I did go to Taco Bell to get the free Doritos Loco taco from the stolen base in the World Series. They ended up getting my money because I got a Burrito Supreme since they discontinued the 7 layer burrito.
Better than average *players*, maybe... but that's almost purely because they were both middle infielders and accrued a fair amount of defensive value. As hitters though, both are clearly below average players for their careers. Renteria only really had a couple standout offensive years (2002-2003, and 2007). Scutaro never had a really great year, but he did manage to hit above league average 3 times: 2009, 2011, and 2013.
The question was about a player who wasn't good suddenly being good at a key moment. Neither of those players were good hitters and ended up having key hits to win championships. If they sealed wins with game-saving defensive plays I wouldn't have made the observation.
Jim McMahon talked his way into the game and played his way into America's football consciousness in one of the most dramatic quarterback performances in Bears history. McMahon threw three touchdown passes in seven throws in the third quarter to lead the Bears to a 33-24 comeback victory over the Vikings in Minnesota. With his back aching and his right leg infected, an angry McMahon convinced coach Mike Ditka to let him replace Steve Fuller with 7 minutes 22 seconds left in the third period and the Bears trailing 17-9. First play: 70-yard TD pass to Willie Gault. An interception by Wilber Marshall five plays later gave McMahon the ball on the Vikings' 25. Second play: 25-yard TD pass to Dennis McKinnon, Before the quarter was up, McMahon had thrown another TD strike to McKinnon. In a span of 6:40, he completed five of seven passes for three TDs.
When was he ever really the "hero," though? When the Bears won the Super Bowl he was 12-20 for 256 and two rushing TDs. A defensive player won the MVP.
He kinda got dicked around by moving him into the OF but he always was a good hitter. He looked bad out there in the beginning but got better towards the end of his last year. But yeah, wish he were on the Nats last year.
was watching Star Wars (episode 3) w/ my daughter last night. i commented that Joe Biden looks a lot like Senator Palpatine before getting zapped by all the Force lightning.
Tucker Carlson: Remember those damning documents that got lost in the mail? They were in a USB drive that got loose from the package that was sent to me. But UPS found the loose drive and delivered it to me, which is totally plausible. And I have the balls to suggest that it is a government conspiracy. And you know what, let's let bygones be bygones and leave Hunter alone and it has nothing to do with a 64-page dossier from a fake intelligence company written by a fictional person getting leaked and then debunked before I could try to spring my own October surprise.
The insidious thing is that - assuming Biden were to win - if a new administration were to try and reverse all the rule changes by the Trump administration, it would take a very long time under rules for public comment.
Which is why it was hurried up, in part to grab or retain certain votes, and in part before its too late.
Trying to re-list will not only be a lengthy and contentious process that will first require re-staffing the Dept. of the Interior, but also will doubtless end up in court, which will require packing some courts first.
If the administration is not flipped, the lack of listing will result in contentious confrontations that will be media circuses, and result in heated exchanges of unprecedented scope, especially since actual science will not align with politics.
Either way, its another short-term expedient play that will not go well for anyone in the short or medium term.
here is my story about by run in w/ the Koch Brothers (although not directly) and even related to weather ..
my first job out of grad school was trading weather derivatives. yes, you can buy options on the weather, ie. hot, cold, rain, snow, streamflow, wind, etc.
i was working at Louis Dreyfus, an old French grain trading company, but the whole concept of trading these things was invented by a trading/research group at Koch Industries. the first trade in the market, circa 1998, was between Koch Industries and Enron.
my boss at LD, was a former employee on the Koch trading desk, and our main rivals at Hess (think green gas stations in the northeast) were also from the initial team at Koch. we more or less had the same model as the Hess team, and spent most of our time making $$ off of Enron and other less sophisticated insurance companies.
at some point Koch sued Hess, but not us, for stealing trade secrets. we didnt get sued at LD, but it was mostly because we were less profitable and they were less jealous. in fact, i ended up working for that team at Hess for a few years as well and it all ended very strangely with some sort of legal settlement.
See my notes above about wolf de-listing. Another short term expedient play by someone desperate to try to grab or hold a handful of votes, or get it done before its too late (expect more, much more, of this if Biden wins between election day and inauguration day), which will create a mess to clean up for those on both sides of the issue going forward. The joy of short term only management that never considers the consequences for anyone more than about a week down the road.
Went to the grocery store. When I got home I had a voicemail saying it was mandated by the federal courts to say that the earlier message I got from Project 1599 (Jack Burkman) was incorrect in violation of voting rights law. Curious in that the phone number it came from showed the name of a tire store.
