#open starter;nova torres

[gypsybelladonna]

tag drop for nova torres

[thealbatrvss]

starter call — torre do relógio: open

Após uma noite confusa em que suas plantas começaram a agir de modo diferente - estranho -, Althea precisava retornar à cidade e reabastecer sua loja, precisava entregar uma encomenda grande de lavandas e principalmente, precisava dar um jeito de se alimentar. Sentia a garganta arder e doer, a sede começando a dar chatos sinais de que estava na hora de procurar uma nova fonte. A vampira franziu o cenho, poderia ser pelo cheiro forte de flores e plantas no conversível, mas a verdade é que estava imaginando o sangue sintético - vegano - que mantinha na loja por precaução. Sua mente estava completamente tomada pelo pensamento vermelho e cheiro de ferrugem que quase não notou quando uma das sombras dos transeuntes pareceu se mexer sozinha. Parada no sinal, Althea esboçou um sorriso confuso, mais divertido do que questionador, deixando sua visão seguir a sombra que tentava se desvincular da dona até que um típico som de tick-tock preencheu sua audição sensível, os olhos rapidamente seguiram a direção do barulho. A Torre do Relógio que vivia parado tinha ganhado vida, os ponteiros batendo a cada segundo marcado. Uma risada ficou presa no fundo da garganta da bruxa com a visão, enquanto estacionava o carro e parava de frente ao prédio. Ergueu a sobrancelha direta quando sentiu a presença de alguém se aproximando, mesmo que à alguns metros. — Não é engraçado como as coisas acontecem nessa cidade? — Indagou à quem se aproximava, levando a destra até o rosto e retirando os óculos escuros que sempre usava sob a luz do sol. — Pelo menos o relógio voltou a ter serventia. — Deu de ombros antes de continuar. — Até que eu gosto desse clima meio mórbido, parece que o velho Lúcifer está espreitando entre as esquinas.

[fluffybunnyz]

⠀  ⠀  ⠀ ⚠️ ❪ 1 ❫ notification  ﹕a open starter with jeon minji

As caixas estavam empilhadas em seu apartamento, pareciam até torres. Como podia ter guardado tanta coisa ao longo de anos? Minji estava frustrada por ter que desempacotar tanta coisa e arrumar mesmo jogando metade das coisas que tinha fora. A coreana olhou para aquele monte, o monte observou de volta, e só uma coisa pode ser concluído para a artesã. 

— Depois resolvo isso. — constatou pegando uma mini mochila onde carregava o básico e trancou a porta do apartamento para sair para explorar a nova moradia com seus arredores. 

O olhar da mulher passeava pelos corredores e escadaria conforme descia cada andar em busca do térreo. Quando seus pés alcançaram a calçada, concluiu que era apenas o início de uma nova jornada, onde naquele instante tinha a confiança necessária para o fazer então aproveitou. Conforme andava, Minji descobria o local, com animação. Conveniências, estabelecimentos comerciais, se sentia minimamente pronta viver ali. Só precisava aprender agora como voltar para casa. 

Demorou a ficha cair ou talvez não quisesse aceitar, mas quando se viu, estava andando em círculos. Isso ou existiam cinco conveniências iguais. Minji queria acreditar na ��ltima, mas quando entrava era o mesmo atendente, e em uma das vezes decidiu perguntar por ali e as pessoas com um ligeiro pânico. 

—  Sabe onde fica o Haneul Complex? Ha.. neul.  — silabou para ter certeza que não seria má interpretada, mas torcendo que desta vez teria uma resposta positiva.

[bigyack-com]

