Category: Baseball

A Pretty Good Sunday

Things that were good today, not in order of importance:

  • I finished this year’s RPM Challenge
  • The Bruins beat the Rangers
  • We got a new waffle iron and it made some really good waffles.
  • Also in food news, Jen made a roast tonight and it was scary how good it was.
  • The Red Sox played their first Sprint training game. Sure, they lost to the Twinkies, but the important thing is that they played.
  • The Walking Dead came back.
  • My father, who went into the hospital on January 29th, came home. I mean, he’s going back in on Wednesday but the point is he finally came home. My father went home today!

12%

Massachusetts is going to allow people into arenas for sporting events starting March 22nd. Yet they can’t offer vaccines to people under 65 years old unless they have two of a short list of comorbidities.

I believe they are going to allow entry to 12% of the building capacities. That’s 2107 Bruins fans, 2234 Celtics fans, and once the season starts, 4553 Red Sox fans.

A gathering of 2,000 people… yes there will be social distance and masks and all of that… still… If the Bruins play three games in a week, that means we could have three super spreader events in town in a single week.

We’re never going to get out of this covid mess, are we.

Hank Aaron

I just read that Hank Aaron died. Hammerin’ Hank. He might not have had a problem with a steroid user breaking his home run record, but I do. Hank is still the king in my book.

He played in the south in the early 70’s and he was chasing after a revered record that belonged to a revered white guy. Racist America made his life pretty miserable but he stood tall and did his job like the hero he was. Our world is a lesser place without him in it.

I did a book report on him when I was in elementary school. The only thing I remember from that kids book I read 40 some odd years ago was a story from when he was in his first season in the minor leagues. He was running the bases and his helmet fell off… so he stopped to pick it up and put it back on. How his coach was able to find the self control to not tear his head from his neck, I’ll never know. I was still playing youth baseball at that time. Needless to say I never stopped running (as slow as I was) when my helmet came off. Hank got in huge trouble when he did it, I wasn’t going to fall into the same trap. No way.

Rest in peace, King.

Fall To-Do List

Hockey is over and it won’t be back for a while. Baseball is over and it won’t be back for a while. Movies are over and they won’t be back for a while.

What’s to look forward to?

The Mandalorian comes out tomorrow. Season two. That’s something to look forward to. I have spoken. This is the way.

Star Trek Discovery is back. We’re a couple of episodes into season three but I haven’t watched yet.

The first Marvel series on Disney+ is coming out in December.

I have a new guitar pedal coming. It shipped this morning. National Solo Album Month kicks off on Sunday. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Christmas? Thanksgiving? Covid-19 vaccines? That’s all up in the air still.

Election day? I’ve already voted, but I am cautiously optimistic that the fascists will be eradicated.

Major League Baseball Post Season Wrap Up

The Dodgers are World Series champions.

I have mixed feelings. First, I was hoping they would end up being the new breed of eternal losers. Now that the Red Sox (and the Cubs, I guess) have ended their futility streaks, it was time to replace them with a new team that consistently comes close but never wins… well. So much for that.

On the other hand, Mookie Betts. I want Mookie to win it over and over again. I want the Red Sox to constantly be reminded of how they screwed up by letting one of the best players in the game go. I don’t want the Dodgers to be a dynasty, but if that’s the price I have to pay to see Mookie be a dynasty then so be it.

Anyway, there is the coin flip predictions to wrap up. The coins picked seven out of 14 series leading up to the World Series. Exactly 50% correct. With an odd number of picks to make it was never going to finish off at 50%. It was either going to be one above or one below.

How’d it turn out?

One below. A final record of 7/8. The coin picked the (Devil) Rays and they lost. That leaves the final success rate at 47%. Good job, totally random coin flips. You did exactly what you were supposed to.

Major League Baseball World Series Prediction

It’s coin flip time again. The League Championships are over and the pennants have been won and there were lots of sick comebacks, both successful and otherwise.

So how did I do? First, let’s recap. The coin flip predictions in the first round were even at 4-4. The second round was a slaughter at 1-3. That’s 5-7 on the playoffs so far. Now let’s see the third round results, shall we?

Astros vs Rays: The coin picked the Rays, which was nice because the Astros are cheating pricks (so are my Red Sox, but let’s not talk about that today). Who won? The Rays won! The coin was right!

Braves vs Dodgers: The coin picked The Dodgers. The Dodgers should win it all, right? They are awesome. Still… they’ve blown it in the playoffs in each of the last 4000 years, so how’d they do this round? They didn’t blow it! They won! The coin was right again!

