Monday, February 18, 2013

Another pointless memory experiment

Today I will continue to try to work my brain into midseason form with a few memory drills. First I will repeat yesterday's exercise: name as many of MLB's 30 general managers as I can in 5 minutes. For an additional challenge, I will try to name all the field managers.

Setting my iPhone timer... and GO!

Jerry DiPoto LAA
Billy Beane OAK
Jack Zduriencik SEA
Jon Daniels TEX
Jeff Luhnow HOU
Rick Hahn CWS
Terry Ryan MIN
Dave Dombrowski DET
Chris Antonetti CLE
Dayton Moore KC
Brian Cashman NYY
Ben Cherington BOS
Andrew Friedman TB
Dan Duquette BAL
Alex Anthopoulos TOR
Brian Sabean SF
Ned Colletti LAD
Josh Byrnes SD
Kevin Towers AZ
Dan O'Dowd COL
Jed Hoyer CHC
Walt Jocketty CIN
John Mozeliak STL
Doug Melvin MIL
Sandy Alderson NYM
Frank Wren ATL
Mike Rizzo WAS
Ruben Amaro, Jr. PHI
FLA???

OK, Time's Up.

I actually got to the end with 1:21 left but couldn't think of the Florida GM. I knew it was some boring name but couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. Ah yes, "Michael Hill."

Crap, and I totally forgot the Pirates' Neal Huntington. At least I remembered how to spell "Zduriencik" this time. I knew I was on the right track when Safari red-underlined it as I was typing.

So, how did I do?

Result Yesterday Today
Perfect 13 28
Just spelling errors 2 0
Wrong but not without trying 4 1
Completely spaced 11 1



Alright, onto the next challenge. How many managers do I know?

Five minutes on the clock.

Walt Weiss COL
Bruce Bochy SF
Don Mattingly LAD
Kirk Gibson AZ
Bud Black SD
Dusty Baker CIN
Dale Sveum CHI
Ron Roenicke MIL
Mike Matheny STL
Clint Hurdle PIT
Terry Collins NYM
Fredi Gonzalez ATL
Mike Redmond MIA
Davey Johnson WAS
Charlie Manuel PHI
Bob Melvin OAK
Ron Washington TEX
Mike Scioscia LAA
Robin Ventura CWS
Terry Francona CLE
Ron Gardenhire MIN
Jim Leyland DET
Joe Girardi NYY
Joe Maddon TB
Buck Showalter BAL

Not bad! Those were actually all right. Even spelled them correctly.

Couldn't remember (or didn't know) the following:

John Farrell BOS
Bo Porter HOU
Ned Yost KC
Eric Wedge SEA
John Gibbons TOR

I'll try managers again tomorrow, and maybe something else kooky like stadium names.



Sunday, February 17, 2013

Morning memory experiment

I write this post from the Northwest Valley of Arizona, home to a handful of Cactus League teams. These early weeks of Spring Training find ballplayers old and new performing various feats of athleticism: sprinting, stretching, spitting tobacco juice, and the like.

In that spirit, having just eaten my morning protein, I feel ready to tackle the mental equivalent of shaking off the winter's rust, and will endeavor to hone my baseball knowledge with a memory sprint:

How many of MLB's 30 general managers can I name in 5 minutes?

GO!

My answers:
Dayton Moore KC
Brian Sabean SF
Ned Coletti LAD
Alex Anthopoulos TOR
Mike Rizzo WAS
Sandy Alderson NYM
Kenny Williams CWS
Brian Cashman NYY
Ben Cherington BOS
Andrew Friedman TB
Jon Daniels TEX
Walt Jocketty CIN
Dan Duquette BAL
Billy Beane OAK
Kevin Towers AZ
Jack Zdurienick STL
Tony Regans LAA
Neal Huntington PIT

Time's up.

Okay, 18 names. How many of them were correct?

