I don't post here much anymore because I am busy with the Facebook page, but I figured I'd make an appearance and do one of my random thought posts.
Gotham is an entertaining show. It has me hooked. Jada steals every scene she's in.
WWE has been a a huge roller coaster lately. Ambrose and Rusev/Lana are the best TV they have right now. I hope they let Ambrose and Rollins go nuts in the HIAC match. And there better be a great reveal for all these Wyatt vignettes.
Sandwiches don't leave GSR. Just thought I'd point that out.
Who in the hell is Anita Sarkeesian?
What do you think Obama's golf handicap is now?
Wendy Davis is a cunt.
Vladimir Putin is 5'7" and 62 years old. But he scares the shit out of me. If I'm in a bar fight, I want him on my side.
Anyone live in the Hickory/Morganton?Asheville, NC area? I want to move there in early 2015 and could use a lead on some jobs/pet friendly apartments.
This season of Hell's Kitchen is better than last season so far.
I predicted the Cowboys would make a wild card spot. Just sayin...
I'm addicted to bidding on baseball cards on Listia. The best cards I've won are Derek Jeter card worth $12 and a Bryce Harper card worth $15.
I am excited for WWE 2K15. I have it pre-ordered and paid off already.
Russell Brand is this generation's Pauly Shore.
I won my fantasy baseball league championship.
Thanks for the read. I know it's been awhile.
Go LIKE my facebook page: www.facebook.com/jtlovecraft
If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
2014 MLB Predictions
My favorite time of the year is here! It's baseball season! :-) So here's a quick look at what I think is going to play out in 2014.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Division winners Boston, Detroit, LAofAnaheim
Wild Cards New York, Texas
MVP Mike Trout (He should have won it last year)
Cy Young David Price (But don't be surprised if Darvish or Verlander sneaks in here)
Rookie of the Year Xander Bogaerts (Kind of a easy way out pick, I know.)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Division winners Washington, St. Louis, Los Angeles
Wild Cards Pittsburgh, Atlanta
MVP Yadier Molina (It should be close with Cutch and Harper)
Cy Young Jose Fernandez (I refuse to take the easy way out here and go with Kershaw again.)
Rookie of the Year Billy Hamilton (Maybe another easy way out here. Polanco could make a splash when he's recalled in June.)
League Champions Texas, St. Louis
World Series Champions St. Louis
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Division winners Boston, Detroit, LAofAnaheim
Wild Cards New York, Texas
MVP Mike Trout (He should have won it last year)
Cy Young David Price (But don't be surprised if Darvish or Verlander sneaks in here)
Rookie of the Year Xander Bogaerts (Kind of a easy way out pick, I know.)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Division winners Washington, St. Louis, Los Angeles
Wild Cards Pittsburgh, Atlanta
MVP Yadier Molina (It should be close with Cutch and Harper)
Cy Young Jose Fernandez (I refuse to take the easy way out here and go with Kershaw again.)
Rookie of the Year Billy Hamilton (Maybe another easy way out here. Polanco could make a splash when he's recalled in June.)
League Champions Texas, St. Louis
World Series Champions St. Louis
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
Fuck Me, It's Friday!
Let's get this weekend started with one of my soon-to-be-famous, multi-subject rants, shall we?
Rand Paul seems to be a generally good guy. And although he is a Libertarian-leaning Republican, I wish he had a bit more of his father in him. If Rand would take a bolder stance on the marijuana legalization issue instead of kissing up to his Kentucky Bible-thumpers, I would like him a lot more. In fact if Rand would respond to the Bluegrass State folks with this: And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Genesis 1:29), he would be my hero. It would also be good if he could separate his personal views from his political views on the abortion and same-sex marriage issues. A person with roots in Libertarianism should be able to do that. Otherwise, I seem to like most of what Rand has to say. he's excellent on fiscal issues, foreign policy and military issues, guns and he's OK on taxes. He could use some tweaking there, but I like the foundation.
