Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year 2008

Wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2008.

I had a good time last night. Left for a friends apartment around 8pm and we sat around, chatted, played some drinking games, watched the end to Mission Impossible 3, laughed to Dave Attell (my friend was determined to have me watch his "Jagr jokes"), blasted the most diverse collection of music to my recollection, and had a good time repairing a speaker that the girls unplugged because we wanted to listen to some comedy over their 103.5 KTU.

My only complaint was that the beer didn't mix well with the Champagne but who's going to let a gurgling stomach ruin New Years Eve?

Interestingly, 2008 has been dubbed the "International Year of the Potato," among other things, to bring awareness to the vegetable. Potato Farmers must be dancing in their overalls.

Monday, December 31, 2007

Rocky IV Fight

Best fight ever choreographed... ever. Rocky fights the Russian (Ivan Drago) in Rocky 4:

Monday, December 24, 2007

Clemens Accusations

Not that I don't believe Clemens used steroids (along with a ton of other players who weren't named in the Mitchell Report)...

but people nail Clemens for being in the Grimsley affidavit without actually seeing his name on the paperwork then take a drug dealer's word that he was on the juice?

The media will do that to you... innocent until proven guilty, people. Clemens' workout routine should give him some benefit of the doubt. How about a guy like David Ortiz who turns from Slim Jim to Cupcake in a year?

Before


After


We knock Clemens because he gained some muscle after working out diligently his entire career and for Barry Bond's Jr. (above) we look the other way?

Mitchell is a phony.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to everyone. Hope you all have your Christmas gifts picked out. I still need to buy for my father and grandpa. My grandpa should be easy, you get him a bag of cashews and he is in tears. Shopping for my dad is tough because all he thinks about is his work. Perhaps a case for his new Samsung i760 cell phone?

Good phone. I, personally, am looking at the LG Voyager (a newer, updated version of the enV) when my plan is up in mid-January. Looked at the cell phone case they had at the Verizon Store but it was a cheap leather case not even made for his phone. Some cheap, universal, knockoff. Pass.

A new wallet? A nice book for him to read on his commute? Blah - those who know me know, I can pretty much talk myself out of buying anything. I have a hard enough time thinking of something to buy for myself, imagine what I go through buying gifts for others!

Seinfeld - George Tries Opposite

Friday, December 7, 2007

Post-Winter Meeting Concerns

The Nashville Winter Meetings are over and where do the Yankee stand? If the team went into the 2008 season as they are now, what are the general concerns? Here are a list of concerns:

#1 Concern: Starting pitching. There is one thing that scares the bejesus out of Yankee fans and that is uncertainty. When you have a high payroll team with all stars in practically every position (1B?) and are going through a youth movement, you go through stages of uncertainty. Right now the uncertainty lies in their trio of young starting pitchers. Yankee fans have seen some brilliance and some question marks.

In 2007 we watched Phil Hughes carry a no-hitter against Texas up until the point of a pulled hamstring that put him on the 60-day DL. We watched Joba Chaimberlain get eaten alive by midges in the postseason, unable to hold a lead carried brilliantly by Andy Pettitte. And we listened to talk about Kennedy projecting as a number three starter, at best. I listened to Michael Kaye today criticize the Yankees for making Kennedy the deal breaker in a Santana trade. Let me tell you Michael Kaye, when you are giving up Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera in a trade for a $150mil/6year contract, you don't just toss in "#3" pitchers like they are toppings on a sundae. First of all, I think that projecting someone at such a young age to be a number in a rotation is garbage and that a number of things could occur to prove those projections wrong. Secondly, you don't just throw in pitchers because they have less projectability than the gem of the package, Hughes.

In 2007 we watched Ian Kennedy put up respectable numbers, albeit at a small sample size. We watched Phil Hughes almost pitch a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers, before being yanked for pulling a hamstring, only to come back and pitch below 3.00 ERA baseball in September, when it counted for the Yankees. Not to mention he got the Yankees a win in the post-season; their only win. And aside from the midges, we watched Joba Chaimberlain dominate all of baseball. One game in particular, if you can remember, he struck out the feared Vladamir Guerrero on three pitches, making him look foolish. You can do that when you throw 100mph and have plus secondary pitches.

