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Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Jordan Danks smacked a solo HR over the RF fence to break a 5-5 tie in the top of the 10th, and the White Sox scored another unearned run later in the inning, en route to a 7-5 extra inning victory over a Cubs split-squad in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in cold, blustery, and rainy Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.
It rained most of the night and again for about a half-hour just after noon (including a short burst of hail around 12:45), resulting in a 30-minute delay to the start of the game.
Once underway, Casey Coleman threw probably his best outing of the spring. The 24-year old third-generation MLB hurler tossed three shutout innings at the ChiSox (40 pitches – 28 strikes, 2/4 GO/FO), allowing two hits and no walks, while striking out three. (After he left the game, Coleman threw another 15 pitches in the bullpen).
RHP Gavin Floyd was the scheduled White Sox starter but was scratched just prior to game-time, probably because the Sox wanted Floyd to throw a certain number of pitches (perhaps 60), without having to worry about getting interrupted by a rain delay (which was a distinct possibility).
As a result, RHP Zach Stewart (who was probably going to "piggy-back " with Floyd anyway) took the ball and pitched the first three innings, allowing the Cubs two runs on six hits.
The Cubs opened their scoring in the bottom of the 2nd, as Jeff Baker and Josh Vitters lined singles to right. Alfredo Amezaga sliced an opposite-field double into the LF corner to score Baker and Vitters, and then Tony Campana followed with a line single to left to move Amezaga to 3rd (Campana's first hit of the Spring). But David DeJesus popped out and (after Campana stole 2nd) Marlon Byrd grounded out, as the Cubs left runners stranded at 2nd & 3rd. The Cubs scored another run in 4th off ex-Cub LHRP Will Ohman, as Josh Vitters led-off with a ringing double into the left-center alley, and moved up to 3rd on a fly out. Tony Campana then executed a safety squeeze bunt single to score Vitters.
Kerry Wood worked an 11-pitch 4th for the Cubs, allowing back-to-back one-out singles that put Sox runners on 1st & 3rd. But Woody was able to get Alexei Ramirez to roll into a 6-4-3 DP to end the inning. Wood has not looked particularly sharp so far (he reminds me a bit of Bob Howry at the end of his career), although he has managed to dodge a few scoring threats by getting a DP grounder here or a pop up there when he really needed one (like today). I just don't know how much KW has left in the tank.
Carlos Marmol worked a 13-pitch 5th, walking one, but allowing no hits or runs. Marmol didn't seem to fool anybody, but at least this time he was able to retire the side without incident.
Up 3-0 after five, the Cubs saw their lead evaporate in the top of the 6th, as RHP Andy Sonnanstine got hammered. To say the ex-Tampa Bay RHP was worse than the box score might indicate would certainly be true today.
Sonnanstine allowed five runs in the 6th inning, including a two-run HR by Dan Johnson, a Tyler Flowers RBI double, and a two-run single by Gordon Beckham, and he wasn't really much more effective in the top of the 7th, either, as the Sox loaded the bases with no outs on a single and two walks. But Cubs rookie 1B Anthony Rizzo made a leaping catch of a Jordan Danks screaming line-drive that was headed for the RF corner (where it would have almost certainly cleared the bases), then doubled-up the runner at 1st, and giving Sonnanstine an opportunity to get out of the inning unscathed with an inning-ending ground out.
Sonnanstine has had a horrible Spring, and I don't know how many more chances he will get before the Cubs either outright him to the minors or release him.
The Cubs came back to tie the score in the bottom of the 8th, loading the bases with no outs on an E-3, a walk, and an infield single. Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters both walked with the bases loaded to tie the score, but Matt Szczur popped out, Alfredo Amezaga struck out, and Tony Campana grounded out to end the threat and leave the bases loaded.
Marcos Mateo (out of minor league options and battling for a job in the Cub bullpen) walked two in the top of the 9th, but induced Jim Gallagher to bounce into an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP to get out of the jam. And then after the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, Mateo surrendered what proved to be the game-winning HR to Jordan Danks (6'4 "little" brother of White Sox LHP John Danks) leading off the 10th.
Mateo also allowed a couple of singles later in the inning (one bounding off his left shin) that led to the Sox scoring an unearned "insurance run" on a Logan Watkins two-out throwing error. All-in-all, Mateo was not impressive, with command issues in both innings. He just could not throw strikes consistently, and when he did throw strikes, too often Sox hitters (mostly minor leaguers, BTW) were sitting on his fastball.
The Cubs defensive plays of the day certainly would have to include the Rizzo runs-saving leaping catch in the 7th, but there was also a sliding catch of a line-drive by LF Jeff Baker in the left-center alley that would have made Reed Johnson proud.
While one squad of Cubs was losing to the White Sox in Mesa, the other squad defeated the Texas Rangers 3-2 in Las Vegas, thanks to a Joe Mather 9th inning solo HR. I was not at that game, but it appears that Chris Volstad had another fine outing, allowing one run on four hits and no walks in four innings of work, with three strikeouts, and a 6/3 GO/FO.
The Cubs travel to Peoria tomorrow, where they will face the Seattle Mariners.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
The more these guys like Mateo et al. struggle, the more likely it looks that Lendy Castillo really WILL get the chance to stick with the team. I guess that's OK, but I sure don't want a repeat of that whole David Patton nightmare, that was just plain......dumb.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Dale Sveum is not Lou Piniella. TheoJed is not Jim Hendry.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I imagine the Cubs will first see if they can work out a deal with Philly to keep Lendy, because Mateo is out of options. I think the preferable course would be to work out a deal for Lendy, send him to AA, and keep Marcus, but yeah, if they can't, I imagine Castillo may get the slight edge right now over Mateo for the last spot (assuming, of course, that they keep two lefties). Blake Parker has quietly had a good spring, but he's probably on the outside looking in.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
While I am a strong believer in getting value for what you have, Mateo isn't representing a big leaguer. He rarely has. While TheoJed will be in discussions for Castillo, unless Mateo represents soon, let him go. He might come back to play in Iowa, or sign on with another team and uner-produce there. I doubt Mateo will ever be a solid reliever if he keeps getting pounded this spring.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
eh, I know the general sentiment is to bag on Marcos Mateo, but he
a) is one of the few power arms in the pen.
b) Has a legitimate swing and miss out pitch ... i mean, how many guys in the pen legitimately have that go to pitch right now that we can depend on.
c) has posted very respectable xFIP's the last two years
d) showed that the home run blip of 2 years ago was just that ... a statistical ... blip considering his minor league record
e) Has maintained a fairly consistent walk rate that is fine for the pen.
In saying all that, he's a middle reliever, and it wouldn't bother me that much if the Cubs let him go (although I still have my doubts that, component wise, Rafael Dolis in 2012 would outperform what Mateo has done over the last two years). But I think it's a bit harsh to say that he "isn't representing a big leaguer. He rarely has." A reliever needs innings to be able to prove themselves against statistical blips, and he hasn't been afforded the time, but he has shown flashes of ability in his limited time (and has justified the Buck Coats trade).
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Toonster - you put the jinx on Parker (1IP today, 4H, 1HR, 1bb, 3ER) ... oh well, better now than April.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
the pen picture sure is muddled coming down the stretch ... Castillo probably had a chance to separate a bit, but he didn't. Going to be interesting what they decide.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
David Patton NIGHTMARE? He was the 25th man on a mediocre team, and pitched 14 innings with passable results.
I hope none of MY nightmares are worse than that.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
If Casey McGhee was let go to make room for that bum, then yes a NIGHTMARE.
You are partial to him b/c he has the same initials as you?
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I'm not partial to him. He was never much good. But losing McGhee was a NIGHTMARE? The odds of his ever getting a chance with the Cubs was extremely small with Ramirez at third and Lee at first and Soto behind the plate.
Wood being hurt was a nightmare. Prior getting hurt was a nightmare. But losing McGhee? Not so much.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Disagree. A smarter GM would have stashed him and as AZ Phil pointed out previously to your visiting here, he was unprotected needlessly.
And, any team that has Aramis Ramirez needs a qualified backup to come in for his yearly injury. Ala Mark DeRosa, or Casey McGhee, even.
It was more than an indictment of the Hendry regime when McGhee came back to bite the Cubs in the ass right after being let go. And, of course, Ramirez got injured. You've seen "Bake" and "Witty" play third, right?
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Hendry needed to go. Done.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
McGehee, meh. Are we still complaining about him? I sure didn't miss his .626 OPS last year. Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart are both on his top 10 comps at BR, which should tell you something about where he is. If he puts together a couple more 2010 seasons and 2011 becomes the aberration, then maybe we talk about the one that got away, but right now there is just as much a likelihood that he'll be a flash in the pan.
Re: McGehee
I don't think his 2011 has much bearing on the issue though or anything he does from this point on.
They lost him on a goofy roster move and he seemingly would have been very useful in 2009 and 2010 to the Cubs.
Equating his loss to Rule 5 pick-up David Patton I'm not getting, but it certainly deserves a little hand-wringing just for the complete unnecessary way it happened.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
They wanted to sneak him through waivers to send him back down. It almost worked.
It didn't.
Re: McGehee
It's not exactly clear why the Cubs felt the need to place McGehee (or Petrick) on Outright Waivers at this time, because the Cubs already had one opening on their 40-man roster (LHP Carmen Pignatiello was outrighted to the minors earlier ths month), and six additional slots on the 40 will open up once the eight players eligible to be free-agents under Article XX of the CBA file for FA during the Free-Agency Filing Period that commences today (two of the players eligible to be MLB Article XX free-agents are still on the 60-day DL, so they will not create openings on the 40 when they file, but the other six will).
Because McGehee was brought up to the big leagues after August 15th, the Cubs had until four days after the conclusion of the World Series to make the outright assignment, or else they would have had to wait until 25 days prior to the start of the 2009 regular season to do it. But the Cubs really didn't have to outright McGehee in order to remove him from the 40 and keep him in the organization for 2009.
They could have waited until December 12th to drop McGehee from the 40-man roster, simply by non-tendering him and then re-signing him to a 2009 minor league contract (with an NRI to Spring Training) for the MLB split contract minor league minimum ($65,000), the same salary he would have received if he was on optional assignment to the minors. Of course McGehee could have refused the offer, but it was probably the best way to try and keep him in the organization for 2009 if they felt they needed his slot on the 40 for somebody else.
There were also plenty of other outright options at the time if you read through the comments of that article. Hendry and Co. whiffed badly on the player evaluation and roster management on that one.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
"Thu, 10/30/2008 - 9:01pm — crunch
and someone claimed dirk "i'm not supposed to be here" hayhurst! his legend continues."
didn't know he'd end up writing 2 funny/insightful books, though.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
If he puts up 10 all-star years going forward, or sucks and becomes a bench player or is out of baseball in a couple, then yeah, I think that will have bearing on how people will look back on this issue. Maybe not how you want to technically evaluate it, but that will frame the issue for most people.
And he put up good numbers in 2009-2010 because he was given playing time, etc. Of course no guarantee at all he would have performed well in a limited role, and been useful to the Cubs.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
No. That's not how people will have looked at it. Maybe you will. Ramirez was/is an injury waiting to happen. To let McGhee go in an inexplicible move - an assinine move - as has been alluded to, just did not make sense when the player could have been very helpful and an upgrade to the guy they signed for much more money at least in the first year he played for the Brewers.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I remember that when they lost McGehee, I figured, eh, he was a guy who couldn't do much with the bat in an extreme hitters league (the PCL), had no speed, was so-so defensively at best, and they were trying to teach him to catch, which often seems to be the last-ditch effort to salvage a fringe player's value. But, I was missing the point. The point wasn't his value; it was that they didn't need to lose him and that they could have been better at managing the 40-man. That's still the complaint. It's not really about who they lost. Hopefully, the JedStein regime will handle the 40-man with more finesse and planning. Seems like when we're talking about a ball club that spends well over $100 million every year just on player payroll, it might make sense to employ one guy who is just good at 40-man stuff and whose job is to keep track of that, if it's something that the rest of the front office doesn't have time to do really well.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Ok...you might be right as far as McGehee...last year. But his OPS+ of 126 in 2009, and 114 in 2010 were pretty damn solid.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Personally I am not a fan of giving away players with some value for absolutely nothing. McGehee clearly would've helped us during injuries in 2009-10. More importantly, if we didn't want him, he would have had better than zero value in a trade.
By your analysis, it is ok to release any player in the minors who doesn't become a consistently good major league player. I am quite certain I don't agree with that thought.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
How do we know that the Cubs didn't try to trade him, and failed?
Face Fielding
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Volstad looked pretty good, I thought. I don't know much about him, but the Rangers announcers (I have no idea who they are - wasn't paying attention enough) seemed to really actually like the guy, saying he actually has pretty good stuff and that, being only 25, all his experience, even though his stats are not very impressive, should help him. It's kind of like that whole learning how NOT to pitch thing, which, after going over his stats just now, he seems to have mastered pretty well.
One of them even claimed he thought he had good enough stuff to be a top of the line starter rather than an innings eater, that he just needs to put it all together. I assume that guy was the mandatory ex player/color guy. Naturally, the Cubs cynic in me just assumes he was using a bit of hyperbole because he was getting people out, although it did seem like he was keeping guys off balance pretty well.
I'd be happy with an innings eater that doesn't give up 11 runs in the first inning, so I'm rooting for him over Wells. Anything plus that is just gravy to me.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Garza, Volstad, Samardzija, Dempster
it's like
Halladay, Lee, Hamels except not anywhere fucking close
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
LMAO!!!! EXcellent insight Rob...and yeah.....agreed.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I'm predicting career years out of all those guys. Especially Volstad and Samardzija. There. I said it.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
ROB G: One of the best quotable lines in several years. Ha!
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
some people are paying more attention to volstad's numbers rather than what's coming out of his arm during a transition period of his pitching.
if he can keep the ball in the park i'm expecting big things out of him...solid 2/3/4 type, with 4-type being rather pessimistic.
i expect good things out of Z based on what he showed his winter with velocity...and so far this spring, but i like this move for the cubs based on what they're trying to do in 2012+.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Great caption to a photo of K. Wood in the Trib:
"Kerry Wood, who appears to be a lock to make the Cubs' roster, pitches against the White Sox on Sunday in Mesa, Ariz."
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Hey, it's more refreshing than the years that he was a lock to make the 60-day and Uncle Larry's Towel Drill workshop.
T. Wood lit up again
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I hope Travis enjoys his spring/early summer in Des Moines this year. When is Torreyes projected to reach the majors again................??
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Ridiculously good best case? Perhaps this year (lights up Daytona, quick bump to Tennessee, sees an Altuve-ian late season call-up).
Positive case - 2013. Lights up Daytona, lights up Tennessee, gets a shot in 2013.
A more likely, still positive, just slower, scenario would be late 2013/2014.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
Dayumn. I'm hoping that the thicker air of the midwest helps him get things back on track eventually. The Marshall trade looks pretty crappy unless T Wood at least turns out to be a passable #4 or #5.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I never understood why some folks went gaga over Travis Wood. A decent end of the rotation option that could, in a good year, perhaps be a Maholm-esque 3 (particularly on a weak rotation), but while those don't grow on trees, they aren't exactly that hard to find either. His most valuable asset was his cost-controlled years, but it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up as ... Sean Marshall (lefty pen arm that is).
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
it wouldnt surprise me to see s.marshall closing games on the cheap for the reds after this season.
i didn't like the trade too much, but i didn't think it stunk. i thought they could have gotten a bit more (or different), though some feel a lot more optimistic about torreyes than others.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I gotta say - I personally thought T. Wood would bounce back from 2011, but Man oh Man is he bad. Whew. How do you consistently get THAT pounded? Something's wrong with the dude. In addition to sucking ass, I mean . . .
J. Jackson
4 scoreless innings after T. Wood (1 BB, 1 K, 4 H), J. Russell with a scoreless inning as well
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
jackson's lack of missing bats is disappointing even though his numbers look pretty good doing it.
i'm still holding out for him to be some kind of contributor at some point, though.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
I've lost a lot of love for Jay Jackson through the years, but the improved control since he went to AAA seems to bode well as a sign that he can perhaps be an end of the rotation type option if the scenario worked in his favor. Wish he could find the breaking ball that was somewhat raved about in the lower levels.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
wow...cj wilson keeps being a jerk...gave out m.napoli's cell phone number over twitter to a few hundred K people as a "joke" after napoli said he couldn't wait to take wilson deep recently this offseason. cute.
napoli wasn't pleased.
McGehee - In Retrospect
From Oct. 30, 2008:
Virgina Phil: "McGehee has crappy numbers."
Rob G.: "Neither [McGehee nor Jake Fox] will do anything in the majors."
The Real Neal: "I couldn't even summon up the gumption to argue the relative merit of McGehee..."
People questioned McGehee's situation vis a vis Hendry's roster management, but no one ever suggested that it was anything worse than a perplexing move.
Four years ago, anyone could have had Jose Bautista for a plane ticket. You never know what some players might do.
Re: Sonnanstine Don't Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies
well I was half right
/story of my life
Recent comments
A left-handed one...
lester going for #20...cubs haven't had a 20 game winner since d.ellsworth in 1963.
J-Hey not finishing with an offensive onslaught.
If Geoff Blum could be a Playoff hero, there is hope still...
Giants scare me. I think you're wrong about Bumgarner, he would pitch on short rest for Game 2 and then full rest for Game 5. Cueto would go Game 1, then short rest in game 4. Add in some really tough outs in that lineup and I want nothing to do with them. With that rotation they can easily steal a series.
Cards are a tough matchup. The rivalry evens out their comparable lack of talent. And like someone said, they love HRs, which is how to beat the Cubs. The upside is that I would feel really good about Lester twice against STL.
j.buchanan with a nice start...5ip 2h 1bb 3k, 0r/er
zobrist with 2HR and a double through 8
heyward 0-4 :(
Mark Gonzales @MDGonzales
Soler likely to return Sunday, Maddon says
Right now, I'd like to see the Mets first, Giants 2nd.
I believe that since most of the team from last years' NLCS is on the squad this year, they will really amp their game up even more to kick their ass in payback for 2015.
The Giants just do not have the depth in years past, and I think all things equal - and at Wrigley - they could handle them.
I do not want to see the Cards, period. Or their fans, media, or Joe Buck.
I don't want to play Braves in the first round. Any friggin team in the league can win 3 of 5..I hate the first round. Furthermore, I wanted to play the Marlins in 2003 and the Mets over Dodgers last year.
With that said in reverse order:
3. Cardinals: It will be devastating to lose in the first round, but even worse to their main rival. It is increased incentive for the Cardinals, especially after last year. Cards would have nothing to lose, Cubs have everything to lose.
2. Giants: Rotation in the playoffs scare me a bit, but what a lousy team.
1. Mets--because of the losses in the rotation
2. Giants--because they're not the team they were BUT they maybe have bullshit even-year magic?
3. Cardinals--because rivalry and not making the playoffs hurts them more than losing in the NLDS plus getting eliminated by them in the playoffs would make for horrible sports commentary next throughout next season.
Who's asking?
CLE/DET rained out last night already, possible rain-outs in New York (vs. Baltimore), Boston(vs. Toronto) and Philly(vs. Mets) this weekend too.
Not only games involving playoff spots that would need to be played, but any that involve home field advantage.
I got the first one! Second one I'm not even sure what even/odd betting is.
any opponent preference for NLDS?
Mets are down to 1 great pitcher instead of 4. Syndegaard may pitch Sunday which means if Mets win the WC game, he'd be set up for Game 1. There's a chance they clinch a spot by Sunday so he'd pitch the WC and then we'd probably get Colon for Game 1. They've certainly had the hottest bats over the last week and month out of the WC options.
A couple of Cub related puzzles.
Can't teach height and thinness
Hopefully Pirates don't call up A. Lincoln.


