Cry Me a River

If you are offended by vulgar language, this post will most likely offend you.

I have had a few bad days and I figured you would love to know about it.  Thursday I went down to Pittsburgh for the Pirates game.  Unfortunately, no one would go with me, which I was actually okay with.

I went to Rivers Casino first and played Three-Card Poker for about two hours.  At one point, I was up $150, but then I went on a losing streak and ended down $25.  I walked over to the game and had great seats (I used my coupon and got a free ticket).  The Buccos lost to the Dodgers and pretty much played like crap.  I then left and came home.

I changed into my Steeler jersey and went over to the YP to watch the final preseason game.  Needless to say, I had a bit too much to drink and Lindsey had to drive me home when she was done with work.  Yay for being responsible! 

The next day when we got my car, I noticed that my mirror was knocked off and my Batman hoodie was missing.  Ugh, some asshole decided to steal my favorite hoodie! 

Today I went to work a few hours early because we were getting the Washington & Jefferson College football team and I did all the work setting it up, so I wanted to be there to make sure it went smoothly.  It definitely went well.  Unfortunately, later things happened and I ended up staying and pulling a 14 hour day (15 if you count driving time). 

Sadly, on the way to work, I got pulled over and the cop gave me a speeding ticket.  Great, a speeding ticket, at work for 14 hours, missed college football, favorite hoodie stolen, lost money at the casino, saw the Pirates lose...ugh.

Then as I was in the shower, it occurred to me to stop being such a fucking crybaby!  I mean seriously Josh, get real.  These are your problems?  Grow the fuck up.  There are people who have no jobs, no car, no spare cash to go to a casino or a baseball game.  There are people who work 15 hours a day for shitty pay.  There are people who wonder where they will sleep tonight or if they will have anything to eat.  You are whining about losing a hoodie?  Granted, it was a gift from my brother, but let us look at some of the facts:

-You left your doors unlocked in Ebensburg.  Of course someone is going to open the door and take your hoodie.  Way to go moron.

-You got a ticket because you were speeding, suffer the consequences dickwad.

-You worked that long because you wanted to help out and you know that at some point you can leave early.  Do not act like you were forced into it.  Hell, you could have left early since you came in early. 

-You lost money at the casino because like a dumbass, you decided to up your bet because you thought you were on a hot streak.  You know better than this!  When you gamble like an idiot, you deserve to lose.

Instead of crying about what you do not have, be thankful for the things you do have:  a beautiful girlfriend, who loves you even when you are an idiot;  a great family; a job that you actually enjoy; a place to live; and you know, all that other stuff. 

College is Overrated

The Pirates signed their second round pick, Josh Bell.  There seemed to be a debate about whether or not he would sign since he sent out a letter asking teams not to draft him because he wanted to go to college and play for the University of Texas.

Most people thought this was a ploy to get a team to offer him more money.  And it obviously worked, but the thing that cracked me up, was the number of people saying that they could understand why he would want to go to college.

This is something I read somewhere "he may want to go to college to get his degree in case baseball does not work out."  Umm, yeah, that is all well and good, or he could take that huge signing bonus he received and tuck about $100,000 away in case he gets hurt and wants to go to school.  That should cover it.

I could understand if he was deciding to go to college because he was not considered a huge prospect, but he would have probably been a top fifteen pick if he had not scared everyone away with that letter.  Yes, he could go to college and do very well and end up being a top five pick, but what if he gets hurt, ends his career?  Or because of injury, gets drafted in the eighth round.

It reminds me of those college football players who stick around for their senior year, yet they are already considered a top draft pick (I am looking at you Peyton Manning).  I wanted Manning to get hurt so bad and end up never making it to the NFL.  Oddly though, now I actually like Peyton Manning.  That is a different story though.

What other things would there be that Josh Bell would miss out on?  The college experience?  Banging a bunch of college girls?  Look, I am sure with his huge stash of cash, he will be able to stay up late and sleep with some hot girls.  Hell, he can swing by any campus and probably pick up a few girls.  Hey Josh, anytime you want to go out at PSU, let me know, I'll show ya the hot spots!

Hell, this is good advice to any young person who has no clue what they want to do with their life.  If they only want to go to college in order to party, here is my suggestion:  go to a huge college and become a bartender.  Seriously, move to PSU/UT/OSU...wherever.  Become a bartender, you will have money all the time and you will get to do some serious partying.  Once you get tired of the college town, move to the beach and do it for awhile.  As you are doing this, tuck away a little money in case you decide you want to go to school.  Then, go to a technical school and become a plumber or a HVAC repairman.  Best advice I could ever give anyone!

Cubs Game

The Place That Shall Not Be Named gave me and a coworker tickets because we are part of a peer-advising program (I am the adviser).  I was a little bummed because I figured they would have us in the luxury box, but instead we sat up in section 316.  As you can see, the seats were good, there are no bad seats at PNC Park.

Not much to say though, the Pirates lost even though newly acquired Derek Lee hit two home runs.

We went to Rivers Casino before the game and I played three-card poker again.  I won the first two hands and immediately thought "oh boy, here we go."  Then, they switched dealers, every time they switch dealers on me, I end up going on a losing streak.  I should just leave the table.  After that I lost every single hand and I had decent hands.  If I had a K73, the dealer would have a K84.  The dealer was even making comments about it.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  I dropped my $100 in about ten minutes, not very cool.  Hell, I was broke before my beer arrived, haha.

