One More Thing...

Brent Musberger kills any enjoyment you get from the LL WS. Really. What a horses ass.

VACATION!

Usually the last to go, but now we go. Vacation at last. Going to Cancun with mi famiglia to enjoy some sun, sand and suds. Boys are bringing the gloves though, gotta keep catching and throwing (priorities!).

ADIOS. See you when I return.

Nutshell

As in this play defines the Mets season in a...

Bottom nine, Mets down 9-7 (already scored one). Lidge on mound. Runners 1st and 2nd, no outs.

Francouer is 2-2 in the count, hit and run is on, he rips a liner up the middle that gets caught by Bruntlett (who muffed two plays previously) who's moving towards second to cover the bag. Steps on 2B and tags out Murphy for an UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY!


And apparently Mr. Met is going on the DL too. He may have tried to commit suicide. Details are sketchy.

Eleven

Remember this little gem? No? Then make sure you read it first before we go on. I'll wait.


OK, good to see you back.

Anyhoo, a couple of nights ago I had to hit the ATM for some pocket-dough. About 7:40PM by the glow of the dashboard clock. Compact-size Hyundai in front of me at the drive-up. And it had been there when I pulled past and around.

First I notice that this 'convenience bankee' (a female) had a dog on her lap. Then I notice the car isn't actually running. OK. Swipe one....guess that didn't work. Swipe two, no soap. Swipe three, I notice the hand is curled in that "I will continue swiping this card until it works" position. Swipe four, looks like we have something here. A few buttons being pressed, a receipt is printed and...

Swipe five - I guess we have some more transactions going on. Maybe we're cashing all of our public assistance checks? But that didn't work. Swipe six, no good. Swipe seven and eight are rapid fire, and by now some poor schnook is behind me, so I am trapped. By now it is 7:46. I'm getting angry. I've been yelling out the number every time she swiped since I counted four. The dog is moving around. Some kind of deposit. My turn is next...but no.

SWIPE NINE, SWIPE TEN, SWIPE ELEVEN!!!! Now we are apparently taking out some money, no doubt for something important. And just like that, after eight minutes I'll never get back, the car is started and pulls slowly forward. Maybe the dog was driving. I hope you had a fender-bender on the way home.

Inconsiderate B***h.

Countin' Down

To my vacation. Leave on 8/28 for someplace else. My kids think we are hitting Amish Country (we're not) so they should pleasantly surprised.

Also for the X and Y notation in the standings. Back page of the NY Daily News has the countdown to a winter off for the Mets. Yankees are rocking. Am I bitter? You bet I am. (By the way, my copy of the DN has a slightly different back page.)

And Mr. Plaxico Burress can start countin'down the days until his release. Dumb. He should look good in a jumpsuit.

Out.

Dangerous Curves

Been watching some of the LL Regionals on a couple of different channels. I'm not involved in LL, so let's not accuse me of bashing. A couple of lucid thoughts however:

1. 12 and 13 year olds (that weigh in at 140+ lbs)on 46/60 fields is not my druthers. Better they play on 50/70. These kids go to the big field the next season and can't reach 1B from across the diamond.

2. The announcers are all shills for LL. Last night all I heard was how LL instituted pitch counts to save the kids. BS. LL actually had a study conducted by Dr. James Andrews who made a recommendation - and they didn't follow his advice. For the record - SoulSlam always counts pitches with the boys on my team - common-sense. And if you live under a rock, you may not know that most of these kids are also playing on travel teams, so they may get a day or two of rest from LL, but pitch in a travel game in between. That's why most of them will be playing tennis or golf in HS - there arms will be toast.

3. Why, of why, is anybody allowing 12 and 13 year olds throw curves? And the Regionals I've been watching seem to feature pitchers throwing 80-90% breaking stuff. So spare me the soliliquy about the great coaches doing it for the kids. These guys should be protecting the kids by not letting them throw a curve. But they are just glory-hounds, looking to get on TV.

4. Do I have to see some trailer park mom going crazy every time her kid makes a play?

Cal Ripken will be on MLB network. Watch that and see what a difference it is.

3-2-1

The countdown to sign S. Strasburg by the Nats has begun. Midnight this coming Monday is the deadline, and if the Nationals don't get it done, the righty can go play independent ball or fly the coop to Japan - and then have to go back in the draft again next season. Jayson Stark on espn.com has a good read about this...

Alright - so if I'm an up and coming ballplayer, maybe I don't want to play in DC. Fair enough. And if he skips signing this year, he can block the same team from drafting him next season, so he could invariably go to another terrible team, albeit he's from San Diego so maybe he wants to be a Padre (and wear camouflage unis 1x per season!), but they aren't exactly rolling in the dough that Boras (the slimy) craves. So we wait for the deadline - and the possibility of the big payday.

