ART CONTEST!

Artists and Braves fans, sharpen your pencils! Since we live in an age of political correctness, our beloved Atlanta Braves can no longer wear the beloved Indian head patch on their uniform.

This got me thinking: at some point in the future the Braves beloved ex-owner Ted Turner will pass away. Perhaps the team will honor him with some sort of patch. One of the iconic photos of Turner came as he won sailing’s America’s Cup, when he was known as Captain Outrageous. Interestingly, this photo is quite similar to the classic Braves Indian head logo.

This is where you artists enter the picture (ok, drawing). Your assignment: Draw a cartoon Ted Turner head patch that bears a close resemblance to the Braves Indian, and post it on your Facebook page, tagging me. We can all “judge” the entries. I’ll even submit the best entry to the Braves front office, suggesting that the patch be used as a future memorial (hopefully in the DISTANT future!). For inspiration, here's another astonishingly similar picture: 

I have several talented artist friends, many of whom are Braves fans. Some are even professionals. Rob and Joe Suggs and Nancy Shippen head the list, but there are many others. I can’t wait to see the results. Are you with me?

Degrees of Separation

Louis Williams, the guard the Hawks are signing, played boys basketball at South Gwinnett at the same time my young co-worker Mandi played on the girls team. Mandi went on to play at Georgia College.

Took Ceil to Lenox Wednesday night to exchange a shirt. Had she not started cooking a meatloaf, we would’ve eaten at Jalisco’s. Jalisco’s is always crowded and loud, but I can handle it better than Pappasitos. When we got home we watched some of the ESPYs, and Modern Family.

Tuesday night we arrived back home just before the NL introductions. Missed all the other pregame stuff, which I enjoy. Chipper received a huge, extended ovation, matched only by the Royals representative.

Places I've Been

ALABAMA: Anniston, Auburn, Birmingham, Boaz, Cullman, Dothan, Enterprise, Florence, Gulf Shores, Guntersville, Huntsville, Montgomery, Phenix City, Tuscaloosa

ARIZONA: Mesa, Phoenix

ARKANSAS: Blytheville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Shreveport, West Memphis

CALIFORNIA: Anaheim, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oakland, San Francisco, Yosemite

COLORADO: Colorado Springs, Denver, Pueblo

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington

DELAWARE: Wilmington

FLORIDA: Daytona Beach, Destin, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Kissimmee, Miami, Orlando, Ocala, Merritt Island, Panama City, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, St. Augustine, St. Georges Island, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Tampa, Titusville

GEORGIA: Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Blue Ridge, Brunswick, Carrollton, Cartersville, Columbus, Cornelia, Cumberland Island, Cumming, Dahlonega, Dalton, Dawsonville, Eatonton, Ellijay, Gainesville, Jekyll Island, Helen, La Grange, Macon, Madison, Marietta, Milledgeville, Moultrie, Newnan, Peachtree City, Pine Mountain, Ringgold, Rome, Royston, Savannah, St. Marys, St. Simons Island, Statesboro, Toccoa, Tybee Island, Valdosta, Villa Rica, Warner Robins, Washington

ILLINOIS: Chicago, Springfield

INDIANA: Auburn, Butler, Crawfordsville, Gary, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Ladoga, South Bend, Terre Haute, Valparaiso

IOWA: Winterset

KANSAS: Wichita

KENTUCKY: Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro

LOUISIANA: Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport

MAINE: Augusta, Bar Harbor, Bangor, Kennebunkport, Lewiston, Portland

MARYLAND: Baltimore, Hagerstown

MASSACHUSETTS: Boston

MICHIGAN: Detroit  

MISSISSIPPI: Jackson, Hattiesburg, Tupelo

MISSOURI: Kansas City, Maryville, St. Louis, Tarkio

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Portsmith

NEW JERSEY: Newark, Staten Island, Trenton

NEW YORK: Albany, Cooperstown, Corning, Elmira, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Stamford

NORTH CAROLINA: Ashville, Black Mountain, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Durham, Gastonia, Greensboro, Goldsboro, Hickory, Kitty Hawk, Monroe, Raleigh, Ridgecrest, Winston Salem

OHIO: Cincinnati, Dayton, Sidney

OKLAHOMA: Tulsa

PENNSLYVANIA: Harrisburg, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre

SOUTH CAROLINA: Anderson, Camden, Charleston, Chesterfield, Clemson, Columbia, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Hilton Head Island, Jefferson, Lancaster, Lugoff, McBee, Myrtle Beach, Orangeburg, Pageland, Pendleton, Rock Hill, Spartanburg.  