It was a fun time though, drank some beer, saw some baseball, ate some food, and fed my gambling addiction.  I cannot complain.

Monday's Antics

Last week I looked at my schedule and realized that Lindsey and I were both off on Monday.  I decided we should head to Pittsburgh to watch the Buccos take on the Reds.  We left here around 3:00, which was a little later than I would have liked.  I wanted to get there pretty early so we could head to the casino.  Unfortunately, Lindsey got stuck doing errands, which sucked for me since I woke up early, even though I worked third shift the night before and fell asleep around 8:30 a.m.

We got to the stadium around 5:00 and hopped in line for tickets.  I know, can you believe I just typed those words:  a line for tickets...Anyways, I had coupons that I bought from work so our tickets were free.  We then walked over to Finnigan's for some beers and food.

As we sat there eating, it started to pour down rain and then it started thundering.  I checked on twitter and found out that the tarp was being put on the field and the game would be delayed.  We sat there and had a few more beers.

We finally went over to the stadium at about 7:45.  We sat down (our seats were in section 127, pretty good considering they were free).  The game started and things started out poorly.  With the bases loaded and two outs the lightning and rain returned.  At first we were not get wet because we were just under the second level, but then it started raining harder and we decided to get up and walk around.

We adventured around the park for a bit, but then we grew bored of walking and went to grab a beer.  I bought a Penn Pilsner and we stood around waiting for the start of the game.  I was able to get some peanuts off the people beside us, which I think embarrassed Lindsey.  I turned and asked the guy if I could have a peanut, he looked at me like I was nuts (HAHA, pun intended!), but then his wife was like "yeah, you can have some."  I took one because I am not greedy, but then she laid a huge handful on our little table.  When they got up to leave she gave us some more.  I like that lady.

The rain was coming down pretty hard and it really did not look like there was any end in sight.  It slowed down just enough for us to make a decision:  stay and wait it out, or head to the casino.  If we stayed and the game started around 9:30 or 10:00, the game would most likely not be over until 12:30 or 1:00.  We would not get home until 3:00 or 4:00. 

After considering all of that, we decided to leave and go to the casino.  Lindsey met her friend Kristina there and I went over to play three-card poker.  I started with $100 and after losing the first couple of hands, there was a dealer change.  This lady was fantastic!

Actually, she was a terrible dealer.  Twice she misread my hand and was about to short me money, luckily the guy beside me caught it since I was watching the Pirates game on a TV above us.  Then, she paid me out as a winner when I clearly had nothing.  Luckily the guy beside me did not say anything.  Aside from those idiotic things, I was also on a nice hot streak.  At one point I had $400 in chips.  I kept hoping Lindsey would come by and say that she was ready to go.

Granted, I could have quit playing and just walked away, but what fun would there be in that?  Anyways, she never came around and the original dealer came back.  I then hit a major cold streak.  The kind of streak where if you have a pair of kings, the dealer gets a pair of aces.  Ugh.  I had a king/jack/ten once and the dealer flipped a king/queen/ten.  What kinda bullshit is that?  I ended up walking away with the same $100 I started with, which I gave to Lindsey to put towards our vacation.

We left the casino around midnight and guess what?  The game was just ending.  Apparently it started as soon as we left and went fairly fast.  Ugh, how dumb was I?  Granted, I had a lot of fun at the casino, but I would have rather been at the game.  Oh well, live and learn I guess.  Also, my luck if we had stuck around then there would have been another storm and another delay or a postponement. 

The last two pictures made me think of Gotham City and it is pretty obvious why they chose to film the new Batman film in Pittsburgh...

Baseball First Half Results

What can I say?  This has been one helluva season so far.  There are all sorts of things happening around the league, but none of which are all that important because the Pirates are one game out of first place with a 47-43 record!  They are above .500 at the All-Star break!  That is absolutely crazy when you think that at the beginning of the year we were wondering if they would win 70 games.

Anyways, you can find my original prediction's here.

In the NL East, I have the division race pretty much on point except that the Marlins and Nationals are flip-flopped.  I was also right about how much Nationals fans are loving Werth.  Haha, suck it Washington!  My insane prediction was that Mike Stanton would hit 40 HRs, which probably will not happen, but he does have 18 and he missed games with a nagging quad injury.  Also, it took him awhile to really get rolling.  This kid is going to crush balls for a long time.

I completely screwed up the NL Central.  Who would have predicted it this way?  Ryan thought the Cubs would win the division, I think we can all agree that one is probably not going to happen.  My insane pick is actually way off:  the Pirates lost to Greinke and Halladay, but beat Lohse.  They have lost twice to Dillon Gee, but none of those were shutouts.  They have not faced the others yet.

My NL West picks are almost exact if you take out the D-Backs.  Apparently they decided to be pretty good as well.  Hey, Mat Latos started the season hurt and is not having a very good year.  He will probably not win 20 games.

My NL MVP was Troy Tulowitzki.  He is having a good season, but not the best player in the league type season.  Statistically speaking, Matt Kemp and Andrew McCutchen are having the best seasons, if the Pirates win the division or even break their losing streak, I think people will mention Cutch as an MVP candidate.  As of now though, the kind of guy that the writers love to vote for is either Jose Reyes (if he stays healthy all season, and stays in the NL) or Ryan Braun.

