Yes, I am Well Aware that my Team Sucks!

Some people follow a certain baseball team because of where they live - a coworker of mine grew up in Pittsburgh, so he follows the Pirates.  Others are fans of a certain team because of a particular player - I know someone who likes the Yankees because of Derek Jeter.  I, however, am a little different.  Growing up in Puerto Rico, we did not have a professional baseball team nearby, and there were so many Puerto Rican players throughout the Majors that it was hard to follow a particular team.  I did follow the New York Mets for a while, because they were on TV a lot and they had cute players, but for the most part, I just followed the game itself, rooting for players like Kirby Puckett, Robin Yount, Wade Boggs and Jim Abbott.  Then I lived in Massachusetts for 12 years, and refused to become a Red Sox fan because they were an American League team (though I did root for them whenever they played against the Yankees).  Things were pretty similar when I moved to Maryland - I just couldn't follow the Orioles because of their American League status, yet I respected Cal Ripken and Mike Devereaux.  But then in 2005, the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, DC.  There was my chance to finally pledge my allegiance to the home team; the opportunity to own an overpriced baseball jersey with a team name in the front and a player's name on the back (that happened last year, when I got my #7 Rodriguez jersey for Mothers' Day).  I was excited!  I was pumped up!  I was going to learn the ins and outs of Nationals baseball, learning all about their lineups, their charity work, their front-office staff, and their minor-league prospects.  And that has been the case, especially since my husband is also a baseball fan and has learned about "all things Nationals" with me.  However, the one thing that I have not experienced as a fan of a particular ball club for the past few years is a winning season.  The Nationals have struggled since moving here from Montreal, and despite having a new ball park, a handful of dedicated fans, and a lot of talented players, they just haven't been able to get it together.  It seems like when someone shows some promise, something happens to stifle the hope.  Last year, for example, all the talk was about 2009 first round draft pick Stephen Strasburg, who could throw over 100mph and could strike out everyone in his path.  Well he started out great, with his sold-out debut in Nationals Park last summer and baseball fans getting on the Strasburg bandwagon.  Well that quickly ended, when Strasburg hurt his pitching arm last August, requiring season-ending "Tommy John" surgery.  This type of surgery has become pretty common nowadays and many pitchers come back stronger than before, but it requires at least a year of rehab, so the Nationals have to spend the entire 2011 season without their young ace.  Then there was the acquisition of Jayson Werth from the Phillies, which was supposed to provide the power in the lineup that they had lost when Adam Dunn went to the White Sox.  Well, Jayson "Werth-less" has been quite disappointing, though I must admit he's been doing better at the bat lately and his fielding is solid.  Then there's Ryan Zimmerman, a former Gold Glove/Silver Slugger third baseman who has been the most consistent franchise player that the Nats have had since they moved here.  Well Ryan suffered an abdominal injury last month, and has been recovering from recent surgery.  He is expected to return after the All-Star break, when it will be too late in the season to move up much in the standings.  And pitching?  Last year it was the starters who had problems, and this year it is the bullpen.  The starters are pitching solid baseball, but the bullpen is giving up too many runs and the offense is not helping them out.

So why continue to be a Nationals fan, when it seems like all we get from them is doom and gloom?  Because eventually, someday, they will be a good ball club.  Every team in the Majors has had its heyday season, and the Nationals will too (even if it takes 100 years for them to win a World Series, like it did for the Red Sox).  Someday the Phillies will suck, the Marlins will be awful, the Mets will be terrible, the Braves will be weak, and the Nationals will prevail in the National League East.  I may be old and crotchety when it happens, but I will be able to say that I've been a Nats fan since they moved to DC, and I stuck by them through thick and thin.

(Now do me a favor, Nationals players:  Don't look foolish this afternoon in your game against the Phillies.  Yes, Roy Halladay is pitching.  Yes, it's Memorial Day and you have to wear those ugly red-white-and-blue jerseys.  Yes, it's going to be over 90 degrees outside with a dew point of 150.  But please, don't do anything stupid, and please get some hits!  Thank you!)

The "Grand Salami"

Just a quick post today to talk briefly about the Grand Slam.  When a batter hits a home run with the bases loaded, life is good.  Not only does everyone get to run all around the bases, but the batter gets 4 RBIs, which usually lead to a victory by his team.  Well, last night Michael Morse of the Nationals hit a grand slam, and it was nice to watch (though not as exciting, since the game was in Milwaukee and the crowd was completely silent).  Morse has not had a lot of playing time, but has been covering first base since Adam LaRoche was placed on the disabled list.  He has always been a decent player, and just last night I realized that he's quite good-looking too!  So all was good for the Nationals, who were leading the Brewers 6-3 when I went to bed after the 6th inning.  However, in true Nationals fashion, they blew their lead and lost 7-6.  Liván Hernandez pitched OK, but the bullpen once again failed to save the day and they lost their fourth game in a row.  Sigh!  But the Phillies lost too  (there's that!), the Orioles won, and Carlos Quentin hit 3 home runs in the White Sox's victory over Texas. 

