Mamamanicinis

I usually don’t write about the sweepstakes I enter, lest someone read about the contest and win it themselves. But I am currently entering the Mamamanicini’s Meatball Sweepstakes to win a cute little Fiat car. After you win you can send in photos of the Fiat at various places to receive an additional $100.00 per month for twelve months. I thought that might be hard until I started making a list. Based on where I drive in the course of a year, I came up with a list of one hundred interesting places to photograph the Fiat: around Atlanta and its suburbs, the North Georgia mountains, and other places I go. Mamamanicinis is missing out if they don’t pick me.

  

Atlanta (17)

Centennial Olympic Park

Georgia Aquarium

World of Coke Museum  

Phillips Arena

Georgia Dome

Turner Field

Hank Aaron 715 Home Run Marker

ZooAtlanta

Cyclorama

Oakland Cemetery

Underground Atlanta

Georgia State University

MLK historic site

birthplace of Coca Cola

original Dwarf House

Atlanta Airport (17)

Georgia Tech (5)

Grant Field

The Varsity

Fox Theater

Nuevo Laredo Cantina (23)

Virginia Highland (9)

Little Five Points

Chandler Park Golf Course

Carter Presidential Library

Plaza Drugs

old Sears Building

Piedmont Park

Krispy Kreme mother ship

Mary Macs (32)

Decatur (5)

Dekalb Farmers Market

Agnes Scott College

Stone Mountain Village

Stone Mountain Park (37)

Buckhead (6)

Lenox Square

Passion City Church

Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church

Governor’s Mansion

Oglethorpe University (43)

Roswell (8)

Chattahoochee River

Alpharetta

North Point Community Church

Atlanta Athletic Club (PGA Championship)

Norcross Rail Station

Duluth

Gwinnett Braves (51)

Kennesaw (8)

Kennesaw State University

Kennesaw Mountain

Marietta Square

the Big Chicken

Dobbins Air Force Base

Cartersville

Rome Braves (59)

Dahlonega (7)

North Georgia College

Helen

Vogel State Park

Amicalola Falls State Park

Babyland General Hospital

Chateau Elan (66)

Macon (9)

Okmulgee Indian Mounds

Macon Train Station

Luther Williams Field

Forsyth

Indian Springs State Park

High Falls

McDonough

Atlanta Motor Speedway (75)

Athens (3)

UGA Arch

Stanford Stadium (78)

Augusta National Golf Course (4)

Augusta Greenjackets

Madison

Rock Eagle (82)

Jefferson (5)

Honey’s gas station

Pageland

Camden

Darlington Speedway (87)

Myrtle Beach (5)

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Boardwalk at the Beach

Barefoot Landing

North Myrtle Beach (92)

Clemson (4)

Esso Club

Memorial Stadium

Clemson University (96)

Destin (4)

Seaside

Watercolor

Panama City Beach (100)

Transfixed

Pat

Co-worker Pat (left) passed away earlier this week. She will be missed. Pat attended Garden Hills Elementary, Westminster, Oglethorpe, and Second-Ponce de Leon. Before coming to Ryerson Pat worked downtown at King & Spaulding. Another co-worker shared this photo from a Christmas dinner. That's Samantha in the middle.

Cap Anson: Early Hit King

These days Cap Anson is merely a name from the past, usually only seen on the all-hit hit list. Like Tris Speaker and Nap Lajoie, few fans know much of Anson. More is known of hit king Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, he of the most valuable baseball card. What is most amazing about Anson is his total of 27 seasons played, from the age of 19 as a rookie to his last season at 45.

Playing before the turn of the century (1871-1897), Adrian Constantine Anson's teams played far fewer games than MLB did even before the season was expanded to 162 games decades later. Anson only averaged 93 games played per year, though he did play at least 134 games for five seasons from 1888-1892. By playing so many years Anson was able to become the all-time MLB hit leader in 1880, a title he held until the Georgia Peach broke the record in 1923 – 41 years later. Pete Rose broke Cobb's record 61 years later, in 1985.

Early this year Ichiro Suzuki collected his four thousandth professional hit. While looking at Ichiro's numbers I noticed Anson's 27 seasons played. While Ichiro has averaged 158 games played per MLB season, Anson's average was a whopping 65 games per year less. Over 27 seasons those 1755 games represent over eleven 154 game seasons – an entire career. How many hits would Cap Anson have collected had he played even close to Ichiro's rate?

PL..YR..games…PA…..AB……hits…AVG
IS…13…2061…9278….8605..2742…319
CA..27…2724..11331..10281..3435…334

Despite their large difference in games played per year, Ichiro and Anson had almost identical plate appearances per game (4.5) and at bats per game (Ichiro = 4.2 / Anson = 4.1). For comparison, I figured on Anson playing in only 140 games per year. At this rate, Anson's stats why fly off the charts. He would have broken the 5000 hit barrier, and would remain today the all-time hit leader.

