Deep Within the Vault

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

2005-05-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know... It has been an incredibly long time since my last post. I apologize. Not that anyone has actually been waiting on the edge of their seat for a new post (or at least, if there was, they've surely given up by now).

Work has been incredibly busy, much of the reason for the lack of posts. I also went through a horrible period of writer's block during which time I felt that I had absolutely nothing to say. The big news of the day for me is that I have officially turned down a job with America's Next Top Model. You must think I'm insane. Well, I would not have been anywhere near the wanna-be models, a major sticking point preventing me from taking the job. (I kid, I kid... There were actual factors involved with my turning down the offer, none of which included the amount of time I would get to spend with the women.) In the end, it seemed to me that I would have been taking a step backwards (or at the very least, a step sideways).

On the Cubs front, I thought the injury issues couldn't possibly continue from last season... Boy was I wrong. What the hell?!? I mean, God must seriously hate us. That can be the only true explanation to the number of injuries we've suffered.

Hopefully this will be updated more regularly again. As of a week and a half from now, I'm officially on hiatus from Starting Over, so I should have more time for the month or so I have off.

Lasso Lessons

2005-03-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

Have to say, I'm pretty excited about Sin City, which comes out next weekend... From all the great reviews I've read for it already, I'm really hoping to be blow away by it. In conjunction with that, I just read about how Jessica Alba, in preparation for her role as Nancy, would get drunk and then go to strip clubs, along with learning how to use a lasso, saying "I had a rope guy teach me how to twist it around like a lasso and stuff. I just spent every night in Texas in The Four Seasons (hotel) in my underwear, knocking over lamps trying to lasso things." Wow... to be in that room. What a treat that would have been.

Another bad break...

2005-03-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

So much for the hopes of Joe Borowski returning to form as the Cubs closer this season... He fractured his hand yesterday and looks to be out for six weeks. Bad news for the Cubs but really, it is even worse news for JoBo. The guy has worked so hard to get to where he is, and to have another season start with injury must be killing him. What the hell is the deal with all the injuries? It's like we can't get a break when we need it...

Unintentional Comedy at its finest

2005-03-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

I spent a good portion of my morning tuned in to ESPN's coverage of the baseball hearings going on in DC today... Did I intend to do this? No. But from the moment I turned to ESPN, my eyes were glued to the set. Can someone please turn this cast of characters into a sitcom? Because the unintentional comedy was flowing throughout the players' testimonies. The cast list (and each of their taglines) would look something like the following (based on the impressions these guys gave off):

Jose Canseco as The Complete Idiot (Not only is the presence of a brain in my head in question, but so is my integrity!)
Sammy Sosa as Mr. "Baseball Been Berry Berry Good to Me" (I understands English better than I let on!)
Rafael Palmeiro as The Genuine Guy (If I'm lying, I should be an actor!)
Curt Schilling as Humorous Honest Guy (Honesty with a little humor thrown in for good measure is what I do!)
and
Mark McGwire as The Dick (I'll only talk about the positives and the future and keeping the past in the past!)
with a special guest appearance by
Frank Thomas (via satellite only) as The Guest Star (There's no purpose for my presence aside from having another big-name guy here!)

OK... So maybe I'm being a bit harsh about this. And taking it all a bit lightly. But McGwire's routine (while I can understand it) got pretty old pretty fast but was among the funnier moments... Especially when one of the representatives said that he was sitting there crying because of McGwire. Big Mac did have a good point though... If he says he didn't use steroids, people just won't believe him. And if he says yes, that causes all sorts of other problems. But the way he acted has me questioning whether or not he did use a bit more (I never used to think so).

And why was Frank Thomas there? Beyond the opening statement, I heard him say nothing (I don't even know that he was still with them once they got back from the recess).

It's also pretty funny that Jose Canseco was being kept in a separate room from everyone else before the hearing... But given the comments the other guys made regarding Canseco in their opening statements and beyond, I'd say that segregating him was probably the right thing to do.

Wish I could have seen what Bud and Donald Fehr had to say, but I had to get to work... Either way, nothing like a House hearing to kick-start your day. If only these hearings were always this entertaining... I wouldn't watch anything else if that were the case!

The Prophet and Mr. Obvious

2005-03-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

So I'm watching some ST baseball on ESPN2 before heading to work today... Now, normally watching any sort of baseball would be great. But the broadcast team they've got today is driving me crazy (moreso than usual). Not even sure who is in the booth aside from Gary Thorne, who seems to have drawn the short straw in terms of being stuck broadcasting every ST game that ESPN does, whereas the other broadcasters seem to rotate.

The first comment to drive me nuts (and I'm not even sure who said it) was on the effect Mike Matheny's addition to the Giants. They claimed that, by adding Matheny, the Giants' team ERA would be lower than last year's by a run and a half! Now, I'm not saying Matheny isn't good, because he is. But he alone will not make that large of a difference in the team ERA. It's not like the Giants have had a run of shitty, inexperienced catchers (b/c their main reasoning for this was all of his "experience behind the plate"). They had Pierzynski and before that Santiago... Both guys with plenty of "experience". And yes, Pierzynski has an attitude and Santiago is somewhere in the 60+ age bracket, but there is no way that a switch to Matheny will cause that drastic of a drop.

The second comment (again, don't know who to attribute it to, as I wasn't really paying attention until I heard it) was: "It's safe to say that [Ichiro] can probably put the bat on more balls than any other player in baseball right now." Really? Is that true? You're telling me there isn't anyone else out there who just set the record for most hits in a season?!? Stop the presses. Ichiro can hit. Go warn everyone. Someone out there might not know that he can hit. Ugh. This comment is just unnecessary.

Anyway, it is ST, so I guess the announcers also need a little time to get into things. But between making wild prophecies and blatantly obvious statements, they're driving me absolutely nuts today.

Prognosis Negative

2005-03-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

Well... When it rains, apparently it pours. Just after hearing about the level of uncertainty of Kerry Wood's status for the beginning of the season, now it seems Prior will also be out "indefinitely". What does this mean? It means a rotation of Zambrano, Maddux, and who knows who else. Personally, I'd guess that it would end up being Dempster, Rusch, and Mitre... Though there's always a chance that a hit like this could allow a guy like Guzman to come to the Bigs and try to prove his worth. Either way, that puts the Opending Day rotation on a bit of shaky ground again.

I don't know what's worse... hearing that news or having to mop up shit-water in my house for an hour yesterday. Hrmm... Well, plumbing problems do suck. But they can be fixed fairly easily usually (especially when I just rent, which makes it the landlord's problem). A broken rotation? Well, that's a bit more difficult.

Charlie Sheen is one lucky man

2005-03-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine just directed me to this site, where you can see Denise Richards' spread of nude photos for Playboy. Naked or not, she is one beautiful woman... Which makes Charlie Sheen one lucky dude. Just don't stare too long... Might make you go blind.

Young Cub bats not all hits this spring

2005-03-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

Slow day at work, so I've decided to take this opportunity to peruse the ST stats... Granted, the most ABs anyone has so far is 17 (Todd Walker), which isn't nearly enough to actually make any sort of determination on how well guys are faring this spring. But what the hell... Let's do it anyway! (Yes, I'm that bored right now.)

The 3 young guys who've gotten the most ABs thus far this spring are Dubois (13 AB), Kelton (12), and Greenberg (10). Now of those guys, Adam Greenberg was just optioned to the minor league camp, despite putting up some pretty successful numbers thus far, especially for a guy who has only played 1 game (4 ABs, with Iowa last year) above the AA level. In two previous springs, he had a total of 7 ABs, with no hits to show for it. This spring is quite different... He has 5 hits (one of which was a double), for a .500 BA (.600 SLG). I think sending him back to the minor league camp is a good move, if only because he's still very young and won't be making the big league squad. But it's good to see him having some success this spring.

Next up, I want to talk about Kelton... As many people know, Kelton has been a darling of the system for the last couple years, and I'm still waiting for him to blossom and contribute. He hasn't hit particularly well his last two seasons at Iowa, with his BA dropping to a troublesome .245 last season. Well, his spring seems to be continuing with the lack of hitting, with only 2 hits (1 double) so far. Will he break with the club? Highly doubtful, in my mind. Will he be called up at some point this year? Probably... And as of right now, I cringe to think of the day that happens. Because I don't trust handing a bat to this guy in a big league game at this point. He needs to prove me something.

And finally, Mr. Dubois, who will break ST with the club but who knows how much playing time Dusty'll give him. Personally, I'd like to throw Dubois out there as the starting LF and see what he can do. Don't get me wrong... I like Hollandsworth a lot, but I think he's extremely valuable as a fourth OF. Back to Dubois' stats this spring... He's definitely making the most of the spring, hitting .385 (.846 SLG) with a pair of homers and 11 TBs. Hopefully that can continue into the beginning of the season.

That's it for now... Hopefully back later with more.

Kal-El, meet your new father, same as your old father...

2005-03-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

The more info I hear about Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, the more pumped up I'm getting for a new Superman movie, especially considering the amazing ideas it sounds like Singer has planned for the film. The latest revelation to leak to the 'net? Marlon Brando (yes, the formerly living Marlon Brando) will, with any hope, be making a return appearance as Jor-El in the new film. No, Singer has not found a way to re-animate corpses. Apparently, he is planning to use some combination of unused footage from the first two Superman films (in which Brando played Supes' pop) and CGI to allow the deceased Brando to again step into the role. What an awesome idea. I love it. (And this idea isn't so far-fetched, with Laurence Olivier turning in a post-humous performance in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.) Go Bryan Singer!

What Pearl Jam song are you?

2005-03-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually one for this sort of "test" that you can find for just about any subject out there these days... But given how much I LOVE Pearl Jam, I just couldn't resist. My results are below.

take the which pearl jam song are you? quiz, a product of the pearljammers community.

And for the obligatory inclusion of the lyrics, see below... Such a great song!

Given To Fly

he could have tuned in, tuned in, but he tuned out
a bad time, nothing could save him
alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out
he got up out of there, ran for hundreds of miles
he made it to the ocean had a smoke in a tree
the wind rose up, set him down on his knee
a wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw,
delivered him wings, "hey look at me now..."
arms wide open with the sea as his floor
oh, oh, oh...
he's flying, whole!
high! wide! oh...
he floated back down cause he wanted to share
his key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere
but first he was stripped, and then he was stabbed
by faceless men, well fuckers...he still stands
and he still gives his love, he just gives it away;
the love he recieves is the love that is saved
and sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky
a human being that was given to fly...
flying! whole...
high! flying! whole...
he's flying! woah...
high... woah... oh...

EK a big hit in booth

2005-03-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

I've gotta hand it to Eric Karros (or EK as every baseball player or coach they talk to calls him)... He is good in the booth. Having only been out of the game for less than a year, he has made quite the smooth transition into broadcasting. I have a feeling that, if he keeps on the track he's currently on, he could become a great announcer. He just seems very comfortable there already...

Giants to MLB: Let Bonds DH during ST

2005-03-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

While watching today's featured ST game on ESPN (why they have Rangers games 2 days in a row, I have no clue), I heard the commentators talking about the Giants' petition to MLB to allow Bonds to DH in games (including those played under NL rules) during ST because of concerns about him injuring himself while playing the outfield. Is it just me, or is this one of the most ridiculous requests you've ever heard??? I mean, I can understand a guy wanting to get his cuts in during ST, even if he's injured... But to say "let's throw out the rules the games are normally played under just for our one player"... Well, that is crazy! As much as I'm sure he'd like to think so, Barry Bonds is not above the rules of the game. It isn't like he doesn't have other ways to get cuts. He can hit in the cage, hit during BP, etc. And having played baseball in college, I understand that this is nothing near the same as seeing pitches in a real game. But just because your name is Barry Bonds and you're worried about getting injured (or perhaps just don't want to play defense during ST?) doesn't mean you can have the rules changed for you. Sorry. It just doesn't (or at least better not) work that way.

My observations on the Cubs vs. Rangers game...

2005-03-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning to the rare treat of having the Cubs vs. Rangers on ESPN... Granted, it's only the sixth inning now, but so far I've been impressed by how the Cubs have looked. Well, aside from the boneheaded angle Peter Bergeron took on a ball in left, which allowed Rod Barrajas to turn a single into a double. All in all, the Cubs have been hitting pretty well in the game (a couple home runs already), fielding decently, and the pitching has been quite good (Borowski, Hawkins, and Eddie Oropesa all had pretty good outings). Unfortunately, I'm not going to get to see the whole game, since I need to get ready to head to work...

What a shame...

2005-03-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

It appears that Ron Santo will have to continue to wait. He again came up short in his bid to be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee, losing out by 8 votes. Once again this year, no one was elected by the Committee, with Santo and Gil Hodges both coming up with 52 votes. Hopefully some day Ronnie will make it. But in the hearts and minds of Cubs fans everywhere, he's already there.

You'll want to leave your bunker for this one...

