Travis Hafner and Mark Teixiera: Not so similar after all

Since I made this post April 12, Baseball-Reference.com has decided that Hafner and Teixiera aren't so similar after all. Strange, huh?

Serial cereal blogging

Yesterday, through a trusted agent, I received a box of the "Star Trek" cereal.
When I eat it for the first time, I shall provide a full report.

Ultimately, Fantastic Four ended

"Ultimate Fantastic Four" ended with issue 60. It hit stores February 18. It took three months before I even missed it.
About two weeks ago, I was standing in the local comic store, saw that issue, and thought, "Boy, there hasn't been one of those in a while." I had bought every issue starting with the first trade paperback, then the monthly series -- every month for five years.
At one point, say most of 2005-2006, I thought it was one of the best comics on the market, superior even to the regular "Fantastic Four" comic.
Neither the art not the writing had been very good for a while, at least since Mike Carey and Pascual Ferry left the book.
In its glory days, with Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar and Warren Ellis writing and Adam Kubert and Stuart Immomen drawing, I thought it was at least as good, if not better than, it's more famous counterpart, "Ultimate Spider-Man."
How far the "Ultimate" line of comics has sunk -- even "Ultimate Spider-Man" has been cancelled. Issue 133 will be the last one. I have a bunch of the hardcover volumes of that, too. I kind of lost interest after the clone saga of a few years ago, but the book still had Bendis and Immomen writing and drawing, respectively. I figured that was the one "Ultimate" book that might continue indefinitely, even if I wasn't reading it.
I am sad about all this, especially because I have refused to read "Amazing Spider-Man" after the "One More Day" storyline and because regular "Fantastic Four" has been very hit or miss for me. These are two of titles I have always enjoyed most.
Maybe there's hope, however, the latest issue of "Fantastic Four" really felt like an FF story -- for the first time in a long time. I am probably just being stubborn about "Amazing Spider-Man." It has such great talent writing and drawing it, it can't be that bad.
This was a rambling post, but I guess it comes down to this: can somebody please make my favorite characters fun to read again? Please?

If you haven't found this site yet ...

... you'll probably be greateful I have given you Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. One word of note: This site, while funny, has a lot of swear words and senseless cartoon violence. That's probably what makes it funny, actually. Kind of like "Happy Tree Friends," but with more cussing.

Craig Ferguson on Star Trek (well, not literally on, but you get it ...)

Craig Ferguson is funny

I supposed I am way behind popular sentiment, but because of Mark Evanier's blog entry about Craig Ferguson I have watched the Late, Late Show a few times. Sometimes, there are side benefits to waking up in the middle of the night with acid reflux that makes you drink chalky-tasting Maalox and sit up straight in a chair for a while.
I happened on the show amid late-night Extenze infomercials one night and enjoyed watching. His guest was Kathy Griffin, who I enjoy anyway. I'd be way, way more likely to watch "The View" if she had ben picked as a permanent guest host.
Anyway, Ferguson's show generally is standard nighttime talk show fare, but Ferguson brings to the form a new personality and a clever wit. While he seems consistently to get good guests, his personality and sense of humor really carries the show. I tune in just to watch him.
The way he mugs for the camera and not the audience also gives his show a different look than other late night talkers have.
I think giving an accomplished stand up comedian a TV show is a good idea (see also "The Daily Show" and "F Troop" for two different ways to make that work.).
If you are up that late, or own a TiVo, I'd say it's worth checking out (especially if you are like me and you are ten years behind in TV watching and haven't seen the show already).

Serial cereal blogging

I got a box of Rice Chex the other day, and it says "Gluten free! Same great taste!"
Does anybody know what this means, and why it should be reassuring to know the Chex, despite the sudden removal of gluten, still tastes the same?
For that matter, if it still takes the same, why should I care if the gluten has been removed? Would I even know?
How is it a selling point to know Chex are now gluten free if I didn't even know it was gluten-ous?
If gluten is bad, should I be worried about eating gluten-filled Chex all my life?
How much more can I beat this topic into the ground before I stop posting?
I'd say, about this far.
(And, why could I not find any picture of the gluten-free Rice Chex, but I could find a picture of the gluten-free Corn Chex? Should I be wary of a corn-spiracy?)

More "The Cleveland Indians are awful"

From the Dayton Daily News (Thanks, Dave!):
"(Brandon) Phillips basically said he wasted more than two years of his professional life in the Indians organization because they wouldn't let him be himself. They told him to wipe that smile off his face and get serious."

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"Phillips, who played sporadically with the Tribe from 2002 through 2005, said he had no problem with interim manager Joel Skinner, who replaced fired Charlie Manuel in 2002. But as everyone knows, his relationship with Wedge was not good.
"'But they got a new manager in 2003 [Wedge] and I was put on standby," said Phillips. "I had to be a totally different person. I couldn't do that.'"