And since my blog post is short today, I thought I would add an interesting baseball-nerd fact:  Today (May 25th) in 1981, Carl Yastrzemski played in his 3,000th major league game, scoring the winning run in Boston's 8-7 triumph over Cleveland.  There - you can sleep better tonight!  :-)

Great. Just Great!

Just when I thought the Phillies were starting to struggle offensively, Chase Utley decides to show up.  Utley had missed 47 games this season with patellar tendonitis, and I was not sympathetic.  I mean, I had patellar tendonitis in high school, and I didn't miss 47 days of track practice!  But now Utley is back, and because his name all of a sudden appeared in yesterday's lineup, everyone else on the Phillies decided to step it up a notch and play well.  Rollins, Polanco, and Ibañez all hit home runs and Cole Hammels pitched a solid game in their 10-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.  Utley was actually the only Philly who did not have a hit, but all his teammates were gushing about how great it is to have him back and what a surge of energy he brings to the team.  Blah blah blah!

Speaking of home runs, my last-place Nationals were victim to three of them from Corey Hart (not the one who wears his sunglasses at night) in last night's 11-3 loss to the Brewers.  The Nats have lost 3 games in a row, and the last couple have been painful to watch.  Losing gets real old real quick!  But I will watch tonight's game, because I don't want to be known as a "fair-weather" fan who abandons her team when they're losing.  Surely there are brignt days ahead for them (I hope!).

On a happier note, I couldn't be happier that 40-year-old Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins is off the disabled list and back to hitting home runs.  He hit 2 last night in their 8-7 loss to the Mariners, and Thome is only 7 four-baggers away from the illustrious mark of 600.  He will never catch up to Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, or Willie Mays, but he will more than likely pass Sammy Sosa, and Sosa is worth passing.  You da man, Jim!

And Derek Jeter?  He's at 2,975 hits, so at this pace, he will reach 3000 before the All-Star game.  He just recently broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for most bases stolen by a Yankee.  If only the Nationals could have an all-around great player like Jeter...

Not in my Baltimore Yard!

Baseball games are fun to watch on TV, but way more fun to watch in person.  However, they're not as fun to watch in person if you are not rooting for the home team.  Whether your team is winning or not, no one cheers when you cheer, no one claps when you clap, and no one high-fives you when one of your players does something great.  In yesterday's Nationals/Orioles game at Oriole Park, my husband, son and I were rooting for the visiting team, along with several hundred other Nationals fans spattered throughout the crowd of 33,000.  It was a picture-perfect day for baseball, the first sunny day in over a week.  The Orioles won the game 8-3, a far cry from Friday night's game, which the Nationals won 17-5.  But it wasn't the fact that the Nationals lost that made me feel a little disappointed - it was the fact that I just didn't feel totally comfortable at Camden Yards.  It is a very pretty park, reminiscent of the old-time ballparks of the early days of baseball.  its brick facade is charming, and the fact that the cushiony seats extend further out into the dugout sections allowed us members of the proletariat to sit in the most comfortable seats I've ever sat at to watch a baseball game.  It was also very easy to get to and just as easy to leave (way easier than going into Baltimore to my appointments at Johns Hopkins Hospital on the other side of town).  But there were a few things about Oriole Park that just didn't quite gel with me. 

First of all, if you're watching batting practice in the outfield (like we did, when Liván Hernandez gave my son a baseball), you have to go back out onto Eutaw street and enter another gate to get to a different section of the park.  In other parks I've visited, you can access the entire ground level by walking all the way around the main concourse of the park.  Second, the  selection of their concessions was limited (though according to my husband, beer was a little cheaper than at Nationals Park).  Only one food stand sold nachos, and the vendors that go up and down the aisles offered a very limited fare.  Because they had to build a park in a section of the city that was already developed around it, the park feels cramped and a little too "intimate."  Nationals Park, which was built as part of a National Harbor project, is more roomy and was able to have other things built around it.  Therefore, there is just more space for fans to move about.  Another thing I didn't like was the scoreboard, which was reminiscent of a minor-league park.  It took me 5 innings to figure out that the pitch count and ball speed were posted on a separate little scoreboard below the upper deck on the left field side.  I'm used to getting all my necessary information in one place, and that was a little frustrating (though I'm sure the average fan doesn't care how fast a pitch was thrown).  There also wasn't any live entertainment between innings - no running presidents, no racing sausages, no t-shirt-throwing mascot (the Oriole Bird was there, but he didn't do much).  Instead they have these animated crabs and racing hot dog condiments on the score board that, again, are something you would expect at a minor-league game.  I want to see oversized Maryland crabs made of foam doing a dance or carwheels or something!  Oh, and my last complaint is that instead of having their retired numbers nicely displayed along the outfield wall, they have these gaudy sculptures on the outside of the park.  I wondered why there was a giant #5 in the middle of the sidewalk, and then figured it was Brooks Robinson's number.  Not good for us blind folks to have big statues smack in the middle of the sidewalk!  Though I did think the Babe Ruth statue was nice; I think they made him a little thinner than he really was!

