I don't think there's been a more boring offseason recently. There is almost nothing going on, and it's sad when the big news so far is that the Astros signed Mike Hampton to a 1 year deal. Any bets on how long he'll last........ into spring training?

On kind of a sad note, Mike Mussina retired. I knew it was coming, but it was still kind of sad to see it on ESPN. It's going to be strange not seeing him (and possible Andy Pettitte) in a Yankee uniform next year. (oh.... next year, come soon...)

I'm busy trying to get resumes ready to send out to the following teams Phillies, Rockies, Diamondbacks (minor leagues, I've already heard back from the big club) and Royals. I'm hoping I can get something. I have a job with a local team, but I want to get out of here... after this season of course, former Cardinal Jack Clark is the manager of our team :)

In the last few weeks, I've read two great baseball books, The 33-Year Old Rookie (written bu Phillies catcher Chris Coste) and Beyond Belief (written by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton). I liked both players before, but after reading their books, I have more respect for them. Josh's book gets a little bit graphic, but I think it was needed. I read both in about two days. 

There are 77 days until Pitchers and Catchers Day. I can't wait!!!!!!

Last night was so much fun. I'm not in Philadelphia (or even close) but that was pretty fun to see. I loved Ryan Howard when the last out was popped up, I could read his lips as soon as it left the bat and he said something like "Oh, s**t", then it went to excitement. I'm so happy for Shane and Jimmy. And I'm glad SoTags is on the roster and gets to experience this again, even though he doesn't get to play much.

Now, GO RAYS! I don't know who I'll go for in a Rays/ Phils series, but I know it's going to be fun. The thought crossed my mind last night that there's a possibility that there could be a Kazmir/ Hamels match-up at some point since after tonight, for game one they'll both be on normal rest. That, for me, would suck. I'm looking forward to it though.

I hate that if the Rays win tonight there's going to be 5 days without baseball. That just ain't right :) Oh, well.

We have baseball tonight!!! The last two days have been so long with no games to watch. (this is why I hate the offseason). We get a game tonight, and I'm hoping Cole can do well. Or awesome. I was a Dodger fan in the last round, just so they'd beat the Cubs, I'm a Phils Phan now (and have been) because I really like alot of their guys. It's hard not to, they all seem to really enjoy the game and play it right.... And it kind of helps that a couple guys are from here (or the area) or played here.

Can't wait until tomorrow night too. I have a feeling Tampa is going to be fun from now till the end. I'd love to be down there just to experience it. I have friends down there, and they're pretty lucky. I'm jealous. :)

That's all I've got for today...

The 4 teams for the playoffs are set. I'm fairly happy with them. I will be a Phillies/ Rays fan for this round... and we'll see who gets out "alive". I'm more excited about the Rays/ Sox than Phils/ Dodgers, maybe because the Rays aren't even supossed to be here, I don't know, I just think that will be a more exciting series than the NL one... I can't wait for the possibility of a Lester/ Kazmir matchup. I don't know who I'd go for, but that would be the future of the AL East right there on one mound (and heaven for me with two lefties).

The end of the Sox/ Angels game was pretty impressive last night. Loved the play by Tek at third. I don't know how many catchers would actually make that play. I know they're the toughest position on the field (yes, I'm biased. Deal with it :) ) but I don't know how many catchers would have been able to think that quickly. It was an amazing play. Jed Lowrie is my new hero. Something just told me that Jason Bay would win it somehow (could you get more perfect with the series he had?) and when he got on base, I knew it was over. Lowrie reminds me of David Eckstein. Which is a good thing, they probably knew this, but I think the Sox found something in this kid :)

It's gonna be a fun weekend, I can't wait!

......In Chicago. Again. And I enjoy it, maybe a little too much. :-) I grew up a Cub fan in a family of Cub fans, so as someone who knows what these fans go through, and had the sense to get myself out of it, I feel I can poke fun... at least a little.

I had a Cub fan friend tell me when I posted something about not believing that the season was almost over that, "for some people it isn't". Oh, what a difference a couple weeks makes. Your team went from the favorites in the postseason to, well, the Cubs. And as a friend on another site pointed out, who will you blame it on this time? There's no goat, no Bartman.... maybe it's the curse of the Illinois governor who decided to show up only to have boos rain down on him for what he's done to the state. Seriously though, who's to blame? Because it won't be blamed on the 4 errors on your 4 infielders (which, by the way, was amazing, and pretty funny :) )

I heard yesterday that Barack Obama was on Mike & Mike on ESPN talking about his White Sox and his hopes for a Cross-Town Series. I don't really agree with that part of his thinking, but when he said something along the lines of, "but it would be the last week before the election. I'd come out and tell the American people, 'I'm sorry, but I have my priorities straight'." I completely agreed. I love it. Just for that, he gets my vote :) I love that he realizes that baseball is more important than politics at this point in the year.

