then when i had nothing

The biggest, goofiest guy on the PawSox got traded the other day. That would be Bausher. He wasn't a great pitcher, but he always looked... happy. He could have been a violent prick for all I know, but whenever he was walking out to the bullpen, I just wanted to climb onto his back and play Horserace.

I will always remember how he used to lay a towel down on the bullpen wall and rest his arms on it as he watched the game. Like an old lady. I hope he gets to play some ball for the Reds.

I will miss Tim Bausher.

8.29.06 PAW v. ROC - can't smile without you

I don't know who won this game and I'm not going to look it up.

I left this game in the sixth inning. The game was tied at 4. It was wet and cold and depressing and I was all by myself. I understand that this is the final homestand and each game is PRECIOUS but seriously, I ain't going out like that.

There was a guy sitting in front of me with three daughters and a son. At one point during the game he asked one of his daughters to trade seats with his son so his son would be sitting next to ol' Dad. And then Dad chummily put his arm around his son and learned him good about baseball.

Fucking asshole.

Come to think of it, didn't Pawtucket win this game? RC homered? Yeah?

I have managed to free up my Saturday night so I will be going to the Last Home Game of the Year at McCoy. I will not, however, be going to New Haven for baseball Friday night, as I have committed to a social engagement that evening.

I'm in a wicked bad mood.

8.28.06 Pawtucket Red Sox (BOS) v. Rochester Red Wings (MIN) - Jeff Bailey has a low IQ

Rochester WINS! in 5 innings. 9-4

I thought this game was going to be rained out. We were at a family-style party playing TP and getting more and more bored. Someone suggested we just drive down to the park anyway. It was about 9:30 at this point. So we did and they had just started playing ball! And it was going so well! But CZ gave up so many runs and Pawtucket was just galumphing around in the sodden field and everyone left and Thunder wasn't even in the lineup. And Ken Huckaby was Ken Huckaby and contributing nothing except the sweet, cool breeze of his whiffing bat. Whoosh!

They shut down a lot of the concessions. It was really wet. The park was empty and echoey... not a good night for baseball but a good night for me. I like games played in empty halls in bitter weather. Not more than sunny, well-attended games, but I do like the stillness and the amplified sounds from the field.

I have Friday off and I'm considering driving to New Haven for a Can-Am game. I'm torn between that and the next-to-last Pawtucket game. I have one ticket to the last game of the year but I cannot attend.

I think New Haven might be just a tad bit too far.

I'll be at the park tomorrow night.

Condition: Oakland

I normally try to avoid "slice o' life" posts when baseball's in session, but.

Very early Saturday morning (1-1:30 a.m.) I was woken up by someone firing a gun repeatedly outside my house. I heard quite a commotion, screaming, one woman shouting, "You're dead! You're fucking dead!" Then the CFPD came rolling in, flashing lights, no sirens, and TCB'd. I didn't stay up to see what happened, though I kind of wanted to step out onto my porch and get an eyeful.

About a week ago, a weirdo went into his ex-g's house and shot three people there in the head. This is a completely unrelated incident. Two of those people died, one of them a very young woman named Kristal Duarte. She was only 20. Sad story.

Now several people have said, "I think it might be time for you to move out of Central Falls." As though there's rampant shootings and bloodshed and gang violence. Newsflash: these occurances are as rare as a sensitive fascist. I am okay here. It would be nice, however, if you stayed out!

Aside from that, it's a little weird to be wearing a sweater in August. Of all the seasonal changes, the summer-to-autumn one seems to be the most poignant. Goodbye, good times. Minor league baseball's almost over. I've got that "What the fuck am I going to do now?" panicky feeling, too. Many of you have football. Unfortunately, I don't.

Many years ago, I lived in Reno. It was the biggest city I'd ever lived in, and I loved just walking around and looking at it. I found a park one day near the highway. There was a huge tree, dripping with leaves, and I couldn't help but run around it trying to catch them as they spinned downward. I was 12-ish and way too old to act that way, but sometimes... you know how it goes.

I'm blowing town this Halloween. I've discovered that I really like celebrating holidays away from home. I should be so lucky this Labor Day.

did you fall lift me up

Happy birthday, you guys. You're wonderful and I love you.

Hope for the hopeless

I thought this merited its own thread, even though it's Futures related.