2005-02-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Last night, I had a special opportunity to see Downfall (aka Der Untergang) at the Arclight in Hollywood. The director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, and the DP, Rainer Klausmann, were in attendance, along with the beautiful Alexandra Maria Lara (photos below), Cristian Berkel, and another guy whose name I was unable to catch. They did a brief Q&A after the film for a packed house.

I hate to even attempt to write anything about this film. It is an amazing piece of work, by far one of the most incredible war films ever made. It belongs among the ranks of Saving Private Ryan and Das Boot. Hirschbiegel directs an amazing cast, among which Bruno Ganz is a standout. He brings Hitler to life in unbelievable fashion. You see the madness of a man bent on domination. And Hirschbiegel in no way, shape, or form allows any excuses for any of the Nazis. They are evil characters and that is the way it should be. Really, I can't do this film justice. All I can say is that this film has set a pretty high bar to beat for my pick for best film of the year... If you have the chance to go see this in theaters, DO IT!!! It is very powerful, but I really think that it will lose a little seeing it only on a television. You really need to have the gunfire and shelling shaking the floors in order to truly experience this film.

"I expect you to be Sammy. I don't expect you to fit in."

2005-02-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

Ahh... Lee Mazzilli's famous last words. I'm not sure if he (a) knows what he's doing and thinks this approach will work or (b) has no clue the beast he has unleashed by giving Sosa license to "be Sammy". Only time will tell... But telling him to stick out like a sore thumb sounds like a bad plan to me. I will give Sammy props for actually reporting to Spring Training before he's expected to show. Maybe he has learned a lesson and is ready to turn over a new leaf. Or maybe it's all just an act until he decides it's time to return to the Sammy of old.

Either way, I wish that he would just stop answering questions regarding the trade. The back and forth barbs are getting old, though it is about the only thing news-worthy coming out of Cubs camp, which has been otherwise fairly quiet, thus far. So silent, in fact, that yesterday the Tribune did a story on how Sergio Mitre would compete for the No. 5 starting job... I had taken this as a given, but apparently news out of camp is slow enough that they feel the need to state the obvious.

DWtV Now Has a Sponsor...

2005-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all... Just want to take a quick second to give a shout out to Coast to Coast Tickets and thank them for sponsorship of this site... Take a second to check them out.

Sammy Who?

2005-02-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

Jeromy Burnitz's personality is really starting to win me over. Will he ever "replace" Sammy? Hell no. I doubt that anyone will ever truly be able to replace him... He was one of a kind—a combination of power hitter and celebrity entertainer (in the best of times). But Burnitz just seems to have the right attitude about the whole situation. (Though I'm sure the "Do you think you can replace Sosa?" questions from the media are getting real old, real fast.) For an example of his attitude, just check out Carrie Muskat's new article over at Cubs.com. He has the right combination of humor and sarcasm to go with his "I just like to play the game" attitude. I'm starting to feel the winds of change down in Arizona—those of a team that is ready to go out and conquer the National League.

Hacking Paris

2005-02-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

I'm sure getting "Punk'd" by Ashton is looking pretty good right now, as opposed to the hacking that Paris Hilton's Sidekick got this weekend... Due to the nature of this incident (and my desire not to have my site get into any sort of trouble), I'll feature a couple links to info about the Paris Hilton getting hacked, but that's it... It looks like the sites with any amount of entertaining info are dropping like flies, so check this shit out while you still can.

Gawker - Fairly comprehensive coverage of the incident
Gizmodo - Pictures from Paris' phone... Turns out she must like taking her own picture...
Defamer - More coverage, including a link to what may or may not be Paris Hilton's actual MySpace profile...
Apparently her address book... - Is it wrong that I want to call all these numbers???

Adios for now...

Jose, can you see? (And can anyone see Ozzie?)

2005-02-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ahh... I remember when I was a kid and didn't know the words to "The Star Spangled Banner"... I really thought for some time (that is, until I was corrected) that the line was "Jose, can you see" instead of "oh say, can you see". I used to think it was really cool that Jose Canseco had his name in the song. That was just the way I thought when I was little—all baseball, all the time.

I was never a huge Jose Canseco fan. Those days, it was Ryno and the Hawk who I bowed down to. But after all that's happened, I feel sorry for all the kids who did grow up idolizing Canseco. This whole fiasco is ridiculous at this point. I would be one of the first to shake his hand for writing a book like he wrote if it was so obviously flawed and full of fabrications. Uhh... Jose... Maybe you should've had someone check into your baseball stories before you made them up... You could have at least made lies out of real at bats on the fields instead of fabricating not only the story but also the at bats. How will you get anyone to believe you (not that I think that is really his concern, as long as he makes money)?

The sad thing is, Canseco could have written a modern Ball Four, had he just taken the time to get his facts straight, rather than rush a book out because he's desperate for money again. I mean, I feel for the guy... It sucks to owe money all over town (or even just one place). But the selling off of his few remaining baseball memorabilia is pretty telling... Did this guy ever really enjoy the game and treasure his career? He has practically nothing left. It has all been sold over time through eBay and now his website. I do actually sort of want to pick up a copy of his book, though... Even if it is a mixture of fact and fiction. If he ever re-emerges at my gym, I really would like to chat with him. He's an intriguing guy... He just happens to be scrambling to make money right now.

And one last thing... Does anyone know whether Jose's twin, Ozzie Canseco, juiced? Because it would serve as an interesting comparison to be able to compare stats between the two based on Jose juicing and Ozzie not. About the closest thing you could do to a scientific experiment to look at Jose's career at this point... Just compare Jose's stats with Ozzie's stats. 'Nough said. Unless he was also juicing... In which case, it serves to show that juicing doesn't always work.

Oh, and one last thing... Take a look at Jose's World Series ring that could be yours for a mere $40,000! How's that for some bling? Especially for a guy who only played 37 games for the Yanks that year and only had ONE at bat in the World Series—a strikeout.

Quick Hits: TV/Movie Reviews

2005-02-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Cubs pitchers and catchers officially report to camp in less than 24 hours, and I have to say, I can't wait. I've been anxious for this season to get started since pretty much the last day of last season. That last week down the stretch left the taste of sour milk in my mouth (not that I actually know what sour milk tastes like, but I imagine that last week would be about equivalent). Starting tomorrow, I'll have more to say, since there will be more action and excitement.

In the meantime, I want to review a few movies and TV shows that I've recently caught on DVD. (Is there really anything better than the invention of the DVD?!? I don't think so.)

Wonderfalls - This TV show got canned last year by FOX after only 4 episodes, but due to loyal fan support, this extremely funny hour-long show's 13 glorious episodes have been brought to DVD. For those who don't know the plot, it pretty much sums up to this: Cute 24 yr old girl with a degree from Brown works at a Niagara Falls gift shop and various inanimate animals start telling her to do things, making her think that she is going crazy. My two favorite 'sodes are Lovesick Ass and Lying Pig. It really doesn't get any better than Lovesick Ass. I highly recommend this one...

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness - I've been discovering John Carpenter's early flicks recently (back when he still seemed to have a passion to make good movies)... This movie is well worth it just for the twist at the end—something that I didn't see coming at all—which is always a good thing (at least in my mind). Very enjoyable piece of work.

Dawn of the Dead (Romero's original, not the remake) - LOVED this movie! I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. I had seen Night of the Living Dead, but had somehow put off seeing this flick until this past week. What a treat it was. And the making-of documentaries that are part of the recent 4-disc release are also amazing... Makes me want to go out and make a horror movie myself (enough so that I have an idea for a story in the works).

Donnie Darko Director's Cut - I LOVE Donnie Darko, but I was never able to make it to theaters to see the Director's Cut, which I was pretty bummed about. I picked this disc up this morning (yes, it only came out today) and immediately went home and watched it before work. At first, I wasn't digging it all that much because I thought it was explaining the movie better than it should have—part of what I liked about the original version was the need to think and try to make sense of the movie on your own. BUT... once I had finished watching it, I really can't say which I like better... I think they're both great because they both raise questions, albeit different ones. The Director's Cut expands upon the original and raises questions of its own based on the new information revealed throughout the film (mostly in the form of portions of the book by Grandma Death...). If you haven't checked this film out, you really really need to.

I thought there was something else I wanted to write about that I had recently seen, but I don't really remember what it was... So I guess this is all you get for the time being. I also picked up a 2-pack of the unrated remake of Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead, so perhaps I'll be back in a couple days to write about the DotD remake... Shaun of the Dead is probably the movie I most wish I had seen in theaters last year because it was such a fun flick...

Debbie Does Playboy

2005-02-13T00:54:00.000-08:00

A month has passed since Teri Polo had her nude spread in Playboy. This month's celebrity spread features former '80s teen star Debbie (now Deborah) Gibson. Of course, as with last month, I have no intention of actually posting her naked photos myself (as much as I'd love to waste my bandwidth on that...), but I will be so kind as to steer you here. All I'll say is, she's got a pretty nice ass...

Life Without the Farns...

2005-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a day or so late in commenting on this, but if you've read my blog before, you'll know that I already voiced my concerns about Farns back when the Cubs gave him a raise to avoid arbitration. Hendry has finally unloaded the headcase, and I'm glad. Sure, Farns has a lot of potential. Yeah, he's gone through excellent streaks in the past. But there are also the incidents in which he has completely let his team down, like the trip to the disabled list following his losing battle with an air conditioner. The Cubs are better off without him, and perhaps a change in scenery will revitalize his career. We didn't get much in return (at least at a glance), but I have a feeling that these guys might be able to shine in a better farm system. Only time will tell on that.

I really like that Hendry has finally decided to purge the clubhouse of some of the bad seeds... Unhappiness can be an epidemic, and the fewer disgruntled guys you've got on the team can only be a good thing for any team in the long run. It feels to me like the Cubs have assembled a team filled mostly with really positive guys now who enjoy playing the game and won't complain every time something does go his way. Hopefully the team chemistry will see a boost with the removal of the bad blood.

Inspired to write

2005-02-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

It turns out that a little encouragement can sometimes go a long way. After a little encouragement to get over my insecurities about writing and shooting said writing, I have decided to get back to work. If you've been reading this blog since it's infancy, then you'll know that I had originally intended to use this as a forum to practice and improve my writing as a way to avoid actually starting on writing a script that, when boiled down to its essentials, is a road trip/coming-of-age story. Well, in many ways, I don't feel that I am ready for that undertaking. But in the meantime, I really want to get back to writing something, even if it isn't that. So, I've come up with a concept for a horror script that I'm convinced, provided I can kick my ass into actually writing it, would actually be a lot of fun to then go out and shoot. With that as an eventual goal, I am today embarking on the beginnings of that writing project. Of course, I'll still be writing in the blog as well... (Though I'm not sure that many people actually make it here for anything aside from the link I posted to Teri Polo's nude pics in Playboy a couple weeks back.)

Gotta have faith...

2005-02-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

In ten or 15 minutes, the Orioles should be wheeling Sammy out to be put on display in front of the media... And I'm sure Sammy will put on a good show. You'll note that I haven't written anything about the deal yet, which will bring Jerry Hairston Jr. and two minor leaguers to the Cubs in exchange for the greatest HR hitter in Cubs history. My reason for not writing anything? I haven't been able to find the proper words to say the way I feel. It all has a very bittersweet feeling to it. For a long time, I enjoyed Sammy and, like many others, endorsed his crazy antics that continued to steamroll out of control until the Cubs finally (and wisely, I might add) decided that he was too much of a distraction for a team no longer content with having a superstar slugger to fill the seats for a losing team. In the end, this will work out for the best. Sammy will get a new start and will HOPEFULLY learn from his mistakes in Chicago. I actually think he'll have a monster year this year, and I hope he does.

In the meantime, the Cubs will move on, replacing him with Jeromy Burnitz (or "Burshits", as he has already been dubbed on the cubs.com message boards). I think that this is the best possible move right now. Is Burnitz great? No. Is he good? Yes. He's a guy that I've admired from afar for awhile now, mostly for his demeanor towards the game, both on the field and off. He is a quiet guy who leaves it all out on the field, day in and day out. He goes out there, loving to plaly the game, and he plays his heart out. I'm sure he'll put up respectable numbers, though that doesn't mean that I think he'll be able to "replace" Sammy (though I'm sure he'll replace his strikeout totals)... There are few out there that could. I also am not sure that this will be the last of Hendry's moves. I have a feeling that Hendry has orchestrated these moves with a bigger picture in mind. I have faith.

Bill Holden goes for a walk...

2005-01-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Head on over to Cubs.com for a feel-good story about Bill Holden, a teacher in New Mexico who was inspired by the film This Old Cub to walk all the way from New Mexico to Chicago in hopes to raise money for diabetes. As he says about his trek, "One thing I know is that there's two trains of thought. There are the people you meet who say, 'I wish I was going with you.' Then there's the other part who say you're crazy. As a teacher, you get used to the 'You're crazy." Well, Mr. Holden, I wish I was going with you.

