Welcome back, Pap.

Sorry it's been so long since we've needed you.

Fine, maybe it wasn't a perfect save, but it was nice to be in a position to require your expertise.

People say it's not the destination that counts, but the journey.

That may be true in life, but not in save situations. Quite the opposite. I don't give a rat's ass about the journey, but just give me the destination that I was expecting and I'm A-OK.

Hence, the continued adoration of the Pap.
Jonathan Papelbon. Good man. Fine scholar. Kick ass save machine.

Thank you for giving me something salvageable from this trip to our neighbors of the North.

Oh, and PS - for those interested - the Air Conditioning repair guy came by today.
Didn't fix it, but was here long enough to know that the whole system needed an overhaul. So, tomorrow, all should be fixed.

A little too little too late, since today the high in temp was 70, but I'm pleased as spiked punch that it's getting fixed for the next, all too imminent, heat stroke.

The no man's land of timing

Got a call this morning for a temp to hire job.
Doesn't pay much, but paid something which currently I care more about.

Didn't get to take the position.
Why you ask? Well, I'm going to Massachusetts in a few weeks and well, it would seem that taking time off that early into an assignment isn't going to cut it.
Understandable, but arrrgh.

So, it would seem I shouldn't plan on getting anything until after July 2nd, which is when I return from my trip to see the family.
This better be one hell of a trip.

Actually, it should be pretty good.
Over time I've been kvetching to my parents about how since 1996 I've never taken a vacation except to see them, or to go to my brother's wedding.
They have yet to visit me in Chicago, either.
Well, this time around, they are taking a vacation within my vacation visit.
My grandmother is already staying there, visiting from Poland.
After my arrival, and my brother and wife's, we all are going to the Cape.
That's Cape Cod to you Midwesterner's.

Should be beautiful. I haven't been there since I was a teen and too pissy to appreciate it. I'll be sure not to make that mistake this time around.

So I guess that's the silver lining I'll be focusing on for now.

Until then, hey, Sox, get your heads out of your collective ass and beat the Jays, would ya?
Thank you.
Should be nice.

None of the above

I'm home.
I sucked at pool
The Yankees won.
The Red Sox lost.
The AC's still not working.

Best laid plans, eh?

Crap.

I don't know what it is. For whatever reason, Toronto has our number.
It's screwy, but, unfortunately, true. Poot.


Hopefully, tomorrow will bring cool weather, and better times.
That's it for tonight, kiddies.

Oven fresh Jess

This would be I think day three of miserable humidity and temps in the mid eighties.
I think it's day three, maybe four, but I can't be sure, since I lost my mind a little over a day ago. The Jew 'fro is a little out of control too. Feeling like a very poorly maintained poodle at present.

Crazy curly hair doesn't like this weather any more than I do.
Dave and I went yesterday and bought a couple of fans to at least get the air circulating.
The problem with $20 fans on sale for $13? Not very effective, although I did enjoy standing in the frozen food section for a while.
Nonetheless, with assistance from two fans, I managed to get more than two hours of sleep last night. Still not much assistance for my sanity.

The landlord got back from his weekend today, so he finally heard my pleas.
Help should be on it's way tomorrow, if not later today.

A little late in the game, but I'll take it. Of course, it's supposed to be back in the seventies tomorrow, but that's not the point.
Help is on it's way. My new mantra for the day.

I'll be out at pool league tonight anyway, so hopefully the bar will be well-airconditioned.
Pool. Beer. Baseball in the background. It won't be the Red Sox, but the White ones instead, but I'll enjoy knowing that Josh is pitching tonight, so hopefully I'll come home to a winning box score.
Now, if the Tigers would just cooperate and beat the Yankees, well, that, plus a Red Sox win, plus a pool team win, plus a fixed air conditioner, and I'll officially be done kvetching for the week. And it's only Tuesday!

Now, here's hoping that all the pieces of my master plan fall into place accordingly.

This is not your living room

So, as an escape from the heat, I went to a movie theater for the first time in a year and a half or so.
Saw the Da Vinci Code.
Yes, I read the book first, and yes, it was a quick page turning read that had the paid programming elements of the Celestine Prophecy that I expected.
It was, however, actually, fairly decent, if you are patient enough to deal with the historical inserts. Which I was, considering that I did my Honor's Thesis in college on the iconography of the cult of Isis and how it was appropriated by the then cult of Christianity to curry favor with the undecideds of the time.

