RussellMania's Blog

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-01T13:19:00.001-05:00

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.

Rocky IV Fight

2007-12-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

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

Clemens Accusations

2007-12-24T13:08:00.002-05:00

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.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-21T21:49:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

Post-Winter Meeting Concerns

2007-12-07T17:44:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-07T17:40:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

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)

2007-12-07T12:49:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

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

Rocket ReLaunch

2007-06-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

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.

Just Terrible

2007-06-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

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.

Yanks Take Game 1

2007-06-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

The Yankees took game 1 against the Red Sox at Fenway last night. Lots of controversy going on with the Yankees (mainly involving A-Rod) including:

A-Rod being seen going to strip clubs with a hot blonde whose name is not Mrs. Rodriguez. A-Rod is then mimiced with 30 blonde masks by white fraternity crowd at Fenway. The noMaas Fenway demographic has about 3/4 of the fans out to be white frat kids and people with the last name Sullivan.
Wang got a haircut.
A-Rod screaming at rookie Toronto third baseman leading to a dropped pop-up. Fights ensue.
Scott Proctor getting tossed from the game at Fenway last night for throwing at Youkilis' head. While certainly understandable, 3 Yankees were hit during that game. The one at Cano looked intentional, though you don't throw at someones head. You hit them in the nuts.
Joe Torre getting thrown out of the game for arguing yet ANOTHER bad call by these little league umpires. You are getting paid to make accurate calls, stop acting like the third base foul line ump in the Snickers commercial!

As if it couldn't get any worse. Giambi is now on the DL and could likely missing the entire season. This puts more pressure on Torre to play small ball. If the Yanks fail at that, look for them picking up a bopper. The media doesn't think Bernie has a shot at coming back, but I wouldn't rule that out.

METS: they are now plagued by injuries, just as the Yankees have been. Lets see how they hold up for as long as Wright and Beltran aren't in the lineup. The Mets didn't look too pretty last night against Webb and the Diamondbacks.

Scott Proctor

Yanks Game 5-27-07 Pictures

2007-05-28T06:53:00.001-05:00

Pretty much all of the pictures are from after the game when we waited outside for the players to get on their bus to Toronto. Enjoy :)

Yanks Game 5-27-2007 Photo Album

Yanks Game - May 27

2007-05-27T18:46:00.000-05:00

The Yankees game was good, up until the 6th inning when Scott Proctor walked in the tying and winning runs with the bases loaded. TELL THE TEAM IF YOU CANT FIND YOUR CONTROL, WE WOULDNT CALL YOU A SISSY! My friends and I all left during the middle of the 9th inning to go get near the Press exit where the Yankees were getting on the bus for a trip to Toronto. Got some nice pictures which I plan on putting up later including shots of A-Rod with his wife and kid, Mariano signing autographs for the sailors, and derek jeter giving a wave. The A-Rod shot is priceless.

Enjoying some nice BBQ right now and gonna try to relax and stave off this sunburn that I got on Saturday and only added onto today. Well worth it though, it was a fun weekend. Saw the third Pirates movie and it was decent. Very long and I had a hard time not cramping up, but the 30-minute fight scene in the end made it all worth it.

Tomorrow Ashley is probably having people over for a barbeque which should be fun. Then it's back to work; joy!

Jones Beach Air Show

2007-05-26T05:30:00.001-05:00

The US Air Force Thunderbirds Jet team will be at Jones Beach today from 10am-3pm. Parking is $8 but the show will be free. I will be heading down to see the show with my friend Diana, also meeting my friend Mike, who works at the State Park in the first aid department. With a high of 87 today, a slight drop from yesterdays stellar 90, there should be a major traffic jam into the park. Hopefully, because the show is early, people will try to come during the latter part of the show, clearing my path!

Tomorrow is game 3 of the Yankees' series against the Angels at Yankee Stadium and my friend Ashley offered me a ticket. Hopefully the clouds will take a wrong turn and the rain will be staved off during game time. Still, with all this hot weather, a rain shower might just be welcome. As long as it doesn't postpone the game to another day. My Toronto game got rained out a few weeks ago and they already rescheduled it to the end of September. Sheesh.

HD Experience

2007-05-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

Parents just got a nice, new, HDTV which should be up and ready for the final 2-hour episode of 24 on Monday night. Hooked it up to the Xbox 360 and it is flippin sweet! Sony sure makes a good TV. All that is needed is an HD Cable Box which will be picked up on Monday due to Cablevisions cooky weekend hours.

In other news, the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series comes out on Friday (or as some people would like to correct me - 8pm on Thursday night) and it is called At World's End. Looking forward to it. This girl in my office is completely obsessed with Johnny Depp and doesn't let me forget with her chain e-mails.

Here's to a great weekend. Scott is down until Wednesday and we got a little baseball in down at the field. Played a hit derby where two water bottles played the 2nd baseman and shortstop while we took shots all around the field trying to score hits. Semi-subjective but fun none the less. Two close calls were rewarded with one hit and one out. The sad part is, I splintered the bat on a pitch inside and we had to use the little league aluminum for the remainder of the game. It works, but not too well on the outside pitch :)

Missed Game, New/Old Book

2007-04-30T12:18:00.000-05:00

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 :)

Long Time

2007-04-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

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).

Here We Go! Yanks v Boston Game 1

2007-04-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

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.

YANKS: A-Rod's Bomb 2

2007-04-19T16:40:00.000-05:00

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.

Great Picture - Yankees and Rocky

2007-04-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

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.

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

2007-04-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

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.

YANKS: Wang Expected Soon

2007-04-15T08:09:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

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.

Mets Game 4/11/07

2007-04-12T07:13:00.000-05:00

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!

Status

2007-04-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

Single.

Hopefully not for long.

HINT: I'm not talking about Jeter.

Pavano and Bauer

2007-04-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-09T13:59:00.000-05:00

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.

YANKS: A-Rod's Bomb

2007-04-08T10:50:00.000-05:00

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!!!!

YANKS: A-Bomb X2 for A-Rod

2007-04-07T18:09:00.000-05:00

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!

YANKS: The Return of the Jedi

2007-04-06T07:33:00.000-05:00

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.

Yanks and Mets, 1-0 a piece

2007-04-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

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!

Bar Mitzvah Ref's

2007-04-01T14:39:00.002-05:00

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.

Your 2007 New York Yankees

2007-03-31T06:47:00.000-05:00

Straight from Peter Abrahams' Blog, here is the 25-man roster for the New York Yankees (after recent roster cuts):

Infielders (7)
Miguel Cairo
Robinson Cano
Jason Giambi
Derek Jeter
Doug Mientkiewicz
Josh Phelps
Alex Rodriguez

Outfielders (4)
Bobby Abreu
Melky Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Hideki Matsui

Catchers (2)
Wil Nieves
Jorge Posada

Starting pitchers (5)
LHP Kei Igawa
RHP Mike Mussina
RHP Carl Pavano
LHP Andy Pettitte
RHP Darrell Rasner

Relief pitchers (7)
RHP Brian Bruney
RHP Kyle Farnsworth
LHP Sean Henn
LHP Mike Myers
RHP Scott Proctor
RHP Mariano Rivera
RHP Luis Vizcaino

Manager
Joe Torre

Coaches
Larry Bowa
Ron Guidry
Joe Kerrigan
Kevin Long
Don Mattingly
Rich Monteleone
Tony Pena
Rob Thomson

The guys in bold are players that were fighting for a spot on the roster; they weren't a lock going into spring training. Here is a little bit about their competition this spring:

Josh Phelps - fighting for a spot to platoon with Doug Meintkiewicz at first base, Phelps had a dominating spring at the plate. Andy Phillips, his challenger, missed the first part of spring training for personal reasons, but when he came back he just wasn't hitting well enough to make the cut. Phillips was believed to have the upper hand because of his major league experience with the Yankees last season and his superior defense. Since there is a platoon at first, there is no need to have two players with superior defensive capabilities and inferior offensive capabilities. Switching between Doug and Phelps gives Joe Torre options.

Wil Nieves - Wil missed some time due to a minor injury while the Yankees got to have a better look at Todd Pratt, the other man being considered for the backup catch role. Pratt just simply didnt impress. He was older and was kept around because he has experience and offers good, friendly advise to the pitchers. In my opinion, offensively, he is a Giambi/Ortiz who just doesn't have the power/plate discipline. Once he gets on, the bases are clogged. Since neither Wil or Todd are uber players, Wil was just simply "the other guy."

