Ten people decide to have a movie night. They all agree to it. Six out of ten people want to go see “The Dark knight”, three insist on going to see “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”, one will go to either. A vote is taken, and six people vote to see the Dark Knight. They get to the movies, and buy ten tickets to the Dark Knight. They go to the concession stand, and the three dissenters have all the tickets. They order popcorn, sodas, pretzels, and candy. The usher takes their tickets, tears them and says “Enjoy the film, ‘The Dark Knight’ is in theater 1. The three say, we’re going to see Zohan. The usher says “but you have tickets to the ‘Dark Knight’. The six start walking towards theater 1, the one straggles, and the three dissenters insist again, “We’re going to see ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’. The usher says, listen, you’ll have to return your tickets and exchange them for Zohan if you want to go see that. “Why?” they say. The usher says, “because you bought ten tickets to the Dark Knight, and zero for Zohan. That means you haven’t paid to see Zohan. If you go into that theater you’re stealing, and the people who made this film don’t get paid. The three take back their tickets, and say “but they have to come back, because we want to go see Zohan. The usher says “gentlemen, I don’t care. Go see whatever you want. I already have their tickets. If they want to come back and exchange them I can give them their stubs to go exchange the tickets, but it appears they want to go see “The Dark Knight”. They protest, “but we don’t want to see the movie. We were outnumbered, and we have to stay together.” The usher looks at the three men and says “Then stop picking shitty movies.”  - Congress goes to see a movie.

That’s an anecdote fellow Rooker Will Ruff shared with his social media friends recently. I asked him to borrow it cause I believe most things make most sense when viewed through a different lens.  Obviously the U.S. Governmental system is not this simplistic, but at it’s core this is the current issue.  The final line stated by the usher, which subjectively suggests that their selection is “shitty” isn’t really fair, but doesn’t make it any less accurate.  Whether their political position is as shitty as ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’, or as artistically appealing as ‘Amore’, is actually moot.  The point is the tickets are already bought.  And not only are they bought, but they were voted on and are still supported by the majority of the constituents they represent.  And yes the Affordable Healthcare Act is supported by a majority of the population, isn’t that all that should matter in a “Democracy”.  What has the right wing up in arms though isn’t current approval ratings for an already passed bill.  No, the right wing has recently done some table tilting to alter the exact meaning of the word “democracy” by adjusting district lines to create super majority representatives that have winning vote tallies that compete with the best dictators in the world, and have repealed a long standing voter’s rights act in the south that will surely help get the “right” [read: white] votes counted in future elections.  So what has them most pissed off, is that this current “cheat code” reminiscent of my video game days of yore when I had a Game Genie, doesn’t retroactively work on previous “levels” (to stick with the metaphor).

And this is where we currently preside. With a possible deal looming to end the shutdown (just fucking do it please), because something much more important than moral victories over the opposing sides enacted laws needs to be handled.  Which is the debt ceiling. But I’m not too concerned, cause I don’t think either side is dumb enough to let that slip through the cracks.  My bigger concern is for the future. I’m neither a Democrat or Republican as I like to believe I’m objective politically speaking. So for me I’d much rather two formidable sides rather than one really illogical one and another that’s only right by default.  Don’t get me wrong my beliefs do generally fall under a more liberal slant but I’m aware this is the United States of America, not the United States of Matt.  So in the end I understand that the best representation for this country may not be the best representation for me–a pretty well positioned twenty something without real problems. So my plea is this; lets cut the crap, let’s stop trying to cheat the system while essentially bastardizing our core philosophies (democracy), and let’s stop worrying about winning or beating our opposing party.  Politics should never be about winning, or beating anyone.  It should be about doing what’s right for the people.

Speaking of doing what’s right:

Earlier this week I went on my yearly diatribe about the unbelievable nature of Columbus Day.  I won’t rehash it here, but suffice it say I’m annoyed heavily by it.  But this year I found out something pretty interesting. South Dakota recently (within the last decade) changed Columbus Day to Native Americans Day.  And honestly it’s great in my books. How hard is it for the rest of the country to do that. This simple solution especially got me, cause it seems like we should employ this easy thinking problem solving for most of these issues.  The NFL is still in debate over, how or when they will change the Washington Redskins to something more politically correct.  Why not just call them the Washington Natives.  You can then keep your emblem and if anything show our country wide solidarity for our ancestors’ transgressions. And for Cleveland’s baseball team, just come on.  Seriously just change the logo. I just don’t get why some of these would be minor issues take so long to handle.  Eventually America, we will move on and historically the more progressive view point on these matters generally win out.  So do you really want to argue on the obviously wrong side of history.  That goes for gay rights, women’s right, and immigration policy too while we’re at it.

