Monday, April 30, 2007

Missed Game, New/Old Book

The Yankee game I was supposed to go to on April 25 was rained out. What made it bad was that I was one stop away from the stadium when it was announced on the subways PA system. How nice. The Yanks are 6.5 games out of first place. Terrible, but still early. They need to kick it in high gear.

Meanwhile, I am in the middle of reading Casino Royale by Ian Flemming, after being obsessed and watching the movie about 15 times over the past 2-3 weeks. Can't get enough of it. The book is just as good and appears to follow the same story line, with minor changes in detail. The movie is present day and obviously the book was written in the early-to-mid 50's. Though the book holds a rather archaic release date, it manages to stay contemporary in every sense. You will notice, though, that he is not driving an Aston Martin :)

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Long Time

Well it has been a while (ok, about four days) since I have blogged. Part of that can be associated to the Yankees' 5-game losing streak, being swept in the 3-game series by the Red Sox and then a 2-game series by the Devil Rays. The bullpen is doing a terrible job and moves have to be made to get rid of guys like Mike Myers while the starters are having trouble going into the late innings.

Work has been getting tougher, though not as overloading as when all the protocols needed to be learned in the early going. I am familiar with the vendors now so there is no lack of communication when something goes wrong. I no longer need a liaison to get answers. As a comfort factor kicked in, new challenges immediately arose as I was given more responsibility with an extra co-packing plant put under my control, this time on the west coast.

I will be going to the Yankee game tomorrow night with my dad, despite "few showers" in the forecast. Andy Pettitte is pitching tomorrow and hopefully he will give then innings like Wang did tonight (only to hand it over to the bullpen inevitably leading to a blown game).

Friday, April 20, 2007

Here We Go! Yanks v Boston Game 1

The Yankees play Boston tonight on YES/ESPN at 7pm for the first time all season at Fenway Park. Peter Abrahams, a beat writer for the New York Yankees, said "I’m not making this up, the Yankees were watching “Rocky Balboa” before the game." This, of course, solidifies the win.

Yankees have some good taste. I bet Boston was watching "The Little Mermaid."

UPDATE: Well it didn't solidify the win. Actually, it was a terrible game for Yankee fans. I'll try to take a few good things out of it: Pettitte, my boy, pitched strong, and A-Rod is proving to everyone that he is a monster. Good for them.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

YANKS: A-Rod's Bomb 2


Can you believe it?! Another walk-off homerun for Alex Rodriguez! Total loss of words.

That was A-Rod's 10th homer in 14 games. No other player in the history of baseball has had such an April.

The Yankees swept the Indians, winning the final game of the series, 8-6.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Great Picture - Yankees and Rocky

Saw this picture on NoMaas.org which I thought was great because it combines two out of my three obsessions. The other, as you can tell from the previous post, is James Bond! Looks like Kei Igawa is starting to fit in... 6 innings and two runs against a powerful Indian lineup. Getting there.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

On impulse, if you could have anything material in the world, what would it be?



... without question.

It combines classiness with brute strength. Its thick design and stylish curves made it the perfect automobile for Bond. There is something about its shape that no other car, I feel, can imitate; making a harsh blow through a brick wall look professional.

For more on this car, visit the Aston Martin website. You will notice the car is slightly improved over the one in the pictures above. In my opinion, you need to keep a car simple to keep it cool.

YANKS: Slump

I won't even begin to say how bad of a slump the Yankees are in when the best closer in the game can't nail down the save against a terrible Oakland offense. The #9 hitter, to say the least.

Lets just hope some passion is regained. Tough two series coming up against the Indians and Red Sox. Despite being only 11 games into the season, these are still testing times.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

YANKS: Wang Expected Soon


Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang is expected back in the rotation by April 24th. He has about 1 more rehab game in which the Yankees will then determine if he is ready.

