The artist formerly known as the "stache" has just completed all of the assignments assoicated with our Senior Research/Omega project. All that is left is the presentation. For those that are not familiar with what I am talking about, our senior research business class was divided into 4 groups of 4-5 members each. We had to come up with a business plan on what to do with the 200+ acres of land that the school owns on its property. Our group came up with the idea of a camp called Camp 360. This camp would be geared towards youth groups from local churches in the area. The basic idea behind the 360 came from what Lees-McRae College has came up as its motto this past year. A 360 degree experience in your education incompassing many different aspects not just inside the classroom. We want the campers at our camp to have a variety of different experiences, all seperate, but all connected in the end. We want them to have fun, but to also work hard and learn some different things along the way. A full, unique expereince, different from any camp they have ever been to is what we are trying to accomplish with this camp. Last I checked, we had the idea to set up 6 cabins with one central multi-purpose building set away in the woods of the 200 acre plot of land. Each cabin would hold 10 campers with 2 counselors per cabin. The main facility would be used for dining, as well as other different kinds of activities and such that we see fit. Our plan is to be open weekly during the summer and on weekends during the winter months. There would be a lot of planned, off-site activities, such as whitewater rafting or skiing in the winter time. There were a lot of different things that we had to put into consideration when putting this together, more than you would realize. All of the zoning issues, how much it would cost for each of the buildings, how much it would cost to build roads to the buildings. What kind of roads to use, gravel or paved? The terrain of the land, how you take that into consideration. It took us awhile to decide on the activities we wanted our campers to partake in and whether we wanted weekly or weekend camps. Did we want to hire a full time camp manager? The answer to that was yes we did. This person would be resonsible for marketing the camp and finding out who wanted to attend our camp. It would be their responsbilty to maintain and develop good realationships with different businesses in the area just in case we needed their assistance for anything. I told you there were a lot of things to consider and that is not even half of the decisions that went into this project. I was so glad that I was not responsible for putting together the financial plan. There were so many numbers and things to consider. The guy who did it for our group, I give him big props for all the serious hard work he put into it. I know there was a lot of frustrating long hours, but it looks like he did a good job from I could tell by glancing at it. Our plan was nowhere near as long as some of the other groups in our class. Two other groups had business plans that were well over 100 pages long. They put a lot of work into theirs, we just had a different type of idea that took a lesser amount of work, I am grateful for what we did. Ours is around 40 pages long and I feel like it is sufficient for what we are doing for our project. We will have to see on Wednesday, when we all present who comes out on top. The top group gets an automatic A and has the priviledge of presenting on Friday in the Senior Symposium presented for the entire school to see if they like. We will be judged by the business faculty, the provost, and some other distinguished guests. Based upon their ratings, the winner will be determined. I am curious to see who comes out on top because I know there are a lot of other smart people and hard workers in our class. It should be fun. My role in the actual presentation will be pretty small as it is not required for all members to participate in the presentation. We have a guy who is really good at presenting and I think he will do a majority of it for us. Wish us luck. Thanks for reading.
Mb
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Stormy Sunday
Keeping it brief tonight, as it is getting late and I am trying to battle off a cough that has suddenly emerged within the last 24 hours. Great timing on this one, but what can you do other than get some rest and drink some fluids. Briefly came out of retirement this weekend to win a race and a margarita. Yes by winning a race you can win some alcohol, so living an active lifestyle can be rewarded so keep that in mind. I still plan on taking the next 3 weeks or so off just to recover mentally for all the grinding that I have gone through over the last 8 years and 16,000 miles. I was thinking back on this, other than when I got hurt my senior year of high school and had to take off 6 weeks. The longest I had ever gone without running was two weeks, and that came in high school. The longest I ever took off in college was about 10 days or so. I always felt I needed to get back into it and the longer I took off the more the runs would hurt at the start. Also, being that I lack some natural ability I had to get in all those extra miles that I could. So taking off a month will be a new experience for me. It is allowing me to concentrate a little more on my studies, not necessarily doing more studying, but having the flexibility to get work done during the afternoon and not having to wait until the night to get it done. I have always wondered what it would be like to not be an athlete and go to school. I guess I will never really know. Running and playing sports in school provides you the necessary discipline and determination to get things done in life. It allows for a way to get away from school and other life issues for a couple hours a day to help reduce the stress levels that we all have in our lives. I don't regret the miles and hours I put into this sport, because it shaped me into I am today. Oh, congrats to the Hawks for finally putting the Heat away and advancing to the 2nd round for the first time in 10 years or so. They need a lot of things to go right for them to knock of the LeBrons, but I like the progress they have shown over the last 5 years. Going from 13 wins to 47 wins and advancing into the second round of the playoffs. Next year, hopefully they can keep this core intact and add some key pieces to get to 50 wins and a trip to the conference finals. They have one of the best starting 5's in the league, they are just lacking a little on the leadership side. They need this to play more consistent ball from game to game. The Braves continue to be average, and can't seem to put all phases together for a long period of time. There is just something missing with this team, there is no spark. Well thats all I have for now, take care, have a great week.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Braves April Recap
Alright seeing as this is the first day of May I would like to do an evaluation of some of things that have been going on in the baseball world, especially with my home town Atlanta Braves. I want to lead off talking about some of the offseason moves that we made and how they compare to guys we tried to get now that we are a month into the season. So without further ado, my inner stat geek will be revealed...
