BigEdWalsh

Jim batted .253 in June after a miserable May (.221). He rode a pretty hot bat into July batting .324 in his last 10 games. Jim's batted .292 at home for the Dash but only .231 on the road. Overall he's hitting .263 with 15 doubles, 1 triple and 8 homers. With runners on base he hits .290; runners in scoring position .338; but with the bases empty just .238. Originally an outfielder he's playing first base these days.

Wow. Those stats are sick. Time for more Burdie love on Soxtalk.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 5, 2009 -> 09:37 AM) Becks is just movin on up Which is SOOO good to see!

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jul 3, 2009 -> 10:38 AM) I've never heard of a grape pie. The Worlds Greatest Grape Pie by Lynn Case We park on the outskirts of town—necessary on Grape Festival Weekend when the usual population of twelve hundred swells to one hundred thousand in tiny Naples, at the southern tip of Canandaigua Lake. As we went our way downtown past purple fire hydrants and the blandishments of 250 craft vendors, we pass up opportunities to purchase grape kuchen, filled grape cookies, grape jelly, grape cheesecake, grape bread, frozen grape custard, and grape sundaes. I’m saving myself for the main event, that hour when I’ll watch a team of judges choose "the world’s greatest grape pie." Irene Bouchard is universally recognized as the mother of Naples’ grape pies, if not their actual inventor. In the early 1960s, Al Hodges, owner of the Redwood Restaurant, decided to introduce a novelty to lure customers: pies made from abundant local grapes, using a recipe he learned from an old German woman in the area. Soon people were coming from miles around, asking to buy whole pies to take home. Hodges and his chef could not handle the demand and called on Mrs. Bouchard, who lived across the street and had opened a small baking business in her home. By the 1980s, she was buying two and a quarter tons of grapes every fall and turning out six thousand pies, baked twelve at a time in her regular oven and an auxiliary wall oven. At eighty-four, she now bakes only for a few favored customers, but she has inspired other local cooks to follow in her footsteps. Most bake just during grape season—about seven weeks during the fall—and sell their products from stands in front of their homes. Others, though, freeze enough filling that they can sell pies year-round, and some have even begun to sell over the Internet. It is estimated that twenty thousand pies change hands during Grape Festival Weekend alone. I meet one of the younger generation of bakers, Jennifer Makepeace, when I stop by her stand—or to be more accurate, one of her stands. Winner of last year’s contest, she has set up booths at each end of Main Street, both with signs proclaiming her status as world’s greatest grape pie maker. When Jennifer won her prize last year, she had been making her own pies for only two years, though she had been helping her mother make filling for seven years. She tells me she is hoping to sell 600 pies this season. The next day I learn that after selling 855 pies the first day of the festival, she pressed everyone in her family into service and made 125 more that night for day two. There is no one correct way to make a grape pie. Irene thickens her filling with tapioca; Jennifer uses flour. Most bakers prefer Concord grapes, but sometimes they fall back on the thicker-skinned but earlier-ripening wordens. Some even use the green, champagne-flavored Delawares. The grape pulp is always boiled to loosen the seeds. Usually that’s the only cooking the grapes get until they bake in the pie. Some bakers, though, prefer to cook filling ingredients together on the stove before putting them into the crust, a step that gives their pies an almost jamlike consistency. Even though they may be perfectly willing to share their recipes, the bakers of Naples have trouble letting outsiders in on the secret of the perfect pie because they never bake just one: they prepare pies in quantity. After much consideration, Irene Bouchard worked out the following for me: 5 1/2 cups Concord grapes, washed about 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the grapes 1 tablespoon tapioca Pastry for a 9-inch pie Pop the skins off the grapes by pinching them at the end opposite the stem; set them aside. Put the pulp (without water) into a heavy pan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil 5 to 6 minutes. Put it through a colander or food mill to remove the seeds. Pour the hot pulp over the skins and let the mixture sit for 5 hours. ("This colors the pulp and makes it pretty.") Add the sugar and tapioca, then pour the mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter. Put on the top crust. (Irene uses a "floating" top crust—a circle of dough slightly smaller than the top of the pie—because it is easier than crimping top and bottom together and it also makes a pretty purple ring around the edge.) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook 20 minutes more until the crust is browned and the juice begins to bubble up. Now it’s time to make my way into the judging room where nineteen numbered pieces of pie await three teams of two judges. Pie crusts and fillings are each to be judged on appearance, texture, and taste. The judging is blind; only one person knows who made each pie, and she’s not telling. Slowly the judges circle the table. There are no chefs or cooking instructors among them, just local people who like pie. For a while, all I hear are snatches of conversation: "too corn-starchy ... too perfect and commercial-looking ... this tastes like Smuckers ... it’s too jammy ... that filling was gnarly." Now the contest takes a high-tech turn, as the tallier sprawls on the floor with his laptop to total the ballots on a specially designed spreadsheet. While he works, I sneak tastes of what remains on some of the plates. Good call: that filling is indeed gnarly! This year a clear winner has emerged—no need for the taste-off that has settled some past contests. I peek at the name and am delighted to see that it is Jennifer again, then head back to the car with a sack of grape tarts, a small loaf of grape bread, and—of course—a grape pie.

My mom makes a concord grape pie that is out of this world. A good homemade banana cream pie is also very good, especially when warm, pretty much right out of the oven.