The post Illogical Logic appeared first on Rookerville.

Score: 8/10

I am encouraged about the series again after watching “Eye Spy”. The episode is definitely the most thrilling so far. It begins in V for Vendetta style. We watch a mob of men, each wearing red masks, enter the subway. They are all carrying briefcases. We later learn that they are all ex-military and hired to carry diamonds. They are each carrying a briefcase so that a thief would not know which briefcase to steal. However, a woman enters the subway car, knocks out the lights, neutralizes all the men, and steals the correct suitcase. It is another unthinkable feat in a string of impossible robberies for the woman. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) takes an interest in her pattern as he suspects she is his former protégé, Akela Amador (Pascale Armand), as she is one of the few women in the world who has the talent to pull off the heists. Agent Coulson also notes that Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is another one of those women. In terms of Amador, Coulson states that Amador disappeared seven years ago on a raid with two other agents. While she had the potential to be a great agent, she is not a team player. Coulson mentored her believing he could teach her work with others. However, he failed as her flaw is the reason the raid was a disaster and cost the lives of the other two agents. While she was believed to be dead as well, Coulson had a feeling that she was still alive as S.H.I.E.L.D. never found any of her remains.

Coulson takes an interest in tracking her down as he feels responsible for her turning into a villain. As her mentor, he still wants and believes he can guide her back to the good side. As such, he has her team track her down. While Coulson and Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) are in the field, Skye (Chloe Bennet), Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), and Jenna Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are working reconnaissance for them in a van. Amador takes advantage of Coulson and Ward searching for her in the field to attack and flip the van. Although Skye, Fitz, and Simmons are unharmed, Agent May is furious and wants to send in a S.H.I.E.L.D task force to neutralize Amador instead of trying to reason with her. Consequently, she gets into a heated argument with Coulson. The team is able to track Amador as Skye stumbles on to a live feed in Amador’s eye and hacks into it. As such, May uses the feed, figures out Amador’s location, and individually engages Amador. Agent May has been a stale character in the first three episodes. It was good to see her with some passion arguing with Coulson. We also finally get to see her fighting prowess as she is able to go head to head with Amador. However, Coulson interrupts the fight and tranquilizes Amador.

On the other hand, Coulson realizes Amador is not acting on free will. During her disappearance, she was implanted with a camera in her eye. Moreover, she gets fed missions to that eye. It also has a fail safe that will kill her if she refuses or fails a mission. However, Skye is able to hack into the feed and redirect it to glasses that Agent Ward then wears to execute Amador’s mission while Fitz and Simmons attempt to surgically remove the fail safe. The episode is exciting as Ward has to continue Amador’s mission so that her handler does not know it is him. If the handler figures out that it is not Amador, he will initiate the fail safe to kill her. The mission includes an order to seduce a male guard. As Ward is a tough guy, it is a problematic command. Moreover, Fitz and Simmons racing against time to remove the fail safe adds to the thrill of the episode.

The episode is very good because Coulson is emotionally invested in his protégé. I like that he is seen as a mentor and fatherly figure who guides and protects his team. In addition, I continue to enjoy Chloe Bennet’s performance as Skye. She has personality and is fun. I like that she always makes light of situations. While the rest the team refers to their boss as “Agent Coulson” or “Coulson”, Skye refers to him as his initials “A.C.” after he tells her not to call him Phil. Fortunately, her persona contrasts with the stern demeanor of Agents May and Ward so that the show is not overly serious all the time. In addition, she has the best dialogue with Coulson. The best conversation in the episode is after Skye, Fitz, and Simmons are attacked by Amador. Although Skye should be upset, she tells Coulson that he is a great judge of character since he took a chance on her. Consequently, Skye supports Coulson’s attempt to rehabilitate Amador. While Skye is the only one of the team who is not officially an agent, Coulson talks to her the most.

Another reason I like this episode is that I was on the edge of my seat as Coulson tries to track down Amador;s handler as we wait to see who is controlling her. Of course, the episode does not reveal the real group or mastermind behind the scheme. I have been waiting for a unifying theme or villain to connect the episodes. We may finally be getting it.

