Z is for Zoo, Zisk and Zones

The day is here the final day of the A to Z challenge ! This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

On 3 continents I've been to the zoo

Europe and Asia are two

It's more than I can bare (ika) 

Not been to South America

Maybe soon I will go to Peru. 

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

They say good things come in 3's.  In the year 1977 that was certainly true for me, the White Sox and Richie Zisk.  In 1976 the White Sox finished last in the A.L. West and were in need of  a major shake up.  Iconic owner Bill Veeck (as in Wreck) was up for the task.  He traded Hall of Fame Reliever Rich Gossage and starting pitcher Terry Forster to the Pirates for Zisk. In 1977 Zisk had his best season having his best career years in RBI and Home Runs.  In 1977 8 White Sox players had  10 or more homers, (Oscar Gamble had 31, Zisk had 30).  more than 50 RBI (Zisk led the team with 102), and batting .247 or higher (Richie hit .290) earning the moniker of the Southside Hitmen.  Old Comiskey was a magic place that year and I (turning 13 at the end of the season) was at a perfect age to enjoy it.  

Richie Zisk only played 1 year for the White Sox but he made an indelible impression on the fans.  From 1976 to 1987 Zisk hit 159 of his 207career home runs.  Besides the 30 for the Sox, he hit 59 for the Texas Rangers,  49 fir the Seattle Mariners and 21 in his final season for the Pirates.  

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 26th starting word was zones. 

Z O N E S - Two letters in solutuion but not in right pace

W R O T E - Got O in right place.

E M O J I-  Added E in right place

P L A C E - I usually dont make guesses like 4 and 5 

D O U G H - but my notebook says I did

E P O X Y - Epoxy in 5 

Thanks for joining me for the  A to Z challenge.  For more click here.  

Y is for Yin, Yang, Yaz and Young

 Good morning and welcome to day 24, the penultimate of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

I don't give a darn or a dang

for the yin or even the yang

Don't meant to alarm ya

I'm just not into karma.

I think God controls whole shebang.

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

 

Carl Yastrzemski played his entire career  (1961-1983) with the Boston Red Sox. Yaz is 39th overall in homeruns over his career with 452.  (Nelson Cruz will tie him with his next homer and surpass him with the one after that.) From 1961 to 1963 Yastrzemski pummeled 44 homers for the BoSox in his first 3 years in the Bigs.  From 1964 to 1975 he established himself as a hall of fame caliber outfielder hitting 273 homers with a .290 batting average and a slugging percentage of .480.  In that Era he was 1 of only 4 players to be in the top 40 of homers, doubles and stolen bases along with Dick Allen, Hank Aaron, and Jimmy Wynn.  Yaz hit 135 more dingers for Boston in his final 8 years with the team.

  

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 25tg starting word was young. 

Y O U N G- I guessed one letter (o) correctly but not in the reight place...

S T O R E - Added 2 more letters (T and  E) still nonr in their correct positions.

O C T E T-  It took 8 people to get the t in the right place.

D E P O T - Depot in 4.

For more A to Z challenge click here.  

X is for Xylophone, Xavier and Xerox

Good morning and welcome to day 24th, the 4th day of the final week  of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

As a substitute teacher I often get to choose where I want to  be for the day.  I often choose to sub in elementary school music classes.  Not only are they fun, I often get to learn or relearn about musical things.  Like recently when we talked about the differences between a xylophone and a glockenspiel.

Xylophone 

By David Adam Kess - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Glockenspiel By flamurai - Own work, Public Domain, Link

Here's the limerick I composed (word choice intended) about it. 

I'll compare in 5 lines of this poem

the glockenspiel and xylophone

spiel's bars made from metal

and the phone's by Gepetto

Tap on either , they make a nice tone.

.

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

I have been using the letter of the day for the homerun hitters first or last name.  Which turns out to be a good thing because there has never been a major league baseball player with a last name beginning with X.  So I went to the first name and chose Xavier Nady.

While it's true that Xander Bogaerts has 38 more homers than Nady and is still playing so will probably get more, I went with Nady because I needed one more player from the 2000 to 2010 period of my lifetime.  Nady hit 104 homers from 2000 to 2012 but only 11 after 2010.  The 93 from 2000 to 2010 were hit while with the Pirates (36), Padres (25), Mets (14) , Yankees (12), and the Cubs (6).  

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 24nd starting word was xerox. 

X E R O X- although x was xcluded, I was xcited that I got an e..

E V E N T - Event was eventful by placing the E correctly and adding a properly placed T.

C H E S T-  Getting chest in 3 was a real treasure and x marked the spot!

For more A to Z challenge click here.  

W is for Writers Block, Willie, and Wraps

Good morning and welcome to day 23, the3rd day of the final week  of the A to Z challenge. This year I chose 3 themes for the challenge: Limericks, MLB sluggers in my lifetime, and A to Z wordles. For more information about these themes click here. 

Part I: A to Z Limericks

Writers Block is of course a thing.  It often happens to writers on deadline. The A to Z challenge is of course one massive deadline.  Here is a limerick I wrote 8 years ago about Writer's Block.

 I wonder if there's some kind of doc

For a bad case of writer's block

You make an appointment

He gets you some ointment

And you can get back on the clock. 

Adapted from my Facebook page 1/4/14

Part II: A to Z Homerun hitters of my lifetime

Willie Mays, "The Say Hey Kid" began his HOF career in 1951, 13 seasons before the year I was born.  Between 1951 and 1963 Willie hit 406 home runs. Thats good enough for 9th overall between 1920 and 1963.  If he stopped there, It would be goof enough for 58th all time.

But Willie Mays did not stop there he continued to play until 1973 hitting another 254 long balls (240 for the San Francisco Giants and 14 for the New York Mets) for a career total of 660.  This puts him in 6th place in homers over the history of Major League Baseball. Mays who will turn 91 a week from this coming Friday is the oldest living member of Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Part III: Wordle Starting Words from A to Z

Note: Correct letters in the correct places will be shown in bold. Correct letters in incorrect places will be shown in italics.

My March 23nd starting word was wraps. 

W R A P S- Guessed the R and the P but not in the right places.

P O R C H- A step forward : Got the P and the R in the correct positions.

P A R T Y-  A step backwards: Guessed a letter that I knew wasn't there/

P U R G E -  Purge in 4 

For more A to Z challenge click here.