Free stuff as easy as using a different search engine

Tiffany and I have recently started using this website Swagbucks as our search engine. It's a slow process, but you can build points by searching as you normally do and eventually earn enough to exchange for baseball cards, Ipods, TVs, etc. And it's powered by google, so the searches are good.

Definitely worth checking out!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/tdubz5

The Bullpen Gospels

I just finished reading Dirk Hayhurst's The Bullpen Gospels. It chronicles a year in the life of a career minor leaguer and is a really unique read. Hayhurst struggles through pitching in the lower levels of the Padres organization despite being several years older than the young studs he joins in the bullpen. After the year of ups and downs in baseball and life, he teaches the reader some valuable lessons about life and the place that baseball can hold in it. The book was incredibly honest and provided insight that we just couldn't get anywhere else into the lives of professional athletes. I'll admit that it was a little corny, but I'd call it corny in a good way. I've already passed this one on to my dad, but I'm sure it's one I'll end up reading several times. Go read it and let me know what you think!

All Stars

As of Monday, May 24th, Mark Teixeira is leading the AL first basemen in all-star voting. The two guys behind him, Justin Morneau and Miguel Cabrera, have arguably the best numbers in the junior circuit. Let's take a look at where the three of them stand in the league in some offensive categories. The number on the left is their rank in the league.

Batting Average
1. J. Morneau .381
7. M. Cabrera .331
80. M. Teixeira .207

Homeruns
5. J. Morneau 11
8. M. Cabrera 10
23. M. Teixeira 7

Runs Batted In
2. M. Cabrera 40
5. J. Morneau 34
14. M. Teixeira 30

On Base Percentage
1. J. Morneau .497
4. M. Cabrera .415
54. M. Teixeira .324

Slugging Percentage
1. J. Morneau .697
3. M. Cabrera .598
56. M. Teixeira .374

I don't think I even really have to say much here. Morneau and Cabrera are in the top ten in just about everything, and Teixeira's numbers in HR and RBIs are adequate, but he certainly shouldn't be the starting first baseman in the all-star game. Just a little bit of the Yankees bias...

By the way, I watched ESPN news all the way through a couple times last night. The Yankees had a squirrel run on the field and that got more press than all of the national league games except one. But we've grown to expect that from ESPN. What bothers me is that we're seeing it in fan voting. I guess I shouldn't have high expectations for fan voting in the first place, but when a former MVP is hitting .380, I expect him to get a little more attention than an underproducing Yankee who hasn't even been with the team long. Yes, fans should have a little leeway to vote for the guys they like, but this is just a joke.

I read the other day that the voting tends to shake out more to the best players and less to the Yankees as the break approaches. Let's hope we see a major change. Teixeira is currently leading Morneau by about 154%. Each email address is allowed 20 votes for the all-star game. I enourage you to take a few minutes to vote for Morneau, Cabrera, Youkilis, or any other first baseman who isn't hitting around the Mendoza line.

all stats from mlb.com

Mighty Joe Espresso

If you're in Tucker, GA, check this place out. It is a family owned and operated alternative to Starbucks, and it serves only the best. The coffee is far superior to anything you'll get at one of the big chains, and I'll personally gauruntee great customer service. Add a great atmosphere, a build your own sandwich menu, cake from Southern Sweets, and free wireless internet, and this place is a can't miss. Try their Mighty Brrr, a frozen blended drink that can be made with any flavor you can think of, on a hot day this summer.

If the season ended today...

AL East Tampa Bay
AL Central Minnesota
AL West Texas
AL Wild Card New York

NL East Philadelphia
NL Central Cincinnati
NL West Los Angeles
NL Wild Card San Diego

AL Cy Young David Price
AL MVP Justin Morneau

NL Cy Young Ubaldo Jiminez
AL MVP Andre Ethier

Dallas Braden

Dallas Braden was recently introduced to the baseball world at large when he chastised Alex Rodriguez for breaking an unwritten rule. The veteran third baseman circled back to first after a foul ball, passing directly over the pitcher's mound on his way there. Braden took offense, yelled across the field at A-Rod, and went on to comment after the game that he was shocked that a player of such caliber wouldn't respect one of baseball's unwritten rules. Most of us thought the whole thing was a little funny, as even some major league managers had never heard of the supposed tradition. Rodriguez had similar thoughts, saying he thought that the outburst was pretty funny coming from a guy with just a handful of wins in his career.

