Thursday, July 18, 2013

Chase Really Wants This

Maybe the coolest product ever goes on sale today.



I'm not sure if I have the entire story correct but it seems there is a site where you make your own original Lego creations, and if enough people like it (10,000) Lego will review it and potentially start selling as a boxed set. And the designer gets 1% of the net sales, which may seem small but it really doesn't take a genius to figure out how cool the DeLorean will be. In this case the designer is going to donate his cut to the Michael J Fox Foundation. Obviously Lego needed to strike a licensing deal with the owners of the rights to Back to the Future, but with that out of the way how long before we see another Back to the Future themed set on display in my living room.



Save the clock tower!

Note: It may be a few weeks before Lego stores actually have it. But it should be on sale in time for Chase's birthday, because like I said, he really wants this.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Song of the Week

"Safety Dance" - Men Without Hats
30 years ago this song was a big hit. And there still hasn't been another song to use the word "imbecile" as effectively.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Maybe They Should Have Spent a Little More Time Looking at His Face

Jimmy Fallon (underrated show by the way) thought it would be funny to send Mets pitcher Matt Harvey around the city to ask people questions about Matt Harvey.



I know for 100% certainty that I would be able to spot Matt Harvey on a street, even in a crowd. How these people, even the ones who saw the naked ESPN pictures, couldn't recognize him is beyond me. Maybe, like JLeary, they spent too much time look at other parts of the pictures, and not Harvey's face.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Release Point, Maybe?

Here at the Poop we love first pitches, interesting ones, celebrity ones, good ones, bad ones. Especially the bad ones. And this one by pop sensation Carley Rae Jepsen may be the best (worst) I've ever seen.



I love "Call Me Maybe" (SOTW, 5/30/12) and I'm willing to forgive her since she's Canadian, but I would happily instruct her on the mechanics of throwing so she can learn the proper release point.

Half Right

Every year I say I am not going to pay attention to the All-Star game, and every year I still get sucked into the selection process. This year I had a good excuse because two very deserving players, with great backstories were on the ballot for the fans to select as the final addition to the roster. Fans got it half right.

Blue Jays relief pitcher Steve Delabar is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He has some impressive advanced stats as well, striking out 12.43 batters per 9 innings and allowing only 1 homer in 41 innings (could be an element of luck there). But forget his stats, look at his story. He spent 6 years in the minor leagues and in 2009 he fractured his elbow.



It was repaired with a steel plate and 9 screws. He pretty much gave up on his baseball dream at became a substitute teacher at baseball coach at a high school in Kentucky. As the arm recovered he realized he was throwing harder than ever before. He got signed to a minor league deal with the Mariners in 2011 and by the end of the year he made his debut in the majors. Hard not to root for a guy who has been through that.



And then there's Puig who absolutely set the world on fire since his debut in June. He's batting .391 with 8 homers and 19 RBI in what amounts to basically a quarter of the season. His OPS of 1038 is incredibly and would be even higher if he ever walked. And his offense is the least exciting part of his game.



I have always had a fascination with strong-armed outfielders and throws like that make me want to watch Puig everyday. So why didn't the fans vote him in? There are some stuffy old people who hate young guys, and think they need to earn their spot, and 40 games is not enough to do so. Well, I say the all-star game is supposed to be fun and if you think watching Freddie Freeman would be more fun than watching Puig, then you are a strange and sick individual.



What makes me angrier about this is that the Blue Jays and Braves formed some unholy alliance to combine votes and get Delabar and Freeman into the game, and it seems to have worked.