Out and Back

Yay, Cards!

Congrats, guys!

Stormy Monday

I am waiting for the inevitable gloating to commence.... my Seahawks lost.  And all the Steelers fans I know will be coming around to rub it in.  Oh well... there is certainly more to life than football.  I'm just glad the Seahawks made the Steelers work for it.

We now return to our regularly scheduled baseball obsession.  Bring on Spring Training!!

Are you ready for some football?

Seahawks vs. Steelers... it is ON, baby!

I am really looking forward to spending the evening on my sofa watching Super Bowl XL... may the Seahawks win!!!!

Also, may the commercials be excellent and the Rolling Stones' halftime show totally off the hook!

Yeah, baby.

Touchdown, Seahawks!

The title of this post is supposed to be read aloud in the style of Pete Gross, the late, great Seahawks announcer I remember from my childhood.  I've been thinking lately that Pete is looking down on my hometown football team from on high and saying, "It's about time, guys!"

I'm psyched that my Seahawks finally made it to the Super Bowl.  I have a co-worker who is a diehard Steelers fan, though, and she's taken to hissing at me whenever she sees me.  Her office was all decked out in Steelers gear on Monday morning, so I'm trying to get some Seahawks stuff together so I can show her up.

I'm normally not a huge football fan.  I prefer the intricacies of baseball to the smackdown of football.  But the Seahawks are my team and I root for them... especially this year, when the Philadelphia Eagles choked so early in the season.  I'm actually looking forward to Super Bowl Sunday this year.  (I didn't watch last year when the Eagles played because they always lose when I watch.  They lost anyway.)

Go Seahawks!!!!!

Sheesh... I go away for the weekend and the Orioles screw it all up

Just got home to the news that Raffy Palmeiro's been suspended for steroid use, and on top of that, they've traded my boy Larry Bigbie to the Rockies! The article I read about the trade said that Larry cried when he got the news. Poor Larry!!!! What a bunch of bozos. Oh well... at least Javy's now off the DL.

Orioles fun

I spent a small chunk of yesterday afternoon watching a few innings of the Orioles/Braves game on TBS.  Despite the Orioles' loss, it was pretty neat to watch Rafael Palmeiro come within one home run of Reggie Jackson (and break pitcher John Smoltz's 14 inning scoreless streak.)

I can't stand the Atlanta Braves.  I think part of it is their racist mascot and that obscene tomahawk chop cheer thing. (Although the Mets fans' answer to the tomahawk chop is pretty entertaining... unfortunately it's something you have to see... I can't do it justice in writing.  I'll give you hint, though... imagine a slightly different hand gesture.)  The Braves could have the best team in baseball and I still wouldn't care for them, even if I lived in Atlanta.  Their players all seem so cocky and heartless, not to mention completely devoid of personality.  Give me the Red Sox, Orioles, or Phillies any day. 

Speaking of weird baseball teams and their fans... about six years ago, I was in San Francisco and as a thank you to the friend who let me crash at his place in Sausalito, I took him to an Oakland A's game.  They were playing the New York Yankees, and for the first time EVER, I actually rooted for the Yankees because the A's fans were so scary.  Sheesh!  At one point during the game, Bernie Williams got his third ball, but he miscounted and thought it was his fourth, so he started to walk to first base.  The crowd let him know quite vociferously that he was in the wrong, so he made his way back to home plate, camly picked up the bat, and proceeded to knock a home run straight over center field.  It was delightful to watch.

I think these kinds of moments are what I most enjoy about baseball.  They are memorable and make the game exciting, and you never know when you might be witnessing something historic.

Lovin' Larry

I am totally in love with Larry Bigbie, Baltimore Orioles left fielder and powerhouse hitter.  He's a fantastic ball player, at ease on the field... and he is SUPER CUTE!  (Oh, my brother is going to kill me for that one.  But Larry is cute.  Gotta love him.)

I've always had crushes on baseball players.  I was in love with A-Rod during his rookie season with the Seattle Mariners, hot for Todd Hundley of the Mets in '97, and, of course, Boston's Johnny Damon turns my crank a little bit.  I also had a thing for a minor leaguer with the Portland Sea Dogs a few years ago, but I forgot his name.  (I obviously wasn't that into him.)

I'm sounding totally superficial right about now, I know.  I really do enjoy watching the game of baseball, and I can get into the action of the game without becoming fixated on the cute players.  Give me a good seat, a hot dog, a beer, and a good game, and I am good to go.  I watched the Orioles play the Royals on Mother's Day this year, and it had to be one of the most unusual and interesting games I've been to.  I went by myself (my husband was at a conference) so I splurged on a good seat only about ten rows back from the third base line, near home plate.  I watched former Cardinal Steve Kline get called for balking.  I know balking's against the rules but I'd never seen anyone actually do it before.  Unfortunately, I was watching the batter so I can't be sure if Steve really balked or not.  He sure was mad at the umpire, though, and I thought the crowd was going to rush the field when the call was made.

During that game, Tony Graffanino of the Royals smacked right into Chris Gomez at first base, and even though we all saw Chris tag him, the umpire decided he was safe.  This was one of the first games I'd been to where the umpires' calls seemed to have a major impact on the outcome of the game.  I'm sure my sweetie Larry and his fellow Orioles would have trounced all over the Royals had it not been for those dippy umpires.

At football games, we used to yell the following when referees made controversial calls:

Zebra, zebra, short and stout!
Find your head and pull it out!

I long for an equally good razz to holler at bad umpires.  During the course of that particular baseball game, another thought crossed my mind: why are there no female umpires in the major leagues?  I know there are at least five professional umps who are women, but none of them work in the majors.  Forget being a ball girl... I want to tell those boys when they're safe and when they're out, call balls and strikes, and stare down a livid manager when he storms out of the dugout.

Then again.... I'd probably just be distracted by Larry Bigbie's cute tush.