Old School

2005-01-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

You've got to give props to Barry Larkin. The man, out of loyalty to the Reds, would prefer to retire rather than play another year or two in anything but a Reds uniform. Ten years ago, that might not have been something that unusual. But these days, there is very little loyalty anymore, so I feel it important to point this out. Sure, Barry is talking about heading over to the Nationals in some capacity in order to reunite with Jim Bowden. But Bowden originally wanted to sign him to play and help out with some of the youngsters on the team, to which Barry said no because he doesn't want to play for any other team. That's some heart that guy has. Something that most likely will not be seen again... Which is too bad.

Non-Roster Invitee Spotlight on...

2005-01-26T16:23:00.000-08:00

Raul Valdez

Since information about Valdez seems fairly hard to come by, and since he is a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year, I thought I'd pool the little bit of information about him that I was able to dig up.

The 27 year old left-handed pitcher, formerly a member of the Cuban National Team, spent 2004 playing in the Dominican League for Azucareros Del Este. He pitched in 10 games, posting an impressive 5-2 record and a 0.79 ERA (allowing only 5 runs). His five wins were tied for fourth in the Dominican League, and he racked up 47 K's in 57 innings pitched, tied for the fifth highest strikeout total in the league. He was also fifth in the league in innings pitched. He walked 22 batters (second in the league) and gave up 34 hits for a WHIP of 0.98. According to Oneri Fleita, the Cubs' director of player development, he is being sent to the big league camp this spring to better assess his abilities.

Aside from a few too many walks, this guy, based on Dominican League numbers, appears to have decent stuff. How he'll look come Spring Training (with stiffer competition) is another question...

As if one Canseco wasn't enough...

2005-01-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

It has officially been confirmed. Jose (or Ozzie) Canseco goes to my gym. Or maybe they both do. I don't know. I can't tell them apart. But they're both big dudes. I will guarantee you right now that I could not take either of them in a fight.

I walked into my gym a couple nights ago and sat down at one of the stationary bikes, as per my usual warm-up routine. Pretty soon, the guy I've suspected for over a month now of being Jose (or Ozzie) Canseco walked up the set of stairs right in front of me. So, I again thought to myself, "Boy, that guy looks just like Jose Canseco". But I thought it was a fluke, as it was with the last time I thought I recognized someone at my gym. (I swear that as long as you don't see this one guy close up, he's the spitting image of Ryan from The OC, but I digress...) I figured this guy just looked pretty similar to Jose Canseco. But no... Two minutes later, I get confirmation when Ozzie (or Jose) Canseco walks up the same set of stairs his twin Jose (or Ozzie) had. Nothing made me happier that night than to be able to finally confirm what I thought to be true for some time: That, on occassion, I work out in close proximity to Jose (or Ozzie) Canseco (only with less steroids in the system).

Now if only I could figure out which one is which!

What the...?!?

2005-01-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

So you've probably seen the new ads by Nike now for their NikePro line of performance athletic clothing... Just how creepy are those ads? I mean, really...

I'd say the Pujols mask (above) really is probably the least creepy of all of the masks... And it's pretty damn creepy!

Well, curiousity got the best of me, so I clicked on the ad on the ESPN main page... Here's what Nike's website has to say about the Pujols mask, dubbed "The Destroyer":

Albert Pujols wears a game face that's uncompromising. Like an
ancient warrior with reptilian spirit deep in his soul, he summons his power
with a trusted weapon passed down from generations.

Say what?!? Are you kidding me? Were the ad execs on crack when they came up with this crap? Or were they just huffing glue? Your guess is as good as mine...

Coming to terms with number twenty-one

2005-01-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not going to talk about the Cubs themselves coming to terms with him... Will he apologize or won't he? Will they have this big "peace summit" between Hendry, Baker, and Sosa? At this point, I don't really care. What happens will happen. At this point, pretty much everyone can agree that Slammin' Sammy will again be a Cub in 2005. That means, at least in my mind, that it is time for me to come to terms with his actions of last September and move on. I will be the first to admit that, upon hearing about Sammy's walk-out on the last day of the year, I was screaming "off with his head" along with everyone else... It was a ridiculously stupid and selfish action on his part. It shows that, at least on that particular day, he was willing to put himself above his team, an action which doesn't necessarily speak well to his character. But I digress... I won't turn this post into an attack on his character.

I took his actions that day as a very personal blow... It seemed to me that, since well before his spectacular 1998 season captured the hearts and minds of seemingly everyone in the country, I often found myself defending Sosa. Before '98, I kept telling my friends to be patient... When he got his big contract in '97, I said, "Just wait and see... He'll be worth it." So you can see why this seemed like a personal betrayal by Sammy. And it's not just me that feels this way. I'm sure millions of other Cubs faithful do too. I don't claim to be unique in this feeling.

But the time has come to put all that aside. About a month ago, I started coming to my senses (presumably once I started to realize there was no way he would be traded anyway). Trading him actually makes little sense. It is quite ridiculous to trade away 30+ HRs and 100 RBIs to get little to nothing in return (not to mention paying upwards of $10 million for Sosa to do this for another team).

The other BIG reason? Sosa will be playing this year like it is a contract year. After all that has happened, I'm not even willing to begin to speculate on whether the Cubs would even consider picking up the option for next year (although in a short answer, I'll guess that no, they won't). He knows that he has something to prove and will be out to prove it with a vengeance. What does that mean for the Cubs? Hopefully it means getting back something at least resembling the Sammy of old, at least numbers-wise (I wouldn't bet on seeing the playful, fun, smiling character of the past anytime soon).

So, yes, Sosa and I have reconciled. Our spat has met its end. I realize that we need him. We need his bat. Because whatever we would get in return for him would not come close to filling his shoes. And hopefully, if this is his last year as a Cub, we can make it a good one.

Teri Polo Nude in Playboy...

2005-01-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

...and damn does she look good! As I'm sure everyone who calls themselves a man already knows, Teri Polo of Sports Night and Meet the Parents/Fockers fame posed nude for this month's Playboy. What sort of guy would I be if I hadn't scoured the net a bit to find scans of her spread for you, my readers... Head over HERE to see Teri Polo in all her yummy naked goodness!

Bit by the Dead (but sadly not by Naomi)...

2005-01-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I just saw Shaun of the Dead for the first time. God damn if that isn't the hardest I've laughed during a movie in quite some time. There's just something insanely funny about chaining up zombies to use on television game shows (or to play video games with, for that matter). I was really quite impressed by the movie overall... I wasn't sure what to expect. Some people loved it, others hated it... I am officially joining the "loved it" camp. It was well worth the $3 rental fee. Hell, it was good enough that I no longer care about the fact that I also paid $3 to rent We Don't Live Here Anymore, which I did not enjoy at all. (Well, maybe "at all" is too strong a term... I mean, the movie did have a scantily clad Naomi Watts... Who can argue with someone as beautiful as that?!?)

Ryan Dempster's optimism...

2005-01-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

''No question we are being underrated and not given the credit we deserve,'' Dempster said at the Cubs Convention. ''We have a great team. Of course, if everyone agreed 100 percent, we wouldn't have this convention. But this is a great group of guys, and we are going to be fine as long as St. Louis doesn't win 300 games.''

Apparently he also did a pretty hilarious (and dead-on) Harry Caray impression...

Congrats once again go out to Ryno

2005-01-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

They announced yesterday at the Cubs Convention that Ryne Sandberg's beloved #23 will be retired this season, rightfully taking its place alongside Ernie Banks' #14, Billy Williams' #26, and Ron Santo's #10. When I was a kid, Ryno's good ol' #23 was always my favorite number... It was always the number I wanted on my baseball teams. And I can remember how sad I was the first time I wasn't able to get that number. Well, now up-and-comers in the Cubs system will also have to play the role of not being able to have his number. From now on, that number belongs to Ryno, and Ryno alone. And deservedly so.

Tallying up the Cubs' non-roster invitees

2005-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

As of now, the Cubs have 15 non-roster invitees...

Pitchers

Raul Valdez

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Do any of these guys excite me? No, not really, to be perfectly honest. At least aside from Greenberg... He got the biggest rise out of me from this bunch of guys. I'm curious to see what sort of stuff the kid's got. I'm hopeful that he could possibly help out in the outfield (since he might actually be able to cover some amount of ground in center when CP needs a rest, unlike Hollandsworth...). Fox could end up being a smart pickup. And Jimmy Anderson wasn't awful when pitching last year (nothing stellar either, though). I do have a bit of a soft spot for Angel... He's done decent for the Cubs in a previous tour of duty, so maybe he could be of some use again. Kopitzke is a career .231 hitter in six minor league seasons, so I don't see him contributing... Not to mention that I am extremely happy with the current catching tandem of Barrett (who I hope can reproduce numbers similar to last year) and Blanco (who might not be able to hit, but he sure can throw out would-be base stealers).

Minor League Baseball getting Major online boost...

2005-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

Not sure how this slipped past me... Or almost everyone else, for that matter (except the guys over at Goat Riders). This may not mean a lot for some people, but for others (like me), this is pretty damn exciting. I've wondered why we haven't gotten real-time minor league stats before now. And apparently someone over at mlb.com agrees with me. The plan is for them to eventually stream real-time stats, radio, and video for all minor league teams, thus giving them the same treatment that mlb.com has given to Major League Baseball. This just provides one more example of how mlb.com continues to push the bar on providing comprehensive baseball coverage on its site...

America's Favorite Baseball Wife...

2005-01-19T23:56:00.000-08:00

Seems that news has solidified quite a bit on what's happening with Anna Benson's proposed reality TV show... According to ESPN's interview with Anna, the pilot has already been shot, with filming to begin again in February. As she describes it, the show will be about "being -- eight months out of the year -- single with three kids and six dogs". Of course, she says that Kris will show up from time to time but that he won't really be that involved. So now he won't only just be an overpaid pitcher but an overpaid pitcher who has the constant distraction of his wife doing a reality show. Right... That'll make him pitch better. But don't worry, Mets fans... According to Anna's wife, Jon Orlando (who happens to be the son of Tony Orlando), "Anna would never do anything that would interfere with Kris, the Mets or Major League Baseball". Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say.

Youppi! the Corporate Mascot??

2005-01-19T14:35:00.000-08:00

Say it ain't so... It appears that Youppi! will not be making the transition to Washington with the rest of the Team Formerly Known as the Expos (otherwise known as the Nationals these days). Not that I expected Youppi! to go along to Washington... But I also didn't expect him to be auctioned off to the highest Canadian corporate bidder. But according to Jim Caple at ESPN.com, the Expos are in the process of selling off the rights to Youppi!, claiming that he will bring six figures. Poor Youppi! His career has been reduced to a bidding war for his likeness.

The Two Million Dollar Head Case...

2005-01-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Cubs announced yesterday that they had reached a one year deal with the Cubs' resident head case, Kyle Farnsworth, thus avoiding arbitration. In a year during which Farnsworth's anger caused an injury, he still got a raise in pay to $1.975 million for 2005.

Here's my problem with this... Sure, Farnsy has an explosive fastball. He can throw the ball as hard as the best of 'em. But he has problems... Rumors of not wanting to throw his one dominant pitch as much... Injuring himself in the dugout in a fit of rage... These are not things which I, were it my money, would not want to pay $2 million for. As it stands, I really only see Farnsy as a mediocre (and unreliable) middle reliever at the very best. Should he be pigeon-holed as such? His natural talent says no. He has the arm. As Crash Davis said in Bull Durham, "When [he] was a baby, the Gods reached down and turned [his] right arm into a thunderbolt." He is the perfect example of the million dollar arm with the five cent head. Kinda almost brings back memories of another Cub reliever... Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams...

Farnsy is young enough (soon to turn 29) to still turn things around and make something meaningful of his career. I hope and pray for that day because if/when it comes, he will be a force to reckoned with. But as it stands, I cringe at the fact that we're giving nearly $2 million to a guy whose job could be done by lots of other guys for less money.

Best of the Best: Favorite Movies of 2004

2005-01-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Finally, in no particular order, I present to you some of my favorite movies of 2004... A couple guilty pleasures on the list, but all in all, I think it's fairly solid.

Before Sunset
Goodbye, Lenin!
Mean Girls
The Butterfly Effect
Spartan
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Girl Next Door
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
Spider-Man 2
Garden State
Collateral
Open Water
Friday Night Lights
Sideways
The Incredibles
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
In Good Company
Man on Fire
Saved!
Meet the Fockers
(Not to mention the fact that there are several movies from 2004 which I really want to see but have yet to get the chance, including a few that I'm sure could crack this list and possibly even the top 10...)