CA..27…3780..17010..15120..5050…334

Anson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 as one of the first 19th-century players voted in by the Old Timer's Committee. It was not until this past summer that Anson was included in the HOF induction ceremony. Cap was no saint: as a rowdy youth he was sent off to a boarding school in northern Indiana called Notre Dame for a short time. Later he was kicked out of the University of Iowa after one semester. As a prominent major leaguer Anson refused to play against blacks, most probably personally pushing back baseball's integration for decades. At age 24 Anson married a 17 year old. They had seven children, though three died as infants.

While Anson only led the majors in hits one time, Ichiro led the league in seven of his first ten seasons – including when Ichiro was 36 years old. In 2004 Ichiro's 262 hits broke the MLB single-season record.

Willie Mays became the active career hit leader in 1966, but in 1969 Hank Aaron passed Mays on the list. The Hammer remained the active leader until he retired in 1976.

Hit Kings over the years, with seasons played:

1880-1897…27…3435…Cap Anson
1905-1928…24…4189…Ty Cobb
1915-1937…23…2930…Rogers Hornsby
1941-1963…22…3630…Stan Musial
1963-1986…24…4256…Pete Rose
1989-2010…22…2781…Ken Griffey Jr
1992-2013…18…4020…Ichiro Suzuki

Life in the Fast Food Lane

Hire Lane Kiffin at Georgia Tech? Probably not worth the trouble. I haven't been a Lane Kiffin expert, on what he brings to the table. But you know me...I'm usually not a fan of guys like him. All the Tennessee people hate him, which may be close enough to discourage other GT fans. Tech is still paying off Hewitt, which makes getting rid of Johnson harder. Then when they do get rid of PJ there will be more money to pay. Right now it sounds like defensive coordinator Ted Roof might be the next coach.

I really don't care who they get. I'd be happy if they win the games they're supposed to and not get blown out in the other games. You'd think if Stanford and Northwestern could be successful in their conferences, Tech could be an upper tier ACC school. GT fans seem happy as long as they go to a bowl, even though most southeastern bowls do everything possible to avoid picking GT. 

Ceil doesn't like Johnson because he looks so mean.

Tuesday I passed a Chickfila (across from Stoney River) had a tent set up near the drive thru. An employee was outside giving personal service. We have received good service at that CFA as well. I think Ceil knows the manager. That is where Matthew put in an application to work.

Sunday I was starving. I had dropped C off at Perimeter Mall. The only place close was McDonalds. Service was ok, but my burger was bland. I am always disappointed with McDonalds.

Left work Tuesday at 11:30 and drove home. Didn’t have time for lunch before it was time to go pick up Anna. On the way I remembered I had Wendy’s coupons. Single burgers are $3.50 now but very good. Loaded it with pickles, tomato, lettuce, mustard, and ketchup. Didn’t ask for cheese, but they added it. Very good. I’ll have to use my other coupons.

Blew leaves, cleaned the kitchen, read, napped. Ceil cooked black beans and rice for supper.

Nap Time

Only worked four hours Tuesday morning, then took a half day vacation. C was taking M to a doctor's appointment and A needed to be picked up from art. Work hasn't been too busy and I have vacation days to take. It was good to take off. Monday night I had stayed up until 1 am watching the Braves, so Tuesday I was tired. Cleaned the kitchen and blew the driveway.

Perhaps in future playoff games Fredi will think more out of the box when it comes to employing his relievers. But he has learned his lesson about overuse: In 2011 Fredi pitched Venters, O'Flaherty, and Kimbrel too much, and their ineffective September contributed to the Braves collapse.

It's doubtful the Braves will re-sign Hudson or McCann. Not sure who the other free agents are, or what position they will be spending money on. One big expense will be eating Uggla's salary.

I haven't paid too much attention to the Falcons so far. Too bad about all the injuries. Seems to happen so many times when an old player like Tony Gonzales comes back for one more year. That's what happened to Unitas, Namath, Montana, Jerry Rice, and Emmitt Smith. At least Tony is still on the same team, and is still performing at a high level. With Julio out and Roddy limping, defenses can key on Tony all the more.

When we went to Mellow Mushroom, what we bought qualified me to get a free bobblehead: Tony Gonzales. Nice. I had forgotten that they were offering them. Perhaps down the road they will start popping up in thrift stores.

Less TV?

I have done well not watching the NFL or any basketball the past few years, and pretty much only watch GT, UGA, and Clemson. My new cable package does not include ESPNU because I didn't want to pay an extra $120.00 per year just to watch a handful of games. No MLB or NFL Network either. I am a sucker for NBC's Football Night in America with Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy, Chris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, and Bob Costas. I watch from 7-8, but not the game. Not as into Duck Dynasty as I had been, but I try to catch each new episode at some point. No other shows interest me, except for all the Modern Family reruns all the networks are now airing. Big Bang Theory every now and then. C and A sometimes watch Project Runway, but I won't. Sometimes X-Factor or American Idol, but not as much recently as in past years.

I am so not into the Falcons that there were MM bobbleheads of players I had not heard of. I know Ryan, Julio, Roddy, Tony, the kicker and punter, and RB Jackson. Hardly any others.

