Thanksgiving weekend

One of the things I was really excited to mention was the Thanksgiving weekend. Mom and Dad went to Asheville, North Carolina--and they brought me! We stayed at a pet friendly hotel (Red Roof Inn) where Granma, Grandad, and Uncle Omar joined us. They all had Thanksgiving dinner at a commercial restaurant that was open for the holiday. One of the things Dad realized on this trip was that the Cracker Barrel is underrated for Thanksgiving meals. For $8.99 each, Mom and Dad got turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, cornbread stuffing, green beans with drink and dessert! No cleanup and no leftovers for three weeks, either! What a deal!

There's more coming about this trip in a few minutes.

Woo hoo, shirt!

So, Granma bought Yankees World Series T-shirts for Mom, Dad, Uncle Cris, and Kaley. Dad got the blue roster shirt shown above. Pretty cool. Granma didn't have to do this, but everyone really appreciated it.

So much to do, so much to say

Hey, all. It's been a while since either Sige or I posted, and I'm sorry about that. A lot has happened since then! After I try to remember everything that happened--at least try to--I'll be back.

Yanks win, Yanks win!

Been a while since I posted, but the Yanks win the World Series! Mom, Dad, and Uncle Cris are all very happy. More thoughts coming after I get a good night's rest. Woo hoo!

Can't anyone here throw strikes?

So, Phil Hughe walks two and David Robertson walks one and gives up a single with the bases loaded. The Phillies increase their lead to 4-0. Why is the Yankee bullpen that was so good during the regular season falling apart now?

What the heck?

Why can't C.C. Sabathia get Chase Utley out when he has two strikes on him? Not only that, he gives up 2-strike homeruns! Come on!

The bad baserunning is affecting everyone

Did the Yankees eat some sort of food that is making everyone run the bases poorly? This time it's Hideki Matsui, just meandering off first base on the pop-up by Robinson Cano.

Let's go, Yankees!

Mom has her Yankees spring training shirt on, Uncle Cris is wearing his Yankee shirt, and Dad has his Yankee cap on. Play ball!

Huh? I missed it again?

Mom and Dad took me out to play tennis on Sunday. I had lots of fun running around after those tennis balls. The downside to all this fun, though, was how tired I was for the rest of the day. I was not able to watch Game 6 of the ALCS last night, so I could not observe Dad and get his thoughts during the game.

Anyway, everyone in the house was pleased. The Yankees won 5-2 to win the American League pennant. They are going to the World Series to face the Philadelphia Phillies. I wish I had seen how happy everyone was, but I was really wiped out.

Go Yankees!

Aww, what happened?

Dad wasn't happy last night. If you followed the game, you saw the Yankees take the lead in the top of the seventh inning 6-4. Mom, Dad, and Uncle Cris were all very happy.

Then in the bottom of the seventh, the Angels score three runs to take the lead 7-4. That was the final. A.J. Burnett, Damaso Marte, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain all disappointed.

The Yanks are going to again on Saturday. Everyone in the house is hopeful.

Yes, yes, yes! Wait...

Dad's feeling better now. The Yankees score six runs in the top of the 7th, taking A.J. Burnett off the hook for that first inning. He's actually pitched pretty well since then.

And then in the bottom of the seventh, Burnett gives up a lead off single to Jeff Mathis--this dude batted .211 during the regular. What the Hades is going on here?--and then walks Eric Aybar. A.J. seems intent on making this interesting.

How will tonight end?

Way to start the game there, A.J!

Wow. I haven't heard Dad this angry in a long time. He is really disappointed with A.J. Burnett so far tonight.

This is how you clinch the American League chamionship?

It's a final! and the Yankees need one more win to move on

10-1 final score. The Yankee offense seemed to have woken up. Will they be able to keep this going?

C.C. Sabathia was great, going eight full, giving up one run which was earned on five hits, striking out five and walking two. This was on short rest, too. What a great addition to the Yankee rotation.

Wow, the Yankees are doing this against the second best team in the American League, too

The Yankees score three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Alex Rodriguez doubles, and then when Jorge Posada flies out to Bobby Abreu in right, Rodriguez tags up to take third and scores when Abreu's throw skips away.

The next two runs score when Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner score on Melky Cabrera's double. Cabrera had four RBI tonight. This makes the score 10-1.

Looking good for Chad Gaudin in the bottom of the ninth.

C. C. Sabathia is the man!

Wow! C. C. Sabathia pitching on short rest is overpowering the Angels. So far he's earned the big contract he signed with the Yankees. The thought that he could anchor the Yankee rotation for the next several years pleases Dad very much.

Another homerun for Johnny Damon

With Melky Cabrera on second base and two out, Johnny Damon hits a homerun to right field. That makes the score 7-1.

