Music

The fashion of the steampunk genre

Within the underworld of media is a genre that has come to be known as Steampunk. Appearing in books, music, movies and even clothing, this recently emerging trend is a world unto its own. More than that, it’s several worlds, depending on who you talk to and what questions you ask. The phenomenon of steampunk can sometimes be so vague that even the people who participate in it have a hard time coming up with a solid definition. In an attempt to at least somewhat explain the trend, I've looked a bit at what people have to say concerning its fashion statement.

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Medical marijuana up in smoke?

Attitudes toward marijuana use in the U.S. have been shifting for generations. Since it blew its way into the fringes in the 1960s, it has drifted into the crevices and lungs of mainstream culture. It's not uncommon today to see or hear marijuana references on prime time television or mainstream music. In fact, 18 states and the District of Columbia legally allow medical marijuana use.

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World Roma Festival Khamoro

Roma, or Romani, are a people who have been around throughout the centuries. They have no country to call their own and traditionally wandered from place to place, yet they are still united. Some call them gypsies and others have names for the Roma that are much less attractive. Over the years and into modern times they’ve been subject to racism and discrimination the likes of which few people have been forced to suffer. The Roma live in many places around Europe and nowadays call many countries their home, but still their culture is as misunderstood as it ever was.

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So is this an mp3 player or a computer?

This holiday season, I was the recipient of a brand new iPod touch. Though regarded as an mp3 player, the new iPod (as well as most in the touch series) is more like having a miniature tablet in your pocket. Having never had one before, the hours spent downloading apps, syncing my Facebook, e-mail, iTunes, etc. were all much enjoyed. The sheer magnitude of such a small device was mind boggling to me.

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Jason Bay chat thread

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=== Talking Points ===

1. Jason Bay is, as Jeff Sullivan aptly put it, "another team's Chone Figgins." His article is perfect, with a capital P.

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2. Bay is the equivalent of a non-roster invitee, a Kevin Millwood type, you bring him in to see what's left in the tank ... and it is entirely possible that his recent struggles are tied to shoulder problems. Especially in terms of his Power Index.

Kevin Youkilis: Filing the Short Form

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Jon Paul Morosi - he of "Ichiro Interview on Page A-1 of the P-I" fame - reports that five teams have talked to Kevin Youkilis. Among them, the Mariners.

You know what the conditions were regarding SSI's interest in Nick Swisher, right? That he get exactly 50% of the 7 years bandied about, and that he be the secondary player of the offseason, second to Gordon or Butler or Stanton or whoever.

Well, applying that logic, where would Youkilis fit into the picture? As the tertiary, quarternary or dingleberry? Anyway, the discussion revolves around him in a bridge season, if Smoak's gone, whether he could be one of those Scrubs finds that key a Cinderella season. Nobody's talking about him as The Big Add.

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The arguments against Youkilis are simple and, at first sight, devastating. He's age 33 turning 34, has always been brittle, and his glide path down looks convincing:

Age	OPS+
29-31	144 to 157
32	123
33	99
34	You'd be buying the next number in this sequence

Cue video of Billy Idol's "White Wedding" with hammers pounding nails into a coffin, to the beat of the music. Bamp-bamp BAMP BAMP.

Are there any arguments on the other side of this question? Could Youkilis' surface numbers be deceiving? Should the Mariners move Justin Smoak in another deal, would Youkilis be a feasible 1- or 2-year bridge man?

"What Can We Do About These Felix Games?"

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G-Money sez,

It's a really big year for this team. I would not be surprised to see an extension for Felix, but if I were him I'd want to see what kind of team we deliver to him for the '13 season before he inks his name to that line. I want Felix's Mariners to compete for WS titles going forward, not basement standings. We've acquired a LOT of young guys. Time to move some of em for the RIGHT player(s) to enable us to take that next leap.

He's been sitting there in the middle of 93-loss seasons, and ESPN asks him on SportsCenter about going somewhere else, and he practically bursts into tears at the suggestion. This is a guy for whom comfort and relationships are obviously number one ... and it's not like $20M isn't more than he can spend...

You'd think he'd be sick and tired of losing 2-1 games, of going out and battling his heart out and having zero to show for it. Game after game, year after year, he goes out and performs miracles, and then gets kicked in the gut at the end of the three hours. You'd think he'd have a quitting point.

But, inexplicably, Felix just doesn't seem to have that frustration point, and that's one more gigantic PLUS for Zduriencik as he shapes the final ballclub...

