#other than the fact that i do have 312 posts in my drafts

[vulcannic]

for $9.99 a month you get to see my 312 drafts i have saved over the past 10 years on this site

[joeymozzarello]

Pen to Paper

Chapter Three

Summary: A simple thesis on a simple book she’d read. That’s all she needed to do. She knew it would be at least a little bit arduous but she didn’t think it would cause this much trouble.

Pairing: Tim Murphy x original female character

Words: 1,914

A/N: i got the idea for this in the american natural history museum where i found a note to a Julie T from a Dr. Com on a bench near the t-rex room.

//

9AM in London, 4AM in New York. Julie wondered if she’d ever get used to this. At least her view was nice, everything else about her room - wasn't. It was a tiny little bedroom with a lumpy bed and a bathroom that barely worked. She was sure she’d seen a couple of roaches move from between furniture but she didn’t ponder too much on that thought, it freaked her out beyond words. This was the price, the universe gave her an awesome opportunity and in return, she had to sleep in an infested room for a couple of months. No biggie.

The past two days at the museum had been unreal, everyone had treated her fine, she didn’t really mind the stares or the confusion in the librarian’s eyes when Julie asked her for a specific book on fossilisation. “Jeez, when was the last time you guys got a new addition to the team?” Julie had asked, to which Tim had only pointed at himself and shrugged, thanking Amanda for whatever she’d just given him.

One thing she’d noticed was that Tim’s blazer pockets were always full. He’d just stick his hand in and out would come a rainbow belt or whatever sour candy he had tucked in there. Julie found that a little bit peculiar, she hadn't commented on it, yet, she didn’t know how to mention it to him without making it sound like she was judging.

4AM.

It was too early, still dark outside. It was day three and she was already low on funds. Her parents told her they would’ve given her money for this trip but they still hadn't, at this point she had to decide between a train ticket or lunch. If she spent more than three dollars on things that weren’t essential, then she wouldn’t have enough money to pay for the hotel room. Tricky.

“Hey, Soph,” Julie gave her best friend a tired smile through the phone. Sophie, seemingly shocked to have received this phone call knotted her eyebrows together. “You going to class?”

She just blinked. “Isn’t it like, really early over there? Why are you awake, JJ?”

Julie giggled. “I asked you a question,” Sophie’s scowl didn’t falter. “I can't sleep, okay! I’m fine, I’m just jet lagged.”

“I thought maybe it was the thought of not being able to see me for months that was keeping you up,” Sophie laughed. The two of them spoke for a little bit until Sophie had to go to one of her morning classes and Julie was left alone once again.

She checked her Google Maps; if she walked, it would take almost three hours to get to the museum and that way she’d have enough money to buy a hot dog from one of the carts that sat within Central Park. She sighed. I better get ready to go, then.

On the other side of the river, over in Tribeca, in an apartment that held too much room for one person and three cats, Tim Murphy was pacing around his wooden floorboards muttering random facts he could remember in hopes to bore himself to sleep. It was raining out, he could see the drops rolling down his window, it was slow but it was heavy. One of his cats, Butter, was trying to catch the drops as they raced down to the apartment below. Meanwhile Peanut napped on Tim’s various open journals and scrap paper and Jelly watched the Discovery Channel on the TV.

The problem about 4AM in New York was the noise. No one should be awake at 4AM and yet, cars were honking and ambulances were off doing what ambulances do best and Tim Murphy paced around, drinking tea and beating the record for most consecutive hours awake. It was truly a remarkable city.

He walked over to his desk and lovingly picked up Peanut, waking him up from his nap. “I know, I know, I’m sorry,” he cooed. “I just need my papers, I’ll put you right here where you’ll be much more comfortable, I promise you,” Tim moved his cat to the couch, where Peanut just shook him off and jumped over onto the coffee table. Tim shook his head. “Ungrateful.”

The notes that lay open in front of him had been revisited hundreds of times over the years, part of them were the primary notes he used for his book and the rest were scribbles he’d made during nights like these where he didn’t sleep a blink. He was proud of himself and his work, he’d come so far in his craft and the fact that he’d actually managed to write a full book was still extremely surprising to him.

Jelly jumped at the TV, trying to catch a mosquito, Tim rolled his eyes.

Out of nowhere, Julie Trenton came to his mind, the new kid at work. She was - something, alright. She was constantly questioning everything Tim said, watching his every move, always. It was distressing sometimes because he knew she’d seen him downing six mugs of coffee in two hours, and he knew she was going to come at him about it. She probably came to mind because she’d mentioned being awake at this time. He wondered if she could get to sleep. The question remained unanswered.