The people who must step up and take the blame for the failures in Detrocity are the mayor and the city council. And that includes those who recently resigned. The democrat party is to blame for this, both the elected officials and the voters for continuously putting these fools in office. A demoncrat has been mayor of Detroit since 1962. For those of you not so good with math, that's 51 years. The city council is supposedly elected on an at-large, non-partisan basis. But come on now, how many republicans do you think ever made it onto the Detroit City Council? Michigan governor Rick Snyder (R) is not to blame. The unions are not directly to blame, although their voting habits certainly helped elect those who are to blame. State appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has been given a very tough (and thankless) task of trying to salvage something out of this disaster, and he just submitted a plan to alter health insurance plans and save the city $12 million.
The minimum wage has also recently become a debate, with some lawmakers wanting to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. Does anyone else realize what a dumbassed idea this is? Who else sees this would be an epic disaster? More companies are avoiding hiring full time help and instead bringing on workers at part time house due to the impending doom of Obamacare. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would cause layoffs, resulting in more work for a smaller staff working part-time hours. It would also crush small businesses. Can you imagine the family owned restaurant that's been around for 50 years all of a sudden being forced to pay $10.10/hour? It would cripple them. It would also cripple small, regional chains. For example, there is a chain here in Western Pennsylvania called The Exchange. The specialize in used DVD's, CD's, music players, video games and systems. Yes they do stock new items, but they rely heavily on used inventory to keep prices reasonable for their teenage/young adult target consumers. If they had to pay employees $10.10, those great prices would disappear. And finally do you really think the semi-literate teenager at McDonald's who still screws up your order even after you repeated it three times deserves $10.10/hour? Or what about the miserable 40-something woman working the cash register at the grocery store who barely look at you and never smiles? Raising the minimum wage that much would do more harm than good. And of course the AFL/CIO is pushing this hard because if the minimum wage increases, they can demand an increase in their already inflated wages.
Russia granted asylum to NSA whistleblower and American hero, Edward Snowden. I never thought I would see the day when I look to Russia to defend liberty and freedom.
Is it just me or could the billions of dollars in foreign aid the United States is throwing around be put to far better use here in America? Why are we sending money to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Keny... OK I know why the last one is getting foreign aid. It's hush money. But why in the hell are we still sending money to those other countries? How about using it to help schools who wish to hire security but don't have enough in their budget? How about trimming that national debt? Let's give the brave men and women in the military a bonus instead of sending money to countries which hate us and want to kill our soldiers.
It's about time the "mainstream" media finally realizes some bad shit went down at Benghazi. Is that from the No Shit Department at the news channels? If even half of what is starting to come out is true, heads must roll and jail time is a must. No one should be untouchable in this. That includes Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, David Petraeus and Eric Holder. If that means impeachment, so be it. Four good Americans were murdered and it all could have been prevented. That attack legally occurred on American soil. It was a terrorist attack and nothing was done to prevent it or about it.
The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), is finally being exposed for what it is: a monstrosity of a unavoidable failure waiting to happen. So much so, Obama's staunchest allies, the unions, are beginning to demand its repeal. The Teamsters, UFCW and UNITE-HERE all have publicly voiced their opposition to the plan saying it will "destroy the very health and well being" of workers. Welcome to the party, guys. What the fuck took you so long? The IRS, who is was tasked with enforcing Obamacare, has also now given a collective "OH HELL NO!" to the plan. This is what happens when arrogant, self-serving, ineffective and incompetent legislators pass a bill BEFORE THEY FUCKING READ IT!
The RINO's in CONgress are becoming more and more unbearable every day. The biggest of the two, Lindsey Graham and John McCain need to be replaced. Graham will have a grass-roots challenger in the primary. We can only hope South Carolina has had enough of his bullshit and gets him out of Washington DC. Hopefully John McCain will retire in 2016 when he is 80 years old. It's scary we will have to deal with him for that long.