TENNESEE: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville

TEXAS: Arlington, Amarillo, Carrollton, Dallas, Garland, Houston, Plano

VIRGINIA: Arlington, Chancellor, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Mt. Vernon, Richmond

WEST VIRGINIA: Charleston, Ghent, Martinsburg

BERMUDA: Hamilton

CANADA: Niagara Falls

UCF Spurns Crowell

Last week my co-worker was at Lake Hartwell with her parents. Her dad received a call from Isaiah Crowell’s high school coach, wondering if Central Florida was still interested in Crowell. Coach O’Leary said no. You won’t read this story anywhere else on the internet.

Good all star game to watch, even if the NL jumped out to the big lead. I would’ve been happy if they’d pinch ran for Chipper…that would’ve given him another standing ovation. Didn’t realize Melky’s English was so bad. Perhaps that had something to do with his weight gain, and not being in good spirits while in Atlanta. Funny story by Mark Bowman, how a Braves coach thought he was a new catcher.

Ceil and I ate at Pappasitos Monday night. Hadn’t been there in a few years. Ceil had a Mexican soup and I had chicken enchiladas. The food and service were excellent, but the place seems touristy to me. I’d much rather go to Nuevo Laredo or El Porton. Watched some of the Home Run Derby.

Tuesday night we had Moe’s take out. Ceil had eaten lunch with Becky Norman and another couple. Can’t remember the last time Ceil and I have had a week to ourselves.

Our 13 person department is pretty much all in our 40’s and 50’s. The Ogre turns 60 this month, as does the oldest lady. Got a bunch to do here at work before going to Myrtle Beach next week. Mary Clayton will be joining us, but Matthew won’t have a friend along. The Pelicans will be in town most of the week.

All-Star? Not Hanson

Some Braves fans are saying Tommy Hanson deserves a spot on the All-Star team, but compared to the starting pitchers on the team, his stats are the worst. Hanson earned his tenth win after the teams were named, and there are already four Braves named to the team. The four other pitchers with at least ten wins reached that total in 17 starts. It took Hanson 18 starts to reach double digits.

PL….W…L…ERA….K….BB.…G.…INN.…AVG…WHIP
RD…12…1…2.40…123…26…17…120.0…203…0.93
MC….9…3…2.62…118…24…17…120.1…209…0.96
SS..…9…4…2.82…128…21…17.…99.0…225…1.10
CK…..6…5…2.91…119…32…18…120.2…221…1.06

GG…12…3…2.92…118…42…17…101.2…192…1.11

WM….9…5…3.04..…70…21…17…100.2…232…1.09

CH…10…4…3.20…118…29…17…118.0…233…1.10

LL…11…4…3.41…105…36…17…103.0…235…1.23

TH…10…5…3.71….93…38…18…106.2…254…1.31

RA DICKEY: best record, lowest ERA & WHIP
M CAIN: perfect game
S STRASBURG: most strikeouts, fewest walks
C KERSHAW: 2011 Cy Young, only healthy Dodger
G GONZALEZ: 12-3 record for the Rockie
W MILEY: only Diamondback
C HAMELS: every stat superior to Hanson
L LYNN: 11 wins in 103 innings
T HANSON: fewest innings/start, highest opp avg & WHIP

Ranking the NL ASG Closers

Of the five closers named to the National League All-Star team, the Braves’ Craig Kimbrel has by far the most dominating statistics.

PL…SV-OP…ERA…K…BB…G…INN…AVG…WHIP
CK…25-26…1.36…56…10…33…33.0…116…0.70
AC…11-15…1.83…71…12…35…39.1…125…0.74
HS…13-13…1.13…32..…8…25…24.0…125…0.75
JH….23-26…2.38…35…18…35…34.0…169…1.12
JP….18-20…3.34…40…..8…33…32.1…236…1.14


C KIMBREL: most saves, highest K/BB ratio, lowest avg against & WHIP
A CHAPMAN: 4 blown saves
H STREET: no blown saves, but only 13 chances
J HANRAHAN: 3 blown saves
J PAPELBON: 2 blown saves

Will’s teammate Perry has worked out with Kimbrel in north Alabama.

