Health

K-Pax UP With a Bullet

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It gets harder and harder to write for your feebs. I'm trying to imagine one or two of you, who doesn't already know everything we're going to say before we say it. Ah, well ... I was lookin' for a job when I got this one. There's always the Armed Forces Day blogging circuit.

:- )

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Yes, We Know He's Not a Prospect, But ...

You know the most fundamental question about prospect evaluation? = how much you want to weight UPSIDE versus CHANCE OF SUCCESS. And that's a tougher question than it looks, because ... suppose that Nick Hill has a 90% chance of being Charlie Furbush, but Tyler Pike has a 30% chance of being Gio Gonzalez, or even (in the fantasy scenario) James Paxton. ...Do you want a 2-in-10 lotto ticket at a star, or an 8-in-10 lotto ticket at a regular?

Dog-friendly restaurants

For someone who does not own a dog, I am surprisingly knowledgeable about the dog-friendly restaurant situation in Washington State. I have a friend with a rather large dog who goes everywhere with her, and we often meet for lunch or dinner.

She has since had her dog certified as a Therapy Dog, complete with a special vest he can wear to signal to other diners that he is allowed to be there. (Let us not discuss the rampant abuse of this program.) Even so, we still usually stick to dog-friendly restaurants.

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Weekly Medley: Violence as a family tradition

Did you know that violence against children is twice the rate of spousal abuse—and that does not include spanking? Children die every day at the hands of their own care givers. I learned these facts and more startling information, including the long-term health problems due to violence, in early childhood in this TED Talk that my friend S. shared with me. Please watch it and share it with your fellow parents. Bennett also shares some great ways to help kids self-regulate without punishment.

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7 Reasons to Root for Erasmo Ramirez

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Reason 1

The last 710-ESPN Hot Stove League. They had an out-of-town guest on, who remembers the name ... he relayed a funny little incident about Erasmo.

"It was one of the first starts of Ramirez' career. Chili Davis was at the plate. Ramirez blew him down and Chili went back to the dugout. He told the bench, 'Guys, we have absolutely no chance.' Ramirez threw a lockdown."

From the CF camera, he looks so underwhelming - Greg Maddux overwhelming. You forget to invert the camera and imagine it from the ump's point of view.

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Reason 2

BaseballHQ on Erasmo, going into this season:

Spring triceps issue lingered, ending possible breakout season before it could begin. Showed, in 5 August starts, what could've been (1.11 WHIP, 116 Base Performance Value). He still owns those 2011 and 2012 skills (93 and 102 Base Performance Values, 50 being average-solid), so with good health, there's plenty of roto profit here ... UP: 3.50 ERA

The simplest way to beat average fantasy baseball owners: Just avoid being impressionable. Just make yourself a bunch of "hot list" Post-Its that identify players who had lousy stats last year, for no important reason. Beginners just go off last year's stats.

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Reason 3

Bill James' research.

Are potatoes really a complete food?

Here's something I have seen bandied about various social media outlets recently: the claim that potatoes are a complete food. That if you eat nothing but potatoes along with some dairy (like butter), you will be AOK indefinitely. As much as I love a good mash or tot, I was skeptical of these claims, to say the least.

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Dental Health Month

Did you know that February is Dental Health Month? In honor of your pearly whites, here are some things to do to celebrate.

Tell teeth riddles. Remember Bilbo’s riddle in The Hobbit?

Schedule an appointment with your dentist. Indy’s new job includes insurance so we are all making appointments this spring! Don’t have a dentist? Make a point to find one you love this month.

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Abraham Almonte, CF

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Q. What's this stuff about Almonte having a real high ceiling?

A. Mojician sez,

One manager said of Almonte: "I think he's going to be a major league every day center fielder and a guy who can go to multiple all star games". The guy who said that was John Stearns, the new Mariners 3B coach. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/09/12/2781492/abraham-almontes-sobrie.... Let us not be surprised if Ackley doesn't win the center field gig.

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What Stearns was thinking of, I believe, was (1) his opinion that Almonte has a plus glove in CF along with (2) a Boggs/Gwynn/Ichiro type of plate coverage. The plate coverage does make Almonte look like a VERY tough out sometimes.

Multiple All Star games, eh. Imagine what Almonte looked like in the box? Like he could hit absolutely anything.

Q. Wade Boggs? Ichiro? Huh?

A. Take a look at this base hit. Almonte sits on his back leg in Wade Boggs "Weight and Wait" style, taking a LONG look at the ball. Then, despite the fact that Almonte is leaning up the 1B line (guessing inside location), he is able to take a high-and-up fastball hard the other way. Remember Ichiro doing that?

Almonte hit .300/.400/.500 at Tacoma last year, looking at times like he was overmatching those fringe-MLB pitchers. I imagine that's what Stearns was seeing.

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Monday Medley: Mighty Girl Valentine books

Over at A Mighty Girl, there is a list of great Valentine’s Day books up for age appropriate books that feature a strong female heroine. Be sure to check it out even if you have boys because boys need to read about mighty girls, too! We just started our Mighty Girls book club for the semester and I think it was off to a great start. Wood Sprite usually has a hard time “sharing” me with a class, and she did during this one, too, so I’m hoping that we can get past it.

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All About: Milk alternatives

When trying to choose a milk alternative, there are two main factors to consider: why are you switching from milk, and what are you using it for?

There are several milk alternatives on the market, more every day, and they are becoming much more widely available. The extra choices are great, but they can make grocery shopping a bit confusing.

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Dark chocolate: How dark do you want to get?

Over the years I have gradually moved from thinking that dark chocolate was yuck-blucch-icky to enjoying it more than milk chocolate. Once you get into dark chocolate (it's an acquired taste, like coffee or whiskey), milk chocolate seems insipid by comparison.

Of course, being on a very strict low-carb diet has really put a crimp into my chocolate fanaticism. Until recently, when a friend introduced me to a high-end, 100% cacao dark chocolate.

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