Poetry

			Black Swan

			A point you were, the smallest thing,
			so long a grain of sand.
			Anonymous, not yet a queen
			to rise and save the land.
			Those days long gone, a specter of
			what came to pass and why,
			so innocent, the youthful love
			that led your heart awry.
			So many suitors fought for you,
			that number, growing still,
			yet on you went, in cold pursuit,
			a purpose to fulfill.
			At last you wrought it, sweet escape!
			from nightmares of your past,
			the ruin of a soul too late
			to heed your frightful wrath.
			The girl with eyes to catch the light,
			reflecting back the dawn,
			a harmless creature left my sight,
			returning a black swan.
			

			Riven

			Why did you stay, you should have gone
			when things turned upside down.
			A fool to make, you stumbled on,
			too sacred for the ground.
			Alas, the years have not been kind,
			your show put to a song,
			between the tears, a passing sign
			your choice to stay was wrong.
			Had fate given you bravery,
			instead of deathly fear,
			a ribbon riven gracefully
			with words to heed and hear,
			perhaps the ones you love would stay
			regretably behind,
			nowhere to run, nothing to say
			but holding onto pride.
			Of course, you chose to stay alive,
			trade dignity for breathe,
			alone to close a selfish life,
			at long last, you will rest.
			

			Reflection #1

			My words, may you last
			when my body has gone;
			recover my name
			if forgotten to time;
			though statues may rise
			and in due time, fall,
			your form shall remain,
			in dust, as in rhyme.
			Perhaps they are heard,
			these echoes we leave,
			ripples on water
			in ethereal calm.
			Long may I lay
			to quietly mind
			the writhing of life
			and intention long lost.
			

			Reflection #2

			She sings to me, where no one hears,
			a serenade discrete,
			the dancing girl my heart holds dear,
			though never do I see.
			Her leavings strewn about and round
			my life, long in her wake,
			the vestiges in light abound
			as shadows in refrain.
			I await the sign each passing day,
			her loathing has all gone,
			to memory, may her troubles fade
			as night ere coming dawn.

			

			Reflection #3

			The two of us, a tired pair,
			misfortune and misdeeds to bear,
			resigned to fight, the cause forgot,
			no compromise or compact sought.
			A choice you give to save but one
			between us two, or else save none,
			might calm in all this darkness find
			an ending of a lighter kind.
			Should anger for compassion speak
			and choose the punishment you seek,
			may brighter days in darkness shine
			to recompense my poor design.
			If ever should we meet again
			before we reach that bitter end,
			consider once this weary mind
			and twice the trials of its time.
			

			Reflection #4
			
			The cackle cometh, sure as sun,
			to seal my woeful fate,
			a parting song, your battle won,
			reflection left too late.
			Ill-fated from the day we met,
			our stars all out of line,
			betrayed to wander, sleepless lest
			our dreams all wilt and die.
			If I must go so you may stay,
			a shadow from your shine,
			alight the new world you have made
			and lose my name to time.
			

			The Fall
			
			I scratch and claw, the maw below
			in frenzy for the fall,
			their gnashing teeth beneath my toes,
			my flesh to gore and maul.
			Each day arises, flying past,
			too swift to stop or slow,
			distraught, I walk the broken path,
			my reckoning for show.
			So take me back, my slackened eyes
			to days before this wreck,
			a carefree year, no fear to mind
			nor fate to concede yet.
			Should she still save a way for me
			to blunder on alone,
			may mercy leave her grievance be
			and skin upon my bones.
			

			Forever Lost
			
			I only saw you, nothing else,
			no past or future to aggrieve,
			afraid to show, resolved to tell
			what feelings hid inside of me.
			Your heart was taken, I now know,
			so blue was I to fall behind
			not second, third, nor even close,
			unable to unmake your mind.
			I had not met a girl like you
			and to this day, affirm that claim,
			your eyes, your mouth, and ways they move
			too lovely to be here explained.
			Could we go back and meet again,
			before our lives had run this course,
			what I would give to be your friend,
			a lifetime now, forever lost.
			

			King
			
			I do recall the day you won,
			that head at last held high,
			a showman for the raging mobs,
			your name known far and wide.
			A tough outside, you sadly shared 
			your nature with so few,
			a contrast that would wake the world
			as truth came washing through.
			One battle won, another rose
			to test the weight you bare,
			the welfare of this boyish fool
			and girls for whom you care.
			If all cannot be happy once
			this conflict sets us free,
			please end up with the one you love,
			a Queen fit for a King.
			