As for my top movies of the year... Here is a countdown of my top ten favorites of the year. It really is hard to choose just five favorites (which is why this list was expanded to ten). A lot of these movies are really bunched up for me... A couple great ones followed by a bunch of really good ones, many of which were considered for cracking the top 5. And creating a top 10 list is incredibly hard as well... So many good movies that I enjoyed this year, and there are some that it pains me to leave off the list (The Butterfly Effect and Spider-Man 2, to just give a couple examples). This top 10 list is how I feel today. Tomorrow might be entirely different, especially with numbers 5 upwards. But enough talk. Without further ado, here are my top 10 of 2004:

10. Friday Night Lights
9. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
8. In Good Company
7. Collateral
6. Sideways
5. The Incredibles
4. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
3. Garden State
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

And my top movie of the year is...

1. Before Sunset

(***Quick note... I had originally forgotten to add Before Sunset to the list... But once I did, it bumped Kill Bill, Vol. 2 from spot #3 in my top five... So I felt the need to expand the list into a top 10 because a top 5 just doesn't give all the credit due to all of my absolute favorites of the year.***)

RIP Amrish Puri

2005-01-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Just learned of the news that Amrish Puri, known best to those of us in the U.S. as Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, has passed away at the age of 72. Guess he won't be able to rip the hearts out of chests anymore. Rest in peace...

Baddest of the Bad in 2004

2005-01-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

I generally tend to avoid movies that I know I won't like. Therefore, it's usually pretty damn hard for me to make a list of movies I didn't like in any given year. I have a knack for being able to find a little morsel of good in even the shittiest of movies. And generally if I don't like something, I tend to just forget about the movie rather than even remember that I didn't like it.

That being said, I can think of one movie I definitely was NOT a fan of in any way, shape, or form in 2004: The Stepford Wives. This movie actually sticks out in my mind for all the bad moments... I don't even think I can come up with any moments which were even remotely redeeming. Just a stinking pile of crap. There's nothing more I could possibly say about this movie (at least not anything that isn't extremely negative).

I promise to come back sometime later this week with my favorites of 2004, of which there are quite a few.

Last night's adventure into Hollywood in the ever-present rain

2005-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Went into Hollywood last night with a friend to see Sideways at the Arclight, which just so happens to be my favorite theater (although their prices are NOT my favorite). Of course it has yet to stop raining in LA, so we got to drive amongst a bunch of idiots who are just asking to get into accidents (at least most of them).

Thanks to my trusty Arclight membership card, I was able to get us 2-for-1 tickets to the movie, which turned out to be hilarious. I absolutely loved the film... Definitely makes my "Best of 2004" list (which I should actually write out and post here one of these days).

Afterwards, we stopped in the gift shop to look around. I was on a mission to find another movie poster for my room, and I ended up not leaving empty-handed. Bought myself a High Noon tin poster that I think looks awesome. (On a side note, is there anything more brilliant than putting a movie-themed gift shop inside a movie theater?!? Every time I go to the Arclight, I stop in the gift shop. And almost every time I stop in the gift shop, I find something that I feel I must buy.)

One of these days (soon, I promise) I'll put up a list of my favorite movies of the past year...

Quick Hits...

2005-01-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

Just a few random thoughts as I sit here waiting for my delivery of tapes so that I can go home...

The Veterans' Committee will not announce whether they have selected anyone to enter the Hall of Fame along with Boggs and Sandberg until March... Yes, it's quite the wait, but it will be well worth it if we would get to see Santo go into the Hall with Sandberg come this summer.
Anyone else catch the premiere of Alias this week? Damn, I hope so... That Jennifer Garner... I know I've said it before, but she is pretty damn hot. Not to mention the fact that Alias remains, in my humble opinion, one of the best shows currently on network TV. It'll be interesting to see where they end up going with these new events (the new CIA black-ops unit run by Sloan which harkens back to the days of SD-6). Crazy to hear about the health troubles Garner is going through right now as a result of a stunt on the show... Nerve damage is not a fun thing to deal with.
Book I'm currently reading: Climb to Conquer: The Untold Story of WWII's 10th Mountain Division Ski Troops by Peter Shelton... The more I read about the 10th Mountain Division in WWII, the more I wish my great-grandpa (who was in that division) was still around to be able to talk to him about it.
The rain in LA seems to be never-ending... This really is crazy. This morning, there was a boom of thunder so loud that it woke me up from a very peaceful sleep...

Thank you Anna Benson!

2005-01-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

It's always interesting for me to monitor the readership of my site... Sometimes it's more depressing than interesting when I realize that most people don't spend all that long here. But it's always fun to see where people come from. Lots of my traffic comes through various search engines, thanks to various posts I've made in the past regarding such hotties as Evangeline Lilly from Lost, Rachel Bilson from The OC, etc. The most interesting trend of late (especially today), has been the number of hits my site gets from a search of Anna Benson, the supremely hot wife of supremely overpaid Kris Benson (who just signed a 3-year, $22.5 million contract with the Mets this winter - source: ESPN.com).

What's my point? Well, as a personal thank you to Mrs. Benson, I dug up a picture of her to throw up on today's post, thereby hopefully increasing readership even more (or even just viewership... who cares if you read what I write... I'm really just here to provide a little eye candy for the day). So, thank you Anna Benson. Without you, I wouldn't have already had an astounding 18 hits on my blog today (including 8 in the past hour alone!!). Enjoy!!

Ryno taking a trip to Cooperstown

2005-01-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I'm just now getting back to writing a post-HOF announcement piece. I watched the broadcast online, and as soon as they said that two had been inducted, I knew Ryno was in. At which point I let out a yell in my house (luckily no one else was home) and did a celebratory fist-pump.

This is a big deal for me. As long as I can remember watching baseball, I remember Ryne Sandberg. He was my favorite player all throughout my youth, and for him to make it to the Hall of Fame... Well, there aren't really words to describe my excitement.

Whenever I ripped open a pack of Topps baseball cards as a kid, there was nothing I hoped for more than a card of Ryno. Sure, I also wanted to get the Ken Griffey, Jr. and Frank Thomas cards in the '90s... Everyone did. But it was only pulling a card of Ryno out of the pack that really got my heart pumping. I collected his cards back when it was easy to collect them all, before the days of insert cards. And I owned most of them. Those I didn't have, I would scour every booth at baseball card shows to find.

I wanted to be Ryno. And no, I don't mean that I wanted to be like Ryno... I mean, I would actually imagine I was Ryno gobbling up grounders in my yard and on the baseball diamond. Either that, or I would imagine that I was playing with Ryno—that he and I were the premier double play combo.

He was the first player that I followed day in and day out. And I'm so thankful that he is finally being rewarded in his third year on the ballot with a trip to the Hall. Congrats, Ryno. And thanks for all the memories.

Moments away from the HOF announcement...

2005-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm sitting here waiting to hear/see who will get into the Hall this year... Gotta love MLB.com for the fact that they are broadcasting it all on the web. Have to say that I feel only so-so about most of the players on the ballot this year. Boggs seems the most likely of those on the ballot, but I guess we will soon see.

Of course, I'm personally pulling for Ryno... He was my favorite player growing up and still holds a special place in my heart to this day. I've read articles from both sides of the aisle on Ryno's Hall cred, and I see both points of view. But nothing would please me more today than hearing Ryne Sandberg's name announced.

The many faces of Rutger Hauer

2004-12-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here's a fun link for today... Rutger Hauer Official Website Just that front page before entering the site is quite the treat. Don't know who Rutger Hauer is? Take a look at all of the pictures of all of the characters he's played over the years on his front page, and you'll probably recognize his face.

In other news, we're only about 20 minutes away from our Secret Santa exchange at work... Before this morning, all I had gotten from my Secret Santa was a lone "Crisp Kringle"... Then, I arrived to the vault this morning to find a big bow-type thing made from film hanging above the door. Very excited to see what I get at our little party...

Today's Links of Interest...

2004-12-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Seeing the amount of random crap that I regularly find online, I'm occasionally going to try to post a smattering of links that I find funny/entertaining/weird/whatever else... (Yes, I realize that I'm doing nothing more than copying what The Intern does for Bill Simmons... But hey... That's pretty damn entertaining to read, and he can only put up so many links... So I figure I'll just help out with a few of my own.)

Chrismukkah Blog - Found this through its spotlight on the Blogger Dashboard... This guy claims he made up the term before it was on The OC... I wouldn't doubt it... But without The OC, I don't think that the term would've ever caught on like the wildfire that it has because of Summer, Cohen, and company.

BBC News - Good thing the Hastings Coastguard was quick to save Action Man... His joints are probably a bit too stiff to have made the swim to safety on his own.

That's it for this time... Got a little busy once I thought I had time to screw around a bit...

A few baseball tidbits for the day...

2004-12-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey there. Miss me? Been pretty busy lately, and now that the internet again doesn't work at my house, that means that I have less time to blog. I have to try to make more of a concerted effort to at least occasionally get some thoughts up here.

Anyway... Enough of an "apology"... On to a few baseball tidbits...

Well, the baseball Winter Meetings came and went without too much excitement... I was hoping for a Sosa trade to happen, but since the end of the meetings, the Cubs are saying there are "5 to 6 teams" expressing an interest. Unfortunately, included in this figure are probably the Nationals, whose GM was a bit of a dumbass this weekend... First requesting to meet with Cubs management about Sosa and then later telling the press he would take Sosa if the Nationals were not obligated to pay ANY of his salary. Uhh... excuse me?? I don't think it works quite like that... I'm torn on this whole Sosa issue... I'd like to get him out of the clubhouse, but I don't know how much the Cubs should be willing to pay on his contract. He should be playing his little heart out this year if he stays to prove to other teams that he's still got it so that he's worth more on the free agent market next year... But I don't know if the hope of him playing well in a contract year is enough reason to keep an obvious clubhouse distraction around. We'll see what happens.

On another Winter Meetings note, I went with a couple friends to the Anaheim Hilton on Saturday night, hoping to see something interesting... And if not see something interesting, then at least be able to say that we went to hang out at the Winter Meetings. We hung around the hotel bar for a while before deciding to head for home in the thickest fog I have ever seen in SoCal. All in all, it was a lot of fun... If only we knew what more baseball execs and agents looked like...

Next up... Word on the street (and by "street" I really mean the Intern's Links on Bill Simmons' website), Moonlight Graham has opened a store on Melrose in West Hollywood! How cool is that?!? Well, if you can't answer that question, cruise on over to their website and then answer. They specialize in vintage-logo baseball apparel... I already own the shirt with the goat holding the "I'm for the Cubs" sign. And I'm currently salivating all over my keyboard for pretty much every other piece of Cubs gear they sell. Now I just need to go check out their actual store (though I'll probably leave the place broke). That might have to wait until after Xmas, however...

Tune in again (hopefully) tomorrow... Same bat time, same bat channel...

Major League threat...

2004-12-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

"I told him, cheat on me all you want. If you get caught, I'm going to (sleep with) everybody on your entire team -- coaches, trainers, players. I would do everybody on his whole team."
-- Anna Benson, wife of Mets pitcher Kris Benson, explaining to Howard Stern how she would 'embarrass' her husband if he was unfaithful

I think Anna has seen Major League one too many times. It's giving her ideas...

Dreams of a Mars landing...

2004-12-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

Watched Veronica Mars last night... I still maintain this is one of the best new shows on TV, and it is definitely the best show on TV that no one is watching. This week saw it finish last in the ratings for its time slot, which is sad. At least UPN has enough faith in the show to have order a full season of it (which was the big news back in early November).

I have to admit, I am falling more and more in love with Veronica (Kristen Bell). She is absolutely beautiful. She might just be my favorite girl on TV right now...

Long time, no see...

2004-11-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know... I haven't posted in nearly two weeks. Hopefully you (yes, I'm talking to all of you who still read this) haven't completely given up on me, which judging from the fact that you're reading this right now, apparently you haven't.

Anyway, work has been a bit hectic of late due to the fact that, while no tapes have been coming in because of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have been taking the opportunity to learn a few new things (such as basic stuff on Avid). I figure that you never know when skills that I pick up in my free time at work might someday come in useful.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving... Mine was very relaxing, consisting of eating, sleeping, working out, and watching as many DVDs and football games as time would allow. A quick rundown of what I've been watching:

Seinfeld Seasons 1-3... I cannot say enough about this. Pure genius.
The Butterfly Effect Directors' Cut... Loved this movie (so much so that I went out and bought a used copy a day after renting it). If you have yet to see it, I would recommend watching the Directors' Cut over the Theatrical Version... The DC has a much more powerful ending.
Envy... Never would I have imagined that a Jack Black/Ben Stiller movie could possibly stink up the place. Well, this movie proves my imagination wrong. Another wasted performance by Walken, too.
Spun... Enjoyable but fucked up movie... Drug movies are real hit or miss with me, but I liked this one. Also of note is that Billy Corgan was hit up for music for the film, so it features a bunch of previously unreleased tracks by Zwan (credited as The Djali Zwan).
Thirteen... Good movie, though the scenes of the girl cutting her wrists... yeah... can't really watch that so much.
Walking Tall... Very enjoyable movie... It was exactly what I was expecting it to be - FUN. Listened to a bit of The Rock's commentary, which was utterly hilarious. This guy makes some damn enjoyable action flicks.

