Colorado Rockies - Week 4

A 2-4 week agianst the NL East leaders, the Mets and Braves. Very apparent the Roxs still need some growth. The Roxs are still 5th in the division with a 10-15 record. Currently 6-7 at home and 4-8 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored 101-121 (expected wins is 10). Although their 4 - 8 road record is a bit deceiving as they have scored 37 and given up 37 runs, so they should have 2 additional wins (Hawkins give aways?). Forbes annual assessment of MLB teams gives the following for the Roxs:

1-Yr Value Chg. 6%
Ann. Value Chg. 8%
Debt/Value 28%
Revenue $151 mil
Operating Inc. $23.9 mil
Player Expenses $63 mil
Gate Receipts $35 mil

Okay I'm not an accountant and I know baseball plays a fine game with dollars and cents but what is up with this? Revenue of $151 with player's at $63 and Operating at $24...by my account that means the Monforts are raking in $64 million...and we can't buy a free agent? Hmmmm something is not right. I am beginning to think the Roxs to be successful need to increase their payroll a bit. Last week's good things: An unassisted triple play by Troy...I believe one of the rarest occurances in baseball. This week's WPA leaders:
















Overall season leaders:




















And just for grins...I ran the WPA numbers for all teams and plotted it versus their win percentages...as you can see WPA and success are linked:

Magazine Wrap Up

My weekly magazine dish...I seem to go through a bunch of magazines and I always gleam something of interest in everyone so here are the things that mattered:

- The Huffington Post looks interesting. I hate to say it but newspapers are dead, just like the landline telephone, the CD, and TV series as we remember them. I'll give this a try, always looking to try and stay informed in today's 24/7 news cycle.

- The album Night Ripper or a mash up...need to try and locate a song or two but perhaps interesting?

- The Making of Star Wars....yikes as it been 30 years?

-Michael Chabon's new novel, The Yiddish Policemen's Union, due out on May 1st, 2007 and for those of you in Denver he will be at the downtown Tattered Cover on May 17th, 2007.

- May 5th, 2007 is free comic book day...to sort of coincide with Spiderman 3's showing. Looking forward to see an early version of The Umbrella Academy

- John Cassaday on Captain America...will need to look into this...

- X-men 200 in June 2007...a new direction for our merry mutants...god I hope so!

- Tokyo Toys

- Red Rock Spa

- Perplex City is an interesting site with games galore. Back in 2004 they hosted a card game treasure hunt.

- And finally the Blender Rock Star Wars winner was announced...not a big surprise...as the Beatles beat out Bob Dylan. Some thoughts on the 64 band (NCAA tournament style) battle...Bruce Springsteen losing out to Public Enemy? The Smiths beating out U2? I mean U2 didn't even make it to the Elite 8? The Stones getting beat out by Prince? Prince making it to the Final Four? Talking Heads beating out Elvis? Like the Madonna vs Michael Jackson, with Madonna taking it. Nirvana vs the Beatles...that would be something to see (or is that hear?)

MCA - Denver

Looking forward to the opening of the new MCA in Denver later this year. The Museum of Contemporary Art has always played second fiddle in Denver especially with the new wing opening for the Denver Art Museum (DAM). Over the years the MCA has rented space but has had some decent shows. Hopefully with the new building not only will we get some good art but some more press. The curator has done a super job. I wonder if the MCA has any permanent art or will the space be entirely for roving shows (?). Anyway can't wait to see the new diggs...the building is coming along nicely.