Johnny Damon has lived up to that four year contract he signed after the 2005 season. Dad didn't think he would be that good for the duration of that contract. Dad is glad he was wrong.

Tough night, huh, Jorge?

Not a bright shiny night for Jorge Posada. After the two baserunning blunders, he forgets how many outs there were in the bottom of the sixth. He leaves home plate after a double play, almost allowing Torii Hunter to score from third. Jorge! Keep your head in the game!

Not the smartest baserunning plays by Posada and Cano

Okay, so Mom has never heard Dad say he was glad the Yankees ended the inning without scoring any more.

Bad baserunning move #1: Jorge Posada gets fooled on Torii Hunter's fake when Robinson Cano hits it to the centerfield wall. So instead of going one third and seeing that the ball was hit really deep, he tags up and takes third. He should have scored easily on that play.

Bad baserunning move #2: Cano not standing on third base when Posada comes back in a run down. Neither of them were standing on third. Mike Napoli tags both of them out, but Tim McClelland--the ump who called Nick Swisher out on the appeal--blows another call by calling Posada out, but Cano safe. After that Melky Cabrera grounds out to end the inning. The Yankees did not deserve to score another run on that play, and Dad is glad nothing else came of that blown call.

Alex Rodriguez ALCS MVP?

Alex Rodriguez hits a two run home run to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead. Yay!

What an inning!

Allrighty! So the Yankees score three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Alex Rodriguez singles, Jorge Posada doubles, and Hideki Matsui strikes out. With runners on second and third, Robinso Cano grounds to Howard Kendrick who goes home with the throw, but it's high and Rodriguez scores. Mom and Dad are happy.

Nick Swisher walks to load the bases with one out. Melky Cabrera singles, scoring Posada and Cano. Mom and Dad are happier.

Nick Swisher is called safe on a pick-off at second base even when the replays show that Swisher is out by a large margin. Dad is a little less happy because this call will lead all the trolls out to say the fix is in and that MLB wants the Yankees in the World Series. Jeter walks to load the bases again with one out.

When Johnny Damon flies out to left field, it looks like Swisher tags up and scores the Yankees fourth run. The Angles claim that Swisher left early, and on the appeal, he is called out. The replays clearly show he did not leave early. This was a make up call for calling Swisher safe.

So even the Captain makes mistakes

Okay, so game 4 starts with a Derek Jeter hit. Now Dad loves Derek Jeter. He believes that Yankee fans of this generation will speak of Jeter the same way fans spoke of Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle. However, Jeter's exalted status does keep him safe from being ripped for the very occasional mistake. What the heck was he doing going on Scott Kazmir's first move? Don't even wait for a pitch? Don't even wait for Kazmir's first move to first base? What a useless way to get caught stealing!

Tough weekend, Dad

Sunday and Monday were not great days for Dad. Giants got wallopped by the Saints on Sunday, and the Yanks lost in extra innings on Monday.

Oh, and Dad was sick Monday, including a migraine and throwing up his lunch. The only good thing was that he was so sick he didn't actually watch the Yankees lose the game.

On the plus side, sleeping most of Monday night to Tuesday morning seems to have cured whatever was ailing him. So, he's feeling better and looking forward to C.C. Sabathia going for New York tonight.

Whoo-Yanks are going to California with a 2-0 lead

All righty! Yankees win 4-3, when Jerry Hairston, Jr. scores when Maiser Izturis commits a throwing error trying to start a double play on Melky Cabrera's grounder.

The Yankees are going to California up two games to none in this seven game series. Still plenty of work to be done, but the Yankees are in a good position.

I guess Alex Rodriguez does show up in the post-season

The Yanks looked like there were going to lose after the Angels took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th. However, Alex Rodriguez homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th. He seems to be clutch this season.

Lot of "fail" to go around right now

Robinson Cano muffs a grounder, and then David Coke walks one of the two batters he was brought in to get out.

Oh, and that's not counting the pop out and double play in the previous half inning. Yeesh!

What in the world is going on?

The Angels tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the fifth. Dad's not happy with A.J. Burnett. Dad doesn't mind Burnett giving up those hits; the Angels are professional hitters, and they can hit even good pitches. What irks Dad is the way the second run scored. Hit batter, a walk, and then a couple of wild pitches? Come on, Burnett! We know you've got a lot of movement on your pitches, but that should not have happened!

Yanks score again

Derek Jeter homers to right field with one out in the bottom of the third inning. Yanks lead 2-0. The Captain does it again.

So, tell me again, Dad: why didn't you put the cap on earlier?

Why didn't you put the cap on earlier, Dad?

Mom and Dad came home too late to see the first inning for tonight's game. I wasn't able to turn the TV on, either, because I don't know how to use the remote controls.