In all fairness to Orioles Park and their fans, they did play "Take me out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch (before playing that God-awful John Denver song).  They are loyal to their team, and they own a lot of orange clothing.  I won't say that I will never be back (I wouldn't miss a World Series game there if the opportunity ever arose), but I think I will stick to my home ballpark for now, where Teddy never wins a Presidents Race, the scoreboard is flashy and informative, and you can buy a "Curly W" pretzel in 3 different sections of the park.    

"Life Aint Nothin' but a Funny, Funny Riddle!"

The first time I went to Oriole Park at Camden Yards was in 2004, when my daughter was almost 4 and I was very pregnant with my son.  In anticipation of the game, I taught my daughter how to sing "Take me out to the Ballgame."  She loved that song, and was "root, root, root"ing and "one, two, three strikes you're out!"ing nonstop for days.  The day of the game finally came, and she was very excited.  I was excited too, since I'd been wanting to visit Camden Yards and see what all the hype was about.  Oriole Park opened in 1992, and was touted as "first of its kind," since it was a baseball-only park without the bowl-like claustrophobia of multi-use stadiums; and was a throwback to the old-time parks like Fenway and Wrigley but with modern-day upgrades and conveniences.  The park is only steps from Baltimore's bustling inner harbor, and sits just a few blocks from the birthplace of Babe Ruth.  It is the place where Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gherig's consecutive-game playing streak, and where Mike Devereaux hit many a home run.  So despite not being a fan of the American League, I wanted to see what Oriole Park was all about.

So we get to the park, and my daughter is happy watching all the people and "helping" us find our seats.  She has her new binoculars, and even gets several glimpses of the Orioles' mascot.  She starts getting restless though, probably by the fifth inning or so.  I try to keep her engaged by telling her to practice her baseball song, because in between the top and bottom of the seventh inning, she will get to sing it with the rest of the people at the park.  When the top of the seventh is over, we heard "God Bless America," which has been a common occurrence in baseball parks since the 9/11 tragedies of 2001.  I was OK with that, because I knew to expect it and it's a nice song.  However, after that, they piped another song over the loudspeakers, but it was NOT the traditional "Take me out to the Ballgame" - instead, I heard John Denver singing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy!"  What was THAT all about?  We weren't in the country; we were in Baltimore!  John Denver was not from Baltimore either, so I could not figure out why that song was playing.  Worse yet, my 4-year-old did not get to hear (or sing) "Take me out to the Ballgame."  What would Harry Caray say about that?  I was not happy!  I decided right then and there that I would never go back to Orioles Park again.  Never ever!  What kind of baseball nerd would subject herself to such disrespect and ridicule?  Why would they sing of pancakes and fiddles instead of peanuts and Cracker Jacks?  I was appalled!

Well, my "Never ever" only lasted seven years, because tomorrow afternoon, my husband, my son and I are going to catch the Orioles playing the Nationals at Camden Yards!  It was a quick visit to StubHub and a rare free Saturday afternoon that helped me make such an impromptu decision; plus the fact that my daughter will be camping with her Girl Scout troop and we needed something to do with my son (hey, buying three tickets between home plate and the visitors' dugout instead of four is saving us a LOT of money!).  So tomorrow afternoon I will don my Nationals #7 jersey, bring my Puerto Rican flag, and visit the concession stands or the ladies' room during the seventh inning stretch.  I may have succumbed to the temptation of going back to Oriole Park, but I refuse to give in to the debauchery of this Orioles tradition.  I love ballpark tradition as much as the next person ("Bald Vinny" and his "Bleacher Creatures" yelling out their legendary Roll Call during home games at Yankee Stadium is a favorite of mine), but not knowing the correlation between this John Denver song and the urban atmosphere of Baltimore does not help me appreciate this seventh-inning stretch ritual (although if someone out there knows its origins, I'd be happy to learn how/why it got started).  Oh, and during the National Anthem, when all you O's fans yell "OOOOOOOOO say does that star-spangled banner yet wave," I will have to just roll my eyes and keep quiet, so as not to be called "un-patriotic."