A few weeks later, Dallas Braden throws a perfect game against one of the better offenses in the league. Let me be clear about this. He accomplished the single most impressive individual feat in sports. He was perfect through nine innings, not allowing a single baserunner. This has happened only nineteen times in the history of baseball.

Just minutes after I watched Braden get his twenty-seventh consecutive out on a groundball to short, I started hearing about how now he had some credibility, and even A-Rod would admit it. It seemed that Braden's achievement was overshadowed by his oddly public embarrasment from earlier this year.

Today the big story is that Evan Longoria, one of the best hitters in the major leagues, tried to bunt his way on base. Many consider this an unwritten rule, and it's certainly more widely accepted than the idea that the mound is off limits to all position players. Longoria's manager came out and said that he supports Longoria's decision. They weren't trying to keep Braden from the record books. They were trying to score runs and win the game.

Braden, however, wasn't part of the group criticizing the Ray's third baseman. I saw him interviewed after the game and he didn't mention it. Still, the sports media seems determined to make his perfect game about the controversy from early in the season. They suggest that this game revolved around an unwritten rule and almost have us believe that Braden felt this way.

I say shame on you, baseball world. Braden threw an incredible game and made no attempt to go after Longoria. Let's focus on his accomplishment and not drag any bad blood into it.

The Craziest Dream(s) I've ever had

Today in an hour long nap I had the following four part dream. Or maybe it was three dreams including one with two parts. I don't know. Anyway...

Part 1:
My dad and I were at Ronald Reagan park, except there was a lake and more nature. Some zoo employees were at the park with a trained duck. It didn't do any crazy tricks or anything, but you could tell it was a well behaved duck.


Part 2:
I'm working for Dr. House at his hospital. I realize something and come running outside to where he's talking to a patient. It ends up that he's saying the same thing I was. He tells me "I just said the same thing, except I didn't try to put a fake big-boy voice on!" Then we told the patient that the pharmacy companies were trying to cheat them. We glared over at the lemonade stand style pharmacy behind us in which pills were kept in pizza boxes. Then I joked that with his saved money, the patient could buy some donuts at the donut stand behind the pill stand.

Part 3
This was the most vivid part of the dream and possibly the most vivid dream I've ever had. I started panicking because I couldn't figure otu if my english class was this semester or last semester (it ended up being senior year in high school). I didn't remember taking a final or writing any papers for a while, so I started thinking that I had forgotten about the class. The most realistic part was when I realized that this meant that I would have seven classes on my grade report. Anyway, I go to the teacher's website and realized that it was from last year. The syllabus was very realistic as it had some of the same assignments we had had, some new ones, and some that she had changed slightly. At this point my roommate Austin walked into our dorm. I shook my head and told him about the English class panic. We talked about how everything was pretty surreal here at the end of the semester and had a little heart to heart. We agreed on some pretty reasonable things, like that I should have gotten breakfast before my first class instead of after so that I would be more awake than if I just woke up and went straight to class.

Part 4
I'm walking on a narrow path to get to my car and talking on my phone. I see the same duck and when I get close to it it turns toward me and stood up. I saw that it was wearing blue shorts and a yellow shirt. I vaguely remembered Psyduck from Pokemon. Anyway, I ignore my phone call and say, "Hey! I saw you at the park!" I clap twice and put my hand up. The duck realizes that this is an obvious sign for a high five, claps once, and grabs my hand with his webbed hand. Then he shocks me by talking to me. He says in an excited, high pitched voice "Haha sometime it's fun when I go to the park! Ha!" Then we both start jumping around excitedly. I continued walking and matter of factly said into my phone, "Sorry, I was high fiving a duck."

Check out Tiffany's blog!

Sorry about the long writing drought. Finals have been crazy...expect to hear from me more starting Saturday. In the meantime, check out Tiffany's Wilson's blog, http://soitiswithchrist.blogspot.com/

She's starting a cool project for the summer and she just posted a video getting a bunch of people to answer the simple question "I love God because..." It turned out really well and I'm excited to see how the rest of her project goes.

4/17 Colorado 4, Atlanta 0

Last night I was in attendance at Turner Field for Ubaldo Jimenez's no hitter. At the time I was pretty annoyed, but looking back I'm thrilled to have seen it. The guy was absolutely untouchable, and I really can't blame the Braves for it. Jimenez was "effectively wild," walking several batters and throwing about 125 pitches in the no-no.