The thing that killed me, hence the title of the post, was the utter lack of etiquette present in attendees of the movie.
Now, granted, I hadn't been to a movie in awhile, but, if memory serves, you're not supposed to talk in the middle of a flick.

I changed seats once, just as the movie started, since these two chicks behind me, who smuggled in their own food and drinks, btw, wouldn't shut the fuck up.
Then I find out the seat I had moved to was commandeered by two older chicks who, not only wouldn't shut the fuck up, but also smuggled in their own .wine coolers.
So, I said more than once to them - "this is not your living room!".

I've always enjoyed seeing movies by myself. No need to look to your companion for their reaction, but this pissed the living shit out of me.

What happened to decorum? to social grace? to common respect and decency in a shared public venue?

I guess there's a reason I haven't seen a movie in public in quite some time.

Nonetheless, I may have to do it again tomorrow, since the weather is supposed to be the same, and the AC's still not working

Not a bad flick, not a bad book.. if nothing else, it engages the general public in a thoughtful conversation that, in my opinion, should have occurred many centuries ago.

Oh, sorry, did you not know that I'm an atheist?


Moving right along.
The AC's not working yet.
It's midnight and 80 degrees in here which feels like 100 to me.
I am a punk-ass-bitch at her worst right now.
Sleep would be a relief. Death would be preferable at this point.

And, oh yeah, tomorrow's a holiday, so I'm guessing there'll be no AC repairman for the followup day of heat.

It reached a high of 92 degrees today.
If I'm lucky, I'll fall asleep around three AM when it finally gets under 75 degrees out.

Ok, enough bitching.
Now to place myself, once again, in front of the fan.

Happy Fricking Memorial Day.
Not to belittle the purpose of the day. I'm all for it. Just a little atmospherically pissy.

Turn the lights low and think cool thoughts

It's 87 degrees out.
It's 80 degrees inside.
The AC is pushing air, but not cold air.
I am not happy. Must call the landlord.

The thing with MS patients is an inability to tolerate heat.
I am not happy.

Basically, if it's over 70 degrees, it feels like 90 so with 80 degrees in here, you get the idea.

Of course it doesn't help that I'm still a little hungover from yesterday.
Got to hang out last night with my friend Scott who I hadn't really seen or talked to much lately, so it's all worth it in the end.
Still, not feeling groovy today.

I am for the time-being, getting through it by fanning myself with a magazine and enjoying the 5-0 lead the Red Sox have over the Devil Rays after six innings.
And, it looks like the Royals are trying to catch up to the Yankees. Their only down by one run at present, as opposed to the six they were down by after the first inning. C'mon Royals!

Postscript: Well, the Royals lost. But the Red Sox won, despite a horrifyingly atrocious top of the 9th. Wakefield pitched eight solid though, so it's good to see for him. Thankfully, we gave him *just* enough run support to let him get the win.
It got up to 88 degrees. Now it's down to 85. Still very uncomfortable.
Back to my perch in front of the fan.

A little lemon juice in the Yankee papercut?

That's what I'm hoping for, anyway.
As of right now, 10PM Central Time, the Red Sox just beat the Devil Rays again, while currently, going into the bottom of the 9th, the Yankees are losing to the Kansas City Royals (sic!).
Who knows what'll happen after the delay is over, but all I can say for now is, how perfectly beautiful that, after a day of rest, the Yanks are struggling against the absolute worst team in baseball right now?

I'm not going to bother waiting for the delay to be over. Either way, I'm pleased as punch.
At worst, we've held ground in our division. And, we've seen Wells come back to allow only one run in his outing, granted, it was just over four innings in that outing, but still. Hopefully he's not hurt too badly again. I'd take four innings and change from Wells over another outing from Lenny any day, but of course, he's hurt too (just as well).
At best, we've gained another half a game.

The odd thing of course is that, since Wells didn't complete five innings, Tavarez gets the win, even though he allowed two runs before getting pulled.
Oh well, good for him, I guess, right-ish place, right-ish time.

Bottom line, a good day in baseball, for some, of which I am a part.

Either way, Jess is a happy camper.

Trust me on this one

For those of you who don't check out Deadspin, you gotta check this out.
Too frickin' funny, and real!

As a preview - the Rhode Island School of Design Hockey Team is called "The Nads".

Click here for their honest-to-god mascot - Scrotie.

And oh yeah, happy Friday!
(go sox!)

That's a little more like it

So, we lost the games that I wanted us to win, and that I thought we should maybe win (I thought we should win w/Wakes, lose w/Clement - lost both).