I know I will piss-off baseball purists with this statement, but fuck them. I don't care about PED's in baseball. I've been a baseball fan since I was 5 years old and I love a good, grind-it-out 3-2 game as much as the next fan. But the most fun I have ever had as a fan was watching the McGwire-Sosa battle and I will never forget watching Barry Bonds' #756 go into the bleachers. This isn't football where use of PED's could lead to life threatening injuries. Fans these days want to see the long ball and the stolen base. How about a compromise? Let Major League Baseball pick one PED which is legal so the playing field is level.
If I ever have the opportunity, I will move to one of these five states: Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Nevada or Texas. They have three qualities I like very much: no income tax, Right to Work and they are not alcoholic beverage control states. Tennessee would be my first choice.
OK, let me finish up with a random fact: Adult film actors and actresses are 80% less likely to have an STD than someone not in the industry.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog. I very much appreciate it. As always, if you cannot be a poet, be the poem.
"Like" my page: www.facebook.com/JTLovecraft
Follow me on Twitter: @JTLovecraft
Rand Paul seems to be a generally good guy. And although he is a Libertarian-leaning Republican, I wish he had a bit more of his father in him. If Rand would take a bolder stance on the marijuana legalization issue instead of kissing up to his Kentucky Bible-thumpers, I would like him a lot more. In fact if Rand would respond to the Bluegrass State folks with this: And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Genesis 1:29), he would be my hero. It would also be good if he could separate his personal views from his political views on the abortion and same-sex marriage issues. A person with roots in Libertarianism should be able to do that. Otherwise, I seem to like most of what Rand has to say. he's excellent on fiscal issues, foreign policy and military issues, guns and he's OK on taxes. He could use some tweaking there, but I like the foundation.
The people who must step up and take the blame for the failures in Detrocity are the mayor and the city council. And that includes those who recently resigned. The democrat party is to blame for this, both the elected officials and the voters for continuously putting these fools in office. A demoncrat has been mayor of Detroit since 1962. For those of you not so good with math, that's 51 years. The city council is supposedly elected on an at-large, non-partisan basis. But come on now, how many republicans do you think ever made it onto the Detroit City Council? Michigan governor Rick Snyder (R) is not to blame. The unions are not directly to blame, although their voting habits certainly helped elect those who are to blame. State appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has been given a very tough (and thankless) task of trying to salvage something out of this disaster, and he just submitted a plan to alter health insurance plans and save the city $12 million.
The minimum wage has also recently become a debate, with some lawmakers wanting to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. Does anyone else realize what a dumbassed idea this is? Who else sees this would be an epic disaster? More companies are avoiding hiring full time help and instead bringing on workers at part time house due to the impending doom of Obamacare. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would cause layoffs, resulting in more work for a smaller staff working part-time hours. It would also crush small businesses. Can you imagine the family owned restaurant that's been around for 50 years all of a sudden being forced to pay $10.10/hour? It would cripple them. It would also cripple small, regional chains. For example, there is a chain here in Western Pennsylvania called The Exchange. The specialize in used DVD's, CD's, music players, video games and systems. Yes they do stock new items, but they rely heavily on used inventory to keep prices reasonable for their teenage/young adult target consumers. If they had to pay employees $10.10, those great prices would disappear. And finally do you really think the semi-literate teenager at McDonald's who still screws up your order even after you repeated it three times deserves $10.10/hour? Or what about the miserable 40-something woman working the cash register at the grocery store who barely look at you and never smiles? Raising the minimum wage that much would do more harm than good. And of course the AFL/CIO is pushing this hard because if the minimum wage increases, they can demand an increase in their already inflated wages.
Russia granted asylum to NSA whistleblower and American hero, Edward Snowden. I never thought I would see the day when I look to Russia to defend liberty and freedom.
Is it just me or could the billions of dollars in foreign aid the United States is throwing around be put to far better use here in America? Why are we sending money to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Keny... OK I know why the last one is getting foreign aid. It's hush money. But why in the hell are we still sending money to those other countries? How about using it to help schools who wish to hire security but don't have enough in their budget? How about trimming that national debt? Let's give the brave men and women in the military a bonus instead of sending money to countries which hate us and want to kill our soldiers.
