Messing with the blogging world since 2005
Boy it’s been a while. So long in fact that when I checked it today, it said this URL didn’t exist. Interesting enough.
Work has been hectic and I’ve really tried to follow my photo blog. I’m attempting to integrate my photo blog with a regular blog on my website. I’ll try every once in a while to post something here in case someone actually looks. But eventually, I’m hoping to get into blogging on a regular basis and have it on my server.
For now, check my photo blog: P.J.’s look at the world
Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m one of the most optimistic Phillies phans around. No matter what happens I always think the playoffs are going to made in any season. Then, just about every year, the blunderin’ Phils find a way to break my heart.
Year after year.
After year.
After year.
After year.
You get the picture.
There have been two major moves the Phillies have made the past couple years I totally wanted to see go in a different direction. They hire Charlie Manuel as manager over Jim Leyland. Now, Leyland has the best team in baseball in Detroit and the Phillies are doing what they normally do — breaking hearts.
The other was the hiring of Pat Gillick as manager over Gerry Hunsicker. That basically spoke for itself this week when he traded Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle to the Yankees for three dozen boxes of balls, two rosin bags, a deck of cards and a couple of packs of baseball cards.
Look, I’m a fan of Abreu and wanted him to stay. BUT, I had no problem with him being traded. That said, you could get more than some crap for him. Especially from the free-spending Yankees.
Anyway, just before the trade and since, the Phils have been playing some serious ball. They sit 3 1/2 back in the wild card race and have looked pretty good. Utley’s streak seems to be sparking the team. Howard is hitting well as is the rest of the team. Dellucci has been playing fantastic in the outfield and even Abraham Nunez has sucked less than normal.
Four games out of the wild card?? After trading Bobby Abreu? Could it be?
Ahhh hell, here we go again.
It’s like taking a lollipop and waving it in front of the face of a 3-year-old. Then, right when the child is about to grab it, you pull it back, shove it in your mouth and laugh in the kid’s face as it begins to cry.
That’s the Phils every year.
I’m hoping. I’m pulling for ’em. I’m doing everything I normally do. I’m staying optimistic even though recent trades have irritated me to no end.
If they fall one or two games short again this year, I don’t know what I’ll do.
It’s the same old story though. Nothing changes in Philly. Crowds are dwindling. There’s no confidence in the team. But maybe the biggest thing that happened could be from one of the players who recently left.
Cory Lidle.
Yeah, the same Lidle who, if he went six innings was a “bulldog.” The same Cory Lidle that has played for an awful lot of teams because his stuff is so “magical.” The same Cory Lidle who must have figured his 8-7 record with the Phils was Cy Young worthy.
In talking about his time in Philadelphia, Lidle said Monday: “on the days I’m pitching, it’s almost a coin flip as to know if the guys behind me are going to be there to play 100 percent.” He noted he was joining a Yankees team that expects to win all the time.
“That’s why I’m most excited about it,” Lidle said. “Sometimes I felt I got caught up kind of going into the clubhouse nonchalantly sometimes, because all of the other guys in the clubhouse didn’t go there with one goal in mind.”
Fantastic! This from the same person who a week or two earlier said he wanted to stay in Philly. He did, however, back off these comments a day or so later. But the damage was already done. Phillies players responded and they have seemed to keep it up on the field by taking the first two of a series with “Heaven” (ie: St. Louis).
In the same time, the Phytin’ Phils have crawled within four games of a .500 record and 3 1/2 of the wild card.
I’m staying optimistic.
But setting up for my heart getting broke again.
There’s probably no reason I should be up other than the fact that I haven’t gone to bed when it’s light out since I was like 10.
FRIDAY
I had to work, cover a game and all. From Thursday to Friday, I got like 5-7 hours of sleep or so. Basically, normal. I got out of work around 11 p.m. and my states weekend officially started.
I left right away for Oswego and we got in around 2-2:15 a.m. After checking into the motel we were at, we didn’t really get “to sleep” until around 3-3:15 a.m. Well, the other three in the room anyway.
For me? Not so much. I got about an hour of sleep that night. One of my players was in there snoring away like he was sawing lumber. I couldn’t block it out any way I tried. So I got a whole hour of sleep.
Now, realize that I don’t usually sleep a ton at states anyway. Call it nerves or whatever, but I’m usually antsy and it’s hard to sleep.
SATURDAY
We had an 8 a.m. game, hence the lack of sleep. We also only had one night in the hotel room because of some other things going on in the city. So we were staying the first night, then were playing it by ear. So, we were up by 6:15 or so, took showers and checked out of the motel.
That will have turned out to be a mistake.
When I went outside the room in the morning, it was cool — but nice playing weather. However, it was cloudy. A quick look at The Weather Channel showed it was going to be raining in the not-so-distant future and probably for a while.
