Bricco & Rock of Ages

Courtesy of Nathan, we went to Bricco (56th St. b/w 8th & 9th) and then to see Rock of Ages, starring ex-American Idol reject Constantine Maroulis.  What a great night.  Although everyone wasn't in the aisles dancing the entire time, as previously reported, it was an awesome time.

Bricco:  We were the first two patrons of the night, and were only joined by two others during our meal, an older couple who rarely looked at one another.  I ordered my standard, an Amstel Light, and Lindsay opted for a glass of Chianti, circa 2008.  We started with the boiled asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette topped with a hunk of melted mozzarella di bufala - when it came out, I noticed three sprigs of asparagus on the plate and thought to myself, "No f'ing way", but when I saw he had two plates, I refrained.  It was actually pretty good, a little heavy on the pepper, but I forgot to tell the pepperer to stop.  I got pappardelle with a veal bolognese sauce, which was pretty damn good, and Lindsay mixed it up with some spinach and mozzarella ravioli.  Dessert was a piece of cheesecake with a raspberry lemon sauce, topped with a candle, signifying my birthday.  Much to my delight, no one sang - there was only a staff of about four (five including the chef).  The hostess was kind, although the only thing she seemed to know how to say was "Bon Appétit".

Rock of Ages:  Never having seen a play before, or show as I will refer to this (sounds more masculine), I was pleasantly surprised that Rock of Ages was next on the agenda.  The Brooks Atkinson Theatre was rocking, as I was kind of hoping for - all 80's hair metal, all the time (or at least for 2+ hours).  Constantine Maroulis was great as Drew, but Lonny (narrator) played by Mitchell Jarvis was almost like watching Jack Black from two rows back.  It was scary how eerily similar their mannerisms are.  The show was great, but there were these little pissants behind us who knew way too much about shows like this one, and were quoting lines all night - they were 13, 10, and 6 maybe - all boys, all who will no doubt get their asses kicked in high school.

Walked uptown for a few blocks to get on the subway, which was abnormally packed for 11:00pm on a Monday night.  Took the train back to the Bronx, eavesdropped on a few bewildering conversations between equally strange people, walked home and walked Nathan.  Now I sit here next to him as he chews on his rawhide, which will hopefully tire his crazy ass out.  OK, making a break for bed, I think he's tired.

Bon Appétit

Almost 30...

...according to Lindsay, I am almost 30 years old.  Tomorrow I am actually 29, but she gets a rise out of saying I'm almost 30.  She's a funny one.  Heading to NYC this evening, for a surprise put on by Nathan, still have no idea what we're doing, but I'll just have to wait and see.

In MLB news, the Yankees are pounding the Indians, 7-1.  Even Chan Ho Park is getting in on the action.  Former Miami (FL) Hurricane great Chris Perez (aka: I Whine Over Bunts) got touched up.  He came in to face A-Rod, who homered to center field on a 3-1 pitch.  He then promptly let up another homer, this one to Robinson Cano (3-2 count), and a double to Nick Swisher (3-2 count).  It is so important to get ahead of hitters and get outs early in counts - the longer an AB goes, the advantage goes to the hitter.  Case.  Point.

Andy was dandy, as Michael Kay would put it, going seven strong innings, allowing only four hits, a run, and racked up five strikeouts.  Pettitte lowered his ERA from 2.62 to 2.48, and is in line for his seventh win of the year, half of his 2009 win total.

The middle of the Yankees order (Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, Swisher) are a combined 8-18 with six runs scored and nine RBI.  It's always nice when you get that kind of production from the meat of the order.  Every starter has a hit, Gardner has three (along with 2 SB).

Good game for the Yankees - too bad the same can't be said for the reigning NL-champion Phillies, who are about to lose their grasp on first place in the NL East, as the Braves lead 9-3 in the top of the ninth inning.  Tommy Hanson had a solid outing, going 6.1 IP with only one run allowed.  Joe Blanton was ineffective, as usual, laboring through 6 innings (8 H, 6 R (4ER), 2 K).  It's unreal how his career has been so mediocre since he's left the Bay Area.  Half the problem is that he was hurt early on this season (oblique injury in March 2010) but the other part of the problem is his lack of an out pitch.  He averages well under a K/IP (.67 K/IP in his career).  This season, he's only averaging .50 K/IP - with the exception of Mitch Talbot (CLE), most of the pitchers having success this year have higher K/IP ratios (Talbot has a .40 K/IP).  Blanton has always featured a pretty good change up, but his velocity is/has been nothing like the mythical Joe Blanton from University of Kentucky was like in the Cap Cod Baseball League - low to mid-90's.  He's generally 86-89 on the gun. 

Gotta get ready - it'll take me about three and a half minutes - but I have to take Nathan out.

Operation: Slim Down

There is always room for improvement - whether it be as a person, physically, mentally - there's always room to get better.

For me, at this point in my life - I'm 29 tomorrow - I need to cut off a little fat on the body.  I'm not a tub of crap, I just feel like I can afford to lose a few pounds.  Made up my own little workout, seeing how I have no free weights in the apartment, I had to adjust accordingly.  Did 15 minutes of Ab Ripper X (P90X) and afterwards, I'm not sure whether I wanted to puke or pass out.

Going to get some milk, breakfast on the horizon.

Diamond Eyes by Deftones

Buy this album immediately!!  I just went over to Best Buy to pick this thing up - several weeks after it was released, and I should have pre-ordered it.

This is what Chino Moreno and his band, Deftones, are all about.  This is their first album since 2006's Saturday Night Wrist, and I would have waited another year for this masterpiece.  After listening to it beginning to end while perusing the aisle's of my local grocer, I got home and wanted to listen to it again, but I had to cook dinner.

I'm no music review guru or anything, so I won't spew nonsensical, non-human terms to a listener.  I'm just a fan of good music, and this is simple, melodic, heavy, good music.  I played the air guitar walking around the Bronx, and people gave me all sorts of looks - I just gave the old, "What's up?, head nod. 

There's a reason I have almost every Deftones song in my iTunes library - they're freaking awesome.  Their first album, Adrenaline, was what got me started.  I remember listening to that in my room thinking, "holy hell, this is amazing" as "Root" blared through my headphones.

Glad to see the Deftones are back in full force.  I will keep this one on heavy rotation.  They are one of the best bands of my time, hands down, bar none.

Buy this album, and if you're free, give Chino's other band, Team Sleep, a listen.  It's a little trippy, a little electronica, but it's pretty good.  Only one album though, in 2005.

Going to listen to it again.  "Risk" has some great riffs.  OK, bye.

Graffiti of the Day

Here's a little of what Levittown graffiti is all about - these kids are something else.  It all stems from their parents, soft styles, soft kids who think they're rebels.  I mean, "I Smoke Crack!!!," not in Levittown brother.  Figure it out.  "acid yo :)," sure dude.  Marker graffiti, might as well be in chalk.  Not exactly any street artists in the L-Town.