Thursday Friday Sunday Tuesday

Busy weekend. Thursday night we celebrated Will’s birthday at the Flip Burger on Roswell Road. The food was great, but my favorite burger is still Fuddruckers. Later Will and MC went to trivia. Afterwards Joel, Kevin, and Haley came over from strawberry shortcake. I took Anna, Matthew, and Victoria to the 9:45 showing of the Katy Perry movie (so I had to pick them up at 11:30).

Friday I was in meetings all day with the Ogre, to determine the accuracy of a certain metric. We determined what the number should be. The YTD number was exactly what it was supposed to be. More meetings this afternoon.

On the way home from work I picked up supper for A & M, then Ceil and I went to Oglethorpe to see Georgia Shakespeare’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” with Tech legend Gene Lorenz (& his wife Ann). The actors did a fine job, though I’d liked other plays they’d done better. Got home around 11:30. Will and MC went kayaking on the Chattahoochee Friday

Early Saturday Will and Matthew went out kayaking. I cleaned the upstairs and read good chunks of both Ann Rice’s “Out of Egypt” and the Smoltz book. Smoltz’s book is ok. I’m learning things I didn’t know, though he belabors too many points. Seems obvious that long portions of the book are just transcriptions of Smoltz talking.

Sunday I posted five jerseys on eBay. Three of the jerseys have a total of twelve watchers, with one bid so far. Hopefully tonight I’ll post two more jerseys for sale. I was pumped from a quick sale last week. The buyer was local, so I delivered the item to the man on the way home from work. He showed me his “man cave”: filled with Babe Ruth statues and other memorabilia.

Will and I took the kayaks back to Lynn Acuff’s house. Passion celebrated Easter Sunday, because it was the week Louie covered John 20. Last week’s Beth Moore services were the largest ever attended at PCC, with hundreds in overflow areas. There were also several baptisms, including a former basketball teammate of Will’s. DJ, David & Joel Norman, Kevin, Haley, and MC also attended the service.

On the way home we ate at Moes. We had been eating Mexican exclusively at Willys, but the service and quality at Willys seems to have deteriorated. I like Moes salsa much better than Willys or Chipotle. I dislike Chipotle’s seasonings, though their chips are the best (and cost the most).

Will took off Sunday night to spend the week at Camp Highland in Ellijay. Early this morning I took Anna and Matthew down to PCC. They’re leaving for Summer Camp in Daytona Beach, so Ceil and I have the week to ourselves.

For weeks the announcers and writers were saying Simmons shouldn’t slide headfirst. Beat writer Mark Bowman said the only way Simmons would learn would be for him to get hurt. But Simmons initial comments after the injury sounded like he hadn’t learned anything. Almost makes me mad. But the other two top rookies, Harper and Trout, have also been doing a lot of headfirst sliding. Heyward still does as well. Will always liked to slide headfirst. I kept waiting for him to get hurt, but he never did.

30 Classic MLB Jerseys

Here’s a list of interesting MLB jerseys…one from every team. I’ve probably posted several similar lists in the past.

Braves: Warren Spahn Milwaukee road grey

Marlins: Josh Beckett road grey

Mets: Tom Seaver home cream

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg road red

Phillies: Robin Roberts home pinstripe

Brewers: Robin Yount home pinstripe

Cardinals: Stan Musial home white

Cubs: Ernie Banks home pinstripe

Pirates: Roberto Clemente polyester road grey pullover

Reds: Johnny Bench wool road grey button-up  

Astros: Joe Morgan home white shooting star

Diamondbacks: Curt Schilling home white vest

Dodgers: Jackie Robinson home white

Giants: Willie Mays home cream

Padres: Nate Colbert road yellow

Rockies: Larry Walker road grey

Angels: Rod Carew home white

Athletics: Catfish Hunter road green

Mariners: Ken Griffey Jr home white

Rangers: David Clyde road grey

Blue Jays: Roberto Alomar road blue

Orioles: Brooks Robinson home white

Rays: Wade Boggs road grey

Red Sox: Ted Williams home white

Yankees: Babe Ruth home pinstripe

Indians: Bob Feller road grey

Royals: George Brett road blue

Tigers: Kirk Gibson home white

Twins: Harmon Killebrew road grey

White Sox: Dick Allen road grey

Ten grey, nine white, four pinstripe, two light blue, two crème, one green, one red, and one yellow.

