Hey, hey. Good to have you back. Sorry for not posting yesterday (no computer access). The Cubs continue to disgust me, and continue to show how valuable Aramis Ramirez is to their team. Everyone knew that the guy would be missed, but my goodness! This is getting ridiculous. Now I know that no one would ever compare Aramis to let's say...Pujols, or A-Rod, but when you take him out of your lineup, it hurts HIS team just as bad as their respective teams. The Yankees didn't start winning until Alex Rodriguez returned from hip surgery, and if you took Albert Pujols from the Cardinals, they would fall flat on their faces as well, even with Matt Holliday/Mark DeRosa. When you take your star player out of the equation, not only does it effect his position/spot in the order, it trickles down to every player on that 25 man roster. And that's exactly what is happening to the Cubs. Hopefully A-Ram can return from this cortisone shot and have a productive final 7-8 weeks while not hurting himself for the future. We'll see...
Another pedestrian win for my softball team last night in the first round of the playoffs. We extended our winning streak to eight games in a row by beating The Score 22-7 in five innings (slaughter rule), and improved our record to (9-2) overall. I had a terrible game offensively (0 for 3, RBI), but I'll take the win. I must admit that we felt disrespected by only getting the #3 seed in the tournament after beating the #1 seeded team (Jack FM) head to head, so I guess we kind of took it out on the #2 seeded Score guys. Jack FM ended up losing in their first round game to The Mix, so I guess all is well that ends well. It'll be the #4 seeded Mix vs. us in the championship game next week. We beat The Mix pretty handily in our regular season match-up with them, but as your Chicago Cubs know far too well, regular season victories mean very little come playoff time. Whatever happens, it's been the most fun that I've had on a softball team in all of the years that I've played.
I want to kind of tie the Chicago Cubs and my experience with softball together a little bit. (I'm well aware that this sounds meatballish already...but PLEASE hear me out). I'm going to tell you about a certain occurrence that seems to take place all of the time in the world of sports. You never know when it's actually going to happen, or to whom, but it happens repeatedly whether you're talking about professional athletes or a stupid radio softball league. I can't take credit for the title (it's HIGHLY debated between my friends Herb Lawrence and Thomas Hall on who DOES deserve the credit), but I GUARANTEE that you reading this will add this little gem of a saying to your vocabulary IMMEDIATELY (if you haven't already).
It's a little thing that we like to call T.B.S.
Yes. T.B.S. (Tight Booty Syndrome). Very funny (I DID come up with that). What causes T.B.S.? No one knows, but it's there. It's DEFINITELY there. The 2008 Chicago Cubs were coming off of a playoff berth in 2007 in which they were embarrassingly swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in three games. So they went out there and took it to their opponents, running the gauntlet on the National League that season by building a big division cushion in the first half, landing an NL record 8 players on the All-Star team, and coasting their way to a league leading 97 wins and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. When they got to October however, instead of being that loose, relaxed team from the regular season that always seemed to hit with men on base, and didn't get flustered when a guy made an error or walked somebody, they inexplicably reverted back to that playoff team of '07. They started gripping the bats, booting the ball around the field, and walking guys left and right. That team suffered from one of the WORST cases of T.B.S. that I've EVER seen!
It happens on smaller levels too. I played on The Score softball team for the last three seasons. When I left the station before the beginning of this season, I joined my current team. The main difference from the team that I play on now, and my friends/former teammates on The Score team is simply ATTITUDE. Softball (like any other sport) is FUN. It's a game played outdoors, with your friends, in the summertime. What's more fun than that? What happens when you take something that is fun and turn it into something that is too serious? I'll tell you what happens...T.B.S. When I played on The Score team, I found myself (a guy that doesn't take ANYTHING that seriously) getting caught up in their over seriousness of the game, to the point that it effected MY play on the field. I would make stupid errors that I've never made before, and I would grip the bat too tight in key situations. In the regular season we were fine. We'd relax, have fun, and just rely on our talent (which wasn't much, but we're playing in a "radio" softball league). So of course, we would coast through the regular season, but come playoff time, when the games mattered and money was on the line...dead fish. Why? Pressure bursts pipes when you care too much.
With my current team, we set the tone early-on that we were just going to play loose and have fun (as you should in a stupid rec-league softball season). I remember getting swept in a double header our second and third games of the season dropping our record to (1-2). At the bar after the game, we decided that instead of getting on each other and taking this league so seriously, we were going to take more of the "Manny" approach. There's a reason why Manny is so clutch in the playoffs. He doesn't care. I know that it bothers a lot of people when you tell them that a millionaire athlete doesn't care, but Manny Ramirez doesn't care, and that's part of the reason why he's so successful. When a player just relaxes and relies on his natural abilities, he's at his absolute best. It's the old baseball cliche' of "not thinking too much." We adapted that little philosophy to our softball team, and we haven't lost since.
I'm good friends with a lot of the players on The Score softball team, and know all of them very well. They of course were doing a lot of talking before the game about how we were just a speed bump between them and the championship game and that was fine. I have no problem with a little trash talk (even if it is about something as nerdy as a radio softball league), but even with the fact that they had an identical record as us, and had actually beaten us in the regular season, there was NO doubt in my mind that we were going to win the game. Why? Because while they were constantly talking about the game on facebook, we were doing other things like: watching TV, drinking, talking to members of the opposite sex...you know, NOT thinking about the game. We were ACTUALLY relaxed and loose, instead of just TALKING about being relaxed/loose.
We were behind 5-2 heading into the second inning of the game after a couple of un-characteristic errors by our defense. They of course started taunting us by saying that "we were nervous" and "scared." Instead of letting the pressure "burst our pipes," we produced a diamond from all of that pressure and scored five runs in the second making the score 7-5 heading into the bottom of the inning. It was then that I KNEW that their inevitable T.B.S. would set in like it had in the three previous seasons that I played with that group of individuals. They quietly went down in order 1-2-3, and we responded with seven more runs on the board in the 3rd blowing the game wide open and silencing all of the fake confidence from that side of the field in the process. The noise from all of the simultaneous heads dropping was deafening.
I'm not sure if the current Cubs/Score team will always have T.B.S. come playoff time, or if that is something that can be cured. I just know that when you don't care, and don't take things too seriously, stuff always seems to work out. Just ask Manny.
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Midsummer Classic" by Sundowner. Drinks of choice: coffee.
Later.
Webby
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
One Goal!
Hello again. A bad, bad weekend for the two baseball teams around here. The White Sox lost two out of three to the hapless Indians at home, while the Cubs have lost two of the first three (of a four game wrap-around series) to Colorado out at Coors Field with game four tonight. Even worse for the Northsiders, Carlos Zambrano joined Ted Lilly on the DL due to back spasms, Aramis Ramirez had to leave Saturday's game and didn't play on Sunday because of his shoulder, and the Cardinals had two come from behind victories leading to their eventual sweep of the Pirates. Bad, bad weekend all around.
Speaking of BAD weekends, how do you think Patrick Kane's weekend went? Wow. I don't know what other people are saying about this right now, but I'm finding it EXTREMELY hard to believe that a millionaire athlete would beat up a 62 year old cab driver over $1.20 in change. Something else had to lead up to this. I think that it's obvious that Kane and his cousin were drunk. I GUARANTEE that the cab driver recognized the Blackhawks star as Buffalo's "home town hero," and either gave him a hard time or got a little too vehement for an intoxicated 20 year old to handle at 4AM. So Kane probably got mouthy back with the guy (showing off for his cousin), and when they reached their destination, Kane gave him the $15 and asked for "all of his change back" not wanting to tip this "d-bag" that he'd been jawing with the entire ride. The cab driver probably responded by saying that he didn't have any change (when everyone knows that cab drivers always have change), and so Kane and his cuz' reached for their money leading to some kind of altercation. Obviously, we don't know "exactly" what happened, but I guarantee you that the incident wasn't as the cab driver described it: (I didn't have their twenty cents change so they beat the crap out of me, then robbed me and took off). I'm sorry. I just don't think that ANY professional athlete is just going to assault somebody over twenty cents when there wasn't anything going on leading up to that point. It doesn't make any sense. Only time will tell I guess.
