Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Monday, February 23, 2004
Revenge of the Scout?
Dave Pinto has a post on what will happen when other teams start to use Sabermetrics to identify undervalued players. Of course, once these players are identified, they will no longer be undervalued as more teams will be willing to pay for their services. But Pinto argues that many clubs will actually not follow through with a complete sabermetric strategy, but will probably just identify players with high OBA. He believes Beane will be able to identify undervalued players that other clubs, who only follow the perceived strategy, will continue to overlook.
I’m not so sure. There are a lot of uses for sabermetrics that go beyond the importance of OBA. But I would argue that OBA is the one aspect that gave Beane and others their biggest advantage. So while there are other players with certain characteristics that will remain undervalued, I don’t think they will have the impact that OBA advantage does. I’m also not so sure that they will be able to keep finding new types of undervalued players that will go unnoticed by other ballclubs.
I think it is informative to look at how undervalued assets are found in other markets. You can either look for market inefficiencies on a macro level or meticulously analyze individual assets looking for market mispricings.
Lets say an investment manager is able to earn significant abnormal returns (higher than a market model would suggest) by investing in small cap stocks. This manager wouldn’t even need to hire many analysts, as he would just need to put his money into a diversified portfolio of small cap stocks to beat the market. His hardest work will be in trying to keep this market inefficiency a secret from his competitors (I guess Joe Morgan was write – Billy Beane shouldn’t have written Moneyball).
But once this market inefficiency is discovered by the public the advantage will disappear. Everyone gets in on the game and the price goes up. So what does the investment manager do? Well its real hard to find new market inefficiencies. It is tautological that this would be very hard to accomplish, because for the market inefficiency to exist, it would have to go unnoticed by all other investors. How often can you realistically expect find a new one? And when you do, how long will the advantage last until the rest of the market picks up on it?
It’s more likely that the investment manager will need to increase the number of analysts to try and find individual assets that are being mispriced. Unfortunately, this is a lot harder and quite more expensive (and the returns aren’t nearly as fantastic).
So what does this mean for baseball. Well as the basic logic of sabermetrics is used by more teams, the advantage from using it will disappear. The next step would probably to do more research to try and find the type players who can develop into the desired profile. In other words, don’t be surprised if big scouting budgets return in the near future.
I’m not so sure. There are a lot of uses for sabermetrics that go beyond the importance of OBA. But I would argue that OBA is the one aspect that gave Beane and others their biggest advantage. So while there are other players with certain characteristics that will remain undervalued, I don’t think they will have the impact that OBA advantage does. I’m also not so sure that they will be able to keep finding new types of undervalued players that will go unnoticed by other ballclubs.
I think it is informative to look at how undervalued assets are found in other markets. You can either look for market inefficiencies on a macro level or meticulously analyze individual assets looking for market mispricings.
Lets say an investment manager is able to earn significant abnormal returns (higher than a market model would suggest) by investing in small cap stocks. This manager wouldn’t even need to hire many analysts, as he would just need to put his money into a diversified portfolio of small cap stocks to beat the market. His hardest work will be in trying to keep this market inefficiency a secret from his competitors (I guess Joe Morgan was write – Billy Beane shouldn’t have written Moneyball).
But once this market inefficiency is discovered by the public the advantage will disappear. Everyone gets in on the game and the price goes up. So what does the investment manager do? Well its real hard to find new market inefficiencies. It is tautological that this would be very hard to accomplish, because for the market inefficiency to exist, it would have to go unnoticed by all other investors. How often can you realistically expect find a new one? And when you do, how long will the advantage last until the rest of the market picks up on it?
It’s more likely that the investment manager will need to increase the number of analysts to try and find individual assets that are being mispriced. Unfortunately, this is a lot harder and quite more expensive (and the returns aren’t nearly as fantastic).
So what does this mean for baseball. Well as the basic logic of sabermetrics is used by more teams, the advantage from using it will disappear. The next step would probably to do more research to try and find the type players who can develop into the desired profile. In other words, don’t be surprised if big scouting budgets return in the near future.
Friday, February 20, 2004
New Cubs Site
If you are looking a well designed, intelligent blog about the Cubs, I highly recommend the Rooftop Report. But hey, if you were looking for anything intelligent or well designed, I don't think you would be here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Cubs Make Great Marketing Move
In business, when a company wins a contract they usually have mixed feelings. They're happy that they won the contract. But they also realize that they probably overpaid for it. This would certainly be the case if the Cubs were only bidding on Maddux's pitching abilities.
The details are not yet public, but the Cubs have paid $7.5 million+ for a fifth starter in their rotation. Maddux had his worst year since 1987 and his numbers will probably continue to fall over the next two years. I doubt any other teams were seriously considering signing Maddux for this amount.
However, this is not a bad investment for the Cubs. Even though he left the Cubs high and dry over a decade ago, Maddux remained popular with Cubs fans. And while Wrigley would have remained at capacity with or without Maddux this year, the Tribune Company will be able to recoup their investment through higher television ratings and advertising dollars. Maddux going for his 300th win will be icing on the cake.
