Gas Prices

Okay, it's easy to just sit and complain about the price of gas. But honestly, as long as the pricing makes sense, I have no problem with it.

Of course, it makes no sense whatsoever.

For the last month or so, I loosely tracked the WHOLESALE price of a gallon of gas. I began when it traded for $2.22 a gallon and the stations around here were selling it for $2.95. For approximately three weeks, the price of gas (and oil, for that matter) fell rather steadily. I can't remember if it was an intra-day price or if it closed here, but one time I recall the wholesale price of a gallon of unleaded fell to $1.99. And yet, the signs in Eau Claire and my hometown of Osseo remained the same at $2.95. Fine, I figured. We are looking very short term so maybe the oil companies are looking at more of a long-term picture (because that's EXACTLY what they did post 9/11 and Katrina--suddenly the gas in the tanks was going to be sold for quite a bit more). As long as wholesale trades in that general range, I figured price at the pump should remain constant. This week, oil and gas "rallied". Yesterday, wholesale gas hit $2.23--one penny higher than it was when I started this little survey. And the signs all around the Chippewa Valley changed, moving up 4-5 cents. So, for three weeks the cost of gas to the stations goes down around 10% and the price remains unchanged. The price essentially returns to the level it started at and the price to us goes up.

Stay mad, people.

Auction Item--Near Miss

An auction on Father's Day in Chippewa Falls caught my eye. The bill in the paper said simply "1929 Cubs Program". I inquired a little more about it and found out they had pictures available online. So I checked them out--it was slightly more than just a Cubs program. It was a 1929 Cubs World Series program. Judging by the picture, it appeared as though you could shave with the pages. Absolutely gem mint. But wait, there's more! As part of the lot, also included was a ticket stub to game 2 of the World Series in Wrigley!

I contemplated what my absentee bid would be, as I just didn't really have the time to go to the auction in person. After changing my mind three times, I finally settled on $150. I found out that there were two other absentee bids, and of those mine was the highest. This I figured was a very good sign. I was hopeful that this being a local auction with a less-than-stellar write up in the auction bill that I had an excellent chance of winning the item if I beat out other absentee bids. Well, I was wrong. It ended up going to a bidder at the auction for $195. But wait, there's more: upon opening the program that morning, the auctioneer noticed a black and white photograph. It was a team photograph of the Cubs. Signed.

Wow.

Since I'm not that big of a Cubs fan, my thought was to buy this and then consign it to a major auction house where it would get proper attention of the collectibles world. Even without the picture, I figured it would draw at minimum $1500. I would then use the proceeds to purchase a Henry Aaron 1952 Eau Claire ball I've had my eyes on for a while. But I'm hopeful that was bad karma and the item got in the hands of a true Cubs collector who will cherish it.

It's Been Way Too Long

While I'm sure there is no one out there on the ledge because I haven't posted for a while, it sure is nice to get a chance to post again. I think I'll just fire off some random thoughts and updates:

**I finished the boxscores for the 1912 Eau Claire Commissioners. To my knowledge, it is the first time this information has been made available. It holds interest to the general baseball public since it also includes the stats for future HOFer Burleigh Grimes. Getting exact pitching data wasn't possible, but by my best guess he had a 4-4 record, logging 69 innings and giving up 35 runs (27 earned), 57 hits, 15 walks, and 47 strikeouts to give him an ERA of 3.52. Again, some of that information is estimated, but I'd be surprised if I was more than .25 off either way on the ERA. Like the 1911 season, the 1912 season, game by game, is available on an Excel spreadsheet for anyone who wants it.

**My next project may very well be tackling the game-by-game stats for 1910. I know that virtually complete stats are available, but I'm learning a lot by going through the seasons one game at a time.

**Inspired by Rex Hamman's excellent booklet on the Milwaukee Brewers' all-time minor league roster, I believe I have figured out a nice format for my book. One year at a time, with all the statistics listed first. Then I'll get into writing about the season. Again, this is where going through the games one by one helps out a great deal. Yes, this will be a comprehensive history of baseball in Eau Claire. More information than, well, probably anyone else would care to know.

**Ah, let's just do separate posts rather than cram everything into one. It doesn't cost extra!

Nevin Ashley

Congratulations to Express catcher Nevin Ashley on being selected on 6-6-06, in the Sixth Round, by, of course, the Devil Rays.

I didn't know a whole lot about him when I first saw him play Saturday night, but I was impressed enough that evening to do some digging about him. Still, I don't think even he would have projected himself to go in the 6th round. I was hoping the catching-depleted Brewer system would take a shot at him somewhere in the 10-13 rounds.

I e-mail the Express and asked if they could get a baseball signed by Nevin for me with the inscription "6th round, 6-6-06, Devil Rays". It would immediately shoot to the top of my favorite autographed baseball list!

The Express bats were once again silent last night and they were shut out by Madison, 3-0. Honestly, it could have been a lot worse. I'm very impressed with the Mallards all around. Bond at short has soft hands and a decent arm. The entire team seemed to be able to put a sting into the ball. Message boards say they have been "lucky" so far, but this team is not far off from being dominating. Plus they have GREAT uniforms and what appears to be a loyal fan base. If we didn't have the Express, I'm sure I'd be rooting hard for them!

Happy Anniversary!

Though my wife will probably never, ever read this, just in case you stumble on it sometime, Shelley, I want to wish you a happy anniversary today! It's been a wonderful 13 years and you are still my dream come true.

Express Opener

Thanks to my wonderful employer, RCU, I was given some great seats for the EC Express home opener on Saturday night. Not that there are a whole lot of bad seats in Carson Park (except for the "Fan Deck", which seems like a complete waste if you are truly in to baseball as you will spend half the game staring at the sun and the other half trying to get the sun spots out of your eyes). These were in the third row, just to the third base side of home plate. My season tickets are GA, and I usually sit on the first base side of the grandstand, maybe the equivalent of 15 "rows" back. Although I was disappointed in the wait staff (we were never approached to order anything--last year when I was given seats by the President/CEO of RCU the wait staff was there every other inning it seemed. Granted, more people for opening night, but still--not once??), the treat was the game itself. Jon Bjelland was lights out, with 14 punchouts in eight innings. The eighth was a little dicey, as a clearly spent Bjelland walked the bases loaded. According to the paper, he yelled something at the dugout to the effect that he wanted to stay in, and Coach Varsho obliged. The hitter smashed a grounder to third that Hollick handled cleanly to preserve the lead. It seems to me that Varsho has an extremely long leash with his starters. I don't think I would have let Bjelland more than two base runners in the eight. The strategy backfired the night before as Wausau tacked on four or five runs to take a late lead. It almost seems like the starter might be set up to fail a bit (pitch until you are completely out of gas), but Varsho knows his players and I guess as long as the players buy in to the philosophy then it's okay.

I didn't go to Sunday's game and am skipping tonight as well. Hope to be back in the park for the second game against Madison on Tuesday night.