Wang will be a welcome relief for the Yankees, being known last season for going deep into games. A sinkerball pitcher, Wang induced a great number of double plays. Lets hope that the Yankee defense can continue where they left off with Wang. With all the errors early in the season, you have to wonder, but the Yankees are a veteran team and should improve.

One thing is for sure, the Yankees bullpen isn't going to last all season with their starting pitchers topping off at 5 innings a piece.

YANKS: over A's

I have to admit, after Jeter's error in the first, leading to a 3-run inning for the A's, frustration kicked in. The Yankees certainly look sloppy out on the field in the early goings. But even with all the defensive errors, the damaged/relatively ineffective starting rotation, an overworked bullpen, Hideki Matsui on the DL, and Minky/Melky not hitting worth a lick, the Yankees still manage to win and remain only a game behind the healthy, newly-improved Boston Red Sox. Yankee fans are drueling for the end of this month when they will see the return of Wang, not to mention Matsui coming off the DL. Injuries, especially to the starting rotation, have certainly made things hard on the Yankees.

The Bombers beat the A's off a solo homer by Jason Giambi in the 13th inning. Brian Bruney closed it out for the save.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Mets Game 4/11/07

YANKEES: Just to get this off of my chest before I talk about the Mets game that I went to yesterday with my friend Chris. Heard the Yankees lost the third game to the Twins. It's not the loss that bothers me as much as the Yankee bullpen getting overused. Oh yea, and Mike Mussina is now injured. The Yankees are cursed and in desperate need of a strong pitcher. Clemens, Hughes, anyone?! Lets hope it's the former, for now.

The good news: The Boston Red Sox were 1-hit by Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez. It came up on the Mets' big screen that Hernandez was throwing a no-hitter into the 8th. The reliable sportscast on my phone showed JD Drew getting a hit on the first pitch, first at bat, in that inning. Matsuzaka's line showed an unimpressive 8 hits and 3 runs in 7 innings throwing over 100 pitches. I love how that wasn't the focus, especially since his first game was against the lowly Royals. Wait till he faces a lineup like Toronto.

Speaking of Toronto: they won. Toronto now holds the lead in the AL East. We're coming for you!

METS: The Mets game vs the Phillies was fun. We sat behind home plate and I got a better idea of how fast the ball comes on the batter. I decided that the Mets should consider me to replace Shawn Green in right field.

The weather was nice, despite rain in the forecast. Signs of showers only started to show in the last inning of the game and we were a few rows back under cover so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

The Mets lost, to Chris' disliking. I failed to see the thought process of all Mets fans screaming YANKEES SUCK at this one (probably drunk) Yankee fan as their team was down 5-2, showing a Yankees score of 1-0 over the Twins. Despite the eventual Yankee loss, poor timing!

What really screwed the Mets over was the starting pitching by Oliver Perez, who decided to walk 42 batters in one inning. They put in a relief pitcher when Phillies pitcher Adam Eaton came to bat which, although it made perfect sense, I thought it looked like the ultimate insult. There were 2 outs.

David Wright stunk, Jose Reyes was picked off because he got too cocky, and Shawn Green shouldn't be on the team. Somebody please put speedy Endy in the game!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Status


Single.

Hopefully not for long.

HINT: I'm not talking about Jeter.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Pavano and Bauer

CAUTION: SPOILER.

Pavano gave the Yankees a good outing, leading them to an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. The bullpen wasn't overused and finally the Yankee Team can walk away with some confidence in their starting staff. Andy Pettitte pitches tomorrow.

Jack Bauer (24 TV series) has finally put an end to the apparent Nuclear threat in the United States. But, just as you got closure on the weapons threat, a new threat has opened and Jack finds someone close to him held as a trading chip. Things will likely blow up and cause a much bigger problem than a small terrorist group with a couple of nuclear bombs. It's hard to imagine.

YANKS: 2nd Time Around

First off, I hope everybody had a happy Easter.

