Pretty Girl 08.01.11 - Aviva Farber

Can you believe that this is the same chick that McLovin' was drooling over in Superbad?  Wow.

Only A Sure Thing Is A Sure Thing

Yay, Ubaldo Jimenez!  When an organization gives up prospects #2 (Alex White), #4 (Drew Pomeranz) & #9 (Joe Gardner) at the trading deadline (plus former 2nd round pick, Matt McBride), the return should be a proven major league commodity.  Despite the fact that Jimenez will remain under team control through 2014, we have absolutely no idea what we will be getting.  Over his past 40 starts, Ubaldo is 12-16 with 4.80 ERA.  That does not sound like a number one starter to me.  With a velocity dip of between 3 & 4 MPH on his best two pitches and 2011 WHIP of nearly 1.4, he does not inspire fear in anyone.  What he might do in any given start is a microcosm of what he might do over the next few seasons, it is anyone's guess.  I do not mean that in the "no one can predict the future" sense.  Rather the Indians have traded a handful of young prospects for a 27-year with great potential, who has yet to put together for more than a couple of months at the big league level and has already been hampered by a number of nagging injuries.

While the sensation of having the Tribe bringing on talent instead of fire-selling it away certainly warms the cockles of my heart, I cringe to wonder what this trade might reap.  When the organization traded away CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, each coming off of a Cy Young season, their dominance had already inspired some to predict Hall of Fame futures.  While I understand that this is, by all means putting, the cart before the horse, it seems much more likely that Jimenez will slot with Ernie Broglio and Doyle Alexander and it will be Drew Pomeranz that is spoken of alongside Lou Brock and John Smoltz.  Don't know who the first two are?  Exactly.  Hell, even it is not Pom, it could be White or Gardner.  Think about that as you marvel at how similar Ubaldo is to one Fausto Carmona.  Wonder why he has such tantalizing option years the first time that he walks six and lasts 10 outs.

If this team had been one or two players short of making a serious run at a pennant, then, as a mid-market team, this is the sort of trade that reality necessitates.  Sadly, the 2011 Indians, now sitting a single game over .500 and with 23 wins in their past 60 games, are not that team.  Even if young talent, incisive moves and pure dumb luck conspire to produce a playoff appearance, it will be brief.  Is a token ALDS appearance worth bending over backwards for the team we should have swept in 2007?

I understand that murderer's row redux does not equal a world championship, but betting the farm on a guy that is, at best, a coin flip is a great way to preclude playing for one for yet another decade.

All of that being said, I do very much hope that I am exactly wrong.

Cheers

Concurso nuevo logo +500

Concurso nuevo Logo +500

Hola Bloggeros! este tema es para informarles sobre el nuevo concurso de logo de la comunidad ya que llegamos a los 500 Miembros .Entonces tenemos que diseñar una nueva imagen de Avril con los siguientes requisitos;

1. Tiene que tener el "+500"
2. Que diga "Comunidad Avril Lavigne" 
3. Con una dimencion de 300x300
4. Tiene que ser una imagen ya que no podemos poner gifs 

Los que quieran paticipar tienen que crear nuevos temas en la comunidad presentando sus logos, pueden hacer tantos logos como quieran.Tienen tiempo hasta el miercoles que viene para presentarlos! desde ya gracias y esperamos sus logos. . . 

Aca les dejo el link del tema .CLICK

Avril se unirá al elenco de Reality Show juvenil

Adam Lambert, Avril Lavigne, Colbie Caillat y Kelly Claude se están uniendo al más reciente reality show de "The Hub's" para presentars en el programa Majors & Minors.

Ellos servirán como mentores de los jóvenes talentos en la serie del otoño próximo, que se estrenará el viernes 23 de septiembre. Los cantantes previamente anunciados son Brandy, Leona Lewis, Jordin Sparks, Sean Kingston, Mike Posner y Tedder de OneRepublic Ryan.

Desarrollado por Evan "Kidd" Bogart, quien ha escrito canciones para Rihanna y Beyonce, y los productores de TV Timothy Scott Bogart y Gary A. Randall, Majors & Minors, es producido para el Boardwalk Entertainment Group de The Hub con Sony RCA/Jive y el BMI. Las búsqueda principal del espectáculo es encontrar a los jóvenes talentos más prometedores de la música, y el ganador conseguirá un contrato de grabación y una gira por los EE.UU

C'mon This Is Basic Stuff

Normally, I feel as if everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  While I might disagree with an assertion, I am always open to another point of view.  There is one staggering caveat here: the argument must be supported with some kind of evidence.

That being said, I cannot believe that either the PD or Cleveland.com allowed this piece to see the light of day.  Here is the gist of the author's position: with Josh Hamilton the Rangers play (as of 07.22) .661 ball, without him .421.  Both Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre have a higher WAR than Hamilton.  Thus, WAR is a silly "new-fangled" statistic that provides no useful information. 