I AM glad, however, that the Blackhawks "honeymoon" is finally over. It got to be a bit much for me. I remember saying during their playoff run, that I almost felt bad cheering for a team that I didn't care about at all two years before (I'm not alone on this), but talk about one hell of a drop off. They went from the "can't do wrong Hawks" to the Cincinnati Bengals in the course of ONE Summer. They lost to Detroit in the Conference Finals, screwed up the signings of their batch of free agents, fired their GM Dale Tallon, signed Marian Hossa who is now out due to shoulder surgery (and is having HIS contract examined as well for wrong-doing), and now, had their all-star "face of the franchise" get arrested for assaulting and robbing a cab driver at 4AM (all the while only being 20 years old)!!! Now that's "Red FALLING!" It's getting to the point that when you open up the newspaper, you expect to see something negative when the piece is about the Hawks. Talk about a complete 180 from all of the kiss-ass stories about the Saint John McDonough! You guys wanted to be covered as "equals" in this town, be careful what you wish for.
Whether Kane blatantly committed the crimes that he is accused of committing, or the cab driver deserves equal blame for this incident has very little importance to me. You simply just CAN'T put yourself in those kinds of situations. I'm NOT going to get on him for underage drinking. Yes, it's wrong, but we all did it. I'm not that much of a hypocrite. I also don't care that he was out until 4AM...this is America, we can be out as late as we want. It's stupid when people say that you shouldn't be out that late, yes you should...if you want to, so I'm not going to preach about that either. You just have to be a little more tactful with how you handle things Patrick (Derrick Rose, Jonathan Toews, Tyrus Thomas, Michael Phelps, all young athletes). If the cab driver is bothering you (just my opinion that the cab driver is due some blame in this), immediately tell him to pull over, pay him what he's owed, and get a new cab. It's that simple. Just avoid any possible altercation BEFORE it has a chance to escalate into something as ridiculous as this. No one wants to hear the "I'm only 20 years old" excuse anymore. It sucks, yet you hear Kane, D-Rose, etc. talk about it all of the time. Guess what, you're NOT too young for all of the perks (big contract, endorsements, fame, girls, notoriety), so you're NOT too young for all of the responsibilities that come with them as well. It's that simple. Go out, have fun, enjoy the gifts that were presented to you. You'd be stupid not too, but recognize the fact that you are a part of 1% that were given these gifts which means that 99% of us weren't. A good portion of that 99% will always try and bring you down if YOU let them. Stop letting them.
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Jumping the Shark" by The Lawrence Arms. Chicago's finest. Drinks of Choice: Milwaukee's Finest, MHL.
Peace the F.
Webby
Speaking of BAD weekends, how do you think Patrick Kane's weekend went? Wow. I don't know what other people are saying about this right now, but I'm finding it EXTREMELY hard to believe that a millionaire athlete would beat up a 62 year old cab driver over $1.20 in change. Something else had to lead up to this. I think that it's obvious that Kane and his cousin were drunk. I GUARANTEE that the cab driver recognized the Blackhawks star as Buffalo's "home town hero," and either gave him a hard time or got a little too vehement for an intoxicated 20 year old to handle at 4AM. So Kane probably got mouthy back with the guy (showing off for his cousin), and when they reached their destination, Kane gave him the $15 and asked for "all of his change back" not wanting to tip this "d-bag" that he'd been jawing with the entire ride. The cab driver probably responded by saying that he didn't have any change (when everyone knows that cab drivers always have change), and so Kane and his cuz' reached for their money leading to some kind of altercation. Obviously, we don't know "exactly" what happened, but I guarantee you that the incident wasn't as the cab driver described it: (I didn't have their twenty cents change so they beat the crap out of me, then robbed me and took off). I'm sorry. I just don't think that ANY professional athlete is just going to assault somebody over twenty cents when there wasn't anything going on leading up to that point. It doesn't make any sense. Only time will tell I guess.
I AM glad, however, that the Blackhawks "honeymoon" is finally over. It got to be a bit much for me. I remember saying during their playoff run, that I almost felt bad cheering for a team that I didn't care about at all two years before (I'm not alone on this), but talk about one hell of a drop off. They went from the "can't do wrong Hawks" to the Cincinnati Bengals in the course of ONE Summer. They lost to Detroit in the Conference Finals, screwed up the signings of their batch of free agents, fired their GM Dale Tallon, signed Marian Hossa who is now out due to shoulder surgery (and is having HIS contract examined as well for wrong-doing), and now, had their all-star "face of the franchise" get arrested for assaulting and robbing a cab driver at 4AM (all the while only being 20 years old)!!! Now that's "Red FALLING!" It's getting to the point that when you open up the newspaper, you expect to see something negative when the piece is about the Hawks. Talk about a complete 180 from all of the kiss-ass stories about the Saint John McDonough! You guys wanted to be covered as "equals" in this town, be careful what you wish for.
Whether Kane blatantly committed the crimes that he is accused of committing, or the cab driver deserves equal blame for this incident has very little importance to me. You simply just CAN'T put yourself in those kinds of situations. I'm NOT going to get on him for underage drinking. Yes, it's wrong, but we all did it. I'm not that much of a hypocrite. I also don't care that he was out until 4AM...this is America, we can be out as late as we want. It's stupid when people say that you shouldn't be out that late, yes you should...if you want to, so I'm not going to preach about that either. You just have to be a little more tactful with how you handle things Patrick (Derrick Rose, Jonathan Toews, Tyrus Thomas, Michael Phelps, all young athletes). If the cab driver is bothering you (just my opinion that the cab driver is due some blame in this), immediately tell him to pull over, pay him what he's owed, and get a new cab. It's that simple. Just avoid any possible altercation BEFORE it has a chance to escalate into something as ridiculous as this. No one wants to hear the "I'm only 20 years old" excuse anymore. It sucks, yet you hear Kane, D-Rose, etc. talk about it all of the time. Guess what, you're NOT too young for all of the perks (big contract, endorsements, fame, girls, notoriety), so you're NOT too young for all of the responsibilities that come with them as well. It's that simple. Go out, have fun, enjoy the gifts that were presented to you. You'd be stupid not too, but recognize the fact that you are a part of 1% that were given these gifts which means that 99% of us weren't. A good portion of that 99% will always try and bring you down if YOU let them. Stop letting them.
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Jumping the Shark" by The Lawrence Arms. Chicago's finest. Drinks of Choice: Milwaukee's Finest, MHL.
Peace the F.
Webby
Friday, August 7, 2009
Don't Nobody go in the Bathroom for about 35, 45 Minutes. Somebody Open up a Window.
I know that you don't smoke weed, I know this; but I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job...and you ain't got shit to do.
Friends, happy Friday. It's raining in Chicago, and it seems like this is the first gloomy day that we've had in a month, so I guess we can't complain. People DO seem to complain about the weather all of the time. How pointless. Obviously it is something that we can't control, so why waste your breath? One of the worst things that people do is complain when it's super cold outside in the winter, but then when it warms up in the summer time, they bitch and moan about how hot it is. You can't have it both ways. If you like it cooler, don't bitch about it being cold out. I've always enjoyed hot weather myself. It can't be hot enough. Which makes one wonder why I've stayed in the midwest all of my life. Family I guess, but it sure doesn't make a lot of sense to live somewhere that is completely miserable for about four months out of the year (six if you're in Chicago), when we could easily move to a place such as San Diego where it's consistently in the mid-seventies year 'round. Why do we put ourselves through this? I don't know either? I DO know that I've just written an entire paragraph about the weather. Wow. I'm willing to bet that this is an all-time low, even for "Webby Files."
