Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Braves Bits

Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (26) is dating US National Soccer Team member Mallory Pugh (22), who skipped college and went straight from high school to pro soccer. Mal’s parents were college athletes but had little previous knowledge of soccer. Her dad ran track.
 
Jeff Francoeur tested positive, but is asymptomatic and feels fine. Monday I went to a different Kroger than usual. I had on my mask. Saw a friend of a friend, a lady we’ve been at a few of the same social events over the years (though none in the past year). About my age. She did not have on a mask! She did look uncomfortable.  Don’t think she ever saw me, and she walked around a corner and I didn’t see her again. Even if I didn’t think masks worked, I would still wear one out of consideration for other people.
 
Braves won the exhibition game 10-9 with a walk-off home run by the just-signed Matt Adams, one of those all or nothing guys who will either strike out, walk, or hit a home run. Guess it’s good to have him on our side. Charlie Culbertson has made the team. He celebrated with a clutch 2-RBI double to the wall in the left field gap. I didn’t watch. Bad Folty pitched.
 
Adams, a lefty, is not quite the player Yasiel Puig is. Puig is a righty.
 
.G…PA..HR..RBI..BB.SO.avg 
818 2523 116 388 159 616 261 309 469 778 106 MA
861 3376 132 415 297 681 277 348 475 823 122 YP
 
111 333 20 56 20 115 226 276 465 741 083 Adams
149 611 24 84 44 133 267 327 458 785 100 Puig
 
Last night a former Braves catcher came up to bat for the Marlins. Braves organist Matthew Kaminski played his favorite walk-up son: “That’s Amore.” The catcher turned around and pointed up to the press box, to thank the organist. That was a first, said Kaminski.

Boston Beaneaters-Doves-Rustlers-Bees-Braves/Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves all-time starting nine, according to www.StadiumTalk.com   
 
C: Javy Lopez 1960-68, 287/337/502 
1B: Freddie Freeman 2010-20, 293/379/504
2B: Marcus Giles 2001-06, 285/361/448
SS: Rafael Furcal 2000-05, 284/348/409
3B: Eddie Mathews 1952-66, 271/376/509
LF: Chipper Jones 1993, 1995-202, 303/401/529
CF: Andruw Jones 1996-2007, 254/337/486
RF: Hank Aaron 1954-74, 305/374/555
P: Warren Spahn 1942, 1946-64, 356-229/3.05
 
"While Joe Torre had the best numbers behind the plate in the regular season, he never took part in a playoff game. That’s where Javy Lopez had a distinct advantage with 10 homers and a .493 slugging percentage in 60 postseason games. Some like Glenn Hubbard at second base because of his superior range in the field. We prefer Marcus Giles because of his far more active bat." 
 
 
1914 BRAVES [B-R Page] Nicknames on the Braves team that was the first of their franchise to reach the postseason in the modern era.
 
Major Leslie Mann
 
Looks like all the SABR trivia questions this week are about Yankees. AARON JUDGE  [B-R Bio] holds the record for the most home runs hit in (out of) Yankee Stadium in a single season - 33 Yankee Stadium HR in 2017. Roger Maris hit 30 there in 1961. His second- and third-best home run season totals combined barely eclipse the amount he hit in his best single year - 54 HR total in 2018 & 2019 (27 + 27). Hit 52 in 2017. He was born just outside Waterloo. Born in Linden, California. Linden and Waterloo are both suburbs of Stockton in Northern California. Growing up, Judge was a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan. His mother, father and brother are all teachers. He and his brother are both adopted.
 
The list of anti-racism names NBA players can choose include: Black Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Vote; I Can't Breathe; Justice; Peace; Equality; Freedom; Enough; Power to the People; Justice Now; Say Her Name; Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can); Liberation; See Us; Hear Us; Respect Us; Love Us; Listen; Listen to Us; Stand Up; Ally; Anti-Racist; I Am A Man; Speak Up; How Many More; Group Economics; Education Reform; and Mentor. If I picked anything it would be Listen.
 
Got a good rain late yesterday afternoon. M went to the grocery and made lettuce wraps, but made a mess in the kitchen.
 
After work I cleaned out some personal emails, did my Hinge Health joint exercises for the second day in a row, did some laundry, and watched two movies. Chicken quesadillas for supper.
 
Also watched Jeopardy. They're showing classic episodes from the 1980's. Last night all three contestants got the Final Jeopardy answer wrong. All three had bet everything, and missed the question. No champion that day. I knew the correct question. Could you have answered correctly?
 
ANSWER: This date was the first day of the 20th century.
 
QUESTION: What is January 1, 1901? (not 1900). Of course these contestants had yet to live through the turn of the century, as I have.

First movie: THE LANDING, a fictional account of interviews with the principal survivors of the last (fictional) Apollo 18 lunar landing mission. For reasons either accidental or intentional, the capsule landed thousands of miles of course, not in the Pacific Ocean but in remote China. All three astronauts survived the hard landing but two perished while waiting to be picked up. Were their deaths accidental or was it murder? An okay movie.
 
Second movie: SUPER 8, by Steven Spielburg and JJ Abrams. Main characters were kids. Great story. Train wreck. Military gets involved to investigate. Mysterious disappearances. Kids are warned but snoop around anyway. A monster kidnaps the girl. The boys save the day. Highly recommended.

Had a wild dream last night. Was on the work and basically took a wrong turn through a park. Saw Rich Morris, who had a huge “afro” of curly hair. He was with a gathering of SPdL people. Edie may have been there. They were all getting ready for Camp SPdL or a retreat or something. Connie Morris was there. There was this Herschel Walker jersey and magazine article on the table. Ceil was there. I needed to get to work. I woke up and it was 7:52 am - time to start work.
 
Excellent Denison article. Worth republishing. JFBC emphasizes that since how God works in a person’s life cannot be debated like Scripture, it makes for a more powerful and effective Christian testimony. Denison’s response was textbook: his sin gave him the need for a Savior. Denison asked for forgiveness, received it, and later dug in to learn that if Jesus is the path to God, then the other “paths” couldn’t also be true.
 
 
Funny that when Edie called me on FaceTime yesterday, I was wearing a light blue Grizzlies t-shirt. Actually when I am at home I am usually wearing one of my four light blue Grizzlies t-shirts. Probably taking one or two of them with me this weekend to Lake Nottely with the guys: my other friend Reid (the Turner Network composer), Lee, and Mr. Fix It Steve, the Tech grad who works for Cox Communications.

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