The Acme of Foolishness

Someone buy this woman a beer.

2006-09-14T08:57:00.000-04:00

You know, I've got a four-and-a-half month old baby at home who only weighs a few ounces more than this baby does.

Yeesh.

Hmmm... I wonder.

2006-09-12T09:13:00.000-04:00

Is J.T. the Brick an obnoxious asshole because he's an Oakland Raiders/New York Yankees fan, or is he an Oakland Raiders/New York Yankees fan because he's an obnoxious asshole?

Road trip to the Ted

2006-09-09T13:30:00.000-04:00

The Tommy and I are going to Atlanta to see the Braves and Cubs tonight, compliments of my wife (to you other wives out there: baseball tickets make great birfday gifts). It's likely to be my last game this year, so I plan on making the most of it.

The official Braves site has Chuckie James pitching against Wade Miller, who's making his first start of the season. Should be a good game.

Acme Album of the Week

2006-09-05T08:42:00.000-04:00

I put Concrete Blonde's Bloodletting in my car stereo about eight days ago and it hasn't seen the light of day since. I am seriously trying to wear the damn thing out, kinda like the first couple of cassettes of this album I owned back in the pre-CD days of old.

If you're not familiar with the band, I suggest you become familiar. I suggest you do so with this album. It's their strongest collection of songs, with "Joey" and "Tomorrow, Wendy" being two of the best songs the band ever recorded, in my humble opinion (and we all know that's worth exactly $1.12).

So go listen to it, dammit. You'll like it.

Labor Day

2006-09-02T07:40:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to be a three day weekend for me. It's not. I get to work all weekend; hell, I guess that's why they call it "Labor Day".

I'm on call today; best estimate I was given was "sometime between 5:00 p.m. this afternoon and 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning". I'm not amused.

Tomorrow isn't quite as bad. Stupposedly, I'll be heading in around my normal time, even though I should be OFF tomorrow night. Again, I am not amused.
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We did manage to get our softball game in Thursday night. Had our collective asses handed to us, but didn't play badly-- just ran into a really good team. I went 0-2, but my second AB was a sac fly that drove in two runs. We calls that "situational hitting" where I comes from.

Stupid rain

2006-08-31T08:58:00.000-04:00

Our first softball game of the season was rained out Tuesday night; it's not looking so hot for tonight, either.

I think it's time for the Athens Parks & Recreation Department to build a dome, so's I can play some ball when it's raining.

I've misplaced last week. Have you seen it?

2006-08-27T06:38:00.000-04:00

Damn, I can't believe I've let an entire week get away from me again; I swore I'd be better about posting-- at least every couple of days. But stupid work got in the way. Lucky me had an entire week of trying to keep up with three shift's worth of work, all by meself. Going in early every night and staying over all but one morning still has me in a hole that'll take another day or two to dig out of. Oh well.
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I've somehow allowed myself to be talked into playing softball for the work-sponsored team. Coming in from the outfield and will attempt to play first base. I've never played the infield in my life, so it ought to be interesting.

Be careful where you poop in Vegas

2006-08-19T07:12:00.000-04:00

Las Vegas city officials have made it illegal to sleep within 500 feet of urine or feces.

What are they going to do next: take away a fellow's huggy pillow and Batman pee-jays?

I'm so money, baby!

2006-08-18T22:33:00.000-04:00

It's official: The Acme of Foolishness is now setting the standard for top search engine results.

The visitor stats I use here at the AoF allow me to see the referring URLs to the site. It's rather interesting to check these from time to time, just to see what people are looking for and how it occasionally leads to me.

Today was a big day. An individual found me via a Google search. This search resulted in about 151,000 hits-- and little ol' me was the top result. Number One. Best site on the internet. Yep. This is big news for a blog that averages about four visits per day.

Of course, I should point out the fact that said person was looking for "horseshit balls the game". (Check it out for yourself if you don't believe me; even I can't make up this stuff.)

But Number One, is Number One, dammit and you can't take that away from me.

Goodbye, Ms. Ono!

2006-08-15T17:01:00.000-04:00

Hooray, divorce!

Black Crowes front man Chris Robinson and his harpy wife, Kate "Yoko Ono" Hudson are splitting up! She caused much strife between Chris and his brother Rich, which led to the demise of the Black Crowes. I've had a severe mad-on for her ever since, to the point of not being able to watch one of her movies without constant mutterings of disgust and dislike.

I can only hope the brothers kiss and make up and get the Crowes back together.