The Brewers are almost knocked out of it, which I hate. Good for the city of Philadelphia though. I think they deserve it. They've had to deal with horrible teams for a long time.

Evan Longoria is a beast. That was an amazing performance yesterday and if they can keep that up, they're going to be something special in these playoffs. I'm hoping Obama's Sox get knocked off though.

Wow. The first day of the playoffs have come & gone. I have my teams picked, and two of them won yesterday. The other game was a draw. I'm going for the Brewers, but I'm a Cole Hamels fan as well, so I'm semi- happy with the outcome of yesterday's game. Now that he's not pitching though, I'm all Brewers. They're a young, fun team to watch, and I can't help but cheer for them. In the AL, I gotta go with the Rays (Hey, bandwagon driver, wait for me!!!!). They're also a young, fun team to watch and who'd have ever thought that a team that bad that recently would go on to do this?! If Joe Maddon isn't the manager of the year, there are some serious issues with the voters... My other two teams are the Dodgers (can't go for the Cubs, and I'm a big Joe Torre fan) and the Red Sox... as a Yankee fan, that's kind of hard to admit, but I love Tek and Papi, and Ellsbury's growing on me, too :) I'm driving people nuts by having a team in every race, but it's easier in October than it is during the season when I'm watching everyone because I like players on almost every team. I do this every October though, I pick a team in every race and go with them just in case "my" team gets knocked out, I'll have someone to go for and I'll know at least a little about the team or one ofthe players. It makes it more fun for me to watch. This postseason is exciting for me. I can't figure out why yet, it's not just the whole uncertainty thing, that gets me every year. I guess we'll find out what makes it so exciting won't we? It's gonna be a great month!

I have been to two games in the last week, and even though the Cardinals were knocked out of it, they were still fun games. Also being a Diamondbacks fan made the first game of the week more fun. They were playing for their playoff lives, and we saw the only game they won... with help from Brandon Webb and his 22 win. We had signs that were all for the D'Backs... One said CAR (which got a reaction from Gracie), one said WE LOVE GRACIE (and Daron and Reggie)...which also got a reaction from Mark. The next day was amazing for me because I met the Diamondbacks pitching coach, Bryan Price. From watching the team this year (and a little last year) I became a fan of his by the way he coaches and actually teaches and shows his pitchers what they're doing and how to change it. No one else has been as excited as I was, but that pretty much made my baseball season.  The second game of the week didn't matter, as it was the Cards/ Reds, but it was fun anyway.  The Diamondbacks and Cards aren't in it, but the Brewers are, thanks to another collapse by the Mets. The next two days should be interesting with a makeup game today and possible one game playoff tomorrow. If they do play tomorrow, I hope it's as exciting as the one was last year, that was incredible excitement, and I'm no where close to the West Coast.  I'm not entirely sure who I'll root for this postseason, I always find someone... To start off, it'll be Brewers, Phillies (I know...), the Rays and the Twins if they get in.

Nothing's as exciting as October baseball (except maybe the start of Spring Training) Enjoy it!

I'm "new" to this whole blog thing, so here's a little about me:

I turned 21 in November. It took me 5 months to use my ID for ANYTHING.

I'm a huge baseball fan. Doesn't matter what level. I love high school & college because of the ping of the bat and I love pro ball for all the reasons almost anyone does.

I'm not a fan of one specific team. I'm a player fan, and that's gotten me in 'trouble'. I am now a fan of almost every team in MLB because of trades and free agent signings. I've gotten into some "new" teams this season, including the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. I was a D'Backs fan last year because of Eric Byrnes, Stephen Drew and Conor Jackson, but with the addition of Danny Haren, it kind of put me over the top. I've found myself watching more D'Backs games than Cardinals games (I'm a huge Cards fan). The announcers make the game pretty fun to watch too. Gracie's CAARS really help alot. If we lived closer, we'd definately be going to a ton of games.

 I wasn't really a Rangers fan until they traded for Josh Hamilton. It's hard not to be a fan of his after everything he's overcome in his life and I want to see him do well, so I'm following his career to Arlington. And I've recently "discovered" CJ Wilson.(Well, my mom did and showed him to me). I've only seen him pitch once, but his personality's amazing from what I've seen, and he's a lefty... & there's nothing better than a left hander :-).

There's not a whole lot to my life other than baseball :-)