"Early voting in Texas on Friday surpassed the total turnout from the 2016 election, with four days left until Election Day.
More than 9 million people have cast ballots early in Texas, according to the secretary of state’s office. In 2016, the Lone Star State’s total turnout was just shy of 9 million."
Setting up a table and chairs in our driveway. Wearing out Hot Dog costumes, leaving individual goodie bags lined up, + pizza, wine, and a case of Corona beer.
we are still hoping that the little kids dress up and come around. it probably won't be the festive outdoor drinking event that it normally is where drunk parents walk around the streets vaguely in charge of their children.
we are constructing a slide out one of the front windows so we can deliver candy at high speeds right into the wee person's pillowcase.
Handing out candy in some pandemic appropriate manner and then drinks with the neighbors around a fire pit, unless very one decides it’s going to be too chilly
Watch some college football and snack on some of the Halloween candy, then eat more of it after no kids show up (the neighborhood has aged from having kids in nearly every house to almost none in the area). Weather is supposed to be clear, so I'll catch a look at a very rare case where we actually get a full moon on Halloween.
McRib available nationwide on Dec 2
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/30/business/mcdonalds-mcrib-2020-launch-date/index.html
I've never had it. Is it worth it?
I did go to Taco Bell to get the free Doritos Loco taco from the stolen base in the World Series. They ended up getting my money because I got a Burrito Supreme since they discontinued the 7 layer burrito.
Its a matter of taste. Not worth it at any price to some, a good deal to others.
As a human garbage can I’m going to have to say no.
No.
the real october surprise
i guess that will be my birthday dinner.
and lots of clogged toilets on Dec 3
Mediocre-at-best player who ended up being a hero when it counted
Travis Ishikawa
Don't forget Edgar Renteria, Marco Scutaro, Andres Torres
Renteria and Scutaro were probably better than average players for their careers though.
Better than average *players*, maybe... but that's almost purely because they were both middle infielders and accrued a fair amount of defensive value. As hitters though, both are clearly below average players for their careers. Renteria only really had a couple standout offensive years (2002-2003, and 2007). Scutaro never had a really great year, but he did manage to hit above league average 3 times: 2009, 2011, and 2013.
Sure, but the question was about the player's value.
Not sure I'd put Torres in this category. He had one great season for the Giants, but wasn't a big hero in the playoffs or anything.
The question was about a player who wasn't good suddenly being good at a key moment. Neither of those players were good hitters and ended up having key hits to win championships. If they sealed wins with game-saving defensive plays I wouldn't have made the observation.
I included Torres because he's also a below-average career hitter and was second only to Renteria in the 2010 WS with his hitting contribution : https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2010_WS.shtml
(sort by cWPA)
Oh and fucking Cody Ross
That's a good one. Dude randomly hit like a Hall of Famer for one postseason, otherwise a journeyman.
I see Cody...he looks glorious...
Brett Philips
Steve Kerr?
Oh, that's not fair; he's good not mediocre. Not great, but good.
i was thinking that he was better than mediocre too which is why i put the (??).
@Vince Young@
Other names in recent history include: David Freese, Steve Pearce
oh god...Steve Pearce. He definitely came out of nowhere.
Jim McMahon? I'm not convinced he was only mediocre, but certainly not on balance one of the greatest of the greats.
i remember watching the game where he first got his chance. he certainly had a big impact right away and made the most of it.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-jim-mcmahon-minnesota-miracle-20160804-story.html
Jim McMahon talked his way into the game and played his way into America's football consciousness in one of the most dramatic quarterback performances in Bears history. McMahon threw three touchdown passes in seven throws in the third quarter to lead the Bears to a 33-24 comeback victory over the Vikings in Minnesota. With his back aching and his right leg infected, an angry McMahon convinced coach Mike Ditka to let him replace Steve Fuller with 7 minutes 22 seconds left in the third period and the Bears trailing 17-9. First play: 70-yard TD pass to Willie Gault. An interception by Wilber Marshall five plays later gave McMahon the ball on the Vikings' 25. Second play: 25-yard TD pass to Dennis McKinnon, Before the quarter was up, McMahon had thrown another TD strike to McKinnon. In a span of 6:40, he completed five of seven passes for three TDs.
Impressive
When was he ever really the "hero," though? When the Bears won the Super Bowl he was 12-20 for 256 and two rushing TDs. A defensive player won the MVP.