Hit-and-run between the hash marks

2006-08-13T04:53:00.000-04:00

So your defense is having a bit of trouble stopping your opponent's passing game? Titans coach Jeff Fisher has developed an innovative new defensive scheme: having the mascot run over the opposing quarterback with a golf cart.

Ah, that Jeff Fisher is one crafty fellow.

Know why television sucks nowadays?

2006-08-10T12:05:00.000-04:00

Television has simply not been the same since those bastards cancelled The Richard Bey Show.

Check out his website and relive those blessed memories of "The Mr. Punyverse" contest.

American television at its finest, my friends. Its absolute finest.

File under: What the hell?!

2006-08-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

It's official: Maurice Clarett is as crazy as the proverbial shit house rat.

Blogger Oogie-Boogie Man

2006-08-08T20:20:00.000-04:00

Beware the Blogger Oogie-Boogie man: he'll eat your blog. Fortunately, he sometimes spits it out.

I've been trying to post for over a week now, but my username and password seemed to no longer exist. As in, Blogger had no record of either. I had all but left my poor blog for dead, but decided to log in this morning, just. one. more. time.

And I got in.

Hooray and such.
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I find it ironic that the words "blog" and "blogger" aren't in Blogger's spell check lexicon.

2006-07-31T08:29:00.000-04:00

Taken directly from the Braves site:

With Aybar's arrival, the Braves may have found themselves a legitimate leadoff hitter who could fill that role for many years to come. They immediately put the 23-year-old switch hitter at the top of Sunday's lineup and moved both Marcus Giles and Edgar Renteria down one spot in the lineup. The move allows Giles to return to the second spot of the order, where he'd found more comfort in the past.

Kinda makes me wonder if a Chipper Jones trade is planned in the offseason, or perhaps a scenario involving him moving to first base and Adam Laroche moving on to another team is more likely?

2006-07-30T07:53:00.000-04:00

Tim Hudson is really good on my MVP Baseball 2005 game. But he kinda sucks in real life.

Thoughts on the Betemit trade

2006-07-29T06:47:00.000-04:00

Keeping in mind that I don't know a great deal about Danys Baez or Willy Aybar, nor do I closely follow the Braves minor league system (so I don't know who's "up and coming" in the near future), I can't really say I'm pleased with the Wilson Betemit trade. Here's why.

With each passing day, Chipper Jones reinforces the point that he's an "old" 34. His games played per season have steadily fallen since 2003. He couldn't handle the punishment in left field and I don't think his body is able to withstand the rigors of playing third base anymore. I'll give you the fact that he's still a productive player, but only when he's on the field. Not when he's warming the bench or the disabled list. Personally, I'd trade Chipper in the offseason. (No, I'm not much of a Larry Wayne fan.) If you're a sentimentalist, give him a first baseman's mitt and see what he can do on the other corner of the field and send Adam LaRoche packing. Either way, Betemit is the starting three bee-er in 2007; he's younger, he's cheaper, he's healthier, and he's signed through 2010.

Or:

Marcus Giles is a pretty good second baseman. He sucks as a lead-off hitter. Edgar Renteria has made me forget about ol' "what's his name" who used to play short in Atlanta. He's a natural two hole guy. So's Giles. In my mind, one of them has got to go before next season. Betemit is a solid lead-off guy. He plays a pretty good second base. Marcus is traded; problem solved.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm looking at next year, and we've got the rest of this season and a wild card spot to worry about now. Wilson Betemit has been a great player off the bench. He's also been great filling in for the previously mentioned, oft-injured Chipper Jones. And correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't he filled in for Marcus as well? Did we just throw the baby out with the bath water?

It's all a moot point now. We've got a prospect type player who's not as far along, development-wise, as Wilson is, and some bullpen help who'll probably move on to greener pastures next season. The one good thing in all this is the fact that Wilson finally gets a shot at being an every day player. Methinks JS got fleeced on this deal; I can only hope I'm proved wrong.

Edit: I just read that Chipper is day to day after hurting himself again(!) last night. I hope the clubhouse staff is able to get this Aybar kid's jersey ready in time for this afternoon's game, 'cause it sounds like we'll need a third baseman.

2006-07-19T08:52:00.000-04:00

If I could choose one person on the planet to hang out with and talk baseball, it'd be Mr. Buck O'Neil. I could sit and listen to the guy talk for days.

Along with being one of the classiest guys to ever play the game, Buck is now the oldest man to ever play; read about it here.