More Baseball?

Today at 11am, the Pelham Mets season starts for this guy.  I was asked to pitch a few innings today, not so sure how it'll go - I pray to God that what A-Rod did to Indians starter David Huff won't happen to me.  Thankfully, Huff was OK after the line drive that hit off the left side of his face ricocheted into the right field corner.  Here is the link:  A-Rod line drive off David Huff's head. 

Nathan is tired, comtemplating whether of not to bring him to the game, he had a long weekend with Duncan and Daphne - tired him right out.

Doc Perfect

Posting from my phone, but Phillies ace Roy Halladay just perfected the Marlins. 27 up, 27 down. twentieth one in MLB history. Here's the box score:  Halladay Perfect Game Box Score.  Good for you, Doc!

Fatter-day

Cooked a meal fit for a king tonight for dinner - came to Long Island with Lindsay to get Nathan from my parents house, and wound up cooking some turkey burgers infused with lime zest, cheddar cheese, and cilantro.  Also whipped up some chicken breast marinated in lime juice/lemon juice/soy sauce/garlic/oregano/chili powder/rosemary - pretty damn good.  Grilled some corn on the cob inside the husk, made a little horseradish/lime topping sauce as a condiment - I mean what the hell!?!  Then we walked to Cold Stone and got some ice cream.  Good day of food.

BP's top kill tactic got slayed by the busted oil well - the mud pumping idea seemed to suck.  The beaches in the Gulf of Mexico will ultimately suffer, if they haven't already.  It's a damn shame, because those beaches are some of the nicest in the country.  Destin in particular, those beaches are awesome - white sand, looks like sugar.  Great work BP, you better get your shit together and get this mess stopped.

Yankees (read: Joba) blew a 10-5 lead after 6 innings against the Indians today.  Joba sucks.  Plain and simple.  After several very up and down seasons in the big leagues, he still has yet to nail down a role.  I know it is probably frustrating for him, but how do the fans feel?  We pay our money to go see this garbage can throw baseball towards the plate, hoping he has a good outing.  Figure out a role for this guy already, otherwise just send him and Oliver Perez out of town and get someone useful.

Time for a second dessert.

Thanks Seniors

No one ever goes into a season with low expectations, certainly not us.  At least we didn't go down without a fight.  Unfortunately, errors cost us in both games we lost in the tournament, and our senior class went out without a trip to an NCAA Regional.  It was a tough one to swallow, and believe me, losing never gets any easier.

Anthony Armenio, Tom Costigan, Mike Gazzola, Zac Goyer, and Kevin Nieto will be missed in Jasperland.  They had a good four years on campus, and provided Manhattan College Baseball with some memories.  It's tough for everyone really, the juniors, sophomores, and freshman as well, but the seniors may never play another game of competitive baseball again.  Taking that uniform off for quite possibly the last time, it burns.

You lose a part of your life that might be considered your best.  Carefree, fun-loving, living life to the fullest.  College is now over.  It's a real eye-opener, as the real world is now staring you down like the barrel of a 12 gauge.  It's humbling.  You're no longer invincible - now, you're an adult, and accountable for all your actions from here on out.

There are no more travel curfews, no more room checks, no more early work at practice, no more suiting up in your uniform.  We are all humbled when the season is over, especially after a tough loss, but all good things must come to an end eventually.

Sitting here in the hotel room before we head back to the Bronx, it sucks.  It's hard to put into words.  The camaraderie of the team and the teammates and friends you've made are all irreplaceable.  Knowing you'll more than likely never play ball next to your closest friends, it's gut wrenching. 

Thank you seniors.  You will be missed, but you got rest of you life to make some more memories.  Keep on going guys, you worked your asses off here for four years, now it's time for the real deal.  Honeymoon's over.  Thank you.

And the worst team is all of sports is...

...the Memphis Grizzlies!?!?!  Since they began in 1996, the Grizz have a winning percentage of .337.  That's basically 3-7 every time you look at the "Last 10" column of newspaper standings.  They've made the playoffs three times, and have been swept out every time.  Better luck next year Memphis.  At least you still got some pretty good BBQ.

Nim's Island and Ron Artest

Been watching Nim's Island in king bed in Fishkill with Lindsay and Alli - lucky guy I am.  It seems like such a juvenile movie, but I can't turn it off.

Alli came down from Saratoga for the day yesterday to keep Lindsay company and cheer on the Jaspers.  We won, maybe she's a good luck charm, but she has to head home today, and will miss the game.

Last night after the Suns/Lakers game, sportscaster Craig Sager interviewed Ron Artest after he hit a buzzer-beater to give the Lakers a 103-101 win in Game 5.  Sager is an idiot, dresses like a clown, and asks awkward questions.  Artest's answers were ambiguous, but he told Sager to say "Queens Bridge", right around the 1:13 mark of this video:




Heading over to the I-84 Diner for a turkey and swiss omelet, Diet Coke, and wheat toast.  Later sucka!

Scoreless in Queens

A quick post before bed - the Phillies still have yet to score a run in Queens yet this year.  It's in the bottom of the 7th and the Mets lead 3-0.  How the Phillies fail to score runs is beyond me.  Their offense is great.  Crazy sport this baseball is.

Going into tomorrow with a fighters chance - elimination game at 3pm.  Let's do it.

King bed is calling my name.

Live to fight another day!

Well the "Cardiac Kids" did it again!  Rain delay, then a lightning delay.  Similar to four years ago when we played Marist at "The Dutch" - we won again.  Tomorrow we play the loser of tonight's game with Rider and Canisius.  And we won $10 on a lotto ticket last night.  Must be in the cards, for at least another day.  Picture of the win is not able to be processed, but here's the winning ticket:

Quick Birthday Wishes

May 27

Happy would-be 173rd to Wild Bill Hickok, a gunslinger and sheriff who brought law and order to Kansas and Nebraska.  He started as a stagecoach driver but decided being a bad-ass was way cooler.  He fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.  He was also a big time gambler. 

Happy 35th to André 3000.  He's put out numerous hits, Rosa Parks and Hey Ya! are two of the most well known OutKast hits.  He's had his hand in plenty of other songs/albums.  He's also an actor, garnering roles in Four Brothers, Scary Movie 4, and the voice of Elwyn the crow in Charlotte's Web.  He's also been on the small screen on two episodes of The Shield, including the series finale.  Keep putting in work man, and keep dressing crazy.  

NL (L)East

With the Mets deciding to finally play some baseball, there seems to be a race for supremacy in the NL East.  Well, the supremacy belongs to the Phillies, but there is at least a race for first place.  Only 2.5 games seperate the 1st-place Phillies from the 5th-place Nationals.

