My Four-Day Weekend

-
I guess you could say I took one for the blog. Or just maybe my virus protection wasn't good enough.

Either way, I apparently picked up a virus Saturday on my computer while researching a particularly difficult post on Jason McFarlin. It was difficult because there just wasn't much on his playing days available.

I was also starting McFarlin's research at the beginning of a four-day weekend, burning off a couple days off from work. With the extra days, I'd hoped to get some extra blogging done. There's a big stack of packs to do extra posts on. And some other things I've wanted to touch on. Plus, my Christmas list I gave my wonderful wife has a bunch of blog-worthy items. I knew I'd get even further behind once Christmas came.

So in my McFarlin research, I finally found something, his listing on the Sports Management WorldWide scouting site. But, along the way, I clicked on a site that appeared to have an article that I'd seen before. So I didn't really need to click. But maybe this article had something that the other one I'd seen didn't have. There just wasn't that much information on the guy.

Well, I clicked. My computer, already old and slow and needing replacement, took its usual time, then I know I did what you're not supposed to do. I clicked on the popup to close it. I just wanted to get on with my research on my slow, nearly 4-year-old computer.

Of course, on the next reboot, things went crazy. I essentially couldn't use the computer anymore. Thankfully, my wife has her own computer, a virus-resistant Mac. With that, I was able to finish the McFarlin post. And the one on Phil Clark the next day.

By Monday, I had my old computer working again, but I still didn't trust it. But I was able to finish Pat Bangtson's post on it.

Still, by Monday night, I made the decision. I needed a new computer, maybe one with a nice anti-virus package. I knew I'd needed one for a while, but I'd hoped I would have been able to nurse the old along for a while longer.

So we got the computer, and I hoped I'd spend Tuesday, my last day of the four-day weekend, blogging. But that didn't happen. I spent the day chatting with tech support, trying to get the printer/scanner we also picked up to work like it was supposed to.

Through all this, I was able to get the basic blogging done, posting a player each day as I've done for almost a year now. But nothing more. My stack of extra blog ideas remains as high as it was before.

So I guess I can thank the blog for helping me decide to finally get a new computer. Too bad it couldn't have been with a little less aggrivation.

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

1990 Minor League sets by team, Baseball Profiles

-
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been divided by team.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 Total Players: 4,457 Total Teams Completed: 151 1990 teams: Buffalo Bisons  -  Moises Alou  knew body English in 17 major league seasons , 11/8/19  -  Stan Belinda  saw 12 majors seasons, returned after MS , 9/22/11  -  Dann Bilardello  hit 1st ML HR off Seaver, saw 8 ML seasons , 6/24/10  -  Doug Bair  did his job in major leagues over 15 seasons , 2/23/25  -  Jackie Brown  made 7 ML seasons as player, later as coach , 6/19/14  -  Kevin Burdick  got dugout broken nose at AAA, missed bigs , 6/13/10  -  John Cangelosi  took his...
Read more

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons , 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach , 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons , 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan , 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons , 5/23/11...
Read more

Joey Locke played in minors, turned instructor, musician

-
Image
Alabama high schooler Joey Locke signed with the Astros in 1987, skipping a scholarship from the University of Alabama, his hometown Huntsville Times wrote . A few weeks in, Locke told The Times he was happy about his decision. "When you wake up, it's all baseball," Locke told The Times that June. "I didn't think practice would be like this, but I don't have any second thoughts. I love baseball, and this is my big chance." For Locke, however, his chance lasted three seasons. He made high-A . Locke's career began that year in 1987, taken by the Astros in the fourth round of the draft out of Sparkman High in Alabama. Locke was also credited as Roger Locke and Joe Locke. Locke started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 13 starts and went 3-3, with a 4.73 ERA. He moved to single-A Asheville for 1988. He went 3-7 there, with a 6.56 ERA. His season at Asheville, however, also came with shoulder pain. He later had surgery and los...
Read more