So this move actually makes perfect business sense. Assets should be employed by the companies to which they have the most value. And Maddux adds more value to the Cubs than any other baseball organization.
The details are not yet public, but the Cubs have paid $7.5 million+ for a fifth starter in their rotation. Maddux had his worst year since 1987 and his numbers will probably continue to fall over the next two years. I doubt any other teams were seriously considering signing Maddux for this amount.
However, this is not a bad investment for the Cubs. Even though he left the Cubs high and dry over a decade ago, Maddux remained popular with Cubs fans. And while Wrigley would have remained at capacity with or without Maddux this year, the Tribune Company will be able to recoup their investment through higher television ratings and advertising dollars. Maddux going for his 300th win will be icing on the cake.
So this move actually makes perfect business sense. Assets should be employed by the companies to which they have the most value. And Maddux adds more value to the Cubs than any other baseball organization.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
DePaul On A Run
Things didn't look good for DePaul last month. They were 7-6 overall and dropped their first two conference games. But they turned things around and now stand at 15-7, 8-3.
More importantly, Joe Lunardi, the expert bracketologist, projects them as a tourney team. According to Lunardi, they just need to beat Louisville (on the road) or Cincinnatti (at home) to make a strong case for the tournament.
I'm still not convinced. The only impressive win DePaul has is over Memphis, and that is when Memphis was still working out some problems. But if Joe Lunardi says that DePaul has a good chance of making the tourney, you better believe it's true.
More importantly, Joe Lunardi, the expert bracketologist, projects them as a tourney team. According to Lunardi, they just need to beat Louisville (on the road) or Cincinnatti (at home) to make a strong case for the tournament.
I'm still not convinced. The only impressive win DePaul has is over Memphis, and that is when Memphis was still working out some problems. But if Joe Lunardi says that DePaul has a good chance of making the tourney, you better believe it's true.
Friday, February 13, 2004
Kenny Speaks (To The Hearing Impaired)
After we put the baby to bed at night, I often turn on the TV in the living room with the sound really low and the closed captioning on. Unfortunately, the baby is currently sleeping right next to our living room and there is no other way to watch the boob tube.
My wife can't stand it and usually heads off to bed. We could watch on another TV, but we only get cable in the living room. I suppose I could read a book instead (I'm currently reading Tides of War by Steven Pressfield - highly recommended) but after a long day at work and taking care of the baby at home I can't wait to veg (sp?) out.
Anyway, I was watching South Park on Wednesday night in closed captioning and it was still pretty enjoyable. It had Karl Reiner stuffing his fat ass while trying to ban smoking in South Park by any means necessary.
And midway through the show I notice that the closed captioning is giving Kenny complete, ungarbled dialogue. So if anyone out there is dying to know what Kenny is saying you can turn on the CC and find out. But it's probably not worth it as you can get the jist of what he says through the context of the show anyway.
My wife can't stand it and usually heads off to bed. We could watch on another TV, but we only get cable in the living room. I suppose I could read a book instead (I'm currently reading Tides of War by Steven Pressfield - highly recommended) but after a long day at work and taking care of the baby at home I can't wait to veg (sp?) out.
Anyway, I was watching South Park on Wednesday night in closed captioning and it was still pretty enjoyable. It had Karl Reiner stuffing his fat ass while trying to ban smoking in South Park by any means necessary.
And midway through the show I notice that the closed captioning is giving Kenny complete, ungarbled dialogue. So if anyone out there is dying to know what Kenny is saying you can turn on the CC and find out. But it's probably not worth it as you can get the jist of what he says through the context of the show anyway.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Fading Illini
Illinois’ big win at Bloomington the other night has momentarily smoothed over Bruce Weber’s rocky start down in Champaign-Urbana. The Big Ten campaign started off with a bad loss at home against Purdue and even worse road loss at Northwestern, stopping a 14 game win streak against the Wildcats. Illinois was also lucky to pull out an OT win at home against a very bad Illinois State team just prior to conference play. To top it off Illinois fell out of the AP Top 25 leaving them unranked for the first time in 64 polls. It wasn’t long ago when a national championship just seemed a matter of time at Illinois. Now they will have to win a couple more road games just to ensure an NCAA berth.
Their record at 13-5, 5-3, in not as good as it looks. They have not had a tough schedule and 5 of their first 8 Big Ten games were at home. Two of their remaining three home games are against conference leaders Wisconsin and Michigan State. They currently have an 39 RPI ranking and will probably need to win one of those games to make it to the tourney.
Back in the late nineties it looked as though Illinois might break through to become one of the elite national programs. They had successfully recruited the top three players from one of the best high school basketball teams in state history, Peoria Central, who won three consecutive state titles. It was thought the nucleus of Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin & Frank Williams would lead Illinois to the promised land. Add to the mix Big Ten freshman of the year, Corey Bradford, Lincoln HS (IL) recruit Brian Cook, tremendous role players such as Damir Krupalija, Lucas Johnson, Robert Archibald and Sean Harrington, and it wasn’t hard to imagine multiple trips to the final four.
