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| 15.4°C Dublin
Mario Mandzukic ripped the Republic of Ireland's hopes of a winning start to Euro 2012 apart as Giovanni Trapattoni's 14-game unbeaten run ended in Poznan.
The Wolfsburg striker opened the scoring with a third-minute header and then after Everton's Nikica Jelavic had cancelled out Sean St Ledger's 19th-minute equaliser, saw his second-half attempt come back off the post and end up in of the net after ricocheting off unfortunate keeper Shay Given.
But for all Ireland's industry and endeavour, Slaven Bilic's men were good value for a victory which left them top of Group C following the 1-1 draw between Spain and Italy earlier in the day.
The defeat - just the third competitive reverse during Trapattoni's four-year tenure and the first on foreign soil - means the Republic head into Thursday night's showdown with the Spaniards, reigning world and European champions, knowing their hopes of qualification could effectively be over if they do not come away with at least a point.
Resilience has been the keyword for the 73-year-old Italian since he accepted the challenge of trying to restore Ireland's fortunes, but while there was no shortage of willingness for the fight, Croatia simply had too much quality, and were ruthless enough to accept the slices of good fortune which came their way.
Ireland emerged from the tunnel before kick-off to be greeted by a sea of green and a torrent of noise as they embarked upon their first game at the European Championship finals for 24 years.
But within three minutes, a sizeable proportion of the hope and expectation which has mounted since qualification via the play-offs in November last year had evaporated.
Croatia started much the better and received their reward when captain Darijo Srna's right-wing cross clipped full-back Stephen Ward and sat up for Mandzukic.
The striker had slipped as Srna prepared to deliver, but managed to right himself and head towards the bottom corner.
His effort looked to lack power, but Given, whose fitness had been a major talking point for the previous three weeks, just could not get to the ball in time.
Bilic's men scented victory as Mandzukic and strike-partner Jelavic repeatedly stretched Richard Dunne and St Ledger at the heart of Ireland's defence, the signs were ominous.
Full-backs Srna and Ivan Strinic repeatedly made their way forward to occupy wingers Aiden McGeady and Damien Duff in areas of the pitch where they would rather not have been, and with Luka Modric starting to pull the strings in the middle of the field, Ireland were desperately in need of inspiration.
It arrived, firstly in the shape of striker Kevin Doyle and then St Ledger with 19 minutes gone.
The combative Doyle was giving Corluka a torrid time and forced the Tottenham defender to concede one of a series of free-kicks.
McGeady's delivery to the far post was firm and true and with Corluka out of position, St Ledger crept in front of him to head the Republic level from close range.
The noise which erupted as the ball hit the back of the net was phenomenal and roared on by the bulk of a crowd of 39,550, Ireland started to make a game of it.
Given dispelled any fears of his health with a fine diving save from Ivan Perisic's firmly-struck 22nd-minute shot, and he was grateful to see the same man thump a dipping volley wide nine minutes before the break.
However, Ireland looked to be heading in at the break all square until disaster struck with two minutes of the half remaining.
The increasingly influential Modric cut inside the covering Robbie Keane to fire in a long-range shot which was blocked, but in his haste to clear, Ward could only slice the loose ball to the delighted Jelavic, who easily beat Given from close range to restore his side's advantage.
Given's luck deserted him totally within three minutes of the restart when Mandzukic powered a header towards goal from a Perisic cross and saw the ball come back off the post, hit the keeper on the head and fly into the unguarded net.
Trapattoni made a double substitution just eight minutes into the second half when he replaced Doyle and McGeady with Jon Walters and Simon Cox, and the latter sent a long-range effort high over Stipe Pletikosa's crossbar within seconds of his arrival.
But with Croatia by now firmly in the driving seat and knowing victory was within their grasp, the Republic found themselves struggling to make it out of their own half.
However, they were convinced they should have been awarded a 63rd-minute penalty for central defender Gordon Schildenfeld's crude challenge from behind on Keane, although Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers took a markedly different view.
Dunne headed a 68th-minute Duff free-kick straight at Pletikosa, but Croatia were cruising towards victory without having to expend unnecessary energy.
Midfielder Ivan Rakitic curled a 77th-minute shot inches wide and Keith Andrews power a header agonisingly past the post at the death, but the points had been secured long before.

subset: commoncrawl


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If you're tired of your kitchen feeling cramped or uninviting but don't want to remodel the entire thing, there's good news for you - it can be done. With a little fresh paint and a few new accessories, you can have the kitchen you've always wanted without having to go through the costly renovation process of installing new countertops and cabinets.
Country kitchen
If you live outside the city or just want to make your kitchen feel more homey, try adding some fun, folksy decorations, notes Midwest Living magazine. Oversized, decorative serving trays, milk pails and stools all look great in wood and can easily be painted to match the decor you're going for. In addition to the customizable potential of this project, you can find these materials in retail stores as well as thrift shops, yard sales and flea markets if you want to save some money and make your kitchen feel even more authentic. For paint colors, you may want to use light blue, pale brown or plain white for the walls to create the simple, rustic feel of a country kitchen. Creating a good spot to sit and gaze out the window is a nice touch, so try putting a comfortable chair and small desk in front of a window and using wood blinds to match the country theme.
Modern kitchen
Although it may seem challenging to create a modern kitchen without installing stainless steel appliances and sleek countertops, you can still get a contemporary feel with just a few accessories. The key is to maximize your existing countertop space, so try to keep all surfaces free of clutter and stationary objects to maintain that streamlined look, suggests TLC.�
You don't need to totally redo everything in the room in contemporary finishes, but a few stainless steel touches will help create a modern feel. Try tucking wood and plastic spoons into a steel bin that contains all your cooking utensils. Not only will this add more of that contemporary gleam to your home, but it will also keep everything neater and tidier, which is key in a modern kitchen. As far as windows and window treatments go, it's best to have plenty of light, so try installing some cordless shades or celluloid shades to let in plenty of light while maintaining the minimalist look.


