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Today: 2024 / 03 / 18

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June 22, 1970 -
July 18, 2004

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Posts and Ramblings (527 total posts) (325 total comments - 47 with moderated scores)
Posted By Mike on Mon-22-Oct-2017 || Title: Making a better day || (0) comments
Positives from #Cubs 2017 season:

- Cubs won the National League Central Division for the second year in a row.

- Cubs made the playoffs for the third year in a row.

- Also third year in a row to reach the National League Championship Series.

- The Cubs scored 822 runs, topping 800 runs for the second season in a row,

- Team belted 223 home runs, second-highest single total in franchise history.

- For the first time in club history, six players reached the 20-homer mark:
- - Anthony Rizzo 32 HRs, 156 hits, 32 doubles
- - Kyle Schwarber 30 HRs, 16 doubles
- - Kris Bryant 29 HRs , 162 hits, 38 doubles
- - Ian Happ 24 HRs, 17 doubles
- - Javier Baez 22 HRs, 128 hits, 24 doubles
- - Willson Contreras 21 HRs, 17 doubles

- The Cubs also set a Major League record with five 20-homer seasons by players age 25 or younger
(Bryant, Contreras, Happ, Schwarber and Baez).

- 9 players were in double digits in HR total.

- Rizzo drove in 109 runs, the most by any left-handed batter in the Majors.

Now compare all of that to the #Cardinals and #WhiteSox. Feel better?
Posted By Mike on Mon-25-Sep-2017 || Title: Making a better day || (0) comments
I`m back on the Unified Communication Team. I admit, I did not foresee that situation coming, but life is unpredictable. Technically and professionally I`m going to make the most of this and some great things to still contribute to this team.

Still enjoying baseball and looking forward to fall baseball. Cubs are finalizing their season with this win against the Cardinals tonight. I`m hoping the Cardinals don`t make the wildcard. This will force them to reevaluate their last 4 years, and hopefully create a team I can enjoy watching again.
Posted By Mike on Mon-11-Sep-2017 || Title: Making a better day || (0) comments
Just a few blurbs. It`s Sept 11. Spent a lot of time this morning and afternoon talking to the kids about that day so long ago now.

Secondly, blah, I`m going to get it out of the way. The Cubs have found a way to let the Brewers and Cardinals catch up again so that we have a race again in the National League central. As a Cubs fan, I`m disappointed.
Team  W   L   %     GB
CHC   77  66  .538  -
MIL   75  68  .524  2.0
STL   75  68  .524  2.0
  
I'm accepting of the fact that the Cubs are close to ruining their whole season in September. The Cubs would be very lucky to sweep the Mets this week. How game play is going, I would not be surprised to see the Mets sweep the Cubs.

Working on several web sites now. None of them mine. The most fun is for Morningstar Church in Normal. Doing a complete redesign for the site.

As far as Hydrogen, I'm writing several modules for saving files. Also work with cell views and scroll bars.
Posted By Mike on Fri-01-Sep-2017 || Title: Making a better SS || (0) comments
Over the last two weeks I have pulled up some code I have not worked on for a while. Hydrogen is a spread sheet program I had started some time ago. This is code that I have written so far 100% myself. The application has a command line interface and a GTK GUI interface. At this point I am considering abandoning the CLI interface. I have been expanding the functionality quite a bit. For example, one thing that has bothered me about all spread sheet applications that I have ever worked on is that by looking at a spread sheet, there is no way to tell what cells are data and what cells are formulas without clicking on the cells. Below is a spread sheet on MS Excel. B5 on this spread sheet is a simple SUM formula.

One of the most recent changes to my code can be seen by the same spread sheet loaded into Hydrogen. Inside the cell that has the formula, a icon is placed so that it can be easily seen as a fomula cell.

If you hover the mouse over the cell, a tool tip will pop up with the formula in the cell.

Just by looking at the screen shots, it is easy to see that Hydrogen is a very different spread sheet than MS Excel or most any other spread sheet programs out there, yet it does the same basic functionality. But my foremost goal has been to make this application simple in interface and design.
Posted By Mike on Wed-30-Aug-2017 || Title: Power Stuff || (0) comments
The race is now down to two teams...Brewers and Cubs. The Cardinals have called it quits with announcing they are going to start their rebuild before the season ends. As in now. Today.