And Bryce Harper watches...

Second Chances

So pictures of Josh Hamilton surfaced on Deadspin this weekend of a drunken night in January - and to say his wife will not be happy is an understatement. Hamilton came out yesterday admitting his slip and apologizing - something he will always have to do when it comes to anything remotely substance-related.

Fact is, he's an admitted drug addict and alcoholic - and the temptation is too great sometimes. Hopefully he gets right with himself and his family and moves on. Soulslam is a fan. Godbless...

Late Night Baseball

Very late night last night watching the locals. Fell asleep before either game was done, so when I got up early and put on my trusty SNY for the scores.

So I go to sleep top 15 in the Yankees-Red Sox killer. 0-0 through two outs in the bottom of the 15th and then A-Rod finally comes through to win it. Great game, both pitching staffs threw the bejesus out of the ball and the Sox come up a little short. The kid who lost was about 10 hours in the majors so you can't blame him.

On to the Mets - my team of teams, my cross to bear. Ollie P. gives them a good game, leaving with one out in the 7th and Stokes shuts down the Padres. Score is 2-1 through 8. Then K-Rod has the yips and lets the Pods tie it up. Then the bases get loaded and Cabrera gets a fat one to rip over the wall. Grand Salami. Game over. Depressing after the beating the night before. Season is getting short for the Amazin's.

Today is another day.

Chi-town

Got back late last night from the Windy City, the City of the Big Shoulders, the Second City, you know Chicago!

Work had me there for a couple 'o' days, so on Wednesday I braved the elements and drove to the South Side to catch a White Sox game. Drove the rental car like a maniac, cut off the locals and into the lot (a looong way away) for the game. Grabbed some bleacher seats and the game is on!

U.S. Cellular Field was packed with the White Sox faithful to the tune of 32,000+. And unlike other games where you see a lot of opposing teams fans, everybody was decked out in the black and white, or the old school, Bill Veeck, short shorts-wearing Sox attire. i even saw a guy wearing an Aparicio jersey (wool)!

Thome hit two bombs to the bleachers, Floyd pitched a heck of a game and Beckham will win Rookie of the Year. Great night, sorry my boys weren't with me.

Speaking of which, they went to the Mets game at Citi Field that day when the Mets unleashed a can on the Cards.

And if you ever get to the greater Chicago area, try my favorite place to eat - Portillo's. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Dull Moments

Baseball is over...the 8U team got rained out today and we are d-o-n-e. Done. 'Cause in my town, football begins. Oh, well.

Watching some baseball on the HD this afternoon - Mets got a late start after a rain delay with the D'Backs and the Yanks are in Chi-town for a series with the Sox. I'm travelling to Chicagoland this week for work, so I am going to try to hit U.S. Cellular on Wednesday night. Funny - I've been to the Windy City at least 20 times, and the Cubs are never in town when I am. Weird.

Watched the HBO documentary 'Assault in the Ring' last night, a riveting look at the 1983 fight and the aftermath between Luis Resto and Billy Collins, Jr. My Pops was/is a big fight fan, so I remember this pretty well, but didn't know the whole story. I remember hearing bits and pieces over the years. And even though Collins dies 9 months later in a car crash (perhaps of his own doing), somebody literally got away with attempted murder here.

Dog Days

Early August is usually that around here. But NJ (and the whole Northeast) has been in the midst of monsoon season. Yesterday it rained so hard it might have taken paint off some clunkers. Good thing you can trade 'em in.

4PM EDT on Friday also marked the trade deadline. At least the one where nobod can steal a guy off the waiver wire. NY Mets stood pat, I guess it's my (and every other fans) imagination that we could use somebody. Another super Omar job. Yankees picked up Jerry Hairston Jr. Another guy (see Swisher and Hinske) to help out. Even my Yankee fan friends couldn't get excited about that one.

Big winner looks to be the Red Sox, with Mr. Victor Martinez coming to Beantown for some prospects. Theo seems to make the big deadline trade whenever it's needed to put the boys in prime position. The biggest rivalry in MLB begins again on Thursday.

The precocious Mr. Jake Peavy finally got dealt to the White Sox, and with Washburn going to the Tigers, and the Twins adding a big-hitting SS, the AL Central is ripe for a tight race down to the wire.

Other trades included the oft-injured Nick Johnson to the Marlins, Andy Laroche for Casey Kotchman in a Red Sox/Braves swap, Scott Rolen to the Reds and Joe Beimel to the Rockies.

Two months to playoffs.