i know i picked a good area to move to...

... cos apparently baseball fans here also hate aj pierzynski and love michael barret.

the chronicle ran this story yesterday. apparently my very own michael barret, who plays for the division-rival padres, is an unoffical folk hero to giants fans who still harbor a grudge about the trade that sent francisco liriano and joe nathan to mn. in return they got aj pierzynski. and boy did he suck when he was with the giants, and boy did the fans hate him for it. no wonder the white sox got him so cheap when he went free agent the following year.

when asked about his local cult-hero status, barrett played it cool and nice. he used the opportunity to compliment the giants on their history, and tried to convince the reporter that the infamous punch was an abberation.

you dont have to pretend with me, barrett! aj may not have deserved the punch for knocking you to the ground and slapping the plate, but we all know he deserved it on a karmatic level for being an all-around dickhead. im glad i was there at the game to be witness.

who says the cubs can't hit?

one for the highlight reel

if games are won by defense alone, reed johnson's amazing diving catch of a felipe lopez fly ball to the farthest part of center field in the bottom of the 5th inning tonight would would clinch it. the game should be over right then and there.

johnson dove headfirst when he was already on the warning track to catch the ball about a foot from the fence. i thought for sure he was going to dislocate a shoulder or knock his head for a concussion. but he was fine, and even tossed the ball from his glove to his hand casually as he walked off the field as the inning was over. his face was in the dirt, so he couldnt see demps mouthing "oh my god" as he watched the play. he could see, however, mark derosa, playing left field and backing him up on the play, stand dumbfounded in awe as johnson trotted past him. de-ro just stood there and stared at the place where johnson had landed in disbelief.

johnson said after the game that he was upset that he hadn't made any impressive plays like that up to this point in the season. boy did he make up for it. and as far i am concerned, he can replace felix pie in center field on a permanent basis. lets trade pie to get a rookie who can maybe need some time in the minors, but will actually will be able to hit major league pitching. just a thought.

cubs 3, nationals 5

white sox were rained out. no game-winning walkoff hits for crede tonight. booo

again?!

yet again, joe crede won the game for the white sox with his mad baseball skillz. this time it was a single in the 9th that allowed carlos quintin to score the winning run in a walkoff. this also prevented the sox from getting swept by the much hated-new york yankees.

crede deserves every bit of adulation he's gotten this season. 2 grand slams in 6 days, a bunch of reel-worthy defensive plays, and now he wins the game for the team. you gotta love it.

there is no way in HELL im going to go to the giants game next month without sporting my new crede jersey. now i just need to get one.

in other news, the cubs lost for the first time in 7 games. they played hard, but eventually you do have to give up some games. its unnatural (especially for los cubs) to win that many in a row. just dont make it a habit.

cubs 2, rockies, 4
yankees 6, white sox 7

real tv! and gangsta style

since i was home this past weekend, i was able to catch the pirates cubs game on a real (hideously oversized) tv at my parents house. pretty crazy stuff. even though mlb.tv has tv-quality streaming this year for live games, games just look so much better on a real tv. however, when i thought about how much money i would have to spend in order to be able to get all the chicago baseball games, i decided the mlb subscription would suffice just fine!

not much to say about the game, it was a blowout and i left to run errands during the 5th when the score was 7-1 cubs. apparently they were only done scoring 53% of their runs at that point. final score that day was pirates 1, cubs 13. guys, can we save some runs for when we really need them? 2 or 3 insurance runs would have been just fine.

in other news, i drove dadoo's new lexus ES 350 this weekend. pretty P-I-M-P. (according to dad, "a pimp is the boss of the whores") the interior is all gray leather and cherry wood. i felt like blaring rap music and doing a drive by. all the car is missing are some spinners.

you're welcome

i was 1/4 th of the way to hewitt this morning when the radio confirmed that there really had been a n earthquake this morning at around 4:30 am.

so weird. i woke up, and felt the earth shaking. i recall thinking "hey, an earthquake. no wait, im in chicago, there are no earthquakes here" and promptly fell back asleep. im actually fairly accustomed to the concept of being woken up by an earthquake these days.

figures there isn't an earthquake in IL the entire time i grow up there, but there is one the day after i come back for a visit. and apparently i have the power to transport natural disasters from the west coast to the midwest. who woulda thunk it?

so to all the people in the chicagoland area who felt an earthquake for the 1st time, you're welcome for my gift!