Derek Lowe(4yrs 60mil)(Atl)- 2-1 3.10 ERA, 5 starts-29 innings pitched(would be more if not for a rain delay in one of his starts) 25K's and 12 BB.
I have no complaints here, he has been as advertised, chews up innings and will keep you in the ballgame. Everything that I have read about him has been positive, his work ethic is tremendous and he looks to be in mid-season form already. I am really encouraged by what I have seen.
A.J. Burnett(5yrs-80mil)(NYY)- 2-0 5.40 ERA, 5 starts- 31.2 innings pitched, 25K's and 13 BB.
Well deserved reputation as a big strikeout guy, he has the same as Lowe as we speak. He tends to warm up as the season does so we will see if those numbers pick up at all. He is not in a contract year so will his motivation be there to pitch well. Big difference in ERA for these two, I think there is more of a boom or bust factor with Burnett, you don't know whether he will no hit you or give up 5 in 5innings. I think the Yanks are looking for a little more out of this guy. So at the end of one month its Lowe 1 Burnett 0. Stay tuned for further developments.
Garrett Anderson (1 yr-2.5mil)(Atl)- .200 BA, 0 HR 0 RBI .551 OPS 25 AB's in 10 games played
This guy looks like a big waste of money, even at 2.5 million. He has constantly been hurt and he looks to be done. Nothing that he has done has been positive. I'll admit I expected better things from him, but I did not realize how much of a fragile player he was. A calf injury, come on its a calf, are you serious Garrett. He uses that bat of his as more of a walking cane than to hit the ball. He is stealing money right now. We should've just given Brandon Jones the chance to platoon with Diaz, instead we are stuck with this guy for the year. Who knows maybe he will get hot and become a factor, but more likely he will continue to be a non-factor this year and may not even be with this club at the end of the season.
Ken Griffey Jr. (1 yr-2mil)(Sea)- .200 BA, 2 HR 5 RBI .676 OPS 60 AB's in 17 games played
Numbers are not really that much better. Griffey has just been healthier this year, that seems like the only difference. Which is odd if you looked at the last 10 years of these two players, who would have thought Anderson would have a harder time staying on the field. The fact is that both players should be DH's and that's even stretching it a little bit. They have seemingly lost most of the skills they were blessed with over the years. At least Griffey has tried to play this year, Anderson can't get out of his own way. At the end of a month Griffey -5, Anderson -50.
Those are the two main guys I wanted to compare because Burnett and Griffey were the two players closest to becoming Braves this year.
I will now go into some of my good and bad points for the Braves this year. Start off with the good, the Starting Pitching has been really solid so far this year and that is a good change from the last couple of seasons. They currently sit 3rd in the National League in ERA with a 3.62. I'll take that all year long. Lowe-Jurjens-Vazquez have been the stalwarts so far this year. They have also been chewing up innings which will help the bullpen as the season winds on down the year. Also after a slow start to the season the bullpen has started to perform well of late, they currently have the second most strike outs of any bullpen so far this season. So I am encouraged by their improvement as a whole but they still worry me on a night-to-night basis. On the offensive side of the ball, Chipper is being Chipper which is good and bad. Hitting .322 with a solid .929 OPS, while playing his usual solid defense at 3B. He also has missed 5 games with some injuries, which is a constant concern for the team as they seem to not be able to win when he is not in the lineup. I like what Jordan Schafer has done out in CF in all facets of the game so far. He has little pressure on him by hitting 7 or 8 in the lineup and his defense has been solid as he has covered a lot of ground out in the field, while possessing an excellent arm. He is currently hitting .273 with a .854 OPS. I will take that all year long from him. He leads the team with 16 BB but also leads the team with 23 K's, but that's what you get with a rookie. He may be moved to the top of the lineup soon because of the speed threat that he has. Kotchman has been good at 1B, he has come up with a lot of clutch plays this year, while throwing up some solid leather over there at 1B. The bench has been excellent as expected, Prado, Infante, and Ross have been good when put into the lineup and being called upon to pinch-hit so far this season. Ross has been the most valuable offseason (including Lowe and Vazquez) move made by the club, because of the eye issues with McCann, he has been forced to play a little more than expected but has stepped up in a big way so far this year.