Eight ways wine will change in 2020 - more lifestyle

What a decade this has been for wine—both good and bad.The 2010s saw the rise of serious global concern (at last!) about the effect of climate change on wine. That will continue big time, especially with 2019’s scorching heat waves in France and catastrophic fires in Sonoma, Calif., and South Australia.The rosé juggernaut of the past decade continues, as luxury players move in to Provence. LVMH acquired two rosé producers last year, including a majority share of Château d’Esclans, maker of ubiquitous Whispering Angel. Chanel, owner of three Bordeaux châteaux, snapped up Domaine de l’Ile.Natural wine captured the zeitgeist of the decade, which ended with trade wars slamming wine in the form of U.S. tariffs on French, German, and Spanish reds and whites, with the uncertainty of more to come in 2020. Brexit is still a problem, and wine caves, once a major tourism attraction in Napa, Calif., turned into political footballs. (Tip for cave owners: Don’t turn on the chandelier.)Hard seltzer also captured hearts, minds, and tongues this past year, with sales surging 210% in the U.S. To my dismay, they’re poised to triple by 2023, according to the drinks market analysts at IWSR. Why not make wine spritzers?On the plus side, fizz continues to effervesce, even though the French are drinking much less Champagne. To supply ever-increasing global demand (and at lower prices), Brazil, California, New Zealand, Oregon, and Tasmania are producing better sparklers than ever.At least, unlike the roaring ’20s of a century ago, 2020 won’t begin with Prohibition.Here’s what else I see in my crystal glass for 2020:- Global warming will ramp up wine experiments everywhereYou’ll see the bottled results of dozens of experiments, and more will be started. Sparkling wine from Nova Scotia? Definitely. Historic and new hybrid grapes that can cope with heat better? Spain’s Torres winery is on it; ditto Bordeaux, Champagne, and Napa. Fresher, brighter whites from high-altitude vineyards? Look to Chile and Argentina, including even the cold extremities of Patagonia.- Unfussy piquette will become a thingCasual, low-cost, and low-alcohol drinks that offer gluggable simplicity are having a moment, and they’ll be even more important in 2020.The fashion for pét-nats (pétillant naturel wines) and even hard seltzer (ugh!) are part of this trend. The latest addition is piquette, a worker’s drink popular centuries ago. Not technically a wine, it’s made by fermenting pomace—the leftover skins, seeds, and stems of grapes—to create a drink that’s 4% to 9% in alcohol with light bubbles to perk it up. It’s zippy and refreshing, akin to a sour beer. Wild Arc Farm in the Hudson Valley released four in 2019, including one in cans.- You’ll learn about wine in spaceThe past decade has seen wineries experiment with aging their wines under the sea. For 2020 and beyond, they’ll look to space.This past November, Luxembourg-based Space Cargo Unlimited started a project that sent bottles of red wine to the International Space Station to be aged for 12 months. The idea is to investigate how exposure to more radiation and microgravity affect the evolution of a wine’s components. When the wine returns, the University of Bordeaux will analyze it and compare it with wines aged on Earth.- The no- and low-alcohol movement will gain a foothold The health and wellness craze will affect wine beyond the idea of “Dry January.” Cutting back on how much you imbibe will be one of the biggest drinks trends of 2020, according to London-based retailer Bibendum. Alcohol-free Real Kombucha, introduced in 2017, is now available at more than 50 Michelin-starred restaurants and touted as an alternative to sauvignon blanc.Expect a boost of interest in organic and biodynamic wines—“health-focused” wine club Dry Farm Wines claims its offerings are all-natural and lab-tested for purity—as well as those naturally low in alcohol, such as riesling, lightly fizzy Spanish txakoli, and slightly sweet Italian moscato d’Asti. All are far more delicious and just as healthy as wines from “clean wine” companies such as FitVine. - You’ll buy luxury wines from vending machinesInsert token, receive a small bottle of Moët & Chandon brut or rosé. What could be simpler? Nabbing a bottle at a test machine in the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla., was cheaper, more convenient, and more fun than waiting for room service. New York got its first machine in October, and in 2020 Moët plans to spread 100 of them across the U.S. (You can even buy your own—$35,000 at Neiman Marcus—but stocking it with 360 mini-bottles costs extra.)The machines reflect the growing demand for instant access, even for luxury wines. Expect other wine companies to jump on this bandwagon. But because of France’s alcohol laws, don’t look for one in Paris.- Enotourism will get biggerFor starters, a €100 million ($112 million) World of Wine project is opening in 2020 across the Douro River from the city of Porto. The Fladgate Partnership, owner of several top port houses, is transforming 300-year-old warehouses into a series of wine experiences including a wine school and cork museum.In France, Champagne Bollinger is opening its doors to the public via membership in its special Club 1829, Château Lafite Rothschild will open a new hospitality center and wine school at Château Duhart-Milon in time for harvest, and Burgundy breaks ground this month on its own Cité des Vins.But the most interesting new wine travel development is the global DIY winemaking timeshare the Vines Global. Membership will let aspiring vineyard owners test their mettle making wine in a dozen regions with top winemakers. It started in Tuscany’s Montalcino last September; next year it will add Priorat, Spain, and two other places, with more to come.Just want to see vineyards? The World’s Best Vineyards, a new annual ranking of the 50 most amazing ones to visit, will help you know where to go.- Wine packaging will surprise youNo longer a fad, canned wines are expected to reach sales of $4.6 billion by 2024. Now that canning has been normalized, and higher-quality wines skip the traditional glass bottle, keep a lookout for ever more innovative packaging: refillable, reusable jugs and flat bottles made from recycled plastic, as well as green-friendly components such as zero-carbon corks.As for the staid wine label, more than 500 wineries across the globe are turning to augmented reality to bring labels to life through apps. And in Washington state, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s new Elicit Wine Project will act as an innovation hub for brands to take an info-rich, creative look at names, labels, and bottle design; for instance, its Fruit & Flower brand comes in both cans and bottles with themed label images to mirror the flavors of the wine inside.- Wine shops will become less conventionalU.K. department store John Lewis has added bookable wine master classes. Stranger Wines in Brooklyn, N.Y., plays vintage vinyl records and is expanding to snacks, and Manhattan’s just-opened Peoples is a wine bar that doubles as a retail wine shop, even if they have to have separate entrances because of liquor laws.Nielsen predicts AR and virtual reality technology will transform wine shops with navigation apps and electronic shelf beacons. The future will surely bring artificial intelligence-powered robot assistants. At the same time, buying online via phone apps will soar, again helped along by new technology.But as the year progresses, I still have plenty of questions. Will wine lovers continue to lust after the wines LeBron James posts on Instagram? Will interactive wine lists on tablets take over in Michelin-starred restaurants? Will South Africa be the value region of the year? I’ll be watching and reporting on these stories and many more in 2020.(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