I was standing in the long, long beer line during the Spinners game. At one point I was near the Fried Dough Decoration Station, what with its sugars and powders and so forth. I noticed an untouched slab of fried dough sitting there, abandoned. Shivering. I waited as other people came and went and still the fried dough remained.

You must understand this, I've watched you for so long. The food at Fenway is heinous and overpriced. Yes. But it is even worse if you are a vegetarian. And I don't even really care for fried dough. But I was hungry.

I totally snarfed the fried dough. You know I did. It was gone by the time the beer person was taking my order.

By the way, I am not a vegetarian. I just don't eat meat. There is a difference, yo.

I wanna tell you a story about the last time I was in Portland.

Futures went well. Both home teams won. I busted out in hives for the first time in my life, which is pretty unnerving. For a split second, I thought I might die.

I think the highlight for everybody was watching Josh Papelbon pitch. It might be one of the most spastic pitching deliveries I've ever seen. You really have to see it.

That was probably not my own personal highlight. For me it was congregating briefly with my crew on the third base concourse and seeing the PawSox kids file past in full uni as everyone cheered! Yay! We got acknowledgement from Durrington, Machado (who could possibly be classified as a simpleton), and strangely enough, Hee-Seop. Choi is not really into fans, I've noticed.

Our beloved Ron Calloway was probably too cool to shoot us a nod. I still love him.

Two things:
1. If you saw someone with a black t-shirt adorned with an orange capital letter such as "T", yes, that was me/us. No, we are not his family. Crikey!
2. The woman next to me in the bleachers shouted out at one point, "I LOVE single A ball!" Sure. I noticed a LOT of honest-to-goodness minor league baseball fans from far and wide... Oneonta folks and Rochesterites and people who had sea monsters and alligators on their caps. I imagine the usual corps of premium ticket holders stayed away in droves.
3. It was weird to see a lot of the players in their uniforms just kind of meandering around the concession areas. I saw Shawn Wooten hanging out, sneezing. It was the first time I've seen a pro baseball guy sneeze.
4. I saw many more people that I know than I expected.
5. Carlos Pena had a nice home run experience. Pawtucket has mathematically been eliminated from the playoffs, but they seemed in pretty good spirits.
6. MARC DESCHENES HAS A POSSE!!!!

It didn't rain, it was a good time, the end. I'll be at McCoy tonight with some people for a birthday shindig. It won't be sanctioned by the staff of the Pawtucket Red Sox, but sometimes you just have to seize the Danish.

Adios!

when will i see you again? (precious moments)

Boston won last night, and it was a tight one! It was cool to see Jered Weaver, wasn't it?

I love the lullaby of west coast games... wrapped up on the couch in flannels, eyelids slipping downward in the seventh inning, Don and Jerry singing in my ear... the jerk and twist when DO's voice gets louder and more high-pitched as a ball travels away away and GONE!

And Pedroia...I'm sure that as a full grown man and a Major League Baseball Player, he wouldn't appreciate me calling him adorable, but come on.

Pawtucket lost last night... Charlie Z. gave up all the runs in one inning. They've been using Tim Bausher as a starter lately, and he's been okay. The time is coming soon when the Boston Sox strap on their Viking helmets and pillage Pawtucket, robbing Ron Johnson of all his best people. I guess it doesn't matter anyway, since Pawtucket's in the shitter.

Bob Dylan's playing at McCoy tonight and it's not nearly close to being sold out. Everybody loves Bob Dylan, but who really wants to see him play live at this point?

Futures Saturday! I've begun making preparations for merriment already. It's going to rain, of course. I'll be there for both games. Someone asked me if the games are going to be seven innings or what. I would imagine it'd be two nine-inning games, but what if I'm wrong? I HATE being wrong!

Pedroia the Destroya!

Congratulations this a.m. to Pedro for his first major league hit. (I can call him "Pedro" 'cause we're tight.) Unfortunately, it was not enough.

But he was so freaking adorable last night. I very nearly welled up... I was so proud of him.

Loved the shot of Mike Lowell before the game air boxing... so handsome and talented.

PawSox lost again to the Ottawa Lynx and are 4 games under .500. Yet I am again chipper and chirpy in spite of all the local nines failing to get their acts together.

The Dodgers are 4 games ahead of San Diego and Arizona in the NL West. This enrages me because I had hoped the Padres would be in the pennant race when I went to see them. I suppose it's still possible, right?

I would love to see the Twins take the wild card.

