Tag: Sports

Queen Of Beers

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

After a week of schmoozing people for my day job in Charlotte, I decided to stay the weekend and see a bit more of the city. Between a baseball game, a museum (New South Museum) and eating I found some time for a few beers. Ok, more than a few. Over just a few days, I visited seven breweries. My body needs a rest now.

I started off my work trip with a visit to D9 Brewing in Uptown. What’s interesting to note about this place, is that they also looked to be big into coffee. That’s not my thing, but I think beer and coffee lovers have a lot in common in appreciating a unique craft.

On the weekend, I jammed the next 6 into just two days. We started Saturday off with brunch and beer at Suffolk Punch. This was my favorite stop. Between a juicy biscuit chicken sandwich and two sours that even non-beer fans would love, this place hit the spot. From there, after watching a college baseball game at UNC-Charlotte, we visited Armored Cow and then finished the night at Sycamore Brewing with some live music. Shoutout to the guy in a cowboy hat living his best life as the hype man. Oh yeah, before I forget, a very good Hazy IPA there called the Slurricane too.

For Sunday Funday, we visited three more breweries after brunch at The Stanley (get the doughnuts). First stop was Legion Brewing then onto Pilot Brewing and finally Trolley Barn Fermentory. Each of which had some solid beers to tide me over for a bit. Or at least till next weekend. See ya Queen City.

2021 Tribe Roster Prediction

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

It’s January, Cleveland pretty much does not see sun for months, and the Indians finally traded away their generational star talent at Shortstop and I have had time to process that loss. I feel like its a great time for an early 2021 Indians Roster Prediction.

There is still so much uncertainty with baseball for next year but I am going to operate under the assumption that there will a full season and they will play with a 26 man roster. The cloud of Lindor’s impending trade finally cleared and with his departure he took Carlos Carrasco with him. The payroll is just above the minimum possible level. There are a lot of names people are not super familiar with on this roster, but there is still some talent, especially in the rotation. Let’s get into it.

Let’s start with easiest piece, Starting Pitching. The Indians will live and die with the rotation. These guys are studs up and down the rotation except for maybe Plutko. The other options here are Cal Quantril, Scott Moss, & Logan Allen.

  1. Shane Bieber
  2. Zach Plesac
  3. Aaron Civale
  4. Triston McKenzie
  5. Adam Plutko

Next up, the Bullpen. Tito loves arms. I will carry 8 here, but I could easily see 7. Gose is my surprise pick here. If he can get his control in order, he could be electric. Scott Moss, Logan Allen, and Kyle Nelson all have good shots at making this pen too.

  1. Emmanuel Clase
  2. James Karinchak
  3. Nick Wittgren
  4. Cal Quantril
  5. Phil Maton
  6. Anthony Gose
  7. Trevor Stephan
  8. Can Hill

Another strength of this team: Catchers.

  1. Roberto Perez
  2. Austin Hedges

This next section has a lot of questions. They have a potential MVP candidate but also lost the franchise player here. Who plays first base is unknown. Additionally, I could see Tito carrying one less guy in the field here and having another pitcher up. A lot of guys here can play many positions which should give them roster flexibility. Do not be surprised if Jake Bauers somehow finds his way on this roster as he is out of options. Nolan Jones will be up once as the service time manipulation is done too.

  1. Jose Ramirez
  2. Ahmed Rosario
  3. Andres Gimenez
  4. Yu Chang
  5. Bobbie Bradley
  6. Josh Naylor
  7. Franmil Reyes
  8. Oscar Mercado
  9. Daniel Johnson
  10. Jordan Luplow
  11. Bradley Zimmer

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

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).

Farewell Erik Gonzalez: Tribe Trade Update

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

The tribe traded Erik Gonzalez yesterday. Gonzalez has been a pretty good utility infielder the last couple years. He has shown potential with the bat, a good glove at multiple positions and the ability to swipe some bases. All in all, he has been a solid backup for the tribe. Side note, Erik Gonzalez looks like he has not eaten in 3-5 weeks. One of the skinniest human beings I have ever seen play a professional sport. Get that kid a sandwich.

Yesterday, the Indians sent him off to Pittsburgh along with two minor leaguers that struggle in Rookie Ball. Both those guys will be selling insurance or laying bricks in two years. No loss there. (Watch, one of them will become a stud and this post will come back to bite me in the ass. Oh well)

In exchange for this, the tribe got outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff. I’m not going to pretend I know a great deal about either of these guys. Both are probably backups at best (though it does seem Luplow is believed to have some legit starter potential), and more likely 4A players. Never quite good enough to consistently cut it in the show but good enough at triple A to keep getting that shot. I have to assume the Indians felt Moroff and Gonzalez are interchangeable and Luplow is a solid enough outfielder to provide some system depth with options available. Small move for the tribe, but I do not think they are done yet this offseason.

ATX, WVU and a Whirlwind of a Weekend

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

Texas is a completely different place. I think that’s been pretty well documented #texasforever. This was my first time in the state for more than just a layover and I took my talents to Austin. Talents is a loosely defined term.

In a whirlwind of a weekend, I accomplished quite a bit here. The highlight? Witnessing WVU knock down the Longhorns with a two point conversion to go up one point with just seconds remaining. Will Greer is a God.

While the game was amazing, I also managed to go to an EDM concert (The people watching at that is entertainment) and checked out a couple breweries. I visited Brewtorium for lunch and also made a stop at Live Oak. I need more time here as there were plenty more I wanted to check out, but both delivered some good beer. And wow were their spaces huge for craft breweries. Everything really is bigger in Texas. The Spacelaser Double IPA from Brewtorium and Smoaktoberfest from Live Oak were the best of the bunch. The Spacelaser was one of the best Double IPAs I’ve had recently.