Darrell Rasner - was competing for a spot with Jeff Karstens. Karstens was solid the whole spring until everything fell apart in his last outing. Karstens got knocked around and was taken out early, complaining of pain in his arm. Luckily, it was nothing serious and Karstens could be back at it challenging for the 5th spot on the roster in no time. However, the fifth roster spot is no longer available if Wang, Pettitte, and Pavano are healthy and Igawa is pitching effectively. In that case, they would be competing for a long-relief role in the bullpen. Clemens and Hughes are other possibilites for the fifth spot (though not early in the season for either). Rasner, also dominant this spring, got knocked around big time in his last start.

Bruney and Henn - out of the pool of pitching talent that the Yankees now have, Bruney and Henn were the most impressive. Bruney was strong in his short time with the Yankees last season, pitching with a lot of fire. Henn is a good story, outpitching Ron Villone who was superb early last season then fell off the face of the earth due to Torre fatigue. Britton, acquired in the Jared Wright trade, was another consideration going into spring training but his weight issues and ineffective pitching lost him the spot. If Bruney and Henn can pitch up to their expectations, the bullpen will be superhuman.

Ladies and Gentlemen, YOUR 2007 NEW YORK YANKEES!

Is Xbox 360 Elite worth it?

2007-03-26T16:38:00.000-05:00

G4 talks about the 360 Elite; the new Xb0x with a 120gb hdd. In a nut shell, they say the hard drive size is good for video downloading but people who bought the 360 just for the games wouldn't be affected much. They also talk about the price, which they deem to be a little high based on a rumor that the PS3 is expected to drop its price $100. Consumers win.

To The Field, Baseball Weather Is Here!

2007-03-25T16:40:00.000-05:00

Finally, baseball weather has come on a weekend!

I took my equipment down to the field (mistakenly in a bag that weighed more than the equipment) and took some shots off a tee. Bought a nice iPod-connect boombox called the iHome2go from Costco for a cool $50. The catch was it took 8 C batteries but luckily Costco sells them in 10-packs. 8 batteries... that should last my life, and my kids' lives. Fixed it up with a nice play list of songs to keep my adrenaline up.

Halfway into practice my friend Chris showed up unexpectedly. Turns out he saw my away message and decided to pay me a visit. We haven't seen each other since working together at the high school last summer. He was nice enough to catch some grounders that bounced off the mine-field (unsettling craters on the playing field). He then took a few shots while I frantically ran all around trying to cut them off.

Good workout; glad I lifted yesterday to build up my arm strength for some heavy swings. You can really pull something if the bat isn't your weight.

FILM: Reign Over Me

2007-03-24T09:47:00.000-05:00

Reign Over Me was a very heartfelt film. Adam Sandler plays the role of a man who lost everything that was close to him. He is depressed because everything around him reminds him of his loss and he longs for moments to escape remembering. Enter Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle -- Hotel Rwanda) who befriends Adam Sandler noting that they were once college roommates. Johnson is the one person that helps Sandler escape, forget his losses and live a semi-normal life of video games and music.

As my friend said, the movie started out a little slow. Nothing was really fast-paced about it. My other friend thought it was OK, but he is more of the blood and guts type of guy. After the film he said "Lets go see 300!"

I liked the film, thought it was well-made and put across a strong message. It had a little bit of comedy mixed in (how could you have Adam Sandler without comedy?) and a set of characters with a mixture of different personalities. And, as lives suddenly converged, things got interesting.

I recommend this film as the theater also seemed to enjoy it. They remained quiet throughout the film, wanting to hear every line out of every characters mouth.

Xbox 360 Elite

2007-03-22T14:43:00.000-05:00

The new black Xbox appears all but confirmed. Engadget has some specs on the improved system which includes a larger hard drive, HDMI port, and new paint job. The black Xbox color will apparently be limited edition until the specs on the system replace the current premium system, in which the primary color will remain white.

Most importantly, there is speculation that the release date will be late April for a price of $479.99. Though a little hefty, the package is fairly decent and I will surely wait out for the projected cooler processor.

I just hope this isn't some kind of cruel April fools joke!

Geico Caveman's Crib

2007-03-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

If you love that Geico Caveman then you are going to love this. Somebody created an interactive crib where you can walk around the Caveman's home. Once it loads up, click on the doorknob and it will let you in. Play around with his laptop, check out his HDTV, or watch him shower while singing to the Geico song. Everything is classic.

Be creative and curious, some functions aren't obvious. Below is the link, if it doesn't work the address is: http://www.cavemanscrib.com.

Click here to visit the Caveman's Crib

God of War 2

2007-03-18T02:18:00.000-05:00

I bought God of War 2 today. After being told by GameStop that there was a 160 person waiting list, they conceded to have some leftover. I ended up buying my copy at Best Buy. From what I have played so far, the game is just as good, if not better than the last one. The gameplay is great and the controls are fairly easy to learn for a character with so many combos. The graphics are about the same as the last game, impressive for the PlayStation 2 title. One of the most enjoyable parts of the game is fighting characters 100 times the size of you, pressing random combos to perform leaping slashes that bring the huge beasts to their feet. After watching 300 tonight and coming home to the game, I am starting to see a connection.

Hopefully this game will last me a couple of weeks until I can truly make a decision on which next-generation system I will be buying. There is still no news from Microsoft about Xbox 360 version 2 but there are two dates I am waiting on. First, the PlayStation 3 is expected to be released in Europe within a few days. There is a chance Microsoft might say something there to kill Sony's hype. Next, the prominent rumor appears to be a May 1 release date. If that is the case and it is being released in the US on this date, I expect there to be some news of it come mid-April. If not, who knows what I will do. All I know is I am longing to play some MLB 2K7 and my friend Rob will be getting Xbox Live soon. Let the gaming begin already!

300

2007-03-18T01:59:00.000-05:00

300 was great! My friend's was right, you cant always trust the reviews. Plus, my dad told me that first week sales for the film were outstanding.

The fight scenes were perfect, like nothing I have seen before. The fighters were real men, no Lord of the Ring Legolas'. So much blood was spewed my girlfriend spent half the movie with her eyes closed. The movie is called 300 because it is about a group of 300 Spartans who went up against the largest Army in the world, the Persians, led by Xerxes. King Leonidas is given the option to surrender to the Persians, or be destroyed. What a choice, right? Outnumbered greatly, the Spartans find strength in their abilities to fight and outsmart their challengers. By standing together as one giant shield (using the buddy system) they are able to slowly chop away at the enemy front lines. The cast isn't only limited to human warriors. There are all sorts of characters including immortals, giant fat beasts, and even a rhino.

I recommend this to all guys. My girlfriend kept screaming things like "Oh damn" and "Oh that's just wrong" and it made me a little uncomfortable. It's a guy thing.

In the Middle of the Night (The Rock)

2007-03-17T09:25:00.000-05:00

Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night and finding yourself alone in your friends basement! Watched The Rock, which is a very good movie, but no matter what film you put on, when the ambient lights go out and the only light being emitted is from the television screen, you find yourself quickly becoming a victim of The Sandman. Don't remember exactly what time I passed out but it is pretty funny when you realize you aren't home.

Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery do an excellent job in this film. Connery plays a jailed escape artist who is called upon by the federal government to alleviate a hostage situation at Alcatraz, also known as The Rock. What makes Connery so suited to aide the federal government? He is the only person who has ever escaped Alcatraz alive. Cage plays a chemical weapons expert working for the FBI, in charge of using his expertise to find the best possible way to prevent a nerve gas attack on the San Francisco Bay area. Filled with plenty of creative action, drama, and comedy, it is easy to see how a large diversity of moviegoers would like this film. Two thumbs up; both my thumbs.

Let It Hail?

2007-03-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

My car looks covered in vanilla Dippin' Dots. Yummy. The roads are very icy, especially the side roads that have not yet been maintained. Hope everyone is careful driving out there.

Due to inclement weather, work closed an hour and a half early so everyone could beat traffic and avoid worse weather conditions. Driving home, I realized that a lot of other people had the same idea, but it still wasn't too bad since I take the service roads. A co-worker at my job told me that he missed a pole by inches when his tire hit the curb on his way out to lunch.

Work is starting to put me in charge of a plant so I can control material flow, unsupervised. A challenge I plan to be ready for.

Yanks Losing Streak + 360

2007-03-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

The Yankees have lost a bunch of games recently including one to the Red Sox on Monday and one to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. Of all the losses, what came most importantly to the Yankees was a semi-strong/injury-free performance by Carl Pavano (known as "The Rajah of Rehab" to Peter Abrahams). The Yankees play the Twins tonight.

I am holding off on the 360 for now. I will most surely buy it eventually but I have been hearing rumors lately about a release of a Black Xbox 360 (codename: Zephyr) that includes 100GB more hard drive space, a cooler processor, an HDMI output, and a faster, quieter, DVD-ROM. With all those extras it is worth it to hold on my purchase at least until Microsoft disputes the rumors. I don't expect it to be more than a month and a half before we hear something because the two ideal times to come out with an updated system are when the PS3 launches in Europe (near the end of this month) and around the beginning of summer. Someone projected May 1 for the release but how the hell would they know. We'll wait and see.

