Max Scherzer

Among AL starters in 2014 with more than 59 innings pitched, Max Scherzer had the 21st best ERA at 3.16, way below the average in that group of 3.94 [St Dev = 0.9].

His WHIP was 1.18, also well below the group average of 1.29 [St Dev = 0.2].

By that reckoning, Max was better than average by more than half a standard deviation in each metric.

So far this year, in two starts for the Nationals, he's 0-1, with 13 2/3 innings pitched, an ERA of 0.66 and WHIP at 1.02.  So - despite the W-L total, he's doing very well.

I don't bear him a lot of animosity, but I wish he would have been up front enough to say he left the D for the money, instead of hedging.  Therefore, i don't want his contract with the Nats to be a total bust.  But I would like it to be a historically bad deal.

What I wish for Max is to be a slightly above average pitcher, so that the Nats will have paid a super-premium price for only slightly above average performance.   My track record with this kind of wishful thinking is pretty poor, and this is a long shot, because I think the AL in general has better hitting, so he should mow down the opposition.

But, here's what I'm hoping for:  W-L = 14-12; ERA = 3.87; WHIP = 1.42.

Really though - what are the chances?

Quote of the Day - With a "Lump of Labor" Moment

What kind of education are we giving our young people?  Recent College grads are going home to live with their parents.  What the hell is the matter with them?  Don't they know that there are an infinite number of jobs out there?

Trust me, you don’t want to be 26 and still living at home with your parents.
--- Recent College Grad Megan Muller.

 ". . . Muller, who, daunted by the expense of college, struggled with whether to finish at all. She currently makes about $25,000 as an assistant editor at Federal Practitioner, a peer-reviewed medical journal."

With our economy in a vibrant recovery, you'd think an educated  person with some ability and ambition would be able to pull down a 6-figure job and not settle for a mere $26K, woodn't ya?

Things should be especially bright, now that the illegals have given up and gone home.

 Instead, we get this:

"A study conducted by Twentysomething Inc., a consultant firm specializing in young adults, reports that 85 percent of this year’s graduating class will be forced to move back home. Meanwhile, 2011 graduates also face historic amounts of student loan debt -- or an average of $27,200 for graduates that borrowed money in order to finish school."

What a bunch of slugs!

H/T to Blended Purple, who probably doesn't care.
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Where Have I Been?

In case you

1) give a rip
2) don't have access to my cell phone.

here is a lousy pic I took with the phone's camera function.

i

So, as you can plainly see, I was in a largish room with Wayne Bergeron and some other cats.  This was rehearsal for our performance last Monday.

Wayne is an amazing musician and a VERY cool guy.  It was a thrill and real treat to perform with him.

Here is one of the songs we did.  There are a lot of YouTube vids of Wayne performing this sweet minor blues by Tom Kubis with various groups.

UPDATE:  Full disclosure - in case it is not perfectly clear, this is NOT the group I play with.

High Clouds and a Good Chance of Wayne Tonight

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Sunday Music Blogging 11/14

We went to the theater this afternoon. Granddaughter Rebekka has a chorus part in a local kids-only production of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.  I never knew there was such a thing, but some of the songs are familiar.  Here is an example, performed very nicely by another community theater group.




There's something to be said for Fairy Godmothers.

What the Hell? Friday -- Part 3: Hitting the Bottle

This is brilliant.



H/T to (who else?) Sharon!

Mellow Yellow Monday

Falcon Freshmen (grades 3 and 4) Cheerleaders took first place in both cheer and pom at cheerfest.

Here they are at a game in September.

(And the team is undefeated.)

GO FALCONS!

Thought on playing the Third Trombone Part to Pictures at an Exhibition

One can hardly get any closer to heaven while keeping body and soul intact.

Update: This, of course, refers to Ravel's brilliant orchestration.
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Haiku Wednesday Redux

I don't need to take down the idiot Glenn Beck when so many others have done it - in Haiku form.

This brightened my day.

What the Hell? Friday -- Part 2

Now THIS is more like it!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's not the first time a zebra has been spotted along a metro Atlanta highway. In April 2008, a 2- to 3-month old zebra was found injured along Interstate 75. Authorities said at the time they thought the young zebra had likely fallen from a truck passing through Georgia and was then hit by a car.


Police who worked that incident kept referring to the animal as "Evidence," and that becoming his name.


Evidence was rushed to the veterinary school at Auburn University in Alabama, where he underwent several operations. He was then taken to the Noah's Ark animal rescue center in Locust Grove, Ga., where he still lives.

As if the traffic on I-75 in Atlanta weren't bad enough already!

Sunday Music Blogging - 2/14

Jerome Richardson's GROOVE MERCHANT is little more than a riff tune.  Thad Jones' fabulous arrangement makes it something special.  Thad was brutal to his reed players, and liked to write thick line sax solis with soprano lead, and this is a terrific example.  The shout chorus at around the seven minute mark displays his sophisticated ensemble writing.

Best of all these guys are having FUN!  This is 9 minutes very well spent.

Honker, Dinger, Yoyo Jamborie!

Enjoy!




It doesn't get any better than this.

Cheers!

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Sunday Music Blogging

Back to Bach.

The prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 is an intensely emotional piece of music.  I first heard it on guitar, and am partial to that instrument.  Here are two interpretations.  First, Mischa Maisky on cello, then  Li Jie on guitar.   Which do you prefer?

 

Sunday Music Blogging

This week we lost Mary Travis to cancer. She was 72. Peter, Paul and Mary recorded IF I HAD A HAMMER for their first, eponymous album, released in 1962, when I was 15. The group's music helped to define both the ethics and the aesthetics of the 60's. Mary's pure voice, slender torso, and long straight hair set the standard for the sound and the look of a decade. She was beautiful to look at, and beautiful to hear.

RIP Mary Travis. We are poorer now.

The YouTube page with the video above also has a brief, but very nice bio.

This is How Obama Should Handle the Republicans*

Everything I know about Chris de Burgh** can be seen in this video. (Embedding disabled, alas.)

There's more, of course.

Mr. de Burgh is still performing, and recently had a series of sold-out appearances at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Peter Crawley of the Irish times wrote a review that - while it was not quite in a vein of high snark - was dismissive in its condescension.

Mr. de Burgh, a master of high snark, was not pleased.

Now, wouldn't you like to see Obama engage in some high snark and, for example, say that Pat Buchanan is "puffed up in his own self-importance," or that Joe Wilson*** is a "loathsome little turd?"

Update: Same message, delivered by Bill Maher (a must-read.)
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* With a tip of the hat to my Lovely wife for the idea.
** With a tip of the hat to Maria @ CT
*** The South Carolina guy, not Valerie Plame's husband.

Got Talent?

I had no idea the "Somewhere's Got Talent" idea was so wide spread.

Here are a couple of very different examples from the former Soviet Block.