Author: AJ

Completely Useless Baseball Draft Facts

By Blaidd Drwg

I was reading an article on a high school pitcher, who could potentially be the #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. The article pointed out that there has never been a high school right handed pitcher taken #1 overall – there have been left handed high schoolers and right handed college pitcher taken in that spot.

I went over to baseball-reference.com to look at the #1 overall picks through the 47 drafts and learned some interesting stuff:

  • Only 2 high school pitchers have been taken #1 overall – David Clyde in 1973 an Brien Taylor in 1991. Clyde was rushed to the majors, hurt his arm and ended up with a career 18-33 record. Brien Taylor got into a bar fight in the minors, hurt his arm and never played in the majors.
  • No second baseman has ever been taken #1 overall – the only position that has never been selected in that spot. Heck, of all the guys taken at #1, the leader in appearances at 2B is Jeff King who appeared at 2B in 121 of his 1201 career games.
  • There have been more SS drafted #1 overall (8) than the other infield positions combined (7 – 4 at 3b at 3 at 1B)
  • There have also been more catchers drafted #1 overall (5) than 1B or 3B.

Note: The catcher and shortstop thing make sense – the majority of guys drafted at those 2 positions were high school players, and those tend to be the positions where the best athletes play in high school.

  • As of writing this post, there are no members of the Baseball Hall of Fame that were drafted #1 overall. There are only 3 players who were drafted #1 overall that look like sure-fire hall of famers, and two of them drafted by the same team – Ken Griffey Jr and Alex Rodriguez (Chipper Jones being the third).
  • There are 6 players drafted #1 overall that have never played in a MLB game, 4 of whom are still active. Granted 3 of them were drafted in the last 4 years, but all but one of the six (Gerrit Cole) was drafted out of high school.
  • The Mets and Padres have had the most #1 overall selections with 5. There are 8 teams that have never had the #1 overall selection – Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rockies, Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers, Indians and Reds. In case you were wondering, the Yankees have had the number #1 overall twice.
  • Arizona State University has produced 3 top picks – Rick Monday in 1965, Floyd Bannister in 1976 and Bob Horner in 1978. No other college has ever produced more than 1 overall #1 pick.
  • Danny Goodwin managed to get taken #1 overall twice – in 1971 by the White Sox out of high school (he didn’t sign and went to college instead) and in 1975 by the Angels out of college. Despite that distinction, he is tied for the worst career WAR for the top pick in the draft at -1.4 with Matt Anderson (for players who appeared in a MLB game).

One After Another

by A.J. Coltrane

My earliest tangible memory of Dr. J. (source).

 

The white guy shoots. The black guy jumps. I didn't think anything of it at the time, I'm not sure I should think anything of it now. It *does* highlight what each of them was known for.

 

The ad ran on the back of comic books in 1977. It probably dates to the summer after the ABA folded. I don’t remember seeing the Dr. on TV prior to that. I don’t remember Rick Barry as an active player at all. For that matter, I don’t remember our family watching any NBA when I was young — my first NBA memory was the Sonics championship series that they lost to the Bullets. (Of course, with only one TV in the house that got three channels plus PBS, it was Wide World of Sports or nothing… A least it was a *color* TV.)

I think the ad above and the video below share some DNA. To put it another way, I think they’re sort of spiritually connected somehow…

 

Who else raps like this? (lyrics link)

I Want To Say a Little Something That’s Long Overdue
The Disrespect To Women Has Got To Be Through
To All The Mothers And Sisters And The Wives And Friends
I Want To Offer My Love And Respect To The End

My favorite (and the inspiration for the title of the post), the beatdown of 3rd Bass:

So many wack M.C.’s You get the T.V. bozack
Ain’t even gonna call out your names ‘Cause you’re so wack
But one big oaf whose faker than plastic
A dictionary definition of the word spastic
You should have never started something That you couldn’t finish
‘Cause writin’ rhymes to me Is like Popeye to spinach
I’m bad ass move your fat ass ‘Cause you’re wack son
Dancin’ around like you think you’re Janet Jackson
Thought you could walk on me To get some ground to walk on
I’ll put the rug out under your ass As I talk on
I’ll take you out like a sniper on a roof
Like an M.C. at the fever in the D.J. booth
With your headphones strapped You’re rockin’ rewind pause
Tryin’ to figure out what you can do to go for yours
But like the pencil to the paper I got more to come
One after another you can all get some

More spice than the frugal gourmet!