We get to the field and start the game at 8 a.m. This tournament runs with the 10-run mercy rule and we had a 17-5 lead in the top of the fifth. Three outs away from ending the game. What happens? The sky opens. Game is suspended. We give a cell number and leave the field.
Here is the problem — we already checked out of the motel. We could have gone back there if we kept the room until the 11 a.m. checkout. Instead, we go to McD’s for breakfast and having a home base of operations. So two people started calling to get us hotel rooms, landed some but we couldn’t check in until 3 p.m. A bunch of us dropped down into Syracuse to a mall, then back to the field around 3.
It’s locked up.
And sunny. And nobody is working on the fields to get us going. Argh. So we go check into the hotel and with a bunch of people in there, it’s hard to lie down to take a nap. At 5 p.m., we head back to the field to find out the decision.
The plan?
They are going to work on one field to get it game ready. Once it’s ready (by 7:30), they are going to finish the three 8 a.m. games, then move on to new games. While they are going on, they are going to one-by-one work on the other two fields to get them ready.
We are the second game to finish. Our pitcher is now in another part of the state for a wedding and won’t be back in time for the first one. So I have to finish and well, even though I pitch some, I was nervous. So no power nap for me.
Turns out the other team doesn’t show up, so I just have to throw one pitch and the game is over.
Now, the idea of the tournament is to play through the night. And they did. We played two more games — unfortunately losing both. We played the second at like 11 or something like that and our final game started near 2. We left the field at 3:30 a.m.
I really wanted to win that third game because if so we would have played at 4:30 a.m. which I think would have been cool because we would have been playing when the sun came up. But everyone with the team (family, friends) had been troopers and stayed up the whole time — so I’m sure everyone was happy to go sleep. But, at the same time, we weren’t there to lose.
The long wait killed us for sure. Especially having to play an 8 a.m. game, then wait all day. Our second game also drained us. And our third, I think we were gassed. I firmly believe if we play that team right off the bat, we win. But, such is life.
So basically I was up for nearly 40 1/2 hours with a one-hour power nap in there. I was beat (even though I was still hitting well and had caught a second wind). Even still, my body was ready to sleep.
So, we went back and got some sleep. Apparently I was the snoring one this night and I kept getting hit — so I was told. I guess I was THAT tired because I don’t remember being jolted like that. Should have brought the breathe-right strips I imagine.
Got home, took a two-hour nap and am now doing OK for now. Hopefully watch a flick tonight, then head to bed so I can get back to the grind on Monday.
This is one week I totally dread and at the same time totally love.
It’s the weekend we venture to states, so the week before is always hectic as hell. Nuts even. From worrying about players, to confirming hotels, to making sure rooms are in the right names and making sure people know where they are going — it’s friggin’ tough!
But, the end result (hopefully) is worth the hell. The only thing that sucks is that we only have rooms for Friday night. We need them for Saturday, too, but it seems like there are other major things going on in the city we are going to and it’s booked. So we might have to stay like 40 minutes away, which kind of blows. We’ll play that by ear, however.
First game is 8 a.m. Saturday. Could be a long day, but hopefully we can play well and win some games. It’s a 22-team tournament and there’s bound to be some great teams there, including some former champs. Hopefully we can add our name to that list.
I’ll have more on Montreal and states next week. I’m sure I’ll have something to write about with softball for sure!
A lot of our trips to Montreal in the past have been doing a lot of the same thing.
We check out Old Montreal during the days, go to the Old Port, maybe venture to Mont Royal or walk around downtown and shop a little. This year, I wanted to do a bit more and thankfully we did.
I’m not saying we didn’t do the normal things — because we did — but we did check out some other things for once. And actually stopped to “smell the roses” per say.
We went out to Olympic Stadium this year and took a tour, which was interesting. It’s a shame the Expos aren’t still there as I would have liked to have taken the tour when they were still there. And maybe be allowed on the field.
We also went to some well-known places to eat (such as Schwartz’s), which gave us the chance to explore different parts of the city. Walking up St. Laurent was interesting and going through the French quarters when heading to a place for top-notch poutine was excellent. It’s very colorful down there and the buildings are pretty cool (probably should have taken some photos, eh?)
We still did the normal stuff at night (drinking our faces off), but we did investigate some other places (such as McKibban’s, which is a fine pub).
One thing we did was checked out a comedy club. Out Wednesday night at the Mad Hatter’s, we ran into this group from a place called the Comedy Nest. After striking up a conversation, we found the one guy was the headliner. So they invited us and we went the next night (we also went Friday for open mic).
That was a great time and one to remember. The headliner’s name is Steve Caouette. He’s from Maine and if you ever hear he’ll be near you, check him out. He’s an absolute riot and well worth going to see.
We also met some other people and went out for drinks that night and had a blast.
Something about this year really made it all click. Seeing different things with the good mix of doing some old things we know work well. And one thing is for sure — I’ll be back. Maybe in December!