8.19.06 The Smoking Popes @ The Living Room (PROV) - tickets torn in half

I only had the one CD from The S.P.'s and they didn't play a single song off of it. An audience member requested one of those old ones and was essentially brushed off.

HOWEVER... when whichever Caterer brother is the singer kicked off the set by playing "Pure Imagination" from Willie Wonka, singing in his nasal, swanky and yearning voice, I was transfixed. They played a lot of new stuff that's going to be on their new album... it was sweet and melodic, not sappy, and good enough for me.

I was looking at flyers for upcoming shows and I noticed that both the Queers and the Business are coming. The Business: nyet. Who fucking asked them to come back and play? I HATED the Business... all those Boston skins ruining everything. The Queers: yes, please. And also, have I gone back in time?

Til next time.

I'm going to say something very specific.

Bob is exceptional. Bob is the man. Bob may be more of a McCoy rat than I am.

Bob used his trusty Polaroid to snap Marc Deschenes. He also had MD autograph it. It says something like, "To Jen, my #1 fan". Apparantly I am 14.

This may have to replace my Hanley Ramirez autographed Polaroid.

Dustin Pedroia called up!

YEAH PEDRO!!!

This is absolutely the key to the return of the R. Sox.

Congratulations!

before any of this

Speaking of Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

On 9/11/01 I was visiting a friend of mine in Akron, Ohio. It was a very weird experience, being on vacation when everything went down. I had driven out there and since NYC had essentially shut down, I knew I'd have to take a massive detour to get home.

So I wound up driving through the SWB area. It was wondrous. I'd always heard of it, but was never really convinced it occupied any real space. You can't really get a sense of it, flashing by on an interstate with thousands of my closest traffic friends, but it was off to my left and down a little.

I had someone tape the Pawtucket Red Sox game last night. If my math is correct, Marc Deschenes pitched 7 scoreless innings. The game write-up on the pawsox.com web site fails to mention any of this. Why would you not mention the starting pitcher in a game summary? Especially if the start was this successful?

Now I have to somehow re-rig up my VCR. Technology passes me by like a slow but constant glacier.

8.16.06 PAW v. SWB (PHI) - for unless they see the sky

Pawtucket WINS! 7-3

And NO Huckaby, no way.

New kid Rob Henkel (lefty) started for Pawtucket and did well. 6 innings, 5 K's, one walk, one earned run. Thank you for the dub. Javier Lopez pitched the ninth.

Eude Brito started for SWB. I like their uniforms, with the sox up. Brito gave up 4 runs in five innings, got yanked in the sixth for Crowell. Et cetera.

It was very nice to see the hapless Pawtucket Sox with a strong win. Adam Stern has not been in the lineup, but he's still in Pawtucket hanging out in the bullpen. I do like Trent Durrington batting leadoff. He's been very successful in that slot. Take last night's game, for ex. Nice job, Thunder From Down Under.

Dustin Pedroia was once again defensively dazzling, snaring a pair of smoking line drives while playing second.

Two things:
1. It was replica jersey night, okay? Well, the place was booming! I got there at six, which I think is early. No jerseys left. We were almost going to go sit in the outfield (I had GA) but one member of our party ran into someone we knew who was leaving. So she gave us their box seats.
2. Machado homered... you like that, don't ya?
3. Willie Harris is fantastic in Pawtucket. In Boston, he's nothing special. Every day I'm hustling.
4. You know how at the condiment station they usually have chopped onions? God, use them! Put 'em on your mini pizza, your cheese fries, your pretzel, your popcorn!

That's it for me baseball-wise this week, unless something interesting happens with New York. Saturday night I'm going to see the Smoking Popes at the Living Room. Let's hear it for love!

Bored kids with nothing to do.

Mama mia. I'm sure I'm the last on the block to hear about it, but check out this book. I'm going to buy it and then read it in my normal compulsive and frantic book-reading fashion.

By the way, do you think this sparked an endless, wordy debate on whether or not organized sports are punk rock in MRR?

daddy.

Thank you, Mike Lowell. For everything. For the other night. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

8.15.06 Pawtucket Red Sox v. Buffalo Bisons (CLE): FUCK YR FANS

Pawtucket LOSES!!! YES!! THEY LOST! 4-3

And I have turned a corner, here. I don't wanna go to the park anymore. I had a bad night. I was tired and cranky and the game was boring. Buffalo was leading 4-1. Charlie Zink was pitching, and why does it seem like he pitches every time I go to a game?