Finally, after Lon Krueger left to coach the Atlanta Hawks, Bill Self took over the reins of the program in 2000. While Krueger put the program in good shape, Self seemed to take them to the next level. Coming off an Elite Eight appearance at Tulsa there was no telling how far he could take the Illini.
The 2000-01 season saw Illinois make it to the Elite Eight, where they lost a tough game to the eventual runner-up Arizona. It was the third game against Arizona and the teams were pretty evenly matched. Illinois ended up losing 2 out of the 3 meetings, but I do not doubt that if Illinois could have gotten past the Wildcats in the rubber match they very well could have won their first national championship.
Yet after the loss, there was still reason for optimism. Both McClain and Griffin were gone, but two new recruits Luther Head and Roger Powell were supposed to bring new life to the club. And Frank Williams, Brian Cook, Robert Archibald, and Corey Bradford still made up a solid nucleus. Alas, 2000-01 would be the closest Illinois would come to the Final Four for the foreseeable future.
The last players from that 2000-01 season, Brian Cook and Sean Harrington, have now graduated. Bruce Weber is already taking heat from disgruntled fans. But the problems of the Illini are not entirely his fault. Bill Self left the frontlines without a lot of muscle. Charlie Villanueva may have helped but he bolted along with Bill Self. So after years of pounding people inside with Griffin, Archibald, Cook, Krupalija, and Johnson, Weber is trying to make due with a tall but perimeter oriented player Nick Smith and a talented but young forward James Augustine. After that, the frontcourt is basically made up of swingmen such as Powell, Head and freshman Brian Randle.
The weakness upfront could be overcome with some better guard play but Illinois' talented guard duo of sophomores Deron Williams and Dee Brown have both had problems. Williams, their best defensive player and an improving offensive presence, suffered a broken jaw in the early season. Dee Brown, the “human fast break” is not living up to the potential he flashed his freshman year. Most likely, he was a bit overhyped by the fans, media, and most importantly himself. He will definitely need to work on his outside shot before he can be considered one of the nations top point guards.
I think the Illini will be able to make it to 9-7 in Big Ten play and make it to the tourney. But with a suspect frontline I would look for another second round exit. As for the future, I think it will be a while before Illini fans can again daydream about the final four.
Their record at 13-5, 5-3, in not as good as it looks. They have not had a tough schedule and 5 of their first 8 Big Ten games were at home. Two of their remaining three home games are against conference leaders Wisconsin and Michigan State. They currently have an 39 RPI ranking and will probably need to win one of those games to make it to the tourney.
Back in the late nineties it looked as though Illinois might break through to become one of the elite national programs. They had successfully recruited the top three players from one of the best high school basketball teams in state history, Peoria Central, who won three consecutive state titles. It was thought the nucleus of Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin & Frank Williams would lead Illinois to the promised land. Add to the mix Big Ten freshman of the year, Corey Bradford, Lincoln HS (IL) recruit Brian Cook, tremendous role players such as Damir Krupalija, Lucas Johnson, Robert Archibald and Sean Harrington, and it wasn’t hard to imagine multiple trips to the final four.
Finally, after Lon Krueger left to coach the Atlanta Hawks, Bill Self took over the reins of the program in 2000. While Krueger put the program in good shape, Self seemed to take them to the next level. Coming off an Elite Eight appearance at Tulsa there was no telling how far he could take the Illini.
The 2000-01 season saw Illinois make it to the Elite Eight, where they lost a tough game to the eventual runner-up Arizona. It was the third game against Arizona and the teams were pretty evenly matched. Illinois ended up losing 2 out of the 3 meetings, but I do not doubt that if Illinois could have gotten past the Wildcats in the rubber match they very well could have won their first national championship.
Yet after the loss, there was still reason for optimism. Both McClain and Griffin were gone, but two new recruits Luther Head and Roger Powell were supposed to bring new life to the club. And Frank Williams, Brian Cook, Robert Archibald, and Corey Bradford still made up a solid nucleus. Alas, 2000-01 would be the closest Illinois would come to the Final Four for the foreseeable future.
The last players from that 2000-01 season, Brian Cook and Sean Harrington, have now graduated. Bruce Weber is already taking heat from disgruntled fans. But the problems of the Illini are not entirely his fault. Bill Self left the frontlines without a lot of muscle. Charlie Villanueva may have helped but he bolted along with Bill Self. So after years of pounding people inside with Griffin, Archibald, Cook, Krupalija, and Johnson, Weber is trying to make due with a tall but perimeter oriented player Nick Smith and a talented but young forward James Augustine. After that, the frontcourt is basically made up of swingmen such as Powell, Head and freshman Brian Randle.
The weakness upfront could be overcome with some better guard play but Illinois' talented guard duo of sophomores Deron Williams and Dee Brown have both had problems. Williams, their best defensive player and an improving offensive presence, suffered a broken jaw in the early season. Dee Brown, the “human fast break” is not living up to the potential he flashed his freshman year. Most likely, he was a bit overhyped by the fans, media, and most importantly himself. He will definitely need to work on his outside shot before he can be considered one of the nations top point guards.