The post Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode 4 appeared first on Rookerville.

Admittedly we here at Rookerville have neglected a certain demographic that normally I would say we’re all interested in.  All the writers here have some interest in Tech, but the problem is none of us know it well enough to explain it.  Well that’s about to change.  We’ll be welcoming a new writer to the team to shine some light on things like the “Deep Internet” or elusive new currencies like Bitcoin.  To lead up to his first piece we wanted to release an info-graphic he created to help everyone better understand one of the latest trends in Tech and if your fortunate enough to live in Portland, he’s even included a few shops you can use your new found knowledge.  Enjoy.

The post Bitcoin Explained appeared first on Rookerville.

I must apologize for missing a week.  If I had gotten my column up, I would’ve guaranteed Kansas City would’ve lost, and I would’ve said the Giants were most definitely going to win.  I state this all now cause I wanted to be honest with my readers and admit I probably would’ve had a lot of wrong points.  But I’m here for week six and hopefully will make some right points.

Remember that elite argument:

Remember about 2 seasons ago when every Quarterback under the sun was being considered elite.  A whole slew of young QBs were being handed future Super Bowls without any work to show for it.  This isn’t to discount the following QBs but they are not elite and were once confused to be as such; Eli, Flacco, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, and Ben Rothlisberger are not elite.  They are really good, and at times great QBs, especially Eli and Big Ben, but the following QBs prove with their success that no one but these guys should be considered elite.   The only truly elite QBs in this league are the guys who will get their wins and TDs regardless of who is out there catching the ball, and that group is a small group of four: Aaron Rodgers, who lost Randle Cobb in the middle of the game and still made big throws to win the game; Tom Brady, who without a single WR anyone recognizes can still make perfect late game drives to beat one of the more dangerous teams in the league; who happens to be Quarterbacked by Drew Brees, who had lost the best TE in the league and still was able to complete passes all over the field.  Sure they lost, but the Saints are still the second best team in the league. And finally, this one is obvious, Peyton Manning.  I don’t think I need to support this one, but all I’ll say is look no further than the season he missed in Indy.  That’s it, the rest of the league can good to great, but as of now there are no other elite QBs.  These 4 guys are always playoff contenders regardless of their roster.  The rest, not so much.

Where was this coaching:

I’m convinced Andy Reid and Rex Ryan have been possessed.  Otherwise, I’m curious as to where this coaching came from.  Is it forced humbleness that has brought about these changes. I can’t tell you, but  I can tell you that Rex Ryan is making a strong argument for coach of the year.  If the Jets somehow make the playoffs I think you have to give it to Rex, unless one other unlikely event happens.  If the Chiefs win their division and rip it from the cold hands of Peyton Manning the Andy Reid will have to be given the honor.  His change of coaching ability is the most baffling as he’s gone from always being able to score and not being able to protect leads, to not scoring a ton but managing the clock really well.  I can’t believe I just said that. Andy Reid has learned to manage the clock.  I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Playoffs by default:

There’s a few more teams joining the “your season is over club” and with that I’m beginning to realize that unless you’re the Saints, Broncos, Seahawks, or Chiefs, your more than likely winning your way into the playoffs by default.  Nearly a third of the league is dead to rights with their chances of making the playoffs and it’s only week 6.  Some new arrivals to the club are the Falcons (without one of their WRs being 100% they nearly have no chance), the Texans (who suffered the old Jets fate, which is watching their home crowd cheer their injured QB, and we can all agree now that’s terrible for karma’s sake), and finally Washington; I hate to bring this bad news as I picked them to win their division, but RG III might be having a Derrick Rose type moment where lack of confidence in his knee probably should’ve just had him out for a bit longer, either way that division is now going to the Cowboys or Eagles by default.

Games to watch this week:

There’s a few games that will really clear up the playoff picture early on in the season.  Dallas playing in Philly will essentially decide the NFC East fate.  Dallas is better matched for the rest of the league, so this is more of a must win for the Eagles. The Patriots verse the Jets is another pivotal game.  Not for the Pats, but if the Jets can somehow upset the Patriots, which there probably isn’t a better time to do so, it could set the pace for the Jets to make the most improbable run of the season and make the playoffs.