The thing that really pissed me off was the ninth inning. Buffalo sent in this guy, Mujica, who was big and greasy and therefore an effective closer. Right? WRONG. Suddenly, people were getting on base and getting batted in. Then comes the bottom of the order.

The generally useless Tyler Minges had a decent at-bat but eventually lined out to Lou Merloni. I never liked Lou Merloni. Why did you guys like him so much? Because he's from Mass? Look, Barry Hertzler is from Rhode Island and I couldn't care less. Come on. Lou Merloni is 35 years old and playing in Triple A. What has he accomplished? Robin to Nomar's Batman?

Alejandro Machado did something that I blocked out... I could see Huckaby on deck and I began to feel desparate... it's the last out, it's 4-3 now, couple of runners on...and I knew when they announced him. Game over. HOW CAN YOU NOT PINCH HIT FOR SUCKABY? YOU CAN WIN THIS GAME!!!! KEN HUCKABY WILL NOT GET AN RBI! God, put anybody else in there! You have another catcher! What about Stern? What about Jermaine Van Buren, he's a big guy!

Before KH even received his first pitch I packed away all my gear after logging the final score as 4-3. And he struck out. End. He threw his bat in frustration and I should have thrown it back at him. Hard. Because I hate you, Ken Huckaby.

I will be at the park Wednesday for social reasons. But fuck it. If they don't care I don't either.

146

I think I don't like the Worcester Tornadoes. The park, Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field, is boring. And stupid. And a jerkface.

They do have this peewee little batboy who is like a little man. The infielders throw balls to this sandbox-aged tyke and he makes great diving catches while running his little legs off. It's remarkable.

The Tornadoes won tonight. I won't get too specific because I cannot imagine anyone gives a rat's ass, myself included. The home plate umpire was massive and when he called strikes, it sounded like someone had dropped an anvil on his foot.

Some guy asked me if I was a scout, but he was too drunk for it to be a flattering question. He did explain this to me: in the Can-Am League, the season is divided into halves. The winner of the first half plays the winner of the second half for the championship. If the same team wins both halves, there's no playoff. Does that sound right?

No, that sounds weird.

My dear Sarah...

As I've mentioned before a time or three, I did truly love McCarty. Here's a photo I took of him at McCoy with his Civil War hair combed.

I'm going to the Worcester Tornados game tomorrow night. Many years ago, there was an SNL skit starring Jimmy Smits. It took place in an office and the people that worked there would use exaggerated Latin accents anytime they used a Spanish word, which was often.

That skit is legendary to me. My sister and I are the only ones who seem to remember it. "Oh, you mean a torNahdo!"

K, bye!

I read it in the paper, they're crazy!

Heard the Red Sox aren't doing very well, but shouldn't you have a molecule of happiness for KC? Imagine how happy they are! I'm sure it was quite a morale booster for Team Pathetic.

One of the gifts I got for My Special Day was a Fodor's Baseball Vacations book. Wow, how did she know I liked baseball? It includes most of the minor league parks, too, so I love this book.

Tomorrow I might go to a Can-Am game. Like Nashua or Brockton or something. Pawtucket won't be back for a while.

That "Cherry Tree" song? With the endless "woo-oo"? I want to gouge my eyes out with toga pins when I hear it.

I know what you're thinking: Doesn't this woman have a JOB?

Yes. Yes, I do.

8.9.06 Pawtucket Red Sox @ Rochester Red Wings (MINN) - we will beat then all to dust

Rochester WINS! 6-3

This game was a prime example of what I hate about AAA.

Charlie Zink started this one. The Rochester fans did not realize he was a knuckleballer and were apopleptic over his Ks, since he was "throwing batting practice". I'm not a huge CZ fan, but I'm coming around.

Keith Foulke gave up the winning run in the seventh and got the loss. Now, here's where I get annoyed. Normally, the game's tied, you wanna bring in Breslow or something. Breslow's been probably their best reliever. Possibly Hertzler or Deschenes. But NOOOOO... Foulke needs his rehab! So even though Foulke's pitching is not up to par yet and he's probably not your best bet to get outs not runs... ugh. How does Ron Johnson do it? Here's a guy, managing a ballclub, probably wants the team to win, but his hands are tied.

