The premise is that most players from most seasons of pro baseball are represented in card form as parsed out by seasons. So everyone from Babe Ruth's 1927 season to Mookie Wilson's 1981 season are reflected not just in statistics, but in outcomes for dice rolls. They are facing real pitchers from history, so look out when Mookie steps in against Koufax's 1963 card. You pick a team from history or create a mish-mash team, make the lineups and rotations, and play it out.
It's a great game for kids. And adults with kids. Okay, and adults.
Yep. It's pretty nerdy. Any surprise that William and Mary alums like it?
I was introduced to Strat-o-Matic by my grandfather and uncles, and they routinely hammered my teams after I was given the game as a Christmas gift. I had the 1979 season. They could make the Orioles beat my Pirates every time and mocked me incessantly. They're bullies.
In the summer after our sophomore year, Rob and I lived in Williamsburg and took some classes. And worked as Pizza Hut delivery guys. And drank 40's. And played out individual seasons from the 1985 set, him with the Red Sox and me with the Mets. No idea how our teams ended up doing, but I can tell you how we ended up doing with the ladies that summer. And I just remember the catcalls from our fratres across the den as we occupied the dining room table with dice, cards, and homemade box scores all summer. It didn't hold up to cool-guy scrutiny 26 years ago and still doesn't, but we had fun.We even broke it out at an Outer Banks Fishing Trip one year. '86 version, and a Buckner error cost the Sox the rematch. Uncanny. Jerry was a witness.
Now it's online. For a small fee you can get into a league against either your dorky buddies or strangers, draft a team with a salary cap (hey, a novel idea) and have a go. What can I say, it's amusing.
And now there's a documentary released this year about the game. It's interesting to see which big league players new and old are also Strat-o-Matic players. Anyway, it's a neat little game that has lasted for 50 years. Not bad.
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I never saw or played the game. But I did play a similar game about pro wrestling.
In other news, anybody else try to watch Vice Principals last night? I got thru 7 minutes. Painful.
TR--I hear ya on Vice Principals--I was hoping for Kenny Powers 2.0
But Ballers didn't disappoint.
That show is a nice counterbalance to the depressing state of the news.
Following up on Shlara's question about Ice Cube. No, kids today have no idea who he was. I explained it to my stepdaughter a while back. I still don't think she really gets it.
Ice Cube is the guy from Law and Order SUV, right?
A little birdy tells me that Roberto is in Chi-town with the fam. Shoot me address of hotel...will show up at some hour between 9pm and 2am this eve. Can't wait! (Go ahead and have a roll-away brought up)
On my way home from the UK last week I did some shopping in the airport duty-free for my fam and myself. I had time to kill. This duty-free at Heathrow was the bomb. The whiskey section was loaded with people pushing the brands, giving out samples left and right. I was half lit before I arrived to me gate. Acquired a bottle of Aultmore 18 for my cabinet and a Laguvilin for a pal. Received a bottle of the Laguvilin as a gift recently - it's very nice and pretty nicely priced all things considered. The Aultmore comes with a little more punch on the wallet but it isn't one you see often round these parts. Good gracious it is dee-lish.
Was not aware they made Magruber into a movie. Holy shit. There's no way it's better than the new Vacation.
Who drew the short straw to be GTB's correspondent at the RNC? Can't wait for the live blogging.
metacritic.com assembles reviews and ratings from major publications and provides the average:
MacGruber 43
new Vacation 34
Scale is 100. Neither is a modern day Caddyshack or Animal House.
But MacGruber takes it convincingly.
Shit. This is like the 2016 presidential election.
other movies viewed during recent travel:
13 Hours - excellent
All Things Must Pass - the story of Tower Records - also excellent
The Big Lebowski - excellent - hadn't seen the full kit and caboodle in over a decade
More to follow once I remember
Speaking of the election, I'm in the airport watching the CNN coverage of the convention. We've already got some action. Going to be an interesting week.
danimal, we're in an airbnb joint in logan square. it's hipsterrific. got a couch with your name on it.
It seems the reviews of the Ghostbusters remake aren't altogether friendlier than the brutal takedowns of the trailer. Overall a 60
But looking forward to this movie out Aug 11:
I may be stranded at ORD tonight....
Can I crash the family vaca too Rob??
Quick flash mob Rob's family vacation.
