baseball bitterness fiesta

Best quote from the NY Times Bats Blog today

Asked if he planned to watch the playoffs, Moises Alou said, “no, I hate baseball right now.”

Excerpt from my IM with a work buddy. Amazing how many Mets fans there are here at work.

Me:Ever since yesterday, doctor, i've been feeling this strange lump in my throat...
Jrl : hmm, mets disease
Me : /cough/choke/cough
Jrl : yup
Me : i think my problem is that i really started following the mets last year
Me : when they actually made it to the playoffs
Me : if i had really been following over a number of years, i would've gotten very used to them sucking
Me : and not been disappointed
Jrl : well, this year was really a trap year
Jrl : after last year, i'm not sure that gave them much hunger
Me : yeah
Me : From the NYT: Asked if he planned to watch the playoffs, Moises Alou said, “no, I hate baseball right now”
Jrl : haha
Me : bad pitching will screw up a team every time
Jrl : i think they might have felt entitled to be in teh playoffs again
Me : yeah that's what i think
Jrl : like after last year, they'll just be there again
Jrl : i think that set in in june
Me : yeah
Me : well, i guess i'll have John Maine's near no-no to warm my heart during the cold months
Jrl : sigh
Jrl : were you there?
Me : i thought about it
Me : i only live 6 stops but considering the nervous wreck that i was on saturday, and the fact that i was trying to relax, i decided against it
Jrl : right
Me : i had gone to the cardinals-mets game on thursday. Pineiro for the cards pitched a real gem
Jrl : yuck
Me : and what was crazy about yesterday -- the bullpen was actually good
Me : ok, i have to stop talking about this before i get angry again
Me : so, Goooooo Rockies!
Jrl: hehe
Jrl : i didn't even watch a highlight; i tuned in at 1:30 when it was already 7-1 and just turned off
Me : smart of you
Me : i tortured myself by turning on the tv every once in a while and of course, i had to watch the 2 hour baseball tonight special

implosion of the Mets

I'm too depressed to even want to talk about it. Although I felt pretty Zen last night. Pineiro pitched a great game for the Red Birds, and we had awesome seats. And Pedro had a lot of strikeouts, but man, of all the times for the Mets to suddenly stop hitting.

Updated on Sunday to say: ARGGGGGGH!
First of all, Maine was brilliant on Saturday, and my baseball buddy K was absolutely unwavering in her devotion to him. Second, what the heck happened to Tommy Glavine -- on the day he needs to pitch the game of his life, he allows 7 runs in the first inning! Oh well, just wait till next year!

are the phillies the new atlanta braves?

Seriously, that's what I kept thinking after witnessing yet another sweep of the Mets. Arghhhhh! Why can't we beat them? I'm glad I didn't waste my time listening or watching the game yesterday. The one minute that I listened to it, the bases were loaded and Sosa was pitching. I had a 50/50 chance to go to a luxury box seat game on Saturday, but didn't end up going because someone else got the ticket. And I think I'm glad, because I didn't want to be reminded of how the bullpen squandered Pedro's great pitching outing. Please please please....don't screw up anymore.

So, to avoid baseball, yesterday, I went shopping at the outlet mall about an hour north of the city. I was so exhausted, but I emerged triumphant, with 3 suits! Now I don't need to buy any more for another few years, I hope...I went with a work friend, who, I was pleased to discover, is just as compatible to shop with as my mom. None of this lingering, meandering about, randomly checking things out. When you're at an outlet mall, it requires strategy. It was a surgical strike -- I was on a mission to find suits, and if we didn't see what we wanted, after about 10-15 minutes, we were outta there! I don't know how people can shop regularly as a recreational hobby.

Vote for Mr. Met!

I got to hi-5 Mr. Met the other night when I went to "Mets at the Movies". It was a great atmosphere. Literally, it was like the ballpark went to the movies. The announcer, the organist, the party patrol were all there. And when Mr. Met sat in the front row, people started yelling "down in front...we can't see the game with your big head in front of it".

Anyway, the Mascot Hall of Fame is having their annual contest, and Mr. Met is on it.
http://www.mascothalloffame.com/virtual/vote/

NL, you let me down...again

Dear National League,

You got my hopes up. Bottom of the 9th...a misplayed ball, a couple of walks and the bases are loaded. Why, Mr. La Russa, did you not put your best slugger, Albert Pujols up to hit? I know..you were thinking about extra innings, but if he had hit a double, or a home run, you would've won the game.

