Monthly Archives: February 2017

2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Go Sox

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Yes it is.

And guess who is going to five games? Well, three actual MLB spring training games, plus one game between the Sox and the USA team, and one World Classic playoff game. (Have I mentioned how much I love retirement?)

In the meantime, feast your eyes and minds on the MillersTime Contests for 2017 and sharpen your pencils (some of you no doubt still use those things). Your predictions are due by the opening pitch of the season, April 2, 1:10 PM. (See new deadline below.)

So it’s time to turn to the MillersTime Baseball Contests to test your baseball knowledge, hopes, luck, fears, prejudices, and ignorance. The contests have evolved from just Red Sox (and Evil Empire) focused questions to ones that involve all of MLB as the majority of contestants are no longer Sox fans (poor souls).

You don’t have to enter all of the contests, and if you’re not baseball obsessed (pity), you can easily just choose a couple of contests to enter (see #1, #2, #3, Extra Credit).

While it might be tempting to wait until late in Spring Training to submit your answers, you do run the risk of losing out to someone who submits a similar winning answer earlier.

Also, in addition to the prizes listed in each contest, all winners get the exclusive, one-of-a-kind “MillersTime Baseball Contest Winner” T-Shirt, a much ‘valued’ prize.

Winner

backwinner

 

Justin B models

his ‘prized’ T-Shirt

 

 

Contest # 1:

Pick your favorite MLB team (or the team you know the most) and answer the following questions to prove whether you’re just a homer (“Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have”) or whether you really know something about your team and can honestly evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

a. What will your team’s regular season 162 game record be in 2016?

b. Will they make the playoffs, and if so, how far will they go?

c.  What will be the most important factor (hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, an individual’s performance, the manager, injuries, etc.) in determining their season?

Prize: Two tickets to a regular season game with your favorite team (details to be negotiated with moi.)

Contest #2:

Make a prediction about something that will happen during the 2017 MLB season.

Your prediction could be about a team, about a player, about a new record, about an ‘event,’ or about something, hopefully unique, you think will happen in 2017. One prediction only.

Of those that come true, MillersTime readers will determine which one is the best prediction. Voters generally have selected the most specific prediction, one that showed baseball knowledge, and/or one that predicted something unusual.

Prize: Join me to see a Nats’ game next year in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC swamp, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or you can choose one of the books cited in the prizes below.

Contest #3: True or False

A. The Chicago Cubs will follow Joe Maddon’s advice again to “Be a good Cubbie and try not to suck” and will at least go to the World Series in 2017, as they did in 2016.

B. The Washington Nationals will NOT lead the NL East Division as they did in 2016.

C. One pitcher will throw two no hitters in 2017. (Only been accomplished five times: Johnny Vander Meer in 1938, Allie Reynolds in 1951, Virgil Trucks in 1952, Nolan Ryan in 1973, and Max Scherzer in 2015.)

D. Bryce Harper will rebound from his 2016 season — BA .243, HR-24, RBIs-86 – and finish in the top five the MVP voting. (Hint, but be wary: Harper hit a monster HR on his first swing in Spring Training this year)

E. A contract at over $400 million will be offered before the end of the 2017 season.

F. There will be five or more Triple Plays in the MLB this year. (Over the last seven years the average has been 4.1 per year.)

G. There will be more than three 20 game winners in 2017. (2016: Porcello -23, Happ – 20, Scherzer – 20)

H. No pitcher will have an ERA under 2.0 (Best in 2016 was Kyle Hendricks at 2.13)

I. At least one MLB batter will strike out 219 times or more in 2017 regular season play (Chris Davis, Orioles, did that in 2016.

J. One of Grand Papa’s (your ‘conductor’ of these contests) grandchildren will witness in person (at an MLB game) either a grand slam, a triple play, a no hitter, or Teddy win the President’s race at the Nats’ stadium.

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Contest #4:

A. Which MLB team will have the best improvement in their games won over 2016?

B. Which MLB team will have show the biggest decline (the most losses compared to their record in 2016) ?

Prize: A copy of A. Bartlett Giamatti’s wonderful collection of baseball writings entitled A Great and Glorious Game.

Contest #5:

Will the American League continue its dominance over the National League in the All Star game in 2017? (AL won the last four ASG, 7 out of last 10, and 11 out of last 15).

Tie-Breaker: Name the AL and NL players who will each get the most votes to play in the All Star game.

Prize: Join me after the All Star break to see a Nats’ game in wonderful seats. If you don’t live in this area, can’t get here, or don’t want to come to DC, you can give your prize to someone who can get here, or I can take a kid to a game in your place.

