Posted 3/30/08
No tricksy headlines here--just a straightforward post on my predictions for the just-started baseball season. All of these predictions are certifiable, scientifically derived grade A gold prognostications; you can take everyone one of them to the bank, or sports book, depending upon your personal level of foolishness.
In predicted order of finish, with projected records:
| AL EAST | |
| New York | 90-72 |
| Boston | 86-76 |
| Toronto | 86-76 |
| Tampa Bay | 78-84 |
| Baltimore | 65-97 |
| AL CENTRAL | |
| Cleveland | 97-65 |
| Detroit | 88-74 |
| Chicago | 82-80 |
| Minnesota | 79-83 |
| Kansas City | 78-84 |
| AL WEST | |
| Seattle | 95-67 |
| Los Angeles | 90-72 |
| Oakland | 82-80 |
| Texas | 75-87 |
| NL EAST | |
| Atlanta | 103-59 |
| New York | 95-67 |
| Philadelphia | 93-69 |
| Washington | 67-95 |
| Florida | 67-95 |
| NL CENTRAL | |
| Chicago | 82-80 |
| Cincinnati | 82-80 |
| Milwaukee | 80-82 |
| Pittsburgh | 78-84 |
| Houston | 77-85 |
| St. Louis | 77-85 |
| NL WEST | |
| Los Angeles | 90-72 |
| San Diego | 88-74 |
| Arizona | 88-74 |
| San Francisco | 88-74 |
| Colorado | 75-87 |
The AL results look pretty clear. You will notice that in the NL there is quite a muddle in the Central and West divisions.
I expect LA to prevail in the NL West, though just a squeak above three very tightly packed teams. The biggest surprise is the Giants; going in I was sure they would stink, but my evaluation of their pitching actually led me to originally pick them to win the division. I quickly decided that this had to be an error, an overly optimistic judgement of their starting staff, and I knocked them back a few games. Still I suspect they will be better than folks are looking for right now. Equally shocking will be the fall from grace of the Rockies, from World Series to basement in no time. Seems bizarre, but in retrospect they were even flukier winners than the Diamondbacks last year. It says here that their pitching fails in a big way this year.
I'm looking for a tie at the top of the NL Central, with Chicago and surprising Cincinnati battling in a one game playoff to decide the division. Chicago will probably win that, but it will be a valiant effort by the Reds in Dusty Baker's first year there.
So who wins it all? Oh, let's say...Atlanta. Sure, why not? At this point it's as good an idea as any.
Posted 3/24/08
My food show fixations have started to pay off. Following up on a viewing of "Good Eats" concerning omelets, I decided to put the techniques to some use, and made myself a cheese omelet for breakfast yesterday. I screwed up the fold over a little bit, but that didn't hurt the taste. Very yummy. I also made my own home-made croutons last night. That was less successful--I burned them a bit--but they taste all right and I now have something to put on my salad for dinner tonight. And I'm trying out a spice rubbed chicken recipe from "America's Test Kitchen" even as I type. Hopefully, that will make for a tasty dinner tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. The bottom line: this stuff really can make life a little more fun and interesting. Give it a try sometime.
Update: The chicken turned out pretty good; I used too much pepper, but that's not a big deal to me, and the meat was quite flavorful throughout. The croutons came out OK; a bit burnt, but still decent in taste, and useful for my salad. In sum: it works! It really, really works!
Posted 3/19/08
It's been a hectic last week or so for me. Most who know me already know the gory details, so I won't write that story here again. I will point out some highlights:
I tried out for Jeopardy!, and apparently made it into the contestant pool for the next year and a half. Would be nice to know if I'm ever going to get called, but for the moemnt I'll take the semi-accomplishment of not getting booted from the room.
I spent the weekend at Mom's in El Cajon, in what will now be one of the last San Diego trips I make. Mom got an offer on her condo, and eventually accepted a revised offer on Monday. If everything clears escrow, she'll be moving next month back to the Bay Area (and bringing the Maxicat with her!)
I got called for a work assignment, then got in a traffic accident on the way there Monday morning, then saw the assignment (scheduled for a full two weeks) go up in smoke immediately thereafter. Yeesh. At least I got a couple of light website jobs this week.
And now I am biding my time, hoping for good things ahead, but mostly uncertain what's going on in the moment.
Oh, yeah, and I gained back about 5 pounds. Unsettled days are not good for weight loss. Now I have to get that ball rolling again.
I may just spend the rest of this week sleeping.
Posted 3/5/08
This is a belated post, since the news actually dates from last Friday. On that last day of February, I finally crossed the threshhold: I stepped on the scale and it said 299.5--the first time it has registered below 300 lbs. in around 3 years. It has been a long slog back, and I hope the trend will continue sending me back to what I once was.
There's nothing "official" yet, but anyone who has stepped outside around here lately knows that Spring has already arrived. Warm days, every day, no rain for a while now, and everything is blossoming. In addition to making it all look nice, this might also help with the heating and electricity bills--no small concern in these recessionary days.
The time between now and my Jeopardy! audition is no longer measured in weeks--we're down to days now. I remain calm and collected, though who knows how I'll feel when the shit finally does go down. Keep wishing the luck.
This page last updated on 4/8/08