When Smoltz or David Pollock pick other teams to win, they are further removed from the locker room than Chipper was.

Pat, the co-worker, passed away yesterday. She had received a gloomy diagnosis back in February and left work in early April for treatment. She had an upbeat attitude and didn't want a lot of attention. Divorced, she did have a significant other who was taking care of her.

W is coming home this evening. MC is flying in tomorrow for the long weekend. They're going to the UGA game Saturday. Even though he'll be with MC most of the time, C will feel better with him nearby. Wonder if he'll get a haircut or shave his beard.

With the increased workload that comes in ninth grade, M has struggled to complete all his assignments. 

It's about time to get Anna a car, though C will still have to run M around since Anna so often is going in a different direction. Anna is struggling with her school workload as well. A junior, her two best friends will start dual enrollment college classes in January. Anna might so the same next fall.

M wanted a phone for his birthday, but I drew the line. M is going to the fair with his girlfriend Saturday. He spends far less time with friends than W and A did.

After staying up until 1 am Monday night/Tuesday morning, it was good to take Tuesday afternoon off. I was tired. Now that baseball season is over I need to be more productive around the house and yard…and eBay and exercise more as well.

Rounding Third

Stumbled across a baseball blog right up my alley: http://roundingthird.net  

A fan posts many details about his recent cross country journey visiting every MLB stadium. He posts the details of every day: what he did, what he ate, miles travels, dollars spent, details about each game, and lots more stuff. Something I would do. He also posts lots of photographs. He also muses on things he thinks about and conversations he has with other fans. The guy is much more outgoing than I would be. He often spends the night with family or friends. He takes time to visit team museums and take ballpark tours, and take side trips to places like the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and the Louisville Slugger Factory. My dream trip. I’ve even daydreamed about blogging about such a trip.

This fan mentions that he has crossed paths more than once with others taking the same journey. That got me thinking: someone should create a website for fans that have made similar journeys to post the details and dates of their trip, or the progress they have made. Something they should have for hikers of the Appalachian Trail. Something I should set up were I a website pro.

Of course I had to list the progress I’ve made visiting all the parks. I’ve done so before, but teams change stadiums every now and then.

30 MLB Teams

20 MLB cities with stadiums I’ve seen or visited

15 MLB stadiums I have yet to visit

13 stadiums I’ve attended games at

11 stadiums I’ve seen in person (driven past, etc)

05 stadiums I’ve visited no longer in use

05 stadiums I’ve seen no longer in use

Stadiums I’ve watched games at:

1. Arlington Stadium, Texas

2. Atlanta Stadium

3. Atlanta’s Turner Field

4. Baltimore’s Camden Yards

5. Boston’s Fenway Park

6. Chicago’s old Comminsky Park

7. Chicago’s Wrigley Field

8. Houston’s Minutemade Park

9. New York’s Shea Stadium

10. St. Louis’ old Busch Memorial Stadium

11. St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field

12. San Francisco Giants

13. Washington’s RFK Stadium

Stadiums I have seen in person (driven past, etc):

14. Anaheim Stadium

15. Chicago’s new Comminsky Park

16. Old Arlington Stadium

17. Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium

18. Denver’s Mile High Stadium

19. Detroit’s Tiger Stadium

20. Houston Astrodome

21. Kansas City’s Kaufman Stadium

22. Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium

23. Oakland Coliseum

24. Phoenix’ Bank One Ballpark

Stadiums I have yet to visit:

25. Cleveland Indians

26. Denver’s Coors Field

27. Detroit Tigers

28. Miami Marlins

29. Milwaukee’s Miller Park

30. Minnesota’s Target Field

31. New York’s Citi Field

32. New York’s Yankee Stadium

33. Philadelphia Phillies

34. Pittsburgh Pirates

35. St. Louis’ new Busch Stadium

36. San Diego Padres

37. Seattle Mariners

38. Toronto SkyDome

39. Washington’s Nationals Park

Back in March

This past March the experts said the most dominant teams would be the Nationals, Angels, Reds, Rangers, and Yankees. They said the Braves might sneak into the wild card, but not stick around long.

Considering this, what if I had told you back in March that none of those five high-salaried favorites would win a postseason game. What if I told you back in March that Hudson, Beachy, Venters, O'Flaherty, Martinez, Pena, and Pastornicky would be lost to season-ending injuries. That Freeman, McCann, BJ Upton, Maholm, Walden, Schafer, Uggla, Janish, and Laird would also miss considerable time with injuries. That Heyward would get a slow start, then miss over two months of the season with an appendectomy and broken jaw. That the two highest-paid players would hit under .180 – then hit even worse in September. That with half the pitching staff out hurt, the Braves would have to call up two rookies (Wood and Hale) and pick up an over-the-hill castoff (Garcia) to shoulder the starting pitching burden down the stretch. That the Braves would have to pick up a second-baseman the lowly Royals released for lack of production. That the Braves would have to play a rookie catcher in left field for a good part of the season.

