On to the AL

As promised in my post about the Colorado Rockies, I will not take a look at the 2010 season for the Minnesota Twins.

2010 Minnesota Twins

I have been following the Twins my entire life. I was fortunate enough to watch two Twins World Series victories in 1987 and 1991. Of course, I was only 5 and 9 during these years. Not exactly the best ages to explicitly remember exactly how everything went down. After the 1991 season, the Twins decided to be the laughingstock of baseball (kind of like the Pirates and Nationals are now) and almost got contracted by Bud Selig. After several years of wallowing in the bottom of the AL, they changed their management approach, just as the Rockies would do years later. They reduced their payroll, made better drafting decisions, and created one of the best farm systems in baseball. The result has been years of a competitive Twins team that has won the AL Central five of the last eight years. They have also fizzled out in the playoffs every year (6-18 in their last 5 trips to the postseason), but whatever. Think the Royals or Blue Jays would trade places with the Twins? I sure do. A trip to the playoffs every year is still better than being on the outside looking in. At least you have a chance (until you ultimately get raged by the Yankees, like the Twins do EVERY FREAKING YEAR!!).

This offseason, the Twins have slightly varied from their small market mentality. They added a couple of higher profile free agents (albeit at a reduced price) in Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson and traded for another in J.J. Hardy. Their payroll may actually even jump up into the top 10 payrolls across the league, depending on if they can extend the contract of the franchise, Joe Mauer. Despite the uncharacteristic payroll splurge, the team is still filled with locally grown products, especially through their starting rotation. They have arguably the best manager in the game, the best catcher in baseball, a top 5 first baseman, and a top 5 closer. While this might not be the best team that the Twins have fielded during my lifetime, there is no doubt that they are the favorites to win the AL Central for the 6th time in 9 years. Consistency, people.

Starting Lineup:
C - Joe Mauer
1B - Justin Morneau
2B - Orlando Hudson
3B - Nick Punto
SS - J.J. Hardy
LF - Delmon Young
CF - Denard Span
RF - Michael Cuddyer
DH - Jason Kubel

Bench:
Jim Thome
Wilson Ramos or Drew Butera
Alexi Casilla
Matt Tolbert
Brendan Harris

This lineup is approximately 1 million times more lethal than last year's lineup. No joke. The Twins effectively replaced Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, and Orlando Cabrera with Nick Punto, J.J. Hardy, and Orlando Hudson. Why would you not expect a gargantuan improvement to the offense from these positions? Punto is scrappy player 1C behind David Eckstein and Jamey Carroll who has huge swings in production from year to year. Last year was a down year. That means 2010 will be a good year for Little Nicky Punto. Hardy struggled through his last season in Milwaukee. An incredible defender, he just could not get his previously hot bat going throughout 2009. I think a change of scenery and the fact that he will be pushed deeper into the lineup will let him relax and find his hitting groove again. As for Orlando Hudson, all this guy has done in the past several years is produce. Combining Hudson with Span at the top of the lineup will create ample RBI opportunities for the big bats behind them. With Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, and Thome, this lineup could be a murder's row for opposing RHPs. Good luck getting through this high average, high power, left handed leaning lineup.

I do worry about the depth in the outfield. Before the Hardy trade, Carlos Gomez was a great 4th outfielder with an incredible upside. Now the Twins may end up relying more on Kubel or a utility infielder (Tolbert, maybe) to fill any backup outfield spots. The corner outfield positions might be the weak link on a otherwise solid defensive team with Young and Cuddyer not exactly being Gold Glove material.

Starting Pitchers:
Scott Baker
Carl Pavano
Nick Blackburn
Kevin Slowey
Francisco Liriano

Bullpen:
Joe Nathan (Closer)
Matt Guerrier
Jessie Crain
Pat Neskek
Jose Mijares
Brian Duensing / Jeff Manship
Jon Rauch

