On Sunday, one of her top backers, Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, said he would “love” to see Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton on a ticket together.It's becoming more and more apparent that HRC's only path to the White House is as VP. I still think it would be ok, but her window to reconcile and unite the party is closing (if it's not already closed). Personally, I'm much less enthusiastic about HRC the VP than I was a month ago, and with Obama's lead now as high as it has ever been, the country seems to agree. She may have shot herself in the foot by becoming increasingly negative and defensive since Ohio/Texas.
3/31/08
Her Only Hope
As superdelegates continue to flock to Obama, a top surrogate in Hillary's most important state says:
3/30/08
Strike 3?
Bush was just booed as he just threw out the first pitch (a chest high 67 mile per hour fast ball for ball 1) at the new National's Stadium in DC.
Wildfires Associated
In case you can't get Wildfire action from this page, check out the website for Wildfire Associates, my mom's consulting business (webmaster: yours truly). It's a work in progress, and most of the work samples got lost in the process of changing hosts from godaddy (sucky) to 1and1 (not bad so far) and are currently MIA. Comments and suggestions regarding design and content are definitely welcome and encouraged though.
3/26/08
The Killers = The Boredoms
Watching The Killers on Austin City Limits I have 2 observations:
1) All of their good songs sound the same. That's not a horrible thing - I very much like several of their songs. Mr. Brightside gave me a much needed energy boost at around mile 20 of the marathon, but listening to 3 or 4 in a row while sitting on a couch kind of sucks. The current song about "Indie Rock and Roll for Me" actually sounds different ... in a slow, boring, bad way.
2) For a band called "The Killers" they offer the stiffest, dullest live performers I could possibly imagine. Come on people. Bite of a chicken head. Break a guitar. Freaking *kill* something. Yawn.
1) All of their good songs sound the same. That's not a horrible thing - I very much like several of their songs. Mr. Brightside gave me a much needed energy boost at around mile 20 of the marathon, but listening to 3 or 4 in a row while sitting on a couch kind of sucks. The current song about "Indie Rock and Roll for Me" actually sounds different ... in a slow, boring, bad way.
2) For a band called "The Killers" they offer the stiffest, dullest live performers I could possibly imagine. Come on people. Bite of a chicken head. Break a guitar. Freaking *kill* something. Yawn.
USA 3, Poland 0
Player ratings for USA's 3-0 friendly victory over Poland today (3rd consecutive win for the US, 2nd straight on European soil...enjoy the streak while it lasts, our next 2 games are at England and Spain):
Tim Howard - 7.0 - he made one very good save and two or three other decent ones. He's solid, probably one of the 10 or 15 best keepers in the world.
Steve Cherundolo - 7.5 - played very well on the right side of the defense as usual. He got forward some but wasn't as effective as he sometimes is offensively but more than made up for that with a close to flawless defensive performance.
Carlos Bocanegra - 8.5 - he played surprisingly well considering he has been out of favor at Fulham recently. He was rock solid defensively down the middle, covered the left side when Heath Pearce made his way forward, and scored a nice goal on a set piece. Great game.
Oguchi Oneywu - 8.5 - along with Bocanegra, he was our best player. Like Boca, he made no mistakes in the middle of the defense, covered for Cherundolo numerous times when he went forward, and scored a good goal on a corner. If we can get delivery on set pieces (which we did today from Donovan), then having a Bocanegra/Oneywu partnership at center back is not only solid defensively but it gives us a real threat from dead ball situations. (note - this game went along with my theory that Oneywu and Boca are much better against slower, more physical teams than they are speedier ones; and against my theory that Cherundolo is the opposite.)
Heath Pearce - 5.0 - the weak link in our defense, most of Poland's dangerous attacks came down their right flank. He didn't play horribly but he looked much shakier than the rest of our back four. He did go forward effectively at times, even drawing the free kick that set up the first goal. I am far from sold that Pearce is the answer at left back but he is still young (23) so maybe he can prove me wrong.
Landon Donovan - 7.0 - playing on a wing and moving to the middle, he actually had a pretty decent game. For the most part, he wasn't explosive, but he sort of had a David Beckham game - he was under control, played some good balls, and was great delivering set pieces. He did have one great explosive moment where he blew by the last defender on a counter attack at midfield leaving himself one on one with the keeper but unfortunately hit his shot inches wide. If he had converted that, he gets at least an 8.0 in my book.
Clint Dempsey - 6.0 - played the same role as Donovan on the opposite wing. He had some nice touches and looked dangerous at times but overall gave a pretty so-so performance. He was also very selfish when he broke into the clear towards the end of the game, trying to shoot instead of squaring the ball to Feilhaber I believe for an easy tap-in.
Riccardo Clark - 7.0 - I am a big fan of his and he played pretty well today. He gave away possession unnecessarily a few times but made up for this with some good surging runs from the midfield. He also did a nice job defensively. Not his best performance but he definitely held his own. I'm glad to see him ahead of Feilhaber on the center midfield depth chart (he's probably still behind Maurice Edu though, who I also like a lot).
