Basic Stats Analysis

Wins vs loss (example – 4wins and 3 losses is 4/3)
Innings pitched is IP
WHIP is Walks and hits divided by the amount of innings they have pitched
ERA is earned run average, how often they gave up runs

Player Biographies -

Cj Wilson : CJ is 32 years old and pitches for the Los Angeles Angels. He is a 2 time all star, so his salary is well deserved from the past, but he isn’t quite living up to his billing, at least so far this year. He is still a very good pitcher who at any point during the season could get hot and be a catalyst for the Angels playoff success. It’s hard to compare him to other pitchers I’m analyzing, because he’s a closer and not a starter.

Alex Cobb : Alex is a young 25 year old pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. At this point in his career, he is a bargain for his team making only a half million dollars this year. He clearly still has some kinks to work at as a young pitcher, but also has an extremely high ceiling. This was exemplified in his most recent outing, where he threw 13 strikeouts, but also gave up 3 runs in almost 5 innings. Once these flaws and inconsistencies are worked out of his games, he is primed to be an elite pitcher in the league.

Adam Wainwright : Adam is a 31 year old pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals. In the past he has won 2 World Series with clutch pitching, and has been a gold glover and an all star. In 2011 he had major elbow surgery in 2011, so he is a slight risk injury wise. He has posted 2 near complete games this season and has been lights out, definitely playing up to his contract.

Carlos Villanueva : Carlos is a 29 year old pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. In his most recent outing against the Colorado Rockies he performed awfully giving up 5 runs in just the first 3 innings. It’s early in the season, so its hard to judge his season so far. However, he is pitching very poorly, hardly even earning his low-mid level contract. He will probably return to the Cubs next season, but if he doesn’t start improving, he is either doomed to the bullpen or pitching outside of the MLB.

Felix Hernandez : King Felix is a 27 year old pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Widely regarded as one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball, he got one of the biggest contract extensions in the history of the MLB last summer. He even threw a perfect game in 2012. This season, he is an extremely pricey pitcher, but so far is still performing at an elite level. He is still a relatively young arm, and consistently throws very long efficient games for the Mariners.

Top 5 in order of salary.

1. Alex Cobb, 502,000$ each of next 2 years
2. Carlos Villanueva, 5,000,000$ each of next 2 years
3. CJ WIlson, 11,000,000$ this year, then 16,000,000, 18,000,000, and 20,000,000 next 3 years after that
4. Adam Wainwright, 12,000,000$ this year, then 19,500,000$ for the next 5 years
5. Felix Hernandez, 19,860,000$ this year, then over the next 6 years to 27,000,000$

Top 5 in order of Statistics/performance (2013)

1. Adam Wainwright, 5-2 2.30 era 58.2ip .989 whip
2. Felix Hernandez, 5-2 1.53 era 64.2 ip .928 whip
3. Alex Cobb, 4-2 3.09 era 46.2 ip 1.221 whip
4. CJ Wilson, 3-2 3.88 era 48.2 ip 1.541 whip
5. Carlos Villanueva, 1-3 3.93 era 52.2 ip 1.139 whip

Top 5 in order of who the Falcons should buy in the opinion of HP…

1. Alex Cobb

2. Felix Hernandez
3. Adam Wainwright
4. CJ Wilson
5. Carlos Villanueva

Final Analysis :

I would recommend getting Alex Cobb by a landslide as the first option due to his obvious talent as a pitcher. He has the ERA and WHIP of a good pitcher (as displayed in my graph), and while obviously he still has some flaws that young players have, he has a lot of potential. His price is also extraordinarily appealing, he is not even close to his full potential. He is only worth 500,000 dollars next year. This is the cheapest player on the list who has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the league and is worth taking a risk on. I would definitely advise the Falcons to act quickly before other teams offer him enormous contracts.

Next I would hope to get Felix Hernandez, as he is obviously one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball. However, he’s extraordinarily expensive so we’d have to be very lucky in order to lure him out of Seattle, and be able to sustain his enormous contract.

Adam Wainwright would be my next choice. He is a top pitcher in the game, similar to Felix, however he has a history of injuries and is also 31 years old. Like the Mariners with Hernandez, it would be hard to convince the Cardinals to let him go.