But at least we won the one that we had no business losing.

That was tonight.

Beckett taking on the often expectant losers Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Not to malign their playing but, honestly, when that city shows up in the schedule I fully anticipate a victory.

Beckett was pretty damn impressive.
Pap wasn't perfect (geez, what the hell kinda expectations do we have for this kid? Oh yeah, the kind he's earned), but he got the job done without anymore runs to earn his 16th save.
The kid's a monster. And my favorite kind, next to the green one.

More importantly, with the Yanks having the night off, this allows us to extend our lead back to one full game in the division.

Here's hoping (assuming? too much? I don't think so.) that this is the beginning of a nice long winning streak.

I'd write more, but I'm tired. Go figure.
Seems to be a lot of that lately. Pfeh, I see the doctor next month. I'll worry about it then.

Cheers all.

If you're us and we're you, then what number are we thinking of?

I only ask because, today, my dad is, 69 dude!

He's a theorhetical physist, Polish immigrant, so he wouldn't get the reference, not that he knows my blog exists but nonetheless.

Happy birthday Dad!


It's kinda funny, actually. I called him today, and he attempted some American rhyme-oriented humor. Case in point:

Hey Dad, Happy Birthday! How are you?
(response)

I'm Feeling Fine, I'm Sixty-Nine!


There's my Dad ladies and gents, just a moment away from saying that he's a poet and that he don't know it.

Nonetheless, love the man to death. Smartest man I know. Seriously. Brilliant, to the point of social awkwardness. I tend to think that's where I get it. The social awkwardness, not the brilliance.
Not that I'm awkward, goodness no. Just misunderstood by the less educated, or not sarcastically versed. Yeah, that must be it.

As to baseball, I'm going to snap my fingers and pretend today never happened.

Plausible? Even if not, I'm rolling with it.

And oh, by the way, not commenting on tonight's game because, well, honestly, not comment-worthy.
Poot.
That's ok.
Something tells me we'll still win the series come tomorrow.
Even if we don't (which we will!) we'll still have a winning record against the Yanks this season. So there.

Did you really have to make it interesting?

Ok, so I've just returned home from the bar around the corner, one which I was planning to leave a few innings ago thinking that 9-1 was enough of a cushion for the Red Sox.

Enter Foulke, who enabled a four run top of the ninth to bring it to 9-5.
Still not panicked, but definitely, repeat, definitely annoyed as all get out.

I'll leave it at this.
We won 9-5, gaining a full win lead in the standings against the Yankees.
Curt's had a rough month of May, so I'm very happy for him, and his performance for the night.
Still, I've got a coupla bones to pick.
Never mind not waving in the first run of the game when the ball was bobbled in the outfield. I'll let it go.

I'm happy, honest I am. Just a little peevish, with a side of bliss.

Fuck pool, we got Karaoke

So, pool didn't work out very well.
My partner in the scotch doubles pool tournament and I didn't fare too well.

We were eliminated fairly early. Not first, but early.

However, I returned home to find Dave not there.
Gave a call to his cell and who should answer? Sarah. A good friend, partaking in beer with him at the local bierstube, full of some much needed levity in the form of caustic yet appropriate sarcasm. (One must remember, I grew up marinated in sarcasm and it was only after living in Minnesota, then moving to Chicago that I realized just how very much I missed it).

Off I went. In a foul, loser's mood. Still sober and pissy.

Had a couple there and then arised the notion of Karaoke.
Oh yeah.

It was good. Nothing like a spur of the moment cab ride north to the Hidden Cove where, although they were supposed to have Karaoke, no Karaoke was present.
Well, it being 10:30 and we being inebriated and craving some serious sing-a-long, instigated.
And Karaoke was afoot.

Love is a Battlefield.
Son of a Preacher Man.
Every Rose Has it's Thorn (a la Dave)
Me and Bobby McGee (a la Sarah)

Among others.

Dave and I wrapped up with Draggin' the Line.

The crave was quenched.

I'm happy. I'm tipsy. It don't matter. Yankees lost.
Never mind the Red Sox JV team implosion.
I'm ready for tomorrow.

Good Night, my precious lovelies. I'm off to dreamland.

A few parting thoughts

So, I'm rationalizing today's game (still in the 6th inning) as follows:
We're playing the Yankees tomorrow, so we're letting our boys rest up by having the Junior Varsity team from my high school play today.
Is that what it is? Lenny frickin' DiNardo.

Not a happy Jess this afternoon.