Some of the bad, starts with the offense's overall lack of consistency and the ability to do just about anything right swinging the bats. They are 12th in runs scored, 12th in home runs, and 9th in BA in the National League. That won't cut it. You lose a lot of 4-3 games that way and it gives your pitching little room for air that way. You are putting a lot of pressure on your pitchers every time out there, which is not good because then they pitch tighter and make more mistakes. Most of the problems lie with the ineffectiveness of Kelly Johnson in the leadoff role. He is hitting .203 this year with a .295 OBP. A leadoff man cannot be getting on base less than 30 percent of the time. They need to be at 35 percent and above. Kelly just is not finding any holes this year and that hurts because of the threat he poses on the base paths. Another problem lies with Brian McCann, the expected cleanup hitter this year, who has struggled with eye problems and blurry vision. Not being able to see is pretty tough for the average human being, but not being able to see and trying to hit a 90 MPH fastball or even catch one behind the plate is a troublesome issue. He has hit .195 this year, very un-McCann like. If this team is to score more runs, he needs to be a big factor in that. Hopefully that stuff gets corrected and he can return to a .300 BA and 20 HR type production. They surely do need his bat. Middle relief is still a little bit of a concern for me. Who comes in to stop the bleeding the 5th and 6th inning? Not sure at the moment and that could be a detriment to this seasons overall success.
So some things to look for in the next month. Will Tommy Hanson be in the starting 5 by the end of the month? He has been solid in AAA and the Braves only have 1 off day this month, so the time may be near, especially if the back end of the rotation can't find its solutions. Will Jo-Jo Reyes be able to solidify the back end of the rotation for the Bravos? He has the potential to be excellent as a #4 starter, hopefully the Braves can score some runs for him. Which leads me to my next point. Who will provide the offense for this club? Chipper can get on base but he needs people to hit him in. Chipper also needs people to drive in for himself, so we need guys who can get on base in front of him. McCann needs to come back in a big way and provide that protect for Chip. Will Kelly Johnson be forced into some type of a platoon if he continues to struggle at the plate? Omar Infante and Martin Prado have proven to be more than capable in a short time span, may be they deserve a chance. Can Jeff Francouer keep up his solid start to the season? I think he will. He looks fit and his defense and approach at the plate have shown impressive strides since last season. That is my recap of all the Braves happenings so far this year. Thanks for reading.
Mb
Derek Lowe(4yrs 60mil)(Atl)- 2-1 3.10 ERA, 5 starts-29 innings pitched(would be more if not for a rain delay in one of his starts) 25K's and 12 BB.
I have no complaints here, he has been as advertised, chews up innings and will keep you in the ballgame. Everything that I have read about him has been positive, his work ethic is tremendous and he looks to be in mid-season form already. I am really encouraged by what I have seen.
A.J. Burnett(5yrs-80mil)(NYY)- 2-0 5.40 ERA, 5 starts- 31.2 innings pitched, 25K's and 13 BB.
Well deserved reputation as a big strikeout guy, he has the same as Lowe as we speak. He tends to warm up as the season does so we will see if those numbers pick up at all. He is not in a contract year so will his motivation be there to pitch well. Big difference in ERA for these two, I think there is more of a boom or bust factor with Burnett, you don't know whether he will no hit you or give up 5 in 5innings. I think the Yanks are looking for a little more out of this guy. So at the end of one month its Lowe 1 Burnett 0. Stay tuned for further developments.
Garrett Anderson (1 yr-2.5mil)(Atl)- .200 BA, 0 HR 0 RBI .551 OPS 25 AB's in 10 games played
This guy looks like a big waste of money, even at 2.5 million. He has constantly been hurt and he looks to be done. Nothing that he has done has been positive. I'll admit I expected better things from him, but I did not realize how much of a fragile player he was. A calf injury, come on its a calf, are you serious Garrett. He uses that bat of his as more of a walking cane than to hit the ball. He is stealing money right now. We should've just given Brandon Jones the chance to platoon with Diaz, instead we are stuck with this guy for the year. Who knows maybe he will get hot and become a factor, but more likely he will continue to be a non-factor this year and may not even be with this club at the end of the season.