I could take innumerable stances against this contention.  How about "WAR accounts for games played, rather than games not played, especially those lost after breaking your arm trying to score from third on a pop out to between home and third.  Maybe WAR rewards those who do not make god awful stupid decisions.  You would need to take a WAR/G average to build in games missed due to injury."  Or "Look at the top 10 in career WAR (Ruth, Bonds, Cobb, Mays, Cy Young, Aaron, Walter Johnson, Wagner, Speaker, Clemens) and tell me that it does a poor job of ranking players.  Of the top 63 in career WAR, all of them are either in the Hall of Fame, definitely will be in the Hall of Fame (think Maddux), or have been caught up in the steroid scandal.  If you want to allow a couple of 19th century guys and Peter Edward Rose, then it covers the top 83."  I could take issue with this entirely subjective and unsupported statement --

"And maybe it doesn't matter that Hamilton continues to drive in runs at a lofty pace; is such a feared hitter that the batters around him get better pitches to hit; is an outstanding base-runner; has excellent range in the outfield and a great throwing arm; plays hard almost to a fault; is integral to the Rangers' excellent camaraderie and chemistry, etc."

Thankfully, I do not need to make any of those arguments.  All I need to do is simply point out one of the most basic logical theorems: CORRELATION DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION!!!!!  Did I put enough emphasis on that?  Am I going to waste my time digging into the myriad of reasons that Rangers did not perform well during those 38 games?  Absolutely not.  The pure fact is that just because Texas plays 200 points lower without Hamilton does not mean it was because Hamilton was not in the lineup.  For instance, the Cardinals had a higher slugging percentage when Albert Pujols was on the DL.  Weird.  That is because there are an incalculable amount of variables at play.  Hey, my Indians are 0-5 this season when I watch the game at a bar.  Thus, obviously, the place at which I watch the game has a direct negative influence on the Tribe's ability to win.  Right?  Right?

If the author wants to express his deep and abiding man-crush on Josh Hamilton or continue to live in an antiquated fantasy world where batting average is still the premier statistic, I'm cool with that, but it is simply deplorable that a respected media outlet would print the ramble.  The author closes his piece as follows --

"Maybe Hamilton's "Wins Above Replacement" is so far off the charts it's simply invisible."

Maybe Mike Pettica's understanding of  baseball is so minuscule it's simply non-existent and the only reason that he is still being paid is that he has 40 years of experience.  (Nice assumed "that" and contracted "it's", you hack.)

Cheers.

Lessons of 1995

The thing about pitching prospects is they tend to not pan out. Pom and White are being described as two front of the rotation guys, but the chances are very good one of those guys is going to be a flop. And the one that succeeds is going to eat up a lot of his MLB service time perfecting his craft. Remember Cliff Lee wasn't even on the 2007 playoff rotation. And CC was mediocre for most of his time under the Indians control.

If you look at the deal in that light, getting 2 and a half years of Ubaldo is a great deal. Its a big assumption, but if his weak stats this year were due to an injury that really is behind him, he is a major addition to an already strong rotation. The tribe will get 2.5 years of a top notch pitcher. The reality of pitching prospects is that we probably weren't going to get 2.5 years of good pitching out of Pom and White, espically not in this window that has opened up to control the central.

Another aspect here is that Ubaldo came with a cheap contract. This trade didn't suck up scarce payroll dollars, and maybe they'll be able to make a run at some free agents this off season.

Fans I've talked to wanted a bat. But hitting didn't get it done for us in the 1990's. Ublaldo, Masterson, Tomlin, Carrasco, Carmona. That's a pretty good rotation. And we still have more in Columbus. With just a little bit of hitting out of the guys we already have this team can win the division.

Pretty Girl 07.31.11 - Gina Carano

I bet she'd let me punch her the face because she wouldn't even feel it.

Pretty Girl 07.30.11 - Jena Malone

It helps that she will look forever illegal.

Indians Acquire Ubaldo Jimenez

The Tribe sends LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Alex White, RHP Joe Gardner and C/1B/OF Matt McBride to the Rockies.  That is a steep price to pay for a man that has gone 9-15 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over the past 365 days. Ubaldo has experienced a noticeable drop in velocity on both his fastball (97->93) and his slider (87->83).  He explains,

"I didn't pitch well early because of my thumb and groin (hip flexor) injury. I didn't build up my arm strength in spring, so I didn't have my velocity or breaking ball. That's why I struggled. Right now, I feel like I can dominate again.''

His velocity has begun to rise, though it is still not back to the level of 2010.  If you would like some good news, in 2011 Jimenez is 3-4 with a 2.83 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP away from the the hitters' haven of Coors Field.  His 2010 road numbers were equally impressive (10-6, 2.63, 1.08 WHIP).

While McBride is a throw away and we have been listening to the ballad of Alex White all summer long, Pomeranz is a huge piece to give away.  Recently listed as the 14th best prospect in the Baseball America mid-season rankings, Pom cannot be officially traded until the one year anniversary of his signing date (08.16).  Thus, he is currently listed as a PTBNL in the deal.  Just to be clear, the Tribe has given up their pre-season #2 (White), #4 (Pomeranz) & #9 (Gardner) prospects.  This had better work out.

Let us cross our fingers that the physical on Jimenez comes back clean.  The Rockies have refused all askers the opportunity to examine Ubaldo before completion of a trade.

Cheers.

Good Idea!

A light bulb just lit up above my head.  Hide your iPods, ladies.

Avril Lavigne en AOL Sessions 2011!