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Tagged: Salt River Fields
Spring Training 2015 Recap
To start off my 2015 recap series in January, we begin with the Spring Training trip that I took with my family to Arizona in March. We had never seen the A's play anywhere other than in Oakland before this, so as you could imagine, we were all very excited.
Before you get too far into this entry, I would like to give a warning that I wrote a lot. While we were only there for 4 days, my family did so much, we had so many cool experiences. I wrote over 5,700 words. And there are plenty of pictures to go along, over 150 of them. If you need to, please read this in multiple sittings. I have conveniently separated the entry into each of the 4 days that we went to games, so hopefully that makes the reading a little easier!
Our plan was to fly into Arizona on Wednesday the 11th and fly out on Sunday the 15th, giving us time to watch the A's play 4 games. One of my main goals for this trip was to visit as many new places and eat at as many new restaurants as possible and the first night of our vacation did just that.
We arrived at the Mesa Airport in the evening on Wednesday, then once we had our rental car, our family began to search for food. Upon recommendation from Bess Frankoff and a few others on Twitter, we decided to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel, which I LOVED. After checking into our hotel, the rest of the night was pretty calm, just preparing for the big day ahead of us on Thursday.
3/12/15 at HoHoKam Stadium (2 balls)
This was a pretty special day for my family. Not only was it our first ever Spring Training game, but we were going to get to see WILL FERRELL play for the A's. To say that I was excited would be an understatement.
After a quick breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, we piled in the car and headed off to HoHoKam, which was about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. We arrived at the stadium shortly after 8:30, which was 90 minutes before gates were scheduled to open at 10am.
These signs were posted all of the exterior of the stadium, which signified that this was an important day.
HBO's Funny or Die was shooting an hour-long documentary about Will Ferrell's adventures this day, as he was playing 10 positions with 10 teams in 5 different games. The beginning of his day would be with the A's and he was going to be starting at shortstop.
My first order of business once we parked was for Pascale and I to take a picture in front of this sign. We were very excited to be there!
We wondered around for a little bit, just exploring the outside of the stadium.
Pascale and I took a peek inside the team store, which I have to admit was pretty nice.
We then headed to the left field gate, where we set our stuff down and began to explore. I elected to head out to the fence behind the left field berm, where this was my view.
My dad looked inside with his camera, which is when we saw Will Ferrell in an A's uniform for the first time! He was in the seats, talking with Bert "Campy" Campaneris, who Ferrell was honoring during the day.
Later, the two of them played some catch down the line, which was very cool to watch.
Once the gates opened at 10am sharp, I bolted for the berm in left field, which was incredible! It was very open, but crowded up quickly, given that Ferrell was in the building. It was awesome to see the A's take batting practice again, specifically my new favorite player Brett Lawrie.
My first ball of the day was a tossup from pitcher AJ Griffin. I quickly got a second ball, a home run hit by an A's player I couldn't identify. I'm guessing it was Billy Butler or Mark Canha. After the first couple of groups of A's BP, the one and only Will Ferrell stepped in the cage to hit.
What a special moment. He laid down a couple of bunts, knocked some solid ground balls and hit a few line drives into the outfield. It was fun to watch him! After he finished hitting, Ferrell jogged out the outfield, camera crew and all.
He decided to settle in left field, where we interacted with several A's players, including Coco Crisp.
Several balls were hit his way, which he fielded and threw back in with ease.
He chatted up AJ Griffin for a bit.
And enjoyed a refreshing bottle of water.
Here is some behind-the-scenes footage of the films crews in left field, along with Will. If you click on the video, it will take you to my Flickr account so you can watch it.
Once I had noticed that Ferrell was in the outfield, I bolted over and thew on my 23-inch baseball glove and took a place in the front row.
This glove caught the attention of one of the producers, who came over and asked me to do some different poses and shots for the camera. I waved my glove around and called out for a ball several times for the cameras, all of which were pointed at me. Like I mentioned earlier, they were getting footage for the Ferrell Takes the Field documentary and guess what? I MADE THE FINAL CUT! I already showed it in my last entry, but here is a frame from it. Crazy awesome!
After BP concluded, Will started jogging off the field, but I decided to call out his name since he hadn't yet seen the big glove. He turned around when he heard his name and spotted my glove and stopped.
Will: "Son, where did you get a glove that big?"
Me: "My parents gave it to me as a gift a year or so ago."
Will: "Well that is a mighty big glove."
Me: "Yup, it's 23 inches."
Will: "Nice."
Nice is right. After this, Will gave me a thumbs up and jogged off the field towards the dugout. WOW.
A few months later, I was looking through the videos on my phone and found this one. I don't know who in my family took it, but I appreciate whoever it was! While It doesn't show much of the conversation, you can still see the last bit of it. Like the last video, if you click on it, it will take you to my Flickr account to watch it.
After batting practice was over, I decided to walk around the stadium and say hello to friends before the game started. I then headed over to the dugout and grabbed a spot in the first row, just to be as close to the pre-game action as possible. While we were down there, they announced the lineups. One of the renovations the A's made to HoHoKam Stadium before moving in this season was the new scoreboard in left field. In fact, it's the biggest in the Cactus League! Here is the image they showed when announcing A's third baseman Brett Lawrie.
And here is the imagine they showed when announcing shortstop Will Ferrell!
The crowd behind the dugout was packed, but the crowd on the field in front of the dugout was insane. So many people!
All of the players were gathered around, talking with and listening to Will.
When the A's took the field, I was forced to go back to my ticketed seat, but we were still behind the dugout. Will took his position at shortstop and began fielding ground balls and throwing them to first base. He had a pretty good arm!
His mechanics were very solid as well, he had a fluid transfer from his glove.
Ferrell fielded the throw down to second from the catcher, than took his position for the start of the game.
He was acting like himself, even giving random signs to whoever was looking.
Unfortunately, he did not get any action during the inning, as he jogged off the field after 3 quick outs.
Notice the picture on the left? I tweeted that picture to Brett Lawrie and the next day, he POSTED IT ON INSTAGRAM. Seriously! Check it out:
Billy Burns led off the bottom of the first with a triple, which was exciting. Equally exciting was the graphic shown on the scoreboard. Being an A's fan, I only knew 727-square foot scoreboards, so for a ballpark this size, this 1,800-square foot scoreboard was quite spectacular! That being said, it was nothing compared to the TWO 5,220-square foot scoreboards the A's would be installing in the Oakland Coliseum for the 2015 season. Unfortunately, Will Ferrell had to leave the A's, as after being traded by Billy Beane, he jogged over to the Mariners dugout. He later emerged in a Mariners uniform to play second base for them. After playing a half inning at second base, he jogged back towards the A's dugout so that he and the film crew could head off to his next game. It truly was an honor to not only talk to him for a brief moment before the game, but to see him play during the game itself, even though he did not get any playing time. Lefty Scott Kazmir was on the mound for the A's in this game. While Pascale and I were wondering around the stadium in attempts to find shade, we came across the Mustache Pretzels food truck. Their menu was pretty amazing.
We both got pretzels. I can't speak for Pascale, but that was and still is the best soft pretzel I have ever had.
One of the fun things for my dad was being so close to the field, which meant he got to take a lot of great pictures. For starters, here was the view from our seats. He was able to get great pictures like this one of a Mariners coach pulling a broken bat out of the infield grass. And this one of the first base umpire.
One of my favorite pictures was this one of an A's infielder Alden Carrithers. I tried every inning to get an A's 3rd out ball, but even though I had the big glove, I had no luck. The A's were down 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th, but doubles from Alden Carrithers and Bryan Anderson tied the game up for Oakland. Kent Matthes ended up driving in the winning run with 2 outs, a single to right field that scored Chad Pinder. After the game, I got a picture with my 2 BP balls.
Notice my shirt? It is a design from Ian Sagabaen, also known as Greatest Sign Maker! I wore it for this game since it features Brick Tamland of the movie Anchorman, which Will Ferrell starred in. After taking that picture, we decided to stroll to the exit the long way, circling around the stadium, along the outfield. There, my dad was able to get this cool picture of the sprinklers watering the outfield grass. Pascale and I then decided to get a picture in front of the new scoreboard, next to the final score. For some perspective on how big this scoreboard is, here you go. What a fun day! I had such a great time and I could not wait to head to Surprise on Friday to see the A's play the Royals.
3/13/15 at Surprise Stadium (3 balls)
Day 2. Game 2. Let's go! This game, we would be seeing the A's take on the Kansas Royals at Surprise Stadium, a complex that the Royals share with the Texas Rangers.
For breakfast, we dined at Waffle House. This was my first time at a Waffle House (they don't have any in California, don't judge) and my waffles were pretty dang good.
After breakfast, we headed out on the 45-minute drive to Surprise, Arizona. We arrived at the ballpark around 9:30, which was 2 hours before the stadium itself opened. However, there were still lots of practice fields that we could explore! Before the practice fields opened at 10, my dad, Pascale and I walked around the exterior a little.As we were walking to the Rangers facilities, I spotted a ball just on the other side of a chain link fence. My dad was able to use his camera monopod to knock the ball right up against the fence so I could grab it. (Excuse my extremely derpy look) Ball #1 on the day! And the best part? It had the new commissioner, Robert Manfred's signature on it!
Once we made it to the Rangers fields, we watched them play catch for a little while. After a bit, we made our way back towards the Royals side. We got in line to get into the Royals complex and let's just say I stuck out a little. Before I get too much into my adventures in the practice complex, I'll show an overview of the Royals complex so you have an idea as to what I am talking about.
I spent some of my time wandering around the four practice fields on the top, but I did peek around the two other fields a little. During batting practice, I stayed in between the two fields on the right side near the parking lot, where there is the empty space in between outfield walls.
Since batting practice had not yet started, I began my day by watching the players warm up by playing catch and doing various drills and conditioning. It was really cool to see the various Minor Leaguers working hard and practicing in ways that you don't see at a Major League stadium.After they did some drills, BP began, so I decided to stay in the dirt area that I mentioned earlier. I positioned myself beyond the left field fence of the field where the Major Leaguers were hitting and it paid off.A lot of balls were flying over the fence, but there were so many people and it was so crowded, it was incredibly hard to snag anything. During the second group, I was, however, able to snag a couple of Alex Rios home runs, both were balls that bounced around a little and I was able to scoop up.
After BP, I headed into the stadium itself. And wow it was beautiful!One thing I noticed immediately was the number of baseballs on the roof of the stadium.There was a roof from first to third base, over the press box and whatnot and there had to have been at least 100 baseballs up there, I'm guessing most, if not all, were foul balls.
After saying hello to my cousin and uncle, who are Royals fans from Kansas and happened to be at the game as well, I went over down to the field to try and get some autographs.There, I ran into a couple of bleacher friends, Alex and Jaclyn, who were also trying to get autographs. While we were over there, I was able to get 4 autographs. Wade Kirkland, Bruce Maxwell and Beau Taylor all signed my flag, which was very cool!After he was done playing catch, Brett Lawrie came over and signed a few autographs. I had a baseball card of his with me and had him sign that.The game itself was fun. Chris Bassitt was the starting pitcher for Oakland.Edinson Volquez was the starter for the Royals.One thing I took note of was the score board in left field. It was much smaller than the one at HoHoKam, so I definitely had a new appreciation for Oakland's. This game and the game the following day were split-squad games for Oakland. While half of the team and coaches stayed in Arizona, the other half traveled to Las Vegas for a two-game series against the Cubs. As a result, there were some things I saw in this game that were kind of cool. For example, I got to see Billy Butler play first base.And I got to watch Bryan Anderson catch.One of the best parts of the day for me was getting to see the minor leaguers that were up with the team for the day, all of whom I either have seen play with the Stockton Ports or got to see play for the Ports in 2015. I got to see Bruce Maxwell (2013/2014 Ports) come in behind the plate.John Nogowski (2015 Ports) got an opportunity to pinch hit.Brandon Cogswell (2015 Ports) also had a plate appearance.And Tyler Marincov (2014/2015 Ports) had an AB as well. The A's ended up losing 8-4 and after the game, I saw a few reporters come onto the field to talk to Mike Aldrete, who was managing the half of the team who stayed in Arizona.
My family had worn matching shirts for the game and we wanted to get a picture before leaving, so I took a selfie!And finally, on our way out, I took a picture with my 3 baseballs from the day.
We sat in Friday rush hour traffic for about 90 minutes, but eventually made it to a restaurant called Oregano's, where we ate dinner with the cousin and uncle I mentioned earlier, as well as a friend of theirs. If you have not been to Oregano's and you'll be in Arizona sometime, you MUST enjoy a meal there. Get a pizookie for dessert, you'll thank me later. If you've been to Oregano's, you know what I'm talking about 😉
3/14/15 at HoHoKam Stadium and Salt River Fields (1 ball)
Yes, you are reading that correctly. I went to two games on this day. And oddly enough, they were both games against the San Francisco Giants. The first game was at 1:05, as the A's were hosting the Giants. In the evening, my mom, sister and I were heading over to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Park to watch the Diamondbacks play the Giants.
The day started off early, as my family enjoyed a fabulous breakfast at U.S. Egg. After that, we picked up one of our bleacher friends, Ethan, who was staying with our friend Karl who goes to ASU. My dad dropped Ethan and I off at Fitch Park, which is where the A's have their Minor League practice fields. Ethan and I looked around a little bit and watched some of the minor leaguers doing drills.After 10 or 15 minutes, we began the 15-minute walk to HoHoKam Stadium, where my family was waiting in line. Ethan and I got there a few minutes before gates opened at 11 and once they did, I sprinted inside to the Left Field berm, which filled up quickly, given that it was an A's/Giants game.We had berm seats for this game, so we claimed our spot on the grass early.A's batting practice was already underway when we got inside, so I had no time to lose.I chased after several home run balls, but I unfortunately did not come up with any. All of a sudden, Ethan noticed Barry Zito come out onto the field. In February, Oakland signed Zito, who pitched for the club from 2000-2006, to a Minor League contract and as a result, he was with the team for Spring Training.
We rushed over to where he was and I was able to get a jersey signedIt was a Barry Zito jersey that Ryan Dalton had given me to take down to Arizona and get signed for him.
Ethan then took a selfie with Zito.
I would have, but I was stupid and in my rush to get down to Barry, I forgot my phone on our blanket out on the berm.
When we got back to left field, there were two players who caught my eye: Brett Lawrie and Coco Crisp. I wanted to thank Lawrie for posting my dad's picture on Instagram and I wanted to get Coco to sign the banner that I acquired during the offseason and brought down to Arizona.I pulled out the big glove and was able to quickly get Lawrie's attention. As soon as he saw it, he tossed me a ball.
After I caught the ball, I thanked him for posting the picture and he smiled, waved and said "No problem!"
I then turned my attention to Coco Crisp. With the help of Ethan, I unrolled the banner and we held it up, yelling Coco's name until he came over.
Holding one side, we dropped it over the edge as he walked over. Lawre, Zito and AJ Griffin all walked over, intrigued by the large banner. The three of them ended up holding it against the outfield wall so that Coco had a flat surface to sign on. He ended up signing it very large and I was pretty excited about it! After the game, Ethan, Pascale and I took a picture with the signed banner, a picture you'll see later on in this entry.
A little bit after BP ended, I took this panoramic picture form behind home plate.
I then headed over to the area next to the A's dugout by the first row and met up with Alex and Jaclyn again in hopes of getting a few more autographs. While I didn't get any autographs, I did take a selfie with speedy outfielder Billy Burns!
As I was leaving to go back to the outfield berm, I saw Rickey Henderson jog by. Yes, THE Rickey Henderson. I was too far away to take an actual picture with him, but I did get this.
The A's starting pitcher in this game was Jesse Chavez.
And it was a HOT day. Sitting in an area with no shade in the afternoon in Arizona was probably not one of our smartest ideas… We did what we could to keep cool though.My dad, Pascale and I went on a walk around the stadium for a bit. Mostly because there was shade, but also because we wanted to explore a bit more.We ran into bleacher friends like Carlos, Will, Ross and Tony, which was fun. The most important stop for us was the Mustache Pretzels truck. The pretzels last time were so good, Pascale and I had to have another.
Yup. They are soft pretzels shaped like mustaches. And they are DELICIOUS! Pascale got a cinnamon sugar one, I got a classic pretzel with salt. So good! If you ever see one of their trucks while in Arizona, you MUST get one!
After that, we began to walk around the area behind the outfield. We began at the bullpens, which are located right down the right field line.After that, we walked around the berm in right-center field, which was packed.However, there was a second berm in right field, above the other one, with lots of space available.From there, we decided to head back to the berm, where we joined my mom and Ethan.Pascale and I spent the final inning with Will, Ross and Carlos, who were sitting down the first base line. However my parents elected to stay in left field for the remainder of the game.Once the final out was recorded, I met back up with Ethan in left field, where we took a picture with the baseballs we snagged during batting practice.Then, Ethan, Pascale and I took a picture with the banner that Coco Crisp signed for me during BP.I know it's hard to see in that picture, but there is indeed a signature on the banner. Here is a better picture of the signature itself.In case you're wondering, it now hangs on a wall in my room.
After this game, my dad drove my mom, Pascale and I to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Park, where we would watch the Diamondbacks play host to the Giants. The gates were not yet open when he dropped us off, so I wandered around a little bit and checked out the practice fields.Once gates opened, we headed to the berm in right field, where we claimed a spot, since we had berm seats again. With all due respect to the other teams in the Cactus League, I think Talking Stick is the nicest ballpark.Before the game started, I decided to take a lap around the stadium and explore. There were a few things that caught my eye. First, there were these sunscreen dispensers all around the ballpark. I had never seen something like this at a baseball stadium before, so I loved it!Next, there was a Coldstone Creamery Express. While I've been to Coldstone many times, I had never seen one inside a baseball stadium. Pascale and I ended up getting ice cream later in the game. Again, very cool (no pun intended).Lastly, I felt the need to share this picture. I guess Clayton Kershaw and Jeff Samardzija decided to take in some evening baseball. Either that or an A's fan and a Dodgers fan wanted to scout out the rival Giants. Yay for incredibly arched lettering!
When I was walking behind home plate, I stopped and took this panoramic picture of the stadium.I eventually took a seat on our blanket in right field, just in time for first pitch.4 hitters into the game, there was some excitement for me. Brandon Belt hit a home run 20 feet to my left. As soon as I saw the ball in the air, I started running. Had I gotten a better jump or had their been fewer people in my way, I would have caught the ball on the fly easily. But I didn't, I got there a split second too late and the only other A's fan in the stadium caught it. Woo!
I ended up doing one more lap around the stadium with Pascale. In the left field corner, I took this picture.The Diamondbacks ended up winning the game 5-2, Belt's first inning home run was the only offense for the Giants. Before we left, I took a selfie with my mom and Pascale.
And then I took this panoramic picture of the field.On our way out, we walked past the hitting cages, which were still illuminated. Very cool.While I didn't snag a ball at the second game, I still enjoyed the day very much. It was fun to explore HoHoKam more and experience a new stadium with Salt River Fields.
One takeaway I had from Talking Stick was the separation that they managed to have between the Diamondbacks and Rockies within the stadium. One side was D-Backs and one side was Rockies, each team had a separate store and then they shared one behind center field. This was the most impressive stadium for me on the trip and I really look forward to visiting again soon and being able to document it in greater detail!
3/15/15 at Maryvale Baseball Park (1 ball)
This was the final day of our trip and we were spending it at the Maryvale Baseball Complex to watch the A's take on the Brewers.
After checking out of the hotel, we hit up the legendary Bill Johnson's for breakfast. Unfortunately, this was the only time we will ever have been able to come, as they closed two months after our visit.
I had buttermilk pancakes with strips of bacon in them and they were the best bacon pancakes I have ever had. And yes, I have had a lot of bacon pancakes.
I forget what time we rolled into the baseball complex, but once we arrived, we piled out of the car and began exploring. And wow. The area is HUGE! And there was almost nobody there!We were pretty much the only ones there. Crazy!
It was cool to get one last up-close look at the different drills.And it was also neat to see the massive bullpens.There was no place to get balls during Batting Practice once it started for the minor leaguers, so I decided to wander around the main stadium itself and look around. When I looked inside, I saw that the field was set up for BP!After going back and forth between the practice fields and the main field, I decided to jump in line, a line which had already formed.While I was in line, I noticed Domingo Ayala walking through the parking lot. I would have walked over and met him, but I was in line by myself and I didn't have someone to save my spot. On the bright side, I did see Brett Lawrie.
He literally walked in, right past the line. By then, Pascale was with me, so I was able to walk over to him, where he had stopped for a moment to sign autographs. After signing maybe 10 autographs, he ended up having to leave, so I wasn't able to take a picture with him or have him sign anything. It was still cool though!Eventually, when the gates opened at noon, this was the scene on the field. There was still Batting Practice going on!Given that there were 3 lefties out of the 4 hitters in the group, I decided to position myself in right field.Here was the view to either side of me.I don't think those pictures do the outfield berm justice because it was INSANELY STEEP. And that was right after I got in. Soon, the berm began to fill up with people. In general, this area was really bad though. How bad? I was running for a home run ball and I couldn't keep my traction because of how steep it was and I completely ate it. I slipped and fell, landing hard on my back. Of course I landed right under the ball, so I had a people literally stepping and falling on me, trying to chase the ball. I didn't wind up getting it.
After BP, I spent a little bit of time wandering the stadium.I also met up with Ross and talked with him for a bit.You may notice the shirts under my arm in the picture. Those were shirseys I was hoping to get signed. After Yoenis Cespedes won the 2013 Home Run Derby, I decided to get a shirsey of his pitcher, A's third base coach Mike Gallego. Cespedes participated and won again in 2014 and again, he had Gallego pitch. Josh Donaldson also participated in 2014 and his pitcher was A's bullpen coach Darren Bush, who is now the team's hitting coach. So I got shirseys of Gallego and Bush in 2014!
I brought the shirts with me on this trip because I wanted to show them to Gallego and Bush and get their autographs on them. You may remember back in 2013, I met Mike's son Niko, who at the time played for the Modesto Nuts. I took a picture with him and he even signed the shirt!
Suddenly, I noticed that both Gallego and Bush were in the dugout, so I ran off towards the side of the dugout. From there, I held up Mike Gallego's 2013 shirt to get their attention. He noticed it quickly, then came over and signed them and we talked for a bit. I mentioned that I also had one for Darren Bush, who Gallego called for and switched places with. Both of them thought that the shirts was awesome!As you can imagine, I was VERY excited to have gotten all 3 shirts signed!I then headed back over to the spot where Will and Ross were. Soon, the one and only Seth Frankoff walked over!