Anyway, starting with the top of the second inning, we were watching the game. No score until the bottom half of the second. Alex Rodriguez lines out to short, and Hideki Matsui grounds to second for the first two outs of the inning. Nick Swisher walks. At this point, Dad notices that he is not wearing his Yankee cap. He puts it on, and Robinson Cano hits a triple to drive home the first run of the night. The Yanks lead 1-0.

So, why didn't you put the cap on earlier, Dad?

One down, but plenty more work to do

I went to sleep before the game finished last night. Yanks win! 4-1, C.C. Sabathia goes eight innnings, and Mariano Rivera pitches the ninth to get the save. Dad still remembers that the Yanks won the first game against the Angels back in 2002 and 2005, so there's still a lot to go before anyone can say a team is going to the World Series, but Dad still thinks being up 1-0 is definitely better than being down 0-1.

Yay!

Jon Lackey has been pulled

All right, Dad's glad. Jon Lackey has been pulled after the Yanks make the score 4-1. Melky Cabrera walks, takes 2nd base on a wild pick off throw, then comes home on Derek Jeter's single to center. Jeter takes second on an error by Torii Hunter. Lackey is a very effective pitcher, and Dad is happy to see him pulled.

Why would he do that?

The Yanks take a 3-1 lead when Hideki Matsui drives home Johnny Damon. Alex Rodriguez, though, runs though a the third base coach's stop sign to get thrown out at home. Why would he do that?

Oh, and was Mark Teixeira off the bag on that Torii Hunter bunt?

It looks cold in the Bronx

Mom, Dad, Uncle Cris, and Kaley are watching the first game of the American League Championship Series on TV. A lot of the players are bundled up. Dad told me www.weather.com says it's 46 degrees in the Bronx. That sounds really cold. I haven't felt that in some time.

Anyhoo, C.C. Sabathia looked pretty good in the top half of the first, giving up one hit, but nothing else to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Then in the home half of the first, the Yankees score two runs. Derek Jeter scores on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rodriguez. Johnny Damon then scores on a Hideki Matsui pop up to the left side of the infield that the Angels just let drop. It was scored a single, so Matsui gets an RBI.

The long national nightmare is over!

Dad finished Twlight tonight. Hoo boy, he didn't like it. He has never disliked a main character as much in his life. Condescending, whiny, unaware of things happening around her--yeah, it is totally understandable how every boy in Forks would want to date her. Yeesh! Edward would be considered a stalker or bully, if he weren't "angelic" or "perfect." And Stephanie Meyer should invest in a good thesaurus.

You may wonder, if he hated it so much, why did Dad read it? Dad does not want to dismiss things completely out of hand. If he has experienced it, then he can, in good conscience, argue its relative demerits. He can't do that if he dismisses it out of hand.

Now, Dad's going to move on to Casino Royale (James Bond Novels) since he found it. He's hoping it is going to be more fun. It certainly can't be as bad.

Time to take on those Angels

All right. The Yankees beat the Twins tonight, 4-1, to finish their ALDS. They now take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, starting Friday at the new Yankee Stadium. Dad wants to see the Yanks beat the Angels because he hasn't seen the Yankees in the World Series since 2003. He has higher hopes for the Yanks, but it's premature to talk about it now.

This caps off a perfect sports day for Dad:

1. Giants win.


2. Red Sox lose (and end season).


3. Yanks win (and continue to ALCS).

Check, check, and check.

Derek Jeter involved in another highlight play?

Top of the eighth inning, and Nick Punto leads off with a double. Denard Span follows that with a high bouncing ball of the Metrodome turf which Derek Jeter fields behind second base. Jeter goes home with it to try to prevent Punto from scoring, and Jorge Posada throws it to Alex Rodriguez at third to tag Punto out for the first out of the inning. Jeter always seems to be involved in these plays no one else would make.

On another note, it's another base running error by the Twins. Didn't all the baseball pundits say the Twins played the most fundamentally sound of all the playoff teams? or was it that the Twins HAD to play the most fundamentally sound to succeed.

So far, so good in Minneapolis

I just got an update from Zoe. The Twins took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 1-0, when Joe Mauer drove Denard Span home with a single. The Yankees answered back in the top of the seventh with solo shots by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to take a 2-1 lead. This made Mom, Dad, and Uncle Cris happy.

Another good sports day for Dad to this point in time

Eli Manning started and looked fine. Dad had a lot of the Giants on his fantasy team, and they did all right. The important thing is the Giants won, going 5-0 for the first since 1990. The Giants won the Super Bowl that year. Dad's not one to believe in omens, but he still thinks it's a good thing.