Michael Bourn: All-Star

     Though Michael Bourn has been the Braves' MVP of the first half of the season, there are many other deserving All Star candidates in the National League...most with even better stats than Bourn.
     Only the Reds' Jay Bruce has stats that are slightly worse than those of Atlanta's centerfielder. It can be argued that the first place Reds deserve having a third All Star. The Braves already have three, and they're not in first place.
     The question is: was Martin Prado a more deserving choice than Bourn? It's my opinion that Prado has greatly benefitted from the Braves new hitting coaches, Greg Walker and Scott Fletcher. Seems like more Braves are trying to make contact and hit singles, as opposed to swinging for the fences in every at bat (with the exception of Dan Uggla). Even Fransisco ia striking out less.
     UPDATE: Bourn and Harper were both added to the All-Star team, to replace injured players (as was Chipper). Are they deserving? A nice gesture for the retiring Jones. Bourn was the most deserving outfielder not already on the team. With 61 games under the 19 year-old's belt, I'm not sure Harper deserves the nod. But he is amazing.
     Here's a comparison of the All Star outfielders, plus David Freese...who was just voted in as the final All Star pick.  

PL..AVG…OBP..SLG..OPS….G.…R.…H..…2B..3B...HR..RBI..BB…K...SB
AM…356…410…603..1.014…78…53..105…17…4…16…54…28…62..14
MC…356…395…518…913…80…54...116…18....7.…7....42…23…44..10
MK…355…444…719..1.163…36…30…43.…6.…1…12…28…21…30…2
CG…336…394…589…983.…75…59..102…18…4…17…58…29…67..10
MP....322...382....459....841....82....48..103....23....3....5....37....32...38...11
MB…307…360…452….812…82…57..106…17…6.…7….32…30…73..23
CB…306…394…563…957.…79…50…87….11…1…20…65…41…56…8
RB…305…388…597…984.…77…52…90…13….2…23…59…33…63..13
DF …285…332…472…804…76…37…82…13….1…13…50…20…76…1
GS…283…364…555…918.…78…45…80….20…0…19…50…33…79…5
BH....283...357....479....836....61....42....68....15....4.....8....25...27....51...8
JB.…254…330…507…837.…80…45…72…19….1…17…54…33…74…4


C. BELTRAN: voted in, most RBI & BB, stats superior to Bourn.
M. BOURN: 1st half Braves MVP, great stats, 3 other Braves on team.
R. BRAUN: only Brewer, reigning MVP, NL HR leader
J. BRUCE: 2 others Reds on team…Bourn holds statistical edge
M. CABRERA: voted in, great stats, leads AS OF in AVG, hits, least K's.
D. FREESE: won late vote & WS MVP, but 3 other 3B on NL team, already 4 Cards on team.
C. GONZALEZ: only Rockie, impressive stats
B. HARPER: added to replace Stanton; 3rd youngest All Star ever
M. KEMP: voted in, great stats, but hurt. Replaced by 3B Chipper
A. MCCUTCHEN: leads AS OF in AVG, OPS
M. Prado: only player with more than 100 hits not on All Star team.
G. STANTON: only Marlin, decent stats, AS OF 2B leader, out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury

Bourn has contributed greatly to the Braves success, though it appears unlikely he will sign a free agent contract with Atlanta in the off-season.

Anna and Will toss the football on the beach in Destin.

PE Classes at Tech

My first quarter at Tech I took “aerobics”…taught by Whack Hyder. To get an A you had to run 1-3/4 miles in 12 minutes, and I did it. Hyder knew my grandmother, who had worked in the admissions office. After that he would always say hello whenever he saw me.

Took gymnastics my second quarter. The teacher was Nick Polhemus, Tech’s strength and conditioning coach. He gave us numbers, and referred to us as numbers all semester. Said to call him number one. The class was as much conditioning and exercises as gymnastics, which was fine for me. Everyone had to do 100 push-ups and sit-ups to get an A. Afterwards he called out our number, and we were to respond with how many push-ups/sit-ups we’d done. Many were responding with “100”. When he called my number, I said “101!” He loved it.

At the end of every class we would run. Near the end of the semester we had a one mile race, around the four indoor basketball courts in the Student Athletic Center. I was supposed to be the favorite, though I’d never run an actual race like that. I took the lead, and stayed in front. But on the last turn of the last lap another guy passed me and won.

One year I entered Anna in the Peachtree Junior one year, and she didn’t enjoy it at all. She didn’t like the time I took her golfing, either. Either time she didn’t say too much beforehand.

