So, the Yankees split a 4-game series with the Rays who are really so much better than they should be. They lost most of their offensive oomph as well as their entire bullpen and although they are not breathing down either the Yanks' or the Sox' necks, manager Joe Maddon has them playing above their heads. But playing them in that stupid dome - which Granderson in centerfield had so much trouble with that he pretty much handed one of the games to the home team - it's hard to tell if the Yanks pitching was as great as it looked, or if the Yanks bats were as bad as they seemed: the Rays can really pitch, but they can't hit a lick...

Speaking of the Rays pitching here's an interesting tidbit gleaned from the YES broadcast (a broadcast free of the ever-babbling Michael Kay to the delight of my ears and my brain): the Rays have now played 700 straight games started by a pitcher under 30 years of age. Night and day from the Yankee staff.

It's 10 days until the July 31st trading deadline and there's not much out there. Clearly the Mets are going to move Beltran; they have to, but I am hoping he doesn't go to either the Bosox or the Phils; the Giants could really, really use that big bat in the outfield and probably have the pitching prospects (I mean, really, Brian Sabean has to be taken seriously as a great developer of young arms; see: Lincecum, Cain, Baumgartner, et al) to potentially overwhelm Sandy Alderson and the Mets.

I am, of course, biased here. I don't think the Yankees will pursue the good-hitting outfielder unless it's to keep him away from the Sox who really don't *need* any more bats. C'mon give JD Drew another chance...

Watch this spot for upcoming information on the writers/poets salon I am starting soon. It's to be called "Batting for Punto: A Salon" and mark September 22 in your calendar as I do believe that will be the maiden voyage. Keep me to that if you have a mind to.

Thanks
Brian

I am still a legal resident of the state of California. I still pay taxes to CA; I maintain both a business and a residential address there, too (although I do also have my so-called business incorporated in the NV for some other tax issues) even if I have been spending time away from that residence and the state. The word for today is "stress" and I am stressing both that first "s" as well as the elongated "s" sound at the end of the word; it's a pretty *great* onomatopoeia when you say and hear it like that...

The Yankees gave the game back that they took from the Rays the previous night. Colon, perhaps pitching for his pinstriped future threw a heck of a game. He seemed to loosen up as the game went on, his fastball (his primary pitch) gaining in MPH as the contest progressed; he was getting strikeouts and looked like he could move around and off the mound better than he had in the last few starts following his hamstring strain. But, the Yankee defense -- which had let him down early in his last start -- gave his well-pitched game away.

One of the biggest blows which technically wasn't an error - Granderson lost an easy fly ball in center to the stupid white domed roof of the Trop' - but it set up Boone Logan's error on a bouncer to the mound that should have at least cut the tying run off at the plate and, at best, been turned into a 1-2-3 double-play that would have gotten the team out of the 7th and perhaps preserved a win with how effective the tandem of Roberston and Mo have been coming out of the bullpen in the 8th and 9th innings respectively. Could have picked up a game on the Sox too as they finally lost to the O's.

But you do usually need to score more than 2 runs to win a game in the AL East so the bats (although they did hit their first longball - an impressive opposite-field blast off Cano's bat - in 4 games) are to blame as well. And tonight they face David Price, so no walk in the woods by any stretch of the imagination.

Twins are playing this afternoon in what will be more like Bikram Yoga than America's Past-time...

Okay, back to my regular scheduled stress... Hope I have good news to report next time...

Cheers,
Brian

Well, all my fears about being hacked to pieces by either my ride from a stranger or the Chicago hostess who I did not know never materialized; I am back and still one with the living. And for finding a ride off of Craigslist I actually couldn't have done much better. Amy was a little bit of a slow driver, but she got us to Chicago (2 hours late which was a non-issue for me) and back to the 612 in time for last call at Grumpy's NE -- and that was even with the beer & cheese pit-stop in Wisconsin which I think is required to be able to re-enter Minnesota.

I got a little bit of the scenic/tourist Chicago when a friend of the Ranger with whom I was staying drove me down Lakeshore Drive (they call it "LSD") at night and then back through the city on the way back toward Evanston. I always knew Chicago was a major city, but was pleasantly surprised to see how legitimate it really is; outside of New York, Chicago really is the only other major city in this country.