Fenway Turns 100

By Blaidd Drwg

ESPN has a list of the 100 greatest Fenway Park moments to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the park. I have managed to only be at one of them #99, Springsteen plays Fenway. How disappointing is that? It isn’t even baseball related. It is memorable since it was one of the last times I went to Fenway before moving to Seattle.

The interesting one is #46 – Derek Lowe’s No-No. In 2002, I was still living in Boston and my company still had tickets that they actually let employees use, and that weekend, I was given the opportunity to go to the Saturday or Sunday game. I chose the Sunday game.

The Saturday game was a warm, Saturday afternoon affair between the Sox and Rays and it was the game that Derek Lowe started. I remember watching it and calling up one of my friends who was supposed to go with me the next day and getting a world of shit for my selection of games.

The real kicker though – the next day it was cold, windy and rainy, and the Sox and Rays did not even play the game. Oh, to have a do-over on that one!

The Task of Finding Great BBQ in Seattle

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It is difficult to find a great BBQ place in Seattle – there are a lot of them, but they generally range from mediocre to bad (and yes, I have gone to see the man, and I was underwhelmed). I am usually cautiously optimistic when a new place opens, and then usually disappointed because the quality is not up to snuff. There are 3 food items that any BBQ competition judges on – pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Those are the BBQ staples (although I long for burnt ends) and, like a cheese pizza, any place that can’t do those well is probably not worth going to.

A couple of months ago, a new BBQ place opened in Ballard – The Boar’s Nest. I decided to give it a shot. The place is small, seating about 30, with a minimal décor, rolls of paper towels on the tables and a nice selection of sauces – 6 in all, ranging from vinegar based, to mustard, to “classic” BBQ to spicy, so there is a little of something for everyone. The menu is small – 4 sandwich options (pulled pork, brisket, sausage and chicken), 2 sizes of ribs and a smattering of your classic sides. They also have a veggie option on the sausage. It is a pretty basic BBQ menu, but one that is generally perfectly acceptable.

The sandwiches are excellent, easily at the top in Seattle, and on par with some of the best BBQ that I have had. The pulled pork is tender and smoky, with the right amount of fat mixed in with the meat. My biggest complaint about most of the pulled pork I have had in Seattle is that it tends to be very dry or overly fatty, and the only way to save it is to drown it in sauce, which then eliminates the flavor of the meat. I would highly recommend the sandwich with the coleslaw on it and a small squeeze of the vinegar based North Carolina Sauce, to add just a bit of tang and sloppiness to the sandwich and really allows the pork to shine.

The brisket is another well prepared sandwich, served on Texas toast. You could see the classic smoke ring, which is essential to good BBQ and the meat itself was tender with nice amounts of char and smoke without being fatty or stringy, the sandwich stands up well to a dash of the Texas sauce to bring a bit of heat to the party. My only complaint – save me the burnt ends and put them on a sandwich for me!!

The sides are pretty standard BBQ fare offerings, and I highly recommend the fried mac+cheese, 4 crunchy, gooey, cheesy balls of happiness, the slaw, a nice balance of vinegar and sweet with a pleasant crunch, and the cornbread, moist and tender, but if you get it to go, have them give you the butter on the side – if you put it in the bag, you will end up with melted butter. Both of these sandwiches would have held their own to anything I have tried in BBQ competitions.

Since I was 2 for 2 at The Boar’s Nest, I got adventurous and decided to try the ribs. Ribs are classically the downfall of just about every BBQ place in Seattle – they are either too dry or mushy or just not really well smoked. A perfectly done BBQ rib should be very tender and not stringy, have a slight resistance to coming off the bone (it should NOT just fall apart when you bite into it), a smoky flavor and a visible smoke ring. It should also hold its shape when the rack is cut into individual ribs. If you ask BBQ lovers if the ribs should be wet or dry (sauce or no sauce), you will get very different answers, but either way, the meat should hold up to what I just described.

The ribs are where the Boar’s Nest fell down. First, they used baby back ribs, instead of the full ribs, which is a no-no as far as I am concerned with BBQ. Baby back ribs tend to cook more quickly and don’t absorb the smoke as a result, which is one of the problems The Boar’s Nest ribs suffered from. The meat was too tender – the ribs fell apart as I was trying to cut the slab into individual ribs, leaving me essentially with a pile of pulled pork. The meat was bland, despite being bathed in the Kansas City sauce (opted for the ribs wet), it lacked any real hit of smokiness and I actually had to add salt to the meat as I was eating it, which is not a good sign. I probably could have just added more sauce, but I wanted to try the ribs naked, just to make sure I got the full effect. This was really the only disappointing thing I have had off their menu. On the plus side, a half rack could probably feed 2 people easily.