2012 Peachtree Recap

Though we tried to take our time, Will and I still were able to get an earlier start than we expected. Will was worn out after a long evening at the Tuesday night Braves game. Due to a 50 minute rain delay, he didn’t get back home until after midnight.

Our U Group wasn’t scheduled to start until after 8:50 am, so I tried to time our arrival accordingly. We drove downtown and parked at our usual spot at 5th Street and Myrtle…about halfway between the finish line and the North Avenue MARTA Station. The weather was cool as we walked past the old First Baptist site. There was a Doraville train waiting in the station, so we hopped on. This year the Peachtree numbers had the runners first name above the number. I chuckled to myself, that it was the first time I’d ever boarded a crowded MARTA train and known everyone’s name.

The MARTA employees at the Lenox Station weren’t familiar with how foot traffic is routed for the Peachtree. Everyone was routed toward the mall. Will and I had to double back for our walk back to Weiuca Road. In the station one lady admonished another (her friend, I think): "If you are worried about your personal space, you're in the wrong place!" The other lady replied: "I have plenty of space on a trail run." "Well, this is no trail run!" 

The race had already started, and as I passed I found it interesting that few “runners” had joined Groups Z, Y, X, and W. There was a small gap we had to enter to cross Peachtree to join our U Group, behind Phipps Plaza. Several hefty “runners” had claimed places along that curb to sit or stand. It couldn’t have been pleasant, with so many people trying to get past.

Just as we tried to cross Peachtree, the P Group was being led past, on their slow march to the starting line. It was obvious what to do: get lost in the crowd of P runners. Looking around, we could see dozens of others from further back in the pack had done the same thing. We got a few icy stares, but not many. In front of me, an old lady wearing cotton kaiki shorts was eating a large energy bar. Those things just didn’t seem to go together to me. Looking around at shoes, I noticed an old man wearing brown Merrell hiking shoes. Surprised, I looked up. Grey beard, floppy hiking hat, tie-dyed T-shirt, Kaiki hiking shorts…and a walking stick. More like a cane, really. Later I saw an old man in running attire…and two high-tech cross-country walking sticks. Two big guys were wearing heavy warm-up pants.

The P Group finally started just after 8:30, over 1:04:00 into the race. LOTS of walkers, and the rest in slow jogs. Will cut to the extreme left, where the pace was quicker. The go was so slow, I soon joined him. I settled into what would be my race routine: run pretty fast for as long as possible (a quarter mile?) then cut to the right and walk for 30 seconds or a minute. Tried to be disciplined about not walking too long. Running fast meant I passed most of the joggers, so I was doing a lot of weaving. I just hate waddling…seems like it  would do more damage than running or walking. During the first mile I could feel my bad right ankle, but for most of the race my knees and ankles felt fine. Felt most of my soreness in my hips and upper thighs. No problems with my breathing or heart.

I wasn’t hot or thirsty when I reached the first water station at West Paces Ferry, but I grabbed a couple of cups anyway. Sipped some, poured one cup over my head (SO refreshing!), and poured the rest on my arms. Did this at every stop. I was wet, but cool. The water is almost always cool, which is great. At one stop I took a cup from a young girl, to be nice. That cup was WARM! The day turned out to be cooler than expected, starting out a little overcast. Even when the sun came out there was still lots of shade.

As I approached the second mile marker I moved over to the left to greet my SPdL peeps. To my surprise, the Wisenbakers weren’t there. Mrs. Light was there in her chair, attended by her oldest daughter. Nancy Kelly sat nearby, so I called her name. Angela Head told me that Don said hello. Hey Don! Saw Angela’s parents. Debra Head said something, but I was too exhausted to comprehend and respond (later I regretted that. I’ll be sure to tell Hurt). I was handed a cup of water, and Sharon Lim took my picture. Later I saw the Ramseys.   

There were fewer wheelchair patients outside the Shepherd Spinal Center than usual. I was amazed at the number of walkers throughout the race, perhaps due to starting so far back. Very few runners, but more waddlers. Around the four mile mark some spilt water landed just right: inside the back of my left shoe. My sock absorbed the water, and was soon all wet. Felt like running on sandpaper. Surprised I didn’t have a blister. My right sock also got soaked by mile five.

Ellsworth, a co-worker in the credit department, was working a water station across from Peachtree Christian Church. I didn’t see his distinctive frame at the tables (he looks like a Dr. Seuss character!). I finally spotted him taking a break behind the tables. I chatted with him for a minute. I saw the first person that he knew. I did less people-watching than ever this year, mostly due to my slow pace and spending most of the race near the middle of the road.  