			My Mask
			
			My mask was made with best intents,
			to mend a scar I could not see,
			in time, reduced to such a form 
			I lost what heart was left in me.
			Should I disdain, be lost or dead
			before this curse may be removed,
			remember me in days gone by,
			my countenance once more anew.
			

			To Those Who Knew Me
			
			To those who knew me long ago,
			before the world drew one last breath,
			I sicken at the endless show
			and writhe at the foregone contest.
			Despite this shame, I still partake,
			a lure and line, the only needs,
			some twist of truth, a weakness raised,
			each time beseeching me to speak.
			Could I atone for each past ruse,
			reclaim some pride I left for naught,
			no friend would suffer the excuse
			nor foe the battle that they sought.
			Was it within me, all this time,
			to be drawn forth and set ablaze,
			I hope you know, it would so shine
			to clear my name and end my days.
			

			Places Too Dark to be Seen
			
			Too smart to be brave
			or polite to behave
			in natural or devious ways.
			Your laces too tight,
			the black and the white
			are growing in distance each day.
			Befriending a clock,
			your fantasies knock
			on a door still want for a key,
			To get in, or get out
			by a derelict route,
			in places too dark to be seen.
			

			Wales
			
			Endless miles of greening country
			mirror heavens bathed starlit
			ebbing time from lives that putter
			round like rain, where nobody listens;
			your voice lights the lonely highway.
			

			Venus and Mars
			
			Venus, Mars, of near and far,
			born from one amongst the stars,
			lending notes to make diverse
			serenades in solace cursed.
			

			Man and Beast
			
			True is false, and likewise back,
			that thought good lays evil track,
			fruitful is as loins decry,
			here where man and beast collide.
			

Sketches

Melodies

Miscellaneous

Soccer Tactics

Sport seems a little trivial, given my usual subject matter, but is undeniably relatable and perhaps more complex than I previously imagined. The game in question is soccer, the only one about which I can write with any credibility. Having consumed it for nearly three decades, I am now driven to reflect, for my own amusement and for comparison, whether that time has yielded any ideas of interest. I suspect it has not, but hope it has.

Being nearly identical to several other games, like hockey, lacrosse or water polo, differing mainly in how the contested object is handled, the sport is primarily about the utilization of space. Containing two teams and a ball on a rectangular field, the ball must move through space and enter a “goal,” stationed at either end of the field and defended by each team. It is moved by being struck with the foot, either gently and under control of a single player, called “dribbling,” or more firmly and between players, called “passing.” When in close proximity to the goal, the ball may be struck with maximum force, called “shooting.” These three actions account for most movement.

Dribbling is the less efficient method of navigation, in both speed and technique, but can offer a more direct approach if a player is given sufficient space. Strategies cannot solely rely on dribbling, as opponents will collapse and suffocate the action if not forced to account for other players to whom the dribbler may pass. Given the natural unease of controlling an object with our less coordinated feet, dribbling requires extensive practice and dexterity, and is a relative vanity given how much simpler the movement can be accomplished by a series of passes.

The movement of the ball through passing is how the game is ideally played. Envisioning a line connecting every player to their potential teammates, the network of possible connections is vast. Typically struck faster than any player can run, passing is quicker, safer and easier than dribbling, and offers a more cerebral approach to the raw athleticism and skill of the ball-handlers. If targets of passing are supported properly and peripheral movement is active and purposeful, skilled teams can possess the ball for extended periods, or sufficiently long to find an opening to more directly exploit.

In the end, I find the most successful strategy to be the navigation of space through passing combinations of various lengths, from smaller, local movements when possible, to longer ones when opponents start to collapse. As angles are more quickly created in close proximity, and therefore possession kept more easily, local clusters, intermixed appropriately with longer passes to open new spaces, are the most efficient way to traverse the field. Given their quick and shifty geometry, local clusters should be maintained whenever possible, attaching and releasing participants as the ball moves, and only giving way to longer passes when an area has become stifled and its spaces occupied. This stretching and contracting of space, the ball like a celestial object attracting and releasing bodies as it approaches and moves away, should allow possession to be kept among and between dense configurations of opponents.