Well, there you have it. That's how I spent my holiday weekend. How did you spend yours?

Betterman

2004-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the Cubs think they can find someone better than Troy Percival to help out in the bullpen... If you have yet to see the news, ESPN is reporting that he has just signed a two-year deal with the Tigers. Oh well... Maybe the best move, at least in this case, is not making one. There were definitely doubts about Percival's health, and he is getting up there in age. Granted, he doesn't need a walker to get out to the mound yet, but he's not far off.

I just hope that the Cubs are able to make some of the necessary moves. Step one really needs to be to trade Sosa. After being a long-time Sosa apologist, I am ready to see him leave. I don't even mind the prospect of taking on Cliff Floyd. At least it isn't Sosa and his attitude. Hopefully all the moving and shaking happens sooner rather than later... If we can free up money by dealing Sosa, we can more aggressively pursue other free agents (considering we still need to sign a left fielder, shortstop, and second baseman... not to mention find some sort of bullpen help).

Flying Down to Rio

2004-11-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it. I've been having a major case of writer's block lately with regard to my blog. I have gone far too long without writing anything with any amount of wit or wisdom or humor (not that I ever really claim to have done that). That being said, I refuse to make an attempt to be witty, humorous, or wise this evening. I won't do it. Instead, I've decided to share with you a list of places I have never visited but decided in the last five minutes or so that I really should visit someday. (Not that you care about this... Not that I even really care about this... So why do it? I really don't know. I guess I'm just bored.)

Florida (as long as it isn't during one of those damn hurricanes)
Brazil (just b/c it would be fun... in fact, anywhere in Central/South America would be cool)
Nepal (really, I'd love to go to Tibet... but as long as Tibet is part of China, Nepal will do)
Africa (anywhere on that continent would be fascinating)
Ireland

And that, my friend, was a list of places that I would love to be able to visit someday.

Currently listening to: Drugstore - "Songs for the Jet Set/Collector Number One" (which is where the title of and inspiration for this post came from)

Cruise-ing Everest

2004-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

Is Tom Cruise insane? I think he might be... He apparently plans to attempt to climb Mt. Everest as soon as he's done shooting Mission Impossible 3. Could he really be that desperate to not want to do press for the movie?!?

I think that this plan of his is about as well thought-out as my plan to shave off my goatee for the first time in four (yes, that's right, four) years. Not only was I amazed to actually feel wind on my chin after shaving (and have the odd sensation of my chin being cold just from that slight breeze), but I also failed to think about the possible grudge that my skin might hold towards me for running a razor over it. Well, the chin skin did not think to highly of my attempts to get rid of its breeze protection (one could call it a chin coat) and has been punishing me with a pretty bad case of razor burn ever since.

On another note, I finally picked up my own copy of Sports Night on DVD... If you haven't ever seen the genius that is Aaron Sorkin's writing, you're missing out. And while the first season of West Wing also had some of that sarcastic tone that Sorkin writes so well, Sports Night really captures the tone of his writing perfectly. That cast had a way of making his words work. So, in honor of both me picking up the series on DVD and Tom Cruise's brilliance, I give you the following exchange from Sports Night about Mt. Everest:

Jeremy: It's 29,000 feet.
Elliot: Actually, it's 29,029 feet.
Dana: But it's that last ten yards that'll kill ya.
Jeremy: How can I best describe this? How many of what kind of thing would
we have to lay end to end?
Elliot: Twenty-nine thousand rulers.

Ahh... Genius. Pure genius. Too bad the show got cancelled (despite being an Emmy Award winner).

I just can't get enough

2004-11-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

My favorite band in the whole entire world is Pearl Jam. I had always enjoyed them throughout the 90's, but I didn't fall in love with their music until I saw them live for the first time when I was in college (San Bernadino - Oct. 28th, 2000). Since then, I've had this insatiable appetite for any and all things Pearl Jam, especially in the way of live stuff. Why am I telling you this? Well, occasionally, I fall into this mood during which I am compelled to listen to as much Pearl Jam as possible. And, of course, now is one of those times. I probably have 8-10 of their "bootleg" shows that they've been releasing since their 2000 tour, and I have listened to all of them at least once in the past week. Some I've listened to multiple times. (Currently listening to: Pearl Jam - "Benaroya Hall 10/22/03", my 3rd time through it this week... See my point? Insatiable.) I always seem to find something new and entertaining with each listen. I think that's why I love them so much... Unlike other favorite bands of mine, you could go see these guys 10 nights in a row on a tour and never get the same set list and probably not even the same exact vibe. (As a counterpoint, I give you Live, who I have seen multiple nights in a row--and while I do love them, they play the same damn show night after night. Which isn't to say that they don't put on a great energetic show because they do.) Pearl Jam is just a cut above the rest.

Speaking of insatiable appetites... How is it that I enjoy The OC so damn much? I don't consider it even anywhere near the top in terms of overall quality for what's on TV these days. That space is reserved for the likes of Scrubs, Smallville, Lost... things like that. But The OC is just a fun show to watch. Adam Brody cracks me up. And who couldn't love Rachel Bilson? She is so damn hot. The point is... It's a fun show. No, you don't necessarily have to think too much while watching it, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with that from time to time. It is one of those things I look forward to on Thursday nights.

On another quick note, looks like I'm going to try to get a haircut this weekend. Nothing drastic, just a little off the back and sides. The big news will come in the fact that I'm probably going to shave off the goatee (at least temporarily) for the first time in four years. Why the hell would I do that? The better question is, Why the hell not? If I don't like it, it'll be back within a week or so, so I'm not all that concerned. And now that I've given you an update on the status of my facial hair, my day feels complete.

Square patties just taste better...

2004-11-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

Wanted to eat semi-healthy when I was at work today, but unfortunately, it's mostly fast food around me. So I braved a Chicken BLT Salad from Wendy's. Not too bad, I guess... I was a bit surprised at the size of it (about twice what I was expecting to get).

Once I sat down and started eating, an older dude was at the cashier, ordering quite loudly. He ordered a baked potato with very complicated preparation instructions and a hamburger. Of course, he had instructions for that, too. I love the people that do this. They walk into a fast food place and then want to customize their food. Sorry dude... It's called fast for a reason... It's that it's ready to go already. I'm sure the people that work there hate that sort of thing. Anyway, his request on the hamburger was actually fairly simple—he wanted "one of them square hamburgers". Well, as you may know, this is what Wendy's is famous for. When told that all of their burgers are square, he argued that he had just recently obtained a round patty from them. Wow. I didn't know that square Wendy's patties tasted different than the round ones that they don't sell. The question is, if you care that much about the shape of your hamburger patty, don't you think you probably have something more important to be concerned about than the shape of your hamburger patty?!?

Republican Dictionary

2004-11-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

Was browsing articles and editor blogs over at The Nation... One of my favorites is Katrina vanden Heuvel. Today's post is particularly entertaining, which you can check out here. Among my favorites:

BI-PARTISANSHIP, n. When conservative Republicans work together with moderate Republicans to pass legislation Democrats hate.
FAITH, n. The stubborn belief that God approves of Republican moral values despite the preponderance of textual evidence to the contrary.
MORAL VALUES, n. Hatred of homosexuals dressed up in Biblical language.
THE MEDIA, n. Immoral elitist liberally-biased traitors who should leave Republicans alone so they can complete God's work on Earth in peace and quiet, behind closed doors.

Apparently, they speak a different sort of English than the rest of us...

Uninspired...

2004-11-09T14:09:00.000-08:00

As you might be able to tell, I've been a bit uninspired lately for anything clever/funny/interesting to post... Don't know why that is. It just is. In the meantime, head over to Relix Magazine for a pretty interesting pre-election interview with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. I'm waiting to hear what Eddie has to say post-election... Unfortunately, the band's website is down (presumably for an overhaul due to the greatest hits album coming out next Tuesday). I'm sure Eddie is none too happy, seeing as how "Bushleaguer" makes quite clear his distaste for the President... Funny thing is, the lyrics are quite good, especially the line "Born on third, thinks he got a triple". A sad but true observation about Dubya.

Currently listening to:
Pearl Jam - a bunch of the live bootlegs... most recently "MAR 3 03 #13 Tokyo"... Nothing makes me feel better than listening to some live Pearl Jam.
Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama - "There Will Be a Light" - Go get this album!!! It is truly amazing.

Only coffee-flavored ice cream lovers need apply...

2004-11-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Was reading up on the latest from Men's Health today on their website... Stumbled upon this article... If you go down to "She Screams...for Coffee Ice Cream", there is an interesting study saying that coffee ice cream lovers are most romantically compatible with strawberry ice cream lovers. And for those who have ever been to Coldstone with me, they know I can't resist ordering strawberry ice cream with strawberries mixed in... So I guess that means I should be looking for a woman who loves coffee ice cream. Apparently, those women are characterized as "dramatic, seductive, flirtatious" by this study. Hopefully I find her soon...

Grim future on the horizon

2004-11-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

The more I read in the wake of the disasterous election Tuesday, the more depressed I become... Here are just a couple random samples of what's out there.

"Heartbroken" - a posting on The Citizens, a political blog I stumbled across
"Dark Days Ahead" - an article by David Corn of The Nation

Dark days, indeed...

You call that BLING?!?

2004-11-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Occasionally when I'm at work, I'll head over to Sav-On during my lunch break and grab a 1 L bottle of Mountain Dew (only because it's only 10 cents more than a 20 oz. bottle). Well, this particular Sav-On always has a security guard posted by the door. OK, whatever. If they think they need it, fine by me. No problem with it. None whatsoever... At least not until the punk kid who is on duty is wearing his security badge on a gold chain around his neck. Last time I checked, law enforcement-type badges didn't really qualify as justifiable "bling". But maybe I'm out of touch with today's youth. All I know is that this damn kid was wearing his security uniform with his damn badge on a chain. Kids these days...

Currently listening to:
Drugstore - White Magic for Lovers (If you don't know Drugstore, you really should check them out... I recently--recently being today--re-discovered how much I love this CD. Good stuff. Not to mention the fact that Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame makes an appearance on the track "El President".)

Music to get you through the depressing day...

2004-11-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday did not turn out as hoped and/or expected. I really thought Kerry had a good shot of winning. But by the time I had gotten home from work, I had that sinking feeling in my gut. So I began trying to wash it away with scotch. A third of a bottle later, I crawled into bed, hoping for a miracle that would never come.

Woke up this morning and decided that the best way to make myself feel better was to go to Best Buy. Picked up Travis "Singles" and John Lennon "Acoustic", and I am damn glad I did. There was other stuff I also wanted, but I held off, as I can't really afford to be making these Best Buy runs.

Listened to the Lennon album first. It is amazing. Lots of the tracks are very rough... But that is to be expected when the dude is long gone and these recordings are all rough tracks from the 70's. I applaud them for making them sound as good as they do... I'm guessing they started out much worse. I absolutely love John Lennon, and these acoustic takes on some of his best songs are quite the treat. There is a fun little surprise in the liner notes, too (or at least it would be fun if I could actually play the guitar)... There are two pages dedicated to showing the guitar chords, and then, with the lyrics, we are treated to the chord progression, so that you can play along as you listen (or play all on your own) if you so choose. I'll probably never actually use this, but it is a clever idea... One I've never seen used in liner notes before.

I'm listening to the Travis disc as I write this. I've always been a fan of Travis, though I had never bought a CD before this one. They were on that list of bands whose CDs I would like to own but have never actually purchased for one reason or another. Have to say, this disc totally lives up to my expectations... It is all of their singles, plus one new track. They also put a bit of a surprise in their liner notes. They have a complete discography, including all their albums as well as singles. Always cool to get a treat like this... I mean, it is easy enough to find online, but I kinda like this, especially when it is a compilation of their singles.

Kudos to both albums for great liner notes!

Let's talk politics...

2004-11-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Not doing much of a post today... I don't really have much to rant about (for some odd reason). Just a few quick notes.

Election day is tomorrow. As Puffy would say... "Vote or Die!!"
Stumbled across the website for Voices of Iraq, which seems to be quite an interesting film project. I'm going to try to check it out in the next week or so...

And if you didn't notice, the Redskins did (thankfully) lose yesterday... So I guess that means that we can start celebrating a Kerry/Edwards win already!

Shatner so bad he's good?!?

2004-10-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Umm... Right... So William Shatner has a new album out, Has Been, produced by Ben Folds. Oh yes, the one, the only William Shatner. The same guy who was Captain Kirk. Amazingly, the album (or at least what I've heard of it) is oddly hypnotic. Is it like a car accident, where it is so bad that you can't turn away? I'm not sure. I think I might actually like it. Especially the song "Common People", which I first heard earlier this week when he performed it live on The Tonight Show with Ben Folds and Joe Jackson. I'm not sure what it is about this music... It's different. That's for sure. And that might be why I like it.