While I was in this area, I was able to get autographs from manager Bob Melvin, first base coach Tye Waller and shortstop Marcus Semien on my flag. I also took this selfie with Melvin, which Will did a fantastic job of photobombing!My dad took a picture of my selfie, which is cool.While I was over here, I got the chance to see Sonny Gray warm up, as he was the starting pitcher in the game.
I also got to see Seth throw, which is always cool.
After I finished with autographs, I moved to my right, closer towards the dugout, near where the infielders and outfielders were playing catch. While I was there, I was able to get Eric Sogard to toss me his warmup ball.
As usual, my first order of business for the game itself is to judge the scoreboard. There wasn't even a video board!At least I got to see the racing sausages, right?So here was my view for the game.We were sitting behind the dugout, it was a good time.
One of the most exciting parts was the group of people sitting in front of us. They were childhood friends of Mark Canha, from little league to high school. Every time he came to the plate, they would heckle him, especially when he recorded an out.After Sonny Gray pitched the first 4 innings and Chad Smith took the 5th, Barry Zito came on to pitch the final 4 innings, which was fun to watch, considering that he only allowed one baserunner!Once the game was over, I took a picture with my one ball from the day.When we were outside the stadium, I took a picture with each of the shirts that I got signed before the game!
After the game ended, we returned our rental car and headed to get dinner at Whataburger, another restaurant (if I can call it that) that I had never been to. After finishing our meal, we then headed to the airport.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of the entry, we flew into and out of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, not Sky Harbor. The airline that we flew on, Allegiant, is the ONLY airline that operates out of Mesa. We had to return our car by a certain time and our flight did not leave for a while after, so we had lots of time to relax in the smallest airport I've ever been to. The airport only had 10 gates. But it had 3 terminals. Because logic. The cool thing was that the space in between terminals was outdoors. Like there was grass and plants and stuff. Super cool. Pascale and I had our gloves. I had a few balls from the trip. What do you think we did? Well we played catch of course. Inside an airport. Outdoors. At night. I don't have any pictures though 😦
And it's a very good thing we were able to do this, because our plane was delayed close to 3 hours.
All in all, it was a super fun trip. I got to visit 4 stadiums, watch 5 games and I snagged 7 balls. Plus I got to see a bunch of friends, eat some great food and take some awesome pictures. Hard to complain!
My next recap entry should be up within the next few days, as I'll be looking back at the games I attended in April. And if you haven't read it, check out my last post, where I re-introduced myself. As always, thanks for reading and stay awesome!
Nick Badders is a blogger for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @RFNick149. This blog entry was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Tagged: Max Sapp
Aaron Boone's Season Over
October 16, 2003.
It's a day that introduced Aaron Boone to most of the baseball world. Boone, a third baseman who could also play around the infield, was an invaluable part of the Cincinnati Reds organization in the late 1990s. However, after his first and only All-Star Game selection in 2003, the Reds traded him to the Yankees for Charlie Manning, Brandon Claussen, and cash.
Over three seasons in Cincinnati, Claussen would go 15-27 with a 5.11 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, and 223 K to just 120 BB. Manning would never suit up for the Reds. After half a season at Class-AA Chattanooga, he was dealt back to the Yankees for Gabe White.
Boone, on the other hand, went .254/.302/.418 in the second half for the Yankees, then topped it off by hitting the game-winning home run in Game Seven of the ALCS against the Red Sox.
He would spend the rest of his career in Cleveland, Florida, Washington, and Houston battling various injuries and ailments, and this morning came the worst news of all: Aaron Boone's season will end while he undergoes open heart surgery.
Growing up in Southwestern Ohio, the Boones – Aaron, Bob, and Bret – were like royalty to me. I knew Ray only by reputation, but these three were all part of the Reds organization during and shortly after my high school years. They were forces in the community – it often seemed like you couldn't go to a charity event in southwestern Ohio and not run into a Boone.
Aaron's wife, former playmate Laura Cover, was born in the same hospital as me, just a few weeks after I was.
My heart goes out to the Boones. This is terrible news for the Houston Astros' family, including all of the Boones. He never played a game for us, but we will embrace him the way we do all of our players. It's unclear whether or not he'll ever play competitive baseball again.
Between him and Max Sapp, our former first-round pick who was hospitalized with viral meningitis in December 2008 and has battled ever since, this has largely been an offseason to forget for the Astros. But if anyone knows anything about late-game heroics, it's Boone. The kid doesn't know the definition of the word "quit."
When Losing Is Winning
The Astros' winless streak in Grapefruit League action has hit fourteen after a double loss in split-squad action today. To hear the players talk, it seems as if no one's worried. To hear fans of other teams – who don't follow the Astros regularly – it's daunting, but they seem so sure that the Astros will turn it around.
And, yes, there are a lot of factors. However, I'm not so sure it's reasonable to expect April 6th to arrive and see the Astros suddenly start winning.
Were situations reversed, I would not exactly feel as optimistic as I now feel pessimistic. In other words, were the Astros to win their final twenty exhibition games heading into the regular season, I certainly still wouldn't expect us to finish first in the NL Central this season. So why, after losing or tying fourteen straight (which actually isn't entirely accurate, as we did beat Panama back on March 5 — with one of our biggest sluggers, Carlos Lee, playing for the other team.
So I remain tempered, but it does lead to one question: If the Astros tank this season, finishing fourth or worst in the Central, is that necessarily a bad thing?
The Astros over-performed in 2008. Of the top 17 teams in the overall standings, only one had a negative run differential: The Astros, with a -31 differential between runs allowed and runs scored. Every other team with a negative run differential finished in the bottom 13.
In other words, 16 teams scored more runs in 2008 than they allowed. 14 teams allowed more than they scored. With one exception – the Astros – the ones that scored more finished on top, and the ones that allowed more finished on the bottom.
The Astros bested their Pythagorean W-L by nine games, finishing third in the NL Central at 86-75. Had they finished at 77-84, as their Pythagorean W-L suggests they should have, they would have been fourth in the Central. Not a big discrepancy, perhaps, but what were the ramifications, ultimately?
The Astros' over-performance did not lead to a playoff appearance. What it did do, however, was give them 11th-best record in baseball – as opposed to the 18th-best, as their Pythagorean W-L suggests they should have had. In real-world terms, this translates to a #21 draft pick, instead of a #14 pick (the Nationals will receive the #11 pick for failing to sign last year's pick, Aaron Crow.)
The 2009 draft will feature the longest-ever wait in history between the first pick of the first round and the first pick of the second round. Two teams – the Nats and Yankees – will have additional first-round picks for failure to sign last year's draft picks. There will be 13 sandwich picks. This means that top-tier talent will be greatly depleted by the time teams begin picking in the second round.
That makes those seven lost spots very key. Not necessarily in the first round, but beginning in the second round especially.
One thing that generally puts the Astros a little higher-up on organizational rankings than other teams with superior farm systems is that, for better or worse, owner Drayton McLane is willing to spend money. They are generally in the top half of the league in payroll. This marks one truism: The team has been willing to trade for veterans at the deadline when it appears that they will be competitive, and sign free agents when they think that they might help the team make a run.
The problem is that those trades have depleted the farm system over the years, and the free agent signings have given away draft picks, which has hindered the re-loading of that farm system. Questionable drafting has not exactly helped. Catcher Jason Castro is the team's most highly-ranked prospect according to Baseball America at #53 (Justin Smoak, who the Astros skipped over to get to Castro in the draft, is ranked #23 for the Rangers, but never mind…) and he is a legitimate catching prospect who is expected to be solid, though not an All-Star caliber offensive threat.
No other Astros prospect appears in the Top 100.
These are signs that the farm system desperately needs an overhaul. And the only way to do that, shy of dealing established veteran for farmhands, is through the draft. Scouting Director Bobby Heck helped rebuild a struggling Milwaukee Brewers team through the draft, and their system is now littered with the fruits of his efforts.
We seem to have the right guy in place right now. So is now the time to return to our roots and build through the draft? It would certainly seem so.
(Boring math follows. Feel free to skip ahead.)
Were the Astros to add a free agent this offseason, it likely would have been a pitcher, catcher, or third baseman. The third base market was weak, with Casey Blake as the standout. Blake would have added approximately 1.6 wins in 2009 over Geoff Blum, according to FanGraphs, at a salary differential of +5.0.
Ivan Rodriguez, at catcher, would add approximately 1.9 wins over incumbent Humberto Quintero, at a salary differential of +12.0. In other words, in spending a lot of money on Rodriguez and Blake, the Astros would have added a possible 3 wins. Not a small number, but is it worth the cost?
It's a little different in the pitching department. In 2008, Brandon Backe cost the Astros an estimated 0.8 wins. Adding an inning-eater, such as Jon Garland, would add approximately 2.1 wins, albeit at about ten times the cost.
By not making these three signings, let's say that the Astros have cost themselves five wins, and saved themselves 15-20 million dollars in salary by sacrificing those five wins.
Five wins is significant. In 2008, five wins would have put the Astros into the NL Wild Card spot. The revenue would have increased as a result, which greatly helps offset the additional money spent. In Houston's two home games during the 2005 NL Division Series, they had attendance figures of 43,759 and 43,413. Multiplying these numbers by their 2008 average ticket price of $28.73, we get an added revenue in ticket sales alone of $2,504,451.56. This does not include merchandising or concessions, and assumes no price hike in playoff tickets.
Additionally, it stands to reason that a competitive team will receive a higher attendance average than the same team would if they were not competitive. In each of the past three seasons, as the Astros have begun to look less competitive, their attendance has dropped by an average 121,638 fans per season. Assuming a rate of sales from the 2005 season (3,022,763) at the 2008 average ticket price, the it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the Astros would have made about $5,887,294.14 more in the regular season through ticket sales alone.
Added to the added ticket revenue from the first-round playoff games, as well as a liberally-estimated $10m in additional concessions and merchandise sales, they'd stand to make $18,391,745.70 with five more wins – at the cost of $15-20m in additional salaries.
(End of math. Read on with ease.)
There are, of course, other ways to spend that money. Three key areas have been proven over time to drastically increase the number of wins that a team can expect over a sustainable period: Scouting, Development, and Signing Bonuses.
When Castro signed for $2,070,000, it was the second-highest bonus in team history, after Chris Burke's $2,125,000 in 2001. Of the top five bonuses in team history, three have come since 2005: Castro, Max Sapp ($1,400,000), and Brian Bogusevic ($1,375,000). Not coincidentally, Bogusevic and Castro are among the organization's top three prospects. Sapp, who was recentl
y hospitalized with viral meningitis, may never play baseball again.
What this means is that several years' worth of players drafted while the team was "competitive" have not managed to surpass the promise of two players drafted with high draft picks in the past three seasons.
By remaining where they are, and giving up a chance to compete for a Wild Card, the Astros are likely to better place themselves in position to get one, and possibly two top-tier prospects in the 2010 draft. In my opinion, it's far better to finish fourth or worst and put yourself into a better draft position than it is to finish third – still out of the playoffs, but without the draft pick to show for it.
And for a team whose number one priority has to be re-stocking their farm system, it may be better to underperform than to overperform, provided overperforming doesn't put them in the playoffs. That's the tipping point. If you can get into the playoffs, you can win it all. But all teams outside of the playoffs are, for all intents and purposes, on a level playing field. Twenty-two teams don't make the playoffs every season. If you're going to be one of those teams, isn't it better to have not spent $15-20m in the process?
That money, at this point, is better spent on the draft, scouting, and development of prospects, who can then be groomed and called up, giving the organization a far better – and affordable – chance to re-stock their major league talent than free agency can.
In other words, would you rather sign C.C. Sabathia at about $23m or draft David Price with a $5,600,000 bonus and pay him $400,000? In theory, you could have 3 David Prices for the cost of one C.C. Sabathia.
It seems like a no-brainer to me.
Fresh Faces (Position Players to Watch)
The big question for the Houston Astros this offseason may well be: Can this team compete this year? We've all heard the naysayers. Baseball Prospectus recently released their 2009 PECOTA rankings, projecting us as the fifth place team in the NL Central, with 98 losses.
The good news: Historically, the Astros tend to out-perform their PECOTA rankings. They also tend to out-perform their Pythagorean W-L%. In 2008, we outdid PECOTA (74-88) by 12 wins, and our Pythageorean W-L% (77-84) by 9 wins.
This could be viewed as a positive, of course, but it could also be viewed as a false positive. Giving fans hope beyond expectations heading into the 2009 season. When you look at this team, not a lot distinguishes it from the 2008 San Diego Padres after Chris Young went down: One of the best aces in the game (Peavy/Oswalt), a good-hitting first baseman (Berkman/Gonzalez), a good corner outfielder (Lee/Giles), a streaky but overall above average shortstop (Greene/Tejada), a patchy starting rotation made of largely of "maybes," a decent 'pen with a top-notch closer (Hoffman/Valverde), and not a lot off of the bench.
That Padres team put together 99 losses. This Astros team is predicted, by PECOTA, to lose 96 games.
I don't say this to be a naysayer at all. Like most Astros fans, I will still live and die with each game. I will still cheer just as loudly for each win. I will still try to put a positive spin on even the worst game. But it's important to be realistic, and with that in mind, I believe it's time to see what the youngsters can do.
The buzz has it that the Astros organization is pretty low on talent. That's not untrue, but there are a few standouts, and I suspect we'll get a look at a great many of them. Let's take a look at some of these young men and what we may have to look forward to. By and large, this could very well be a glimpse at the Astros' 2010 lineup. For now, let's view it as a look at the silver lining. Because while the organization may not be in the best shape, it does have some decent prospects who could earn valuable playing time this season:
C Lou Palmisano – The catcher position is an awkward one for the Astros. They actually have a pretty decent stockpile of talent at the position, at least in terms of quantity, but not a lot of quality. That situation wasn't exactly remedied when the Orioles chose Lou Palmisano from the Brewers organization in the Rule 5 Draft and then sent him to Houston for cash. For those unfamiliar with the Rule 5 Draft, basically if you select a player, you must keep him on your Major League roster for the entire season. If you do not, he can be claimed off waivers by another team (who must then keep him on their major league roster) or return him to the original team. Palmisano is a promising offensive option behind the plate, but has yet to play above AA ball. Because of medical issues, he hasn't played catcher in a game since 2007. Anything but a sure-fire major league prospect at the moment. Projection: With Toby Hall out due to injury, if Palmisano shows any promise at all at the plate, he will probably break camp with the big league team. Still, it's hard to imagine Towles and Quintero both being sent down, and since catcher is one of the few positions with some organizational depth, I suspect Palmisano will be returned to the Brewers organization.
SS Tommy Manzella – Despite hitting a major bump when he got to AAA Round Rock, Manzella is one of my favorites among the Astros' minor league players. His Round Rock line is anything but impressive: .219/.273/.294 in 228 at-bats, but his 2008 line in AA Corpus Christi was .299/.346/.446 in 224 at-bats. He's improved his defense, and with a good spring and a few more months of AAA ball, he could well be poised to step up and claim his place as the Astros' shortstop of the future. Projection: Manzella will wear a Houston Astros uniform this season. Expect him to make the club sometime in late May or early June and compile somewhere in the vicinity of 100-120 at-bats.
SS Edwin Maysonet – Maysonet is a versatile infielder – he's mainly played the shortstop position, but has also played a lot of second base, and has occasionally been asked to fill in at third and in the outfield. He's shown remarkable consistently through the minors, clocking in right around .260/.330/.360 each season. Last year at Round Rock, his line was .271/.343/.379. Nothing that will blow anyone away, and his glove isn't the best in the organization, either. Still, he's a serviceable-enough backup infielder. Projection: Maysonet will likely be pressed into service at some point this season, but don't look for anything more than 50 or so at-bats.
2B Drew Sutton – Sutton is a promising young infielder who plays primarily second base, but also third. He has yet to make a plate appearance at any level above AA, but his 2008 Corpus Christi line sure does look good: .317/.408/.523 with 20 stolen bases in 27 attempts, 20 home runs in 520 AB, and 76 walks to 98 strikeouts. His glovework isn't dazzling (16 errors in 99 games), but he's one of the better prospects currently in the organization. Projection: With the revolving-door that third base promises to be this season, as well as Kaz Matsui's inevitable injury woes, Sutton figures to see the big leagues. I don't know that I'd expect him to perform extraordinarily, but don't let that put you off. He may be a year or two away, but expect Sutton to continue to do well in the organization.
SP OF Brian Bogusevic – The Astros drafted Bogusevic as a position player out of Tulane University, then moved him to the pitching mound, where he struggled, never posting a season ERA under 4.61. He's since been moved back to the outfield, and has responded by becoming one of the Astros' highest-rated prospects, thanks largely to his .371/.447/.556 line in 124 at-bats at Corpus Christi in 2008. In case you've never heard of "baseball" before, that's pretty darned impressive. Projection: Bogusevic hasn't played above AA yet, but expect a meteoric rise through the system this year. With so many questions in the Astros' outfield, I expect him to get some time at the big league level, perhaps even breaking through as a starter late in the season if there are injuries to Lee or Pence.
OF Yordany Ramirez – With the unfortunate departure of Jordan Parraz in the Tyler Lumsden trade, Ramirez and 17-year-old Jay Austin may be the two best "fast guys" in the Houston Astros organization. Ramirez didn't have a stellar year at Round Rock in 2008 – in fact, it was pretty lousy (.231/.254/.382). But he's shown flashes throughout his time in the minors, and he'll be 24 this year. He was widely-regarded as the Padres' top defensive outfield prospect, has stolen 108 of 140 in his minor league career, and just happens to play centerfield, a position of need for the Astros. Projection: It's tough to know which Yordany we're going to see. If he can strike out less and walk more (he has 67 career minor league walks to 322 strikeouts), then the sky is the limit. As it is, he projects as another Michael Bourn type. I'd love to think either of them is going to turn it around this year, but I'm not overly optimistic.
C Jason Castro – Since I became an Astros fan in the mid-eighties, I can remember four times when I threw my hands up at an Astros' draft choice. It all starts with the time we made Phil Nevin the #1 overall draft choice… ahead of Derek Jeter. Second was when we took catcher Max Sapp over Joba Chamberlain. The third-most egregious pick, in my opinion, was when we selected Mike Rosamond ahead of Carl Crawford. Last year's selection of Jason Castro, a contact-hitting lefty catcher out of Stanford University, ahead of switch-hitting first baseman Justin Smoak, may well break those ranks. I'm reserving judgement for now, but I have to say that every time I see Astros fans pinning the hopes of the team's future on Castro, who went .275/.383/.384 in 138 at-bats at Short Season Tri-City. He inexplicably received a Spring Training invitation this year, and has definitely been tagged as the catcher of the future. Oh, and Smoak? .304/.355/.518 for Texas's Midwest League affiliate, the Clinton LumberKings. Projection: Don't expect Castro to play in the big leagues this year. He'll need to prove himself over the course of a full minor league season first, and the Astros have plenty of depth at the catcher position.
C Brian Esposito – Esposito will be 30 years old coming into the 2009 season, and has amassed a grand total of one inning of major league experience since being drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2000 draft out of the University of Connecticut. The Astros are his sixth organization in the past nine seasons, and he's likely to start the season in Corpus Christi, his twelfth team in that same nine seasons. In that time, he's put together an unimpressive .214/.251/.305 line. The fact that he is in Spring Training this year, instead of a more-deserving candidate like, say, Eli Iorg, is a testament to the Astros' trainwreck of a catching situation. Projection: Esposito will not play as an Astro this season.
C Lou Santangelo – In 2008, 109 baserunners tried to steal a base against Santangelo. 34 of them were caught. And that sums up Santangelo behind the plate. At the plate, he generally registers in the .240/.310/.420 mark, though he did hit a major speed bump in limited play at the AAA level last year. At the moment, he shouldn't be considered a big league catching prospect, and only makes this list because he received a Spring Training invitation. Projection: Santangelo may actually be pressed into service at the big league level to protect Castro from being rushed, but not much should be expected of him.
3B Chris Johnson – Finally, the Bataan Death March of catchers ends and we return to an area that seems to have at least some organizational depth – the infield. Johnson was a bright spot in the organization last year, going .324/.364/.506 at Corpus Christi before being called up to Round Rock, where
he hit a bit of a speed bump to the tune of .218/.252/.287 in just 101 at-bats. I think with a full year of AAA behind him, he could be a legitimate starting option at third base in 2010. He needs some work defensively – 23 errors in just 230 chances isn't exactly sound – but I'm confident he'll do whatever it takes to get to the big league level. Projection: Johnson will likely see some time in the big leagues this year, with the large question mark surrounding third base in Houston, and may post some decent numbers. I still think he'd be better served with another year of seasoning and serious defensive work – or even a move to first base.
3B Mark Saccomanno – It's no surprise that I'm a big Mark Saccomanno fan. He led Round Rock in home runs (27) and total bases (275), and was in the top five in doubles (33), triples (2), RBI (84), SLG (.521), and… er… errors. In fact, his 24 errors was 11 more than Maysonet, who was second with 13 at a tougher position. In fact, only Tacoma's Matt Tuiasosopo had more errors in the PCL with 27. So make no mistake: Saccomanno is a butcher in the field. But his stick is something to be reckoned with, even beyond the fact that he turned the very first big league pitch he ever saw – an Ian Snell fastball – into a home run. Projection: Saccomanno should find his place as the everyday starter at third base by late May, and aside from ceding some late-inning defensive innings to Geoff Blum, should see a lot of time there. I expect a big season from him.
OF Eli Iorg – If Eli's name sounds familiar to you, it should. His father, Garth, played for the Blue Jays for nine seasons from the late eighties to the late nineties. His uncle, Dane, played outfield and first base (and even pitched three innings!) for the Phillies, Royals, and Padres – but mostly the Cardinals – over the span of 10 seasons from 1977-1985. His brother, Cale, is a shortstop in the Tigers' organization. As for Eli, he'll be entering his fifth season in the Astros minors, and has put together a nice little .274/.325/.450 line in his time at Greeneville, Lexington, Salem, and Corpus Christi. Projection: Eli's been moving right along, and should start the season in AAA Round Rock. I do think he has an outside shot at cracking the big league squad this season, and I'm pretty confident he'll rise to the challenge. Definitely one to watch.
C Koby Clemens – Clemens started life in the Astros organization as a third baseman, but in 2008 he was moved to catcher, because apparently someone thought that there wasn't enough depth at that position. He hasn't exactly exploded offensively, but in 2008 with Salem, he put together a very respectable .268/.369/.423. He threw out 45 of 130 basestealers (meanies, picking on the new catcher) – 35%. Not bad, all things considered. Projection: I actually wouldn't be too surprised to see Koby crack the big leagues at some point this season, but I do expect he'll spend the majority of the season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi.
Up next: The fresh-faced pitchers.


