April 10th, 2007 → 10:27 pm @ Seth Mnookin
Actually, we don’t. (Obviously, I’m not talking about today’s game. That was decided by the end of the first inning.) The interminable FTM 2007 pre-season contest, which already seems to have gone on forever, is threatening to intermin some more: after a three-way tie and a three-way goose egg, we now have a two-way tie, with sonomasox and maranara each pulling in 1 (one) point, out of a total of 15, with sonoma getting Coco’s three put-outs correct and maranara correctly tagging Beckett with a sole earned run. It’s time to put an end to the madness. You both get a book. I hope you’re happy — I’m paying for these things* (and the shipping costs) myself. So email me your real names, mailing addresses, and your inscription of choice and I’ll get these out in the mail already…
* They’re only $17.16 on Amazon. (Cheap!) Free bookplates still available. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist.)
Post Categories: 2007 Season & Contests
April 6th, 2007 → 11:09 am @ Seth Mnookin
SUNDAY NIGHT EDIT: Well, guess what…you all third-place losers lose again. So much for everyone choosing the obvious candidate. So here’s a contest where it’ll be truly difficult to pull off another menage: sonomasox, unforgiven, and maranara, you each need to guess:
* Beckett’s pitching line on Tuesday: IP, H, BB, K, R, ER and total pitches.
* Lugo’s batting line: AB, H, BB, SAC, HBP.
* Coco’s fielding line: put outs, assists, and errors.
That’s fifteen total categories. Each’ll be worth a point. Let’s get this damn thing over already…
The results of the FTM 2007 pre-season contest are in, and the winners are…still up in the air!
Sort of, anyway: sox5452 and richsim tied for first place, with 9 points apiece, but at the moment, we have a three-way tie for third place, with sonomasox, unforgiven, and maranara all clocking in with 8 points. Which means we’re going to a sudden death shootout.
Here are the terms: now I’m looking for the first home run from the heart of the order — Manuel, Papi, and JDD — so the three of you post the following in the comments section for everyone to see:
* Who’ll go yard first,
* What game that’ll be in,
* What inning, and
* How many men on base.
Each guess will be worth one point; obviously, if only one of you gets the player right, s/he’ll win. To keep things exciting (and fair), I won’t post either entry until I have both of them.
Meanwhile, sox5452 and richsim, both of you e-mail me with your names, addresses, and anything special you want me to write in the inscription. Nothing x-rated, though. Or too x-rated, anyway.
Post Categories: 2007 Season & Contests
April 2nd, 2007 → 10:41 am @ Seth Mnookin
There’s an hour and a half left in the 2007 Opening Day contest. And surely you can top the 55 people who’ve already put down their guesses…
Oh, and speaking of Opening Day, what could be a better matchup that Schilling versus…Gil Meche? I mean, I guess they make about the same about of money. But really, that’s a matchup?* I don’t know about you all, but the two games I’m most looking forward to are this Thursday’s rubber match of the KC series, in which our very own $100 million man takes the mound for the Sox for the very first time, and next Wednesday’s contest, when Dice-K takes the Fenway mound for the first time. Time for everyone to bone up on their Japanese…
Oh, and, of course: Happy Passover.
* Folks will actually be able to see today’s game, which is being broadcast on ESPN. Take advantage of that, folks. Unless you have DirectTV, that’ll be one of the few away, non-Yankees games you’ll be able to see.
Post Categories: 2007 Opening Day & Contests
March 30th, 2007 → 4:46 pm @ Seth Mnookin
Think you know the Sox? Put your guesses where your bravado is, and tell me who’ll hit the team’s first home run, what Dice-K’s pitching line will be for his first MLB game, and when J.D. Drew will have his first RBI. If you beat out the rest of the crowd, you win a free, autographed copy of Feeding the Monster. Full details and how to enter are here.
Post Categories: 2007 Season & Contests & Uncategorized
March 28th, 2007 → 10:58 am @ Seth Mnookin
There are five days left until Opening Day. What better way to get excited than another Feeding the Monster prediction contest? Instead of a single winner, this time there’ll be (a minimum of) three lucky winners. Here are the categories:
* The player who hits the Sox’s first home run. Include game and inning.
* Dice K’s pitching line in his first outing. Include innings pitched, hits, walks, strike outs, runs, and earned runs.
* The date of J.D. Drew’s first RBI. Include game and inning.
The lucky winners will get a signed, personalized copy of Feeding the Monster, shipping and handling included. (Or, if you’d rather read about the Times, a personalized, autographed copy of Hard News.) For simplicity’s sake, every component of each guess will count equally, so someone who gets Dice K’s IP and hits correct but is off by a walk, 2 K’s, and 2 earned runs will get a -5, the same as someone who is off by 2 innings and 3 earned runs.
I’m going to cut off the entries at 100. Post your predictions in the comments section of this post by April 2 at noon, EST. One entry per person, etc etc etc.
Post Categories: 2007 Season & Contests
October 5th, 2006 → 9:48 am @ Seth Mnookin
Back on August 24, I launched the Big Papi Prediction Contest, in which loyal readers guessed the total number of dingers and RBIs Papi would end up with at the end of the year; the closest guess (without going over) would win a signed, personalized copy of Feeding the Monster.
At the time, Ortiz had 45 homers and 119 RBIs. Then he missed a bunch of time due to his heart murmur. Ortiz’s year-end totals were 54 and 137, leaving him with 191…and not a single one of the 52 entries guessed 191 or below. So I’m exercising my executive right and am changing the rules: now the closest entry wins even if s/he goes over.
Without further ado, the two winners are geigerm (52+140 for a total of 192) and souljade (49+143=192); I’ll be emailing both of them to figure out the specifics. (Not that it matters, but Randy Kutcher (53+140, 193) and sdillard (52+141, 193) tied for second place.) So congrats, guys (or gals).
Post Categories: Contests & David Ortiz
August 24th, 2006 → 3:24 pm @ Seth Mnookin
With about 78 percent of the season’s games done and gone, Big Papi is leading the majors with 45 home runs and 119 RBIs. That puts him on pace for a not shabby 58/153.
But will he end up there? What if Manny’s not in the lineup protecting him? What if his ED acts up? What if he strains a groin muscle legging out a triple? For all your intrepid future predictors out there, here’s your chance to guess where Papi’ll be on the morning of October 2. And just like on “The Price Is Right” (except for the dishwashers and Bob Barker), the person who’s closest without going over will get a signed, personalized copy of Feeding the Monster, shipping and handling included. (Or, if you’d rather read about the Times, a personalized, autographed copy of Hard News.) For simplicity’s sake, home runs and RBIs will count equally, so someone who’s off by 2 home runs and 3 RBIs will be counted the same as someone who’s off by 5 RBIs. Post your predictions in the comments section of this post by Sunday at noon, EST. One entry per person, etc etc etc. And no more arguing about Sean McAdam.
(If you post your guess and it doesn’t get posted right away, that’s only because I’m not sitting at my computer all the time. Appearances to the contrary. Don’t worry — it’ll go up.)
12:30 pm Sunday update: Well, that’s it for entries — we’ve got 52, and I’ll set the crack FTM Blog number crunching team (read: me) to work on this as soon as the season’s over. In the meantime, I hope all of you have the book already. It’ll only make the winning copy that much more rewarding. Or something.
Post Categories: Contests & David Ortiz