SABR Publication

The Society for American Baseball Research or SABR is an organization dedicated to preserving baseball history. It is a great organization with lots of interesting baseball links. As a member you get about 4 publications each year. Some are interesting and some are a bit deep. The latest book was received last week and I think it is a great quirky read. Pete Rose had 15,890 plate appearances, Barry Bonds has 645 intentional walks the next is Henry Aaron at 293, Frank Fernandez had more walks than hits (for a non-pitcher), Joe DiMaggio had a 369 career Ks and 361 HR (WOW!), there is a Triple Crown Losers (i.e. finished last in Ave, HR, and RBI...Ramon Sanitago in 2003), Cy Young started 815 games (and completed 749 of them!)...Good Stuff

This Week in Comics

This storyline has finally been put to bed...ughhhh...problem with Powers sometimes it that it just wanders. Great dialogue good art and decent storytelling but it is like reading a walkabout. Bascially this story is simply the devil and his minions screwing with an old superhero group. Walker uses his powers...Deena gets pissed...and the good news is that next issue they get down and dirty...be back in 30 or so days!

Secret Wars

First launched in 1984, this 12 issue mini-series was the great grandfather of all the myriad team ups, crossovers, and mega storylines that has struck the comic world. Conceived as a tool to launch a toy line it brought forth a new medium in comic story telling. For some this is probably the devil for all the things it has wrought in the Marvel Comic World...Secret Wars II, Mutant Massacre, Inferno, and of course Civil War (see previous rant on that!). Overall Secret Wars isn't too bad. It is kind of fun and takes you back to when comics certainly were more innocent. My guess is when Dark Knight Returns became the hit that it was it also caused a ripple in the comic world by making our heroes a bit darker...but I digress. The word that comes to mind for me is "campy"...Jim Shooter's dialogue is hilarious in parts especially spidey's quips. The amazing thing is how many elements grew out of this series...the biggest being spidey's black costume. Throw in that the Thing stay behind and she-hulk took over the roll of the big smasher for the fantastic four is pretty big. A reintroduction of spider-woman. The series certainly had its fair share of action although the whole Dr Doom beyonder thing didn't quite work out and the ending was a bit of a let down but overall I think the series certainly showed what a mega crossover could be like...

Colorado Rockies - Week 3

A none too impressing 3-4 home stand. Not going to get it done. The Roxs are 5th in the division with a 8-11 record. Currently 5-5 at home and 3-6 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored 70-86 (expected wins is 8). The most alarming statistic? I heard it on the XM broadcast of the Orioles/A's game and Jon Miller exclaimed that the team hitting the least home runs this year is....the Rockies with a whooping 7! That is on pace for a whooping 57 home runs this year....hmmmmm...3 players, Kinsler, Rollins, and A-Rod are all hitting either the same or more than the Roxs. Perhaps we should retire the humidor. Weeks WPA leaders:
















After 3 weeks the Roxs leaders are:

Helton continues to be Mr Clutch for April. Yorvit had a good week getting some key RBIs late in the game. I think the Roxs miss Kaz's contributions. The bullpen led by Fuentes, Corpas, and Ramirez has been solid. If Lopez is okay he is certainly been the best starter. Cook and Hirsh have done well as well. Francis had one bad outting in LA and that 5th starter has collapsed with Fogg and Kim not getting it done. Buchholz had a solid start. Four new Roxs get there start this past week with Keepel, McClellan, Barmes (is the Troy not the answer once again at short?), and Speier.

John Birmingham - Weapons of Choice

Don't remember where I saw a plug for this but I ordered it has a used book and gave it a read. Books 2 and 3 (3 just came out) seemed to get out more pub then this one. Throw out the blatant plot usage of the movie "Final Countdown" and move on through the book and it does have some interesting points. The Clancy like descriptions of future weapons is excellent (I had a thing for the early Clancy but he turned into a soap opera writer in his later works...gag). Great first book. Did some wikipedia of the author and discovered he is an Australia with some writing pedigree. Also discovered the book while being a SF alternative history book also had some social commentary. Throughout the book the two things that really stick out is how racist the 1940s were and in the future due to the constant war we are in with the middle east how harden the people have become. Will be interesting to see how the other 2 books develop. I give this a thumbs up!