Road trippin' to the AFL with the Taxi Squad

2004-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm currently planning a short little weekend road trip for sometime in the near future (either next weekend or the weekend after) to visit Arizona (which I have never been to) to check out some Arizona Fall League baseball action. I guess it might be because of the Cubs' disappointing finish at the end of the regular season, but I feel as though I'm already going into withdrawl from baseball season being over. Luckily, the youngsters clawing their way through the minors play later into the year down in Arizona (as well as other Central/South American countries). So to quench my (seemingly) insatiable appetite for baseball, it's off to the AFL.

Now, lots of people don't really know much about the AFL... So here's the deal. There are 6 teams in the AFL, so Major League organizations send 6-7 prospects to their respective AFL team (5 MLB organizations per AFL team). Some of these prospects are sent there to get more work due to injuries earlier in the year. Others go to just work on their skills. And yet others are sent there to further evaluate whether or not they should be placed on 40-man rosters or left exposed to the Rule 5 draft that occurs every winter. The Cubs have sent guys there this year for all of those reasons (and probably even a few I don't know about...).

A lot of this, you have to piece together yourself from looking at various websites. MLB.com has a page devoted to the AFL, but frankly, it kind of sucks. Sure, it has schedules, stats, scores, rosters, etc. But if you look at a roster, some players have a little asterisk after their name. You follow the roster to its end to find the follow: "* - denotes member of Taxi Squad". What is this Taxi Squad? Are these the guys they force to get jobs as cabbies in AZ while they play? Well, it's not an easy answer to find. But after searching MLB.com, I came up with the following explanation.

Taxi Squad members may only be activated for two games per week, those being the Tuesday and Saturday games, except in the case of injury to a member of the team not on the Taxi Squad. Kinda crazy, huh? Well, I suppose that it's a precaution for guys to not get over-used after having already endured a full minor league season. This is fine by me. I'll all about prospects not getting hurt. (Unfortunately, the Twins' Jason Kubel wasn't so lucky... He injured his knee in AFL action a couple weeks back and may be out for the entire 2005 season.) I just wish that MLB.com would have a site that was just a tiny bit more useful when it comes to the AFL...

Cross your fingers for a Redskins loss this weekend...

2004-10-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

On an interesting note, I just saw this article on SI.com. Check it out. Seven decades of results can't be wrong... Let's just hope for a Redskins loss this weekend.

Like a sucker-punch to the family jewels

2004-10-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

That's about how I feel right now. I just happened to go over to the Chicago Tribune's website, only to find Steve Stone's letter of resignation. It truly is a sad day for Cubs fans everywhere. I can completely understand why Stone felt the need to do it. All I can say is, he will be missed. The TV broadcasts just won't be quite the same without him. (On the upside, I can save some money next year by only subscribing to MLB Radio to listen to Ron & Pat, instead of getting the all-inclusive MLB.TV package.)

Alou, Grudz out next year

2004-10-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Cubs officially announced that they are declining their options for 2005 on both Alou and Grudzielanek, two smart moves on their part. Alou would have made $11.5 million, Grudz $2.5 million. And while Alou put together a great season in 2004, he is nearing the end of his career and with that will come a slide in his numbers. As for Grudz, I'm actually kind of sad to see him go. Enjoyed the small amount of time he spent with the Cubs (or maybe it's just that I'm so overjoyed that the Dodgers were dumb enough to take Hundley for Grudz and Karros...), but after all his injury problems this year, it's best that we dump him and look elsewhere.

So now in addition to needing to shop for bullpen help and a shortstop this offseason, we can add second base and left field to the list (though I wouldn't mind giving Dubois a shot out there next season). Now, if the Cubs can just find some big sucker (Steinbrenner, perhaps?) to take on the rest of Sosa's contract (which is as big as Enrique Iglesias' mole).

Hope springs eternal

2004-10-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

How fitting that the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918 last night amidst a relatively rare lunar eclipse. Back when there were still 4 teams left in the playoffs, I was talking with Tony about who we were really rooting for... We both concluded that, despite hating the Yankees, they were the only team to root for. How did we make it to this ridiculous conclusion? Both the Astros and Cards are in the Cubs' division, so we couldn't support either of them. (And on a brief note about the Cards--how much did they stink up the place during the WS?!? I mean really... Just about anyone could've looked better.) We also claimed not to want the Sox to win, saying that "misery loves company".

Well, let me be the first to say... Seeing the Red Sox actually win last night--it was beautiful. It brings me hope that the Cubs, too, can soon break their curse and I can become, in the words of Bill Simmons during his Game 4 running diary, Just Another Baseball Fan again. There is nothing I'd love more than to shake the talk of the goat, lovable losers, and the 96 (and counting) years since the last time we took the World Series. I am truly happy for the Red Sox fans, if only because I know their pain and anguish.

But now, baseball season has officially come to an end. And me, I guess I'll just have to Wait 'Til Next Year...

Eminem's plea

2004-10-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just checked out the video for Eminem's "Mosh"... You can see it here. At every turn, Eminem surprises me just a little more. I was amazed by his performance in 8 Mile... I had doubted his ability to pull it off. But he did. And now, he brings us the greatest political protest song in recent memory. He slows down the tempo from that of most of his other songs to give us this great song and video. He's doing his part to get the word out for people to get to the polls on November 2nd, and he's doing so in a more intelligent, less abbrasive manner than many other celebrities. There's not much more for me to say... Just check out the video.

A little self-promotion...

2004-10-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, in order to try to increase readership a bit here (not that that has ever really been a driving force behind me doing this), I decided to sponsor a page over at Baseball Reference. This truly is one of the great baseball stat sites out there on the net, so I figured it never hurts to contribute a little something to them.

The page I'm sponsoring? None other than the last place 1999 Cubs. Why choose a last place Cubs team to sponsor, you might ask... Well, truth be told, I chose it because it was one of the cheapest Cubs pages available. But head on over to check out the lackluster lineup that we had that year... Funny how a few years distance makes you completely forget everyone who was on that team. No wonder we lost 95 games that year!

My Life as a Classic Movie...

2004-10-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

So I found this test while over at My So-Called Strife as I was browsing other blogs on Blogger. Below are my results. Can't say it is completely untrue...

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Watch your back, Daredevil...

2004-10-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

A plan is brewing. I promise, it is. And you can say that you heard it here first...

After watching the sloppy Red Sox Game 1 win, during which Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were shown at the game by FOX no fewer than a hundred times over the course of 4 hours, I was chatting with Rachel on the phone. At the same time, I was sort of watching Daredevil, in large part because after seeing those two on FOX so much during the game, I felt like watching a movie with them in it. Let me tell you... Rachel and I have a plan. Soon, it will no longer be Ben & Jen. Oh no. It will be Rach & Ben and Jen & Eric (except for two days of the week--Wednesdays & Sundays if I remember correctly--because Rachel claimed Jen as hers on those days... How did that happen? I'm still wondering that too...). So Ben Affleck, if you are reading this (and I'm sure you are), beware... 'Cause I'm about to steal your girl. Consider this fair warning.

The (New) Ultimate Warrior

2004-10-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

OK, folks... Now if you're as old as me (or older), you probably know who the Ultimate Warrior is. He was the guy with the crazy face paint, neon strands of fabric tied around his biceps, and was always drenched in sweat. Well, slowly but surely, another Ultimate Warrior is taking shape, only he's traded in the crazy face paint for a Red Sox hat. He has traded in the neon bicep ties for bloody ankle sutures. Of course, the sweat remains the same (only now it's mixed with a little ankle blood). Yes, the man, the myth, the if-not-already then soon-to-be postseason legend, the one, the only Cuuuuurrrrrrtttt Schiiiillinggggggg!

I just wanted to take a moment to applaud all that this guy has done. No, he didn't pitch quite as much of a gem last night as in game 6 of the ALCS. But he still got the job done. This while dealing with even more intense pain as a result of a second set of sutures. The latest report is that he probably won't be able to pitch again in the World Series because of the increase in possible long-term damage and pain that comes with each additional set of sutures. But remember how we were once told he wouldn't be back in the ALCS?? I can guarantee that this guy is enough of a warrior that, if his team needs him (which they appear as though they might not--they're on cruise control right now), he'll be back out on the mound in a heartbeat. This guy can battle. And you can be sure that his performance on a bum ankle this postseason will go down in playoff lore for years to come. He may truly be the greatest pitcher in the history of the postseason. Did you know that coming into this postseason, he had a 1.66 ERA in 11 previous postseason starts (coming over the course of 6 postseason series), with a 4-2 record?? Or that he had pitched 4 complete games? And averaged just over 1 SO per inning? Or that his WHIP was 0.84? Like I said before... The Ultimate Warrior.

Mark no saving Grace in Arizona...

2004-10-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

...at least not next year. Sadly, it has been announced that the Diamondbacks' managerial search has been narrowed down to three (un)lucky finalists: Wally Backman, Manny Acta, and Bob Melvin. Too bad for Gracie... He's a smart baseball man. He'll get a job someday. Luckily he's had more than enough practice at the whole "Wait 'til next year" routine.

Looking into my World Series crystal ball

2004-10-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well kids, the World Series starts tomorrow... And as you may have noticed, the Cardinals won last night (sadly... why, oh why, couldn't both the Cards & Astros found a way to lose... if only that were possible). Anyway, I can't help but root for Boston here. It just sort of feels like all of the stars are aligning for them this postseason. There's a great article up over at The Cub Reporter that really captures my feelings about Boston...

My official prediction: Red Sox over Cardinals in 6.

The way I see it, there's no way that the Cardinals can win. Not only do I not want to see another team from the NL Central win, especially not the Cards, but they also have more ex-Cubs than the Red Sox (unless, of course, the Sox drastically change their roster and add Terry Adams, Ricky Guiterriez, or Sandy Martinez to their roster). Here's a look at the current ex-Cubs on each team's LCS roster:

Cardinals: Ray King, Julian Tavarez, Tony Womack
Red Sox: Bill Mueller, Mark Bellhorn

Amazingly, the Yankees had 6 (count them!) ex-Cubs on their LCS roster... What were they thinking?!? Only half of those guys were ever even very good... (Felix Heredia, Miguel Cairo, Jon Lieber, Flash Gordon, Kenny Lofton, Tanyon Sturtze) Now, if only we can actually unload the fermenting piece of shit that is Sosa onto the Yanks in the offseason like was suggested today by the Chicago Tribune.

One of Many Reasons Why Caltech Sucks Big Fat Donkey Balls

2004-10-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

OK, so there are lots of reasons why the school at which I suffered for 4 long years sucks. Today I encountered yet another reason.

Part of my job at work is that I am in charge of sending out all b-roll requests. Once in a while, an editor will want a very specific shot of some building in LA or something else like that. But we try to maintain a fairly large library of shots of various things in LA so that they are readily available to the editors. Now that we're sixty-some shows into the season, some of these shots are getting to the point where they have been used a bit too much, so we're trying to expand the b-roll library to include things in LA that we had not previously thought to shoot.

Among the things we hadn't touched yet was the entire city of Pasadena. Well, apparently there is good reason for that. Since it isn't actually part of LA, it has its own special filming policies, which are apparently stricter than the greater LA area. And I already knew for a fact that Caltech has its own filming policies and cost tables for shooting on campus. I readily admit knowing this. But I thought that just maybe I could work something out with Tom Mannion. Turns out this is one of the few things on campus for which he has no pull. I chatted with him on the phone, saying that I had hoped we could shoot some of the buildings/fountains/flowers/etc. there because they really are beautiful. He agreed with me, saying that he too wished that they would show off the beautiful campus more. Because it really is beautiful. But no. It's not like we were going to bring an entire film production. It would have been a small crew, probably 4 or 5 people at most, just quietly filming. What harm would it have done? Absolutely none. And it's not like we're somehow getting rich off the footage. Because we're not. I simply was hoping to be able to show off my former school a bit. But no. Not gonna happen. It's a bit ridiculous, if you ask me...

A Postseason to Remember

2004-10-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

It truly has been one of those crazy postseasons that every baseball fan always hopes for. Sure, I'm still suffering in agony over the Cubs' collapse the last week and a half of the regular season. And sure, in some small, dark, remote corner of my heart, I was kind of rooting against the Red Sox, just because misery loves company... But last night's game was great. I realized that Boston is really the only team left that I feel I can root for. The Yankees, now thankfully out (how about their collapse?!?), are just plain evil, so you can't root for them. EVER. Then there are the Sox, who haven't won the World Series in a long, long time (much like my beloved Cubs). And then, in the NL, you've got the Cardinals and Astros going at it in Game 7 tonight, neither of which I can actually root for since they're in the NL Central. Really, the best scenario tonight would be if they could somehow both lose. Unfortunately, I don't really think there's any way that is possible. So, as you can see, the Red Sox are the only team that I can possibly wish any luck to the rest of the way.

