That's great news about Bagwell. He was a very good player.

I think this begining of baseball season has a couple teams doing great, but most haven't gotten out of the gate yet. Yesterday at work a co-worker and I were discussing New York City with our boss. Her dad once lived in Harlem, and I said how much I love the city. I also mentioned about how horrible The Orioles are, and with him being an Oriole fan he took offense..haha. He called me a Yankee fan....hahaha. I said I have no team I root for, I just love baseball. I'll flick the channels looking for games, but don't really have any team I want to win. How ironic that now The Orioles and Nationals have created 2 sports stations, MASN and MASN2 that play all Orioles and Nationals game. Yeah right, NOW they play Nationals games.

With the weather being crappy it's hard to get into the baseball feeling. It's supposed to be sunny and 80, not raining and 40. I gotta find another hottie to latch onto so I can enjoy baseball again.

It was actually snowing here Thursday night while the Yankees were playing, little snow squalls. One of them came down so thick and fast that I could barely see my Jeter at the plate!!!

Thanks, ladies!

SB, here's hoping both our teams are headed for a turnaround of some sort, hopefully sparked by their recent wins.

What an eventful day today was!!

Astros
I went to tonight's Astros game, which ended up being our first win of the season! I would've mentioned earlier that I was going, but I was super-superstitious in their current condition, so I didn't want to say a thing.

Anyway, the game was great. It was beautiful just to be back in Minute Maid after a whole offseason away, but the win made it so much sweeter. We got to witness homers by Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman, the first of the season for both, and Oswalt pitched a terrific complete game. I get the feeling he was not about ready to pass it over to the bullpen - we're better off with him handling the whole thing himself.

Not only did this game have an emotional impact on me as it always does, this time, it had a physical impact. We chose the stairs over the escalators to leave the ballpark, and I ended up tripping on the second to last staircase we had to go through. It was dark, and my mind was focused on other things - actually, I think I was listening in on someone chatting with a friend about the Cardinals' record - and I thought I was at the end of the steps when I wasn't. I ended up falling, and I messed my ankle up. I don't guess I twisted it, but something didn't land the right way. I was able to walk on it, but with a limp, and it's now swollen. I am just so grateful it wasn't worse. I may not be an athlete, but I still like using my feet. Anyway, how exciting for all of this to happen at a baseball stadium!

I can't get the images to work, but here's a link to a few photos from the game: LINK

300
My cousin has talked about this at school constantly, quoting the movie and attempting to act out some of the moves. I laughed so much at his impressions that I didn't know what I would think of the movie, but I finally got to watch it today. I know I'm way behind when it comes to cinema, but this thing was great. The action, visuals, story, were all incredible. Not to mention the sexy Spartans. I would refrain from being a typical girl, but I understand Bethie is a fan of Gerard Butler, who plays the central character of King Leonidas, so this is very necessary to cover. Bethie, have you seen it??

It's great you get to see Astos games. I have every chance in the world to go to Orioles games, but can't bring myself to do it. :lo:

While I love Gerald Butler I don't think 300 would be one of my kinds of films. Maybe I could just freeze the frames where he's walking around1/2 nekked. I'll just have to watch POTO over and over.

-------------------------
The Gangster BB Times
04/08/07

Leaving the Astro's game Saturday I noticed all the usuals after a ball game. The Astros got their first win thus the crowd's mood was one of celebration. Empty plastic beer bottles were plentiful and the smell of peanut shells, old hot dogs and nachos filled my nose.
I noticed a certain superfan making her way to the exit with the help of her compatriots. She was badly hobbled and had the look of a warrior after a great battle. I noticed her limp and could not help but TRY and get a few words out of her....

--Excuse me, are you a player...(I asked)

No, no, I just crush a lot.(she replied)

--Well, that ankle looks bad. Are you really shook up about it?

It's been a pretty emotional few days for all of us considering Jeff[Bagwell's retirement ceremony] and now us finally getting a win today. You just gotta go out there and give 110 every time, we'll see what happens.

--Yes, well your ankle specifically...are you going to 'B' ready for the next game?

Well, watching Roy O's complete game inspired all of us today....you just gotta put these things behind you and move on.

--Do you think your injury will effect the team's performance?

My boys are tough, man. This team is all heart, we're not gonna let a little ankle injury bog us down.

--Does it hurt, are you in great pain right now?

Yes, but I've got a whole bunch of Zeppelin videos at home to watch that I've never seen, so...it's all gravy, baby.

--Will we hear anything more about the injury....?



......But just as I tried to get that last awnser out of her, a large Italian man named Bruno shuffled me aside and the interview was over as quickly as it began. Apparently the hobbled superfan had to rush home to do stat homework and eat Americone-Dream ice cream.