As for the game itself tomorrow?  Who knows; both the Nationals and Orioles are struggling offensively and both are in last place in their divisions.  But I will never pass up the opportunity to go to a baseball game, regardless of where it is or who is playing.  Of course, this game needs to end before the Rapture happens tomorrow, so I can get my money's-worth for the tickets, food, and parking!

The Cincinnati WHO?

There is a rivalry heating up in baseball, and it's not between the Yankees and Red Sox.  The National League's Central Division has been dominated in recent years by the St. Louis Cardinals, whose middle part of the lineup is one of the best in the game (with Pujols, Holliday and Berkman).  But recently, the Cincinnati Reds have been surging to the top, playing aggressive baseball and even hitting a few Cardinals along the way (and winning 5 games in a row).  Not since the days of Johnny Bench and Pete Rose have Reds fans been so excited, and with the two teams facing each other nine more times this season, things are definitely bound to get interesting!  It's about time that NL Central got exciting!
Continuing my look at the standings (which I hadn't done myself in a couple of days), the Colorado Rockies have won 2 games in a row, putting them half a game in front of the World Series champions (the San Francisco Giants) in first place in the National League West.  I prefer to see the Rockies in first place over the Giants, and hope that Carlos Gonzalez and company can keep it up.  They will play the Giants again tonight, so that can either increase their lead, or put them back into second place.  Go Rox!

In the National League East, yes, the Phillies are in first place, but did you know they have lost four games in a row?  (Yeay!)  That only puts them half a game above the Marlins, and 1.5 games over the Braves (who have won 4 in a row).  My Nationals are now out of last place, but with a 2-game series against the basement-dwelling Mets, those two positions could be reversed by the end of today. 

Now on to the American League!  In the AL East, the Yankees are NOT in first place!  Woo-hoo!  That position is being taken up by the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost to the Yanks last night but are still holding on to the top spot.    (Derek Jeter went 1 for 5 last night by the way, putting him at 2,966 hits.  He just may reach 3000 before the All-Star Game!)

In the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians continue to dominate, being 5 games in front of the Detroit Tigers.  They beat the KC Royals last night, while the Tigers' game was one of four in the Majors that was postponed due to rain.  My niece went to an Indians game in Cleveland recently and really enjoyed herself; I hope to visit "the Jake by the lake" in the very near future!

How about those Oakland A's in the AL West?  They are now tied with the World Series-losing Texas Rangers, and trounced the LA Angels last night by a score of 14-0.  Pitcher Gio Gonzalez is now 5-2, and Mark Ellis went 3 for 5 with a bunch of RBIs.  The A's have had an up and down season so far, but they are thrilled to be sharing first place with the Tigers!

The baseball season may be 162 games long, but each and every one of them matters; especially when the standings are so close and the division leaders can change at the drop of a ball cap.  Keep watching, my friends; things are definitely heating up!

PS:  Happy 75th birthday to Brooks Robinson!!!

Is it a Mountain, or a Molehill?

Controversy makes the world go 'round, whether it involves politics (Did Hillary Clinton really have hay fever while watching the raid on bin Laden's compound?); pop culture (Why was Lady Gaga wearing penis-shaped shoes while singing on "American Idol?"); or religion (Is the world really going to end this coming Saturday?).  Baseball has had its share of controversy too - did George Brett have too much pine tar on his bat that one time?  Did "Shoeless" Joe Jackson really help his teammates throw games back in 1919?  Should Pete Rose be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?  These are all topics of lively debate among baseball fans, but the latest controversy involves the Yankees.  I don't know if it would be such a big deal if it involved a player from the Toronto Blue Jays or Oakland A's, but because it's the Yankees, we are all forced to care and pay attention.  I am referring to the reaction of Yankees' Designated Hitter, Jorge Posada, when noticing that he was listed to bat ninth in the lineup against the Red Sox in yesterday's game.  Yankees management says that Posada saw his name listed as ninth and said if he was going to bat ninth, he didn't want to play.  Posada himself says that he felt some "back stiffness" and told manager Joe Girardi that he wanted the day off but not because he was supposed to bat ninth.  Now, I don't know what the real story is, but Posada has been doing lousy this year, batting only .167.  Posada is 39 years old (same age as me!), so I don't want to say he's an old man.  However, after squatting behind the plate as the Yankees' catcher for the past 16 years, his body has taken quite a toll and he has suffered many injuries.  I think Jorge should be grateful to have been given the opportunity to extend his career by becoming a DH, and if he wants to move up in the lineup, he should try hitting better.  Yes, maybe his "back stiffness" is contributing to his poor performance at the bat; but don't make it look like if they don't move you up in the lineup you don't want to play, because that's childish.  If I was Girardi, I wouldn't put you in the lineup neither today nor tomorrow, because both pitchers that the Yankees will be facing in the next two games are lefties, and I believe you've gone something like 0 for 24 against lefties this year.  So take a few days off, Jorge; get your back looked at, and be happy if they put you back in the lineup sometime next week - no matter where that is in the batting order.