The pitching rotation is pretty much set with the top 4 guys as close to locked in as you can be at this stage in the spring. The question mark comes in the 5th spot. Brian Duensing has a chance at this spot. Hell, he started Game 1 of the ALDS last year. You have to look at him for a rotation spot. The reason I am inclined to include Liriano instead of Duensing is all the reports I have heard coming from the Dominican League this winter. Twins personnel, rival scouts, and fans are all saying that Liriano is finally back to where he was before undergoing surgery a couple years ago. The one-time heir-apparent to Johan Santana looks to finally be back to his ace of the rotation act. This could not make me any happier. It seems like the more question marks the Twins have in the pitching staff, the better it ends up being. I think they have the depth and now a bit of experience to assist that ridiculous lineup. The bullpen is hopefully getting back Pat Neskek, who was out last season. All that guy did in 2008 was become one of the best setup guys in the game. Hopefully he can return to that form and the other young pitchers continue to progress.

Regular Season Prediction: 91-71, 1st in the AL Central.

Til the next post,
Mikey

Making Progress

I would guess that you have experienced this situation before: You are with a group of people when you reveal something about yourself to the group. There is always that one individual that says, "Hey, my Uncle Bob is really into that, too. I should introduce you to him/show you his website/give you his email address. You would get along swell!" Most of the time, meeting Uncle Bob does not go so swell. It might be the subtle smell of cat urine seeping from his pores or the fact that he is more interested in you than what your interest is. Regardless, the original idea of introducing a couple strangers who supposedly share some common ground tends to have great intentions with catastrophic results (at least in my experience).

An "Uncle Bob" moment happened to me after my blog proclamation that (a) I was going to blog much more frequently in 2010 and (b) that blogging was one of my many creative outlets in my life. In this particular case, being introduced to "Uncle Bob" actually turned out to be far from a disaster.A friend of mine who I work with was unaware of this non-engineering side of me. He gets to pleasure of seeing me during my most impressive nerd phases. After reading the blog and learning that I was interested in photography, he told me I should check out his friends' website because I would really enjoy it. Now this guy hails from South Dakota so automatically my bullshit sensor was going off like crazy. I had zero interest in looking at pictures of Midwestern country life. Cows are great. . .for eating. They aren't exactly the best photography subjects. Despite my anti-Dakota leanings, I relented and gave his buddies a chance. Thank god I did.

Proud Ruin is a collaboration of two artists creating incredible visual scenes. Tayn Reis dreams up a scene and ensures everything is in place. Aaron Stryzewski sets the lighting and frames that perfect shot. Beware, some of their creations are not for the faint of heart. Their images are dark, violent, foreboding, and often gruesome. But they are also absolutely incredible. (My favorites are definitely "Paramove" and "Forget the Hatchet") The lighting throughout their work makes the photos blend the realism of a photograph with the fantastical nature of a painting. I have stared at several of their scenes trying to figure out how they created the colors and texture of the photograph. The scenes are dark, but incredibly vibrant. At first glance, they do not appear to have much color at all. After settling your eyes on the photo, you start to see the brightness of the colors against the darkness.

As a disclaimer, I have not met Aaron and Tayn personally. Everything I know about them is what I have gathered through either their website or my buddy at work. However, the beauty of any medium of art is that through their creations, we can get a glimpse into the creative minds of others. Even if those minds are completely twisted and insane.

Excellent work, Proud Ruin. I hope you continue to churn out vivid and dark expressions of the endless human struggle.

On a side note, make sure you check out the section called "Aaron's Extras". Again, very impressive work, this time using a more standard portrait style. This one and this one are particularly great.

As the title of the blog says, I am making progress by opening my world to these new and exciting (and completely obscure) photographers/artists and being able to discuss them on this blog. You all know that I take pictures. They are not great pictures. A lot of them are not even good pictures. But with every website I find, every photographer I talk to, and every picture I take, I hope that I am slowly progressing to a point where I can truly and honestly call myself a photographer.

Til the next post,
Mikey

Rocktober? Let's hope it starts before the All Star Break this year.

Just because this blog is a creative outlet for my engineering mind does not mean that other less-creative subjects are off limits, especially when baseball is on the mind.

In just a few weeks, pitchers and catchers will report for the start of spring training. Spring training embodies what is great about sports. There is a unbridled sense of optimism, regardless of which team you stand behind. Even teams as pathetic as the Nationals and Orioles look upon the upcoming year with excitement and positivity. Hell, even Cubs fans think they can win it all. It is understandable why people are so excited and I, like everyone else, get caught up in the hoopla. Today I will preview the 2010 season for the Colorado Rockies. Before the season starts, I will give you my predictions for my original favorite team, the Minnesota Twins, and MLB in its entirety.

