* For those not up to speed, a quality start is 6 innings or more, and 3 Earned Runs allowed or less.
Rogers: 13 starts, 11 quality starts (4/6, 4/11, 4/21, 4/27, 5/2, 5/8, 5/14, 5/20, 5/26, 5/31, 6/5)
Drese: 12 starts, 4 quality starts (4/5, 4/15, 5/7, 5/24)
Young: 13 starts, 6 quality starts (4/28, 5/3, 5/9, 5/27, 6/2, 6/13)
Park: 13 starts, 5 quality starts (4/13, 4/23, 4/29, 5/22, 5/29)
Astacio: 12 starts, 6 quality starts (4/9, 4/14, 4/19, 5/11, 5/25, 6/3)
Rodriguez: 1 start, 0 quality starts
Quality Starts by Month:
April: 13 of 25 = 52%
May: 15 of 25 = 60%
June: 4 of 14 = 28%
Total: 32 of 64 = 50% Pace of 81 quality starts
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Mark Teixeira has something pretty interesting going this season that I was not aware of until I stumbled upon it earlier in the week looking at the stats. As you know, he is a switch hitter, and over the course of his career, has demonstrated the ability to hit for power from both sides:
Teixeira’s Career Slugging Percentage:
As RHB (345 AB) .559 Slugging – 22 HR’s 67 RBI
As LHB (729 AB) .502 Slugging – 42 HR’s 129 RBI
Now, take a look at 2005:
As RHB (69 AB) .362 Slugging – 0 HR’s 4 RBI
As LHB (197 AB) .614 Slugging – 17 HR’s 46 RBI
That’s right, he has 17 HR’s and 50 RBI’s this season, and almost every single last one of them has come as a Lefty. So why even bother as a Righty? Because, he has shown in his first few years in the bigs that he is actually a BETTER hitter from the right side. So, is this just a 266 AB fluke? I have no idea, but I thought you might like to see it.
Links:
Buck Harvey asks where Duncan went? …
Rob Parker says Pistons play better when they are down …
Galloway on the Rangers potential moves …
Mr. Hicks eyeballed the most winnable AL West in a decade and declared that no trades would be made involving any minor league prospects.
Consider that statement.
If you have the foundation in place of major league players (thank you again, Doug Melvin) who can win the division, and also win the weakest American League since the last time Cleveland prevailed, then obviously you don't want to tamper with any of that.
So if your team needs help, then the only way to obtain proven players is to deal your prospects.
But if the owner says you aren't going to deal your prospects, that must mean you aren't going to do a damn thing.
DC United versus Chelsea? …Yikes…
Showtime pleased with final numbers of McBride – Tyson …
Speaking of McBride, He cracks Tyson pretty hard back in Ireland ...
The Nextel Boys head to Michigan for hopefully a more exciting weekend than the snore in Pocono…
Q&A with MLS Commissioner …
Sun Prairie wins the Wisconsin State Baseball Title …Well!
Phatballers straight out of Colleyville …
Bloated Areola …
Longhorns get a top recruit …surprise…
Mike Tyson’s greatest quotes …
Prank Call with Napoleon Dynamite …
And one with Lumbergh …
Here is a Fantasy Football site you can use: Pigskinsanity.com ….Enjoy
If you heard yesterday’s segments about the FX show 30 Days, and the ensuing discussion about poverty and the minimum wage, you might be interested in a sampling of the feedback. I received 100 emails about this, so I thought I would pick several from both sides of the discussion and let you read them if you care to do so. Otherwise, skip it. By the way, FX reruns this show tonight at 11pm.
People seem to think in terms of what should happen. Especially if they've been part of the have's and not the have not's. THe caller said you should get a raise. THe truth is you don't get a $5 dollar raise in one year. Plus there are only so many supervisor positions. It's not like they make them up every month. Many people in this country can work very hard and not be able to make any headway. And the way the system is set up, once your in that rut you cannot get out without a very significant raise in salary. Your credit is bad and you have to pay interest so high that you can't afford anything.