So, changing the topic...my Nationals are now officially in last place, tied with the Mets.  Not a big surprise, since they haven't been hitting worth squat, but I really did have hopes that they wouldn't follow the same path as last year and the year before that.  We need to get Ryan Zimmerman back from his injury (that won't be happening for another couple of weeks), and the bullpen needs to stop blowing games in the later innings.  Yesterday's 1-0 loss to the Marlins was just sad!  But on the bright side, the Orioles shut out the Rays, with Brad Bergesen getting the win.  And how 'bout those Phillies?  Well they lost to the Braves 5-3.  Ha ha!  :-)

Tonight's prime time game is the matchup between the Yankees and visiting Red Sox.  I hope to get a chance to watch as I fold laundry, and I hope to go to another Frederick Keys game later on this week.  And please keep Harmon Killebrew in your prayers - he has moved into hospice care after doctors have said that there are no further treatments that can help his esophageal cancer.  May he rest comfortably and live out his last days with the grace and dignity that he deserves. 

Exercising my Right to Vote

Every year I cast my virtual ballot (or ballots, since we can vote more than once) for the All-Star Game.  Voting has come a long way since the days when you had to go to a ballpark to get a paper ballot- now you can vote online up to twenty times per email address at http://www.mlb.com/ (last year I voted sixty times; this year I don't know that I'll have the time for that!).  One feature I like in this year's online ballot is that when you click on a player, his stats show up (batting average, home runs, and RBI).  That helped with my decision-making, but unfortunately, not everyone is going to vote for the player who actually deserves to be there.  For many, it is a popularity contest, which is the biggest complaint from baseball die-hards like me.  I don't want to see a player representing his team in the All-Star Game just because he's cute or just because he USED to be good (although I don't mind looking at the cute ones!).  Sometimes fans vote for players who are or have been on the disabled list, and they end up winning even though they can't play (if Chase Utley wins for second base, I'm going to scream.  You see, he's been a great player in years past, but he has not played in a single game this year due to a knee injury).  So here is my list of the players I voted for this year, with the reasons why I voted for them and whether or not I think they're actually going to be in the starting lineup at this year's All-Star Game:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
1B - Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers) got my vote because of his 7 home runs and 24 RBI.  I did not want to vote for Teixeira, though he will probably be the starter at first base.
2B - Robinson Canó (NY Yankees) is the best second-baseman out there, so why not vote for a Yankee?  My hatred for the Yankees is shifting to the Phillies; I actually voted for TWO Yanks this year!
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera (Cleveland Indians) won't be the starter (Derek Jeter will be), but he got my vote because he has a batting average of .270 (better than Jeter's) and because he has a cool first name.  Plus, that's two "Cabreras" in the same ballot.  I know; not as important as the stats, but I'm being honest!
3B - Maicer Izturis (Los Angeles Angels) got my vote because I did NOT want to vote for A-Rod.  I've seen Izturis play a few times, and he's just fine.  He's batting .330 with 2 HR and 11 RBI, so I think I picked a respectable guy.  A-Rod will undoubtedly get the job though.  Whatever.
Catcher - Russell Martin (NY Yankees) already has 20 RBI, so he gets my vote.  Plus the fact that there aren't any Puerto Rican starting catchers in the American League ballot.  He will probably get the most votes for AL catcher.
DH - This was a tough one!  I wanted to vote for Jorge Posada, but his batting average is not all that.  Then I wanted to vote for Adam Dunn, because he used to be a National and I liked him back then, but his average is a crappy .180!  So my vote for Designated Hitter went to Vladimir Guerrero (Baltimore Orioles).  Everybody loves Vladi, and his .267 average, 4 HR and 13 RBI are respectable.  Hopefully he'll get the start.
Outfield (choose 3) - Melky Cabrera (Kansas City Royals), Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles), and Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners).  I have voted for Ichiro every year in every ballot since I can remember.  His arm is amazing, and he's just one of those all-around good guys.  Cabrera got my vote because I needed a third "Cabrera" (and because he deserves to be an all-star), and Adam Jones, well, he's the sentimental favorite.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1B - Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds) got my vote because I was not going to vote for Albert Pujols or Ryan Howard (though I'm sure Pujols will get to start).  Votto has a .333 batting average, and his name is fun to say in a "New York Italian 'how you doin'" kind of way).
2B - Rickie Weeks (Milwaukee Brewers) has been with the Brew Crew his whole career and deserves to be an all-star with his 7 HR and solid defense.
SS - Ryan Theriot (St. Louis Cardinals) is batting .287.  I could have voted for the Nationals' Ian Desmond, whose offense is pretty solid, but he is such a lousy shortstop that I would have been embarrassed to see him play in that position at an All-Star Game.
3B - Placido Polanco (Philadelphia Phillies) is my pick for third base.  Yes, I voted for a Philly; but Ryan Zimmerman is on the Disabled List, David Wright is not playing that well this year, and Chipper Jones, sigh!, is just not as good as Polanco anymore.  Polanco does not get the attention he deserves (since he is teammates with Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay and others), and if he's not named to the all-star team, I am gong to boycott the game.  Yes, I've done this before; spent the night of the All-Star Game watching something else on TV.  I did it one year when Nolan Ryan was not named to the all-star team, and one year when Kirby Puckett was left out.  This year, no Polanco, no game for me!
Catcher - Iván Rodriguez (Washington Nationals) is the only player I voted for who doesn't really deserve to be there this year.  He's only batting .210, though his at-bats are very productive since he has 10 RBI.  But he doesn't play every day, and there are other catchers out there who are playing better (I think Yadier Molina will get the start, or maybe Buster Posey); but I had to vote for one Nationals player, and "Pudge" was it.
Outfield - Carlos Beltrán (NY Mets), Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals), and Justin Upton (Arizona Cardinals) all got my vote.  Beltrán has surprised everyone this year with a .289 batting average, 5 HR and 18 RBI.  He didn't know if he would have a job this year, and has proven that he can still hit.  Holliday has been on a tear since his appendix tore earlier this year, batting .398, and I voted for Upton because he's batting .260 with 7 HR and 18 RBI.