My prediction for Rockies players has not helped them at all.  It looks like the Cy Young award is a nice race between the Phillies staff and Jair Jurrjens (you could toss a few other names in there as well).  Honestly though, I think Roy Halladay will end up winning it from this point on.

ROY awards are difficult, they should be split into pitcher/hitter.  Espinosa seems to be the leader in the NL, although, Freddie Freeman is heating up and could possibly pass him.

Over in the AL East, I was almost completely right except for the Red Sox being in first place, fortunately they are only one game above the Yankees.  I was right about the Blue Jays not hitting as many HRs as last year, but what I hinted on was that Jose Bautista would not continue to destroy baseballs...I was way wrong.

Who knew?

I hate the AL Central, seriously.  At least I was right about the White Sox not being in first place.  Unfortunately, I did not picture the Indians and Tigers battling for first place.  This is still a long season, who knows what will happen.

I pretty much nailed it with the Rangers, but Ryan was close with his Angels pick as they are only one game back.  I was completely wrong with the A's though.  Minus the hitting part.

Naturally my picks in the AL awards races are way off.  Jose Bautista is the favorite for MVP and Weaver/Verlander are probably the main Cy Young candidates.  It looks like Mark Trumbo could probably win the ROY.

Anyways, there is still a good amount of baseball left and anything can happen.  Hopefully more of my predictions are right and if they are going to end up wrong, let us just make sure it is the Buccos that completely wreck my division picks.  I would love to have to buy playoff tickets...

Fantasy Baseball Week Fourteen

Oh bloody hell!  I hate you world!  If I would have written this yesterday, I would have said that I beat Ryan 6-5.  Unfortunately, after a stat correction took away a stolen base from Eric Hosmer on Sunday, Ryan ended up winning that category, which means we tied 6-6.  UGH!

Anyways, my team played pretty well.  I finally won batting average and OBP with a .295/.358.  I also won RBIs, Saves, Ks, and ERA.  It was definitely a nice change of pace. 

My best hitter was some guy that collected his 3000th hit.  I would tell you all about his huge week, but most of that was due to his five-hit day against the Rays.  Also, I could tell you that Sabathia was my best pitcher, with two wins and 20 Ks, and 0.00 ERA/.75 WHIP.

Instead though, my player of the week, my big hero was definitely Alex Presley.  He hit .368/.429 and also scored five runs.  Not too bad for a guy just called up because of Tabata's injury.  If there was a category for looking like a 12 year old, Presley would have dominated for me.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Hey Ryan, hope you had a great birthday...

Last year on your birthday did you think:  "Man, I bet next season the Buccos will be in second on my birthday and will be four games over .500.  In fact, they will be this good without Pedro Alvarez, Ross Ohlendorf, Ryan Doumit, and Chris Snyder.  Karstens, Morton, Maholm, and Correia will be some of the better pitchers in the NL."

If you did think that, I would have liked to smoke whatever it was you were smoking.

Oh, and since the ladies out there complain that I do not show enough pictures of sexy guys, here is one of Ryan and I pretty drunk...

Beating the Red Sox and Being There to See It

I think most of you know that I hate the Red Sox.  My hatred started years ago, the exact moment was probably during the whole A-Rod trade stuff.  The Sox acted like it was so unfair that the Yankees traded for A-Rod.  They cried up and down about how the Yankees were creating a monopoly and all sorts of other bullshit.  They failed to mention that they were in the running for A-Rod, they were going to send Manny to Texas.

From that moment on, I started to really dislike Red Sox fans and it only got worse.  Anyways, the Pirates played them this weekend and there was a lot of talk about this being the most attended series in history.  I contacted my place of work to see if they had tickets and sure enough they sent me four tickets in section 120.  I decided to see if my mom and step-dad wanted to go to the game.  They said hell yeah.

She looks so cute...

Unfortunately, it was a pain in the ass to find a hotel room.  Everything in the city was booked (there were two conventions and the game), but I lucked out by finding two single rooms up near the airport.  We took a cab to the game (it cost $32) and decided to go to the casino to kill some time.

Me and Harmon (my step-dad) played three card poker, which I tried playing before on the cruise, but did not really enjoy it.  I figured I would play a few hands, if I did not like it, I would go to the blackjack table.  I lost my first $60 after a bunch of hands of getting crap.  I put another $60 in and figured if I lost this, I would go to the ATM and get money for the game and call it quits.

I think this is Youkilis swinging and missing.

I hit a straight, which put me up a good amount, but still not back to even.  It was funny because I was down to my last $20 and Harmon had to spot me the $10 so I could bet on the straight.  I then went on a pretty decent hot streak and I had a nice chip stack going.  Unfortunately, like most streaks, it came to an end and I started going back down, I was down to about $80 when I hit a straight flush, which paid me almost $400.  Lindsey and mom came over to see how we were doing, they did not believe that I just hit a straight flush, until the dealer started counting out my chips.

Lindsey then took $200 of the money and cashed it in.  I played for a little bit longer and ended up cashing out with $235.  We went to dinner at the buffet upstairs and I was a good son and paid for the meal.  We then headed over to the game.

Damn, the place was packed!  It took forever to get a beer and get to our seats.  Our seats were pretty great and there were only a few Red Sox fans in our section.  During the third inning, Lindsey and I went up to meet Offord and his future wife.  On the way back to our seats we stopped for another drink and that was when Overbay hit the three-run homer.  Damn!  I missed it.

