So, SoulSlam has been AWOL from the old blogville pretty much. Might be pontificating more now. Might not.
I will say this: besides an hombre pajaro who deserves to taste steel, second place goes to all the ghosts I've encountered over the last few months. I'd like to send a big FU to all of you.
See you when I see you.
Some backstory: SoulSlam was familiar with the comics, read a few but horror comics aren't really my thing. The mistake I made is percieving these as horror. SO when the show went on the air, SoulSlam was in from the beginning. Over time, others have jumped in. I thought from the get that the show was tremendous. There's been a clunker or two, but overall, it's well-acted, well-written and exceptionally well-cast.
Last few seasons (aka years) I've heard all the "it's not any good anymore, the show jumped the shark, it's the same story over and over...". To that I say "it entertains the be-jesus out of me every Sunday night!"
LAST NIGHT WAS UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE! There, I said it. "The Scene" which it will henceforth be called was like a kick in the nads. It hurt to look at. So if people think that the show still blows, that's on them. This show rocks. And rocks hard.
Storm's Coming.
MLB is in Japan to open the season a week before the rest of the teams. A's and Mariners in the jackpot this time. So there will be some MLB games on at 5:35AM on Wednesday & Thursday this week. I really don't get why MLB thinks they needs to play games in other countries. Japan is one thing, I guess...they play baseball there. But in late June, the NY Yankees and Boston Red Sox travel to London (London!?) to play baseball games that count. Last time I checked, the game of baseball is not exactly a big one in Great Britain. So I guess MLB wants to sell caps. No other explanation.
In local baseball news, HS scrimmages started over the weekend. YSSS' team played Friday afternoon (beautiful 70 degree weather) and play another today. Good to get out there after last year's terrible weather and start of season.
OUT.
So while I feel for you, I'm also not disappointed that the EAST COAST is in the CLEAR!!! We got baseball season upon us!!!
YSSS is in his HS Senior Year so I'll drop some news on that shortly.
The extra light is nice when we get home from the J-O-B, but it's still too cold to do much of anything. Waiting for a warmup.
No.
I've probably worn the watch once maybe twice since I got it in the last two months or so. Other than that it sits in a watch case and is not disturbed in any way. DST was yesterday so I set it for the new time. Decided to wear it today, and...the GD watch is no longer working. Something is wrong with the "movement" I assume since the second hand seems to get hung up on the face, making the progression of time no longer a thing. Now I have to go back and have a fight with Macy's (just out of principle).
Now we have the Polar Vortex. It's damn cold. As I type away it's about 21 degrees at 10AM, DarkSky says it feels like 12. High today will be a brisk 26. Sun is sort of out though so it's not too bad. As things go. We'll have a few more days of cold weather then maybe a break on weekend.
This leads us to NJ HS Baseball season. Without some warmth, the snow has turned to hardpack and will be hanging around. So if it starts to melt a little this weekend, YSSS' team aren't getting out on a field until late next week at best. Lots of indoor practices on schedule. It's his senior year so I know he wants to make the most of it. He's been accepted to all three (3) of the colleges he applied to, so we are just waiting on his decision.
Spring training is in full effect. Mets look like they do most Spring Trainings. "Competitive". The #LOLMets fans all talking about how "Amed is a stud", we have the "best pitching staff in NL" and "how they gonna put Pete Alonso in minors"? Here's the answers to those three questions:
Fantasy baseball draft happens this weekend (Sunday night). My keepers are C. Yelich and T. Turner. I have 10th pick which means I better pull a rabbit out of my hat for this to go well. Formulating plans now. May even change name of team for luck. Maybe not.
Color me surprised. Some were reporting that Bryce's wife and family wanted him to sign with either the Giants or Dodgers so he'd be closer to Sin City, his home. And Philly would probably rank lower than LA in improving his Q-Rating. But for a fan base that is pretty starved for a winning team, he'll be fine. Until he does something to turn those rabid dogs against him. Personally, I may make the trip down to Philly a couple times a year to catch a game (less than a 2hr drive). And he'll be in NL East so all the Mets fans can continue to spew their vitriol at #34.