Now we need a topic that is the COMPLETE opposite of "talking about the weather." How about race/sexual orientation relations? Too edgy for you? That would definitely "pick it up a notch" around here. I do find it hilarious how talking about race in this country makes people SO uncomfortable. Obviously, being a strait white male, I've never experienced the negativity of racism/sexism/homophobia that others have, so naturally it's twice as difficult for me to grasp the magnitude that this topic carries with many individuals, but I do know that in order for strides to be made, people are going to have to stop sweeping this conversation under the rug and start attacking it head on.
The fact that homosexuals STILL don't have equal rights because of the ideologies of crusty, old, religious white dudes is beyond me. For some reason, the idea of Adam and Steve sharing the same rights as Adam and Eve just consumes the thoughts of these cats. They can't get away from it. How about this: Stop having affairs on your wives, or worrying about your guns being taken away, or forcing YOUR religion into schools where not all people share YOUR ideas, or stealing from your employees, or trying to "shoot down" the efforts of preserving our environment, or trying to KEEP health care as expensive as you possibly can, or trying to preserve the "war on drugs." Stop! These are REAL issues. Leave the gays alone! Just let them have equal rights so we can ALL pull together to solve the REAL problems of our country. That would be a good start.
Speaking of REAL issues...I believe that we should legalize all drugs. Yes. ALL DRUGS. Now I know that we're not all going to agree on this, but hear me out. I've never done drugs in my entire life (marijuana doesn't count, and I've barely done that.) This is NOT one of those stoner presentations that we all sat through in High School where the class pot-head shows off his psychedelic poster board on why marijuana should be legal so he can go smoke it during study hall. This is an important issue and I'll tell you why. I believe that legalizing drugs will solve a ton of the major problems that this country faces every single day.
First of all, if we legalize drugs today and release all of the NON-violent drug offenders that over populate our prisons, we'll save trillions of dollars every year from here on out. Trillions, all while decreasing the over-population problems that we're currently dealing with, and ending the constant need for tax payers to fund the opening of new facilities. That's a good start, huh?
How about this? If we legalize drugs today, the recession ends...TODAY. Instead of being a black market product like drugs currently are, with their legalization, American farms would immediately begin to grow everything from marijuana to cocaine and everything else in between...LEGALLY. Next to all of your corner liquor stores, there would be weed stores. This may sound weird to you, but you're taking a multi-trillion dollar economy that already exists, and simply making it legitimate (and everybody knows that alcohol/tobacco is just as/more harmful than drugs...and we've got NO problem with drinking our booze and smoking our cigarettes). All while creating billions of jobs in the process. Farmers, wholesalers, distributors, stores, etc., etc...the possibilities are endless. All on American soil, instead of illegally smuggling it in from Mexico, South America, and so on. We'd be back as an economic world power instantly.
Still not convinced? How about this one? Legalizing drugs will dramatically decrease the violence in our inner-cities. FACT. Remember Al Capone? During prohibition, ol' Al used to illegally smuggle alcohol into the speakeasies. That was one of his biggest products. He'd kill whoever was in the way of him making the money that he wanted to make by illegally distributing alcohol. Well guess what? You don't hear of people shooting each other over alcohol anymore do you? You know why? Because it is LEGAL. If you legalize drugs, and take them off of the black market by legitimately selling them in stores just like you do alcohol and cigarettes, all of the violence that comes with them will immediately fade away. 99% of gang violence IS drug related. Now I'm not saying that all of the violence will go away. These people will still find products to sell on the black market such as guns and other illegal things, but if you take drugs out of the equation (which legalizing them will do), you're taking a lot of ammunition from the hands of our American gangs. A good thing, me thinks.
So let's see here...we've effectively ended the recession by creating billions of jobs and creating an entire new economy, found the answer to our over-populated prisons (while saving tax payers billions), and essentially ended gang violence in our inner-cities. Not enough for you? Well, we're going to get this nation out of it's little debt that it's accrued by taxing the HELL out of these drugs as well. There's NO reason why our deficit should continue to climb when there's a product being sold on our streets every single day that we're not able to tax because it is illegal. It just doesn't make any sense. Tax the hell out of this stuff, and make money on both ends like the government does with everything else. Also, we'll have to regulate this just like we do alcohol. You must be 21 to purchase it, and you obviously can't drive while under the influence.
Of course, with an argument like this, there are always going to be those who say that if we legalize drugs, then there will be anarchy on our streets. It's simply not true. If heroin was legal tomorrow, I can guarantee you that I'm not going to go buy heroin. I'm just not. I'm smart enough to know how dangerous the stuff can be, so I'm not going to try it. I imagine that you reading this are in that same boat. It's no different than cigarettes. Cigarettes are legal, but now that our country knows how harmful they are, the percentage of smokers is going down every single year, but we still keep them legal. Why? Because we make a ton of money off of those who choose to lead a harmful life of smoking by continuing to grow/produce and tax them. We also have NO problem with gambling. There are casinos everywhere, yet I don't see anarchy on the streets (some would argue that that is what Vegas is...but I digress). The people who are doing drugs now will continue to do them...the people who aren't, will continue to be drug-free. The difference is that instead of drug lords/dealers/gangs/etc. reaping the benefits, the American people will be the benefactors. I've also heard that some people believe that if drugs were legal, the consumption would actually go DOWN. It's the whole "people won't be enticed to do them anymore because they won't get the rush of doing something that is illegal" (kind of like drinking/smoking not being anywhere near as cool when you're actually over 21.) As great as this theory sounds, I'm not sure that I buy it, but hey, if it IS true in some sense...then I guess it's a bonus.
We sure came a LONG way from talking about the weather didn't we?
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Blood Brothers" by Bruce Springsteen. Drinks of choice: Livin' the High-Life. Make it a great weekend y'alls.
Peace the F.
Webby
Friends, happy Friday. It's raining in Chicago, and it seems like this is the first gloomy day that we've had in a month, so I guess we can't complain. People DO seem to complain about the weather all of the time. How pointless. Obviously it is something that we can't control, so why waste your breath? One of the worst things that people do is complain when it's super cold outside in the winter, but then when it warms up in the summer time, they bitch and moan about how hot it is. You can't have it both ways. If you like it cooler, don't bitch about it being cold out. I've always enjoyed hot weather myself. It can't be hot enough. Which makes one wonder why I've stayed in the midwest all of my life. Family I guess, but it sure doesn't make a lot of sense to live somewhere that is completely miserable for about four months out of the year (six if you're in Chicago), when we could easily move to a place such as San Diego where it's consistently in the mid-seventies year 'round. Why do we put ourselves through this? I don't know either? I DO know that I've just written an entire paragraph about the weather. Wow. I'm willing to bet that this is an all-time low, even for "Webby Files."
Now we need a topic that is the COMPLETE opposite of "talking about the weather." How about race/sexual orientation relations? Too edgy for you? That would definitely "pick it up a notch" around here. I do find it hilarious how talking about race in this country makes people SO uncomfortable. Obviously, being a strait white male, I've never experienced the negativity of racism/sexism/homophobia that others have, so naturally it's twice as difficult for me to grasp the magnitude that this topic carries with many individuals, but I do know that in order for strides to be made, people are going to have to stop sweeping this conversation under the rug and start attacking it head on.