Rather than visualizing a network of potential passes, a more helpful aid might be circles, emanating outward from the ball at their center. Possible targets rotate around the ball, with those closer orbiting more quickly, and therefore constructively, while far-flung players must cover more ground to present an opening, making their position less secure while requiring greater effort and accuracy to target. This is why short passing combinations should be sought and maintained whenever space is available: they are simpler to complete, require less effort to adjust and still outpace more athletic opponents. Naturally, shorter distances will eventually draw in more opponents, leading to potential congestion that will require new space to move into, and longer passes to reach that space.

Modern teams seem to fixate on rigid shapes, imagining unrealistic passing movements that circulate through the body of a structure, and reach as far as that structure may extend. Theoretically, and perhaps in simulated games, this is a sound approach. However, defenses are smarter and passing harder than simulations convey, and tighter, more fluid shapes ease the difficulty of both maintaining open lanes and actually playing the ball. Teams may still utilize spacing, and indeed it is useful to assign certain players to certain areas, but possession is far more easily maintained through close, freeform arrangements, rotating around the ball in support of the handler. Obviously spaces will eventually open up, at which point more familiar movements may return and specific player archetypes have a chance to operate, such as a winger, striker or attacking midfielder. You still need fast players, physical players and smart players, but only when an opportunity presents itself; until that happens, possession must be maintained.

(Edit 3/5/26: After further considering what I have written here, there are a few more ideas I would like to explore. Having briefly and unsuccessfully delved into soccer statistics, I have nonetheless been thinking of ways to evaluate attacking quality, and the following terms and descriptions have resulted from that effort. Hopefully they can be of some use.

Matches are most usefully divided into individual “possessions.” After much internal deliberation, I have decided to separate those possessions into four actions, or stages: “control,” “carry,” “play” and “complete.” The first of these, “control,” simply separates distinct possessions from the chaos that often arises between them, sometimes being as simple as a touch but occasionally requiring something more elaborate. When a possession has been initiated, the opportunity to “carry” the ball may be taken, hardly ever required but at times advantageous depending on the location of the player and their athletic ability. This stage cannot last long, as only the threat of a pass keeps a defense from collapsing on the carrier, and the longer the action is strung out, the closer to dispossession they will come. Whether running out of space or time, eventually the logical action will be to “play” the ball, either as a pass to a teammate, a shot on goal, or perhaps something in between when desperate. The final stage of the sequence, “complete,” simply notes whether your effort reached its intended destination, usually doubling as the “control” designation for the succeeding possession.

As “control” and “complete” are largely procedural and barely manifest in any physical action at all, it will be “carry” and “play” that draw most of my attention, being better known as “dribbling” and “passing.” Both these actions are divided, by me, into two subtypes: "probing" and "penetrating." In passing, a probing effort is more preparatory, not meant to infiltrate a defensive structure, but maintaining possession while the team “probes” for an opening. The term functions similarly when attached to dribbling, where a player makes little effort to challenge the defense, instead orienting the ball and his or her team in a way that prepares them for more productive actions.

Penetration most effectively communicates what an offense is eventually trying to do. Penetrating passes are played either between or beyond defensive structures, sometimes quickly retracted if the opponent is well-organized, but occasionally leading to further penetration, marked by the offense moving closer to their destination or scheming to do so as they clamor to keep the ball. The further attackers move into a defensive structure, the more opponents they will encounter, and the more frenetic and aggressive those opponents will become, leading to tighter spaces and a more pressurized environment.

This offensive movement, of a team or player, is best characterized by how directly they pressure a defensive structure. Passes of a similar number or distance may be played around the periphery of a structure, but are clearly not as dangerous as actions angled towards the goal, or the surrounding space from which a reasonable attempt may be made. Therefore, the collective efficiency of any player, and especially attackers, can be judged by the time consumed, distance covered and angles taken in their cumulative possessions, with quicker, deeper and more direct movements obviously being valued most highly. Of course, a literal interpretation of directness should be avoided, as passes launched mindlessly towards the goal from all areas of the field will likely be ineffective. When protected properly though, direct movements still represent an ideal outcome once an opportunity has been discerned.

In the end, I stand by my earlier comments regarding how the game should be played. Except in highly compressed and technical spaces, dribbling requires unnecessary effort during the game and is a further burden to develop and maintain between games. Close and flexible formations can, assuming basic mental competence from their players, counter dense groups of defenders, and are portable to all but the most hectic situations one may reasonably encounter in a match. How and why modern managers and pundits cling to organizational “systems” instead of more general and widely-applicable “philosophies” is something I still cannot understand, as simple ideas so often outperform complicated strategizing. Hopefully this essay is a convincing argument for that reality.)