Contest # 6:

Who will be the two teams in the World Series in 2017 and which team will win it all?

Tie-Breaker: Name the five teams in each league who will make the playoffs.

Prize: One ticket to the 2017 World Series.

Extra Credit:

Make up your own question about MLB in 2017 and then answer it.

Of those that come true, we’ll put it up to MillersTime baseball readers to decide who wins the prize. And that question will be incorporated in next year’s contests.

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 20 Best Books Ever Written About Baseball.

Additional Details:

  1. All winners get the ‘one-of-a-kind,’ specially designed MillersTime Baseball Winner T-Shirt.
  2. Enter as many or as few of the contests as you want.
  3. Be sure to answer all parts of each contest you do enter.
  4. If you get a friend (or a foe) to participate in these contests, and he/she wins and has mentioned your name in their submission, you will get a prize also.
  5. Get your predictions in soon. In case of ties in any contest, the individual who submitted his/her prediction first will be the winner.
  6. Submissions should be sent to me in an email – samesty84@gmail.com or can be sent to me by snail mail – Richard Miller – 2501 Tracy PL. NW, Washington, DC 20008.

New Deadline for Submissions: Nats’s Opening Day: Apr. 3, 2017, 1:05 PM, EST.

Addendum: Consider a Joint Submission with a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew or with your father, mother, aunt or uncle, or grandfather or grandmother. If you and your ‘generational companion’ win, then both of you will get a ‘prized’ MillersTime Winner T-shirt and two tickets to a regular season game of your choice.

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So Much I Don’t Know About Baseball**

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Go Sox

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(**Previously titled: This Is How Stupid I Am About Baseball)

Before I turn to the MillersTime Baseball Contests for 2017 (to be emailed on March 1 and due back to me on April 1), there is one piece of unfinished business I’ve avoided.

Despite the obvious correctness of the message on the T-Shirt above, or maybe as proof of it, I am posting my predictions from last year’s contests and what in fact happened. (Heads up: not a pretty picture.)

Harumph.

Contest #1: Predictions about a favorite team:

A. The 2016 Red Sox win-lose record – 88-74. (FACT: Sox went 93-69 and won the AL East Division.)

B. They will make the playoffs and lose in the ALDS. (Fact: They did lose in the ALDS to the Indians in just three games.)

C. The positive factors for their season will be outfield defense and bullpen efficiency. Starting pitching, although better than 2015, won’t get them to 90 wins. (Fact: Outfield defense was good as was the bullpen, but it was starting pitching and hitting that propelled them as far as they got, before failing them.)

Contest #2: Prediction about something in the 2016 MLB season:

No MLB player will play in all 162 games. (Fact: Three players played in all 162 regular season games – Escobar, Schoop, and Springer.)

Contest #3:

A. The top 10 MLB players’ Batting Average will be .319, lower than the .322 in 2015. (Fact: The top ten Batting Averages were higher – .326.)

B. The top 10 MLB players’ OPS Average will be .924, lower than .931 in 2015. (Fact: The top 10 OPS Averages were higher – .966.3)

C. The top 10 MLB pitchers’ Earned Run Average will be 2.33, lower than 2.38 in 2015. (Fact: The top 10 ERAs were higher – 2.74.)

D. The top ten MLB pitchers will win a total of 188 games, higher than 183 games in 2015. (Fact: The ten winning pitchers won a total of 185 games.)

Contest #4.

A. Two teams with a combined won/loss record closest to .500 – Philles & Cubbies. (Fact: Indians & Rays = .502)

B. Team with the most won/loss improvement – White Sox. (Fact: Red Sox +15)

C. Pitcher with most relief wins – Mark Melancon will edge out Craig Kimbrel and Trevor Rosenthal. (Fact: Familia – 51)

Contest #5. Who will get the most AL & NL All Star Votes:

AL – David Ortiz and NL – Giancarlo Stanton who will edge out Bryce Harper. (Fact: AL was Salvador Perez and NL was Anthony Rizzo)

Contest #6. What 10 teams make it into the playoffs, which two to the WS and who wins it all?

AL – Kansas City, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Toronto (Fact: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Indians, Rangers)

NL – Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis, NYM, Arizona (Fact: Nationals, Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants)

Cubbies beat Royals (Fact: Cubs best the Indians in seven games)

Extra Credit: Make up a question for the 2016 season and answer it:

Last year the total number of stolen bases in the MLB was 2,505. Will that number increase, stay the same, or decrease?  What will that number be?

Decrease – 2,412. (Fact: Increase: 2537)

Respectfully submitted on The Ides of March, 2016 at 6:00 PM.