I think the Illini will be able to make it to 9-7 in Big Ten play and make it to the tourney. But with a suspect frontline I would look for another second round exit. As for the future, I think it will be a while before Illini fans can again daydream about the final four.
Friday, January 30, 2004
Conspiracy Theorist
Kevin Drum links to an article criticizing the Georgia State Board of Education for dumbing down the high school curriculum in both World & U.S. History. Most importantly, high school history classes will be not studying the Civil War, an era crucial to understanding the history of the country.
Now students will be taught Civil War history in 5th grade. But the article is correct in asserting that this is a topic that needs to be covered in high school when students reach a maturity level necessary to understand the complexity of issues that led to the Civil War. I would add that many topics would need to be repeated throughout the K-12 curriculum in order for students to have a competent understanding of our nation’s history.
So without a doubt this is a misguided attempt by the Georgia State Board of Ed to streamline their curriculum. Of course, if you live on Plant Drum, this is all one big conservative conspiracy to pretend the civil war never happened. As Kevin says in his comments, the omission is "obvious" and "shameful". I guess its so obvious that the word “conservative” doesn’t even need to be mentioned in the article he cites. I’m sure he has some other sources to verify that there was some sort of conservative agenda to eliminate reference to the civil war in high scool. He wouldn’t just make it up, right?
Of course this conservative conspiracy to pretend slavery never happened has some more work to do seeing as how high schoolers will be taught about the abolition of slavery, terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, the economic destruction of the north and south after the war, the military occupation of the South, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, the Black Codes, the accomplishments of African Americans during Reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, the NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the march on Washington and Brown v. Board of Education. And the conspirators better not forget to rid the 5th grade curriculum of the Civil War in its entirety.
Now if a conservative would claim a liberal “conspiracy” with such flimsy evidence, Drum would call them a liar. But since I’m not a partisan hack, I’ll just say the facts don’t support his theory.
Now students will be taught Civil War history in 5th grade. But the article is correct in asserting that this is a topic that needs to be covered in high school when students reach a maturity level necessary to understand the complexity of issues that led to the Civil War. I would add that many topics would need to be repeated throughout the K-12 curriculum in order for students to have a competent understanding of our nation’s history.
So without a doubt this is a misguided attempt by the Georgia State Board of Ed to streamline their curriculum. Of course, if you live on Plant Drum, this is all one big conservative conspiracy to pretend the civil war never happened. As Kevin says in his comments, the omission is "obvious" and "shameful". I guess its so obvious that the word “conservative” doesn’t even need to be mentioned in the article he cites. I’m sure he has some other sources to verify that there was some sort of conservative agenda to eliminate reference to the civil war in high scool. He wouldn’t just make it up, right?
Of course this conservative conspiracy to pretend slavery never happened has some more work to do seeing as how high schoolers will be taught about the abolition of slavery, terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, the economic destruction of the north and south after the war, the military occupation of the South, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, the Black Codes, the accomplishments of African Americans during Reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, the NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the march on Washington and Brown v. Board of Education. And the conspirators better not forget to rid the 5th grade curriculum of the Civil War in its entirety.
Now if a conservative would claim a liberal “conspiracy” with such flimsy evidence, Drum would call them a liar. But since I’m not a partisan hack, I’ll just say the facts don’t support his theory.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
How Much Is Enough?
Yesterday Aaron Gleeman wrote a post asking why Ivan Rodriguez would even consider going to Detroit for financial considerations when he probably already has more money than he could ever spend in his lifetime. Well, I’ll think there are a lot of good reasons why he would consider going to Detroit.
Some readers have already e-mailed Aaron to remind him that people pay taxes in the U.S., so Pudge actually received much less than $66.5 million his contracts to date have been worth. I would also add that his agent probably took a nice commission on each of those contracts.
Nevertheless, Pudge still has a lot of money and won’t be going hungry anytime soon. But Gleeman makes another point that I would question. He says that for a person making $30,000 a year, a $20,000 raise is a huge deal. Well for a person making $100,000, cutting his salary to $50,000 is also a big deal. Our two hypothetical people would be making the exact same amount of money but one would be thrilled while the other would be devastated. So while Gleeman may think money is only relative to poor people, it can also have a huge impact for people who are already well off too.
This is because people usually spend a lot of what they make, a fact my brother likes to refer to as the “golden handcuffs”. So while I have no idea how Pudge spends his money, it is not absurd to think that taking a 50% decrease in salary, from $10m to $5m may require some lifestyle adjustments.
A few years ago Frank Thomas got into a contract dispute when a majority of his salary was going to be deferred because of a “diminished skills clause”. I don’t want to get into the wisdom of signing such a contract, but there was no way Big Frank could pay his bills under the new terms of his contract. Now Frank’s base salary was going to decrease much more drastically than Pudge’s, from about $10m to $300K, but I think the point remains.