The game was pretty intense.  Every moment seemed like the Red Sox could just score a ton of runs.  But then, the Pirates would get the guys out that needed out.  It is hard to imagine Jeff Karstens dominating that lineup, but somehow he did it.  As soon as Gonzalez hit his homer, I said to Harmon that they needed to pull Karstens.  Hurdle allowed him to stay in to give up another one and bring the game to 5-4.  Luckily the Buccos got another run and they went into the 9th inning with a two-run lead.

Hanrahan warming up...

It was great to be there for Hanrahan's entrance.  You see it on TV or watch it on YouTube and it is cool, but at the game it is one million times cooler.  Did everyone else almost have a heart-attack during that inning?  I thought Xavier Paul caught that ball, I was cheering like an idiot (like everyone else).  I seriously thought Gonzalez was going to catch up to one of those fastballs.  The entire place was on it's feet.  This was a game in June and the place was that crazy.  Can you imagine how crazy that city will be if the Buccos make the post-season? 

After the game we went to Mullen's and drank a few beers outside on the corner and then took a taxi back to the hotel.  Once there, Lindsey and I went to the bar and started bullshitting with a couple of Red Sox fans.  They were actually very nice.  The one guy kept saying how great of a city Pittsburgh is and how this is the most beautiful ballpark he had ever seen.

We had a great time and we could not have asked for a better game to be at.  I cannot wait to go back down for another one.

Pirates Above .500

The Pirates are above .500 and this is the latest they have been above that mark since 1999.  Remember, there last winning season was 1992.  There are people out there who have never seen the Buccos as anything other than a shitty baseball team.  I am one of those fortunate folks who remember them being great and to see them winning even though they have no offense makes me extremely happy.  So here is a cool video that the many Pirate fans via Twitter have posted multiple times.

Josh Harrison's Minor League Song

This was the song Josh Harrison used in the minors.  Apparently his brother recorded it for him.  It was pretty cool to hear when he was at Altoona.  Does he still use this for the Pirates?

Fantasy Baseball Week Nine and My Thoughts on Gerrit Cole

I hate fantasy baseball!  Okay, that is not true, but I hate when my team plays better, but still loses badly.  I lost 8-3, but the worst part about that is on Sunday it was 7-5 and I was very close to tying or overtaking in a bunch of categories.  Sadly, my team played crappy on Sunday.  I was winning ERA, and then Drew Storen decided to give up three runs in a 1/3 of an inning.  That did not help my team, nor did Jon Rauch or Wade Davis, bunch of jerks.

Also, I noticed something all week:  Drew Stubbs is very good at starting a game with this line:  1/1, 2 Runs, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB and then he will go hitless the rest of the game.  That irritates me.  I can only give credit to one of my players:  David Ortiz.  Everyone else was either a .300 hitter or a .190 hitter, but Ortiz (Hosmer hit .400) hit .545 with 2 HR, 5 Runs, 6 RBIs, and a .583 OBP.  NICE!

In the other league, Offord and I continue to battle for last place.  My team has been plagued by injuries.  I keep offering some of my pitching to guys for some hitting, but no one will respond to a trade.  Actually, that is one of the many things I dislike about this league.  Trades take way too long to process (and the only way people will trade is if it is staggeringly in their favor).  The commissioner says it is three days, but Ryan and I have traded twice and it feels like about a week to process.  It took so long on our last one that one of my players went on the DL, which caused the trade to be canceled.  We did the trade over minus some players and it ended up being over two weeks.  One of those guys I was getting rid of was Adam Dunn, in that time he hit .125 with one HR.  I could have done without that shit.  I honestly doubt I will play in the league next year, which people will think that I am just upset about not doing well, but that is not it.

Gerrit Cole

The Pirates drafted Gerrit Cole from UCLA with first overall pick of the draft.  I know many people wanted Anthony Rendon, but after watching how he dropped, I am guessing teams were weary of his injury problems.

After watching video of Cole pitch for Team USA, I am very happy with this pick.  He apparently used a different delivery and his fastball had some nasty movement.  I am sure the Pirates will work with him to throw more that way (more like Charlie Morton).  I love the idea of having more power pitchers in the system.  We now have Tallion, Allie, Heredia, and Cole (as long as he signs) to work with.  It makes sense to go with the power arm, if something happens to one of the others, you still have someone to work with. 

Also, read Kristy Robinson's article about his chat with media.

Curve Home Opener

I went to tonight's Altoona Curve  home opener (two years in a row, woo-hoo) against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.  The Curve won 2-0 and looked pretty good.  I got there early enough to see the unveiling of the Eastern League Champions banner (it is out in center field, so I did not take a picture, plus it is just a blue/red banner, nothing spectacular).

Aaron Thompson was the Curve starting pitcher and he pitched very well.  He pitched four innings of no-hit ball with only one walk,   He finished with 6.0 innings pitched, two hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.  The first hit he gave up was a lead-off triple to Jose Flores.  He then struck out Juan Perez and got Johnny Monell to ground one to third baseman Jeremy Farrell, who was playing in and was able to throw Flores out at the plate.