Hustlin' Willie Harris hit a home run. I need to see an updated roster for Pawtucket, as I noticed a lot of new guys.

And the team keeps losing and losing and losing.

On the plus side, the game started at 11:00 a.m. so I was able to leave the MOTEL 6 ON BEULL DRIVE IN ROCHESTER at an early hour. You know your hotel sucks when it's located in the "Airport Redevelopment Zone". And all the maps were ripped out of the Yellow Pages. I had breakfast by the train tracks at a place called "Ezzie's". It was exactly what I wanted.

The game was glorious. It was a rich, sweet day and I felt like I was at spring training. I bought local domestic from a Conehead (Genny) and drove home sunburnt and beery and with a small cheese pizza riding shotgun. Made it home in 5 hours, humming at a near-constant 75. YEAH, BASEBALL!!

Separately:
1. You know Chris Smith, the pitcher who got called up from Portland? Dude, pop his collar and slap a pair of Oakleys on him and there you have Owen Wilson. Uncanny!
2. "Conehead guaranTEE... you get a warm beer from ME... you drink it for FREE!"
3. There's a statue of a horse at the park that's made out of baseball mitts.
4. The game was sponsored by some elderly health facility, so there were a lot of mallwalkers in the house. They did allow fans to walk around the warning track. I was reluctant to join the fannypackers ambling about, but I couldn't pass up the chance to get a look at the PawSox stretching and running up close. Plus I have a thing for warning tracks. But if I were a player, I wouldn't be happy about a bunch of civilians on my turf.
5. The stretch of NY from Rochester to Albany is pretty... but also deadly.
6. I'm happy that Corky Miller went to Boston, but I miss him in Pawtucket.
7. I really need to write a letter to my homeboy, J-Kap. I think he might even write me back.

See you guys!

Mostly for Vee

Okay, so, somewhere on the New York Thruway I thought: wow, wouldn't it be neat if I were staying at the PawSox hotel?

When I got to my motel, I prayed that they weren't there. It was a depressing dump of a place. Don't get me wrong... I'm cool with a shabby motel. But there has to be SOMETHING, charm, amenities, reception.

And then I saw where they were staying and I thought, why does Bob have such a nice kitchen? Their hotel was big league. So shut up, minor leaguers.

I told you that to tell you this. My motel was right on top of Chili Dr. Weird name, right? Turns out there's a nearby city called Chili. This made me think of Chili Davis. So, whatever.

At the night game I went to buy a delicious beer (Red Wing Red Ale) and I asked the beer people where the local kids had breakfast. As in eggs and homefries. I mentioned that I was staying in the Chili area.

The woman who poured my beer said, "Oh,you mean Chi-li?" As in rhymes with jai-alai. Or hi-fi.

And all I could think of was, I can't wait to tell Vanessa. I said, "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day."

Chi-Li. Get it right, stupid.

8.8.06 Pawtucket Red Sox @ Rochester: Oooooooooh!

Rochester WINS! 1-0

As I mentioned earlier, I drove to Rochester for a pair of PawSox games. This sort of developed because I was looking at the schedule and I noticed... two homestands left. And I got that panicky feeling I get when I realize the end of baseball season is nigh. So I figured that the two away games were a possibility and that's it. ROCHESTER!

Kason Crappard started for Pawtucket. He obviously did not do too badly through six innings, since the Red Wings only scored one run. Garrett Jones, who wore a different uniform number for each game, was responsible for the RBI single which was all Rochester needed. Keith Foulke pitched the seventh... two walks, one K, one hit. Not sharp. Barry Hertzler was fine for 8&9, but like it mattered.

Lefty Dave Gassner, a newish kid, stymied Pawtucket through five innings. He is perhaps one of Minnesota's high hopes. Henry "Hey Nineteen" Bonilla pitched two innings... hey, wasn't he a starter? At any rate, it hurts to watch him pitch because he throws so freaking hard. Beau Kemp finished off the PawSox and that was that.

Jeff Bailey walked three times on my ceiling. Stern went two for four. Not much else went on offensively.

The ever-popular Lew Ford was the leadoff guy for the Red Wings and delighted the fans with a first inning double and subsequent run.

