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Service Advisory


Posted: January 11, 2011 by daynperry in Baseball, Links, Writing

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Hello, loyal readers (both of you). As you may have noticed, the cobwebs have descended upon this place. That’s mostly because I’ve joined the esteemed staff of NotGraphs and am regularly blogging about the lighter side of baseball over yonder in those parts. Some come and join us. Once more, with feeling: NotGraphs.

As for this space, I’ll (maybe) occasionally throw up the odd post every now and again, but for the time being my blogging energies will be applied toward — wait for it — NotGraphs.

The Theriot Problem


Posted: December 3, 2010 by daynperry in Baseball, Cardinals

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Consider me not on board with this move. (Note: This is not to imply that anyone having anything to do with the Cardinals organization gives the faintest of rips as to what I think.) Anyhow, here’s why I don’t think Ryan Theriot is a fit:

  1. Theriot was probably going to be non-tendered, and we gave up a potentially useful reliever in Blake Hawksworth to get him.
  2. Theriot, while a capable on-base guy in the past, is coming off a lousy season. Other than a slight drop in BABIP, there’s not much in the numbers to make me think a drastic rebound is in the offing.
  3. He’s slated to be the starting shortstop, which is the real real problem. Yes, Brendan Ryan did his best Enzo Hernandez imitation at the plate last season, but Ryan–according to a panoply of defensive measures and eyeballs–is on the short-list of best defensive shortstops in baseball. Theriot, meanwhile, is at best mediocre at the position. Given that Theriot’s not likely to return to, say, 2008 levels of production and given that Ryan may well improve a bit offensively, I’m calling this a significant step back in terms of overall value. That’s especially the case once you consider the groundball tendencies of the Cardinal staff.
  4. By extension, Theriot is obviously not slated to be the starting second baseman. Skip Schumaker last season was dreadful at the plate and equally as dreadful in the field. On a team that aspires to win its division, he’s a fifth outfielder, not a starting second baseman. Plug Theriot in at second and you’ve got an immediate upgrade in terms of fielding, which, again, is doubly important on a team that induces ground balls by the boatload. Instead, John Mozeliak has chosen to make this move as dubious as possible by shoving Ryan to the side (he’ll probably be traded within the next few days) and, thus far, leaving Schumaker in place.
  5. Regardless of his role, Theriot, when it comes to players Tony La Russa will chronically over-deploy, seems plucked from central casting. Aaron Miles 2.0, if you will.

I quite like the decision to re-up with Jake Westbrook, but the Theriot deal does not inspire confidence when it comes to the front office’s ability to identify and address the real problems on the roster.

The Problem with Doors


Posted: November 22, 2010 by daynperry in Home Improvememt

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So we recently upgraded from condo to single-family home …

Colonial Revival-ish (sorta kinda), built in 1910, interior gut rehabbed … lovely, isn’t it? But I’m not here to fawn over our new digs or bore you with tales of our Pyrrhic triumph over the real estate-industrial complex. I’m here to talk about this:

Your eyes do not deceive: that’s a one-inch wood screw!

While performing some routine maintenance tasks, I was not surprised to discover that one-inch screws were holding all of our deadbolt strike plates in place. The problem is that, as a consequence, the strike plates were anchored to nothing more than the soft wood of the door frame exterior. Since door kick-ins are a popular flavor of home intrusion these days, that’s not good. That’s not good because the use of one-inch screws on strike plates means your doors are vulnerable to anything more vigorous than a Nicole Richie shoulder block.

All of this is fairly predictable. For reasons sufficient unto the contractors themselves, wee little one-inch screws are commonly used in such vital roles, and everywhere that I’ve lived the building codes don’t mandate otherwise. If, like us, you live in a neighborhood where break-ins/forced entries are somewhat common, you’ll want to address this posthaste. Seriously. It’s an easy fix, and it makes a difference.

The fix? Install three-and-a-half-inch screws on all exterior-door strike plates, and your home will be vastly more secure. Sometimes this is a can be a bit challenging if you try it “cold,” as you’re going to be penetrating the dense timber of the house frame. You can avoid stripping the screws and make the job much easier by first spraying the screw with some WD-40 and drilling a pilot hole.

So be safe in your homes, peeps.

Join Me in Weeping for Print Journalism


Posted: November 19, 2010 by daynperry in Animals, Journalism, Lesser Sports

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I still have a soft spot for “on dead tree” journalism (even though my new iPad is very beautiful to me), but ledes like this aren’t helping the cause:

Jeffrey Lurie has bought in, and he knows that you may not have.

Michael Vick once fought and electrocuted dogs. Now, as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, he is the most electric player in the National Football League.

I don’t possess within me enough groans to do this justice. Even if I didn’t prefer dogs to humans, this would be an objectively awful piece of writing. And the really galling part is that this uninspired laziness made it through all the editorial layers that exist at a major urban daily like the Philadelphia Inquirer.

I mean, really … O.J. Simpson knifed through the defensive line as though it were an estranged wife! By game’s end, Jim Thorpe was drunk on yardage!

Just awful.