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Grappling with a $16 billion shortfall, California's elected leaders are bracing for more bad budgetary news, this time of a more personal nature.
An obscure state panel called the Citizens Compensation Commission is meeting next week in Sacramento, and is showing signs of interest in another pay cut that would affect the governor on down to rank-and-file legislators.
It wasn't always this way. For years, the commission--shielded from public pressure--routinely raised the pay of California's elected leaders.
Local, state and national politics
Between 1990 and 2007, pay levels roughly tripled, making public service a lucrative thing.
It was one of then-Speaker Willie Brown's master strokes. In 1990, he shepherded voter approval of Proposition 112, which took pay increases out of the hands of the legislature.
Raising one's own pay is an inherent act of self-interest, so voters decided to hand it over to a new commission appointed by the governor. But at least lawmakers had to face political consequences if they raised their pay.
The commission didn't. Without having to worry about the wrath of voters, the group steadily handed out raises. In 1990, lawmakers made $40,816. By 2007, it was up to $116,208. In 1990, the governor was paid $85,000. In 2007, it was $212,179.
It was a steady climb up, much to the anguish of taxpayer groups. And then came the recession. In 2009, lawmakers saw their pay slashed by 18 percent -- to $95,291.
The panel also eliminated lawmaker vehicles, replacing them with a $300 monthly allowance.
Now, with the governor seeking to cut state work pay by five percent, the commission may seek to apply that same cut to elected leaders.
It's a sharp turnaround from the pattern of steady raises, and it's prompted legitimate concern that the salaries will limit candidates only to those who are personally wealthy.
But after years of generosity, economic uncertainties have shown lawmakers that this commission has developed some sharp teeth.
For years, politicians accepted raises and said, "it's the commission's responsibility."
That dodge holds equally true for the bite they may be facing.
Kevin Riggs is an Emmy-winning former TV journalist in Sacramento. He is currently Senior Vice President at Randle Communications.
Send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