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

So, except for partially getting the Red Sox season correct (but underestimating their wins) and choosing the Cubbies to win the World Series (over the wrong team), I was not even close. Hopeless.

And if you’re going to join me for a Nats’ game this season, please do not come hoping to learn anything useful from me.

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If You Love Oliver Sacks, Read “Insomniac City”

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in Escapes and Pleasures

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If you are an Oliver Sacks’ fan (how could you not be?), you’ll be delighted with this new book.

It is a memoir and diary by the man Sacks came to love at the age of 75 and the man with whom he shared the last years of his life. Don’t be concerned that it might be an invasion of privacy. It is done in such a lovely manner that you can’t help but smile at the parts that involve ‘O’ (as Bill Hayes often refers to Sacks). It is the Sacks that you’ve come to know and love.

You will recognize the man and some of the reasons you’ve been so taken by him. It is the same man who revealed sides of himself never previously known in his wonderful memoir On the Move: A Life and in the articles following that publication in which he wrote about facing death.

One of the engaging qualities of both Hayes’ book and its window into many private moments with Sacks is that the character described (Sacks) is the one you know. You will get additional insights into him and into who he was and how happy he was in the final years of his life, including in his death.

Insomniac City is also about more than Oliver Sacks and Bill Hayes’ relationship with him, though that by itself is worth the short read (290 pages).

It’s also about someone you most likely don’t know, Bill Hayes, who is someone I came to admire and was glad to begin to know, not only for the joy and happiness he gave to Sacks but for the person Hayes is.

Mixed in to times Hayes spends with Sacks are Hayes’ descriptions of New York City and how and why he came to love it when he moved there in 2009 at the age of 48. If you know NYC, much will resonate, I suspect. If you don’t know it or if you don’t particularly like it, Hayes may give you a new or different perspective.

Much of the book is about Hayes’ own interactions with the city, with individuals that are not usually associated with the city, though many are the heart and soul, I think, of New York. Hayes is a writer (The Anatomist, Fire Quarts, and Sleep Demons) and a contributor to the New York Times, the New York Review of Book, and Salon. He is also a photographer whose photos have appeared in the NY Times, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker. And throughout the book he takes you with his camera as he records ordinary people throughout the city (some of those photos are in Insomniac City).

There is a good deal of wisdom in the book, particularly about issues of grief and enjoyment of life.

Hayes has a good eye for seeing, a good hand for writing, and a good nature for loving.

Check it out.

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Thru Ellen’s Lens: San Miguel de Allende

18 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by in Escapes and Pleasures

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We travel a lot, as readers of this site no doubt know.

Even more now that both Ellen and I are retired.

Some of our trips are explorations of places we’ve never been (Myanmar, Cambodia, Antarctica, Iceland, Costa Rica), some are returns to favorite places (India, China, Spain, Europe in general), some are within the US, some are for family reasons, and some involve special interests (film festivals, baseball, friends). And sometimes the travel begins right in our house in our favorite reading spots where we can go anywhere in the world without going out our front door. (I’m currently deep ‘in’ the Himalayas with Robert Twigger’s wonderful White Mountain: Real and Imagined Journeys in the Hamalayas, a book identified as a ‘favorite read’ by a MillersTime reader in 2016.)

Over the past few years, we’ve made one addition to our travel: spending a week in one city, unpacking, and then leisurely exploring and getting to know a city (if we’ve never been there before) or revisiting some favorite sites and restaurants and exploring new places in that city that we ‘missed’ on a previous visit (if we are returning to a city we love — London, for example).

Recently, at the invitation of cousins from the Boston area (with whom we visited Central Europe a year or so ago), we spent a week in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We were three couples, and we rented a house in the Centro, where we could walk most places. Known in part as a place where Americans (and other expats) have retired or choose to visit, it is a 500 year old city, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2006). It also has the feel of a place that is what I call a ‘working city’ where the local population mixes easily with visitors, both foreigners and even more so families from throughout Mexico. Someone mentioned it is the most visited city by Mexicans of all places within the country (hopefully that was not “fake news”). It reminded us of Santa Fe, as it was when we first visited it some 45 years ago.

Each day during the the week we focused on just one or two activities. The afternoon of our arrival we wandered through the Jardin area and the cobblestone streets, poking our eyes and heads into one of a kind shops and doorways throughout the colorful town, just trying to soak in the city.

The next day we took a taxi to the Tuesday market (20 minutes away for 50 pesos – $2.50), where we again wandered, this time through three crowded ‘football fields’ worth of stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meats/seafood but mostly everyday household items. There were many small food stalls where shoppers, sellers, and Ellen and I sat on small stools to enjoy locally prepared foods.

