I read the tutorial...  wha!?! 

Now I have to ramble on and on and on to make up my 75 bloomin' words, then wait for my holy reprimand from wonko.  At least Dalton said he could fix "thatcher",  but claims he was just too lazy - I just dumb! 

Nobody scrolls down that far anyway, do they?

Are we there yet...?                                                                                  

EN-KNEE-WAAY...

Maybe Randy is doing it  wrong!

Check out his storage rental too...

I have two tickets for todays game in New York - A's vs. Jankees.  An emergency has come up at work and I cannot use them.

They are Section 214A, Row 13, Seats 14 and 15   (7.05 game at new junkee stadium)   $75.00 each is the face value.

Asking $100 for the pair but you have to come and pick them up.

I'll be at work (in Tribeca) a little after10am, I cannot check my e-mail, this site or use my cell so call the restaurant to make sure I still have them.

Here is a follow up to last weeks morning meeting at Gaslampball.com  Link  It is a little shorter than thenerdhaters secret debut episode but definitely has a "To be continued....  "  feel to it, should we all like to take it in turns to portray what really goes on behind the scenes. 

(I tried for about half an hour...  can someone embed it on the page for me right here.  Doh!  Thanks!)

Tag.  Someone else is it...

I noticed in the exhibition game between USA and the yanks that dj was playing against his.... oh sorry, got side-tracked by the bleedin obvious! for a minute.

What else I did notice, however, is that Roy Oswalt was wearing the number 44.  I did a little rummaging and it seems pv is wearing 22 for the Classic.  Umm?  Isn't Jake usa's #1 starter?  Anyone shed any light as to why he doesn't get to keep his number?  Is this the new # the cubs are giving him?

I had been to Cleveland and Jacob’s Field some time ago and was not impressed with either one, so coupled with the fact that the sleep we were promised was still forthcoming, I was over today already!

Progressive Field had some improvements however and I have to say I did enjoy the ballpark.  There was a section in right field that had cocktail tables and a fancy looking glass fronted restaurant over-hanging left field.

We were part of a free “backyard patio bbq” but actually there was a huge variety of food available in the park.  Nothing specific to Progressive (don’t they make canned mushy peas?) or Cleveland however.  One employee claimed the mustard was famous but when I asked what kind it was she said “…just ballpark mustard.”    Okay then.

They had a few scoreboard complications and it was out for a couple of innings, when it resumed it had the Tigers line-up on the left but claimed they were the Tampa Bay Rays!  Despite the plastic beer cup claiming the Field was environmentally friendly the lights were wide on for the whole game, which started at 12.05pm ending at 3.20 pm!

I peered through the legs of Bob Fellers statue only to find it read…  “Robert William Andrew Feller was born in 1918… “  “…he signed with the Cleveland Indian when he was 16 years old in 1936…”

Progressive Field

Coopers Town:  Hall of Fame

I don’t think there is much to say here…  the Hall of Fame, I believe, is a completely individual experience for all of us.

I got a private tour from a friend that works there.  It is freezing in the vaults to enhance the life span of the materials and I had to wear special gloves before I touched anything – other than that I can’t really share on the internet I’m afraid.

The Hall itself is over-whelming and needs a substantial amount of time to view, which we did not have.  I included some fuzzy pictures of Padre stuff, partly do to the glass casing and partly fatigue…  we are promised more sleep soon!

Coopers Town is a giant t-shirt shop.  I was recommended a little bar “Cooley’s” on Pioneer Street that had a good burger and sweet potato fries and an “Old Slugger” made by the Coopers Town Brewing Company.  I heard the burger in the Coopers Town diner is giant and to die for but the place seats about 6 people so there is always a wait.

On a separate note but no real relevant place to put it…  along with asking locals and employees advice and recommendations, I have being using a book entitled THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL ROAD-TRIP by Josh Pahigian & Kevin O’Connell.  It has been a valuable source of information and ideas for places to eat and visit outside of the parks.  Highly recommended for those planning a similar kind of road-trip…

Hall of Fame

Yankee Stadium:  Baltimore vs. New York

Today we went to Yankee Stadium…

Okay fine!  I'll do it properly, jeez...

I took some pretty crappy shots of the new stadium, sorry.  I left them in coz its betteran nowt!  It looks like Cesars Palace.

There is a giant chimney outside the old stadium that has been disguised, rather uncleverly as the Babes bat.  I don't know if they'll move it or if they even need it.  People use it as a meeting point before the game, it might end up being in the middle of the parking lot now.

I didn't take any pictures of a $9.50 miller lite or generic hotdogs.  Most of the good stuff is outside the stadium but they will let you bring it in.

I also stole a piece of paint from the old stadium and used it to make my own porn moustache!

Yankee Stadium

In 1946 the headline in the newspaper simply read “BULLSEYE!”