In the sixth inning Joel Weeks (no relation to Rickie) singled to lead off, Farrell then made an error, and after a sacrifice bunt, there were runners on second and third.  Thompson then struck out the next to batters to get out of the inning.  I have no clue how accurate the scoreboard radar gun was, but Thompson hit 89 most of the time and 90 a couple others.  I never saw anything above 90 mph.

The Curve hitters made Eric Surkamp look very good.  Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Tony Sanchez, and Miles Durham all struck out, but then Quincy Latimore doubled up the third baseline.  They finally scored their first run when Sanchez walked and then scored when Durham hit a double in the fourth inning.  Jordy Mercer hit a home run in the fifth inning to make it 2-0.

Marte hit a single to right field in the seventh inning, then stole second base.  He moved to third base on a ground out by Mercer to the first baseman.  He then got caught in a rundown on a ground ball hit by Sanchez to the third baseman.  Sanchez was able to get to second, but it was identical to the play against the Squirrels earlier.  With the infield playing in, I would think Marte would stay close to third on a ground ball hit to his side, maybe I am wrong.

The other guy I wanted to really see was Brock Holt, who played second base and lead-off.  He hit the ball sharply each time, but twice to the second baseman and twice to the outfield. Also, relief pitcher Michael Dubee made a great catch on a hard bouncer up the middle.  He moved out of the way and caught it behind his back then turned to throw the runner out.

The triple by Flores was a ball I thought could have been caught by Latimore.  He seemed like he was going to catch it, then slowed down to play it off the wall, but since he was so close to the wall and where it hit, the ball bounced past him and Marte had to field it to throw in.  Not too many triples off the LF wall...

Lineup
Brock Holt 2B 0-4
Starling Marte CF 1-2, HBP, SB, K
Jordy Mercer SS 1-4, HR
Tony Sanchez C 1-3, K, BB, Run
Miles Durham 1B 1-4, 3 Ks, 2B, RBI
Quincy Latimore LF 1-3, 2B, BB, K
Jeremy Farrell 3B 0-4
Brad Chalk RF 3-4

And now for some pictures and videos.  I love going to minor league games, for $10 I was able to sit in the second row behind home plate by the visitor's dugout.

Brock Holt

Starling Marte

Tony Sanchez

I think you can see that Holt hits the ball hard.  If not, just take my word on it.



The Curve closer Noah Krol has a funky sidearm delivery and does not seem to throw very hard, yet this was him getting a strikeout.

Pirates Opening Day 2011

For those of you unaware, I was at the Pirates home opener on Thursday.  This was my third opener in a row (I went down for the 2003 opener against the Red Sox, but the game was rained out, or maybe it was the second game, whatever).  I hope to continue this tradition for a long time.  Unfortunately, my friend Steve was not able to go this year.  Fortunately, Lindsey was able to go and we had a fantastic time.

Sadly, the Pirates lost the game and if you are expecting any in depth coverage of the game, well I am sorry, that is not really what you will find here.  Go to WHYGAVS or any to Pirates Booty.  Instead, I will tell you about the adventure that took place.

We got up early and left so that we could check into our hotel and just walk to the game.  We stayed at the Wyndham Grand.  I did not realize it was such a classy hotel.  We pull up in my super-cool, non-bear destroyed Yaris and are greeted by the valet.  This was new to me.  I normally stay in shitty motels where the guy tells you to park in back by the dumpster.  Also, the bellhop wanted to help me with my bag...all I brought was a backpack, I told him I could manage.

We drop our stuff at the room and hustle across the bridge to the stadium.  Ryan tells me where he and his friends are tailgating and we make our way over there.  We drink some beers with those guys and then head into the game.

We sat in the front row of left field.  It was such a great day for a game.  Sunny and warm (I got a little sun-burn on one side of my face).  The saxophonist from O.A.R. performed the national anthem, which was pretty good.

The guy behind us had his five year old son with him.  He was teaching his kid about gambling, which seemed a bit odd to me.  He was telling him who they had to root for on the board because daddy had money on those teams.  I am not a huge gambler, so I really have no clue how people bet on baseball games.  While Jose Tabata was warming up, the dad yells to him in Spanish for a ball.  Tabata tossed it to him and the dad had to lean way over the wall in front of us to catch it.  Pretty nice grab actually.

After awhile though, I felt bad for the kid because his dad knew nothing about the Pirates (or baseball in general).  He told his boy that Pedro Alvarez is from Venezuela and that Andrew McCutchen was on the All-Star team.  Me and two guys beside us decided to make fun of him for a good chunk of the sixth and seventh inning.

Once the game ended, we walked over to McFadden's and met up with Ryan.  We had a couple beers, but then everyone had to leave.  Lindsey and I went over to the hotel and decided to get ready for dinner.  We went to SixPenn to eat.  The food was very good, but as with all fancy restaurants, I always feel like I am starving when I leave.

After dinner we went to a bar called Olive or Twist (get it?) and drank a few beers with a couple we ran into while walking around town.  They were pretty cool for about thirty minutes, but after that I was definitely getting tired of listening to the dude talk.

We got pretty drunk and went back to the hotel and went to bed.  The next day we got up and decided to go to the Waterfront for breakfast.  Lindsey wanted to try IHOP, or as she called it:  IOP.  Apparently the H is silent.  The food was decent, but the place was not very organized (I am guessing it must have opened very recently).