Cubs are doing well going into the final stretch. Just swept the Pirates. Cubs are now 12 games above 500. Brewers are trailing 3.5 games back.
Team  W   L   %     GB
CHC   72  60  .545  -
MIL   69  64  .519  3.5
STL   66  66  .500  6.0
PIT   63  71  .470  10.0
CIN   56  77  .421  16.5
  
Lastly, and exciting for me anyway, the Cubs made history. What history? For the first time in history, the Cubs have 6 players with 20 or more home runs. The 10th time in MLB history for a team to accomplish this achievement.
Name               R   H    2b   3b   HR    RBI  
Anthony Rizzo     84  135   29    1   31    96
Kris Bryant       91  132   28    4   24    57
Javier Baez       60  105   19    2   20    64
Wilson Contreras  46   93   20    0   21    70
Kyle Schwarber    56   72   15    1   24    48
Ian Happ          46   72   14    2   20    51
  
Posted By Mike on Sun-20-Aug-2017 || Title: Power Stuff || (0) comments
Pitching is the Cubs weakest of the trinity (Hitting, Pitching, Fielding) this year. Lester is the only starter expected to get more than 200 strike outs. Lester has also been the most unreliable, and it's not his fault. He can't be pushed as hard as he once was. That said, it is hard to go all the way without an ace. I have talked about the runs the pitching staff has given up, but overall it's better than the first half of the season.

Of the trinity, hitting is the most skewed. It is projected that the Cubs will have 6 players with 20 or more Home Runs. I could not find anything like this in Cubs history. That is because it has never happened.
Teams With Most 20 Home Runs Hitters  	

1996 Baltimore Orioles    7 	
2000 Toronto Blue Jays    7
2005 Texas Rangers        7
2009 New York Yankees     7
2010 Toronto Blue Jays    7
1965 Milwaukee Braves     6
2003 Atlanta Braves       6
2016 St. Louis Cardinals  6
2016 Washington Nationals 6
  
This table suggests that power hitting as a team is increasing and is a newer trend.

If you look at the last three years, the Cubs have increased power, lowered hits/runs.

So far in 2017 and projected
  
Name               R     H  2b  3b   HR  RBI  Projected
Anthony Rizzo     71   120  23   1   28   84  HR 38 RBI 112
Kris Bryant       81   123  27   4   23   55  HR 32 RBI 80
Wilson Contreras  46    93  20   0   21   70  HR 22 RBI 75
Javier Baez       52    95  18   2   20   59  HR 26 RBI 77
Kyle Schwarber    48    65  14   1   20   40  HR 29 RBI 63
Ian Happ          41    66  13   2   18   44  HR 22 RBI 57
Addison Russell   46    77  20   3   10   36  HR 14 RBI 51

last year (2016)
Kris Bryant      121   176  35   3   39  102
Anthony Rizzo     94   170  43   4   32  109
Addison Russell   67   125  25   3   21   95
Ben Zobrist       94   142  31   3   18   76
Javier Baez       50   115  19   1   14   59
Dexter Fowler     84   126  25   7   13   48
Wilson Contreras  33    71  14   1   12   35

2015
Anthony Rizzo     94   163  38   3   31  101
Kris Bryant       87   154  31   5   26   99
Dexter Fowler    102   149  29   8   17   46
Chris Coghlan     64   110  25   6   16   41
Kyle Schwarber    52    57   6   1   16   43
Miguel Montero    36    86  11   0   15   53
Addisson Russell  60   115  29   1   13   54
  
Posted By Mike on Sat-19-Aug-2017 || Title: Fun Stuff || (0) comments
I purchased a counterfeit NES with 500 built in games off eBay. So worth my $20. Paige and I getting to play Super Mario all we want is worth it. Came with 2 controllers, s-video-stereo-audio hookup, power supply, and two horribly written manuals.
Some of the games back then, in my opinion, were not that great. But some were awesome. The system is packed with good, great, bad, and awful games.
My biggest disappointments:

#12 - Mortal Kombat 4,and I love the Mortal Kombats series. But this graphics and game play are horrible.

#127 - Millipede. I love Centipede and always thought the sequel Millipede was the lesser. With this version of Millipede, they made the game even worse.

What was surprising was how they got some of the arcade classics so right. Examples:

#90 Burger Time.
#96 Defender
#99 Donkey Kong
#100 Donkey Kong Jr.
#101 Donkey Kong 3
#109 Galga
#116 Joust
#125 Mario Bros
#135 Pacman
#147 1942

There are many more I have not tried of course.

