The Year in Movies

I'd like to put a decent review together for the best movies of '09, but admittedly I want to see many many more movies than I actually have seen. Here are my rankings for the top movies I saw this year, none of which will be in any Oscar category other than special effects probably.

My BEST OF's

DRAMA: District 9
ACTION: Star Trek
COMEDY: The Hangover
HORROR: Drag me to Hell

OVERALL
District 9
Inglorious Basterds
Star Trek
The Hangover
Watchmen
Taken
Drag Me to Hell
The Last House on the Left
I Love You, Man
Paranormal Activity
Angels & Demons
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Saw VI
Adventureland
The International
Duplicity
The Fourth Kind
The Haunting in Connecticut
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard


Topping the list is District 9, mainly because of originality, story, visuals, and acting. It basically had everything, and why it will not be nominated for any awards, I do not know. Well, I sort of do know. Wait, what's that? He wasn't in any movies this year? Did an angel just get it's wings?

The list of movies I want to see is too long to post, but if any of you have seen some good ones this year let me know.

Fantasy Help

I need help choosing my WR2 and Flex. Options for receiver are Jennings, Steve Smith (NYG), and Meachem. Options for the flex are those 3 plus Brandon Jacobs or Quintin Ganther. Any suggestions? Right now I have Jennings and Jacobs, but experts seem to like Meachem this week.

Just wanted to post this to prove my point...

...about what I said the pirates needs were in the offseason hot stove. Especially for the veteran need for the in back up catcher position, as I stated before when Josh posted on his blog about the available Free Agents this year, and who would be advantageous for the Pirates to sign.

Childhood Toys

Recently I took a trip home to Pittsburgh and found a few of my old Battle Trolls laying around. I was instantly transported 15 years in the past to probably some of the best times of my life - the days of battling with toys. I searched the attic for more stuff, but found out my mom threw mostly everything away after I moved out. It is understandable, but boy do I wish I had them back. She couldn't have known her 27 year old son still wants to play with toys he had when he was 8.

Nowadays, kids barely even play with toys. My brother has a pretty active imagination, but all he does is play Wii, Nintendo DS, and occasionally legos (I tried to get him to play with my old Magic the Gathering cards with me, but he is still a little young to grasp the rules). When I was a kid, sure there was Nintendo, but I spent the majority of my time playing outside or with toys. I had a very active imagination and would usually prefer to play at home by myself than with other kids (yes, I was a loser). I am the same way now, except substitute games with PS3. I especially loved battles, wars, fighting, etc. Stuff like that. Here are some of the best toys I can remember:

Battle Trolls: I mentioned these guys earlier, but I had about 8 of them. I grouped them into "bad guys" and "good guys", as I often did. I also had the shooting net, so that was sort of cool I guess. These sell for about $30 a piece now.

Battle Beasts: These were probably my favorite, and still are. I would love to collect them all, and by collect I don't mean be a pussy and leave them in their packaging. I mean open them, or buy them used, whatever, and actually battle with them. I have to think my battles now would probably be more advanced than they were as a kid - I mean, I have seen a lot of war movies - but the basic structure would remain the same. They are grouped into 3 factions - water, fire, and earth. I had about 15 as a kid but always wished I had more. Unfortunately, I never did any chores as a child so I didn't have much of an allowance. The black panther one was my favorite. These sell for about $10 used, up to $200 for an unopened 2 pack. Damn you Hasbro!

Monster in my Pocket: Other than the fact that this name seems extremely gay now, these guys were a cheap, easy source of fun. I remember building castles at the beach and dividing up the monsters to war on each other. Great times. And because they were just rubber, they were easily cleaned off. They had little numbers on the bottom that indicated strength, so that saved some time. However, I think I probably preferred to determine how strong each one was based on my own preferences. The werewolf was pretty cool.

Trash Bag Bunch: These guys came in dissolving bags, so you never knew which one you were gonna get. This was sort of cool for an 8 year old, but looking back, I'd be pissed off getting the same one over and over. I had about 8 of them probably, and battled with them in the typical way.

Matchbox Cars and Micromachines: I'm sure most kids had these, so they are pretty self-explanatory. I would either race them or have destruction derbies with my friend. We loved bashing them up. I'm sure my mother did not appreciate that though as much as we did. I remember my grand mother had a pretty cool collection of them, so when I went over it was a treat every time.

Legos: I mainly played with legos and building blocks at my grandparents' houses. I liked to build, but looking back it was probably sort of boring. I liked more actiony stuff.

Lincoln Logs: Lincoln logs were GREAT for building fortresses. Probably not what the creators intended, but when you sent a bomb in the resulting blast were pretty impressive (and by that I mean throwing a bouncy ball into a wall and it falling down, whatever I was easy to please). Plus, they were easy to clean up and came in a convenient tin can.

Board Games: These are probably another dying breed with kids and families, but I LOVED playing with my mom and sister, and occasionally my dad when he wasn't off on a bender (just kidding, but he WAS probably watching tv instead). Some of my favorites were Hungry Hungry Hippos, Life, Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur, Hero Quest (only with my dad - my sister did not have the patience), Break the Ice, Lite Bright (not really a game), Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and many more.

Axis & Allies: This was a risk-like game except World War II themed and much more detailed. I only played war by myself with the pieces though. I especially liked the bomber planes.

Nintendo/Game Boy: I would be remiss if I didn't add these guys. Don't get me wrong, I definitely played a lot of video games. I especially loved the baseball game for Game Boy, and Wario's World. Great times.

I'll stop there since this is getting long.

Since my sister didn't like playing with me because I was too competitive and she didn't like monsters or fighting, I often had to stoop to playing things she enjoyed. Sadly, this included things like racing carousel horses (at least they were racing), having barbie fashion shows, pretty pretty princess, playing with toy cats, etc. Mostly this ended in me doing something to make her cry and getting sent to my room. That happened a lot.

Check out these examples for some of the highlights of the 80s. There are so many others I have either forgot or not included, but to name some other activities I did include having a stuffed animal wrestling league (I had like 40 in it and the royal rumbles were amazing), my friend and I flying paper airplanes off my deck to see which went further (each plane had a sponsor we would color on, and we kept standings), and others. I also collected baseball cards religiously but I will have to save that for another time.

I would love to get a Facebook group together (if it actually mattered, liek Futurama's sort of did) or some sort of petition to Hasbro to bring some of these toys back. Kids today don't understand what it was like to have action figures and monsters. Sure, video games are great, but where is the imagination? I'd rather create a world in my head than play one that was already created for me. But that's just me.

In conclusion, if you see me playing with children's toys, please don't call the police. I am not trying to lure unsuspecting kids, but rather enjoying a part of my childhood that still comes in tangible form.

Lastly, does anyone have suggestions on what cheap toys now might be worth a lot more in 20 years? I'd love to start investing.

Heroes Season 4 - Part 2

CLAIRE
In another typical Claire plot line, she is off to school to be independent and try to lead an ordinary life, but we all know that something will happen and her dad will have to save her, but then she gets mad at him for interfering, and then she figures out he was only doing what was best and they hug and he calls her Claire-bear. Well, this season is no different, so I'll save you the boring details. In short, a girl at school who can turn invisible is trying to kill her, she has an ugly lesbian girl friend, and she gets caught healing. Whatever. The invisible girl is trying to ruin her life so she would turn to Samuel's group, and to piss off Noah because he killed the girls parents or something. Dumb. It left off with Claire pondering joining the circus of heroes since she'll never make it in the real world.

NOAH
He is unemployed, single, and bored after everything that happened in season 3. He is pretty key to this season because he basically is involved somewhat in every story line and sort of ties everything together. The most obvious connection is with protecting Claire, which goes how you would expect. He also mentors Tracy somewhat, and brings the Haitian back. He finds one of Samuel's compasses and begins to piece together what he's up to...I think. I actually sort of forget everything he has been doing, but he has a smokin hot love interest. She was apparently his partner before and she tried to get him to cheat on his wife, but he is a family man blah blah. Well, now that he's single he is partnering back up with her, in more ways than one! Huzzah! Actually, I don't think anything happened yet but they did have Thanksgiving dinner together, so whatever.

MOHINDER
He finally appeared in the last episode that I saw. Since he lost his weird manmade-the fly-like power, he has been back in India with his gf/wife and teaching school. He finds some more of his father's work though and wants to find out more, so he comes to America. He wants to find a boy that was in Coyote Sands that shook the Earth when he was born. Turns out, it was Samuel (convenient timing..).

SAMUEL
I bet you are wondering who this guy is after all the times he has been mentioned so far. Basically, he is the villain of this season, who **SPOILERS** kills his own brother and blames it on Danko to make the heroes unite with him against the humans. He has a "family" of people with powers, some of which include a blade wielding speedster, a hot gypsy lady with tattoos that can read people or something, whatever she is hot and bangs Sylar/Nathan, and an old man with Hiro's powers. In addition, he has amassed enough people to fill a large carnival. He is trying to get everyone with powers, especially our main characters, together so that he can use his power, which Hiro just revealed to him - the ability to..um move the earth. This power intensifies with more heroes around him. His motive is unclear so far, but it pretty much just seems like he is a jerk and wants to be powerful and kill humans. He has at one point or another spoke with every main character I think. His role with each is: He uses Hiro to find the information on his powers, he uses Mohinder to bring that information, he finds Nathan/Sylar after Sylar comes back from the dead and tries to recruit him. Sylar begins to see images from his past such as killing his mother in the House of Mirrors, but refuses to believe it and become it. One day he wakes up as Nathan for no reason and flies away. For some reason, when Peter touches him, he gains Nathan's power and not Sylar's. Whatever...Samuel recruits Tracy so she is joining him, and he tries to get Claire on board, but Noah is skeptical. Hiro is stuck with him for now because Samuel trapped Charlie somewhere in time, but Hiro also showed some members of the family that Samuel killed his own brother, not Danko. I think Samuel has visited Peter as well but I can't remember what happened.