EBay Sellers Suck

2007-03-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is the first and last time I'm buying any electronics on EBay. I received a Motorola H700 bluetooth headset about 2 weeks ago and unfortunately it was defective. I sent it back and a week later I had my new, more recent defective headset. I matched it up with my dad's headset because he has the same headset and color as mine and the writing on it is different.

Lesson learned. I will most likely buy my XBox 360 tomorrow from Best Buy, a trusted retailer.

Reminder: Yanks/Sox and 24

2007-03-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder: the Yankees play the Red Sox tonight in Fort Myers at 7:05pm. 24 most likely will be slightly overlapped by the Yankee game but, like I said in an earlier post, you can always catch free reruns on MySpace.

A Few Things

2007-03-11T22:18:00.000-05:00

- 24 is the greatest TV series ever. Ever. You can catch some past episodes on MySpace if you were to want to try and catch up to the present. I particularly liked the 5PM-6PM show last week.

- The Yankees lost today, 4-3 to the Indians. This is the second loss for the Yankees this Spring Training and both have come by the hands of the Indians. The Indians had the second highest run-producing offense last season behind the Yankees so it is understandable that they would put up some fight. Their bullpen held them back last season. The main reason for the Yankees' loss today was the unimpressive outing by youngster Phillip Hughes. He should be sent down to the minors any day now to get ready for AAA.

The Yankees play the Red Sox tomorrow (Monday) night at 7PM. The game will be held in the Red Sox's ball park and only a handful of regulars will take the trip including Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui. Carl Pavano is slated to pitch. (game overview)

- I should be buying the Xbox 360 soon. I am sold on a few good games they have out including Gears of War, MLB 2k7, Burnout Revenge, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas. I went to my friends today and he had the 360 and the Wii along with a 42 inch plasma TV. Gears of War on a plasma screen is unlike anything I've seen before. The Wii was fun also even though the graphics didn't blow my skirt up. I particularly enjoyed swinging the bat via remote, in Wii Sports.

- I have decided to scrap the idea of getting a BB Gun. For now at least. Though small, the chances of missing the target and/or having bullets ricochet into the dog next door is enough to hold me back. Especially since that little guy is all over the place.

Goldeneye 007 Recreation

2007-03-10T11:27:00.000-05:00

Here is a very funny, and creative, recreation of arguably Nintendo 64's greatest game (and one of my personal favorite movies), Goldeneye 007. The game set the standard for all first-person shooters thereafter and, even in today's high-tech gaming world, gamers still are sentimental about their beloved 64-bit Bond. Although I wish the whole video was in first person, just like the game, it did bring back some fond memories:

To further the sentimentality, here is the trailer for the film:

Taking Shots

2007-03-10T02:11:00.000-05:00

Was over my friend Rob's house for a brief time after work on Friday and we were taking a few shots with his BB Gun. Didn't take long for me to want one.

We lined up a GI Joe of his in front of a cardboard box and shot from several feet away, blowing off its legs, 1 arm, and parts of its torso. When he got too small to hit (and too dark to see) we lined up some beer bottles and tore them apart.

Now I am in the market for a BB Gun. He told me that he bought his from Sports Authority so that was the first place I checked. Here are the few (if you call 10 a few) that were in my price range:

The last two are of the most interest because they are kits that come with the assortment of extras that I would eventually need to get anyway (bullets, goggles, etc.). I am particularly looking at number 9, the backyard kit.

The problem is, however, that they do not ship or sell (at least from the Sports Authority website) to New York. I guess there are some restrictions to buying BB Gun's but it cant be that restricting if my friend bought one a couple years ago in a Sports Authority. A few other friends of mine have BB Gun's as well.

Thinking of what to shoot next time, my friend and I decided we would buy some cheap action figures or set up water balloons hanging from trees in his backyard.

YANKS: 7-1-1

2007-03-10T02:01:00.000-05:00

Every time I blink the Yankees have another win. Carl Pavano was scheduled to pitch against Tampa Bay on Friday but shortly before the game it was announced that he had to take care of some personal matter. Don't worry, it's not an injury this time, but it does pertain to one in the past. Apparently, the car accident he was in, the one that kept him from making a post-season appearance last season (you remember: rib injury 14c), caused someone "severe and permanent personal injuries." Sounds like a load of s&*! if you ask me. Some people just love the attention; the majority love the money.

The Yankees are 7-1-1 this Spring. Jeff Karstens filled in nicely while Pavano was taking care of his personal issue. Bobby Abreu is getting close to taking dry swings.

YANKS: ST 6-1-1

2007-03-08T16:39:00.000-05:00

I didn't have much time yesterday to blog last night's Yankee game against the Cincinnati Reds but I do now...

Last night's game ended in a tie when Bronson Sardinha, again, brought in a crucial run in the 9th inning. He didn't win the game for the Yankees this time but he tied it. This guy has come up clutch twice now and you can tell that spectators are really starting to enjoy the last inning heroics, albeit them being meaningless Spring Training games. The heroics remind me of the few Mets games I have been to. I honestly didn't think the Yankees would put a run on the board the way Cincinnati was pitching all game but that comes to show you to never underestimate the Yankees.

From there, the game went into the 10th inning and then it was stopped, with a final score of 1-1. Spring Training games can end in a tie because they don't count toward the regular season and they are primarily to get everyone "game ready." They don't end games with a tie during the regular season.

Here are the results from today's games:

Yankees 5 - Atlanta 3
Boston 0 - Minnesota 1
Toronto 2 - Boston 3
Baltimore 8 - Mets 7

The Yankees walk away with yet another win. Boston goes 1-1 today. And the Mets lose yet again.

YANKS: ST 5-1

2007-03-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

The Yankees have finally lost a game after winning their first five. Once again, I didn't see any games today, but this is what I got from the recaps:

YANKEES - lost with a final score of 6-5. Sardinha, yesterday's hero, grounded into a double play that ended a small rally. Wang wasn't so sharp, getting roughed up a bit by the Indians. Phillip Hughes looked impressive though, which is great news, although Torre has already told him he will not be with the Major League team when camp breaks. Look for Hughes to come up sooner than expected if Igawa continues to pitch the way he did in his previous outing and/or Pavano faulters (whether it be injury or a loss of touch).

METS - won.

BOSTON - won with a very large score, taking the Florida Marlins 14-6. The game was tied going into extra innings when the Red Sox scored 8 in the top of the 10th to blow the game out of the water. Matsuzaka was on the mound today and got himself into a jam before Varitek bailed him out by telling him which pitch to throw. He pitched three scoreless innings.

YANKS: ST 5-0

2007-03-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

Peter Abraham's summarized the game perfectly:

The apparently unbeatable Yankees (5-0) won again today when Bronson Sardinha belted a two-run homer off Felix Heredia with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Sardinha is a former supplemental first round pick who was added to the 40-man roster over the winter. He hit .286 for Columbus last season and is the greatest Hawaiian since Steve McGarrett.

Chris Britton, Tyler Clippard, Scott Proctor and Ron Villone pitched 4.1 scoreless innings to finish the game, allowing one hit.

AWESOME! Though it is very little indication of what will happen in the regular season, it is encouraging to see relatively unknown Yankees coming up big in the late innings. I missed the game but someone in the blogs said there should be a rerun on YES at 7pm est. If there is one, i'll be there.

METS - lost to Cleveland, 2-1.

BOSTON - lost to Dodgers by the same score in the Mets game today, 2-1.

YANKS: ST 4-0

2007-03-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

The Yankees walked away with their fourth win in as many games today. Pavano pitched the first two innings, giving up 2 H (hits), 2 BB (base on balls = walks), and 1 ER (earned run). Though those numbers aren't what you want every two innings out of Pavano, he walked away without getting injured. That's a start. Two walks isn't terrible as pitchers try to find the strike zone in the beginning of Spring Training. It is harder for Pavano who hasn't been in front of a Major League umpire in a very long time.

METS - John Maine went two innings, letting up one hit and no runs. One of the Mets' "answers" to their starting rotation this season, Philip Humber, gave up 3 H, 2 BB, and 5 ER. Hopefully, it's too early to tell. The Mets lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3.

BOSTON - they won 6-1 against Minnesota. Scott Baker for the Twins let up 6 H, 2 BB, and 5 ER in two innings. Both Curt Schilling and Johan Santana let up 1 ER a piece.

