Out and Back

Bedard, Orioles end Marlins' streak - Yahoo! News

Link: Bedard, Orioles end Marlins' streak - Yahoo! News.

Go Orioles!

I'm long overdue for a trip to Baltimore.

Happy birthday to me

It's not my birthday yet, but I am pleased to announce that I have decided how I will be celebrating my 30th birthday next month.  Last night I bought two tickets to the Reading Phillies game against the Erie SeaWolves on Sunday, May 14 -- I cannot think of a better way to mark the milestone of turning 30 by spending it at a ballpark.

I even splurged and bought the most expensive seats at FirstEnergy Stadium... the $9 seats on the first base line.  (Almost broke the bank on that purchase.) :-)

It's going to be so fun........

Let's walk the midget!

Wednesday night was fun.  My girlfriend Jen and I went to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Phillies get their sorry asses kicked by the St. Louis Cardinals.  It was really cold and windy, so we bundled up and put a blanket over our knees so we would stay relatively warm.  The game was awesome, the ballpark was awesome, and the running commentary of the guy sitting behind us was awesome.

At one point, Mark Mulder (St. Louis pitcher) was at bat, and it should've been an easy strikeout for the Phils.... Mulder's batting stance was comical.  But no, the Phillies fucking WALKED him.  The guy behind us said, "What the heck, let's walk the pitcher!"  Then, a little while later, David Eckstein was at bat for the Cardinals (and he's a shorty shortstop -- something like 5'7") and the Phillies walked him too.  Sure enough, guy-behind-us goes, "What the heck, let's walk the midget!"  Guess you had to be there, but Jen and I almost fell out of our seats laughing.

I enjoyed seeing what Skip Schumaker can do in left, since Bigbie's still on the DL, but I felt a twinge of regret because our seats were so good that if Bigbie had been playing left I would have had a perfect view of his butt.

We spent the time before the game eating at Harry the K's and watching the players warm up.  Someone help me with this question:  why is Sidney Ponson a baseball player?  He looks like your best friend's nerdy, awkward older brother who won't stop asking you out.  I mean, I know pitchers can get away with being fugly (Randy Johnson is a case in point) but Ponson's just crying for an extreme makeover.

After the game, we made our way back to my car, only to discover that the battery was dead and it wouldn't start.  (I hadn't left the lights on or anything -- the battery was just old and I had been meaning to replace it but hadn't gotten around to it yet.  So of course it chose to give out in Philadelphia rather than at home in Allentown.)  We called AAA and 45 minutes later we had a jump start and were on our way.  I didn't get to sleep until 1 in the morning and I was up at 5:30 because Tisbe wouldn't stop meowing outside the bedroom door.

All in all, though, a fun evening of baseball.  And I got a new car battery yesterday.

Ex-Oriole Bigbie Finds a New Flock

Link: Ex-Oriole Bigbie Finds a New Flock.

I read this article about my boy Bigbie today.... the first paragraph made me melt into a little puddle of baseball-loving girly goo.

Damn, he's a beautiful man.

I hope he gets that left field position because I've got my tickets for the April 5 Phillies-Cardinals game.... and my seats are in left field.  Prime Bigbie ass-ogling seats.

Talk about fantasy baseball.  Yeah, baby.

It's official...

...spring training has begun!

Woo hoo!

Larry's a bird again

My boy Larry Bigbie is a bird again.... a Cardinal this time, rather than an Oriole.  I hope he does well in St. Louis, and I'm happy that he won't have to play in that godawful Busch Stadium!  I used to live in Missouri, so St. Louis is one of the baseball teams I follow closely.  The Phillies are playing the Cards for their home opener in April, and I am going to do whatever I can to make sure I'm there, sitting in left field, staring at Bigbie's ass, and rooting for the Cardinals (just to piss off the Philly fans.)

I am a baseball slut.  I think I have too many teams that I'm fond of... the Mariners, the Mets, the Cardinals, the Orioles, and the Phillies (sometimes).  I'm sort of loving the White Sox now, too, since they handed the Astros their asses on a platter so beautifully in the World Series this year.  And don't get me started on my minor league teams... the Reading Phillies, the Trenton Thunder, the Tri-City Posse (OK, well, the Posse doesn't exist anymore but I don't care.  I still wear my Posse hat with pride.)

Can't wait for April!

Beautiful Baltimore

Today was the big trip down to gorgeous Baltimore and gorgeous Camden Yards.  One of my girlfriends from work tagged along with me and we had a great time in our club level seats (which I was able to snag for free through the generosity of another work friend) with the little menus and cute waiter-guys who will come and take your order whenever you wave said little menu in the air.  So much nicer than responding to calls of "ICE COLD BEER HERE!" or waiting, frustrated, for the cotton candy guy or the peanut guy to come back through your section.

We arrived around 11:30 a.m. and I discovered that I had managed to dribble some coffee down the front of my white t-shirt during the course of the drive down.  Not wanting to look like a total slob, I ducked into the Orioles shop and got a t-shirt with Bigbie's name & number on the back.  I asked when I was paying for it if I could have a discount since Bigbie doesn't play for Baltimore anymore, but no luck.  I changed in the ladies' room and boy did I ever look like a  fan with my new orange Larry Bigbie shirt, my nice Orioles pullover, and my Orioles cap.  A guy sitting near us noticed my shirt and asked who I liked better, Bigbie or Byrnes, since Eric Byrnes was the dork we got when we traded Bigbie.  I remained loyal to Larry, especially since right after the guy asked me, Byrnes hit a very rookie-ish fly ball to left field and got out.