Bettor’s paradise:

I make picks with my buddy on the games on a weekly basis, and honestly we’re up big this season.  I’m not saying you should take my advice, but so far I’ve been about 70% right on this column.  San Diego and Kansas City are locks to win.  Denver will probably beat Indy, as it will feel more like a home game for Peyton than anyone else in that stadium, and that includes Luck.  Tennessee is a great pick to cover the spread as is Tampa Bay and Buffalo.  And look for the Giants, I can’t believe I’m saying, but I think they go 0 and 7 as Adrian Peterson probably has the game he should’ve had this past weekend.

The post NFL Notes: Week 6 appeared first on Rookerville.

It’s (finally?) back.  To be honest I forgot Walking Dead was coming back this week.  Not sure if it’s my own omission or if it’s a good pulse on the overall feeling over the show.  I was reminded while sitting at the bar watching the Cowboys game and actually had to set my DVR from my phone (I do love new technology).  For some reason I feel like previous season premieres were met with a bit more fanfare.  People planning parties and what not.  Maybe everyone is still reeling from the loss of Breaking Bad.  Either way it’s back and I have a couple thoughts on it’s opening episode.

Faith in viewers:

I like that cable TV has turned some sort of corner and considers the fact that their fan base might actually be smart.  The first episode of the new season opens with an obvious lapse of time passed and I really like that there was no attempt to spoon feed the audience exactly what was going on.  Everything seemed fluid and nothing felt like a machination of story telling in order to to convey certain details.  They’ve built a small community in the prison, that obviously feels less like home than the pleasantville that was in place before, but also seems infinitely more joyous in morale.  There’s a few mentions of “the counsel” which leads us to believe that the community is governed in a parliamentary fashion, with the experienced characters being the leaders.  They’re all kind of looked up to and idolized, most notably Darryl who seems to have a local mythology about himself being built up (this feels a bit tongue and cheek and meta because Daryl is actually the most unkill-able person on television.  One could argue that New Girl would fair much better if Zooey’s character was mysteriously killed off than Walking Dead would fair if Daryl were to die.  It’s reminiscent of the Jimmy problem Boardwalk Empire had) .  All in all I like the timing of this “look in”.  While I don’t think Walking Dead is amazing television, I do like it’s take on the Zombie genre.  While it may not be perfect it does attempt to attempt to answer the questions I usually have at the end of all zombie movies that focus purely around the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse; which is “then what?”

The luxury of the saved:

There’s two parts in this episode that seem to really draw a line of separation between the different types of people in the post apocalyptic world.  And by my broad estimations there seems to be 3 distinct groups.  The first and most dire group are the hopelessly damned.  Carl, at one point catches up with Rick on the farm and asks his dad, “what’s wrong with Violet”, one of the pigs they’ve seemingly raised for food.  Rick kindly reminds Carl that he shouldn’t name them as he needs to remember they’re just food. This seems almost aggressively deliberate to separate oneself from any humanizing thoughts in this post apocalypse world.  This groups disposition, which seems to be made up of only Rick, Michonne, and Beth (who typifies this group’s mantra when she exclaims to Daryl that she doesn’t cry anymore, when she hears the news of her “boyfriend’s” death) seem to be running on cruise control and are only continuing to survive based on some external inspirations (Michonne; it’s killing the Governor, Rick; it’s Carl, and for Beth; it’s her father).  The second group are still rather off a bit emotionally but seem to carry around a sense of a humor and slight hope for it all; they’re comprised of your Daryls, your Carols, and even Carl.  What separates them from the final and most fortunate group is that they faced the evils head on. Carl advises the other kids against naming the walkers near the prison.  It’s obvious these kids have not seen what Carl has seen.  And it’s pretty safe to say none of them had to put a bullet in their mother’s head. That’s the luxury of being saved and not having to do the saving.  You get to walk around with a bit of an ignorant bliss.

The troubled road ahead:

Eventually everyone learns to deal with the walkers.  It would be annoying to see all our characters continually having the same pitfalls of being caught off guard.  Although they did find a creative way to make the threat of zombies new again when a horde came down from a leaky ceiling in what looked like an awesome video game level, but still there’s only so many iterations of zombie attacks they can create. So naturally some other obstacles must be thrown their way.  Some of these new obstacles I like and some not so much.  The mental health of people dealing with dead families and in general the horrible deeds they’ve had to perform is interesting and I think can be compelling as Rick contemplates how close he is to the state of the woman he met in the woods carrying around her zombie husband.  He admits he came close, but is it all for naught?  But things that almost seem gimmicky, like the obvious portrayal of an alcoholic leading to a mishap on the supply run seems out of place to me.  Alcoholism is very serious, but to me it seems that would almost be a none issue at this point in the world.  We’re a couple years into this thing, I think by now the ever impending need to survive would essentially destroy most vices.  After all vices are generally a product of idle hands.  Not hands clawing and scratching to survive. But it seems the threat of disease might be the newest nemesis, which I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.  I’ll report back later.