The Yankees have come full circle and are back to the beginning of the rotation with Pavano on the mound tonight pitching against Sidney Ponson, ex-Yankee in the short-term. The Yanks desperately need a few strong starting pitching performances because the first time around was a disaster. There will be no "cold weather" excuses this time as the Yankees travel to play the Minnesota Twins in their temperature-controlled Metrodome.

Hideki Matsui is on the 15-day DL, Johnny Damon should be back in center, and Kevin Thompson was called up to replace Matsui. Chien-Ming Wang is expected back in the rotation soon.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

YANKS: A-Rod's Bomb

I still get chills...



There must be no greater feeling in the world.

UPDATE: Video no longer available due to copyright infringements. And I'm drunk haha... HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

YANKS: A-Bomb X2 for A-Rod

Things are going bad for the Yankees.

  • Derek Jeter is limping around
  • Johnny Damon is flirting with the DL
  • Hideki Matsui was diagnosed with a hamstring strain
  • Bobby Abreu was HBP with a very loud smack to his back knee
  • Yankees Starters have an 11.42 ERA the first four games
  • Yankee Starters are overworking the bullpen, with Pavano, Pettite, and Mussina failing to get out of the 5th inning
  • Kei Igawa bombed in his first major league appearance
  • Chien-Ming Wang is currently missing from the rotation
  • Melky Cabrera just stinks
  • Yankees have more errors than Microsoft Windows
However, they still manage to win.
  • Jeter, Damon, Matsui, and Abreu are all expected to be OK
  • Wang is on his way back from a minor scare
  • The bullpen has been fairly dominant
  • A-Rod has been even more dominant (2 outs, bottom of the 9th, down by 1, bases loaded, GRAND SLAM!!!!) - TODAY AGAINST THE ORIOLES
Lets just hope that things take a turn for the best and Melky doesn't give us many more reasons to cry for Bernie Williams.

One thing is for sure: A-Rod's grand slam should shut people up for a couple of days!

Friday, April 6, 2007

YANKS: The Return of the Jedi


Andy Pettitte returned to the Bronx last night and despite what was a less-than-stellar outing, he still received his well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd when he was taken out in the 5th inning.

It was cold, as was evident by Vikki's shape-shifting and bouncing her knee for some kind of... kinetic, warming, energy? After all the mocking her, I ended up bouncing around by the end of the game too. Thermals are a blessing in disguise and I'm glad I listened to everyone telling me to bring my winter jacket.

Three errors and three wild pitches later, the game was over. Vizcaino blew a tie game with a wild pitch in the top of the 8th and you knew it was over when Abreu failed to hit a sac-fly and A-Rod failed to get the ball to touch God's green grass (or the bleachers... either works).

Other than the Yankees losing, it was an exciting game. The Yankees came back numerous times to keep the game in reach. Both Jeter and Matsui came up with huge hits when it counted and A-Rod got the ball rolling in the beginning of the game until handing his soul to the crowd with a pop-up in the bottom of the 8th. Seriously, he can't keep saving our butt. We should have won facing terrible Tampa Bay pitching.

The crowd was great but what was even greater were the people we met before and after the game. Vikki agreed, I'm very approachable, ha ha. On our train ride there, we did some baseball talk with a proclaimed engineer/baseball physicist. Part of it was the Corona talking. He was really nice though and explained to us about the wind resistance at Coors Field. He also appeared to have an in-depth knowledge of baseball history.

On our way back, some drunk guy thought I was Andy Pettitte and wanted to know where I live. He had some obsession with his headband, which apparently wasn't covering his ears during the game. Pretty funny.

Vikki and I raced (if you want to call it that) back from the station. We even did some kind of 2-step dance, which made us look like drunks but I assure you we weren't. She said her friends would go to more games in the summer and now I've got my hopes up! I will hold back on the pictures for this game. Vikki threatened to kick me in the head (or nuts?) if I posted certain shots.