-

Morning at the museum was busy and quiet. Julie had noticed historians didn’t talk much, they just gave her awkward looks and then kept typing or scribbling. Maybe they just didn’t like her, that was also an option but she didn’t want to think about that. “Morning, Julie,” Dr. Connors walked in, dumping her bag next to her desk, barely making eye contact. “So much to do this morning, how good are you at running around and delivering things?”

So, Julie spent the whole morning bringing various things to various people, trying to memorise names and faces and make friends. She realised how awkward she truly was; laughing at things that aren’t funny and saying things like ‘coolio’ and ‘okie-dokie’ in a place of work, to grown adults who didn’t know her.

Dr Simon Whelk, room 312, last door on the left. Easy enough.

She knocked, not waiting for Dr. Whelk to say come in and just looked down at the post-it note as she waltzed into the room. “Dr. Whelk? I have your-” she froze, a room of people all turned to look at her, confused. Julie was unsure if Whelk was even in there, she had no idea what he looked like. “I’m guessing I got the wrong room,” she chuckled quietly, her eyes catching Tim’s gaze.

The man stood at the front of the room cleared his throat. “Who are you?”

“Julie Trenton, sir,” she shook out of Tim’s eyes. “I must’ve landed in the wrong room, I am looking for a Dr. Simon Whelk?”

His expression softened. “That’s me,” he reached forward, inviting Julie to hand him the papers. “Thank you, Ms Trenton, you must come again soon.”

Julie’s heart dropped as she walked out of the room, she felt childish and a little appalled, but she also felt that it wasn’t worth fussing over. She brushed it off, it was finally lunch time.

Twelve o’clock in Central Park was way too crowded for Julie’s taste, so she took her tiny hot dog and walked it to the foodcourt at the museum, sitting at a table close to the window, eating slowly, knowing this would be the only food she’d have until tonight - and even then, all she’d have would be a couple of Digestives from the stash she’d brought from home.

Just as she was taking her journal out of her bag to continue her first draft of her theses, none other than Tim Murphy dropped his sandwich and Diet Coke in front of her and sat down. “You sure know how to make an entrance,” he said blankly. She was taken aback.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Julie knitted her eyebrows together, setting her journal back in her bag, slowly. “Have I done something?” Tim angrily bit into his sandwich. “I’m sorry, we must be playing a game of charades I didn’t know about, are you an angry caveman?”

Tim rolled his eyes, putting his sandwich down. “No, I’m cranky,” he pouted.

“I can see that,” Julie sighed. “What is it, d’you forget your sour candy at home?” She said smugly. She couldn’t believe this is how she was talking to the Tim Murphy, last week’s Julie would be completely baffled. Tim didn't say anything. “Seriously, what’s wrong, you’re freaking me out.”

Tim’s eyes wondered to her half-eaten hotdog. “Is that what you’re having for lunch?” He asked. Julie just nodded.

“There can only be cheap dinners in the Trenton household or else there can be no Trenton household,” Julie shrugged. Tim’s eyes widened with worry. “No, it’s fine, I have food back at the hotel,” she didn’t enjoy this much attention, especially if it contained that much worry. She was sure her parents would give her money soon, so there was nothing to worry about. “Anyway, stop trying to change the subject, what’s wrong with you this morning, you seemed perfectly fine when I walked into your year six assembly,” she just watched him for a second.

“Nothing, it’s just Whelk-” he stopped. “Nothing, it’s nothing. Where are you staying?”

“A hotel in Brooklyn Heights,” she scrunched up her nose.

“That’s not so bad - why the face?”

She bit her lip, her breath hitching slightly, trying to word this next sentence as carefully as possible. “It’s just a bit, um, underwhelming,” she couldn’t believe she was having this conversation, after years of being master of dodging questions, she had been beaten. “I’m just paying a lot of money for a not-so-good place,” she sighed.

“Why don’t you try and find someone who needs a roommate?”

“Are you volunteering?” She laughed. Tim froze. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, God, chill out. I’m okay anyway, it’s only a couple of months and then it’s back to England for JJ.”

The expression on Tim’s face was laughable, Julie didn’t know how to handle all of this attention so she just brushed off all of his worries and changed the subject yet again. As he talked, Julie observed him, he spoke so quickly about so many things, it was hard to keep up.