Currently, "Nathan" has regained control of himself and is with Peter. They heal Parkman in the hospital, but Sylar may or may not have gotten back into his own (Nathan's) body when he touched Parkman's hand. That was where it left off pretty much, except Nathan was still acting like himself. It is yet to be seen whether or not it is actually Sylar who is waiting to shape shift back to get some revenge. Nice to know he has a motive though - boy does he hate the Petrelli's and Parkman...I am hoping Nathan turns into Sylar when they least suspect, then he and Peter battle it out to the death (hopefully Sylar wins...)

Oops I forgot Tracy. Whatever, She has been 3 different characters during the series and the last 2 have been equally as stupid and have contributed practically nothing to the plot. I want Nikki back damnit! No sign of Micah either.

It is difficult to summarize 11 episodes compactly, so I'm sure I left some important stuff out. What do you think? Anyone watching still? Don't mention yesterday's episode yet if you are because I haven't watched it yet.

Heroes Season 4 - Part 1

Since we haven't talked about Heroes all year I figured I'd bring it up. My order of Monday shows this fall was, sadly, How I Met Your Mother, Monday Night Football, Dancing with the Stars, video games, risk on my computer, staring at a wall, Heroes. However, I was curious, so since Leigh was sick this last Thanksgiving weekend and we couldn't really do anything outside the house, we watched the entire season online. I must say, this season definitely blows away the last 2 and has actually pulled me in again. I will recap each main character and what is going on, for those who haven't seen it yet. There may be some spoilers so if you are planning on watching it on DVD or something then you may want to skip this part.

SYLAR
By far the most interesting and likable character of the entire series, Sylar definitely does not disappoint this season. In the Season 3 finale Nathan was killed, so in order to preserve his life, Angela Petrelli had his memories planted into Sylar's shape shifted body by Parkman. Therefore, Sylar's mind was erased (or so we thought) and was now stuck as Nathan. However, after some time, Parkman begins to have continually more intense visions of Sylar in his head. Sylar actually gains enough control to start controlling Parkman's body (and bangs his wife, which led to a funny exchange). So, Parkman tells his wife and child to leave and not tell him where they are going so Sylar doesn't know. After they go, Parkman has a beer and Sylar appears to be hurt by it. So Parkman gets the idea to start chugging liquor and eventually Sylar disappears. Unfortunately for him, Sylar was faking and when Parkman was awakened by his wife and a police officer, he was now completely overtaken by Sylar. After some hilarity, Sylar learns what happened after threatening to kill a waitress. He and Parkman are about to go find Nathan and switch back, but Parkman tricks him and ends up getting shot up by the cops, which appears to kill him but we all know he's not dead...they wouldn't kill off Sylar that easily.

PETER
Peter lost his power to hold onto everyone's abilities, and instead can only hold one at a time. At the beginning of the season, he has super speed, so he uses it to save people as a paramedic. A deaf lady named Deanna, who works at the hospital and is actually sort of hot in a weird way, has an ability to see sound as colors. So far nothing has really come of it other than a pseudo love story with Peter when he can see the colors with her and they play an annoying song on the piano. She was depressed and dropped out of med school, but Peter and Hiro convinced her to go back. That's about it with her. Peter is busy saving lives when Hiro appears. I'll get into why in a minute. Hiro is sick so Peter needs to cure him, so Bennet tells him about a boy who can heal. They go to find him but turns out he can also kill, and he touched his parents during an argument and killed them both. Peter and Noah convince the boy to remember how to heal after Peter gets shot up by police, so after Peter is saved he takes the power back to the hospital to save Hiro. When he gets back, Hiro is gone. Nathan then shows up looking all messed up and tells Peter they need to go to a storage container to see something.

NATHAN
As my second favorite character probably, I was glad to see he was back for Season 4. However, how long could they keep it up being that he is dead and is only memories in Sylar's body? He begins to see his memories as out of body things and not reality, then he realizes he has telekinesis so he is really confused. He wants to verify his memories so he goes back to see the mother of an ex-gf who ran away while they were dating. He sees visions and realizes she actually died while they were drunk in the pool, and tells the mother, who is friends with Angela. She pretends to not believe him, but when Nathan confronts Angela she confesses and he is pissed. The mother puts a hit out on him, because apparently that is easy to do, but he lives because he has Sylar's healing power. He crawls out of the ground in his grave, and we see he has turned back into Sylar, with amnesia. He is led to "the carnival" home of Samuel and his collection of heroes. I'll get to that later.

HIRO
Hiro is dying from a brain tumor and wants to right all his wrongs before he bites the bullet. He goes back in time to make his sister and Ando fall in love, so they do and that's done with. After some shenanigans and trying to save people and learning about the butterfly effect, he loses control of his powers and goes back in time to Peter's hospital. He collapses and is put in bed. He also saw Samuel at some point who taught him stuff. He talks to the deaf woman while Peter is gone and realizes he should go back and save Charlie from Sylar. He toys with past-Sylar for a while and eventually saves her. Then she starts to die from her tumor and Hiro convinces Sylar to remove it from her brain. Then Hiro finds out she didn't want to be saved if it was really her time to go, but then she forgives him, whatever. Samuel goes back in time because he has his own teleporter, who is old and dying, and kidnaps her and convinces Hiro to work for him.

I'll get to Bennet, Claire (blah), Tracy (blahx2), Samuel, Mohinder, and the current status later.

The Hotties Competition

So, after all those months of voting, I obviously sort of hit the wall with keeping up with it. I think it was based on my frustration that Mila Kunis made the final 2, but also having a lot less free time at work lately.

I will put up the final vote at the Pancake since I am lazy and it will probably get more hits.

Good luck with the vote.

NL CY Young

Carpenter got ripped off. I don't really have a whole lot to write about it, but I thought Carpenter was the best all season long (other than the 4 starts he missed, which probably cost him the award).

Gamma Squad

Looks like the folks over at FilmDrunk, WarmingGlow, and WithLeather added another site to their community - GammaSquad. The original 3 cover movies, tv, and sports respectively, so I am a huge fan. GammaSquad will cover comics and geeky stuff according to them, so I probably won't be too interested. However, I saw this story when I just headed over there.

I'm not going to say King is beating a dead horse, but I think he would be better served adapting the books there already are into movies/mini series. And why write prequels when there are still so many good ideas out there?

What do you think?

Best.Trade.Ever

Thomas Jones and Donald Driver for Randy Moss, Greg Jennings, and Ricky Williams.

The Jets are struggling, Driver and Jennings are interchangeable, and Ronnie Brown is hurt. Could I ask for more??

Wes Welker or DeSean Jackson

Who do you like this week?

Welker v. Ind
Jackson v. Dal

All the analysis I have done has somewhat leaned towards Welker because they are playing Indy, but I could see both games being shootouts. Help!

Wow

wow. that says enough about this...

http://skepticblog.org/2009/11/07/jesus-calling-again/#more-5025

Ghosts are for F.A.G.S.

My last comment at NGEWO's blog that was sort of about religion got me thinking about something that has been bugging me lately - ghosts. On Halloween, roughly 68 channels were playing some form of "ghost hunters" or ghost stories, and of course, my girl friend is one of millions who actually enjoy watching it and take it seriously. Watching ghost shows for me is like watching The Biggest Loser, mainly because I can't sit through the show without pointing out every little thing that is wrong or stupid, and laughing at the people involved. I 'tried' to watch an episode of one of the ghost shows, and all I saw was people running around in the dark and pretending they hear noises. Seriously, I could create one of these shows and make millions, just like the people who do this on TV. Honestly, they are geniuses because they are probably making bank by playing Americans for fools.

1. Assemble a "team" - who wants to join in with me?
2. Come up with a dumb acronym to make your team sound professional - I'm thinking F.A.G.S. (The Foremost Authority in Ghost Situations)
3. Buy thermal imaging devices, night vision goggles, cameras, and anything else you see in the "How to Find Ghosts For Dummies" book - I suppose I will need some investment
4. You probably want to either read up on some ghost stories and 'facts', or at least hire some loon who thinks they are an expert to consult with when making up shit - anyone know anybody? If you can't find one, I think watching other episodes of the ghost shows will suffice. Plus, you can always make up your own 'facts' and stupid people will believe them.
5. Find some abandoned locations you can film in - It helps to find a jail or insane asylum, at least for your pilot episode, but really any house/building will do. You can just make up a back story and pay some old guy to read a script you write about the 'history' of the place. No one fact checks these things, believe me.
6. Make sure to have a chick in your crew - I think most of the people who watch these shows are girls, and can relate to a girl that is scared better.