All in all, it would be fun to watch these three young studs develop. For the sake of trades, you simply don't move Joba Chaimberlain, not even for Santana. I wouldn't swap Chaimberlain for Santana mono-y-mono if I had the chance. You can give up a Hughes for a Santana, if there are no other significant pieces in the package. And Kennedy would be a nice addition in a trade for a young pitcher, namely the Matsui trade being talked about the with the Giants.

However, question marks on young players can sometimes turn out well. Especially when you think about how Jeter, Pettitte, Mariano, and Bernie shined in the Yankee organization. To have someone like Santana would be nice but wouldn't it be great to watch some pitchers develop for a change?

#2 Concern: Bullpen. There are many in-house options for the bullpen. Humberto Sanchez is coming of Tommy John Surgery and was the prize of the Gary Sheffield Trade to the Tigers. If the Yankees were to trade, Hawkins and Mahay are out there along with some intriguing lefties on the Giants. One thing is certain: Yankees need lefty pitching in the bullpen, not named Mike Myers. Sanchez might just do it, and why don't you acquire Lowry as a starting pitcher while at it. Yankee Stadium was built for lefty pitching.

#3 Concern: Righty bats. You have Jeter, Rodriguez, and the switch-hitting Posada as your strength, and that's about it. After years of watching the Yankees getting dominated by lefties, it is about time that they go out and pick up the Mark Teixiera's of the world - free agent in 2009 if he doesn't sign back with the Braves.

Pac Man Christmas Tree

My girlfriend would love this video, given that we just played Pac Man yesterday over the XBox 360 Arcade. The "tree" is in Madrid and, though I see no signs of an actual tree, it does remind me a bit of the glass pyramid entrance at the front of the Louvre. In a darker light.

Russell Crowe talks about South Park

South Park obviously has a lot of fun with famous people who act like fools, most consisting of actors and actresses. If you have watched the show more than once, chances are you have picked up on that. If not, watch the movie "Team America: World Police" and it will be quite apparent. You have to think to yourself, what do the actors/actresses think... here is a short clip of what one, certainly in the minority, thinks:

Blog is back (kinda)

After a few months of deliberation and getting accustomed to my new job, I have interest in blogging again. It comes and goes :)

South Park, Guitar Hero Montage

Stan and Kyle break 1,000,000 points on Guitar Hero and are rewarded with a special ending. Good montage song.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Rocket ReLaunch

Went to the Yankees game on Saturday where Roger Clemens was pitching his first game back in pinstripes. A coworker of mine got the tickets from a vendor and she just gave them to me! Man was that game awesome. Not only have I never been that close - first base about 10 or so rows up - but the Yankees won (are on a great winning streak right now - 7 after beating the Diamondbacks tonight, Wang vs Webb) and Melky Cabrera made a nice leaping catch at the wall that would have been a homerun. Oh, did I mention Roger Clemens pitched?

7 strikeouts in 6 innings. Not bad for your first game back on the mound. Though it was against the crappy Pittsburgh Pirates.

I will probably put up the pictures later. I have been lazy with posting new pictures lately because of the location of my laptop and distance from the external hard drive. One of these days!

All in all a good day. Had a catch with a friend, got some Ralph's Italian Ices, and polished it off with a Yankee win. Wish that could be an everyday routine.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Just Terrible

Well, the Yankees take 2/3 from the Red Sox then go on to lose the next game against the White Sox, who have lost 7 out of their last 8. How many more times are we going to have to watch these young kids forced to pitch in the majors? Unlike the Mets, the Yankees have no bench players or pitchers to substitute in when injuries occur. Then again, the mediocre-at-best bench players on the Mets couldn't hold their own against AL teams.