On a more amusing note, following yesterday's Cubs/White Sox fisticuffs, in today's game, when AJ Pierzjinski (or however you spell it) came to bat the first time, the fans at the Cell gave him a standing ovation.
Made me chuckle.


That's all for now. I've got a pool tournament to play in.

Go Mets! Dammit.

Not exactly according to plan

but I'll take it.

Mets blew a 4-0 lead to lose to the Yankees in extra innings.
But my boys didn't lose any ground by beating Philly again, this time 8-4.
Yeah, Beckett allowed a three run homer late, but he also reminded folks that he used to play in the National League.
My man Josh batted .500 with 2 hits and 2 RBI's, including a solo shot homer.

So, all in all, I'm pretty damn content.

Hope all of you out there are too.

Let's see about a sweep tomorrow, shall we? Then back home to face the Devil, I mean, the Yankees. Hopefully, they'll receive a morale reducing thrashing from the Mets tomorrow.

How do I love thee Papelbon?

Let me count the ways...

I'm reminded of the scene in The Princess Bride where Inigo Montoya says "Let me explain, no, there is too much. Let me sum up."

There are too many fantastic things to be said about the Pap.
Suffice to say, after being put into a save situation after a two-run double in the seventh, Timlin took care of the 8th and in came Pap.

Eleven pitches later, the win was in hand. Sox triumphant 5-3 in game one of interleague festivities.
Of course there was a hell of a lot more to the win than the save.
So very much more, but, I've got to go, so I'll leave it at this.
I have to admit, I don't care much for interleague play, especially since, more recently, the Mets have sucked and have handed the Yankees far too many wins that would assist them in the standings. Finally, the Mets have a decent team again, so I'm not complaining.
I'll support them ad infinitum, unless we ever have to play them.

We Love the Papelbon!

Currently, it's the top of the 9th and the Mets are tied with those who shall not be mentioned. Hopefully, all shall end justly.

Regardless of the outcome, we will end the night still in first place division-wise.

Nonetheless. Go Mets!

Postscript: Mets Win!!!!

As the Red Sox lead increases. oh yeah, now's the time to do it, baby.
I don't want to come to the end of the season to find out that, if only, etc, early in the season. Now. Is. The. Time.


Yay!

And I thought I liked beer

I admit I go a little overboard in the consumption department from time to time, but this article kinda freaked me out.

Cubs lost? I'm shocked!

yep, the Cubs lost.
After another morning rain shower, it cleared up enough for me to walk down to Wrigley Field to meet my friend Alpa for the game.
I was pleased as punch as this would be my first game at Wrigley in almost two years, plus I hadn't had a chance to hang out with Alpa for far too long.
Our tickets, which I didn't know as I got dressed in the morning, were in section 512. That's right, very much upper deck. It was under a canopy type dealie and created a sort of wind tunnel, added to the fact that it was only fifty degrees or so to begin with.
Just a little chilly.
Still, the game started out promisingly enough.
This was Kerry Wood's first game back from rehab.
First inning - strike out, ground out, strike out. He got a nice standing O for that.
Second inning - three run homer. Ah well.

And it went down hill from there. Cubbies threatened a comeback scoring three runs late in the game, but the final was Nationals 5 Cubs 3. Ah well.
A good time was still had by all.

My boys had the day off yesterday, during which the Yankees lost (woo hoo!) so first place is ours again heading into interleague weekend.

Lets see it boys. I'm watching.

Crap

So the winning streak against the Orioles came to an end tonight.
They teased me in the 9th, bringing it to within one before Harris was caught stealing for the final out.

Ok, I'm over it. Let's move on.

We had a crazy huge hail storm this evening, causing Mia (Dave's cat) to go running apeshit all over the apartment.
Hopefully, the storm will show itself to be giving way to some fantastic weather tomorrow, since a friend of mine has an extra ticket to the Cubs game tomorrow afternoon.

They actually won a game yesterday, so maybe they'll do something tomorrow.
I like the Cubs, which is to say, I feel for them.
They really do stink this year so far but, I love going to Wrigley, so it should be a good time.

I woulda thought an opal

But, no, apparently, I'm an emerald.
I like the balance part, being a Libra and all but, being a Libra, prefer my birthstone of opal.

Your Gemstone is Emerald

Balanced, liberated, and peaceful. You bring luck into any situation.

What Gemstone Are You?