text:
Let me start off by saying that I've been visiting this website on a regular basis for some good laughs, even long after I've grown bored with WoW. However, I was surprised to also notice that this is an excellent place to get in touch with other artists, or would-be artists, and show off some of your own stuff in the progress.
Now on with the real deal, though.
My name is Joey Kroon and was born in - and am currently living in- the Netherlands. At the date of this writing, I am 18 years old.
I've been drawing stuff as long as I can remember, and I continue to refine my skills even today, and will do so for many years to come - most likely my entire life. Basicly from the very beginning of my interest in drawing, I distinquished myself in a certain expertise. I have a pretty expansive imagination, and an interest for reptilian creatures (I happen to have two gecko's as pets) and things that happen to be atleast mildly nasty in one way or another. Don't ask me to draw a cuddly teddybear. I am also a dedicated gamer. My initial goal is to participate in video game development.
I didn't have a DeviantArt account untill recently, so there isn't much to be seen just yet. This will surely change in the future, of course.
However, as I am pretty much working hard at my new school, activity may be a tad low. Luckily, my homework consists mainly of working with 3D modeling software and Adobe programs.
Please note, though, that all art currently on my DeviantArt page was made by self-taught techniques, before I went to my new school. I hope to see my work improve in quality as I progress through the years.
Yes, I know, I should end the wall of text about now. Hurry up with the art already!
This is my latest work, the ''Wyrm". It was created in Photoshop CS4 with a Wacom Intuos 3 pen tablet (A4). I had an original sketch for this creature, which can be found at my DeviantArt page. I decided to make multiple color variations just to see how it looks.
Although my first interest was drawing, I expanded my interests to 3D modeling, digital painting, photo editing, video manipulation and even some sound editing.
I'd almost forget the actual DeviantArt URL, how silly of me!
I am open for constructive critism, naturally.