The icing on today's cake is that the Bosox lost, 7-6. Jonathan Papelbon gives up 3 runs in the top of the ninth inning to blow the save. The Sawx lose in the ALDS to the Angels, 0-3.

The cake for the day, in addition to the Giants win, would be the Yankees finishing their series with the Twins. He's watching that game now, as I type.

Did she actually write that?

So Dad has decided to slog through Twilight. He's about halfway through the book, but he hit one sentence that stopped him in disbelief.

"I couldn't imagine how an angel could be any more glorious."

Dad read The DaVinci Code back in '06. He thought that was a very poorly written book from plotting to characterization and even to the actual construction of sentences. The sentence above though just may be the most overwrought sentence he has ever read. It's enough to make ME howl, and I'm a cat.

You're on the Mark, Tex!

After the Yankees dodge a bullet in the top of the 11th--yes, there was a bad call during the Joe Mauer at bat, but the Twins still have to score with the bases loaded and no one out--the Yankees win on a walk-off homerun by Mark Teixeira, 4-3.

David Robertson earns his stripes by wriggling out of that top half.

I was a little scared when everybody cheered so loudly while I was sleeping, but when I saw how happy Mom, Dad, and Uncle Cris were, I felt a lot better.

So, it's 2 down, 9 more to go.

P.S. How do you like my John Sterling imitation?

How exciting!

So, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jorge Posada singled, and Brett Gardner was brought in as a pinch runner. Dad and Uncle Cris expected this. Gardner stole second. Then in an exciting play, when Nathan botched the pick-off to second, Gardner took third on a play that had Dad saying to himself, "No, no, no--yes!"

All that excitement went to naught, when Damon lined softly to Orlando Cabrera and Gardner was caught off third after breaking with the contact. Shoot.

Aww, I missed it!

So, I'm outside, having a good time, and I hear my Uncle Cris shouting excitedly. He lets me inside. I see that Dad has his rally hat on, and that Alex Rodriguez hit a two run homer to tie the game, 3-3. Shoot! I would have liked to have seen it.

and the Twins take the lead

Phil Hughes has just given a run to give the Twins a 2-1 lead. Uncle Cris is really peeved that after throwing fastballs that Nick Punto could not catch up to, Hughes throws a breaking pitch which Punto hits for a single. Why not keep throwing the fastball?

And then Denard Span fists one to score another run after Mariano Rivera comes in. Hmm.

Yanks are behind again?

So, A.J. Burnett gave up a run in the top of the sixth. Delmon Young walks, steals second, and then scores on a triple by Brendan Harris. Dad and Uncle Cris are not worried, though.

And, the Yankees come through in the home half, when Alex Rodriguez singles to plate Derek Jeter. Again, not that Dad and Uncle Cris are big Rodriguez fans, but it's nice seeing him be successful in the playoffs--because he's with the Yankees, of course. ^_^

Game 2

Another day, another game.

A.J. Burnett starts off looking pretty good. Is he going to get over any butterflies that he might have for his playoff start? Dad hopes so.

1 down, 2 more to go for this series

Yay. The Yankees win the first game of the series, 7-2. Sabathia looked really good, Rodriguez had some hits, Jeter was Jeter.

Another RBI for Rodriguez

Good. Alex Rodriguez drives Derek Jeter home from third base with a long single off the right field wall. No more choking?

Money pitcher

I'm taking over for this game while Sige takes a brief break.

Nice job by C.C. Sabathia to open the American League Division Series. Sabathia scatters eight hits over six and one third, giving up two runs, walking none, and striking out eight. He gives the ball to Phil Hughes...

who strikes out Orlando Cabrera to end the inning. Woof!

A thrilla from Godzilla!

Same inning, Alex Rodriguez on first, and Hideki Matsui takes Franciso Liriano's 2-1 pitch deep into Monument Park to make the Yankee lead 6-2. Yay!

Tally up another one

So, with Derek Jeter on 2nd base with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Alex Rodriguez singles to left center, driving in the run to make the score 4-2.

Send him, send him!

All righty! Robinson Cano scores on a Nick Swisher double down the left field line with two out in the bottom of the fourth inning. A good throw from Orlando Cabrera would have gotten him at home, but.... Nevertheless, the Yankees take the lead.

Bottom of the 3rd

Sabathia had a tough top half of the third. The hits don't really bother Dad--he didn't expect a no-hitter in this playoff game, but that second run the Twins scored--the passed ball on Jorge Posada allowing Joe Mauer to cross the plate--seemed a lazy play.

The bottom half, though, the Yanks tied it. Melky Cabrera gets an infield hit, and the Derek Jeter hits a two-run homerun.

Now, Mark Teixeira is on base following the force out at second base. What does Alex Rodriguez do?

He strikes out.