So far I have hope for The Walking Dead’s new season, but I do think they’ll need to make the reality they live in have real stakes.  And killing off characters we just met in an episode, no matter how endearing you make them, is not the way to do it.  It will have trouble competing with the pantheon of great shows like Friday Night Lights (paralyzed the star Quarterback in the first episode), Game of Thrones (red wedding), Breaking Bad (everyone was killed or mentally ruined), et al without really putting everyone at least at some risk.

Also this has nothing to do with the show, but I think the Talking Dead has over stayed it’s welcome.

The post Walking Dead: Episode 1 appeared first on Rookerville.

Detroit Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox

Detroit Tigers (93-69)

ALDS Overview:

The Tigers were in big trouble. They were down 2-1 in the series and down 3-0 in Game 4. However, they fought back to force and win Game 5. In Game 4, they brought in the likely AL CY Young Winner Max Scherzer out of the bullpen to bridge the gap to the closer, Joaquin Benoit. Scherzer impressively got out of a bases loaded, no one out situation in the 8^th inning. Aided by a controversial fan interference non call on a homerun, the Tigers forced Game 5. Justin Verlander was unhittable in Game 5 as he dominated the As again to eliminate them in Game 5 of the ALDS back to back years. The Athletics’ have struggles in the playoffs during the Billy Beane era and Game 5 losses in the first round continue.

Hitting:

R: 796 (2^nd) AVG: .283 (1^st) OBP: .346 (2^nd) HR: 176 (7^th)

The Tigers offense looks different with an injured Miguel Cabrera. The team only batted .234 against the As. While Cabrera looks compromised and batted only .250 for the series, he still hit a big 2 run homerun in the deciding Game 5. Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta had big series batting .450 and .417 respectively. Peralta had a big game tying 3 run homerun in Game 4. While Cabrera is still a presence and can still have some big hits, the Tigers need Prince Fielder to have a monster series against the Red Sox in the ALCS. The wild card is Austin Jackson. He batted .100 in the ALDS but can get red hot and has had his moments in the playoffs.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.61 (9^th) WHIP: 1.25 (9^th) K: 1,428 (1^st) BB: 462 (10^th)

While Justin Verlander had a subpar season for his standards and Game 1 starter Max Scherzer was the Tigers best pitcher this season, Verlander finished the season strong and dominated the As. He pitched 15 scoreless innings giving up only 6 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 21 batters and the As had no chance in Game 5. Scherzer and Verlander made a huge difference in the ALDS and they will need to do the same in the ALCS if the Tigers are going to return to the World Series. The wild card is Anibal Sanchez. He had a great season but pitched poorly in the first round. The bullpen will be a major issue again. Joaquin Benoit has solidified the closer role but the setup men are suspect.

Boston Red Sox (97-65)

ALDS Overview:

The Red Sox impressively beat the Tampa Bay Rays. They completely bludgeoned aces Matt Moore and David Price. More impressively, both pitchers pitched great against the Red Sox in the regular season. The Rays were able to scratch a game with a dramatic game tying homerun from Evan Longoria and walkoff homerun in game 3. However, the Red Sox gutted Game 4 by coming back late to win and end the series.

Hitting:

R: 853 (1^st) AVG: .277 AVG (2^nd) OBP: .349 (1^st) HR: 178 (6^th)

The Red Sox have an unrelenting lineup. Their approach is more impressive than their actual production. They take a lot of pitches, get the starter out of the game early, and then feast on the bullpen. David Ortiz was clutch again in the ALDS. Jacoby Ellsbury batted .500 and definitely has a significant incentive to have a big postseason with his approaching free agency. These two players will be key left handed bats against the Tigers right handed, power pitchers. The wild card is Mike Napoli. He is feast or famine. He batted .154 against the Rays but can get hot and carry an offense.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.79 (14^th) WHIP: 1.30 (15^th) K: 1,294 (7^th) BB: 524 (7^th)

The Red Sox do not currently have a true ace. Jon Lester has been an ace in the past but has not pitched like one in recent years. Nevertheless, he is a gamer and pitched well in Game 1 of the ALDS. Clay Buchholz pitched like an ace when he was healthy this year. However, he has been injured a lot and still trying to get back into form. He was very average in the ALDS. The wild card for the Red Sox is Jake Peavy. He has been a top pitcher in his career and he pitched a great Game 4 in the ALDS.

