red Sox fan hiding in the bathroom of her sorority house, a family of Indians fans hiding in kitchen cabinets, and a Cubs fan hiding in a tree) and go “to the TV.” Those were funny.

     

    EDIT: I am sick and tired of everyone saying that Justin Verlander lost on Opening Day. He did NOT lose. He got a no-decision. The game went extra-innings, remember? And it’s not, like, your average fan who’s getting this wrong. It’s news sources like FSN and the Detroit Free Press.

  • Happy birthday, Laura!

  • Weird Milestones and Hot-Blooded Former Division Rivals

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    Thought I’d check in again. Outside of the top of the fifth inning, I actually enjoyed last night’s game a lot, mostly cuz it’s been a while since I’d seen the Tigers beat up on someone. Also, a couple of the Tigers made their way into the history books for some usual things. Mike Hessman became only the fifth player in Major League history (and only the second in AL history) to be hit by the pitch twice in the same inning (what I find even more astounding is that it did not happen in the American League until 1999; it took THAT long), and Gary Sheffield hit the 250,000th home run in Major League history (and that stat stretches from the inception of the National League until now, and includes all the defunct leagues that I’ve never really heard of). I’m undecided on whether or not I want Sheffield to hit his 500th home run this year or early next year. I really want him to hit it as a Tiger, cuz no Tiger has ever gotten to 500 before. If you listen to the folks over at Yahoo Sports, you would think that the Tigers are going to try their hardest to trade him away in the offseason. Since that is the only place I have heard that, I’m going to remain skeptical for now. Along that line, it would be nice to get 2009 off on a good note with a milestone such as that. If, however, Yahoo Sports turns out to be right, well, then it’d be a good idea for him to hit it this year.

     

    There are about five girls in this lab who are very loud and will not shut up. They keep yakking about scrubs,  stethoscopes, and not being able to find parking spaces. It’s getting annoying.

     

    Now for the obligatory “Not-very-well-informed” update on Pudge (because it is my prerogative to do so, though one would assume these would become more and more infrequent as time wears on) I saw an article on MLB.com entitled “Pudge reflects on struggles in pinstripes.” I thought about reading it, but eventually I decided against it because I can pretty much guess what he said (“That’s baseball,” “Just keep playing hard,” etc). I would imagine he’s rather frustrated with his current situation, both with the lack of hitting and with the fact that he’s not catching as much as he’d like (okay, that’s conjecture on my part, but you have to admit it’s very well-educated conjecture). This morning, I read an article on last night’s Yankees-Angels game. Evidently, Pudge decided to take his frustration out on Torii Hunter. Sigh. Boys.

     

    And now, these girls are absolutely driving me crazy and I can’t take any more of this, so I’m going to leave now.

  • Quick Bits

    I want to start off with a couple more observations concerning Monday’s debacle against the Yankees. First off, I wish to discuss Justin Verlander a bit (I’ve got a more lengthy feature on him in the works, but I’m gonna hold off on that for a couple more weeks). Suffice it to say he struggled at the beginning of the year and he’s struggling now. But there is a difference. When the season started, he wasn’t pitching spectacularly for the most part, but there were several instances where he ran into a lot of bad luck and he actually pitched better than his line indicated. That’s not really true this time around. He’s getting hit hard. I’m not sure what he can do about that. Second, our newspaper had a really nice picture of Pudge on the front of the sports page. That’s not THAT noteworthy except for the fact that good pictures of him are few and far between. But I liked this one (well, except for the fact that he was wearing the “wrong” uniform). And maybe this is a step, in that I can look at the picture without…I don’t know, feeling sick or something. And the next big step will probably come whenever the Tigers start to lose more of their “2006 players.” And I’m not talking about the supporting cast like Sean Casey or Todd Jones. I’m talking about guys like Kenny Rogers, Polanco, and Magglio.

     

    Speaking of which, over the last two days or so, I’ve found myself being very nostalgic about 2006. Not necessarily in terms of “Gee, I wish we played this year like we did in 2006,” although that’s definitely true. It’s more in terms of wishing I could relive it (or, to be more accurate, live through it, since admittedly I did not see that many games from the 2006 season until after the fact).

     

    In Other News: There is a girl in my class who is the spitting image of Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter movies, except her hair is brown instead of blonde. It’s kinda creepy.

  • I Hope You All Learned a Valuable Lesson Today

    Therein lies the danger of trading your catcher to a team you’ll be facing later in the year. I mean, who better to provide that team with a top-notch scouting report on all your pitchers? That’s another reason why I would rather Chris Lambert have started this game. Basically, it came down to the Yankee’s bullpen doing a better job of quieting things down than the Tigers’ bullpen, but at least it was a proper slugfest. True to my word, I did not watch, but my dad told me they gave Pudge a standing ovation. I did find the video clip of that online, so it is there for me to watch whenever I am ready. It would’ve been a real conflict of emotions had I watched this game, because I would’ve wanted the Tigers to win (which they didn’t), but whenever Pudge was up, I would’ve wanted him to get a hit (He DID go 2-for-5, which is pretty good considering his recent offensive struggles) and I would not have wanted the Tigers to steal any bases against him (Unfortunately, Brandon Inge did…there’s a metaphor there, but I’m not touching it). By the way, I’m getting a really nasty gut feeling that Pudge will end up with the Red Sox next year. If he’s not going to be with the Tigers (and, like those elimination numbers, despite all sense of reason telling you it won’t happen, there’s a little glimmer of hope in the back of your mind that you can’t extinguish until he signs on the dotted line somewhere else), I would rather he sign with a National League team, because then I wouldn’t have to deal with him for more than three games (if at all), but if he must go to an American League team, there are two teams that I particularly dislike that I would most definitely not want him signing with (as it would generate such a conflict of interest that my head might explode). Those two teams are Cleveland and Boston. Cleveland will almost certainly not be an issue, since they’re already facing a dilemma between Victor Martinez and Kelly Shoppach and don’t need another catcher, but Boston is a different story altogether. Follow the logic along with me. Pudge will only want to sign with a contending ballclub, and there are very few contending clubs that A) will need a catcher in 2009, and B) would be able to afford him. Boston is one of those teams. Jason Varitek (who has had an awful year at the plate) is a free agent, and the Red Sox have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball. I seriously hope that doesn’t happen, but I just can’t get “Boston” out of my head.

     

    By the way, as part of their September roster expansion, the Seattle Mariners called up a left-handed pitcher by the name of Justin Thomas today. I went to high school with Justin, so I’ll be cheering for him (and all of a sudden, my six degrees of separation stock just went up several more notches). In case you were wondering, I had maybe one class with him and we did not know each other exceptionally well (as he was in the graduating class below mine and he transferred to another school the year after I graduated), but he seemed like a real nice kid and he was in my mom’s art classes, so he would definitely remember her.

     

    UPDATE: Justin Thomas made his major league debut tonight, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning in a 12-6 Seattle win over the Texas Rangers, including a strikeout of Marlon Byrd.

     

    EXTRA UPDATE: It is now Tuesday morning. Our local newspaper spelled “Rodriguez” wrong in their headline.