Dominos Cheesy Garlic Bread Pizza

2007-03-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

Giant appendages don't exactly make me crave the pizza, but it's surely funny:

YANKS: Pavano is Ready

2007-03-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

Pavano has not pitched for the Yankees since last Spring Training and has a lot to prove. The time is now.

Pavano takes the mound today for the Yankees and sadly we won't get to see it on TV. However, I will be listening closely to those, hopefully, two innings that Pavano pitches on the blogs (particularly Pete Abrahams). If Pavano can run a decent performance, avoiding injury, there will be some positive talk about the Yankee rotation. Wang and Pettitte looked sharp and, although Mussina gave up the long ball, his comments afterward were encouraging. Kei Igawa also avoided any damage his first time out.

In other news, Ken Davidoff today said, "The Red Sox and Phillies both carry potentially elite starting rotations. The Yankees and Mets both ... don't." (source)

You can understand why he would think that the Mets' starting rotation is not "potentially elite" but it's hard to see why he can't put the Yankees' starting rotation on the same level as the Red Sox and Phillies.

The Yankees have a 2nd place Cy Young in Wang, a proven winner in Pettitte (who shines in the big spot), a still-consistent Mussina who is a great number 3, a Japanese pitcher with a lifetime 3-something ERA, and a healthy Pavano that has potential to go out and be good again, knock on wood. Did I mention that the Yankees' 6th pitcher is Phil Hughes, who is being compared to Roger Clemens?

The Red Sox have an overweight 40-year-old with a bad personality and a 4-something ERA as their ace, a pitcher who gave up 36 homeruns with a high ERA last season in Beckett, a Japanese pitcher who STILL has not pitched against Major Leaguers, another 40-year-old in Wakefield, and a potentially good starter in Papelbon who might not be in his spot for long with Piniero giving up four runs an inning.

I have never liked Ken Davidoff as he consistently comes across as biased against the Yankees. Despite being one of Newsday's main Yankee writers, he rarely has anything nice to say. With an improved farm system, the ridding of Sheffield and Johnson, and the addition of Pettitte, he is running out of bashing space.

YANKS: ST 3-0

2007-03-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

Of course it's only exhibition games but it is nice to see the Yankees continue their winning ways. Mike Mussina took the first two innings of game three, giving up one run (on a home run). 880am announcers described his fastball as not hitting its spots. His curveball's sounded like they hit the spots though as they were thrown for strikes. The Yankees broke into the game when Jorge Posada hit a solo homerun that brought the Yankees within one. The Pirates scored a third run in the 8th but the Yankees responded by putting up a three spot in the bottom of the inning to put the game away.

METS - lost to the Dodgers. Winning by a run in the bottom of the 9th, Jon Adkins (Mets) let up four runs that lost the game for the Amazin's.

RED SOX - after beating Boston College yesterday, the Sox resumed major league play. They lost to the Phillies, 12-9.

YANKS: Televised ST Games

2007-03-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

I was a little presumptuous thinking that every Yankee Spring Training game would be televised. Disappointment kicked in when I saw that some weren't, including the two games this weekend. Since I work M-F, it is hard to catch the weekday 1:05-1:15pm games so I was looking forward to seeing them this weekend but I guess I will have to catch them on 880am. Luckily, every other weekend after this will not be without a game. Here are a list of all the televised Yankee Spring Training games, their times, and their respective channels:

* = Yankee games I will be able to watch around my work schedule. You can ignore this.

March 5 (Monday) - 1:15 - ESPN/YES Network
* March 7 (Wednesday) - 7:15 - YES Network
March 8 (Thursday) - 1:05 - YES Network
* March 11 (Sunday) - 1:15 - YES Network
* March 12 (Monday) - 7:05 - YES Network
* March 14 (Wednesday) - 7:15 - YES Network
* March 15 (Thursday) - 7:15 - YES Network
* March 17 (Saturday) - 1:05 - YES Network
* March 18 (Sunday) - 1:15 - YES Network
* March 20 (Tuesday) - 7:15 - YES Network
* March 24 (Saturday) - 1:15 - YES Network
* March 25 (Sunday) - 1:05 - YES Network
March 26 (Monday) - 1:15 - YES Network
March 27 (Tuesday) - 1:05 - ESPN
* March 29 (Thursday) - 7:05 - YES Network
March 30 (Friday) - 1:05 - ESPN
* March 31 (Saturday) - 1:15 - YES Network

Yankees.com has the complete schedule with other information including opposing teams, MLB.TV shows, and location of the games. All ST games that aren't televised you will probably be able to get coverage on 880am.

April 2 is the first regular season game, against Tampa Bay.

Video Game Addiction

2007-03-03T03:29:00.000-05:00

The video game addiction is slowly creeping back. I finally found someone who shares the same passion in first-person shooters. Rob and I have been playing his Xbox 360 for a few days now and it is insanely fun. Gears of War is one of the greatest games I have ever played, with an awesome co-op mode so we don't have to scream obscenities at each other, and the same goes for Halo. The graphics are a large noticeable improvement over regular Xbox games and adds to the excitement. Sick as it sounds, I love watching blood splash all over the screen as I chainsaw some alien monster. What is real cool is that his sister is usually around and is always willing to get in on some multiplayer action.

Rob is also slowly getting into the Yankees which is nice because Spring Training is about halfway through. We will probably end up buying some game tickets for April or May.

YANKEE UPDATE: The Yanks won game two of Spring Training against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-1, improving their record to 2-0. Andy Pettitte pitched two scoreless innings and Peter Abrahams reported that he "cruised." The Mets also won their exhibition game.

For tomorrow, Yankee Spring Training game is on at 1:15pm est. Will probably work out after that then over to the girls when she gets out of work at 8.

YANKS: First Game Over

2007-03-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

The first Spring Training game is over for the Yankees and they came away with a win against the Twins, 6-1. Wang pitched effectively, retiring all 6 batters in his two innings of work. Next came Phil Hughes and he had trouble on the mound, giving up one run in 1 1/3 innings of work. He had problems with command and Posada said he was over-striding/over-throwing. Hughes knew what he was doing wrong but said it was too late for him to adjust. We'll see. I missed the game today, being at work, but I hope to catch one of the games on the weekend.

The Mets also came away with a 4-3 win over the Cardinals, but I didn't read too much into that game. At one point I noticed it was tied at 3 a piece so that run musta been a mini-celebration for the Mets. They have lots of those :) (That's my Mets compliment for the month).

METS: The Start of Games

2007-02-28T10:58:00.000-05:00

The Mets start their first Spring Training game (which should be televised) today. They will be playing against the Detriot Tigers and Oliver Perez will be pitching. You can check this article for more information.

UPDATE: As I heard a news broadcaster say today, "The Mets are winless thus far," or something like that. The Mets lost their first spring training game today, 5-4, against the Detroit Tigers, with Oliver Perez on the mound. Perez let up four runs in two innings. Sadly, I have friends who think Oliver Perez is much better than he actually is. Even though it is too early to tell, I hope this served as a wake up call: THE METS NEED STARTING PITCHING! Things certainly don't look good with El Duque complaining about pain in his neck.

NHL: Islanders/Flyers game

2007-02-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

I went to the NHL New York Islanders vs Philadelphia Flyers game yesterday (Feb. 27) and it was the best hockey game I have ever been to. That's not much considering I don't go to too many games. The Islanders scored first and then broke out to a 4-1 lead. The comfort factor quickly whithered away in the 3rd period as the Flyers scored two quick goals to tie the game at 5 a piece. I was a bit down about that but the crowd was relentless. "Lets Go Islanders" they screamed! The game went into overtime.

Overtime is five minutes and, luckily, the Islanders got a powerplay with about a minute remaining. It was 5 on 4 and it didnt take them long to score the winning goal. The crowd went wild while we admired for a few seconds then ran for the exits to avoid the mass of cars (though the mass there is never as bad as it is at a Yankee game).

In addition to the great gameplay (the Islanders' team chemistry looked real good in the beginning) there were two huge fights. I had two scoreboards going, one for the game and one for the fights. Islanders won both games. I don't remember the names but in the first fight the Islander bloodied the Flyer, who needed to be taken away for medical reasons while our player remained in the box. In the second fight, the Islander got his shirt taken off but then quickly got some good punches to the head, knocking down his opponent, right before the fight was broken up by the referees. It sounds barbaric to have hundreds of people in the colisseum cheering as two players bare-fist punch each other but what is boxing for? They need some way to release all the energy built up.

