Luck 'o the Irish to ya!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, which in baseball means that players will be wearing special green jerseys and ball caps during today's games.  I first thought these get-ups were silly and a waste of money, but then I read that a lot of them are autographed and auctioned off for charity, so I guess that makes it OK.  Fashionably speaking, not many people look good in Primary Green, but I guess after drinking a few green "potent potables," everyone looks good! :-)

Yesterday was a busy day for baseball.  First, Ken Griffey, Jr. decided to finally address the media after his abrupt retirement from baseball last June.  Basically he said that he was becoming a distraction to the Mariners, and that he didn't want to have a "farewell tour" like Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr. had in 2001.  He was so close to reaching 3000 hits that I was a little surprised when he retired, but he's a big boy and has a lot of money, so he can do whatever he feels is right.  Now he's been hired by the Mariners as a "consultant" (whatever that means), so we'll see Ken around again.  I feel bad for players like Griffey, a potential hall-of-famer and 13-time All-Star, who play so hard and do so well, yet they never get to go to the World Series.  Kind of like Dan Marino never winning a Super Bowl with the Miami Dolphins.  A lot of players prefer to have a World Series ring than the individual accolades, and Griffey is one of them.

Also yesterday, Dominican pitcher Iván Nova threw six no-hit innings for the Yankees as they shut out the Orioles 10-0.  He struck out four and had only one base runner, but he didn't walk anyone so it must have been on an error or wild pitch or something like that.  Another good Yankee pitcher - sigh!  (By the way, "no va" means "doesn't go" in Spanish, which, is OK for a pitcher but not for a Chevy car).  Yesterday was also the return of Joe Mauer and Chris Carpenter after nursing some injuries, and Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants was only a triple away from hitting for the cycle.  Ah, the "cycle;" another one of those rare feats in baseball!  

Opening Day is exactly two weeks away, which means our first visit to Nationals Park is just around the corner!  Our local minor league team has its first game on April 17, so I hope to see some of you at the ballpark!