But enough about relative wealth, the amount of money in absolute terms is enormous. Were not talking about $1m per year, were talking about $15 to $20 million over 4 years. It doesn’t matter if you have $0 in the bank, or $40m in the bank, $20 million is a lot of money. Now surely Pudge will never have to work after baseball, but if he signed with Detroit, maybe his kids will never have to struggle either (or hell, even his grandkids). I’m sure that’s something he will think about when making his decision.
But I guess Gleeman might believe that some players are so well off that none of these financial considerations should matter. The Detroit contract would still be a viable option. Why? Well Pudge might be happier, all things being equal, as a Cub. But it is not certain he would be happy being paid less than market value. It is human nature to want to be paid what one is worth, no matter how well off you are. And if you're competitive you would surely want to be one of the highest paid at your position.
Finally, the last reason Detroit may not be such a bad option. They play in the AL Central. Getting to .500 may have them competing for the AL Central title two years from now. Stranger things have happened.
Anyway, Aaron Gleeman is one of my favorite writers and I’m sure I’ll be able to read him in a major newspaper one day. I just hope I never have to read a column asking “why do ballplayers need so much money?”. There’s enough of those out there already.
Some readers have already e-mailed Aaron to remind him that people pay taxes in the U.S., so Pudge actually received much less than $66.5 million his contracts to date have been worth. I would also add that his agent probably took a nice commission on each of those contracts.
Nevertheless, Pudge still has a lot of money and won’t be going hungry anytime soon. But Gleeman makes another point that I would question. He says that for a person making $30,000 a year, a $20,000 raise is a huge deal. Well for a person making $100,000, cutting his salary to $50,000 is also a big deal. Our two hypothetical people would be making the exact same amount of money but one would be thrilled while the other would be devastated. So while Gleeman may think money is only relative to poor people, it can also have a huge impact for people who are already well off too.
This is because people usually spend a lot of what they make, a fact my brother likes to refer to as the “golden handcuffs”. So while I have no idea how Pudge spends his money, it is not absurd to think that taking a 50% decrease in salary, from $10m to $5m may require some lifestyle adjustments.
A few years ago Frank Thomas got into a contract dispute when a majority of his salary was going to be deferred because of a “diminished skills clause”. I don’t want to get into the wisdom of signing such a contract, but there was no way Big Frank could pay his bills under the new terms of his contract. Now Frank’s base salary was going to decrease much more drastically than Pudge’s, from about $10m to $300K, but I think the point remains.
But enough about relative wealth, the amount of money in absolute terms is enormous. Were not talking about $1m per year, were talking about $15 to $20 million over 4 years. It doesn’t matter if you have $0 in the bank, or $40m in the bank, $20 million is a lot of money. Now surely Pudge will never have to work after baseball, but if he signed with Detroit, maybe his kids will never have to struggle either (or hell, even his grandkids). I’m sure that’s something he will think about when making his decision.
But I guess Gleeman might believe that some players are so well off that none of these financial considerations should matter. The Detroit contract would still be a viable option. Why? Well Pudge might be happier, all things being equal, as a Cub. But it is not certain he would be happy being paid less than market value. It is human nature to want to be paid what one is worth, no matter how well off you are. And if you're competitive you would surely want to be one of the highest paid at your position.
Finally, the last reason Detroit may not be such a bad option. They play in the AL Central. Getting to .500 may have them competing for the AL Central title two years from now. Stranger things have happened.
Anyway, Aaron Gleeman is one of my favorite writers and I’m sure I’ll be able to read him in a major newspaper one day. I just hope I never have to read a column asking “why do ballplayers need so much money?”. There’s enough of those out there already.
Friday, January 23, 2004
Angry Dad
A lot of people have compared Howard Dean’s bizarre performance on Monday night to Bruce Banner turning into the Incredible Hulk. Well it reminded me more of “Crazy Dad”. You can see by Mad How’s reaction after his outburst that he needs rage-ohol. He was on one hell of an emotional high.
Last night at the debate we saw him jump back on the wagon. But as wwith all rage-oholics, he can’t be expected to conquer his demons without serious help. Especially with the press corps giving him the full Moe Sizlak Experience, antagonizing and goading him into his next relapse. “Hey look, there’s crazy dad! Let’s make him do something crazy!”
And just to drive this analogy into the ground, Dean should actually be thankful for President Bush for giving him the opportunity to vent his rage rather than keeping it bottled up and causing him to have a heart attack.
Last night at the debate we saw him jump back on the wagon. But as wwith all rage-oholics, he can’t be expected to conquer his demons without serious help. Especially with the press corps giving him the full Moe Sizlak Experience, antagonizing and goading him into his next relapse. “Hey look, there’s crazy dad! Let’s make him do something crazy!”
And just to drive this analogy into the ground, Dean should actually be thankful for President Bush for giving him the opportunity to vent his rage rather than keeping it bottled up and causing him to have a heart attack.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
But We're Big In China
So last night I was watching part of the Chinese Communist Party's New Year's Eve Show and saw something pretty odd. Actually I saw a lot of odd things. But hey, I'm a determined channel surfer and watch a lot of shows and this happens to be the most watched show in the world each year - over 600 million viewers - so I decided to check it out.