The Serbian Statue (Rocky)

2007-02-25T10:54:00.000-05:00

According to the Associated Press, "A Serbian village, worn out by floods and misfortune, has decided it was time to fight back" by placing The Rocky Statue in the city of Zitiste, which is about 36 miles north of Belgrade. Searching for a change of image, boost of local morale, and a revival of the village, local Zitiste officials contacted Philadelphia where the original Rocky Statue is located. (source)

The Rocky Statue in Philadelphia draws people from all around the world looking for inspiration and a connection to the infamous Rocky films. My great girlfriend bought me a book for Christmas called "Rocky Stories," written by Michael Vitez with special photography from Tom Gralish. The book is full of stories of people who came from all around the world, for different reasons, but for the same goal: to run up the Rocky Steps. Alongside the steps stands the Rocky Statue, which also draws great attention. Michael and Tom spent every day for an entire year at the steps, interviewing people and uncovering some great stories behind why they decided to visit. Some came to celebrate their good fortunes, some came to find some hope in this tough world, and some even used the site to propose their engagement. Whatever the reason, the steps and the statue provide an uncomparable self-fulfillment, one that Serbia desperately seeks.

YANKS: You Can't Make This Stuff Up

2007-02-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Peter Abraham's reported from Yankee Spring Training camp today,

Carl Pavano has been injured again. The Rajah of Rehab was throwing batting practice when Alberto Gonzalez lined a ball off the bottom of his left cleat. But Pavano shook it off and finished his session, throwing 25 more pitches. Pavano does not use a screen when he throws BP. Ironically, he had hit Gonzalez with a pitch during BP on Thursday. Pavano said it was a little stiff and could miss some drills tomorrow but he expected to pitch as scheduled on Tuesday.

Everything was going so smoothly too. Lets hope this doesn't compound into full lower-body paralyzation.

I asked Pete for an immediate crowd reaction which, if he responds, should be priceless.

Do I really need a SmartPhone?

2007-02-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

Someone please talk me out of it. This desire has risen a few times now, to get the Treo 700w, with built-in Windows capabilities.

The benefit of having such a phone? Microsoft Outlook synchronization, better (more expansive and organized) interface, helpful planner, easy-use keyboard.

The negatives of having such a phone? The price! Duh. Without a 2-year plan (which I have no intention of getting) the phone has a list price of $600. That's roughly the price of a PlayStation 3. Lets not forget that you are required to sign up for an expensive Verizon data plan (my dad pays $40/month for the data plan, but his is at least paid by the company). There is simply not enough bang for the buck.

Is Outlook synchronization useful when I barely get any e-mails at the moment? Is a web browser useful if I spend a lot of time in front of the computer? Is a planner worth the extra money when I don't need one on me at all times? Do I do enough text entry in my phone to warrant a keyboard? Hardly.

Until the price drops, the need arises, or they make a much more affordable data plan, I just don't see how much good a phone like that would do for me.

DVD's on the Decline

2007-02-23T19:34:00.000-05:00

Was reading the Financial Times before, an article about how DVD sales are slowly on the decline. They talked about the VHS-DVD switch and how there most likely won't be another switch like that, at least not for a little while. The new Blu-Ray (Sony--featured with the PS3) and HD-DVD (Toshiba--featured with the Xbox 360) are expanding the amount of memory that the DVD can hold, with an improved (?) format. You are starting to see some DVD's come out in both those formats. I have been seeing them in their own section, recently, at Blockbuster. Both new formats have their own new players, which also allow us to play regular DVD's as well. Both the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will not be as big a switch as the VHS-DVD but they will be a nice addition to the new HDTV trend.

What I found really interesting is that they already came out with a player that plays both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Since this is happening, it seems that eventually there will only be room for one of the DVD types, but not as long as there is a need for both with the two gaming giants insisting on using their unique format.

The major reason attributed to the decline in DVD sales? Internet movie downloading. There has been a significant increase in the amount of movies downloaded online in the past few years. People are finding it easier and cheaper to sit home and download movies onto their hard drives. It is cheaper because there are little, if any, production costs. Materials costs to a DVD such as plastic, paper, and the actual DVD itself, and other miscellaneous costs such as shipping, production, and storage, are not incurred when a DVD is transferred online. Therefore, the customer does not have to fork the bill for oft-unnecessary and unwanted extras.

Obviously, DVD sales are not even close to reaching worrisome levels. However, it appears that DVD's have reached a maturity level after years of strong growth.

YANKS: The Start of Scrimmaging

2007-02-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder: there is about 6-7 days until the Yankees' first Spring Training game, which will be against the Minnesota Twins (at Legends Field). The game will be on Thursday, March 1, at 1:15pm on YES Network (Channel 70 on my Optimum Cable package). When Spring Training games start, the Yankees will pretty much play a different team every day, the only break in the month being on the 21st. They may play teams more than once during the Spring Training schedule, but never (except for the last 2 days of Spring Training against the Tigers) consecutively. Here is the Yankee schedule, starting in March.

New Job Blog Consequences

2007-02-21T17:32:00.000-05:00

I have a new job as a materials coordinator so consequentially I will not have enough time to post regularly. Expect a decrease in post volume at least until I get comfortable at work.

It feels so good having a regular, full-time work schedule that is more challenging than my previous, stand-still jobs. I hope to learn a great amount from the work they give me and be an important asset to the company.

I enjoy working there but it's easy to say that considering I haven't gotten into the dirty work yet. Things are going really fast in the beginning but that is the way the real world works. The best I can do is come prepared and ready to learn.

YANKS: Position Players and Pavano

2007-02-19T07:35:00.000-05:00

Two quick notes. First, Yankee position players report today in Tampa. Yesterday, all they were required to do was let the team know they are in the area. They must be in the facilities today. The two hyped appearances will be for A-Rod and Bernie Williams, if he shows. No doubt, the media will be drilling A-Rod with questions about his opt-out clause while Bernie will receive more friendly questions regarding his non-roster invite from the Yankees. As of now, both Brian Cashman and Joe Torre have urged Bernie to appear and try out for a spot in camp, saying that he has a good chance at making the team if he shows them he can still perform. Bernie has been looking for more of a guaranteed deal, being that he has never had to earn a spot on the Yankees roster in his career. No word from Bernie yet as to whether he will accept but we should know in the next day or two.

Regarding Carl Pavano, Rotoworld said this yesterday:

The Rockies, who reportedly made an offer for Carl Pavano back in November, plan to scout the right-hander again this spring and could make another bid for him.

It was reported that the Rockies were prepared to pay about half of the $23 million owed to Pavano over the next two years back in November. The Yankees, though, weren't interested in doing a deal then. Maybe they'll change their minds if Pavano can't secure a rotation spot this spring. The Cardinals are another team that likely will have some interest. (source)

I highly doubt that the Yankees will trade Pavano to another team if they do not have a viable backup plan. As of now, both Pavano and Kei Igawa are question marks. If Igawa has a hard time adjusting to the Majors, that makes Pavano's role on the team even more important (that's scary). It has been mentioned that the Yankees would bring highly-touted pitching prospect Phil Hughes into the majors this season but it is undecided when that would happen. We do know that the Yankees organization is going to put a pitching limit on the 20-year-old this season, for safety reasons. Though Posada said he can see Hughes coming north with the team to start the season, I see him more coming half-way, being limited to 2-3 innings per appearance in AAA beforehand. However, if Pavano and Igawa get knocked around in the Spring Training games and Hughes is on fire, they could very well decide to promote the youngster and trade Pavano. If Igawa is doing well (and assuming Wang, Pettitte and Mussina are well also) then that will give the Yankees four good starters and the Yankees could shop Pavano for other talent or simply payroll relief.

Another LARGE question mark concerns Roger Clemens, who never knows if he is going to retire. We do know that Pettitte and Jeter have been in touch with Clemens but they won't say anything yet. If Clemens were to come early in the season then the Yanks could certainly trade Pavano, while if he were to come mid-season the Yanks would need to be assured before they trade Pavano early, if not upon The Rocket's arrival.

For now, Pavano is a Yankee, and if pitching well he might just earn his keep and stay with the team.

Last Day at the Wyndham

2007-02-18T17:45:00.001-05:00

Today was my last day at the Wyndham Condominiums, working a 7:30-3:30 shift. I was lucky to work with two good employees on my last day, Dave S. and Mel. They both have a good work ethic and love to joke around. I always get a few laughs working with them.

It was pretty cold outside, though not as cold as the past few days. Dave had himself wrapped in a scarf and I didn't really think it was that cold outside. Neither did most of the residents. He did look/sound a little stuffy in the beginning of his shift so maybe his immune system was weak.

We ordered "Pulled Pork" for lunch and were wondering why they call it that. Dave believes its because they pull the pork straight out of the pig. Anyways, it was a good sandwich. First time trying pulled pork.

Near the end of my shift, Frank (the Boss) showed up to work his 3:30 shift. He had a bit of a bruise on his eye from falling on the ice the other day. The same thing happened to my girlfriend and her dad a few days ago. It's unfortunate. Five minutes before the end of my shift, my favorite residents came down to wish me the best of luck and tell me how much they are going to miss me. I am going to miss them too. Had to hold back a bit from tearing; I have grown attached to a few residents.