The Mets shutout the Phillies again last night.  The Phillies haven't scored a run against the Mets in the last 22 innings - since their 9-run outburst in the 4th inning against ace Johan Santana on May 2nd.  It doesn't get any easier for the Phillies, as Mike Pelfrey takes the bump for Los Mets, but the Phils will counter with Cole Hamels.  The Phillies roughed up Pelfrey the last time they faced him, to the tune of 6 runs and 8 hits in just four innings. 

The Mets are looking for a 3-game sweep, the Phillies are looking for some momentum heading into two road trips withing the division, at the Marlins for a three game set and then traveling to Atlanta for three.  It's a big stretch for the Phillies.

The Nationals are only 2.5 games back, but when Stephen Strasburg starts taking the hill every fifth game, that 2.5 may get a little closer.

The NL East is a tight race and seems to want to stay that way.  If I was a fan of any of those teams, I'd be psyched.  Instead, I hope Jerry Manual gets fired, Hanley hustles, Strasburg dominates, Heyward takes Strasburg yard, and Doc Halladay gets back to his early-season domination

Fire Jerry!  Time for an omelet..

Bad showing

Where have all the clutch performers gone?  We needed guys to step up today, and no one seemed to deliver.  We didn't help ourselves - 8 walks and a hit by pitch - 2 scored.  Can you guess the final score?  7-5 bad guys.  Did our freshman SS make an error, yeah - but even still, we had two outs with only one run allowed and it ballooned into a 6-run fourth inning.  Pitcher's need to be able to get an out - one single, solitary out, in a row.  They've gotten one out in a row thousands of times in their baseball lives.  We threw up 0's all day (except for a solo HR in the B6), and had a chance at the end.  It just wasn't meant to be today.

Got a big one tomorrow at 3pm.  Big is actually an understatement.  Lose, and the season is over.  Win, and live to play another day.  Whoever is tougher tomorrow will prevail.  Backs to the wall, fight your way out.  We need to deliver the first punch, right in the mouth, early on.


Yankees won both - 1-0 in the suspended game from yesterday (Jeter hit a HR 399' to left center).  The bullpen patched together the shutout.  In today's scheduled game, they won 3-2, behind a Nick Swisher HR to right field.  Mariano closed out both games, earning saves in both, his 9th and 10th of the year.

Boston finished off a surprising sweep at The Trop, beating the Rays 11-3 behind Adrián Béltre's 6 RBI. 

The Magic are up 13 on the Celtics with 8:59 left in the game.  Celts lead the series 3-1.  Maybe Dwight Howard read my blog and decided to grow a pair and play like a man - he's got 17 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks, and only 1 foul.  Go Dwight Go!

Big one tomorrow.  Act as if.

Montana

1964:  The territory of Montana was formed.  Better known as "Big Sky Country," Montana ranks 44th in state population, with an estimated 967,440 people calling it home.  The capital is Helena, with the largest city being Billings.

Montana is home to four minor league baseball teams:  Billings Mustangs (Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of Cincinnati Reds); Great Falls Voyagers (Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of Chicago White Sox); Helena Brewers (Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of Milwaukee Brewers); Missoula Osprey (Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of Arizona D'Backs).  These four teams make up the North division of the Pioneer League.  Because I love logo's, here they are (MiLB):

Tens-Day

Ten points of emphasis that are running through my mind this morning:

1. MAAC Tournament.  Game one at 3pm vs. Canisius.  Game one is ever important in a double elimination format, and I think we'll come out loose and ready to play.  We're the #4 seed after all, and we have nothing to lose.  Everyone else is supposed to be better than us, all we gotta do is play the game hard, have a little fun, play some defense, pitch well enough to keep us in the game, and score more runs.  That formula translates to wins.  That's pretty evident.
2. A Mosque at Ground Zero?  I don't think this is something that NYers should have to deal with.  I was watching Channel 5 and there was a debate on it and all three on the panel said it wasn't a good idea.  The money ($100 million) is being funded by Islamic countries, and how the hell do we know who this money is coming from?  It also serves as a reminder of that grim day on September 11, 2001.  "I don't deny anyone a church or a mosque, but if I were to walk by that mosque, I would think of my son's plane," Hanson, of Easton, Conn.  (NY Daily News).  I am not against it either, but the fact remains that almost 3,000 Americans perished in the 9/11 attacks.  NYers did a great job of coming together and bouncing back, but they don't need any more reminders.  Not 100' from where Tower 1 once stood.
3. DWTS winner announced.  I'll be honest, I watch this show but generally don't pay much attention.  The Bruno guy is hilarious though, and I look forward to hearing his comments.  Nicole Scherzinger beat out figure-skater Evan Lysacek and ESPN's Erin Andrews.  Not sure if this was a shocker or not, but either way, I'm looking forward to seeing this Bruno Tonioli guy again.
4. Phoenix Suns tie series with Lakers 2-2.  I hate the Lakers, as I've stated before.  What won them the game?  Simple, their bench, which was non-existent in the first three games of the series.  The Suns bench scored 54 points last night (76 previous three games).  Good for you Phoenix, take the series.  I don't need another Celtics-Lakers finals.
5. 2014 Super Bowl at Meadowlands Stadium.  Good to see a Super Bowl being played in a cold weather state.  Bloomberg said it, this region is a great place to come to.  NYC is an awesome place and I know people from all over the country attend the Super Bowl every year, and many probably have never been to the NYC area.  Bob Golic is saying that weather shouldn't be an issue in the biggest game of the year, but in 2007, Super Bowl XLI was played in the rain down in Miami.  It's cold in February, sure, but why not.  Why the hell not?  Good for you NFL, now let's hope the Giants or Jets are playing.
6. Yankees woes!  A.J. Burnett finally settled down and was throwing a good game - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K and 75 pitches before the rains came and washed out the game against the Twins.  His last three starts before last night were a mixed bag.  He got rocked vs. Tampa on the 19th, pitched well vs. the Twins on the 14th, and was tattooed by the Red Sox on the 9th.  I hope he uses it as something to build off, because his stuff is way better than he's showed the past few.  The Yankees, however, are 6-3 in games he starts.  Still waiting for a 10+ strikeout game.
7. King beds.  At home, me and Lindsay and Nathan share a double bed.  After sleeping in this king bed in the hotel last night, it brings me back to my thoughts whenever I stay in a hotel - king beds should be mandatory.  It's like sleeping in an in-ground pool.  The thing is huge.  Maybe it's the hotel bed idea, that they are always so comfortable (except at a Days Inn).  
8. "Future gay terrorists."  This is stuff that shouldn't happen.  A soldier is under investigation after a video was posted on Facebook.  The video showed two children who were asked, "Are you going to grow up to be a terrorist?", to which the children gave thumbs up.  Chances are they didn't understand English, but seriously, are you that stupid that you'd:  1. say something so ignorant to two kids, and 2. post it on Facebook?  Stupid ass.
9. Flying anytime soon?  Here's a few tips to securing some cheaper airfare.  1. Very few seats are ever on sale - when you see a low price deal, book it.  2. Tuesday is the best day to shop for airfare, at around 3:00pm.  3. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days to fly, so plan accordingly.  4. Book at least two weeks in advance, maybe even three weeks.  Here's a test I just did on Southwest Airlines - if I wanted to fly from NY to Denver: in 5 days, $311; in 12 days, $219; in 20 days, $189.  5. Pack a carry on bag.  Baggage fees suck.  6. Fly midweek.  Have a good flight.
10. Back to the Bronx.  Some local news from the Bronx.  This morning, two parents are under arrest after leaving their baby in a parking lot near 161st St.  Both parents say they thought the other had the child.  Maybe they thought there was a Yankee game that the kid wanted to see. 

