Yay bowling!

151
127
115

My best day yet, and 151 is my best single game yet. I hurt myself about midway through. A couple of weeks ago it was my hand and forearm, but last night it was my knee. Christ I'm getting old. I'm suffering bowling injuries. Pathetic. We won in a clean sweep.

Thank You, FJM

This, among many, many, many other reasons, is why I hate watching games on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball:

Al Oliver
Uploaded by bsap11

Just listen to the nonsense that comes out of Joe's mouth. After you're done, read Fire Joe Morgan. There's a link to the right.

Opting Out

Believe it or not, Alex Rodriguez's decision to skip the Home Run Derby during All-Star Weekend is stirring up some controversy. It never ceases to amaze me me just how much people love drama. Everyone will tell you otherwise, but then there they are, stirring the pot.

Reports: A-Rod passing on Home Run Derby

I have no problem with Alex Rodriguez skipping the Home Run Derby. I don't care if it actually screws up his swing or not, the point is he thinks it will. Rodriguez has a reputation as a head case, and baseball is just as much mental as it is physical. As a Yankee fan, Rodriguez's peace of mind is infinitely more important than the stupid Home Run Derby. Some players can participate in this thing with no problem, and there are others, not just Alex Rodriguez, who feel it screws with their mechanics. If you know anything about the game, then you know that even the smallest mechanical flaw is difficult to correct on the fly, even after you've identified the problem.

This isn't even a story. This is another reason for people to jump on Alex Rodriguez's case for taking was given to him. Get off his back and find something else to cry about, seriously.

Bowling night!

91
118
113

I even threw 2 gutter-balls........Good thing we keep getting matched up against shittier teams. We won again. It turns out we didn't split last week, we actually won. Something about the handicap being wrong. I don't know.

MLB All-Star voting

Every year something fairly controversial happens regarding the MLB All-Star voting, which is done by the fans. Their is a long history of ballot boxes being stuffed and undeserving players making the team because of the markets they play in. I'm a Yankees fan myself, and I personally did not vote for Derek Jeter, but if he is the starter, no big deal. I mean, has anyone A.L. shortstop been that much better? He is Derek Jeter after all. I also DID vote for Jason Giambi with at least half of my allotted votes. Maybe Justin Morneau deserves it more, but I don't think so. I won't argue too much if Kevin Youkilis ends up with the honor, either.

I'm not going to use this as sounding board for whether or not fans should be allowed to vote for the All-Star game. That's another topic for another day. There is, however, a grave injustice going on in American League voting now, and it's atrocious. I cannot sit quietly by while "Red Sox Nation" votes Dustin Pedroia onto the All-Star team as a starter. It's disgusting. Yes, he plays solid defense and he's a scrappy little player. Super. Great for the home team, but come on, look at Ian Kinsler's numbers as of this moment in comparison:

Kinsler: .305 12 HR 47 RBI 64 runs 19 SB .362 OBP .502 SLG
Pedroia: .282 6 HR 32 RBI 46 runs 8 SB .329 OBP .410 SLG

In case you're wondering how they're playing leading up to the All-Star game, Dustin Pedroia hit .260 in May and is sitting at .246 in June. In fact, his .282 batting average is still being held up by an 8 game stretch in April in which he went 16-32. Take that out, and he's a .257 hitter for the year. Kinsler, on the other hand, hit .305 in April, .300 in May, and is currently at .325 in June.

Only 3 guys in MLB have more hits than Kinsler does right now. Kinsler and Pedroia aren't even playing the same game. Ian Kinsler has consistently been a superior player to Dustin Pedroia all season long. Everyone please go to MLB.com and use your maximum 25 votes to vote for Ian Kinsler.

Kingpin?

I joined a bowling a team with work that participates in a Restaurant Bowling League every Tuesday night. I don't why I did this, because I'm a shitty bowler and I hate losing. Also, I don't know anything about bowling. I've bowled maybe a dozen times. Anyway, last Tuesday was the first night for our team, and we got creamed. I bowled 101, 101, and 135. Woo-hoo. Tonight was even worse, as I bowled 81, 105, 127. Luckily, we split tonight. We played against the Silver Diner, and they weren't very good, either. It's a good time though, and who knows; maybe someday I'll actually be a decent bowler.

Weapons of Ass Destruction

This Sunday is Mother's Day, so I thought we'd pay tribute to the time-honored tradition of getting the living shit beat out of you by your mother, using whatever object she could reach to beat you with. My mother actually was a big fan of using her own hands. Now, my mom is tiny. She's 5 feet tall and until very recently, weighed less than 100 pounds soaking wet. She was also scary (at least until I was about 12), and she packed a punch. Occasionally she liked to get creative, though. She wasn't very good at the belt thing; that was Dad. She did like to throw things, and though you'd never mistake her for Nolan Ryan, she had deadly aim when she was pissed.

There was one particular time when Eric and I were playing outside, and there must have been nothing to do, because we start to sing Michael Jackson songs while playing on the hood of the car. We were living in Salem Village, so I was probably 8, and he was 5 or 6. When you're on the hood of the car, the radio antenna makes a great microphone, until it snaps. My mother beat us with that radio antenna for 6 months, and that fucking thing hurt more than any switch or belt you were ever beat with.

I think the last time my mother hit me was when I was about 12. I can't remember what I did to piss her off this time, but she hit me, and it didn't hurt. By this time I was taller than her and outweighed her. So anyway, she hits me, and I'm trying really hard not to laugh. I didn't succeed, and she gets really pissed. She picks up a hard plastic baseball bat and starts swinging it at me. That was even funnier, and she stormed out of my room and gave me the "wait until your father gets home", which almost never amounted to anything. I'm pretty sure that's the last time my mother hit me.

P.S. I'm fully in favor of beating the hell out of your kids if the those little fuckers step out of line....