Big News

OK, so I have some really big news. After three-and-a-half years, I'm leaving my position at Apple and taking a new job. My last day at the Apple Store Westfarms will be in just a couple weeks, and I'll be starting the new job on Jan. 3. I'm a little nervous, since it's not just a job change, but a total career change. Still, it's what I've always wanted to do, so it should be fun.

A lot of people have actually asked me if I plan on moving. At this point, the answer to that is no, because the commute is really only about another 10 miles, which means even in rush hour, its only about 15 minutes longer to drive to my new job, compared to my old job.

As for other stuff that's going on in my life, the news is still pretty big. My mom is down in Florida, and has been for awhile now, helping my grandmother recover from an infection related to her latest knee replacement surgery. We're hoping for the best for her, and she's been in my thoughts every night. Right now, my dad is in Mass. on vacation, while my sister just had a job interview in New York, so its been a busy few weeks for everyone.

I did manage to get some time to go see "King Kong," which was a fantastic movie. The big fight scene with Kong and the dinosaurs is just fantastic, allowing you to completely suspend disbelief in the CGI. Sure, there are some slow parts, particularly in the build-up to the island scenes, but it's worth the wait. By the end, you've completely forgotten that the movie was three hours long.

In Buffy-related news (what, you thought there wouldn't be a Buffy update here?) I finally got my Vampyr replica book and my "Fool for Love" Spike w/ Leather Jacket (both through the Buffy Collector Club, if you were wondering. I've got a nice album of pictures of the book below. This is just an awesome prop replica, and it's actually functional. Right now, I'm storing my Buffy and Angel comics inside of it, but that'll probably change soon, since it's already almost full.

Oh, speaking of comics, I got the first issue of "Angel: Old Friends." It's everything that "Angel: The Curse" wasn't. It's well-written, interesting, and fast-paced. Plus, it's got Gunn and Spike, and that's just in the first issue. Hopefully we'll get Illyria and Lorne at some point, and maybe even some other of our favorite characters. They owe us after the cliffhanger series ending and the completely answer-less "The Curse."

Oh, last but not least, Happy 22nd Birthday Marcy!

Time for some ramblings

This is one of those entries where I don't cover one specific topic, but jump from idea to idea, because I've got a bunch of them kicking around my head. So enjoy...

• First up, following up from yesterday, the Marlins finally pulled the trigger on the Juan Pierre-to-the-Cubs deal, meaning the caliber of player Florida is giving up in 2005, on average, is now younger and better than the average player dumped in 1997. Still, the big difference is in pitching, though this year the Marlins are letting a lot of pitching walk via free agency. Of course, the Pierre deal is significant, since the Marlins actually picked up a player with Major League experience (RHP Sergio Mitre). As I pointed out yesterday, most of the players Florida picked up in '97 never played for the team. Marlins fans (the few that are left) have to be hoping that's not the case again.

• I've had the song "Mandy" by Barry Manilow stuck in my head for like four days now. I've tried everything to get it out of there, short of replacing it with an even more annoying song. I mean, I like "Mandy" but it's not a song I want to be randomly hearing as I'm fixing someone's iPod. Unless it's on their iPod. In which case, hearing it probably means the iPod is working. But still, you get my point.

• I'm almost done Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Three Kings' Day/Festivus shopping. Which means if you wanted something, and didn't tell me, you're probably not getting it. On the other hand, if you're not done shopping, and you want to get me something, here's an idea, size 3X.

• Yes, the above is "Buffy"-related. So is this note. I finally got around to ordering my "Fool for Love" w/ Leather Jacket Spike figure. I ended up getting it from BCC, because I couldn't find $70 worth of stuff I wanted from DST. With BCC, I had to lay out for a $100 gift certificate, but now I have that to use for future purchases (I'll probably end up pre-ordering the Season 3 PALz set soon). I did get my "Life of the Party" Lornes, one of which I opened (pictured) and one of which I kept Mint-in-Box to preserve the autograph. I may also buy the "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Darla signed by Julie Benz, since it would go nicely with the new Lorne.

