He was not a bad LOOGY for the Nationals, but Frank would bring him in as a loogy and, if he got the out, figure he was on a role and leave him until forced (generally by the donation of multiple runs to the other team) to remove him. Frank loved Eischen's wild and crazy (and tough) guy shtick.

Add "middle" to that clause and you may remove the "almost". Some closers can rarely be reliable for perhaps one more year, but anyone who trades anything of value for a "middle reliever" is surely voiding into the wind, or worse, getting a Baez! I have tried to avoid unsavory expression as much as possible.

I don't think Rudy has ever asked for a ~ on his uniform. I never knew until last year that it was Minnie Miñoso.

But I think the topic of name pronunciations might be a candidate for rule #11.

One can only hope we don't acquire an "Encarnacion."

the topic of name pronunciations might be a candidate for rule #11

Nah, that's name spellings.

The only name that needs to be spelled correctly is mine.

Rule #12 is open.

Bumsrap- I didn't consider Oregon State. The town is far too small for me. I've heard from a friend who goes there that the social scene is dominated by Greek life. Apparently, it's a nice school, but I don't think it would have been a good fit for me. I just didn't feel that would be worth it to pay the out of state tuition for Oregon State. If I was an engineering major, that would be a different story.

Unlike Chin-Hui Tsao, I will not choose a team (school) based on the color of their uniforms. If I did, UO would blow the other schools I'm applying to out of the water.

Eventually, it might come down to UofA and UO. Right now, I'd give a slight edge to UO.

I really don't like the new AP ratings that came out today. Texas A & M is being severely underrated. Duke is one of the most overrated teams in college basketball. They beat two very mediocre teams in Wake Forest and NC State, yet they moved up 4 (?) spots in the rankings. I don't know how I feel about Wisconsin being ranked 2nd. I guess they deserve it because they beat Ohio State and Pitt and are also undefeated in conference play. What really matters is where they are ranked at the end of the year, and that won't be ahead of UCLA. Oklahoma State is in a much tougher conference than Alabama. Bama just lost to Vanderbilt, so there's no reason why they should be ranked ahead of Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State has had one of the toughest schedules in the country so far.

You're not Irish are you?

But seventh in the Pac-10 standings.

Oregon State's colors = black and orange

Those are not Dodger friendly colors

You're not Irish are you?
No, but I do like Saint Patrick's Day.

It's not the same as losing Norm Chow, but it will hurt a little bit. My guess is Steve Sarkisian officially takes the reigns as Offensive Coordinator (not just QB coach). It will be interesting next year for the offense, with Patrick Turner as the #1 WR and a bunch of younguns behind him, to go along with a still-young RB group.

Kiffin, of course, is best known for making all of those wonderful adjustments to the USC offense against UCLA.

"Hey, let's try running CJ Gable. Oh, that didn't work. Let's try it again. Still didn't work. OK, I'm stumped!"

A Harris poll finds the NFL the favorite sport of almost as many people as the combined total of the next 3 sports..

NFL 29%

Baseball 14%
Auto Racing 9%
NBA 7%

College football checked in as the country's third fave sport at 13%.

Ouch.

Yet, wants it all for itself.

MLS might get 0.1% then!

http://tinyurl.com/yt9xjm

Perhaps he will end up in the same cemetery as Frank Robinson, so we can have a cotillion.

Plus, hobbits live like a way long time.

I'm sleeping in tomorrow.

On the other hand, my son could wake up that early anyway, even though his interest in the nominations is minute.

All the best, D4P.

I'm not sure why she said that.

I think there have been a couple Indy races at Nashville Superspeedway. Indy style racing might make a dent in NASCAR after, say, 3-400 years.

I couldn't have helped any kind of auto racing. I R not a racing fan.

Corvalis = beautiful

Eugene = litigious

The Frats at OSU garantee someone will be running down the street in their underware during hell week. The trick is to not get hit with what they would have been drinking before they began the run. But that was before the university cracked down and got rid of the animal houses.

She's not much into Dodger Thoughts. Or the greater tube system, for that matter.

Good luck D4P

The Frats at OSU garantee someone will be running down the street in their underware during hell week.
Is that a good thing? Frat parties are fun at first, but they get old fast.

So why do you hate Eugene so much? I thought it was a pretty nice town.

Mr. Brock, If the Russians were all White guys, how did they know who was in the Red Guard an who was on the White side?

Seriously...How awesome is that?

Er, yeah, I guess...

It's got a nice ring to it.

I don't hate Eugene in the same way I try to not hate anything.

