So Wells is pitching tonight, and i go to the packy for some New England beer.
Sitting there on the shelf is Magic Hat Fat Angel.
How is this not a sign?!?
No more dicking around, boys. WIN. OUT.
The Sox are going to make me puke. Tito too late with the hook for Schill, and now 2nd and 3rd with one out and Hansen coming in for Bradford. Please God, bring the heat tonight.
Cards pale blue unis are UGLY
Ozzie's got range
Gary Matthews, Jr. is slower than his dad.
The Wrigley grass has ALWAYS been long
Matthews just got Steve Bartman'ed by a fat man in the 10th. Seriously - same exact play. Let's see what happens next.
Base hit, Ozzie.
Driven home by Willie McGee, who just doubled, for the cycle.
Larry Bowa should wear these strap-on shades on the BBTN set.
Sandberg should have gone into the Hall just for this game - 5-6, and game-tying HRs in the 9th and 10th innings.
Dallas Green was the Cubs' GM?
Cubs bleacher people throw shit on the field when they win.
Spike Owens' brother wins the game for the Cubbies.
Sitting in a web apps dev. class, having the life sucked out of me by CSS attribute after attribute. Borders, backgrounds, margins, oh my! The insaneness of three classes this summer hasn't quite hit yet, though I'm sure it will once I start having to commute more. I still can't even think about that, to have an opinion. It's so new and foreign and (relatively) far off that it's almost like it's not there.
Oh boy, break.
Tiger arrived today, but I can't install it until Cisco gets their act together and releases an updated VPN client sometime this month (maybe). It's not like they haven't had oh, 14-16 months of advance notice to get this sorted.
What a day for a game. Blue skies, sun, 71 degrees, not too hot. Casey gave me a call yesterday with tickets for today's game. Already the most baseball-intensive week of my life (four games), how could I say no to a fifth? Nats took the game, 7-3 after the home team hung a six-pack on the Crotalus adamantei in the seventh.
Picked up a scorebook at City Sports downtown, to solve the scorecard problem. Five bucks for 28 games! I just saved myself $275 . Feeling pretty good. Now I can totally justify that XM radio. Turns out Casey used to score Cape League games, so I managed to learn a couple things.
A special thanks to the Nationals' ushers who, through their laxness, allowed Casey and I to wind up in the second row next to the Diamondbacks' dugout. The "Affleck seats" as she called them. My Dad and I had seats two rows behind the Pirates dugout in '01, but I can't recall being as close as this before. Absolutely fantastic. Makes me wish I did bring my Nikon instead of killing a roll in the Elph. I could have got some amazing pictures. And free food!! They get free food down there! Ah, how the other half lives. I don't feel guilty in the least. Who doesn't come and claim their seats in the 2nd row on the first Sunday afternoon game of the season on a cloudless day? Communists, that's who. Or maybe albinos.
Notes from the game:
* I'm starting to like The Bobby more for ballgames. There really isn't much of a bad seat in the house. Ok, so the seats *themselves* can be a little shaky sometimes, there's nothing to detract from your enjoying the game.
* Three games and I've seen a handful of home runs, two triples, a double steal, an almost-cycle, a marriage proposal, a swinging bunt, some great - if not dazzlng - defensive plays, the Nats bat around two times, a 1-3-6-1-4 pickoff and a managerial argument. If I see a hiddden ball trick on Tuesday, I might just not go the rest of the season.
* Castilla cooled down after being moved up a spot to #5, only 1-4, but he did beat out an infield hit to third. Old man's got wheels.
* Moving Guzman from 8 to 2 did nothing to help his funk. Is there life below the Mendoza Line? Right now he's like one of those strange creatures marine biologists find near thermal vents in the sea floor.
* I thought Robinson had a quick hook for the second straight game, but it turns out Loaiza was at 114 pitches when he was pulled in the sixth. Conversely, Bob Melvin allowed Mike Koplove to get banged around, like he did to Choke last night.
For conservatives, 'Merry Christmas' becomes a cause
These &*@!ers are really getting annoying. There's no phrase I hate more right now than "traditional values." I'm glad you people have values. Values are wonderful guideposts to help you live your lives. You know what? I have values. BILLIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE VALUES GOING BACK JUST AS LONG IF NOT LONGER THAN YOURS. That doesn't make them any less "traditional" than yours.
How about if I start bemoaning the split from my ancestor's traditional values of sacrificing oxen to Zeus, huh? Gosh, we haven't bashed anyone over the head with a rock and left him in a peat bog so the crops will grow lately, this world's really gone downhill.
Last time I checked, Jesus preached peace and tolerance for everyone, not just "your kind." Look into your heart and ask, does it really, REALLY ruin your day if a store sign doesn't say Merry Christmas? If it does, you have bigger problems than I can comment on.
Reports out of Boston have Pedro Martinez heading to the New York Mets for 4 years/$50 million. After leading the Sox to their first World Championship in 86 years, it appears that the man who is possibly the best pitcher to ever put on spikes for the Sox is running and taking the money.
And I say, so long.
No doubt, the guy was a phenomenon - he's beloved more than almost any other player on the team, even with his ups and downs and recent struggles. He often talks about the "respect" that an organization would give him, but to him respect = money. I think it does come down to respect - but what he doesn't seem to understand is that it's more than respect between him and the front office - there's respect between them and the rest of the players, respect between the team and the fans. And the Sox were not willing to compromise (much) of that to get him back. Look at the Indianapolis Colts. They've bet the farm on Peyton Manning (100 million) and Marvin Harrison (67 million), leaving them no room for Edgerrin James. Even a 20% cut in what they pay Manning would probably have been enought to keep their top RB, and that's giving respect all around, and to the people who root for them.
The Sox showed Pedro respect by offering him a lucrative contract to finish his career in Boston. He's a slight, 33-year old precision pitcher with a history (personal and family) of shoulder troubles. Four years? Please. Let the Mets take him, let them take the risk. I've been saying for months that I'd love to have him back, but he's not worth what he thinks he's worth. Well, I guess Omar Minaya disagrees with me. The only annoying thing about this is that it comes after the Yanks nabbed Pavano, and the nasty suspicious side of me thinks there's some convenient timing in it, that screwed the Sox like this.
So it's about the respect given. Like I said, people have stuck with Pedro through thick and thin, exactly BECAUSE of the respect they had for him. Well guess what, Petey? You've got no one in New York with sentimental attachments to you. You've got no reporters who write with affection and admiration even while criticizing. It was done out of love, and a genuine desire to see you return to your glory days. You think the media got unfriendly here? Wait till your first Shea shelling. Oh, and remember that you have to bat, now.
So long, Pedro, and thanks for the memories.