Posts Tagged ‘baseball’
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
A good lookin’ bunch of boys they are (boys? Heck. They could sire me! I can’t believe I’m older than most of these youngins!)
And it’s true, we currently are the Best team in baseball. Boston could tie us with another win but we’re better than everybody else by at least one win or one loss. That’s good enough for me. I really do like our chances. I’ve liked Greene since before they acquired him (he just needs to hit a little better, and commit fewer errors); the Ludwick/Pujols combo is a force to be reckoned with, both are power hitters who can small ball when the situation calls for it; Duncan seems to be improving his patience at the plate; Molina, nuff said!; I’d like to see some control improvement from Wellemeyer and when we get Carpenter back in mid-May watch out! And will someone just give Franklin the closer-ball already! He’s been my Fantasy closer for four bloody months now.
Go Redbirds! (stupid cubbies)
Friday, April 10th, 2009
158 more games to go. fun fun fun.
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
With the recent creation of the baseball category, I feel obliged to talk a little about it now.
This is more of a gripe than anything reflective about the old pasttime or even vaguely commentary about the sport. Rather, I simply can’t afford it anymore. For the past three seasons I’ve subscribed to MLB.tv’s online streaming package, so that I could watch a ton of games all season, except for national blackout games and games aired in my billing zip code (which includes the Yankees and Mets which was disappointing to learn only after subscribing the first year that’s how it works).
And while this year is $10 cheaper than last year and includes lots of great new features and will no doubt be an improvement over last year’s quality and control (as was last year the year before it), I simply can’t afford it anymore. My argument is more than fiscal however. I can’t afford to contribute to a sport where the Yankees’s signings of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett costs a staggering $423.5 million. Still my argument isn’t actually about those players, or any player for that matter. If the players are making that much money, that means the sport as a business model has to be making more than that for it to be profitable. Because no one would be interested in baseball these days if it wasn’t profitable. So imagine how much money the owners of MLB and these stadiums must be raking in.
So it saddens me. It saddens me that I get so much out of the game and especially out of watching the game, as many millions of other fans do each year. But this year I won’t be subscribing to MLB.tv online and I’ll have to be very cautious if inclined at all to go to the ballparks this year. The economy definitely has something to do with it. But I can’t stomach anymore reading about Manny holding out to be the highest paid player; or A-Rod making $200+ mil over the next 9 seasons while his legacy is tainted; or CC Sabathia making an average of $3,000 per pitch over the course of his contract. So I won’t subscribe in the hope that my lost $109 subscription will be felt throughout MLB. As if they’re even listening.
(like I said, it’s a gripe. It’ll probably fade by Opening Day. I don’t have a television so it’s been my only means to watch the sport. I also have to sort out the conundrum I just made for myself: creating a baseball category then professing I won’t have anything to do with it anymore!)
Monday, February 16th, 2009
Straight up: I love Albert Pujols.
As Spring Training has begun I can’t help but get excited by my Cardinals prospects this upcoming season. I only mention baseball so often around these parts but always try to ensure my comments are about some nuance or subtlety to the game, or in the case of Scott Spiezio pitching flat-out awesome (which, by the way, the video has been deleted from the YouTube site but seems to be streaming correctly as an embedded file! Suckers!).
But Albert Pujols is an all-around amazing individual, not only a likely Hall of Famer with a consistent .357 average, but someone who does a lot for his community and given the wake of the whole A-Rod PED scandal, an even more-amazing individual because you can tell his game is au natural. You can see it in his eyes. And you can hear the honesty in his voice when he says things like this:
People from other teams want to play in St. Louis and they’re jealous that we’re in St. Louis because the fans are unbelievable. So why would you want to leave a place like St. Louis to go somewhere else and make $3 or $4 more million a year? It’s not about the money. I already got my money. It’s about winning and that’s it. It’s about accomplishing my goal and my goal is to try to win. If this organization shifts the other way then I have to go the other way.
In other words, if management shift their approach to team-building he would consider other clubs, otherwise it’s clear St. Louis is the city to play for. Words like this could only have come from someone nutured in the midwest I reckon, the firm belief that it’s not about the money, it’s about what the money signifies. Sure, money is nice but in the end, it’s all about HIT IT TO THE PITCHER!
full article here
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
I can’t even recall where I left off to be honest. Some of this stuff might even go as far back as the end of May, I don’t have a clue. I can’t keep up with my own life it seems, let alone keep up with documenting it appropriately anymore!
Hopefully it’ll all make sense eventually. Here we go!
Ziggurat Dismantled
Finally took it all apart. My first piece of architecture, it weathered the elements for nearly three months. Next time I will build it 10x as big! Watch its birth here.
this is Queens
clicks to larger image. Condos on the right; debris all around; Citibank tower in the background. this is Queens these days.
this is also Queens:
warehouses on one block with joined two-story homes on the next. new bike lanes and wide roads, front yards with statuettes and pine trees, old school antennas, power lines that still criss-cross the streets, what’s not to love about this place?
Workhat:
my work productivity increased exponentially with the construction and implementation of this head-top device. I no longer needed a keyboard or even the confines of speech, as I could simply “beam” my thoughts to humans and machines alike.
Baseball
the new Yankee Stadium looks gorgeous, it really does. can’t wait to see the interior.
Boy that was a good day! And to think they intentionally walked two others to get to Miles. suckers!
A swing n a miss!
Euro2008
Even though Croatia lost, I still flew their flag outside my window. They really were the most-exciting team to watch up until their defeat, and have one of the best color schemes and patterns around. Next time hopefully De Silva will be healthy.
Mermaid Day Parade
Finally got a Saturday off and got to watch the Mermaid Day Parade. To be honest it was a bit of a flop. The coordination was a bit haphazard, I guess that’s to be expected but there were times where the space between performers was nearly the length of the boardwalk, making the parade feel disjointed and lonely. Still, there were highlights of good costumes and color:
Rode the Wonder Wheel with Angie. Swinging style!
Just imagine, soon this will all be condominiums!! I CANT WAIT… barf!
My buddies came by for a visit:
So glad we have a new neighborhood dog walker!
I love how the smallest pooch won’t have nothing to do with a leash. Kinda reminds me of myself in those regards.
And beyond
There’s more. Plenty more. Trying to organize it all. Have started packing up in preparation for eventually getting kicked out by the MTA and having to move house. Which has thrown my art production into a complete tailspin of late. Plus after Amelia’s passing I got a sore throat from internalizing all of my grief, that lasted over a week, and made me realize how susceptible my own body was to external pressures and how we can make ourselves sick, quite literally.
Amber is coming to town soon. That’s exciting.
I need to go for a walk.
Friday, September 28th, 2007
Cleveland v San Diego. Cleveland in 7, or extra innings in 7th game I call San Diego. Oh that would be exciting!!