text:
on December 29, 2012 - 10:14 PM
Big stories of the year too often mark tragedies, disappointments and heartaches, but many of the top 10 local stories for the Buffalo Niagara region in 2012 were about daring feats, impressive development and growing optimism for the future. Nothing illustrates that contrast more clearly than the stories that claim the first two spots on the Top 10 local news stories of the year – the trial of a drunken physician who struck and killed a girl while driving home and the breathtaking wire walk that thrilled a community thirsty for such awesome national exposure. Here's our list of the top 10 local stories of 2012, based on weighted voting by The Buffalo News staff.
1. Corasanti acquitted
The trial and acquittal of physician James G. Corasanti on felony manslaughter charges riveted the region and outraged many community members who considered his verdict a travesty and an indictment of the criminal justice system.
Corasanti stood trial for 13 days in May on charges that he committed manslaughter when he struck and killed 18-year-old skateboarder Alexandria "Alix" Rice on Heim Road in Amherst while driving drunk, then proceeded home without stopping.
Jurors accepted the defense's explanation that Corasanti was unaware he struck Rice and found him guilty of a single misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to one year in jail. The outcome prompted lawmakers to attempt to close what they saw as a loophole in the law that allowed Corasanti to evade a felony conviction.
2. Wallenda's wirewalk across the falls
Daredevil Nik Wallenda's spectacular wirewalk across Niagara Falls captivated watchers across the world in June. Wallenda crossed the Niagara gorge on an 1,800-foot cable under evening lights, battling heavy mist as he carried his 38-pound balancing pole for 26 breathtaking minutes during prime time.
Despite the controversies surrounding ABC's requirement that Wallenda be tethered to the wire, and later squabbles regarding payment to the city for police security, Wallenda's stunning walk over the gorge in front of the Horseshoe Falls from the United States to Canada wowed onlookers.
Talk continues of the walk generating millions in future tourism dollars.
3. HSBC sells, shrinks and settles
HSBC made plenty of news this year as it becomes a diminished presence in Western New York. The corporation sold off the bulk of its local branches to First Niagara Bank and 26 others to Key Bank, elevating First Niagara into a major banking powerhouse in the region and moving HSBC out of the personal banking business locally. The bank also sold its U.S. credit card and mortgage businesses, both of which employed people here.
HSBC recently confirmed plans to vacate its tall downtown building, One HSBC Center, leaving the building owner to scramble for new potential uses for the tower.
Finally, HSBC agreed this month to pay a record-shattering $1.92 billion settlement to avoid federal and state money-laundering charges stemming from its dealings with drug cartels and rogue states. Federal prosecutors said the bank failed to stop cartels in Mexico and Colombia from laundering at least $881 million in drug profits.
4. Bills make stadium lease deal
The 10-year lease extension of Ralph Wilson Stadium and its hefty $400 million "relocation fee" ensures that the Buffalo Bills won't be going anywhere for at least the next seven years. A soothing balm for perpetually insecure fans, the new lease is substantially shorter than the previous one and will cost Erie County more money.
Ralph Wilson Stadium will receive $130 million in renovations, with the county footing $41 million in stadium upgrade costs, and the state and the Bills covering the remainder. The NFL team will also pay $800,000 in annual rent for the first time after having previously been rent-free tenants.
5. Union-schools fight risks millions in aid
For much of this past school year, it appeared that the Buffalo City Schools would lose out on $5.6 million in state aid because of a failure of the district and the Buffalo Teachers Federation to reach agreement on a teacher-evaluation plan for six schools. After much turmoil and disagreement, the two sides came to terms in June.
Now, however, the Buffalo schools stand to lose $58.7 million in state aid and grants if the district cannot work out a teacher-evaluation plan with the union by Jan. 17. The Buffalo Teachers Federation, meanwhile, said there will be no agreement until the district reconsiders its involuntary transfer of 54 teachers out of low-performing schools.
All sides agree that the loss of state money would be "devastating," yet the conflict goes unresolved. Their public battle has resulted in frustrated and angry parents who want both sides to put children first.
6. Collins versus Hochul
Former Republican County Executive Chris Collins rose from an embarrassing election defeat in 2011 to gain the title of U.S. congressman this election season in a tight race for the 27th Congressional District seat against Democratic incumbent Rep. Kathleen C. Hochul.
Hochul, a Democrat in a conservative district, impressed political observers with her ability to hold her own and keep the race a dead heat for most of the campaign. But her misleading, negative campaign ads enabled Collins to overcome his reputation as a hard-nosed businessman and win by a razor-thin margin in November.
He claimed victory with 50.8 percent of the vote to Hochul's 49.2 percent – one of the narrowest congressional margins in local history.
7. Gates and Children's hospitals move
Kaleida Health shuttered Millard Fillmore Hospital at Gates Circle in Buffalo after 140 years of operation and opened the new $291 million Gates Vascular Institute on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in May, consolidating Kaleida's heart, stroke and vascular care services in one location. The stunning new building also houses the UB Clinical and Translational Research Center and Jacobs Institute.
In August, Kaleida announced the selection of Chason Affinity's $65 million proposal to create a school of veterinary medicine in the former Gates hospital building, completing an 18-month process to find a developer for the nearly 10-acre site that closed in March.
Kaleida also laid out plans to move Women & Children's Hospital from its historic location on Bryant Street to the medical campus, this time without the opposition that scuttled the idea a decade ago. The smaller, brighter 10-story building is expected to break ground this spring and be renamed the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, in honor of a $10 million gift from the Oishei Foundation toward the $200 million facility.
8. Say Yes to Education gains steam
The Buffalo Public Schools partnership with Say Yes to Education moves full steam ahead as more and more businesses donate toward the nonprofit initiative, which promises to pay the tuition of every city high school graduate who goes to college – and provide millions more for tutoring, after-school programs and other help to get them there.
Say Yes has now received at least $17.5 million from private donors, foundations and businesses to help pay the college costs of Buffalo grads since the organization came to the city last year, moving it closer to its goal of raising $30 million to support the first decade of scholarships.
Say Yes Buffalo will begin issuing scholarships next year. Despite some overly optimistic claims, many hope the program will be the catalyst needed to improve the city schools' poor graduation rates.
9. 'Mass hysteria' outbreak in Le Roy
In late 2010, teenage girls at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School began exhibiting signs of a strange "mystery illness" consisting of involuntary gestures, twitches and sounds reminiscent of Tourette's syndrome. By early this year, that figure grew to 12, then 18, as the international media descended on the small Genesee County town.
National activists such as Erin Brockovich and concerned parents demanded answers and a battery of environmental tests, including air, soil and water testing to uncover the source of problem.
Credible neurologists, pathologists and representatives with the state Department of Health determined that the girls suffered individually from conversion disorder, and collectively from mass psychogenic illness or "mass hysteria." The diagnosis was met with disbelief and ridicule by some, dividing the community. Most students have since recovered.
10. Warm winter turns into drought
This year shattered all sorts of heat records. What started as an exceptionally mild winter, with no frozen Lake Erie and summer temperatures in March, ended as a major drought across the region by summer.
The four-month period from May 1 to Aug. 31 was the warmest – and the third-driest – in 142 years of local record-keeping, according to the National Weather Service. Rain was more than 5 inches below normal and municipalities began asking residents to voluntarily cut back on water consumption. Only 4.79 inches of rain fell during June, July and August, with 1.95 of that coming in the first three days of June.
Farmers lost crops, and the freezes that followed an early spring damaged fruit produce and sent prices up.
Honorable mentions
There was tough competition for the top 10 spots in this year's ranking. The notable arrivals of both a new Buffalo Public School superintendent and a new Catholic bishop, for instance, failed to make the final list. Following, however, are several honorable mentions that almost made the cut, but didn't.
• Billion for Buffalo – Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announces his intention to give companies $1 billion over the coming years to expand or locate in the Buffalo region.
• Surgeon's murder-suicide – Erie County Medical Center trauma surgeon Timothy Jorden lures his ex-girlfriend into a medical office stairwell and shoots her to death before later killing himself.
• NHL lockout – For the second time in eight years, National Hockey League owners locked out their hockey players in September over a contract dispute, depriving Sabres fans and local businesses of at least half a season of hockey.
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subset: commoncrawl