Amongst our weaponry:
1. Frontier Field is beautiful. I think it's sort of new... it's a nicer park than McCoy. Great concessions, nice location. You should go! You'd love it.
2. I totally dug Rochester. I would happily spend a week there, just going to Red Wings games and checking everything out.
3. There was something of a hubbub at the gates when I got there.. news teams and what have you. Turns out the Rochester police department decided they weren't going to have officers at the games anymore. The locals were not happy about this. They feel that they need cops around.
4. Fred Lynn was signing autographs and oh, the lines!
5. It was strange to see the Pawtucket kids frolicking before the game, with the BP and catching fly balls and socializing. Scuzzy old Foulke was getting chummy with my homeboy, Marc Deschenes. Talk about a bad influence. Stay golden, Marky boy.
6. The Rochester folk are really into the Red Wings. They have a crazy hat cowbell guy! They're sort of more fannish than the Pawtucket crowd... not as many bastard kids.
7. I wore a fake plastic wedding band during my stay.
8. Choi! I saw Hee-Seop! He is not gone! It! Could! WORK!!
9. Note to self: Syracuse is closer.

I made a small bet that I would hear the new C. Aguilera song five times on the way to Flower City. I was wrong. Three times is all. Do you like that song?

Later!
Game two later!

Crapchester

I decided about 8 hours ago that I should go to Rochester, NY for a couple of days. So I'll be in Rochester for a couple of days.

Don't hate.

I still hate Tom Caron.

I still hate Tom Caron.

And I'm not too thrilled with you either, Miss Hazel Mae.

post-game face-stuffing

I stopped at Jacs Wraps on East Ave in Pawtucket on the way back from McCoy.

You should go there. I can't really improve upon the Bucket Blog write-up of it, except to say that the smoothie I had was ice cold and delicious and they have huge green comfy chairs. You also get a dainty little fruit salad with your wrap.

I love talking about food.

8.4.06 Pawtucket v. Syracuse: I Was So Full of Scotch I Could Not Stand Up

Pawtucket WINS! 5-0

What a great birthday present! For me on my special day! Please, let's also have the Yankees lose.

Last night I saw Chris Smith from Portland meandering around... he's hard to miss, what with his crazy moss. So guess what? He started today and was FIERCE! Seven shutout innings, only 3 hits. No-hitter going through the 4th, and the base hit was questionable (many thought it was an error) (but, sorry, I think it was a legitimate hit by Russ Adams). If you happen to own an '06 PawSox program, please do yourself a favor and look up Chris Smith. His photos will not disappoint.

Craig Breslow provided two very good innings of relief.

Gustavo Chacin who I love started for Syracuse. He is rehabbing and looked okay. Pitching-wise. Looks-wise... well, you know what he looks like. Maybe the less said the better, although I think he's oddly handsome. He gave up 2 runs in 2 2/3 innings. He was replaced by Ty Taubenheim firstly, Davis Romero nextly.

Ron Calloway, who is in love with me and who I will probably end up marrying, hit a TRIPLE in the third inning, driving in Corky Miller. You know what? The bats are heating up. No, really. Pawtucket is offensively doing a lot better these days. Love O' My Life Jeff Bailey, who does not have wack rims, homered in the seventh because that's the kind of guy he is. In fact, everyone had a pretty nice day aside from Pedroia, who did not get a hit. Hang on... DP DID have a good day. He made some nice plays at second base. I enjoy his fielding immensely.

I think the Sky Chiefs are probably my favorite visiting team. I like that they move guys up and down a LOT, so I get to see big time guys in my hood. Plus their jackets are so cool.

Two things:
1. John Hattig is from Guam and still lives there. Fascinating guy, don't you think?
2. Trent Durrington batting leadoff? YES! One more thing: Henceforth and heretoafter, you will refer to TD as "The Thunder from Down Under".
3. I knew Huckaby was going to get the callup, even though I was kind of rooting for Miller. I s'pose it's moot now that THE RED SOX HAVE ACQUIRED JAVI LOPEZ!!!
That's TWO Javier Lopezes. What a time we live in!

I'll be at the local speakeasy tonight, watching the game and having a few milkshakes. If you want to come wish me a happy birthday, that's where I'll be. Because in case you didn't know, it's my special day!

xoxo

Hope it's chocolate for me!

I hope I get a lot of presents!

cookies

It is 68 degrees right now. It was about 102 this afternoon.

Also, I'm hungry.

the food part

Would like to quickly mention two Central Falls eateries:

New Hong Kong on Broad Street does a great job and has above average Chinese food. It's a total hole in the wall, but they're so efficient and yummy!