Okay, so now you are ready to begin filming:

7. Plant some props around the building you can make up shit about, then walk around in the daylight and point these out - You could break a window a say a crazy person tried to escape their murder here or something, really the possibilities are endless.
8. Have a pep talk with your team and discuss your 'mission', then head inside while it's dark. - Known Fact: Scary ghosts only appear when it is dark. Day ghosts are lame and probably just want to play with your cat or something.
9. Have at least one person planted in the building to drop rocks or knock on the walls - You could probably just add sound effects, but it makes it more believable if you hear something then react to it. It really is that easy to scare people.
10. Talk to the 'ghost' - By now you've made up some back story about some traumatic thing that happened there to somebody, so pretend like you feel their presence and tell them you are there to help. This is probably the most important step, and requires some acting ability. Be sure to have someone knocking in the background too to give the illusion the ghosts are listening.
11. At some point, get panicked and run out of the building - Not hard to do. You will probably be bored out of your mind and ready to pocket some cash.
12. Hire a good editor - I certainly know nothing about it, so you will need someone to add scary music and star wipes and the such.
13. Pitch your idea and filmed pilot to Fox - Instant millions!!

A Good Strategy or the Best Strategy?

I just heard the news that the Pirates attained Akinori Iwamura for Jesse Chavez and couldn't care much less. We get a mediocre second baseman to replace another mediocre second baseman who replaced a slighty above average, but still mediocre second baseman, in exchange for a rookie relief pitcher who barely made the roster but did show some talent. This trade certainly does not make the Pirates significantly better or worse, so was it really worth taking on the extra cash? Sheesh, but that is not the point of my post.

After learning about the trade, I was reading some other stuff on the Buccos (since I haven't in a long time) and realized that Ronny Cedeno is their plan for next year at short stop. Really? I guess it is just that hard to find a quality short stop that will play for the Pirates for less than 3 million a year. However, I did see that former Pirate non-hall of famer Jack Wilson will be available as a free agent. This reminded me of a point I may or may not have mentioned during this past season, but definitely was thinking about. This is probably against the rules in baseball, but seems easily avoidable - if you have a player that you like and has been with your team for a while and is a fan favorite, in addition to knowing that your season is over by the trade deadline, if that player does not have any years left on their contract, why not make a secret pact with them that management will trade them to a contender for prospects, then resign the guy next season at a salary they negotiate. Seems like a win-win, because someone like Jack Wilson or Freddie Sanchez seem like they genuinely love the city of Pittsburgh and want to win here, so they would do anything to make the team better, right? I suppose if you got caught doing this MLB would not be happy, so you'd probably only get away with it once or twice, but if I was a GM I would definitely be all about it. I mean, for example, we lose Wilson and Sanchez for half a season, let them play for a contender and have some fun, get Alderson and Clement among others, then pick up this season where they left off. WIN WIN RIGHT??

Only problems I see are one of the parties not honoring their agreement, getting caught, somehow losing money in the deal, or pissing off your fan base because you have to lie about why you traded them (which they obviously don't care about anyway), but I think they would forgive you after you get them back right? Someone please explain to me why this wouldn't work.

(FYI, Sanchez resigned with the Giants, so Wilson is the only candidate left)
(FYI x 2, I don't really want Wilson back unless we really can't find anyone else, he was just an example)
(FYI x 3, not sure how long we control him, but Garret Jones might be a good candidate for this)

Fantasy Football

Hey all. It is about midseason so I felt like I would open up a forum for some of us "experts" to answer questions. I will start off by asking, after 7 weeks, is it finally time to admit Cedric Benson is a legitimate #1 fantasy back? I find it so hard to accept this, but I was offered him in a trade in another league that I am seriously considering.

Holy Ties Batman!

So both matchups in the Final Four are ties, therefore, unless anyone else is going to vote this week, I am going to put all 4 in one group and you can just vote for your #1.

The best final four until April

The Final Four ladies are up for voting. After looking at the list Gideon provided, I will add a couple to my growing list of newcomers and hold a new 32 gal tournament, after the finals for this one that is, because, life is boring without lists and polls, right?

Offord's slackin

... so I'll provide a list of ladies about whom to debate.

Just about every male focused website and magazine has one of these, but I enjoy going through each and every one of them. Sue me. This list has a different twist regarding the eligibility rules, so there are some new faces among the bunch.

I'm also 90% satisfied with the top 10, which I usually can't say about these things.

Funny Joke

Did you hear who the Penguins were going to have drop the ceremonial first puck at the opener Friday night?

I am Justin Timberlake

Earlier in the year, Ryan and Josh said I looked like Garrett Jones, which I slightly agree with (although my gf definitely does not). Now, please check out this post from Mondesi's House where they cast lookalikes for a Pirates "movie".

By extension, I guess I look like Justin Timberlake. Ladies who read this blog(ha), please call me.

Last Chance to Vote for this Week's Hotties

Head over to my blog and get your votes in if you haven't already. I will have the finals up either tomorrow or Thursday. Would you all prefer to vote 1v1 as usual, or would you prefer to vote for 1 of the final four? Let me know your thoughts, I originally planned to put up the Final 4 and say vote for 1 for the champion.

Nate McLouth, World Series MVP?

It COULD happen. For anyone who is watching the NL wildcard race, the B-Raves are en fuego and will play D.C.'s own Washington Nationals a whopping 7 times out of their last 10 games. They are currently 3.5 back and Colorado plays St. Louis, Milwaukee, and LA in their last 9. I think the Braves could actually pull this off! I for one am rooting for it. Will they be my new team?? The team that sent the Pirates into their 17 years of rebuilding?? If they win the World Series I will take it as a sign...

Oh I almost forgot about LaRoche!! He-a-ho-ah, He-a-ho-ah **Tomahawk Chop Motions**

A lack of information...

It came out a couple of days ago that all the questions still around in Lost will not be resolved at the end of this, it's last, season. Frankly, I find that offensive. I can't recall how many times over the years where we've been told that we were being strung along during the shows slower stretches for a reason. That the writers were building towards some ultimate goal; essentially that everything will be explained in the end.

Now we know that's hogwash. There are still unexplained tidbits out there, some old - some new, and if all of the biggies aren't tied up, there'll be heck to pay. Mark my words. And I still wanna know what the smoke monster is. No half-ass answers allowed (though I bet they'll never bring it up again). What do you guys think will remain a mystery come 2011?

A few thoughts for Monday morning

To start, I'm starting to lose hope that all the young "talent" the Pirates have been amassing this season is ever going to work out. I mean, what are the odds that enough of these players will turn into quality major leaguers, let alone do it at the same time? Maybe they have a shot in 2011/12, but I am finding it harder and harder to believe. That said, do you think it is now time/allowable to leave the Pirates behind and pick a new team. It would have to be East Coast, or maybe Central, so I can watch all the games. They can't be a major market team because that would go against all that I stand for, they can't be the Royals or Nationals under ANY circumstances, and they are preferably an up and coming team that doesn't have a hopeless future. Let me know what you think in the poll.

The playoffs in baseball are all but set, and it looks like the matchups will be the following:

NL
Philadelphia v. Colorado
St. Louis v. LA Dodgers

AL
NY Yankees v. Detroit
LA Angles v. Boston

Boston owns the Angels, and the Tigers have been stumbling, so we could see a Yankee/Red Sox AL Championship rematch. GAG ME WITH A F'CKIN SPOON.

In the NL, I am rooting for the Cardinals, just cause. Come to think of it, they are a potential new team for me (They are oddly enough #17 in payroll).

Moving to football, is it time to finally declare the NFC as the top conference in the NFL? New England is falling off, Tennessee got thrashed by Houston, the Steelers are meh but still a top team IMO, the Chargers and Broncos are not very good, so who does that leave? Baltimore and Indy, maybe NY Jets as contenders. How about in the NFC? I think you can make a case for NY Giants, Dallas, Minnesota, Atlanta, and New Orleans as possible Superbowl winners. By my count, that is 5-4 on contending teams, advantage NFC.

Lastly, how the hell did the Steelers lose that game (other than missing 2 fg's, which were on a wet field and somewhat understandable)? Oh how I loathe you, Jay Cutler.

Football Pickem

Anyone want to throw some money in and keep pickem standings?

Or for free.

Group ID# 69376
Pass steelers

The long wait is finally over...

Your favorite 8 hotties are up for vote! Head over to my blog and cast your ballot for who makes it to the Final 4.

NFL Predictions

I saw josh put up his predictions in his blog. So. I decided to do the same on here instead of just commenting on his. I'm pretty much just going to put up word for word the predictions I wrote in my appliancebowl 3 fantasy league, but I wanted to see what the other people of the pancake thought who weren't involved in the fantasy league. Here they are, and a small glimpse of a reason behind them.

NFC East
1.Eagles
2.Giants
3.Redskins
4.Cowboys
*Cowboys won't get it done on defense, and who exactly does romo have as a weapon besides witten? Giants make the wild card because of their great defense and running game.

NFC North
1.Vikings
2.Packers
3.Bears
4.Lions
*Watch for the Packers to make some noise. I wouldn't be surprised if they beat out the Vikings for the NFC North title.

NFC South
1.Falcons
2.Saints
3.Panthers
4.Buccaneers
*I don't trust Delhomme or their running game this season in comparison to last season. Saints offense with Drew Brees will get them into the playoffs this season.

NFC West
1.Seahawks
2.49ers
3.Cardinals
4.Rams
*With the loss of Edge, the Cardinals have a zero running attack, and their defense is too inconsistent for them to have a winning season. Seahawks come back to form with a healthy Hasselbeck and newly signed Houz-ur-mama. Watch out for Julius Jones.

AFC East
1.Dolphins
2.Patriots
3.Bills
4.Jets
*The wild cat offense isn't going to surprise anyone this season, but a healthier ronnie brown 2 years removed from ACL surgery is going to make all the difference. Brady coming back is a big boost for the Patriots, but not enough to win the division. He's still got to get comfortable in the pocket again, and that could take the first half of a season.

