Spmusic Mondays: Take 'Em To The Bridge!
(1 Cent): The Trifecta of Losing
This was not a good weekend in sports for Yours Truly. First, we were decimated in our softball game (see: 1/2 Cent). Then, on Sunday, our fantasy baseball team lost in the playoffs, and then my beloved Dodgers coughed up first place to the Padres.
Me and J.H. were going over our line-up just last Sunday (September 10th). We set everything perfectly, choosing the correct matchups, starting people who had more home games, etcetera. Then it came down to one choice: starting pitcher Aaron Harang or starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. We deliberated for about 20 minutes on this, all the while me saying, "Our season hangs in the balance ... this choice will decide if we go to the championship or fail." My prophetic powers scare me.
This was our reasoning for our choice: 1) Harang's game was at home, and Burnett's was on the road, 2) Harang's last two outings were no decisions, but he posted 8 innings pitched and 9 strikeouts and 7 innings pitched and 5 strikeouts (you receive points for all of those) while Burnett had a win and a loss, his most recent outing being a loss against the anemic offense of the Angels, 3) Harang was up against Jake Peavy, who had like an 8-14 pitching record while Burnett was going up against some guy I can't spell and am too lazy to look up, but who was 3-0 with an ERA in the very low 2's, 4) The Reds (Harang's team) is still in the Wild Card race while Burnett's Blue Jays are out of every playoff race ... we were thinking motivation.
So, after all of that and going back and forth on the other minor but important details, we did what we always do when faced with a life-changing situation: Flip O' The Coin.
I located a quarter and flipped it ... best two out of three. Heads was Harang, tails was Burnett. First flip, Harang. Second flip, Harang. I mean, everything pointed towards that man. Home field advantage; lasting long innings with a good amount of strikeouts; going up against an opposing pitcher that had a worse record (especially as of late); he was pitching for a contending team ... and the Flip O' The Coin doesn't lie, especially if it was a 2-0 sweep.
And a way we go ... Harang is the man. Well, Harang was the man (with was meaning not anymore). Burnett pitched his game earlier in the week, and he did a beastly job: pitching 8 innings, having 11 strikeouts (!), zero runs given up and only 6 hits and 2 walks. That equals 33 fantasy points (which is very, very good). My heart dropped. As soon as that happened, deep down in the core of my pathetic soul I knew we were done for ... but my optimism wouldn't allow me to concede, yet.
The next day, Harang pitched. His stat line went a little something like this: 6 1/3 innings pitched, 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and the loss. That equals 8 fantasy points (which is very, very poor ... I think, if I took the mound right now without any prior pitching experience in the major league, I could've gotten at least 3 fantasy points). So, the difference between the two pitchers (Harang and Burnett) was 25 fantasy points ....
Long(er) story short ... our team ended up losing the week long game by 18 fantasy points. Yes, the difference that would have been made up by starting Burnett over Harang. How!? WHY?!? I hate it! Fantasy sports can be so cruel! The whole 5-6 month season down the drain because of one decision! This wound will take a while to heal ... I know, because we (J.H. and I) are still reeling from a loss that took place about 3 years ago in our basketball league. These things linger ... they leave scars.
Of course, there were a couple of other circumstances that didn't aid in our cause of winning, such as:
-- Our opponent had catcher Ramon Hernandez (who you might ask? EXACTLY) put up a monstrous 37 fantasy points for the week ... that, by the way, was a season high in points for a week (and I didn't look it up, but I'm sure it was a career high, too) ... more salt in the wound, is that he went 4-4 on Sunday -- the last day of the game -- with 4 runs, an RBI, and a walk. Ridiculously stupid.
-- Our two real life MVP candidates, David Ortiz and Jermaine Dye, and Comeback Player of the Year candidate Jim Thome, choked harder than Elizabeth Taylor on a chicken wing going a combined 10 for 62 (with Big Papi going 1-7 in his double header on Sunday) ... there is no justice in this world ... how can you predict that? How?
-- Our pitcher Jon Garland (who's being pimped by his crazy MLB manager as a Cy Young winner) had a horrible outing against the A's, who have less offense than my softball team, pitching only 5 2/3 innings and giving up 9 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, with only one strike out for the loss and a whopping 3.83 fantasy points ... the game before that, he pitched 6 innings and had 6 strikeouts in a win ....