OK, time to get ready for a late breakfast.  It's nice not having to wake up at 7:30am and get to the park at 9:15am to start batting practice.  Let's hope we can dust the sand out of our eyes and play a great game today.  Lindsay is coming up today, Nathan is staying in Long Island.  We'll miss that pup.  He's become the unofficial mascot of the Jaspers.

Misc.

Home of the 2010 MAAC Baseball Championships.  #1 Canisius, #2 Marist, #3 Rider, #4 Manhattan.  Same field as last year, different seeding, hoping for different results.

Coaches get their own rooms.  To quote the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "Woooooooo!!"  Just got up from a little siesta and buzzed the facial growth.  Couldn't really be good or bad luck, we won two and lost one since the last time I buzzed it.  Gonna wait to get ready for the dinner at 7:30pm because I sweat like an animal, even in the hotel air conditioning.

Listening to a wide array of music on this laptops version of iTunes, my home laptop has more, since this one was wiped clean.  It's pretty much as loud as it goes, which may ultimately end the life of this here laptop.  This thing is at least 8 years old, running on it's last legs.  Want to get inside my head, see what kind of music I'm listening to?  Here's a list of the past 8 songs I've listened to: "Shoot Frank" by Cage ft. Daryl Palumbo;  "We'rewolf" by Every Time I Die; "Supermassive Black Hole" by MUSE; "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" by AFI; "1,000,000" by Nine Inch Nails; "Mother Lover" by The Lonely Island; "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag" by Eric Church; "1901" by Phoenix.  Got some indie/punk/rap, some metal/hardcore, some country, some industrial rock, some rock, some funny spoof rap, and whatever the hell Phoenix is considered, alternative rock maybe?  I actually dislike this song, but for some reason I can't turn it off. 

It's 6:09pm, still got some time before I dress up for this dinner - it's a banquet at the Holiday Inn, "Pleasing people the world over". (Tagline Guru)  Pretty cool site, who knew someone would dedicate an entire website to taglines.  I guess the same can be said for me, how the hell do I have the attention span to continue blogging.  Here's some cool ones, in my opinion, and you're reading my blog, so tough crap if you don't want my opinion:  "When it rains, it pours" is Morton Salt (my father loves salt, on everything, and I guess so do I - salt on a cucumber, try it); "Wake up and drive" is Mitsubishi's, which is pretty important advice - it's tough to drive when you're not awake; "The best kept automotive secret in America" is Peugeot - they really are a secret, I've never even heard of them/that - it's  probably something above my social/economic class - just looked it up, about $35,000 USD, or £24,500; one more, lets see here; here's a jingle, "I'm a pepper, he's a pepper, she's a pepper, we're a pepper, wouldn't ya like to be a pepper too, I'm a pepper, he's a pepper, she's a pepper, if you drink Dr. Pepper you're a pepper too" is a Dr. Pepper jingle from the 1970's.  Kinda catchy.  Just watched the YouTube video of it.

 Birthday shout-outs real quick - none of my Facebook friends birthday today.

Mike Myers, the voice of Shrek turns 47 today.  He also starred in Wayne's World, the Austin Powers movies, and a recent favorite movie of mine, Inglorious Basterds.  Oh, behave!

 
Stacy London, star of one of Lindsay's favorite shows, What Not to Wear, on TLC, turns 41 today.  Good thing Lindsay hasn't nominated me for that show, I pretty much wear mesh shorts and t-shirts to work every day.  I have clothes that are nice, but really only wear them when we go out to dinner or out with  Paul and Jenny. 





Oh, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson would have turned 208 today.  Why they put that on the website is beyond me.  (All birthday's I post about I get from www.myfamousbirthdays.com).

OK, time to freshen up and dress it up.  Suit is hanging up, just gotta tie this tie - that'll take 20 minutes.

I hope the food's good, that root beer float from A&W was good this afternoon, but the burger didn't really fill me up.

There always seems to be...

...like $0.20 left on my MetroCard and I can't use it again.  I mean how hard is it to keep these things like they were in the past - this 15% and 20% bonus bull is garbage.  People just throw out the $0.05 on their card and the city is making money - it's ridiculous.  I mean how freakin' hard is it to make the denominations on the card even - like, say, a $10 card gives you $1.25 bonus, so that you have 5 WHOLE rides instead of this.  There's a 15% bonus when you refill $8 or more on your card.  I don't want the 15% because if I have $0.45 left on my card, here's what I'd need to add to have an even amount of rides:

$11.35 for 6 rides ($1.70 bonus) -- $13.30 for 7 rides ($2.00 bonus) -- $27.00 for 14 rides ($4.05 bonus)

If I had $0.20 on my card and wanted to add $20.00, I'd have a card worth $22.51 - $0.01 cent, really?!?

Not sure about you, but I'm not exactly walking around with $11.35 cents in my pocket.  I am assuming at the vending machine post you can add that obscure amount, but who the hell is walking around with a 15% bonus calculator for their MetroCard?

Just keep the bonuses so that it's actually a bonus ride - I don't want an extra $0.05 on my card.  But I'll keep the card and keep pumping money into it, because NYC ain't gonna take me for any more money.

Sports Free

The Celtics and the Red Sox.  They're both on television - and I am watching neither.  I am a New York sports fan - well, a Yankees fan.  I can really care less about the other teams in New York.  I do like when the Giants do well though, but I can't really get into the NFL all that much. 

Dinner tonight was at the Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem - some kids looked completely out of place.  It's not that hard to fit in, but a wool cap or brown leather flip-flops in Harlem?  Come on.  I went with the Elgin Sausage and the Brisket, with Macaroni & Cheese and Simmered Veggies as my sides - and of course the corn bread.  Y'all!  Oh yeah, and two pieces of PB Pie to go!

"The Best Thing I Ever Ate" is on, and funny enough, the Neely's are on right now ranting and raving about some cobbler.  I hate them.  But I like this show, a lot of the places are in NYC.  I can't afford any of them, but it's kind of cool to know that they're close, in case I hit the lottery.  Or win a scratch-off ticket for like a few hundred.