I was 2-0 in the Championship round, which puts the coins at… 7-7! Exactly 50% correct! Which is what a coin should do! How cool is that? Now there is an odd number of series in the post season, so it’s impossible to finish at 50/50, but whatever happens in the World Series, I will be as close to 50/50 has mathematically possible.

Let’s let the coin pick one more time. Heads for American League champ, tails for National League champ…..

Rays vs Dodgers: It’s Heads, babie! The Rays, whom I loathe, unfortunately, will bring the World Series to the American League East yet again, and the Dodgers will blow it in the big show once more!

There you have it, boys and girls. The Tampa Bay (devil) Rays will win the World Series!

Major League Baseball League Championship Series Predictions

The coin flip picks experiment for the second round of the MLB playoffs is complete, and it wasn’t good. The Yankees lost, so that’s good though.

In the wild card round the coins ended with a record of four correct picks and four incorrect pics. 4-4. How did they fair in the second round (hint: not good)?

Astros vs A’s: The coin picked the team that invented the sign stealing scheme and used it to win a world series. I can’t complain too much because the guy who invented it also took it to Boston and won a world series with my beloved Red Sox…. so yeah, cheatin’ all around. Crud. The coin picked the Astros and the Astros won. My record is 1-0. Feels good? Don’t get used to it.

Yankees vs Rays: The coin picked the Yankees and as a result, once this is over I am taking the quarter in question outside to the sewer drain across the street from my house and dropping it in. Stupid coin. Fortunately, the coin was wrong and the Rays won. Unfortunately, I hate the Rays too… but at least the Yankees are out. That’s sweet. My record is 1-1.

Now for the National League slaughter………

Padres vs Dodgers: Someday I would like to live in San Diego, or at least visit much more often than we do. I would not like to live in Los Angeles. The coin picked the Padres (yay!) but the Dodgers won (boo!). My record is 1-2.

Marlins vs Braves: The coin picked the Marlins, but fate knew that the Braves were originally from Boston and thought I would maybe want a Boston-ish team to root for and the Braves won. My record is 1-3.

So the first round is 4-4 and the second round is 1-3 which puts me and my coins at a dismal 5-7. It looks bad, but two correct picks in the Pennant round could bring me right back to 50/50, right? Here goes!

Heads for the higher seed, tails for the lower seed….

Astros vs Rays: (please don’t come up tails, please don’t come up tails) Heads, we’re picking the Rays!

Braves vs Dodgers: (the Dodgers are a juggernaut and pretty much a shoe in to win the world series, please come up head, please come up heads) Heads! We’re rooting for Mookie Betts again and picking the Dodgers!

So there you go, kids. The Rays and the Dodgers. That’s my coin-flip-pick for the world series match up. If both series go seven games then we’ll have the results by October 19th. See you then!

Even Odds for Real?

I just checked the status of the MLB playoffs and my little coin flip experiment. The first round had eight series and the coin picked four of them. 50%.

Three of the four series in the second round are done. The coin picked one of them. Game five of the Yankees/Rays series is tonight. If the Yankees win (it breaks my heart to say this) then the coin picked two right. 50% again.

How crazy would that be?

Major League Baseball Division Series Predictions

It’s time for some more coin flipping! The first round of the MLB playoffs ended yesterday. How did the coins do?

Rays vs Blue Jays: I picked the Blue Jays. I was wrong.

Indians vs Yankees: I picked the Indians. I was wrong. I hate the Yankees even more now.

Twins vs Astros: I picked the Astros. I was right.

Athletics vs White Sox: I picked the A’s. I was right.

Dodgers vs Brewers: I picked the Dodgers. I was right.

Padres vs Cardinals. I picked the Padres. I was right.

Cubs vs Marlins: I picked the Cubs. I was wrong.

Braves vs Reds: I picked the Reds. I was wrong.

So the coins did exactly what they should have. Four right and four wrong for a 4-4 record. 50/50, as you’d statistically expect. Cool! Except for the part about the Yankees winning. That wasn’t cool. Lets all hope that the coin doesn’t pick them in the second round.

On to the Divisional Series! In the American League (Heads for the higher seed, tails for the lower):

Astros vs A’s: Astros. That’s too bad, again.

Yankees vs Rays: NOOOOO!!!! It’s tails… the coin flip picked the Yankees. Damn it. I don’t want to play anymore.

Now to change coins and pick the National League:

Padres vs Dodgers: Padres.

Marlins vs Braves: Marlins.

Ummmm… can anyone see what happened here? I picked the lower seed four times. All four coin flips came up tails.

Okay, fate. You’re obviously not taking this seriously but let’s see how you do.