AFC North
1.Steelers
2.Ravens
3.Bengals
4.Browns
*Maybe I'm biased, but the steelers have a very good chance of repeating, with very little turn-over from last seasons roster. The ravens make the playoffs since they'll still have an amazing defense and flacco has all the experience he needs.

AFC South
1.Colts
2.Texans
3.Jaguars
4.Titans
*He's peyton manning for crying out loud! The titans drop off the map as contenders because of the big loss on defense and I don't think LenDale White losing all that weight is a good thing for their running game. Texans are the surprise team this season, battling the patriots for the wild card.

AFC West
1.Chargers
2.Raiders
3.Broncos
4.Chiefs
*This division is so weak, how can you not pick the Chargers who will have their full defense and LT back and completely healthy? Raiders surprise in this division because I think the Broncos fall on their face with everything that happened this offseason.

NFC Wild Cards: Giants and Saints
AFC Wild Cards: Raven and Patriots

NFC Championship Game: Eagles over Vikings
AFC Championship Game: Steelers over Chargers

Superbowl: Steelers over Eagles

I picked the steelers to win last year, so huzzah! for me...I was way off on my NFC pick though, as I went for the saints. So an all Pennsylvania superbowl? Could be fun.

Let me know what you think, and I forget what josh predicted, so I'm going to take a gander now.

Two Posts Soon to Come

For those of you who still read the Pancake, I will have a new girls poll up and a Football Power Rankings up today or tomorrow.

Fantasy Football

I am postponing the draft until next monday at 8pm or another more suitable time. This is to allow more people to sign up. If another time would be preferred, please let me know.

If we do not have enough people by noon on sunday, i'll open it to the public, and it will fill up then fast and we can move on.

fantasy football?

is imlers league even going to happen? There's only 3 of us signed up for it so far?

The Sweetest 16

The top 16 girls are up for voting. We'll be down to 8 next week and ever so close to the finals.

Fantasy football

I created a fantasy football league for us. Please join. the information is:

League Id: 679627
Password is: nothing
League name is: halo 10

Good luck.

The best thing that could ever happen to the Pirates?

Okay, so admittedly I was highly doubtful that the Pirates would end up the worst team in the league and even have a chance at Bryce Harper. However, 2 things are happening that could save the franchise: 1) they are TERRIBLE! some people are saying this is the worst 25 man roster in MLB history...and would probably only be a .500 team in AAA, and 2) Strasburg might not sign with the Nats! That means he reenters the draft next year, and allows for a top 2 of Harper and Strasburg. In that case, as long as the Buccos finish as one of the worst 2 teams in MLB they get 1 of the 2 top prospects to come through in a verrrry long time. Whether or not management shells out the millions and millions of dollars is another thing, but I think they will if given the chance. Currently, we sit 1/2 game on top of Kansas City, and Strasburg has until midnight to sign...should be a crazy night.

Just to lighten things up...

I had to stop reading this halfway through because I was laughing so hard at work and making an idiot of myself...it's a welcome relief after the 10 run 1 inning performance by Charlie Martin. GO BUCS!

UPDATE: It is now 17-2 in the 5th...the Bryce Harper watch is on!

My Favorite Simpsons Quotes

Please feel free to add your favorites...they give me a good chuckle any time.

Bart: Dad, what's a Muppet?
Homer: Well, it's not quite a mop, not quite a puppet, but man... (laughs, then pauses) So, to answer you question, I don't know.

Marge: This is the worst thing you've ever done.
Homer: You say that so often that it lost its meaning.

Homer: Fame was like a drug, but what was even more like a drug were the drugs.

Homer: Here's to alcohol, the cause of—and solution to—all life's problems.

Homer: Lisa, would you like a donut?
Lisa: No thanks. Do you have any fruit?
Homer: This has purple in it. Purple is a fruit.

Ralph: Hi, Super Nintendo Chalmers!

Homer: There's your giraffe, little girl.
Ralph: I'm a boy.
Homer: That's the spirit. Never give up.

Lionel Hutz: Well, he's kind of had it in for me ever since I accidentally ran over his dog. Actually, replace "accidentally" with "repeatedly," and replace "dog" with "son."

Scully: Homer, we're going to ask you a few simple yes or no questions. Do you understand?
Homer: Yes. (lie detector blows up)

Homer: How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?
Marge: You were drunk!

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Marge: Homer, the plant called. They said if you don't show up tomorrow don't bother showing up on Monday.
Homer: Woo-hoo. Four-day weekend.

Leonard Nimoy: Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is: No.

Homer: Okay Marge, it’s your child against my child. The winner will be showered with praise. The loser will be taunted and booed until my throat is sore.

Homer: [Meeting Aliens] Please don't eat me! I have a wife and kids. Eat them!

Moe: I'm better than dirt. Well, most kinds of dirt, not that fancy store-bought dirt... I can't compete with that stuff.

Moe: Looks like it’s suicide again for me!

Homer: I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over fifty and if its speed dropped, it would explode! I think it was called ... "The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down."

Homer: Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?
Apu: Such a beer does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.
Homer: Oh. Well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

Mr. Burns: I'll keep it short and sweet -- Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.

Homer: When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power ... like God must feel when he's holding a gun.

Homer: Moe, I need your advice.
Moe: Yeah?
Homer: See, I got this friend named... Joey Jo Jo... Junior... Shabadoo.
Moe: That's the worst name I ever heard.
(Joey runs out of the bar sobbing)
Barney: Hey! Joey Jo Jo!

Marge; Grandpa, are you sitting on the apple pie?
Grandpa: I sure hope so...

Homer: How could you?! Haven't you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain Whatshisname? We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn't hear anybody laughing, did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects. (Makes sound effects and laughs) Where was I? Oh yeah! Stay out of my booze.

Rainier: My new movie is me, standing in front of a brick wall for 90 minutes. It cost 80 million dollars to make.
Jay Sherman: how do you sleep at night?
Rainier: on top of a pile of money, with many beautiful women.

Homer: I'm like that guy who single-handedly built the rocket & flew to the moon. What was his name? Apollo Creed?

Homer: Bart, I'm not asking you to give blood for free. That would be crazy. You may not realize it now, but when you save a rich guy's life, he showers you with riches. Don't you know the story of Hercules and the Lion?
Bart: Is it a Bible story?
Homer: Yeah, probably. Anyway, once upon a time, there was a big, mean lion who got a thorn in his paw. All the villagers tried to pull it out, but nobody was strong enough, so they got Hercules and he used his mighty strength, and bingo. Anyway, the moral is, is that the lion was so happy, that he gave Hercules this big... thing... of riches.
Bart: How did a lion get riches?
Homer: It was the olden days.
Bart: Oh.

Homer: I have a great way to solve our money woes. You rent your
womb to a rich childless couple. If you agree, signify by getting indignant.
Marge: Are you crazy? I'm not going to be a surrogate mother.
Homer: C'mon, Marge, we're a team. It's uter-US, not uter-YOU.
Marge: Forget it!

Homer: ...And I gave that man directions, even though I didn't know the way, 'cause that's the kind of guy I am this week.

Marge: It's been a whole week. Why are you letting my husband die? What does it have to do with baseball?
Executive 1: Death is a part of baseball.
Executive 2: Oh yeah, the main part.

Homer: Default? Woo hoo! The two sweetest words in the English language: de-fault! De-fault! De-fault!

Lisa: Look on the bright side, Dad. Did you know that the Chinese use
the same word for "crisis" as they do for "opportunity"?
Homer: Yes! Cris-atunity.

Guy: Greetings, good men. Might I trouble you for a drink?
Moe: Oh, get out of here, Homer.
Guy: Homer? Who is Homer? My name is Guy Incognito.
[he gets beaten up and tossed out, unconscious]
Homer: [walks up, looks at Guy] [gasps] Oh my God! This man is my exact
double. [gasps] Oh my God! That dog has a puffy tail!
[he chases it, giggling] Here, Puff! Here, Puff!

Official: If word gets out about this, Krazy Klown Airlines will be a
laughingstock. In exchange for your silence, I'm prepared to
offer your family free tickets to anywhere in the United
States. Excluding Alaska and Hawaii, the freak states.

Homer: Marge, what's wrong? Are you hungry? Sleepy? Gassy? Is it
gas? It's gas, isn't it?

Homer: When I first heard that Marge was joining the police academy, I thought it would be fun and zany, like that movie Spaceballs. But instead it was dark and disturbing. Like that movie -- Police Academy.

Homer: It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.

Homer: Lisa, if the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls sports, such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing and such and such.

Homer: Don't worry. Being eaten by a crocodile is just like going to sleep. In a giant blender.

Grandpa: My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star.

Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

Homer: Hello my name is Mr Burns, I believe you have a letter for me.
Post office worker: Ok Mr Burns, What's your first name?
Homer: I doooon't know....

Agent: Now when I say 'Hello Mr Thompson' and press down on your foot, you smile and nod.
Homer: No problem.
Agent: Hello Mr Thompson (and presses Homer's foot)
[Homer has a blank stare, and then looks at the other agent and whispers loudly...]
Homer: I think he's talking to you.

Laywer: "Well, what about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say Die, Bart, Die?"
Sideshow Bob: "No, that's German for 'The Bart, The.'"
Parole Judge: "No one who speaks German can be an evil man!"

Ralph: "Then, the doctor told me that BOTH my eyes were lazy! And that's why it was the best summer ever."

Helen Lovejoy: We shouldn't be talking about S.E.X. in front of the C.H.I.L.D.R.E.N.
Krusty: Sex Cauldron? I thought they closed that place down!