So what's this mean when (and if) Mike Trout gets to free agency after 2020? Well...MikeT grew up a big Philly fan and would be able to live in the area he grew up. All indications were the Phillies would go all-in on #27 when the time came. But word is the Angels will also be making a "can't refuse" kind of extension offer soon to lock up the best baseball player to ever wear the halo.
Put out the trash and recycling last night, then listened to my recycling (and the neighbors) roll around the street in front of my house all night. Got up around 5:30 AM and had to literally find one of my recycling cans. Yard is covered so I picked up what i could in the dark. Problem is the cans went over again about an hour later, so I basically have trash everywhere. Some is in the easement (aka the ditch) alongside my property with about 4" of freezing water. So cleaning up this mess may have to wait until Friday when I have a well-deserved day off.
So now the countdown is on for Bryce Harper. I'm reasonably sure that neither Harper/Boras or Machado/Lozano for that matter figured getting interest from a small number of teams was going to occur. Word is Harper isn't sure he wants to sign in Philly. I don't blame him. Those fans boo anybody and everybody. The only saving grace is if Mike Trout becomes a FA, Philly is gonna do everything hey can to sign him. But then Bryce becomes the number 2 and I'm not sure he wants that.
The other top contender (unless Boras has another mystery team up his sleeve) is the SF Giants. That's intriguing. They're gonna be terrible this season (and probably for a few). There current OF roster looks like a Who's Who of WHO?! They have an aging team. They might've kept there big stars too long. But SF (at least for me) is a premier spot in NL. So as long as you're ready for the long haul and possibly 3-4 losing seasons, things could be worse.
Last, rumor is the Padres are trying to figure out if they can sign Harper. They have a $110MM payroll this season and a stacked farm system. So this becomes a thing. You'd certainly juice season ticket sales.
Let's begin Friday night. Went to the gym. Really crowded when I got there which is strange since Friday nights are generally empty. Cleaned out soon enough though. Went home, showered, watched some TV. Dull boy!
So the weekend was basically one long circle. Since it's winter it is what it is. Can't wait for the warm weather!
The Murph declared a State of Emergency prior so as I sit typing diligently I'm looking at Route 80 EAST and it's a lot less traffic than normal. Like a lot less. Co-Workers and underlings with their sorry excuses for not coming in today. Marys.
If we were taking votes, mine would be a no.
Man I miss them being young!
Prediction: Game will blow as it usually does. Patriots will get W. Hopefully, Tom Brady will decide it's ok to go out on a win and retire soon after.
Then we can start talking BASEBALL!!!
PATRIOTS - 35
RAMS - 21
Now, when you're a kid (or a Nordic skier), you really like the prospect of snow. School gets closed, day off, yeah! But in adult world, snow basically means you have to dig out, then get ready and go to work. Unless you're one of the myriad of guys that work for me and "can't make it in". Sure.
Forecast for the next ten days show some storm coming in a week or so, but that's a far ways away to take serious at this time. We'll see.
And before you leave this story feeling good about the less snow we are having, keep in mind...we have all of February and March yet, which have been chock full of snow over the last few years.
Mike Mussina was a really good pitcher for both the Orioles and Yankees. Played 18 seasons. Won 270 games. Really was the model of consistency. And a fan could argue he's a no doubt HOFer. But when he was playing, did you ever think to yourself "this guy is a surefire HOFer!". I'd say no. So while he's not exactly a compiler, he's on the road to rock. He played on decent teams (make no mistake, the Orioles in the 90's was a pretty good team) and benefits from that as well. He doesn't make my ballot, sorry.