2010 Colorado Rockies:

During the 2007 season, the Rockies gave us a taste of what we expect them to do on a yearly basis: get to the playoffs and be competitive. After showing Denver what the World Series felt like, expectations and excitement around Lower Downtown rose to unheard of (and probably unrealistic) levels. Naturally, the team soured the Rocktober atmosphere of their miracle season by following it up with a dismal, face-in-the-mud 2008 season. The crazed, exuberant fan of 2007 disappeared back to the Bronco bandwagon. The team remembered how to win in 2009 after a much needed coaching swap and put together a run for the ages. The Rockies were the best team in baseball after the All Star Break. After flaming out against the Phillies, Rocktober ended yet again. After the 2009 season (unlike after the 2007 season), Rockies fans tended to face the Rockies future with a much more realistic outlook.

I have paid close attention to all the moves, signings, and rumors involving the Rockies this offseason. For the most part, what they have done has made sense both financially and in setting up the roster. Through all hte changes, my analysis of this upcoming season has stayed conservative and extremely realistic. Yet despite my conservative approach, I fail to see how this team will not be the most competitive Rockies team of all time.

Starting Lineup:
C - Chris Iannetta
1B - Todd Helton
2B - Clint Barmes
3B - Ian Stewart
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
LF - Carlos Gonzales
CF - Dexter Fowler
RF - Brad Hawpe

Bench:
Miguel Oliva
Jason Giambi
Seth Smith
Ryan Spilborghs
Melvin Mora
Eric Young Jr. (AAA)

With the exception of Todd Helton, we are looking at an entire starting roster of players under 31 years old. The average age of Iannetta, Stewart, Tulo, Gonzales, and Fowler is 24.4. All have shown that they can play at the major league level and all have shown flashes of dominance. The bench is deep, talented, and experienced. It is so deep that Eric Young Jr, who has shown that he can play well at the highest level, will probably be sent down to AAA to hone his craft at multiple positions. He will be the first player to get the call when someone gets hurt.

The addition of Oliva shows us two things, first that the Rockies have faith that Chris Iannetta will become an effective two-way catcher. We know his defense is there. His offense has not broken out like we have expected it to. Last year, this was due to the fact that he was playing in the World Baseball Classic before the season started. Granted, being able to play for the USA against the best the world has to offer was a great experience for him, but not being with his teammates and his hitting coaches through all of spring training took a toll on his swing. He is able to hit to all fields with power and is one of the most patient players at the plate. He will improve in 2010. Count on it.

Mora, Giambi, and Spilborghs provide a veteran presence. Mora can play multiple positions and is a legitimate right handed threat off the bench. Giambi handles a bat better than anyone in the clubhouse not named Todd and has a gigantic leadership presence in the locker room. His leadership was reason #1a why the Rockies brought him back for 2010. (For those keeping track, the golden thong was reason #1)

Starting Pitchers:
Ubaldo Jimenez
Aaron Cook
Jorge De La Rosa
Jeff Francis
Jason Hammel

Bullpen:
Huston Street (Closer)
Rafael Betancourt (Setup)
Manuel Corpas
Randy Flores
Matt Daley
Franklin Morales
Taylor Buchholz

Just like the position players, the story of the pitching is depth, experience, and potential. Cook, Street, Betancourt, and Francis provide the requisite veteran leadership. De La Rosa, Hammel, Corpas, Daley, Morales, and Buchholz are all loaded with potential. Ubaldo's ceiling is so high, I don't think anyone has cast their eyes upon it yet. Pretty exciting looking staff, right?