Michael Bradley - 7.5 - Bradley is having an incredible season for his club, Heerenveen (currently 3rd in the Dutch top flight) - he has scored 15 league goals and 20 in all competitions, which has to be in the top 5 for all midfielders in the top leagues in Europe. I haven't been a big fan of his national team performances in the past though, so I tried to really watch him during the first half and see if he's as good as some say he is. My verdict - he is pretty damn good. More than any of our other players, he really 'gets' it, in terms of how to correctly play soccer. In other words, I could see him fitting in and getting playing time at a club like Arsenal, something that I can't really say for anyone else we have. He's effective defensively, makes quick decisions on the ball, and is always looking to make a positive pass. He also has a knack for finding where the open space is in an opposing team's defense and trying to exploit it. In the game today, he started off brilliantly and then slowed down as the game progressed. He still hasn't shown much goal-scoring prowess for the USA, but a big part of that is because our forwards suck and can't hold the ball long enough so Bradley never has the chance to make the intelligent late runs into the box that he does for Heerenveen. The fact that he is still only 20 years old is disturbing (in a good way) - he, Adu, and Altidore (and to a lesser extent Edu) really could be the big difference-making stars that American soccer has never before had.
Eddie Johnson - 2.0 - he was pretty horrible. I think that 100% of the passes he completed were backwards, he blew two good chances, and did nothing else of note. The talent and potential is there but I still have never watched a US game where I came away impressed with him. I plan to watch Fulham/Derby this weekend to see how EJ has managed to take Dempsey's playing time at Fulham - perhaps, he'll impress me then (maybe he just had a bad game is an all too common thought I have about Johnson unfortunately).
Brian Ching - 3.0 - a homeless man's Brian McBride. His 'strengths' are the same as McBride's, he is strong in the air, works hard, and is a target player, he just isn't nearly as effective as McBride was. He's just keeping this position warm for Jozy though so his poor play isn't nearly as disconcerting as Johnson's, who I still have hope for.
Subs
Josh Wolff - 5.0 - I have made my dislike for Wolff known numerous times (and it was quite the cruel surprise when I saw him waiting to come on as a sub - didn't realize he was named on the squad for this game) but I guess Bob Bradley disagrees with me. Wolff was actually better today than he normally is. He came on when the game was already 2-0 and I think this is the only role where he can be somewhat effective. If we're holding a lead, he is pretty good defensively as a forward in harassing the other team's midfielders and defenders. He also is good at drawing fouls (he drew several today, including the freekick that Lewis converted for the 3rd goal) which can come in handy for time-wasting purposes in a close game. So he did do those things well today. That doesn't change the fact that technically and skill-wise he is a horrible soccer player who brings next to nothing to the table besides his hard work (I will say that Johnson would be 10x better if he worked half as hard as Wolff does).
Eddie Lewis - 8.0 - he only played for half an hour but he was outstanding - the best he's been for the US for as long as I can remember. He scored a very nice goal on a freekick from just outside the box, sent a great ball in on a set piece that DeMerit should've converted into goal #4, and had another great run down the left flank where he beat two defenders then sent a brilliant early ball into Wolff who was stupidly offsides (not that it mattered since Wolff blew the finish anyways). He also showed his versatility by moving to left back when Feilhaber came on for Heath Pearce and doing a fine job there defensively for the last 10 or so minutes. In general, I am not an Eddie Lewis fan, mostly because at his age (33), I am skeptical that he's part of our future, but he had a great game today.
Jay DeMerit - 6.0 - the defense looked a little shakier when he came on for Oneywu and he didn't finish his set piece chance like Boca and Oguchi did, but he wasn't too bad. I am not confident with him as our primary backup at central defender but at #4 or 5 on the depth chart, he'd be ok.
Jonathan Spector - 5.0 - he came on for Cherundolo and really didn't do much of note, good or bad. He is still only 22 and I'm willing to bet he'll be one of our most valuable players over the next 10 years though. While he hasn't earned a starting spot, he consistently gets playing time for a decent club in West Ham (he's made 25 total appearances and 10 starts for West Ham this season; it also notable that he is one of our few field players in the EPL who is playing for a club that is under no threat of relegation this season). He has also shown great versatility - his natural position seems to be center back but he can play either full back position and has even played some as a defensive midfielder for the Hammers. He's a very good player, I bet he shines for the Olympic team this summer (the Olympic team should be a joy to watch, Jozy, Adu, Bradley, Edu, Spector all still qualify for the U23 age group - hopefully they use the three spots for older players well and take some guys like Donovan, Dempsey, or Bocanegra along).
Benny Feilhaber - no rating - he only got a few touches, he did try one nice through ball but nobody was making the run. It's pretty shocking how far he's fallen in the past 9 months. I rated him ahead of Bradley after the Gold Cup and considered him likely to be a future star but now he can't get playing time at freaking Derby County (by far the worst team in the EPL) and didn't even get picked for the U23 Olympic qualifying team. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bradley also didn't play for the U23 qualifying team, but only because he is a key figure at a club currently fighting for a Champions League spot in Holland. Hopefully Benny switches clubs this summer and turns it around (also hopefully he's a part of the Olympic team).
All in all, this was a very good performance for the US today. There were very few chances for either team from open play, partly because the field kind of sucked. Our defense and midfield played very well and we looked incredible on set pieces. When Donovan and both our center backs were in the game, I think we converted something like 2 out of 4 set pieces for goals.
Those are some pretty significant positives; the negative side - our forwards were invisible and had no impact on the game at all, which is especially disturbing since our midfield was giving them pretty good service. Hopefully Altidore and Adu can solve this problem, I fully expect them to be regular starters when World Cup qualifying starts this summer.
But even with our forwards doing nothing we easily beat a team that won their Euro qualifying group ahead of Portugal and has qualified for two straight World Cups (quite an accomplishment given how hard it is to qualify for the WC out of Europe). If that's not a positive sign for US soccer, I don't know what is.
Tim Howard - 7.0 - he made one very good save and two or three other decent ones. He's solid, probably one of the 10 or 15 best keepers in the world.
