Desipio Message Board

Quote from: CBStew on April 13, 2020, 12:26:31 PM

Quote from: Quality Start Machine on April 07, 2020, 11:14:55 AM

Quote from: CBStew on April 05, 2020, 12:00:25 PM
Number one...Ernie Banks.

Pretty sure he wore 14.

Number one is Jose Cardenal.

Oh Yeah!  If you are so smart what number did Henry Cotto wear?

28, IF MEMORY SERVES.

Sorry I'm a couple days late, but I just dropped in to see what condition Kenny Rogers' Dead Pool condition was in. 

Happy to see it's...alive?

Edit:  I can't believe I managed to get FACED on a messagebaord that literally gets about 2 new messages per week.

Quote from: Yeti on March 08, 2020, 11:13:47 PM

Quote from: Wheezer on February 22, 2020, 01:57:05 PM

Quote from: Canadouche on February 16, 2020, 09:19:39 PM
Kirk Douglas was 103. He's also #3 on my Deadpool 2020 list, although I'm suspecting the dead pool is no longer a thing?

It lives on as a stain on Yeti's character.

Hey, no hate for the real terrorist in all of this, Thrillho?

Such an asshole...

Quote from: JD on February 27, 2020, 03:08:04 PM
RIP

Indeed.

Robert Garrison, vaunted member of Cobra Kai, dead at 59.

Cubs go 8-1 and steal the division from the Cardinals, and regardless of what then happens, we will bathe in Cardinals tears all offseason.

The 5th--and sadly, final--time I met flannj was completely unexpected.  I'm guessing it'd have been around 2013 or 2014.  I had to be at work downtown WAY earlier than usual and got on the train at my stop at around 5:50 AM or some ungodly time.  I went to the upstairs of the car--as I almost always did--and walked toward the end of the row.  At the end seat--facing the row--sat a sleeping figure with a baseball cap over his eyes.  As I got closer and sat down I noticed the hat  was of the University of Miami of Ohio which I knew--from the aforementioned 6 (at the time) or so years that I had gotten to know Jim--was his alma mater (and, if I'm not mistaken, where he sent one of his 2 boys).  I looked closer and confirmed, "Son of a bitch.  Jim fucking Flannery sleeping on the train before work sitting right there".

I let him sleep the entire ride and, when the train began to pull into  Ogilvie Transportation Center I began to train my middle finger on him, so that when he came to and pulled his hat back it'd be the first thing he'd see.  When he came to, he looked at me, and then immediately saw my middle finger, then e looked back at me, then back at my finger, then back at me one more time before sort of snorting softly and shaking his head.  The conversation was much shorter that morning as we filed off the train and parted our ways with a handshake, and I guess that would be the last time we actually met in person.

In one of our encounters--one of the three in which alcohol was consumed, and I'm pretty sure it was the Cubs Convention night before he flattened Crane-- I had a conversation with Jim that has always stuck with me.  While I was reminded of this conversation this weekend, it's one that I had thought about many times since I had it--and will continue to do so in the future even if Jim were still living.  I was just having an honest discussion about the challenges of raising kids in this world--my kids would've been 5 and 1 at the time and Jim had already put his 2 sons through college while his daughter was entering it.  He had been married over 20 years at that point.  I related how my wife and I both work and we're juggling our careers and young kids and as a result of the stress would find ourselves sniping at each other on occasion, or yelling at the 5 year old, the baby's screaming, everything seems so out of control--these are days that every one has, not just parents but the dynamics of multiple personalities and ages and the need to raise the kids normally and all that happy fun stuff all mixed together....I basically turned to flannj as if to say "How the hell do you do it?"  Unsurprisingly, Jim didn't pretend he had the answers.  He acknowledged that he endured the exact same moments of duress and whatnot, and then he said the thing that I've always kept in mind.