Luckily for the Rockies and for all Rockies fans, that is not even the best part of the pitching staff. It is hard to imagine anything more exciting than Ubaldo's 98 MPH fastball up and in on Manny Ramirez's face. The fact that the Rockies pitching staff is as deep and flexible as it has ever been. At some point during the season, someone is going to get hurt. Francis might not be fully recovered from his surgery. A relief pitcher could take a line drive off of his shin and break his leg (hey, it happened to Embree last year). When this happens, there are options. Tim Redding could be a stopgap, providing long starts and resting the bullpen. Greg Smith is a wildcard for the major league rotation. He has the stuff to make an impact, hopefully he stays healthy. The Rockies are also stacked at the AAA level. Christian Friedrich, Jhoulys Chacin, Greg Reynolds, Matt Belisle, and Esmil Rogers are all ready to slide into either the starting 5 or the bullpen if needed.

The Rockies have reached a critical point in their GeneRation R movement. We, as fans, no longer are happy to be dragged along during a mediocre season. We expect the Rockies to win and to win a lot. Let us all hope they can live up to our expectations.

Back to my earlier statement about the Rockies fielding their most competitive team ever - I truly believe that the Rockies of 2010 are a better overall team than they have been in the past. The Blake Street Bombers hit the cover off the ball, but they could not stop their opponents from doing the same. The 2007 World Series team rode both a fortunate wave of momentum and some timely surges in individual performances to ultimately crash in the WS. (The ridiculously long break between their last NLCS game and first WS game did not help either.) Last year's team needed to establish their identity post-Hurdle before they realized their full potential. This year is different. Their bats will be better, their pitching is deeper, their experience is greater, and their movement is upward. Rockies fans, prepare yourself for Colorado Rockies history. In 2010, the Rockies will clinch their first ever NL West crown. 

Regular Season Prediction: 92-70, 1st in the NL West.

Til the next post,
Mikey

Easing into Things

This was going to officially be the shortest break between posts that I have ever experienced until I hit a bit of a snag. I have been struggling with creating a watermark in Photoshop. While I don't think that my pictures are incredibly, I don't think I would appreciate people using them without some sort of credit. Hell, if Conan's 'Masturbating Bear' and 'Triumph the Insult Comic Dog' are considered intellectual property, I think a few shots from my camera can be considered property as well! Despite all the Photoshop problems, the truth is this: I did not lie, people. I really do plan on doing this much more frequently.

Let's get this frequent posting started with something that is near and dear to my heart: photography.

First the background. . . My father, as most people are aware, is a civil engineer like me. What people do not know about Papa Flick is that prior to becoming a civil engineer, his professional path approached a far different land. Papa Flick started his college education as a photojournalism major. In fact, he finished his first go-round of his college education as a photojournalism degree holder. Once he had the degree and he faced the cruel reality that not every photojournalism major was going to work for National Geographic, he went back to school to start down the nerdy path of civil engineering. Regardless, his love for photography stuck with him through his marriage, moves, kids, more moves, new companies, new states, new stages of life. Papa Flick's appreciation of this photographic craft rubbed off on me. Growing up, photography always appeared in our daily lives. Our bookshelves held books on Ansel Adams and Steve Tohari. We could not leave the house for even a day trip without Dad's 1970's Nikons in his camera bag. I have seen every volume of National Geographic. Ever. When he finished our basement, he made an office/darkroom in one corner so he could develop his black and white film. It is fairly easy to see how photography has ingrained itself into the essence of who I am.

When I finally had some money to burn, I got my own cameras and started shooting. I shoot with both a Nikon D60 and a Nikon N80. The N80 is always loaded with black and white film. I am a sucker for black and white and I am an old stick-in-the-mud, so I really like shooting the classic film camera. It adds a degree of difficulty as you don't know if you have the correct exposure until you process the film. With the digital camera, you just chimp at the LCD to see how it looks. Totally different approach. A majority of my shots are done with my D60. I am currently working on becoming a better photographer with the film camera. Hopefully we will be able to see marked improvement in my film frames in 2010.

Here are a couple of my pictures that I really enjoy. These were taken before I started aggressively relearning all my photography knowledge. As time passes, I will do a better job of noting the camera, lens, aperture, and shutter speed of each shot. I find that interesting and I'm sure there are several people who read this who would appreciate the technical side of the shots.