On the topic of Trump, I was overserved at the pool club's summer party last Saturday, when I joined a conversation my wife was having w/ a fellow member (Zman - it's the hydro flask guy who shares my first name). My wife says to me "Did you know he knows Trump?" I responded to the guy, who I hardly know, by slurring/saying "Trump's a fucking dildo." At that point, my wife said to me "We need to leave now." She was right.
right on, shlara. we're headed out to catch king sunny ade at millenium park. meet us there.
I am the cool chief rocka
I don't drink vaca
I keep a bag a cheeba inside my locka
TR, you could definitely outrun that guy.
I think it was a microphone inside that locka
Thins whole "Don Lemon vs cop" dust-up is pretty crazy. After the interview, Tapper and Lemon butted heads after Lemon wouldn't stop taking about himself. After a commercial break, we come back toTapper and Blitzer and an empty chair where Lemon was. It's more sad than intriguing.
Is Tiffany Trump's real dad Rocky Dennis?
Clarence, I'm quoting the live song "Here We Go" which is essentially the same song as "Hollis Crew" only with much more swearing. And if you say you've heard these rhymes before we're gonna have to fight because I just made the mothafuckas up last night.
Just turned on the RNC and Giuliana speaking. He's really gone off the reservation.
Squeaks - in case you haven't heard yet, it's not exactly a murderers' row of speakers. Apologies to you fans of Antonio Sabato Jr. and Scott Baio.
They just literally hoisted up Dole's soon-to-be-deceased carcass. He had his belt way up high, at a Namath-like height, and appeared to have no idea what was happening. Where's Spiro Agnew'a corpse?
Just turned it on and saw the Dole life size puppet. It was very realistic, almost like it was him.
Scott Baio spoke? Antonio Saboto? This just proves there is a liberal agenda in Hollywood. Those guys should be superstars.
Melania might get oral tonight, I'm guessing the first time in ever.
This Michael Flynn guy is a hot mess. "War is not about bathrooms."
Twitter is best during train-wreck moments like Flynn's speech.
Don Lemon still AWOL.
are we going to talk about nate ebner making the usa rugby 7s olympic squad or nah?
Ebner, I hardly know 'er. You should try Lord Hobo Brewing Company's Boom Sauce. It's much better than it sounds. Like Hobo With A Shotgun. In other news, the un-air conditioned house zwoman rented also does not have a TV. She knew the TV situation but rented it anyway. So zson and I ran a bunch of errands, including a trip to Toys R Us for Play Dough, so that we could listen to the RNC on NPR. We heard Rick Perry's speech which made zero mention of Trump.
Did you make a radio out of Play Dough?
Boom Sauce is an awesome beer. Hobo Life on the other hand not as strong.
So at G N'R's Philly show this weekend they played four (4) songs from Chinese Democracy and zero (0) from Lies. What, the boys couldn't remember all the complex arrangements of "Patience"? Know your audience, dipshits. Tickets are hundreds of dollars. Don't subject them to garbage. That is all.
This article has some PHENOMENAL quotes:
http://nyp.st/2a90hMB
Or you could just forego kids and live like that all the time. No Play Doh radios yet. Massive anticipation for the dinosaur museum though.
just got a sentence up, clarence. it's a doozy.
Well, just met Lou Holtz in O'Hare. The odd thing is that Buckles sent me a pic of Lou taken yesterday at the RNC holding a Crown Royal pouch. I showed Lou the text and the pic and he just started laughing
...it's apparently what he uses to carry his "pipes" and "pipe supplies" in. Nice man.
is buck at the rnc?
i'm not playing stratomatic at the obft, but i would do bananagrams . . . or pig. you know, pig? it's cheap and fun and you never lose much money.
Mini summit with squeaky and a bluegrass band at a beersnob spot. Tuesday nights are still rockin in Cambridge.
No Rob. Someone else took the pic.
chicago day 2 was heavy on touristy stuff, but it's a cool place to be a tourist. river architecture tour is fantastic, and they serve cold pops, to boot. ate a stupid good lunch at eataly - no idea how you do quality control at that scale. walked the magnificent mile to the chicago art institute, and saw grant wood's american gothic, a bunch of jackson pollacks, de koonings, picassos, monets, matisses, gaugins, lichtensteins (my man), and a shitload of other artists i should remember but don't. closed the day out with dinner at xoco in wicker park - kids approved of the super-hipster vibe. now i'm gonna have a nightcap and yell at rnc twitter.
Joe Scarborough is soon going to be showing up to his show wearing pajamas.
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