text:
The Street (same people who claimed 1.5 years of free service for the iPhone at launch), now claims that the white iPhone delay is caused by light leaking out the edges, sides and back of the white phone.
Their source says that it's because of the glass that Apple can't easily cover up the light leakage, unlike if it were metal or plastic, where you can just add another coating of material. They also compare it to the Sprint EVO 4G leaking light, meaning that it's not a problem solely in Apple's manufacturing, but it might point again to Apple's pickiness about production quality that they won't let this get out the door.
So yes, this might be why your white iPhone is delayed. [The Street]


text:
The latest issue of Christianity Today includes a short review by Todd Hertz on one of Mockingbird's favorite sitcoms, Community. The article, "Why We Need Community," discusses what Christians in particular, and the world in general, will be missing if Community is indeed canceled and not renewed by NBC for a fourth season. Hertz argues that despite its wacky hijinks and endless parodies, Community is honest about, well, community—or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, life together.
In Mockingbird-like fashion, Hertz also insightfully touches on the abreactive nature of the show. (Cool. Cool, cool, cool.) Here are some highlights excerpted from the online version of the article:
As Christians, we know we need community. And as many fans would agree, we also just might need Community, the irreverent NBC sitcom which seemed headed for the chopping block after weak ratings last fall … Which is too bad, because week after week, Community brings depth, story, and character exploration surpassing most network comedies … the show's lead character, Jeff Winger, is an independent and arrogant hot shot who finds—to his surprise—that he actually sort of likes this band of losers who seemingly have nothing to offer him …
We are often inclined [to] focus only on the Hebrews exhortation to [keep] meeting and encouraging and loving one another. But Community has the courage to go deeper; to admit that, sometimes, community stinks. It is hard …
Along the way, Community has hit interesting themes that are a part of doing life together: competition, innocence, prejudice, stereotyping, selfishness, judgment, jealously, popularity, redemption, forgiveness, overcoming one's past, purity, joy, self-worth, and more. It's deeper than the frivolous tomfoolery that paintball and zombie episodes may suggest … It's also the most self-aware and culturally savvy show I've seen, expertly unleashing meta-humor, parody and referential comedy not for its own sake or to earn a fleeting laugh, but to first and foremost serve the story.
I find Hertz's take on what Community shows us about the difficulty and beauty of life in actual community to be spot on—that it involves living together with a band of losers who seemingly have nothing to offer us, which is quite difficult, necessarily requiring honesty about human nature and the need for repeat forgiveness. This is just as true in study groups as it is in families and churches.
Another interesting aspect of Hertz's piece is the notion that it is precisely the show's irreverence, comedy, zombies, and occasional paintball war that allow it to go deeper—in a psychological sense—than the average show. In other words, sometimes when we laugh our hardest, we are more able to cry, which can begin to lead to some healing of the pain that has been residing in our unconscious. (Someone very close to me cried genuine tears of both joy and sadness about three times during Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, no kidding.)
Too bad being so self-aware and culturally savvy with its oftentimes esoteric meta-humor has perhaps contributed the show's plummet in ratings. For instance, the two most recent episodes ("Virtual Systems Analysis" and "Basic Lupine Urology") relied quite heavily on references to past episodes and other TV shows. Although these experimental episodes were humorous to those of us who have been along for the ride the whole time, they were probably too out of reach for the casual viewer. The same sort of thing happened with Arrested Development, another gem of a show whose cancellation I am still mourning.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is a montage of Jeff Winger speeches on life together in the study group over the seasons:


text:
(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
When I see Shania Twain on a horse, I immediately think: Don't. As in "Don't," her 2004 music video where she was galloping through a Mexican yucca plantation. Back then, it was a white horse and a red dress. But this time, on Wednesday (Nov. 14), it was completely different. Because it was real, in that only-in-Vegas-can-this-be-happening kind of way. And this time, Twain was dressed in a Robins Jeans black embellished duster, a Gucci top, Sandro pants, Dan Post black cowboy boots and riding a black horse. And, she was reportedly accompanied by a herd of 40 other horses and nine wranglers who brought her to the famous Caesars Palace fountains where hundreds of fans were waiting. She did this ride to promote her show — Shania: Still the One — which will kick off on Dec. 1 at Caesars Palace and run for two years. And as she was riding in on the Las Vegas strip, "You're Still the One" (her hit song from 1998) was played on outdoor speakers. I hope the horses and the cowboy threads signify that Twain's Vegas show will lean more country than pop.


