A seething mass of turgid drama.

We flew to San Diego for a quick getaway. I know we went to Italy a few months ago, but this was a somewhat spur-of-the-moment weekend vacation.
( Read more... )

I am pleased that MLB banned a player for life for betting on baseball - the first since Pete Rose. That rule is posted prominently in every clubhouse and is well known. He has no excuse.

I am surprised, however, because the players' union has routinely blocked major punishments other times that the rules have been flagrantly broken. (See: Trashtros and Red Sox for their sign-stealing.)
ETA: It's not entirely fair to blame the players' union for the whole thing. The commissioner hasn't had a spine either in acting "in the best interests of baseball" - because if he did, the union would strike and the owners would fire him.

For the second year in a row, we didn't go to any Giants games. They were uninspiring and mediocre. I still count myself a fan, but I haven't had any desire to follow them. The local newspaper not carrying game writeups doesn't help with that lack of connection.

But I am still pleased to see the Dodgers bounced in the first round. BEAT L.A.! (Now Bochy's Rangers just need to take care of the Trashtros.)

We bought tickets at the local cinema for a 12:30 showing of Bull Durham yesterday. The plan was to watch a fun baseball movie, have a beer or two and some mediocre food, and enjoy a couple hours out.

Instead, when we arrived, the place was closed. They apparently had a broken water main, and claimed they had sent out an e-mail Friday evening. (Although at least two other people were there for the show and none of them had seen it either.)

Disappointed, we walked most of the way home and had lunch at a Southern cafe we'd been thinking about. It was okay but not what we were looking forward to.

The Trashtros' pitcher last night became the first pitcher in major league history to give up five home runs in one game in the post-season. Not just in the history of the World Series, but the entire post-season.

Normally a manager will yank his pitcher before that happens as it becomes obvious he isn't throwing effectively. But this is Dusty Baker, who has a substantial documented history of leaving pitchers in too long.

I don't have anything against Baker... but there is a certain amount of anticipated schadenfreude should he come up short of winning a World Series yet again.

We could not beat LA... and the umpires. (To be clear, I don't think the umpires were bought - they just made a lot of bad calls.)

Go Braves and Ed: Red Sox! Although if it (shudder) comes down to it, I will root for the loathed Dodgers over the Trashtros. Because while the Dodgers are bums, they aren't dirty stinking cheaters.
Ed: I was reminded that the Red Sox also cheated, when Cora came over from the Trashtros and set up a similar system. Screw the AL.

LET'S GO GIANTS

It's abundantly clear that the A's ownership were never negotiating in good faith. Negotiating is not "give me what I want". (Except in Congress, where bipartisanship is defined as "you agree with me." But that's a different rant.) The A's were never really interested in a new ballpark except with all the subsidies and free stuff they've been demanding from the start. Their proposed location is terrible - next door to a metal-crushing plant and in the path of a thriving commercial port. As opposed to the current Coliseum, where they have their own BART station, easy access to two freeways, and could build a stadium even before they tear down the old one.

(If "waterfront location" and "downtown environment" are must-haves, how do they plan to get that somewhere outside Las Vegas?)

In a more ideal world, I would prefer that the A's stay in Oakland. Ideally under ownership that wanted to keep them here, and was willing to run the team as more than a way to extract money from fans. But if a forced sale isn't possible for other team owners to require (see: SF Giants move to St Petersburg) then I would rather see them go. It's not worth yet another massive bailout by the city and county to people who can afford it.

I won't spit on their memory the way I do Al Davis' Raiders, but I won't regret them leaving.

Go Rays and Braves! I don't care about either team - and I won't be watching this horrendous not-baseball - but I certainly want the Dodgers and Asterisks to lose.

This is a pretty good read. I fall on the "Anger" side and numbers 1 and 2 of the reasons to root against them.

The wife and I caught a game yesterday - the only one of the season. I bought secondhand seats in the club level, so we had a good view, uncrowded bathrooms, and were comfortably in the shade the entire time. The weather was glorious and the Giants won the game. A foul ball hit off and landed in the empty seats directly in front of us, but I could not get to the ball quite in time and the people just below got it. Ah well.

Downsides: for games we usually park near a sushi restaurant (right on the end of our permit area) and walk the mostly-flat 20 minute remainder. If we walk from home, we have to hike the huge hill. This is a good compromise. However, yesterday it was completely, utterly packed for blocks around. We ended up parking much farther out, not even in our permit area; by that point, my parking patience was more than exhausted and I was willing to chance getting a ticket. Fortunately we did not get dinged. But with the increased housing and arena in our neck of the woods we may have to shift our tactics in the future.

Also, the concessions on the club level are surprisingly limited. Plenty of bar space, so I guess we know where club-level fans spend their money.

Then we drove to the edge of Chinatown to hear a talk on the history of tamale-making in San Francisco. The talk was quite interesting; tamales were apparently the street food/bar food of choice in the late 19th and early 20th c. They were even exported to Chicago and the rest of the country!

Downsides: traffic was appalling to and from the venue. Stupid Luber amateur drivers. In a brief flash of sanity, we did not try to find street parking and used a garage 5 minutes away. Totally worth it.

Despite the various downsides, it was a very good vacation day to spend with the wife.