Steve Cherundolo - 7.5 - played very well on the right side of the defense as usual. He got forward some but wasn't as effective as he sometimes is offensively but more than made up for that with a close to flawless defensive performance.
Carlos Bocanegra - 8.5 - he played surprisingly well considering he has been out of favor at Fulham recently. He was rock solid defensively down the middle, covered the left side when Heath Pearce made his way forward, and scored a nice goal on a set piece. Great game.
Oguchi Oneywu - 8.5 - along with Bocanegra, he was our best player. Like Boca, he made no mistakes in the middle of the defense, covered for Cherundolo numerous times when he went forward, and scored a good goal on a corner. If we can get delivery on set pieces (which we did today from Donovan), then having a Bocanegra/Oneywu partnership at center back is not only solid defensively but it gives us a real threat from dead ball situations. (note - this game went along with my theory that Oneywu and Boca are much better against slower, more physical teams than they are speedier ones; and against my theory that Cherundolo is the opposite.)
Heath Pearce - 5.0 - the weak link in our defense, most of Poland's dangerous attacks came down their right flank. He didn't play horribly but he looked much shakier than the rest of our back four. He did go forward effectively at times, even drawing the free kick that set up the first goal. I am far from sold that Pearce is the answer at left back but he is still young (23) so maybe he can prove me wrong.
Landon Donovan - 7.0 - playing on a wing and moving to the middle, he actually had a pretty decent game. For the most part, he wasn't explosive, but he sort of had a David Beckham game - he was under control, played some good balls, and was great delivering set pieces. He did have one great explosive moment where he blew by the last defender on a counter attack at midfield leaving himself one on one with the keeper but unfortunately hit his shot inches wide. If he had converted that, he gets at least an 8.0 in my book.
Clint Dempsey - 6.0 - played the same role as Donovan on the opposite wing. He had some nice touches and looked dangerous at times but overall gave a pretty so-so performance. He was also very selfish when he broke into the clear towards the end of the game, trying to shoot instead of squaring the ball to Feilhaber I believe for an easy tap-in.
Riccardo Clark - 7.0 - I am a big fan of his and he played pretty well today. He gave away possession unnecessarily a few times but made up for this with some good surging runs from the midfield. He also did a nice job defensively. Not his best performance but he definitely held his own. I'm glad to see him ahead of Feilhaber on the center midfield depth chart (he's probably still behind Maurice Edu though, who I also like a lot).
Michael Bradley - 7.5 - Bradley is having an incredible season for his club, Heerenveen (currently 3rd in the Dutch top flight) - he has scored 15 league goals and 20 in all competitions, which has to be in the top 5 for all midfielders in the top leagues in Europe. I haven't been a big fan of his national team performances in the past though, so I tried to really watch him during the first half and see if he's as good as some say he is. My verdict - he is pretty damn good. More than any of our other players, he really 'gets' it, in terms of how to correctly play soccer. In other words, I could see him fitting in and getting playing time at a club like Arsenal, something that I can't really say for anyone else we have. He's effective defensively, makes quick decisions on the ball, and is always looking to make a positive pass. He also has a knack for finding where the open space is in an opposing team's defense and trying to exploit it. In the game today, he started off brilliantly and then slowed down as the game progressed. He still hasn't shown much goal-scoring prowess for the USA, but a big part of that is because our forwards suck and can't hold the ball long enough so Bradley never has the chance to make the intelligent late runs into the box that he does for Heerenveen. The fact that he is still only 20 years old is disturbing (in a good way) - he, Adu, and Altidore (and to a lesser extent Edu) really could be the big difference-making stars that American soccer has never before had.
Eddie Johnson - 2.0 - he was pretty horrible. I think that 100% of the passes he completed were backwards, he blew two good chances, and did nothing else of note. The talent and potential is there but I still have never watched a US game where I came away impressed with him. I plan to watch Fulham/Derby this weekend to see how EJ has managed to take Dempsey's playing time at Fulham - perhaps, he'll impress me then (maybe he just had a bad game is an all too common thought I have about Johnson unfortunately).
Brian Ching - 3.0 - a homeless man's Brian McBride. His 'strengths' are the same as McBride's, he is strong in the air, works hard, and is a target player, he just isn't nearly as effective as McBride was. He's just keeping this position warm for Jozy though so his poor play isn't nearly as disconcerting as Johnson's, who I still have hope for.
Subs
Josh Wolff - 5.0 - I have made my dislike for Wolff known numerous times (and it was quite the cruel surprise when I saw him waiting to come on as a sub - didn't realize he was named on the squad for this game) but I guess Bob Bradley disagrees with me. Wolff was actually better today than he normally is. He came on when the game was already 2-0 and I think this is the only role where he can be somewhat effective. If we're holding a lead, he is pretty good defensively as a forward in harassing the other team's midfielders and defenders. He also is good at drawing fouls (he drew several today, including the freekick that Lewis converted for the 3rd goal) which can come in handy for time-wasting purposes in a close game. So he did do those things well today. That doesn't change the fact that technically and skill-wise he is a horrible soccer player who brings next to nothing to the table besides his hard work (I will say that Johnson would be 10x better if he worked half as hard as Wolff does).
Eddie Lewis - 8.0 - he only played for half an hour but he was outstanding - the best he's been for the US for as long as I can remember. He scored a very nice goal on a freekick from just outside the box, sent a great ball in on a set piece that DeMerit should've converted into goal #4, and had another great run down the left flank where he beat two defenders then sent a brilliant early ball into Wolff who was stupidly offsides (not that it mattered since Wolff blew the finish anyways). He also showed his versatility by moving to left back when Feilhaber came on for Heath Pearce and doing a fine job there defensively for the last 10 or so minutes. In general, I am not an Eddie Lewis fan, mostly because at his age (33), I am skeptical that he's part of our future, but he had a great game today.