text:
|2007-08-10, 17:28
|Link #1381
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Well I only just started playing my first ero-game a few days ago. The game I am playing is Tsukihime. The game really is brilliant and so far I've completed all of Arcuied's, Ciel's and Akiha's routes. There are some really beautiful moments although a lot of the game I find quite depressing even the endings which are supposedly the 'good' endings. I don't feel that this condensed blast of depression is any good for me but I will continue playing to finish the game in it's entirety.
As Tsukihime is the only ero-game I have played so far then this is my favourite game. The next game I am planning to play is Shuffle! which I can only hope will be as good as Tsukihime.
|2007-08-10, 18:37
|Link #1383
Join Date: Jan 2004
|2007-08-29, 08:20
|Link #1386
B-Gamer and anime otaku
I finally got my hands in R.U.R.U.R., an ADV Ero-Game (for adults!) from LIGHT. Now i'm playing. So far, that's my thoughts:
The Story:
A Sci-Fi romance-comedy-drama Shota-Oneesan ADV. In the distant future, the humanity was colonizating the space. When the gigantic immigration spaceship "Saint Exupery" (more than 20 km/12 miles long!) was navigating the outer space, a serious accident killed all the humans inside the ship, leaving just a tripulation of bad-french speaking robots and advanced (read: sexy) all-purpose female-androids. Many dozen of years (maybe centuries) passed in this enormous coffin floating the space, until one day the androids found a still functional life-support hibernation capsule with an alive human inside, a young boy.
The androids decided to release the boy and raise him themselves, simulating a family until he becomes an independent adult, able to command the ship...
The Characters:
*ICHIHIKO - The protagonist and only human survivor of the entire ship. A boy. Because he suffers amnesia, he accepts the strange condition he's into very naturally, until one day he's kidnaped by R-Benibana, and learns the truth about his fake "happy world".
*ISF-ISAAC-0010102F "R-HINAGIKU" - Hina, in short. Originally a combat-type, she's the female android simulating a "scatterbrain, violent tsundere" childhood friend of Ichihiko. At first she was acting out of duty, but she's becoming more and more involved with Ichihiko. Ah, and she "masturbates" eating a big pot of popcorn!
*ISAAC-1011105L "R-MIZUBASHIYOU" - The leader of the The female androids and manager of the spaceship, now simulating the "bubbly-airheaded housekeeper" mother of Ichihiro. Actually, acts more like his oldest sister. She wants to take good care of him and teach him "everything"!
*D-ISSG-0100118D "R-SHIROTSUMEGUSA" - Shiro, in short. The female android responsible for ambiental maintenance, now simulating the "taciturn and emotionless fanatic for manga" older sister of Ichihiko. Even thought she looks cold, she really likes Ichihiko. Funny enough, when she uses all her energy, she turns into a loli, with a appearance younger than Ichihiko.
*R-000111014L "R-KOBATOMUGI" - The female android simulating the "strict but friendly" teacher of Ichihiko. Few data are known for this model.
*ISAAC-10001009 "R-TANPOPO" - The female android simulating the traveler-poet and temporary teacher who Ichihiko encounters. A very inteligent taned loli.
*ISF-ISAAC-0010104F R-BENIBANA - A mysterious combat-type female android very similar to Hina. She looks to be malfunctioning and kidnaps Ichihiko, for unknown purposes.
*THE WORKER ROBOTs - Besides working at the ship speaking bad-french, these robots are simulating Ichihiko's classmates.
So far, this game is great. Graphic-wise, is very beautiful with good characters, detailed backgrounds, some short animations and 3D. The Music is beautifull too, with many voiced songs. I must find the OST for this game, later.
Besides the comedy and romantic parts, there's some mistery and drama too. So far, the story proceed smoothly, with almost no choices. Probably the different paths for each girl will come later.
So far, so good. I will keep playing and talk more about it later. Oui, Monsieur!!
EDIT: Forgot to add some links.
Last edited by PGilis; 2007-08-30 at 19:59.
|2007-08-29, 16:18
|Link #1387
Join Date: Jan 2004
I have Shirogane no Soleil: Successor of Wyrd and Familiar Spirits, both from Skyfish.
Familiar Spirit takes place basically in a world a lot like Shuffle's, where the human world is joined with that of demons and gods. In FamiSpi it's the human world joined with that of the elves. After twenty years, the two races now co-exist in much the same fashion that the races in Shuffle did.
FamiSpi's site, usual NSFW warnings apply
Shinichi, the main character, wants to go to the same school as Suseri, his elven childhood friend and little sister type, except that she's aiming for a magic school that apparently specializes in familiars, mystical creatures summoned into existence from other worlds that are bound to their summoners. Humans rarely can use magic, and Shinichi can't get into the school unless he does something really fantastic, like actually succeed in summoning a familiar.
So he gets a basic summoning kit from a teacher at school, goes home and tries it out. Nothing happens at first but the summoning works! Enter Pam, a demon princess who suddenly got transported into the human world from out of the blue (naked to boot). In short, she becomes Shinichi's familiar. (Pam is a mazouku, which is different from an oni, but unfortunately the only usable English translation for both is either demon or devil. le sigh)
Pam is a pretty typical tsundere, and can do lots of combat magic. She's pretty peeved at her situation at first, and it's funny whenever the magic of the contract suddenly takes over and makes her become all subservient to Shinichi and then she realizes what she's doing and goes, "!!!" :lol:
Suseri is an elf and Shinichi's childhood friend and younger sister figure. She's pretty much your gentle, caring imouto type. Don't know much more about her yet.
Koyori is also an elf, and the class representative. It's pretty obvious I think that she has this big crush for Shinichi, who's apparently pretty popular with all the girls at school but doesn't know it.
There's also this student council type guy, who's name I forget, who's distinguishing feature being that he's HARD GAY for Shinichi (There's a CG between him and Shinichi that made me laugh and cringe at the same time when I saw it )
Shirogane no Soleil is a better game than FamiSpi, and can be described here.
Ryuuhei, the main guy, ends up contracting with Sol, the main heroine and a valkyrie, in order to fight off a berserker, this nasty monster thing, and from there the story goes on; which I admittedly haven't gone that far into.
Sol is pretty much one example of the "ultimate tsundere loli" ideal. She's not as bratty and unbearable as Louise from Zero no Tsukaima (sheeesh, nooo way. Sol is downright lukewarm compared to Louise, who seems to EXPLODE at every little thing Saito does). Ryuuhei and Sol fight often in these hilarious verbal pissfights, instead of the one-sided brat-rant of Saito and Louise.
I also hear that once she goes into her dere mode, there's no going back.
Now, I'll say this out now. Neither of these two games, so far, are anywhere near as fantastic as the likes of Prism Ark, Little Busters, and Happiness. For one, my biggest complaint about these two Skyfish games is how empty it feels. When Ryuuhei's classmates start making comments from the side, it feels awkward and the convo goes on a little too long. The environment as a whole feels empty; there's no feeling that this is a bustling public high school. The entire action feels like it's concentrated purely on say Ryuuhei and Sol, or Ryuuhei and Miyori. The games' environment just feels so...... empty.
FamiSpi also doesn't quite do character transitions too well. Like one character is saying a bunch of stuff and there's another character on the screen and she isn't doing anything for the entire time. Prism Ark, for instance, would have the screen focused entirely on that one character unless she's sitting close by another, Like Priecia and Kagura, and the view would completely change to another character when they speak out, and so on, and it just feels more natural.
That said, FamiSpi and Shirogane no Soleil are not bad games. FamiSpi's premise is what caught my interest and it delves into a sort of master-slave kind of relationship without any of the sheer abuse and negative feelings that usually come with that kind of situation. Plus, the H-scenes are awesome.
And Shirogane no Soleil has pretty high production values, plus you can't lose with a spunky and badass tsundere loli battle maiden.
|2007-08-30, 04:01
|Link #1388
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 大陸の片隅
|2007-09-01, 08:36
|Link #1390
passive observer
Join Date: Nov 2004
|2007-09-03, 23:01
|Link #1392
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 38
Some initial thoughts on Moonstone's latest work, Clear, after 1/5 paths...
Spoiler for story setup/general spoilers:
P.S. By the way, have you ever noticed how, in seemingly every story, there's one English loan word that's sort of the buzzword of the game? Whatever that word is (in Clear's case it was "shy"), the first time another character hears the word, they have to respond with that word as a question ("Shy?"), as if they're not 100% sure what the word means and/or they're not used to hearing it. And then, invariably, they'll use that word later on in proper context. You could practically make some sort of Buzzword Bingo out of it. Anyway, just a little something I've noticed...
Last edited by relentlessflame; 2007-09-03 at 23:14.
|2007-09-07, 17:04
|Link #1393
Join Date: Jun 2004
Age: 41
I finished Reconquista yesterday. The story was really impressive and the idea of having roughly the same story all over worked really good. But my favourite point would be how every little event which may seem unimportant at first in realty is a part of the story. Definately one of the better games I've spent my time with.
And with a really nice sense of timing the next ones arrived today.
First MLAF:
Spoiler for image:
There is also a rather interesting trailer on the extra disc.
Second one was Gun-Katana. The packaging did play a role in that decision.
Spoiler for image:
|2007-09-07, 18:40
|Link #1394
Anaheim Electronics
Join Date: Aug 2004
I just finished Tomoyo After, and I enjoyed it a lot. However, the ending left me frustrated and confused at the same time. I won't go into spoilers, but I heard the CS Edition (the one for the PS2) had a more conclusive ending. Anyone know if this is true?
|2007-09-07, 19:54
|Link #1395
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Age: 33
It was a decent title, but I was expecting more out of it.
|2007-09-09, 07:30
|Link #1397
ロリ is life~
Join Date: Dec 2005
I got mine in the mail a few days ago, but haven't played it yet as I am still playing through Seinarukana. (ノ´∀`*)
Sad though I didn't get the phone card I wanted.
Spoiler for I wanted this one >>> Somewhat NSFW:
I also made a preorder for Nanatsuiro★Drops Pure!! which is due out in 2 weeks. I was a bit hesitant on getting it, but after seeing the "new" OP, It became an instant purchase for me. A brand new heroine, mandatory beach event, and the biggest draw factor for me >>> Pay special attention the the last few seconds of the movie ~ New OP Movie
|2007-09-14, 10:55
|Link #1400
I preordered Nanatsuiro Drops Pure about a month ago, thanks to the Sumomo figure. Didn't find out about the artbook or the extra paths until later, but it makes me feel slightly less stupid for dropping that much money on it. ^_^;;
Also have a preorder for Zettai Shiawase Sengen, which looks to be my only September PC game release. October, on the other hand... gaah.
And now, back to my backlog.
Erjegel, your signature is freaking awesome. :>
|bishoujo game, ero-game, eroge, visual novel
|Thread Tools