So that's my lineup for this year's All-Star Game.  I've always been disappointed that fans can't vote for pitchers, but I'm hoping that the coaches and managers make good choices there (speaking of managers, Bruce Bochy, who will manage the Natinal League all-star team, has chosen Nationals' manager, Jim Riggleman, as his bench coach for the game.  Pretty cool!  Although I must admit, I never understood what a bench coach really did other than sit at the bench).  It should be a good game this year; let's hope the National League wins it!

By the way, last night the Nationals beat the Braves and pitcher Jason Marquis got his 100th career win.  The Marlins beat the Phillies and Roy Halliday (yeay!), and the Indians won their 14th game in a row.  If only my son's Little League team had done as well last night...

Happy Mothers' Day!

We have a tradition in our family that we started three years ago.  On Mothers' Day, we go to 9:00 Mass, then we have lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, and we take in an afternoon baseball game.  Our local team, the Frederick Keys, are an affiliate of the Orioles and always draw good crowds to their home games.  So this year was no different - we went to church, had a delicious lunch, and then went to the game.  Minor league games are very fun for the whole family, and my kids (who aren't huge baseball fans), love going to see the Keys.  Aside from the game itself, they have a moon bounce, a merry-go-round, and other games and activities for the kids.  And in between innings, they always have some sort of contest on the field to keep the crowd engaged.  We had front-row seats today right behind the Keys' dugout, so I was able to say hi to their manager, fellow Puerto Rican Orlando Gomez.  He was very friendly, and even talked with us a little bit after the game.  The game itself was fun to watch, with the Keys winning 3-2 in 13 innings.  The one thing I did not like was the number of times both teams used the intentional walk.  The Wilmington Blue Rocks (my kids agreed that this was a dumb name for a team - what does their mascot do; just sit there?), well they intentionally walked players at least four times.  Like I've said before, I can't STAND the intentional walk, and it's the first thing I am going to eliminate when I become Commissioner of baseball.  But the game moved pretty quickly, and despite going into extra innings, was finished in a little over three hours.  The weather was great, the kids had fun and got some autographs, my son got a bat from center fielder Miguel Abreu (also from Puerto Rico), and most importantly, we got front row seats for only $11 a piece.  Please support your local minor league team; you will have a great time with your family!

In the Majors, Justin Verlander threw his second no-hitter yesterday, walking only one Blue Jay.  You've heard me talk about his first no-hitter several times before, so I won't go into how Iván Rodriguez caught that one.  That's old news.  But I was happy for Verlander, whose no-hitter was the second one in the Majors this week.  The not-so-good news involved Andre Ethier, whose consecutive-game hitting streak ended at 30 games.  His batting average is still great; he has nothing to worry about.  As far as the Nationals, they beat the Marlins yesterday but were shut out by them today; the Phillies and Braves play this evening (now I know what I'll be doing tonight instead of the laundry!), and the Orioles were swept by the Rays.  Oh, and the Yankees beat the Rangers 12-5 today with Derek Jeter hitting two home runs.  He's now at 2,956 hits, number 30 on the all-time hits list.

What else?...Oh, Willie Mays turned 80 yesterday (George Clooney had a birthday yesterday too!), but he no longer likes being called "The Say Hey Kid."  I guess if you're Willie Mays, you can decide what you want and don't want to be called. 