The Cubbies are still in First. The Pirates are backing out of the race since I last wrote about them at 6.5 games out. Cardinals are in second and 1.5 games out still.
I'm did some research on the Cubs and home runs. Currently 5 players on the team have 20 or more home runs. I could not find another year that this has happened. Anyone know?
Posted By Mike on Sat-12-Aug-2017 || Title: NLC Race || (0) comments
We still have a race for the playoffs. The Cubs had a great July, but their August in looking a lot like June. This has allowed the other teams to hang on.
  
Team  W   L   %     GB
CUBS  59  54  .522  -
STL   58  56  .509  1.5
MIL   59  57  .509  1.5
PIT   56  58  .491  3.5
  
The Brewers and the Cubs are at this moment tied in the lead for Runs. The Cardinals are not far behind. Interestingly, the Cardinals lead in hits. The Brewers lead in Home Runs. The Pirates are last in Run and Home Runs.
  
Team  R     H     HR
Cubs  530*  941-  160
MIL   530*  982   163*
STL   525   995*  135
PIT   481-  952   108-
 
What has kept the Cardinals from cathing the Cubs, their lack of power hitting and leaving people on base. What keeps the Pirates in the race, their pitching. They give up the fewest Home Runs and walks. What is kept the Brewers at bay from the Cubs; their pitchng. Of the four teams, they give up more Home Runs and walk more batters.
  
Team  W  HR   BB   SO
Cubs  59 137  386  987*
STL   58 127  338  953
MIL   59 143- 405- 949
PIT   56 124* 328* 862-
  
None of the four teams are what they were last year. The Cubs, Cardinals, and Pirates are worse teams. The Brewers are better than last year. I don't think I need to show numbers to prove that.
Posted By Mike on Sat-05-Aug-2017 || Title: Ichiro v Pete || (0) comments
The question I have heard asked over the last couple years is this, "is Ichiro better than Pete Rose?" Some say Pete, some say Ichiro. So... I have decided to do some data evaluation. At first glance, both are amazing players with HoF stats. Let compare the two.

First, lets look at batting averages:
 
Ichiro Suzuki
Seasons MLB                          : 17
Seasons PL (Japan)                   : 9
  Best qualifying batting average MLB: .372
  Best qualifying batting average PL : .385
  Career average batting average MLB : .312
  Career average batting average PL  : .353

Pete Rose
Seasons MLB                          : 24
  Best qualifying batting average MLB: .348
  Career average batting average MLB : .303

Easy call, Ichiro overwhelmingly wins on batting average.
**Score: Ichiro 1 Pete 0

Now lets look at awards:
 
Ichiro Suzuki
Seasons MLB                         : 17
Seasons PL (Japan)                  : 9
  All-Star MLB                      : 10
  All-Star PL                       : N/A  
  Gold Glove Award MLB              : 10     
  Gold Glove Award PL               : 7      
  Batting Titles MLB                : 2
  Batting Titles PL                 : 6
  League MVP MLB                    : 1
  League MVP PL                     : 3 
  MLB Rookie of the Year            : Yes
  PL Rookie of the Year             : No

Pete Rose
Seasons MLB                         : 24
  All-Star MLB                      : 17
  Gold Glove Award MLB              : 2
  Batting Titles MLB                : 3
  League MVP MLB                    : 1 
  MLB Rookie of the Year            : Yes
 
I have to give this to Ichiro also although not as big of a win with the exception of Ichiro gold glove awards that smokes Pete. Both were MLB Rookie of the years. Both won the MLB League MVP once. Ichiro did win it 3 other times in the P If you compare GG from MLB only Ichiro wins 10 to 2. If you add the PL, Ichiro wins 17 to 2. If you compare MLB only batting titles, it is a 3 to 2 win for Pete. If you add batting titles from PL, then it goes to Ichiro 8 to 3.