[junker-town]

It’s absolutely hatemazing that the Yankees never really had to rebuild

This is baseball’s entire wheel of cheese, eaten in the fridge, and I’m not even mad.

The Yankees were perpetually old and doomed. Let me just click on a random year in Baseball-Reference and, oh, look at that. It’s 2012, and the Yankees won 95 games. Raul Ibanez was the starter in left field. He was 40. Andy Petitte was on the team somehow, I don’t even, and he went deep in both his postseason starts. He was 40, too. Hiroki Kuroda was their best starter. He was 400.

And, lo, their cracks were visible. The 2013 Yankees finished with 85 wins, but they were a mess. Their Pythagorean record was 79-83, and the players who logged the most innings at various positions were essentially a brutal list of grievances. Jayson Nix. Lyle Overbay. Vernon Wells. Travis Hafner. Vernon Wells. All of them were over 30. All of them were on their way out of baseball. Big-ticket pitcher CC Sabathia was awful, suddenly, and that’s a thing that happens to aging pitchers. Even Mariano Rivera, excellent as he was, couldn’t last forever.

The 2015 Phillies lost 99 games, and the 2015 Yankees were going to lose 100. That’s just how the success cycle works. The contracts catch up with a team. The success catches up with a team, what with them drafting at the back of the first round, year after year.

The cracks widened in 2014. Derek Jeter was 40, but he played much older. Baseball Prospectus had their farm system in the bottom half of baseball. Baseball America was a little kinder, but not much. They finished with 84 wins, and their Pythagorean record was 77-85. They were noticeably worse at several positions.

This made it more annoying in 2015 when the Yankees did not lose 100. They won 87 games and made the Wild Card Game, but that was just a mirage. They were buoyed by dead cats bouncing, getting strong and unlikely seasons from Alex Rodriguez (39), Mark Teixeira (35), and Carlos Beltran (38), and eight of their nine lineup slots were typically filled with someone over 30. The only exception was Didi Gregorius, a slap-hitting shortstop, who was good for scouting reports like this:

At the plate, he has more work to do. He is relatively helpless against lefties, but he knows how to bunt

And that hardly seemed like the franchise cornerstone the Yankees needed. It’s why the next season, when the Yankees stumbled to a .500 record at the trade deadline, it was appropriate to feel cocky. They were finally going to rebuild. They traded away Andrew Miller. They traded away Aroldis Chapman. The No Runs DMC bullpen core was gone, and the Yankees were finally going to finish under .500.

Then they went 17-11 after the deadline.

[faint rumbling sounds]

Huh, look at that, it appears as if Didi Gregorius can hit a little bit. What a fine player.