(HT: ‘Duk)

It’s Already Happening …


Posted: November 16, 2010 by daynperry in Baseball, Journalism

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We’re but two awards into awards season and already the BBWAA has screwed up. I mean, I’m not surprised that they tabbed Neftali Feliz over Austin Jackson for AL Rookie of the Year, but it makes little sense.

Feliz was quite good in his role and, yes, set the rookie record for saves. At the end of the day, though, 69.1 innings are 69.1 innings, even if they were on the high-leverage side of things. How’s that better than a center fielder with a plus glove, an OPS+ of 102, and 675 plate appearances and more than 1,200 defensive innings to his credit? Once more, with feeling: Playing time matters, as do defense and the ability to put up average-ish numbers at the plate while manning a key position.

In other news, the deification of closers continues apace.

Must Read: Salary Caps and Parity


Posted: November 15, 2010 by daynperry in Baseball, Lesser Sports

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Forbes on the NFL’s current parity, which exists “despite” the lack of a salary cap for the 2010 season:

Ironically, the 2010 NFL and MLB have something in common: the lack of a Salary Cap. Baseball has never had a Cap and the NFL is in this unique year prior to the expiration of the CBA where the league is uncapped. In theory, the lack of a Cap should make the league less competitive, with large-market and large-revenue teams able to buy up talent without restriction on payroll. The Salary Cap is a key measures in league collective bargaining agreements designed to promote parity by placing all teams on a level playing field by restricting team payrolls to a comparable amount for all.

And guess what? With the Cap in place in 2009, there was much discussion about the lack of parity and a league of good and bad teams. Now, with no Cap in the NFL this year, we have this once-in-a-generation parity.

I’ve made this point before, but the NFL enjoys parity–often real, sometimes imagined–because (to name just a few reasons) they play a relatively small sample of games, dole out 12 postseason berths, have a “best of one” playoff format, give teams a week or more between games to scout and game-plan, and rig schedules to benefit weaker teams. Salary caps, meanwhile, remain nothing more than a mechanism to tamp down labor costs and enrich ownership.

Sizzling Links!


Posted: November 12, 2010 by daynperry in Links

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  • Yours truly predicts the 2011 division races at this ridiculously early hour.
  • I can almost assure you that your day hasn’t been as bad as this guy’s.
  • I wholeheartedly endorse this opinion.
  • Watched this movie with the wife the other night. Highly recommended.
  • From the annals of terrible ideas …

The Problem with Polamalu


Posted: November 10, 2010 by daynperry in Lesser Sports

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Here’s Steelers safety Troy Polamalu on the NFL’s attempt to rid the game of helmet-to-helmet hits:

“It’s football, you know. If people want to watch soccer then they can watch soccer,” Polamalu said during a lunchtime interview. “But, honestly, overseas when people are attracted to this game, they’re going to see the big hits, they’re not going to care about touchdowns and different things. So you’re also taking apart what attracts people to this game.”

First, give me World Cup Soccer any day over commercial upon commercial and standing around spiced by 11 minutes of slight variations on the same old crap. But that’s not really the point.

I can take Polamalu’s rather flip dismissal better than I can abide such a stance from Joe Fan–you know, the Roman proconsul of the sofa demanding to be entertained by condemned gladiators. Still, a safety such as Polamalu almost always administers rather than receives the skull-rattling hit. In other words, I’ll listen to Polamalu wave away concerns about on-field violence before I’ll listen to a special-teams grunt who always goes looking for the crack-back, but that’s about it. (Of course, while you rarely see a defender get sickeningly laid out like Austin Collie, the tragic demise of Andre Waters teaches us that even DBs aren’t immune to the cumulative effects.)

Mostly, though, I dismiss Polamalu’s opinions because it’s not really about him. Of course a safety wants to be able to ritually abuse a vulnerable receiver in whatever way he sees fit, and of course he’s going to balk at any attempt to legislate otherwise. I’d just as soon listen to a three-year-old explain why he should be able to hit the family dog with a skillet. This isn’t to blame Polamalu for partaking in the sanctioned violence, but I fail to see why anyone should care what he thinks about the change that’s afoot.

Perhaps if Polamalu and other sadists of the nickel package had a few encounters with Andrew Luck they’d be a bit more empathetic …

The Tragi-Comic Michigan Defense


Posted: November 7, 2010 by daynperry in College Football, Lesser Sports

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Illinois 51, Michigan 44

Michigan 67, Illinois 65

The first score you see is what happened when Illinois and Michigan last met on the basketball court. The second score you see is what happened when Illinois and Michigan met yesterday in football. That’s 95 combined points in hoops and 132 points in football. Sure, the total is inflated by three overtimes, but still …

I’m left wondering whether the brisk and lethal Oregon offense, if playing at home and squarely in “no mercy” mode, could hang 100 on the Wolverines.

My Life, 2000-2010, as Defined by Amazon.com Purchases


Posted: November 5, 2010 by daynperry in Books

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After the jump is an almost exhaustive listing of everything I’ve purchased from Amazon.com over the last decade. I’ve undertaken this effort for reasons sufficient unto myself. (By the way, I’m completely stealing this idea from my buddy Brian.)

Read the rest of this entry »

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