Our plan was to go to Lindsey's cousin's (Danielle, who is married to Brent Johnson) house and see the new baby and then meet up with her friend and go to the Pirate game.  We could not go see the baby until around three, so we had a lot of time to kill.  We went to Target and then drove around in the rain for a few hours.  We basically saw most parts of Pittsburgh.  We visited the family and then met up with her friend at Bahama Breeze in Robinson.  At this point we were decidedly against going to the game because it had been raining hard all day.

Once dinner was over, we finally came home.  I was exhausted.  I had to work at 6:30 a.m.  I wish I could have been at Friday night's game, but at the same time I am kind of happy we did not make it.  I would love to be at an exciting extra inning game like that, but only if I did not have to work super early the next day.  Also, I figured there would be a rain delay for sure.  Oddly enough, once we left the city and the game started, the rain stopped.

It was a fantastic time and I cannot wait to go to more games this year.  I already have a few lined up and I am going to try and organize something huge, so I will let people know about that at some point...

Here are the rest of the pictures from the game...

They claim that Carlos Gonzalez is 6'1, but I really do not believe it.  He came much closer a few times and he looks to be about 5'10 or so...

The Pirates can never get rid of Ryan Doumit.  Only because I love hearing Danzig's "Mother" when he comes to bat.

This is a terrible picture.  It is of the team warming up.  Way to go photographer...

I bet as they are walking, the pitchers were probably bitching about having to walk all the way back across the field after the opening ceremonies.

Much better than last year's picture with me fondling a statue's balls....

I took this one after dinner.  What a beautiful stadium...

UPDATE!!!
I completely forgot about the kid who jumped over the wall and ran across the field.  Lindsey asked me if that was the first time I ever saw that and I do not think it was, I believe I saw that when I was very young, but I remember something like it.  Anyways, the guys beside me were laughing at how dumb the kid is, since he got tossed from the game and most likely went to jail for the night.  Way to spend Opening Day!

 

Video from 333greystreet...

Awesome Video

I found two videos of Neil Walker's grand slam from yesterday's victory over the Cubs.  One is someone who recorded the screen and the other one is from someone at the game.  I enjoy watching them both.

Opening Day GOTW

Today is the Pirates Opening Day, which means it is time for a new season and the Buccos are still in the division.  This really should be a national holiday.  Anyways, I have to work and will miss the beginning of the game (first time in like five years).  I decided to make Kristy Robinson, the creator of Hands Off My Pirates Booty, which is an excellent Pirates blog, this week's GOTW.  Also, I recommend checking out any of the links to the right under sports for some great Pirates coverage.

2011 Baseball Predictions

It was only a matter of time before I posted my predictions for the upcoming season.  A good chunk of these will be wrong, but who cares.  Go ahead and give me your best shot in the comments.

NL East
Phillies
Braves
Mets
Marlins
Nationals

Most teams would kill to have Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels as their one/two punch.  The Phillies have somehow managed to have them as as their third and fourth starters behind two guys named Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.  Unfortunately, I see this division being pretty close.  The Braves will be nipping at their heels all season long.  Normally I would pick the Marlins to finish above the Mets, but I have a good feeling.  The Nationals will most likely suck and fans are going to love Jayson Werth down there.

IDP:  Mike Stanton hits more than 40 HRs this season.  I think he will move into that elite power-hitter realm this year.  In fact, I think he will be pretty awesome this year.

NL Central
Pirates
Astros
Cubs
Cardinals
Brewers
Reds

Sorry, I have that upside down.  Allow me to fix that.
Reds
Brewers
Cardinals
Cubs
Astros
Pirates

I just do not see the Reds getting worse from last year unless there are some major injuries.  If they put Chapman into the rotation, they are solid, if they leave him in the bullpen, they are solid.  The Cardinals are going to be hurting without Carpenter Wainwright.  The Pirates should not be as bad as last year.  At least that is what I half expect.  I also expect them to maybe lose 120 games.

IDP:  The Pirates will beat the following starters:  Greinke, Halladay, Lee, and Lincecum.  They will also be shut-out by the following starters:  Jordan Zimmerman, Homer Bailey, Dillon Gee, and Kyle Lohse.

NL West
Giants
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Diamondbacks

Look what happens when a team with great pitching suddenly starts hitting.  The Giants were such a great story last year.  I look for Posey to continue to be good, but I guarantee that people will be disappointed with drafting him in the second round (I keep seeing him go there in mock drafts...)  The Padres are going to fall back to earth, just like they did the second half of the season.  Hell, they may even finish below the D-Backs.  The Rockies and Dodgers are a toss up, I just think if the Rockies are healthy and decide to play for a full season, they are a better team.

IDP:  Mat Latos will get hurt during the season.  Either that, or he will win 20 games.

NL Wildcard:  Braves
NLDS:  Phillies defeat Giants, Braves defeat Reds
NLCS:  Phillies defeat Braves
NL MVP:  Troy Tulowitzki.  I envision a big season from Troy.  .320 AVG/35 HR. 
NL CY Young:  Adam Wainwright.  I think he has another great season, but not the best of the NL.  He wins the award because of his previous great seasons, if you get my drift.  Apparently I am an idiot.  I take Ubaldo Jimenez.
NL ROY:  Aroldis Chapman.  I think he is still eligible.  If he is a starter, I think he wins 15 games and is actually in the Cy Young conversation.  My secondary pick is Freddie Freeman from Atlanta.
Pirates Record:  70-92.  Not the worst team in baseball...maybe.