Una década en su carrera, Avril Lavigne está abrazando múltiplos emocionales. Como nos dijo a principios de este año, “Goodbye Lullaby” su nuevo álbum muestra ambos lados de Lavigne: la versión para adultos que se ha ido transformando a través de un matrimonio y el divorcio, y la chica de “Sk8ter Boi” y “Girlfriend” que todavía, según dice, quiere simplemente divertirse y decir “What The Hell”

Cuando Lavigne visitó las oficinas de AOL en Beverly Hills el pasado 24 de mayo para grabar cinco canciones para Sessions, se ovtubo una mezcla de ambos, con versiones de “What The Hell” y “Girlfriend”, así como “Smile” y “My Happy Ending”. Ella también le dió a la gente de AOL y a sus fans la oportunidad de ver su lado más tranquilo, despojando a las canciones fundamentales, interpretando una par con sólo su guitarra. Avril habló sobre la superación de la timidez y el bombeo de puños en el escenario, cómo el éxito de su primer álbum se ha ido con ella a través de su carrera y por qué se está divirtiendo más que nunca.
¿Cómo te sentiste durante la presentación de hoy?

La actuación fue buena. Se trataba de una versión despojada, más acústica de algunas de mis canciones. Estoy de gira ahora mismo sólo rockeando. Por lo tanto, siempre es agradable y siempre ha sido una de mis cosas favoritas para hacer con algunas de mis canciones, para romper, y tener más de una sensación molesta detrás de las letras. Se cambia y se pone de manifiesto una emoción diferente, sentir el ambiente.

¿Qué emociones y vibraciones se llevan a cabo?

Te lleva de regreso a cuando escribí la canción, porque normalmente cuando estoy escribiendo no hay una banda completa. Estoy muy centrada en el mensaje lírico, el sentimiento, el estado de ánimo y la intención detrás de la canción y esto me trae de vuelta a cuando escribí la canción y la forma en que me sentí aquel día. Además, el rendimiento de hoy fue en frente de la cámara en lugar de ser yo en el escenario, corriendo, haciéndolo frente a una multitud, jugando ese papel y que esa responsabilidad para que todos en la sala se levanten. En realidad sólo era sobre mí misma disfrutando y entrar en contacto con la canción y el significado detrás de ella.




¿Te emociona salir y llevar esa energía al escenario? Para ti, ¿hay alguien al que mires como un modelo a seguir tocando en vivo?

En general, he sido inspirada por todos los diferentes tipos de artistas de la música. Acabo de escuchar a una gama tan amplia de música. Como intérprete, he estado en el escenario en los últimos años, porque soy una persona muy tímida y no soy habladora, he tenido que aprender a ser una artista real. Y mi trabajo para subir al escenario no es sólo simplemente divertirme, disfrutar de las canciones, y cantar, porque eso es lo que me gusta, mi responsabilidad es asegurarme de que todas las personas que hay en el público tengan el mejor momento. Es realmente importante para mí estar siempre en un espacio a la cabeza muy grande, porque cuando se trata de algo tan repetitivo y te encuentras en una larga gira, quiero hacer lo mejor posible y disfrutar de mí misma, porque a pesar de que es un trabajo, tienes que amar . Así que para salir y hacer que todos pasen un momento increíble – y para tener un realmente un gran momento – es la clave.






Es interesante que digas que eres tímida, porque cuando te levantas en el escenario, no lo veo. Tienes balance al frente de esa multitud, sabiendo que todo el mundo está ahí para ti, es un alivio para ti?

Sí, soy tranquila, más tímida, una persona introvertida, pero también tengo un lado de mí. Se ve en mi música. Tengo baladas. Tengo más, canciones más emocionales, pero entonces también tengo canciones pop que son muy ligeras, burlándose de los chicos y cosas por el estilo. Tu ves que eso es lo que soy y que es una parte muy importante de mi show en vivo. Es diverso. Salgo a conseguir la multitud, batimos los puños y rockeo en la guitarra, estoy saltando, corriendo alrededor para pasar un buen rato pero también disfruto sentada al piano y tocando de manera más cruda, más vulnerable y formal.

A medida que avanzas en tu carrera con tus registros, ¿crees que están empezando a convertirse en más de una conjunta reflexión de los dos lados de Avril?

Creo que como ser humano, experimentamos diferentes emociones. Felicidad, tristeza, cosas buenas, malas, y con mis canciones, que es una expresión de mi música, es donde lo puse. Así es como se crea. Está inspirada en todas las diferentes emociones que pasan por un ser humano y creo que esa es la belleza de la música, que diferentes personas pueden relacionarse con ella de diferentes maneras.







Tuvimos la oportunidad de hablar el año pasado en la Race to Erase SM de Nancy Davis sobre tu línea de ropa y todas las diferentes cosas que haces. ¿Cómo las diferentes entidades de mezclan para ti? ¿Cómo influyen en tus proyectos de lado tu música?

He tenido la increíble oportunidad de tener una línea de ropa, llamada Abbey Dawn. Tengo dos fragancias, Black Star y Forbidden Rose, y lo más nuevo, que es muy importante para mí, la Fundación de Avril Lavigne, y un poco de actuación y, por supuesto, música. Para poder crecer y expandirse y tocar otras áreas es parte de lo que soy enormemente. Estoy muy involucrada. Es un reflejo de mí, todo va mano a mano, ya que es mío y yo soy la que diseño o creo las fragancias y todo lo enlazo con mi música.