Ted Williams hit the longest home run in Fenway Park’s history, 502 feet.  It is clearly marked in the stadium by a single red seat in a section of green ones in the right field stands.  “Ted Williams knocks sense into Yankee fan”.  Apparently, the New Yorker occupying that seat was not paying attention and it hit him on the head, rendering him unconscious!  Lol.  I’m sorry, a line drive foul of first base I can understand but 502 feet, you have a little more time to react!

I expected to be impressed with Fenway (it was another park on my list of must sees) by its history and venerability.  I was not expecting to be swept away by the atmosphere…

On the other hand the next time those bawdy sawx fans come to SD and hassle me about how we don’t know how to support our own team I’ll give ‘em what for!  Up and down, up and down all game long…  it’s uncomfortable enough sitting in those midget seats (and I wasn’t in the originals, which are smaller still) without having to sit and stand every two minutes coz they can’t go 3 minutes without a beer in their hand.  God knows how they lasted 86 years!!!

Unfortunately, we arrived late and almost missed our tour but we got a shortened version with tour guide Steve Meterparel.  Ask for him personally, a more animated caricature of his own self you will never find, the stuff cartoons are made of - awesome!

I did discover a wonderful locals bar a little off the beaten track but not that far from the park called BUKOWSKI, after the writer (one of my faves).  They have over 140 bizarre bottle and taps beers to choose from and a great looking kitchen.

Fenway Park

Citizens Bank Ballpark:  Atlanta vs. Philadelphia

I started by making an effort.  The line at the Liberty Bell, however, was extreeeeeeeeemly long, not sure what all the fuss is about that thing anyway!  (not that I’m bitter or anything).

 Instead I went to Franklin’s grave and came across a couple of other interesting ones too.  John Taylor the gravedigger himself and a gentleman named Gerald J Connelly, who, as his gravestone clearly states, was a “seaman, soldier, safecracker”.

 Next, the EL VEZ Restaurant.  A little over priced but excellent food and drinks menu.  If you’ve never seen this guy check him out…  www.elvez.net

 I took a cab down to “Pat’s” which if you know your Phillie cheese steak is opposite “Geno’s”.  The two best cheese steaks in town.  Both have a line around the corner but you won’t have to wait long.  The reason for this is because next to the giant menu on the wall are instructions on how to order…  and don’t eff it up!  You have to say “wit”  not “with” and the word “onions” is arbitrary.  Be ready to order the SECOND they say “next” and have your goddamn money ready…

 Pats is where I ran into Willie, a Philadelphia native, who showed me how to get to the subway, steal newspapers from doorsteps and get free metro rides.  Despite all this awesome hospitality, my friends thought he was a mugger!

 Oh yeah, Citizens Bank…  I have been here before so coupled with just seeing PNC and Camden Yards the novelty had worn off.  I’ve had 5 hours sleep 3 days in a row, I’ve been drinking all day, the sun is beating down and they are playing the Braves – forgive me if I’m not as attentive today. 

Citizens Bank

 Totally forgot to mention the charming little attribute to this park...  you can kinda see it in the pics, between the batters eye and the out of town score board in right field is a little walkway (with concession stands) that overlooks the visitors bullpen!  You would think, in Phillie of all places, they would have thought of the consequences of that!

Shea Stadium:  St Louis vs. New York

Casey Stengel, when approached by the press “What do you think about the Mets execution tonight?” was said to have replied “Yes, I think that is a very good idea!”

Fortunately, today was not one of those games and included a sensational catch, that all of you no doubt saw on ESPN tonight by Senor Beltran and a HR by Fernando Tatis.  I guess it was no more phenomenal than any of the other HR's, I just like saying “fer-naan-doe tat-eeze”

I warned everyone that they were about to enter a giant orange bucket but even I had forgotten what a dump this place is…   when I asked the fans and employees of the local fare and beer, I was greeted with stares, “huh” ‘s and “what?  Brooklyn?” 

The new construction looks awesome.  I hope they put some thought into the concessions.

Shea Stadium

Camden Yards:  Angels vs. Orioles  

Another beautiful park and this time a game was played in it!

Earlier in the day I took a water taxi to Fells Point and wandered around the cobblestone streets, little boutiques and bars.  I came across a store selling “Boh” merchandise.  Still green to the scene I asked a bunch of questions including “what was the beer like?  To which the storekeeper replied “you got time to try one?”  He promptly removed a can from a cooler and we stood in the store chatting beer and baseball while I drank my complimentary suds and he greeted the occasional customer.  I like shopping in Baltimore!    www.nattybohgear.com

Camden Yards

btw  the nice gentleman that works at the Babe Ruth Museum works so hard and such long hours he has quite obviously been denied the over rated opportunity to attend charm school, poor bggr.

PNC Park:  San Diego vs. Pittsburgh 

I’m not saying a word about the game itself. 