This first shot was taken on a work trip down to the Grand Canyon. We were doing a redesign of the road that goes out to Hermit Rest. On our trip out there, I had the work camera (which is really a crappy camera) and we walked the entire project, which included a bike/ped path along the canyon rim. Walking in the cold fog, I came across this fallen tree and had to take a picture. Not really related to work, but I am glad I stopped.

This next picture was taken on our trip out to Washington state last November. We were visiting some friends in Bellingham, WA for the weekend. They took us on the ferry from Anacortes out to the San Juan Islands. The ferry ride started in the afternoon and we reached the islands as the sun started to set. I took numerous pictures of the sun setting around the islands and this one is my favorite one. If you are my friend on Facebook, you have already seen it as it is my profile picture.

The last picture I want to share is one that was a complete spur of the moment picture, but I enjoy it for many reasons. For Sarah and my first wedding anniversary, we went up to Estes Park, CO for a weekend to stay in a bed and breakfast. During our stay, we managed to sample all the local flavors of beer and wine. We started late in the morning by going to the first winery. We were told they opened at 10:00. We got there at 10:50 and the sign said that the winery would open at 11:00. To kill a few minutes, we just sat in the car and chatted. I had the camera and I was playing around with it. I focused on the Rockies guy and snapped a picture. Maybe it is because I am a Rockies fan or maybe it is because I was enjoying myself with my wife of a year or maybe it is actually just a fun photograph, but I absolutely love this picture. Go Rockies!!

Phew, now that the first one is out, the rest should be incredibly easy!

Til the next post,

Mikey

New Year, New Posts

Twenty-ten is now here and my blog still sucks. Sorry, people. My suckiness in blogging has resulted in several hours spent contemplating what my plans are for this site. Obviously, my posts have been infrequent and my free time (like everyone else's) has been too valuable to put any effort into this thing. Through all the pondering, my mind kept floating back to the same resounding thought - I need to invest my time into one of the few creative outlets I have. I need this blog.

I work in an office full of engineers 40+ hours a week. There are 150 left-brain, logical-thinking, detail oriented, over-analytical people surrounding me for a majority of my time during the day. Please don't take that the wrong way. My coworkers are awesome and I truly enjoy working with them on a daily basis. Couple my logic and mathematics driven career with my natural left-brain leanings and you could quickly apply that engineer label. But just like that ogre, there are many more layers to that Mike Flick onion. For example, my love of art in numerous forms. I have books of sketches and drawings and doodles that I have done over the years. I love photography, both seeing and doing. I enjoy writing, despite how much I thought I despised it when I was being graded by Mr. Hilbert and Ms. Miles. I could sit on my couch and watch film after film-noir after artsy film and call that a successful day. Hell, a musical from 1952 has been and always will be one of my favorite movies of all time. And they sing in that movie. And dance! In the rain! (The engineering part of my brain just exploded.) I think you all can understand what I am saying. While I parade as one a majority of the time, I am not completely an engineer. And this blog is exactly what I need in order to placate that imaginative and creative portion of my brain.

Ask one of the writers from the Cru Jones Society website or one of the hundreds of contributors to the SB Nation sites about why they consistently take some of their own time to write on a blog about something that 95% of the world couldn't care less about. I know for a fact that the CJS guys are not in it for the money. They have their day jobs. They write because they love it. The same is true for me. I love to write on my own terms and I hope to keep my motivation from hitting a writer's block in 2010 and beyond. Thanks for sticking with me through the incredibly slow times!

Just to get some stuff out there, this is what I anticipate for 2010 and this blog:

• Sarah and I have started a baby blog at the request of several of our friends. I am not sure exactly how this will play out, but Sarah and I will both be adding stuff as baby C.A.S.H. grows inside and outside of the womb. Check it out here: http://flingstroms.blogspot.com
• Art, art, and more art. I plan on postings on everything from my own photography and drawings to public art displays to Garfunkel.
• Anyone who knows me knows my love of sports. I hope to do some more in-depth writing about interesting or intriguing things in the world of sports.

There are a couple other ideas that are floating around in my big ol' dome, so the plan is to make this blog better for everyone involved - more creativity and expression from me, more to read for you. Let's cross our fingers and see how it goes!