I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful day, and may you all have a fantastic week!

"Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk!"

Major League Baseball officials are getting together with the MLB Players Union to come up with some sort of alcohol plan.  They have a plan for those who use performance-enhancing drugs, and they have a plan for those who use "drugs of abuse" like cocaine and marijuana, but they don't have a plan in place for the drunks.  You may not think it's an issue, but so far this season (and the season is only a little over a month old), six players have been arrested for DUI or other alcohol-related issues.  Wanna know who they are?  Here's the list so far:  Former National and current Indian Austin Kearns; another former Naional but current Mariner Adam Kennedy; former Red Sox and current Athletic Coco Crisp; Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers; Derek Lowe of the Braves (who had a no-hitter going last night until Shane Victorino of the Phillies broke it in the seventh inning); and the most recent drunk, Shin-Soo Choo of the Indians.  What does this say about baseball players?  Well, if you leave the Nationals for another team, please don't drink and drive.  Also, if you're named after a cereal, don't drink and drive.  Seriously though; these six players have been lucky in the fact that no one has been hurt in these incidents - they could have been a lot worse and could have impacted many more lives.  Just because you can play baseball and make a lot of money doesn't mean you have the right to drive after you've had a few drinks.  People who drive after drinking too much are stupid, whether they play baseball or pinochle.

On a lighter, note... Derek Lowe's good pitching performance last night allowed the Braves to beat the Phillies (yeay!).  The Nationals also won, with Iván Rodriguez having one hit and Adam Laroche  driving in the winning run in the tenth inning (I did stay up for the end of that one).  The Orioles lost to the Rays (boo!), the Yankees beat the Rangers (double boo!), and the Mets beat the Dodgers, but Andre Ethier went 3 for 5, so his hitting streak is now at 30 games.  He is 3 games away from tieing Rogers Hornsby, so we'll see how far he gets...

It's a beautiful day in Frederick, and my husband and I enjoyed a leisurely run this morning (with a sprint at the end for good measure).  I hope you can get out to enjoy the day, and to all the moms out there who read my blog, have a fabulous Mothers' Day tomorrow!

The First "No-no" of the Year!

Pitching a no-hitter in the Major Leagues is something that pitchers only dream of.  Unless you're Nolan Ryan, who tossed seven of them in his long career, chances are you're probably not going to ever throw one during your time in the Majors.  Last night, however, previously-struggling Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins pitched the first no-hitter of the season, beating the White Sox 1-0 (I know; the guy tosses a no-hitter and the best his team could do was score only one run!).  I was able to catch the last out, whose victim was former Nationals first baseban-turned DH Adam Dunn.  While I like Dunn and would normally hope he gets a hit, I was really rooting for Liriano.  I loved watching the hugs, the high-fives, and the celebration that took place on the mound after Dunn hit an easy-to-field grounder.  It is moments like that one that make baseball so much fun to watch.  But let's remember that part of the credit for the no-hitter goes to Twins' catcher Drew Butera, who called the pitches and kept Liriano calm throughout the latter innings as he was starting to run out of steam.  (Baseball nerd fact of the day:  My man Iván Rodriguez has caught two no-hitters in his career; one for Kenny Rogers with the Rangers and one for Justin Verlander with the Tigers.  I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but it's one of those facts that I'm proud of knowing without having to look it up!  I won't bring it up again - I promise!).

Things weren't so rosy for our local teams last night, with the Nationals losing to the Phillies 4-1 (and who didn't see THAT happening?) and the Orioles losing to the Royals 6-5 in 10 innings.  The Tigers finally beat the Yankees 4-2 (Jeter added one more hit to his grand total); the Mets lost again (this time to the Giants, 7-6 in 10 innings); Cleveland won AGAIN beating Oakland 4-1; and Andre Ethier's consecutive-game hitting streak is now at 29 games (though the Dodgers lost to the Cubs 4-1). 

So it was an exciting night of baseball last night, with the same teams matching up tonight.  And for you hockey fans, let's hope the Capitals can win at least one game in their playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning!  While I can't watch hockey on TV for too long because it's hard to follow that little puck, I will be tuning in tonight during baseball's commercials.

A Star-Spangled Victory!

Without a doubt, the National League East is the toughest division to be a part of.  It seems like the only time a team can gain some ground on the Phillies is when the Phillies have a day off.  Last night, for example, the Marlins, Braves, and Nationals all won their games, but since the Phillies didn't play, each team moved up half a game in the standings.  Not bad for my Nationals, who are now 4 1/2 games back, but they start a 3-game series with those dreaded Phillies tonight, so they can quickly lose ground.  With their .500 record, if the Nationals were in any other division, they would be in second place (as opposed to being tied for third with the Braves).  After the Phillies series, they go on to face the Marlins and Braves, so the standings might look very different by the end of next week.  We'll see what happens...