Considering all this you might think the Braves would finish the season in last place. Certainly behind the powerful Nationals, the up & coming Mets, and the loaded Phillies.

Then what if I told you that despite all these setbacks the Braves would remain in first place the entire season, except for one day in early April. What if I told you the Braves won the Eastern Division championship by nine games, with the second-best record in the National League. Would you consider that a successful season?

Then what if I told you that the Braves had to face the most dominant pitcher in baseball twice in four games, and face another hot Cy Young Award winner with one of the best records in baseball over the past few months. That the Braves would have to face one of the hottest teams in baseball since June, who had a payroll over 2-1/2 times that of the Braves. That despite these overwhelming odds, the Braves would be competitive in three of the four game series.

Had you known all that before the season started, would you consider the season a success? Or would you still say "Same old Braves?"

Updated QB Ratings after Oct 5th Games

Three ACC QB’s rank among the top nine QB’s in the country. Then seven others are lumped together in the middle of the national pack.

These ranking include the October 5th games. Check the home page of my blog for more current rankings.

ACC Quarterback Rankings:

93.4…04 Hunt, Syracuse

91.6…06 Winston, FSU

86.7…09 Morris, Miami

79.8…21 Savage, Pittsburgh

77.8…27 Boyd, Clemson

76.7…31 Renner, North Carolina

75.0…37 Rettig, Boston College

74.0…38 Brown, Maryland

73.5…41 Connette, Duke

69.4…48 Pete Thomas, NC State

64.8…57 Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech

53.3…76 Vad Lee, Georgia Tech

39.1…98 Price, Wake Forest

37.3…100 Watford, Virginia

Other Top-Rated Quarterbacks

97.7…01 Petty, Baylor

96.8…02 Mariota, Oregon

95.6…03 Murray, Georgia

92.3…05 Mettenberger, LSU

89.1…07 Manziel, Texas A&M

88.6…08 Bridgewater, Louisville

86.7…10 Prescott, Miss State

85.4…11 Bell, Oklahoma

85.4…12 Whitlow, Kentucky

80.1…20 Bortles, Central Florida

78.8…24 Franklin, Missouri

76.2…35 Shaw, South Carolina

67.6…52 McCarron, Alabama

66.8…53 Hill, BYU

After the Party

Today it seems like we’re waking up after a great, wild party, trying to figure out what happened. Things weren’t perfect before the party and now it’s time to face the consequences. A good-looking, popular, rich guy you don’t like crashed the party, wearing blue. You turned your back on two friends who’d been letting you down for months. Now comes time to decide what kind of relationship you’re going to have with them going forward. These two guys carry so much baggage, but you owe so much to them that it will be hard to show them the door. Another good young friend who’d done so much for you wanted to sing at the party, but never got the chance. He never sings until the end of the party, and by then the music had stopped playing. Feelings were hurt.

Lots of people who didn’t even go to the party are talking about what happened, but since they weren’t there the whole time they are getting the facts wrong. Then others will start to believe them. Soon no one will remember what actually happened. So many guys couldn’t help at the party because they were sick. Or that the reason the party wasn’t good because the underclassmen who filled in for the sick guys hadn’t thrown as many parties. The fraternity president is blamed, when it really wasn’t his fault. Considering everything that happened, we were fortunate to be at the party in the first place.

Why Georgia Won

No one in the media mentioned the best coaching call of the Georgia/Tennessee game, that wound up winning the game. With Tennessee content to keep running down the clock, on first and goal Georgia LET Tennessee score so the Dawgs would have time once they got the ball back. The call worked perfectly, and Murray methodically drove the Dawgs down the field for the game-tying touchdown with five seconds left.

For the first sixty minutes Georgia had to fight and claw for everything they could get. With three top players already sidelined with injuries, four more key players were knocked out of the Tennessee game – two with season-ending injuries. QB Aaron Murray was working with two freshman running backs and his fourth and fifth best wide receivers. But everyone stepped up and did their job. Great play call at the end of the third quarter to have Murray run the ball. He wasn't content to pick up the first down and go down - he kept going until the defensive back was able to wrestle him to the ground.

As I've said in the past, it's impossible for a college football team to get pumped up sky-high for every game on its schedule. They have to show up and focus, knowing no game will be handed to them. While Georgia has had to face three top ten teams in their first four games, Tennessee had only faced one top team in their first five. In an effort to win the Vols pulled out all the stops. Their coach was ranting and raving on the sidelines, arguing with refs over obvious calls. They played well, and most of the referee's questionable calls went their way.

Many blame the Georgia defense and the coordinator, forgetting that it was common knowledge going into the season that the Dawgs were quite inexperienced on that side of the ball. The Volunteer QB had a career game, and their play-calling was to be commended – especially on fourth down. Looked like the needless "block" the Tennessee player put on Georgia's punter was a shot to the head that should've been penalized. Couple that with the field goal that clanged off the cross bar and Georgia wins by ten points.

Now with three top offensive players out for the year, more games will be down to the wire battles. This week's game against Missouri just got a lot harder. Florida and Auburn will be tough as well.