** Score: Ichiro 2 Pete 0

Next, lets look at hitting. This is where Pete brags he is the best of the best.
Ichiro Suzuki
Seasons MLB                         : 17
Seasons PL (Japan)                  : 9
  Total MLB Hits                    : 3061
  Total PL Hits                     : 1278
  * Total career hits (no minors)   : 4339
  ** hits/seasons                   : 166.88
  Hits season best MLB              : 262
  Hits season best PL               : 210
  total 200-hit seasons MLB         : 10
  Total 200-hit seasons PL          : 1  
  total 150-hit seasons MLB         : 12
  Total 150-hit seasons PL          : 6
  Most HRs in a season  MLB         : 15
  Most HRs in a season  PL          : 25
  Most 2Bs in a season  MLB         : 34
  Most 2Bs in a season  PL          : 41
  20 or more HR seasons MLB         : 0
  20 or more HR seasons PL          : 2
  Most RBIs in a season MLB         : 69
  Most RBIs in a season PL          : 91
  100 or more RBI seasons MLB       : 0
  100 or more RBI seasons PL        : 0

Pete Rose
Seasons                             : 24
  Total MLB Hits                    : 4256
  * Total career hits (no minors)   : 4256
  ** hits/seasons                   : 177.33
  Hits season best                  : 230
  total 200-hit seasons MLB         : 10  
  total 150-hit seasons MLB         : 18
  Most HRs in a season  MLB         : 16
  Most 2Bs in a season  MLB         : 51
  20 or more HR seasons MLB         : 0
  Most RBIs in a season MLB         : 82
  100 or more RBI seasons MLB       : 0
 
Obviously Pete does looses in some categories here, but I think wins overall. Neither are power hitters. Nor were either cleanup hitters. Ichiro is slightly better at hitting HRs and Pete is better at hitting doubles.

** Score: Ichiro 2 Pete 1

Lastly, lets look at defense. PL does not record errors, so we must look at MLB only. Given that Ichiro has 7 Gold Gloves in PL, I doubt it matters.
  
               Career  Career  Career
Player  Games  Errors  FE%     lgFld% 
Ichiro  2263   37      0.0163  .986 
Pete    3528   213     0.0604  .982
 
That looks like an easy call. I guess that is why Ichiro has soooo many more Golden Glove awards - 17 versus Pete's 2 GGs.

** Score: Ichiro 3 Pete 1

If you take out Ichiro`s PL stats, this contest still easily goes to Ichiro. The only real difference is should Ichiro PL hits take away for Pete`s Hit title. With MLB only stats, Pete has the title with 4256 versus Ichiro`s 3061. But if you combine Ichiro`s total big league hits (no minors), he has 4339 hits. I also find it interesting how mad the Pete fans get when some expert proclaims Ichiro better. I think they have good reason to make that statement.

** My evaluated winner is: Ichiro Suzuki
Disagree?
Posted By Mike on Fri-04-Aug-2017 || Title: Stadium facts || (0) comments
The Rockies stadium, Coors Field, is about a mile above sea level. Because of the altitude, the field is not a pitcher`s stadium. Baseballs break 20% less and fly balls carry 20% farther than at Tampa Bay`s stadium, Tropicana Field at Florida`s sea level altitude. Because of this, the Rockies installed a humidor room to solve part of the problem. The room houses the baseballs the Rockies use during their games. This humidor room alters the balls to make them not travel as far.

Wrigley field opened in 1914, but some don`t remember that the Bears pro football team played at Wrigley field from 1921 to 1970. They were called the Staleys (because they were originally for Decatur IL) for the first season but then renamed themselves to coordinate with the Cubs.

The Green Monster wasn`t always green. Boston Red Sox Fenway Field`s Green Monster is one of the best-known physical features of any major league ballpark. It has been there since the park opened in 1912, but for its first 35 years, its defining features, tall and lively green, wasn`t always that way. It wasn`t until 1947 that the wall was painted green. Twenty-eight years later, the tin wall was replaced with hard plastic. From a distance, the Green Monster looks like a uniform green sheet, but it`s actually marked by tens of thousands of dents from the balls that have hit the wall since its current incarnation was installed in 1975. It has been estimated 164,430 to 211,044 dents.
Posted By Mike on Wed-02-Aug-2017 || Title: Game 1 Cubs v D-backs || (0) comments
I made it to Wrigley yesterday to see an awesome game with the Cubs hosting the D-backs. All the fans were totally, wholly engaged - and for good reason. It was an action packed game (and a long one). If only the Cubs could have the offense they had August 1st every day of the season, the Cubs could walk into another World Series title. Lester did a great job pitching against really good batters with 9 strikeouts (giving up 3 runs), but just as well hitting with a single and home run. In fact the game was mile stones for Lester (2oooth strike out and first home run). The cubs collectively had 17 hits and 16 runs to plow over the D-backs 16-4
Name       Runs  Hits               Walks  RBIs
Zorbist    3     2 (2 singles)      1      0
Bryant     2     1 (single)         0      2 
Rizzo      3     3 (2 HRs, single)  0      3 
Contreras  1     2 (single,double)  1      2 
Almora     0     1 (single)         0      3 
Russell    1     2 (double,single)  1      0
Happ       2     2 (HR,single)      0      1
Lester     2     2 (single,HR)      0      2
Schwarber  1     1 (single)         1      0
Baez       1     1 (HR)             0      3
Posted By Mike on Sun-30-Jul-2017 || Title: Cubs,Cards,Brew || (0) comments
The central division is still fairly tight at the end of July. The Cubs are 2.5 games ahead of the Brewers. Unlike the other months, the Cubs won 2 games for every 1 game lost in July. In this post, I'm just going to ignore the Pirates and Reds. Pirates are technically still in the race, but I don't believe they can pull out of the hole.
Today`s Season standings:
Team  W   L     pct   GB  
CHC   56  48   .538   -   
MIL   55  52   .514   2.5 
STL   52  53   .495   4.5 