Does this tell us more about Phillips, or does it say something about why the Indians seem to have under-achieved in recent years?

The Cleveland Indians are awful

I thought they'd compete to win the World Series this year. I really did.
What's amazing to me is how complete their awfulness is. They don't really hit that well, although they score runs. Their starting pitching has been awful, and so had their bullpen.
At this point, i think you can stick a fork in them; they're done. Going into tonight's game, they are 9 1/2 games back, but it's actually 11 in the loss column.
They have to win 11 games in a row to get back to .500. If they did that it would:
a. be a miracle, and
b. make me think they might just be contenders after all.
However, I would be surprised if they aren't selling off players by mid-June. The problem with this is I don't see how selling off veterans for prospects helps them contend in 2010. I think Terry Pluto or one of the other Plain Dealer columnists said this earlier. They need good players, because they aren't that far from being good, and a number of their best players are getting closer and closer to free agency.
If I was planning for 2010, I'd start by trying to find a couple of good starting pitchers. Not the Carl Pavano/Anthony Reyes kind, but legitimate top- or mid-rotation starters. How they'll do that I have no idea, but they have Mark DeRosa, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, Ben Francisco or Kelly Shoppach to trade. Those are all players with talent that other clubs might want.
There also are talented pitchers in the Tribe's bullpen. They've almost all gotten off to monumentally bad starts. Kerry Wood, Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt and Joe Smith should be candidates to bounce back, especially if they were supported by a stronger rotation that would keep them from being over-worked and better defense.
Therefore, I'd look for ways to make my defense stronger to support those pitchers, maybe starting by finding a really slick-fielding middle infielder to pair with Asdrubal Cabrera, and then a good glove at third. This next move might be radical, but I wonder if moving Grady Sizemore to left in favor of a Garry Maddox-type center fielder would help? (Remember: Two-thirds of the world was covered by water, and the rest by Garry Maddox.)
With a lineup that includes Sizemore, Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Shin-Soo Choo, they should be able to score runs. Maybe Travis Hafner could be added to that mix, but, at this point, I don't think anyone knows what to expect from him.
The bottom line (which, in this case, really is the bottom line of this post): If they can keep some runs off the board through better pitching and defense, they won't have to score as many.

An odd thought

Since inventors spent a lot of time and effort creating ways to heat food faster (various kinds of stover, crock pots, ovens, microwaves, Foreman Grills), why is it we have never developed ways to cool foods faster? Think how nice it would be if someone invented a way to make a glass of tap water cold instantly. I'd think there was some utility to that idea, and, perhaps more importantly, money to be made.

My Max and Ruby episode

It opens with Max and Ruby at the dinner table. Max is reaching for corn on the cob. Ruby tells him he has to eat something other than corn, because he's had three already. Max replies by saying, "Corn."
The episode ends with Ruby yelling at Max from the hallway while he is in the bathroom. "Max," she says, "You have to eat a balanced diet, or you suffer the consequences!"
From inside the bathroom, we hear Max's voice exclaim, "Corn!"

and, while we are talking about "The Art of Noise" ...

Here's "Close to the Edit." Remember this one?

Remember Max Headroom?

Here's a blast from the past ...

With this post ...

... I have now exceeded the number of posts I made last month.

Serial cereal blogging

I am eating a box of Frosted Flakes, in case you were wondering.

And, that is not the punch line to the joke, "What do you call three blondes in a freezer?"

Mas Espanol, por favor

After watching lots of TV with my 20-month old daughter, I have decided one thing:

Despite three years of high school Spanish, I can only speak it at the "Dora the Explorer" level.

Out with the new; in with the old?

OK, back to the fire Eric Wedge thing ... I hate to beat a dead horse. Wedge probably isn't going anywhere, but if I were running the team, before I did fire him, my thought process would probably go something like this:

Here are 10 questions about the Indians' managerial situation (apologies to Terry Pluto).

1. You shouldn't fire a manager unless you know who is going to replace him and, for that matter, why you want the new guy. To do otherwise is making a change for change's sake and signals to the team and its fans a lack of direction. So, if the Indians were to fire Wedge, who should replace him? There's actually a simple answer, that's almost too easy. Mike Hargrove. He is not managing in the big leagues, and has said he'd like another go-around before he retires for good.