Pay Tech Football Players?

Year after year, game after game, the Jackets continue to stumble and do not play up to their ability. Players and coaches have a higher opinion of themselves than their performance on the field dictates. This is quite distasteful and unattractive. Now players are wearing messages during games lobbying that they should be paid. As a quarterback Synjyn Days fumbled too much and couldn't pass as well as Tevin Washington. Last year Days was moved to running back, currently a thin position on the Georgia Tech roster. So far this year Days has played in three games, carrying the ball ten times for 30 yards. No touchdowns or pass receptions. And he is lobbying to be paid? He is lucky to have a football scholarship.

Tech did show signs of life against a good Miami team. For the Jackets to be able to win any of these games against stronger opponents they have to play mistake-free football, and right now they're not capable of that. Bad snaps that lead to missed extra points don't happen to winning programs.

After beginning his career against weaker opposition QB Vad Lee is being exposed and confused by more talented defenses. He has to learn to handle the ball without fumbling and use proper mechanics while throwing. Until then Tech fans will continue to suffer. Paul Johnson's offense involves too many fakes, pivots, and twirls – causing plays develop too slowly. On obvious passing downs the QB takes the snap from under center and fades back left, then must pivot right to make the throw. By then the pass rush has beaten the run-block oriented offensive lineman. It's hard for the most talented QB's to by successful in such a system. Tech's second-string QB played like a freshman, but the less-heralded third-stringer looked more poised.

Clemson destroyed Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen, dressed in all navy, looked like they didn't want to be there (and they want to be paid as well!). FSU looked real good, trouncing Maryland. Should be interesting to see if Tech can beat Syracuse and if Clemson can handle Maryland on the road without many problems. I don't see Tech beating BYU on the road.

I noticed the college total quarterback rating. Too bad it doesn't figure more into the Heisman Trophy balloting. Here are the top ten, plus other notables, before last week's games:

98.1 Mariota, Oregon (1)
96.9 Petty, Baylor (2)
95.0 Murray, Georgia (3)
90.9 Mettenberger, LSU (4)
89.7 Bridgewater, Louisville (5)
89.0 Hogan, Stanford (6)
88.7 Winston, FSU (7)
88.5 Manziel, Texas A&M (8)
87.9 Metheny, South Alabama (9)
87.0 Bell, Oklahoma (10)
85.1 Morris, Miami (13)
85.1 Bortles, Central Florida (14)
79.2 Renner, North Carolina (25)
77.4 Boyd, Clemson (31)
69.2 Connette, Duke (47)
68.1 Shaw, South Carolina (51)
66.1 McCarron, Alabama (54)
66.0 Worley, Tennessee (56)
60.7 Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech (66)
60.5 Thomas, NC State (67)
60.5 Lee, Georgia Tech (68)
30.6 Price, Wake Forest (115)

Note: Unlike the tougher schedules Oregon and Georgia have played, up to this week Baylor had run up the stats on Wofford, Buffalo, and Louisiana-Monroe.

NLDS Games 2 & 3

This would be a different series if the Braves had Hudson, Beachy, Venters, O'Flaherty, and Martinez. No team that lost half their pitching staff to season-ending injuries can be expected to advance deep in the postseason. Sunday night three rookies pitched for the Braves. They're down to their fourth-string second-baseman. I love Elliot Johnson, but Pena or Pastornicky would've helped as well.

The Braves should be commended for the season they've had. The Nationals, Reds, Angels, Rangers, and Yankees were all expected to go further than the Braves were, and where are they? Sitting at home watching. Fredi Gonzalez should be voted manager of the year.

Last night the Braves fought right to the end, making it worth staying up for. Gattis had three more hits, while McCann remained hitless in the series. As hitting coach Greg Walker predicted, Justin Upton is heating up Hopefully that will continue. Seems like everyone is expecting the Braves' number eight hitter to carry the team, which is unfair. Teheran made some bad pitches, especially to Puig. As much of a free-swinger as he is, there is no reason to throw him a strike.

The Dodger Stadium demographic has changed over the years. In the past the crowd was all white. Last night baseball's cathedral was packed with people of Hispanic origin, who were much more vocal than docile Dodger congregations of old. Nothing wrong with that.

That said, the season is not over yet. There is no reason the Braves cannot win tonight to force game five. And then anything can happen.

Drove home Friday and parked myself in front of the TV for the Braves game. A great game. I was on the edge of my seat. Ceil cooked burgers. Anna drove off to hang out with friends, and slept over so they could study together Saturday morning.

Saturday I watched College Gameday, did laundry, blew the driveway, drove to the bank, and watched the Dawgs. Ceil grilled chicken and broccoli.

Sunday I cleaned upstairs, drove Matthew to church, and picked up Ceil. On the way home we stopped by Perimeter Mall, Target, Publix, and BP. Ceil cooked ribs for Matthew's birthday.