Bart: Cool! Personalized plates! Barcley, Barry, Barry, Bert, Bort...come on...Bort?
Kid: Mommy mommy! Buy me a license plate!
Mom: No! Come along Bort!
Guy: Are you talking to me?
Mom: No, my son's name is also Bort.

The German Owner: ``We understand, Homer. After all, we are
from the land of chocolate!''
Homer: ``Mmm... The land of chocolate...'' (slips into a dream),
He is called back to reality. ``Oh, I'm sorry. We were talking about
chocolate?''
The German Owner: ``That was ten minutes ago!''

Grampa: Wait a minute! What was that last thing you said? "Grampa's
Little Helper"...what's that? [meekly to animals] Which one of
you is the mailman?

Pilot: We're now approaching our final destination, Itchy and Scratchy
Land: the amusement park of the future where nothing can possi-
blye go wrong.
[everyone looks worried]
Er, possi_bly_ go wrong. Heh, that's the first thing that's ever gone wrong.

Guard: [laughs] There's no need to murmur, ma'am. Here at Itchy and
Scratchy Land we're just as concerned about violence as you are.
That's why we're always careful to show the consequences of
deadly mayhem so that we may educate as well as horrify.
Marge: _When_ do you show the consequences? On TV that mouse pulled out
that cat's lungs and played them like a bagpipe, but in the next
scene the cat was breathing comfortably.
Guard: Just like in real life.
[pause]
[pointing] Hey, look over there!
[family does so, he takes off quickly]

Marge: Oh, I'm so embarrassed I wish there was a hole I could just
crawl into and die.
Officer: OK, throw her in the hole.

Marge: I have nothing to say to you.
Homer: But Marge, I was a political prisoner!
Marge: How were you a political prisoner?
Homer: I kicked a giant mouse in the butt! Do I have to draw you a
diagram?

Believe it or not, the Pirates are actually in a race...

With the Nationals 8 game winning streak, and the Pirates inexplicable 8 game losing streak, the race for worst team in MLB has gone from 13.5 games to 5.5 games for the Pirates, with only the Royals in front of them chasing Washington. As many of you probably know, this is a very interesting development. I think everyone assumed the Nats would be the worst team in the league and get the #1 pick in next year's draft..but thanks to Neil Huntington the Buccos are making a major run at it. This is important because the #1 pick will undoubtedly be Bryce Harper - the 16 year old that can hit the ball 600 feat and throw a 110 mph fastball...roughly. I am pretty sure he was Babe Ruth in his past life. So, thanks to his family who are allowing him to enter the draft before he even finished high school, the Pirates have a chance to get a franchise saving player, ala how Sidney Crosby / Mario Lemieux were for the Penguins.

The question is, are the Pirates bad enough to make up the 5 game deficit, or do they need to start throwing some games? I think, if you look at Wasington's offense, the Bucs might have a chance. But hey, at least the Pirates aren't cheating...other than Kevin Young.

like bears to crack laced honey

As i've said before, i'm a free markets guy. but i'm also a fan of logical consistency. admittedly, this isn't always possible. its just not the way the world is structured.

a lot of people are posting around the net that the cash for clunkers program, and the health care reform programs, are taking their money and redistributing it to others. i don't know if anyone is aware of this, but that's what the government always does. that's how it works. and, well, the cash for clunkers program is actually creating wealth, it is successfully leveraging federal expenditures by anywhere from 4-7 times, depending on whatever the average vehicle cost comes out to be.

the problem i see is this ridiculous complaint about giving your tax dollars to someone else. name any aspect of government expenditure, and that's what they are doing. defense spending... yeah, same thing. medicare... same thing. senator's wages... same thing. paying prison guards... same thing. building roads... same thing. its an absolutely worthless objection. just say it. you don't like giving money to poor people. that i understand. maybe not agree with. but at least it's honest.

another poster objected to it because there was no wealth restrictions, they said that it let rich people trade in too. but really, how many rich people drive older cars? i know the ones i know don't. unless they are classic type cars, the whole jay leno thing.

more and more, i'm starting to realize, that the problem in our society today is the racial and religious beliefs of americans. the truth is, that all this birther stuff, and the health care complaints, etc, are in large part a continuation of the Nixon/Reagan racial strategy. this really disappoints me.

there is also this large idea out there that obama is "not like us" because people mistakenly believe he is not christian. sadly, he is. even sadder, is that people think to be american you have to be a christian. which is more and more why people like hitchens and dawkins are important. but its these two strains, that our president doesn't "look like us" and doesn't "believe like us" that are creating all this strife playing out in our culture.

i can't take all the bad ideas floating around out there right now. if you think one welfare program is bad because its a redistribution, then you need to distinguish more, what makes this one worse than others. that isn't being discussed at all, which leads me to the conclusion that there isn't a real principled reason as to why it they hold this opinion. i'm even considering changing my political affiliation, this is all so disappointing. and there's no room for freethinkers anymore.

This Week's Hotties are Up for Vote

So head over to my blog. In unrelated news, here is a very interesting article on pitch selection stats in MLB.

Thanks all for voting this week

We've had a pretty decent amount of votes, so it's good to see. I'll give it 2 more days until I put up the remainder of Round 3, so get your votes in while you can.

HAHAHAHA!

Adam LaRoche got traded back to the Braves for Casey Kotchman. Does anyone else think that's funny??? He goes back where he came from and is reunited with "the best player on the Pirates team", Nate McLouth

My take on the state of the Pirates' Organization

I'd rather wait until after the trade deadline to write this since Grabow and Capps might be moving out as well, but after all the trades and random minor league acquisitions throughout the season, where does that leave us? To sum up, we have a dearth of pitching prospects, little offensive potential, and a ton of question marks. Neil Huntington and Co. have done a fantastic job of tearing down the foundation that Dave Littlefield build. One might say, Huntington is to Littlefield what Hurricane Katrina was to New Orleans - without the vandalism.

The Pirates you've come to know and love in the past decade or so are now gone, and what's left is a bargain basement collection of potential major-leaguers and fill-ins until they are ready. Clearly most of the players left on the major league roster are not in the ultimate plan for the future other than as bench players or trade bait - I am referring to Garrett Jones, Delwyn Young, Brandon Moss, Steve Pearce, Virgil Vazquez, and Jason Jaramillo. These are all quality players, but should not be everyday starting players. Decent bench players, yes, but the Bucs will probably phase them out slowly but surely. Add to them the players most likely to be gone soon - Matt Capps, John Grabow. Then you have the guys who COULD be in the future plans, but it will probably depend on their '09 and '10 seasons. These include Jesse Chavez, Evan Meek, Jeff Karstens, Donnie Veal, and Andy LaRoche. Of them, maybe 3 are still on the team in 2011. That leaves only 7 legit candidates on the starting roster to still be on the team in '11 - Ryan Doumit, Andrew McCutchen, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, and Joel Hanrahan. None of them are guaranteed except McCutchen and maybe Morton. So, we'll be safe and say 13 guys on this roster will still be on the roster in 2011, leaving 12 spots up for grabs from our minor league system, because I highly doubt we will trade for anyone major league ready in the near future. So let's look at the minors.

If you have read anything about the Pirates in the last couple months, you'd already know there is a severe lack of middle infielders above High-A. That is very troubling, especially considering the unwillingness of teams to give up middle infield prospects, which has been very evident in the recent trades. However, there is a number of strong pitching prospects that could crack the major league roster and be quality starters in the future. My question is, why, when you already have a pitching staff that is at least average in the NL, with 4 potential future starters, do we need to keep acquiring unproven SP's? This is what bugs me the most about the recent trades. We now have 20, count them TWENTY, potential major league starting pitchers in the minors:

Brad Lincoln AAA
Eric Hacker AAA
Daniel McCutchen AAA
Tom Gorzelanny AAA
Ty Taubenheim AAA
Tim Alderson AA
Kyle Bloom AA
Derek Hankins AA
Jared Hughes AA
Jeff Locke High-A
Nathan Adcock High-A
Rudy Owens Low-A
Hunter Strickland Low-A
Brian Leach Low-A
Casey Erickson Low-A
Aaron Pribanic Low-A
Brett Lorin Low-A
Victor Black A
Kyle McPherson SC
Brooks Pounders Rookie

Not to mention some quality relievers:

Chris Bootcheck AAA
Stephen Jackson AAA
Juan Mateo AAA
Craig Hansen DL

And who knows what other unknowns might emerge in the next year. Now I'm not completely upset by this, because it is always nice to have a lot of options, but we can't just have pitching. True, the Giants have no offense and are winning with superb pitching, but we do not have Tim Lincecum or a Matt Cain anywhere in our system. I don't think the future of this team can just be pitching and hoping to win every game 2-0 like we've needed to lately (and haven't). Let's look at our position players in the minors who have any semblance of a chance to be a major leaguer someday:

C Robinzon Diaz AAA
C Erik Kratz AAA
C Tony Sanchez Low-A
1B Jeff Clement AAA
1B Calvin Anderson Low-A
1B Erik Huber Low-A
2B Shelby Ford AAA
2B Jim Negrych AA
2B Brock Holt A
3B Neil Walker AAA
3B Pedro Alvarez AA
SS Argenis Diaz AAA
SS Brian Friday AA
SS Chase d'Arnaud High-A
SS Jordy Mercer High-A
OF Lastings Milledge AAA
OF Jose Tabata AA
OF Gorkys Hernandez AA
OF Starling Marte Low-A
OF Robbie Grossman Low-A
OF Quincy Latimore Low-A

You can probably remove Walker and Diaz from that list since Walker sucks now and Diaz is likely to get traded because of his "defense". I think he will be a quality everyday catcher somewhere, maybe even .280 20 80 in his prime. So that leaves only 19 "maybes". Looking at that list is depressing, because most of them won't be any good even if they make it. You can see there is a VERY CLEAR lack of offense on our current team and our future team, even if Tabata and Alvarez can make a difference. So, please Mr. Huntington, can you address this before it is too late and our potentially very strong pitching staff is either old or traded away? I REALLY hate to say this, but taking all that into account, why are the Pirates not ACTIVELY, like all-out-doing-anything-they-can, trying to shop Maholm and Capps. A team like the Mets needs a SP and a set-up guy, you're telling me they don't have a quality SS or 2B in their system? The Mets are just the first team that popped into my mind - there are obviously other contenders (Mets aren't really contenders..but they have money) that need SP and RP. We have TONS! TRADE SOME! GET SOME DAMN BATS!