Night off from sports tonight.  We head up to Fishkill tomorrow and play at 3pm Wednesday against Canisius.  Follow it live at the MAAC Championship site.  Go Jaspers!!

It's hotter than hell in here, fan's on, sleeping's easy. 

WOW!  That's a LOW price!

Graffiti of the Day

Not sure who she is, but someone has some disdain for her.  I hope she stays away from this person. 

(1 Train @ 125th St., Harlem, NY)

José Lima...

...Rest In Peace.  This post is dedicated to the passing of former-MLB pitcher José Lima, 37, who died last night in his home in Pasadena, CA of an apparent heart attack.  "Lima Time" will no longer be observed during a game, but will never be forgotten.

From what I remembered of José Lima, he was a wacky, fun, and very average pitcher for most of his 13-year MLB career.  His 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Houston Astros were two of his best.  In '98, he went 16-8 with a 3.70 ERA and in '99 he won 21 games, posting a 3.58 ERA.  He was also a singer, and sang the National Anthem at his own Dodgers game once.

I always recall seeing a game on TV or watching highlights on SportsCenter and noticing José Lima's hair being different colors and his facial hair changing almost daily.  He was eccentric and unscripted, unlike these guys now, with their antics after a big out or save.  His teammates loved him and the fans loved him - and one manager in particular had a great line, "He was an animated guy and a fierce competitor and he got people excited," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.  When people remember you for those aforementioned traits, you left your mark.

Lima played for the Tigers, Astros, Royals, Dodgers, and Mets during his 13 seasons, as well as spending the beginning of the 2003 season with the Atlantic League's Newark Bears.  His career ERA of 5.26 is nothing special, but he brought something to the park that stats did not  indicate - a love for the game and a man who had a great time playing the game.  He respected baseball - and you don't often see that today (see: Hanley Ramirez).

José Lima will be missed.  RIP and it'll always be "Lima Time".

Here's a little photo gallery of images I've scoured the internet for of José Lima:

Blah Blah Blah

Mr. Softie just stopped by - well, we stopped him, he was parked down the block.  Lindsay got herself a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate.  I didn't get anything, times are tough here in the Bronx, I had $4 in my wallet.  Pathetic, I know.  Gotta provide for the wife and kid (or in our case, Nathan).   She ate the ice cream coated in the chocolate and fired the rest in the garbage.  Oh well, next time I'll ask Mr. Softie if he can coat the ice cream in layers.

Just started reading a new book, my favorite author, Chuck Klosterman.  The book, Downtown Owl, is a novel about the small town of Owl, ND.  He's written for The NYT Magazine and The Washington Post and his previous books have covered topics ranging from the relationship of rock music, mortality, and love (Killing Yourself to Live:  85% of a True Story) to the history of glam metal (Fargo Rock City:  A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural Nörth Daköta) to previously published columns and articles on pop culture (Chuck Klosterman IV).  I just like his writing style, give him a shot.  You'll probably chuckle to yourself like I do.  Nathan's been trying to learn to read Downtown Owl:

Yankees vs. Mets - not looking too good for the Yankees so far.  Bay kills the Yankees.  Stupid throw by Russo out in LF - C.C. needs to get out of this jam - I hate José Reyes, stupid hair, nonchalant actions - just stay on the DL foo!  Damn, 2-0 Mets.  Alex Cora, seriously?  See, there goes Bay, HR to deep left-center.  Crap!  I'm going to switch topics, this game isn't going how I had anticipated.

Today's Birthdays:

Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks!! Happy Birthday to comedian Drew Carey, who's 52 today.  I think he's still the host of the new The Price is Right.  When I'm home weekdays (which is never), I'd watch it.

Author, sports-columnist, radio-personality Mitch Albom, who's books my mother loves, is also 52 today.  I hate his hair, it's always covering his ears and just looks stupid, but he's great on "The Sports Reporters" on ESPN.  Keep up the good work Mitch, and cut the hair over your ears.  But Happy Birthday nonetheless.




Game's on - C.C. singles, Jeter singles, Gardner is so fast but hits into the 4-6-3 DP.  Will someone please step up and get some hits off Santana?  Teixeira blows!  Game's off - channel surfing instead. 

Back to work tomorrow.  Graduation was a success, everyone walked across the stage for the first time ever.  It was about 100° in the gym, but they had 8 fans that cooled off the faculty.  Parents, family, and friends suffered in the sweltering humid gym.

Flipped it back on and back off - Joe Morgan is a moron.  I was hoping his new job as special advisor for the Reds would help ease him off the SNB set, but no such luck.  Him and Jon Miller - match made in heaven for a black and white silent film.

I'm done with this game for good - Food Network is going on, even if it means I have to watch "Down Home with the Neely's". 

Monday tomorrow - time for some zzzz's.

Graffiti of the Day

Some righteousness on the trees here in the Bronx, even though this technically isn't graffiti, it's a piece of lightweight aluminum tacked to a tree.  It's either a paraphrase of John 5:27 or Matthew 28:18.  I'm not sure, either way it's my Graffiti of the Day:

(Tibbett Ave. & W238th St., Bronx, NY)

Sunday Not-So-Funday

Today is shaping up like it's gonna be a wash - woke up this morning at around 6:15am, took Nathan out for a walk (he took care of business), felt some raindrops come down (forecast says 30% chance of rain), and remembered I have to break down 3,600 folding white chairs at 3:45pm after the commencement ceremony. 

I also saw that the Yankees lost to the Mets, 5-3, the Magic look like they just want to end their season already, showing no fight whatsoever against the Celtics, and I saw the Flyers shut out the Canadiens for the third time this series to bring them one win from a Stanley Cup appearance.  Are you kidding me?

I took Nathan out last night when the Yankees had bases loaded and one out in the 8th inning, expecting to hear a neighborhood erupt after a big hit - I was let down.  There was no big hit - all they did was get a bases loaded BB and a FC groundout by Derek Jeter.  I walked back in to see Mark Teixeira strike out in the 9th, and ultimately turned the game off, not wanting to see K-Rod's antics following the final out of the Mets win - apparently every save requires a song and dance.  Just take a flyer from Mariano and shake the catcher's hand, and talk about the inning. 

I flipped on the Magic-Celtics Game 3 - and immediately turned it off.  Boston was up 75-47 going into the 4th quarter.  Looking at the box score, Dwight Howard (7 pts., 7 reb.) is highly overrated.  I mean like Hideki Irabu overrated.  He's so coy and funny in press conferences, but he has way too many games where he doesn't even show up - you're supposed to be an NBA Superstar - nope.  I'll take a pass.  Nice shoulders though.