Ah well, the life of a superfan. So rare to actually find one in public and even rarer to get a few words out of them. This reporter shall treasure this interview forever. Here's to the superfan.

-------------------------

Gina, are you OK?!?!?!?!?

How was Easter for all my ladies? Is the ankle doing ok Gina? Hopefully you were able to put ice on it and the swelling went down.

It was good at my sister's house with all 3 babies together. It's strange. When Joshua was born he had a head of dark hair. I think some of the pictures I posted showed his black hair. Then it all fell out, but now it's growing back in. And he's blonde..hahaha. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Christopher has brown hair, now Joshua has blonde hair, and baby Natalie has red hair..haha. Her father has a tint of red hair. You can't notice it because he's a former Marine and his hair is cut really short, but that's where Natalie gets her red hair from. Now we have one of each.

Beth, Sounds like a nice day. I am just exhausted because I had dinner for 12 here. AND the Yankees lost, to add to it!!

Gina, glad that you got to go to the game, but sorry about your ankle! Hope your "back on your feet" soon!!

Oh, I'd say more than half, Bethie. Not that I analyzed that. I was focused on the plot.

Thanks, ladies, for the good wishes. I wore a super-tight brace today, and I'm now certain that I would've been better off without the support it provided than with it squeezing the life out of me.

Ice, that was hilarious! I still haven't gotten any Americone Dream, but the Stats homework, Zeppelin, the Astros comments...great stuff! Thanks.

Best wishes to your boys tonight, SB. Mine already finished up at Wrigley - three afternoon games in a row this week, then they're off Thursday!! I'll have to work on my teachers to give me some updates, or just bring in a radio. haha I did catch the end of today's, and scrappy little Adam Everett got a 2-run homer to put us ahead 5-3 for the win!

I feel ashamed that this qualifies as such good news, but we've replaced Brad Lidge with Dan Wheeler as our new closer. Lidge...I don't know what he needs, whether it's rest, practice, or therapy, but what he's been doing has not worked. I feel terrible for him, but it's time for someone else to take over. I think he's supposed to do middle relief now.

My boys just won, too, Gina!! It's always a good day when both our teams win, isn't it?? Beth, we definitely need to find you a team to root for. What if Gerald Butler gave up acting and started playing baseball??

I hope that your all recovered soon, Gina. I remember spraining my ankle when I was 7 months pregnant. It was awful. Because of the uneven distribution of weight, the swelling didn't go down until my daughter was about two weeks old. I had to wear these old backless shoes because they were the only ones that fit at the time. When my ankle finally got back to normal size, Mr. Babe made me throw them out!!

Gi, I hope your ankle gets better soon! Ankle/leg injuries are the worst.

And SB, how scary to have gotten hurt while you were pregnant! Thank God everything ended up okay. I always get so worried when I see pregnant women out excercising and stuff, or even going up and down stairs or walking downhill or whatever. I mean I know they can work out and act normal, but I don't know, it just looks scary.

Anyway, I have some sad fantasy news... I'd gotten up to 2nd place in the Yahoo basketball game, but due to some poor strategy, I sank to 5th just this week alone. But hey, I was 2nd for a few weeks! Ahead of DB, JG, DM, and Ice! Imagine that. I didn't say anything or even post over there because, you know... the jinx vibes are strong. But a fat lot of good that did me... anyway, now there are a few days left and I'm losing for sure, so I can mention it now. Just wanted to share my temporary triumph!

By the way, I haven't been around in a few weeks... I missed you guys! And now that it's baseball season, I guess we'll be seeing more of each other in this thread, at least I hope so! Happy baseball season!

ZIA!!!! How nice to see you back!!! You've been missed.

And it is nice to see the Ladies back, isn't it?? For me, it's always nice to see Jeter back!

Sorry about the BB bb league! Darn JG! If I know him, he had something to do with it! j/k

I will tell you a funny story. The first time I met my in-laws, my sister-in-law was 8 months pregnant. I was talking to Mr. Babe's mom about being a grandma for the first time, and she said that everything was going great, she was excited, etc. However, she told me that her daughter-in-law was afraid of falling. My m-i-l said, "I told her that when I was pregnant, I used to fall all the time, and her husband came out just fine. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that explains a lot...."

Cute story, SB. Sprained ankle while pregnant?! That must've been terrible! I can't imagine.

ZIA!!! SO good to see you. I've missed you being around!

My condolences regarding fantasy...that sucks. But hey, they know full well what the chick is capable of, now, right?

And yes, a happy baseball season it is!