Play ball!

So, Dad's watching the Yanks v. Twins on TBS now. Not a bad start--C.C. Sabathia gave up a leadoff double in the top of the first to Denard Span. Span got to third on a passed ball, but Sabathia struck out Mauer and got Cuddyer to fly out to center.

Yanks didn't score in the home half of inning. Got a long game to go.

I thought the last game was Sunday?

Good evening, all. So, the last game of the season wasn't Sunday. It was last night, as the Twins beat the Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings. It was a really exciting entertaining game, but not exactly the cleanest played. A historic collapse by the Tigers who had a three game lead with four games to go in the regular season before stumbling to lead up to this tiebreaker game.

Oh, so it was the Yankees' last regular season game on Sunday? That makes sense. Why didn't anyone tell me this before?

The last game of the season.

Hi, everyone.

Mom, Dad, Uncle Cris, and Kaley went to St. Petersburg to watch the last regular season game for the Yanks, as they went up against the Tampa Bay Rays. A good time was had by all--at least Mom, et al., because they were Yankees fans. The Yankees were down going into the top of the sixth inning when they erupted for 10 runs, including 7 RBI driven in by Alex Rodriguez on a 3-run home run and a grand slam. That set an American League record for most RBI by one player in an inning. Dad has never been a big A-Rod fan, but it was a pretty cool thing to watch.

Mom and Dad also spent the game scoring the Yankee half of the inning. They didn't do a bad job. The cool thing was how they had to really pay attention to what was going on to score it.

So, what's it going to be, Dad?

Last week, Dad wanted to apply my monthly dosage of Advantage, but he had misplaced the box. During the search, he found that copy of Casino Royale (James Bond Novels) he knew was in the house. So, now he has to decide whether he should just start reading that, or continue with Twilight. He's already 100 pages into it, and it's not difficult to read, but he hasn't really gotten into it.

He also found his misplaced copy of the Avenue Q (2003 Original Broadway Cast) soundtrack. Funny, profane, hummable tunes, which he immediately re-ripped into a better sounding format for muPod.

The Advantage was found, and I was dosed for the month.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Hi, everyone. Dad had a really good sports Sunday. First, the Giants won by shutting out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-0. They looked good doing it, too. The only minor negative was Eli Manning was pulled fairly early in the game when Dad could have used more padded stats for his fantasy football team.

Then an hour after that game ended, the Yankees clinched the AL East Division, beating the Red Sox 4-2. They also won their 100th game of the season and locked up the home field advantage for the playoffs with the best record in the American League. This was made all that much sweeter because it happened against a despised rival. The baseball enjoyment actually started Friday because the Yankees swept the three game series from the Sawx. Yay! Dad's hoping for a deep playoff run, including a World Series Championship.

Isabella? No, It's Bella

So Dad couldn't find Casino Royale last week. He decided to read Twilight (The Twilight Saga) instead. Despite Mom's teasing that "It's a teenage girl's book!" Dad believes that one is never too old for a good book. A person can be too young for a good book--for example, when Dad was 13 years old, he couldn't get past the first sentence of To Kill a Mockingbird. A year later, however, he couldn't put it down and has reread that book at least once since then.

So far, though, he's finding it hard slogging. He really doesn't like Bella that much. Dad's wondering if it's going to be like The Catcher in the Rye where lots of teenage boys related to the book, but teenage girls didn't get it. Only in reverse: teenage girls absolutely love Edward and Bella's adventures, and boys scratch their heads thinking, "What's the big deal?"

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Giants helped the Cowboys christen the new stadium by beating them 33-31 on a last second field goal by Lawrence Tynes. Game really shouldn't have been that close, but for some reason, Kevin Gilbride gets really unimaginative in the red zone. Dad will take it, though. 2-0 so far this season, and both of those were division wins. This makes Dad very happy as a Giants fan.

It's nice to fire up the music player to let it choose a random album

So, while he was on the computer tonight with the music player set to Shuffle, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco started to play. Dad really likes that album. One of the best he's ever bought.

John, Paul, George, Ringo, Mom, and Dad?

Mom and Dad picked up The Beatles: Rock Band on Sunday. Limited time to play before the Giants v. Cowboys game that night, but they had a blast! The tunes are great to listen to, the visuals are fun to see while you're trying to track the music, and the guitar playing is better. The game lets you calibrate the guitar so any misses Dad makes are his fault, not the guitar. Mom seems better at the drums than Dad is, but she always dives into doing the Hard levels. Dad, on the other hand, is more than content enough to work his way up from Medium to get eventually up to Expert. Here's to imitating Paul and Ringo the next couple of months. Dad wishes he could get the mock up of the Hofner bass outside of the $250 limited edition bundle, though.