One day we went to the town of Guanajuato, about an hour and a half away through countryside, reminiscent of another favorite place of ours — New Mexico. We took the cable car up to the El Papita Statue (independence hero) where we simply couldn’t get enough of looking at the hillside city of Guanajuato, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, (1987/88). Sometimes referred to as the most beautiful city in Mexico, it was initially a silver mining town before it became important in the independence of Mexico. It was built on a hillside, between mountains, and has a series of underground tunnels. We found it filled with students (it has an important University) and tourists from all over Mexico who come to see its splendor. We visited Casa Diego Rivera — Rivera’s home which has been turned into a museum. (It was largely disappointing if you want to see his art but interesting as the place where he lived and worked). Mostly, we wandered through the town and found the market area, where once again we joined other locals at one of the tiny eating stalls.

Another day we spent at a recently discovered (1998), excavated (2002) and reconstructed pyramid site, Canada de la Virgen, 25 kilometers outside of San Miguel. It has only recently been opened to the public (2011), as the access is only through privately owned land, though the actual archeological site is now under government control. We were treated to a particularly informative ‘tour’ by a guide who had worked as an archeologist on the site, followed by a luncheon at a nearby home and museum run by a woman who has done most of the astrological work on Canada de la Virgen.

Most of the remainder of our time we just walked and enjoyed melding into the largely local population of San Miguel and with those who had come into the city from around the country. The weekend was the most crowded time, where there seemed to be many families who were visiting San Miguel. The weekdays were less crowded.

We had a number of evening meals we would put in the category of memorable, either for the food or the scenery, or both, and a number of lunches in small places that were also delightful. Ellen Instagrammed many of those meals and so the places we ate can forever be found on her social media thread.

It was a leisurely time, enjoyable to be with our cousins and also to get to know another couple, for simply wandering about, and for having time to read and relax. And, once again, Ellen spent much of our strolling time looking through her camera lens and recording what she saw.

Very important to our trip was an introduction to a “new friend” — she has lived in San Miguel now for four years — who guided us in all things to do and places to eat. As always, knowing someone in a new city was invaluable. After corresponding with her prior to our arrival, we actually met her for the first time at dinner one evening and felt like we had met a fellow traveler. As one good turn deserves another, we are happy to pass along the details of what she passed onto us.

We are likely to return to San Miguel de Allende. The weather was perfect. It was easy to get to, inexpensive once there, and a great diversion from the cold February in Washington.

Here are 11 of Ellen’s favorite photos, followed by a link to a slide show with 73 photos for those of you who would like to see more of San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas. The first 50 photos in the slide show are of San Miguel, followed by ones from Guanajuato and Canada de la Virgen.

Enjoy.

Click on this slide show for more photos. For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show and see all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either).

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Good News

15 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

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I know many readers of this site are deeply disturbed about what you see occurring since President Trump won the election and took office. Some of you are less disturbed and are encouraged by what you see as some relief for controls on business, potential tax changes, possible changes in trade agreements, the current increases in the stock market, and the possibility that Pres. Trump will in fact make positive changes in the country.

This post is not about Pres. Trump or our politics. It’s meant to highlight something that transcends the day to day political battles in our country. This letter written from Bill and Melinda Gates to Warren Buffett highlights good that is being done in the world as a result of strategic philanthropy and thoughtful analyses of the global crises we confront.

It won’t take more than 15 minutes of your time to read.

Background:

In June of 2006, the world’s second richest man, Warren Buffett, the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., gave the bulk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, run by the world’s richest man (and his wife). Buffett pledged $31 billion dollars to the Gates Foundation broadly to fight disease and to reduce inequity. (At the same time, Buffett also divided $6 billion among four charities started by his family members.)

Buffet’s total gifting was $37 billion. At that time, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had an endowment of $29.2 billion. Thus, Buffett’s gift to that foundation doubled the money they had to spend.

Recently, Buffett wrote to the Bill and Melinda Gates the following letter:

Yesterday, Feb. 14th, in their annual letter about their work, Bill and Melinda released their answer to Warren’s questions, saying:

What follows is our answer to him.

It’s a story about the stunning gains the poorest people in the world have made over the last 25 years. This incredible progress has been made possible not only by the generosity of Warren and other philanthropists, the charitable giving of individuals across the world, and the efforts of the poor on their own behalf—but also by the huge contributions made by donor nations, which account for the vast majority of global health and development funding.

Our letter is being released amid dramatic political transitions in these countries, including new leadership in the United States and the United Kingdom. We hope this story will remind everyone why foreign aid should remain a priority—because by lifting up the poorest, we express the highest values of our nations.