The Yankees are in serious trouble. Now both Mussina and Wang are on the DL. Thank goodness it's only April. The Moose only lasted 43 pitches before he had to leave the mound. He has a pulled hamstring. And I was so happy to have some potentially decent pitching for once.

Sorry about your Yanks SB. That's one plus to not really rooting for a team. You dont' feel the tremendous let down when they do bad. I actually used to be an Oriole fan, Nicole was too. I used to take her to games. But when the owner doesn't give a crap about the team, why should you. Just watching a little of it on tv and seeing the half empty stadium, just a few weeks into the season is sad.

Look at these two grown up lads. This was taken at easter. It was at my sister and brother in law's house that Nicole and I went to The Nationals game with a few years ago. My BIL asked me again the name of the Nationals player I liked. I disgressed! He's a man without a team. If the next words out of his mouth would have been, "We were going to go to a Nats game" I would have exploded. But they're die hard Orioles fans.

Nice pic Beth. I didn't even realize it was baseball season. I'll have to see how the tribe is doing.

Well, now Pavano is missing his next start because he strained his forearm or some such stupid thing. And they're playing in Oakland now, which means that the games won't start until 10:00 here. What are the chances I'll see more than the first inning? I hate when they play in CA!!

Beth, they are too adorable!! Even though little girls look cute when they're dressed up, little girls wear dresses a lot. But little boys look so precious when they're dressed up, probably because it's so seldom.

I remember when I put my boys in little sailor suits and Becky in sailor dresses.

The Tribe is 5-3. The beat the White Sox today 4-0 YEA!!!!

Good for your boys, Miggy! No such luck for mine today. Those Phillies are relentless. I can't believe we've had the offense to even claim a chance in these games - it's like everything's flipped from what it's supposed to be for us, with better offense and worse pitching.

Carlos Lee has been spectacular. He hit three homers last night, one being a grand slam. I envy whoever had him for fantasy. He also made a great play in today's game, an incredible catch up against the wall. Besides doing well on the field, it seems he's fitting in well with the team already. He and Lance Berkman look like they've hit it off. Then again, Lance makes conversation with anybody, including anyone of the opposing team. But I'm very happy to have El Caballo. We already have a group of fans in Minute Maid that bring stick horses and hold up a sign that says "Los Caballitos" for him. My first thought regarding horses is the Godfather, but perhaps that wouldn't go over as well, would it?

Well, the Yankees are tied 3-3 in the 8th against Oakland. I can't believe that I'm awake - I usually never get past the first few innings when they play on CA time. Glad they're in CA, though. There's a nasty storm headed this way, so they would definitely be rained out if they were playing locally.

Jeter just made the most incredible catch, got it to Phelps at first, and it bounced right out of Phelps glove. SO frustrating.

Still tied, SB! Hope you stay awake!

I've had to fight falling asleep the past two games, and they weren't even late - only because I got behind on sleep during the school week. I hate watching a game like that...I'm so afraid I'll miss something. Next time I need to watch it standing up, or go stick my head in the freezer to keep myself awake.

Our new sports network here in Baltimore, MASN plays classic games of Orioles and Nationals. Since both those team's games are cancelled today they're showing a classic Nationals game. Would it kill these guys to play a game when Vinny was on the team.

It must not be raining that hard in Cleveland cuz it's the top of the 5th and the Tribe is winning 2-0.

I think I had told Gina once in an email that I have a niece getting married at the end of May. With her and her fiance's love of The Ravens they're having a football theme wedding. All the ladies and groomsmen will walk down the aisle wearing Ravens Jerseys. My daughter is in the wedding, and she is wearing Todd Heap's number. I just got my invitation for the wedding. They're actually football tickets. I don't know how they did that.

Well, the Yankees won last night, although I didn't see it. Then today, they were up 4-2 in the 9th and Mo gave up a three run home run. Game over!! They are NOT having a good year.

But now The Sopranos are about to start!! Have to go watch!

That sucks about The Yankees. It's been a strange season so far, what with all the rainouts too.

I took a pic of my nieces wedding invitations. Now I can say I've seen everything.


http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t258/Crabcake_1/DSC01131.jpg

The Tribe won 2-1 YEA!!

Beth,
I like that idea,that's cute.

At least someone's team won today. WTG Miggie.

Since I showed pics of the boys, here was baby Natalie at Easter, with my mom in the background.

Joshua is to have his second surgery for his bladder problems on May 16 and will be in the hospital 3-5 days. Originally it was planned for July but the doctor doesn't want to wait that long. Please remember him in prayer.

There must be something in the water. My daughter went to an Orioles game. And they're not playing The Yankees. A friend had an extra ticket so I guess she figured a free night out is ok. I don't expect her to come home cheering, "Let's go Orioles" though...haha.