Austin Barnes
That's a good one. Mookie really improved his approach at the plate. He became more aggressive and hit much better. Wasn't an automatic out.
Can you believe trading Dee Gordon got us both Kiké Hernandez and Austin Barnes?
And I think Andrew Heaney who was promptly flipped for Howie Kendrick. Definitely won that trade.
In retrospect would have preferred we keep Heaney.
Given that Kendrick knocked them out in 2019, I'm not so sure.
He kinda got dicked around by moving him into the OF but he always was a good hitter. He looked bad out there in the beginning but got better towards the end of his last year. But yeah, wish he were on the Nats last year.
Today in Covid
Dr Bird has left Gov't Covid task force due to Scott Atlas
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/politics/deborah-birx-task-force-scott-atlas/index.html
*Birx.
My spell check is aggressive.
Trump Jr: Covid numbers are "almost nothing" on day where about 1,000 people died of it
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-jr-says-covid-numbers-are-almost-nothing-day-n1245449
His baseline is the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
His baseline is the Holocaust.
I thought his baseline was about 2 inches on a mirror next to a rolled up $20.
France begins a one month lockdown, and last night, many Parisians hit the roads and train stations to flee to their second homes
Elsewhere in college
USC launches name/image/likeness studio. Innovative. I like it.
https://usctrojans.com/news/2020/10/29/usc-trojans-football-j1s-launch-blvd-studios-name-image-likeness.aspx
I dig all the local flavor in those materials. USC's twitter account has incorporated it into its icon and it looks great.
I’d prefer they tried something innovative like “winning games.”
😂
Trevor Lawrence tests positive for Ron
*Coronavirus
you would think every phone could predict "coronavirus" by now.
I'm almost certain I've had it at least once already and probably will get it again.
So much for “let us play.” Hope he recovers quickly and completely.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
My phone has now learned DBD speak. If I type "Our", it suggests "CRUMBLING" next. However, it still doesn't know my last name if I type my first.
was watching Star Wars (episode 3) w/ my daughter last night. i commented that Joe Biden looks a lot like Senator Palpatine before getting zapped by all the Force lightning.
I don't see it.
Tucker Carlson: Remember those damning documents that got lost in the mail? They were in a USB drive that got loose from the package that was sent to me. But UPS found the loose drive and delivered it to me, which is totally plausible. And I have the balls to suggest that it is a government conspiracy. And you know what, let's let bygones be bygones and leave Hunter alone and it has nothing to do with a 64-page dossier from a fake intelligence company written by a fictional person getting leaked and then debunked before I could try to spring my own October surprise.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/carlson-now-claiming-he-wants-to-lay-off-hunter-biden-after-damaging-docs-suddenly-reappear
He is such a tool.
NYT: Erodgan asked Trump to quash prosecution against Halkbank, which was laundering Iranian money. Trump said okay.
https://ahvalnews.com/halkbank/eight-takeaways-nyts-bombshell-story-turkeys-halkbank
Scum, really a treasonous act by trump
Trump panders to ranchers by allowing Grey Wolves hunting by taking them off the Endangered Species list
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-officials-end-gray-wolf-protections-across-most-u-s-n1245374
The insidious thing is that - assuming Biden were to win - if a new administration were to try and reverse all the rule changes by the Trump administration, it would take a very long time under rules for public comment.
Which is why it was hurried up, in part to grab or retain certain votes, and in part before its too late.
Trying to re-list will not only be a lengthy and contentious process that will first require re-staffing the Dept. of the Interior, but also will doubtless end up in court, which will require packing some courts first.
If the administration is not flipped, the lack of listing will result in contentious confrontations that will be media circuses, and result in heated exchanges of unprecedented scope, especially since actual science will not align with politics.
Either way, its another short-term expedient play that will not go well for anyone in the short or medium term.
Idaho Lt Governor
https://twitter.com/PoliticsReid/status/1321820053424074752?s=19
Driving with a gun in one hand and a bible in the other...Jesus take the wheel.
I mean at least someone would be steering
Administration fires Chief Scientist at NOAA. Will replace him with a skeptic from a Koch Brothers-founded group.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/trump-noaa-craig-mclean-science-fact-climate-denial-influence-b1425030.html
here is my story about by run in w/ the Koch Brothers (although not directly) and even related to weather ..
my first job out of grad school was trading weather derivatives. yes, you can buy options on the weather, ie. hot, cold, rain, snow, streamflow, wind, etc.
i was working at Louis Dreyfus, an old French grain trading company, but the whole concept of trading these things was invented by a trading/research group at Koch Industries. the first trade in the market, circa 1998, was between Koch Industries and Enron.
my boss at LD, was a former employee on the Koch trading desk, and our main rivals at Hess (think green gas stations in the northeast) were also from the initial team at Koch. we more or less had the same model as the Hess team, and spent most of our time making $$ off of Enron and other less sophisticated insurance companies.
at some point Koch sued Hess, but not us, for stealing trade secrets. we didnt get sued at LD, but it was mostly because we were less profitable and they were less jealous. in fact, i ended up working for that team at Hess for a few years as well and it all ended very strangely with some sort of legal settlement.