¿Cómo vas con La Fundación Avril Lavigne?

Es muy emocionante para mí, porque a través de mi carrera he tenido la oportunidad de trabajar con bases muy grandes, como Make-A-Wish y contribuir la compilación de diferentes álbumes. Para mí, se siente muy bien y era parte de mi responsabilidad de devolver si se podía de alguna manera. Empecé la Fundación Avril Lavigne y mi atención se centra en los niños y jóvenes enfermos y discapacitados. Estoy en desarrollo y estoy muy emocionada.






¿Cómo es tu relación con tus fans?

Realmente es algo que nunca esperé que viniera fuera de mi música porque escribiendo canciones, disfruto de la música por lo que es. Recuerdo haber hecho fichajes con los fans para venir a verme y firmar autógrafos con diferentes personas y me dicen cosas muy intensas como: “Esta canción me ayudó mucho porque estaba pasando por un momento muy difícil en mi vida”, y mirarlos y ver lágrimas en los ojos y verlos temblar y justo esa experiencia por sí sola fue muy conmovedora para mí. He experimentado eso en mi primer disco y eso era algo que definitivamente estuvo conmigo durante el rodaje y la creación de los álbumes después de eso. Así que cuando estoy escribiendo canciones que es una especie de frescua muy inspiradora para mí saber que mi canción habla de esa fuerza, avanzar, salir adelante y sobrevivir emocionalmente. Sabiendo que va a tener un efecto en al menos una persona por ahí, y eso es algo increíble.



¿Cuáles son esas canciones para ti, una o dos que se destaquen, y que atraen las emociones para ti?

Soy una persona muy sensible para la música. Puedo estar en el coche y escuchar una canción en la radio cuando estoy pasando por una situación en mi vida y ni siquiera sé quién es el artista y me fortalece. Trae una lágrima a mis ojos, es muy emocionante. Ese es el poder y la belleza detrás de las canciones y la música y estoy feliz de ser parte de eso. Si me inspiran y animan a otros de cualquier manera, he hecho bien mi trabajo.

Avril Lavigne anuncia la creación del Club Rockstar

Hola a todos, estoy muy emocionada de anunciar la creación del Club Rockstar de Avril Lavigne en Easter Seals – un programa inspirado para crear programas de apoyo y recreación para los niños con discapacidades. Hemos pasado el último año de trabajo con Easter Seals para el diseño de este proyecto y para solicitar propuestas de subvención de Easter Seals afiliadas en todo el país. Hemos recibido tantas grandes ideas del programa por lo que fue muy duro para reducirla a los cuatro primeros, pero finalmente se optó por los cuatro programas que nos sentimos mejor representan la misión de la Fundación Avril Lavigne ROCKS:

El Respeto, Oportunidad, Opciones, Conocimiento, y la fuerza.

Por favor, únanse a mí para felicitar a los cuatro finalistas – cada uno recibirá una beca de la Fundación de Avril Lavigne para ayudar a que su idea de un programa sea realidad:

Easter Seals Mahoning, Trumbull y Columbia creará una estrella de rock en el campamento de arte para proporcionar a los niños con discapacidad y sus amigos una divertida oportunidad para crear obras de arte que formarán parte de un programa de arte itinerante.




Easter Seals Massachusetts en Boston, creará el Club Rockstar de Avril Lavigne en el actual Easter Seals Explorer Camp, un campamento de una semana de duración ofreciendo actividades como natación, arte y juegos para los niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA). No puedo esperar para compartir más historias con usted acerca de cada uno de estos maravillosos programas en los próximos meses.

Easter Seals sur de California en Glendale, California un componente de la música y el arte a su programa después de clases, incluyendo instrucción musical en vivo, conciertos, viajes de campo, y mucho más.

Un agradecimiento especial a todos los afiliados de Easter Seals

Con amor,
Avril Lavigne

Pretty Girl 07.29.11 - Maria Sharapova

She plays tennis or something.  I dunno.

Pretty Girl 07.28.11 - Vanessa Branch

She'll have a dirty mouth when I'm done with her. (It's the Orbit gum girl)

Pretty Girl Update! - Ariana Grande

g

Maybe men won the battle of the sexes when 17 year old chicks started getting soaking wet on Nickelodeon.

Indians Acquire Kosuke Fukudome

The Tribe sends RHP Carlton Smith and OF Abner Abreu to the Cubs.  Everything is official now.  Smith has lingered at AAA for the past two seasons, producing a brilliant start to the 2011 campaign then regressing back to mediocrity (at best).  It would have taken a slew of injuries for him to ever see the bigs with the Indians.  Abreu was ranked in the organizational top 10 prospects in 2009, coming off of an .839 OPS season with Lake County.  The multi-tooled outfielder has done little since, striking out 232 times over the past two seasons at Kinston.  He had been on a tear recently (.352, 8 HR, 17 RBI in July) and is the reigning Carolina League player of the week.  Abner needs a ton of work to even be considered big league worthy, but he is still just 21.  This is a bargain price to pay for a player that can certainly help the team contend and can be counted with only a select few of his new teammates as a "true" big leaguer. 