Anyway, right in the middle of some ridiculous dance number, a guy comes out doing tricks with a basketball. While it didn't make much sense in the middle of a dance number that wasn't the what made the act memorable. The Chinese guy doing tricks with the basketball was wearing a DePaul Blue Demons basketball jersey.
Now that's just weird. Why on earth would this guy have on a DePaul jersey? They haven't been very good the past few years. Is DePaul sending missionaries to China? Recruiters? Who knows.
But the Chinese New Years show is famous for making entertainers overnight sensations in China. The Wall Street Journal told the story of a Chinese American doctor who was asked to appear on the show as an example of how succesful Chinese people are in America. According to the Journal:
"Dr. Wong mentioned that he liked to sing. The producers handed him a microphone. "They told me there would be a billion people watching," says Dr. Wong. He became an overnight singing sensation in China, performing in concerts and producing several records. "That's how I became famous," he says.
Visiting China last week, Dr. Wong was stopped several times by strangers asking him to reprise the song he sang on the New Year's Eve show nearly 20 years ago."
So maybe the Blue Demons can use this gift of publicity to land the next Yao Ming. Or hell, I'll settle for the next Wang Zhizhi.
P.S. The jersey was #24 but I could not read the name on the back. Does anyone know who wore #24? I can't find their old rosters anywhere. If you know e-mail me.
Anyway, right in the middle of some ridiculous dance number, a guy comes out doing tricks with a basketball. While it didn't make much sense in the middle of a dance number that wasn't the what made the act memorable. The Chinese guy doing tricks with the basketball was wearing a DePaul Blue Demons basketball jersey.
Now that's just weird. Why on earth would this guy have on a DePaul jersey? They haven't been very good the past few years. Is DePaul sending missionaries to China? Recruiters? Who knows.
But the Chinese New Years show is famous for making entertainers overnight sensations in China. The Wall Street Journal told the story of a Chinese American doctor who was asked to appear on the show as an example of how succesful Chinese people are in America. According to the Journal:
"Dr. Wong mentioned that he liked to sing. The producers handed him a microphone. "They told me there would be a billion people watching," says Dr. Wong. He became an overnight singing sensation in China, performing in concerts and producing several records. "That's how I became famous," he says.
Visiting China last week, Dr. Wong was stopped several times by strangers asking him to reprise the song he sang on the New Year's Eve show nearly 20 years ago."
So maybe the Blue Demons can use this gift of publicity to land the next Yao Ming. Or hell, I'll settle for the next Wang Zhizhi.
P.S. The jersey was #24 but I could not read the name on the back. Does anyone know who wore #24? I can't find their old rosters anywhere. If you know e-mail me.
Monday, January 19, 2004
2004 Central Prediction
Well, it looks like the Central Division is pretty much set for 2004. They way I see it, the Twins got a little bit weaker in the bullpen but remain about the same everywhere else. They also have the potential for an improved rotation with Santana starting from day one and the possibility of more consistent performances from Lohse and Radke.
Also, the Twins have a bunch of young hitters and the odds are that one of them will have a breakout season (if they get a chance to play). Too bad none of them know how to play 2B or SS.
Bottom line is that in a weak division they should be able to match last year’s win total and repeat as division champs.
The White Sox have a had a bad offseason. I’m actually not that upset about not resigning Alomar or Everett. But losing Colon, Gordon & Sullivan hurts. So the pitching staff has gone through a tremendous downsizing and it will again be up to the offense to win games, something they have not been able to do the past three years. In any other division this team wouldn’t have a chance at the playoffs, and I don’t think they have much of one even in the Central. I think the Sox will end up right about .500 and in second place.
For everyone getting excited about the Royals this year here’s a newsflash. The Royals were over 7.5 games up on two teams at the all star break last year and finished behind both because their pitching sucked. They can sign as many has been outfielders as they want and their pitching will still suck. They will be fighting Cleveland for third place. I say Cleveland takes third.
And while I still have a lot of left over animosity towards the Pistons form the Bad Boys era, I don’t like to see the Tigers lose 100 games each year. It’s my hope they can win a few more games this year and revive interest in a once proud franchise. If only the got to play the White Sox a few more times each year they might have a chance to climb out of the cellar. Maybe in 2005.
Also, the Twins have a bunch of young hitters and the odds are that one of them will have a breakout season (if they get a chance to play). Too bad none of them know how to play 2B or SS.
Bottom line is that in a weak division they should be able to match last year’s win total and repeat as division champs.
The White Sox have a had a bad offseason. I’m actually not that upset about not resigning Alomar or Everett. But losing Colon, Gordon & Sullivan hurts. So the pitching staff has gone through a tremendous downsizing and it will again be up to the offense to win games, something they have not been able to do the past three years. In any other division this team wouldn’t have a chance at the playoffs, and I don’t think they have much of one even in the Central. I think the Sox will end up right about .500 and in second place.
For everyone getting excited about the Royals this year here’s a newsflash. The Royals were over 7.5 games up on two teams at the all star break last year and finished behind both because their pitching sucked. They can sign as many has been outfielders as they want and their pitching will still suck. They will be fighting Cleveland for third place. I say Cleveland takes third.