The plan for Saturday afternoon was my 1st visit to Wrigley Field and I can't say the place disappointed. An amazingly charming small field right smack in the middle of a bustling neighborhood, you don't come close to getting it until you get to experience it. The over-loaded stands atop all the buildings across the street really are a sight to behold. Chicagoans really love their Cubbies even if there is no actual reason to do so other than they're all they got. On the Southside, the White Sox (despite being a far better ballclub) are an after-thought and something to be mocked.

Sitting in the last row of the upper deck still afforded me a great view of the field. The Wrigley staff and fans are actually more than just mid-west nice. My only real complaint about Wrigley is the beer selection: I searched the entire lower deck for a "real" beer and didn't see a single one on offer. I ate my 1st Chicago "dawg" with everything as I looked, but finally had to settle for a PBR near my upper deck seat. The choices from the beer-men were Bud/Bud light and Old Style; I clearly went with the latter but wasn't really "happy" about it; a second, longer search did net me a Guinnesss.

On the field the Cubbies did their thing. What should have been a pitching match-up that strongly favored the home town team (their best starter Carlos Zambrano vs. quite possibly the worst starter in MLB- Javier Vazquez) didn't quite go the Cubs way. Zambrano gave up 3 in the 1st en route to a 13-3 drubbing, but the fans mostly stayed... mostly.

I got myself pretty freakin' lost downtown after a little pub crawl around Wrigleyville following the last out which with the heat & humidity took its toll on me; I wound up not having any famous deep-dish so I guess I'll have to go back some time...

As for the real purpose of the trip - my Black Rock City Ranger (re)training - was yesterday afternoon. As a 3rd year returning Ranger all that was necessary of me was to show up for the shorter, 2nd half of the training, but since I was there I made myself available to support the trainer. Odd to me, I wound up being one of the most senior Rangers there and assisted the trainer all day long. I sure hope this news doesn't make it back to the powers-that-be who know me; could lead to expectations and/or "promotion" and I'm not really ready or willing to give up the nice and mellow anonymity of being "nothing" more than a dirt Ranger, which is where I feel I still belong.

Long trip home but pleasant company and a pit-stop for good, unavailable in MN beer from WI, as well as some bacon/cheddar cheese and making last call at Grumpy's NE on arrival back in the Twin Cities made for a pretty complete weekend even if it wasn't the one I was "expecting" which is really good practice for That Thing in The Desert.

Okay, time to beat the heat & humidity with a trek down to the ManKave for the Twins game on the telly.

Cheers, Brian

Mid-Western Weekend Travel Parts I & II

Last Sunday I was zipped off to Wisconsin with a new friend aptly named Sunshine- she's full of the stuff - for a wedding her band her band was playing. I'm nearly always up for a roadtrip on a sun-streaked Sunday morning and considering that one can purchase beer in Wisconsin that's a win-win. As soon as you hit the border there are signs reading "Wisconsin: Open for Business." Take that Minnesota!

Glaurus brewing makes fantastic beers that do taste even better on Sundays. My previous WI-beer run netted me their Double IPA; this time we had some of the Spotted Cow and another ale whose name escapes me.

Somehow wound up on a CSA farm (yeah, I didn't know what that was either) surrounded by kale and broccoli, I spent most of the day sitting on hay bales or the grass as Sunshine's band played, drinking Summit EPA from the keg and feeling the very odd sensation of being at a wedding that I didn't know anyone at. I know if you work weddings that's a given and a norm, but I felt like something of a crasher, I was almost expecting to have to tell someone that, "I'm with the band."

I know I am getting this weird, local "legend" rapper-DJ-singer's name wrong but it's something like Harmar Superstar and I guess I have to say, "only in the Mid-West" (but I sincerely mean that kindly) but picture a sweatier, shorter version of Ron Jeremy singing Madonna songs and you've just started to scratch the surface.

As the affair was winding down the light show was only getting started. The farm was rocked by thunder and crashed by a very serious lightening storm. We got drenched to the skin during the short run to the car. It made no sense to drive off into the storm just yet, so we did not...