Crazy John Wray is a man whose heart was obviously broken when they tore Forbes Field down but has found a fabulous way to relive a ton of memories by giving tours of its remains.  He even does a little impression of Yogi Berra bailing on an infamous home run…  Every year on October 13th people gather by the plaque and listen to a replay of the entire game; some pray that it won’t rain! 

I took a cable car up to a view point and found “Redbeards”, a very civilized establishment serving the local “Iron City Beer” and Primanti Bros was the fare of choice.  Good times. 

One of the reasons I took this tour was to see this particular park.  I was not disappointed.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  The skyline looks like a cardboard cutout and reminds me of the NY,NY Casino in Las Vegas.  Check out the pics…

PNC Park

Great American Ballpark:  San Diego vs. Cincinnati

Great American Ballpark Pictures

Not an overly exciting ballpark as far as I’m concerned…  looked a bit too plastic and Disneyland for my tastes and so – much – red;  I thought I was getting vertigo at one point!

I tried me a Skyline chilidog and gave the other one away.  I am told if you walk 7 blocks down to their restaurant they will serve you that fabulous chili (with chocolate and cinnamon) over spaghetti noodles.  Not sure why… 

Down to the nitty-gritty.  I haven’t seen the Padres play live (or even on tv) for some time now.  Congratulations WG.  You are doing a fabulous job!  It’s not enough we can’t back up our poor, poor Maddog but we made several clumsy errors, the highlight of course being that pick-off between 2nd and 3rd.  We weren’t even trying, even before Khalil dropped the ball.

To top it off, as we were in PR country, I had a box in a pool that would win me first prize if the score ended up being 4-9.  At the top of the eighth we scored a run making my numbers a BINGO! 

We held the Reds in the bottom half of the inning and now to the ninth… which left me that debilitating decision all Fantasy Team owners are at some point faced with; do I root for them to win or for my cash?!  

Coffey loads the bases, E-Gon is up.  Even a slam still loses us the game and I don’t get my money.  He strikes him out and Cordero takes over on the mound. 

The entire stadium is rooting for his retirement long before he walks in the 5th Padre run and even after he gets Hairy. 

 Lose, Lose for me...

 I called the Valentino HR off Maddux and a 6 run inning off of Thatcher; should have bet on that instead!

 I saw Wes and Wonko, who looked thoroughly unenthusiastic to see a fellow GLB-er.  Either my flies were undone (AGAIN – sorry ‘bout that) or they had just been caught on the "kiss cam" and didn’t realize I had missed it!

 It’s going to be a horribly long ride to Pittsburgh…

US Cellular Field:  Texas vs. Chicago

Didn’t spot one single Padre fan, come to think of it, didn’t spot a Ranger fan either!

I did run into j-dub’s cousin though...

(...a pic of the back of his shirt)

I liked the park.  It was pretty big and you could walk all the way around, most of the time still being able to view the game.  They had some neat things for the kids, including outrunning a cardboard cutout down a base path.

I had me a "Super Comiskey Dog" - pretty tasty actually and a decent size too for $8.

I asked a guy at a beer stand if he thought it was a foot long.  "Why yes" he emphatically replied.  I asked a girl at a pretzel stand the same question.  She rolled her eyes, scrunched up her nose and quite discontentedly retorted "I don’t think so honey!"

True Story. 

I got no internets this evening.  I saw we were up 3-0 until the 7th.  Who was it?  Thatcher?

US Cellular Field

So...
I had to attend a workshop in Scottsdale this weekend and decided to do a little Spring Training of my own. Peoria meant MORE driving and I figured most of the team was probably in China anyhow. Then Kev called, said jbox was there. That he was alone. Whiney, miserable and looking for a buddy! I headed to Phoenix!

I took this picture on the drive out. I kept it kinda big so you could grasp the enormity of the horizon. Of course, the camera doesn't emphasize that the 360 degree view is just as vast...

...so how the f! did this guy get here? And where in the hell does he think he is going?

While we are on the subject of idiots, here is a little clip that might make the average citizen a little concerned. Let me explain: I was trying to take a picture from my car and it took me a minute to figure out why it wouldn't work...

Please, no need to call for help, apart from a mild touch of retardation, I am just fine!!

I digress, off to Maryvale.

When they called Cameron's named there was a smattering of boos. When he argued a call, they yelled about the steriods. When he struggled to a full count with 2 on and 2 out, there were groans AND slurs.

When he hit the next pitch outta the park for a 3 run homer to tie the game, they were silent... then cheers. I guess they got over it!

Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch later in the game and decided to steal second. He showed someone up alright... He was out by a loooooooooooong mile. The Brew-ha-ha-ed, along with the Prince himself!

I sat next to the only other Padre fan I saw in the park and three fellas that bet on "their sausages"!

Good times!

And finally, a little fun we can all join in on...