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on March 28, 2013 - 4:52 PM
, updated March 29, 2013 at 12:26 AM
Philip Roth was 80 on March 19.
If, then, you expect the great writer (and perennial Nobel loser) to be a sweet, kindly old man a bit like Heidi's grandfather, you'll probably want to avoid tonight's PBS Premiere of Livia Manera's "Philip Roth, Unmasked" at 9 p.m. on Channel 17.
The 90-minute biography begins with Roth, full-on, leveling with Manera's camera: "In the coming years, I have two great calamities to face: death and a biography. Let's hope the first comes first."
As if that weren't acerbic enough, the next two minutes bring us, quite bluntly, his distaste at being thought of as a "Jewish American Writer."
"I don't write in Jewish" says Roth. "I write in American." He is, then, an American writer first, last and always – Newark's finest – and woebetide anyone running their threshers through his life and making hay out of it for their own purposes.
Which is precisely why I wish the free-swinging young literary iconoclast we had at the beginning of his career were still with us to have a go at PBS' "American Masters" nonstop reverence in "Philip Roth: Unmasked." I'd even settle for the honest and unvarnished opinion of Roth now at 80 of this docu-ode.
Surely the feisty, 80-year old truth-monger, who tells us on camera how little regard he has for gratuitous decorum, would have some delightful things to say about a documentary bio that shows us a bus tour pointing out geographical Newark milestones dedicated to "the genius of Philip Roth" including a street called Philip Roth Plaza.
When the camera shows us the phenomenally ordinary home at 81 Summit Ave. in which Roth spent his boyhood now marked by a plaque that reads "Historic Site – Philip Roth Home" you might just as well be transplanted to 1957 and walking near the corner of Delaware and Virginia to see the plaque outside a dark bat cave of a house telling you it was where Mark Twain lived during the 18 months when he edited The Buffalo Express. And that is the paradox one can't help thinking would be given a thorough shakedown by the antic and savage young iconoclast who happens to have the same name as the octogenarian literary institution now presented to us with wall-to-wall PBS decorum.
"Shame isn't for writers," Roth tells us now about a revelation he had before writing "Portnoy's Complaint." "You have to be shameless … This doesn't mean you have to be obscene and crazy and smear your pages with feces. That's not the point."
If only the people who put "Philip Roth Unmasked" together had the same chutzpah.
Yes, it's true you'll hear at least one solid four-letter Anglo-Saxonism during the proceedings that you don't usually hear in Friday prime time.
And, even more startling, you'll also hear a contemptuous sneer from Roth at the very idea of marital fidelity in Western Civilization that even Bill Maher would be unlikely to snort a few minutes later on his omnidirectional HBO mockfest "Real Time."
But even ex-Playboy Mansion habitue Maher would be unlikely to mock marital fidelity the way Philip Roth does when he's "unmasked" for PBS. In that regard, this decidedly faithful rendering of an aged Philip Roth discussing life and career is delighted to go all manner of places younger and more timid types might not go.
And that is what Oprah's onetime novelistic nemesis Jonathan Franzen is so eager to tell us inspired him so much about Roth's example. The Philip Roth novelistic credo, says Franzen, is that "I'm just going to follow myself. I'm going to be more honest, more outrageously 'about me' than any other writer has ever been."
And right about there, almost anyone might well begin to suspect that as superb a 90-minute portrait as this is of a living American literary treasure at the age of 80, it's all considerably more reverential than any sensible portrait ought to have been.
"Any OTHER writer has ever been?" one is tempted to ask Franzen. That covers an awful lot of territory in the history of Western writing. Perhaps some less hyperbolic praise was called for there. And a bit more common sense.
But that's the whole point of this particular exercise in PBS worship.
In other words, you're not going to find in this any interviews – archival or otherwise – with Roth's 82-year old ex-wife Claire Bloom, the great actress who was so ruthless about her many years of marriage to Roth in her own book "A Doll's House."
Nor will you find much representation of the idea here that the great American novelist of Roth's generation who so long deserved a Nobel Prize – and never got one – was John Updike, not Philip Roth.
Updike, in his Bech books, was able to invent a hilarious Roth simulacrum. Could Roth ever have done the same? I sincerely doubt it.
Updike was 76 when he died in 2009.
A good question, it seems to me, is whether or not Updike would be met with the same general all-encompassing celebration as Roth if he'd lived four more years and made it to 80.
Not only was this biographical film loudly hosannaed when it was given its premiere a few weeks ago in Manhattan's Film Forum, it was accompanied by New York Magazine takeouts where everyone mildly literarly and their Uncle Steve were asked to pick out their favorite Philip Roth novels.
And too, Roth's truly remarkable literary productivity throughout the '80s, '90s and aughts has been collected in more official Library of America publications than any other living American writer. To those who aren't steeped in America's literary and publishing politics, it's necessary to explain that standardized and luxuriant Library of America publication – which promises that books will never go out of print – is the apex of literary prestige for an American writer.
Fellow writers included in Manera's Roth portrait are Franzen, Nicole Krauss, Nathan Englander and New Yorker editor and staff writer Claudia Roth Pierpont – an interesting, bunch, to be sure but very far from the mark if you're looking for any widely divergent viewpoints.
Personally, I must confess that as enormous as my admiration has always been for Philip Roth, I've never been able to get over the entirely outsized reputation of "Portnoy's Complaint" as against another wonderfully monological novel that was published at around the same time, Stanley Elkin's "The Dick Gibson Show."
What is unavoidable to notice about Roth – and which he himself might well have called attention to in his free-swinging youth – is that his most dedicated readership is composed of graduate students, instructors, professors and English Department refugees from all over America who share all manner of background with Roth himself.
And that's probably the canniest thing of all about "Philip Roth, Unmasked" premiering this evening on PBS.
It's not entirely true that Roth's urban, collegiate and ex-collegiate readership is absolutely identical with the most faithful audience for PBS. But it is certainly a huge constituent of PBS' most faithful and contributory audience at money solicitation time.
A PBS "American Masters" biography of Roth is as much of a membership natural as a biography of Mel Brooks (which is coming up on PBS in May) or Woody Allen.
And that's where "Philip Roth, Unmasked" comes with its perhaps most pointed revelation.
We learn from this evening's documentary that one of Roth's closest and most admiring friends is actress Mia Farrow who was, for so long, the consort and de facto partner of Woody Allen (until the head-rocking moment when he took up with – and later married –her adopted daughter Soon Yi.)
In my opinion, one of Allen's funniest – and most savage – latter-day movies is "Deconstructing Harry," whose hero bears about as much resemblance to Philip Roth as a filmmaker's fictional writer can do without setting off a libel suit.
Hearing Mia Farrow now praise her good pal Philip Roth so unreservedly suddenly explains any question we might have had about why "Deconstructing Harry" was so wildly funny in such a vehemently personal way.
Too bad we'll never see a whole PBS TV show about that. But hey, at least we've got this one.
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LISBON - The mayor's office will have a new secretary for the first time in a long while.
Village Council voted at this week's meeting to hire Alisa Gostey of Lisbon to replace Cheryl Mills, who is retiring for good at the end of the year.
Mills has worked 42 years for the village, mostly as secretary to at least six mayors, and as zoning board clerk. She retired several years ago but was rehired on a part-time basis.
Mayor Dan Bing said he received more than 30 applications for the job and interviewed five candidates before recommending Gostey to replace Mills. She currently works on the clerical staff at the Salem Eye Care Center.
Gostey will work 30 hours a week and be paid $9.75 an hour.
In other action, council voted to establish a starting salary for new police Chief Mike Abraham, who was promoted earlier in the month to replace retiring Chief John "Buck" Higgins. Starting Jan. 1, Abraham will be paid $42,950, which represents 90 percent of Higgins' current salary.
Council also:
- Instructed Village Solicitor Virginia Barborak to prepare legislation that would repeal the law against Sunday alcohol sales by Lisbon restaurants. Barborak suggested they do this since it was brought to her attention that the Shale Tavern has a Sunday license but is prevented from using it because of the village law.
- Hired Melvin Bricker as a seasonal full-time street department employee for $9.50 an hour.
- Agreed to split with the Lisbon Chamber of Commerce the $240 cost of purchasing 15 sets of replacement lights for the lighted Christmas wreaths on display throughout the village. Street foreman Jim Oliver said this should be enough since they only replace about five to 10 lights per season. The chamber originally wanted council to go halves on the cost of purchasing 85 sets of replacement lights.
Oliver has the authority to spend up to $200 to replace Christmas lights on an as-needed basis that are part of other chamber holiday displays.
Council member Mary Ann Gray asked Barborak if she had begun work on a proposed ordinance requiring the village be notified when foreclosed property has been sold in Lisbon and identifying the owner. Other communities are doing this to keep track of foreclosed properties in case they fall into disrepair.
Barborak said she has yet to do so but will begin working on it. Gray said she would like to have the new law in place by January.