And while I still have a lot of left over animosity towards the Pistons form the Bad Boys era, I don’t like to see the Tigers lose 100 games each year. It’s my hope they can win a few more games this year and revive interest in a once proud franchise. If only the got to play the White Sox a few more times each year they might have a chance to climb out of the cellar. Maybe in 2005.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
EWWW!
I stopped by the Potbelly's (coming soon to a location near you) on Southport the other day for some sandwiches and noticed a big health department sign at Ann Sather's cafe. It said that the cafe had been closed down for health code violations.
Now everyone in Chicago is most likely familiar with Ann Sather's and their deliciously decadent cinnamon buns. But the funny thing is, the owner of Ann Sather's, is also the 44th ward alderman, Tom Tunney (who is the first openly gay alderman elected in Chicago. And for those who are interested, Wrigley Field is located in the 44th ward). So the cafe was closed down in his very own ward!
Anyway, it's good to know that alderman aren't getting special treatment, although I can't imagine this happening to Ed Burke.
Now everyone in Chicago is most likely familiar with Ann Sather's and their deliciously decadent cinnamon buns. But the funny thing is, the owner of Ann Sather's, is also the 44th ward alderman, Tom Tunney (who is the first openly gay alderman elected in Chicago. And for those who are interested, Wrigley Field is located in the 44th ward). So the cafe was closed down in his very own ward!
Anyway, it's good to know that alderman aren't getting special treatment, although I can't imagine this happening to Ed Burke.
Friday, January 09, 2004
Sopranos
The wife and I have been watching the last season of the Soprano's on DVD the last couple of weeks and immediately after Ralphie got on Tony's bad side I figured they would be adding a new cast member this year. I was going over the possibilities in my head and decided Steve Buscemi would be a great choice.
And what do you know, Buscemi will be joining the cast next year. (via the Vodkapundit). That's great news for Sopranos fans and Steve Buscemi fans.
And what do you know, Buscemi will be joining the cast next year. (via the Vodkapundit). That's great news for Sopranos fans and Steve Buscemi fans.
One Final Sports Related Posts
Another reason I haven't been writing as much on sports is that I've stopped buying the local paper. I usually only buy one to follow up on an Illin basketball game or some other specific news I'm interested it.
With that said, I used to be able to read the sportspage at work while going to the bathroom. Someone was kind enough to leave the Trib sports section laying around each day. That ended a couple of months ago.
For some reason, the person who cleans our bathroom each day has started taking the sports page with him. I'm not sure if it's just to clean the room or if he wants to read it himself. But if the cleaning person who keeps lifting the sports section happens to be reading this blog, leave the damn paper in the bathroom!
With that said, I used to be able to read the sportspage at work while going to the bathroom. Someone was kind enough to leave the Trib sports section laying around each day. That ended a couple of months ago.
For some reason, the person who cleans our bathroom each day has started taking the sports page with him. I'm not sure if it's just to clean the room or if he wants to read it himself. But if the cleaning person who keeps lifting the sports section happens to be reading this blog, leave the damn paper in the bathroom!
Light Posting
Well I said I would be back on the 6th but wasn't able to keep my promise. It looks like I've lost the urge to write about sports. I like watching other sports but do not have the same motivation to write about it as I do with baseball. And the baseball offseason doesn't excite me very much, especially with the White Sox only making minor moves.
Until the baseball season starts expect posts on politics, business and movies. I toyed with the idea of putting those posts on a separate blog but decided against it. So anyone expecting sports posts has been warned.
Until the baseball season starts expect posts on politics, business and movies. I toyed with the idea of putting those posts on a separate blog but decided against it. So anyone expecting sports posts has been warned.
Monday, December 29, 2003
Vacation Time
It doesn't look like I'll be posting until Tuesday, January 6th. I'm at home for awhile but have not been getting the chance to do much web surfing. See ya next week.
Monday, December 22, 2003
Monday Quick Hits
If only the Saints knew I picked them in my pool, they would have never gotten their hopes up.
Rex Grossman looks like a keeper. Of course he's played against two suspect defenses. Unfortunately, we won't get a chance to see him perform against a good defense this year as KC is pretty bad at stopping the pass too. But it's probably good in the long run for Rex to ease his way into the league anyway.
Greg Couch finally writes something I agree with:
"Thomas seems like a guy who does what he's asked, hangs onto the ball, runs through openings in the line when they exist. And when it's time to create something, he runs into somebody's back and falls down. You cannot expect everyone to be Gale Sayers, but it would be nice to have someone who isn't magically pulled by some sort of magnetic force into an offensive lineman's back. Plunge and fall. Plunge and fall."
But then later in the column:
"The Bears have had Thomas for three seasons and still have no idea if he's any good."
He perfectly describes Thomas as a running back and then says we have no idea if he's any good. Greg, you were right the first time! He can run through a hole but not through a linebacker. The Bears should upgrade if the right opportunity comes along.