I know Larry isn't that great of a player.  When he fields, he fields brilliantly, but he lacks hustle.  On top of that, his hitting is woefully inconsistent.  I've learned not to count on him to do much of anything when he's up against a left-handed pitcher.  But he's so gosh-darn cute.  And when he plays well, damn, he REALLY plays well.  I felt his absence today. 

It was an interesting game, despite the Orioles' loss to Toronto.  Bruce Chen started out very well, throwing lots of strikes, but I think he got psyched out or something.  An article I read about him in the program suggested that there is definitely an emotional aspect to his pitching.  He's still a strong pitcher, though.  David Newhan's great diving catch in the 8th was thrilling.  Less so was when he chucked it to first and there was no one there to catch it.  As a guy sitting near me said, "Bet that'll be on SportsCenter tonight."

Reading Phillies

Tonight a bunch of us are heading to Reading (hey, that rhymes!) to watch the Reading Phillies play the Bowie Baysox (Larry Bigbie's old team, incidentally.)  We're doing one of those deck parties at FirstEnergy Stadium and I'm sure the evening will be full of great stadium food, beer, and, of course.... BASEBALL!

God, I love the game.

For our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I took a weekend trip to St. Louis (we were living in Cape Girardeau, MO at the time.)  I thought it would be fun to treat him to his first major league baseball game while we were there, so I snapped up two tickets to a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

It ended up being a total disaster.  Our seats were near the right field foul pole, and the space between the rows was so snug that my tall hubby's knees were aching after only two innings.  On top of that, it had to have been the slowest baseball game in recorded history.  The Cards were playing the Phillies, and those damn Phillies changed pitchers practically every at-bat throughout the entire game.  So a new one would have to warm up and the innings lasted forever and there was very little action.  I was tempted to fling myself into right field just to stir up some excitement.  Mark McGwire came up to bat exactly once and struck out (not surprising considering the number of camera flashbulbs that popped with every pitch) and we ended up leaving early to end the suffering.

Since then, I can't convince my husband to go to a game with me.  I've got club level seats for the Orioles-Blue Jays game on September 5th, and he won't go!  To Camden Yards!  The most beautiful ball park EVER.  So I'm bringing one of my girlfriends from work and we plan to have a high old time.  I think the only reason he's coming to Reading with me tonight is because there will be food and people he knows there, so he can entertain himself while I concentrate on the beer and the game.

It's funny... having grown up with a father and two brothers who were big sports fans (I think they would have watched cricket if it was on),  you would think I would be overjoyed to be married to a guy that doesn't give two hoots about sports.  But I think I would put up with all the armchair commentary, the histrionics, and the peanuts and popcorn all over my sofa if it meant that every now and then I'd get taken out to the ballgame.

I. Love. This. Woman.

If you're looking for a killer new blog to read, check out fruit loops and porn.  It is full of hilarious and too-true posts about everything from baseball to burgers.

Bonanza JellyBean's recent post comparing the Baltimore Orioles to the "worst boyfriend ever" was right on the money.  A big "Amen!" was in order when I finished reading that one.  I agree completely, and would add that the recent trade of Larry Bigbie to the Colorado Rockies is like when your boyfriend stops hanging out with that cute, sexy buddy of his that you've always had a little bit of a crush on.  Such a bummer.

Thanks for making me chuckle, BJB.  Here's to our lousy boyfriend the Baltimore Orioles -- may they come to their senses and realize just how good they've got it with us!

Derek, I've got to have you now!

If this kind of thing is happening on the playing field, imagine what goes on when they hit the showers!  Sheesh, guys, get a room!

I found this photo on Nerve, a very funny and literate online sex magazine.  Yes, I like to read funny and literate things about sex.  Can we move on?

In addition to the photo of Derek and Gary getting cuddly on the ball field, I also found a hilarious link to the Phallic Logo Awards.  These babies pretty much speak for themselves.  (OK, so maybe this isn't quite as literate as some of the other things you can find through Nerve, but it was funny and it did make me laugh at 6 a.m., which is a feat in and of itself.  I guess I must possess the sensibilities of a 13-year-old boy early in the day.)

In other news:

* I am back at work this week after a week's vacation spent entertaining my in-laws.  It was lovely to go back to the office and find just one message on my voicemail and a negligible quantity of emails to respond to, none of which were terribly urgent.

* I made a new friend today.  I have known her for about a year or so in a professional capacity, but today she told me that she liked me a lot and wanted to be friends.  We're going to try to get together sometime after her wedding next month so our husbands can meet each other.

* I have an awesome new pair of shoes, purchased at Boutique Tana Kaya in Quakertown, PA.  The brand is NAOT and they are made in Israel.  Super cute and super comfy.  Like Birkenstocks without the hideousness.

* The cats are banished to the basement for the next two weeks, ever since I caught Dora tinkling on our couch over the weekend.  I'm not sure if she was upset by our houseguests or if she is picky about the litter box, but I am restricting both of them to the basement for the next couple of weeks while we dry and deodorize our couch.  I'm also hoping that being that close to their litter boxes will help them remember where they are supposed to do their business.

* I heard an interesting piece by Annabelle Gurwitch on NPR's Day to Day this afternoon about, among other things, blogging.  I realized that I am totally guilty of the kind of blogging that she scorns in this piece.  Oh well.  I don't care.