It's about time the "mainstream" media finally realizes some bad shit went down at Benghazi. Is that from the No Shit Department at the news channels? If even half of what is starting to come out is true, heads must roll and jail time is a must. No one should be untouchable in this. That includes Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, David Petraeus and Eric Holder. If that means impeachment, so be it. Four good Americans were murdered and it all could have been prevented. That attack legally occurred on American soil. It was a terrorist attack and nothing was done to prevent it or about it.
The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), is finally being exposed for what it is: a monstrosity of a unavoidable failure waiting to happen. So much so, Obama's staunchest allies, the unions, are beginning to demand its repeal. The Teamsters, UFCW and UNITE-HERE all have publicly voiced their opposition to the plan saying it will "destroy the very health and well being" of workers. Welcome to the party, guys. What the fuck took you so long? The IRS, who is was tasked with enforcing Obamacare, has also now given a collective "OH HELL NO!" to the plan. This is what happens when arrogant, self-serving, ineffective and incompetent legislators pass a bill BEFORE THEY FUCKING READ IT!
The RINO's in CONgress are becoming more and more unbearable every day. The biggest of the two, Lindsey Graham and John McCain need to be replaced. Graham will have a grass-roots challenger in the primary. We can only hope South Carolina has had enough of his bullshit and gets him out of Washington DC. Hopefully John McCain will retire in 2016 when he is 80 years old. It's scary we will have to deal with him for that long.
I know I will piss-off baseball purists with this statement, but fuck them. I don't care about PED's in baseball. I've been a baseball fan since I was 5 years old and I love a good, grind-it-out 3-2 game as much as the next fan. But the most fun I have ever had as a fan was watching the McGwire-Sosa battle and I will never forget watching Barry Bonds' #756 go into the bleachers. This isn't football where use of PED's could lead to life threatening injuries. Fans these days want to see the long ball and the stolen base. How about a compromise? Let Major League Baseball pick one PED which is legal so the playing field is level.
If I ever have the opportunity, I will move to one of these five states: Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Nevada or Texas. They have three qualities I like very much: no income tax, Right to Work and they are not alcoholic beverage control states. Tennessee would be my first choice.
OK, let me finish up with a random fact: Adult film actors and actresses are 80% less likely to have an STD than someone not in the industry.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog. I very much appreciate it. As always, if you cannot be a poet, be the poem.
"Like" my page: www.facebook.com/JTLovecraft
Follow me on Twitter: @JTLovecraft
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
2103 MLB Predictions
AL Division winners: Toronto, Detroit, Los Angeles
NL Division winners: Washington, Cincinnati, Los Angeles
AL Wild cards: Texas, Tampa Bay
NL Wild cards: St. Louis, San Francisco
AL Champion: Detroit
NL Champion: Washington
World Series champion: Washington
AL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL MVP: Joey Votto
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander
NL Cy Young: Johhny Cueto
AL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Bundy
NL Rookie of the Year: Gerrit Cole
AL Comeback player: Mariano Rivera
NL Comeback player: Troy Tulowitzki
NL Division winners: Washington, Cincinnati, Los Angeles
AL Wild cards: Texas, Tampa Bay
NL Wild cards: St. Louis, San Francisco
AL Champion: Detroit
NL Champion: Washington
World Series champion: Washington
AL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL MVP: Joey Votto
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander
NL Cy Young: Johhny Cueto
AL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Bundy
NL Rookie of the Year: Gerrit Cole
AL Comeback player: Mariano Rivera
NL Comeback player: Troy Tulowitzki
Friday, January 11, 2013
Bush League Baseball Writers
The 600 baseball writers who vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame have shown their true colors. They are a group of self-righteous and sanctimonious punks. Not voting Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds into Cooperstown diminishes the value of that museum, leaves out significant parts of baseball history and makes other deserving players unnecessary collateral damage. The voting process is a farce and needs to change.
