Don

Same as everyone. I’d say the bullpen is my first concern. Rotation a close second.

Just watched the Golden Globes. Penelope Cruz is still like an 11.

Honestly, if GA had remained healthy I’d say him and Baines end up with incredibly similar numbers. Considering the number of seasons they each played, they’re fairly similar.

Pretty sure there are still direct flights to/from SNA/MCI.

Gotta respect the dude for building the career he did without ever being a “hyped” prospect.

If it’s the same airline, I’d say 45min-1hr is fine. Different airlines, depending on the airport, I’d want at least 1:30. Dallas seems to be the worst in my experience for connecting flights. They love to put connecting flights for the same airline in different terminals for reasons I don’t understand.

My laziness knows no bounds.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-snl-writer-nimesh-patel-kicked-off-stage-columbia-university-inappropriate-standup-set-181726667.html i find shit like this legitimately worrisome. I would consider myself left of center, but this is a bad ideological path to do down. Kind of a snake eating its own tail sort of thing.

Had our first real blizzard here in quite awhile last weekend. Got about six inches total, with winds going at about 50mph the whole time. Made travel a bit interesting for a couple days. It’s generally been above freezing during the day then below freezing at night since then, which basically means everything is covered in ice after sundown and muddy/gross during the day. Gotta love the Midwest.

Agreed about defensive stats for catchers being a bit unreliable. A lot of them are based on factors outside of the catcher’s control as well. That said, Mathis has never really looked like an elite defender to me (super subjective I know), and his offensive skill set doesn’t merit such a long career. So... could it be that people just like him? Like pitchers enjoy working with him, he’s good in the clubhouse, coaches like having him around, etc...? I mean no team really expects a ton of value from their backup catcher, so why not get a guy that is serviceable in that role that your coaching staff and pitchers will have a solid relationship with?

Perhaps this is just me being jaded after the last few years, but Eovaldi feels like type of guy that we sign to a pretty big deal, then he’s hurt in ST, makes 4 starts in May, gets hurt again, then we keep paying him for four more years for nothing. Not saying that will happen, but these high-risk guys haven’t worked out great for us. Obviously it won’t happen, but if this was a short term not much money deal, I’d be fine with it. But the idea of giving him several years at 15-ish per feels like the exact sort of decision the Angels would make to ensure continued mediocrity.

Got our first real snow of the year here today (already snowed once in October but didn’t stick). The dog is quite happy.

I’m lazy and chose not to read through the last couple pages. That said, it’s a solid joke that deserves repeating.

Btw, having lived in Kansas for nearly half of my life at this point I can assure you that electing a Dem governor was merely a result of the hangover from Brownback’s colossal screw ups and many that viewed Kobach as Brownback 2.0. There were plenty of traditionally Rep voters that just couldn’t stand to vote for the dude.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article220730960.html Not sure if this has been posted here yet, but it’s worth a read. As usual with the extreme fringes of either side (or any side really), it comes down to mental illness and some sort of unfulfilled quest for validation/importance. Reading through the article I was reminded of so many people that I’ve met (and I’m sure we’ve all met) that fit that kinda profile... Compulsive liar that just wants so badly to be accepted/revered for something. I’m not sure what it really means in a political sense at all, other than a need for a more robust mental health care system. In the end, it’s just deeply depressing/frustrating in my opinion.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/witness-reveals-apparent-last-words-of-man-shot-dead-by-cop-lawyer-says/ar-BBNb2sz?li=BBnb7Kz Not a good look even if she is telling the truth. I’m not a legal expert by any means, much less so on the specifics of law in Texas; but if the officer were a civilian, would this be a manslaughter charge, a murder charge, or something else?

Ward actually answering all of Mota’s questions just as they were asked was hilarious. I mean it made him look good in that he was actually putting some thought into it, but the questions themselves just seemed a bit Mota-ish of course.

Every time I crack a beer now, I think to myself, “Aaaaand we are drinkin’ a beer!”

Update: I checked the app late this afternoon, and they’re literally offering no showings of anything at any theaters in my market through the app. I think the business might actually be failing in real time.

Agreed in that it definitely shows that a subscription service model is viable, or more accurately, would be very sellable to viewers. However, their latest restrictions (limited showtimes and blacking out new/popular movies) is basically them taking back a significant portion of what they sold to subscribers. I’d think they have a class action suit coming their way.

I’m really not sure how much longer MoviePass will stay in business. Well, at least with it’s current model/brand. They’ve had to make a number of changes in terms of movie availability/pricing lately, which is pretty bad for the brand simply because their whole thing was pay X per month and see any movie any time. It looks like the financial hole they went into to get subscribers is finally coming back to bite them. And while they scramble for solutions to stay above water, they’re really just alienating a customer base that was never very loyal and always a bit suspicious of the idea to begin with. I really won’t be shocked if they go under within the next year. At the very least I’d expect a complete overhaul of their business model along with a name change/rebrand.

I’m liking Willis so far. He’s fun in that his approach feels like he’s a player more so than Gubicza’s. I understand that Gubicza played of course, but Willis just feels a bit more connected. Kennedy.... meh. He seems a bit uncomfortable on camera for sure.

The show was like 80% great, but all the deus ex machina stuff the writers pulled kinda ruined it. It’s like they would just write themselves into some crazy spider web plot-wise, then have something come totally out of left field to wrap it all up. That always felt kinda frantic and lazy, which took away from most of the really solid writing and acting. I liked a lot of the music choices they used early on in the series too.

Little did they know how common that sort of thing would become for Vlad. Really the best bad ball hitter ever. It was so fun getting to see him play every day when he was with the Angels. When he was locked in and seeing the ball well I would’ve taken him over anyone else in the game, mainly because he just wouldn’t let anyone pitch around him when he was hot. i remember watching a game with my cousin once, and he hit a ball way up and in off the plate into right-center for a double in the first inning. My cousin looked at me after that hit and said very matter of factly, “Nobody’s getting him out tonight.” I think he ended up 4-4 with a HR that night. That’s the way I’ll always remember Vlad. Once you could tell he was locked in, you knew nobody was gonna stop him that day, or that week, or whatever stretch it might have been.