CJ Wilson is my fourth option, he is a great closer for the Angels. Like everyone except Cobb, he is very pricey and is not a contract we should offer him just to close games for us.

Lastly, Villanueva might be the second cheapest, but I believe his career is plummeting into irrelevancy. His pitching numbers are very average and he is throwing very poorly for the Cubs this year.

Insert Graph

For my third action project we were asked to do community service for 3 hours, while attempting to address a human right we felt strongly about. I chose to help out my school, and help the community garden. As I will explain, I wanted to tackle the issue of access to food. For a class field experience we worked at a church to prepare lunches for the hungry, and then worked at a homeless shelter. This gave me an appreciation for what I have, and specifically how easy it is for me to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. Many people, for a variety of reasons, do not have this luxury, but I am in a position where I can help tackle the problem. here is my project.

Some skills that I offer are in the manual labor parts of service. This includes anything that requires some sort of physical ability, such as shoveling, lifting, etc. I have experience with this in places like South Africa and Ecuador where I built things like schools and bathrooms. I have also done labor like this in Chicago, and even in my school. Overall I enjoy doing manual work and believe I offer a lot. The human right I am addressing is the right to food. Everyone deserves access to healthy food no matter your financial situation or location. The organization I worked for was my school. I helped prepare a garden, which will grow vegetables for the community. This can be done in any neighborhood, and we are living examples of that. While the food we are growing cannot feed all of the hungry people in Chicago, it is displaying different ways in which we can do it. Vacant lots can be turned into gardens, and families that need more vegetables in their diets now have a fun and proactive way of approaching the problem at a relatively low cost.

We asked our project manager a few questions about this project and how she felt it helped the community. Kim Campos said “Everyone who walks, bikes or drives pass the park way will be able to visually appreciate the garden aesthetically or enjoy the scents that may emanate from the raised herbal garden. Therefore, in answer to who will utilize this space, the community will use the space.” This explains why she wants to plant this garden. It is inevitable that people will end up taking the food we grow, but in the end “those people are obviously in greater need for it then we are”. I am proud to have been affiliated with this project and to have our supervisor explain it to us really helped me understand our purpose.

To make this garden project possible, me and a few people tilled (got glass, rocks, and trash out of the dirt) and upturned the soil in the front of our school, to make planting in it a reality for the future. I would have probably ended up doing this project anyway, but it was nice to be able to fill my community service requirements with this. Working with friends also helped the time go quicker and make the project more fun. I got a lot from this experience. It gave me an appreciation into where my food comes from, especially organic food. it also gave me a better appreciation for farming, and even gardening, I have never realized how difficult it was just to prepare land to grow the food.

Being outdoors was also a great opportunity to take a break from the day indoors, in classrooms and the gym. People would often walk past us and even interact, asking us about our project. I really enjoyed the experience because it also fully allowed me to utilize my abilities as a worker. This was a perfect opportunity for me to contribute to the community.

Overall I’m glad I was able to use manual labor and service as a school project.

The city of Chicago has a monopoly over public transportation, for better or worse. The CTA runs buses throughout the whole city and a few neighboring suburbs (with their only competition being the Pace buses of the suburbs). The trains they have are the most popular inner city commuter train, however the Metra runs trains into Chicago from suburbs. Chicago public transportation is a government run municipal cooperation. Their fares have raised substantially in the last 50 years for a multitude of reasons, mostly due to the increased demand for better trains and buses ; thus needing more money. The tracks have needed serious renovation in the last 15 years, in order to sustain the CTA for another 75 years. Projects such as the Wells Street bridge have drawn from government grants and from the CTA fare prices. Luckily, students don’t have to pay as much. In various cities the prices for students vary. My two graphs are to convey how much the CTA forces customers to pay for a ride since 1950, and it is for the viewer to decide if the changes are necessary or excessive. In my opinion, the fares are fair. Although the prices are getting higher and higher, it is still substantially cheaper then driving or taking a taxi. The other graph is showing how much students have to pay in various cities in 2013. Why can’t every student across the country pay the same price?

