Thursday, February 28, 2008

• I have mixed feelings about the hiring of Dusty Baker. One one hand...he wins everywhere he goes (but never a World Series). One another hand...he tends to bury young players in favor of "veterans". This is not what the Reds need. They have a really nice young team coming up. I would much rather have Jay Bruce playing out of position in CF than to bring in 54 year old Kenny Lofton. One a third hand...he seems to get a lot out of his players. They like playing for him, and he demands excellence. But on the giant 4th hand is the fact that he thinks OBP is over rated ("they just clog up the bases"), he thinks pitch selection is over rated. And yet, puts a premium on "scoring runs". I ask this...how does one score runs without people on base? HOW? Solo home runs? I'm just not sure about this



• I predict Jay Bruce starts the season in AAA, tears it up, and is with the Reds by June at the latest. He will the proceed to have a solid season and hit .290 with decent power numbers. I hope this prediction is wrong and he starts the season with the Reds



• I think Homer Bailey has a great year and becomes the real #2 starter ahead of Arroyo



• I think Johnny Cueto plays for the Reds at some point and pitches lights out



• I think David Ross will still not be able to hit



• I think Reds fans will inexplicably love Ryan Freel because "he plays the game the right way"...which I disagree with. I think the "right way" to play the game is "well". Which Ryan Freel does not do. He is WAYYYY overpaid for a lead off guy who strikes out a lot and doesn't have a very good OBP (although I suppose that would be good in Dusty's eyes!)



• I think Adam Dunn will continue to put up great power/OBP numbers as he has his entire career. Yet people on the radio will continue to ream him for the things he doesn't do well.



• I think Jeff Keppinger should be the starting SS and Alex Gonzalez is no better. (If you look at their defensive metrics...Keppinger is only very slightly worse defensively.)



• I think the bullpen is vastly improved with the addition of Francisco Cordero, which helps everyone out

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Labels: Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds, Dusty Baker, Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce

Posted by Adam Wilson :: 8:37 PM :: 0 comments

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Stracka: Online Golf Management

Full Disclosure: This is a paid review

I was asked to take a look at the new website, Stracka.com: A Social Network for Golfers. The purpose of this page is online golf management...but really it's more than just that.

The first thing you see is that it has an awesome Google Earth/Google Maps mashup with basically every golf course in the country...and worldwide. For example, here is the page for Pebble Beach Golf Course in California. As you can see, the yardage for the course is entered, you can talk with members of the course, you can watch video flyovers, and post scores you have shot there. It's really neat.

Not all courses have information loaded though, but that's only because people haven't done them yet. If you play at Blue Ash Golf Course here in Cincinnati, you can mark up the map for other people to see and use.

There is a forum where you can discuss courses and get and give tips and just basically talk about golf with other golfers.

Another neat feature is the online management system. You can track all of your rounds, manage your handicap, and other things that should improve your game.

At Stracka, they do a really nice job of getting people the information they need to succeed everything they hit the links. And best of all...it's free to sign up.

I'm not a golfer myself (because I suck really badly at it)...but I love to see how technology can make things better and easier for people.

I think the site is really neat and would recommend to anyone who is either a nerd who loves statistics (like me) or really loves golf. Or, I suppose, people who fit both categories.

http://www.stracka.com



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Labels: Golf, Review

Posted by Adam Wilson :: 8:13 PM :: 0 comments

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