The fact that homosexuals STILL don't have equal rights because of the ideologies of crusty, old, religious white dudes is beyond me. For some reason, the idea of Adam and Steve sharing the same rights as Adam and Eve just consumes the thoughts of these cats. They can't get away from it. How about this: Stop having affairs on your wives, or worrying about your guns being taken away, or forcing YOUR religion into schools where not all people share YOUR ideas, or stealing from your employees, or trying to "shoot down" the efforts of preserving our environment, or trying to KEEP health care as expensive as you possibly can, or trying to preserve the "war on drugs." Stop! These are REAL issues. Leave the gays alone! Just let them have equal rights so we can ALL pull together to solve the REAL problems of our country. That would be a good start.
Speaking of REAL issues...I believe that we should legalize all drugs. Yes. ALL DRUGS. Now I know that we're not all going to agree on this, but hear me out. I've never done drugs in my entire life (marijuana doesn't count, and I've barely done that.) This is NOT one of those stoner presentations that we all sat through in High School where the class pot-head shows off his psychedelic poster board on why marijuana should be legal so he can go smoke it during study hall. This is an important issue and I'll tell you why. I believe that legalizing drugs will solve a ton of the major problems that this country faces every single day.
First of all, if we legalize drugs today and release all of the NON-violent drug offenders that over populate our prisons, we'll save trillions of dollars every year from here on out. Trillions, all while decreasing the over-population problems that we're currently dealing with, and ending the constant need for tax payers to fund the opening of new facilities. That's a good start, huh?
How about this? If we legalize drugs today, the recession ends...TODAY. Instead of being a black market product like drugs currently are, with their legalization, American farms would immediately begin to grow everything from marijuana to cocaine and everything else in between...LEGALLY. Next to all of your corner liquor stores, there would be weed stores. This may sound weird to you, but you're taking a multi-trillion dollar economy that already exists, and simply making it legitimate (and everybody knows that alcohol/tobacco is just as/more harmful than drugs...and we've got NO problem with drinking our booze and smoking our cigarettes). All while creating billions of jobs in the process. Farmers, wholesalers, distributors, stores, etc., etc...the possibilities are endless. All on American soil, instead of illegally smuggling it in from Mexico, South America, and so on. We'd be back as an economic world power instantly.
Still not convinced? How about this one? Legalizing drugs will dramatically decrease the violence in our inner-cities. FACT. Remember Al Capone? During prohibition, ol' Al used to illegally smuggle alcohol into the speakeasies. That was one of his biggest products. He'd kill whoever was in the way of him making the money that he wanted to make by illegally distributing alcohol. Well guess what? You don't hear of people shooting each other over alcohol anymore do you? You know why? Because it is LEGAL. If you legalize drugs, and take them off of the black market by legitimately selling them in stores just like you do alcohol and cigarettes, all of the violence that comes with them will immediately fade away. 99% of gang violence IS drug related. Now I'm not saying that all of the violence will go away. These people will still find products to sell on the black market such as guns and other illegal things, but if you take drugs out of the equation (which legalizing them will do), you're taking a lot of ammunition from the hands of our American gangs. A good thing, me thinks.
So let's see here...we've effectively ended the recession by creating billions of jobs and creating an entire new economy, found the answer to our over-populated prisons (while saving tax payers billions), and essentially ended gang violence in our inner-cities. Not enough for you? Well, we're going to get this nation out of it's little debt that it's accrued by taxing the HELL out of these drugs as well. There's NO reason why our deficit should continue to climb when there's a product being sold on our streets every single day that we're not able to tax because it is illegal. It just doesn't make any sense. Tax the hell out of this stuff, and make money on both ends like the government does with everything else. Also, we'll have to regulate this just like we do alcohol. You must be 21 to purchase it, and you obviously can't drive while under the influence.
Of course, with an argument like this, there are always going to be those who say that if we legalize drugs, then there will be anarchy on our streets. It's simply not true. If heroin was legal tomorrow, I can guarantee you that I'm not going to go buy heroin. I'm just not. I'm smart enough to know how dangerous the stuff can be, so I'm not going to try it. I imagine that you reading this are in that same boat. It's no different than cigarettes. Cigarettes are legal, but now that our country knows how harmful they are, the percentage of smokers is going down every single year, but we still keep them legal. Why? Because we make a ton of money off of those who choose to lead a harmful life of smoking by continuing to grow/produce and tax them. We also have NO problem with gambling. There are casinos everywhere, yet I don't see anarchy on the streets (some would argue that that is what Vegas is...but I digress). The people who are doing drugs now will continue to do them...the people who aren't, will continue to be drug-free. The difference is that instead of drug lords/dealers/gangs/etc. reaping the benefits, the American people will be the benefactors. I've also heard that some people believe that if drugs were legal, the consumption would actually go DOWN. It's the whole "people won't be enticed to do them anymore because they won't get the rush of doing something that is illegal" (kind of like drinking/smoking not being anywhere near as cool when you're actually over 21.) As great as this theory sounds, I'm not sure that I buy it, but hey, if it IS true in some sense...then I guess it's a bonus.
We sure came a LONG way from talking about the weather didn't we?
Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Blood Brothers" by Bruce Springsteen. Drinks of choice: Livin' the High-Life. Make it a great weekend y'alls.
Peace the F.
Webby
Thursday, August 6, 2009
I Drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet, What's Up? I have a Ridiculous House in the South Fork. I have Every Toy You Could Imagine. Best of all, I'm Liquid!
Friends, enemies, acquaintances, it's good to see you again. Sorry for posting so late in the day today. You can always tell how much I've drank the night before by how late in the day I write this stupid thing. I guess I don't really have a lot to say to you. I mean, what's really going on? The Cubs had a GREAT opportunity last night with the Cardinals and Astros already in the loss column from earlier in the day, and Rich Harden on the mound against Reds' no-namer Justin Lehr who was making just his second career start...and what happened? Of course, the guy throws a complete game shut out and Cincinnati beats the Northsiders 4-0 in one of the most un-eventful games of the season. The Sox had a nice win last night, but as I'm writing this they trail the Angels 9-4 in the top of the 9th inning at The Cell. A loss I presume. I'm still waiting to get some mixed copies of my EP that I recorded over the weekend. Hopefully that will give me something to talk about and they'll turn out to be decent enough to where I'll want to start playing some shows again...Seen any good movies lately? Me neither. I'm really looking forward to Tarantino's new flick that is coming out in a couple of weeks "Inglorious Bastards." From what I've read, it's about American soldiers who interrogate Nazi's back in World War II with very convincing methods. It stars Brad Pitt and I'm not sure who else. Knowing Tarantino's history, I'm sure that Samuel L. Jackson is in there somewhere yelling at the top of his lungs.
What a funny thing being an actor/actress must be. I can't imagine that it's very difficult, but with that being said, it's really easy to recognize the BAD ones. My goodness. There's nothing funnier than watching some really terrible acting. Whenever somebody asks me who my favorite actor is, I find it very difficult to answer. I have no problem answering who my favorite band is (The Smiths), or my favorite food (pizza), or my favorite color (navy blue), but there's something about those actors/actresses that makes it hard to give an immediate answer.
I guess maybe it's jealousy/envy, but it bothers me that dickholes like Ashton Kutcher and Vin Diesel make a ton of money doing movies when they don't display a particular talent of any kind. I'm never mad about athletes making it big, they're able to do something that no one else can. Musicians (whether I like their music or not), tend to have some talent as well, so I guess I have nothing negative to say about them either, what stand-up comedians do (even the bad ones) has to be one of the most difficult things of all of the performers, so they're safe in my book, but what does an actor/actress actually do?
Let's see here, I want you to act like you're doing something (something that real people do every single day), and we're going to give you as many takes as you need to get this scene right, and how about this? We'll even sub a stunt man for all of the difficult stuff because we don't want you to actually work...oh yeah, and we're going to pay you millions to do this. How does that sound Mr. Affleck? WHAT???!!! How did WE miss out on this? We all should have wanted to be actors/actresses when we were kids, NOT firemen and baseball players. We really missed the boat on this one!