Once you get used to the trees, rivers, and overall beauty of Oregon then you can start to notice the things that substract from some places. Eugene has that road that is like a highway running through a village. It just doesn't belong there. Then there is that Eugene Springfield metro area that gives off a feelling of crowdedness.

Eugene does have culture. Lots of theater, art, attorneys, etc. I like UofO's helmets but not their jerseys. You can either date a duck at uo or a beaver at osu.

Corvalis is off by itself surrounded by rolling hills, rivers, major technology companies, and a cozy town that is a college town. It has a beautiful campus with lots of brick buildings.

Eugene is like Tuscan. A second city too far from the heart of the state. You said you liked Seattle but not Portland. Seattle is more exciting than Portland but get on I5 in rush hour and you will sit. I5 in Seattle is a parking lot at 8 and 5.

Spend a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night in the heart of Portland and you will have fun.

I have a son that graduated from Oregon State and another son that graduated from Arizona State and another that is inching closer and closer to graduating from ASU.

So, one way or another I am representing ASU, OSU, Cal Poly and rooting for the Pac 10 team that has the best chance to be ranked the highest nationally.

"Well, at least we're not going to mix them up with those guys with the black hands."

http://tinyurl.com/28en5s

But I realize most people aren't.

Wow, having grown up in Springfield I never thought I would see the Eugene/Springfield area described that way. Granted, there have been a lot of changes, but still. I guess it's really all a matter of opinion. Since you had a son graduate from OSU, I understand your bias. It took moving to California to really appreciate what I had in Oregon. Grass is always "greener".

You rang?

Why is Corey Patterson hitting sixth or seventh when he was in the top 10 in steals? He should be hitting first.
-- Brian H., Columbia, Md.

And somewhere, a sabermetrician is screaming at his screen. . . .

My condolences...

Thanks to all for your well wishes. I just returned from spending a total of 2.5 hours at the hospital, which consisted of a 5-minute x-ray, 5-minute chat with the doctor, and 2.33 hours of waiting.

But I guess it was worth the wait, as I am apparently very close to 100% healthy now. The radiologist still needs to review my x-ray, so there is a slight chance I'll have to go back, but the doctor wasn't expecting that to happen.

I must say: hospitals are not very fun places to spend time.

RE Wazzu - doesnt' Mark Hendrickson post here?

Can someone explain to me the difference between UofA and ASU? I gather that its not like UC and CSU where the former is more research oriented and has tougher admissions. If the two Arizona schools are chartered any differently, its not visible to the naked eye. My brother went to UA and I don't think he knows the difference.

ASU, like UCLA, started as a normal school, and then morphed into a full research university.

UofA and ASU have the same governing body, the Arizona Board of Regents. Northern Arizona is part of that group as well.

The Oregon Legislative Assembly, through the efforts of W. W. Moreland, a member of the Corvallis College faculty, "designated and adopted" Corvallis College on October 27 "as the Agricultural College of the State of Oregon" and the recipient of land grant fund income derived from the sale of 90,000 acres in southeast Oregon. The Corvallis College Board of Trustees accepted the designation on October 31. Permanent adoption of Corvallis College as the state's agricultural college came in 1870.

Any relation to Cubs' outfielder "Keith" of the same surname...?

http://tinyurl.com/323tdu

That's kind of like saying "Steiner, Bill Gates, and Rick Monday are the wealthiest trio in the world."

The Literal Doctor: I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's nothing more that I can do.
[everyone gasps]
Michael: Let him keep talking.
The Literal Doctor: Because Dr. Stein has been assigned to your case

Why do we keep getting this guy???

My parents took me to the Harry and David plant. And we saw cheese being made somewhere else. My dad really liked that.

He's a very literal man.

103
I haven't been in Oregon since I was 7

Waaahhh...?

Oh yeah, since your not a Beaver, I'm glad you're not dead.

If you mean high school, the answer is Sheldon 1992.

Actually those Walton kids are the wealthiest trio in the world. Makes you realize that if Sam Walton were still alive he'd be much wealthier than Bill Gates. Kind of scary heh?

http://tinyurl.com/znq6e

Sam Walton is dead to me.

it is the only state in the union that I have never visited

That's funny. Poor Oregon. It always gets the shaft.

Had a lot of friends who went to Sheldon

I had one friend from Springfield, a guy by the name of Ryan Moore who graduated in 93.

My two oldest brothers wanted to go to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival.

Since I was 7 and the only tickets available were standing room, I didn't go.

Now Washington is a whole different story. I've been there three times. Washington has the advantage of being a real state.

