Author: Chris Elliott

Graduation Day

On By Chris ElliottIn College, Random ThoughtsLeave a comment

Twice today I got caught in the rain. Happens once, you assume it is just bad luck. Twice and you have to think maybe I should start checking the weather. Three years later, an MBA completed, and the question of if I am any smarter still hangs in the balance.

Today, was supposed to be my graduation day. Yes, technically it was graduation day, virtual ceremony and all. It just doesn’t feel like it though and I’ll be honest I didn’t watch the ceremony. Just not quite the same. Now, my opinions on the lock down and the government response to Covid-19 is a diatribe I will spare you from reading. I mean I should thank you for getting this far. Instead, I’ll let you peak into another part of my brain.

I was brought back to today to the first class as part of my MBA program at the Weatherhead School of Management. The class entitled L.E.A.D. A clever acronym for a class based on the soft stuff. Not necessarily my skill set. Yet, that class was in itself worth the price of tuition.

There were a lot of useful lessons, intriguing insights and spinets of information in that class, but one that I always think back on is creating our vision for ourselves. Where did we want to go, who did we want to be and what did we want to do. Endless possibilities and the freedom to answer anyway you wanted. How can someone choose? How do you know what you want to do, who you want to be or where you want to go? I couldn’t pick. How does one settle on one thing like that?

I have been told I have too many hobbies. Personally, I think softball, baseball, basketball, making candles, reading, cooking, weight lifting, hiking, kayaking, concerts, collecting baseball cards and writing this jumbled mess of stories and thoughts is really not enough. I recently made my own live edge wood table and I have plans for a bar cart coming soon. I like to travel and visit new restaurants. I am an avid craft beer fan. I tried my hand at coaching youth football and basketball for a few years, briefly tried Gaelic football and even once was days away from quitting my job, moving to London and playing American Football abroad at a London University. I was really close, but the 50K price tag just in the end kept me away.

And I have a list of other things I want to do. I can’t imagine limiting myself. That is where we get back to L.E.A.D. and that assignment. I don’t remember exactly what I wrote in that paper, it was a collection of things as I am a collection of interests. The renaissance man is a lost art. We live in a world of experts with few jack of all trades. I am not sure I am the best at any one thing but I am good at a lot of them and I want to taste more of them. That class showed me that insight into myself and it is something I have tried to carry forward. Do not limit myself. As I sit here today on graduation day, I am thankful for the opportunity I had to say yes to going to Case. A lot has changed in the last three years and while the ending isn’t exactly the day anyone wanted, it still a monumental day in many of our lives. So I will end with this. Why say no, when you can say yes and see how it goes. You can also try something else.

Yee-Haw Brewing, Nashville part 5, and a Quick Weekend Write Up

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Distillery, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

This marks the 5th time I’ve been to Nashville. Been for business and pleasure. This was a pleasure trip. Regardless of the reason, I always love this city. Mainly driven by the amazing music you hear in the city and the food I consume. One of those cities I love visiting, but would die of a massive coronary if I lived there.

Brunch at Gray’s on Main

While we were just in town for a few days, we jammed a lot in. Something that not a lot of people see when they visit is the town of Franklin. Venture a way from downtown and grab some food at all the different restaurants in this city that was a key place of the civil war. It’s a cool little town.

Well now to the beer. I’ve been to a lot of other breweries in Nashville. This was my first trip to Yee-Haw Brewing. I’ll be honest the beer was average but it’s a cool spot with tons of games and activities to get drunk to. Plus they have an Old Smokey Distillery location on site. I’ve checked out Old Smoke’s Gatlinburg location last year. They have tasting of the numerous varieties of whiskey they make. One of which you’re bound to enjoy. Beer and liquor, always a great combo. Till next time Nashville.

Indians 26 man 2020 Roster

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

Well, the Indians missed the playoffs, my postseason ticket refund took forever to arrive and the Indians cut payroll. Despite all of this, I remain optimistic. Spring Training is starting so why not do a 26 man roster projection?

I’ll start with a few assumptions. Tito is the manager so we will carry 5 SP, 8 RP, 2 Catchers. The toss up is the extra spot on the bench. Here we go.

Lets start with the rotation. I think Cookie is able to get back into SP form and Civali shows he is major league rotation material. The 5th spot comes down to Adam Plutko or Zach Plesac. Plutko is out of options but there is room in the bullpen. Plesac gets the spot.

SP:

  1. Mike Clevinger
  2. Shane Bieber
  3. Carlos Carrasco
  4. Aaron Civali
  5. Zach Plesac

The bullpen is interesting. Lot of overhaul over the years here. I think the first four are pretty easy. Clase is too electric to not be here as is Karinchak. I think Hunter Wood and Plutko start out here but there is potential for some guys like Jefry Rodriquez, Scott Moss, James Hoyt and Phil Maton to take a spot. None of the non-roster guys this year intrigue me.