NLDS Game 3: Part 2

Too much was left over the plate to good, aggressive hitters like Hanley and Puig. Weaker hitters leading off innings were walked. Too bad the braves had to pitch three rookies instead of Hudson, Beachy, Venters, O'Flaherty, or Martinez.

Both McCann and Heyward have hit Nolasco well, and Justin, Freddie, and McCann have been hitting good too. Also C Johnson.

Turns out ESPN isn't the only network that fawns over Puig. During the season TBS broadcasts one or two games a week, and during the playoffs needs four crews. Spread so thin, they employ announcers that don't broadcast games on a regular basis.

Going to Mellow Mushroom tonight for M's birthday, but should be back in time for first pitch.

All the thoughtless "same old Braves" comments still get me. So many fans just don't have a clue.

NLDS Game One Recap

The Braves could have played better last night, but not that much. Had just one or two things gone the Braves way it would have been a much closer game. Kershaw is the most dominant pitcher in baseball, so no one should be surprised that the Braves only managed one run off him. McCann just missed a home run.

Andrelton grounded one down the third base line with a runner on second. In super slow motion the ball appeared to go over the bag. Cal Ripken was right about Simmons not needing to overplay hitters, though the balls he couldn't get to were hard hit balls.

Had Gattis stayed close to first base and Puig not caught the ball, he would've been out at second. Gattis guessed wrong. No one praised Gattis for going first to third last night, but when Puig did it the announcers talked about it for five minutes. While the announcer braced for a clutch hit, Jordan Walden made Puig look foolish - striking out the overanxious rookie without giving him anything to hit. Aside from the Puig lovefest, the TBS announcers were fair.

The Atlanta crowd did a good job making noise. The few empty seats were in the far upper corners of the upper deck. No one ever mentions how fans with seats instead crowd into the Chop House. Hopefully the crowd will be as good today, or better.

I'm between books on CD, so I heard 680's Perry Laurentino call the loss "decimating," pointing out all the Braves strikeouts and Medlen's failures, hardly mentioning the brilliance of Clayton Kershaw and Brian Wilson. But in describing the other NLDS, Perry gushed about Adam Wainwright's dominance and did not mention the same old Pirate failures. Perry blamed Fredi for not playing BJ and Uggla "every day" to give them every chance to return to form, saying BJ had no chance against Kershaw because it was "his first at-bat in eight days." Not mentioned: Chris Johnson hadn't batted in five days, and he ripped a line drive single. McCann hadn't batted in seven days, and he did ok. Had Fredi kept playing BJ and Uggla every day the Nationals might've passed the Braves. Just Thursday morning Chipper had told the 680 morning crew in detail why Fredi was right to bench BJ and Uggla. This is why I don't listen to 680.

Perry also said the Falcons should sign Buccaneer castoff QB Josh Freeman to back up Matt Ryan, in case of injury. Christopher Rude correctly pointed out that the cost may be prohibitive and other interested teams could offer playing time, so Perry changed the subject. But should Ryan get hurt Laurentino will be crying "Check the tape! I told you back when Freeman was available that the Falcons should've signed him!" After a few minutes I had to change the channel.

A teenager I know only quotes Bible verses, Christian songs, and posts his drawings on Facebook – until the Dodgers are beating the Braves. The kid was born in Southern California but moved to Atlanta as an infant. He failed to mention that the Dodgers payroll was over 2-1/2 times the Braves payroll.

Wednesday night I walked into the stinky Kroger and saw Robert (aka "The Chief" at Braves games). Usually he keeps his head down while he works, and I have to speak before he notices me. That had been the case when I saw him Tuesday around 6 pm. But Wednesday he saw me walking in and beamed "Did you see me on Fox 5 news last night?" Right after I saw him Tuesday he got off work and took off to the pep rally at the Lindbergh Taco Mac, where the cameraman followed him around.

Ted Williams: The Missing Years

The great Ted Williams retired with 521 home runs and 2,654 hits. He played 19 seasons, and missed three seasons while serving in the military. These three seasons came after he had played his first four seasons in the major leagues. It is an interesting exercise to project how many hits and home runs Williams would have complied had the played those three seasons, in the prime of his career.

Since Williams first four seasons were quite productive, it can be assumed that he would've at the very least matched those early totals. His hit totals were 185, 193, 185, and 186. Figuring an additional 185 hits for those three seasons would give Williams a total of 3,209 hits. This total would place Ted around seventh on the all-time hit list, when he retired.

In his first four seasons Williams hit 31, 23, 37, and 36 home runs. Adding the average (31), Ted would've retired with 614 home runs, at the time second only to Babe Ruth – and over one hundred more home runs than number three on the list, Mel Ott's 511.

In addition, during the Korean War Williams missed all but 43 games of the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Adding these same hit and home run totals would bring Williams' totals to 3,538 hits and 662 home runs.

In the final 37 games of the 1953 season Williams hit 13 home runs in 91 at bats. Had Ted played a normal season with 500 at bats he would have hit a record 71 home runs. This would've brought his estimated home run total to around 700 home runs: Babe Ruth territory.