And Michael Leighton is a name Flyer fans are loving right now - the hottest goalie in the NHL shut out the Habs for the third time this series (111SA/108 SV) and have the longshot Flyers a game from the Finals.  I'll be honest, I haven't watched a whole lot of NHL Playoff hockey this year, but if the Flyers are in the Finals, I'm watching - I was a huge Flyers fan growing up, I have no idea why, I think I used them on NHL '94 all the time, with Lindros, LeClair, Renberg, Desjardins, Brind'Amour, the immortal Ron Hextall in net.  The wraparound was a classic goal scoring move.  Let's go Flyers!! 

Time to head to the diner again, I am getting close to being able to memorize the menu.  Then it's off to send off our seniors from ever sitting in a college classroom again.  Congratulations guys.  The only thing left for them to do in college after today is play baseball - good for them.

Signing off!

I'd love to swing my door open...

...and knock one of those twits on their crotch-rocket Yamaha or Suzuki clean off their bike when they drive directly on the yellow-dotted line in traffic or on an exit ramp.  They think they're being cool and smart by sneaking past cars stuck in traffic. 

Do me all a favor, go race one of your buddies and when you're coming up behind me, I'll sacrifice my driver's side door to knock you on your ass.  Stay in a lane.

Graffiti of the Day

Looking a little like Mario, wait, it is Mario.  I just saw the "M" on his hat.  Gonna head out to find Luigi and Princess Toadstool.

(238th St., Bronx NY)

It's Official - CBSSports ticker

Box Score of the Year

Today at beautiful Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the Jaspers clinched themselves a playoff berth in the MAAC Tournament next weekend in Fishkill, NY by beating Siena 19-18 in 10 innings.

We were down 5-0 before we even got to bat  in the 1st.  It got worse - we were down 9-2 after 3 innings.  Down 12-5 after 6 innings.  After they put a 5 spot up in top of the 7th to extend it to 17-5.  We wound up scoring 14 runs over the final 3+ innings and walking off with a huge win.  Down 12 runs with 9 outs to go - down to our last out in the 9th and a freshman doubled to cut it to 1, then another freshman hit a slicing flyball to left field and the guy tracked it but dropped it - tie game.

Here's a link to the box score - don't try to print it, lot of ink:  Manhattan Jaspers 19, Siena Saints 18 (10 innings). 

Are you kidding me?!?!?!

Happy Birthday

Woke up this morning and took Nathan out only to feel an eerie calm out there this morning.  Some birds chirping, but otherwise it felt like I was walking on clouds.  Hmm, we'll see.  It's the 6-month anniversary of my marriage to Lindsay today.  Best six months of my life.

There's two people who's birthdays we'll acknowledge today

Mr. T (born Lawrence Tureaud) turns 58 today.  He starred as "B.A. Baracus" on The A-Team, and also as "Clubber Lang" in Rocky III.  Either way, he was a bad mamma-jamma.  Happy Birthday Larry.  "I PITY THE FOOL!"

"Notorious B.I.G." (born Christopher Wallace) would have been 38 today.  The man was embroiled in a lot of gang related activities, but was a hell of a performer.  His freestyle with Tupac Shakur is still played on radio today.  He loved it when they called him "Big Poppa."  Happy would-be-38th Biggie.

Got to hop in the shower and get ready for the game.  Heading in to wash the unis again.  May say a little prayer on the walk in, for success. 

Err's-day

We made some big errors in some big spots today.  Second inning - pick off at second base, runner made a move towards third on a pick off play, pitcher throws to second, we dropped the ball.  Safe at third; next guy hit a sacrifice fly, 1-0 deficit.  Ultimately, I'm not sure if that's what cost us game two, but it sure didn't help any.  Now, our season comes down to one game.  Win and we're in the conference tournament, lose and summer starts early.  Unreal, I'm speechless that some of our leaders (read: upperclassmen) had some of the worst at-bats of anyone in our lineup.  They play with their heads up their asses sometimes.  It's not always cookies and milk, but when it gets tough, you gotta get tougher.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Moving on - the Yankees just went down in order in the first inning - on 7 pitches - after Andy Pettitte struggled through the first and threw around 25, 27 pitches.  Way to give him a breather.  Ben Zobrist is .429 (6-14) with 3 R, 3 BB, and 4 RBI against the Yankees this year - through the second inning of today's game.  This guy is killing them.  Big Game James is on the mound for the Rays - the Yanks aren't going to have it wasy tonight - Shields is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 59 K/11 BB coming into this one - pretty solid numbers - more than a hit an inning allowed, but low walks negate that. 

There's two things that can happen with a pitcher's control - you can walk a lot of guys and not let up many hits, or you can let up a lot of hits and not walk many - do both, and you won't get out of the 5th inning.  Either that, or you better have a ton of strikeouts.

Below are some statistics from the American League only, seeing how their numbers indicate effectiveness better than the National League - the DH is way better than the P hitting.

Here's a list of the top 3 WHIP with their H/BB and ERA and K:
#1 Doug Fister SEA 0.91 (40 H/10 BB in 50 IP) - ERA 1.96 - 25 K
#2 Shaun Marcum TOR 0.97 (46 H/14 BB in 62 IP) - ERA 2.61 - 45 K
#3 Jason Vargas SEA 0.98 (32 H/13 BB in 46 IP) - ERA 2.93 - 33 K

Here's a list of the top 3 BB with their H/ERA/WHIP and K:
#1 Rich Harden TEX 32 BB - 41 H/4.74 ERA/1.67 WHIP - 43 K
#2 Gil Meche KC 31 BB - 51 H/6.75 ERA/1.92 WHIP - 25 K
#3 Brandon Morrow TOR 27 BB - 42 H/6.15 ERA/1.68 WHIP - 54 K

Here's a lost of the top 3 in H and their BB/ERA/WHIP and K:
#1 Scott Baker MIN 64 H - 12 BB/4.88 ERA/1.37 WHIP - 47 K
#2 Kevin Millwood BAL 63 H - 15 BB/3.65 ERA/1.26 WHIP - 48 K
#3 A.J. Burnett NYY 61 H - 22 BB/3.86 ERA/1.42 WHIP - 40 K

The guys with the lowest WHIP don't necessarily need to strike a lot of hitters out because they're rarely in too many jams.  Pitchers with high BB and a lot of H allowed rely on strikeouts more, helping them out of jams.  The pitchers with the highest BB totals have terrible ERA's because they are always allowing free baserunners - even allowing only a hit an inning, as Harden and Morrow do, BB's before those hits will kill the ERA.  And finally, the guys with a lot of H allowed have decent ERA's because they don't walk a lot of guys and have pretty good K numbers.

Yankees tied it up at 3 - scored on a HR by Juan Miranda and an error by Shields on a bunt from Gardner.  Damn, Upton just homered - that's also been our Achilles’ heel this year - we score and instead of throwing up a 0 and keeping a little momentum on  our side, we go out and let up a run, or 2, or 4.  The inning after your team scores is a huge inning - throw up a goose egg and get your guys back hitting again.