RP:

  1. Brad Hand
  2. Oliver Perez
  3. Adam Cimber
  4. Nick Witgren
  5. Emmanuel Clase
  6. Hunter Wood
  7. Adam Plutko
  8. James Karinchak

Catchers are easy. Nothing to say here.

Catcher

  1. Roberto Perez
  2. Sany Leon

The infield is up in the air. First four are locks but what else they do is unknown. I think Chang finally gets his shot and makes the roster.

IF

  1. Francisco Lindor
  2. Jose Ramirez
  3. Carlos Sanatana
  4. Cesar Hernandez
  5. Yu Chang

The outfield has some decisions to make and Domingo Santana is likely to sign soon and make this team. Reyes, Mercado and Luplow are locks in my opinion as well. I think Deshields makes this roster out of spring because of his speed and defense. Tyler Naquin will be hurt to start the season, otherwise he would be on this team.

OF

  1. Franmil Reyes
  2. Oscar Mercado
  3. Jordan Luplow
  4. Domingo Sanatana
  5. Delino Deshields

This leaves one last spot. The new 26th man. My options here are Greg Allen, Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer, Mike Freeman, Christian Arroyo, Andrew Velazquez, Daniel Johnson and Bobby Bradley. These last two will start in AAA. Team doesn’t need them yet. No room for Arroyo and Velazquez yet. Zimmer needs some time on the farm after his injury too. This leave us with Allen, Bauers and Freeman. Allen’s role is filled by Deshields for now. Freeman had a fantastic year but we can’t expect that from him. Jake Bauers makes this team as a DH/OF/1B/PH. Welcome back to the show Jake.

26th Man: Jake Bauers

Saturday Brew Quest

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, BreweryLeave a comment

Well winter is here and now I dread that 15 minutes each morning while my dog decides where to take a shit. While that is miserable, one way to pass the winter blues is to drink.

Saturday my girlfriend, myself and a few of her friends hopped around Ohio City knocking some of the various breweries off the Cleveland Brewery passport. Now, I have been to most of them before but our second stop of the day I had not been to prior to this day of alcohol bliss. Bad Tom Smith is actually a Cincinnati brewery and the Ohio City location is just a taproom, but it still counts here.

The location is right at the northern end of that strip that is populated by more breweries now than hipsters. Bad Tom Smith has a few solid beers that I tried. The Jackson Hustler was my favorite there that day. A delicious, easy drinking Belgian Wit. The taproom is a nice little spot, quieter than most of Ohio City which can be a nice change of pace. Plus, with cold dreary weather in full force here why not have a few more beers. Got to get that hibernation weight up.

New Year’s Vacation

On By Chris ElliottIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Florida is well known on the internet for “Florida Man”. Sometimes, the place gets a bad rap for that. While the inland areas may have some questionable residents, I’d argue the coasts are some of the best places around for a relaxing getaway. The past week, I vacationed in Siesta Key with my girlfriend’s family. Now, I consider myself the leading expert of Sanibel Island and I have been to Orlando and all over the Palm Beach area as well as Panama City Beach (PCB13!) but this was my first time to the Sarasota area.

Most of my time was spent crushing Corona Lights on the beach, but I did try a couple breweries out and had a few beers at various restaurants.

On Wednesday, as the slices of bread on either side of my dinner at Brick (fantastic BBQ by the way) we visited JDub’s Brewing Company and Calusa Brewing. Calusa leaned towards having a lot of high alcohol content IPAs, but it definitely had some solid beers on their list and the tap room was pretty busy. The best beer of the trip though was at JDub’s. Brad Popped His Berry was so good. This Blueberry sour was jammed full of flavor. Loved this beer like seagulls loves bread crumbs.

For a beach town, the beer overall was pretty good. But of course you have to have a daiquiri or two (or three). Which I did. However, it’s back to work this week. Monday after a vacation is definitely a level of hell. Just imagine if you had to relive that type of Monday for eternity. How far off is retirement?

San Diego Round 2

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

I’ve been out there before, but I was in town for work and I got to explore a few more places.

San Diego never has rain and it decided to rain the three days I was there a few weeks ago. Not sure who up top I pissed off, but come on you couldn’t give me a little sun shine?

San Diego is a truly beautiful area. I really enjoy La Jolla. We grabbed dinner one night at George’s at the Cove. Amazing short rib.

Also had the chance to visit a couple breweries too. I checked out Karl Strauss and 32 North. The bartender at Karl Strauss was fantastic and the beer was good but the food kind of reminded me of food from the frozen aisle. At 32 North, I enjoyed a good Hefeweizen but I was the only patron in the place. Damn you rain.

My last night I went down to the little Italy area to meet up with a former coworker that was also in town for work. We grabbed drinks at the Waterfront, this old navy bar. Then we proceeded to have dinner at the Kettner Exchange. Thanks to my company for the 75 dollar dinner of duck meatball, Philly cheesesteak toast and fried turkey leg. Corporate travel ain’t bad and San Diego never disappoints.