Overall, Texas has some great beer, good music and good food. Survived another trip. Till next time, Keep Austin Weird.

Spring Training Starting Yet?

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

The Red Sox won another title. Hey God, I know they didn’t win for almost a 100 years but I think that’s enough championships for one city for awhile, don’t you think?

Regardless, I miss baseball season already and since the Indians should be poised next year for another division title why not try to predict the opening day roster. The tribe (RIP Chief Wahoo) have some big free agent decisions to make, huge contract increases to make, and virtually no financial flexibility. Making any moves is going to be extremely difficult. This team is going to have to be replenished virtually from within. Unless they get creative and dump some salary and find someone cheap. I’m not counting on it.

So here we go. Let’s start with the pitchers. The starting staff first four will be easy. Kluber, Bauer, Carrasco, and Clevinger make up the best 1-4 in baseball. That 5th spot could be open and I think they let Salazar takes that spot coming out of Spring Training. Now, I think Shane Bieber deserves it but I think they let Salazar start out as the 5.

The pen is where we have the most questions pitching wise. Brad Hand, Adam Cimber, Tyler Olson, Dan Otero and Neil Ramirez I think all make this staff. Nick Goody should be back from injury and I think makes it as well. That should leaves one more spot. Cody Anderson should finally be healthy as well and I think he gets that spot. It’s a very righty heavy pen but you make do with what you got.

In the field, you have Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez begins the plate. Yonder Alonso at first and Edwin at DH. Lindor is of course your SS and I’m going to put Jose at second. Which means Yandy Diaz will finally be your regular everyday third basemen. Erik González once again is your utility infielder. That’s 8 guys. The tribe will carry 5 outfielders. In center, I think they let Leonys have that. Jason Kipnis becomes a permanent outfielder and does it in left because no one wants that contract. Then in right you have Tyler Naquin. The fourth is Greg Allen and the 5th guy is going to be a wildcard here. I think Oscar Mercado the player they traded for from St. Louis makes the roster.

So here it is.

Starting Pithcers (5): Kluber, Bauer, Carrasco, Clevinger, Salazar

Bullpen (7): Hand, Cimber, Olson, Goody, Otero, Anderson, Ramirez

Catchers (2): Gomes, Perez

Infield (6): Alonso, Edwin, Frankie, Jose, Yandy, González

Outfield (5): Martin, Kipnis, Allen, Naquin, Mercado

Now, they could sign some veterans for cheap deals or make a move no one is expecting, but for now this is the roster I expect the Indians to open up the season with.

Oh So Good

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

Well, I am sitting here in class, munching on Jimmy Johns, hoping it soaks up the beer as I mourn the end of the Indians season. Now seems like a good time to talk about O.H.S.O. Brewery and Distillery in Phoenix, Arizona. Need something to take my mind off that embarrassing sweep the tribe suffered.

I had a work trip out to Phoenix last week,and while my free time was limited, I did find some time to visit one Brewery, O.H.S.O. Brewery and Distillery.

The beer was pretty good at O.H.S.O. The bartender was great giving the guy I made friends with next to me, bonding over the Cubs Rockies game that went to extras, and I tastes of their vodkas. The 89 ale and Orange Pedal were both very good beers. The Orange Pedal reminded me of a creamsicle and who doesn’t like creamsicles? I grabbed some food while I was there as well and the mac and cheese with BBQ pork was very good. Could go for a bowl right now. Something else to take my mind off that display the Indians tried to claim was baseball. There is always next year and another beer to try……

 

It’s the God Damn White Sox

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

How do you lose to the damn White Sox? Who still suicide squeezes? Two in a row. Jesus Christ. This will easily be the most frustrating season as an Indians fan. It makes me want to drink bleach at times.

Let’s be honest. This division is the Indians. No one is going to win it other than them. But losing back to back games to the White Sox is worse than Rickey Davis trying to get a triple double on his own basket. Oh well, we will complain about these issues till playoff time…When’s Miller come back?

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Peak Preak: A Preakness Story

On By Chris ElliottIn Alcohol, Trips, vacationsLeave a comment

Can the written word do justice for what was 10 hours of wall to wall bros, beers and mud? That is up for debate, but oh what a day.

A horse race is always a great day to throw on obnoxious clothes like your name is Wilson Wellington Williams the Fourth ready for another day at the Country Club (Side note, we really did meet a guy who referred to himself as “The Fourth”, dude was blacked out by noon and a douche since birth). The Preakness is no exception with this. From there, the day is filled with booze, music and of course the race.

I can’t begin to explain how we took over the Mug and Vine Club part of the infield. We had a group of 20 plus shouting random phrases, pounding Barefoot mini wine bottles in hopes to fill up the whole table, and forcing each other to chug pink moscato. We ran that place up until the largest man at the table puked for the second time of the day all before 1. Unfortunately, the big man could not rally from this one. RIP to those tables. Despite the loss of those tables, we charged on. There were more Black Eyed Susans to drink.

Did I tell you about the mud? My dry cleaner has her work cut out for her. Girls, check the weather before wearing heels. Eating it face first in the mud is a good laugh for the rest of us, but you will quickly regret it. My shoes didn’t survive the weekend and I am hoping my red pants do. Then there was music. Who knew these fine gentleman named Post Malone and 21 Savage were good? Rap music and horse racing are a shit show match made in heaven.

Then there are the races. The thing about the infield is, you can’t see the race. You see 2-3 seconds as the horses flash by. Yeah, betting on things you have no knowledge of is a rush, but in fact I think most people just wanted the horses to finish so they could drunkenly call a surging Uber ride home. The Preakness was everything I hoped it would be and more. That place is THE PLAY.  However, it is Monday so back to the Rat Race.