I worked for Bank of America back in 1996 and the head guy at CompUSA brought in his bonus check for the year. Guess how much it was. $1 million. I do not lie. THe person under him got $750K, then $500k, then $250K for the top 4 execs at CompUSA 8 years ago. They spent $2mil in bonuses so that 4 people could live high on the hog. The $$$ is being put in the big wigs pockets while the poor continue to struggle. They should do that show for a year so that people can get a full scope of what the have not's have to go thru in this country.
Dion
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You are so off the path here that it is crazy. We have been trying to cure these problems with welfare since the New Deal back with FDR and then we gave it another go with the Great Society 40 years ago and have been paying for this for the last 70 years and it hasn't gotten better. Taxing the hell out of me is not the answer. Let me keep more of my money and I will increase my giving to places that can help or I can create more jobs.
There is a reason why people from the socialized medicine countries come here for treatment. Take the profit out of medicine and you will lose the good people that are in it to make money.
tired head...
Wally Steidley
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As an economist, I feel the need to point out the fact that poverty rates rise dramatically just after the minimum wage rises. To paraphrase the great Milton Friedman: It has always been a mystery to me why a youngster is better off unemployed at $5.15 an hour than employed at $4.25 an hour.
P1-Jim
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Bob,
Hate to add to the thousand e-mails you probably are going to get, but I'm guessing those two callers haven't been in the situation where they were relying on a minimum wage job to get by. They probably didn't have to walk 12 blocks to go to the grocery store and carry thirty dollars worth of groceries through the ghetto. And my mom was an intelligent woman who was working at a job a little over min. wage, but when the job exodus to India started and she was laid of her job at At&t of 18 years and didn't get a dime, min wage crap was all she could get. I was a lucky guy because I was smart enough to go to college, but even after I graduated from college, the job industry was so bad I was working a min. wage job at Waffle House and almost got evicted if I didn't pawn my computer.
Some people are really smart and cannot go to college and get a better job because they may have kids or have to drop out to support their family or whatever. And to say the government hasn't stepped in to save businesses is a crock because they saved the airline industry twice. I agree you shouldn't just give money away because it will not give people an incentive to want to get out of that type of situation, but it's easy to say the things people say when they get a head start. I want to see them try to start where some of those people started off. Study by candlelight like I had to do, and catch a hour long bus to and from high-school. I don't have all the answers because I'm just a guy in the next cubicle over, but I know that something needs to be done.
Kojo Taylor
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Bob speaking as someone who grew up in the middle of some of the worst poverty in central West Virginia , people who really want to succeed will find a way to do so. The biggest problem with modern american society is the false sense of entitlement people have. The misguided belief that "I deserve better". If you are not willing to help yourself why should society give you anything. Let's face it, I feel no pity for someone who says they can't afford health insurance yet they have a cell phone and their kids have the latest nikes, x-box games, and cars I couldn't afford to drive.
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good discussion on minimum wage, i will take one issue with you. i put myself through college and got a business degree while working minimum wage, i don't feel like i'm "lucky" not to be working for minimum wage or i'm "lucky" not to have to wait for the bus. its not a matter of luck, everyone has opportunity to move up. most people who make mimum wage will qualify for medical aid, the ones who get it in the a$$ is the middle class without health insurance because they do not qualify for goverment aid. also, and again i haven't watched the show you were referring to but i would think that the illegal immigrants who are working for less than minimum wage also hurt efforts to raise the minimum wage.
i think much of the talk of minimum wage is a smoke screen, minimum wage is not the big problem, its lack of quality education by people making minimum wage.
p.
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BAD Radio,
How to break the cycle:
DONT HAVE KIDS AT AN EARLY AGE.
Look at the mass majority of those who struggle and those who don't. What you will see is that the overwhelmingly majority of those who struggle to make it do so b/c they had kids at an early age (before age 21).
Stop this part of the cycle and you will not have to struggle as hard to make it in life.