Well, it's into the tough world, where no job is guaranteed. The petty worries at the Wyndham should be nothing compared to the challenges ahead, and hopefully they will all build character and a stronger foundation for myself.

I will leave on a happy note. Here is a funny clip of Dave pretending to be coming out of a box. He is just behind our podium in lobby, pretty funny.

Yankee Stadium Tour pictures

2007-02-18T17:30:00.000-05:00

As I promised in the previous post, here are some pictures I took during the Yankee Stadium Tour on February 17, 2007.

Pictures of myself...
at Mickey Mantle's stone in Memorial Park
at the 9/11 Memorial stone in Memorial Park
in the dugout
on the Yankee bench
in the Press Box

Other pictures on the tour
Memorial Park
New Yankee Stadium construction
Retired numbers
Dugout looking up
Yankee sign
Pitchers mound under snow
Stadium under snow
Press Box lineup board
Hall to Press Box

Yankee Stadium Tour

2007-02-18T00:16:00.000-05:00

Today (actually, yesterday) I went on a tour of Yankee Stadium. The tour was great, we started in the press box, went to the locker room then straight out to the dugout (where we got to sit on the same bench that that players sit on) and made our way around to Monument Park to end it. I got some really nice pictures of Yankee Stadium with the field covered in snow. My girlfriend also did a fine job of taking some pictures of me with the Stadium as the backdrop.

My favorite was the dugout. We got to sit on the bench and get a real feel for the environment, being level with the playing field. Our tour guide even pointed out the water cooler that Paul O'Neil made friends with over the years and the railing that you see Jeter hop over every time someone gets a BIG hit!

I also enjoyed the Yankee locker room, but for "player privacy" reasons we were not allowed to take pictures in there. It was interesting to note the location of player lockers (Jeter was separated from others by an empty locker and a closet on both sides of his cubby, Bernie and Pavano were in the corner slots to the left and right of the entrance right when you walk in, pitcher lockers were mainly grouped together) and the fact that Bernie still had a ton of stuff left in his locker while the others seemed to be rather empty. I am too exhausted right now to do it but I will most likely put up some pictures of the tour tomorrow.

Changing a Tire (in 26 easy steps)

2007-02-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

Follow these steps to change a sisters tire in the freezing cold:

Report to flat tire site
Remove spare tire and tools from trunk, under garbage
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm by placing key in ignition and turning
Tell sister to turn the car off
Wonder why hubcap won't pop off in the freezing cold
Eventually pop off hubcap
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm again, this time turning key one notch
Get down on floor and look under car for solid spot to place jack
Play with jack and wonder what separate gold ring is for
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm
Jack up the car, turning the misfit lever in all directions while bashing hand on freezing concrete
Clean off blood
Insert wrench onto wheel's lug nuts and unsuccessfully try to loosen them from the frost
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm
Put all strength into loosening lug nuts, inevitably realizing its impossibility
Receive a shovel with a metal pole, which has an end cut off to slide onto wrench, from friendly onlooker
Insert shovel and smash lug nuts loose while enjoying the bone-cracking sound
Remove loose nuts with wrench
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm
Place spare tire on car and tighten
Lower car
Tell sister to turn off your car alarm
Get frustrated that garbage wont allow flattened tire to be stored in trunk
Wash blood and oil off hands in local mart
Decide to put flattened tire in own trunk
Report back to work

YANKS: What's going on in Tampa?

2007-02-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today is the first workout for Yankees pitchers and catchers. Media got a chance to see the starting 5 pitch side-by-side then a second group which consisted of Rasner, Hughes, Karstens, Sanchez and Ohlendorf. (source)

Joe Torre encouraged Bernie to show up at camp, saying that there is a good chance there might be a spot for him. "[He] mentioned several roster scenarios that would allow them to carry Bernie, including Doug Mientkiewicz playing against both RHPs and LHPs or Miguel Cairo playing first against RHPs." No word yet from Bernie, but bringing Bernie to camp would surely excite teammates Jeter, Posada, and Mariano, who have openly spoken about their feelings toward the situation. For now, the best Bernie will get is a non-roster invitation and there will not be a trial run at 1B. (source)

Mike Mussina appears to have spoken his opinion on Pavano to the media. He believes that Pavano has to prove to the Yankees that he wants to pitch for them. No specific quotes out just yet. (source)

UPDATE: Mussina and Pavano had a meeting and both addressed the media today (Feb. 16). Neither players are upset at each other.

Happy V-Day Patty (and everyone)

2007-02-14T17:43:00.000-05:00

METS: Green is Gone

2007-02-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

Rotoworld reports that "the Mets have declined their half of [Shawn Green 's] $10 million mutual option for 2008." A smart move by the Mets. He wasn't much of a force last season and there was no reason to think he would be one this upcoming season, despite his strong performance in the playoffs. Endy Chavez is a better replacement in right field with much more speed.

Rotoworld also says that the Mets had no intention of picking up his contract since they acquired him from the Diamondbacks last season. He was just a playoff move for the Mets, because he had experience and is a veteran player. It will cost the Mets $2 million to buy out his contract.

Shawn Green says that he is not retiring and will continue playing again in the 2008 season. (New York Post)

FILM: Thomas Crown Affair

2007-02-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Thomas Crown Affair, another film starring Pierce Brosnan, is much like The Matador and After the Sunset in a sense that Brosnan is sneaky, adventurous, and creative. Yes, it sounds like James Bond, back to his good old tricks, but he is no spy for a government agency. He is operating on his own, creating chaos for his own pleasure.

The film, which debuted in 1999, comes inbetween famous Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough so it only makes sense that Brosnan maintains his cool attitude in the Thomas Crown. This is what made Brosnan famous after all. Thomas Crown, along with The Matador and After the Sunset are no masterpieces. This is not an insult, they are just more playful than the Bond films. They were not created to win Grammy's or envoke sequel after sequel, they were created for pure one-time enjoyment and Brosnan fills the roles of both sides very well.

Bond plays a rich man who owns a museum in Manhattan. Suddenly, a very expensive work of art is stolen from the museum, which brings law enforcement into the picture. Enter Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) who sells insurance and happens to know a lot about detective work. It seems like every Brosnan film has a Bond girl. This is his girl.

I find it funny that the scene of the crime, and main location of the film, is a museum. A landscape for an artist. Its twists and turns are not necessarily designed to make you think, rather they are designed to let you sit back and watch things unfold. Though you might have some guesses for the ending (there are subtle clues throughout the film) it is not designed to keep you at the edge of your seat, pointing out every little detail. It is designed to keep you back in your seat, enjoying the masterpiece that he is creating, much like an art connoisseur admiring Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Sit back and enjoy the art. I sure did.

METS: Trachsel to the Orioles

2007-02-13T00:57:00.000-05:00

As reported by Rotoworld and FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal,

Steve Trachsel and the Orioles have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.1 million contract with a $4.75 million option for 2008.

This comes after the Orioles found out that Kris Benson (another former Met along with Trachsel) needs surgery. Trachsel will likely compete for the 5th spot in the starting rotation. Trachsel was with the Mets last season but the Mets decided not to pick the pitcher up again after two poor postseason pitching performances.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Trachsel is the only remaining Met from the Mets 2001 ballclub. Since then the team has practically been completely rebuilt.

Barack Obama? How Silly.

2007-02-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

Isn't it funny that one of our Presidental candidates' name's rhymes with Iraq Osama?

America's Disturbing Future - MTV

2007-02-12T16:19:00.000-05:00

To steal another quote from The World Is Flat:

In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears... Young people there hang from the rafters and scalp tickets just to hear him speak... In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears--and that is our problem.

A problem with the American educational system is that people are increasingly taking the "fun" career path. They aren't interested in hearing what Bill Gates has to say, they want to hear what body part Britney is flashing this week. More and more kids are starting to think that greatness can be achieved without hard work. Eventually, many of them will reach a point of dissapointment.

Rather they wan't to find a job that is less demanding of them and allows for more personal time. Since we spend the majority of our lives at work, why not find something that we love doing? The problem with that thinking is people don't realize that it sometimes takes hard work before you start enjoying something. For example, you cant enjoy all the vastness of science without understanding the basics and to understand the basics it takes time and commitment. They want immediate satisfaction.

I attribute a lot of the laziness and stupidity in our society to a single source: MTV (well, not just MTV, but MTV could be the spokesperson for the movement). MTV shows, most notably The Real World, is a cancer to our brains and trains vulnerable/impressionable people to act and think like bimbo's. Since when do people sit around and whine all day? Since MTV and other likes taught us that it is OK to act that way.