And the postscript

So we won. Don't know exactly what happened. MLB.com never did let me watch, but not complaining.
All I know, Schill got the W, Pap got the S. Works for me.
Yanks managed to catch up to Texas, but in the 9th, it's 13-12 Texas. Hopefully, that'll be the final.
Who up for a 2 game lead? Anyone? Everyone.

'Night.

PS on the PS - no such luck. 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th.
Yanks win. But we're still ahead. woo hoo? I'll take it.

mlb.com, why have you forsaken me?

Hrm. Grr. Pfeh.
I can't watch the game updates on my computer. It lets me watch other game updates, in fact, it's almost ok just since I'm able to watch the early-inning implosion of the Yankees (10-2 Texas bottom of the third) but I can't watch the Red Sox game.
I was watching it fine, then around the 2nd inning I got a message telling me that the game must not be on yet, or else I'd be able to see it.

Poot. Ah well, hopefully it'll correct itself shortly. It's just that it's the fourth inning already and I'm getting a touch antsy.

Go Sox!

Home away from home

After being rained out for two and a half games, my boys went "on the road" to Camden Yards to play the Baltimore Orioles.
Speaking succintly, this is as good as, if not better than playing at home.
We own the O's.
We were already up 8-1 going into the 9th, then added three more.
Josh settled into the kind of game I expected from him all along, despite a line drive home run in the first.

They should be paying us rent. This would be 7 in a row this season, never mind the streak dating back to last season.

We, well, the Sox, kick ass on so many levels there.
A well spent, weather induced, hiatus.

11-1 final. (and currently, the Yanks are losing) 'Nuff said.

PS - I was happy to be able to actually watch the game on ESPN at my local bar, but got rockabilly pissed off every time they cut to see Barry Bonds' at bat.
Personally, I hope he never gets another home run. Walk him 'til he retires.

And a happy Jess calls it a night.

Don't drink and type - a cautionary tale

This morning was one I knew to dread the moment my eyes opened.
"ok, what was the extent of my inebriated stupidity last night?" I wondered to myself as I approached my computer.

You see, I have a tendency to be far too honest when tipsy, and for lack of an outlet in person, I venture to my computer.

Last night, the roommate, a friend of ours and I went to the bierstube near our apartment. Normally I drink some vodka drink, but that night I drank hefeweizen. A lot of it.
History has shown that for some reason (I blame the tall glassware) I get tipsier faster from this beer. It also doesn't hurt that I drink faster when not smoking and since I'm no longer smoking, well, you get the idea.

I go home, and drink a little more. I know, I'm not bright sometimes.
This time, vodka.

Now, a little bit of backstory.

I have a friend, well a former friend/fuckbuddy who I haven't seen in awhile.
The situation was such that we either became a couple or stopped altogether, so we stopped altogether and unfortunately lost the friendship we had started with.
The loss of friendship is the part I regret, so recently, I have tentatively been sending emails back and forth with him.

Fast forward to this morning.
Check my email. My sent messages file.
Dammitt, I did it again. I sent him a very discombulated, disjointed and well, pretty pathetic sounding email, bemoaning the fact that we weren't friends anymore. There's more, but I don't have to share everything here do I?
Needless to say, I sent an addition to said email this morning, apologizing, disclaiming, what have you.
Felt a little stupid. Sheepish maybe? I dunno. Felt like an idiot.

So I go to the gym.

An hour and a half on the treadmill does help clear out some toxins.
Still feel like a putz, though.
For the time being, I've deleted him as a contact. Not because I don't want to contact him, but because I don't want to make a fool out of myself the next time I am less than responsible in my alcohol intake.

There should really be a blood alcohol lock on my keyboard or something.

Anyhoo, no Sox game yesterday or today. There's some kind of monsoon hitting the east coast.

Anyway, Mom's been called. That's enough for me to have accomplished today. Yep, no flowers, just a call to Massachusetts. Good enough. She just likes to hear from me, and I really don't call her enough. Must remedy that.
In any case, I'll be there next month so we'll have plenty of time to catch up in person. We're both kinda quirky on the phone.

This really never gets old

I know a bunch of people out there have seen this before, but I need to share it just in case.
I just about peed my pants by the end.

For your viewing pleasure. Click here.

ok, I'm gonna go now.
Too giggly to type. Nothing to type about anyway.

Still cold and rainy.

Dear Mother Nature,

I realize that I've been saying all along how much I love it when it's less than 70 degrees outside, but, in case you haven't noticed, it's May 12th here.

It's 38 degrees out right now.