Up close, Tim had a very angular face, his nose was in a perfectly straight point that had a little shine on the tip and that perfectly led into the rest of his face, his dark circles, scruff and auburn hair. She was watching him so intently that she’d forgotten to listen to what he was saying and in turn, she stopped talking.

“You’re staring,” Tim huffed. “Let me guess, you were some crazed fan of mine and the whole ‘theses’ thing was just a lie to get closer to me,” he clicked his tongue. “Ugh, why does this keep happening, I should’ve known, you’re just like the rest of them.”

Julie’s mouth fell open, a laugh falling out. “Wow, I had no idea I was having lunch with a narcissist, I’m sorry, I guess I’ve gotta leave,” she shook her head. “Please point me in the direction of all those poor girls, I’ll talk them out of whatever they must’ve seen in you.”

“Ouch, Trenton, that stung.”

She just shrugged, finally finishing off her hotdog, still hungry.

Master List!

[yahoo-roto-arcade-blog]

Closing Time: What's a Mike Trout owner to do?

Closing Time is not designed to be an injury-focused blog, but we go where the stories go. And when the best baseball player in the world gets injured, it’s a forced lede for us. Mike Trout owners, we feel your pain.

As you likely saw over the weekend, Trout jammed his thumb on a head-first slide Sunday at Miami. Monday, the other shoe dropped — he has a torn ulnar collateral ligament, needs surgery, and will be out 6-8 weeks.

[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now]

Even in an injury-ravaged season like 2017, fantasy owners have every reason to feel blindsided. Durability has been a key part of Trout’s game through the years. He’s averaged 158 games a year over the last four seasons, never needed a DL stint before now. Trout’s built like a tank, well-equipped to handle the wear-and-tear of the grind. Sunday’s injury tells you more about the foolishness of head-first sliding than anything else.

Trout was the consensus No. 1 pick in the Yahoo game this year, and to this point he’s still graded as the No. 1 stat-grabber: .337-36-16-36-10. That’s something that rarely ever happens. When you make that first pick, you’re merely hoping for a great season, a cornerstone — expecting the player to actually outscore everyone else is an unrealistic ask.

So what’s a Trout owner to do? Play the position. Evaluate your team, your short-term and long-term goals. Calibrate the league context. In other words, do the things we already do on a daily fantasy basis.

The first matter of business is picking up an outfielder. Obviously you’re not going to find some magical replacement, but depending on your league size, maybe you can get some of those numbers back. Here’s a shopping list:

— Very Shallow Leagues: Dexter Fowler (55 percent) is back at the top of what still could be a fun St. Louis lineup . . . Aaron Hicks (54 percent) has category juice, a discerning eye, a prospect pedigree, and is needed to play while Jacoby Ellsbury heals . . . Brandon Drury (45 percent) can help in four categories, enjoys a deep lineup and fun park, covers three positions . . . Hernan Perez (43 percent) hasn’t run like last year, but he plays most of the time and covers four spots . . . The Dodgers are using Chris Taylor (41 percent) more often than not, and he’s off to a tidy .312-20-6-19-1 start . . . Josh Bell (40 percent) took a step back in May, but his power and patience still have me intrigued.

— In Medium Leagues: Any piece of the Houston offense looks fun to me, including Carlos Beltran (39 percent) . . . Melky Cabrera (36 percent) has started to hit; he posted a .268-17-5-23 line in May . . . Cameron Maybin (35 percent) is running wild, though he’ll miss Trout’s presence in the lineup . . . Hunter Renfroe (29 percent) quietly posted an .895 OPS in May, and he’s hit five home runs in each of the first two months . . . We promoted Jayson Werth (29 percent) in the Yahoo collaborative every week, and yet he goes largely unclaimed. Deep lineup, variety of skills . . . Max Kepler (28 percent) can be especially fun if you just take the platoon-advantage work: .282/.371/.500, five homers, three steals.

— In Deeper Leagues: Kevin Kiermaier (18 percent) has started to hit, and stole five bases in May . . . Tommy Pham (seven percent) has forced his way into the Cardinals lineup, with a nice run of 69 at-bats (.333-13-5-14-4). Randal Grichuk isn’t in the way for now, sent to Triple-A . . . Reflectively we want to run from the Royals offense, but note Whit Merrifield (five percent) perked up in May (.308-14-5-10-4) . . . Matt Adams (nine percent) is the Braves first baseman while Freddie Freeman rehabs. The Atlanta park looks like a favorable place to hit . . . Michael Taylor (four percent) worries us with contact issues, but so far so good (.274 average, some category juice).