Wondering why people just "have to watch the show," I asked my girlfriend and sister. They both gave me the same answer: it is entertaining. OK, it might be funny to watch people act like morons but the shows purpose is not to entertain, they are clearly trying to educate. Little life lessons are thrown into overdramatic situations and presents a false sense of what real life is like.

Here is the way a "Real Worlder" thinks: My sister just bought 3 sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants for $460 from bloomingdales from some new line that she claims "everyone will be wearing, they just don't know about it yet." She was in denial when I told her that it costed no more than $20 to make the sweatshirt she was holding. She also has transmission and steering problems with her car but she insists that her recent purchase was a wise investment. I told her not to rip the price tags off incase she changes her mind and hopefully she will gain some sense and bring a piece or two back. I understand that it is possible for her to hold a higher value on the sweatshirts than I, but her argument is that she doesn't have any winter clothing. She says that every winter. Some people need to learn the true value of a dollar and the way hype/marketing works.

Dave Chapelle did a spoof on The Real World called The Real Mad World. Here is a clip from his show:

Roasting a Puppy

2007-02-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

This was reported on January 27, 2007, on Pantagraph.com:

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Two teenagers accused of duct-taping a puppy's snout and paws and cooking the animal alive in an oven pleaded guilty Friday to animal cruelty and other offenses.

Prosecutors said Joshua Moulder, 17, and his brother, Justin, 19, broke into a newly refurbished community center, where they tortured and killed the 3-month-old puppy, damaged computers, broke glass and splattered paint on the walls.

The brothers then brought neighborhood children to see the dead puppy and threatened to kill them if they reported it, prosecutors said.

They will be sentenced next month.

Whatever their term, it better be lengthy. You have to be beyond sick to torture and kill a 3-month-old puppy. It goes beyond what little children do to lizards and bugs as kids, these children should have known better. I hope they receive the same treatment as if they killed a 3-month-old human being. Rot in hell, losers.

Do I Need More RAM?

2007-02-11T00:37:00.000-05:00

Trying to decide whether or not my laptop needed more RAM, I hit the forums. Someone responded saying,

The important thing is to look at your Task Manager. Under Performance, find Peak and and Physical Memory. If Peak is near or over Physical Memory, you need more RAM. I have 1GB of RAM and my Peak is very close to the amount of Physical RAM with most games, but when running the F.E.A.R. demo, it hits about 1.3GB so I have lost performance already. 2GB will help if you are running these "next-gen" games.

I do not run any of the next-gen games so I would only need about 1GB of RAM. It's funny, 512MB used to be the standard but 1GB is slowly becoming the new standard. When I multi-task, running several applications at once, the computer slows down significantly. I recently downloaded the Google Desktop and added a gadget that told me how much of my RAM was being used. Shockingly, around 90% of my RAM was being used and my computer wasn't running many applications at all. When the RAM shoots up this high, the computer starts using the hard drive and you experience significant lag, or so I'm told. My dad's laptop came with a 1gig and runs at about 50%, handling multiple applications at a much faster rate.

Upgrading your RAM is a cheaper way to speed up your computer if you cant afford a new processor. Be careful when you purchase RAM to purchase the right part. Each computer requires its own kind of RAM, you can't just plug in any old chip.

Top 10 Baseball Brawls (video)

2007-02-09T19:27:00.000-05:00

ESPN Top 10 Baseball Brawls. I can watch Pedro Martinez get laid out all day long. Mets' newest acquisition, Chan Ho Park, is also involved in one of the brawls.

Wyndham Needs to STOP...

2007-02-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of things that need to stop at the Wyndham (maybe some of you can relate with your jobs):

Stop whining about being 2 minutes late then having no remorse for asking people to stay an extra 15 because you want to leave
Stop putting yourself on the schedule when you don't plan on working
Stop putting me with people who need more assistance than the people we are assisting
Stop letting Tony get away with complaining out loud about every single thing he can think of, 24/7, it's bad for employee morale
Stop doing things that you shouldn't be doing then b*tching when somebody corrects you
Stop talking behind peoples backs
Stop fearing the camera and everything that occurs in front of the camera, it is rarely monitored and only intentionally checked in case of an incident
Stop yelling at me for eating a bagel in the lobby but having no problem with me eating from a jar of pretzels because they were provided by a resident
Stop the mood swings
Stop being upset because I'm reading a perfectly-hidden book while you sit there and read the paper

STOP, STOP, STOP!

MLB: Balls and Pujols

2007-02-09T16:55:00.000-05:00

MLB has just announced that all teams have to keep their baseballs in temperature-controlled rooms (a few do now but all of them will be required from this point). This will keep the balls from shrinking in colder temperatures, etc. This idea is most recognizable with the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Because Coors Field is at a higher elevation, it has thinner air and the balls need to be stored in a "humidor" to keep from being effected and easier to hit out of the ballpark. For more on the Coors Field effect, read an earlier post of mine. Here is the article announcing the new rule.

As for Albert Pujols, he officially became a U.S. citizen on Wednesday. Welcome to America! He lived the American dream before becoming an American.

YANKEES: Kei Igawa Shows Up Early

2007-02-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Kei Igawa throwing off a flat surface about a week before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in Tampa, Florida. Alongside Igawa is Derek Jeter, who has already made efforts to develop a friendship and make Kei Igawa feel at home.

Yankees vice president Billy Connors says that "[The Yankees] need him this year." Commenting on how Igawa looked after his workout, Connors said "He looks like he is going to be a real good pitcher." Only when he is tested against major league batting will we know how he will fare. He also needs to be tested in tight spots such as close games where the Yankees badly need a strong pitching performance.

I like the idea that the Yankees aren't as dependent on Igawa as the Red Sox are on Dice-K. Because the media, fans, and rivalry in New York baseball can be overwhelming, it is best not to pressure a pitcher who has not yet even experienced the majors. Not only are your skills challenged in New York, but so is your character and makeup. By placing Igawa in the number 4 or 5 spot, he will have a lot less pressure than Matsuzaka, who will be needed in the 2 or 3 spot under Schilling. Whether the Red Sox will admit it or not, a lot of their success rides on Dice-K. He certainly is more promising than Igawa, but how much more? At double the price of Igawa, he better be an obvious upgrade.

Among others to show up early to the camp were shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, and utility infielder Miguel Cairo. Having Posada there early with Igawa enabled the two to get started early in developing a friendship and common understanding of the game.

UPDATE: Congratulations is in order for Kei Igawa, who was recently married this off-season. News about the marriage had just recently surfaced. MSN news reports that "Igawa['s]... new wife has been helping him in Tampa, Florida, where he will join the New York club's spring training camp."

Intrinsic Motivation vs Economic Advantage

2007-02-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

A quote from Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. It tackles working out of intrinsic motivation versus people doing "things that confer economic advantage" in our American workforce. This one hits home for me so I thought I would share it with you.

The sorts of abilities that matter most now it turns out are also the sorts of things that people do out of intrinsic motivation. Relatively few people become accountants out of a sense of intrinsic motivation. But intrinsic motivation is what propels people to become creators and empathizers, to become designers and storytellers and counselors and consultants. This weekend there will be accountants painting watercolors in their garages. There will be lawyers writing screenplays. But I guarantee you that you won't find any sculptors who on weekends will be doing other people's taxes for fun. In other words, there is a growing congruence between the sorts of things that people do because they love doing them and the sorts of things that confer economic advantage.

Of course not everyone can do what they love and earn a living doing so. But it is sad to see that people are soo drawn by the economic advantages of a job title that they ignore their hearts desires or don't even attempt to explore a more refreshing lifestyle. Like a computer science major who switches focus because of a passionate professor in an unfamiliar subject, you should give it some thought.

The Money Masters

2007-02-07T18:16:00.000-05:00

A friend recommended to me a film called The Money Masters about how the Federal Reserve is causing our nations debt. As a private bank, the Federal Reserve was given COMPLETE CONTROL over our economies money. Controlled by banks, they were/are greedy, money-hungry people, or so the video says. Like other conspiracy stories, this really gets you thinking.

A quote, so you know what you are getting into:

"Every bank in the United States is allowed to loan out at least ten times more money than they actually have." This is fractional reserve banking. This is similar to how paper money was created, when money used to be receipts for peoples currency; gold. Back then, since people rarely took out the gold in their reserve, paper receipts were given out, in excess, as loans. Interest was collected on those loans and the money collected by banks grew to enormous proportions...

The video is about one hour and 43 minutes long so you might as well break out the popcorn and find yourself a comfortable seat. You can find part 2 of this video on the sidebar to the right of the video.