Not to complain, but wtf?
So, Mother Nature, if you would kindly check the calendar and act accordingly, it would be greatly appreciated.

Let's keep it in the 50-65 range. Please?
Thanks,

Jess

We love the Papelbon!

Among others. Loretta of course the shiner with three RBI's. But it's such a great feeling to know that, with a one run lead, we can bring in the Pap to hold a save against the rat-bastards we know as the Yankees.

After yesterday's loss, which I felt no need to post on, I'm feeling unburdened.
So, Wakefield didn't get the win. I'm ok with that. Hopefully he is as well. At this point in the season, we just want the win. More specifically, we thrive on the win against them.

'Nuff said.
Get's Giambi out on the first pitch. Happy happy joy joy.

And a happy Jess drifts to dreamland.....

Reserve your couch space now

Apparently, Chicago is currently making a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Yeah, I'll hold my breath on that one.

Don't get me wrong, I think that would be tremendous, especially if I'm still living in Chicago in ten years. (Hell, lack of employment hasn't kicked me out, chances are I'll still be here)
For all I know, it might actually get my parents to come visit me for the first time since I graduated college. It'd be a nice change from having to use all my vacation time to visit them.

Nonetheless, not holding my breath.
I think it'd be pretty damn cool though.
I've always been an Olympics junkie. I can't help myself.
Even without cable, I've always watched far more than the average bear when it came to nationally televised events. Can't be exactly certain why, but I do know that when, during Winter break, when we were hanging out in New Hampshire getting ready to go skiing on Loon Mountain we would spend our timeshare time watching the Olympics.
I was hooked from toddler age on.


never mind all that garbage.
I doubt, yet still hope it'll happen.

Shameless Plugging

Seeing as I have time right now, as the sox are currently losing to the Yankees with three innings and change to go, I will take this opportunity to guilt trip any readers I may have.

So, here's the deal.
I got diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about two and a half years ago.
I won't kid you. It's a bitch. Couldn't walk for a while, slur my speech, can't feel my feet, etc.
But more importantly, my best friend and now, for the third time, roommate, Dave, as soon as he heard, Cowboyed Up and signed on for the fundraising MS150 bike ride.
This is his third year of doing it.

I invite anyone with discretionary cash to spare to check out his pledge site, and contribute. (and yes, it's tax-deductible)

Now back to our regularly scheduled baseball game.

Too much joy

They all count. This counts more.

Every team loses games.
Every team loses games to teams they have no business losing to.
Red Sox lost some dumbass games to the Devil Rays.
White Sox lost some embarrassingly to the Royals.
True, both sets of games occured with teams within losing teams' division.
Also true, both teams lost to are of no foreseeable consequence.

This, my friends, brings me to the Yankees.
Never mind this is still early in the season.
Never mind that going into this series we're essentially tied with them in the standings.
Never mind that they are in our division.

This is the Evil Fucking Empire we're talking about here people!

Nothing is sweeter than going into their house, and kicking the living shit out of them.

I could summarize the game for you, but anyone who reads this because they care about the Red Sox (or because they hate the Yankees) already knows how it went down.
It seemed an 11 run lead was enough to risk putting Seanez in for the bottom of the ninth. The "please don't create a save situation" substitution.
No prob. 1-2-3. Go on with your bad self, Rudy.
Bottom line, the final score was 14-3. Sox win! Big time!




I'm as happy as a little girl.
And no, that isn't me. What do you want? My parents are immigrants. They didn't concern themselves with baseball onesies when I was so small. But rest assured, as soon as my brother and his wife procreate, they will be well supplied.

Now, onto the next game. Mom always said don't spend it all in one place but, against the Yankees, I think she'll make an exception.

Well I'll be damned

It's the fourth inning. Randy Johnson just got replaced on the mound with two outs.
So, my prognostication skills weren't exactly on track.
I thought he wouldn't make it through the fifth, turns out he didn't make it to the fifth. Eh, change one word and I'm on it, baby!

In any case, I know it's still early, but we're up 5-2 and I'm all flavors of giddy!

More later!

Update:We're now going into the bottom of the 6th. We're now up 11-3.
Hot diggety damn!
With apologies to Homer Simpson - woo hoo!

Anticipation

Days like today are ones that I really wish I had cable for NESN.
The Red Sox begin a series at the Yankees tonight.

I wanna watch! Waaaaaah! ah well, good thing I have this computer.
Tomorrow it's on ESPN so I'll be at the bar to watch it.