Safe by a mile (13):

Dayton Moore KC
Mike Rizzo WAS
Sandy Alderson NYM
Brian Cashman NYY
Ben Cherington BOS
Andrew Friedman TB
Brian Sabean SF
Jon Daniels TEX
Walt Jocketty CIN
Dan Duquette BAL
Billy Beane OAK
Kevin Towers AZ
Neal Huntington PIT


Tie goes to the runner (2):

Alex Anthopoulos Anthopolous TOR
Ned Coletti Colletti LAD


Out by an eyelash (4):

Kenny Williams Rick Hahn CWS (I kind of knew Kenny wasn't GM anymore, but I thought I'd write it just in case)
Jack Zdurienick John Mozeliak STL
Jack Zduriencik SEA (I think it's pretty clear what happened here)
Tony Regans Jerry Dipoto LAA (Moot point, but the former Angels GM spells his name "Reagins")


Tripped out of the box, tore an Achilles, and grounded out to end my team's season in front of an angry home playoff crowd, aka pulling a Ryan Howard (11):


Frank Wren ATL
Jed Hoyer BOS
Chris Antonetti CLE
Dan O'Dowd COL
Dave Dombrowski DET
Jeff Luhnow HOU
Michael Hill MIA
Doug Melvin MIL
Terry Ryan MIN
Ruben Amaro, Jr. PHI
Josh Byrnes SD


I probably should have remembered more of the longer-tenured GMs. I'll study up and see how I do tomorrow!

Monday, February 11, 2013

WBC 3

The World Baseball Classic was born during March Madness in the first year after I graduated college, in 2006. Derek Jeter was on the American WBC team and all the announcers raved about what a fine ambassador he was for the game. My friend and I watched the early WBC games on TV and mused about potential products bearing Jeter's moniker: "Ambassador Sauce --- finally you can experience all the taste and flavors of Derek Jeter, in an easy-to-pour bottle."

Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were still the main baseball announcers for ESPN's televised coverage, and it was hard not to notice that while Miller relished pronouncing every "ñ" and "rr" on the Cuban team, Morgan tripped over name after name. Both men are in the Hall of Fame, and listening to them cover the World Baseball Classic, it was no mystery which man was enshrined for his words, and which for his play.

I was much more in tune with baseball in those days. Of course I had more time, too. I didn't know all the players on the Cuban or Japanese WBC squads, but I could probably name the managers and general managers for all 30 teams in Major League Baseball. In general, I haven't followed the game as closely as I did in 2006, the Mets' last great season before their '07 and '08 September collapses. I watched almost every game with my mom on the Mets' new cable channel, SNY. It was a good ride: the Mets won their first division since we moved to California in 1989. I even drove to Los Angeles to watch their Game 3 clincher against the Dodgers. The Mets dropped the ALCS to the Cardinals, though, and I started working three jobs that offseason. By June of the following year, I found a new job, one that stuck, one with benefits, and I've been working for them ever since.

I don't really remember much about the second WBC in 2009, though I have vague memories of lots of American players getting hurt and dropping out during the first few games of the tournament. Did we lose a game to the Netherlands? That resonates. I think part of the reason I don't remember much about that second tournament is that I was --- well, I was a bit occupied: working on a promotion (I got it, and still have the "new" job four years later); starting a new relationship (that "new" girlfriend is now my fianceé). Anyway, watching the World Baseball Classic wasn't really on my radar that year as much as the inaugural tournament. I didn't even have TV at home!

This time around I want to really pay attention to the World Baseball Classic. I just read through the rules and jotted down notes. I've got tickets to the championship round games in San Francisco in mid-March, and I'm even planning to shell out for cable so I can record the first and second rounds of play.

Some of the topics I want to investigate before the 2013 WBC gets started include:

  • What is the most coveted uniform number for each team? I would guess every Puerto Rican will want to wear 21 (for Roberto Clemente). Are there similar special numbers for other countries?
  • Each first round pool features one team playing in its home country (though I'm not sure how the Chinese Taipei/Taiwan thing works, exactly): Japan, Chinese Taipei/Taiwan, Puerto Rico, and USA. Have teams playing in their home countries typically enjoyed a special advantage? I know we're working with a small sample size since there have only been two tournaments, but I'm still curious.
  • Which team has the most experienced players? Experience as professionals vs. experience in WBC 1 & 2.
  • Games will be played at stadiums around the globe. What are the different stadiums named after? Are they all corporations? What kinds of corporations?
  • Where are players born? Are they typically born in the lands they are representing? Or are they playing for the homeland of a parent? Which team is the most "pure" by this standard?
  • What is the national ____ of each team? (Fill in the blank with: animal; color; song; film; export; drink; food; car). What, if anything, does this tell us about that team?