There were more businesses handing out things to runners this year. Wristbands and water work well, but most everything else is an inconvenience. Moes was handing out green Frisbees. About a hundred yards down the street there was a huge pile of discarded Frisbees on the side of the road. The cool thing to do is grab a giveaway, carry it down the road, then hand it to a kid. Makes their day. The only thing I grabbed was an oval MM sticker at Mellow Mushroom. Put it in my pocket (and later the T shirt bag, loaded with cold wet Powerades), but it survived the trip.

My new custom is to finish the race over to the right, near the finish line announcer. I held up two fingers on my right hand and five on my left. The announcer spoke over the loudspeaker: ”Seven Peachtrees!” I had to reply. “No…twenty five!” The announcer boomed: “Twenty Five Peachtrees!” My time was within ten seconds of last year’s. Had I not stopped at SPdL and to see Ellsworth I would’ve been under 1:14. Breaking 1:10 might’ve been hard, after starting with so many slowpokes. Still, with training I should be able to break an hour.

Didn’t take too long to find Will resting on the bank. Grabbed some peanut bars, Powerades, a Mello Yellow, and peanuts. The best giveaway is popsicles…they really cool you off. Walked around Grady Stadium and past my old Greenwood Avenue apartment, then on back to the car. Though I’d been more apprehensive about this Peachtree than any before (my physical shape and finances), it turned out to be a good day.

Independence Day

Tuesday I worked until 5 pm. Plenty to do, even with EZGo shut down. Stopped by the library on the way home and picked up my reserved John Smoltz book.

Lasagna for dinner, then I watched the Braves game. Will, Perry, Anna, and Victoria went to the game, and sat under the left field overhand, out of the rain. Great night to go, with Chipper going 5-5, with 4 RBI, a SB, and a great play at third. Also a Heyward HR, and plenty more. Afterward they ate at a wing place.

Wednesday after returning home from the Peachtree, I cleaned out my messy car. Everyone went shopping at Perimeter Mall, but I stayed home and relaxed. Started reading Smoltz. Interesting, but he isn’t my favorite. Seems like the whole book will be about him explaining and justifying his actions…he spend several pages denying ironing his shirt while wearing it. I bet 99% of people have forgotten about that.

PaPa Johns pizza for dinner, then I took Anna, Victoria, and Matthew to Will’s Park for fireworks. We arrived late, and Alpharetta was packed. No spaces anywhere. Roads were blocked, so I dropped them off as close as possible. Drove around, and parked at La Casa Italian Restaurant, perhaps a mile away. Wanted to stay in the car, but finally walked the mile over to the park.

Afterward we wanted to take Victoria to the Varsity, but it was closed (at 10:15!). Had to settle for slushies from QuikTrip.

2012 Peachtree Road Race Times

0.54.19   18   Will Murphy

0.56.04   21   Bradley Morgan

0.57.06   43   Curt Swilley

0.57.55   38   Mandy Mullen

0.58.55   48   Jimmy Light

1.03.06   48   Glenn Armstrong

1.04.15   45   Kathleen Thomas (Jeff’s wife)

1.05.00   19   Rob Kelly

1.05.23   42   Elizabeth Flack Kennis

1.06.35   49   Lee Bates

1.06.45   30   Scott Morris
1.09.50   19   Preston Bates

1.12.28   39   Preston Smith

1.13.18   48   Steve Garrett

1.13.43   00   Tim McKenna

1.13.45   12   Matthew Arrowood

1.15.16   53   Rob Hickman

1.16.26   52   Dave Murphy

1.18.46   68   Grover Swilley

1.19.29   43   Dennis Arrowood

1.20.27   60   Phil Duffy

1.21.11   45   Laura Briscoe Carey
1.24.40   45   Clark Davie

1.30.45   46   Allen Cheatham

1.31.30   57   Clark Howard

1.36.58   51   Debbie Light Painter

1.37.27   42   Mary Elizabeth Teem

1.44.14   41   Angie Arrowood

1.44.14   12   Ryan Arrowood

2.01.04   18   Sarah Murphy
2.04.09   46   Lori Murphy

2.06.16   49   Franklyn Murphy

Chad Eaton ran a 49:30, but he doesn’t count.

2012 NL ROY update

An updated comparison of two of the National League Rookie of the Year candidates. The choice looks obvious to me.


