I don't follow cycling too closely, but I saw that Lance Armstrong hired John Keker as his lawyer.
For what it's worth, Keker is maybe the best lawyer in the country. He ain't cheap, but I don't think Lance Armstrong needs to worry too much about legal bills.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Every year some guy puts out a report about how expensive it is for a family of four to attend a Major League Baseball game. Every year sportswriters uncritically accept that data as "proof" that the average cost of taking a family to a game is (in 2011) almost $200 (it's $197.35). Cue hysteria, wailing about how the game is out of reach for American Families, etc., etc.
The whole survey is really dumb (as I've said before). The $200 cost includes not just four tickets, but also two beers, two soft drinks, four hot dogs, two hats (?), two programs (!!), and parking. Obviously, except for the tickets, all those can be discarded if one wants to take one's family to a game without breaking the bank. (Seriously, who buys two hats every time they go to a game?) The survey further inflates the cost of a game by not listing the the cheapest tickets. Instead, the price of tickets means:
"Average ticket price represents a weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each venue."
Huh? That's ridiculous. If you're taking your family to a game on a budget, you get the cheapest seats. You don't take your family to a weighted average of season ticket prices.
The reality is that it's much, much less expensive to go to a game. I'm still waiting to read an article pointing that out.
The whole survey is really dumb (as I've said before). The $200 cost includes not just four tickets, but also two beers, two soft drinks, four hot dogs, two hats (?), two programs (!!), and parking. Obviously, except for the tickets, all those can be discarded if one wants to take one's family to a game without breaking the bank. (Seriously, who buys two hats every time they go to a game?) The survey further inflates the cost of a game by not listing the the cheapest tickets. Instead, the price of tickets means:
"Average ticket price represents a weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each venue."
Huh? That's ridiculous. If you're taking your family to a game on a budget, you get the cheapest seats. You don't take your family to a weighted average of season ticket prices.
The reality is that it's much, much less expensive to go to a game. I'm still waiting to read an article pointing that out.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Greinke
And in the American League?
Still Greinke. Obviously. The only pitcher within half a run of his ERA is King Felix; the only other pitcher to consider is Roy Halladay.
Halladay is my #2 and Hernandez is #3. Halladay's thrown nine (!) complete games this year; Hernandez has 2. I think complete games matter. These days, it's rare to give the entire bullpen a day off. Halladay also leads all baseball in shutouts (4) and innings. He's your Cy Young award winner, if Greinke didn't come out of nowhere this year to dominate like he did.
Still Greinke. Obviously. The only pitcher within half a run of his ERA is King Felix; the only other pitcher to consider is Roy Halladay.
Halladay is my #2 and Hernandez is #3. Halladay's thrown nine (!) complete games this year; Hernandez has 2. I think complete games matter. These days, it's rare to give the entire bullpen a day off. Halladay also leads all baseball in shutouts (4) and innings. He's your Cy Young award winner, if Greinke didn't come out of nowhere this year to dominate like he did.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Chris Carpenter
Carpenter should win the Cy Young. He won his 17th game today (and hit a grand slam!) with five shutout innings in his last tuneup before the playoffs.
His only real competion is The Franchise, who also won his final start today.
But Carpenter had a better year. Lincecum had a bad start to raise his ERA (2.48) above Carpenter's (2.24). ERA is more important than wins, but Carpenter also has a couple of more wins. Lincecum has an edge in complete games (4 to 3) and shutouts (2 to 1), but that's not enough.
Wainwright had more wins than both Carpenter and Lincecum, and he may get to 20 for the season, but his ERA will be high enough that he should be the third choice.
His only real competion is The Franchise, who also won his final start today.
But Carpenter had a better year. Lincecum had a bad start to raise his ERA (2.48) above Carpenter's (2.24). ERA is more important than wins, but Carpenter also has a couple of more wins. Lincecum has an edge in complete games (4 to 3) and shutouts (2 to 1), but that's not enough.
Wainwright had more wins than both Carpenter and Lincecum, and he may get to 20 for the season, but his ERA will be high enough that he should be the third choice.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Warm up the Fat Lady
I think the Giants are done. Last night was crushing. Losing the game is bad enough, but to lose in the 9th inning with a homer off your closer? Ouch.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Viva Gigantes!
Well, maybe. Zito was notsogood yesterday, but they still won. A win is a win is a win.
Four games back with 12 to play. Not great odds, but at least they pitch Matt Cain tonight. If they're going to make the postseason, they have to win pretty much every game from here on out.
Four games back with 12 to play. Not great odds, but at least they pitch Matt Cain tonight. If they're going to make the postseason, they have to win pretty much every game from here on out.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Giants!
Can they get to the playoffs? Not looking good. Lincecum is allowed one bad start, after all he's done this year. With Lincecum and Cain, they would be a very difficult team to play in a short series, but they have to get there first.
The Rockies magic number is 9, as of today. Not much wiggle room left. Starting tonight? Zito. Ahem. He's actually been generally decent lately, but he's not exactly the guy you want out there.
On the bright side, look at the remaining schedule: 6 against the Snakes (65-85, this is not a good team), 3 against the Cubbies (who seem to be aggressively crumbling), and 3 against the Padres (68-82; they aren't good either). It's an easy schedule, so we can still hope.
The Rockies magic number is 9, as of today. Not much wiggle room left. Starting tonight? Zito. Ahem. He's actually been generally decent lately, but he's not exactly the guy you want out there.
On the bright side, look at the remaining schedule: 6 against the Snakes (65-85, this is not a good team), 3 against the Cubbies (who seem to be aggressively crumbling), and 3 against the Padres (68-82; they aren't good either). It's an easy schedule, so we can still hope.
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