No, there’s not a blossoming superstar in the mix. That’s not how these things work. You lose a Trout, you’ve going to feel it. At least take solace in the fact that your opponents are getting ripped by injuries, too.

Trout owners could also consider trading him, liquidating the asset. Sometimes this move is dismissed out of hand by fantasy pundits, which makes zero sense to me. Trout has name-brand recognition and a track record that sells itself. Shouldn’t you at least calibrate how your opponents feel about his comeback? Maybe someone in your league will carry more optimism than you will.

[Why do we call Lance McCuller’s a sell-high? Listen in]

Keep in mind, the Angels are a team miles away from contention. The club wants Trout to return quickly and all that, but it’s not like the urgency of a playoff race is driving the timetable. Trout still has his entire career to think about. And maybe it will take some time for him to get back up to full throttle.

Obviously this isn’t a “sell at any cost” recommendation. Just do what any reasonable and measured person does in these types of spots, consider every alternative. If I owned Trout anywhere — and because I didn’t do well in the draft lottery, I do not — I’d let my league mates know he was available. Heck, my entire roster is in play at any time, because having untouchables doesn’t make sense. You never know what type of heavy overpayment someone might be willing to assemble.

• I don’t know what Alex Avila is having for breakfast these days, but pour me a bowl of it, too.

You might remember Avila’s salad days — he was a star back in 2011, posting a .295-19-82 line. His game fell apart over the next few years, and he was backup for Detroit and Chicago in 2015 and 2016.

No idea where it came from, but every Alex Avila at-bat is a work of art. He’s a craftsman. Spitting on borderline pitches, using park.

— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) May 22, 2017

Avila returned to Detroit this year — swapping his old 13 for a new 31 — and initially he was just a backup catcher and infield fill-in. A familiar city to start his 30-something seasons. Alas, a hot start and some Tigers injuries elsewhere have pushed Avila into more playing time than expected, with juicy results: .323/.447/.591, six homers, 21 walks in 93 at-bats.

Avila’s batting eye isn’t a new thing — as Dave Cameron of Fangraphs pointed out, Avila’s plate discipline has been outstanding for several years. Avila’s ridiculous .453 BABIP sticks out, though he’s driving those results to some extent (28.8 percent line-drive rate and 57.4 percent hard-hit rate, both well above league average).

James McCann, Detroit’s regular starting catcher, is currently on the DL. It’s a hand-laceration injury, not something that should need an extended recovery. Nonetheless, Avila has turned into an auto-play for two-catcher formats, and I’m even rolling him out in a few leagues that require a single backstop. The at-bats have been that pretty, and the position has been a fantasy wasteland. Let’s take production where we see it, and when we can get it.

• If Trout was the injury of Monday, Hunter Strickland was the insult. San Francisco’s combustible reliever decided to throw a heater at Bryce Harper’s midsection, an obvious retaliation for a couple of moon-shot homers Harper cranked off Strickland in previous playoff meetings.

A gloriously-absurd brawl ensued.  Harper, for some reason, sucks at throwing his helmet. How come Buster Posey didn’t enter the mix? (Makes you wonder how Posey and Strickland get along these days.)

In honor of Bryce Harper’s helmet toss. 5 worst throws near mound pic.twitter.com/Ak7w1qz9jO

— Batting Stance Guy (@BattingStanceG) May 29, 2017

Harper is obviously headed for a suspension, it’s just a matter of when it falls, how many days it is, and how Harper decides to approach it. Strickland will be suspended too, not that fantasy owners need an answer for that.

[planbeeeee]

2017 Redskins Draft - Go Big or Go Home

Redskins Draft Grade: A-

My 7-round Redskins Mock did not hit on a single player. I’m cool with that because I hit on basically every position drafted except TE. I mean, take the draft spot out of it. Pre-draft I would have told you Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson, and Samaje Perine with 3 out of the first 4 picks, would be a dream scenario. And that’s exactly what happened!

Jonathan Allen- DT- 1st Round

Instant 5-tech in base, 3-tech in sub-packages. He comes with all the intangibles but also bad shoulders. I’ll refer you to my last post on him, but I’m elated to finally have his caliber of talent on the D-Line.