So the Cubs look like they have turned it around with a really strong month. What has changed?

Defensively:
The biggest improvement was starting pitching. The Cubs giving up 1st-inning-runs issue became nonexistent. (see older posts)

Offensively:
Contreras and Schwarber have made the right offensive adjustments at the plate.
Because of these facts, the July record shows a huge improvement:
July record:
Team  W   L    
CHC   16  8  
STL   14  14 
MIL   12  13 

Additionally, the Cubs and the Brewers are just out slugging the Cardinals.
In a previous posts, I also talked about runs and the lack of them for the Cubs. On July 22, I complied these number:

- The Cardinals total-to-year-runs: 438
- The Cubs total-to-year-runs: 447
- The Brewers total-to-year-runs: 475

Today on July 30th.
The Cardinals: 469 [+31 runs] 
The Cubs: 484      [+37 runs]
The Brewers: 507   [+32 runs] 
So the Cubs have not only kept up, but scraped a few more that the only two teams. The numbers below illustrate how the Cardinals have struggled compared to the two teams in front of them.
Top players by Hits (>80) per team for season:
Player     Team  Hits  Rank
Shaw       MIL   105   1
Santana    MIL   101   2
Bryant     CHC   99    3
Arcia      MIL   97    4
Rizzo      CHC   96    5   
Gyorko     STL   91
Molina     STL   91
Carpenter  STL   88
Perez      MIL   84
Thames     MIL   82
Contreras  CHC   82
Pham       STL   82

Top players by Home Runs (>14) per team for season:
Player     Team  HRs   Rank
Rizzo      CHC   24    1
Shaw       MIL   24
Thames     MIL   24
Bryant     CHC   20    2
Santana    MIL   18    3 
Schwarber  CHC   17    4
Contreras  CHC   16    5
Broxton    MIL   14
Carpenter  STL   14
DeJong     STL   14
Fowler     STL   14
Gyorko     STL   14
Pham       STL   14

I will be at Wrigley Tuesday night as the Cubs Start August against a tough team, the D-backs.
Posted By Mike on Wed-26-Jul-2017 || Title: Kyle || (0) comments
I'm just posting some thoughts on the Cubs and Kyle. Last year the Cubs ran like a fine tuned large block V-8. This year, we have seen a lot of sputtering. The Cubs have three dependable offensive play makers, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Wilson Contreras. This has been enough for July. Now, at this moment, the goal is to put the Brewers in the rear view mirror and keep them there. To do this, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, and Javier Baez need to be kick-started so that the team is firing on all cylinder. Kyle's swing is better, but discipline is lacking at times. During the last two post seasons for the Cubs, Kyle has been their Nitro. For the Cubs to finish this season strong, we need that boost from him again. If Schwarber can start seeing the ball clearly, the Cubs will drive deeply into the post season, if his discipline wavers, then there is a huge risk of Cubs fizzling out in the post season, or possibly not making it at all.
Posted By Mike on Sun-23-Jul-2017 || Title: Before game 3 || (0) comments
The Cubs have Heyward as lead-off batter with the 1st, 2nd,and 3rd ranked hitters in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th batter spots (Bryant, Rizzo, and Contreras). Quintana is pitching. So....I like the Cubs chances. Most importantly a W puts the Cubs back in 1st and taking their last three series :D
Update:
Cubs take the series and are now in 1st. The heroes of the series are Kris Bryant and Wilson Contreras. Russell, Schwarber, and Heyward were also very instrumental in series. As of tonight the stats for the season are:
Player      H    HR  RBI  AVG    
Bryant     92    19   42  .280  
Contreras  76    15   52  .269  
Posted By Mike on Sat-22-Jul-2017 || Title: Stats before game 2 || (0) comments
Here are the season stats for both team before game 2. Any wonder Cubs have won more games? This is the 12 best players from each team. Numbers speak. The only area the Cardinals are keeping up with the Cubs is in hitting are in doubles. Runs though, not that close. Runs are the stat that wins games.