Jay DeMerit - 6.0 - the defense looked a little shakier when he came on for Oneywu and he didn't finish his set piece chance like Boca and Oguchi did, but he wasn't too bad. I am not confident with him as our primary backup at central defender but at #4 or 5 on the depth chart, he'd be ok.
Jonathan Spector - 5.0 - he came on for Cherundolo and really didn't do much of note, good or bad. He is still only 22 and I'm willing to bet he'll be one of our most valuable players over the next 10 years though. While he hasn't earned a starting spot, he consistently gets playing time for a decent club in West Ham (he's made 25 total appearances and 10 starts for West Ham this season; it also notable that he is one of our few field players in the EPL who is playing for a club that is under no threat of relegation this season). He has also shown great versatility - his natural position seems to be center back but he can play either full back position and has even played some as a defensive midfielder for the Hammers. He's a very good player, I bet he shines for the Olympic team this summer (the Olympic team should be a joy to watch, Jozy, Adu, Bradley, Edu, Spector all still qualify for the U23 age group - hopefully they use the three spots for older players well and take some guys like Donovan, Dempsey, or Bocanegra along).
Benny Feilhaber - no rating - he only got a few touches, he did try one nice through ball but nobody was making the run. It's pretty shocking how far he's fallen in the past 9 months. I rated him ahead of Bradley after the Gold Cup and considered him likely to be a future star but now he can't get playing time at freaking Derby County (by far the worst team in the EPL) and didn't even get picked for the U23 Olympic qualifying team. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bradley also didn't play for the U23 qualifying team, but only because he is a key figure at a club currently fighting for a Champions League spot in Holland. Hopefully Benny switches clubs this summer and turns it around (also hopefully he's a part of the Olympic team).
All in all, this was a very good performance for the US today. There were very few chances for either team from open play, partly because the field kind of sucked. Our defense and midfield played very well and we looked incredible on set pieces. When Donovan and both our center backs were in the game, I think we converted something like 2 out of 4 set pieces for goals.
Those are some pretty significant positives; the negative side - our forwards were invisible and had no impact on the game at all, which is especially disturbing since our midfield was giving them pretty good service. Hopefully Altidore and Adu can solve this problem, I fully expect them to be regular starters when World Cup qualifying starts this summer.
But even with our forwards doing nothing we easily beat a team that won their Euro qualifying group ahead of Portugal and has qualified for two straight World Cups (quite an accomplishment given how hard it is to qualify for the WC out of Europe). If that's not a positive sign for US soccer, I don't know what is.
Top New Albums From The Febuary/March Rotation
I had a full 5 new albums I liked in January, but can only come up with a few from the last 2 months. All 3 are pretty awesome though.
1) Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (2008)
2) Bon Iver - For Emma, forever ago (2007)
3) Liz Phiar - Exile in Guyville (1993)
Here's a video from Bon Iver:
1) Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (2008)
2) Bon Iver - For Emma, forever ago (2007)
3) Liz Phiar - Exile in Guyville (1993)
Here's a video from Bon Iver:
Hulu
I just started watching season 2 of 30 Rock on hulu. This site seems pretty awesome.
Edit - Watching the first episode of 30 Rock (which was hilarious by the way, especially the Jerry Seinfeld LOST reference), they forced three commercials upon me (two 30 second spots, one 15 second). Not too bad for a high quality, easily accessible video. I also saw they offer movies on there as well (including some newer ones like Juno and The Darjeeling Limited).
Edit - Watching the first episode of 30 Rock (which was hilarious by the way, especially the Jerry Seinfeld LOST reference), they forced three commercials upon me (two 30 second spots, one 15 second). Not too bad for a high quality, easily accessible video. I also saw they offer movies on there as well (including some newer ones like Juno and The Darjeeling Limited).
3/25/08
More on SNIPERS!
I didn't really know the whole background when I posted the video, but this makes HRC sound even worse; sounds like something right out of the Bush/Rove playbook:
One problem with the “misspoke” explanation is that she’s been repeating the same story for weeks. In fact, coupled with anecdotes about pushing for peace in Northern Ireland and women’s rights in China, it’s been a focal point of her claims to foreign-policy experience. The other problem is that she's been given ample opportunity to revise her story. When Sinbad challenged her account, she declined. When Dobbs ran a "Fact Checker" piece questioning her account, surrogates emerged to unconvincingly defend her. Only when the footage explicitly disproving her story emerged did she back off. And even then, it wasn’t that she embellished or misled people. It was that she "misspoke."
MLB Predictions
So after drafting a satisfyingly disgusting team for our fantasy league last night, I'm now ready for the baseball season. I'm way more excited for fantasy than real baseball, but I figured I'd throw some real predictions out there as well.
Al East - Boston - Schilling going down and Beckett's health questions are worrisome but Lester improving and Buchholz going for a full season should offset this as long as Beckett isn't out an extended period of time.
Al Central - Detroit - picking up Dontrelle and especially Miguel Cabrera really could take them to the next level. They have an absolutely disgusting lineup now, and potentially a much improved rotation.
Al West - Anaheim - I really didn't want to pick Anaheim (I refuse to call them their ridiculous new name, The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) because Vlad is on the downswing and Lackey is hurt but both the A's and Rangers suck, so that only leaves the Mariners as a possible challenger. Bedard and Felix at the top of the rotation is enticing but their lineup is not. This is the worst division in baseball now.