Rex Grossman looks like a keeper. Of course he's played against two suspect defenses. Unfortunately, we won't get a chance to see him perform against a good defense this year as KC is pretty bad at stopping the pass too. But it's probably good in the long run for Rex to ease his way into the league anyway.
Greg Couch finally writes something I agree with:
"Thomas seems like a guy who does what he's asked, hangs onto the ball, runs through openings in the line when they exist. And when it's time to create something, he runs into somebody's back and falls down. You cannot expect everyone to be Gale Sayers, but it would be nice to have someone who isn't magically pulled by some sort of magnetic force into an offensive lineman's back. Plunge and fall. Plunge and fall."
But then later in the column:
"The Bears have had Thomas for three seasons and still have no idea if he's any good."
He perfectly describes Thomas as a running back and then says we have no idea if he's any good. Greg, you were right the first time! He can run through a hole but not through a linebacker. The Bears should upgrade if the right opportunity comes along.
Friday, December 19, 2003
IL GOP
I got my weekly IL Republican Party Newsletter today and not a word on indicted former Governor George Ryan. Hey folks, I don't think you can just ignore the story. How about coming out strong saying the party is starting over with a new generation of leadership. Well I guess the problem with that it's untrue. The party is still controlled by the same leadership devoid of any new ideas.
Anyway, my brother tried to correct me by stating that Ryan was the uber-corrupt secretary of state. But from reading the Trib article today it sounds like they're whacking Ryan for raiding his own campaign war chest as Governor.
This is actually somewhat disappointing as many were hoping he was going to be indicted for the license for bribes scandal at the Secretary of State's office. But from what the articles states it sounds like he was being indicted for things that I'm sure are pretty routine for Illinois politicians. Ryan just had more funds to do them on a grander scale. Maybe more details of corruption will come out in the weeks ahead.
Anyway, the state GOP has started a blog. I'm sure this is their idea of being "hip". But here's a suggestion. No one's going to stop by the site if its the political equilavent of the LovaBulls (unless of course you put up actual pictures of beautiful women). You may want to add some thoughtful commentary and a little bit of humor. No one wants to hear cheerleading and a bunch of comments from a guy named Jim.
Anyway, my brother tried to correct me by stating that Ryan was the uber-corrupt secretary of state. But from reading the Trib article today it sounds like they're whacking Ryan for raiding his own campaign war chest as Governor.
This is actually somewhat disappointing as many were hoping he was going to be indicted for the license for bribes scandal at the Secretary of State's office. But from what the articles states it sounds like he was being indicted for things that I'm sure are pretty routine for Illinois politicians. Ryan just had more funds to do them on a grander scale. Maybe more details of corruption will come out in the weeks ahead.
Anyway, the state GOP has started a blog. I'm sure this is their idea of being "hip". But here's a suggestion. No one's going to stop by the site if its the political equilavent of the LovaBulls (unless of course you put up actual pictures of beautiful women). You may want to add some thoughtful commentary and a little bit of humor. No one wants to hear cheerleading and a bunch of comments from a guy named Jim.
Winter Blues
Well, I became real excited about the trade speculation this week. But now after I’ve calmed down a bit I’m not sure why I was getting so excited in the first place. I think I was just happy Williams was trying to do something even though its not clear at all the trade would have improved the Sox.
Most people do not believe the Sox would keep Nomar, and after looking at his road numbers the last three seasons, that’s probably a good thing. So what we’re really talking about is trading Ordonez for pitching regardless of where it comes from. It sounded like Scott Williamson would come to Chicago via the trade. And then you ship Nomar off to LA or Anaheim, for Perez, Mota and a prospect, or Washburn, Percival and a prospect. Are these scenarios worth losing Ordonez? I guess it depends on who the prospect is. Edwin Jackson might make the deal worth it. But I highly doubt Evans will be giving the Sox their number one pitching prospect.
So whether or not the deal gets back on track the Sox somehow need to add some pitching to the roster. Williams is reluctant to trade Carlos Lee, although he is the most tradable player because of his contract, and would be less damaging than trading Mags. But they’re looking to unload Ordonez because he’s in his last year of his contract and they don’t want to pay anyone $14m per season (even though he’s worth it).
These are not good times on the South Side.
Most people do not believe the Sox would keep Nomar, and after looking at his road numbers the last three seasons, that’s probably a good thing. So what we’re really talking about is trading Ordonez for pitching regardless of where it comes from. It sounded like Scott Williamson would come to Chicago via the trade. And then you ship Nomar off to LA or Anaheim, for Perez, Mota and a prospect, or Washburn, Percival and a prospect. Are these scenarios worth losing Ordonez? I guess it depends on who the prospect is. Edwin Jackson might make the deal worth it. But I highly doubt Evans will be giving the Sox their number one pitching prospect.
So whether or not the deal gets back on track the Sox somehow need to add some pitching to the roster. Williams is reluctant to trade Carlos Lee, although he is the most tradable player because of his contract, and would be less damaging than trading Mags. But they’re looking to unload Ordonez because he’s in his last year of his contract and they don’t want to pay anyone $14m per season (even though he’s worth it).
These are not good times on the South Side.
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