The Indians will pay just $775k of the $4.83mil remaining on Fukudome's $13.5mil salary for 2011.  The 34-year old outfielder will waive his no-trade clause in exchange for as yet undetermined "perks."  His contract includes an odd clause that the controlling team must sign him to an extension by 11.14.11 or release him into the free agent pool.

One would expect Kosuke to play his natural RF until Shin-Soo Choo returns.  Ezequiel Carrera moves to the bench, with Michael Brantley moving back to center and the platoon switching to left.  The odd man out is Travis Buck, who has been DFA'ed to create space for Fukudome on both the 40 and 25-man rosters.  What a shame.  After his monster spring, I honestly expected Buck to be of great help.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl Update! - Kristin Cavallari's Back On the Market

I'm on way, Kristin.  I'll make it all better.

Avril Lavigne en entrevista telefónica con G1

No le gusta que se lo recuerden, pero la canadiense Avril Lavigne ha tenido su imagen asociada a una mujer joven rebelde que decía ser "la nueva generación de Sid Vicious", en alusión al bajista de los Sex Pistols, quien murió a los 21 años.

Avril va a presentar su segunda gira en Brasil el miércoles (27) la cual no está tratando de ser polémica, como la chica de 17 años que dijo que había comido una cucaracha en clip de "Sk8ter Boi", su primer éxito en 2002.

Sin sus mechas coloridas de la temporada pasada, no está lejos de ser llamada "punk pink". "El espectáculo sólo tiene música", dice por teléfono a G1. "Soy solo yo y la banda, nada de producción. No tengo bailarinas. Y tampoco un loco escenario, es muy sencillo."

Por lo general ella acostumbra a abrir el espectáculo con una versión de "Bad Reputation" de la veterana Joan Jett; "Ella es una de las primeras mujeres del rock n 'roll. Siempre me han gustado sus canciones," exalta la cantante, ahora de 26 años.

Además de sus antiguas canciones de rock, Avril agregó a su repertorio "Airplanes", sencillo del rapero B.o.B "Solo canto una parte del coro, que es más musical y es cantada por Willams Hayley, ella me gusta mucho" , elogia, mostrando ser fan de la cantante de Paramore.

¿Y qué opinas acerca de la teoría que apunta a una bipolaridad en tú discografía, con una carrera que alterna entre lo duro y lo alegre?
"Creo que mis canciones son diferentes, algunas más emotivas, otras más alegres"

"Mi música es siempre muy diversa. Si usted escucha el disco completo, verá que la variación es grande" , asegura. Los cinco conciertos en Brasil, probablemente tendrán el pop punk "What The Hell", "He Wasn't" y "Sk8ter boi" en el principio. Y baladas como "Don't Tell Me" y "I'm With You" al final antes de cerrar con "Complicated", su mayor éxito..

Avril Lavigne Argentina 2011 en HD

Aca les dejo Black star, Hot, I'm With You, Smile y Nobody's Home en HD se ven demaciado bien

To Err Is Human?

I've stated before that the key to co-existing is to accept the idiosyncrasies of our fellows as they accept ours.  In practice, this is an outstanding method, yet, in the philosophical context human endeavor, it is simply a the coach and the bag of potato chips.  Whether the other person (friend, parent, wife, whatever) doesn't return messages, fails to fulfill commitments, cannot make use of logic or runs his mouth when he's had a few, allowing these tendencies to continue just encourages each of us to expect less of everyone.  As I grew, I held myself to very high standards and applied the same standard to those around me.  These days, having experienced so much disappointment from those around me, I find myself unable to hold myself to any level of excellence whatsoever.  With each forgiveness that I gave, each flaw that I shrugged off, I became less and less worthwhile.  Now, I forgive everything.  Bobby won't give me a straight answer to any question?  That's fine.  He has other redeeming qualities.  That's something that I would never do, but I have other imperfections.  It doesn't matter.  It all balances out in the end.  The boundaries have become indistinct.  If, when I get up in the morning, I don't do what I am supposed to, don't contribute in the ways that I am expected to, I don't hold it against myself.  I feel no guilt.  It's just part of the human condition.  Whatever I do is ok.  I'm not killing anyone or mistreating a child, so who the fuck cares?  How do I make myself care about any of this shit?  I'd like to sit here and reject everything about the world around me.  A wise man once told me to stop whining about the unwashed masses around me, suggesting that I do something about them instead.  Unfortunately, I can't talk to them.  We do not speak the same language.  I cannot lead them, they desire slovenly idiocy for their respect.  I cannot ignore them, they permeate every instant of my life.  I cannot serve them, they don't deserve it and I am simply too tired to want to.  There are plenty of morons to do that.  Does this mean they won?  Sure, fine, take it.  I'm going to play a different game.  We'll see how that goes.  As of right now, I am letting go.  If anyone out there needs me to do anything, let me know.  I can do pretty much anything.  Except care about petty, banal bullshit.

Maybe Kurt said it best...



Cheers

Pretty Girl Update! - Emily Browning

Take your top off!  Oh, wait, you did.  And your pants...

Pretty Girl 07.27.11 - Dilshad Vadsaria

I'm not sure why I dig the Indian chicks.  Exotic skin and western features?  Ah, the halibut.  Just enjoy.  And check this one out in 30 Minutes or Less.