Jeremy McGarity played decade as pro, then became pastor

-
Image
Duluth-Superior staring pitcher Jeremy McGarity went the distance in this July 1997 win, giving up just six hits in the 9-3 win, The Sioux City Journal wrote . Afterward, McGarity spoke to The Journal about pitching with the lead. "It seamed like I started loosening up more as the game went on," McGarity told The Journal . "It was hot out there, but I prayed to God for more strength." McGarity pitched that year in his ninth season as a pro. He saw one more . He topped out at high-A. McGarity, though, referenced his faith in that game, something he'd later say came to him during his playing days. That has shaped his post-playing days, which he has spent in the ministry. McGarity's career began in 1989, taken by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the draft out of El Capitan High School in California. McGarity started with the Cardinals in the rookie Arizona League . He saw 14 outings, 12 starts. He went 4-5, with a 3.98 ERA. He moved to rookie Johnson City ...
Read more

Raul Chavez saw bigs over 11 seasons with Astros, others

-
Image
Astros catcher Raul Chavez hit his first major league home run in this September 2000 game, a game made all the more memorable - or unusual - by the addition of a streaker, The Quad-City Times wrote .  "I'll remember this day," Chavez told The Times afterward. "For everything." To get to that day - his first major league home run - took Chavez more than a decade of work. He'd seen the majors briefly in three previous seasons.  He went on to see the bigs - and more playing time - over seven more campaigns . His final major league time came in 2009, with the Blue Jays. Chavez' career began in 1990, signed by the Astros as a free agent out of his native Venezuela . Chavez started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He hit .323 in 48 games there. He then saw single-A Burlington in 1991, then high-A Osceola in 1993 and AA Jackson in 1994. He made AAA Tucson in 1995. He then moved to the Expos for 1996. He debuted in the majors with Montrea...
Read more

Ken Bolek taught baseball skills as manager, instructor

-
Image
Ken Bolek worked in 2012 to help kids learn the fundamentals of the game . Bolek, the longtime director of IMG Baseball Academy focused this day on kids age 10 to 12 with a summer IMG wood bat league, according to Baseball The Magazine . "Here," Bolek told Baseball The Magazine , "we focus on the technical skill, not just having players show up to the ball park and go home. A very small percentage of players are getting individual technical instruction at the youth level." Bolek has served as baseball director with IMG Academy in Florida since 1995, helping teenagers learn the game. Before that, he helped pros learn the game as a coach in the minors and in the majors. Bolek's time in baseball started before that, as a player himself, taken by the Tigers in the 24th round of the draft out of the University of Arizona . At Arizona, Bolek helped his team to the College World Series championship .  He helped get them into the championship game with a tw...
Read more

1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set

-
Features of each member of the 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set. Click the names to read about the players. Features were posted from 2010 to 2012. Cards Featured in the 1990 CMC set: 880 Players/Coaches Featured: 891 Number Who Made the Majors: 608 Never Made the Majors: 283 5+ Seasons in the Majors: 271 10+ Seasons in the Minors: 163 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set 1 - Stan Belinda , No Comparison, 9/22/11 2 - Gordon Dillard , Reasonable Success, 5/1/11 3 - Terry Collins , Life in Baseball, 2/7/12 4 - Mark Huismann , Way To Break In, 7/28/10 5 - Hugh Kemp , Big Story, 10/24/10, Interview 6 - Scott Medvin , Best Shot, 3/9/11 7 - Vicente Palacios , He Did, 9/8/11 8 - Rick Reed , Another Chance, 12/19/10 9 - Mark Ross , Got to Stay, 7/8/11 10 - Dorn Taylor , As Good, 6/21/12 11 - Mike York , New Start, 10/21/11 12 - Jeff Richardson , Family Man, 1/27/11 13 - Dann Bilardello , Big Moment, 6/24/10, Interview 14 - Tom Prince , Clean Hit, 4/2/10 15 - Danny Sheaffer , Uniform t...
Read more