Taqueria Lupita on Dexter. Today I ate a burrito the size of a football. Their fruity milkshakes are delicious. You can also get Mexican Coca-Cola there, if that's your thing. Simple and delicious.

CF has a million tiny restaurants that are endlessly changing. And I'm starving right now.

8.3.06 Pawtucket v. Syracuse Sky Chiefs: Foulke Has Two Girlfriends

Syracuse WINS! 12-3 (thanks, relievers!)

Only a few hours ago I was all excited about the vase and the Enrique Wilson thing. Enrique Wilson is gone. He retired. His knees were just a mess and everything hurt. He obviously does not care about the fans. Or their knick-knacks.

I don't have a whole lot to say about the game itself, partially because I had to stop scoring when the rain began. My gear was getting all wet. And, oh yeah, Pawtucket got whooped.

Wow, hot today or what? Keith Foulke... no, not the one from Boston! Except, yes! He pitched the first inning and did fine. I thought McCoy would be banged out, but it wasn't full at all. No one cares about Texas Boy.

I should backtrack at this point. It was Poster Night, which is the very special night where the fans can go onto the warning track and get any autograph they want. I had a small list of priority players, which changed after I found out about El Jefe. As follows: Marc Deschenes, Jeff Bailey, Corkstah, and possibly Ron Calloway.

I got all the above except for Calloway... I was so close. I also got a few more that I didn't necessarily want. Like Van Buren, who was really nice but freaking ruined my PawSox lunchbox. Marc Deschenes was so sweet... I told him that since Hee-Seop got the boot, he's a contender for the spelling out of his four-letter name on our t-shirts at the Futures game. Him or Zink.

"Nice," is what he said.

Other players worth mentioning: Alejandro Machado, who was giggly and sweet and ADORABLE... Trent Durrington, who obliged a VERY special request and was awesome about it. And as I mentioned before, Jermaine Van Buren was super nice and friendly. I still sort of hate him, though.

Kason Gabbard took over after Foulke split, and did okay until everything went cuckoo in the 7th. Javier Lopez gave up a million runs. Barry Hertzler didn't do much better. It was raining. Too bad, Pawtucket.

Two things:
1. Remember Bob Tewksbury? Well, Tewks works for the PawSox now. I'm not sure what his position is, but he was sitting in the dugout in uni. I'm guessing bullpen coach... but I don't know if they have that in the minors.
2. Although it was Poster Night, I rolled mine up and stashed it immediately. They are pretty useless.
3. They had the Big Three at one table: Stern, Pedroia, and Murphy. All very nice and cordial.
4. C. Miller and Hustlin' Willie went back-to-back.
5. Tho' it was oppressive early on, it turned out to be a nice night for an evening.

I'll be at the first game of the double header tomorrow. On my birthday! Happy Birthday, JS!

It's also Luke Allen's birthday, but he's also not a Pawtucket Sox any more. So long, sweetheart!

kept on looking for a sign in the middle of the night

Poster night!

I own what might well be the world's ugliest vase. For reals. Not only is it ugly, but it's all grimy and misshapen. I think someone made it. I bought it at a thrift store here in CF for, say, a dollar.

The thing about the vase is, for a long time, I didn't understand it. It had all these weird symbols potteried onto it: a palm tree, a footprint, some red and blue squares, a pale blue rectangle with the letters "DR" cut out of it.

Then, one day, it hit me. Red and blue squares... the arrangement suggested a flag. DR. Dominican Republic. Palm tree! Some green commas that might be plantains! Yes! YES!

It is clear to me now what I need to do. I need a Dominican appraisal. Tonight, I bring the vase to Enrique Wilson. He will tell me all its secrets and possibly autograph it for me. Then I will photograph it in all its majesty and post it on the internet.

Hee-Seop Choi is gone. I heard some rumors that he was milking his injury and being sort of a pain in the ass. K, die!

And one of the funniest things I read was the Keith Foulke in Pawtucket report. He threw a couple of pitches, went up to RJ and said (essentially) "Ron, sorry, but I can't do it." He then said to the media as he climbed into his "black luxury vehicle"... "I really don't want to talk about it."

Keith Foulke is such a total bitch, and I love him for it. He's just such a blatant redneck asshole. I think it's great. I would love to ask him for an autograph just to hear him say, "Fuck off."

See you later!