text:
The relubrication interval tf for SKF ConCentra roller bearing units excluding the relubrication-free variant can be obtained as a function of:
- the operating temperature
- the rotational speed n [r/min]
- the bearing mean diameter dm [mm] (table 1)
the bearing factor bf (table 1, for values of e)
– bf = 2 when Fa/Fr ≤ e
– bf = 6 when Fa/Fr > e
the load ratio
– P ≤ 0,05 C (diagram 1)
– P = 0,1 C (diagram 2)
– P = 0,15 C (diagram 3)
The basic dynamic load rating C is provided in the product tables for units in the SYNT series and FYNT series. The equivalent dynamic bearing load P can be obtained from
P = Fr + Y1Fa when Fa/Fr ≤ e
P = 0,67Fr + Y2F when Fa/Fr > e
P = equivalent dynamic bearing load [kN]
Fr = radial component of the bearing load [kN]
Fa = axial component of the bearing load [kN]
Y1,Y2 = axial load calculation factors for the bearing (table 1)
e = limiting value for Fa/Fr (table 1)
The calculated relubrication intervals represent the grease life L1, which relates to the time period at the end of which 99% of the bearing units are still reliably lubricated. The intervals are estimated values, applicable for bearing units mounted on horizontal shafts in a relatively clean environment. When operating conditions differ, the relubrication intervals should be adjusted as follows:
- For a vertical shaft, the interval should be halved.
- For outer ring rotation or rotating load, the interval should be halved.
For contaminated environments, the following reduction factors should be used:
– 0,5 for moderate contamination
– 0,3 for severe contamination
– 0,1 for very severe contamination


text:
Indians, Masterson have wide gap in arbitration
CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians All-Star starter Justin Masterson has asked for $11.8 million in salary arbitration, a figure that's $3.75 million above the club's offer for 2014.
Masterson's gap — Cleveland is offering $8.05 million — is the largest among pending cases.
Masterson went 14-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 32 appearances last season, when he was Cleveland's most dependable starter. He was sidelined late in the season with a side injury, but returned to help the Indians clinch a wild-card spot and make the postseason for the first time since 2007.
The Indians have discussed a long-term deal with Masterson's agents. The 28-year-old has developed into a front-of-the-rotation pitcher, and with Ubaldo Jimenez currently a free agent, Masterson is clearly Cleveland's ace — a bargaining chip in negotiations.
Earlier Friday, the Indians avoided salary arbitration with reliever Marc Rzepczynski by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1,375,000.
The left-hander posted a 0.89 ERA in 27 games last season for Cleveland, which acquired Rzepczynski (zep-chin-ski) on July 30 from St. Louis. The 28-year-old was brought in to help Cleveland's issues in getting out left-handed hitters and he held lefties to just a .159 average.
Rzepczynski was one of six Cleveland players to file for arbitration. Earlier this week, the team worked out a 1-year deal worth $1.25 million with reliever Josh Outman.
Left fielder Michael Brantley, who batted .284 with 10 homers and 73 RBIs in 2013 has asked for $3.8 million, with the Indians countering with an offer of $2.7 million
Pitchers Vinnie Pestano ($1.45 million vs. $975,000) and Josh Tomlin ($975,000 vs. $800,000) also swapped figures.
The Indians haven't gone to an arbitration hearing since 1991.


text:
Your robot's "fingers!"
The Touch Sensor reacts to touch and release, enabling your LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robotic creation to "feel" like never before! It can detect single or multiple button presses, and reports back to the NXT Intelligent Brick (sold separately.)
- Includes 1 Touch Sensor.
- Does not include connector cable.
- This is the individual component, and does not include the NXT Intelligent Brick, software or any accessories. It requires the complete LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT set (#8527) for use.
- Item #: 9843
- Ages: 8+
- Pieces: 1


text:
News out of Washington the last 24 hours or so is that the outline of a budget and debt ceiling deal may be coming into focus, with all the right features (tax increases advertised as "revenue enhancements" and "out-year" savings that will evaporate into the summer DC humidity as soon as the ink is dry) to make conservatives wary of signing on. Stay tuned; this has a ways to go yet.
It is in Obama's interest to get a budget deal of some kind. His approval ratings and political standing a year and a half out from the next election look shaky. Congressional Republicans are in a strong position to hang tough, and they should certainly do so. A budget deal isn't likely to improve public regard for Congress, but on the other hand, poor congressional approval ratings seldom are a major factor in House and Senate election contests. The individual dynamics of each district and individual candidate usually count much more. In other words, Obama has more to lose if a deal collapses than the House GOP does.
Is this entirely new for Congress to be seen in low regard? Consider this complaint about Congress from an eminent person:
In simple truth, I get discouraged sometimes about the stability of popular government. I come in contact with the abject surrender of public men to what appears to be about one-half of one percent of the voters to whom they look to their commission to public service. What the country needs more than anything else is a House and Senate for ten years which give at least as much thought to the welfare of the Republic as is given to individual candidates for re-election. Nothing so disheartens me as to have an extended conference with men in responsible places, hear them admit of the correctness of a policy or position, and then frankly say it is impossible to go through with the policy or maintain the position and be assured of re-election. I have concluded that I would vastly prefer a limited career with the consciousness of having done the right thing than to hold on to the constitutional limit by playing to the favor of those who do the fake work under our political system.
And just who is the author of this familiar-sounding reflection? President Warren Harding, in 1921.


text:
mysticmyra (28)
Name: mysticmyra
Age: 28
City: Toronto
I speak: EN
Build: normaal
Hair color: bruin
Eye color: groen
Appearance: blank
I like to eat guackamole and to drink rosé. My hobbies: travelling. My favorite music is reggeaton. I am hetero and I think kind and clever are hot. Do you want to know more about me?
My favorite position is doggy and my favorite spots are . What I like about men . Piercings: nee. Relationship: ja. Do you have a sex question for me?
I am blank. My character: . My zodiac is schorpioen. What I like about me: . My lifes purpose is: . My motto is: . Do you chat a lot? ja. Do you smoke? nee. My turn-off is beggars. Do you want to tell me something?
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text:
36" Alphabet Marquee - Q [SECONDS SALE!]
36" Alphabet Marquee
Alphabet: Q
Nothing beats the nostalgic feeling of a warm incandescent bulb. Housed in a hand painted wooden frame in a classic Avenir font style, these Alphabet Marquees make a beautiful show piece in any space be it a home, a wedding, a birthday party, a corporate event or an office space. Each character stands 36 inches tall and varies between 30 to 40 inches wide. Comes equipped with hanging hooks on the back for easy hanging. Can also stand on its own on a flat surface or floor.
Size: 36 inch height x 39 inch width x 3 inch depth
Power Source: 120V AC power plug
Bulbs: 5 watt incandescent bulbs (extra bulbs included)
Material: Wood
Finish: Hand painted with low VOC paints
Set-up: Can be hung or placed on a tabletop/floor
Includes female plug for easy daisy-chaining of multiple characters
Not waterproof. Meant for indoor use only.
Handmade in Canada
This product is available in Canada ONLY
If you are looking to purchase a marquee and want to personalize the appearance (e.g. font style, size, colour scheme), contact us and we'd be happy to design something unique to your needs.
Alphabet marquees are also available with energy efficient LED bulbs that have the appearance of an 'incandescent' bulb. Extra charge applies. Contact us for details.
Pulp Function is an environmentally conscious company. We use responsibly sourced Canadian wood that ensures our forests are not over-harvested. All our pieces are painted using zero to low VOC paints to ensure it is safe for the environment and our surroundings.
Have a Question?
Be the first to ask a question about this.


text:
The Shadow Game #02
In a game between shadows, where an intense gaze and a dark attitude are the only weapons to play, the final result could only be brilliant. When you are convince that a daredevil pose, will take you anywhere, you can only take the path of darkness. Raquel Balencia and Emilio Flores, both requested spanish top … Continue reading