2006-07-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

Check it out: two posts in less than twelve hours! Hooray me!

Stopped at the Wal-Mart this morning. We needed a few things. Since you may be wondering exactly what was needed at the ol' homestead, here's a list:

Coffee Creamer (the powdery type.)

Half-and-half (I've stopped adding sugar to my coffee, so I prefer the liquidy goodness of half-and-half.)

Kleenex (I'm tired of blowing my nose on TP, dammit.)

Fruit (Plums were the choice of the day at only 99 cents a pound.)

I don't like Wal-Mart in principle, but it's hard to argue with a place that's open at 7:15 in the morning, which happens to be the time I'm allowed to leave work. I never go during the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., however. Much too crowded with "Wal-Mart shoppers", and those people tend to frighten me.
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Been kinda keeping up with the Kansas City Royals ever since Dayton Moore became general manager. Does anyone know of some good Royals blogs they'd like to suggest? Anyone?

2006-07-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

Hadn't realized how long it's been since I last posted. The baby and I are watching the Braves and Cards; it's 13-1 at the moment. Connor got bored and fell asleep; I thought I'd spend a few minutes on the ol' interweb.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. Bored is good. Sweeping a series (San Diego) is good. All seems right in Atlanta-- for the moment, anyway.

Barring a major meltdown or serious injuries, the Mets won't be caught. A 12 game lead with a team playing as well as the Mets currently are is basically a done deal. The wild card is a realistic and reachable goal, however, and I'll gladly settle for that.
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I actually felt bad for Dusty Baker last night. The Cubs were applying a 5-0 beat-down on the Mets when I left for work; my day-shift counterpart and fellow resident baseball fan comes in this morning and tells me the Cubs gave up two grandslams in the same inning. Ouch.
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Master Conner has decided he's no longer sleepy and wants to sit in my lap and "help". I've explained to him that balancing a wobbly baby in my lap whilst pecking out words on a keyboard one-handed isn't helpful, but he doesn't believe me. Good thing he's so cute. Of course, that's been helpful for his mama all these years, as well.

2006-07-04T07:42:00.000-04:00

The things I enjoyed best about last night's game:

*The Braves managed a win against a decent team.
*Watching the Cardinals getting beat.
*Smoltz picked up a win.
*The bullpen didn't blow the win. Again.
*Scott Thorman played first base.
*Adam LaRoche didn't play first base.
*Tony LaRussa's team got beat.
*Wilson Betemit got a start.
*A team, managed by Tony LaRussa, was beat.
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What the hell's the deal with all the away team fans in Atlanta?! It didn't sound as bad as the fan ratio during the Red Sox series, but there were an awful lot of Cardinal fans cheering in the stands last night.

Jeez- Atlanta fans really do suck.

2006-07-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

This morning begins Day Two of a nine day stay from work. And it is good.

I gotta tell you, as I walked out the front door and headed down the sidewalk to my car yesterday morning, I had flashbacks of being in elementary school. Remember that great feeling on the last day of class before the Christmas break? I'd forgot all about it- until yesterday.

Not got a whole lot planned for my vacation. Gonna spend some time with the baby and wife; it'll be nice to spend normal person, day-shift time with them. Plan on catching a couple of ball games as well. Tommy and I are heading to Chattanooga tomorrow, and I hope to finally make it up to Kodak one day next week to see the Smokies play the Biscuits.
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How 'bout that Atlanta pen last night?

2006-06-28T09:53:00.000-04:00

It was really nice to see the Braves do all of the little things right last night and pick up a win against the Yankees. I was especially impressed by another strong outing from Horacio. He doesn't have elite stuff, but he's been able to string together a couple of strong outings and has been one of Atlanta's more reliable pitchers of late.
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Last night was the first time I've really had a chance to see Kyle Farnsworth pitch for New York. Is it just me, or does he look a lot smaller than he did last season? Of course, he still seems to wilt under any type of pressure. Always has. Always will.

2006-06-18T16:18:00.000-04:00

Tommy and I made our way down to Atlanta yesterday to see the Red Sox slap around the Braves.

I should have recognized an omen for what it was; as I opened the door at seven o'clock in the morning, I found Tommy on my back porch in a Boston cap. Of the 49,000 fans in attendance of yesterday's game, myself and approximately 17 others were there in support of the home team. A sad state of affairs if ever I've seen a sad state of affairs.