I can't express how excited I am.
We're coming off a nice sweep of the O's, so the confidence level is kicking back into gear.
Beckett's pitched against the Yankees before. Remember the Marlins-Yankees series win? Huh? Yeah.
I'm predicting that Beckett will return to form and Randy Johnson will be out before the fifth inning is over.

And, to be honest, I don't even think this is wishful thinking on my part.

I'd ramble more, but I think I'm just spouting because I just got home from the gym and seem to have a little excess energy left over. That's what happens when I only go 4 miles instead of 6 on the treadmill, I guess.
I don't mind. It's making me type hella fast.

Ok, back to my priorities.
Go Sox!!!!!!!!!

It's pretty. It's so pretty

Sox win again! Despite DiNardo pitching.
Despite DiNardo walking the bases loaded and then walking in a run in the first inning. He did ok, actually. Made me nervous, and only pitched five innings, but enough to get the win.

Oh, and did I mention that we scored a shitload of runs? Yeah, that too.
four in the 1st, (thank you V-Tek with a fab grand slam) five in the 5th, then one more in the sixth for good measure.

Final 10-3 and a fabulous sweep of the Orioles.
I'm a happy camper. Perfect capper to a beautiful weekend.
A weekend I must now venture out to enjoy.

A gorgeous, sunny, breezy 65 degree day out there.
Time to walk and revel.

Way to not blow it, Rudy

What can I say? He didn't even try to blow it tonight! Very pleasantly surprised.
Wakes pitched through the 6th, then Tavarez, Timlin(briefly) and, yes, Seanez.
Our offense was very active, despite less-than-impressive showing from Papi, but that's ok since he's always there when it makes or breaks a game. Just not necessary tonight.

So yay! Sox win 9-3.

Oh, and to top it with a cherry, the Lakers are getting their asses handed to them by the Suns in game 7. Just a little extra joy, considering the whole Celtics/Lakers rivalry that I grew up with.

And a happy Jess is calling it an early night.
Overdid the treadmill and outdoor walking today.
Sore. Tired. Looking forward to many many zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.

The weather made me do it!

Not blog, that is.
It has been absolutely beautiful here in Chicago the last coupla days.
My comfort zone is 50-65 degrees Farenheit, and it's been in the mid 50's the last few days.
Hence, I've been doing little more than enjoying the weather. That and going out last night with the roommate, meeting up with far too absent friends and as a result, walking off the hangover this morning and afternoon (6 miles on a treadmill plus 3 miles walking around the neighborhood does wonders).
So I'm feeling good. All rehydrated, and ready for whatever's next.

The boys won last night, very nice.

Tonight, Wakes - round two with the timely return of the great knuckleball backstop of Mirabelli.

Let's see it boys, make me proud!

Now was that so hard?

You know, I'm in the mood for a nice, boring game.
Red Sox score 5 in the first, and that's the final.
Not so much. It seems people wanted to make it interesting.

I almost got nervous late. Seanez, Tavarez, you know the drill, but fate wouldn't let me get that pissed off again.

After allowing it to become a save situation, Tavarez is taken out, leaving the Pap
to inherit a runner. It's 7-4
Then he added another runner. Ok, breathe. Tying run at bat. breathe.
And he's out! Ball hit. Pap to Youk. #11 Pap m'boy. All is well.
BMore tomorrow. Please, tell me it's ok to expect a nice clean series full of wins?
G'night, Gracie.

And goodnight to all in the blogosphere.
I overdid it at the gym today. Tired. Gotta go relax with some Netflix.

They're dropping like flies!

I just got back from the gym.
Just over 6 miles on the treadmill, good for me.

Anyway, I return home and can't find a place to park.
I think my car is somewhere in Guam right now.
The thing is, my apartment is across the street from an Assyrian church.
At any rate, I swear, one of them kicks off at least once a week.
I think this is the third funeral this week, hence, no parking.
I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything like that, it just seems that things aren't going to well for the Assyrian population of late.
However, it's getting warmer out and that means there'll be about one wedding there per weekend, so maybe it averages out.

The weddings are interesting. I've never been to one, but I do know that, as the bride enters the church from her limo, and when the couple leaves after getting hitched, they play some seriously funky music. It's like a cross between Klezmer music, and drum banging. Hard to describe.

In any case, I think I'm over last night's loss.
Walked it out of my system. And there you have it.

Yeah, well, crap

Papelbon finally has an ERA that isn't 0.00.
I'm sorry it had to happen, but, ah well, it (theoretically) had to happen some time.
In the meantime, allow me to walk you thru the remainder of the ninth.