What could have made Ozzie spin around? Could it be the fact the BREWERS are wearing the St Patrick's Day caps the WHITE SOX invented!? Make up your own captions for this picture... I'd love to hear them!

Joe Kennedy has passed away at the age of 28.  Wow!  A little shock for the baseball world not to mention his family...  there are a few articles starting to emerge but no details I can find as of yet.  I guess it might be a while before we know the specifics of what happened.

Of all the articles, this I found to be to be an interesting read... http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/871825.html

RIP

Seriously!  
My bad, I know I haven't been following this stuff too closely recently...  but it really looks like that instant replay will be integrated into baseball!  
REALLY?!  
I feel like I'm back in NYC and someone just suggested that they would ban smoking in bars, hahahahahahah...
Your poll seems overwhelming; plus there are comments like... just get to see more baseball, that's all...  
Really!  That's enjoyable to watch someone ELSE watching baseball.  
Am I like from a whole different generation or what?  
I mean, isn't baseball old school, american apple pie...  
If you let this in, then what next?  Women in the dugout?  In the GAME?
Someone, please, please explain the advantages to this...

Having family in town from the UK for almost three weeks and being cut-off from the internet and all my friends at gaslampball -> verging on life threatening!

Taking my sister to a (losing L) padre game and her picking up the game pretty quickly and seeming to enjoy it -> pretty nice turn around... things are starting to look up

Having an amazing view of the Milky Way  and watching the sun rise over the grand canyon on a cowboy ranch miles from civilization right about the time barry hits the tying home run against us -> maybe I over-reacted about this whole thing anyway.

Pottering about my garden as our third baseman takes the plate and hearing my little sister yell from inside the house... "kooooooooooooooooz" - absolutely friggin' priceless!!!

In fact on her last day, she asked me to run her over to the Petco Park store, to get a tee or something...  she bought a padres warm-up jacket and a travel mug.  

I'm sharing now because she just called me after her epic flight home only to find her suitcase is on another flight.   Luckily she said, my padres jacket was in my carry-on...  but no worries, it goes with everything!!!

I'm so proud!  My little sis is awl growd up!!

I definitely think this deserves its own spot.

Jbox may get the chance to ask Adrian Gonzalez some questions and what with Dex so far away, he is struggling for ideas.  
So far he has come up with "Remember that time in chicago..."  
Please.  He needs some help with this my friends

We can ask him things like:

     How did you get to be totally awesome/professional hitter? - winfields ghost

     Do you know Wiggins mom? - bktabinga

     Make him a KhalilOs shirt and see if he can get Khalil to sign it - osbug

Continue reading this post »

Two tickets to the Padres game last night....  FREE!

The company of  fellow Gaslampballer "Section231Row1"....  FREE!  
(Well, not free exactly.  A small bribe in the form of a ticket, a free ticket! Though I think I might have to come up with better seats if I want her accompany me again another time).

Burgers, hot dogs and any draft beers at Dick's before the game....  yup, FREE! (some work bash).

Watching Jake strike out 7, improve his record to 9-1 and hit someone "in the stinkin' foot" and NO barney ensues...
Watching Mister Ro-bust go 4-5, including a solo shot...
Watching LittleGirlMouth go all big league on us; Chase Headley trying to make up for a couple of throwing errors by tearing out of the gate; and Cheo (drama, why do they call him that?) fight for the role of Mr Clutch with Mike and Marcus...  Free, free, free, free, free and free.  

Watching the Padres win 12-6 when ALL they need is a big bat....  YESSSSSSS!

BUT  

Screaming bloody-blue murder at the jumbo-tron because we were the only two idiots at the game trying to get the jukebox vote to swing to "Our Town, Buck-O-Nine"....   ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!!

Did someone tell these guys the Orioles were in town?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfOMHLus_8&mode=user&search=

Hey, did anybody watch the game on Channel 4 last night and see the little bit they did on the Miracle League right before the game... ?

http://www.miracleleagueofsandiego.org/

I am a volunteer "buddy" to one of the players...   I can't tell you how much fun it is and the park itself is amazing.

Last Saturday was opening day of a short 4 week inaugural season.  I encourage anyone and everyone if you are in the area (or you have one in your area) CHECK IT OUT!
San Dieguito County Park, 1628 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Del Mar, CA 92014  

It's an amazing experience!  You will not be able to wipe the grin from your face as you watch these kids run the bases.

Continue reading this post »

What if "Pants" were General Manager with the 2004?    Despite being early in the season, Phil Nevin has won the stare downs and GM Kevin Towers along with his 411' outfield wall are gone (Denver, I think).  "Pants" has taken the helm.  What of Philip "Irish" Fitzsimmons now?  Even with the help of his Replay Baseball game board, I ask the question to you Gaslampball readers...  "What is the fate of Phily the Fitzs now?"