On a side note, Contreras has been the biggest surprise for the Cubs. Schwarber the biggest downer. Everyone expected Schwarber to be the super-star he showed us in 2015 and 16. One last thing about the Cubs players. Kris Bryant only has 40 RBIs. Why? Look at the 77 strike outs he leads for the team. Many of these SOs with runners on base.

All that said, comparing the teams makes me feel better though when bad things happen like the Cards beating the Cubs (i.e. yesterday) :)

Player          R   H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS
Looking for:    50+ 75+ 15+     12+ 50+ 
Cubs:
 Bryant, K      61  88  18  3   19  40   62  77  .275  .401  .528  .929
 Rizzo, A       56  88  17  1   23  61   55  49  .254  .377  .507  .884
 Contreras, W   35  75  18  0   14  50   25  76  .272  .337  .489  .826
 Baez, J        38  73  17  1   12  39   14  76  .274  .311  .481  .792
 Russell, A     42  68  17  3    9  34   23  70  .240  .306  .417  .723
 Heyward, J     31  64   7  3    7  37   19  36  .268  .326  .410  .736
 Happ, I        30  54  12  2   13  34   19  66  .258  .323  .522  .845
 Jay, J         29  53   9  1    2  18   19  44  .288  .371  .380  .752
 Zobrist, B     27  52   9  2    8  29   29  36  .222  .311  .380  .691
 Almora Jr., A  25  50  10  0    4  18   17  37  .278  .338  .400  .738
 Schwarber, K   37  46  13  0   14  30   41  86  .181  .302  .398  .700
 La Stella, T   11  17   6  0    2   5   10   7  .298  .414  .509  .923
Cardinals:
 Gyorko, J      37  86  16  2   14  50   32  72  .287  .351  .493  .844
 Molina, Y      32  82  13  0   10  42   15  46  .269  .302  .410  .712
 Carpenter, M   56  80  21  1   14  46   66  71  .252  .383  .456  .839
 Pham, T        49  74  12  1   13  42   30  67  .312  .396  .536  .931
 Diaz, A        30  71  16  0    7  20   13  41  .260  .293  .396  .688
 Fowler, D      42  70  11  4   14  37   37  63  .249  .336  .466  .803
 Piscotty, S    29  54  13  0    6  31   36  55  .236  .348  .371  .719
 Wong, K        26  52  15  2    1  19   21  29  .299  .391  .425  .816
 Grichuk, R     30  50  16  0   10  32   17  75  .220  .276  .423  .699
 DeJong, P      20  45  13  0   10  24   4   53  .278  .293  .543  .837
 Martinez, J    23  35   6  1    5  17   10  33  .271  .321  .450  .771
 Garcia, G      11  31   5  0    2   8   21  34  .225  .344  .304  .648
Why did I highlight these numbers? We are a little over half way through the season. All-Star players should end a season with at least 25 HRs, greater than 150 hits, and 100 RBIs. Hall-of-Fame players end seasons with 30 or more HRs, 200 hits or greater, and more than 100 RBIs.

As the number above show, yes, offensively the Cubs have better players. It is not just about the players in general though. The real number-story here (for the Cardinals and Cubs) are the lack of runs (of course yesterday helped the Cardinals in that area). Compared to the last two seasons, the Cubs and Cardinals could do so much better with much of the same players. As I have recently posted numbers on, the Cubs pitching is the other half of the disappointing year.