AL Wild Card - Cleveland - Cleveland had a young team last year and should only get better. Meanwhile, the Yankees stars are all a year older (Jeter, Matsui, and Posada will all be much worse this year I bet) and they did nothing to address their starting pitching. Hughes and Chamberlain could potentially be good, but unlike the Red Sox, they don't have a true ace like Beckett to fall back on should their young pitchers not live up to expectations.
AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera - I don't like him that much in fantasy but my bet is the switch to Detroit will give him huge boosts in RBI and runs totals. Along with a .310-.320 average, 35 homers, and Detroit ending up with the best record during the regular season, that should be enough to win him MVP.
AL Cy Young - Erik Bedard - He's moving to a great pitcher's park and should win a few more games playing for a better team. I think Sabathia will fall off slightly and the voters aren't likely to give it to him back to back unless he is completely dominant and Beckett could be hampered by nagging injuries, which with Johan gone to the NL, leaves the race wide open for a guy like Bedard to emerge.
AL Rookie of the Year - Evan Longoria - he'll come up in May and do slightly worse than Ryan Braun did last year, which will be more than enough.
AL Pennant - Boston - as much as I don't want to pick them, they have the best team.
NL East - NY Mets - Wright and Reyes will only get better (scary thought, especially for Wright) and Beltran is still great, which should be enough to carry the rest of a mediocre offense. And adding Johan and a healthier Pedro gives them a potentially ridiculous rotation.
NL Central - Milwaukee - I love their lineup, and moving Braun to LF, Bill Hall to 3B, and adding Mike Cameron to CF should greatly improve their terrible defense from last year. This, in turn, should help their mediocre pitching staff which is counting on a couple of high risk/reward guys in Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo to carry them. I think they are very similar to the Tigers, except they don't have an ace like Verlander and are in a worse division.
NL West - Los Angeles - This division is really hard to call. The Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, or Rockies could all conceivably win it. I think the Dodgers are solid top to bottom in the lineup, rotation, and bullpen which should be enough.
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia - I think the difference will be all of the good teams in the West will beat up on each other while the Phillies get to play the Nationals and Marlins a ton. They have a great offensive core with Utley, Howard, and Rollins and an ace in Hamels. If their supporting players like Burrell, Victorino, Brett Myers, etc can perform decently well they should be able to match last season's success.
NL MVP - David Wright - I could see any number of players challenging for this, including Prince, Braun, the Phillies' trio, Pujols, and Matt Holliday, but Wright is the best player in the league and only getting better.
NL Cy Young - Johan Santana - Johan is Johan, he should be able to overcome tough challenges from Peavy and Webb.
NL Rookie of the Year - Justin Upton - There's a lot of different people who could win this award but hearing Upton compared to a young Ken Griffey, Jr. sold his candidacy for me.
NL Pennant - NY Mets - If Pedro stays healthy and productive (big if) I really like the Mets this year.
World Series Champs - Boston - like I said before, I don't want to pick them, but the bottom line is they have the best team.
Al East - Boston - Schilling going down and Beckett's health questions are worrisome but Lester improving and Buchholz going for a full season should offset this as long as Beckett isn't out an extended period of time.
Al Central - Detroit - picking up Dontrelle and especially Miguel Cabrera really could take them to the next level. They have an absolutely disgusting lineup now, and potentially a much improved rotation.
Al West - Anaheim - I really didn't want to pick Anaheim (I refuse to call them their ridiculous new name, The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) because Vlad is on the downswing and Lackey is hurt but both the A's and Rangers suck, so that only leaves the Mariners as a possible challenger. Bedard and Felix at the top of the rotation is enticing but their lineup is not. This is the worst division in baseball now.
AL Wild Card - Cleveland - Cleveland had a young team last year and should only get better. Meanwhile, the Yankees stars are all a year older (Jeter, Matsui, and Posada will all be much worse this year I bet) and they did nothing to address their starting pitching. Hughes and Chamberlain could potentially be good, but unlike the Red Sox, they don't have a true ace like Beckett to fall back on should their young pitchers not live up to expectations.
AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera - I don't like him that much in fantasy but my bet is the switch to Detroit will give him huge boosts in RBI and runs totals. Along with a .310-.320 average, 35 homers, and Detroit ending up with the best record during the regular season, that should be enough to win him MVP.
AL Cy Young - Erik Bedard - He's moving to a great pitcher's park and should win a few more games playing for a better team. I think Sabathia will fall off slightly and the voters aren't likely to give it to him back to back unless he is completely dominant and Beckett could be hampered by nagging injuries, which with Johan gone to the NL, leaves the race wide open for a guy like Bedard to emerge.
AL Rookie of the Year - Evan Longoria - he'll come up in May and do slightly worse than Ryan Braun did last year, which will be more than enough.
AL Pennant - Boston - as much as I don't want to pick them, they have the best team.
NL East - NY Mets - Wright and Reyes will only get better (scary thought, especially for Wright) and Beltran is still great, which should be enough to carry the rest of a mediocre offense. And adding Johan and a healthier Pedro gives them a potentially ridiculous rotation.
NL Central - Milwaukee - I love their lineup, and moving Braun to LF, Bill Hall to 3B, and adding Mike Cameron to CF should greatly improve their terrible defense from last year. This, in turn, should help their mediocre pitching staff which is counting on a couple of high risk/reward guys in Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo to carry them. I think they are very similar to the Tigers, except they don't have an ace like Verlander and are in a worse division.
NL West - Los Angeles - This division is really hard to call. The Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, or Rockies could all conceivably win it. I think the Dodgers are solid top to bottom in the lineup, rotation, and bullpen which should be enough.