I haven't done a list in awhile so here goes..."THE 10 WORST ACTORS in HOLLYWOOD" by Matt Weber.
10.) Vince Vaughn - Definitely not a popular pick I'm sure, but this guy plays the same exact character in every movie that he does. He's smart, funny and engaging, but somehow he gets amazingly hot chicks with very below average looks (if you don't mind me judging a dude) and he gives you the same jokes with the same delivery in all of his roles. I'd like to see him NOT be "Trent" from "Swingers" in every movie that he's in. I don't think that that's asking too much.
9.) Seth Rogan - A VERY poor man's Vince Vaughn. Broke and under a bridge he's so poor.
8.) Nicholas Cage - He's actually done some pretty good movies ("Raising Arizona," "Leaving Las Vegas"), and I give him credit for taking some chances with certain roles, but good god! This guy is a TERRIBLE actor. I just can't handle that expression-less delivery that he brings. Does his face even move?
7.) Keanu Reeves - An easy pick. Really, he's fairly similar to Nicholas Cage in that he has been in some decent movies ("Point Break," "The Devil's Advocate"), but he has absolutely NO acting ability. He'll always be "Ted Logan" as far as I'm concerned.
6.) Ben Affleck - Getting off of Matt Damon's coat tails was the WORST thing that this guy could have done. Not only is he a terrible actor, but I'm not willing to give him credit for co-writing "Good Will Hunting." There's NO WAY that this assclown could have contributed anything to a movie of that caliber. Stick to small doses Benny, do us all a favor and think roles like "Boiler Room" as the extent of your career.
5.) Sylvester Stallone - Just watch Rocky One through Six, Rambo One through Four, Over the Top, Stop! Or My Mom will Shoot, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, etc., etc. If you need any more convincing, watch Judge Dredd. Ol' Rocko is one of the worst of all time.
4.) Arnold Schwarzenegger - I didn't think that I would ever be happy that he's the Governor of one of our fifty states. But as long as that means that he ain't acting, California keep voting.
3.) Dane Cook - I give him credit for doing the stand-up (even though it's so bad that I'm cringing just thinking about it), but seeing that he is somehow getting consistent roles in Hollywood while our country's unemployment rate continues to skyrocket...depressing.
2.) Ashton Kutcher - I dig the fact that he's from the midwest, and that he's a huge Cubs/Bears fan, but come on. How lucky can one guy be? He did that super annoying show on MTV "Punk'd," and somehow blossomed that into Demi Moore and a string of bad movies. Seeing him try and act in a serious role "The Butterfly Effect," is STILL one of the funniest things that I've ever witnessed.
...AND THE NUMBER ONE WORST ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD ACCORDING TO ESTEEMED MOVIE CRITIC...ME!!!...
1.) Vin Diesel - I have NO idea where this guy came from. I have NO idea what movie directors/producers find appealing about him. I couldn't tell you WHO is buying tickets to the "Fast and the Furious" movies, or playing the video games, but WE need to take Vinnie and all of his supporters and put all of them into a line of fast cars that furiously drive off an enormous cliff one by one! This needs to be done soon, and effectively. I'll be sending out the corresponding details of this mission via email within the next few days.
There you have it. The 10 worst actors in Hollywood. Honorable Mention: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Will Ferrell, Sean William Scott, Steven Seagal (he probably should be number one, but he slipped my mind until now), Woody Harrelson, Burt Reynolds, Chuck Norris, Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner (definitely should have made the list, I despise this guy), Russel Crowe (personal taste) and SO many more.
Feel free to email me your picks on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Trying to find a Balance" by Atmosphere. A little hip-hop on a Thursday afternoon. Drinks of choice: A&W, always refreshing.
Peace the F.
Webby
What a funny thing being an actor/actress must be. I can't imagine that it's very difficult, but with that being said, it's really easy to recognize the BAD ones. My goodness. There's nothing funnier than watching some really terrible acting. Whenever somebody asks me who my favorite actor is, I find it very difficult to answer. I have no problem answering who my favorite band is (The Smiths), or my favorite food (pizza), or my favorite color (navy blue), but there's something about those actors/actresses that makes it hard to give an immediate answer.
I guess maybe it's jealousy/envy, but it bothers me that dickholes like Ashton Kutcher and Vin Diesel make a ton of money doing movies when they don't display a particular talent of any kind. I'm never mad about athletes making it big, they're able to do something that no one else can. Musicians (whether I like their music or not), tend to have some talent as well, so I guess I have nothing negative to say about them either, what stand-up comedians do (even the bad ones) has to be one of the most difficult things of all of the performers, so they're safe in my book, but what does an actor/actress actually do?
Let's see here, I want you to act like you're doing something (something that real people do every single day), and we're going to give you as many takes as you need to get this scene right, and how about this? We'll even sub a stunt man for all of the difficult stuff because we don't want you to actually work...oh yeah, and we're going to pay you millions to do this. How does that sound Mr. Affleck? WHAT???!!! How did WE miss out on this? We all should have wanted to be actors/actresses when we were kids, NOT firemen and baseball players. We really missed the boat on this one!
I haven't done a list in awhile so here goes..."THE 10 WORST ACTORS in HOLLYWOOD" by Matt Weber.
10.) Vince Vaughn - Definitely not a popular pick I'm sure, but this guy plays the same exact character in every movie that he does. He's smart, funny and engaging, but somehow he gets amazingly hot chicks with very below average looks (if you don't mind me judging a dude) and he gives you the same jokes with the same delivery in all of his roles. I'd like to see him NOT be "Trent" from "Swingers" in every movie that he's in. I don't think that that's asking too much.
9.) Seth Rogan - A VERY poor man's Vince Vaughn. Broke and under a bridge he's so poor.
8.) Nicholas Cage - He's actually done some pretty good movies ("Raising Arizona," "Leaving Las Vegas"), and I give him credit for taking some chances with certain roles, but good god! This guy is a TERRIBLE actor. I just can't handle that expression-less delivery that he brings. Does his face even move?
7.) Keanu Reeves - An easy pick. Really, he's fairly similar to Nicholas Cage in that he has been in some decent movies ("Point Break," "The Devil's Advocate"), but he has absolutely NO acting ability. He'll always be "Ted Logan" as far as I'm concerned.
6.) Ben Affleck - Getting off of Matt Damon's coat tails was the WORST thing that this guy could have done. Not only is he a terrible actor, but I'm not willing to give him credit for co-writing "Good Will Hunting." There's NO WAY that this assclown could have contributed anything to a movie of that caliber. Stick to small doses Benny, do us all a favor and think roles like "Boiler Room" as the extent of your career.
5.) Sylvester Stallone - Just watch Rocky One through Six, Rambo One through Four, Over the Top, Stop! Or My Mom will Shoot, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, etc., etc. If you need any more convincing, watch Judge Dredd. Ol' Rocko is one of the worst of all time.
4.) Arnold Schwarzenegger - I didn't think that I would ever be happy that he's the Governor of one of our fifty states. But as long as that means that he ain't acting, California keep voting.
3.) Dane Cook - I give him credit for doing the stand-up (even though it's so bad that I'm cringing just thinking about it), but seeing that he is somehow getting consistent roles in Hollywood while our country's unemployment rate continues to skyrocket...depressing.
2.) Ashton Kutcher - I dig the fact that he's from the midwest, and that he's a huge Cubs/Bears fan, but come on. How lucky can one guy be? He did that super annoying show on MTV "Punk'd," and somehow blossomed that into Demi Moore and a string of bad movies. Seeing him try and act in a serious role "The Butterfly Effect," is STILL one of the funniest things that I've ever witnessed.
...AND THE NUMBER ONE WORST ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD ACCORDING TO ESTEEMED MOVIE CRITIC...ME!!!...