Regular Seasons Series:

The Tigers won the series 4-3.

The Matchup:

If Miguel Cabrera was in top form, the offenses would be very even. However, the Red Sox offense gets an edge with its unrelenting depth and ability to work starters and build up their pitch counts to get them out of the game early. However, I give the Tigers a big advantage in starting pitching. They have two aces, Scherzer and Verlander and better depth with great 3 and 4 starters, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. The Red Sox have good starters who are gamers but they are not nearly as good as the Tigers starters. However, the Red Sox have a great bullpen while the Tigers have a shaky one. A mitigating factor is that the Red Sox work starters and can get to the weak Tigers bullpen. The key to the series will be whether the Tigers relievers can bridge the gap to the closer and how well Manager Jim Leyland handles his relievers. It could a series where the Tiger hitters are able to get to the Red Sox starters while the Red Sox hitters get to the Tiger relievers. I do like how the pitching sets up for the Tigers in this series with Scherzer and Verlander lined up to pitch Games 2, 3, 6, and 7.

Prediction:

Red Sox in 6. I was very impressed by their performance against the Rays pitching. While I usually take a team if they clearly have the best starting pitching, the Red Sox have had great chemistry and been resilient all season. They can hit anyone and will put pressure on any pitcher. Similar to the NLCS, the ALCS is against two historic franchises.

The post ALCS Preview appeared first on Rookerville.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70)

NLDS Overview:

The Dodgers beat the Braves in 4 games. The Braves have had a problem with striking out and struggling against top pitchers in the playoffs. Facing the best pitcher in the game, Clayton Kershaw, exacerbated the weakness as Kershaw had 18 Ks in 13 innings while only giving up 1 run. However, Don Mattingly almost made a huge blunder by bringing back Kershaw on short rest to pitch Game 4. Kershaw only went 6 innings and the Braves took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 8^th before Juan Uribe bailed Mattingly out with a game winning homerun that sent the Dodgers into the NLCS.

Hitting:

R: 649 (17^th) AVG: .264 (6^th) OBP: .326 (9^th) HR: 138 (24^th)

The Dodgers bats came to play in the NLDS. They batted .300 with a .390 on base percentage. Their stars including Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez all had big series. Ramirez batted .500, Puig batted .471, and Crawford hit 3 homeruns including 2 in the deciding Game 4. Juan Uribe has had big hits in the playoffs before when he played for the San Francisco Giants during their 2010 World Series win. He had another big series batting .375, with 2 homeruns and 4 RBIs. Ramirez has been the Dodgers best player since he returned from injury. I expect him to have another big series in the NLCS. Uribe is the wild card with his history of big hits.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.25 (2^nd) WHIP: 1.23 (6^th) K: 1,292 (8^th) BB: 460 (9^th)

As noted before, Clayton Kershaw was as dominating as ever. Zach Greinke was solid in Game 2 but he can be much more dominating. Greinke will start Game 1 of the NLCS and has a chance to set the tone in the Dodgers’ favor. They also have a couple of wild cards. The first is Hyun-Jin Ryu. He had a great first half and slowed down a bit in the second half. He was bombed in Game 3 of the NLDS. They will need him to do much better. The second wild card is Brian Wilson. He was a dominating closer for the San Francisco Giants. He is back from injury and looks strong. He pitched 3 scoreless innings with 4 Ks in the NLDS. Wilson and closer Kenley Jansen can form a devastating back of the bullpen.

St. Louis Cardinals (97-65)

NLDS Overview:

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the St. Louis Cardinals sweat it out after the Pirates took a 2-1 series lead. Nevertheless, the Cardinals are past champions and rallied back to win the series in 5. Going into the NLDS, I thought Adam Wainwright was the only ace in the series and would give the Cardinals the edge. It is what happened as he was 2-0 and gave up only 2 runs in 16 innings with 15 Ks against only 1 walk. He was absolutely dominating in the must win Game 5. Nevertheless, Wainwright did not do it alone. Rookie starter Michael Wacha really stepped up as he dominated Game 4 taking a no hitter into the 8^th inning as the Cardinals won 2-1. Without Wacha’s brilliant and gutty performance, there would not have been a Game 5.