This Week in Comics

The Mighty Avenger #2. Really nothing to say. No more insight into the Iron Man transformed into sexy Ultron. We get to listen to Ms Marvel whine about what to do and I'm not Captain A and what would he do. And throw in Ares and his macho BS and bascially this issue's got nothing...snore, wake me up when something happens! Oh yeah I almost forgot, cameo of the day, Dakota North....now there is a blast from the past







Alrighty then why does Bendis have this need to promote the Ninja guy? The character is all over the Avengers book why has he brought him into the Ultimate world. And why do we care about the Kingpin and Spidey...I never really thought of them has being classic good/bad guys in the spidey universe. Wish we could concentrate on Spidey more these crossovers just don't do much for me. Spidey is a great character, there is a lot to do with him, why do we have to bring in these other characters? Hopefully the next arc will be better...hey new artist soon!

David Blaine

I don't know what it is about me traveling and the TLC channel but this is the second time I'm flipping channels late and night and David Blaine is on doing something wacky. Always been a big fan of magician's. Have seen David Copperfield like 3 times in person. The illusions are simply amazing. The sights and sounds. Good fun. Read somethings on the internet claiming that Blaine isn't always recognized as a magician but more of a stuntman. I think he is probably more like Houdini. Not always into his stunts but his magic is so spontaneous.

Rain

A wicked lightning display was on show while I was driving back from Louisiana. Living in Colorado you don't get the good Thunderstorms that you get back east. Growing up I remember falling asleep to the pitter padder of raindrops and the and the low bass grumbling of thunder and the quick flashes. The magical part about a rainstorm at night is that earthy smell. I've noticed that there is a different smell wherever you might be. The smell is definately more definable in the South then in Colorado. I believe the sense of smell is the one sense that triggers more memories then any other sense. Is that true? Don't know but I think it is!

Colorado Rockies - Week 2

The Roxs had a tough road trip with a 2-4 record. Todd Helton was the beast on the road trip with some good starting pitching. Taveras and Hawkins still aren't getting it done. Read in another blog that the Roxs have had a tough start mainly because they have faced some of the toughest pitchers in the league. So hopefully we can stay afloat in April and make a move in May. Weeks WPA leaders:
















Leaders after two weeks:

Mississippi

Spending a week and half in Greenville, Mississippi. The deep south...two hours from Jackson about 3 hours from Memphis. The picture is a bridge they are putting in that takes highway 82 from Mississippi to Arkansas. It is a $100 million project that is a favorite for Senator Lott. Having spent some time in Greenville I imagined that a cheaper bridge and some redevelopment might have been more appropriate but everyone has to have something. The bridge is beautiful. Being in the South and around small towns you have to wonder what the Interstate Highway System has done. Towns that are directly fed to the Interstate seem to be fine while those towns not near the 4 line superhighway seem to get bypassed. Kind of sad how once proud towns seem to get thrown away. Interesting to see what becomes of towns like Greenville when everything leaves.

IKEA

Product placement plug! Sorry just had to give my 2 cents worth on the wonder that is IKEA. For cool and hip this furniture has it all. During my recent visit to California I had to revisit a store. I had visited one about 10 years ago and actually ordered so Poang chairs for my newly refurbished basement. Love the poang! Also got a nice desk and chair as well. Anyway rechecked out the store and they serve food now! Well you can go and hand at IKEA all day long and never leave. The size of the store is just unbelievable...it is like a small city. If you get the chance check one out! Also if you live in England you can live in an IKEA Town. Gee if only Legos started building real houses!

"Company is slated to break ground on a development called BoKlok in Gateshead, England. An 872 square foot 3 bedroom home for $290,000"

This Week in Comics

Another good issue...I think Psi-Force is finally making an appearance! We shall see. Ellis has done a good job putting together a story...hopefully people appreciate it because there is more to comics that just fancy art and big spreads. A good story is hard to find in the comics world, DC and Marvel don't like to let things build...they want that instant gratification (House of M and Civil War...leading to Captain A's death).