On another note about the Red Sox, how amazing is it that they came back from 3 games down to win?!? Only team ever to do it in the history of Major League Baseball. What a series. After the ass-kicking they took in Game 3, I really thought it was over... But I also had the sneaking suspicion that if anyone could do it, it was them. And they did. But how did the Yankees possibly allow that to happen? I mean, my God, they were up 3 games to NONE!!! Talk about choking!

As for a prediction for tonight's NLCS Game 7: I don't know that you can really pick against the Rocket in this one... But I've got a feeling. Something tells me the Cards are gonna pull this one out. And if they don't, well... Maybe I'll just have to come back later and edit this post so that it looks like I picked right all along (well... not really... we'll just hope that I pick correctly...).

The special post about the special Seinfeld special...

2004-10-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Saw Seinfeld at the Hollywood Improv last night... Damn, was that amazing. I mean, the man is a living legend. Went with a big group of friends, and we ate at the Improv before the show, so that meant that we got preferred seating... Well, turns out that we got to sit right up front, so we were within feet of the stage! It was awesome. Seinfeld was fucking hilarious... It was a bit tedious when he had to re-do a couple jokes (since this was being filmed for a Thanksgiving night special on NBC), but he did a good job of doing other bits until we were really laughing and then going back into the jokes that needed to be done again. My favorites from the night were when Jerry was talking about the rain in LA and when he was doing his bit about weird thoughts that pop into your head (mostly because this happens to me ALL THE TIME!!).

The real funny man of the evening, however, was Dane Cook, who went on after Jerry was done. Dear God was this guy funny!! I mean, I love Seinfeld and all, but this guy was not-stop laughter. I mean, you've gotta love a guy that comes up with lyrics to go along with the noise a car alarm makes, don't you?!?

This was definitely money well-spent. I loved every minute of the night (although choking down warmish beer was definitely one of the lowest points of the night...). Good thing that Stefan let me leave work early to make it to the show.

Why aren't you watching yet?!?

2004-10-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

You're seriously missing out if you have not yet started watching Veronica Mars. It is quite possibly the second best new show of the fall (behind Lost, of course), yet it is failing to get much recognition from viewers. Critics have even reviewed it quite favorably, along with MTV quietly picking up the rights to reshow episodes after their initial showing on UPN. So why aren't you watching it yet?!? I know, I know... It's scary to admit that there is actually quality programming on UPN and to admit to watching it. But it's ok. You won't be shunned by the rest of the TV-viewing public... Or at least not for long. So check it out... And if you're too ashamed to actually watch UPN for some reason other than making fun of most of the crap they show, then check it out on MTV!!

We'll (hopefully) believe a man can fly again...

2004-10-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I lied in my earlier post in saying I wouldn't be back today... Turns out, pretty much nothing is going on for me at work, so I had a chance to catch up on the latest news regarding Bryan Singer's Superman movie project. A couple days ago, the news broke that Brandon Routh has been cast in the lead... To me, this was pretty damn interesting/exciting. The reason being, I was able to see (and briefly speak to) this guy in person back in the early summer during a Smallville casting session. While his read for that part didn't go so well, I think there's great potential in this casting choice. I thoroughly agree with Singer's demand that he be able to cast an unknown. I think this is of great importance to the success of the film. This way, no one has any preconceived notions of the man playing Supes before seeing him in the film. After thinking about this choice since reading about it on Sunday, I've decided that I really like the direction Singer is going. Two thumbs up for a good start!

In other Superman casting rumors, the current leading contender for Lois Lane appears to be Evangeline Lilly from Lost (though who really knows... a couple days before hearing this I was hearing Mischa Barton's name being thrown about as if everyone thought that was nearly a done deal). Personally, I think that a steaming pile of my shit could play a better Lois than Mischa Barton... But we shall see. From what I've seen of Evangeline Lilly, she is not only beautiful enough, but also good enough of an actor, to pull off Lois quite admirably. But I definitely like the idea of a moderately unknown for the role of Lois.

As for Lex Luthor, current speculation is centered around Kevin Spacey... That man can play any role to perfection, so I say go for it!

As for a Jimmy Olsen, I know there are plenty of others out there who, like me, would love to see Adam Brody (The OC) put into the role... I think he'd be perfect.

Spartan Spirit

2004-10-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Finally saw Spartan last night... Some of you may have heard of the film, others perhaps not. It was written and directed by David Mamet and starred Val Kilmer (along with a pretty impressive supporting cast consisting of Al Bundy and Veronica Mars, among others). I was completely captivated by this movie... I don't exactly know what it was, but I really enjoyed it. The story was well-crafted, though the dialogue took a while to get used to. As Val Kilmer commented in the audio commentary, Mamet's dialogue really just has a certain rhythm to it, one which took me some amount of time to get used to. I think that it also bothered me a bit because of the delivery of the dialogue, which while not poorly written, definitely could've been delivered better at times. All in all, this film was well worth the time I spent on it.

If you've got the time, you should listen to Val Kilmer's commentary track, if only for a few minutes. At times, he either has real trouble (since he was filling the entire time alone) or just really enjoyed watching himself talk on-screen. Often during the dialogue, he would be quiet, especially early on before he got into any sort of groove... Which wasn't such a bad thing, I guess. It really felt like he was watching the movie and just commenting when he had something to say, which in some cases is much preferrable to the people who just ramble about nothing during commentary tracks. He had one absolute gem when saying "Well, I don't want to get ahead of the movie and spoil it for you... But if you're listening to this while watching the movie for the first time, you're kind of weird..." or something to that effect. Just one of those stupid observations that made me chuckle...

In other news, I'm headed off to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Hollywood Improv tonight... Should be exciting. I'm really pumped about this, and you should be too for the simple fact that it means this will probably be the only post of the day, so you won't have to read any more of my diarrhea of the mind today...

From the 20/20 DVD shelf...

2004-10-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't really feel like doing much this weekend, so I bummed around the house quite a bit... Worked a little on my new little "writing" project (don't know you can refer to it with that term even if the writing part is in quotes), but I also spent a lot of time watching movies. Now, I've lived at my place in NoHo since mid-July, yet Friday night was my first ever trip to the 20/20 Video that is just a 4 or 5 minute stroll from my house. Turns out their selection is just as good if not better than that of Blockbuster, all in about half the space of a normal blockbuster. It's still no Odyssey Video or Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee, but few things are...

Anyway, on to the selections for the weekend:

Wet Hot American Summer - A pretty entertaining flick... Lots of fun for reminiscing either your summer camp days, the early 80's, or summer camp in the early 80's. This movie is nowhere near a classic, but it is a good, fun flick with a great ensemble cast that is much better in terms of both story and actors than most of the crappy teen movies out there these days. I was glad to have seen it, but it didn't really leave an overly great impression on me. Funny enough to recommend friends to rent, but nothing that you need to go out and get right this second.

Eurotrip - So this movie immediately had one strike against it because, upon pulling out the DVD, I noticed it was dirty and scratched, so I knew I was going to have problems with the DVD skipping during the movie. That being said, I was quite impressed by it... I wasn't expecting much from the movie at all. That's not to say it was good, but it was entertaining enough. Absolutely love the song "Scotty Doesn't Know" actually by Lustra (though the band in the movie featured Matt Damon as lead singer), which plays multiple times throughout the movie. Was also a big fan of Kristin Kreuk's performance on stage during the song (and enjoyed the music video for the song on the DVD even more)... The whole premise of the movie was pretty stupid, but there was enough nudity and stupid, crude humor to entertain me at 1 am on a Friday night which isn't saying much... I'm pretty easily entertained late at night. Remember the infomercial in the late 90's for the Sobakawa pillow? Damn, that was some good late night entertainment.

The Girl Next Door - If you haven't seen this yet, stop reading this and go out and rent it right now!! (Then, please come back to read more after you finish watching! All 3 or so of you who actually read this thing.) My favorite movie of the weekend. In fact, my favorite teen movie of the past few years. I know others have said this before me, but this movie really IS the Risky Business of this generation. Sure, some of the stuff in the movie is cheesy and predictable... But come on, you know you love it. I'll admit, I originally wanted to see the movie because of the delicious Elisha Cuthbert (of 24 fame)... And oh, how good did she look. But she also made her character sweet and lovable. This movie was soo much better than I expected. Definitely a must-see if you're looking for something really fun and entertaining.

Bubba Ho-Tep - When I told people I wanted to see this movie, most would just give me strange looks. Sure, the movie is about an elderly Elvis impersonator who claims to actually be Elvis (or do you believe his story?) and black man who thinks he's JFK (or do you believe that the government dyed his skin like he claims?) fighting off a mummy back from the dead at a retirement home. Kind of a ridiculous plot, it's true. But it also stars none other than Bruce Campbell. (You don't know Bruce Campbell?!?! Go rent Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness now! Go, go!) This movie, again, was a fun and entertaining flick. Worth seeing if you want a laugh or two... Also, Bruce is amazing as the King. Plus, you can watch a commentary track featuring Bruce doing Elvis for the entire movie. How cool is that?!?

So as you can tell, it really was just a fun, stupid, entertaining movie weekend. Nothing too heavy. (The House of Sand and Fog was enough heavy to hold me over for a couple weeks... Damn... 2 weeks later and the ending still shocks the hell out of me.)

Quick update on the "writing" project... I'm not really going to write all that much about this because I'm not really sure what will come of it. I'm currently furiously writing notes... I have about 5 pages worth of notes already, with more to come. Really, the note-taking sort of delays the inevitable writing process, but there's only so much longer I can wait before I just dive into this thing head-first. Wish me luck... I'm gonna need it.

Road trip!! (Well, a virtual one, at least...)

2004-10-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

I just found this really cool website called Speedycam... You should check it out. I always thought it would be cool to just set up a camera to record myself driving around, and these people have done it... with a webcam.

One might ask how I found this site in my random wanderings of the internet... Well, it actually wasn't quite as random a find as one might think. I was doing a search to try to find a list of good road trip movies (aside from the utterly hilarious Road Trip... actually kinda looking for movies more serious in nature). Why? Well, I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to share that right now... Let's just say I've got some ideas swirling in my head that seem to be coming together into an idea for a story. I just have to make the commitment to sit down and start writing because I think it could be really good. But we'll see what comes of it...

life (not quite) as we remember it

2004-10-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

Granted, I've been out of high school for a few years now (graduated in May 2000... God, I'm starting to get old!!), but I still have a pretty good memory of what high school was like. And while Life As We Know It is doing a pretty good job of writing the "horny high school guy" part, I know for a fact I NEVER had a teacher as hot (and willing to make out with a student) as the lovely Marguerite Moreau. All in all, though, the show has impressed me enough to warrant another week's viewing. Many people are calling the show "cliche", and I'll freely admit it is, but to a certain extent, wasn't high school just one big cliche anyway?? I mean, cliches exist because for a reason...

Anyway, back to the topic of Marguerite Moreau. I knew she looked a bit familiar... So I looked her up on IMDb. She was Connie in the Mighty Ducks movies (also guest-starred in Smallville season one episode "Drone")!!! My has she grown up from those Mighty Ducks days! While I find her "romance" with Jon Foster's character, Ben, a little... uhh... unrealistic (although her character is supposed to only be 23), she has this odd charm to her that I just can't shake.

All in all, this show is just as good (if not a decent bit better) than a lot of other shows out there this season... And while it probably won't ever crack my top 3 (not even for just this season), it is definitely worth the time to watch.

My Halloween wish...

2004-10-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

So I got an invite to a Halloween party today at work... Exciting stuff, since Halloween is my favorite holiday. Only problem is, I've dressed up as Silent Bob for the past 3 years, and it's starting to feel a little old and used. Rather than try to come up with a new costume idea for myself, I instead found my mind wandering... What was so interesting, you might ask... Well, I was thinking how cool it would be to have a girl try to get my attention on Halloween by dressing up as either Supergirl or Wonder Woman (OK, so they wouldn't be trying to get my attention so much as having my attention... I would be quite the captive audience). Don't really know why I think of these things, but you can't tell me it wouldn't be damn HOT!! I mean, if you're blonde and looking to seduce me, I'd recommend Supergirl. Brunettes, I'd go with Wonder Woman. A guy can have hopes and dreams, can't he?

And while on the topic of Wonder Woman and Supergirl, I might as well throw up a few pictures... I mean, Lynda Carter was the amazing as Wonder Woman on TV. And while Supergirl kinda sucked as a movie, Helen Slater didn't look too bad in that costume. Then there's Rachel Bilson (aka Summer on The OC) who dressed up as Wonder Woman in an episode last season. Now you can see why I think this is such a great idea...

I'm guessing those dreams won't be answered anytime soon, though... So here's to another year of wishing...

Uhh... Are you kidding me????