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At field level, Jack's got to be near tears, so to speak, watching all those Felix masterpieces getting paint-splattered by vandals at the last second every time. I bet you that was part of what came up in the discussions to change the fences. What can we do about these Felix games.

Carlos Triunfel: bottom o' th innin'

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Carlos Triunfel has a long swing, meaning that he wrist-hinges the bat head way around so that it aims back at the pitcher. This of course means that the bat has farther to travel to get into the hitting area. It also means, in theory, that he hits the ball harder than average.

He sinks his weight gracefully down onto the incoming energy and locks his eyes onto it decisively.

His bat launch and throughswing, as well as his arc-y one hand swing plane, are solidly in key with the Alex Rodriguez school of music. His torque, balance, and power are all pretty to watch.

The problem is that, after he winds that bat so menacingly, he then decelerates the bat into the hitting zone. This results in a flat, static, lifeless swing. I mean, you can see it in the "thonk" of the base hit shown in the video, but the Mainframe was left with this impression on every Triunfel swing.

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And why might a 21-year-old* shortstop be indecisive about attacking ML pitches? If you can't connect the dots on that one, we'll refer you to ... well, the Barclays Premier League. While you're trying new sports, you might as well try the most popular one!

'Dizziness Due to Success'

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... His fall from grace, or his fall from other-dimensional status, at least...

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Q: So the only sanctuary for my sanity right now is that Felix must be tipping his pitches.

Q: Yeah, what's up with Felix getting knocked around three starts in a row?

A. What's up is that Felix' Rock 'n Roll' Fantasy got him overconfident and he began to think of himself as bulletproof. Point of order: after two innings tonight he'd thrown 23 strikes and 6 balls. Here's his strike zone plot.

Bill Krueger, who is a very informative pitching analyst, one with more overall light bulbs on than you or I, jumped on the postgame and instantly delivered the goods. "Felix is a very confident pitcher. He believes in his pitches ... against aggressive teams like Toronto, he's got to go off the plate, over their heads, take advantage of their approach." The Oakland A's were similarly stocked with razor-sharp lefty batters just waiting for strikes they knew they were going to get.

Krueger accurately supplied, "He's making what I call a lot of arm-side mistakes." In other words, Felix has a tendency to kind of spin/sail the ball out-and-over against LH. Against lefties, Felix' dumb little two-seam fastball -- his only Achilles' heel -- fades right out onto the outer 1/3 of the plate and they are CHEATING onto that location.

As a side point, the Jays' 40-homer righty, Edwin Encarnacion, happens to have a rare hot zone for a RH: he likes the ball right on his hands. He leans back in 1970's style, swwaaaaats the bat through real quick and barrels it up. He took Carter Capps deep too in the same game - 15 feet foul. Gorgeous snake-fast bat.

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Felix' changeup dropped right into the hot zone and we were treated to the unpossible sight of a Felix Hernandez dry spitter getting launched, what was it, 440 feet?

Great hitter, great pitcher, Hitter guessed exactly right, Pitcher threw a great pitch but right where Hitter likes it.... video game battle of the titans. Boom time.

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How Good MIGHT Felix Be Now?

Q. Is Felix just on a hot roll? Is it even possible for a pitcher at such a high level to get better?

A. If you just joined us, pitchers' careers aren't tethered to the slow, gradual assimilation of pitches, pitch release points, pitch spin patterns, and pitch sequences. Hitters' perceptions improve slowly, steadily, and predictably. Pitching is a different sport.

Sure, excellent pitchers evolve to leap levels, sometimes three levels. Pedro Martinez at the ages of 22, 23, and 24 was a pretty good pitcher, 120 ERA+, and his Three True Outcomes were 8+ strikeouts, 3 walks, and 0.8 homers per game. Then at age 25 he figured something out, and became Pedro. He ran 200 ERA+'s, with 11 strikeouts, 1+ walks, and 0.5 homer rates.

Curt Schilling spent the six years from 1995 to 2000 as an All-Star level pitcher, ERA+ of 130, and K:BB ratios of 3:1 or 4:1. Then from 2001-05 he morphed from All-Star to the game's most dominating pitcher, except for his teammate Randy Johnson, ERA+ of 150 and K:BB ratios of like 316:31 one year. You could find lots of these guys.

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Q. Supposing Felix, twelve games ago, reallllly got good. What's the reason?

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