Last night was Military Appreciation Night at the Nationals game, and they didn't disappoint.  Tom Gorzelanny pitched 8 scoreless innings and Drew Storen recorded a save as the Nats shut out the world-champion Giants 2-0.  They ended up winning 3 out of the 4 games in that series, which was surprising to everyone.  The Nats wore their new stars-and-stripes uniforms, and military personnel were able to attend the game for free.  Funny how the timing of that worked out, with the whole bin Laden thing happening just the night before. 

Also last night, Andre Ethier hit in his 28th consecutive game, getting him closer to the group of 19 players who have hit in 30 consecutive games (that group includes Nationals' third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and hall-of-famers George Brett and Stan Musial).  The most recent streak was that of Jimmy Rollins a few years ago at 38 games, and Rollins, of course, is a Philly (sigh!).  Let's hope Ethier can continue his streak, because the Dodgers are in such an ownership mess right now that the fans need something positive to cheer for.

Speaking of ownership, the Mets are selling 49% of their ownership for $200 million.  Anyone out there interested?  If I paid $200 million for a team, I would want at least 51% of the shares; I would not like to be a "minority" owner.  Good luck to them trying to sell for that price!

Finally, the Yankees beat the Tigers again (man, those Tigers are playing some lousy ball lately!), by a score of 2-0.  I mentioni this because Derek Jeter had 2 hits, giving him a career total of 2,951.  If he keeps hitting that well, he may just reach 3,000 by the all-star break.  Stay tuned!

Philadelphia Freedom!

My alarm clock is set to go off every weekday morning at 5:45.  Instead of an annoying buzzer, I wake up to WTOP radio, which is Washington DC's 24-hour news station.  Since sports are always done at 15 and 45 past each hour, I always wake up to the latest sports scores.  However, this morning it was not sportscaster Dave Johnson telling me that the Washington Capitals had lost their NHL playoff game last night; it was some strange man talking about terrorism.  That made me perk up, because I figured something big had happened somewhere in the world overnight.  Sure enough, US Navy SEALs had killed AlQaeda leader Osama binLaden.  I said "Cool!", while my Navy-veteran husband said "About time the Navy did something!"  Despite the initial excitement, I still wanted to know who won last night's game between the Mets and Phillies.  I know; it's not very patriotic of me, but when I went to bed, it was going into extra innings, and since the Nationals, Braves, and Marlins had all won their games yesterday, I was curious to know how the other two NL East teams had done.  Why did I go to bed before the game was over?  Because I can't STAND extra-inning games!  One thing I like about baseball is knowing that the game is going to end after 9 innings; when that certainty goes away, I lose interest.  How do I know how much longer the game will go on?  Will it be 10 innings, or will it be 15?  Since there's no way of knowing, I just choose to not watch.  In this case, I wish I had, because after the Mets finally won the game 2-1 in the fourteenth inning, fans had already been notified of the breaking news from the White House and there was all kinds of excitement at the ballpark.  Sorry I missed it!

What else happened in baseball yesterday?  Well, Andre Ethier of the Dodgers continues his consecutive-game hit streak, which now stands at 27 games.  Ethier is no Joe DiMaggio, but streaks like that are always exciting to follow.  Let's see...what else... Oh, the Indians won their 13th-straight home game, beating the struggling Tigers 5-4.  The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 5-2, giving Mariano Rivera his 10th save of the year.  And how did the Nationals win over the Giants?  With the help of Iván Rodriguez, who drove in 2 runs in their 5-2 victory (he also used his "missile arm" to catch a runner trying to steal second base).  And one statistic from last night's game that I thought was interesting:  Ryan Howard of the Phillies finished April with 27 RBIs.  That's just insane!

I will finish today's post with a quote from Mets' third-baseman David Wright that I stole from mlb.com:  ""As proud and as great a moment as it was for me being on a baseball field, you multiply that by a million. That's probably what they're feeling at the fire houses, at the police stations, at the places like Walter Reed."  Have a good week, my friends!

OMGosh!

Hello, friends!  I know I said I would post an entry tonight, but I didn't know that the Phillies/Mets game was this evening, and I HAVE to watch!  Rest assured, I will give you my take on this weekend's games after the Phillies lose (hopefully!) from work tomorrow (did I just say "from work?"  I meant, ahem, after I get home from work!  Yeah!).  If you're looking for something to watch on TV tonight, tune in to ESPN, where the Phillies/Mets game will be shown.  It's the first year without Joe Morgan and John Miller doing the play-by-play, but it's still OK to watch (even though Bobby Valentine sounds like a Muppets character).  Go watch, and check me out tomorrow!  Thanks!!!