I'm sure part of the "Southern Red Sox Nation" I saw was made up of New England transplants-- but only a small portion. I'm sure most of those folks have never been north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The Red Sox aren't on a nationally broadcast superstation (like the Cubs and Braves) to create fans in various parts of the country. After discussing the phenomenon with Tommy at great length whilst stewing our brains in the hot Atlanta sun, I chalked most of them up to being band-wagon fans. You can draw your own conclusions. All I know is that it's pretty sad when a fella is in the minority while in his team's home ballpark...

I won't even go into the specifics of the game: it was simply more of the same. At least they weren't blown out. I did have a good time though, even with the heat, the sun, the sunburn, and the annoying kid sitting next to me who whined, bitched, pissed, moaned, and cried during the entire game. (She didn't want to be there. Her father apparently told her that before the game, but she came anyway.) I don't feel too bad mentioning this kid annoying the hell out of me, because she drove her old man crazy too. He got up during the fifth inning and switched seats with his wife so he wouldn't have to listen to her. I wasn't so lucky.

Speaking of the heat: I've never been to a ball game when it was too hot to drink beer. Until yesterday. I didn't even think it possible, but all I wanted was water.
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So, we're shooting for last place in the division tonight. It's good to have goals, isn't it?

2006-06-15T08:46:00.000-04:00

It's almost time for my first baseball game of the 2006 season; Tommy and I are heading down to Atlanta bright and early Saturday morning for the afternoon Braves/Red Sox game.

To be honest, I'm more excited about a road trip with a friend and the opportunity to see Boston play in person than I am about witnessing the train wreck that Braves baseball has become. Face it- they're a horseshit ball club right now. They cannot seem to do anything right and could very well be in last place by the first of next week.

Last night's game is a bitter pill I'm still trying to choke down. As of yesterday morning, the Marlins had a .038 winning percentage when scoring three or fewer runs. The Braves were winning 5-2 in the 8th freaking inning (notice the Marlins scoring three or fewer runs?), yet they still managed to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory. We had it all: piss-poor relief work. Shoddy defense. Guys striking out with the bases loaded. Andruw strikes out on a 89 mph ~~cheese~~ fast ball after being saddled with two strikes on check swings?! And then you've got Jeff Francoeur's "pitcher throws ball, I swing for the fences" approach to hitting, when a simple. base. hit. would've brought in the winning run! Enough, already!

Like I said, I'm not ready to mail the 2006 season in just yet. But I'm looking for my stamps.

2006-06-10T09:29:00.000-04:00

If it weren't for the fact that the Cubs are still safely identifiable stinking up Wrigley Field, I'd swear we've been the butt of a horrible practical joke between the front offices in Chicago and Atlanta.

"Hey, whattaya say I send all my little Cubbies down to Atlanta, put 'em in Braves uniforms, and see how the fans react?"

"Heh, sure. They've gotten complacent from all the years of winning and watching good, fundamental baseball. Let's do it."

This team could be any one of the clubs Chicago has fielded during the past ten years. The strike-outs. The inability to hit with runners in scoring position. The shoddy defense. The lackluster pitching. And don't even get me started about the bullpen.

I'm not ready to put a stamp on this season just yet. But I'm getting close. Face it-- the Braves just aren't a good team right now. I can't imagine JS isn't working feverishly in the background, trying to bolster the bullpen and maybe acquire another starting pitcher. How's about doing something from within the organization to shake things up in the meantime? Maybe bring up a pitcher from the minors and see what he can do; it's not like it could be much worse than what we've already gotten from the current pitching staff.

And how's about asking Wilson Betemit which position he wants to play every day and then let him? Personally, I'd like nothing more than to buy that man a first-baseman's glove with my very own hard-earned dollars and send a certain Mr. LaRoche packing, via trade. Kee-ripes, Wilson's one of the more consistant hitters/fielders this season, and he comes off the damn bench most nights!

Something needs to be done before the season is officially in the toilet, and it needs to be done soon.

2006-06-09T15:33:00.000-04:00

Here's something I just noticed in my fantasy baseball league:

My starting third baseman has accumulated 328 points as of this morning. My second baseman- 325 points.

The funny thing about it? My third baseman is A-Rod, who was the first pick of my draft. My second baseman? It so happens to be one Mr. Dan Uggla, whom I plucked from the waiver wire about a month ago when my original player went on the DL (the DL has been my most productive position so far). Not only are the points nearly identical, but Uggla has been more productive in seven of the twelve scoring categories.