The Cubs total-to-year-runs: 447
The Cardinals total-to-year-runs: 438

Cubs are inches ahead, but if either team were division leaders:
Astros currently have 566 runs
Dodgers currently have 495 runs
Brewers currently have 475
Nationals currently have 530
Posted By Mike on Tue-18-Jul-2017 || Title: 13 Roses || (0) comments
13 roses
for 13 years without you,
we miss you and remember.
Posted By Mike on Monday-17-Jul-2017 || Title: Baseball score cards p2 || (0) comments
I wanted to share my simple self made score card that I use. Baseball score card

There are many out there that you can down load like: http://myexceltemplates.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Baseball-Scorecard-with-Pitch-Count.jpg
or this Excel one that is similar (but still more detailed) to mine:
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/yankeeswebpage/Spring_Training_Scorecard.xls
Posted By Mike on Fri-14-Jul-2017 || Title: Baseball score cards || (0) comments
I have been wanting to write something on how to score a baseball game the old fashion way; with pencil, paper, and some cryptic marks :) In fact, this has been on my to do list for over two years. This will probably be a long post, so I'm going to break it up into multiple pieces. NOTE: There are many ways to score and many types of score card formats. The way that I will be covering is A) one of the oldest formats B) how the MLB explains scoring. First, I would like to go over the position numbers first.

Part I Understanding position numbers.

Each position is assigned a number. These numbers will be used when you record fielding plays. the numbers are:

1 = Pitcher
2 = Catcher
3 = First Base
4 = Second base
5 = Third base
6 = Shortstop
7 = Left field
8 = Center field
9 = Right field

Why does shortstop come after 3rd base? I don't know.

An example of how this information is used; if the batter hits the ball to the pitcher, and the pitcher throws to first base for the out, that is recorded (scored) as a 1 to 3 play - written "1-3" on the bottom right corner of the box.

Secondly, those cryptic marks. I have made a partial list of the more common marks (notations) when scoring a game.

Part II Understanding more notations.

These are not all notations, but this should be enough for the time being to learn from:

We can now use these notations along with the player positions yesterday to score each at bat.
For example, if the player strikes out swinging, that is recorded "K" in the box.

Part III How to score

Need to know:
- right bottom notation for first base
- right top notation for second base
- left top notation for third base
- left bottom notation for home plate
- runs should be circled to help count.

On the imaginary score card above, from an imaginary game, we show Rizzo, Happ, and Bryant as the #1,2, and 3 hitters. I'm only covering the 1st and 2nd innings to demonstrate how to score.
1st Inning - Cubs
1st at bat Anthony Rizzo`s first at bat results in a single.
-- record | - | in bottom right corner for Rizzo.

2nd at bat Happ walks. Rizzo advanced to 2nd on Happ`s walk.
-- record | BB | in bottom right corner for Happ.
-- record | 2 | in upper right corner for Rizzo. 2nd batter drives Rizzo to 2nd base.

3rd at bat Kris Bryant hits into a fielder`s choice. Rizzo to third. Happ forced out by throw from shortstop to 2nd base.
-- record | FC | in bottom right corner for Bryant.
-- record | 6-4 | in upper right corner for Happ. 1 out. Shortstop is position 6 and 2nd base is position 4.
-- record | 3 | in upper left corner for Rizzo. 3rd batter drives Rizzo to thrid.

4th at bat Russell hits a double.
-- record | = | in bottom right corner for Russell.
-- record | 4 | in upper left corner for Bryant. 4th batter drives Rizzo to thrid.
-- record | 4 | circled in lower left corner for Rizzo. 4th batter drives Rizzo to home. Rizzo scores a run.

5th at bat Baez hits a single.
-- record | - | in bottom right corner for Baez.
-- record | 5 | circled in lower left corner for Bryant. 4th batter drives Bryant to home. Bryant scores a run.
-- record | 5 | circled in lower left corner for Russell. 4th batter drives Russell to home. Russell scores a run.

6th at bat Jay grounds to pitcher. Pitcher throws to first base for 2nd out.
-- record | 1-3 | on the bottom right for Jay. Pitcher is position 1 and 1st base is position 3.
-- record | 6 | in upper right corner for Baez. 6th batter drives Baez to 2nd base.

7th at bat Lackey walks.
-- record | BB | in bottom right corner for Lackey.

8th at bat Schwarber pops out to first baseman.
-- record | 3 | on for Schwarber. (3 for 1st baseman) 3rd out.

2nd Inning - Cubs
1st at bat Contreras first at bat results in a single.
-- record | - | in bottom right corner for Rizzo.

2nd at bat Rizzo pops up to the center fielder.
-- record | 8 |for Rizzo. 1 out.

3rd at bat Happ line drives to shortstop.
-- record | 6 |for Happ. 2 outs.

4th at bat Kris Bryant strikes out swinging.
-- record | K |for Bryant. 3rd out.