2004-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I happened to be browsing around on eBay today to keep myself occupied and entertained. Well, I never thought I would come across something like this. Is this guy serious?? Does he really think that someone is going to buy, in his own words, a "huge pumpkin-shaped grape" from him? I find it quite funny that he feels the need to include the disclaimer "**Huge tomatoe shaped grape *below* is up for bidding, while the grape to the left is soley for comparision for a normally sized/shaped grape**". Dammit!! I wanted both the huge mutant grape and the regular grape to be able to show all my friends.

I guess it isn't the weirdest thing I've seen on eBay... But it's got to be right up there. Speaking of weird things on eBay, did you know that there is apparently a market for potato chips that are shaped like things on eBay?!?! Who buys crap like that? Perhaps a better question is what sort of crazy person recognizes that one of his potato chips looks exactly like former President Benjamin Harrison (or anything else equally odd)???

Revisiting Superman III

2004-10-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

I got off work pretty early last night, which meant that I was done with the gym early. Since I've stopped watching Monday night TV (honestly... why does Monday night always suck so much?!?), I decided to revisit Superman III, sort of as my own personal, private memorial service for Christopher Reeve. Now, you might be wondering why I didn't watch the first or second Superman movie, both seen in the eyes of anyone with eyes as highly superior installments. Well, it turns out there were a couple reasons... I have somewhat recently (like within the last 2 months) seen the first two films. Secondly, I hadn't seen the third installment in a while, so I figured it was time to revisit it.

Sure, the film is a bit dated. Kids these days would look at Richard Pryor and say "who?". But remember, this is the film that spawned the plan used in Office Space... Without Superman III, Office Space just isn't quite as funny (OK, so maybe that's not quite true... it's a pretty damn funny movie with or without the plot point stolen from and attributed to Pryor's character).

The most striking thing I realized, however, upon rewatching this movie, is Reeve himself. While this film as a whole is not Superman's finest hour, Reeve does nothing but dazzle, reminding me every moment he is on screen why he is, and always will be, the greatest embodiment of a superhero ever. He doesn't just bring Clark Kent/Superman to life--he IS Clark Kent/Superman. That's something that just can't be said for anyone else who has donned a pair of tights for a superhero movie.

R.I.P. Christopher Reeve (1952-2004)

2004-10-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was stunned and deeply saddened when I heard the news yesterday of Reeve's passing. He lived his life as a superhero, both on and off the screen. He may no longer be here with us in body, but his legacy will live on forever.

"But most will remember this sad day as the day the proudest, most noble man they ever knew finally fell. For those who loved him -- one who would call him husband, one who would be his pal, or those who would call him son -- this is the darkest day they could ever imagine. They raised him to be a hero: to know the value of sacrifice, to know the value of life. And for those who served with Superman in the protection of all life comes the shock of a failure: the weight of being too late to help. For a city to live, a man had given his all and more. But it's too late. For this is the day that a Superman died." - Superman #75 (written by Dan Jurgens, 1992)

Job Interview!!

2004-10-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't have a job interview. I'm quite happy with my job for now. Mark Grace is the guy who had a job interview today, for the manager job with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com. I've always been a big supporter of Gracie throughout the years, and I was on the verge of tears when he left Chicago... At least he was finally able to get that World Series ring that every player strives for, it's just too bad it wasn't with the Cubs. Grace, one of the greatest hitters in the 1990s, deserves a shot at managing... Will it be next year with the Diamondbacks?? My guess is no (only because of his lack of managerial experience), but that doesn't mean I'm not pulling for the guy. I would love nothing more than for him to get the job.

Anyway, that just about does it for me this week. I most likely won't touch a computer with internet connection until I return to work on Monday (unless by some act of God I magically got internet at my house today, which isn't at all likely...), so get out of the house and enjoy your weekend!!!

Tampa Horror Story

2004-10-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have yet to write anything about the NFL season here. I really like football, I do... In part, it was merely a preoccupation with the MLB playoffs... But there was also a lack of enthusiasm for the NFL season due to a number of horrendous personnel moves by Gruden and the Buccaneers. (Don't even ask how a kid from the Midwest became a Bucs fan... I don't even know myself... All I can say is that I've been around since those puke orange uniforms...) I went into the season wondering why guys like Lynch, one of the most popular Bucs ever, had been let go. And who are guys like Lynch and Sapp replaced with? Well, let's just say it looked like Tampa had become a retirement community for washed up Raiders.

That being said, things have gone downhill from there. Gruden, who has drawn comparisons to Chucky for his facial expressions, and the Bucs have truly entered the realm of horror story season. Their latest "solution" is starting Chris Simms over Brad Johnson... Uhh... Remember how Simms isn't his dad and isn't really all that good? Apparently not. Johnson is taking it pretty well, though, being a very stand-up guy about the decision. He's staying in good humor too... When asked what he'd do with the extra free time and energy of not having to prepare for a start this week, he responded, "I can probably drink a few more beers now." Amen to that, at least... Feel like I should go down a few, too.

More TV reviews...

2004-10-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well kids, I checked out a couple shows last night that I have yet to mention, so I figured I would take some time to write a bit on them.

First up, we've got "Drew Carey's Green Screen Show" on the WB (Thursdays, 8:30pm). Now, I love Drew Carey. I thought "Whose Line is it Anyway?" was hilarious... I highly respect improv b/c it is something that I cannot even fathom being quick-witted enough to come up with something funny to say all the time. I mean, a little nugget of humor every now and then isn't too hard to do--even I can do that. But all the time?? That's just plain crazy. Anyway, back to talking about the show... Definitely funny, and a very cool concept... They stand in front of a green screen which is later animated for airing on TV. Very much just an extension of "Whose Line...", but it works (though it wasn't quite as funny... it just seemed to be missing something... say, perhaps the humor and wit of Ryan Stiles). Funny enough to justify watching it again.

Next up on the agenda is "Life As We Know It", ABC's new show about the trials and tribulations of growing up as a horny teenage male. Let me warn you now: Watch this show while you can because it will no doubt get cancelled, as have all good, realistic shows about teen life before it ("Freaks & Geeks" & "Undeclared"...). OK, so maybe the people behind these three shows--the same people--just don't have any luck. They know how to realistically write the situations--not an easy task--but it's as if the general TV-viewing public doesn't want to hear about what life is actually like. And I'll admit, their latest endeavor stretches the realism (I mean, so romantic flings between teacher and student do happen... but come on... how often does it really happen??). The one thing that annoys me about the show is Kelly Osborne, infamous daughter of Ozzy, but I can kind of look past that... because there's just no way to make her not annoying. Definitely worth continuing to watch... But heed my warning... This show probably won't last long. That's just how TV seems to work these days.

Lois continues to heat up Smallville

2004-10-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

After watching the third episode of the new season of "Smallville" last night, I realized something. The writers are getting things right. Erica Durance as Lois Lane is growing on me with each episode. Some of that might have to do with her... uhh... 'acting' (and by acting, I mean her hotness). She seems to be getting into the Lois groove, really hitting her stride in this week's episode, "Facade". But a lot of the credit goes to the writers. They are writing her well, and her interactions with Clark are priceless. The ending to "Facade" gave me goosebumps last night (the true sign that something on TV/film has really gotten to me)... We get just that slight, fleeting glance of the romance to come later in the life of the couple that will become Lois & Clark. Now if only we could all just find that Lois to our Clark (or vice versa)...

After so-so season, Sosa says no-no to fine???

2004-10-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

What the hell?!? Saw this article over at ESPN today... So let me get this straight... Adam Katz, Sosa's agent, agrees that what Sammy did was wrong (or a "mistake", as he likes to spin it), but yet he as for the fine, he says "to this magnitude, give me a break". Uhh... Hold on there, Mr. Katz. It seems to me that getting docked a day's pay sounds about right for what Sammy did. Granted, he did show up to work, but he didn't do anything!!!! He showed up, stayed for a couple hours (without dressing or doing anything job-related... aside from cleaning out his locker), and then left. What would you call a fair punishment?!? Another scolding by Baker and/or the front office? Because that doesn't really seem to phase him... Face it, Sosa has turned into one of those guys who thinks his shit doesn't stink. And let me tell you, it actually smells pretty bad right now.

Uhh... You might want to get that checked out, buddy...

2004-10-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

So I happened to be over at the official website of the Lakewood Blueclaws, a single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies... You might ask why on earth I would choose that minor league site to go to when I am not a Phillies fan. Well, I wanted to check out the final stats for the season for Jose Cortez, one of their catchers, because he had played baseball for Pomona-Pitzer, a team which we faced on many occasions. And it's not like there aren't other ex-SCIAC baseball players in professional baseball now, because there are. But PP was always one of the nicest teams to Caltech, even when we were, admittedly, not nearly close to the same level of play as them. On multiple occasions (usually when he was up to bat and I was catching, or vice versa), I'd make small talk with Cortez. Always seemed like a nice dude, so I tend to track his play in the minors (he hit .291 for them this year in 66 games, with 8 HR).

Believe it or not, there is a point to my story, I'm just slow in getting to it... So I checked out the Blueclaws merchandise shop, as I tend to do whenever visiting a minor league website. They just have cooler, more affordable stuff than the MLB teams usually do. They also tend to have more shirts that are a bit more... shall we say... risque than MLB. Case in point... I have a shirt from the Portland Beavers that I got a couple years ago that says "BEAVER FEVER SNATCH IT!" around the image of a Beaver swinging a bat. Needless to say, this shirt is not worn in public too often, as I usually hear murmurs about how inappropriate it is from those who happen to see it. Today's find might be the funniest minor league shirt I've seen, which you could pick up at the Blueclaws online shop in various colors, if you so desired...

I'm just not sure that is the sort of problem that you would want to brag about on a t-shirt...

Fine end to So-so season

2004-10-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Cubs announced today that they were docking Sammy a day's pay for leaving the last game of the season early. But is a day's pay enough for his actions? He abandoned a sinking ship, yes, essentially placing all the blame for the season on his own shoulders in saying that Dusty blames things on him. (Sammy, did you ever notice how crappy your numbers were this year? Not to mention the fact that you were dropped from 3rd in the lineup to 5th and then ultimately to 6th? Does any of that ring a bell?) In fact, Dusty has always been too easy on Sosa, in my eyes. His gives too many excuses to cover for Sosa. But with this transgretion, that may all be coming to an end. I, too, used to be a Sosa apologist, it's true. His actions on the last day spoke volumes, and I don't know that I can ever truly stand in his corner again. Not only did he show up late, not dress for the game, and "leave in the 7th inning", but it was later proven by Wrigley security monitors that Sosa had in fact left much earlier--around the 2nd inning. Sammy... C'mon man... If you're going to lie, don't get yourself caught in that lie.

The buzz around all the baseball sites I frequent, both official and otherwise, seem to indicate that Hendry will do his absolute best to unload Sosa. This should prove quite the task, considering Sosa stands to make about $17 million next season. And if we can unload him, who knows what salary problem we'll have to take on from the other team... Latest talks from the Chicago Tribune indicate possible dealings to either the Royals (for Sweeney), the Rangers (for Park and/or Soriano), or the Mets (for one of their many salary headaches... Piazza, Floyd... take your pick).

Whatever happens, I really doubt that there will be much resistance from fans, as there was back when Sosa asked for a trade in 2000. At this point, I'm ready to say good riddance...

Music in the air...

2004-10-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading since the beginning, you'll remember I once did a "CDs I'm currently listening to" list... This was meant to be a bit more regular of a thing, but I easily get distracted from the plans I have for this thing. But seeing as how I've recently gotten a couple new CDs, I thought I would once again share what discs I'm currently spinning.

Song of the Week: Turin Brakes' "Pain Killer (Summer Rain)"... I want to do nothing more than drive for hours on end, listening to only this song. It's really that good.

Albums I can't stop listening to:

The Postal Service "Give Up"... So good. So addicting. So many amazing songs. Luckily I know I'm not crazy because I'm not the only one with a bit of an addiction to the album...
The Shins "Chutes Too Narrow"... Wouldn't have discovered these guys had it not been for the movie Garden State. So glad I did.
Garden State soundtrack... This soundtrack is amazing, top to bottom. I dare you to find me a soundtrack that has this much great music on it.
Turin Brakes "Ether Song"... Pain Killer is my fave song off the album, but it's all pretty amazing. Reminds me of Remy Zero quite a bit (which is a good thing... if you've never heard their albums "Villa Elaine" and "Golden Hum", go buy or borrow them right now!!).

And while I'm at it, let me just mention a couple books I've read recently...

"The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green" by Joshua Braff (Zach's brother)... hilarious book... would highly recommend this
"Blinking with Fists" by Billy Corgan... some odd stuff (though that's not surprising... Billy's an odd dude), but there are also some gems... only partway through this one (I can only read so much poetry in one sitting, especially from this man)...
"For Love of the Game" by Michael Shaara... I've read this before, but it's every bit as good the second time around (not to mention the fact that it's a very quick read).

Might check back in later tonight with some various baseball thoughts. Stay tuned... Same bat-time, same bat-blog.