Please tell me you agree with this.

Also, here is a list of who I think are the top 10 prospects in our system:

Brad Lincoln SP
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Jose Tabata OF
Tim Alderson SP
Rudy Owens RP
Jeff Clement 1B
Chris Bootcheck RP
Tony Sanchez C
Chase d'Arnaud SS
Hunter Strickland SP

UPDATE (7/31): So since I posted this yesterday, as you know Gorzo and Grabow have been traded for (more pitching!) Kevin Hart (SP), Jose Ascanio (SP/RP), and Josh Harrison (3B). All are rated very well and seem to be good prospects, so I'm thrilled about it. Gorzo is a hit or miss, and Grabow is generally a situational guy that is better suited for a contending team. Hart will step right into the rotation giving us one heck of a promising top 5 for the 2010 season, and if anyone in that top 5 struggles we have a ton of prospects to compete for spots. Next season will basically be a season-long tryout for 2011, which will be fun because we have absolutely no expectations of winning. Ascanio throws hard and the Bucs will try him as a starter in Indy. Harrison will report to Lynchburg to play 3B, so we'll see how he does. Overall, now that the trading frenzy is behind us, we can start mapping out the future and watching how these young guys perform, which is pretty exciting.

Also, Jose "God of the Universe" Tabata got promoted to Indy, and "Tubby" Alvarez will stay at Altoona for the rest of the season.

Goodbye Jack Flash...and the Other Guy.

As of now, only 6 players remain on the Pirates from last year's beginning of the season roster (with at least 2 sure to go still). The latest to go was Jack Wilson, which automatically means our defense will suffer. Also gone is Snelly, which is not a surprise. He will probably win 8 consecutive Cy Young's now with the Mariners. As for what we got in return, it seems OK. Clement couldn't even beat out Kenji Johjima in Seattle as catcher, Cedeno is a weak bat, and the pitchers are all A ballers. True, 2 of them have decent stats, but was it really worth it? I think it was more about saving money, but we'll see.

Go Bucs!

fantasy football

it's about that time again...who wants to start up the league??? I don't think I'll be able to be the commissioner this year, I have a feeling a second job and work load is going to be increasing...Offord? Josh? Imler? Gideon?

New Girls Up

So head on over and vote.

Traded: aDAM shame...

Though the expectations that came along with him were never truly satiated, it's still a shame to see Adam LaRoche go. Atleast like Jason Bay, he goes to a contender in the Boston Red Sox and hopefully he can start hitting with some pop the same way Hinske has for the yankees. Hinske by the way I believe has hit 4 home runs in 5 games for the yankees, while hitting 1 during the whole first half for the Pirates...go figure.

I'm anxious to see one of the Red Sox infielding superstars to get injured for a length of time with LaRoche filling in at first base or DH and slamming 20 more home runs by seasons end. In the mean time, Garrett Jones will cool off and finish the season with 12 home runs even though he's got 9 now with more than 60 games to go, and now the pirates fill their dead end minor league system with another jack wilson-type SS in AA and a pitching pee-on prospect in Single-A.

The plus side...? Ok, here's the goods (or my idea of goods in relation to anything relevant to pittsburgh baseball) and I believe to be the motivation behind the move. Besides the fact that Garrett Jones has been arguably the best Pirates hitter since being called up, another Pirates prospect required recently in the Nyjen Morgan deal is hitting at an above .400 clip in AAA. Milledge will now be recalled within a week to get some major playing time in the outfield, while the Pirates will let Garrett Jones play out the rest of the season at first base, getting regular at bats to see if he can truly perform at his current level consistently.

If Milledge performs to what scouts believed he was capable when he was the Mets number 1 prospect and Garrett Jones continues to slug, this could end up being a very interesting second half and maybe shine some light on hopefully a not so dim future.

Questions? Comments? Nasty Remarks?

New Set of Ladies Up

So head over to my blog for the vote.

Last Chance to Vote for this Week's Hotties

So head over to my blog and cast your vote if you haven't yet.

Garrett Jones Look alike

Anybody else thinks offord kinda looks like our best all around hitter as of late, Garrett Jones???

Just give him a hat and get rid of that impish grin and...maybe???? I mean the only difference between them is about 8 inches, 60 pounds and a few thousand dollars in salary.

Ambiorix Concepcion

Move over Albert Pujols, take a seat A-Rod, and lets forgot about Manny, the greatest player in baseball is Ambiorix Concepcion. The question you may find yourself asking is, "who the hell is Ambiorix Concepcion?" Right now he is a minor league player for the Orioles, but he is more than that. He may be the savior of this great nation of ours.

He leads the minors right now with 57 home runs, and 200 RBIs. Not too shabby. But that does not even begin to explain his greatness. I recently had the chance to sit down with Ambiorix and ask him a few questions.

Me: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions, what should I call you? Ambi? Ambiorix?

Concepcion: Dr. Concepcion will do just fine.

Me: Oh, I was not aware that you were a doctor.

Concepcion: I have two PhDs, one in engineering, the other in economics.

Me: Wow, so my first question is how come you are not starting for the Orioles? You should be breaking all sorts of records up there, instead of playing for Bowie.

Concepcion: I asked the Orioles to allow me to stay in Bowie for the time being while I finish my work for the Obama Administration.

Me: What work is that?

Concepcion: Right now I am involved in a think-tank with physicist Reed Richards, engineer Tony Stark, and industrialist Bruce Wayne. We are working on solving some of the nations biggest problems. We believe that we will solve the energy crisis by the end of the year, and hopefully have free health care in place for everyone.

Me: Sounds like you are a busy guy. When should we expect to see you in an Orioles uniform.

Concepcion: I have told the Orioles I should be ready for the 2011 season, by then we should have those problems fixed and the economy will be turned around due to a few things I have in the works.

Me: Anything I should know about?

Concepcion: Sorry, it is a secret.

Me: Why play baseball at all?

Concepcion: It is what I love, unfortunately duty must go before my own desires. I figure that if I play from 2011 to 2019, I should be able to hit at least 500 home runs, and hopefully make my way into the Hall of Fame.

Me: Wow, those are some lofty goals.

Concepcion: Have you seen me play?

Me: Yes, I recently saw you hit a 600 foot shot over center field at Altoona.

Concepcion: Yeah, that was a check swing.

Me: Well thank you for time Dr. Concepcion, I look forward to seeing you win the Nobel Prize and the MVP.

Concepcion: My pleasure.

As you can you see, he is not just a mere baseball player, but in fact our greatest national treasure.

An Interesting Development...

So apparently the Pirates are "pushing hard" to trade steady Freddie. I'm fine with it, since they are dumping everyone anyway, but here is my question - if they trade Sanchez before the All-Star break, that means technically the Pirates have no one playing in the game. So what then? Does someone get cut and a new Pirate gets added? I for one would be pissed if we didn't have a representative...then again..who would they take? Andy LaRoche? Not...

The Beat Goes On (definitely no pun intended...sicko)

The next batch of hotties is up for voting. Enjoy.

PS3 Game Review

Since I have played quite a few PS3 games now, I thought I should go over them since some are pretty awesome. Please add some more reviews for other games so I know what to buy next.

Fallout 3: A+
Graphics: A
Game Play: A+
Game Length: A+
Storyline: B

This is right up there with my favorite games of all time. While the storyline is a bit hackey and short, the post-apocalyptic world of Washington D.C. has so much to explore, and so many foes to blow the heads off of. The game doesn't keep track of hours played, but I probably got to the max level (20) in 40 hours, then played for another 20-30 just completing random quests, exploring and finding the rare items, and mostly looking for enemies to kill. I finally made myself quit, mainly because I was running out of stuff I could do, and I'd like to still want to play when all the expansions come out for PS3 in October. Also, the graphics are amazing. As a DC resident, I must say most of the stuff looks pretty good. The locations and metro stations are way out of wack, but they sort of cover themselves by saying the world went a different way in 1950. For anyone who has played Elder Scrolls, Bethesda Software produces both that series and the Fallout series. I'll get to Elder Scrolls later, but let's just say the system Fallout 3 uses for firing weapons is much, much better than Oblivion. Overall, if you have time to waste, this game offers plenty of hours of great fun.

Resistance: A
Graphics: A
Gameplay: A
Game Length: A
Storyline: B+

In the same way that Fallout 3 is one of my all-time favorite RPG's, Resistance is one of my all-time favorite 1st-Person Shooters. The graphics are amazing, the enemies are pretty cool and original, and the storyline is decent and moves well enough along. Also, for a shooter, this game has a decent length. I will be purchasing Resistance 2 soon most likely.