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia - I think the difference will be all of the good teams in the West will beat up on each other while the Phillies get to play the Nationals and Marlins a ton. They have a great offensive core with Utley, Howard, and Rollins and an ace in Hamels. If their supporting players like Burrell, Victorino, Brett Myers, etc can perform decently well they should be able to match last season's success.
NL MVP - David Wright - I could see any number of players challenging for this, including Prince, Braun, the Phillies' trio, Pujols, and Matt Holliday, but Wright is the best player in the league and only getting better.
NL Cy Young - Johan Santana - Johan is Johan, he should be able to overcome tough challenges from Peavy and Webb.
NL Rookie of the Year - Justin Upton - There's a lot of different people who could win this award but hearing Upton compared to a young Ken Griffey, Jr. sold his candidacy for me.
NL Pennant - NY Mets - If Pedro stays healthy and productive (big if) I really like the Mets this year.
World Series Champs - Boston - like I said before, I don't want to pick them, but the bottom line is they have the best team.
3/23/08
Music for the Young (at Heart)
I made my Aunt Jane a mix for her Birthday today, here is the tracklist (Song - Artist):
- The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists
- We're from Barcelona - I'm from Barcelona
- Normandie - Shout Out Louds
- I See Spiders When I Close my Eyes - The Boy Least Likely To
- Massive Nights - Hold Steady
- All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
- Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- House By The Sea - Iron and Wine
- Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
- The Scientist - Coldplay
- Be Good - Tokyo Police Club
- I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters
- The Underdog - Spoon
- The Good Life - Weezer
- Summer Teeth - Wilco
- Ellen and Ben - Dismemberment Plan
- Things Are What You Make of Them (Reprise) - Bishop Allen
- Vitto's Ordination Song - Sufjan Stevens
The State of Things
Sorry for the relative silence here recently. Lots of stuff going on in real life, but nothing I've felt like writing much about A quick life update and then I'll probably resume radio silence:
- I went to Philly for Alexa's birthday/a conference for work last weekend. We had a nice time. Alexa and I walked through the ghetto after dark. Had awesome food at the Reading Terminal Market (DeNics is amazing). Got to hang out with Lisa a good bit, and the work stuff went well.
- Charlie arrived in NC to campaign for Barack.
- Had lunch with Alisha on a beautiful afternoon (spring!) at Fosters.
- Basketball has consumed lots of hours - my brackets suck, but UNC doesn't (knock on wood)
- I've been dealing with logistics for China.
- All hell broke lose at Alexa's job.
- Saw more family at the lake this weekend, where I also drove a motorcycle for the first time - very nearly in to 2 parked cars.
- And last, but certainly not least, I've been getting ready to whoop my friends in our fantasy baseball draft is tomorrow night.
[Alex] Rodriguez is heading into his age-32 season and is signed through his age-41 with bonuses that will take it much higher, though it’s worth pointing out that Rodriguez’s next ten years are worth more than Bear Stearns
3/20/08
3/16/08
NCAA Tournament
I'm actually relatively pleased with UNC's draw for the NCAA tournament. Going down the line of the seeds in our bracket:
#2 - Tennessee may seem like a tough draw because they were ranked #1 a few weeks ago and were in the running for a #1 seed until yesterday. But looking at the other 2s, I'd much prefer Tennessee to Georgetown or Texas, and the other #2 is Duke who we can't be matched up with. Tennessee likes to run and we destroy teams that like to run. They also have no inside presence so I can't imagine them even hoping to contain Tyler. Compare that to Georgetown, whose slow it down, halfcourt style always gives us trouble and has a legit 7 footer in Roy Hibbert who could give Tyler problems. I'm happy with Tennessee as our #2 and wouldn't be at all surprised if they get beat before the Elite 8.
#3 - Louisville is dangerous, I would've rathered either Wisconsin or Xavier as our #3. I do prefer playing L'ville to Stanford and the Lopez twins though. Not the greatest result but not horrible either.
#4/5 - Washington St. and Notre Dame is the easiest 4/5 combo by far in my opinion and other than liking the way we matchup with Tennessee, it's the biggest reason why I like our draw. Notre Dame worries me a bit more but I think we destroy either of these teams. I also think both could lose 1st round (to George Mason and Winthrop). Looking at the other regions, there is a much much much more dangerous team in the 4/5 matchup in each than either Wazzou or ND. Pitt (thank god we avoided them), Uconn, and Clemson all are teams that I could see pulling the upset over a #1 in the Sweet 16.
#8/9 - Indiana is really the scariest part of our bracket to me at first glance. Eric Gordon and DJ White are stars and playing a team with that kind of potential in the 2nd round sucks. But the fact is, they've been terrible since Sampson left and after Gordon and White, they have nothing. They've also lost their last 2 games to Penn St and Minnesota. I honestly think that Arkansas will beat them. If not, Marcus locks down Gordon, our big guys neutralize White, then how the hell are they supposed to beat us? I can't see us losing to them (or Arkansas) in Raleigh, though it is a trickier matchup than say UNLV/Kent St (Kansas' 8/9 matchup).
All in all, it's a fine draw. I didn't like it at first but after seeing Memphis' road in the South - Pitt in the sweet 16 (who just beat a 3 seed, 6 seed, and 2 seed in their past 3 games), and then Texas in the Elite 8 (in Houston) - I'd say we really can't complain too much. Playing in Raleigh and Charlotte, we have absolutely no excuse to not make the Final 4 (where we could have Kansas and UCLA waiting - now that is scary).