You can pick up your gauntlet...

1. Lush, fertile valley (with cities to boot)
2. Multiple mountain ranges, with waterfalls, old growth forests etc.
3. Stunning coastline, with freezing cold water but beautiful vistas
4. High desert, with various rock formations, painted hills, etc.
5. Oh: and Crater Lake

Now there's a state!

And make sure to refer to the city of Portland (not just the airport) as PDX.

"I feel bad that people wasted their money on such trite, blah pop music," says Moore about her earlier music

No word on Ms. Moore's reimbursement plan...

Don't let that stop you from enjoying what the state has to offer.

Nebraska beckons!

So do the Carolinas!

And the Dakotas!

Then ixnay on the Ewnay Exicomay

So do the Carolinas!

Come on out!1 We can go to a Durham Bulls game this summer and you can keep score while I complain about the humidity. Plus, you must be tired of scoring by yourself2...

1If you can't make it in person, you can always go there in your mind

2There it is again...

113 a girl attending USC ... was kicked out of school for paying her roommate to do her homework Another long-held, well-rooted, time-honored tradition bites the dust. Or maybe they don't expel you if you are smart enough to get a booster to pay.

Too late.

Can't you see the sunshine?
Can't you just feel the moonshine?

I'm guessing Greg doesn't care much for the popular tunes...

His powers are limitless!

And the UNC Student Health Center is named after him! And so (I think) is a museum and a bridge in Chapel Hill!

Woah, I would swear I just saw a new post up top. Something about happy birthday to Ernie or something. But now it's gone.

It's like, so weird.

~ Coos Bay was interesting
~ Corvallis was beautiful
~ Eugene was a small city with a giant freeway through the middle
~ I loved Portland
~ It seemed like I saw a myrtlewood shop about every mile.

Technically, the giant freeway (I-5) separates Eugene from Springfield, with Eugene on the west, and Springfield on the east.

Holy cow, was that that game played on the "computer" back in the early 80s that just printed out what was happening?

http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/otrail.shtml

http://www.bustedtees.com/shirt/dysentery

The 80's pwned!

Careful, Bob's gonna think us under-40 folks all talk alike...

http://thcnet.net/error/index.php

this one's a little better.

http://www.gameszoo.org/rezork/rezork1.html

I'm going home to do that right now!

I never dabbled much in actual computer games. However, I happen to have played one of the King's Quest games with my friend on his computer. It was either IV or V. The thing I remember (which we had to call the company to figure out) was getting stuck at one point. The way out was to

1. Drop some honey on the ground,
2. Drop some diamonds in the honey,
3. Thus coaxing some little creature to come out of hiding for the diamonds, except
4. He gets stuck in the honey, and then you can
5. Make him help you move on.

What a scam! Those phone calls to the company cost money!

I remember when I first learned I could play RBI Baseball on my computer, a few years ago. I thought I'd never leave the house again.

And I had one class in Keith Moreland hall. It was writing.

I forgot to mention that there are 3 Walmarts in Eugene! Exciting…I know.

Which presumably includes the only Walmart I've ever been in, where I bought the watch that broke a month later.

I remember getting my first computer, a 386sx 20mhz screamer, and using my 9600 baud modem to get on Compuserve to look for games. I got a credit card bill with something like $80 in usage fees and I never used that service again.
It nearly ruined the internet for me.

161 I'm old enough to have played Adventure (AKA Colossal Cave) - all text - on 110-baud Decwriter terminals, pre-Zork.

166 Some bored co-workers wrote a computer version of Strat-0-Matic in the mid 80s, before they sold a version, I think. Prior to that, they created a data entry screen (crude GUI) and database for Strat cards so they could perform statistical analysis based on the actual card data, including individual matchup statistics for the entire league. Before a game they would print the combined BA, OBP, Slg, etc. for the combined hitters/pitchers cards of the two teams for the home ballpark.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/David-Shafer.shtml

I'm glad they found somebody to take him. And that Mr. Ned wasn't the somebody.

I remember a game, pre-Apple II (much less IIe), that involved a printer and some kind of data input device (presumably a keyboard). There was no monitor. You would type in your move, then the printer would print out what happened.

XYZZY.
Y2.
A narrow, twisty, maze of passages, all different.
...most of them throw knives at you!!!!! ALL of them get you!!!!!

I remember Rob Neyer in 1999 saying that Tatis was going to be one of the top players of the next decade. He admitted later it was one of his bigges gaffes but who knew in 99 that he would fall off a cliff.