The baseball writers are the only Hall of Fame voters instructed to consider character and moral fiber when casting their ballots. But who in the hell are they to judge anyone's character or life? Make no mistake, the time will come when each and every one of us faces that very judgment. But it is not here. And certainly not by a group of arrogant baseball writers. But riddle me this, if character and moral fiber are so important, why is there a racist, antisemitic alcoholic and beer guzzling womanizer in Cooperstown? Just curious.
Barry Bonds is baseball's all-time homeruns leader with 762. Say what you want about how he got there, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) or not, it's in the record books. It's fact. Bonds also owns the single-season homerun record with 73. He is third all-time in runs batted in (RBIs) with 1996, second in extra-base hits (1440), first in intentional base-on-balls (688), finished his career with a .298 batting average and also stole 514 bases. He won seven Most Valuable Player awards, eight Gold Gloves and was voted to the all-star team 14 times. Are not those Hall of Fame numbers?
Roger Clemens is one of this generation's greatest and most electrifying pitchers. Clemens, aka "The Rocket", finished his career ninth on the all-time wins list with 354, third all-time in strikeouts (4672) and had a career earned-run average of 3.12. He compiled seven Cy Young awards, one MVP award and was named an all-star 11 times. Like Bonds, Clemens has Hall of Fame numbers.
Both Clemens and Bonds have come under attack for alleged use of PED's during their career. The allegations came during a time when baseball had no mandatory drug testing and therefore there is nothing but speculation to use as the basis for any judgment of how their statistics and accomplishments were achieved.
I mentioned earlier other players have and will become collateral damage because of Bonds and Clemens. Let me give you one very good example: Mike Piazza. Never once has his name been associated with and PEDs. It appears everything he accomplished he did through hard work and talent. Among catchers, he is the all-time leader in homeruns (427), racked up 1335 RBIs, 2127 hits and a career batting average of .308. He was National League Rookie of the Year and a 12-time all-star. Not bad for a 62nd round pick drafted as a favor to then manager Tommy Lasorda. Piazza has numbers worthy of Cooperstown based on the position he played and the numbers he put up. He received just over 50% of the vote in 2013. To make it to Cooperstown a percentage of 75% is needed. Piazza is looked at with caution because he played during the "steroid era". Just another example of how wrong the voting is for enshrinement into Cooperstown.
The truth is, Bonds and Clemens but butts in the seats in every stadium across America. I paid to see Clemens pitch against the Pirates when he was a member of the Houston Astros. Barry's chase for 70 homeruns and then the run to 756 brought baseball fans of all ages together, regardless of whether they were cheering for or against Bonds. They are part of baseball history, legend and lore. Keeping them out of the Hall of Fame is telling an incomplete version of the history of America's Pastime. The baseball writers need to get over themselves and vote for what's best for baseball, and that is enshrining Barry Lamarr Bonds and William Roger Clemens into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The baseball writers are the only Hall of Fame voters instructed to consider character and moral fiber when casting their ballots. But who in the hell are they to judge anyone's character or life? Make no mistake, the time will come when each and every one of us faces that very judgment. But it is not here. And certainly not by a group of arrogant baseball writers. But riddle me this, if character and moral fiber are so important, why is there a racist, antisemitic alcoholic and beer guzzling womanizer in Cooperstown? Just curious.
Barry Bonds is baseball's all-time homeruns leader with 762. Say what you want about how he got there, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) or not, it's in the record books. It's fact. Bonds also owns the single-season homerun record with 73. He is third all-time in runs batted in (RBIs) with 1996, second in extra-base hits (1440), first in intentional base-on-balls (688), finished his career with a .298 batting average and also stole 514 bases. He won seven Most Valuable Player awards, eight Gold Gloves and was voted to the all-star team 14 times. Are not those Hall of Fame numbers?