AL East
Yankees
Red Sox
Rays
Blue Jays
Orioles

I know everyone is putting the Red Sox in first place, but I do not think you just dismiss the Yankees.  The Rays are young and still talented.  The Blue Jays are not going to hit 257 HRs this season, but the should also have a better batting average.

IDP:  Posada gets hurt early on and they bring up Jesus Montero.  He crushes the ball and people forget all about Jorge.

AL Central
Twins
White Sox
Tigers
Royals
Indians

Bold pick taking the Royals to finish above the Indians, but hey, I am a bold individual.  As usual this will be a tight division.  I just do not understand how so many people are so high on the White Sox.  I realize that Adam Dunn will make them better, but is it enough to win this division?  I doubt it.

IDP:  Grady Sizemore gets hurt yet again.  I know, pretty insane.  He then retires and considers doing softcore porn.

AL West
Rangers
A's
Angels
Mariners

Even without Cliff Lee, the Rangers are still the best team in this division.  The A's have great pitching, but no hitting.  The Mariners are still bad.  I do not think Dustin Ackley will save them.

IDP:  Jack Wilson gets traded to someone.  At least he hopes.

AL Wildcard:  White Sox  (I believe that the AL East teams will post winning records, but because of the number of times they play each other, none of them will have more than 90 wins).
ALDS:  Rangers defeat White Sox, Yankees defeat Twins
ALCS:  Yankees defeat Rangers
World Series:  Yankees defeat Phillies.  Fortunately after winning, Jeter/Posada/Rivera all retire as champions.  I can dream, right?
AL MVP:  Kevin Youkilis
AL Cy Young:  David Price
AL ROY:  Jesus Montero, but my secondary pick is Mike Moustakas from the Royals.
Royals Record:  71-91

2010 In Review

Instead of recapping the entire year, which is never any kind of fun, I will just go over some of the highlights of 2010.  It was a pretty damn good year.

-I finally bought a laptop, which has pretty much been the best investment ever.  Sitting on the couch while writing these posts is much better than sitting at a desk.  Speaking of posts, 2010 was my busiest year with over 300 posts.  That is kind of exciting (or lame depending on your POV).

-I went to a bunch of sporting events this year.  A few in Pittsburgh, a couple in Altoona, and one over at State College.  I also got to enjoy tailgating for the Blue/White game and the Temple game.  I even made a trip to Washington D.C. to see the Nationals and Pirates play.  Speaking of awesome sporting events, I experienced two firsts:  my first Pens game and my first regular season Steelers game.  I also got to see Stephen Strasburg make his minor league debut against the Curve.

-This was also a very sad year since two of my favorite TV shows ended:  Lost and 24.  I actually did a couple of special things to commemorate such great shows (even though 24 constantly pissed me off with some of its stupid story lines).  My Best of 24 was pretty cool (at least I thought so), yet none of you jerks commented on it.  Also, I was so impressed with my Lost GOTW and the amount of work I put into it, and again, no one really noticed.  I think it caused me to die a little inside that no one said how awesome it was...

I will post it again for your enjoyment, only in a slightly smaller version.  Do not strain your eyes too much trying to enjoy all the hotties.

-There were plenty of great TV shows in 2010.  In fact, this year was a much better television than movie year.  Mad Men, Always Sunny, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Treme, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Walking Dead, and The League.  Also there were plenty of enjoyable shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, White Collar, Human Target, and Supernatural.  I am sure I am forgetting some.

-Speaking of movies, what all did I see this year?  Iron Man 2, Inception, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Social Network, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Narnia:  Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Daybreakers. I really feel like I went to the movies more than this, but I guess I did not.  I think there were a few movies I saw that were just crappy and I did not care about.

-I will not list all the books I read over 2010.  It was not nearly as many as years past, I think my total was only thirteen.  Granted, five of those books were around 1000 pages each, so it was probably about the same amount of reading as previous years.

-The biggest thing to happen in 2010 though was the changes in my life.  I met Lindsey and we moved in together up here in New Germany.  She makes me incredibly happy and I feel like a better person because of her.  If she is reading up to this point, I hope she knows how much I love her.  Sorry to the rest of you for having to read a little personal stuff.

-Now on to the best of list...

Best Movie:  This is a tough one, it comes down to Kick-Ass and Inception.  Many people will say The Social Network was the best movie, and I definitely thought it was good, but I look at it from the stand point of which movie will I watch more than once?  Which of those movies will I stop when I see they are on HBO and watch them from wherever they are in the film.  I would have to say that award goes to Kick-Ass.

Best TV Show:  All those great shows listed above, yet it comes down to two:  Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.  I could not wait every week to watch these two shows.  And I usually watched the episodes again during their reshowing.  SOA was great, but did not compare to last season and at times I felt like the Tara storyline was dragging on.  MM does not have the action, but it just holds you in it's thrall each week.  It is hard to explain to people why it is such a good show.  Anyways, that was the best show in my opinion.

Best Book:  Only three of the books I read this year actually came out in 2010.  I think the best one of that small group was Are We Winning?  It was a great book and I pretty much recommend it to any baseball fan.

Best Comic Book:  I will not lie, I have not read many comics this year.  In fact, I stopped getting individual issues and decided just to get trades.  Of everything I read, I would say that The Walking Dead is still the best on-going series I read.  Maybe 2011 will be a better year.