I have to shower, I'm disgusting.  Our shower sucks, it's like a 3' x 3' square - tight quarters.  Clean time.

This Is It

Today just may determine our season.  Come out ready to play, have fun, play loose, and we're dangerous.  Show some grit, some toughness, it should be a good day.  We have a pretty good team, there's still room for improvement - I just hope we don't have to improve for next year - and can improve for next week.  This is it!  Big players live for big games, well, we got some good ones, let's hope they show up today and tomorrow.  I'm confident, but I don't have an outcome on the game, I suited up for my four years of college baseball already, and we made the playoffs once - we were awful - met some good people along the way.  Reaching the 20-win mark was an accomplishment - with this group, 30 wins is the benchmark.  How scary is it that the entire season - for us, 48 games - come down to 3 games just to get in the playoffs.  Time to head on over, gotta wash the uniforms this morning so we can wear our whites.  Hopefully the post later tonight will be positive - it may be a profanity laced tirade.  See you after the double-dip.

P.S.

Modern Family season finale at 9:00pm on ABC Ch. 7.

Misc.

TV:  Lindsay is watching "Real Housewives of NY" on DVR and this "Countess" is singing this song, and this boob who's playing the piano is convincing her she sounds good - this is total trash, I want to throw the remote through the television, but I'll hold back.  Here's the link for those of you who love torturing yourself:  LuAnn's Craptastic Song.

Music:  The first random song of the day today was "1901" by Phoenix.  Makes you want to nod your head a little bit.  I'm not a huge fan of it, but I might let it play all the way through - here's a link to this one:  "1901".

Local News:  According to NY1, more than 40% of streetlights are out on our local highways here in the Bronx.  Here's the breakdown:  Major Deegan (I-87):  38%; Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95):  46%; Henry Hudson Parkway (US-9):  43%.  Not only are we dealing with pot-hole filled roads, but the damn light aren't working either.  The Alexander Hamilton Bridge, however, is in complete darkness.

Sports:  The Yankees blew another game last night, to the Red Sox - Mariano got the loss because Marcus Thames went from hero to goat in the course of 24 hours.  Dropped a pop-up in short right field - bad baseball play.  Tonight they open up a two-game set with the best team in baseball, the Rays.  Tonight's pitching matchup is: Wade Davis (TB) 3-3, 3.38 ERA vs. A.J. Burnett (NY) 4-1, 3.31 ERA.  Fixing to be a pretty tight one, unless Davis pitches like he generally does against the Yankees - 5.73 ERA in two home starts vs. NY in his career.  This is his first time taking the bump in the Bronx.  I just hope Carlos Peña decides not to get hot - he's only hitting .191 with 5 HR this year.  Friday, the Yankees head to Queens to open up their weekend series with Los Mets. 

Miscellaneous:  Lindsay has been asking me what I want for my birthday for the past few weeks and I honestly have no idea what I want.  I am a very good gift giver, but when it comes to telling people (Lindsay) what I want, I struggle.  Nathan is here, next to me, chewing his rawhide - he loves the stuff, but only the ones with a bacon flavored treat in the middle - gives him something to work for.  He snagged a piece of Lindsay's steak tonight - I made steaks with an avocado/jalapeño/mango/salsa mixture - pretty good.  Dessert is Ben & Jerry's Key Lime Pie flavor - it's a limited batch. 

Hands Off!  Let's go Yankees!!

1st Place ... Reds?

The Cincinnati Reds are sitting pretty in 1st place in the NL Central - they're actually only up by 1 game on the Cardinals, but they deserve the spotlight.  Today they rallied for three runs in B9 off Brewers closer and future HOF'er Trevor Hoffman, who has been nothing short of terrible this year, to beat the Brewers 5-4.

Five blown saves?  ERA over 11.00?  I know the Brewers are struggling this year, but still - this is a guy with a career 2.83 ERA and 596 career saves. 

The inning was a nightmare - single by Janish, HR by Rolen, 2B by Heisey, BB to Phillips, 1B to Joey Votto.  Votto hit a solo HR in the 8th to cut the Brewers lead to 4-2.  It is only the third time in 1055 IP where he hasn't recorded an out and his first since July 19, 2006 against the Phillies.

May 18, 2010 vs. CIN:  0.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 HR, (L, BS #5)
July 19, 2006 vs. PHI:  0.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, (BS #3)
April 28, 1999 vs. NYM:  0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, (L)

Not a great week for big name closers.  Sunday--Mariano Rivera blew a game vs. the Twins, Monday--Papelbon blew a game vs. the Yankees, Tuesday--Hoffman blew a game vs. Cincinnati.

ABC!  Always Be Closing!

Truth

offthemark.com

Today in Sports History

2004:  40-year-old Randy Johnson throws a perfect game for the D'Backs against the Atlanta Braves.  Here's a look at the box score:

By the way, I hate this smug little bastard on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire right now.  Nice bowl cut doofus!

Walk It Off

Monday night in the MLB featured some great games and some laughers.

We'll narrow it down to the Top 3 - all walk-off wins:

#3 - At "The Trop", the Rays got a walk-off, one out squeeze bunt from Jason Bartlett in the 11th inning, beating the Indians 4-3.  Several weeks ago the Indians go burned by the Angels on a similar play, but there were two outs when Howie Kendrick got his base hit bunt past the pitcher.  Chris Perez was complaining about it being a "stupid play" - listen man, it's the big leagues, you need to get wins when you can.  It ain't Kendricks fault your team sucks.  The Rays improved to an MLB best 27-11.  The Tribe fell to 15-21.

#2 - Aramis Ramirez raised his average all the way to .175 in this one, and hit the walk-off 2R HR in the 9th off Rockies pitcher Matt Belisle to give the Cubs a 4-2 win.  Ramirez singled in the 1st, driving in the Cubs first run of the game.  Ramirez has been on a tear lately - he's raised his average from .148 to .175 over the past 10 games.  The saddest fact is, he only has 3 multi-hit games all year - this guy makes $16.75 million a year.  What is wrong with the Cubs?  Rockies fall to 19-19, Cubs improve to 17-22.

#1 - Poor Papelbon.  Ha.  Not only did he allow A-Rod to tie the game in the 9th with a 2R HR, he allowed a 2R HR by Marcus Thames to lose the game.  After the "A-bomb from A-Rod", Cano flew out to centerfield before Cervelli got drilled in the elbow.  Thames came to the plate and wasted little time - he jumped on the 92 mph fastball and hit a line-drive into the LF seats.  Yes, he pimped it a little out of the box, but you know what, it was his first career walk-off HR.  He threw the bat, and began his sprint around the bases.  Then he got the pie face.  I stayed up for it, and was pissed when the blew the lead, but man, it's always nice walking-off on the Red Sox.  Yankees 25-13, Red Sox 19-20. 