AS = Andrelton Simmons' 28 games played.
H1 = Bryce Harper's last 30 games.
H2 = Bryce Harper's total 59 games played.


PL..AVG.OBP..SLG..OPS...H...2B.3B.HR..BI...BB...K
AS...323...364...495...859...32.....6...1...3...14.....7...11
H1...264...314...409...723...29.....7...0...3...11.....8...29
H2...280...354...478...832...65...14...4...8...23...26...51


Playing the harder shortstop position, Simmons has a higher fielding percentage.


tot chances/F%/range factor
AS...141...979...4.93
BH...150...967...1.84


In June Simmons was named the NL rookie of the month. ESPN named him baseball's fielder of the month.

JUMP!

Emily and Anna were able to spend time together down in Destin, taking dozens of photos.

Hawks Trade Johnson

What do you think about the trade? Joe Johnson is a fine player, but the Hawks weren’t going deeper into the playoffs with his salary hanging over the team. Having to trade Marvin was the price the Hawks had to pay. Someone said the pick from Vandy was the best shooter in the draft. Lang is supposed to weigh in with his thoughts today. I finally read his excellent GQ article about the Dream Team.

Signing Ben Sheets was a no lose deal. Hopefully it will turn out like the Jaret Wright signing. Interesting story about Sheets’ return. Last night I read the AJC.com Braves blog about Ryan Dempster visiting the kids. Noticed there were no comments, so I quickly added the first one.

Wish Simmons would stop sliding headfirst into first base. Has Heyward finally learned that lesson? Interesting that Javy Lopez wrote a book. Didn’t know he had a story to tell. Funny that the Braves are promoting it so.

Will’s spring teammate Perry is quite the piano player. He says Kimbrel works out at the same place that he does. Will went to his game yesterday and today. Came home with three Perfect Game foul balls. By the time the evening rolled around he and Will were out of things to do. Will went for a run and Perry played the piano. Tonight they may go to the Braves game, and take Anna and her cousin Victoria, who’s in town for a visit.

I’m not really felling tomorrow’s Peachtree Road Race. We’re near the back, and won’t start until 9 am. Two guys in the office (Dennis and Tim) are also near the back. and Dennis will run slower than me, and Tim will run faster (as will Will).

Have you seen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter yet? Did you read the book? The author’s other books look interesting as well, including the recent release on the three wise men. I’m enjoying 11-22-63. Gonna take a while to finish.

Classic NFL Jerseys

I’ve probably done this before: listing classic one jersey from each NFL team. As you can see, I’m partial to the 60’s and 70’s, when football players were still my heroes. Now I know better.

ARZ: Conrad Dobler 74 white with stripes

ATL: Bob Berry 17 black with stripes

CAR: Reggie White 93 black with stripes

CHI: Dick Butkus 51 navy with stripes

DAL: Walt Garrison 32 blue with stripes

DET: Alex Karras 71 blue with stripes

GB: Paul Hornug 5 green with stripes

MIN: Alan Page 88 purple with stripes

NYG: Sam Huff 70 blue

NO: Bill Kilmer 17 black with stripes

PHIL: Norm Van Brocklin 17 green with stripes

STL: Merlin Olsen 74 white with stripe

SF: Joe Montana 16 red with stripes

SEA: Steve Largent 80 blue with stripes

TB: Steve Young 8 crème with stripes

WSH: Bill Kilmer 17 burgundy with stripes

BALT: Ray Lewis 52 black

BUF: Jack Kemp 15 blue with stripes

CLEV: Jim Brown 32 brown with stripes

DEN: Floyd Little 44 red with stripes

HOU: Matt Schaub 8 navy

IND: Johnny Unitas 19 blue with stripes

JAX: Steve Berlein 7 teal

KC: Len Dawson 16 red with stripes

MIA: Jim Kiick 21 aqua with stripes

NE: Gino Cappeletti 20 red with stripes

NYJ: Don Maynard 13 green with stripes

OAK: Fred Belitnikoff 25 black

PITT: Franco Harris 32 black with stripes

SD: Lance Alworth 19 blue with stripes

TEN: Dan Pastorini 7 blue with stripes

The Look

Set Sail From Fiction

Saturday night I took A and M up the Land of a Thousand Hills…”Set Sail From Fiction” (Joel Norman and Matt Ellis) were playing and singing as the evening entertainment out on the patio. Becky, Willis, David, and Charles were there, and all four Hurts were there. A big crowd attended, most of whom we knew. All the grown ups sat over to the side…hopefully we didn’t chat too much.