Learning How To Learn

2007-02-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

A passage from Thomas Friedman in The World Is Flat, speaking about how children should go upon preparing for a job in the ever-changing future:

Go around to your friends and ask them just one question: 'Who are your favorite teachers?' Then make a list of those teachers and go out and take their courses--no matter what they are teaching, no matter what the subject. It doesn't matter whether they are teaching Greek mythology, calculus, art history, or American literature--take their courses. Because when I think back on my favorite teachers, I don't remember the specifics of what they taught me, but I sure remember being excited about learning it. What has stayed with me are not the facts they imparted but the excitement about learning they inspired. To learn how to learn, you have to love learning--or you have to at least enjoy it--because so much learning is about being motivated to teach yourself. And while it seems that some people are just born with that motivation, many others can develop it or have it implanted with the right teacher (or parent).

I have been saying something to this extent for a while now. If you don't love to learn, then you can't expand your mind. There are things out there that you don't know you enjoy until you try them. You have to find the motivation to learn so you can continue this expansion.

I have been pleasantly surprised, in my time at Hofstra University, to find enjoyment in classes such as Anthropology, Modern Art, and Age of Metropolis (a comparative literature class). My favorite professor was not from one of my major classes (business management) but from a class on classic literature. I never thought I could find interest in Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) or Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange) until I met this professor. He was so enthusiastic about his work and showed a passion that stuck with many of his students.

It is important to escape your everyday repetition and explore new things. You never know what you might find.

UPDATE: A formula from the same book: PQ + CQ > IQ or Passion and Curiosity is greater than Intellect (what you know).

What Happens To All That Clothing?

2007-02-05T23:37:00.000-05:00

Steven Goldman of YES Network talks about what happens to all the Super Bowl t-shirts that were created prematurely for the losing team. Because there are tons of shirts and caps that are created for the winning team to wear immediately after their Super Bowl victory, they have to be made before the game. This means that there is a lot of excess clothing for the losing team. He says,

The good news is that the NFL doesn't destroy this stuff — it's sent overseas and distributed to those in need. Within a few weeks, the backwaters of the world will be outfitted in official NFL licensed merchandise. And if their caps name the wrong Super Bowl winner, they don't know and they don't care. They're just happy to have a cap.

The NBA has a similar program. MLB does not; they destroy all their shirts, what a waste. I can understand not wanting to find a faulty shirt on eBay but, as Goldman says, it's a small price to pay to keep poor children warm.

YANKEES: Spring Training Quick Hits

2007-02-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

With the Yankees' pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in a little over 8 days, Yankees.com processed an article telling us what to look out for come camp time. It holds the projected lineup, introductions to new and gone players, prospects to look out for, and a couple other things.

NFL: Colts are Super Bowl Champions!

2007-02-04T22:33:00.000-05:00

The Indianapolis Colts are Super Bowl 41 Champions!

The Colts beat out the Chicago Bears (29-17) in a wet game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens. After an opening drive touchdown by the Bears, lots of fumbles occurred in the first half but the Colts pulled out strong in the 2nd quarter going in ahead at halftime. The final nail in the coffin came by interception from the Colts in the 4th quarter, robbing an errant pass by Grossman.

This was my team of course, loving the Colts for knocking the Patriots out of the playoffs and having full respect for Manning and his abilities. He deserves every bit of this victory.

This is Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl win and the criticisms can finally end. Brady fans can no longer hang their rings over Manning.

Reminder: Superbowl

2007-02-04T16:27:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder, SuperBowl 41 is on tonight, Channel 2 I believe, at 6:25. Halftime show by Elton John and Cirque De Soler (or however you spell it) will be the pre-game show. Enjoy! For more information, go to SuperBowl.com. I will be out tonight; PARTY HARD!

FILM: Gridiron Gang

2007-02-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

Another great inspirational football story based on a true story, just like Invincible, except this story features a group of young delinquents in a juvenile detention center who learn to live and love each other through the game of football. The Mustangs (the teams name) join a high school football league and find themselves facing all obstacles on and off the field. Everything overcome on the field is a win also off the field.

The film did a great job getting its audience emotionally involved in the characters. I won't lie, my eyes watered a few times. The Rock shows true compassion for a group of kids that grew up in the wrong neighborhoods, misguided by gang violence and abusive families. Xzibit (see: Pimp My Ride) is also in the film and plays a support role for the Rock and for the kids.

The movie is a stand up and cheer film. You want the kids to become better and get a sense that even the most dirtiest of criminals could have had a less violent life if only they had been surrounded by more supportive individuals who genuinely cared about them. Of course, not all violence can be avoided. There are people out there who you can not help, and the film addresses this point.

I recommend this movie to everyone, except those who are "too cool" for inspirational movies. You know who I'm talking about; the kids who make fart noises when an emotional song comes on or laughs at someones on-screen misfortunes. Get with the program.

The Rock makes as good an actor as he did a WWF Wrestler, and that is impressive. I haven't seen a movie starring Rock that I haven't enjoyed yet, including Walking Tall, The Rundown, and The Scorpion King. For a complete list of The Rock's films, CLICK HERE!

FILM: Invincible

2007-02-02T23:57:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love an underdog story? I do, as you can probably tell from the quote on the header of this blog. OK, the movie wasn't Rocky caliber but could anything ever stand toe to toe with the Italian Stallion? I think not.

The movie was very good though. I first saw Invincible in Blockbuster a few weeks ago but decided to wait a little because my interest in football wasn't very high. But now, the SuperBowl is in 2 days (a little less) and I figured that there is no better time. Plus, my interest level went up after the Colts beat out the New England Patriots two weeks ago. That was probably the most fun I've had watching a football game in my life (I root against New England because I associate them with the Red Sox).

The movie, starring very talented Mark Wahlberg (Vince Papale), takes place in Philadelphia (another underdog story from Philly! I was waiting for him to run up the Rocky steps). Papale works at a local bar and as a part-time teacher for a high school. For fun, he plays tackle football in a nearby park with a bunch of his buddies. All of a sudden things go south and Papale is strapped for cash. Lucky for him (well, not totally), the team he loves (the Philadelphia Eagles) are holding open tryouts to the public because they are in desperate need of some help.

I won't tell you the rest. The movie was well made and follows a few things that made Rocky such a success: poor neighborhood, local kid with a 1/1,000,000 shot, rough times, etc. If you aren't even remotely a football fan, I could understand you not being very interested. For example, I'm not a basketball fan so all inspirational basketball underdog movies are a joke to me (Coach Carter).

I will say this though: after watching the film, I threw on my sweatpants and went for a jog. I love underdog films... they pump me up!

It's Diversity Day at the Office

2007-02-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

This show is absolutely hilarious. When I rented the DVD from Blockbuster I wanted to kick myself for not adapting to the show earlier. I felt the same way about 24.

It's Diversity Day at the Office and everyone is trying to guess what cultural background is written on an index card taped to everyones forehead. The show is a little racist (not severely) but isn't all comedy (Kramer)?

Storm Hits Florida

2007-02-02T12:27:00.000-05:00

Storms have hit middle Florida and it is reported that at least 14 people have been killed at this time. A state of emergency has been declared in the certain counties that were hit. A news reported says that for disasters like this, it is best that everyone stays in their homes and people do not travel around the damaged areas as spectators. This is because it hasn't yet been assessed which areas are "hot," or dangerous. Electrical lines are down and there is risk of coming in contact.

The storm, which developed small tornadoes, came at the worst time; while residents were sleeping. The tornadoes were believed to have developed in Sumter County around 3 a.m. in the morning. CNN.com reports that "weather services in Melbourne and Tampa provided at least 8 to 15 minutes of warning ... before the tornado touched down." Tornado warnings continued until 10:15 a.m. in the morning.

The total amount of damage has not yet been stated but it is believed to be very large. "Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs told The Associated Press that about 20,000 customers were without power throughout a large area of the state's midsection." Trees and power lines are down and parts of houses have been found up in trees still standing.

Republican 770 AM stated that people are proactive in the area and are doing their best at this moment in the rescue mission. They also compared it to Hurricane Katrina saying that people in Florida are not complaining that the government is not acting. They are responding to the disaster and coming together.

I hope that the total count is not much larger than presently stated. And it is unfortunate for the families that have lost loved ones in that area. Working at a Condominium that has numerous residents down in their 2nd home in Florida at the moment, I only hope that no one I know was hurt.

UPDATE: Death toll hit 19.

PSP: Rocky Balboa

2007-02-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

Found a clip of a new Rocky game coming to the PSP called "Rocky Balboa." Game looks decent and I will consider buying it. I like that they have some "Eye of the Tiger" music in it and that you can go back and fight guys like Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago. This has been the theme in all Rocky games, being able to fight anyone from any movie in the series.