What next?

Well, Dad finished The Chosen the other day. He's pretty sure there's a copy of Casino Royale somewhere around the house. Yup, the first James Bond novel. If he can find it, then that's what he's going to read.

Off to New Jersey

Mom and Dad flew to New Jersey last weekend, along with Uncle Cris and Kaley. It was for a combination birthday/anniversary party for Dad and Uncle Cris's parents. I was told that a good time was had by all--they saw my Uncle Omar and lots of good food at the party. I wouldn't know. I didn't fly up with them. Instead, I stayed in Florida with Kaley's mother and stepfather. I had a really good time with them.

He's re-reading another book?

Dad finished reading his last book which I told you about on Saturday. Late Saturday morning, he decided to re-read The Chosen by Chaim Potok. It's a great story that speaks about many things--the relation between fathers and sons, heritage and responsibility, friendship, and so much more. Dad first read it about 15 years ago and just loves it.

Dad did get a suggestion on what to read, though, from a friend. Dad will keep To the Vanishing Point by Alan Dean Foster in mind when he is done with The Chosen. Thanks, Karen!

Thoughts on a Sunday afternoon baseball game:

So, on Sunday, Mom and Dad went to catch the Rays who were hosting the Detroit Tigers. Didn't take me, but most baseball parks don't have a pet day. Dad's got some thoughts on the game, in no particular order:

• If the Rays don't make the playoffs this year--and it's not looking all that good right now--you can point to the bullpen this year. The Tampa Bay 'pen could not get out of the ninth inning without giving up a grand slam, making the score 5-3 for the Tigers. In his major league debut, starter Wade Davis goes 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9. The lone run--which was earned--was on a solo homerun surrendered to Aubrey Huff in the top half of the 2nd inning. But it all goes to naught because Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Russ Springer could not get any outs.


• The cow bells the Rays fans use to generate excitement during games may be the most annoying thing about going to the Trop. The Angels had those Thundersticks, but their stadium is open air, not a dome.


• There are few things in this world as irritating as giving a child a cowbell at a Rays game who has absolutely no idea what in the world is going on. It would be best for everyone's sanity if there were a test for baseball knowledge before anyone was allowed to ring those cowbells.


• What in the world is the point behind the Day-O cheer? So, over the PA system, you hear "D-a-a-y-O!" To which the crowd responds in kind. How is The Banana Boat Song supposed to rally the troops? The trumpet and then "Charge!" can get people excited, but Harry Belafonte?


• There seemed to be almost as many Tigers fans in the Trop as Rays fans. Dad didn't know the Tigers traveled that well. Is Labor Day a contributing factor? or the fact that the Tigers have spring training in Lakeland?

On Labor Day, the Rays are going to play the Yankees in a twi-night double header. Dad's looking forward to seven plus hours of baseball tomorrow.

Not bad for a lark

Hey, all. This happened several weeks ago, but a dog's got things to sniff and food to eat. Anyway, the bowling team that Dad, Uncle Cris, and Kaley were on finished in 3rd place in the league. Woofhoo! Here's a picture of the trophy Dad brought home:
Kaley also got a trophy for her high series of the season. That trophy is actually much nicer than the 3rd place trophy for 3 Strikes and You're In!, but I don't have a picture for it. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Congratulations, everyone!

What to read?

Dad just finished Altered Carbon and though he thought it moved pretty well, he had some problems keeping up with some details by the end of the book. Probably because he was reading it late at night just before he went to bed and forgot all those details. He's trying to figure out what to read next.

Poor Dad....

Yesterday was not a good day for Dad. Yankees were pummeled by the Red Sox. Dad could not repair the Playstation2 problem I mentioned to you last week. The Yanks play again today, so they can still take 2 out of 3, but Dad's got to decide whether it's cost effective to have the ol' PS2 repaired or buy a replacement. Dad's got some emotional attachment to that thing, though--it was a Day One machine, and he got it only a month after he married Mom.

Dad's not happy...

because the Playstation2 that he got all those many years ago has finally given him some problems. He got it Day One back in 2000, and it served consistently until today. Then Dad made a mistake while putting SSX Tricky in which led to a Disc Read Error. Testing the machine with other games leads to a diagnosis of a misaligned laser. Great! The machines long out of warranty which means to get it fixed, Dad's going to have to pull out the screwdrivers and pliers and follow the directions he's found online to re-align that laser. Oh, gosh. I hope Dad doesn't damage things further or hurt himself.

Ooh.... Did he really just do that?

Hey, all. Just to let you know, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, is a really violent book. Boy, howdy!