Resident Evil 5: B+
Graphics: A+
Gameplay: A
Game Length: D
Storyline: B

Having played most of the Resident Evils, the plotlines sort of don't matter after awhile since they are just too confusing to keep up with. All you need to know, for any game in the series, is that a virus infected people, you are trying to kill them, and there is extremely corny writing and voicing. The puzzles are slowly phasing out since the original that took place in the mansion, but I was always kind of annoyed by them anyway. As for this one, the graphics are spectacular, definitely the best I've ever seen. The difference between cut scenes and actual gameplay are quickly evaporating. Actual gameplay is very similar to Resident Evil 4 in that there is still the over the shoulder view, zombies run at you until they are about 10 ft away then slow down so you can set yourself, and you have a limited inventory. The main change is the addition of a partner, which I was hesitant to accept at first but soon came to like it. It helped that she was sort of hot too (but definitely no Jill Valentine...). About 10 hours into this game, I would have given it an A++. BUT, then the game ended. The final boss fights took about 2 hours to finish, and that was it. I was extremely disappointed that I finished the entire game in 2 days...Sure, it has an arcade mode, online multiplayer, and decent replayability (which I am now playing with the chick), but I like storyline and progression, and this game just leaves you wanted too much more. Overall, it's a decent step in the right direction for the Resident Evil series, but I would love it to last more than 12 hours...

Madden '09: B
Graphics: A
Gameplay: A
Game Length: N/A
Storyline: N/A

I have no real qualms with this game, but I just can't get into sports games anymore. I think NHL '96 for Sega was the last sports game that I truly liked, and as far as sports games, I prefer hockey to any other sport. The graphics seemed pretty good, and everything seemed the same as the others except looked better, I just never completed 1 whole season. Too many other great PS3 games out there.

Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion: C+
Graphics: A-
Gameplay: C+
Game Length: ?
Storyline: ?

I started this game before Fallout, got bored, played Fallout for a month or 2, came back to Elder Scrolls, got bored and was gifted Resident Evil, and now I'm back to having only this game to play and one other listed below. After playing Fallout, I thought I'd like this more because it's practically the same gameplay, but I just can't get into it. It's like there's so much to do that I don't know where to start, so I just don't. The graphics are a little below Fallout, and there is no auto aiming function, which sucks because I miss baddies with my fire balls way too often. I've played for probably 2-3 hours, and while the game seems decent enough, I just can't get into it. The story seems pretty dumb too, and the voice acting is ridiculous. What's with the facial expression challenges?? Meh, overall I am indifferent right now and will try to get into it again soon.

MLB Front Office Manager: D
Graphics: C
Gameplay: D
Game Length: N/A
Storyline: N/A
Realism: F

This game plays like my Sammy Sosa 2000 game almost to a T (whatever that phrase means). And that game isn't even meant to be exclusively for GM's. I preferred just drafting, trading, and keeping track of the Pirates in that game...8 years ago. I figured by now gaming must have progressed, but all that got better was flashier menus, the addition of salaries, and difficult to function menus. Lame. Do not buy.


Devil May Cry 4: ?
Graphics: A
Gameplay: B
Game Length: ?
Storyline: ?

I only played this game for about an hour before moving on to Resistance. It seemed decent enough because it was a God of War type game and I really enjoyed those games. However, I didn't get the same feel for this one, and felt like one move was the only one that really worked...something like slamming your crazy mutant arm into the ground. I felt like if you just kept doing that you killed everything..I'm sure it gets better, and once I get tired of Oblivion again I will move to this game most likely.

That's all for now. I bought a PS3 originally because I thought FF13 was coming out in May 2009. Now it's looking like May 2010 is a longshot...Damn you Square-Enix!!!

Somebody has an itchy trigger finger...

And his name is Neil Huntington. I loved the Hinske trade because I think Garrett Jones is just as good as him for less money, plus we get 2 prospects.

However, news is breaking that Nyjer and my favorite pitcher Sean Burnett are being traded to the Nats for Milledge Lastings (jk) and Joel Hanrahan. Before the season started, I would be jumping for joy right now. However, things have changed as I realized Milledge is a head case, and Hanrahan sucks. However, it was only a matter of time before Burnett crashed and burned, and Nyjer is getting older and doesn't really bring much to the plate other than 'caught stealings.' So, things could be worse...Who replaces Burnett as the second lefty in the pitching staff?

Thoughts?

Altoona Curve

3-4-5 hitters are Gorkys, Pedro, and Tabata?!?! This is actually pretty exciting. Josh or Ryan or anyone else, want to go to the game on Saturday, July 4th?

Hot Girls: Part Deux

The round of 64 begins today, so head over to my blog for the vote.

11 Girls to Pick From

Write-ins and some more I added in are up for voting.

Funny Religious Signs

I recently saw some funny religious signs that made me laugh. Unfortunately while driving, therefore I could not take a picture. But, do not worry, my ironclad memory will not disappoint you.

"There are some questions Google cannot answer."

Really? Like what? Oh, I bet they mean those meta questions like "why are we here?" "what is the meaning of life?" Okay, fine, ask God those questions, what answers do you get? In fact, with some careful wording, I bet Google can answer them...let's try it out.

First response: wikipedia: Meaning of Life.

Google: 1
God: 0

Next question: Will I get laid tonight? Wow, the first response is for this site. Not sure if it will work, but I will would put a lot more faith in that than by whatever responses God gives me.

Google: 2
God: 0

The next sign that made me laugh said "Who is man's real best friend? D-O-G or G-O-D"

I hate both. Dogs scare the hell out of me, and God is not real, so you know, I would choose neither as a best friend. What happens when you need a best friend, lets look at what it's like when you choose either one of these options.

Scenario: A man finds out his wife is sleeping with his brother. Calls "best friend" and they go to the bar to discuss.
Man: I am thinking about killing them both.
God:
Man: Yes, I should do it. Fuck that whore!
God:
Man: Thank you God for giving me the answer!

Does not sound like a very good "best friend" to me...

Man: I am thinking about killing them both.
Dog: Arf
Man: What the hell does that mean?
Dog: Grrr
Man: I should run away and become a pirate? What kind of nonsense is this?
Dog: Bark Bark
Man: Ah, yes, move to the forest, live in the trees.
Dog: [starts licking own balls]
Man: Fuck this, I'll just kill myself!
Dog: [continues to lick balls]

A real best friend would be a bit more useful:
Man: I am thinking about killing them both.
Dude: What the fuck are you thinking? You'll go to jail. Have a beer.
Man: Seriously, I cannot live like this.
Dude: Fuck that shit, just drink this shot. Everything will be fine. Let me get you the number for this one whore I know, she'll suck you off for like $10. I'll buy, but I'm going first.
Man: Thanks buddy, you are a good friend.

See, so it looks like God or dogs are pretty useless friends.

Don't miss your chance...

to correct for my mistakes in missing a girl you deem worthy of making the top 64 hottest women in the world. Josh, with all your gfs of the weeks you have to have some in mind...And where are the other 5-7 people that normally vote? Please vote!

Hotties Part 8

Last poll of Round 1 is up, so get to votin'

Last Day to Vote

Voting is slim this week, so get your votes in tomorrow before the new poll goes up.

Coming Out of Retirement

I can't recall the last post I put up here, if there were any at all. I'm not even sure if I should be posting on the pancake or on my own blog - I just chose here because I think mine may have atrophied by now.

Anyways, this has been an interesting couple of weeks for me. I've officially been unemployed during that span, for reasons I'm not sure I'm at liberty to disclose. At least that's what the agreement I signed says - which always confused me: what if I had blogged before signing? Would I be legally in the clear then? Hmmm. Either way, it boiled down to my company having some internal strife and my department getting axed entirely. Kinda lame, actually. The strange part is, leading up to the end of days I didn't feel any apprehension, or even loss. I wouldn't say I was upbeat, per se, but to the untrained eye I may as well have been.

I don't want to say that I didn't like my job; I loved the people, the end product, the processes by which that end product comes to fruition. Even the day-to-day work wasn't so bad - and yet I remained unfulfilled on almost a daily basis. I'm not exactly sure why that is, though. Maybe it's some deep seeded belief that I'm destined for more than where I was headed. Maybe it's because my fantasy team was a bunch of underachievers.

All I know is that when that last day came it didn't feel like a burden was heading my way, but rather like the last day of school before summer vacation. Like the whole world was out there waiting for me, I just had to heed it's call. Thoughts of catching up on some reading (books were purchased), finally learning to play Scar Tissue in its entirety (the guitar was taken out of storage), finishing up that screenplay (a notebook was purchased... even though it all goes down in Word, so that was a waste of money), taking up Japanese again (the associated Rosetta Stone was "acquired") all danced through my head. And what happens? 14 days of movies, video games, live E3 coverage, and Sam Adams Summer Ale.

Now, my severance should be able to tide me over for a while, but if I'm not going to pursue other avenues of potentiality, the least I could be doing is busting out a job search every now and again.

Sigh

The next seven days will decide everything...