Roger Clemens is one of this generation's greatest and most electrifying pitchers. Clemens, aka "The Rocket", finished his career ninth on the all-time wins list with 354, third all-time in strikeouts (4672) and had a career earned-run average of 3.12. He compiled seven Cy Young awards, one MVP award and was named an all-star 11 times. Like Bonds, Clemens has Hall of Fame numbers.
Both Clemens and Bonds have come under attack for alleged use of PED's during their career. The allegations came during a time when baseball had no mandatory drug testing and therefore there is nothing but speculation to use as the basis for any judgment of how their statistics and accomplishments were achieved.
I mentioned earlier other players have and will become collateral damage because of Bonds and Clemens. Let me give you one very good example: Mike Piazza. Never once has his name been associated with and PEDs. It appears everything he accomplished he did through hard work and talent. Among catchers, he is the all-time leader in homeruns (427), racked up 1335 RBIs, 2127 hits and a career batting average of .308. He was National League Rookie of the Year and a 12-time all-star. Not bad for a 62nd round pick drafted as a favor to then manager Tommy Lasorda. Piazza has numbers worthy of Cooperstown based on the position he played and the numbers he put up. He received just over 50% of the vote in 2013. To make it to Cooperstown a percentage of 75% is needed. Piazza is looked at with caution because he played during the "steroid era". Just another example of how wrong the voting is for enshrinement into Cooperstown.
The truth is, Bonds and Clemens but butts in the seats in every stadium across America. I paid to see Clemens pitch against the Pirates when he was a member of the Houston Astros. Barry's chase for 70 homeruns and then the run to 756 brought baseball fans of all ages together, regardless of whether they were cheering for or against Bonds. They are part of baseball history, legend and lore. Keeping them out of the Hall of Fame is telling an incomplete version of the history of America's Pastime. The baseball writers need to get over themselves and vote for what's best for baseball, and that is enshrining Barry Lamarr Bonds and William Roger Clemens into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Dear Neal Huntington
I've been a Pirates fan for 30 years. So please pay attention to this. These are the things I want accomplished before spring training begins.
Decline the option on Rod Barajas. There is no debate on this. It must be done.
Sign Garrett "GI" Jones to a multi-year contract and announce he will be the every day right fielder. His performance this year has earned him both of those things. Give him what he deserves and give the Pirates a clean-up hitter for the next few seasons.
Re-sign Jason Grilli. He earned a new deal just as Jones did.
DFA Charlie Morton.
Find a veteran left handed bat to come off the bench. One of the Pirates biggest weaknesses was the lqack of a solid left-handed stick coming off the bench. Jeff Clement is not the answer.
And now, for the big one. Are you sitting down? Trade Joel Hanrahan. A closer of his talent and consistancy could bring you the two pieces lacking in this organization: a shortstop and a catcher. Yes I like The Fort, but he is not suited to the the every day backstop. And Clint Barmes may be a good defensive shortstop but he is a rally killer at the plate. One area where the Pirates do have depth is pitching. The team's next closer is already on the 40-man roster. You just have to decide who it's going to be.
Thanks, Neal. I appreciate your time. Can't wait to see them team agian in 2013.
Decline the option on Rod Barajas. There is no debate on this. It must be done.
Sign Garrett "GI" Jones to a multi-year contract and announce he will be the every day right fielder. His performance this year has earned him both of those things. Give him what he deserves and give the Pirates a clean-up hitter for the next few seasons.
Re-sign Jason Grilli. He earned a new deal just as Jones did.
DFA Charlie Morton.
Find a veteran left handed bat to come off the bench. One of the Pirates biggest weaknesses was the lqack of a solid left-handed stick coming off the bench. Jeff Clement is not the answer.
And now, for the big one. Are you sitting down? Trade Joel Hanrahan. A closer of his talent and consistancy could bring you the two pieces lacking in this organization: a shortstop and a catcher. Yes I like The Fort, but he is not suited to the the every day backstop. And Clint Barmes may be a good defensive shortstop but he is a rally killer at the plate. One area where the Pirates do have depth is pitching. The team's next closer is already on the 40-man roster. You just have to decide who it's going to be.