Good baseball weekend for Dad

Dad is a big New York Yankees fan. They just lost to the Blue Jays tonight because Sergio Mitre does not seem to like holding on to a lead when given one, but Dad's still riding high from this weekend's results. Yanks swept the Bosox in a 4-game series, beating them in a variety of ways. That only improved the season series for the Yankees to 4-8, but the more important thing was the division lead was extended to 6 1/2 games. W-O-O-O-F!

Tagalog, next?

If this Japanese thing works out, then he's going to try Tagalog next. He can practice with his Mom and Dad. Keep the culture alive, Dad!

Nihongo?

Dad's tried to teach himself Japanese for most of his life. He's made several aborted attempts previously, but he seems to be making real progress with it this time. He's using Ultimate Japanese Beginner-Intermediate (the complete book and CD version) this time. It probably also really helps that Mom speaks Japanese and can help Dad practice.

This would be really cool to have bilingual parents. If they speak to me in Japanese, will I become bilingual, too?

SF Noir, hmm?

I told you that Dad finished his last book. He's moved on to Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. It has an intriguing premise--quasi-military man with a shady background is paroled from his sentence to have his recorded consciousness inserted into a body to investigate a death. Yeah, the only way to make it any clearer is to go much farther into detail than I feel like going. Anyway, Dad is enjoying it, but he thinks the author is trying too hard to write with a hard boiled edge.

Not with a bang, but with a whimper....

So, Dad finished Firmin today. Fine book, but it left him feeling a little depressed. Not as depressed as when he read The Name of the Rose, but still a little down.

A werewolf, a vampire, and ghost share a flat.

No, it's not the beginning of a joke. It's the premise of a show Dad taped. Being Human is a show running on BBC America. Mom and Dad watched it and had a good time. It's kind of like Dark Shadows, with more humor and less self-serious goth. For some reason, it seems more interesting with the accents. The castmembers are appealing. Most of the ideas have been done before--vampire struggling against his vampire nature, werewolf having to deal with "that time of the month," ghost attached to the place it died--but not together, at least not well done together. Mom and Dad are looking forward to firing up the DVR and enjoying this funny/scary show. If you like to watch shows as they air, new episodes are on Saturdays at 9.

Sige the scaredy cat won't watch with them, but I will.

As long as the lights are on. With my paws covering my eyes.

Wonderfully creepy movie

Hello, everyone. Mom and Dad picked up Coraline (Two-Disc Collector's Edition w/ 3D) this week. They loved it in when they saw it at the movies and also liked the soundtrack. I cannot forget to mention the book which they both read after the movie.

It was as enjoyable as they remembered. The only disappointment was the 3D version. It came with four pairs of 3D glasses to watch the movie in, well, 3D. Dad wasn't expecting the nice specs that he had to wear when they saw the movie in 3D at the theater, but the 3D glasses that came with this DVD were green in the left eye and red for the right. Cheap! That's like something right out of the 1950s drive-ins. So when you saw the movie with these things on, the colors were totally washed out. Oh, well. Not that big a deal. They bought the movie because they enjoyed it, not for some gimmick.



Gee whiz. How many times can I say 3D in one paragraph?

Has It Been Six Movies Already?

Mom and Dad saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Friday night. It's a Harry Potter movie. It's generally going to be fun if you're a fan of the books and don't bring a mental checklist of what they left out. They had fun.

They would have had more fun if the people on the two sides of them didn't talk during the movie or text. The family on the left of Mom was having a conversation, and when she asked them not to talk, the dad asked, "Why?!" Why? I'll tell you why: 'cause you're in bleedin' theater and other people paid to see the movie, not hear you explain EVERYTHING that is happening to your daughter! The guy to the right of Dad texted during the movie, but at least put it away before Dad had a chance to ask him to put it away.

Literate rat?

Dad finished Hiroshima a couple of days ago. He would suggest it for anyone interested in history. Reading the stories of survivors of the first atomic bomb causes the reader to see them as people and not just casualty statistics.

He's now moved on to Firmin, the tale of a rat who can read set in Boston in the 1960s. The idea is a good one, but Dad has no real feel for the book just yet. That may be because he's only read it late at night when he's been tired.

The AL Continues Its Unbeaten Streak

Mom, Dad, and Uncle Cris watched the All-Star game tonight. The American League wins 4-3, running its unbeaten streak to 12-0-1. It was a well-played and well-pitched game. The difference was basically the reserve left fielders. Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays made a great catch, robbing Brad Hawpe of a homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning to keep the game tied at 3-3. On the other hand, in the top of the eighth, Justin Upton misplayed a very playable fly ball into a triple for Curtis Granderson who scored the game winning run on a sac fly.

Oh, and by the way, Dad thinks anyone who says it was a boring game probably suffers from ADD and is used to the ludicrously high scoring arcade style baseball of the steroid era.