"Breakfast.  We had difficulty but one thing I always made sure to do was that as often as possible, we sat at breakfast.  No pretense.  No goals.  Just sit with your family and appreciate it, let it come to you"  By "breakfast" I think Jim really meant meals in general--surely if he was working on LaSalle Street he was out the door early, as evidenced by the time I bumped into him.  But I took it to heart and I swear if there wasn't some truth to it.  Being more mindful around the table and enjoying what I have was some of the best advice anyone's any given to me.

I've had some time to reflect--it really does seem difficult to believe.  So sudden and shocking.  When you spend parts of 12 or so years crossing paths with someone online, you learn a lot about them, but you really remember the physical interactions you've had with them, few as they turned out to be. 

By my count I met flannj 5 times.  The first would've been the same time a bunch of you first met him--the Rooftop Game in '08.  He was immediately likeable in person, and the conversation was genuine. Because I'm 13 years his junior, and at the time I first met him I was still in the first decade of my marriage with one 2 year old child, I found myself drawn to him as a sort of guide--not just the night I met him but every subsequent encounter. 

I believe the next time I met flannj was at Galway Bay when Fork threw an entire Fest in Tonker's honor.   That evening, flannj provided Tonker a signed Alfonso Soriano framed photo.  Part of the idea behind the gift was that noted Soriano Hater Chuck was to be in attendance that night, so the idea of publicly gifting our European Desipio Representative with this photo in front of Chuck was too good of an opportunity to pass up.  I remember flannj telling me about the gift beforehand, he was so excited to give it to Jeff.

The third time I met flannj was probably the night that flannj himself was the star attraction.  Thrill has already provided flannj's own recollection of that epic evening of the Cubs Convention in 2011  from the next day's perspective; my own lasting image is of aggrieved season-ticket holder flannj nearly literally buttonholing Crane Kenney over a table to just berate the living fuck out of him.  It was glorious and if flannj had dropped dead that night rather than 8 years later I think I would have been okay with it. 

The 4th encounter with flannj was when a handful of us met up for a ShoutLunch downtown at Skrine Chops.  What was memorable about that day was when flannj--a trader (or some financial markets guy) who worked around nearby LaSalle Street--showed us his work ID badge, which was nearly 25 years old and revealed a full coif of dark hair on his head--which at the time was either bald or white.  He still had his goddamn badge from like 1987.

Hard to make jokes but the consensus is that the deceased wouldn't want it any other way.

It is with heavy heart that I announce long-time Desipiot and all-around good guy Jim Flannery  passed away this past July 9th at 60.

Tonker, Fork and I sort of stumbled across this obituary--after noticing that flannj hadn't appeared in the Only Slack in quite some time--and it's fair to say we're all still in a bit of shock after having made this discovery. 

RIP, buddy.  May they serve some of the finest scotch wherever you're bellied up at.

Quote from: thehawk on August 01, 2019, 10:38:01 AM
Carl C.J. the Stringbean Slinger Edwards.

The Death of CJ Edwards--A Play in 3 Acts

Act I: Called upon to get the final out of the 2016 World Series, Edwards starts off strong, striking out Mike Napoli & getting Jose Ramirez on a groundout to short. However, w/1 out to go & w/a  2-run lead, Carl mystifyingly--though, in retrospect unsurprisingly--walks Brandon Guyer who takes 2nd base & then scores on Rajai Davis' single, which is the last pitch CJ Edwards throws, 1 out shy from being more memorialized than he turned out to be.

Act II: Edwards spends the entire '17 season on the roster & is downright filthy in the first half. But in July & August he starts blowing up w/a bit more frequency. Still, he seems to settle down in September.  He finishes the year with a solid 2.98 ERA & 1.01 WHIP & appears ready for a bigger role in the playoffs. In Game 3 the NLCS vs. Los Angeles, w/the Cubs facing a must-win, down 2-zip in the series, they trail 3-1 in the 6th inning. Looking for any hope to stay alive, Edwards comes in to relieve starter Kyle Hendricks, w/runners on 1st & 2nd. He gets a groundout & then, after a walk to load the bases, induces Joc Pederson to hit one to RF that's too shallow to drive the run in. Out of the inning, right? I mean Yu Darvish is on deck! The Cubs might come back and make a series out of this just yet!