A Quest Called Tribe

Damn articulate, am I not?  This is precisely the feeling that I was seeking to avoid when I turned the channel last night.  Obviously, I could not do such a thing on two consecutive nights, so I stuck with the team, watched until the bitter end.  They do not come much more bitter than this.

It is difficult to chastise the guy whose solo home run accounted for exactly all of the Indians' runs scored, but, yes, I am going to do that.  I am sick of Matt LaPorta, utterly disgusted with him.  Yeah, Matty's first home run since June 2nd was great, it gave us hope, but it does not forgive his other 3 at-bats.  In the second inning, with a man on, he popped out to short on a 3-1 pitch, not putting anything vaguely resembling a good swing on the ball.  With two on in the 4th, he flied out to center.  The STO boys tried to make it sound as if LaPorta (.238) had come up just short of a home run.  The ball did not even reach the track.  Then, the ninth, oh mon dieu, the ninth.  I was poised to write the complete antithesis of this paragraph, highlighted by the sentence "Every time I am about to completely give up on Matt LaPorta, he does something that compels me to give him another chance."  While it was a great at-bat to work the count full, Amy Winehouse could have put a better swing on the 3-2 pitch.  To compound the problem, Matt put himself so badly out of position with his attempt that he was doubled up at first.  C'mon man!

Do you thing I am done ranting on this one?  Not.  Even.  Close.  It may be that Manny Acta is outstanding at bringing young talent along, at transitioning them into successful big league pros.  What he is rarely proficient at is making in-game decisions.  Sure, there were a few well-played situations earlier in the year, particularly involving the squeeze play, but, over the past month, Manny has hurt more than he has helped.  Tonight was one of the worst, as he made not one, but two unconscionable calls.  First and worst came in the third inning.  With Jason Kipnis on third, Ezequiel Carrera on first and Michael Brantley at the dish with one out, Acta chose NOT to put Carrera in motion.  Let me be perfectly clear, Zeke is fast (35/39 SB's at Columbus).  The only tool that propelled him into the big leagues was his speed.  Kipnis, who does have above average speed (9 AAA 3B), is smart on the base paths (12/13 AAA SB's).  On the first pitch to Brantley, you put on the take (the lineup took pitch 1 all night anyway) and send Carrera.  Hmmm, what might happen?  A) Jeff Mathis holds the ball and you have two runners in scoring position.  B) He throws through and Kipnis comes home with the game's first run against a guy with a 1.84 ERA.  C) Maybe Zeke is even safe and the inning rolls right along.  What is the worst case scenario?  I guess it is that one of the middle infielders cuts the ball and gets Kip at home.  That would take two great throws in quick succession plus the intelligence and awareness to make the return play.  Unforgivable.  Even if I could give Acta the benefit of the doubt for that blunder (which I cannot), he gaffed again in the all-important top of 7.  He asked Josh Tomlin, who had thrown just 18 pitches out of the zone to that point, to throw four wide to Howie Kendrick.  Although, I get the logic, Mark Trumbo had looked clueless in his first two AB's, the decision to break the rhythm of a man who had allowed 3 base runners all night is just plain stupid.  Sure, the pitch selection to Trumbo could have been better.  Still, let the your horse do his job, do not take the ball out his hand and give him time to think about what is going on around him.  If Acta cannot recognize that this something that one absolutely cannot do, especially to a young pitcher, perhaps he is not as good at player development as some would have us think.

I feel a bit better now.  Allow me to give Josh Tomlin his props.  In a game where the pressure to be perfect must have been immense, Josh (11-5, 4.01) showed up for the challenge.  Pitching a full 8 innings for the first time this season, and only the second of his career, he threw first pitch strikes to 25 of 28 hitters (including the IBB) and delivered five 1-2-3 innings.  Tomlin has said recently that his cutter had been flat of late and somewhat difficult to control.  It did not show tonight.  That may have been because he threw more curveballs than normal, which worked well for the most part, until, sadly, he left one up against Trumbo.  This was a great outing from Tomlin and what did he get, what did we get?  A loss.  Thanks, Manny and thank you, Matt LaPorta.

Enough.

Here's to not having to decide whether to watch the game tomorrow.  It is not televised.  ;-j

Cheers.

Fuck You, Matt LaPorta.

Fuck You, Matt LaPorta!

Clip Joint Perfection

I am not going to beat around the bush here, Justin Germano threw a perfect game tonight, 27 Syracuse Chiefs up and 27 down.  Germano (1-2, 3.65) struck out 7, including Corey Brown three times, the last of them looking to end the game.  He retired 11 on ground balls, 9 on fly balls and threw 69 of his 95 pitches for strikes.  Justin threw first pitch strikes to 18 of 27 hitters and faced only one three ball count, to Michael Aubrey with 2 outs in the first.  He also had a four pitch seventh inning.  It was the first perfect game in the history of the Columbus Clippers, regardless of affiliation, and the first 9-inning IL perfecto since 2003.



This was Gemano's first win of the season at any level.  Since joining the Clippers' rotation on July 6, he has not only limited opponents to a .196 batting average, but he has not walked a batter over 26 innings.

The sluggish Columbus offense put up all three of their runs early in support of Justin, with Tim Fedroff driving in a pair and Cord Phelps (.294) adding the third.  Fedroff (.277) and Paul Phillips (.233) each had 3 hits.