A little bit of history for you

Good evening, everyone. Dad stopped reading Don't Know Much about Anything long ago. He was reading it as a review for his Jeopardy audition, which Zoe mentioned elsewhere, but the book wasn't all that great. He was so disappointed because he thought Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About...) was such a good book.

He's now reading Hiroshima by John Hersey. It's really good. Anyone who thinks it is a revisionist, America hating pro-Japan propaganda has either not read the book or has a few screws loose.

Hollywood!

This happened more than a month ago, but I really want to mention this. On June 11, I got to spend the day with Mom in Miami! It was so much fun! Dad had an audition for Jeopardy in Hollywood, Florida, and rather than leave me by myself for the entire day, they brought me along! I got to eat at Panera and walk along the beach.

If Dad appears on Jeopardy, will Mom and Dad bring me to California?

Out pops toast

Sige here. Dad is of the opinion that toast is better than plain old bread. Something about texture--crunchy--just makes it taste better. I can't disagree with him. I don't really eat much of either.

Better than he thought

Dad's been bowling out of his mind the last two weeks. His handicap is going down. How long will it last, and how long before he feels the pressure of not having that large handicap?

Talking dogs, huh?

Sorry for not posting for a while. I've been sleeping in the spare bedroom where Dad works out. Anyhoo, Mom and Dad saw the movie Up last week. They had a good time. Dad has not stopped talking and laughing about his favorite character, Dug. Dug's a talking dog? I don't know how amusing a talking dog could be, but that's Dad for you.

League night, week 2

I meant to post this earlier this week, but a dog's got other things on her mind this time of year. So, Dad went bowling again with Uncle Cris, Kaley, and Kevin on Wednesday night. Dad only then found out the name of the team: Three Strikes,You're In! Cute, huh? Uncle Cris was unhappy with the way he bowled, but Dad said he did better than last week. The big problem this week was how long it took for the bowling center to take care of problems. They were one of the last teams to finish this week, at least a half hour after everyone else. I hope when they find out their standings, Three Strikes, You're In! did well.

No! NO!

Dad was a little peeved. He tuned in with 4 minutes to go in the NCAA championship game between Cornell and Syracuse, and the Big Red up 9-6. He got to watch Syracuse score three goals, including one with at :04 to tie the game. Then he watched the game winner in sudden OT to give Syracuse the title. Dad would have felt better just reading the score the next day in the sports section.

League night? What's league night?

So, Dad was convinced by my uncle Cris to join his team in a parent-child bowling league. My cousin Kaley (she's human, by the way) mentioned this on the blog Cris and Kaley Adventures. I guess Dad did okay. He was not jumping for joy over how he did, but he didn't come home proclaiming he was the worst bowler who ever rented shoes.

What's this on your salad?

As previously mentioned, Dad has been a vegan for a couple of months now. One of the things he would suggest to anyone for a change of pace, vegan or not, is to have salsa on top of your salad as a dressing. He cannot claim that it was his idea; he got it from the book Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss. Try it. You might like it.

Got to prep for an upcoming event

All righty. Dad finished Idoru the other night so he's moved on to his next book. He's now reading Don't Know Much About Anything: Everything You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More! to start prepping for an upcoming audition where he needs to be up on his trivia. I'm soliciting suggestions for other good trivia books.

Looks like it could be cat food....

So, Dad's been a vegan for a while. He likes eating lentil beans. Easy and quick to cook. I think it could be tasty cat food, if there were more meat in it. ^_^

I don't get that new toy?

Mom and Dad just came back from playing tennis. They used to use regular tennis balls and give them to me when they went flat. Now they use these pressureless things and keep using them. This stinks.

Dad goes back to the last millennium

Dad's re-reading Idoru by William Gibson. He enjoyed it back in 2001, but this time he seems to be struggling through it. Not as much free time to read as he would like?

Something Dad thinks he needs to walk me

Hey, all. It's me, Zoe.

Whenever Dad takes me out for a walk, he tries to make sure he's wearing his pedometer. He sometimes really freaks out if he finds out he's not wearing it. He's trying to get in better shape, and one of the ways he's doing that is to get 10,000 steps in each day. He uses one of the Accusplit pedometers. I think he was sold on the endorsement as the official pedometer of the PGA. I don't know why that would mean so much. He's not a golf fan.

Here's Zoe!

Hi, I'm Zoe. My brother Sige says dogs always come after cats so I have to post after him. He used to punch me a lot when I was a little pup, but he's okay with me now. My folks give me great treats.

Allow me to introduce myself...

Hi, my name is Sige. Since I'm the older sib and a CAT, I get to post first. Zoe is an okay dog as long as she doesn't crowd me. My folks say I present a striking image with my one blue eye and my one green eye.