Til the next post,
Mikey

Penance

This is how my life goes: I Wear Flickerbockers becomes a Failblog in the truest sense of the word. I run into Jonny X at a social event. He assails me for having a terrible blog. I am remorseful and post another entry into my blog. One month (or more) passes. Repeat. I really need more frequent impetuses (or is it impeti?) than the occasional run-in with Jon. I'm pretty sure that an eternal inspiration to keep me writing is coming.

In case you have not heard, Sarah and I are expecting a child. That's right, another generation of Tom Flicks is starting. Since you are currently reading this blog, you most likely know Sarah and I personally. This means that you probably understand how excited and pumped up we are for this next stage of our lives. We both love kids and despite the fact that it took a few months longer than we had hoped, we are right on schedule. Obviously, we have known for a while (December 4th is 11 weeks). We waited as long as possible to tell people, with the terrible possibility of miscarriage always looming. Now that we have passed the 8 week appointment where we saw the ultrasound of the little heart beat (meaning the chance of miscarriage was less than 1%), we feel comfortable spreading the good news. We even kept it quiet for a couple more weeks to make sure to tell our families personally. Needless to say, we have a few excited future aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

During all of my mom's pregnancies with me and my siblings, my parents called the in-utero baby "Herman". Sarah's grandfather, who she was incredibly close to, always called her "Squirt". Sarah and I have continued these traditions, referring to the little kumquat as both Herman and Squirt. It also has been lovingly given the names "Baby Arkansas" and "Carlos". I can honestly say that I have never envisioned my child as a Carlos.

Despite the myriad of names, the little guy/girl is due on June 25th. Sarah is thankful that the baby will be out before the real hot part of the summer kicks in. I am not especially happy about Sarah being out for spring and summer softball. Hopefully she can return for the fall season! But such is the price that one must pay for a new little "8 pounds 6 ounce newborn infant [Carlos] in your golden, fleece diapers, with your curled-up, fat, balled-up little fists pawin' at the air." (I like the baby version the best!)

So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go along this completely new path. We appreciate all the love and support!

Love,
Mike

Twitter, Day 24

On September 1st, I stepped into a vast new technological world that I surprisingly had not previously dabbled in: Twitter. Like any person with any iota of technological knowledge, I thought I knew what Twitter was. I thought it was like Facebook, except only status updates. Despite this seemingly simple setup, Twitter was the next big thing. It seemed like more and more of my friends were using the service. Celebrities, athletes, companies, and publications were all advertising their Twitter feeds. There had to be something inside this electronic world that would cause such a phenomenal response. After a quick realization that in the worst case, I could just close my account, I stepped off the ledge. Mike Flick became @flickerbock. As I signed up, I still had some doubts about Twitter in general. My biggest concern in taking the plunge was that I would get no personal value out of the service.
As with any social networking device, the first thing you do when you sign up is allow the service to check your email contacts to see who is already using the service. This makes it incredibly easy to find the people you most likely would like to follow. It amazed me how many of my friends and family already had accounts. A large portion of those people obviously had not touched any Twitter related things for some time (or ever). But they were still on there. My Twitter life had begun.

Once I found my friends, I started exploring. One name always comes up in conversations about Twitter - Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk). He is easily one of the most well publicized Tweeters out there, having embraced the 24-hour connection to his fans. Plus, I had heard of his Twitter battle with CNN (@cnnbrk) where he beat CNN to 1 million followers. As an unofficial spokesperson for Twitter, I quickly added him to my list of 'followed'. I had my token celebrity.

After that, it was just an exercise in wandering through this digital collection of people I respect, enjoy, or admire (or all three except for CJS!). Robby Gordon (@RobbyGordon), Penn Jillette (@pennjillette), the Cru Jones Society (@CruJonesSociety), Steve Fairchild (@CoachFairchild), and others.

Now that I have established my list of people, we need to address the big concern going into this adventure - I needed to have some sort of personal gain from these tweets. Amazingly, personal gain was easy and fast.