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Saturday, December 21, 2013
B.J. Grevey channeled his inner Michael Jordan flu game Friday night, scoring 27 points as Bishop England took down North Charleston 54-47 at home.
Grevey entered the night battling a fever of more than 100 degrees. He was held scoreless in the first quarter while Bishop England (5-3, 2-0) fell behind 15-3.
But as Grevey heated up, so did Bishop England, outscoring North Charleston in each of the final three quarters while the captain rained in six threes.
"I don't know how he even played," Bishop England head coach Bryan Grevey said. "He was so sick."
By the middle of the third quarter, Bishop England had erased a nine-point halftime deficit, and went on to outscore North Charleston 22-10 in the frame. Taylor Howell finished with 11 and Ben Carico added six for Bishop England. Nygel Lawton led North Charleston with 12, Statan Levine added 10.
Thursday, Bishop England will tip off in the Lake Marion Invitational Tournament in Santee, S.C.
Lady Bishops smother North Charleston
The Bishop England Lady Bishops turned in a dominating 83-16 win over North Charleston Friday at home.
Bishop England (7-0, 2-0) opened a 32-5 lead through the opening quarter and held North Charleston scoreless in the second to grab a 46-point halftime advantage.
Michele Boykin and Erin Rose each scored a game-high 12 points. Hannah Corbett scored 10, while Eran Artigues and Montana Swanson both added eight. The Lady Bishops had 12 players score in double figures; North Charleston didn't have any.
Friday through Monday, the Lady Bishops host the annual Carolina Invitational Tournament. The 64-team field will be spread out through four different schools. Bishop England will play at home throughout.
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Top Definition
an Italian licorice flavored 84 proof liquor.
Sambvca is a sure recipe for a good night.
de Belial Os'Karr 18 August 2007
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
a peppermint flavored liquor; 42% alcohol; drinking the entire bottle causes projectile vomitting
dam wen i drank that bottle of sambvca not only did i pass out and throw up all over my friends floor but while i was passed out there were christmas lights on me and they were lit
de testicle sandwich 29 Aprilie 2005


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Canada Business Network Blog
Archive: December 2011
Employers: Expect Canada Pension Plan changes in January 2012
Find out about changes regarding CPP deductions for employees aged 60 and older.
The truth about essential skills: What you don't know can hurt you
Our guest blogger, the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, explains the importance and applicability of essential skills for your business.
Harness the marketing power of social influencers
Learn how you can engage social influencers to help sell your products and services.
The price is right — or is it?
Learn about value-based pricing and see whether it could be the right way for you to set prices for your products or services.
New Brunswick Service Centre
Get help starting or growing your business.