Papi's up. 3-2, and...........out swinging. Crap.

Now Manny,

Lines out to first.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Damn. C'mon boys!
I can't believe I'm saying this, but, it's up to you, Dustan!!!!

Son of a bunny. How 'bout that?! A passed ball?
Ok V-Tek, it's now up to you. Do the Jessinatrix proud.

And the pinch-runner's to 3rd. Go on Willie.
Now, c'mon Jason.

And he's out.
Son of a bitch.
Yeah, well, crap.

Fine. At least it wasn't the Yankees.
Nonetheless. If I'm not mistaken, with the Yankees winning, we have yet again relinquished first place in the division. Aw, for the love of Hannah!

fuck a duck. Aflaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Because I have enough to worry about

I understand that, as a Red Sox fan, I am supposed to be consumed primarily by the activity of the Yankees.
That said, I am not in the position to concerm myself this much with the Toronto Blue Jays.
I harbor no ill will towards them, I am simply preoccupied.
Don't get me wrong. I have taken note, from the get-go, that the Blue Jays were going to be a force to be reckoned withk, never mind the fact that they gave us both of our first two losing series.
The fact of the matter is this.
It doesn't matter how threatening you are. We won two years ago. If you're not the Yankees impeding an eventual repeat, I don't have enough room on my radar to care. Not yet, anyway.
I have all the respect in the world for the BJ's, honest I do. I just lack the attention span at this point.
With games, or, game, against the Yankees feeling like October, I just don't have the will to elevate another division game to that level of urgency. No offense.
Become a legit rival season after season, and I'm there for you. Until then, you're a surprise, be it good or bad.

Back to the game.

Pap is up, even though we're tied.

We love the Papelbon!!!!!!

32 Flavors of Pissed Off

Ok, so, we all know Jess doesn't have/can't afford cable.
So, I'm sitting here "watching" as the updates come in from MLB.com.
We (the Red Sox, thank you very much) are up by one.
A relief pitcher (Foulke has come in)
I am informed, with a Blue Jay on base, that a run-scoring play has occured.
"ok" I say to myself, just don't be a home run. I'm ok with this as long as it's not a home run.
What do I then see as an update? Home fucking run.

Happy camper I am not.

So now Timlin is in and I'm hoping for the best in the remaining innings.
I'm hoping there'll be a reason for the fantabuloso Papelpon to prove to everyone watching ESPN (which I don't have) why he got rookie of the month for April.

Back to my frickin' game.

Go back to Canadia! (yes, I know it's not a word, I was being fascetious, dammitt!).

Dang

No game tonight.
Silly weather.

Now, to go to pub quiz, or to pool league?
Hrmmmmm.
Or, none of the above.
Decisions, decisions.

I don't think I qualify as a JuBu

But this article had me thinking.
See, I consider myself Jewish, but I don't believe in God. It's more a cultural thing.
Also, I'm kind of a spiritual person, in the sense that I think there's more to us that solid substance, but I'm not willing to cop to the idea of a higher power.



At any rate, thought this was interesting. A Jewish Buddhist.
A JuBu.

Ok, back to looking forward to tonight's game.
Sadly, there's nowhere that I'll be able to watch it.
Not really any bars that carry NESN.

Poop. Ah well, MLB.com updates a go-go it is.

That's what I'm talkin' about, big daddy

Big Papi!

Ok, so Wakes didn't get the win.
No matter. The oh so timely return of Mirabelli as catcher at least helped ensure that he wouldn't get the loss, considering that it was a tie ballgame when Tim left the game and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been if Bard were catching.
And, so Pap doesn't get an official save. Nonetheless, nothing sweeter than winning the first of 19 games against the Yankees.

Johnny B Booed

I was actually fairly impressed with the Fenway fans.
Sure there were boos, but, by and large, people were receptive to the initial taking to the plate by Johnny, and appreciated his tipping his hat to them when he went to bat. Still feel more than a little bitterness, but overall, well played, constable.
It's funny though, they were talking about all the added security. But, rest assured, it had nothing to do with Damon, it was just another Sox-Yanks game level of security.

How much do we love the Papelbon? I'm just saying. We love the Papelbon!
Don't mind me. I don't have cable so I watched the game at the bar around the corner since ESPN was televising the game. They'd've been out of their gourd if they didn't.

Ok. A little tipsy.
Very happy.

Woo hoo! Go Sox! 1-2-3 "fuck the yankees!"