1.) Vin Diesel - I have NO idea where this guy came from. I have NO idea what movie directors/producers find appealing about him. I couldn't tell you WHO is buying tickets to the "Fast and the Furious" movies, or playing the video games, but WE need to take Vinnie and all of his supporters and put all of them into a line of fast cars that furiously drive off an enormous cliff one by one! This needs to be done soon, and effectively. I'll be sending out the corresponding details of this mission via email within the next few days.
There you have it. The 10 worst actors in Hollywood. Honorable Mention: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Will Ferrell, Sean William Scott, Steven Seagal (he probably should be number one, but he slipped my mind until now), Woody Harrelson, Burt Reynolds, Chuck Norris, Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner (definitely should have made the list, I despise this guy), Russel Crowe (personal taste) and SO many more.
Feel free to email me your picks on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Trying to find a Balance" by Atmosphere. A little hip-hop on a Thursday afternoon. Drinks of choice: A&W, always refreshing.
Peace the F.
Webby
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I Lied and said Chris had tumorsyphilisitisosis. They were gonna cancel Gumbel 2 Gumbel!
Hello friends. Do you believe in miracles? Our softball team made it seven in a row last night as we defeated the defending league champions The Mix 8-5, improving our record to (8-2) heading into the playoffs. I had a TERRIBLE game offensively going 0-4 for the first time in my softball career, but made up for it in center field with a nice diving catch that saved two runs.
We're tied with The Score and Jack FM for first place, and The Mix is in fourth place with a record of (6-4) after their loss to us which ended their four game winning streak. Playoff time starts next week, not for the faint of heart.
After the game, while drinking at a bar on Division St. with some friends/teammates, CBS' Greg Gumbel walked by the open window where we were sitting. He had two very creepy bald white dudes with him, each with a very impressive Tom Sellick-esque mustache (possibly bodyguards/lovers?), and it got me thinking of some of my brushes with athletes/celebrities that I've had over the years.
Working in sports radio for three + years, I've had my share of encounters with "the famous," mostly athletes of course, and there's generally a funny story that goes along with each meeting.
I was Shaquille O'Neal's personal escort around Chicago one time (not sexually...you creeps!) and for some reason I asked him, "Shaq...Kazaam?...Come on man?!" (Obviously, EVERYONE knows that Kazaam was a terrible movie, but only a D-BAG (me) would ask the star of the bad movie why he did it). The question didn't even phase him. He just looked at me, smiled and said, "Brotha, I made 6 mill doin' Kazaam." And that was it. Those seven words were one of the coolest things that anyone has EVER said to me.
I once got to play "Golden Tee" with the voice of "Golden Tee" Jim Nantz of CBS Sports. Not only did he kick my ass at the game, but we got him to say some of his lines from it as well, such as..."Get out the putter Peter." Excellent. I remember Cal Ripken Jr. would always say "cheese" before getting his picture taken (every single time). It was as if he was a robot, and saying "cheese" was his signal to let you know that he was now programmed and ready for you to snap the photograph. I've always thought that that was kind of strange. Ryne Sandberg was really cool (not just because he was my hero growing up), but he told me that he expects to see my picture up on the wall with all of the other NBC icons at the "NBC Tower" where I used to work. I'll NEVER forget that. Susie Esman from my favorite TV show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" said that I was "hot." She wasn't too bad either for a woman of her age. Jose Canseco was pretty much the tool that you might imagine wearing sun-glasses indoors and not saying two words to anybody, and I remember being pleasantly surprised about how nice and courteous Alex Brown of the Bears was when I drove him around on a golf cart down in Bourbonnais for training camp.
It's weird that these people (the famous) are so eccentric in their own way. I've always wondered whether you act like that because you're constantly in the "lime-light" due to your immense fame/fortune/popularity? Or, if the reason that you became famous/rich/popular in the first place was because you acted in that way? Not sure?
Let's just promise each other this...if either of us ever get rich/famous/popular at whatever it is that we're striving to do, we won't EVER do ANY of the following: Wear make-up for no reason (Steve Stone, Michael Jackson), sunglasses indoors (Jose Canseco, Jesse Rogers, Michael Jackson), become ultra paranoid about everything around us (Murph, anyone in radio management, Michael Jackson), alter the color of our skin (David Kaplan, David Schuster, Michael Jackson), or simply be an assclown to those around us (too many in sports/sports media to mention, Michael Jackson).
It's funny how MJ is so similar to everyone in sports/sports media isn't it?
Enjoyed talking to you today. I just found out that through all of the tie breakers, our softball team earned the #3 seed and will take on The Score (#2 seed) in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday. Let's go. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Last Pale Light in the West" by Ben Nichols. I've been on a real acoustic kick lately. Drinks of choice: After Bud Lights last night (didn't have a choice, and almost chose water. I feel as strongly about anti-Bud Light drinking as most Chicagoans feel about ketchup on a hot dog). Miller Lite I guess?
Peace the F.
Webby
We're tied with The Score and Jack FM for first place, and The Mix is in fourth place with a record of (6-4) after their loss to us which ended their four game winning streak. Playoff time starts next week, not for the faint of heart.
After the game, while drinking at a bar on Division St. with some friends/teammates, CBS' Greg Gumbel walked by the open window where we were sitting. He had two very creepy bald white dudes with him, each with a very impressive Tom Sellick-esque mustache (possibly bodyguards/lovers?), and it got me thinking of some of my brushes with athletes/celebrities that I've had over the years.
Working in sports radio for three + years, I've had my share of encounters with "the famous," mostly athletes of course, and there's generally a funny story that goes along with each meeting.
I was Shaquille O'Neal's personal escort around Chicago one time (not sexually...you creeps!) and for some reason I asked him, "Shaq...Kazaam?...Come on man?!" (Obviously, EVERYONE knows that Kazaam was a terrible movie, but only a D-BAG (me) would ask the star of the bad movie why he did it). The question didn't even phase him. He just looked at me, smiled and said, "Brotha, I made 6 mill doin' Kazaam." And that was it. Those seven words were one of the coolest things that anyone has EVER said to me.
I once got to play "Golden Tee" with the voice of "Golden Tee" Jim Nantz of CBS Sports. Not only did he kick my ass at the game, but we got him to say some of his lines from it as well, such as..."Get out the putter Peter." Excellent. I remember Cal Ripken Jr. would always say "cheese" before getting his picture taken (every single time). It was as if he was a robot, and saying "cheese" was his signal to let you know that he was now programmed and ready for you to snap the photograph. I've always thought that that was kind of strange. Ryne Sandberg was really cool (not just because he was my hero growing up), but he told me that he expects to see my picture up on the wall with all of the other NBC icons at the "NBC Tower" where I used to work. I'll NEVER forget that. Susie Esman from my favorite TV show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" said that I was "hot." She wasn't too bad either for a woman of her age. Jose Canseco was pretty much the tool that you might imagine wearing sun-glasses indoors and not saying two words to anybody, and I remember being pleasantly surprised about how nice and courteous Alex Brown of the Bears was when I drove him around on a golf cart down in Bourbonnais for training camp.
It's weird that these people (the famous) are so eccentric in their own way. I've always wondered whether you act like that because you're constantly in the "lime-light" due to your immense fame/fortune/popularity? Or, if the reason that you became famous/rich/popular in the first place was because you acted in that way? Not sure?
Let's just promise each other this...if either of us ever get rich/famous/popular at whatever it is that we're striving to do, we won't EVER do ANY of the following: Wear make-up for no reason (Steve Stone, Michael Jackson), sunglasses indoors (Jose Canseco, Jesse Rogers, Michael Jackson), become ultra paranoid about everything around us (Murph, anyone in radio management, Michael Jackson), alter the color of our skin (David Kaplan, David Schuster, Michael Jackson), or simply be an assclown to those around us (too many in sports/sports media to mention, Michael Jackson).