There's a chance I might move to Seattle. I'd like to move to Alaska, but christ....no baseball!! Seems like it would be otherwise a cool place to live.

Nunez was really good in relief, 2.2 inn., 1 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks and a well deserved Win.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 08:35 PM) CJ does it again. Double to knock in a run with two outs in the 9th. 4-4. Flowers intentionally walked. Viciedo has a chance to be the hero. I love that guy.

QUOTE (IamPabloOzuna @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 12:28 PM) The majority of fans at Cubs games are young post-college folks who moved to the north side after they graduated. They fill wrigley everyday because its a party. If the White Sox had been playing at wrigley all those years it would be the same deal. Its a product of the neighborhood and its surroundings (highly residential, filled with mostly white, educated young adults with plenty of money to spend). Bingo! We have another winner. Notice MexSoxFan#1 said the trend started with the free tv vs. cable thing. The points you bring up are true enough too, but I disagree with the Sox playing in Wrigley theory, besides that's just plain silly.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 11:55 AM) The Cubs started becoming more popular because all their games were on free tv while the White Sox went to cable in the early 80's. I read an article where it showed the Sox and Cubs were pretty much even in attendance thru the decades until the 80s when the Cubs started outdrawing us consistently,more exposure=more popularity. Bingo! We have a winner.

Here's what I feel about Wise: BOOOOOOOO!!!! That said, I would never boo a White Sox player at a game, but c'mon he sucks and I want him to go away and stay away.

Ya gotta love interleague games. Buehrle homers. Clayton Richard scores the winning run. Thome attempts to bunt (for a hit!). Weirdness...hell yes! Interesting to note also, Thornton is now tied for second on the staff for most wins.

HELL YES!!!

Gotta be the worst organization in pro sports.

A mighty lineup to be sure.

Papa Johns >>>>>>>> Pizza Hut = Little Ceasars >>> Dominos Papa Johns wins out for me if only for the garlic sauce and peppers that come with the pizza. But frankly I would rather spend a little bit more money and get GOOD pizza than to eat pizza from any of these.

Jacob Wilson Right-Handed Pitcher - RHP Height: 6-0 Weight: 170 Senior Bats: R Throws: R Previous Affiliations Richard King HS Blinn JC Courtesy: New Mexico State University Junior 2008: Wilson pitched in eight games for the Aggies during the 2008 season. In 24 innings, Wilson struck out 23 batters, while he gave up 33 earned runs and nine home runs during the season. Wilson only allowed two hits and one run while pitching against the Lobos. He pitched in five innings each against Fresno State (3/10) and Panhandle State (4/15) helping the Aggies to victory in both games. Junior College: Wilson played at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas before transferring to Laredo Community College where he played baseball for current Aggie assistant coach Chase Tidwell. As a pitcher, Wilson helped the Palominos place third in Region 14 in the 2005-06 seasons. High School: Wilson played high school baseball for the Richard King High School Mustangs. As a senior he had a 7-2 record with a 0.62 ERA while striking out 84 batters in 56 innings. In 2004 he received Honorable Mention as first baseman. He was awarded team Most Valuable Player and first-team All-District Pitcher in 2005. Wilson was also awarded second-team All-South Texas Pitcher. Personal: Wilson is the son of David Wilson and Cathy Taylor and was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is majoring in management and exercise science. This season Wilson had a 2-2 record with 4 Saves and a 3.04 ERA. He appeared in 21 games, 26.2 IP, 15 BB, 37 Ks.

Happy Belated Birthday! My present was letting you kick my a$$ in the Beastin Keeper League (again). Of course everyone has whipping me but that's beside the point.

I was allergic to milk when I was a baby. I was raised on soy milk. To this day, though not allergic to milk anymore, I prefer soy milk. Skim milk is awful, might as well drink water.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 25, 2009 -> 01:26 AM) Do you all agree Cubs are in the playoffs? Too much talent to not make it. Get real. They're the Cubs. OK, even if they make the playoffs what are they gonna do? Choke. Some things never change. They the f***ing Cubs.

Last year at Kannapolis, Gallagher batted .267 in 123 games. He ranked fourth in the organization in runs scored (76), tied for fourth in extra-base hits (49), fifth in doubles (30), tied for sixth in home runs (14) and seventh in total bases (211) and RBIs (65). Thus far this year at Winston-Salem, he's batting .264 with 4 homers. He has batted safely in his last 6 games and homered in his last 2. In his last 10 games, he's batted .300.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ May 22, 2009 -> 10:16 PM) Is that Digillio (sp?) guy still on? He was uncomfortable to listen to he was so bad. Oh, I have to disagree. He was like the only good thing on WGN, even though he's a Cub fan.

QUOTE (kev211 @ May 22, 2009 -> 10:31 PM) How about when they face an AL Central team? I don't know about you but if the cubs are playing anyone in the AL Central besides the sox I'm rooting for them. True dat. But only in the sense that if the Cubs win I'm like, "that's ok". But, still no "rooting for the Cubs.

There is NO rooting for the Cubs. Ever. I can't imagine any circumstance where I'd root for that team.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 20, 2009 -> 10:10 PM) I had no idea about any of this until just now. Never bothered to look in the pure speculation thread. Too good to be true. Other than Beckham, anybody else is fair game. I would also hope it wouldn't include Jordan Danks.