Sigh ... and thus ends another chapter in my fantasy life, with a familiar yet still dreadfully painful ending ... I can't wait for basketball season to start! Bring it on!
(2 Cent): Go 'Head Get Gone With It!
I'm not going to lie ... I thought Justin Timberlake's first solo album Justified was pretty good, if not for the sole fact that he had super-producers Timbaland and The Neptunes (with the last song by Brian McKnight) do all of his beats. They were catchy songs and different from his little boy band days.
With that said, there might have been a little bit more hype for me with Timberlake's sophomore album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (I can't believe I just typed that ... it'll be the last time) especially when I heard the first single "SexyBack" produced by and featuring Timbaland. It was such a unique, uptempo beat, I was almost certain I'd be let down by the rest of the album (because I didn't know who else would be producing beats for him on the rest of it).
To my surprise, Timbaland produced all but two songs on his album (with one by Black Eye Peas soundman Will.I.Am and the other by someone I've never heard of before). It truly is out of this world, with a combination of futuristic beats and sounds that only Timbaland can concoct. Does Timberlake have the best voice in the world? No. Is he horrible? Far from it. C'mon, he can sing ... or at least you'll have the ability to sing along and sound just like him.
From start to (almost finish), the album holds your attention by making you want to boogie, sing, and guess what crazy sounds are coming next. I literally have had this in my car for the whole week straight and can listen to it without skipping a track -- a bonus is that the interludes (or preludes) are actually good enough to listen to as songs. The only beef I have is with the last song on the album, which does not fit the rest of the album's melodic theme. It's not horrible, per se, but I don't think it should have been included. With that said (and this might sound crazy) I am giving Timberlake's sophomore CD an 8.5 out of 10 because it surpassed expectations, it is unique beyond description, Timbaland is the man, and he has T.I. and Three-6 Mafia on a couple of tracks. 'Nuff said.
**My Top 5 Songs** (in no particular order)
1) Track 9, "Summer Love" ... one of the catchiest beats on the album ... you can't help but nod your head in the car and sing along to the chorus, no matter who's watching! (Uh, that's what my friend said ... er ... yeah).
2) Track 4, "My Love" (Featuring T.I.) ... another out of this world sound ... you can't compare this song to anything that has come before ... then you put T.I. on it? Wow.
3) Track 7, "Chop Me Up" (Featuring Timbaland & Three-6 Mafia) ... Tim changes up the beat for a more slower, harder beat that is infectious ... then after Justin sings and he raps, switches up the flow for an even harder beat for Three-6 to rap to ... an awesome track.
4) Track 6, "What Goes Around ..." ... this is a more R&B song, with lyrics that can really hit hard if you've had recent heartbreak ... I'm found of the chorus ... even the interlude is good.
5) Track 5, "Lovestoned" ... a mixture of fast hitting Timbaland sounds and beatbox that has you poppin' and lockin' like no other ... well, at least dancing ... or thinking, "Hmm, this is good stuff, yo!"
(1/2 Cent): Limping Into The Tournament
Well, the team we beat the second game of the season returned the favor to us last Thursday to the score of 14-8. As soon as we gave up 5 runs in the first inning, I knew it was going to be a long night. Note to all softball pitchers out there: starting off the game with a hit and 2 walks to load the bases with no outs never ends well (for you).
Our pitching was sketchy ... our outfield was scratchy ... and our hitting was skunky. Oh, well. We start the playoff tournament this week, methinks. Hopefully we can make some noise!
Wannabees Team Stats, End of Regular Season: (4-3) ... Last Game - L, 14-8
HCP Game Stats: AB = 3, H = 2, BA = .667
HCP End of Regular Season Stats: G = 7, AB = 20, R = 5, H = 14, 2B = 2, RBI = 5, BB = 1, SF = 1, BA = .700
Please write in comments and questions to HCP2007@gmail.com ... see ya on Thursday!
HCP
This was not a good weekend in sports for Yours Truly. First, we were decimated in our softball game (see: 1/2 Cent). Then, on Sunday, our fantasy baseball team lost in the playoffs, and then my beloved Dodgers coughed up first place to the Padres.