For his career, Williams hit .344, on base .482, slugged .634, with an out-of-this world 1.116 OPS. Almost every other player in history never equaled this numbers in any one season.

Blind Hog Finds Acorn

Last week a researched and posted an essay about "fair catch kicks" on my blog. A few days later I noticed the post had a very high number of hits, and had actually become the fifth most popular post on my blog. I had no idea how this could be until I did a little investigating. What happened: less than 24 hours after I posted about Fair Catch Kicks, Phil Dawson attempted the first fair catch kick in five years, at the end of the first half of the 49ers Thursday night game against the Rams. Google was exploding with searches for the rare play, and I was in the right place in the right time. Didn't realize that Jim Harbaugh was a reader of my blog.

During my search I found an interesting website, with more good info on fair catch kicks:
http://quirkyresearch.blogspot.com/2006/07/nfl-fair-catch-kick-attempts.html
This site even lists games where a fair catch kick would've helped the team win the game, had it been attempted.

Stopped by Kroger on the way home from work Tuesday. Ceil was headed out to an event at PCC so Matthew baked a Tombstone pizza. He and Anna had schoolwork to do. I worked on the computer, watched Modern Family reruns, cleaned the kitchen, and went to bed.

Tech's Older Fan Base

Wednesday October 2nd: It is doubtful that GT will win Saturday. I have been noticing that the Tech fans who post on the AJC.com<http://AJC.com> GT articles are older than you'd think read the internet. One graduated from Tech in 1962. I may be digging myself into a hole on this subject.

My nephew, the Clemson football student manager, gets to travel on his second road trip this weekend – up to Syracuse. In his 19 years on earth I think the only places he has traveled out of state has been to Clemson football games: NC, Virginia, Atlanta, FSU, maybe a few bowl games in Florida, and now upstate New York. A few weeks ago his class at Clemson spent a week Disney World. Will has traveled through at least 26 states.

Co-worker wants me to play golf next Tuesday. I told him I needed to check the Braves playoff schedule.

Comparing the Rookies

After his firecracker start Dodgers rightfielder Yasiel Puig has faded like a spent rocket. Unlike Puig, Evan Gattis was a valuable part of the Braves strong finish, replacing slumping free agent signee BJ Upton in the outfield. Gattis finished the season with the most home runs and RBIs for a rookie, and hit the longest home run in the majors this season. Though he had 28 fewer at bats, Gattis led Puig in several offensive categories.

PL.…AB…2B…HR…rbi…K

EG…354…21…21…65…81

YP…382…21…19…42…97

In the last 26 games both Gattis and Freddie Freeman far exceeded Puig’s production. Most baseball experts would’ve thought Gattis would be the rookie to fade off toward the end of the season, since he had played the least amount of baseball over the past few seasons. But even with his all experience playing the heavy Cuban national team schedule, Puig was the one to fade.   

PL…R..…H…2B..HR.rbi…BB…K

FF…19…35…4…6…21…12…21

EG…11…25...7…6…18…02…22

YP…13…18…2…6…11…10…22

If the Braves don’t sign McCann next year, how will Gattis perform as the everyday catcher? Will his offense (batting average) improve? Will he get tired? I see Laird catching at least one game a week. Gattis seems so strong. If Gattis has a decent year offensively, he could spell Freeman at first base once or twice a month. Gattis does have a great arm, especially as a catcher. Catching 5-6 games per week would sharpen his catching skills.

Yahoo Sports published ESPN’s ten longest home runs of the season, of which Gattis had the longest. For some reason I read a lot of the comments. many were stupid: “I thought so and so had a 500 foot home run…why wasn’t it on the list?” or “No Yankees on the list?” and such and such. I went through and favorited all the Gattis comments and gave a thumbs down to all the dumb ones.

PL..AVG..OBP..SLG…OPS

FF…380…449…620…1.069

EG…255…270…510….780

YP…214…333…452….785

What is your opinion about leaving Uggla off the NLDS roster? His September stats were dismal. BJ’s were as well, and I wonder if BJ made the roster only so Justin wouldn’t pout. I could see Constanza and Reed Johnson get more playing time than BJ. With BJ going so bad, perhaps the SI cover jinx will work in reverse for him. Interesting that Sports Illustrated goes all year without a Braves cover – until the playoffs start. Last Thursday Johnny mentioned how Uggla and BJ weren’t even hitting well during BP. He said after on session one of them slammed their bat down on the ground.

What is Chris Johnson’s contract status? Do you think his helmet throwing habit will be a factor in his long term status with the Braves? Fredi said the post-game scuffle was a non-issue.

I had some free time last night on the computer and decided to check out my main man Puig.

Last week I published my Fair Catch Kick essay, and a few days later wonder why it generated so many hits (sixth most ever). Then I saw that the 49ers had attempted the first fair catch kick in five years just hours after I posted. Perhaps Jim Harbaugh reads my blog.

Who's Your All-Star Now?

Since the All-Star break Freddie Freeman and Yasiel Puig have each played in 66 games. With the exception of doubles, Freeman leads Puig in all statistical categories – by a wide margin. It is obvious that America’s baseball fans voted corrected, and ESPN was wrong…again.