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Vintage Handblown Glass Ornament Collection - Smoke
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Our handblown Victorian-inspired ornaments harken back to holidays past.
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- Mini Size: 1½"L
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Surprise Yourself!Video by: Theresa M. Forcellini '15, Communications
Small in size,
big in quality
Our project-based curriculum gives you practical experience throughout your education. We offer five majors, three minors, and serve the College's Core Program with a variety of classes.
We offer two degrees accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org: BS in Engineering, and BS in Computer Engineering (in cooperation with Dept of Computer Science).
We also offer a BS in Industrial Engineering Management (in cooperation with Dept of Business), a BS in Physics, and a BS in Physics Education (in cooperation with Dept of Education).
We have 40 to 55 new students each year, taught by eight full-time professors whose prime responsibilities are to develop your scientific and critical thinking abilities. In addition, we have a full-time physics research scientist, a full-time fabrication technician, adjunct faculty with a wealth of practical experience, and 140 other professors on the college faculty who will round out a truly enriching education. Part of what makes us a family is our upperclassmen who take pride in mentoring new students. Elizabethtown College offers a unique environment; there aren't many ABET accredited engineering degrees at schools of less than 2,000 students with the broad liberal arts tradition of Elizabethtown.
Mission Statement
"The Department of Engineering & Physic's principal goal is to prepare graduating students to compete successfully for desired professional positions or to be accepted into highly selective graduate programs. This is achieved by challenging our students with a significant and complete education in engineering and the sciences within a close-knit, safe, and personal environment, integrated by the rich atmosphere and liberal arts curriculum of the College. Our programs are born of a sense of cooperation between professors and students, and between student peers. In our cooperative environment, we motivate students to become increasingly self-aware independent thinkers and to develop teamwork and communication skills. While technical and scientific competence is the bedrock of our students' competitiveness, students also develop distinctive traits of caring and collaboration, which are becoming increasingly important in a world striving for meaning, harmony, and peace. The knowledge, skills, and character development attained by our students yield a sense of self-assurance founded in professional success and personal fulfillment."


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|Welcome to the MANGA Forum.
|You will have to register before you can post: log in or sign up at the top of the page to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Apparently a live action Akira movie is coming out sometime in the future. your thoughts?
As long as its not as horrible as the live action Gantz/Death note movies it will be fine.
Sorry, I don't know because i never watched it.
< Where do the years go >
anime to livev action just doesn't work out well, dragon ball Z sucked, gantz was no good and i have no desire to watch the death note live actions I really wish they would just leave it alone. I mean they are only doing it or money... its not like they have any real dedication to anime or repect for the original material so...Love... is just a different kind of pain.


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Al Qaeda leaders have renewed calls for attacks on Israel, Jews and American targets in response to Israel's military action in Gaza to staunch the barrage of Hamas rockets hurled at Israeli towns and cities.
For example, Al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called for attacks against Israel and the West in an audio message released on February 3, 2009. In his message, titled "The Sacrifices of Gaza and Plotting Against It," Zawahiri urged Muslims to "head to the battlefields" and fight the enemies of Islam, including Israel, but also "the entire Zionist-Crusader alliance, and leading it is the evil master America."
Zawahiri released a similar audio message in January 2009 urging Muslims to "strike the interests of the enemies of Islam - namely, the Christians and the Jews - wherever and by whatever means you can." Zawahiri expressed Al Qaeda's solidarity with Palestinians: "My Muslim brothers and mujahideen in Gaza and all over Palestine, with the help of Allah we are with you in the battle, we will direct our strikes against the crusader Jewish coalition wherever we can."
Al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi called for attacks in the West in retaliation for what he called the Israeli "annihilation campaign" in Gaza, in a video posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants on January 22, 2009. In the video, titled "Palestine... Now the Fighting is Fierce," Libi blamed Britain for creating the state of Israel, claiming that they are responsible for any "child who dies in Palestine." He also urged Muslims to strike America so that they "taste what our brothers and weak folks in Palestine have been tasting."
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden called for holy war against Israel in an audio message posted on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants on January 14, 2009. In the message, which is titled "A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression on Gaza," bin Laden urged the "Muslim nation" to defeat the "Zionist entity" and assured the Palestinians that Al Qaeda's "fate is tied to yours in fighting the crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom." He also stated that "the duty is to urge people to jihad and to enlist the youth into jihad brigades."
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a group named for its location in North Africa, has issued explicit calls for Muslims to attack Jews "wherever they are found" as well. The leader of AQIM, Abdelmalek Droukdel, stated that "chasing Jews away and closing down their embassy, is a debt on our shoulders and we have to give our all to pay it back or die." He also announced that their next target is the Israeli Embassy in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott, which was attacked by AQIM in February 2008, wounding three bystanders.
These messages are the latest in a series of messages by Al Qaeda focused on Israel and Jews. In May 2008, bin Laden called for attacks on Israel, Jews and American targets in an audio statement entitled, "The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israeli Occupation." In the message, released by Al Qaeda's media wing Al Sahab, bin Laden warned, "We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies...and will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth." Bin Laden also said, "The Palestinian cause is the major issue" and urged Muslims to understand that "Jihad [holy war] is a duty to free Palestine."
In April 2008, Zawahiri threatened Israel and Jewish interests in an audio message released by Al Sahab. Zawahiri endorsed "every operation against Jewish interests" and promised to "strive as much as we can to deal blows to the Jews inside Israel and outside it, with Allah's help and guidance." Zawahiri also said, "I expect the Jihadi influence to spread after the Americans' exit from Iraq, and to move towards Jerusalem."
"Today there is no room for he who says that we should only fight the Jews in Palestine," Zawahiri added. "Let us strike their interests everywhere, just like they gathered against us from everywhere." Zawahiri's message followed a March 2008 audio message from Osama bin Laden, who focused his speech on "the siege on Gaza and the way to free it and the rest of Palestine from the hands of the Zionist enemy." Bin Laden called on Palestinians to reject "negotiations and dialogue" and use "iron and fire" against Israel, as that alone "is the way to recover it because nothing cuts iron except iron."
"Palestine will return to us by the permission of Allah if we wake from our ignorance and holdfast to our religion and sacrifice for it our money and lives," bin Laden said.
In December 2007, bin Laden released a video message, in which he similarly threatened attacks against Israel to "liberate Palestine." Bin Laden said, "We will not recognize a state for the Jews, not even one inch of the land of Palestine�"
In January 2008, Adam Gadahn, an American Muslim convert who joined Al Qaeda in the late 1990s, issued a video statement saying, "The pivot on which the war today between the Muslims and their enemies revolve [is] Muslim Palestine, which will remain Muslim in spite of Bush and his puppets, in spite of racist tendencies of the Jewish occupiers and in spite of conspiracies like the Mecca Accord and the Annapolis Conference."
An essay posted on a militant Web site in January 2008 by an alleged Al Qaeda author "AsadAl-Jiahd2," entitled "The Timing of the Entrance of al-Qaeda Organization in the Palestinian Territories," explained that Al Qaeda has been preparing to attack Israel since the beginning of 2007 -- and they are continuing to get into position until 2009, when they will then begin to attack Israel. The essay also states that "the attacks against the Jews will not be limited to occupied Palestine but will continue to reach all the areas in which Jews have a strong influence."
In addition, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, purported leader of the Islamic State of Iraq which is composed of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist groups, issued an audio statement in February 2008 calling for attacks on Israel. The statement proposed to use Iraq as a "launching pad" for missile attacks against Israel.
These threats against Israel and Jews by Al Qaeda come at a time when Hezbollah has also threatened to attack Israeli targets abroad.
While Al Qaeda has targeted Israel and Jews for several years, its leadership's renewed focus on the Palestinian cause in its public pronouncements should serve as an alert to the international community and Jewish interests around the world, and may suggest a wider attempt by Al Qaeda to destabilize the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the entire Middle East.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
� 2009 Anti-Defamation League


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Congratulations to the winners of today's finals matches at the Mid-Atlantic Women's Bonspiel.
The results were as follows:
First Event - Team Findlay
Second Event - Team McElroy
Third Event - Team Stannard
Fourth Event - Team Rudd
This weekend was a wonderful showing for all of our competitors and a fantastic effort by our volunteers. Thank you to everyone who participated and we wish you all the best this holiday season.
Mid-Atlantic draw is now online. We will do our best to keep it up to date as the bonspiel progresses. Click here for more information: http://www.chesapeakecurling.org/womans-mid-atlantic
Don't forget everyone that the Mid-Atlantic starts tomorrow. We need plenty of volunteers for what I am sure will be a fantastic event. Curling starts midday tomorrow. Sandy Bemis is running the show. Come on down and I am sure there will be something we could use some help with.
Good luck to everyone who is curling.
Don't forget folks that the Women's Mid-Atlantic will be taking place December 14th - 16th. Please get your registrations in to Lorrie Needles as soon as possible. Click here for more information: http://www.chesapeakecurling.org/womans-mid-atlantic.
Registration is now open for the Woman's Mid-Atlantic bonspiel The spiel will be held December 14-16th and we will be accepting a maximum of 18 teams. $240 per team with all meals included, 4 events and three games guaranteed.
This years theme is "Let's Face It (we love to curl)".
You may click here for the registration form or click here for additional information.
Chesapeake Curling Club @Talbot County Community Center
10028 Ocean Gateway
Easton, Maryland 21601Directions
Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 753
Easton, Maryland 21601


text:
Most expensive states for child care
POSTED: 8:25 AM PST November 4, 2013 UPDATED: 11:00 PM PDT April 10, 2014
Child care is now more expensive than college in some states. Find out where it costs most.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.


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Caffeine-producing plants use three different biochemical pathways and two different enzyme families to make the same molecule.
1 + 1 = 1
July 1, 2015|
Nutrient levels in soil don't add up when food chains combine.
July 1, 2015|
Nutrient levels in soil don't add up when food chains combine.
July 1, 2015|
Disease eradication in the 21st century
June 25, 2015|
Researchers have found the New Guinea flatworm, one of the world's most invasive species, in Florida, putting native ecosystems at serious risk.
June 24, 2015|
Specialized cardiac cells in the mouse heart appear to be the long-sought-after proliferative heart cells.
June 23, 2015|
An epigenetic variant of cytosine is stable in the genomes of living mice, suggesting a possible expansion of the DNA alphabet.
June 17, 2015|
Actin—the bones of the cell—has a preference for swirling into a counterclockwise pattern.
May 4, 2015|
Cytoskeleton specialist Alan Hall was best known for unpacking the roles of Rho GTPases.
May 3, 2015|
Species die-offs are expected to accelerate as greenhouse gases accumulate, according to a meta-analysis.
April 24, 2015|
One study shows the insects prefer food laced with pesticides, while another adds to the evidence that the chemicals are harmful to some pollinators.
April 13, 2015|
A Harvard team shows how cells label and recognize proteins for degradation.