Me and J.H. were going over our line-up just last Sunday (September 10th). We set everything perfectly, choosing the correct matchups, starting people who had more home games, etcetera. Then it came down to one choice: starting pitcher Aaron Harang or starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. We deliberated for about 20 minutes on this, all the while me saying, "Our season hangs in the balance ... this choice will decide if we go to the championship or fail." My prophetic powers scare me.
This was our reasoning for our choice: 1) Harang's game was at home, and Burnett's was on the road, 2) Harang's last two outings were no decisions, but he posted 8 innings pitched and 9 strikeouts and 7 innings pitched and 5 strikeouts (you receive points for all of those) while Burnett had a win and a loss, his most recent outing being a loss against the anemic offense of the Angels, 3) Harang was up against Jake Peavy, who had like an 8-14 pitching record while Burnett was going up against some guy I can't spell and am too lazy to look up, but who was 3-0 with an ERA in the very low 2's, 4) The Reds (Harang's team) is still in the Wild Card race while Burnett's Blue Jays are out of every playoff race ... we were thinking motivation.
So, after all of that and going back and forth on the other minor but important details, we did what we always do when faced with a life-changing situation: Flip O' The Coin.
I located a quarter and flipped it ... best two out of three. Heads was Harang, tails was Burnett. First flip, Harang. Second flip, Harang. I mean, everything pointed towards that man. Home field advantage; lasting long innings with a good amount of strikeouts; going up against an opposing pitcher that had a worse record (especially as of late); he was pitching for a contending team ... and the Flip O' The Coin doesn't lie, especially if it was a 2-0 sweep.
And a way we go ... Harang is the man. Well, Harang was the man (with was meaning not anymore). Burnett pitched his game earlier in the week, and he did a beastly job: pitching 8 innings, having 11 strikeouts (!), zero runs given up and only 6 hits and 2 walks. That equals 33 fantasy points (which is very, very good). My heart dropped. As soon as that happened, deep down in the core of my pathetic soul I knew we were done for ... but my optimism wouldn't allow me to concede, yet.
The next day, Harang pitched. His stat line went a little something like this: 6 1/3 innings pitched, 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and the loss. That equals 8 fantasy points (which is very, very poor ... I think, if I took the mound right now without any prior pitching experience in the major league, I could've gotten at least 3 fantasy points). So, the difference between the two pitchers (Harang and Burnett) was 25 fantasy points ....
Long(er) story short ... our team ended up losing the week long game by 18 fantasy points. Yes, the difference that would have been made up by starting Burnett over Harang. How!? WHY?!? I hate it! Fantasy sports can be so cruel! The whole 5-6 month season down the drain because of one decision! This wound will take a while to heal ... I know, because we (J.H. and I) are still reeling from a loss that took place about 3 years ago in our basketball league. These things linger ... they leave scars.
Of course, there were a couple of other circumstances that didn't aid in our cause of winning, such as:
-- Our opponent had catcher Ramon Hernandez (who you might ask? EXACTLY) put up a monstrous 37 fantasy points for the week ... that, by the way, was a season high in points for a week (and I didn't look it up, but I'm sure it was a career high, too) ... more salt in the wound, is that he went 4-4 on Sunday -- the last day of the game -- with 4 runs, an RBI, and a walk. Ridiculously stupid.
-- Our two real life MVP candidates, David Ortiz and Jermaine Dye, and Comeback Player of the Year candidate Jim Thome, choked harder than Elizabeth Taylor on a chicken wing going a combined 10 for 62 (with Big Papi going 1-7 in his double header on Sunday) ... there is no justice in this world ... how can you predict that? How?
-- Our pitcher Jon Garland (who's being pimped by his crazy MLB manager as a Cy Young winner) had a horrible outing against the A's, who have less offense than my softball team, pitching only 5 2/3 innings and giving up 9 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, with only one strike out for the loss and a whopping 3.83 fantasy points ... the game before that, he pitched 6 innings and had 6 strikeouts in a win ....
Sigh ... and thus ends another chapter in my fantasy life, with a familiar yet still dreadfully painful ending ... I can't wait for basketball season to start! Bring it on!