The Burg

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Again I’m late on this like a girl who forgot to take her birth control. While I still hate their football team, I have to say Pittsburg was a fun time. About a week ago, we spent a Saturday across the border bouncing around from different bars. Shoutout to Mark and Katie for being great hosts and tour guides.

We hit up quite a few bars and I even had Pittsburgh’s version of bud light, IC Light. I’ll pass on that next time. We stopped at the Sly Fox, a Philly based brewery and I had a delicious IPA, Route 113 IPA.

While the beer was good throughout the city, I had to satisfy the belly too. The full size wings, you know the kind with both parts, at Coughlin’s Law were some of the best I’ve ever eaten. The banana bread French toast for brunch the next day at Urban Tap was a nice twist on a classic. Despite the questionable actions of their QB, Pittsburg had quite a lot to offer.

I love Boston (despite Tom Brady)

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, baseball, Brewery, Football, History, Restaurants, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

As I sit here on the stationary bike, trying to burn off the 7.3 lbs I gained this weekend and sweat out my disappointment that tribe playoff baseball doesn’t exist this year, it is a challenge to describe how awesome Boston is. Cleveland will always have my heart but Boston has so much to offer. Easy to get around, clean, a lot to do no matter your interest. It’s New York without all the terrible aspects of New York. Only downside is they allow Tom Brady to live there.

Now, I have been to Boston before but this time I visited a bunch of new places and walked the whole freedom trail. Drinking a beer in the Green Dragon Tavern evokes a sensation knowing that some of the most important decisions and conversations in American history were had there.

And have I mentioned that Boston has such good beer. I’ve wanted to go to Trillium for years and finally made it. The variety of sours they have is splendid. The Sour Cherry Soak was my favorite there. Just around the corner from there was Hopsters. Another cool Boston brewery right in Seaport.

My favorite beer of the trip though was a can I had at Bell in Hand Tavern. Another revolutionary era bar. The 617 Title Town Hazy IPA from Lord Hobo Brewing Co. was so delicious. Perfect New England style IPA. I just wish it had a different name in stead of honoring all those damn championships. Have I mentioned I hate Tom Brady?

On the last day, we also visited the Fenway area. Boston Beerworks has a good IPA as well and the area was full of energy as the Pats played and the last Red Sox game of the year was about to start. To finish her off we grabbed food and drinks in the Bleacher Bar. This is a bar like no other as it’s located under the stadium and literally looks out to the field. During warmups the players can look right into the bar in outfield. I can only imagine a guy like Manny Ramirez slamming a beer out there. It’s an experience like no other and Boston is a town like no other (despite Tom Brady).

In West Lafayette…

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Brewery, Restaurants, TripsLeave a comment

In West Lafayette born and raised, on the playground…ok I’ll stop. I took a work trip last week to Indiana to the home of Purdue University. Boiler Up! While I was only there for just over 24 hours, I did manage to make a stop into downtown Lafayette and visit Lafayette Brewing Company.

Now, I know this is a college town and the school year hasn’t started, and this was a Wednesday night, but downtown was dead. More dead than a Clinton opponent (cough Jeffrey Epstein).

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed a great dinner at East End Grill and then a delicious EZPZ Lemon Wheat beer. This was like drinking a large lemon drop shot or maybe a better version of a summer Shandy. I enjoyed this one.

The city looks like its downtown area could be a great Thursday night drink spot in college and I’m sure the place comes alive for college football Saturdays. It just was not doing much on an early August Wednesday. But if you find yourself in this little part of America, there is good food and beer to be had.

Look out Twins, the Tribe Have Turned it Around!!

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

Things were looking ugly for the Tribe there. While things aren’t perfect yet, the last month or so makes it seem like this team is primed for a run.  However, to sneak into the playoffs the Cleveland Indians still need to make some adjustments.

First, please do not trade Trevor Bauer. Dude is a workhorse despite his weird tendencies. We need him on this roster without knowing what Kluber and Cookie can provide the rest of the way.

Next, we need another shutdown reliever. I like Brad Hand, but he makes me more nervous than a middle school boy at his first dance. It seems like every time he gets up there he lets base runners on. Maybe he just likes extra pressure (stop it Brad). We never seem to have a 3 up, 3 down inning with him. Some of this help may be on its way in the form of Danny Salazar. If he comes up and is the electric arm he can be, great! Regardless, I want them to go get someone. One more guy such as Kirby Yates or Shane Greene would be ideal but knowing the tribe it would probably be a slightly lesser known player.

Next, we need one more bat on this team. This is a young team in many spots and while guys are starting to get it together, I would really like to see us add some power somewhere. There have been a lot of names thrown out there from Charlie Blackmon (not happening) to Adam Jones to Domingo Santana. Regardless, of the decision one more bat could push this team over the edge.

With the deadline coming up, the Indians are in the perfect position to be buyers after all year looking like sellers. Let’s enjoy it while we can, right Dolan?