Thanks, Neal. I appreciate your time. Can't wait to see them team agian in 2013.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Pirates of the Allegheny
Zoltan!
Who would have expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to be having this kind of season? Yes, the team of lovable losers and 19 straight losing seasons are 13 games over .500 and just 1.5 games back from the division lead. And all this is despite and anemic offense for all of April and much of May.
Andrew McCutchen is having an MVP season. He leading the league in hitting with a .373 average to go along with 22 home runs and 66 RBI's. But yet, opposing teams still pitch to him. After a slow start, Pedro Alvarez has 21 home runs and 58 RBI's. Neil Walker has upped his batting average close to .300 and Garrett Jones has added 13 home runs of his own. The bats have come alive after the team struggled to score 3 runs a game for the first part of the season.
The 1-2 punch of Joel Hanrahan and Jason Grilli is becoming almost automatic for the 8th and 9th inning. As the setup man, Grilli has 56 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.06 and an ERA of 1.96. Joel Hanrahan, an All-Star two years running, has 28 saves so far on the season. And former first round pick Brad Lincoln is beginning to show the stuff of a closer-in-waiting. The Pirates have the best bullpen in the league. If they have a lead after 7 innings, it's tough to beat them.
Maybe the biggest surprise of the season is AJ Burnett. AJ was acquired from the Yankees for basically nothing during the off season in what was obviously a "Please take him" trade after two disappointing seasons in the Big Apple. Burnett has 11 wins for the Bucs so far this season and is said to have stepped up as the clubhouse leader not just for the young pitchers on the staff but for the entire team, especially rising star James McDonald, a 10-game winner so far this season and the leader among starters in strikeouts (104) and ERA (2.93).
Many Pirates fans rolled their eyes at Neal Huntington's "five year plan". But guess what? He's right on schedule. He took the General Manager's job in 2007 and immediately began trading away the top talent and highest paid players. He began spending big dollars on the draft and adding much needed talent to the farm system. It's 2012 and the Pirates are in a pennant race at the end of July. With the veteran leadership from Burnett and Clint Barmes who have World Series experience and the growing star power of Cutch and Pedro, don't expect a collapse like we saw in 2011. This Pirates team is for real.
Believe.
Who would have expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to be having this kind of season? Yes, the team of lovable losers and 19 straight losing seasons are 13 games over .500 and just 1.5 games back from the division lead. And all this is despite and anemic offense for all of April and much of May.
Andrew McCutchen is having an MVP season. He leading the league in hitting with a .373 average to go along with 22 home runs and 66 RBI's. But yet, opposing teams still pitch to him. After a slow start, Pedro Alvarez has 21 home runs and 58 RBI's. Neil Walker has upped his batting average close to .300 and Garrett Jones has added 13 home runs of his own. The bats have come alive after the team struggled to score 3 runs a game for the first part of the season.
The 1-2 punch of Joel Hanrahan and Jason Grilli is becoming almost automatic for the 8th and 9th inning. As the setup man, Grilli has 56 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.06 and an ERA of 1.96. Joel Hanrahan, an All-Star two years running, has 28 saves so far on the season. And former first round pick Brad Lincoln is beginning to show the stuff of a closer-in-waiting. The Pirates have the best bullpen in the league. If they have a lead after 7 innings, it's tough to beat them.
Maybe the biggest surprise of the season is AJ Burnett. AJ was acquired from the Yankees for basically nothing during the off season in what was obviously a "Please take him" trade after two disappointing seasons in the Big Apple. Burnett has 11 wins for the Bucs so far this season and is said to have stepped up as the clubhouse leader not just for the young pitchers on the staff but for the entire team, especially rising star James McDonald, a 10-game winner so far this season and the leader among starters in strikeouts (104) and ERA (2.93).