Kyle served as the opening act, and did a great job. Connor and Russ helped set up. Joel had constructed a wooden set, and strung up lights and decorative bottles. They prepared 13 songs. Joel played guitar, keyboards, and drums. Matt sang backup, and played guitar, drums, and banjo. All the Hanson’s and Ellis’ were there. It was good to see Mickey and Lynn Taylor, who came with son Michael. Kevin and Haley came straight from the Braves game. Kyle’s parents arrived while Kyle was playing.

Ceil stayed home and watched Mary-Clayton’s pageant on line. Both Joel’s concert and the pageant started at 8 pm. Haley Hurt got it on our cell phone, and kept up posted. After an opening number and introductions, the top ten girls were selected. MC made the top ten. Then the ten performed their talent, spoke, and together did a fitness routine. After the evening gowns, the three top winners were introduced. Many thought MC should’ve been one of the top three. This morning the winner (North Carolina) is one the Today Show.

Hadn’t seen Alyssa since Christmas, and she seemed more of her chipper self. Watching MC’s fitness routine, David joked that Alyssa could take out the all 50 pageant contestants in short order.

Sunday I cleaned upstairs, and did a more thorough job than usual. Downstairs I watched more of the golf tourney than the Braves game. Did all the laundry, the dishes, and straightened up most all of the downstairs. Will’s teammate Perry came over to spend the night…he’d been playing games all weekend in the hundred degree heat. We watched the Mets/Dodgers game. At 10 pm I picked up Will over near the interstate.

I was going to go hear Beth Moore, but we weren’t sure what time our company was coming, so I stayed back. As usual, our house was a mess, and it fell on me to clean it. Plus I didn’t know what time Will would need to be picked up.

Lots of people from other churches went to the afternoon and evening services. Ceil’s friend Noelle wanted Ceil to save five seats. Ceil said that ten minutes before the service if saved seats weren’t taken, they had to be given up.

Sunday morning Perry and his parents went to FBC Atlanta. They said Charles Stanley preached in the early service, but then got sick and had to go home. At eleven they played the video of the earlier service. Another friend in town from Florida attended Buckhead Church. This morning Will was going to Perry’s 9 am game.

Friday night we ate at Willys, and shopped at the Avenue. Cleaned up a little on Saturday, and watched the Braves and some of the golf tourney.

Patterson’s Exile sounds good…I’ll have to put it on my list. Sounds similar to Joel Rosenberg’s books, which are great. I’m listening to 11-23-63 by Stephen King. Not a scary book, but lots of detail about life in the late 50’s. It has 33 hour-long CD’s, so it’s going to take time to get through it. Most of the books I listen to only have ten CD’s.

If you’re coming to watch the Peachtree, you’ll have to wait a LONG time to see me. We won’t even start until AFTER 9 am. Won’t get to SPdL until almost 9:30. Thought about selling my number, but it’s my 25th Peachtree.

21 Braves Jerseys

Best I can tell, the Braves have worn at least 21 different uniforms, since their days in Milwaukee. This doesn’t count special throwback uniforms, like they’ve worn in the Civil Rights game, or in Boston against the Red Sox.

Here’s a list of 21 different notable jerseys:

50’s satin home…Chuck Tanner…1

50’s satin road…Johnny Sain

1957 home…Eddie Matthews…41

1957 road…Warren Spahn…21

1963 Mil home…Joe Torre…9. Or Bob Uecker.

1964 Mil road…Hank Aaron…44

1967 Atl home…Felix Millan…17. Or Ron Reed.

1967 Atl road…Rico Carty 25.

1969 navy pinstripe…Orlando Cepeda…30. Or Pat Jarvis.

1969 road…Phil Niekro…35

1972 white feather…Mike Lum…28

1974 royal feather…Darrell Evans…11

1976 red pinstripe…Channel…17. Or Biff Pocoroba.

1977 blue road…Jeff Burroughs…7. Or Darrell Chaney.

1982 home…Bob Horner…5 (or was he #11 by then?) Or Rick Camp.

1983 road…Dale Murphy…3. Or Rick Mahler.

1995 home tomahawk…Greg Maddux…31. Or Francisco Cabrera.

1996 road tomahawk…Tom Glavine 47. Or Smoltz.

2010 red tomahawk… Bobby Cox…6

2011 navy… Chipper Jones…10

2012 cream…Andrelton Simmons…19. Or David Ross.