Another All-Star Bites the Dust

First it was Brian Giles, then Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton. Both with mixed reactions and results. The Ramirez and Lofton trade brought back the Pirates a second basemen with a baseball IQ below the mendoza line and a bag peanuts. Who am I to argue, I like peanuts. But the Giles trade brought us back 2 all-star calliber players in Oliver Perez and Jason Bay. Ollie started to fizzle so the Pirates ousted him, but Bay...oh Bay; He was a different story. He was our All-star. He became the face of the franchise for a short while averaging about 30 Hr's and 100 RBI's a season while he donned a Pirates uni. However as we all know, Bay along with Nady (who both had another year on their contract left) were traded with Damaso Marte to the Red Sox and Yankees Respectively, to trim payroll and get rid of the head ache of having to shell over multiple millions of dollars to a couple guys who would certainly be worth the money the Pirates cannot afford to give, to bolster a weak minor league system with a few prospects. In my opinion at least one of those prospects seems like he may work out in Andy LaRoche, who is hitting .300, and has an OBP around .370. Both respectible, but a little more power (2 HR's all season) couldn't hurt. Jose Tabata seems like a ligitimate future star, but he still has a couple of years to grow, Hanson needs to learn some control, that and get healthy, and I'm still in the wait and see mode for Moss, who I think was the worthless piece thrown in, but I digress. The trade has been OK, for the Pirates, it was a complete failure for the Yankees (haha!), but it has been Gold for the Red Sox and Jay-Bay who is making a run at making it back-to-back seasonal MVP's for the Red Sox Affiliate.

The first major move by Huntington and Company, had most everyone in Pittsburgh second guessing his scouting savvy. His managerial prowess of assessing the future stars for the franchise from players still in professional diapers spitting up on themselves, gurgling, and doing it all over again and calling it progress, has most of us scratching our heads. But, we give him the benefit of the doubt because it doesn't seem as if he's trying to make progress for progresses sake. Maybe it's because he looks so much like the kid on MAD magazine that we look the other way when he starts analyzing the trade market or available free agents (craig monroe?). Or, it could've been the contract extensions he gave to the Pirates "Core" Players four months ago, that we all figured Hunt and Co. are headed in the right direction and have the right idea for the future of the currently miserable franchise.

Signing Ryan Doumit and Paul Maholm were big deals for us. It signalled the end of a losing era, the beginning of a bright future from 2 above average players who were ready to take one more step to start calling themselves all-stars. Hell, even fantasy experts started to agree with that assessment, ranking Ryan Doumit in the top 8 of catchers and maholm, well maholm didn't get the best ranking #81 for starting pitchers, but he was the best ranked pirates pitcher since Jason Schmidt. Then just when there was a peep of rejoicing the Pirates signed Nate "the great" McClouth to a multi-year deal and solidifying him as the face of our franchise and my peep upgraded to a hollow belch. His ranking was in the top 15 of outfielders, ranking him ahead of ichiro, crawford, upton, abreu, etc., and make people (me especially) to start praising the work of the Pirates front office and can't wait to see what will happen after we get that 17th consecutive losing season(you all know it was going to happen regardless). I was thinking .500 was right around the corner in 2010, the playoffs in 2012 and beyond. But, my burping parade was smothered with a fistful of lemons and my hopes of a .500 season dashed as I can faintly hear Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" as an anthem towards the remainder of the Pirates season after Hunt n Co. traded away "...your best all around player..." as stated by Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson.

Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke...say hello to your 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates! Atleast thats when they are projected to POSSIBLY make a difference in our franchise. Gorkys Ma-Morkys is playing very well in Double A ball and was the Braves number 4 ranked prospect. Locke, the 7th ranked prospect out of the Braves system, is kind of struggling in A ball, but is left handed, so that makes him valuable despite his 5+ ERA and his worse than 2-1 strike out to walk ratio (43 K's/26 BB's) . Morton is another story all together. He wasn't even ranked, but he is dominating triple A and should be seen in a pirates uniform in the coming month, barring any injury. He's got the frame of a pitcher at 6'4", and throws a mid-90's fastball and is crushing triple A hitters with a 7-2 record, 2.51 ERA and 55 K's to 16 BB's. He's 25, so he's in that stage where he's still young but his window of opportunity is closing. Not as quickly as the Pirates 2009 season, but still it's not as bright as it used to be.

Now, I have to question...Why even give Nate that extension if you were just going to trade him away? It's not as if the Pirates aren't financially stable that we have to unload contract after contract. The front office has been making strides in so many directions. They have invested in expanding over seas, have been building a brand new training facility in the dominican, have shown us how eager they are to put a winning product in the most beautiful stadium in baseball. Why then would they put so much of pittsburgh.500 baseball hope on Nates slender 5'11" frame only to give it away to the team who is so good at destroying pittsburgh baseball dreams (NLCS '91&'92). I can't help but invision Nate making the game winning slide in the bottom of the 9th inning mirroring Sid Bream's gloriously mocking smile as Nate hands us our 82nd loss of the 2009 season and once again dashes my pittsburgh baseball hopes and dreams and for the 17th time in 17 years I toast to the future of my God-Damned Pirates Baseball team, always to the future, never to the next series or the next game as it should, always to the future. I give my silent toast, raise my empty Iron City can, strike up the band and turn up the volume on "::bum:: ::bum:: ::bum:: ::ah:: Another one Bites the Dust!"

Gotta love that Pirates baseball!

2 More Weeks of New Hot Chicks

Everyone hop over to my blog to vote on this week's batch of lovely ladies.

VOTE!

Come on people, voting is low this week. Marisa Miller is hot, so take 5 minutes to vote for her!

AAAA Baseball at its Best

I went to the Nationals / Pirates game last night and was treated to quite a pitcher's duel(ha). The Pirates have won 5 straight games, but winning 3 straight against the Nats is like beating a blind kid in a seeing contest. Anyway, here's a recap of my night:

5:30 - Leave work and hope to get home by 550 so we can leave for the 7 oclock game at 6.
5:45 - Hit horrendous traffic.
6:05 - Arrive home in an extremely bad mood, not even caring if I go or not anymore.
6:10 - Leave anyway, without directions to the parking lot where we prepaid to park in, expecting to arrive around 6:40.
6:40 - Have been sitting in stand still traffic because of an accident. At least at this point, it is laughable.
7:05 - Game starts, I am not there. Why can't they start at 730??
7:20 - Finally get into the city, but now I can't find the parking lot, and GPS cannot help me.
7:40 - Find the parking lot that was labeled poorly after driving around the Capitol Building 3 times.
7:41 - Kick myself because the lot is right off the offramp that comes into the city.
7:50 - Arrive at the stadium after about a 10 minute walk (yes I paid 18 dollars to walk 10 minutes to the stadium). Oh, and I saw free parking right next to the lot I was in.
7:51 - Enter the gates and see on the scoreboard outside that it's only the bottom of the 2nd inning...Oh baseball and its slowness. This is when I first notice the large number of people with Pirates hats and jerseys on. The vendors outside the gate were selling as much Pirate gear as Nats...
7:55 - Get food before we get to our seats because we are famished. Some Pirates fans see my Pens shirt and yell "GO PENS." I smile.
8:00 - Get to the seats in the beautiful stadium (no sarcasm). It really is a nice place, just a severe lack of fans. There are a mix of Nats and Pirates fans around me, but not many people at all. I am in the lower section, about 30 rows behind third base. Definitely great seats.
8:00-9:35ish - Neither team can muster up much offense as both teams had their aces on the mound. It is a 1-1 game going to the top of the 9th, and Leigh begins to get anxious. She refuses to stay past 1015, so I guess this game better end soon.
9:40 - Thank God for Joel Hanrahan. He loaded the bases with 1 out, and after Brandon Moss couldn't get the run home, Hanny threw a wild pitch (which followed about 10 pitches in the dirt, one had to get by eventually) and the Pirates scored their second run. Pirates fans stood up and cheered, and Nats fans began to leave.
9:50 - Enter Matt Capps. Leigh is excited because the game will end soon, but I warn her that Capps is terrible and this could go to extra's. After giving up a hit and me thinking the game was over, he gets a double play inducing ground ball, and things are looking up. In steps Willingham, who is struggling but definitely has some pop. Well Capps lays a fat one in there and Willy crushes it. I haven't seen a home run in person in a looong time, so from my angle this looked way gone. I groaned to myself as I realized I probably wouldn't get to watch the end of the game, but luckily the ball fell JUST short and Nate was able to snare it. The 3 very loud drunk Nats fans booed their team and yelled sarcastically "damn, this is so surprising!" And other similar phrases. I feel bad for them...maybe we can let them win 1 game this series.
10:00 - Actually left when I had hoped we would, and the drive home was much more pleasant.

Oh, one other note that I forgot - Sean Burnett came in in like the 8th, pitched to a lefty, gave up a hit or walk or something, and was pulled. I figured it was for a righty to match up with the next hitter...then I noticed the hitter was a lefty and Grabow was coming in. Wow, John Russell has a lot of confidence in Burnett...


In semi-related news, my friend Haley, who probably only Ryan knows and who Kevin had a thing for, got Ian Snell's phone number 2 nights ago at the bar she works at. She is short and curvy, and decently attractive and works at a bar that promotes hot girls. She dances in beer baths and stuff...Anyway, she didn't even know who Snell was, she just said she got a Pirates' phone number and his name was Ian...Nice. She did disclose the fact that she has a bf to him, so good for her I guess...I hope something comes out of it though, because it would be pretty cool to be in with a major leaguer.

UPDATE: Here's what Haley told me: "He's pretty attractive, I was tempted, seeing he has like a 9 million dollar contract, but i didn't even know he was a baseball player until one of the periogies told me who he was! More importantly I met Oliver Onion Perogie and i"m gonna go root for him tonight at the game, ha. I may or may not text Ian and say good luck, just to see. He said he would fly me out to parties in Houston and Miami, I'd be down for that ;)" Good stuff.