One of the greatest of those values is the belief that the best investment any of us can ever make is in the lives of others. As we explain to Warren in our letter, the returns are tremendous.

I hope you will find the 15 minutes to read their answer in this link:

Dear Warren

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Truck Day, Spring Training, & The Contest

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Go Sox

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Finally.

Life begins again.

Truck Day for the Red Sox is Feb. 6.

Sox Pitchers & Catchers report to Spring Training Feb. 14.

Sox first full-squad workout is Feb. 17.

(Sox are reporting a week earlier than last year, tho many, if not most, of the players go early to ‘Fenway South’ – JetBlue Park – anyway.)

Sox first Spring Training game is Feb. 23 against Northeastern. and their first Grapefruit League is against the Mets Feb. 24.

And I’ll see the Sox vs the Nats at The Ball Park of The Palm Beaches (the Nats new Spring Training facility) on Mar. 7, and then three games at Jet Blue Park (USA team, O’s, and the Rays) on Mar. 9, 10, & 11.

Opening Day for MLB is April 2 with the Yanks vs Rays and the Cubs vs the Cards. The Sox open at home against the Pirates on April 3, and the Nats also open at home April 3 vs Marlins.

Life takes a turn for the better.

MillersTime 2017 Baseball Contests:

Meanwhile, I’m starting to work on the annual MillersTime Baseball Contest questions for 2017, and I have a few questions I hope you’ll answer:

  1. Usually I have six contests with maybe an Extra Credit one. Is that too many?
  2. I’ve moved from a Sox vs Yunkee focus to questions about your favorite team and ones that require more knowledge of all of MLB. While I try to have a mixture of simple and more complicated contests, what kind of questions in general do you prefer?
  3. I’m open to specific suggestions on new questions. If you have an idea for one for 2017, please send it to me in the next couple of weeks.

I hope to have The Contest questions posted on this website by Mar. 1 with your predictions due by Opening Day, April 2 at 1:10 PM.

Feel free to have your baseball friends join in. If anyone you bring in wins (they need to mention your name), you too will win a prize.

To see last years winners, go to: Summary of 2016 Winners and to see last year’s questions, go to: 2016 MillersTime Baseball Contests.

And all winners will get the exclusive and highly coveted MillersTime Winner baseball t-shirt in addition to individual prizes for each contest.

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Samantha’s Perfect Day

01 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Family and Friends

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Samantha, age 11 months, was left in the care of her maternal grand parents (Nonna – Ellen and GrandPapa – Richard) for a three day weekend with the following ‘instructions.’

Samantha’s Perfect Day

7  AM  – Wake and six ounces (milk)

8  AM  – Breakfast (yogurt or oatmeal, 1/4 cup & 1/4 cup water)

9  AM  – Nap (sleep suit, noise machine, close curtain)

10:30  AM  – Snack (fruit, avocado, cheese, no sippy)

Noon  – 4 oz + lunch (veggies, toast with almond butter, baby pouch)

1  PM  – Nap (sleep suit, noise machines, close curtains)

3  PM  –  Snack (cheese, avocado, cherrios, no sippy)

5:15ish – Dinner (left overs from previous night’s adult dinner)

6:15  PM  – Bedtime

  6 ounces in sippy (in bedroom)

  Change into pajamas

  New Diaper & Cream

  Discuss What You’re Thankful For

  Leg Cream

  Into Sleep Suit

  Songs

  Read Books

  Noise Machines On

  Into Crib, Close Door

  “Goodnight Samantha. I Love You!”

  “GOOD GIRLS SLEEP ALL NIGHT!”

  6:45  PM  –  Asleep

When I read these instructions, I knew immediately that I had a MillersTime post in the making. All I had to do was to type in the instructions, and then add in what really happened, perhaps with an occasional exaggeration for a laugh.

But a funny thing happened.

Samantha followed the script exactly, at least for the first 48 hours. She got up on schedule after 12 or 13 hours sleeping at night, napped at the right times, ate when she was ‘supposed’ to, etc. I had nothing to write about.

(Disclosure: Actually, in the third and final evening there was a bit of a hiccup as Samantha was unhappy about going to bed a bit early. She had been fussy throughout the late afternoon, and we’d been told by her mother that it was OK to put her to bed a bit earlier than the schedule indicated if it seemed necessary. Hah. Thirty minutes of screaming in the only ‘meltdown’ of the weekend. But after a short ‘intervention’ on our part, she went to sleep, about her regular time, and slept another 12 hours.)

I guess she just has a good parental unit.

But then, of course, her parents had good parental units too. So I guess it’s not a surprise that she would ‘perform’ as intended.

Thus, instead of my snarky comments, all you get are photos from Ellen.

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