Posted By Mike on Wed-12-Jul-2017 || Title: Time line in life || (2 ) comments
This year/summer:
 My parents have been married 52 years
                         I am 48 years old
                              38 years collecting baseball cards
                  It has been 30 years since I graduated High school
   I have been a Cubs Fan for 29 years (was Cardinal fan) 
                        It is 27 years since joining the Air Force 
     I`ve been working at ISU 23 years
             My oldest kid is 21 years old 
         I have been blogging 17 years on my web site
        My oldest daughter is 14 years old
        This month it will be 13 years since Tracy died.
                            A 11 years ago I purchased a house in Heyworth
I`ve been married to Anne for 10 years
                   It has been 9 years since my youngest was born.
                   It has been 8 years since I left Milner Library
                               2 months since I joined the Tech Design team.
Posted By Mike on Tue-11-Jul-2017 || Title: Cubs Mid Season p2 || (0) comments
Yesterday I mentioned that starting pitching is the Cubs big issue:

Here are the numbers for Cubs first inning runs allowed

2015: 75 in 162 games (42 with 1+)
2016: 71 in 162 games (40 with 1+)
2017: 80 in in just 88 games (38 with 1+) !!!!

The season is just half way done and the Cubs have given up more than the both whole seasons.

So who is to blame on first inning runs?
Jon Lester: 8 of 19 total starts, 22 runs, 5-3
Jake Arrieta: 6 of 18 total starts, 15 runs, 3-3
John Lackey: 10 of 17 total starts, 13 runs, 4-6
Kyle Hendricks: 4 of 11 total starts, 7 runs, 3-1
Eddie Butler: 3 of 11 total starts, 5 runs, 1-2
Brett Anderson: 4 of 6 total starts, 13 runs, 2-2
Mike Montgomery: 2 of 6 total starts, 5 runs, 0-2
Posted By Mike on Mon-10-Jul-2017 || Title: Cubs Mid Season || (0) comments
It is All-Star break and the Cubs are 5.5 games back and below 500 with .489. Most fans and experts agree that it is mostly due to horrible starting pitching. Lackey, Lester, and Arrieta all look very replaceable.

The good news. The season is not lost, yet.
The offense still has sparks of the last two seasons. Who is leading in offense?

Runs Leader  Bryant           57
Hits Leader  Rizzo            82
doubles      Bryant / Rizzo   17 tied
triples      Bryant / Russell  3 tied
Home runs    Rizzo            20
RBIs Leader  Rizzo            56
BB Leader    Bryant           59
Stolen bases Bryant            6
Average      Jay              .300
On base %    Bryant           .399
Slugging     Happ             .546
OPS          Bryant           .928

Bryant leads 7
Rizzo Leads 4
Jay lead 1
Happ leads 1 
Russell leads 1
Posted By Mike on Fri-16-Jun-2017 || Title: Making room changes || (0) comments
I have a new addition to MrGibson.com
As I make changes to my card display room, I`m documenting that part of the collection here:

http://mrgibson.com/MikeGibsonBaseballCardDispayRoom.php
Posted By Mike on Tue-21-Mar-2017 || Title: Gen software changes || (0) comments
Just a little update. GEDXchange 0.8.9 and 0.8.9B have been released since the last post. It is highly recommended that if you are using a previous 8.8 version that you upgrade. There was a bug in the GDX_Death module logic that could result in loss of data.

Here is the current (and small) Road-map to 0.9:

- Record and display genetic material
- About icon
- Confirm all aspects of displayed data can be created within suite
- Confirm all aspects of created data can be displayed within suite

Posted By Mike on Mon-27-Feb-2017 || Title: Gen software changes || (0) comments
A lot of changes are taking place this winter in the GEDXchange code and documentation.
One of the biggest changes coming up is GEDXchange supporting DNA data.
To do this, I am making changes to ALL the data formats, including GEDCOM that does not officially support this.

A couple ideas I have are:

1 DNA
2 DATE 10 Dec 2015
2 FILE C:\Documents\DNA\gen.dat
2 NOTE small text notes about findings
2 DNAY R1b-Z273 / CTS-12074 (c.2015)
2 DNAM H1n-T146c (c.2015)

or

1 OBJE
2 TITL DNA data
2 FILE C:\Documents\DNA\gen.dat
2 NOTE small text notes about findings
2 RACE mt: H1n-T146c (c.2015)
2 RACE Y: R1b-Z273 / CTS-12074 (c.2015)

If anyone has input on this, it would be greatly appreciated.
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