Kinda puts my drafting theories in the toilet, now doesn't it?

2006-06-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I knew it was going to happen. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

The Tennessee Titans traded away their long-time quarterback and face of the franchise yesterday to the stinking Baltimore Ravens. My team has really taken a beating from salary cap issues the past couple of seasons, but this one left a mark. Steve McNair's body has taken more punishment than the average bear can tolerate-- but I still believe he's got a couple of good years left in him. It's a shame he won't be in Nashville to mentor rookie Vince Young.

But why did he have to be traded to Baltimore?! I cannot stand the damn Ravens. The only other team that can dredge up such overwhelming levels of anger and animosity from me is whichever team happens to be saddled with The King of the Egotistical Assholes, Terrell Owens. (Mr. Jerry Jones, I hope your new receiver provides one headache for every dollar he fleeced you for. Schmuck.)

Oh well, I wish Steve luck this season, and for however many more he decides to play. Even if he is a damn Raven.

2006-06-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Read something over at Rowland's Office this morning that I'd like to share with others. Pretty much sums up my feelings on the ballpark experience to a tee. It's good stuff and you should check it out. The Office was one of those straws that broke my camel's back when I was pondering a shift in blogging. The simple fact of the matter was I enjoyed reading their stuff much more than I did in writing my own.

2006-05-28T12:19:00.000-04:00

Really happy to see Horatio pick up the win yesterday. Even though he got himself into trouble a few times, he managed to pitch out of it and stay away from the big inning. I was especially impressed by the nifty defensive plays he turned-- even more so when it was obvious the hammy still isn't one hundred percent.

2006-05-27T07:39:00.000-04:00

And I thought Chicago was having a tough time beating anybody except A.J. Pierzynski. Looks like they're able to beat themselves rather handily, as well.

The Braves didn't look so good yesterday, but a win is a win and I'll take it. Gladly.

You've got to wonder what's going on in that Cubs locker room; they just can't seem to catch a break (or a cut-off throw). Of course, it's hard to catch either when you're playing lazy, sloppy baseball. Mr. Perez, catching the cut-off throw is one of those "baseball fundamentals" one hears about during the course of a season. Ya gotta "execute" in those situations. Otherwise, teams steal a run and you get saddled with a loss.

2006-05-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

I used to be a diehard Chicago Cubs fan. But I got better.

No seriously, I'm still a Cubs fan, even though I now consider myself affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. I'll raise my son to be a Braves fan, although I hope he'll develop an appreciation for the Cubbies from his Uncle Tommy.

The reason for the switch in allegiances? I wish I could give you some deeply profound and spiritual reason, but the simple fact of the matter is that when I got off the dreaded 2nd shift (dum...dum...duuummm) a few years back, I discovered the joy of being able to watch a club on the tele every single day, rather than one or two games a week and box scores on the internet to make up the difference. I discovered the joy of attending a couple of games each season and rooting for the home team. And then there's that whole bit of leaving behind a lifetime's worth of misery, failure, and ineptitude that comes with being a diehard Cubs fan. But I digress...

So a couple of season's worth of daily baseball viewing and short trips into Atlanta has made me a Braves fan.

I still follow the Cubs. I read a couple of Cubs blog regularly. (Damn, but I do miss the Sloth.) I watch 'em on tele when I get a chance, and I always root for them. Except when they play the Braves.

The Braves roll into Chicago this weekend for a three game series and I see the opportunity to gain some ground on the Phils and Mets. Atlanta has handled the Marlins rather handily this season-- and they just finished sweeping the Cubs. Yep, this is a prime opportunity for ground-gaining.

I still root, root, root for the Cubbies.

But not this weekend.

Go Braves!

2006-05-22T10:54:00.000-04:00

It's really hard to type one-handed.

Why would you need to type one-handed, you might ask?

Because the other hand is occupied, holding a sleeping, grunting, gassy baby.

Consider this: my son sleeps when he wants to. He screams his little baby head off and people scramble to fix his breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack. He gets to watch baseball every day. He doesn't need to waste time going to the bathroom: he simply loads his drawers and someone brings him clean ones. Heck, he doesn't even have to wipe his own butt. Someone does that for him, too.

It's good work, if you can get it.
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Finally got around to watching Capote Saturday night. I quite enjoyed it. The only bad thing about the movie? Trying to discuss it with several people at work who didn't know Truman Capote was a real person. Holy Jeebus, what are they teaching our kids in school these days?!