Now that I have ticked off WI, Illinois is up next; more specifically Chicago. I have changed planes at O'hare a few times and I once had a ticket to visit a friend in the Windy City, but as the fortunes have it, this will be my first trip to Chicago. I'm travelling in much different fashion than I normally do, but I'm doing it on the cheap and the quick. I think this will be my first Craigslist ride-share and if I were smart I'd put the girl's name & number here in case this is the last anyone ever hears from me; that info would give the FBI someplace to start but I'll take my chances.

I'm going down for Black Rock Ranger training and I'm being housed by the local Ranger who is having the session at her house so that should be easy... famous last words. I especially got my interest piqued to go to Wrigley Field when watching those games against the Yankees a month or so ago and I'm actually very excited to go the fabled park this Saturday afternoon for a Cubs game.

Looking forward to a Chicago hotdog and deep-dish pizza. You can look forward to a report on Monday. Have a good weekend,

Brian

Derek Jeter shut up all the doubters and nay-sayers on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the new big ballpark in the Bronx. Needing 2 hits with 2 games to play before the All-Star break we are currently suffering through (actually, I may go see live, local theatre tonight as there is no real baseball game on) the Captain did it with more style and boom than anyone other than he could have expected. There has often been a "I'll show you" to his game that he does on the field and the day he got his vaunted 3,000th hit was no exception.

Jeet singled in the first after a lengthy at-bat and then two innings later following another battle with top-notch starter David Price (who gave up his 1st HR in his career to Jeter) Derek took him over the wall and into the hands of a fan in the left-field bleachers for a loud punctuation to the historic event. That the long-ball (his 1st in almost a full year at Yankee Stadium) tied the game was probably of a lot of consequence to the "team-first" player that he is.

And then the day just got silly because if I had written this into a screenplay no one would have believed it; Derek Jeter then got 3 more hits -- just winding up a triple short of hitting for the cycle -- including a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 8th. Had Jeter gotten his hit during a game that the Yankees lost, I doubt he would have celebrated it like he - and Yankee fans everywhere - got to after the great 5-4 win. And my thoughts of an AJ Burnett shaving cream pie in the face were not that far off; had Jeter's 5th hit come an inning later, that is exactly what we would have seen. Maybe for #4,000.

Minka Kelly, looking amazing in a black tanktop, jeans and her hair pulled back, cried when Jeter achieved history.

Dick Groch, the scout who signed the Yankee legend also got some great screen time. Groch, who had started scouting Derek when he was a HS sophomore in Michigan had really pushed for the Yanks to sign the skinny kid. When there was some thought that Jeter wouldn't sign, that he was going to attend Michigan State University, Groch told the Yankee brass that this kid who only wanted to be the Yankee short-stop from the time he was in the 4th grade "wasn't going anyplace but Cooperstown." It's rare that a scout is so dead-right about a player, but there it is.

Of course, the Yankee beat writers, one day after applauding and lauding were back to their old questions about the age and vitality about the Yankee Captain. Even Jeter joked that his respite lasted but one day. What can you do?

What made the day even a little more special and memorable is what happened to the ball Jeter hit into the stands for 3000. I immediately had my own Facebook status update indicate that had I caught that ball, I would give it to the Captain. In a great fairy-tale subplot, that's exactly all the 23 year old kid wanted to do with the ball: give it to Jeter, saying "he earned it," and that he "wasn't the person to keep it from Jeter." Some estimates had the auction price of that $10 baseball at anywhere between $250-$400K which is indeed quite a chunk of change even if the seat had cost the kid's girlfriend $65 on StubHub.

Giving up the ball and asking for nothing in return netted the catcher a pretty nice assortment of appreciative gifts from the Yankee brass. He was given 4 great seats for yesterday's game, 4 suite-level seats for every home game into the playoffs as well as what was called a collection of signed memorabilia. Even more special, I would have to imagine, was getting to meet Derek Jeter on his impressive and history-making day to hand over the ball marked "J1."

Enjoy the All-Star break; see you in a few days.