[louder rumbling sounds]

Ah, and that farm system ranking sure improved.

[chandelier starts shaking]

Hrmmmm, and it appears that Gary Sanchez is hitting twice as many home runs as he was in the minor leagues.

[light bulb pops]

Aaron Judge is already 25, so he’s probably not going to amount to mgraaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

[windows blast in]

[Ted Nugent kicks open the door]

[

]

And BLAMMO, it’s not just that the Yankees are back in the ALCS, with a chance to win the whole danged thing, it’s how well they’re suddenly set up for the future. Now they have a young shortstop who should be better than most of his peers for a while. They’ve turned Aaron Judge from a “maybe Chris Carter with an extra 20 points of batting average, idk” into an MVP candidate. Gary Sanchez didn’t miss a beat. They used that farm system to nab long-term players like Tommy Kahnle and Sonny Gray. They proved adept at resurrecting careers, like those of Aaron Hicks and Starlin Castro.

And, perhaps as terrifying as any of the above, their recent post-Beltran-McCann austerity and ability to avoid nine-figure contracts will give them room to blow up the free agent market soon. Maybe this year.

All without the painful rebuilding the Phillies are going through. Without the painful rebuilding Yankee-haters have been waiting for since Jorge Posada was in his late-30s and still cranking dingers. Without ... well, without the pain that it almost feels like a franchise this successful deserves.

Instead, they’re here, they’re loaded, and they’re set up for the future. If you’re worried about the payroll, and how much money they’ll have, that’s understandable, but it’s how the Yankees avoided the complete rebuild in the first place that would scare me the most.

Aaron Judge was drafted 32nd overall in 2013, which means that most of the teams in baseball could have had him, but chose someone else. That makes it a sad what-if for fans of other teams. The Rays could have had him ... the Giants ... the A’s ... the Reds ... and all of those fans get to wonder what it would have been like to have Judge on their roster.

Except it doesn’t work like that. If the Giants had Judge, I’m not convinced that he would be an everyday player, much less an MVP candidate. The ability of all 30 teams to take six metric tons of hitting clay and mold it into an All-Star was not distributed equally. The Yankees did it, though.

Just like they did it with Gary Sanchez. Just like they’re probably going to do with Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier. And it’s not just limited to the hitters, considering that Luis Severino fell off the wall and shattered into a million pieces last year, but the Yankees were capable of calmly rebuilding him, piece by piece. They’re doing the kinds of internal and developmental magic that the Rays or A’s need to do to contend ... except they’re the damn Yankees, which means they can also afford to slap a Todd Frazier onto their roster when they need to.

Not every team can build an Aaron Judge from the kit they get in the mail, but the Yankees did. And it might be the scariest skill a rich organization can have. There have been missteps along the way (it took a different set of mechanics to rebuild Ivan Nova, for example), but they’re set up as well as almost any other team in baseball when it comes to the current roster, the organizational depth, the money they have to spend in the short term, and their ability to keep a roster together, like the Yankees are known for doing.

And it all came without the pain.

The Yankees probably deserved more pain.

Well, like Yogi Berra once said, deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it, and now we’re stuck in a reality where the Yankees cut in line. Of all the teams to cut in line, this sure seems like the most unfair, but at least they’re fun to watch. They’re in the ALCS again, which means they’re close to the World Series, which means they’re close to winning another World Series.

It all happened so quickly, and it’s not going to go away nearly that quick. Get used to the Yankees. They did not sign for the shipment of pain, and it was returned to sender. Some of it was already redistributed to the Twins and Indians. There will be much more to distribute in the coming years.

[othersportsnews-blog]

Purchasers? Sellers? Both of those? This up coming road vacation could define 2017 Yankees - Yankees Weblog

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/purchasers-sellers-both-of-those-this-up-coming-road-vacation-could-define-2017-yankees-yankees-weblog/

Purchasers? Sellers? Both of those? This up coming road vacation could define 2017 Yankees - Yankees Weblog

NEW YORK — Following an exhilarating and exasperating opening act, the New York Yankees will immediately come to a decision what kind of crew they have and what general supervisor Brian Cashman need to do as the trade deadline methods.