I blame my dad for teaching me to root for the NL in these All-Star Games. Sigh...

And Billy Wagner, please remember how to save a game. You too, Carlos -- I've got my eye on you -- no flying out or popping up.

Still, it was fun to watch, if you didn't get a chance, look for the interview that Ken Griffey Jr and Derek Jeter conducted with Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid.

good writing

Although I still love great mysteries, and some fiction can't be beat, more and more, I think some of the best writing is non-fiction. Reading about science, or sports, even thoughtful analysis of news and commentary can be so rich and rewarding. If it's well-written, even if I know nothing about the subject, I will enjoy it and be enlightened.

I'll admit that one of my favorite sections of the NYTimes is the obituaries section -- and no, I don't think it's morbid. It's absolutely fascinating to read how someone can encapsulate someone else's life into a 4-5 inch column. It makes you wonder how you would want to be remembered. In a bit of irony, I think one of the more interesting recent obits was about a veternarian and lover of cats, was killed, unfortunately when he swerved his car to avoid a cat crossing the road.

If you've never had a chance to read Buzz Bissinger and his books "Friday Night Lights" (about football in a small West Texas town) or "3 Nights in August" (about Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals), now's your chance to read something shorter by him. It's in the upcoming Play magazine, an occasional magazine from the NYT. It's called "My Right Arm" and the teaser is "No player in the recent history of the Cubs has broken more hearts than Kerry Wood."

Tell me what you think.

dancing is good for the "sole"

I think there was a layer of sweat that acted as an adhesive that allowed my high heel orange shoes to stay on as I danced the night away on Sunday at some friends' Indian wedding.

Picture a fancy hotel room, filled with shiny, shimmery strands of lights, a hard-working band, an Indian DJ, and lots of grey-haired aunties in saris "raising the roof" as they danced.

Because of the heat, I opted not to wear a sari -- although I shouldn't have been worried about putting one on. There were plenty of women who could've helped me wrap up properly. I went for the black dress, cool south-western jewelry and high heels. And, surprisingly, I felt almost no pain from dancing that much, in heels! I keep saying that because, well, it's so much easier to do it in flats or sneakers, which is how I normally dance. I did take a painkiller at the end of the night, just as a preventative, but man, it was quite a great party :)

I'll post a few camera-phone photos later. More details later.

I've got more baseball to go to. I saw the 6th-12th inning of the Mets-Giants game last night -- was only swinging by there to by tickets for tonight and ended up with a ticket last night. Tonight, I take my friend, cbs-boy, with me as his sweetie is off recruiting students in another state. Someone's gotta share my baseball obsession! Viva los mets!

baseball fever

I could get used to seeing baseball every week! At this rate, I pretty much am seeing a game a week. The Monday before Mother's Day weekend, I took my mom to the Yankees-Mariners game. Then that Saturday, I saw the Mets-Brewers. And then this past Saturday, it was the battle of the Beltway -- Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles.

One of these days, I'll have to do some kind of tour of the ballparks of America.

Ballparks I've been to:

• Boston - Fenway
• NYC - Yankee Stadium; Shea Stadium
• Washington DC - RFK Stadium [edited to add this, how could I forget to write it in here when I just mentioned it above]
• Seattle -- the old Kingdome
• Baltimore - old Memorial Stadium; new Camden Yards
• Chicago - Wrigley Field
• Pittsburgh -- probably one of the best new ballparks I've been to recently
• Bridgeport, CT -- saw a minor league team, can't remember the name -- maybe it was the Bluefins?
• Newark, NJ -- saw an Atlantic League team -- really low key but entertaining.

That's not a lot -- I've got to catch up!

busy bee

I'll post more details later, but here's a thumbnail sketch of what I've been up to.

Friday night - friend of friend's 40th birthday party at a Spanish Tapas bar on the lower West side (I guess it's meatpacking district) but it's really around the corner from where all the UPS trucks are parked.

Saturday - donated clothes to goodwill; went to baby shower for Alterjess; saw Romeo & Juliet, the NYCB ballet

Sunday - hiked in Harriman state park with an outdoors club group

Monday - took Neighborsmama to the Yankees-Mariners game