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I certainly hope I haven't soiled your thoughts of the upcoming Spring with this one.
I just laughed out loud when I saw ESPN's response to A-Rod dropping his lawsuits.
Kurkjian's perfectly straight face.
"It's the smartest thing Alex Rodriguez has done in some time."
Okay, back to baseball and I promise to never do another A-Rod post again.
We're going to hold you to it
We're going to hold you to it.
Cubs and Shark avoid
Cubs and Shark avoid arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5.345 million deal.
Um ok
Oh, dear god.
Oh, dear god.
You still know me to a T,
You still know me to a T, Jacos.
I've stopped promising that I will return to hang out and be a part of the crew, because I don't like breaking promises. I'll just say that for the first time since, well, when I first started writing here, my life is stable and predictable. Woo, boringness!
Tenure track?
Tenure track?
Yep. Published the book
Yep. Published the book while I was unemployed and living in a shack, and going on tenure-track interview after tenure-track interview. Kinda amusing. Now all set up at a nice public U just outside of Philly. Phillies fans are amusing. ~snort~ Got a good review on my first semester, so they'll be keeping me around for at least the four years between now and tenure-decision, barring something horrific....
That's a long road, congrats.
That's a long road, congrats. Hope you'll be recapping parachats from now on;)
Congrats to a Philly area
Congrats to a Philly area prof from a Philly area grad student!
Is "shack" hyperbole, or were you really squatting in someone's shack? I'm trying to picture my life in 3 years or so.
great to hear keep in touch
great to hear
keep in touch
Thank you, The Joe and JB.
Thank you, The Joe and JB. What do you study, Charlie? While I need to still keep something of a low profile as long as I'm tenure-TRACK, I am not worried about the sort of "deep anonymity" that I used to be. Would be fun to get beers with east-coast Cubs fans.
Shack is a bit hyperbolic, but not by much. There were days when outside weather conditions or plumbling failures made it temporarily unlivable. Put it this way, I made sure never to be in it during a severe weather alert.
Still bleak, even if it's not
Still bleak, even if it's not a shack. I'm currently a fully grown adult sharing a place with another fully grown adult I barely know. Ah, grad school. I'm studying English Lit. Would be happy to grab a beer sometime. I'll probably end up at Citizens Bank sometime when the Cubs come into town, as well.
Cafardo Sunday, Updates on
Cafardo Sunday, Updates on Nine...
8. Jeff Samardzija, RHP, Cubs — There's still a good amount of interest, but the Cubs are holding out hoping they can sign him long term. If things get to the point by the trading deadline where Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer don't feel it's possible, they could deal him then. Nothing prevents the Cubs from dealing him during spring training, but that seems unlikely.


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Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Kingsland
Kingsland, GA 31548
Recipient Of The 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award!
Voted the "Best Hotel in Camden County for 2006 - 2008," this Microtel Inn & Suites hotel in Kingsland is located just off I-95 at Exit 3. This Microtel is near Kings Bay Naval Base, just minutes away from attractions such as Orange Hall Museum, Kings Bay Submarine Museum, Osprey Cove Golf, Laurel Island Links Golf, St Marys Historical Tours, Crooked River State Park, and scenic Cumberland Island. Additionally, hotel guests will find a wide variety of restaurants nearby to satisfy any appetite.
Enjoy consistent quality at discount hotel prices and superior guest service each time you stay at the Kingsland Microtel Inn & Suites. We are pleased to offer our guests free local and long distance calls within the continental United States, free high-speed wireless (wifi) Internet access in every room, a free expanded continental breakfast, and advance online check-in and check-out with unlimited access to online information.
Info & Amenities
Hours of Operation
Sunday: All Day
Monday: All Day
Tuesday: All Day
Wednesday: All Day
Thursday: All Day
Friday: All Day
Saturday: All Day
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$0-$50, $51-$100
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About the program:
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MARTINSBURG - Randall Jacques and his daughter, Sarah, already have plans for celebrating the July Fourth holiday.
Part of the fun will include setting off some fireworks when they visit a friend's home.
Even though they're both looking forward to the festivities, Jacques said he won't allow his 13-year-old daughter to handle any of the fireworks.
Article Photos
Journal photo by Jenni Vincent
Jefferson County residents Randall and Sarah Jacques are looking forward to celebrating but also having a safe July 4th holiday as they set off some fireworks at a friend's home.
Jacques is not alone in his concern about fireworks safety - even West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has issued an advisory urging people to "leave fireworks to the professionals."
It's also important to realize what fireworks are legal for state residents, Morrisey said.
"Many are illegal for consumers to own and set off. State law allows consumers to use sparklers and novelty items, such as snakes and glow worms, noisemakers, snappers and smoke balls," his press release reads.
That may come as a surprise to some people who are now used to seeing tents and other businesses in the area selling a variety of fireworks, said Eddie Gochenour, Berkeley County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security deputy director.
"Basically, if it leaves the ground or explodes, it is illegal," said Gochenour, whose professional career includes 36 years in fire service.
"So the situation can get kind of confusing, because it is illegal to use these in the state of West Virginia - but it is not illegal to sell them here," Gochenour said.
Since it difficult for the state fire marshal's office to police this law, public education is important, he said.
But even legal fireworks, such as sparklers, burn hot and need to be handled with care, Gouchenour said.
Berkeley Medical Center trauma coordinator Donnie Grubb knows from professional experience what can happen when fireworks are no longer fun.
That's especially apparent around the July 4 holiday, he said, when there is an increase in minor burns.
"We tend to see that in pediatric burns, when parents may not be watching closely enough when a child has a sparkler," Grubb said.
Grubb, who has been with the hospital for 18 years and in his current post since 2009, said it's best to "let the professionals handle the fireworks."
However, it's not only fireworks that can cause problems on holidays, according to Dr. Elizabeth Scharman, director of the West Virginia Poison Center in Charleston.
Ironically, fireworks can also present a poison potential if ingested, she said.
"It's definitely best to keep fireworks out of the reach of young children and pets. Even better, avoid buying the smaller fireworks, like snakes, if young children will be present," Scharman said.
Glow sticks, which have grown increasingly affordable and available at discount stores, should also be monitored when used by children, she said.
They should not bite on them because leaking fluid can irritate the skin, eyes and stomach, Scharman said.
"Actually we've begun to get quite a few calls on glow sticks recently. We got 194 calls on them in 2011 and that number rose to 217 in 2012," she said.
The center has also received some calls about potential poisonings caused by lighter fluid used for barbecues and fire pits, as well as lamp oil refills for tiki torches. All of these can cause serious injury or death if it gets into the lungs after being swallowed, Scharman said.
"Unfortunately, tiki torch fuel can look like apple juice and is often sold in containers that look like juice containers. To prevent accidental poisonings, do not use drinking cups to transfer lighter fluid. And always keep these products in their original containers and away from children," she said.
Suspected poisonings or related questions can be directed to the center's medical experts, who are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Scharman said.
Its staff includes nurses, pharmacists and physicians who have special training in the treatment of poisonings, she said. The toll-free telephone number is 800-222-1222 and additional information is available online at www.wvpoisoncenter.org.
Staff writer Jenni Vincent can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 131.


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Jennifer Aniston vs. Lisa Kudrow in Celebrity Curse Off
- published: 25 Nov 2014
- views: 12409883
Here at the show we're known for bleeping and blurring things unnecessarily - but for once, the bleeping is necessary. If you are faint of heart cover your ears because Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow play America's most foul-mouthed competition: #CelebrityCurseOff SUBSCRIBE to get the latest #KIMMEL: http://bit.ly/JKLSubscribe Watch the latest Halloween Candy Prank: http://bit.ly/KimmelHalloweenCandy Watch the latest Mean Tweets: http://bit.ly/MeanTweets8 Connect with Jimmy Kimmel Live Online: Visit the Jimmy Kimmel Live WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/JKLWebsite Like Jimmy Kimmel Live on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/JKLFacebook Follow Jimmy Kimmel Live on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/JKLTwitter Follow Jimmy Kimmel Live on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/JKLInstagram About Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jimmy Kimmel serves as host and executive producer of Emmy nominated \"Jimmy Kimmel Live,\" ABC\'s late-night talk show. \"Jimmy Kimmel Live\" is well known for its huge viral video successes with 1.5 billion views on YouTube alone. Some of Kimmel\'s most popular comedy bits include - Mean Tweets, Lie Witness News, Jimmy\'s Twerk Fail Prank, Unnecessary Censorship, YouTube Challenge, The Baby Bachelor, Movie: The Movie, Handsome Men\'s Club, Jimmy Kimmel Lie Detective and music videos like \"I (Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum\" and a Blurred Lines parody with Robin Thicke, Pharrell, Jimmy and his security guard Guillermo. Now in its twelfth season, Kimmel\'s guests have included: Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Aniston, Will Ferrell, Katy Perry, Tom Hanks, Scarlett ...