(2 Cent): Go 'Head Get Gone With It!
I'm not going to lie ... I thought Justin Timberlake's first solo album Justified was pretty good, if not for the sole fact that he had super-producers Timbaland and The Neptunes (with the last song by Brian McKnight) do all of his beats. They were catchy songs and different from his little boy band days.
With that said, there might have been a little bit more hype for me with Timberlake's sophomore album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (I can't believe I just typed that ... it'll be the last time) especially when I heard the first single "SexyBack" produced by and featuring Timbaland. It was such a unique, uptempo beat, I was almost certain I'd be let down by the rest of the album (because I didn't know who else would be producing beats for him on the rest of it).
To my surprise, Timbaland produced all but two songs on his album (with one by Black Eye Peas soundman Will.I.Am and the other by someone I've never heard of before). It truly is out of this world, with a combination of futuristic beats and sounds that only Timbaland can concoct. Does Timberlake have the best voice in the world? No. Is he horrible? Far from it. C'mon, he can sing ... or at least you'll have the ability to sing along and sound just like him.
From start to (almost finish), the album holds your attention by making you want to boogie, sing, and guess what crazy sounds are coming next. I literally have had this in my car for the whole week straight and can listen to it without skipping a track -- a bonus is that the interludes (or preludes) are actually good enough to listen to as songs. The only beef I have is with the last song on the album, which does not fit the rest of the album's melodic theme. It's not horrible, per se, but I don't think it should have been included. With that said (and this might sound crazy) I am giving Timberlake's sophomore CD an 8.5 out of 10 because it surpassed expectations, it is unique beyond description, Timbaland is the man, and he has T.I. and Three-6 Mafia on a couple of tracks. 'Nuff said.
**My Top 5 Songs** (in no particular order)
1) Track 9, "Summer Love" ... one of the catchiest beats on the album ... you can't help but nod your head in the car and sing along to the chorus, no matter who's watching! (Uh, that's what my friend said ... er ... yeah).
2) Track 4, "My Love" (Featuring T.I.) ... another out of this world sound ... you can't compare this song to anything that has come before ... then you put T.I. on it? Wow.
3) Track 7, "Chop Me Up" (Featuring Timbaland & Three-6 Mafia) ... Tim changes up the beat for a more slower, harder beat that is infectious ... then after Justin sings and he raps, switches up the flow for an even harder beat for Three-6 to rap to ... an awesome track.
4) Track 6, "What Goes Around ..." ... this is a more R&B song, with lyrics that can really hit hard if you've had recent heartbreak ... I'm found of the chorus ... even the interlude is good.
5) Track 5, "Lovestoned" ... a mixture of fast hitting Timbaland sounds and beatbox that has you poppin' and lockin' like no other ... well, at least dancing ... or thinking, "Hmm, this is good stuff, yo!"
(1/2 Cent): Limping Into The Tournament
Well, the team we beat the second game of the season returned the favor to us last Thursday to the score of 14-8. As soon as we gave up 5 runs in the first inning, I knew it was going to be a long night. Note to all softball pitchers out there: starting off the game with a hit and 2 walks to load the bases with no outs never ends well (for you).
Our pitching was sketchy ... our outfield was scratchy ... and our hitting was skunky. Oh, well. We start the playoff tournament this week, methinks. Hopefully we can make some noise!
Wannabees Team Stats, End of Regular Season: (4-3) ... Last Game - L, 14-8
HCP Game Stats: AB = 3, H = 2, BA = .667
HCP End of Regular Season Stats: G = 7, AB = 20, R = 5, H = 14, 2B = 2, RBI = 5, BB = 1, SF = 1, BA = .700
Please write in comments and questions to HCP2007@gmail.com ... see ya on Thursday!
HCP
posted by HCP @ 10:22 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:18 AM,
Anonymous said…
Ughhg, that *was* a tough Fantasy loss...I ain't gonna lie, you captured the torment horrifyingly well.
If this keeps up, pretty soon I'll be able to put together a top 10 most gut-wrenching Fantasy losses! Life is so very cruel.
Now back to torturing my Harang voodoo-doll...
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