In case any of you are wondering, I beat literally everyone with this report, including STO and the official Clippers twitter feed.  Nice.

We are going to let this one stand on its own tonight.

Cheers

Avril Lavigne un día más en Argentina tras cancelación de su vuelo a Brasil

Según publicaciones realizadas por la pareja de Avril Lavigne, el actor de The Hills, Brody Jenner, a través de su cuenta oficial en Twitter. La rockera canadiense y su equipo tendrían que esperar un día más en la capital argentina tras la posible cancelación de su vuelo con rumbo a Brasil por problemas con la densa ceniza producto de la actividad de un volcán en la región que ha ocasionado serios problemas en los itinerarios del aeropuerto internacional de Buenos Aires.

Dada la agenda oficial de la gira mundial, Avril Lavigne debería pisar suelo brasilero hoy, para preparar lo que será el primero de 5 conciertos en este país, comenzando mañana en Sao Paulo.

La emoción y la tensión en Brasil estan en el punto más alto y miles de seguidores esperan la llegada de la princesa del pop/rock, mientras el hastag “AvrilWelcomeToBrazil” ya es tendencia en Twitter regional, por lo cuál no se descarta que el tema de la cancelación del vuelo no sea más que una cortina de humo para desviar la atención de la multidud en los aeropuertos tanto de Argentina como de Brasil.

Por otra parte, medios nacionales han informado a través de sus agencias de noticias, que dadas la situación ambiental, muchos vuelos han tenido que ser cancelados.

Esto fué lo que publicó recientemente Brody Jenner en Twitter:

Ohhh no… vuelo cancelado ! Esto podría ponerse bastante mal… para mi higado LOL

Bien, parece que no habrá Brasil hoy… solo esperamos que lo logremos mañana para el show!! Horario apretado

Clip Joint Not Playin the Hits

Mitch Talbot

Yeesh, the Clippers lost the last three in the Lehigh Valley, scoring a grand total of 4 runs.  Although they still lead the IL West by 9.5 games with a 64-39 (.621) tally, Columbus has now lost 5 of 6 and has posted an unimpressive 12-16 record since June 24.

Last night's only run came on Beau Mills' first AAA hit/RBI/long ball, in the 8th inning.  Corey Kluber (4-7, 6.05) delivered a typical performance (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) in taking the loss and  CC Lee (4-1, 1.99 overall) allowed his first AAA run.  Mitch Talbot, though, showed up with an excellent outing.  Talbot (0-1, 3.07) pitched the last 2.2 innings scoreless, while allowing 2 hits and a walk.  As mentioned previously, I do expect that we will see Mitch back with the big club in August out of the 'pen.

Sunday featured absolutely nothing worth mentioning, as the Clips mustered but 2 hits.  Saturday, at least, saw an impressive outing from LHP Nick Hagadone (5-2, 2.75 overall) as he threw 2 perfect frames featuring three strikeouts.  Nick Has settled in now and he will make the trip to the NC should a trade deadline deal involve Tony Sipp or Rafael Perez.  Zach McAllister started that game and it might be that he is feeling somewhat of a hangover after David Huff got the call for last week's double header and the subsequent rotation spot.  McAllister was passable (5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but has not lately been nearly as sharp as he was early in the season.  His last 4 starts have seen an 0-1 record with a 4.13 ERA and a .298 OBA.  Zach remains 8-3 with a 3.11, even though he has won just once since May 20th.  He, too, is a possible chip in a coming deal.

Columbus hit .141 (13-for-92) as a team over the last three games.  This is what happens when an organization calls up all of the talent to the bigs and does not make the corresponding moves deeper in the system.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

It seems as if Adam Miller (1-3, 5.45 overall) has hit a wall in Akron.  Last night, Miller took the loss after giving up 5 earned on 5 hits and 2 walks in an inning and a third.  He has now thrown 34.2 innings this season, the most he has pitched since 2007.  In the last 8.2 of those innings, he has allowed 11 runs (12.07 ERA) on 13 hits (.362 OBA).  I would not be surprised to see Adam hit the DL soon with a "tired arm."

Drew Pomeranz started for the Aeros yesterday and lasted just 4.1 due to a strict pitch count.  Pom (3-3, 1.98 overall) surrendered 2 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 6 K's.  Drew's numbers have been remarkably similar between High-A Kinston and his current stop with his OBA (.202 vs .200), BB/9 (3.74 vs 3.86), and K/9 (11.10 vs 10.93) almost identical.  He still needs to stretch himself beyond 5 innings (91 IP in 18 starts), but, otherwise, Pomeranz is right on track.  Oh, he will not be traded.  Write it down.

The recently promoted Felix Sterling made an outstanding first appearance for the Lake Country Captains.  Sterling earned the W in Sunday's 6-1 victory.  Felix (3-3, 3.62 overall) allowed 3 hits and 3 walks, while fanning 2.  Still just 18, expect Sterling to make waves at the A+/AA level next season.

RHP Jake Sisco, the Tribe's 2011 3rd round pick, got shelled in the AZL.  Sisco (0-2, 2.95) allowed 4 earned on 4 hits, 2 walk and 2 punch outs as he got tagged with loss #2.  It was Jake's first poor outing as a professional.   He came into the game with a 1.42 ERA and .246 OBA.