Plenty to do today - 3,600 white folding chairs waiting for me to set them up.  Graduation season is upon us.

Ryan Freel Retires

Former MLB'er Ryan Freel has decided to call it quits.  He spent the past few weeks in the Atlantic League with the Somerset Patriots.  In nine games, he hit .265 with 3 R and 4 RBI.  He will best be remembered for his three-year stretch with the Cincinnati Reds - 2004-2006 - where he had his most success.  He was a .268 career hitter, 100 doubles, and 143 stolen bases.  A modest career, but for three of his eight years, he was as feared a baserunner as you could think of.

During those three seasons in Cincy, he hit .273, scored 210 runs, 60 doubles, and 110 stolen bases.  I never heard of the guy but I knew he could run like the wind, and I always saw his names at the top of the category leaders in SB's.  My brother Jesse had the good fortune to play with him in Somerset this season, and said he was one of the most down to earth guys he'd ever played with.  He was with the Rays for three seasons - first in Hudson Valley (SS), then in Columbus, GA (A), then in Port Charlotte, FL (A+).  He shared a clubhouse with Pat Burrell, Jason Bartlett, Scott Kazmir - Freel was the most real.

He did have one blemish, a drunk driving charge after an opening night win over the Mets in 2005, but we're all human.

Happy Trails Ryan Freel.  Thanks for the hustle!

By the way - Dice-K still can't figure it out!  The Yanks are up 6-2, T5, Dice-K's line not looking so fine:  4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 WP.  He's thrown 90 pitches (53S/37B) in four innings.  Let's hope the Yankees can keep this lead and get another game up on the Red Sox.  Nathan is sleeping on the couch, taking up a lot of real estate.  Lindsay is reading, accusing me of ignorance.

Time to search for birthday gifts - I'm almost 30 - actually only 29 on June 1.  Later you old farts!

Today in Sports History

1979 - The Phillies defeated the Cubs, 23-22, at Wrigley Field in a game which featured 50 hits and 11 HR.  Dave Kingman of hit 3 HR for the Cubs, who despite losing the game, belted 6 of the 11 HR's.  Mike Schmidt hit 2 for the Phillies.

The starting pitchers for both teams lasted only 1/3 of an inning each:
PHI starter Randy Lerch:  .1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 HR
CHI stater Dennis Lamp:  .1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 HR, 1 Assist.

PHI pitchers overall numbers looked like this:  10 IP, 26 H, 22 R (19 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, 6 HR Allowed, 59 Batters Faced.

CHI pitchers overall numbers looked like this:  10 IP, 24 H, 23 R (21 ER), 12 BB, 7 K, 5 HR Allowed, 68 Batters Faced.

There was not a single wild pitch and only one HBP (Bob Boone (PHI) was hit by Willie Hernandez (CHI)).

Not a day to be a pitcher or pitching coach.

Trent Reznor

Happy 45th Birthday to Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor! 

NIN happens to be one of my favorite bands of all time.  Although people's view of the band is often times distorted, they are in all reality, a great band - well, technically they really aren't a band at all, as Trent Reznor is the only actual member of NIN.  He simply assembles a live band to perform with him every album, and when he tours, the members come and go.  NIN has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, only winning two:  "Wish" (1992) and "Happiness in Slavery" (1995).  Two of my favorite songs are "Discipline" from The Slip (which is available free online HERE) and "Burn" off 1994's Natural Born Killers soundtrack and also as a Bonus Track on the tenth anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Downward Spiral. 

They began in 1988, and have been going strong since - putting out eight major label releases since 1989.  The longest gap between albums was from 2002's double-CD The Fragile to 2005's With Teeth.  Here's a list of their studio albums:  Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Year Zero, Ghosts I-IV, and The Slip.  All these albums have a similar electronic feel to them, and they are all great in their own way.

An often misunderstood fact about NIN - "Hurt" was recorded for Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral in 1994.  In 2002, the legendary Johnny Cash covered this song for his 2002 release, American IV:  The Man Comes Around.  Many people think that NIN covered the song - not the case!  Here are the links to both videos of "Hurt":  NIN's "Hurt" (live)  --  Johnny Cash's "Hurt".

Seen them several times, every time is great.  The last time was actually with Paul and Jenny and Jess.  Lots of lights, lots of noise, lots of people - some guy actually rung his shirt out to get rid of the sweat that was soaked in it, and some other guy tripped over the ATM machine (which was 4' tall).

Overall, NIN is great - take it or leave it.  And Happy Birthday Trent Reznor!! 

Sunday Funday

Not so fun for the Yankees.  After winning the first two games of their series with the Twins, the immortal one, Mariano Rivera walked in a run with the bases loaded and followed that up by allowing a grand slam to Jason Kubel, as the Yankees blew a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning today in the Bronx, eventually falling 6-3 to the Twins.  I watched from the seventh inning on, and was in total shock when Rivera blew it.  Hey, the guy is human.  He just fools people into believing he isn't.  Jon Rauch let up some hits in the 9th, but got Jeter swinging, Gardener swinging, and Teixeira looking to end it.  They must have been scared by his tattoos.

On a lighter note, brunch with Paul and Jenny was good - even though the Bloody Mary's we ordered had bird food in them.  Or so it seemed - there was so much pepper corns, and all other sorts of stuff that looked like bird food in it, it made it almost undrinkable.  It was a shame because the BM was actually pretty good.  But then again, I've only had a BM two other times, and both were made by a person under the influence of alcohol.  The omelet was great - had bacon and cheddar.  Lindsay got goat cheese and mushrooms.  And they made these donuts, cinnamon sugar, holy crap.  I could have eaten 45 of them.  Easy.

In our celebrity sighting of the day, while at the Beer Garden at The Standard after our brunch, Lindsay and Jenny wandered off to the restroom and when they came back, I was told to come take a look inside.  Thinking there was someone famous in there, I walked back in with Lindsay and saw Jesse Tyler Ferguson sitting at a table inside.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he plays Mitchell on ABC's Modern Family, probably the funniest show on television.  We were in the meatpacking district, so seeing celebrities is not too far-fetched down there.  Here's a look at who I'm talking about: 

So Sunday is almost over, weekend is almost over, and setup for graduation is almost set to begin.  Awesome!! (sarcasm).  I am exhausted, Lindsay is sleeping on the couch, Nathan is passing out on the window sill.  I am trying to hold it together enough to get this post done, take Nathan out to pee, and pass out.

See you tomorrow suckaaaaaaaa!!

Ryan Darcy Images

Linds & I in Louisville (Above), Yankee Stadium (Below)

Sea Isle City, NJ (Above), Skoal Paint (Below)

From the GWB (Above), Just funny, in Newburgh (Below)

Pregame activity (Above), Horn's Variety (Below)

Bronx at Sundown (Above), VCP (Below)

America's Pastime (Above), 1 Train @ 238th St, Bronx (Below)