My requisite personal gain came from all directions. This venue allows you to catch passing glances into others' lives. By posting their status, by sending a picture of their current location, by sharing a link to a website that discusses a subject they are truly passionate about, or by just asking a simple question looking for feedback, I was able to see what life is like for that person in real time. This seems like an appropriate time for an example. Andrew Schaefer (@andyschaef) is a friend of mine that lives literally a mile or so away from my house. How often to Schaefer and I see each other? Maybe twice a year. Yet through Twitter, we are able to communicate about our lives, our work, and our fun, making Twitter worthwhile.

Ok, enough with the touchy-feely connection crap (although it is true). The best part about Twitter is Bill Simmons (@sportsguy33). Some of you may know him as 'The Sports Guy' on ESPN.com. As an avid follower of his column, his presence on Twitter was a driving force in getting me started. And it was totally worth it. The SG is easily one of the busiest Tweeters I follow. His Tweets are funny, link to some crazy stuff, and are always entertaining. My favorite thus far came this week after the Dolphins controlled the football for 45 minutes in their loss to the Colts: 'My postgame question for Tony Sparano: Tony, that's one of the worst coaching jobs I've ever seen. I don't have a question.'

Another SG Tweet during the Jets/NE game: 'I'm not saying they're babying Mark Sanchez today, but he's sitting in a high chair when the Jets D is on the field.'

Will Twitter ever become greater than sitting down with a buddy over beers? Never. But it has become a great way to keep connected to people that you don't necessarily see all the time. If you have thought about joining Twitter, I would encourage it. And while you're on there, look me up (@flickerbock). Hopefully you enjoy yourself out there.

'Til the next post,
Mike

I Love My Godmother

This morning I received an email from my Aunt Mary, who is my mom's sister and my godmother. This email is a thing of beauty and it needed to be shared.

Pinocchio, Snow White, and Superman are out for a stroll in town one day. As they walk, they come across a sign: "Contest: Looking for the most beautiful woman in the world." I'm entering!" said Snow White. After the contest she comes out and they ask her, "Well, how'd ya do?" "First Place!" said Snow White.They continue walking and they see a sign: "Contest: Looking for the strongest man in the world." "I'm entering," says Superman. After the contest he returns and they ask him, "How did you make out?" "First Place," answers Superman. "Was there any doubt?"They continue walking until they see yet another sign: "Contest! Who is the greatest liar in the world?" Naturally, Pinocchio enters. After the contest he returns with tears in his eyes. "What happened?" they asked. "I came in 2nd; who the hell is this Brett Favre, anyway?" asked Pinocchio.


I should state that my Aunt Mary is a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and an AVID Packer fan. Good fun all around.

A win, 1/3 of an inning, a putout and no pitches?

Last night we had yet another Guy's Night Out game for this season. The game was a good one, despite the fact that the Nationals are the absolute worst in the league. Jason Hammel didn't pitch very well, the Rockies didn't hit or field well, and the Nationals played like. . . well. . . the Natinals. The game ended up being tied at 4 at the end of the 4th inning. The excitement started later.

In the 8th inning, Alan Embree entered the game with 2 outs and Austin Kearns on first base. Embree, a lefty, toed the rubber, looked toward home plate, then fired a bullet to Todd Helton at first. Kearns was caught, started running toward 2nd. Helton dropped the ball, picked it up, chased after Kearns, who had fallen in the baseball. Kearns then got up and started going toward 2nd again. Helton tossed the ball to Tulowitzki, who was covering 2nd. Tulo chased Kearns back to 1st, tossed the ball to Embree, who had joined the pickle. Embree then tagged Kearns for the final out. It ends up being scored as a 1-3-6-1 putout. Inning over. The Rockies get a run in the bottom of the 8th, Huston Street comes in and sits 3 batters down and the Rockies get the W. Winning pitcher for the Rockies? Alan Embree. The guy who threw exactly zero pitches. Pretty cool thing to see.

After the game, we were trying to figure out if that had happened before. Thankfully, the Rockies website had the answer to our question. The last time a pitcher won a game without throwing a pitch was May 1 of 2003 (B.J. Ryan being the pitcher of record). There have not been any other instances of this happening in the last 23 years.

Needless to say, it was pretty cool to see in person. I think the best part of the story is what Jim Tracy said to Embree when he walked off the field. "You're done. Do you think you can go tomorrow?" Awesome. Hopefully he didn't have to ice his arm after such a heavy workload!