•Also, the Xander and Cordy variants were announced. I'm psyched about Cordy ("You're Welcome" and Pylean Princess). Xander, not so much. Sure, "Chosen" Xander with the eye patch is gonna be awesome (plus, it gives us a nice "Chosen" core, with Buffy coming in January and Willow already available) and Vampire Xander nearly completes "The Wish" (Cordy was announced earlier, Vamp Willow and Anyanka are already available. A "The Wish" Buffy, with battle scars, would be nice, but not likely). But "Ice Cream Man" Xander? "Undercover Initiative" Xander? Who cares? Where's "Hell's Bells" Xander? "OMWF" Pajamas Xander? I'd really like to see a "The Replacement" Xander, with "cool Xander" and "lame Xander" variants. It could even be a two-pack. I know I'd buy it (then again, I buy all of them, so that's not really important).

• Oh, back to sports. If you haven't see the Reggie Bush high school highlight film that's on ESPN.com, check it out now. In fact, here's a link. Just click the video titled "Reggie Bush: It is 619 all the Time". It's amazing what this kid can do. Some NFL team is going to be very lucky to get him. Oh, and if he doesn't win the Heisman, it's going to be a robbery (and not a Ray Lewis not winning the MVP type of robbery... yeah, that's right, I made a Ray Lewis reference. DJ isn't the only SportsPickle.com employee that hates Ray-Ray). I've been touting Bush for the Heisman since late September, though for awhile I was convinced that Vince Young WOULD win, even if Bush SHOULD win. Now I'm pretty sure Bush, based on his last two games, will take home the hardware.

• "King Kong" comes out next week. We're going to try to get a group together to go. If you're interested, let me or Pooz know, and we'll iron out the details. We're good like that.

• Speaking of me and Pooz, we're also working together on an original comic book. I'm doing the writing, Pooz is doing the drawing. Hopefully, we'll have something to share with you guys soon. I know I've got six scripts done, but the writing phase goes a lot faster than the drawing phase, so be patient with us. Oh, and trust me, this will be better than our Black Ops web comic idea that never got off the ground.

Marlins Firesale

Ah, life is good these days for Mets fans. Not only has our team acquired some key pieces in the offseason, but one of our big competitors for the NL East crown, the Florida Marlins, is having its second firesale in the past decade.

This offseason bears a lot of similarities to the winter of 1997 for the Marlins, with the big difference being that the team is two years removed from a World Series title, rather than two months.

Check out these numbers comparing the two firesales:

AVG HR RBI SB OBP SLG OPS $$ Age

1997 .266 52 240 27 .347 .436 .783 $11.35m 30.75

2005 .278 49 260 18 .357 .428 .785 $21.33m 31.5

As you can see, the average age and stats of the four everyday players traded by Florida in each offseason are nearly identical, as is the makeup of the groups. In 1997, the Marlins traded a slugger (Moises Alou), two solid contributors (Devon White and Jeff Conine) and a marginal player (Kurt Abbott). In 2005, so far, Florida has given up a slugger (Carlos Delgado), two solid contributors (Luis Castillo and Paul Lo Duca) and a marginal player (Mike Lowell).

The biggest difference in the two years has been in the pitching that has left Florida. In '97, the Marlins gave up Kevin Brown, Dennis Cook, Al Leiter and Robb Nen -- that's two frontline starters, a solid middle reliever and a closer. This year, they've only traded Josh Beckett, though they've also let A.J. Burnett leave via free agency.

Speaking of Burnett, he was one of the key players acquired in the '97 trades (he came from the Mets as part of the Al Leiter deal). And by "one of," I mean "one of two." Only Burnett and Derrick Lee (acquired from San Diego in the Kevin Brown deal) were significant contributers to the Marlins. The 17 players Florida brought in via trade in the '97 offseason played an average of 70 games for the team. If you take Lee out of the equation, the other 16 players averaged just 32 appearances in a Marlins uniform, and nine of the 17 never played a game for Florida (most of them never even reached the major league level).

This doesn't bode well for Florida this year, given that the Marlins have so far been stockpiling prospects again. It could be another few sad years in southern Florida (well, two at most, since the team will likely be moving after the '07 season).