Shawn R. Stewart
-------------------------------
Bob
You dishearten greatly with your inane liberal banter. You are making the same mistake that thousands of people who are uninformed to the economic repercussions of the minimum wage make. This issue is more than a political one. It transcends conservatism and liberalism (even though liberals are wrong). The reason that minimum wage is unchanged is because policy makers (conservatives) see the futility of it. The market sets the proper wage relative to the economy. Therefore any artificial wage set by the government creates inefficiency. Subsequently, the market forces will right the ship. When you increase the price of any commodity, in this case labor, you decrease the amount demanded. In other words, if you increase the amount someone must pay for an employee then you reduce the amount of employees that they can and will hire. It is a law of economics. Secondly, the issue must be looked at from a societal standpoint. It is correct that if you raise the minimum wage you increase the costs of business. This explains why the Philippines and Malaysia produce more and more products and America is becoming a service based economy. Labor. The cost is rarely passed on to the people at the product price point level. It is passed on in the form of unemployment.
------------------------------
Hi Bob
Dan hit it on the head man.
These folks need to STOP squirting out kids BEFORE they get their education AND career.
Now let's keep in mind the numbers now. For every 100,000 black folks, there are 800,000 white folks. So if 10% white folks are in poverty and 50% of black folks are in poverty, you STILL have more broke white folks than black folks.
The % may be skewed with certain ethnic groups; however, the media does not report the positive examples of ethnic groups. I have a degree as does my dad and late-grandmother. I have 3 sisters and 2 of them have MBAs. My wife will complete her masters degree this December.
The issue to stop poverty is this: minimize the symptons that causes people to stay "in the cycle".
From K to 12 grade, kids should say the National Anthem and them repeat this:
Say NO to DRUGS
Say NO to ALCOHOL
Say NO to TOBACCO
Say NO to SEX
Now if you prevent minors from getting involved with the 4 evil topics above, you will minimize unwanted pregnancies and people will get ahead quicker BEFORE they start squirting out a bunch of kids.
Dave from Arlington
(AKA Cornbread)
------------------------------------
Hey Bob-
I heard the segment on 30 Days today. I wanted to extend an invitation to you, Dan, or anyone from BaD Radio to get involved in one small way to help some people who really need it. This summer, I’m going to Mexico City with five other people to help homeless children there. We’ll take them some clothes, toiletries, and things. Then we’ll round them up and drive them out of the city to summer camp for a week. You guys are welcome to come with us, send money, or give us a shout-out on your show or blog.
I’m right there with you on the Republican/minimum wage thing. The thing that gets me, though, is social conservatives who insist that the government shouldn’t get involved b/c of the reasons you stated on air today, but then they don’t get involved themselves. Conservatives and religious folks look like hypocrites when they don’t want to pay more taxes for social programs, but then they don’t support private organizations that help the poor. Part of it could be that those private organizations aren’t much publicized. I guess there could be millions flowing out of churches and Republican clubs all over the country, but I kinda doubt it.
Welfare baby arm.
-ryan
---------------------------------
There, does everyone have a headache? Hope to see you at Summer Bash today!
McBride cracks on Tyson, and then says this about HIMSELF: "In 50 to 70 years' time, people will still be talking about me - they will be writing books and making movies about me."
ReplyDeleteWho does he think he is?!?!
The majority of people I personally know who are financially successful, many wildly successful, are not even college educated, and the few that are, do not have degrees applicable to thier field. Getting educated by a tenured professor who teaches theory may be the way to be more employable, but not to excel. Our economy is SO misunderstood, and it is a crime that it is not taught in high school.
ReplyDeleteThink about it... our public school teachers are people who, for the most part, chose that profession for lack of making a real pro-active choice, and think it's a great profession because they get summers off. Thier union fights any free market reforms, because they don't trust nor understand free market economies. Every parent should hand thier child a copy of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich when they hit thier sophomore year.
Whatever you say dude.