Despite allowing a run, friend of the blog Tyler Tufts picked up his 4th AA save on Sunday.  Ty (4-1, 2.05, 7 SV overall) has compiled all four of those saves over the past month as he has taken on a more prominent role out of the Rough Riders bullpen.  According to sources familiar with the situation, the organization has finally taken notice of Tyler, a 32nd round pick in 2008.  While the Rangers have a bevy of relief talent in the high minors, he was supposedly told that, if he continues to produce for Frisco, he could very well skip AAA and go straight to the bigs.  As much as I hope this is true, the promotion of a AA relief pitcher to the majors, when he is not on the 40-man roster, is highly unlikely.

Cheers.

Pretty Girl Update! - Taylor Momsen

Hey now, she's a rock star, takes her top off, wears tape!  Awesome 18, Taylor.  Cheers.

Pretty Girl 07.26.11 - Elizabeth Gillies

The most bare of legal.  Happy 18 to my new favorite.

A Quest Called Tribe

I will be honest.  I changed the channel after Bobby Abreu hit the home run.  45 minutes later, I pulled up the box score and let out a huge sign of relief.  Apparently, I switched back to STO about 90 seconds after Jason Kipnis stroked his first MLB hit, the game winning hit.  I just could not watch another heartbreak loss.  Being a Cleveland fan, one would think that I would be used to it by now.  I am not.  I think that is a good thing.  Tonight, I missed out on seeing the Indians win, but, for me, that is not the priority.  Whether I am unwilling to watch, glued to the television or screaming from the cheap seats, all that matters is that team emerges victorious.

While the walk-off was a joy, it was far from the only story tonight.  How about Fausto Carmona?  Whatever they did to Fausto over the break, can we please bag it and give him a intravenous feed?  Carmona before the break (4-10, 5.78, 1.41 WHIP) versus after (1-0, 1.50, 1.17 WHIP) is like beef tenderloin after Dinty Moore.  Again, he seemed to be talking to himself (tonight amidst a torrent of his own perspiration).  I would like to believe that this is a method of slowing the game down for a guy who is fanatically emotional.  Regardless, he produced tonight (6 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K) and if he can pitch similarly down the stretch, the Indians chances are much improved.

I fondly recall the days of Vinnie Pestano being nothing but nasty.  Such has not been the case recently.  Since July 2nd (the day he was the de facto closer and converted his first MLB save) Pestano has posted a 9.82 ERA and allowed opponents a .925 OPS.  He seems to be struggling with his control.  While his pitches continue to show the same filthy movement as in the season's first 3 months, their location has become erratic as he has left far too many over the fat part of the plate.  Vinnie has just 43 innings of major league baseball under his belt, he will learn consistency.  Joe Smith is a great example as he has put up numbers far exceeding expectation based not on better stuff, but on improved command. Wouldn't it have been nice if he had been able to pitch 2 innings?

Alex White pitched a simulated game this afternoon, throwing his full compliment of pitches.  White experienced some mild soreness in his injured finger following the outing, but that is to be expected with an injury of this kind.  Earlier today, it was announced that White would pitch "multiple innings" out of the bullpen upon his return.  The rational is that after sitting on the shelf for 10 weeks, the time needed to build his arm strength back to a starter's endurance would preclude him from being of any help in the playoff run.  If Alex's arm feels good tomorrow, he will likely begin a rehab assignment next week.

Combine White's status with the news that Mitch Talbot will also be working out of the 'pen following his own rehab stint and I deem it exceptionally likely that one of the Bullpen Mafia departs as part of a trade deadline deal.  For those of you wondering, possible targets for the Tribe include starters Aaron Harang and Hiroki Kuroda and outfielders Ryan Ludwick and BJ Upton.  Personally, I am hoping for Upton.  Maybe we can unload Matt LaPorta on someone.  He sucks.

Here's to not seeing Danny Haren against the Indians until after the apocalypse.

Cheers.

Move Over Pat Venditte

Say hello to Ryan Perez, a rising senior at Westmister Christian High School in Hampshire, Illinois.  Switch pitching is not unheard of, but Perez hits 92 mph with his right arm and 90 with his left.  I know that high school statistics can be overwhelming and Ryan's certainly fit the bill.  Last season he was 9-1 with 3 saves and a 1.64 ERA.  Pretty reasonable.  Now we get wacky.  OBA: .076 (16-for-210); K/9: 19.5 (143 K in 66 IP); WHIP: 0.58 (22 BB).  Over the course of the season he threw 65% strikes and 62% first pitch strikes, while inducing 65% ground balls from the few batters he did not strike out.  Perez tossed two no hitters, including a perfect game.  Needless to say, the 6'0" 180lb Perez is drawing some serious interest from the scouts.  Here's some video --







Cheers.

Contingent Hilarity

So, it's funny because she didn't get hurt?  What would it be if she did?

Pretty Girl Update! - Kate Upton Vs. Amber Heard

Everybody wins!  Good lookin', Guess.

Pretty Girl 07.25.11 - Gemma Arterton

You got me.  I spent the whole weekend watching Bond.  This one's character is named Strawberry Fields.  Awesome.