Hitting:

R: 783 (3^rd) AVG: .269 (3^RD) OBP: .332 (3^rd) HR: 125 (27^th)

The Cardinals top offense only hit .209 in the NLDS. However, the playoffs are about timely hitting and the Cardinals made their hits count. The two players that represent this notion are Carlos Beltran and David Freese. Beltran batted .222 but had 2 big homeruns in the series. The first broke open Game 1 and the second broke open Game 5. He continues to be one of the best postseason players ever. David Freese batted only .188 but hit the 2 run homerun to start the scoring in Game 5 that gave Wainwright the only lead he needed. Freese is no stranger to dramatic postseason homeruns. He was the World Series MVP two seasons ago. His heroics in Game 6 included a game tying 2 run triple in the bottom of the 9^th followed by a walkoff homerun to force Game 7. Matt Carpenter will be a wild card in the NLCS. He batted only .053 in the NLDS. However, he had a breakout season and will look to do much better in this round.

Pitching:

ERA: 3.42 (5^th) WHIP: 1.24 (8^th) K: 1,254 (11^th) BB: 451 (6^th)

As noted before, Wainwright and Michael Wacha are now their 1-2 punch. The rest of their rotation is suspect. Their Game 2 and Game 3 starters, Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly, were shaky in the NLDS. Lynn is a wild card as he can be dominating at times. Another concern for the Cardinals is the situation at the back of their bullpen. Edward Mujica lost the job so Trevor Rosenthal has taken over the role. However, the playoffs are not a good time to have questions at the back of the rotation.

Regular Seasons Series:

The Dodgers won the series 4-3.

The Matchup:

I love the big game players on the Cardinals. Carlos Beltran is the biggest money player in this series. However, the Dodgers star hitters looked great in the NLDS and I expect them to make big impacts this series as well. Nevertheless, pitching often decides these series. I believe the Dodgers pitching is deeper and has two aces instead of the one the Cardinals have in Wainwright. While Wainwright can match any ace, including Kershaw, the two will not match up in this series. Kershaw will pitch Games 2 and 6 while Wainwright will get Games 3 and 7. This series might be decided between Michael Wacha and Kershaw. Wacha was Wainwright’s Robin in the first series and he is lined up to go against Kershaw twice. If Wacha has another big series and steals a game Kershaw pitches, the Cardinals have a great chance to make the World Series. The Dodgers have a big advantage with Zach Greinke in Games 1 and 5 against Joe Kelly while the Cardinals have a big advantage with Wainwright in Games 3 and 7 against the Dodgers 3 starter. However, it should be interesting to see if the Dodgers start Greinke on three days rest twice so he can pitch in Games 1, 4, and 7. The Dodgers have an edge with a defined back of the bullpen but the Cardinals relievers have pitched well all season in the closer by committee structure.

Prediction:

Dodgers in 6. Kershaw closes it out in Game 6. If it goes to a Game 7, I give the edge to the Cardinals with Wainwright pitching the game even if Greinke starts for the Dodgers. It has all the makings of a long and great series. It is between two historical teams who are evenly matched.

The post NLCS Preview appeared first on Rookerville.

10/9/2013 AUSTIN -

Despite a Federal shutdown in Washington, Austin’s tech scene hosted an event at the Capital Factory last night to help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals in the work force get educated on the new healthcare marketplace.

But, it’s not just employers who should keep up to date. Individuals with or without coverage should also check out the Federal marketplace at HealthCare.gov and if that’s not working, Fredriksen recommends signing up over the phone.

After speaking she fielded questions from the audience who asked a wide range of questions including whether employers have deadlines to inform their workers of changes in their healthcare policy to allow workers time to explore their options. The answer is a no.

Not all Texans will have options though. The Law only helps people above the poverty line, and in states like Texas where the governor, and legislators have decided not to expand on Medicaid, approximately 1 million citizens are expected not to find coverage, still an improvement over the estimated 5 million uninsured currently.

The post Refresh Austin Educates Austin Entrepreneurs On Affordable Care Act appeared first on Rookerville.