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Cubs and Angels Tie One On at Diablo Park
Xavier Batista blasted his fourth home run in four games (a solo shot in the top of the 6th that put him into a tie for the team-lead in HR with Jeffrey Baez), Jose Morales hammered an RBI triple, scored a run, and drew a walk, and Carlos Penalver doubled, walked, and scored two runs, as the Cubs and Angels played to a 6-6 tie in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Diablo Park Field #6 in Tempe, AZ.
Junior Lake played six innings at 3B and batted six times, going 1-6. He drove-in a run with an RBI 5-3 GO in the 1st, reached base on an RBI infield single, stole a base, and scored a run in the 2nd, struck out swinging in the 3rd, reached base on a 5-4 FC and stole a base in the 5th, was called out on strikes in the 6th, and struck out swinging in the 7th.
In five Cactus League Extended Spring Training games (26 PA), Lake is hitting 409/500/682 with six doubles, seven runs scored, three RBI, 3/6 BB/K, and 3 SB (1 CS). He has played three of the five EXST games at 3B and two in CF, and he has not commited an error at either position.
RHP Paul Blackburn got the start for the Cubs and was roughed-up in the bottom of the 1st inning, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits (four singles and a triple). Bit then he got into a groove and retired nine in a row.
RHP Armando Rivero relieved Blackburn and was hit hard, allowing three runs on five hits (four singles and a triple) in 1.2 IP. He struck out three (all three swinging).
Here is the abridged box score from today's game (Cubs players only):
X-1. Jose Morales, DH #1: 1-4 (3B, F-8, F-8, 4-3, BB, R, RBI)
NOTE: Morales batted five times, hitting 2nd in the top of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings
X-2. Junior Lake, 3B: 1-6 (5-3, 1B, K, 5-4 FC, K, K, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB)
NOTE: Lake batted six times, hitting third in the top of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th innings
1. Rashad Crawford, CF: 2-4 (1B, 1B, 3-1, 3-U, R, RBI)
2. Shawon Dunston Jr, LF: 1-4 (1B, K, P-6, K)
3. Xavier Batista, RF: 2-4 (E-9, K, HR, 1B, R, RBI)
4. Jacob Rogers, 1B: 0-2 (BB, BB, K, 4-6-3 DP)
5. Jose Dore, DH #2: 0-2 (K, BB, BB, F-9)
6. Brad Zapenas, 2B: 1-2 (L-7, 1B, 5-3 SH)
7. Carlos Penalver, SS: 1-2 (2B, BB, L-4, 2 R)
8a. Wilfredo Petit, C: 0-2 (P-3, P-5)
8b. Erick Castillo, C: 0-1 (5-3)
9a. SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TWO TIMES THRU BATTING ORDER
9b. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 0-0 (BB)
1. Paul Blackburn: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, 74 pitches (46 strikes), 4/3 GO/FO
2. Armando Rivero: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 41 pitches (30 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO
3. Matt Iannazzo: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 PO, 26 pitches (18 strikes), 2/0 GO/FO
4. Tyler Bremer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 20 pitches (14 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO
2B Brad Zapenas - E-4 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely - eventually scored unearned run)
Erick Castillo: 0-2 CS
WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures 100+
castro batting 7th...cold.
castro batting 7th...cold.
FSL All-Stars announced
FSL All-Stars announced
INF Javier Baez
INF Dustin Geiger
OF John Andreoli
OF Jorge Soler
fwiw, I do my best to keep
fwiw, I do my best to keep track of the mid-season and post-season All-Stars througout the years.
shouldn't you and the mrs be
shouldn't you and the mrs be in traffic right now?
always unfortunate when life
always unfortunate when life gets in the way of pleasurable pursuits...
but also cared way more about the Hawks game than the Cubs suckfest that they trot out most nights.
Wed's game is at 4pm out here for some God forsaken reason, no way to make it there on time without taking the whole day off which isn't happening.
unlikely cycle watch in
unlikely cycle watch in progress...
d.ortiz with a double and a triple (first since April 11th 2011, 17th career) through 2 innings.
...and he finishes 2/6.
...and he finishes 2/6.
Ian Stewart hits his first HR
Ian Stewart hits his first HR in Iowa for 2013. Some poor AAA pitcher (Matt Neil) found that one plane.
so much for that adjusted
so much for that adjusted swing now that he can use his wrists again.
i wonder who scouted him to begin with...it wasn't exactly some secret genius-level scouting to see his swing hands/wrists/shoulders locked in with no motion.
Headline: MLB seeks to suspend ARod, Braun
Major League Baseball will seek to suspend about 20 players connected to the Miami-area clinic at the heart of an ongoing performance-enhancing drug scandal, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, possibly within the next few weeks. If the suspensions are upheld, the performance-enhancing drug scandal would be the largest in American sports history.
...Tony Bosch, founder of the now-shuttered Biogenesis of America, reached an agreement this week to cooperate with MLB's investigation, giving MLB the ammunition officials believe they need to suspend the players.
...here is the FOX/Morosi version of the story:
Bob KlapischVerified account
Bob KlapischVerified [email protected]
Told there are "other major, major names" involved in the Biogensis scandal besides A-Rod and Braun.
Canoe and maybe Sweeney
Canoe and maybe Sweeney
Tommy [email protected]
Tommy [email protected]
Huge news for #Cubs fans: #IowaCubs manager Marty Pevey said prospect Junior Lake is expected to join the team on Thursday.
might want to reset his
might want to reset his defintion of the word huge there....
Hey Hollandsworth, try the
Hey Hollandsworth, try the decaf.
he's improved a lot behind
he's improved a lot behind the mic, but he can barely get the correct words out of his mouth without tripping over them.
Jim [email protected]
you never know and all how it
you never know and all how it'll end up, but I'd be happier if the Cubs get Gray over Appel
Yeah, I can't wait to start
Yeah, I can't wait to start the clock for when the first round pitcher gets injured. First round pitchers are such a wasted pick recently. I'd like to see a list of recent first rounders with long careers - I'm talking 3 years plus, even.
Well, here are some ( idk if
Well, here are some ( idk if they ALL make the 3 year mark - but most do):
Mike Minor
RA Dickey
Dylan Bundy
Gerrit Cole
Dave Price
Luke Hochevar
Tyler Herron
Chris Sale
Wouldn't mind having any of these guys.
I looked into it just for
I looked into it just for kicks, 1st Round June Draft Pitchers with career WAR over 10:
1990: Alex Fernandez (28.9), Mike Mussina (83.0), Steve Karsay (11.2)
1991: Joey Hamilton (14.6), Shawn Estes (11.1), Aaron Sele (20.6), Justin Thompson (12.9)
1992: Rick Helling (20.6)
1993: Brian Anderson (11.4), Billy Wagner (28.1), Chris Carpenter (34.5)
1994: Dustin Hermason (11.4)
1995: Kerry Wood (27.7), Matt Morris (20.5), Roy Halladay (64.6)
1996: Kris Benson (13.0), R.A. Dickey (14.5), Eric Milton (16.6), Jake Westbrook (15.4), Gil Meche (17.1)
1997: Jon Garland (22.5)
1998: Mark Mulder (20.0), Jeff Weaver (15.4), CC Sabathia (56.1), Matt Thornton (11.4)
1999: Josh Beckett (34.0), Barry Zito (35.4), Ben Sheets (23.4), Brett Myers (14.4), Jason Jennings (11.4)
2000: Adam Wainwright (26.3)
2001: Mark Prior (16.5), Gavin Floyd (14.9), Noah Lowry (10.2)
2002: Zach Greinke (32.0), Jeff Francis (10.5), Joe Saunders (10.2), Scott Kazmir (16.6), Cole Hamels (30.0), Jeremy Guthrie (18.4), Joe Blanton (10.4), Matt Cain (31.5)
2003: Paul Maholm (13.7), John Danks (19.4), Chad Billingsley (17.2)
2004: Justin Verlander (37.1), Jared Weaver (30.4), Gio Gonzalez (12.5), Houston Street (10.0)
2005: Matt Garza (13.1), Clay Bucholtz (13.8)
2006: Clayton Kershaw (28.6), Tim Lincecum (22.9), Max Scherzer (13.1), Ian Kennedy (10.4)
2007: David Price (15.1) also, Madison Bumgarner (9.2)
Notables in Recent Drafts
2008: Lance Lynn (4.2), Wade Miley (3.3)
2009: Stephen Strasburg (7.0), Mike Minor (2.3), Shelby Miller (3.2)
2010: Matt Harvey (5.1), Chris Sale (12.5)
Heh. While this is great, O&B
Heh. While this is great, O&B's point (I guess) was "injured within 3 years". Strassbourg would qualify for this. But, he's still impressive.
Checked out the Cole Hammels 30WAR. Dammmnn!
So, it would appear that there is noteworthy arm injuries for touted pitchers, it a characteristic of the position in our era.
If TJS was offered as an IPO, I'd probably buy stock.
Its gonna be interesting to see how/if Vizcaino will recover.
Well, he said: "I'd like to
Well, he said: "I'd like to see a list of recent first rounders with long careers - I'm talking 3 years plus, even" so I generated that list.
But, there are probably 15-20 pitchers in each first round that either never even make it to the big leagues, make it and have short and sucky careers, or make it but get injured and suck. But that's the nature of drafting and baseball I suppose.
So there is a high likelihood that either pitcher the Cubs take will not make it or will turn out to be terrible, but there are usually a handful of good, solid, long-career starters that come out of each first-round, so one can hope.
to expand upon that, here are
to expand upon that, here are the pitchers drafted #1 or #2 overall out of college since 1980.
1981 - #1 Mike Moore (28.2 career WAR)
1983 - #1 Tim Belcher (26.9)
1984 - #2 Bill Swift (18.7)
1986 - #2 Greg Swindell (30.3)
1988 - #1 Andy Benes (31.7)
1989 - #1 Ben McDonald (20.9)
1992 - #2 Paul Shuey (7.0)
1993 - #2 Darren Dreifort (7.9)
1994 - #1 Paul Wilson (2.2)
1996 - #1 Kris Benson (13.0)
1997 - #1 Matt Anderson (-0.5)
1998 - #2 Mark Mulder (20.0)
2000 - #2 Adam Johnson (-1.1)
2001 - #2 Mark Prior (16.5)
2002 - #1 Bryan Bullington (-0.2)
2004 - #2 Justin Verlander (37.1)
2006 - #1 Luke Hochever (0.8), #2 Greg Reynolds (-1.3)
2007 - #1 David Price (15.1)
2009 - #1 Stephen Strasburg (7.0)
2010 - #2 Jameson Tailon
2011 - #1 Gerrit Cole, #2 Danny Hultzen
And honestly, if you break it out to high school pitchers, that just adds Brien Taylor and Josh Beckett I believe (apologies if I'm missing someone).
We can discount Tailon, Cole and Hultzen as they haven't seen the majors yet. That leaves 20 names. I'd say 5 are all-out busts (G. Reynolds, B. Bullington, A. Johnson, M. Anderson and P. Wilson). Hochevar is probably a disappointment, but looks like he's could at least have a decent career in the bullpen. I'd say 12 have had decent careers or headed that way (Verlander, Price, Strasburg, Prior, Mulder, Benson, McDonald, Benes, Swindell, Belcher, Swift, Moore). Some of those could have been better without injuries of course (McDonald, Prior and Mulder to begin with). I don't know anything about Paul Shuey, but i presume some injury forced him to the pen, but he was decent out of there for his career. Dreifort looked like he was well on his way to a good career before arm injuries.
Not the greatest odds that the pick will succeed (depending on your personal definition of baseball success), but slightly above a flip of the coin. As for this pick of the Cubs becoming an ace with a lengthy career, those odds seem quite slim, which will make the pick a disappointment in many fans' eyes.
1989 - #1 Ben McDonald (20.9)
1989 - #1 Ben McDonald (20.9)
Never heard of him
he's no Jim Abbott
he had twice the arm...arms of Jim Abbott
1993 - #2 Darren Dreifort
1993 - #2 Darren Dreifort
3/44 before 3/44 was 3/44.
Lets just assume the Cubs #2 pick will turn out exactly like Verlander.
he was almost a Cub, wasn't
he was almost a Cub, wasn't he? forgot all about that....
I think it's safe to presume that whomever the Cubs pick tomorrow will be going to the Hall of Fame.
Neat. Cubs pick twice
Neat. Cubs pick twice tomorrow, right?
yep, two rounds tomorrow,
yep, two rounds tomorrow, Cubs have #2 and #41.
Then #75, #108 and every 30 after that.
Kris Bryant, zero miles on
Kris Bryant, zero miles on his arm. Brilliant!
my feeling is that if Bryant
my feeling is that if Bryant was special, he'd have been drafted out of high school near the top of the draft. If you look at the history of top college bats with the first 2 picks, very few real stars. Some good players, but I'd say just two real stars (Clark & Drew...I think Erstad has the third best WAR of the group mostly thanks to his defense).
Joe Carter ('81- #2 pick), BJ Surhoff('85 - #1), Will Clark ('85 - #2), Jeff King (#1 - '86), Mike Kelly ('91 - #2), Phil Nevin('92 - #1), Darin Erstad ('95 - #1), Travis Lee ('96 - #2), JD Drew ('97 - #2), Pat Burrell ('98 - #1), Rickie Weeks ('03 - #2), Alex Gordon ('05 - #2), Pedro Alvarez ('08 - #2), Dustin Ackley('09 - #2)
That's not saying that Bryant won't be good, but there was a study not too long ago that one of the best draft strategies is to get the youngest guy. Essentially get them into pro ball as young as possible...so a guy like Frazier might be the best bet to hit a home run with this pick (I doubt the Cubs go that way though).
Nice research ROB G.
Nice research ROB G.
One name that was an infamous 1st Rounder for the Cubs (other than the bust Brownlee) was Ben Christensen, drafted number 26 in the first round out of Wichita State.
Austin Meadows is even
Austin Meadows is even younger than Frazier.
I'd prefer Meadows or Frazier. I don't see the Cubs doing that either.
But I am betting they go with a bat. So Bryant.
it would pretty much shock
it would pretty much shock the world if the cubs went with anyone but appell/gray.
it's also worth mentioning that bryant is a junior, so whoever drafts him will most likely have to pay #1-3 overall pick money to him no matter where he slots.
thanks to the new draft/loot setup we're probably going to be seeing a lot more highschool kids, community college transfers, and college juniors passing up their draft pick unless they get paid if they think they have the talent to move up in following years.
is castro capable of catching
is castro capable of catching any ball thrown to him by an OF'r or catcher on a play at the bag?
he's in such a hurry to apply the tag he consistently keeps missing the f'n ball.
...and pujols hits a 2 run homer as i type this.
neat. who needs a tie game when you can be behind by 1 run?
I think Pujols gets a free
I think Pujols gets a free steak for that home run.
If EpHoy had bothered to do
If EpHoy had bothered to do to the bullpen what it did to the rotation, this might have been a bloody playoff team. Instead it's another top 5 pick.
Wasn't Villanueva part of the
Wasn't Villanueva part of the what they did to the rotation thingy?
what was the thing they didn
what was the thing they didn't do?
besides make it good?
O&B: Let's say it's actually
O&B: Let's say it's actually two different guys. A starter named Carlos Villanueva and a reliever named Charlie Newtown.
Rob G: Yes, exactly.
Teheran no-no through 6 v.
Teheran no-no through 6 v. Pirates.
Recent comments
A couple of Cub related puzzles.
Can't teach height and thinness
Hopefully Pirates don't call up A. Lincoln.
j.buchanan going friday...should be...baseball...or something like it.
Wow. I didn't know they could do that.
Nice for Willson, not so much for Addy.
Game is officially called...also officially a tie.
Stats count, no make-up date of course.
Yeah -- seeing the weather -- I hope KB and Rizz are inside, wrapped in blankets and drinking hot chocolate.
rain delay...thanks obama.
Thanks again Phil. We actually were in Mesa and drove around. Hopefully, I am back for some Fall League. If not I have all of spring training (like the smart people who move here!)
What Rob G said. I can't speak for Piittsburgh, but the other end of the state has had absolute crap weather for two days. Perfect day to take it easy.
tarp came off 10 minutes ago...let's do this.
He will not pitch another game for Cubs
/Unless injury in playoffs
Today is bullpen day
10/450 if they win WS
Carrie Muskat [email protected]
Even though Hammel is missing start, don't assume he'll not be on #Cubs postseason roster. Maddon says elbow problem isn't that bad
Carrie Muskat [email protected]
Maddon on #Cubs postseason rotation: "I don't want to announce anything. We haven't talked to anybody yet"
Carrie Muskat [email protected]
Maddon hopes Soler can take BP in Cincy, play in sim game Tue. "All of that should give us some kind of indication of where he's at"