Baseball Statistics

Hitting

BOOz

Base Attempts = Plate Appearances - HBP - SH - IBB

Success Per Attempt (SPA) = (Hits + Walks) / Base Attempts

Bases Per Success (BPS) = ((1B * 1) + (2B * 2) + (3B * 3) + (HR * 4) + (BB * 1)) / (Hits + BB)

Success Per Attempt Plus (SPA+) = SPA / Average SPA * 100

Bases Per Success Plus (BPS+) = BPS / Average BPS * 100

Balanced Offensive Output (BOO) = ((SPA+) + (BPS+)) / 2

Balanced Offensive Average Z-score (BOOz) = (BOO - Average BOO) / Standard Deviation

ODE

O-Swing% = Swings on pitches out of zone.
O-Take% = 1 - O-Swing%
Z-Swing% = Swings on pitches in the strike zone.
Z-Take% = 1 - Z-Swing%
Zone% = Percent of pitches in the strike zone.
O-Zone% = 1 - Zone%
Contact% = Total contact divided by total swings.
Z-Contact% = Contact made on pitches in the strike zone.
Z-Miss% = 1 - Z-Contact%
O-Contact% = Contact made on pitches outside the strike zone.
O-Miss% = 1 - O-Contact%
HardHit% = Percentage of batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 MPH or higher.

O-SwingT = O-Swing% * O-Zone%
O-TakeT = O-Take% * O-Zone%
Z-SwingT = Z-Swing% * Zone%
Z-TakeT = Z-Take% * Zone%

STN = A pitch that was a strike, not swung at or made contact with.
SSN = A pitch that was a strike, swung at, with no contact.
SSC = A pitch that was a strike, swung at and made contact with.
OTN = A pitch that was a ball, not swung at or made contact with.
OSN = A pitch that was a ball, swung at, with no contact.
OSC = A pitch that was a ball, swung at and made contact with.

Optimal Decision & Execution (ODE) = ((SSC + OSC) * HardHit%) + OTN

Pitching

BARz-

Out Attempts = Plate Appearances - SH - IBB

Failure Per Attempt (FPA) = (Hits + Walks) / Out Attempts

Bases Per Failure (BPF) = ((1B * 1) + (2B * 2) + (3B * 3) + (HR * 4) + (BB * 1)) / (Hits + BB)

Failure Per Attempt Plus (FPA+) = FPA / Average FPA * 100

Bases Per Failure Plus (BPF+) = BPF / Average BPF * 100

Balanced Attack Repression (BAR) = ((FPA+) + (BPF+)) / 2

Balanced Attack Resistance Z-score (BARz) = (BAR - Average BAR) / Standard Deviation

Balanced Attack Resistance Z-score Inverted (BARz-) = (BARz - (BARz * 2)

PAR

Zone% = Percentage of total pitches in the strike zone.
O-Zone% = 1 - Zone%
Z-Swing% = Percentage of pitches in the strike zone that were swung at.
O-Swing% = Percentage of pitches outside the strike zone that were swung at.
Z-Take% = 1 - Z-Swing%
O-Take% = 1 - O-Swing%
O-Contact% = Percentage of swings that made contact on pitches outside the strike zone.
Z-Contact% = Percentage of swings that made contact on pitches in the strike zone.
O-Miss% = 1 - O-Contact%
Z-Miss% = 1 - Z-Contact%
HardHit% = Percentage of batted balls with an exit velocity of 95 MPH or higher.
NHH% = 1 - HardHit%

OT = O-Take% * O-Zone%
OS = O-Swing% * O-Zone%
ZT = Z-Take% * Zone%
ZS = Z-Swing% * Zone%
OSC = O-Contact% * OS
ZSC = Z-Contact% * ZS

OSM = OS * O-Miss%
ZSM = ZS * Z-Miss%
OT = O-Take% * O-Zone%
ZT = Z-Take% * Zone%
ZSCH = ZSC * HardHit%
ZSCF = ZSC * NHH%
OSCH = OSC * HardHit%
OSCF = OSC * NHH%

Pitching Avoidance & Repression (PAR) = OSM + ZSM + ZT + ZSCF + OSCF