Anyways, that is my thoughts on 2010.  Who knows what 2011 will hold for me...

Apartment Decorations

Before the Penn State/Ohio State game, I went to Target to buy some frames for the posters I ordered so that I could finally decorate the living room.  Allow me to give you a quick tour of what the place looks like.

On the left is a skyline picture of Pittsburgh and below that is Brent Johnson's goalie stick, signed by the entire team.  That was a gift to Lindsey, you remember the relationship, right?

This was actually Adam's idea, to put the skyline like that and then angle the stick below it.  I definitely like the way it looks.  On a side note, those skyline pictures with a frame are pretty damn expensive.

Here is a closeup of the stick.  You can Sid's autograph, as well as Lindsey's Family Lounge pass when she went to a Capital's game when Brent played for them.

As you come through the front door, above the the light switch is a picture I received from Dick's Sporting Goods for free.  It is of the inaugural game against the Flyers (which we attended).  In the lower left corner is my ticket from the game.

To the right of the Steelers poster is a Pirates poster.  My original goal was to get all three team logo posters, but I could not find one for the Pens.  I guess Sid and Malkin is just as cool.  Originally I was going to have all three on the main wall behind the TV.  Unfortunately, that would not work with 45 foot DVD rack.

So what do you think?  We plan on putting more Pittsburgh sports stuff around the living room, but as of now, it is a great start. 

In case you were wondering, I ordered the skyline picture from Citiscapes.  I just want to let everyone know that if you ever thought about getting something like this for your own place, you should definitely get it from here.  It was about $40 cheaper than anywhere else, plus the frame is quite heavy duty.

My Birthday

It's been a few days since my birthday and I guess that means I should write about the adventures of the day.  I had a great day.  It started off with my mom, Adam, and Lora all going over to State College to enjoy a movie.  We went to see The Social Network.  This is significant because it was the first time my mom had been to a movie since 1999 (she went to see Star Wars Episode I with Adam and I).

I really enjoyed the movie.  It was very good, especially when you consider the subject matter:  the creation of Facebook.  I find it funny that so many people think that Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as a jerk.  I wonder what that says about me?  It is the type of movie that I would have no problem watching again on HBO, but I would never go out and buy it.  Know what I mean?

After the movie we went over to Champs for dinner.  I had the always delicious Cajun Chicken Cheese Steak and a few Peroni's.  I had never tried Peroni and I really liked it.  Who knew Italian beer was any good?  When the waitress (I think her name was Stacy, so that was what we shall call her) asked for my ID, we had a fun exchange.

Me:  Today is my birthday (as I look for my ID)
Stacy:  Oh?  How old are you?
Me:  I just turned 21.
Stacy:  Really?  Like last night, or tonight at midnight?
Me:  Ten minutes ago.  That was the exact time of my birth.
Stacy (now looking at my ID):  That is really cool!  Did you go out?
Me (taking my ID back):  Did you actually look at my ID?
Stacy:  No, I just looked to see if it was vertical or horizontal.  Haha.
Me:  Here, look again.
Stacy:  Oh, hahahaha. (clearly confused)
Me:  You are the worst ID checker ever.  I am 30.
Stacy:  Oh, (now looking at in depth).  OH, HA!

She flirted with me a bit more (yeah, I have a girlfriend, but flirting with a waitress is a wise thing) and at the end of meal, she brings me out a cake.  I tried to get her to sing happy birthday.  She then brings the check.  She did not charge me for my meal or for my first beer.  I had no idea that Champs had that policy, she could have just said I got a free beer or something.  Hell, the free cake was a nice touch.  She definitely went above and beyond to make my birthday feel special.

After that we went to my mom's house to watch the Penn State game.  I do not want to talk about how great it was to watch PSU beat the crap out of Iowa how shitty it was to watch PSU get beat down by Iowa.  After the game, a few of us went out to the Pub.  That is when things go way downhill.

My girlfriend was supposed to meet us there after work.  By the time she got there, I was in full on blackout mode.  I have one memory of how I got there.  Tommy (a bartender from another bar) bought me a shot.  I am pretty sure it was a Three Wisemen.  I do not like whiskey at all.  As soon as I drank it, I could feel it hitting me.

When my girlfriend did finally arrive, I was a wreck.  Adam and Lora convinced her to take me home.  I went to bed and I guess in the middle of the night I woke up and decided to pee in my garbage can.  Is there anything to really say about the night?  Obviously it is a great night when you pee in a garbage can.

I also received some great gifts:
-Money
-Pirates hat (from Lora), which was too big, but I exchanged it for the correct size.
-Penn State shirt (from Adam), I have a degree from the school and yet almost no clothes from there.
-Superman/Batman:  Apocalypse DVD (Adam again)
-Batman Silly Bands (Adam)
-Comic Books (Kacie)
-Pens tickets (Mystery girlfriend)
-I Love Jesus shot glass (Lora)...I really wish I would have taken that shot with this glass.  I bet I would not have blacked out.
-Family Guy DVD (Adam)...apparently it was a banned episode.  I may watch it tonight.

Thank you to everyone who made turning 30 such a great time!

Pirates New Power Hitter?

I am sure most of you saw this already.  And yes, I am already sure every website has made a joke about how the Pirates should add him to the expanded roster...

I just wonder how many swings he took before he hit that one.