The Yankees (forty five-forty one) commence the next half with an eleven-video game road vacation. They have 4 in Boston towards the very first-location Pink Sox, whom they currently trail by 3½ game titles, ahead of heading to Minnesota to enjoy the Twins, whom they direct in the wild-card race by a one video game. They end the vacation with a go to to Seattle for a reunion with an old mate, All-Star Sport MVP Robinson Cano.

Is the year on the brink? The Yankees ended the very first half shedding eighteen of twenty five. If they do not enjoy much better, this 12 months could go downhill immediately. On the other hand, if they enjoy reasonably very well — even 5-6 — on this upcoming stretch, they could suitable their ship. A minor hot streak to commence the ultimate 76 game titles, and maybe Cashman can say, “Let’s go for it.”

“It is an important road vacation, but it not the conclude-of-the-earth road vacation,” Yankees supervisor Joe Girardi stated.

With Matt Holliday, Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks returning just after the All-Star split, or soon thereafter, the Yankees figure to enhance even without having a trade. Cashman stated his strategy for the Yankees is to be “careful potential buyers.”

The Bombers gave up their bounty of Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova and Brian McCann commencing last July. That helped produce a farm procedure that enables Cashman to store in any aisle on the trade marketplace this 12 months and over and above. He need to be careful — and maybe even glimpse to be both a buyer and a vendor — if he can.

Let’s assess three important locations ahead of the very first pitch of the next half:

Setting up pitching

Coming into spring schooling, did you have Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery as the Yankees’ most reliable starters by the halfway place? This is very good news extensive-time period, but for this 12 months, it is dampened by the rest of the workers. The Yankees want to fortify.

Masahiro Tanaka, as inconsistent as he has been, is not heading any where. He will keep in the rotation, and his decide-out for just after the year is starting to be ever more irrelevant. If Tanaka had been pitching like he did last year, the Yankees could be in very first location in the division.

CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda, both cost-free brokers at the conclude of the 12 months, are concern marks, but for various motives. Sabathia has been very good, for the most aspect, when balanced. He’s a wild card, but one particular the Yankees will have to enjoy. Pineda, on the other hand, need to be accessible in a deal. His marketplace benefit is not excellent, but if you can flip him for a semi-beneficial aspect, it may be worthy of it, as the Yankees appear unlikely to re-sign him.

If Cashman wants to increase a best-of-the-trade-marketplace starter, like the Chicago White Sox‘s Jose Quintana, he has the products to get it completed. If Cashman provides up any of his top quality expertise on the farm, it possible would be for another person like Quintana, who is signed by means of 2020.

Aid pitching

Chapman and Dellin Betances have not absolutely lived up to the hoopla, nevertheless Betances is an All-Star for the fourth time in 4 decades. They’ll continue being in their roles, but having the ball to them is where the Yankees want a Band-Help.

Adam Warren could be the gentleman for the position, but Tyler Clippard just won’t glimpse like he has it this year. It is conceivable Cashman could increase a piece or two for the pen.

Lineup

The Yankees act as if Gleyber Torres may not have come up this 12 months anyway. But if he experienced continued to enhance — as he was ahead of he wanted medical procedures on his non-throwing elbow — he would have been in pinstripes this year.

Torres would possible have skipped close to the diamond, participating in third, next and a minor short. He would have provided the crew a boost of vitality and, additional importantly, yet another very good participant. Now, that’s wait-’til-up coming-12 months things.

If the Yankees had been to increase another person in a trade, a very first baseman, like the Braves’ Matt Adams, may make some perception. He’s obtaining a pleasant 12 months and may only price tag one particular best prospect. This, of course, is heading on the assumption Greg Fowl will not be capable to return this 12 months.

On the flip side, it may be worthy of looking at if you will find a marketplace for Chase Headley. He would not garner a great deal in return, and the Yankees may have to consume some of his wage, but think about this: How a great deal worse or much better would the Yankees be if Ronald Torreyes played every working day at third?

As well as, if Torres comes back solid, he could be capable to gentleman third by this time — or previously — up coming 12 months.

The rest of the lineup is rather a great deal established. The Yankees could glimpse into dealing Brett Gardner, nevertheless they a great deal like to get rid of Jacoby Ellsbury, who, just after this year, nonetheless has yet another three decades on his seven-12 months, $153 million deal.

In other terms, they’re going to only be capable to trade Ellsbury if the other crew is unloading an similarly terrible deal or if they consume a ton of cash.

Which is where the Yankees stand suitable now. Let’s see how the road vacation goes.

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