New book for me...yes anytime we go back to the 80 - 90s and bring back a decent character you'll find me looking into it. Actually the writers for this book are the same that do X-23 so I figured I give it a chance plus the possibility of bringing back Magik is worth the read. Filler issue but does bring up the younger readers on who this character is and what she means to the X-history. Stay tuned....






Yup I'm back reading the Avengers...Bendis drew me back in. I think the whole House of M and Civil War has really thrown his individual books for a loop. Which is kind of weird since he is one of the brain childs behind these super events. It really screws with his teaming. Throw in the Mighty Avenger and you've got more Avengers then you can shake a stick at.

Rolling Stone and Other Thoughts

Okay when did Rolling Stone become Maxim? Always been a big fan of the magazine but when it rambles off on some desire to get the T&A crowd I don't have to wonder why CD sales are down. I ain't the greatest music listener but I do enjoy the media. Anyway wanted to catch Grindhouse but can't find it in Western Mississippi!

Other media tidbits...Hard Rock Cafe is opening a musical theme park in Myrtle Beach...sounds fun...good thing my Dad has a condo there! Opens in 2008

The Home Joule tells you when to reduce power usage and helps to save money designed by Ambient Devices...only available in NY City...

The plutonium factory @ Hanford, Washington offers tours! As a big fan of engineering projects...check on the building of the Panama Canal, the Apollo Project, and how about the Manhattan Project. Granted the Manhattan didn't really make a good thing but the effort in producing the products of the A-bomb were massive. WWII certainly mass produced things on a scale unheard of but the Oak Ridge Plant, Hanford Site, and Los Alamos was just a mammoth undertaking. I wonder if we could build something that big that fast?

Just my thoughts nothing important and just as jumbled!

Prediction Markets

I mentioned awhile ago the book, The Wisdom of Crowds, and came across it again while reading the Hardball Times. IF you don't remember the gist of the book is that individuals don't always make the best decisions but groups of people generally do. My favorite example is a jar of jellybeans, typically no one individual can guess the right number but if you take all the individual guesses and average them the value is generally pretty close to the actual number and usually better than any individual guest. Few years ago DARPA, I believe, wanted to put out a stock market like tool so people could bid on terrorist activities. It would be a tool to highlight potential targets...although meaning well the tool got ridicule (for obvious reasons) and never took hold. Anyway the Hardball Times article looked at Vegas over/under odds for 2007 (unfortunately I didn't get to Vegas to place a bet!). Here are the numberS:

New York Yankees 97.5 Los Angeles Dodgers 91 Boston Red Sox 93 New York Mets 90.5 Los Angeles Angels 89.5 Philadelphia Phillies 89 Detroit Tigers 89 St. Louis Cardinals 86 Chicago White Sox 88 Atlanta Braves 85 Toronto Blue Jays 87 Chicago Cubs 84.5 Oakland Athletics 87 Milwaukee Brewers 83 Cleveland Indians 85 San Diego Padres 83 Minnesota Twins 83.5 San Francisco Giants 79 Seattle Mariners 81 Houston Astros 78 Texas Rangers 78.5 Florida Marlins 77.5 Baltimore Orioles 76 Arizona Diamondbacks 77.5 Kansas City Royals 65 Colorado Rockies 75.5 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 65 Cincinnati Reds 74 Pittsburgh Pirates 72.5 Washington Nationals 64

Once again they have those Dodgers winning 91 games...I just don't see it but let's see how it plays out this year. Anyway wikipedia has a great article here

Colorado Rockies - Week 1

Roxs WPA leaders through Week 1 of the season


















And the winner is Chris Iannetta. Wow go figure. What is WPA...well it stands for win probability added (see http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-one-about-win-probability). To paraphrase...An average team, at any point in a game, has a certain likelihood of winning the game...if a batter or pitcher does something to increase the likelihood of his team winning or losing then that percentage is give to the player. At the end of the game the winning team has +0.5 and the losers -0.5. During a game, what the player does gets points added and subtracted so that at the end of the game one can see who helped or hindered the probability of his team winning. Anyway Iannetta's leads the pack due to his grounder getting muffed at third on 4/3/07 in the bottom of the 9th. I think we can all believe that LaTroy ain't getting it done during the first week. At a whooping -0.7, he has basically lost the Rockies a game and half in the early going. Other thoughts...Taveras and Atkins need to get it going. Starting pitching is doing okay.