Brian

Man plans and God laughs came to Yankee Stadium last night. Needing but 2 hits over the 3 games seemed none too taxing a job for Derek Jeter, but then the rain's came and with it 1 of those games remaining before the All-Star break and an extended road trip following that. The Yankees claim they did everything possible to get the game played during this series with the Rays (well, outside of scheduling a real double-header because, well, that would have cost them quite a bit of money and baseball is a business, y'know) but the visitors were not having it. And since this is supposed to be all for the fans, even if the Yanks had been willing to forego the receipts from a sold-out game so that they could "play two," fans holding tickets for last night's washed out contest would still be out of luck...

So today - soon as a matter of fact - The Captain gets to face David Price and it would be so good for all involved to just get it over and done with today. I still am itching to see what would happen should Jeter's 3000th hit be of the walk-off variety. I would like to think that AJ Burnett would hit him in the face with a shaving cream pie -- it would make a great ending for the doc' that is being shot about his quest -- but I don't think Jeet's had a walk-off since that new tradition started...

A-Rod may need surgery on a tear in his knee, Jeter nursing the calf (really) and Mo wanting some extra rest for his bicep soreness have all dropped out of the Mid-Season Classic which is fine by me. Cano will compete in the Homerun Derby after being asked not to last year.

Spent some time at Hidden Beach yesterday afternoon with a new friend and a large gaggle of hippies and hipsters; it's almost hard to tell the difference here: they seem to co-mingle quite a bit. I am not saying that is a bad thing... Tattoos, dreadlocks and bikinis all make fine bedfellows.

Had a conflict schedule-wise, but I will be visiting the Windy City next weekend for the first time ever. I once had a ticket to visit a friend there, but had to cancel at the last minute. The Ranger training on Sunday is the reason I am going and will also permit me to "write off" the whole trip. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it... I'm hoping that a few friends from here make the road trip with me.

Okay, it's time to get the hotdogs grilling: first pitch is in about 10 minutes. Here's hoping Derek Jeter becomes the 28th baseball player - and the first Yankee - to reach the magical plateau of 3000 hits TODAY!

Brian

Maybe the NY beat writers are trying to motivate Derek Jeter as he returns from the DL. He has always had something of a "I'll prove you wrong" angle to his performance in later years and he does that with his bat and his glove. But everyday in the papers, it's all about how done he is, how Nunez, the shortstop of the future should have his future now, but the very important fact remains: there are very few guys in the history of the game who have had Jeter's amazing ability to rise to the situation. Sure, there are players who appear on highlight shows day in and day out making amazing catches, but Jeter has done it now for 15+ seasons under the brightest of microscopes and on the biggest stages- the post-season. Sure there are a million Torii Hunter circus catches that you could watch, but when Jeter makes those sort of plays there is more often than not, bunting hanging in the Stadium. The "flip?" Playoff game. The "bloody dive in the seats?" Playoff game. I am not saying he's not slowed, I am not saying he's not stubborn in his refusal or inability to change some of what he does in the field. Yes, he clearly believes his skills are still there and I don't think the opinion of sportswriters or Michael Kay will ever sway that; I doubt the Captain reads any of the papers.

With Hughes about to come off the DL and pitch this week, there were some great stories that were much better reading in the NY papers. There is an unwritten, but strictly enforced policy, that players re-habbing from injuries in the minor leagues, buy the spread after the game for their temporary teammates, who are sometimes accustomed to cold cuts (if they're lucky). Apparently Outback Steakhouse is the #1 choice. If I were the kind of blogger who links to other people's stories this would be a great opportunity to do so, but since I don't actually blog, you are on your own...

4th of July BBQ highlight (that you won't see on ESPN): I had been playing and rough-housing and chasing and giving airplane spins to a friend's near-feral (I do mean this as a compliment for the record) young son. At some point in the afternoon I asked him how old he was. He told me "two and a half." When I asked him how old he thought I was, he looked at me and said, "two and a half."

Wish me luck. I am going to attend my 1st mid-western hippie-fest next weekend. And while I have been attending Burning Man for a decade, I've been making fun of rainbowunicornpatchoulli-gatherings for far longer than that. But for you, my trusted readers, I will venture forth and report back. If I am not back by August 1st though, please call Cartman and have him come save me from hippie-doom.

Thanks. I'll hold you to that...

Brian