#2 - Tennessee may seem like a tough draw because they were ranked #1 a few weeks ago and were in the running for a #1 seed until yesterday. But looking at the other 2s, I'd much prefer Tennessee to Georgetown or Texas, and the other #2 is Duke who we can't be matched up with. Tennessee likes to run and we destroy teams that like to run. They also have no inside presence so I can't imagine them even hoping to contain Tyler. Compare that to Georgetown, whose slow it down, halfcourt style always gives us trouble and has a legit 7 footer in Roy Hibbert who could give Tyler problems. I'm happy with Tennessee as our #2 and wouldn't be at all surprised if they get beat before the Elite 8.
#3 - Louisville is dangerous, I would've rathered either Wisconsin or Xavier as our #3. I do prefer playing L'ville to Stanford and the Lopez twins though. Not the greatest result but not horrible either.
#4/5 - Washington St. and Notre Dame is the easiest 4/5 combo by far in my opinion and other than liking the way we matchup with Tennessee, it's the biggest reason why I like our draw. Notre Dame worries me a bit more but I think we destroy either of these teams. I also think both could lose 1st round (to George Mason and Winthrop). Looking at the other regions, there is a much much much more dangerous team in the 4/5 matchup in each than either Wazzou or ND. Pitt (thank god we avoided them), Uconn, and Clemson all are teams that I could see pulling the upset over a #1 in the Sweet 16.
#8/9 - Indiana is really the scariest part of our bracket to me at first glance. Eric Gordon and DJ White are stars and playing a team with that kind of potential in the 2nd round sucks. But the fact is, they've been terrible since Sampson left and after Gordon and White, they have nothing. They've also lost their last 2 games to Penn St and Minnesota. I honestly think that Arkansas will beat them. If not, Marcus locks down Gordon, our big guys neutralize White, then how the hell are they supposed to beat us? I can't see us losing to them (or Arkansas) in Raleigh, though it is a trickier matchup than say UNLV/Kent St (Kansas' 8/9 matchup).
All in all, it's a fine draw. I didn't like it at first but after seeing Memphis' road in the South - Pitt in the sweet 16 (who just beat a 3 seed, 6 seed, and 2 seed in their past 3 games), and then Texas in the Elite 8 (in Houston) - I'd say we really can't complain too much. Playing in Raleigh and Charlotte, we have absolutely no excuse to not make the Final 4 (where we could have Kansas and UCLA waiting - now that is scary).
Early PA Returns: HRC-2, Barack-0
As Alexa and I were walking in Philly today we passed a 20-30 something black guy with headphones dancing around and waving a Hillary sign on a bench next to a busy intersection . He was saying something to a girl on a scooter about HRC getting us out of the mess in Iraq, so I of course made some general good-natured statement about Obama. His response: "Grow up, son. There is never going to be a black man in the White House."
We also had an interesting conversation with our political-junkie Ethiopian-American cab driver. As we were leaving the airport, I asked him if people were excited about the primary yet. He said "No" and then proceeded to spend the balance of our ride offering a tour of the political landscape that included his opinion of Joe Lieberman (not a fan) to his thoughts and experiences with Guerrilla warfare (attack 6000 people with 4 people, run away and let them shoot each other). He's a big HRC fan, but he said that he'd vote for McCain over Obama, but I never could get a reason other than a vague "experience" argument out of him.
We also had an interesting conversation with our political-junkie Ethiopian-American cab driver. As we were leaving the airport, I asked him if people were excited about the primary yet. He said "No" and then proceeded to spend the balance of our ride offering a tour of the political landscape that included his opinion of Joe Lieberman (not a fan) to his thoughts and experiences with Guerrilla warfare (attack 6000 people with 4 people, run away and let them shoot each other). He's a big HRC fan, but he said that he'd vote for McCain over Obama, but I never could get a reason other than a vague "experience" argument out of him.
3/14/08
Electability
This is exactly right:
As I said, Obama was running well ahead of Clinton in head-to-head matchups a few weeks ago, and now they're tied. After several more weeks of Clinton reinforcing McCain's message against Obama, Clinton will probably be performing better than Obama against McCain. This is the point I made in my TRB column. She needs to convince the remaining uncommitted superdelegates to split for her by about a 2-to-1 margin. The only way she can get a split like that is if she can persuasively argue that Obama is unelectable. And the only way she can do that is to make him unelectable. Some people have treated this as an unfortunate byproduct of Clinton's decision to continue her campaign. It's actually a central element of the strategy. Penn is already saying he's unelectable. It's not true, but by the time the convention rolls around, it may well be.Further, the act of tearing down Obama could very well make Clinton herself unelectable as well. I still hope for a joint ticket, and soon, but that is seeming less and less likely. I just don't see a prolonged primary campaign being good for democrats, although it suppose it might not be completely crippling either.
3/13/08
"We don't need no bling, all we gotta do is sing"
Greatest line of the campaign: "We need a cleaning in that White House, and we need a woman to clean it up." Coming from a male Clinton supporter. Wow.
(via Charlie)
3/12/08
Quick Movie Reviews
Here are some quick thoughts on some movies I've watched recently:
The Darjeeling Limited - 6.0 - Wes Anderson's latest reminded me of Rushmore. It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny but was clever and filled with quirky, mostly interesting characters. I always enjoy Anderson's films (well besides The Life Aquatic, that shit was terrible) but never love them - Darjeeling fits in the same category.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward of Robert Ford - 4.0 - this movie had some things going for it - an interesting premise, nuanced performances from Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, and beautiful cinematography. But it was just too slow-paced and boring overall. Cut an hour from it's 160 minute runtime and you might have something worth watching.