Change of Scenery

During yet another meet-up with E Dagger/Jonny X this past weekend, I was chastised for having a crappy blog. And I unfortunately had to agree with him. My frequency of posts has drastically reduced to zero per week. Alas, it is time to fire this machine back up again. I'm back!

First an update on the life and times of the Flicks:

• The big news is the newest addition to the Flick family - John and Sara were married on Friday the 19th. It was a crazy weekend, but we had a blast. We got to see a whole lot of family members from both sides. Plus we bonded with John's family, so that was good.
  
• Sara and John went to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
• They got to hang out on the beach.
• I was not on a beach. Boo.
  
• Softball is in full swing. I'm only playing 3 nights a week these days.
  
• The basement is so close to done I can almost see it finished. Only a few more hung doors, some quick touch-ups and some shelves in the closets and nous avons fini!
• Harvey got his manhood removed on the 30th. Nothing is worse than being a male taking your male dog to get neutered. The look in their eyes is so terrible. They know what is about to happen and they completely take it out on you.
• He also has been so lethargic and sad faced since he got home. I feel terrible.
  
• But the good news is NO MORE PUPPIES!!
  
• FYI - We had Jessica's (Sarah's sister) dog for a night and Harvey may or may not have knocked her up. We are still waiting for little Mia to start getting bigger. . .
• I finally have entered the smart phone arena. I got the G1 from T-Mobile. It is the Google phone that is made by HTC. I have never been happier with a phone. It's like the iPhone except you don't have to pay for every tiny little thing.
  
• Now I will never be able to go back to a regular phone.
• We went camping over the 4th weekend up at Boyd Lake State Park. Not a bad place to camp. The only real problem I had with it was that the campsites are pretty close together.
  
• We ended up taking the dogs. Mostly because Harvey had just been fixed, but also because Gizmo is a sissy. When he heard fireworks last year, he refused to go outside and do his business for a week. We figured that Matthew didn't want to deal with all the potential dragging of Gizmo to the backyard and/or interior pooping that might go on. Plus we figured Matthew would rather camp instead of watch our dogs and house.
• The dogs were actually great on this trip. The only problem was their need to take care of business at 5:45 every morning. Lame.

Now for some other random thoughts:

• Robert, Natalie, Sarah, Chew, and I went to Dickey's a few weeks ago. Robert enlightened me that day. He explained that they have free ice cream for patrons and they have a soda machine. Put those two together with the awesome giant yellow Dickey's cups, and you have delicious root beer floats.
  
• All the times I had been in there,I had never done that.
  
• I always had just loaded up on BBQ and ice cream.
• Robert is wise beyond his years.
• The Rockies ended the statistical first half of the season with a record of 42-39. Not bad considering the terrible start under the watch of Clint Hurdle.
• Speaking of Hurdle, there are times in my life where I just love being right (all the time). I'm glad that I was right about Hurdle. Nice guy, terrible manager.
• I will stand by the thought that the 2007 Rockies got to the World Series DESPITE Hurdle, not BECAUSE of him.
• Congratulations to Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis for their selection to the NL All Star team. They are both extremely deserving this year.
• O'Dowd certainly got the Vizcaino for Marquis trade right.
  
• I find it funny that the Rockies are in the hunt for the Wild Card, the Nuggets are coming off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, and the Broncos and Avs are rebuilding. When was the last time we could say that? Never?
• I have decided that I hate the heat. With heat, there is nothing you can do but deal with it. When it is cool or cold out, you can always put on another layer. High temperatures in the high 70's or low 80's are perfect for summer.
• Some math for you: Snow > 100 degree weather.
  
• If you have not heard of or have not seen the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge, you need to check it out. It is (a) going to be cool looking, (b) great for alleviating traffic over the dam, and (c) did I mention that it is going to be freaking cool looking? (It just so happens that my company did the design of this bridge, so that is a plus as well.)
• Sad to see that Steve 'Air' McNair was found dead in his apartment. Also sad to see that his wife had to find out about his mistress after a fatal shooting involving her husband.
  

I leave you with a cartoon from Steve Moore I found on my desk one morning. Hilarious!

Til the next post,
Mike