Instead, Carl  issues a 4-pitch RBI bases-loaded walk to Darvish, effectively ending the game, the series & the season.

ACT III: Carl once more has a pretty decent season on balance. The hope is that Carl has overcome his struggles and is finally ready to take it to the level we've all expected.  He's sporting a 2.20 ERA heading into a Labor Day matchup with the suddenly--annoying Brewers.  The first-place Cubs, with a 5 game lead, have a chance to put the division away.  It doesn't look good when Human Straw Wrapper Craig Counsell brings Josh Hader into the game to begin the 6th inning to face Anthony Rizzo while protecting a 2-1 lead.  Hader retires Rizzo & then continues to retire the next 5 batters before issuing a walk to Ian Happ to lead off the 8th. Hader then strikes out the next two before facing Rizzo for the second time in the game.  This time, Rizzo stuns everyone in the airport hangar that is Miller Park by becoming the first left-handed hitter to homer off Hader when he slams one over the wall for a lead-changing 2-run homer.  Holy shit, the Cubs are going to be up 6 games.

How does the next inning go? When the Cubs absolutely need to close out a game & start shoveling some dirt on Milwaukee? Well I'm glad you asked. Carl comes in and falls behind 3-1 to 74 year old Curtis Granderson before Granderson singles. CEJ gives up another single before amazingly striking out eventual MVP Christian Yellich & then noted Fat Guy Jesus Aguilar. He's going to escape, right? Nope, Carl celebrates his 2 K's by walking Ryan Braun & Mike Moustakis (the latter on 4 pitches), thus giving up the lead. The Cubs eventually lose the game in the 9th, & the Brewers end the day only 4 back (instead of 6). Many idiots like to bemoan any tough loss as the one "that you'll remember in September" which is utter bullshit, as these people ungraciously choose to ignore unlikely lead-changing walk off grand slams by Jason Heyward and David Bote (as well as several other unlikely comebacks). However, considering that the Cubs literally ended up in a tie w/Milwaukee--and at the time this game was played they had a real chance to effectively end it--it's hard to not point the finger to this 1 game as the one that cost them, which means the finger is pointed squarely at Carl.

I didn't read too much into the World Series game since the Cubs won, but in retrospect it was telling. Yes, credit to him for getting the first 2 outs, but walking the next hitter with a 2-run lead really seems to have been par for the course for Carl in big moments, as things played. I wonder how his career would have gone had he only been able to go 3 up and 3 down like it looked like he was about to before suffering his first of 3 insanely critical tub-shittings. So long, Carl, I'm glad you got those outs & helped the Cubs finally win it all but boy were you ultimately a goddamn disappointment.

Tommy La Stella's homerun binge broke Desipio?

Quote from: Tonker on April 30, 2019, 08:37:53 PM
Oh, man, I can't believe he's dead. It was only the other day they said they were taking him off life support!

I muttleyed at this.

Quote from: Brownie on April 22, 2019, 12:40:58 PM

Quote from: CBStew on April 22, 2019, 11:55:05 AM

Quote from: World's #1 Astros Fan on April 22, 2019, 11:27:02 AM

Quote from: InternetApex on April 15, 2019, 02:27:07 PM
I came here just to bump the gutless fucking assholes thread but I couldn't find it.

And instead you apparently killed Desipio once and for all.

Nah.  As long as we have the Deadpool to announce that someone other than us has kicked off Desipio will survive.

Yes, but our picks for the year were apparently all for naught.

True.

I mean WHAT.  THE.  FUCK.  YETI.

Quote from: InternetApex on April 15, 2019, 02:27:07 PM
I came here just to bump the gutless fucking assholes thread but I couldn't find it.

And instead you apparently killed Desipio once and for all.

In the area of "famously deliberate pitchers" I'd also say Steve Trachsel outlives another one.