There are no statistical outliers in graph #1, which is why I believe the fare prices have been deserved and not too expensive. There are no rapid inclines in prices. However, in graph #2, New York kids get to ride the train for free which is obviously the outlier of the group. Why can’t other cities in America follow in New York’s lead?

Here is the first infochart I created on the fare price increase over the last 60 years in Chicago.

And here is the infochart I created

Citations -

http://www.chicago-l.org/fares/

http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sandy-damange-mta-issue-article-1.1316484

Citations -

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/04/04/memphis-grizzlies-quincy-pondexter-should-play-smaller-role/

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/allen-iverson-1.html

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/washington/quincy-pondexter

Here is the slideshow we created, the complimentary paper is below it.

Here is our written report…

Here is my email to the alderman…

Dear Michelle Smith of Ward 43 (2523 N.Halstead Ave)

I would like to propose an amendment to help improve a part of your ward. My problem occurs at Clybourn Park, just down the street from us at Clybourn and Sheffield. It affects the residents of this neighborhood, and in nearby areas who want to enjoy a day at the park, or need a place to play basketball.

The park can get very dirty at times, but overall the infrastructure is the biggest problem. Addressing the issue of cleanliness, a city employee once a week for 30 minutes could keep the park very clean. On the issue of infrastructure, it will take more time to fix. The hoop near the gangway (away from the street) is bent awkwardly and needs to be fixed. The hoop near the street needs a safety net or higher fences so that the ball doesn’t go in the street. Not only does this eliminate the risk of losing your basketball, but it keeps kids safe from not having to run into the streets. It also eliminates the potential for a car accident, or even a pedestrian accident. This is the biggest issue facing the park. On another note, there is also a huge brick wall which could use a community mural on it. This could be an initiative to bring more youth into the area, and add some identity to the bland neighborhood.

Improving the park could bring many positive outcomes. Making the park a more attractive place to visit, as stated earlier, would make the area a very distinctive part of the neighborhood. With many local restaurants next door to the park, they would benefit greatly from an influx of more visitors to the area. Next, it would make the area more kid friendly. Starting out with the initiative to paint a mural over the brick wall, that would bring the communities families together, working towards a common goal. Also, having that place to play would be a cornerstone of the community, improving the connections that neighborhood families have with each other. Lastly, the park is already a very unique place. But beautifying it a little bit more would make the area a more attractive place to visit.

This corridor of the ward has extreme potential to be a defining area in the neighborhood. Overall I still love the park but it could be better.

Sincerely, HP

Citations

1990s image – http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4E4_E_5tm9I/T-gap7DQhCI/AAAAAAAAU-E/t6niqSXoRLc/s1600/Basketball+1.jpg – Accessed April 14 2013

Clybourn Park – Original Image taken by HP, GCE Chicago High School

Here is my artist statement.

HP 

Hospital Gown
Textile Fabric
32 in x 30

My final project for Textile Cultures this term was to create a hospital gown out of my already created textile. My pattern on the textile directly relates to why I chose to make a hospital gown. The pattern symbolizes the hospital I was born in, being taken down, from a full structure to nearly nothing. The gown is a tribute to that hospital, in that it can contribute to a different hospital while carrying on the memory of the old one. My piece can be worn by putting it on like a normal hospital gown.

To create this gown, it took many different steps in order to accomplish it. First, I had to measure my body in order to find a good size to create the garment. Next, I had to sketch out a rough version of my gown as a blueprint, so that I could visualize my next steps. After that was created, I drew a life size version of the gown on a huge piece of paper. After some tweaking, I realized it could not just be a one piece, sleeveless gown. The concept was the same but I made it skinnier, and created a back and sleeves. Once the paper version of my gown was complete, I measured to see if I had enough fabric to create my gown on my fabric. Once that was sorted out, I pinned down my paper gown to the fabric, and began cutting out my piece. Once the front, back, and sleeves were cut out, I finally stitched them together to finish my gown.

Overall this process made me appreciate garment making a lot more than I used to, seeing the kind of work necessary to create a meaningful piece of clothing. Learning how to stitch was the most difficult part of the process, but I enjoyed the end result and am proud that I could make it.