Ryan Anderson- EDGE- 2nd Round

Can’t have enough edge pressure with the Redskins, something we’ve lacked for a while. Maybe I’m expecting a bit more than any NFL team actually delivers but Preston, Trent, and Kerrigan just did not affect the game as much as their 25 combined sacks would indicate. No one knows what the 2017 Redskins are going to get out of Galette but at his ceiling he’ll be a double-digit sack guy on 3rd down. Don’t think we can expect early down work for Galette. Insert Ryan Anderson. 

He’s not as explosive as former teammate Tim Williams but he has the strength to set the edge and effort to get through blocks to get to the QB. Don’t expect him to hit the field playing 75% of the snaps anytime soon. But he could be an eventual replacement for Preston Smith if another down year comes his way.

Fabian Moreau- Outside CB- 3rd Round

It’s worth the shot. Moreau tore his pec in the pre-draft process and is 90% likely to get on the PUP to start the season. Could even see him red-shirting this year entirely. We know all too well about pec injuries from Orakpo and Keenan Robinson’s histories. I wasn’t blown away by Moreau on the field and he has an extensive injury history beyond the torn pec. He’s big and physical so I’m willing to wait to see if he can put it all together at the next level. Personally, I don’t see him as the starting CB of the future. If this pick lights a fire under Breeland a little more than that alone is worth it.

Samaje Perine- RB- 4th Round

(suh-MAH-jay, P-rine) Get used to the name, he could be here for a while.

I’d have taken him the 3rd. In fact if they took him the 2nd I wouldn’t have been mad either. Perine was my #4 RB behind Fournette, Cook, and McCaffrey. He can’t do it all and that’s why he was drafted in the 4th. Needs to work on his hands and agility. But what he does well, he does better than anyone in the draft outside of Fournette. Perine makes a beeline to the endzone. Your pure north and south running back with very little wiggle but POWER FOR DAYS! His body is NFL ready but so is his eyes. His vision is a very underrated quality. There’s a reason he out-rushed AP in the Oklahoma record book and no one has ever rushed for more yards in one game in FBS history. 

I see him taking over the bulk of the carries for the Redskins by October.

Montae Nicholson- S- 4th Round

Not a fan. Think this will be a bust pick. Not good in space, didn’t show the instincts a centerfield safety would need to have. Has the size you look for but is going to struggle to find his niche early on. Xavier Woods would have made me happy here if Safety was the pick.

Jeremy Sprinkle- TE- 5th Round

If he scores in the pre-season and doesn’t do the ‘Salt Bae Celebration,’ cut him right away. Sprinkle is as fun a name as you’ll find but I just don’t like this pick. Not a very crisp player. Sloppy in breaks and after he gets the ball. Seems to fight with the ball in the air. Has the big body of a blocking TE that could be useful. Just feel this was a panic after Butt, Kittle, and Leggett all got drafted within the last 10 picks before Sprinkle.

Practice squad player.

Chase Roullier- C/G- 6th Round

It’s the first year in a while that we could wait until the 6th round before drafting our first O-lineman and the fanbase isn’t in uproar. Roullier is a great camp competition guy. Would love to see Lauvao, Kouandjio, and Roullier compete for the starting LG spot. 

Think he cracks the starting 5 a few times this year. Great late add.

Robert Davis- WR- 6th Round

A+ athlete. His measurables are off the chart. Small school and very little production gave him a late round grade but he’s a great project WR. Likely a practice squad candidate but I could see him sneaking in the Top 6 receivers to start the year if he can show value on special teams.

Josh Harvey-Clemens- LB- 7th Round

The big safety from Louisville will play a tweener role in Washington. Love that potential. I had a 4th round grade on him so to get him in the 7th is a steal. With some coaching he can give tight-ends some fight. I think he’ll contribute quite a bit this year.

Joshua Holsey- CB- 7th Round

Will not make the team. 

DE- 6′3″ 286 Edge- 6′2″ 253 CB- 6′0″ 206 RB- 5′11″ 233 S- 6′2″ 212 TE- 6′5″ 252 C- 6′4″ 312 WR- 6′3″ 219 S/LB- 6′4″ 217 CB- 5′11″ 195

Look at those measurables! You can see that the guys this staff gravitated towards checked the height/weight boxes. The Redskins Defense is set out to bully people. Manusky and his staff want to win the battle before it begins. Seeing towering figures and alpha dogs on the other side of the field can really give the defense a mental edge. 

There are a ton of new pieces to this Redskins defense from the top-down. This draft will be known for two things: 1. A step towards finally righting that defensive ship. 2. SAMAJE PERINE!

Beeeee OUT