Many Pirates fans rolled their eyes at Neal Huntington's "five year plan". But guess what? He's right on schedule. He took the General Manager's job in 2007 and immediately began trading away the top talent and highest paid players. He began spending big dollars on the draft and adding much needed talent to the farm system. It's 2012 and the Pirates are in a pennant race at the end of July. With the veteran leadership from Burnett and Clint Barmes who have World Series experience and the growing star power of Cutch and Pedro, don't expect a collapse like we saw in 2011. This Pirates team is for real.
Believe.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Random Sunday Thoughts
It's another one of those time where I don't really have a solid idea of what to write about. I want to take a break from the wrestling themed posts at least for this weekend. So this will be another rambling post. Hope you all are amused.
Adrian Peterson is a moron. Do I really need to elaborate?
Has there been any free agent signings more anti-climactic than the Parise/Suter signings? Talk about a lot of anticip........................ation for nothing!
So, Obama goes to Pittsburgh to hold a rally for his "base" voters. He does it at one of the most expensive universities in the state. Well, at least he finally admits who his base really is: rich white people.
Uproar festival looks to be a fucking great show this year. Who wants to go with me?
You know it's hot when your dog looks for a spot of shade before peeing.
Vicky Vette is my favorite MILF porn star. I know that's useless trivia about me, but maybe one or two of you might care. Lol.
What candy is more addicting: Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids?
Why are they doing another Judge Dredd movie? The first one sucked bad enough. I like Karl Urban, but he should have SPRINTED away from this movie offer. I smell a bomb coming for this one.
On the flipside, the huge budget production of The Great Gatsby from Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrman, looks to have Oscar written all over it...in pretty much every cateory possible.
Bucket list, serious version: visit Jeruselum
Bucket list, not-so-serious version: have a threesome
Is Mike Patton the most underappreciated front man ever? If not the most, he's in the top three for sure. (Hmmm...maybe a future full length post in there somewhere?)
Useless movie trivia: The original draft of Major League has the story based on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bought a Memorex iPod speaker dock recently. Best $40 I've spent in a long time.
What an easy way to get cool stuff in the mail for free? If any of you know, please tell me. Thanks.
You know the vampire craze is out of control when Steven Seagal make a vampire movie. Just sayin.
And finally...HOW ABOUT THOSE PITTSBURGH PIRATES?! BELIEVE IT, BABY!
follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTLovecraft
Adrian Peterson is a moron. Do I really need to elaborate?
Has there been any free agent signings more anti-climactic than the Parise/Suter signings? Talk about a lot of anticip........................ation for nothing!
So, Obama goes to Pittsburgh to hold a rally for his "base" voters. He does it at one of the most expensive universities in the state. Well, at least he finally admits who his base really is: rich white people.
Uproar festival looks to be a fucking great show this year. Who wants to go with me?
You know it's hot when your dog looks for a spot of shade before peeing.
Vicky Vette is my favorite MILF porn star. I know that's useless trivia about me, but maybe one or two of you might care. Lol.
What candy is more addicting: Swedish Fish or Sour Patch Kids?
Why are they doing another Judge Dredd movie? The first one sucked bad enough. I like Karl Urban, but he should have SPRINTED away from this movie offer. I smell a bomb coming for this one.
On the flipside, the huge budget production of The Great Gatsby from Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrman, looks to have Oscar written all over it...in pretty much every cateory possible.
Bucket list, serious version: visit Jeruselum
Bucket list, not-so-serious version: have a threesome
Is Mike Patton the most underappreciated front man ever? If not the most, he's in the top three for sure. (Hmmm...maybe a future full length post in there somewhere?)
Useless movie trivia: The original draft of Major League has the story based on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bought a Memorex iPod speaker dock recently. Best $40 I've spent in a long time.
What an easy way to get cool stuff in the mail for free? If any of you know, please tell me. Thanks.
You know the vampire craze is out of control when Steven Seagal make a vampire movie. Just sayin.
And finally...HOW ABOUT THOSE PITTSBURGH PIRATES?! BELIEVE IT, BABY!
follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTLovecraft
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