PL…AVG..OBP.SLG..OPS

FF…335…408…544…952

YP…273…373…481…853

PL.…AB.…R.…H…2B…HR…rbi…BB…K

FF…239…40…80…08…14…48…29…51

YP…231…38…63…13…11…23…29…61

At UGA/LSU

Saturday's Georgia/LSU game at Sanford Stadium had to be the loudest, most exciting sporting event that Will has ever attended. Here he is with his friend Waldo.

Chipotle and GameDay

You ought to see Matthew order at a place like Barbaritos or Willys or Moes. He only gets black beans and chicken and cheese on his burrito, so after they put on black beans and chicken, M then asks for more black beans. The last time we went to Willys, Will kept adding his ingredients and his burrito was huge.

Speaking of those kind of places, that's what we did Friday night. Anna went to a sleepover and Ceil was worn out. I suggested Willys, but we'd been there too many times lately. She agreed to El Porton next to the stinky Kroger, but when we got there she changed her mind to Chipotle. I should've driven to the one in Roswell at Mansell, cattycorner to that Barbaritos. Its nicer than the little Chipotle in East Cobb, which is always crowded. But I didn't think about that. Ceil and I got burrito bowls. The service was bad, and it made me forget some of the ingredients that I wanted. As we were almost finished a couple in our small group came in, so we stayed and talked to them while we ate. Talked til almost 10 pm. Afterwards C had to pick up some things at Publix.

Saturday we watched ESPN College Gameday, which was broadcast from right outside Will's dorm. He had made a sign, and we saw the sign whenever they showed Lee Corso. Watched some of SC at Central Florida. One time the ball got away from the UCF QB. He fell on the ball, and the play should've been whistled dead. But a split second later a SC lineman slid in and knocked the ball loose, that stole the ball from the UCF QB. The officials gave the ball to SC, who scored a touchdown in the next play. SC won 28-25.

The GA/LSU game was fantastic. CBS had a camera in front of the student section the entire game. Toward the end of the game I saw Will, standing at the end of a row behind the guys painted red, spelling out GEORGIABULLDOGS. He was holding the "G" sign in the row of students holding up the GEORGIABULLDOGS signs. In the next section were the guys wearing the spiked shoulder pads. One of those guys was Mark Fox, the UGA head basketball coach.

Matthew's friend Sarah had come over, and Ceil fixed BBQ sandwiches on the Panini press (on homemade buns), cole slaw, baked beans, sweet potato fries, and brownies. Later I watched the Braves game, and parts of some of the other football games.

Sunday M had arranged himself another lunch meeting at the Lindbergh Five Guys. I also cleaned upstairs and downstairs, and did a bunch of laundry. Watched the Braves and a little of the Falcons. Will's friend Caleb was one of the soldiers holding the huge flag before the Falcons game.

Trip to Augusta on Monday went well. Had to pick up Krispy Kreme doughnuts for the guys. Out of $578,396.48 of inventory we came up $288.00 over – a difference of 0.04%. Ate a couple of pieces of Pizza Hut pizza for lunch while working. Didn't get back to the office until 5:45. For supper Ceil fixed roast beef, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and kale.


Is Jim Haskell still the pastor at that church on Bolton Road? He went to Tech and was friends with Fred O and Steve Norman. We don't know each other, but we both know OF each other.

Covenant Freshmen

Will’s high school teammates Perry and Braeden played baseball at Covenant College this spring. Here are the final stats from their freshman seasons:

PL….avg…obp…slg….ops…GP..GS…AB…R…2B

PR…319…364…538…902…46…46…160…24…14

BL.…250…326…447…773…32…22…76….11….0

Perry started all but one game. his batting average was the fifth highest on the team.

PL..3B..HR..rbi..TB…BB…K..HBP..GDP..sfly..sb/att

PR…3…5…44…86…10…41…3…..1……3…10-10

BL.…0…5…18…3.4…6.…27…3…..4……1….0-2

After playing shortstop in high school, Perry was switched to the hardest position on the field: third base. He was second on the team in errors, and had the lowest fielding percentage on the team.  

PL…PO…A….E…FP

PR…32…80…17…868

BL…..0.….0.….0…000

Bucket List: Trips

Some I've already taken (bold), but would like to go back.

Alaska

Appalachian Trail 10 week thru hike

Australia

Bermuda

Boston/Maine

Denver/Colorado Springs, CO

Disney World, FL

Disneyland/LA/Sequoia

Grand Canyon, AZ

Green Bay/Milwaukee, WI

Hawaii

Italy: Rome/Florence

Kennedy Space Center, FL

Kitty Hawk NC

London/St. Andrews/England

Macys Thanksgiving Parade

Mount Rushmore, SD

New York City

Paris/France

SF/Yosemite/Pebble Beach/Napa

Seaside, FL

St. Georges Island, FL

St. Louis, MO

USA road trip

Williamsburg VA

Yellowstone/Jackson Hole, WY