While The Boar’s Nest isn’t perfect, it is still better than just about any BBQ place in Seattle. I would recommend without hesitation the sandwiches and any of the sides, but stay away from the ribs unless you like fall-apart tender baby back ribs. I would highly recommend trying all of their wonderful house made sauces to find your favorite.

Overall The Boar’s Nest scores 4 smoke rings out of 5.

The Dirt: Sandwiches run $7-8 without sides or $12 with 2 sides and cornbread and the ribs are $15 for a half slab and $25 for a full with 2 sides and cornbread. The sides are $2-3 each. They do have a couple local beers on tap and small bottles of wine available. Located at 2008 NW 56th St in Ballard.

Stupid Things from The Mouth of Bud Selig

By Blaidd Drwg

I really don’t have any love for Bud Selig and I have even less love for him when he starts spouting off about how teams need lavish publicly financed stadiums to replace their current facilities. Bud did just that the other day, saying the A’s and the Rays need a new place to call home. My favorite line from his comments:

“You can’t ask people to compete if they have a stadium that doesn’t produce any kind of revenue to give them a chance to compete. So that’s a given.”

OK – so the Rays, a team that you say needs a new stadium to be competitive, has made the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons, in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox. I don’t think a shiny new ballpark is the answer here; people are not going to go to Rays games either way. So does this mean that you are going to ask the Padres, Pirates, Twins – all of whom are generally in the bottom half of league payroll and all of whom have newer stadiums that were publicly funded, to finally spend some money and compete?

Another tidbit:

The last time I was there, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’ll say it anyway, it reminded me of County Stadium and Shea Stadium, and that’s not a compliment, in either case.

Hell, the Dodgers draw close to 4 million a year in a not particularly charismatic vintage 1962 ballpark. A new ballpark gives you about a 2 year attendance boost. People will go to games to see a quality product on the field, not because of the bells and whistles at the park. Just ask the Mariners, who have what most people consider to be one of the 3 or 4 best stadiums in baseball, how well consistently losing in a nice stadium has worked out.

Musical Chairs: The Restaurant Edition

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It seems that there is plenty of movement around the Ballard/Wallingford/Fremont restaurant scene these days.

Joule, the really great Korean/French/American fusion place has closed its Wallingford location and is moving to 35th and Stone with an opening sometime in June (hopefully).

Hunger, the really great Mediterranean comfort food place is (supposedly) moving from its current location on 42nd and Fremont Ave. to the old Dad Watson’s space just down the street. This was supposed to happen in February, but as of yesterday, Hunger was still located on 42nd.

Elemental and Elemental Too, the funky and somewhat obnoxious but incredibly good Northwest inspired places, are closing in June. They lost their lease and haven’t decided if they are going to open in a new location. Phred, the owner/server/sommelier at Elemental can be gruff and rub people the wrong way, but if you are willing to put yourself in his hands with both food and wine and know when to ask questions about what you are eating (read as – AFTER you have finished it), it is an amazing dining experience.

Le Gourmand, the venerable French/Northwest institution in Ballard, has moved it closing date to June 30 to accommodate more reservations.

Where Ya At Matt, the popular food truck (where I had the worst gumbo of my life), is opening a sit down location at the site of the old Buckaroo Tavern sometime this summer.

I am sad to see Elemental go, I really think it is one of the best places around, but you really have to be willing to give up control over what you are eating and drinking – sort of like coming to an Iron Chef Leftovers dinner. I have been twice (with a plan to go one more time) and both times the food was outstanding and the wine pairings were spot on. Considering that they don’t accept tips (really), I got out of there both times with a $80 tab (4 courses, 6 generous wine pours) and I found Phred, the eclectic owner, to be a great host.

I am concerned about Hunger and Joule. Both are relatively small places that put out great food. I have generally found that every time a restaurant that fits that bill moves to a bigger location, the quality tends to drop. I really hope that is not the case because Hunger is a favorite of the Iron Chef Leftovers clan and I really loved Joule’s quirky fusion menu.

Way To Go Jered!

by A.J. Coltrane

Jered Weaver got his first career no-hitter on Wednesday; his wife and parents were in attendance at the game.  (image source here)

The happiest man in the world.