See my notes above about wolf de-listing. Another short term expedient play by someone desperate to try to grab or hold a handful of votes, or get it done before its too late (expect more, much more, of this if Biden wins between election day and inauguration day), which will create a mess to clean up for those on both sides of the issue going forward. The joy of short term only management that never considers the consequences for anyone more than about a week down the road.
If Biden wins, the transition team needs to reach out to these types of folks and ask them to hang tight, they will re-hire them in the new admin.
Went to the grocery store. When I got home I had a voicemail saying it was mandated by the federal courts to say that the earlier message I got from Project 1599 (Jack Burkman) was incorrect in violation of voting rights law. Curious in that the phone number it came from showed the name of a tire store.
Worrying indicator: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-30/biden-aides-see-warning-signs-in-black-latino-turnout-so-far
It is worrying but I don’t know what to believe at this point in terms of turnout.
What are the chances another "October Surprise" is unleashed at 4 pm EST today? And if so, what do you think it will be?
That Biden is in fact a zombie and has been dead for two years.
Won’t raise taxes, will raise the dead instead!
Zombification will be the new health care plan. Pre-existing conditions not relevant.
Still better than the GOP plan.
Plan? What plan?
Well, maybe not:
"Early voting in Texas on Friday surpassed the total turnout from the 2016 election, with four days left until Election Day.
More than 9 million people have cast ballots early in Texas, according to the secretary of state’s office. In 2016, the Lone Star State’s total turnout was just shy of 9 million."
WaPo
Higher turnout is probably a good sign for Biden. And if he wins Texas, it will be a rout.
PRO
Panthers run a nifty fake punt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP0l3AHvp8
CAL
Missing Cal student ends tragically. Zoe Rodgers, a goalie for the Field Hockey team, has passed away.
https://twitter.com/CalAthletics/status/1321981516268806144?s=19
oh no :(
Go Bears!
Halloween plans
Setting up a table with full-size candy bars for the kids and a separate area with shot-sized bottles of fireball for the adults.
Usually get a few trick-or-treaters and that's it. This year probably zero.
Setting up a table and chairs in our driveway. Wearing out Hot Dog costumes, leaving individual goodie bags lined up, + pizza, wine, and a case of Corona beer.
we are still hoping that the little kids dress up and come around. it probably won't be the festive outdoor drinking event that it normally is where drunk parents walk around the streets vaguely in charge of their children.
we are constructing a slide out one of the front windows so we can deliver candy at high speeds right into the wee person's pillowcase.
CFB, Mr Bungle live stream, more CFB
Work "parade" yesterday: https://twitter.com/advlightsource/status/1322190880262946816?s=20
Yours is good. Also Go Dodgers fan.
You might want to look more carefully at his hat...he is no fan!
oh yeah, I didn't zoom in. But he's got the wrong team then.
As a palate cleanser, here's an interesting attempt to objectively analyze and contextualize the Dodgers' 5-year run against other modern era teams that also had a period of dominance: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/making-the-case-for-the-2020-dodgers-place-in-history/
That belongs to a different team, a team of cheaters, from somewhere in Texas.
Heh, took me a while...
Watch a "scary" movie, maybe "Frankenstein Created Woman"
No trick-or-treating for us. We're going to watch all 5 Jurassic Park movies back-to-back with the boy and play games.
Handing out candy in some pandemic appropriate manner and then drinks with the neighbors around a fire pit, unless very one decides it’s going to be too chilly
Watch some college football and snack on some of the Halloween candy, then eat more of it after no kids show up (the neighborhood has aged from having kids in nearly every house to almost none in the area). Weather is supposed to be clear, so I'll catch a look at a very rare case where we actually get a full moon on Halloween.
And it's even a blue moon!
Brett Favre backs Trump in the election. He can go back to hawking whatever gizmo he is selling on cheap cable TV ads.
Never liked that guy.
M-W words of the week
poll watcher
hypothermia
anonymous
humble
boosterism