2006-05-21T08:38:00.000-04:00

So the Braves should have no problems winning their 15th consecutive division title-- providing all remaining games are played against the Florida Marlins. Jeez, can they beat anyone else?! How do you blow a 5-0 lead, regain the lead, and then cough it up in the 9th? And I don't even want to think about what Brandon Webb did to them last night.
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Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth's 714 home runs. And I could give a shit.

2006-05-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

If you've got to have a good reason to justify to yourself (or significant other) the purchase of a Playboy (other than wanting to see some air-brushed images of plastic boobies), here's one: the new issue has a pretty good article about John Kruk.
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Just wanted to mention a site dedicated to Hail Caesar!, the Coen brother's new picture. Joel and Ethan are my favorite film guys and I cannot wait for the movie to be released.

2006-05-10T15:47:00.000-04:00

I'm rather happy about the current stretch of games against the Marlins and Nationals; hopefully the Braves will be able to gain some ground in the NL East.

Is there anything more distressing than watching a Marlins home game? The unending rain delays, the 47 fans in the stands, the fact that the team plays in a cavernous football stadium and not a proper baseball field... not pleasant. Not pleasant, at all.

Only saw a bit of last night's game on the tele, due to stupid rain delays. I was pretty happy to see Ron Gant in the booth. I enjoyed him during the Friday night TBS broadcasts last year. Maybe he'll replace the talking head that is Bob Rathbun?
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Just wanted to mention a site dedicated to Hail Caesar!, the upcoming film from the Coen brothers.

2006-05-08T17:37:00.000-04:00

The wife and I have begun sleeping in shifts in order to tend to this little eating/pooping machine we've brought into our home. Since I was in charge of the afternoon shift yesterday, I made the executive decision that the boy and I'd spend said afternoon watching baseball. Needless to say, the Braves/Mets game was highly unusual and very entertaining. We both enjoyed it, although the baby is still struggling with night terrors caused by Jose Lima's yellow afro.
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A little baseball prediction:

My 18-day-old infant will draw a base on balls in the Majors before Jeff Francoeur draws his next.

Jeff- aggressive baseball is fine. Stupid baseball is not. Walk the fine line, brother. Walk it.

2006-05-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

You know what? I'm having a really hard time distinguishing Atlanta Braves baseball from the spatterings of sunshine young Master Connor is leaving in his diaper.

What the hell is going on with this club?!

2006-05-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

Connor Lawrence David West
April 20, 2006
6.91 pounds
20" long

Hard to believe the little guy is almost two weeks old!

Anyway, Baby is doing well. So is Mom, although still sore from the C-section. Dad is exhausted, but loving every minute of it.

2006-04-19T12:20:00.000-04:00

What's better than Kyle Davies throwing a three hit complete game? Him throwing against the stinkin' Mets.

Jeez, he looked sharp last night. Not to mention, he made Carlos Delgado look really, really bad. I loved it. Could it be the pitching staff is starting to right the ship? We've had great outings from Smoltz, Thomson, and now Davies. It's time for Hudson and that Sooser fellow to get it together, and then we'll have us a top-notch pitching staff. Yep.

2006-04-17T16:44:00.000-04:00

I've got two words to describe the new Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper: tas-teee!
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Not sure if it's new or just one I haven't seen yet, but I really enjoyed the ESPN commercial featuring Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin and the University of Florida mascot. Great stuff.

2006-04-15T16:24:00.000-04:00

A lot is being made of the Mets' 8-1 start by the media; I've seen a few of the talking heads declaring Atlanta's dominance of the National League East is over. It's being sold pretty hard, but I'm not ready to buy it.

Granted, the Mets are 8-1. Yes, they did load up during the offseason and the lineup is rather formidable. But they've played the Nationals, the Marlins, and are now knee-deep in a series with the Brewers. I'm sorry, but this is not the cream of the National League crop.

The Braves have a 5-6 record. Not so good. But when one takes into account just how bad Atlanta pitching has been so far, a 5-6 record ain't too shabby. What's going to happen when the pitchers eventually get things on track? I'll tell you what: with decent pitching- not necessarily great pitching- to go along with the offensive numbers the Bravos are putting up will result in many wins for the home team.

Is Atlanta going to be good enough this season to win the East? Who knows. But it seems a bit hasty to be handing the crown to the Mets after only 11 games in a 162 game season. There's still lots of beisbol left, boys and girls. Lots.