The chant of the night: BOX SEATS SUCK, BOX SEATS SUCK, BOX SEATS SUCK! Sounds like Boston Sucks; 2-fer.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Yanks and Mets, 1-0 a piece

New York is off to a good start.



Last night the New York Mets faced off against the 2006 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals in the first baseball game of the regular season. As the Cardinals showed off their Championship flag, the Mets stood and watched a continuation of a celebration they were forced to endure in Game 7 of the 2006 season. Hungry to exact revenge, they came away with a win. With their Ace Tom Glavine on the mound, the Mets trounced the Cardinals 6-1, flashing some leather as they turned four double-plays.

Today was the New York Yankees Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. With Scott Kazmir on the mound and the American Idle (Carl Pavano) pitching the first game, it was destined to be dog fight. I didn't happen to catch any of it on TV (except for watching the Encore of it right now) but I did have my AM Radio and Gameday on at work. Giambi, Jeter, ARod, and Posada all had big hits for the Yankees. You have to love when a team makes 3 errors, has their #4 pitcher on the mound, and still wins by 4. The mighty Yankees! ARod had an error in the first inning but redeemed himself with a towering shot in the 8th to blow the game wide open.

Boston lost to the Kansas City Royals, 7-1, as Curt Schilling took a beating. Beautiful thing.


Andy Pettitte starts for the Yankees on Wednesday in Game 2 of the 3-game series against the Devil Rays!

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Bar Mitzvah Ref's

A semi-last minute call by my friend hooked me a gig as a part of the entertainment group at a Bar Mitzvah. My friend Bill and I set up a pitching/soccer tent with a target that allowed the kids to pitch freely in the basement of the Omni, an expensive party area across from Nassau Community College.

The boys really enjoyed being able to pitch and show off in front of their friends. We set up a radar gun on the side of the tent and kids who impressed got DVD's that we were instructed to hand out as prizes. The problem was, the radar gun was highly inaccurate, understating the speed of everyones pitches. After several relocations of the gun, the highest pitch topped off at 68, which looked like a 100+ fastball. The kids picked up on the errant numbers right away as everyone complained that they threw a lot faster than 25 miles per hour. Everyone had something to prove.

As kids played with the radar gun, tackled their friends inside the cage, went through our equipment behind the steps, backed into the way of ongoing fastballs, and ran in front of their friends as soccer balls were being kicked, we were lucky that no one got hurt. The girls sought some interest in the games but they didn't hang onto the sports nearly as long as the boys. It was a little humorous that the boys seemed incapable of not interrupting their friends as they kicked a soccer ball but when the girls got their shots, everyone stood back and watched like polite little boys with some sense of control.

Some of the kids were just plain crazy.

One little boy who, throughout most of the night, was playing a basketball shooting contest and kept backing up right into the middle of the cage as people were pitching. He didn't seem to mind. When we switched to soccer, he wanted to be goalie and took some pretty hard shots to the gut. He's lucky he was pudgy.

One kid kept dry-humping mid air. You heard me right. In his pink shirt, I thought it was best to forewarn him that if he acts like that in college, with his feminine-colored shirt, people are going to get the wrong impression. He did it once or twice more then reluctantly stopped for the sake of everyone around him.

Another kid thought he was the sh*t. Isn't there one in every group? He kept matching up his fastball readings with that of a father who pitched earlier saying he wanted a DVD for tying the fathers record. He needed to be reminded that there is a difference between pitching in a contest, and matching someones numbers when everyone's just playing around. That father ended up with the highest score all night after we figured out the best way to position the radar. Turns out he played college ball and was very good. Don't recall the name of the school.

As the day neared its end, we heard a shocking story that one grownup tried to stab another in the dining area, right down the hall from where we were. No doubt there was alcohol involved. Luckily, no one was hurt.

My friend Bill and I left with our arms still attached to their sockets, and a nice complimentary picture from the other friendly entertainment group at the Bar Mitzvah.