Edgar M. the big DH for the Seattle Mariners also played 18 years. All for the M's, which is an anomaly in today's game. Career BA of .312 which is big time. But he had 309 HRs, 2246 hits, and 1261 RBIs. All short of the automatic magical numbers you hear. So what's the deal? He waited a long while to be voted in...a lot of that due to his basically being a DH. The Designated Hitter has been a legitimate "position" since 1973, so the BBWAA need to get over that idiosyncrasy that some seem to have. Yes, EM was a good hitter, probably more in the vein of Tony Gwynn than what is thought of as a conventional DH. But for me, he's not a HOFer. Now, with the election of Harold Baines, I guess you could make an argument with me. That signals the Baseball HOF is like the Football HOF, where seemingly all players get in.
On the flip-side we have one Larry Walker. Played for Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cards. In his 9th year of eligibility, he amassed 54.6% of vote, which was a big jump from previous two years. Here's his simple line:
So after gym time on Saturday AM, I went about getting all my snow gear in order. Check salt for icy walks, get shovels out, make sure I have gas for snow throwing beast. All good. I pulled out my B&S Generator just in case. Gotta clean the carb I think but that's another day. Finished up my outside chores by 2PM or so. Went inside to shower and change and wait. And wait. And wait.
Kept checking Weather Channel and News12. "Storm may have pushed North but it's still on it's way! Your area will be getting 3-6"!"
Started snowing after 7PM or so I guess. By that time I was prone on the couch. Watching TV. Around 10PM I took doggies out for some late business. Had about 2+" on deck, so I had to clear that. Made a path so we can finish said business. OK, this could be something. Went to bed around 11:30 or so.
Early around 5AM I wake up and I can hear cars/trucks on road in front of Rose Manor (aka the actual House of SoulSlam). HMMM. Get up around 6:15AM to take doggies out for early business (see a pattern?). Take a look on back deck and see a lot of slush. Apparently the rain came.
After getting my socks soggy (I was wearing slides) I hung in the man-cave in my big chair with doggies for a couple. Watched some news. Weather duds come on and say "it's not over! The flash freeze could be bad!" Oh, well. Got out my special ed shovel and pushed slush off the giant driveway and cleaned up pretty well. Started raining really hard around 10AM, but that's ok. Sun came out around noon and dried up everything. So if everything is dry, there's really nothing to flash freeze, is there? Yes, it's cold. But it's been cold before.
Harper wasn't much of anything. Sorry.
Shy at first, he's become one of the guys with his new doggy pals, namely Max and Maggie. The fact that we could give this awesome little guy a happy home life after a couple years of living in a cage was a nice holiday present for all! He's 5.5 lbs of cool!
Special thanks to the Friends of Wayne Animal Rescue (FOWA) for the special work they do.
Anyway, with the massive development around, they have a parking garage that costs money. Oh well. Time was, it cost $5 to park for whole day. Pretty sure I paid 7-10x that yesterday. Upon return, I walked up to cashier with my parking ticket for payment; at this point I noticed a lady talking on her cell in the vicinity.
So all of a sudden this conversation starts:
Her: "Hi, you wouldn't happen to have jumper cables?"
Me: "Umm, think I do"
Her: "Would you be able to give us a jump?"
Me: "Sure, just let me finish paying and I'll be right over"
So after my credit card was approved and my exit ticket provided (good for 15 minutes!), I walked up the rampway a short distance. There they were (Maryland plates), a couple spots from my beautiful Lincoln MKX. And they had backed into the parking spot so we've got good vibrations already. I pull over, pop the hood, get the cables and we both connect to the batteries. Give my car a little gas to rev and the guy from MD turns his key. VROOOOMMMM!!!! Yes, mission accomplished.
At this point I get out and get my stuff squared away, not 100% paying attention to what's happening. In short, MD man, in his utter joy, closed his door with windows up and doors locked. With key in ignition and car running! And the absolute look of dumb on his face.
Can't help that. Sorry. Wished them luck, told them that there was PA cops in area and maybe they could help.