2006-04-14T14:45:00.000-04:00

I saw this over at the King of Cartoon's blog and thought I'd run with it:

Go to Wikipedia and look up your birthday (excluding the year). List three events or neat facts, two births and one death, including the year.

Events:

1814 - Battle of North Point: An American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812. Actually, this was the sequel to the War of 1812- the War of 1814.

1846 - Elizabeth Barrett elopes with Robert Browning. The brazen hussy.

1959 - Bonanza premiers. First regulary scheduled television program presented in color. A little known fact: color television- heck, television period- was invented for the sole purpose of entertaining us with Bonanza.

Births:

1931 - George Jones (Our favorite drunk uncle of country music.)

1980 - Yao Ming (The world's tallest Chinese man in the history of tall men.)

Deaths:

2003 - Johnny Cash (No joke about this entry, because it's not funny. The world is not the same without the man in black.)

2006-04-13T15:27:00.000-04:00

So what's the difference between Atlanta Braves pitching and a sack of cat turds?

The sack.

2006-04-10T18:04:00.000-04:00

Taking into account the dazzling Atlanta pitching and a couple of injuries, I suppose a 3-4 record isn't too shabby. The good news is Marcus could play tonight, and Larry Wayne's injury is not season-ending (which I just knew was the case while watching yesterday's game).
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Got my new Braves cap via UPS today. My wife continued to point out that my old 5950 was getting really funky (both in the looks and smells departments). I've been shopping around locally for a new one, but couldn't find a 7 3/4 (I have a large skull to hold my giant brain, hence the need for a large hat). Those fine folks at www.starstruck.com were kind enough to have my size in stock and mailed it to me. It's currently residing upon my desk with a baseball carefully folded into the bill, a giant Guinness rubberband holding it all in check.

Of course, I had to 'splain this to the wife; she isn't wise to the ways (or needs) of a properly broken in ball cap. Thank goodness she's got me here to teach her.

2006-04-08T19:25:00.000-04:00

Looks like there'll be some "new" Johnny Cash music available in stores next month.

2006-04-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

Man, what a night.

Lots of wind, rain, lightning, and a good bit of hail here at the ol' homestead last night. We lost the electricity around 10:30 p.m and didn't get it back until about midnight. I think the really big storms (the ones with the tornadoes) just passed us to the northwest. And I do mean just passed.

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. A lot of folks here in Tennessee lost everything. Eleven people lost their lives. After my six year stint in Middle Tennessee (I graduated from MTSU's Recording Industry program, which is great training for my current job as a QA lab tech at a Japanese auto parts manufacturer), I've developed much fear and respect for what the weather can do. I hope all my Murfreesboro friends are okay.
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I was surprised to see the Braves and Giants got their game in last night. The grounds crew was hard at work during the rain delay, but I really didn't think they'd be able to get it dry enough to actually play on. Nice to see Atlanta pick up another win- not to mention a starting pitcher (Kyle Davies) throwing some quality innings.

A big huzzah goes out to Ryan Langerhans, who's become Mr. West Coast Brave.

2006-04-07T09:18:00.000-04:00

Stupid west coast baseball and its stupid Pacific Time zone start times!

I did manage to get up in time to watch the game Monday afternoon; I've seen a combined 4 1/3 innings of Braves baseball since then. 10:00 p.m games? I gotta leave for work at 11:00. Games that start at 4:30 in the afternoon? Too many weeds in the yard that need to be shorn at that time.

A little FYI for those fine folks in charge of scheduling: A long road trip out west for a team from the east coast during the first week of the season is a bad idea. Bad, I tell you!

2006-04-04T21:42:00.000-04:00

A win is a win, ugly or not, and that's exactly what the Braves got yesterday. One ugly win. Most of the negative points of the game can be blamed on it being early in the season, except for the poor bullpen performance. (I'm sure Mr. Schuerholz will be tending to that sore spot in the coming weeks.) There were some positives to dwell on: Renteria looked good; Giles did a nice job leading off. I thought Langerhans hit the ball well, not to mention his home run that ended up being the game winner.

Speaking of JS, I just picked up a copy of his book, Built To Win. Didn't really want to spend the money (I have occasional attacks of cheapness), but it looked interesting enough to be worth the money.

2006-04-03T08:40:00.000-04:00

Hot damn- it's Opening Day! I rank today right up there with Halloween and Christmas as my favorite days of the year.

Going to go sleep for a bit and then get up and watch the beisbol; Braves and Dodgers are on at 4:00 this afternoon.