Ken Griffey Jr. (1 yr-2mil)(Sea)- .200 BA, 2 HR 5 RBI .676 OPS 60 AB's in 17 games played
Numbers are not really that much better. Griffey has just been healthier this year, that seems like the only difference. Which is odd if you looked at the last 10 years of these two players, who would have thought Anderson would have a harder time staying on the field. The fact is that both players should be DH's and that's even stretching it a little bit. They have seemingly lost most of the skills they were blessed with over the years. At least Griffey has tried to play this year, Anderson can't get out of his own way. At the end of a month Griffey -5, Anderson -50.
Those are the two main guys I wanted to compare because Burnett and Griffey were the two players closest to becoming Braves this year.
I will now go into some of my good and bad points for the Braves this year. Start off with the good, the Starting Pitching has been really solid so far this year and that is a good change from the last couple of seasons. They currently sit 3rd in the National League in ERA with a 3.62. I'll take that all year long. Lowe-Jurjens-Vazquez have been the stalwarts so far this year. They have also been chewing up innings which will help the bullpen as the season winds on down the year. Also after a slow start to the season the bullpen has started to perform well of late, they currently have the second most strike outs of any bullpen so far this season. So I am encouraged by their improvement as a whole but they still worry me on a night-to-night basis. On the offensive side of the ball, Chipper is being Chipper which is good and bad. Hitting .322 with a solid .929 OPS, while playing his usual solid defense at 3B. He also has missed 5 games with some injuries, which is a constant concern for the team as they seem to not be able to win when he is not in the lineup. I like what Jordan Schafer has done out in CF in all facets of the game so far. He has little pressure on him by hitting 7 or 8 in the lineup and his defense has been solid as he has covered a lot of ground out in the field, while possessing an excellent arm. He is currently hitting .273 with a .854 OPS. I will take that all year long from him. He leads the team with 16 BB but also leads the team with 23 K's, but that's what you get with a rookie. He may be moved to the top of the lineup soon because of the speed threat that he has. Kotchman has been good at 1B, he has come up with a lot of clutch plays this year, while throwing up some solid leather over there at 1B. The bench has been excellent as expected, Prado, Infante, and Ross have been good when put into the lineup and being called upon to pinch-hit so far this season. Ross has been the most valuable offseason (including Lowe and Vazquez) move made by the club, because of the eye issues with McCann, he has been forced to play a little more than expected but has stepped up in a big way so far this year.
Some of the bad, starts with the offense's overall lack of consistency and the ability to do just about anything right swinging the bats. They are 12th in runs scored, 12th in home runs, and 9th in BA in the National League. That won't cut it. You lose a lot of 4-3 games that way and it gives your pitching little room for air that way. You are putting a lot of pressure on your pitchers every time out there, which is not good because then they pitch tighter and make more mistakes. Most of the problems lie with the ineffectiveness of Kelly Johnson in the leadoff role. He is hitting .203 this year with a .295 OBP. A leadoff man cannot be getting on base less than 30 percent of the time. They need to be at 35 percent and above. Kelly just is not finding any holes this year and that hurts because of the threat he poses on the base paths. Another problem lies with Brian McCann, the expected cleanup hitter this year, who has struggled with eye problems and blurry vision. Not being able to see is pretty tough for the average human being, but not being able to see and trying to hit a 90 MPH fastball or even catch one behind the plate is a troublesome issue. He has hit .195 this year, very un-McCann like. If this team is to score more runs, he needs to be a big factor in that. Hopefully that stuff gets corrected and he can return to a .300 BA and 20 HR type production. They surely do need his bat. Middle relief is still a little bit of a concern for me. Who comes in to stop the bleeding the 5th and 6th inning? Not sure at the moment and that could be a detriment to this seasons overall success.
So some things to look for in the next month. Will Tommy Hanson be in the starting 5 by the end of the month? He has been solid in AAA and the Braves only have 1 off day this month, so the time may be near, especially if the back end of the rotation can't find its solutions. Will Jo-Jo Reyes be able to solidify the back end of the rotation for the Bravos? He has the potential to be excellent as a #4 starter, hopefully the Braves can score some runs for him. Which leads me to my next point. Who will provide the offense for this club? Chipper can get on base but he needs people to hit him in. Chipper also needs people to drive in for himself, so we need guys who can get on base in front of him. McCann needs to come back in a big way and provide that protect for Chip. Will Kelly Johnson be forced into some type of a platoon if he continues to struggle at the plate? Omar Infante and Martin Prado have proven to be more than capable in a short time span, may be they deserve a chance. Can Jeff Francouer keep up his solid start to the season? I think he will. He looks fit and his defense and approach at the plate have shown impressive strides since last season. That is my recap of all the Braves happenings so far this year. Thanks for reading.
Mb
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