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As Immunotherapy Revolutionizes the Cancer Treatment...
Developers of DTC Genetic Testing Are...
Expanding Use of NGS Has Largely...
NSCLC is "Major Battlefield" as Merck,...
To build a successful company and attract high-quality investment at every stage of growth, entrepreneurs need to have a command of the microenvironment. This includes knowing the strategic direction of their company and how it fits in the competitive landscape.
These days, successful financing strategies require that entrepreneurs also understand the macroenvironment in which potential investors operate. This can have a significant impact on financing options and exit strategies. Understanding key trends can help entrepreneurs navigate many funding challenges.
The good news is that the life science sector—the biotech and medical-device industries together—saw an all-time record for venture capital investing in 2007, with $9.1 billion in 863 deals, according to The MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
Nearly $2.4 billion of that total was invested into 366 seed and early-stage deals. Specifically, $497 million went to 116 seed-stage firms, and nearly $1.9 billion to 205 early-stage deals nationally. This represents a 58% increase in dollars invested versus 2006, when $1.5 billion was invested into 323 deals. The medical-device subsector enjoyed a 40% increase in funding—151 deals in 2007 versus 87 in 2006—reflecting renewed interest by investors.
Trends over the last five years also show an overall positive change.
• The size of the average seed-stage deal has increased dramatically since 2003, from $1.5 million to over $4 million in 2007.
• The average size of a Series A investment has also gone up during the same time period although less dramatically, from $5.2 million in 2003 to $7.5 million last year.
• The number of seed and early-stage deals increased by 70% over the last five years.
Investment in the life science sector for the most part is concentrated in established regional hubs. Fully 80% of all seed/start-up financing deals occur in only eight regions of the U.S.—Silicon Valley, Boston, Washington DC, San Diego, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington State. In 2007 the top three regions, Silicon Valley, Boston, and San Diego, accounted for 44% of national seed-stage investments. Silicon Valley alone accounted for 36% through 23 deals.
Although capital is theoretically fluid, start-up capital historically stays close to the investor's home base, reflecting the need for a close working relationship at the early stages of a company's growth. This factor explains why so much start-up capital gravitates to the regions where venture funds are located. Entrepreneurs located in those regions are well-positioned, at least geographically, to access this capital.
Fortunately, states, cities, and some private investors outside these hubs are beginning to recognize opportunities to mine technology in underserved venture capital markets. To target investment in these regions more effectively, angel investors are coming together as organized funds. Foundations and nonprofits are stepping in to provide capital for companies and researchers working in their disease areas. Biopharmaceutical companies such as Biogen Idec and MedImmune have established funds to complement their internal research efforts, and many large venture funds are now experimenting with accelerator models to generate deal flow.
In addition, states throughout the country are gearing up their efforts to capture the economic benefits of the life science industry. Pennsylvania was among the first, creating the Greenhouse initiative to support preseed and seed-stage firms, coupled with a venture program for follow-on capital. Together, Pennsylvania's three Greenhouses have invested more than $36 million into more than 133 companies and projects throughout the commonwealth. These companies have gone on to leverage an additional $887 million in capital from other sources.
Venture investors need to produce returns to their limited partners in three to five years. This is because these partners have their own liquidity requirements and they need a positive track record to raise the next fund. The exit for venture investors has historically occurred through IPOs. The IPO window has unfortunately been erratic at best for several years, with an average of only two dozen companies reaching the public markets each year since 2003.
The diminishing utility of the public markets has been offset in part by merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, particularly by large pharmaceutical companies facing declining revenues as blockbuster drugs go off patent. Although the number of M&A events has been fairly consistent over the last five years, ranging from 40–50 deals, the dollar amounts have increased, particularly in the case of earlier-stage transactions.
Not surprisingly then, investors are especially interested in companies working in areas that make them attractive acquisition targets. Entrepreneurs need to understand the M&A area for their products.
The blockbuster markets that have not been fully tapped, such as Alzheimer's disease and metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity, remain priorities for larger pharmaceutical companies in both M&A agreements as well as licensing deals. Emerging companies working in these areas are of particular interest to investors even if the products are at the preclinical stage.
Investors have been less likely to target early-stage firms working in diseases such as oncology where efficacy data in humans is now the threshold for investment given higher product failure rates and a lack of predictive preclinical models.
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Novum Pharma recently raised the price of an acne cream by over 3,900% in less than a year-and-a-half and Mylan increased price of EpiPen from $100 to $608 . Do you think pharmaceutical companies need to be subjected to price controls?
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