Iowa Cubs - end of the year

I saw a couple of games before the season came to a close. The Iowa Cubs had one of the worst years in their existence. They still drew half-million in attendance. here are reports of two of their last games.

August 19- The key to minor league baseball is that it is cheap. Iowa practically gives away tickets for free- through Groupon, Buy-1-Get-1, and other incentives. As even the most stingy fan will end up spending $15 for one drink and one food item,; it's not the worst business model.

Of course, there's only a certain section you can sit in; and this particular Sunday, an I-Cub employee devotedly patrolled the next-to-cheapest seats so no General Admission ticketholders crept into these barely-better seats. it was hilarious.

This game pitted the Cubs vs the Memphis Redbirds, so you got a bit of Cubs vs Cards rivalry. It hinted at a possible pitcher rally. Yoanner Negrin made his Triple-A debut for Iowa. Negrin is one of a few Cuban prospects in the Chicago Cubs prospect system. Not surprisingly, information on Cuban baseball is pretty sketchy. The Redbirds started John Gast, who had a 8-3 record.

It didn't turn into that, though. Gast was destroyed- giving up 6 runs and 6 walks in an inning and a third. Negrin looked ok, throwing in the lower 90s as promised.

Dave Sappelt hit a three run home run for the win. Sappelt is one of the best of the rest (as major league teams expand to a 40 man roster) and would likely be a utility outfielder in the majors in the next year or two. Others fitting that bill are Catcher Juan Apodaca, one of Bleacher Report's players to watch for a call-up in September. Lead-off RF James Adduci and 3B Greg Rohan may not top any prospect lists, but both have hit pretty consistently. Scott Maine closed, though wasn't particularly impressive. Maine has often showed up on Top Prospects lists.

August 26 - A frustrating end to a frustrating home season. The I Cubs mirroring their major league counterparts, and not giving much promise of a better 2013. This game featured Tony Campana in a lead-off role, a clear fan favorite who once was a Top Prospect, but disappointed in the majors. Another top prospect, Adrian Cardenas came off the bench, as did Sappelt. Diory Hernandez, a prospect picked up from Atlanta looked good at the plate and at third, but made a bad baserunning decision.

Pitching Prospect Chris Rusin looked good in 7 innings of work (3 runs on 4 hits) but it wasn't enough as it went to the last out, before the Cubs finally lost 4-3.

Also, in the Kum and Go races, Nuke Soda has now joined the other 3- Chippy, Hot Diggity Dog and Shaky.




Sorry, just getting used to the iPhone, but needless to say, Nuke is the purple bottle on legs.

Movie review: Odd Life of Timothy Green

You've probably seen the ads and may have been pulled in by this quirky little movie.

Interestingly, it was produced by and based on a story by Ahmet Zappa.  Ok, I am in.

This is a basic Disney PG flick, but largely succeeds over that.  It is a simple plot, and the ending is predictable, but I also really enjoyed it.

Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton are likable, and the supporting cast ( bunch of people you would probably recognize but may not know - Dianne Weist, David Morse, Common, and Ron Livingston as anti-Peter Gibbons) are excellent.

This movie could have been a lot of things- heavy-handed, cheesy, generic- but it succeeds in a lot of ways (in my mind) over similar Disney flicks. 

Yes, a lot of it is CJ Adams, playing the optimistic, hard-not-to-love title character, and good support from another child actor, Odeya Rush.

Okay, for a Zappa, it could have been a lot weirder, I guess, but I really have no complaints, it's perfectly paced, and told extraordinary well,  There are a lot of good lessons to be taken from this movie, although I am not sure I would call it a kid's movie.  I would say maybe older elementary children would be more appropriate. 

Indeed, it's story of individualism will be appreciated best by kids at heart.  Reviews I have read have been sort of a mixed bag.  I think this is probably due to some unmet expectations.  Viewers need to understand that they are getting a Disney film, and in such, should expect the basic storytelling of something like Secretariat, Invincible and the like.

Green is firmly in the Disney family film vein, but the film has enough originality to put it a bit above relative fare.  It's funny, it's sad, and it's better than what online reviews say.