ReplyDeleteHow about them Pistons laying the pipe last night. Nothing about the game Bob? I know its a snooze-fest trying to watch this crap, but doesn't everyone around here like watching San Antonio get taken behind the woodshed every once in a while.
To Think and Grow Rich dude, interesting points, really.
ReplyDeleteHowever, just curious...
Were you public school educated?
The "i" before "e" except after "c" does not apply to the word "thier". It's spelled "their".
Great article calling out Robert "Sideshow Bob" Horry. I am not sure how to make it a link so you might have to copy and paste.
ReplyDeletehttp://slate.msn.com/id/2121018/
Mike
Dear Anonymous Dumbass,
ReplyDeleteYou have a poor understanding of economics, the free market system, and the teaching profession.
Public education is provided by the GOVERNMENT and the variables that apply to competitive resource markets are not applicable. Furthermore, the majority of teachers do NOT teach because they are not "pro-active", or not capable of teaching doing something else. Teaching is a very difficult job and extremely underappreciated by those who have never had the experience.
Think before you say something REALLY stupid next time.
"The majority of people I personally know who are financially successful, many wildly successful, are not even college educated, and the few that are, do not have degrees applicable to thier field."
ReplyDeleteUmm...aren't they called drug dealers?
Teachers unionize because they need bargaining power against their employer, who is, in effect, a monopsony. Teacher's salaries are not determined by competitive market forces because there is no competitive market for teachers.
ReplyDeleteSalaries are determined by local budget constraints and legislative mandates. Teachers do not get paid based on their performance, skill level or local market
conditions.
Public schools do not and can not use wages to compete with each other for labor resources, in the same way that private firms do.
If Mrs. Smith wants a better health plan, she simply can't go to another school that is willing to offer its employees better benefits because it wants to attract more skilled workers. If Mrs. Smith wants a better health plan, she is screwed. Individually, she would have no bargaining power and there is no way for the "market" to determine if she is worthy of better compensation. Because there is no market, teachers have three options. 1)Move to a different state with more favorable legislative mandates that govern teacher pay. 2) Change professions. 3) Unionize and lobby the legislature to improve teacher compensation.
In this particular case, teacher unions are a perfectly reasonable solution to dividing up bargaining power among the employer and employee.
Is this response from Evie some sort of belated edit? Is this a response to her own response?
ReplyDeleteRegardless I have EXTREME tired head.
SPORTZZZZ
ReplyDelete" Teacher's salaries are not determined by competitive market forces because there is no competitive market for teachers."
ReplyDeleteThere isn't? I mean, we have multiple independent public school systems and private school systems for teacher's to seek employment from. If that doesn't constitute a competitive market force, I don't know what does.
With all theses economic genuises, its a wonder there is poverty in this country...
ReplyDeletepeople who really want to succeed will find a way to do so.
ReplyDeleteThis is a load of horseshit. There are thousands of schools in this country where the books are 20 years old and falling apart, there are no computers, and teachers are not qualified because no one wants to teach in a such a disadvantaged neighborhood. And those are the worst neighborhoods.
Then there are the schools in middle America, schhols like where many of us went, where teachers are getting paid $19 K a year and are forced to buy all of their teaching aides/equipment themselves.
Are the Planos and Colleyvilles of the world going to give these schools money so that poor children have just as much opportunity as their kids? No. Is the government going to help these schools? Hell no. It is a neverending cycle as long as people are handicapped by their poor education so early on in life.
It's so simple to put all of the responsibility on the people themselves, but it's also incredibly naive. If a child grows up in a ghetto, is so poor he is forced to skip meals every couple of days, and is being taught by unqualified teachers who are using half-ass textbooks, chances are he isn't going to college. So he grows up, falls in love, and by 20, has two kids because he can't afford the condoms, birth control, and abortions that rich white kids depend on. Has he had a chance equal to that of you or me? No way. Is it because he is lazy and/or stupid? Not necessarily.
No child left behind? Hardly.