So give Jimenez all of the credit for pitching an absolute beauty, but the Braves still made some key mistakes.

In my opinion, the game started going down hill when Kawakami bunted into a fielder's choice when the sacrifice would have been huge. Later in the inning, he got picked off second with Chipper up when the extra step just wouldn't have done him any good. This ended the inning and should have been a key opportunity for the Braves. Kawakami didn't pitch all that well either, leaving several pitches up in the zone. He told reporters after the game that he just didn't have his stuff early on.

Troy Glaus struck out in a key RBI opportunity, too. It's time for him to either prove that he belongs in the four spot or be moved down. He seems to kill a whole lot of rallies. Maybe Glaus was a good pick up, but I don't think that he's the answer to the offensive issues. After he had a 27 at bat campaign in 2009, we expect him to be a viable clean up hitter?

It was fun to see a no hitter, though, and it was great to be able to go to a game with my girlfriend Tiffany. We had a lot of fun together and she keeps me from getting too upset about everything that goes wrong. I'm afraid that maybe we caused the no hitter by showing up late.

Some "Anonymous" Questions

I have a few questions. How do you think baseball fans everywhere are going to react when Cameron Maybin wins the rookie of the year, Hanley Ramirez wins the MVP, and Josh Jonson wins the Cy Young?

Thanks for the questions, whoever you are. I actually didn't know that Florida really had fans until recently, when I met an enthusiastic but ill-informed South Florida resident. Haha actually, Ethan, I think Hanley could win the MVP. I'd almost guarantee that he'll finish in the top three. I don't know a lot about Maybin, but if he's anything like Coghlan the Fish have a whole lot of promise for the next decade.

Josh Johnson, on the other hand, will be a way above average pitcher but I doubt he'll get any serious consideration for the Cy. I'd guess he'll be one of the best who don't get any votes. My money is on Lincecum for the threepeat at the moment.

More Questions

Howdy, sports fans!

A couple questions I received on a comment:

I was wondering what your opinion is on:

a. Troy Glaus' salary. Why is he making the third-most out of the entire team?

Well, according to Yahoo-sports, which I trust on this one, that just isn't the case. Glaus will make 1.7 million dollars this year, which is less than Hudson, Kawakami, Lowe, Saito, Billy Wagner, Brian McCann, Omar Infante, Chipper Jones, Melky Cabrera, Matt Diaz, and Nate Mclouth. I'm not happy with Glaus's production so far either, but I think his salary is appropriate relative to the rest of the team.

b. The 2-17 loss to SD. A bad game, or a sign of bad times ahead?

A bit of both. Don't worry about Jurrjens. He's a world class starter. Worry about the offense, though. Although they had a good first series offensively, I'm not convinced that Glaus and Cabrera were the answer to the offensive woes. We'll see how the two of them and Heyward end up producing. Also, I wouldn't blame you if you worried about Mr. Jo Jo Reyes. His incredible potential is turning into a lot of extra base hits.

These three questions were sent to me by my Uncle Craig, who happens to be a little over qualified for internet sports babble.

1) What are your thoughts on Jason Heyward and what do you project his 2010 stats to be?

I feel really good about Heyward's chances despite the rough time he's had in his last eight or so at bats. People are saying that pitchers have found his weakness with the breaking ball down and in, but I think it's way too early to compare this Andruw Jones' issues with the slider away. I expect Heyward to hit 10-15 home runs and have an on base percentage over four. His eyes are the most impressive thing about him, and I think he'll walk a good amount and not strike out much after he settles down.


2) If you eliminated Dan Brouthers from your all-time OPS bench and included only post-1900 players, who would replace him (i.e., who's next in line)?

Shoeless Joe Jackson is actually tied with Brouthers with a 170. I'm not sure how I missed that the first time around. Ty Cobb and Jimmie Foxx follow.


3) What do you think of the possibility of George Avery succeeding Bobby Cox?

I'd be all for it. I've played on several of Mr. Avery's teams and can testify that he knows the game inside and out and is a great leader. Most of all, he never shows any favoritism. I hit last for the first third of the season on a lot of his teams! I'm hoping that Terry Pendleton doesn't get the job. I'm not really sure whether anyone in the organization is qualified. The Braves may need to look for an outside hire.

Thanks for the questions, Uncle Craig. In fact, I hope everyone feels welcome to ask questions. It's surprisingly difficult to come up with material other than simple game summaries!