No Reservations - 2.0 - I'll acknowledge when a romantic comedy is a good movie (The American President, Love Actually) or at least enjoyable (Hitch) but unfortunately, No Reservations was neither. On top of succumbing to the many pitfalls of its genre, Catherine Zeta Jones is just a laughably bad actress. How the hell did she win an Oscar??
The Darjeeling Limited - 6.0 - Wes Anderson's latest reminded me of Rushmore. It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny but was clever and filled with quirky, mostly interesting characters. I always enjoy Anderson's films (well besides The Life Aquatic, that shit was terrible) but never love them - Darjeeling fits in the same category.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward of Robert Ford - 4.0 - this movie had some things going for it - an interesting premise, nuanced performances from Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, and beautiful cinematography. But it was just too slow-paced and boring overall. Cut an hour from it's 160 minute runtime and you might have something worth watching.
No Reservations - 2.0 - I'll acknowledge when a romantic comedy is a good movie (The American President, Love Actually) or at least enjoyable (Hitch) but unfortunately, No Reservations was neither. On top of succumbing to the many pitfalls of its genre, Catherine Zeta Jones is just a laughably bad actress. How the hell did she win an Oscar??
3/9/08
Danny Green...
...was a monster tonight, 18 points, 8 boards, 7 blocks, and one facial served up to Paula.
just found this at IC (Paulus' face is great):
3/7/08
3/6/08
Sad Day
God my last post seems petty and stupid now. I'm not a good enough writer to say anything truly worthwhile when horrible things happen, but I will say that I'm deeply saddened by the events unfolding in Chapel Hill today.
Well Said
“It’s at their place and it’s their Senior Night, and I want to ruin that.”
- Ty Lawson on Saturday's UNC - Duke Game
- Ty Lawson on Saturday's UNC - Duke Game
3/5/08
Exile
We brought home a bunch of Alexa's CDs after cleaning out her room in DC this weekend. As a result, I just listened to Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville for the first time. For some reason, I was under the impression that I had listened to it when it came out and that it had sucked. Well, as you are likely well aware, I am, of course, a moron. I really don't think I'd ever even heard it before. It's been out for 15 years, so this isn't exactly breaking news, but hot damn that is one ridiculously good album.
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is another one of those classic indie albums that I didn't manage to hear until 10 years after it came out, but instantly loved when I finally sat down with it. Coincidentally, I don't always love these discoveries, I didn't listen to - My Bloody Valentine is Crap - but from my limited experience, more often than not, albums that everyone says are great actually are.
Anyone else have records that slipped through the cracks until much later?
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is another one of those classic indie albums that I didn't manage to hear until 10 years after it came out, but instantly loved when I finally sat down with it. Coincidentally, I don't always love these discoveries, I didn't listen to - My Bloody Valentine is Crap - but from my limited experience, more often than not, albums that everyone says are great actually are.
Anyone else have records that slipped through the cracks until much later?
New Notwist
The Notwist made one of my favorite albums of the last decade, and now, finally, a new record is on the horizon. While the first song released from the album doesn't quite approach Neon Golden's peaks, it's still pretty damn good, and I couldn't be more excited about the album.
In case you've never heard them before, here's a totally weird puppet-y video one of my favorite songs from Neon Golden:
In case you've never heard them before, here's a totally weird puppet-y video one of my favorite songs from Neon Golden:
The Lay of the Land
So, the headlines this morning all say "Huge Win For Clinton," but the math appears to be largely unchanged. The only way she has a legitimate shot of winning involves some combination of a) an Obama slip-up, b) a re-vote in Florida and Michigan and c) a reversal of the current super-delegate trends towards Obama. Basically, her rather unlikely path to victory flows through negative campaigning and back-room politics; it's exactly the kind of campaign that will hurt whoever ends up facing McCain.
Most importantly, HRC isn't dumb. She knows that she is a long shot. With all of this in her head, and after her quote-unquote HUGE victory last night, when asked about a joint ticket this morning Hillary says, "That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket." It might seem like a pretty shocking concession considering she's supposed to be on top of the world right now, but it's a very smart political move to put this thought in people's head since Hillary as VP is honestly her most likely path to the White House.
Even though a new poll says people are fine with the primaries going on for a while, I get the feeling that the press and the party establishment are ready to move on to the general election. So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that after a bit of constant "Can she really win?" coverage, there is going to be a big super-delegate endorsement (led by Gore, Edwards and Dean) of Obama with Clinton as VP, and this thing will be over by the the end of the month. I haven't decided yet if that would be a good thing or not ...
Most importantly, HRC isn't dumb. She knows that she is a long shot. With all of this in her head, and after her quote-unquote HUGE victory last night, when asked about a joint ticket this morning Hillary says, "That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket." It might seem like a pretty shocking concession considering she's supposed to be on top of the world right now, but it's a very smart political move to put this thought in people's head since Hillary as VP is honestly her most likely path to the White House.
Even though a new poll says people are fine with the primaries going on for a while, I get the feeling that the press and the party establishment are ready to move on to the general election. So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that after a bit of constant "Can she really win?" coverage, there is going to be a big super-delegate endorsement (led by Gore, Edwards and Dean) of Obama with Clinton as VP, and this thing will be over by the the end of the month. I haven't decided yet if that would be a good thing or not ...
3/3/08
If only Sasha had said it ...
"Shit, where is my phone?"
-Jeremy, leaving the office while speaking with his co-worker ... on the phone.
-Jeremy, leaving the office while speaking with his co-worker ... on the phone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