2. Why would Hargrove be an improvement over Wedge? Well, for starters, Hargrove always had good bullpens. He did tend to let some pitchers languish without enough work, and he did tend also to get a little crazy with lefty-righty match-ups for my taste, but the team always seemed to have solid relievers who put up good numbers year after year. Eric Plunk, Paul Assenmacher, Paul Shuey, Mike Jackson, Ricardo Rincon, Jose Mesa (sometimes) and others were fairly consistent under Hargrove. For that matter, Hargrove is a veteran manager who has managed both good team (Indians) and bad teams (Orioles and Mariners). He certainly brings some perspective with him. Besides, he'd be a very popular pick with the fans of Cleveland, who, I think, still love him. It would be nice to hear the late-night Cleveland sports talk show calls from "Mike from Strongsville" defending his moves in the game.

3. OK, Hargrove had good bullpens, but does the Indians current staff have as much talent on it as Hargrove's did? Yes, and maybe more. Hargrove never had a closer as good as Kerry Wood. Joe Smith, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez both have tremendous stuff, as does Jensen Lewis. Hargrove would probably be able to sort out one or two pitchers from the cast of thousands surrounding those guys.

4. What would it take to settle down the bullpen? I'd say regular work, few one batter appearances and the elimination of slavish adherence to strict roles. (And I am recommending Hargrove? Well, he made it work regardless of whether he did those things or not.)

5. Why do I think those three items are important? Well regular work, but not overwork, would keep the relievers sharp and rested. The problem with one-batter appearances (this point ties perfectly in with its predecessor) is that a pitcher may throw only five or fewer pitches a night. How does one build up muscle memory and maintain a consistent delivery when throwing so few pitches? The third point fits in nicely here: the more pitchers you use, the more likely you are to find someone who is having a bad day. Therefore, maybe it's not prudent to pull a reliever after the seventh inning just because someone else is "supposed" to pitch the eighth inning. I'd probably err on the side of leaving relievers in or using my closer for long saves rather than parading five guys out there every night. Odds are, eventually, one guy just won't have it.

6. Do I really think Eric Wedge has to go? I don't know, but, as Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says you are. Wedge's teams perpetually get off to bad starts. Further, in only two of his seven years has he had a good bullpen. So, he is what his record says: a manager whose teams have been unprepared to start the season and who has not patched together a struggling bullpen.

7. What would the Indians lose if they fired Wedge? In terms of leadership, I have no idea. I am not in the clubhouse. They would, however, lose a manager who has done a good job of producing offense and who also has done a remarkable job of developing starting pitchers and keeping them healthy. Under Wedge, the Indians had two straight Cy Young award winners. Many managers never even have one.

8. Hargrove has said he wants to manage one more season in his independent league before coming back to the majors. What do you do for the rest of the season? Well, if the team tanks, does it really matter who manages them? At this point, the team has sunk so low, it's almost impossible for them to get back into contention, even though their division is weak. Ten games below .500 seems more like 50 games below .500 with these guys.

9. What could Wedge do now to help the pitching staff? One thing he is already doing is putting a better defense on the field. He has started playing Asdurbal Cabrera at short and Luis Valbuena at second, which is a better combination than Cabrera at second and Jhonny Perlata at short. Peralta belongs at at third or DH. I'd also consider putting Matt LaPorta at first and bringing Trevor Crowe back up to play left. LaPorta is a natural first baseman and Crowe is a better outfielder than LaPorta or Ben Francisco.

10. What to do with the players this move would displace? I'd bet that from the likes of Kelly Shoppach, Mark DeRosa, Ben Francisco and Ryan Garko, the Indians could bring in a couple of players who would really help next year's team.

Fire Eric Wedge?

Here's an online petition you can sign in support of firing Indians manager Eric Wedge. Vote (or sign) your conscience. I am beginning to agree with the fire Wedge crowd. I think every game he manages is a game less the next manager gets to assess his players for next season.

Bad news, good news

The bad news: MAD now publishes only four times a year.
The good news: I just found out my subscription now lasts until 2012.

(For those of you who find Peanuts parodies as funny as I do, I linked to a pretty current and topical one from MAD. Here's another good one, too .. about our ol' pal A-Rod.)

A review of "Star Trek"

For those of you who can't wait to decide for yourselves, here's a chance to see what a critic thinks. I haven't read this review, so I have no idea what it says.
And, don't tell me anything about the movie until I see it! Nyahhh.

Guess I am a little behind here

I should offer some longer items, because it has been too long since I posted. But, here's a few short things I could expand on later. If you have a preference, tell me which you'd most like to see more about:
1. I don't think Eric Wedge should be fired right now as the Cleveland Indians manager. I do, however, think there's reason to think there's some reason the team always seems to get off to a slow start with him at the helm. I'd say if they don't rally significantly by the All-Star break, the Indians should think very hard about making a change.
2. I think the Cavs are going to win the NBA championship, too.
3. If I were the type to bet, I'd bet that Braylon Edwards is traded before the Browns start their season.
4. It rains a lot in Virginia.