Truly the NFL has become the most bizarre major professional league out there. With a couple of exceptions on any given Sunday any team can win or lose.
The Bears got crushed in the fourth quarter against the Lions last week. And then Brett Favre tore them apart in the first half last night -- 19 of 22 for 243 yards and at least one incompletion was a spike. The Packers had played 4.5 solid games at this point. In the second half, Favre was 10 of 18 for only 79 yards and two interceptions and half the yardage came against the Bears prevent defense in the last series. Hard to believe it was the same two teams out there as it had been so far this season.
But it's bigger than the Bears, who moved to 2-3 with the win. The top four teams in the NFC last year were the Bears, Saints, Eagles, and Seahawks. The Seahawks are 3-2, the Eagles are 1-3, and the Saints are 0-4 and among the worst handful of teams in the NFL. In the AFC, the Chargers were 14-2 last year and have already lost three games, and the Jets went from the playoffs to 1-4. If the season ended today, the Raiders, Redskins, and Titans would be in the playoffs. Of course, there are still 12 weeks to go, so we'll see how it sorts out.
Monday, October 8
Cubs
Blech! Wait 'til next year, I guess.
People will point to Piniella's decision to pull Zambrano or other moves, but simply the Cubs didn't hit or didn't hit in the right spots. In a best of five anything can happen, though a sweep is unlikely. And we almost had a four-way sweep in the first round. Barring a big Yankees comeback tonight, in four series you'd have to describe as near even, the losing team is going to win a total of ONE game.
People will point to Piniella's decision to pull Zambrano or other moves, but simply the Cubs didn't hit or didn't hit in the right spots. In a best of five anything can happen, though a sweep is unlikely. And we almost had a four-way sweep in the first round. Barring a big Yankees comeback tonight, in four series you'd have to describe as near even, the losing team is going to win a total of ONE game.
Tuesday, September 25
New Job
I started a new job last Tuesday. I'm a senior SDET (software development engineer in test) at ascentium. While it's a new job title, it's effectively the same kind of work -- software testing (finding bugs and improving product quality before the customer gets the product) with an emphasis on writing and understanding code to test the product.
I never blogged much about my job search though I had some interesting experiences to share. In this technology era, I think many responsible interviewers will look for a candidates personal blog, and blog with lots of posts griping about other interviews could be strike one against me before I get my foot in the door. Likewise while it may be cathartic to vent about your job and many people have blogs full of job gripes, in the tech world you have to realize your boss and your co-workers are reading it, so don't expect much about my job here.
That said, so far so good. I like the people I'm working with, which is key, and so far I've gotten enough guidance to get running and then been left alone to do my own thing. I am jumping in to the fire with both feet as our first ZBR/RC0 goal is this week and I'm the one tester on the project. (Tech people will understand that, non-tech people don't worry about it.)
Oh, one thing of note. I'm trying something different and being a morning person at this job. Monica has been getting up at 5/5:30 for her classes at Boeing and as long as I'm up, I'm trying to be productive (note the time of this post). That said I don't think I'll make it out of the house by 7 today.
I never blogged much about my job search though I had some interesting experiences to share. In this technology era, I think many responsible interviewers will look for a candidates personal blog, and blog with lots of posts griping about other interviews could be strike one against me before I get my foot in the door. Likewise while it may be cathartic to vent about your job and many people have blogs full of job gripes, in the tech world you have to realize your boss and your co-workers are reading it, so don't expect much about my job here.
That said, so far so good. I like the people I'm working with, which is key, and so far I've gotten enough guidance to get running and then been left alone to do my own thing. I am jumping in to the fire with both feet as our first ZBR/RC0 goal is this week and I'm the one tester on the project. (Tech people will understand that, non-tech people don't worry about it.)
Oh, one thing of note. I'm trying something different and being a morning person at this job. Monica has been getting up at 5/5:30 for her classes at Boeing and as long as I'm up, I'm trying to be productive (note the time of this post). That said I don't think I'll make it out of the house by 7 today.
Thursday, September 13
Shana Tova
Here's wishing a very happy and sweet 5768 to friends, family, and any other readers out there, especially those of you who are rooting for the Cubs.
Monday, September 10
Cubs
<sigh>
Baseball Prospectus runs a daily Post Season Odds report. The math and process isn't that important but the end result gives you a good idea of a team's chances of making the playoffs. Since shortly after the all-star break, the Cubs have had a better than 50% chance of making the playoffs even breaking 60% a few times as recently as August 31st. With yesterday's loss and the Brewers win, not only did the Cubs drop out of first place but their post season chances feel to 36%, the lowest it's been since July 1.
Of more concern the Cubs have been playing some pretty bad baseball for a while now. Since peaking on July 30th, they're 17-22 and have been outscored 156-188. The starting pitching has been lousy, especially Zambrano and Hill who are supposed to be the aces of the staff. But they haven't helped themselves by replacing Sean Marshall with Steve Tracshel -- on what universe is that an upgrade -- or penciling in Jason Kendall's no hit, no field name into the top of the lineup. Kendall may be the worst player in major league baseball. Geovany Soto hit .353 with 31 2B and 26 HR in only 385 AB in AAA this year. Even the non-baseball fans reading this blog know that's pretty good. He's not the catcher of the future, he's by far the best catcher the Cubs have now. Play him!
Edited to add: Who says "they" can't hear you through the TV set? I made the post above and turned on the Cub game just as Derrek Lee hit a home run. The Cubs added four more runs and now lead 6-1.
Baseball Prospectus runs a daily Post Season Odds report. The math and process isn't that important but the end result gives you a good idea of a team's chances of making the playoffs. Since shortly after the all-star break, the Cubs have had a better than 50% chance of making the playoffs even breaking 60% a few times as recently as August 31st. With yesterday's loss and the Brewers win, not only did the Cubs drop out of first place but their post season chances feel to 36%, the lowest it's been since July 1.
Of more concern the Cubs have been playing some pretty bad baseball for a while now. Since peaking on July 30th, they're 17-22 and have been outscored 156-188. The starting pitching has been lousy, especially Zambrano and Hill who are supposed to be the aces of the staff. But they haven't helped themselves by replacing Sean Marshall with Steve Tracshel -- on what universe is that an upgrade -- or penciling in Jason Kendall's no hit, no field name into the top of the lineup. Kendall may be the worst player in major league baseball. Geovany Soto hit .353 with 31 2B and 26 HR in only 385 AB in AAA this year. Even the non-baseball fans reading this blog know that's pretty good. He's not the catcher of the future, he's by far the best catcher the Cubs have now. Play him!
Edited to add: Who says "they" can't hear you through the TV set? I made the post above and turned on the Cub game just as Derrek Lee hit a home run. The Cubs added four more runs and now lead 6-1.
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