2006-04-02T10:54:00.000-04:00

The pregnant lady and I trekked up to Knoxville last night to see V for Vendetta. I enjoyed the movie, although I fell victim to one of the great mysteries of life: why is the film never as good as the book? Okay, that's probably not true in this case. What the film makers took from the original source material (namely, Alan Moore's ten issues of funny books) to use in the film was quite good. I suppose my point of contention for the screenplay is that it strayed many times from the original story, often to the point of completely altering key elements in the plot, or even rewriting the story line itself. But so goes the written word shaped into a moving picture, and I'm sure this isn't the last time I'll complain about it. So if you've seen the movie and not read the graphic novel, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. You won't be disappointed.

Something odd I noticed (or didn't notice, I should say) during the movie: I never saw mention of Alan Moore. There was reference during the end credits to the film being based on a graphic novel illustrated by David Lloyd, but no mention of who wrote it. Did Moore not want his name tied into the picture? I can't imagine why, knowing what Hollywood did to From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.

And while we're on the subject of going to the movies: at what point did the theatres decide I won't be able to enjoy a movie unless the sound is loud enough to rupture my spleen? Kee-ripes, there were a few times I feared the baby would be rattled from his cozy home and we'd be doing this parenting thing a few weeks early...

2006-04-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

The Braves have made their final cuts of Spring Training and the roster is set for the beginning of the 2006 season on Monday afternoon.

Here's the roster:

Brian McCann - C
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Marcus Giles - 2B
Chipper Jones - 3B
Edgar Renteria - SS
Ryan Langerhans - LF
Andruw Jones - CF
Jeff Francoeur - RF
Brian Jordan - OF
Matt Diaz - OF
Todd Pratt - C
Wilson Betemit - IF
Pete Orr - IF

Tim Hudson - SP
John Smoltz - SP
Jorge Sosa - SP
Horatio Ramirez - SP
Kyle Davies - SP
Chris Reitsma - RP
Oscar Villarreal - RP
Lance Cormier - RP
John Thomson - RP
Blaine Boyer - RP
Chuck James - RP
Mike Remlinger - RP

A few decisions did surprise me. I really thought James Jurries would break camp with the Braves and Mike Remlinger would not. With a minor league option still left and Brian Jordan being versatile, playing well, and healthy (for the time being, anyway), Jurries is the odd man out. Being a leftie is probably the only thing that saved Remlinger's roster spot. I didn't really see John Thomson heading to the bullpen, but when you consider the camps he and Kyle Davies had, it makes a lot of sense.

It seems as though some folks were really surprised that Joey Devine didn't make the roster- especially after the great Spring he had. I really think Bobby and Roger want to let him get a bit more experience and continue to build his confidence in the minors before bringing him back up with the big club, which is where he should be before season's end.

2006-04-01T08:17:00.000-05:00

The Simpsons are heading to the big screen?! Is this really a surprise announcement, or have I just been so far out of the loop that I havn't heard the news yet?

20th Century Fox released a 25 second promo during last night's opening of Ice Age: The Meltdown to announce the first big-screen Simpsons film will hit theatres July 7, 2007.

My thoughts on the matter?

...Ex-cellent.

2006-03-29T17:08:00.000-05:00

If you're reading this, you've either followed the link from The Home (thanks, by the way) or you've just been rewarded for the lamest Google search in the history of Google searches.

So, why pack up and move to new digs? A couple of reasons. The main reason is time. It seems to have become something I don't have an abundance of anymore; I can only imagine it becoming even more so, once the baby gets here. ( I say that like he's coming in on the red eye from Denver. He's already here- he's just gotta make himself "visible".) But I digress. Baseball is a daily thing, and I'm afraid I'll not have the time that a good, team-dedicated blog requires. I hate those baseball blogs that only update a couple times a month. My blog has become one of those and I don't like it.

Secondly, I feel guilty writing some of the things I do on a team-dedicated site. I like writing about the Braves, but I've also learned to enjoy sharing the goofy things from "Real Life". People looking for news and stats and such probably don't want to read a rant about a crappy movie I've just seen, or hear stories about me stepping on bees whilst barefoot.

And lastly, the simple fact is there are better Braves blogs out there than what I offer. I get more out of reading them than I do from writing my own.

So what are the plans for the new blog? I suppose there won't be anything new, really. The content will basically be the same; the new address will simply allow me to write what I want to write, when I want to write it, with no feelings of guilt or obligation.