Introduction – In the United States, the Constitution is one of, if not the most important documents in our country’s history. We must follow its word, and anything “unconstitutional” is demonized. With this in mind, the First Amendment states there must be a separation of church and state in government. In this email exchange with Eric Davis (a religious studies major from Lewis and Clark University in Portland who has created a high school), I expressed my views as to why I support a full separation. Eric expressed viewpoints as to why my thinking shouldn’t be the nationwide thought process, and then together, we created a common theory as to how this amendment can be put to use in a more efficient way, synthesizing our opinions.

For an unedited version of the email exchange, you can see it here.

Thesis (I say)

Religion and government should be separate, and in the United States they arent; even though it is in the constitution that we can’t have that.

“God Bless America” is the saying that opens up Congressional sessions in the United States of America. However, the first Amendment in our constitution states there must be a separation between church and state (religion and government) explicitly, and I agree. In practice, on the other hand, the United States breaks this oath in a multitude of different areas of law and justice, and is simply not fair for non-Christians.

For instance, before a trial, you must swear on the bible no matter what religion, or lack of religion you believe in. To me, this is ridiculous and also sets an awful mood for the rest of what is supposed to be a fair and unbiased trial. If you follow a different “bible”, or do not swear to a god at all, having to do this is not only pointless, but it could be offensive and demeaning.

Another instance where church and state can be seen mixing is in the pledge of allegiance, which personally I was forced to recite every day until fifth grade. “One nation, under god” is the country we are stating our love and loyalty too, even if we don’t know what god is. At such a young age having this drilled into your head can drive ideas in that should not be driven in. What you believe in should be up to you, and having the pledge ingrained in your head can either misguide you towards religion for the wrong reason, or back you away from it for a different wrong reason. Overall I believe freedom of religion is an extraordinarily important part of the backbone of our country, yet fundamentally we are abusing this and even breaking amendments because of one group of people’s religious beliefs, that could alter the country and it’s people for better or worse.

Antithesis (They Say)

Eric believes there is a potential place for religion in any school.

People “have lived peacefully and honorably in line with god’s will” for thousands of years and it still is a vital part of Earth’s blood to this day. Eric thinks there is definitely a time and place to teach about other’s beliefs within a schoolhouse. “I have no interest in the pledge.  It makes many assumptions about individuals beliefs, self-identifications, and values.”

Perhaps the theory I could understand the most was on how religion could be implemented into normal classes. “I suspect that any school I will create will have religion as a part of it, just not institutionalized religion.  There is a critical difference.  Our students have been exposed to religious practices and ideologies in numerous courses. ” After thinking about this I realized I had learned numerous things about cultures I’d never been exposed too before, and it was never shoved down my throat. To me this is how it could be successfully taught in schools.

Synthesis (together)

There is plenty of room for religion in our country, but if one religion is being recognized, then the others have to be too.

Eric has shown me different examples of places in public/government controlled areas of the country where religion does have a place. Church and state don’t have to be totally separate, but if one religion plays a role in a situation, every other religious affiliation has to also be recognized. For example, as opposed to swearing on a bible, the choice of religion is available. Swearing on a Koran could be a lot more powerful and less offensive for certain people, and this option needs to be available if we have to swear on something.

Another area where religion could be introduced and not shoved down people’s throats, is school. Eric did not believe in having a pledge of allegiance in school, however having religious studies classes available and implemented in other courses could be very enriching and powerful. These courses “will never be intended to push anyone toward one religion, another, or any religion at all. Rather, they will be used to their ideal purpose — challenging our understanding of existence, ritual, and community on macro and micro levels.” I recognize the impact these classes could possibly make, and I agree with this. Understanding, and not simply tolerating, another person’s viewpoints is not only an extremely important skill to have, but is vital for a better chance at global partnerships and local unity.

Overall I realized the possibilities outweigh the doubts of gently implementing aspects of religion and beliefs into some areas of the public, such as in school. I would be cautious in this whole process, yet I believe knowledge of other cultures and beliefs is just as important as math and science; if taught correctly it could be immeasurably impactful.