It's funny how MJ is so similar to everyone in sports/sports media isn't it?
Enjoyed talking to you today. I just found out that through all of the tie breakers, our softball team earned the #3 seed and will take on The Score (#2 seed) in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday. Let's go. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Last Pale Light in the West" by Ben Nichols. I've been on a real acoustic kick lately. Drinks of choice: After Bud Lights last night (didn't have a choice, and almost chose water. I feel as strongly about anti-Bud Light drinking as most Chicagoans feel about ketchup on a hot dog). Miller Lite I guess?
Peace the F.
Webby
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Rowengartner! You're Going In!
Hey, Hey. The Cubs are back in first place by percentage points over St. Louis, and lead the Cards in the loss column by two games. The White Sox are only two games back after a great weekend against the Yankees following their tough road trip. You could say that all is well in the City of Wind right now.
Another outstanding pitching performance by Randy Wells last night in Cincinnati. The guy improved his record to (8-4) overall, but if you look at his game log he'd be (14-2) if he had received ANY run support at all in his first several starts. The 26 year old right hander should absolutely win Rookie of the Month for July (5-1, 3.23 ERA) but how about Randy Wells for Rookie of the Year?
Wells' overall stats:
(8-4), 2.73 ERA, 102.1 IP, 65 K's, 23 BB's, 1.14 WHIP
The only rookie pitcher in the National League that even comes close to Wells is Philadelphia's J.A. Happ (7-2, 2.97 ERA). Wells has more wins, a better ERA, and a better WHIP (Happ's is 1.16). Not to mention, with the Phillies acquisition of Cliff Lee from Cleveland, there's a good chance that Happ will move to the bullpen all but ending his chances of winning R.O.Y. As far as rookie everyday players go in the National League, I've enjoyed watching leading contender Colby Rasmus of St. Louis (.252, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 310 AB's). His numbers simply aren't as staggering as Wells' or Happ's however, and now that the Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, watch for Rasmus' playing time to decrease in the final two months of the season. (Man would I LOVE to see Jake Fox get 310 AB's!)
I know that it's a tired argument, and that I already clamored for Fox to get more playing time a few entries ago, but let's just take a look and see what ol' Jakey has done in that amount of time.
Fox hitting stats since July 28th:
15 AB's, .267 Avg., 3 HR's, 6 RBI's
Fox overall hitting stats in 2009:
107 AB's, .308 Avg., 8 HR's, 27 RBI's
Take Fox's stats and multiply them by 2.9 (to get to Colby Rasmus' 310 AB's) and Fox is running away with the NL Rookie of the Year Award (as far as "everyday players" are concerned).
Fox projected stats w/ Rasmus' amount of AB's:
.308, 23 HR's, 78 RBI's (w/o the protection of Albert Pujols in the lineup, and w/o a position).
In the American League, all I hear about is White Sox 3B Gordon Beckham (rightfully so), but given the opportunity, Fox would murder his stats as well. Beckham is batting .311, 5 HR's, 36 RBI, in 183 AB's. Let's compare ol' Jakey to Gordon by taking Fox's stats and multiplying them by 1.71 to get Beckham's amount of AB's.
Fox projected stats w/ Beckham's amount of AB's:
.308, 14 HR's, 46 RBI's (w/o the luxury of playing everyday, and w/o a position).
Good stuff huh? Now I'm completely aware that we're only looking at the offensive statistics when comparing Jake Fox to Gordon Beckham and Colby Rasmus. There's NO doubt that those two are MUCH better defensively than good ol' Jake Fox is...right? Well, let's take a look.
Fox has played 3B, 1B, LF, RF and C (versatile?). When comparing Fox at 3B to Beckham at 3B, there's really NO comparison. Fox has 1 error in 39 chances (.974 Fielding %), while Beckham has 9 errors in 160 chances (.944 Fielding %). If Fox fielded as many chances at 3B as Gordy, he'd have only 4 errors compared to the "Golden Boy's" 9! As far as Rasmus goes, it's a little bit more difficult to compare the two. Rasmus has played the majority of his games in CF, a position that Fox has/will never play(ed). However, Rasmus does have 1 error in 19 chances at the corner outfield spots, while Fox has 1 error in 14 chances playing the corners (pretty identical considering Fox is SO terrible defensively according to all of the experts).
Yes, when getting into zone ratings and range factors, Beckham and Rasmus are superior defensively. Only a moron would argue otherwise. But when you factor in that Jake Fox is FAR superior offensively than those two, and very comparable in the field as well...it makes you really wonder why he's not playing over Koyie Hill, Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker, and Milton Bradley. Can someone PLEASE introduce Lou to "Webby Files?"
BTW, this entry was INTENDED to be about Randy Wells...
Thanks for checking out my little blog. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section. Right now I'm listening to "Wait at Milano" by Tim Barry. Great song by a great song writer. Drinks of Choice: OJ. Big softball game tonight, final one of the regular season. If we win, we could end up with the number one seed in the playoffs, if we lose, we'll drop to three or four. Let's make it seven in a row.
Later.
Webby
Another outstanding pitching performance by Randy Wells last night in Cincinnati. The guy improved his record to (8-4) overall, but if you look at his game log he'd be (14-2) if he had received ANY run support at all in his first several starts. The 26 year old right hander should absolutely win Rookie of the Month for July (5-1, 3.23 ERA) but how about Randy Wells for Rookie of the Year?
Wells' overall stats:
(8-4), 2.73 ERA, 102.1 IP, 65 K's, 23 BB's, 1.14 WHIP
The only rookie pitcher in the National League that even comes close to Wells is Philadelphia's J.A. Happ (7-2, 2.97 ERA). Wells has more wins, a better ERA, and a better WHIP (Happ's is 1.16). Not to mention, with the Phillies acquisition of Cliff Lee from Cleveland, there's a good chance that Happ will move to the bullpen all but ending his chances of winning R.O.Y. As far as rookie everyday players go in the National League, I've enjoyed watching leading contender Colby Rasmus of St. Louis (.252, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 310 AB's). His numbers simply aren't as staggering as Wells' or Happ's however, and now that the Cardinals acquired Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, watch for Rasmus' playing time to decrease in the final two months of the season. (Man would I LOVE to see Jake Fox get 310 AB's!)
I know that it's a tired argument, and that I already clamored for Fox to get more playing time a few entries ago, but let's just take a look and see what ol' Jakey has done in that amount of time.
Fox hitting stats since July 28th:
15 AB's, .267 Avg., 3 HR's, 6 RBI's
Fox overall hitting stats in 2009:
107 AB's, .308 Avg., 8 HR's, 27 RBI's
Take Fox's stats and multiply them by 2.9 (to get to Colby Rasmus' 310 AB's) and Fox is running away with the NL Rookie of the Year Award (as far as "everyday players" are concerned).
Fox projected stats w/ Rasmus' amount of AB's:
.308, 23 HR's, 78 RBI's (w/o the protection of Albert Pujols in the lineup, and w/o a position).
In the American League, all I hear about is White Sox 3B Gordon Beckham (rightfully so), but given the opportunity, Fox would murder his stats as well. Beckham is batting .311, 5 HR's, 36 RBI, in 183 AB's. Let's compare ol' Jakey to Gordon by taking Fox's stats and multiplying them by 1.71 to get Beckham's amount of AB's.
Fox projected stats w/ Beckham's amount of AB's:
.308, 14 HR's, 46 RBI's (w/o the luxury of playing everyday, and w/o a position).
Good stuff huh? Now I'm completely aware that we're only looking at the offensive statistics when comparing Jake Fox to Gordon Beckham and Colby Rasmus. There's NO doubt that those two are MUCH better defensively than good ol' Jake Fox is...right? Well, let's take a look.