Sweaty Betty

How could this beer not be good? Last year I went to the opening tap night...hmmmm fresh sweaty betty! Got a hold of some this year and still the same great old sweaty betty! Find some and grab hold

This Week in Comics

Alright call me stupid but what the heck? First couple of issues talk about who is going to be in the new JLA, we have this whole tornado story...it comes and goes and we're right back where we started...handing out memberships. Total filler issue...guess the other shoe drops next month when JLA/JSA crossover begins. Whatever I'm done this isn't doing anything for me!

Joss Whedon's first issue...hmmm...should I care, I loved what Vaughn did for the bunch. The Punisher? Aghhhhh where is Joss taking us? Plus the kids seemed to age a bit...













Call me crazy but this is the event I have been looking forward to...can't believe is is only a 5 issue mini-series...a trial if you must. Hopefully it will sell and get picked up. The Canadians have always had a kick ass team. They sort of got loss in the 80s but hey who didn't. I mean they had a great team...Vindicator...right up there with Cyke. Anyway the issue didn't disappoint. Well written, good speed, and enough hmmm moments to make us return. Best line in the book, "...Hey, what is that?...It ain't Captain America!"






Again an interesting read but I am sure it would mean more if I have read the entire series...hmmmm...more to read!















Issue 2...just as good as the first...Buffy rocks on! Don't quite follow the Buffy dream sequence but I assume it will become clearer. Call me loser but I don't remember why Dawn is a giant...and when did Xander lose an eye? I should be slayed for not remembering but hey the last page with Willow will certainly make things right. Is it weird to see real live characters transformed into the comic realm?

Sports Illustrated - 2007 Baseball Preview

Great article on Daisuke Matsuzaka. Wow, no ice after a game, 300 feet long tosses between starts (twice), and sometimes threw 300 pitch bullpen sessions. Wow, a 250 pitch 17 inning complete game in high school. He has logged 588 innings before the age of 21. Incredible, hopefully we can learn something from this. I think we coddle pitchers way too much. You got to use the arm or it ain't going to work. The whole invention of middle relief is just plain wrong. Bring back the starter!

SI Predictions

Yankees, Indians, Angels, Red Sox

Mets, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves

Angels over Yankees

Dodgers over Mets

An all LA World Series...Ain't going to happen! Dodgers won't make the playoffs

For their Rockies preview...I disagree with Matsui's assessment...I think he will provide a good spark to the offensive. Jamey Carroll will get some time at SS with the youngster Troy.

Game 1 - Rockies vs D-backs

Opening Day!

"Today the Times reported the arrival of the first pitchers and catchers at the spring training camps, and the morning was abruptly brightened, as if by the delivery of a seed catalogue."

Well I feel the same way about Opening Day! This is my 4 or 5 straight opening day. It has become a tradition. This year was was a bit hectic as I flew in from California in the morning. Got to the ballpark and my seat right as the first pitch was delivered...a strike! Full house at Coors Field...always alot of optimism...unfortunately after a loss the next night not so many optimist in the stands. Always amazed by the turn out on opening day and who comes. Especially alot of 20/30 something women. Great untapped market by major league baseball. They are always there for opening day then disappear after that and let all the retirees from New England come in. Overall nothing like the promise of new baseball season just like Spring. Nice day, good crowd, awesome brat, and some good beer to wash it all down. It is a beginning of hopefully a good season filled with untap potential. People should always smile about opening day...it means more than just pitching and hitting, it is a rebirth...a underlying theme to all of us that we have untapped potential just waiting for us and always a chance to start a new...

PLAY BALL