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve always rooted for Jered Weaver here at CSE, ever since we saw him in April 2006 pitching one of his last Triple A starts — he struck out 12 Tacoma Rainiers in only 6 innings. I found the box score:

RAINIERS 4, BEES 2

Completion of April 29 suspended game

 
Salt Lake AB R H BI BB SO
Aybar, ss 3 0 0 0 1 0
Murphy, cf 3 0 1 0 0 1
McPherson, 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2
Smith, 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morales, 1b 2 2 1 0 2 1
Gorneault, rf 4 0 2 1 0 0
Napoli, c 3 0 1 1 0 2
Specht, 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3
Pride, lf 3 0 0 0 1 1
Pavkovich, dh 3 0 0 0 0 2
Total 29 2 5 2 4 12
 
Tacoma AB R H BI BB SO
Choo, rf 4 1 0 0 0 1
Jones, cf 4 1 1 1 0 1
Dobbs, 3b 4 0 1 1 0 2
Morse, lf 3 0 1 1 0 1
Sears, 1b 4 0 0 0 0 3
Brown, dh 3 0 0 0 0 3
Cabrera, ss 2 1 1 0 1 1
Johnson, c 3 0 1 1 0 2
Youngbauer, 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0
Total 30 4 6 4 1 14
 
 
Salt Lake 011 000 000 — 2 5 2
Tacoma 000 000 04X — 4 6 0

E — Smith, C 2 (2). DP — Tacoma 1. LOB — Salt Lake 6; Tacoma 4. 2B — Murphy, T (5); Morales, K (2); Gorneault, N (3); Morse, M (3); Cabrera, A (4); Youngbauer (3). HBP — Napoli, M. SH — Murphy, T (1). SF — Morse, M (2). SB —Jones, A (3); Dobbs, G (4).

 
Salt Lake IP H R ER BB SO
Moseley 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
Weaver 6.0 4 2 1 1 12
Rouwenhorst 0.1 0 1 1 0 0
Jones 0.2 2 1 0 0 1
 
Tacoma IP H R ER BB SO
Nageotte 1.0 1 1 1 1 2
Jimenez 5.0 3 1 1 3 6
Dorman 2.0 1 0 0 0 3
Fruto 1.0 0 0 0 0 1

Nageotte faced 2 batters in the 2nd. Weaver faced 2 batters in the 8th.

W — Dorman, R (2-1). L — Rouwenhorst, (1-2). S — Fruto, E (2). HBP — by Fruto, E (Napoli, M). T — 2:42 A — N/A

(It’s actually harder than you might think to find a minor league box score from 6 years ago…) Remember the second game of the doubleheader, when Dallas McPherson lost that ball in the sun, then came back and smacked a home run to make up for it?

In a related sidenote, look at the 2006 Tacoma Rainiers roster. It’s no surprise that the M’s major league club is mediocre in 2012. The only two players of any real value were traded away (Shin-Soo Choo and Adam Jones). The rest of the squad were fringe major league talents. (I take that back, Mike Morse is having a solid, if unexceptional career. Did I miss anyone else?)

Beer of the Week: Hale’s Brewing Tres Fem

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I really liked Hale’s Tres Fem when I had it on tap at the Belgian Beer Festival in January, so I figured I would give it a shot in the bottle, since it is a much more convenient delivery format that getting a keg. Tres Fem is a collaboration beer between Kathleen Hale of Hale’s Ale and Jessica Husted and Reina Powers of Der Blokken Brewery. Belgian yeast blend, Saaz hops, 2-Row Pale Malt, Flaked Barley and Wheat Malt, and finally Tart Cherries make up this brew.

The beer pours with a slightly red, amber color, capped with a milky white head. Subtle hints of yeast and cherries are present on the nose and the initial taste was slightly sweet giving way to a dry palate followed by a pleasantly lingering finish of sour cherries. As the beer warms, it becomes creamy and sweet with a strong cherry flavor, but lacking some of the tartness that I initially loved in the beer. Overall, a wonderful drinking experience if you like cherry in your beer. I would recommend serving at 50 – 55 degrees to get a full appreciation for its range of flavors.

Rating – 4 Rainiers out of 5.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming…

By Iron Chef Leftovers

With a couple of changes to the cheapseateats website.

We have added a link at the top for Beer Ratings. This just defines what the 5-point rating system actually means, just so you don’t think I assign arbitrary scores to things.

We have broken the recipe category into sub –categories by type of main ingredient. This will make it easier to look at say our chicken recipes rather than having to hunt through all of the posts in the categories.

You may now resume your regularly scheduled program.