Fox has played 3B, 1B, LF, RF and C (versatile?). When comparing Fox at 3B to Beckham at 3B, there's really NO comparison. Fox has 1 error in 39 chances (.974 Fielding %), while Beckham has 9 errors in 160 chances (.944 Fielding %). If Fox fielded as many chances at 3B as Gordy, he'd have only 4 errors compared to the "Golden Boy's" 9! As far as Rasmus goes, it's a little bit more difficult to compare the two. Rasmus has played the majority of his games in CF, a position that Fox has/will never play(ed). However, Rasmus does have 1 error in 19 chances at the corner outfield spots, while Fox has 1 error in 14 chances playing the corners (pretty identical considering Fox is SO terrible defensively according to all of the experts).
Yes, when getting into zone ratings and range factors, Beckham and Rasmus are superior defensively. Only a moron would argue otherwise. But when you factor in that Jake Fox is FAR superior offensively than those two, and very comparable in the field as well...it makes you really wonder why he's not playing over Koyie Hill, Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker, and Milton Bradley. Can someone PLEASE introduce Lou to "Webby Files?"
BTW, this entry was INTENDED to be about Randy Wells...
Thanks for checking out my little blog. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section. Right now I'm listening to "Wait at Milano" by Tim Barry. Great song by a great song writer. Drinks of Choice: OJ. Big softball game tonight, final one of the regular season. If we win, we could end up with the number one seed in the playoffs, if we lose, we'll drop to three or four. Let's make it seven in a row.
Later.
Webby
Monday, August 3, 2009
Got a Little Captain in You?
Hello again. I'm back from the dark walls/warm beer/sweaty air of recording some songs over the weekend. Won't have the final mixes for another week or so, but all in all I think that it turned out pretty well. I ended up recording seven songs for this little EP, and I'm planning on booking some shows in the very NEAR future all around Chicagoland. So stay tuned.
It was kind of funny how the process ended up taking place. I went in with the idea that I'd record these songs as simple acoustic demos with the possibility of adding some lead guitar parts here and there and maybe a little bass. I proceeded to introduce the tracks to a couple of friends in a room full of band equipment, so naturally we played them as "full band" songs with drums, bass, electric guitar, etc. This was a HUGE mistake, and I'll tell you why...the songs ended up sounding great. Because of that, I was led into deciding that I was going to record these songs as a full band and not just acoustic. I got greedy. Now that would've been fine if we had a full week to rehearse and record them, the problem is...we had two days.
On the first day, we tried laying down drum and bass tracks the day after my drummer and bassist learned the songs. Normally when a band goes into a studio to record, they've done the following things: played the songs a million times, wrote their OWN parts to the songs, and had the general idea as a whole of what "sound" they work looking to achieve in the "big picture" of whatever it is that they were recording. These guys had none of that. It wasn't their fault, they just weren't well rehearsed in the songs, didn't write their own parts to the songs, and didn't know the exact "sound" that I was looking for. I just put them in a "lose-lose" situation. Needless to say, we had a very unproductive first day in the studio so I decided to scrap the whole idea, and just do exactly what I should have done in the first place. Record the songs as acoustic demos with the possibility of adding some lead guitar parts here and there and a little bass. So that's what I did (I still may end up recording them as "full band" songs in the future...I'm just not there yet).
The next day I cranked out seven songs in eight hours (world record timing). I played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and then sang all of the vocals. Obviously, only having one day to work with, and thus cramming in all of these parts in such timely fashion, I really sacrificed some of the quality of the project, but I still think that it will turn out pretty well. It just felt great to record something again. There's something special about creating something that is completely YOU. Whether other people like it or hate it doesn't concern me that much, I'm just proud that I was able to accomplish something that I wanted to achieve for quite some time now. (Yay me!...make fun of my self indulgence here_______).
Normally I would have a few more paragraphs left in me, but I just don't seem to have much else to say to you today. OK, here's a few things:
I'm told that Kevin Gregg sucks (he's basically what Kerry Wood was last year...adequate), I'm not a huge fan of the Jake Peavy move (enjoy the AL Jake), as I've predicted since April, I believe that the Bears will make it to the Super Bowl (yes, I said it BEFORE it became fashionable), it's not gay to enjoy Bruce Springsteen (His 70's stuff is brilliant), who cares where Michael Jackson's kids are headed, I'm excited to see the "Inglorious Bastards" movie, it's not gay to prefer cats over dogs (it might be, but I still do), you should NEVER pay more than 10 cents apiece for chicken wings, it IS gay for a man to drink Captain and Cokes unless it's in the summer time and BEFORE 5pm, and there is nothing worse than those who get offended when people use the term "gay" to describe something...YOU are FAR MORE homophobic than I.
It's good to be back. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Bowl of Oranges" by Bright Eyes. Drinks of Choice: I should say Captain and Coke, but that would be lying.
Your Pal.
Webby
It was kind of funny how the process ended up taking place. I went in with the idea that I'd record these songs as simple acoustic demos with the possibility of adding some lead guitar parts here and there and maybe a little bass. I proceeded to introduce the tracks to a couple of friends in a room full of band equipment, so naturally we played them as "full band" songs with drums, bass, electric guitar, etc. This was a HUGE mistake, and I'll tell you why...the songs ended up sounding great. Because of that, I was led into deciding that I was going to record these songs as a full band and not just acoustic. I got greedy. Now that would've been fine if we had a full week to rehearse and record them, the problem is...we had two days.
On the first day, we tried laying down drum and bass tracks the day after my drummer and bassist learned the songs. Normally when a band goes into a studio to record, they've done the following things: played the songs a million times, wrote their OWN parts to the songs, and had the general idea as a whole of what "sound" they work looking to achieve in the "big picture" of whatever it is that they were recording. These guys had none of that. It wasn't their fault, they just weren't well rehearsed in the songs, didn't write their own parts to the songs, and didn't know the exact "sound" that I was looking for. I just put them in a "lose-lose" situation. Needless to say, we had a very unproductive first day in the studio so I decided to scrap the whole idea, and just do exactly what I should have done in the first place. Record the songs as acoustic demos with the possibility of adding some lead guitar parts here and there and a little bass. So that's what I did (I still may end up recording them as "full band" songs in the future...I'm just not there yet).
The next day I cranked out seven songs in eight hours (world record timing). I played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and then sang all of the vocals. Obviously, only having one day to work with, and thus cramming in all of these parts in such timely fashion, I really sacrificed some of the quality of the project, but I still think that it will turn out pretty well. It just felt great to record something again. There's something special about creating something that is completely YOU. Whether other people like it or hate it doesn't concern me that much, I'm just proud that I was able to accomplish something that I wanted to achieve for quite some time now. (Yay me!...make fun of my self indulgence here_______).
Normally I would have a few more paragraphs left in me, but I just don't seem to have much else to say to you today. OK, here's a few things:
I'm told that Kevin Gregg sucks (he's basically what Kerry Wood was last year...adequate), I'm not a huge fan of the Jake Peavy move (enjoy the AL Jake), as I've predicted since April, I believe that the Bears will make it to the Super Bowl (yes, I said it BEFORE it became fashionable), it's not gay to enjoy Bruce Springsteen (His 70's stuff is brilliant), who cares where Michael Jackson's kids are headed, I'm excited to see the "Inglorious Bastards" movie, it's not gay to prefer cats over dogs (it might be, but I still do), you should NEVER pay more than 10 cents apiece for chicken wings, it IS gay for a man to drink Captain and Cokes unless it's in the summer time and BEFORE 5pm, and there is nothing worse than those who get offended when people use the term "gay" to describe something...YOU are FAR MORE homophobic than I.
It's good to be back. Hit me up on facebook or in the comments section of this blog. Right now I'm listening to "Bowl of Oranges" by Bright Eyes. Drinks of Choice: I should say Captain and Coke, but that would be lying.
Your Pal.
Webby
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