Clearing the brain so it keeps working
sports
Take me out to the Ballgame
Jul 3rd
and so I did. Back before the beginning of Baseball season I made a promise to myself to go to at least 1 Major League game. That promise has been kept. The Tigers played the Mariners and won 7-1. There were fireworks after the game. Not a bad way to start the 4th of July weekend.
Comerica Park is a gem, a great place to watch a ballgame. The food was expensive, but very good, of course nothing else tastes like a hotdog at the ballpark. Wide selection of vendors, and most had TVs so you wouldn’t miss much game action.
Then there was the game. I’ve said before that I don’t usually care for blowouts, even when my team it winning. That is still the case, but the game seemed close until the later innings. It was 4-1 until the 5th, and then 7-1 after 7 innings. Even with that, the best play of the game came in the 9th inning with a double play off a fly ball deep to left center. Little Bits and I had a fun time at the ‘old ball game’.
A couple of pictures from the Ballpark will be added soon.
All I can say is WHAT!!!
Jun 2nd
I was listening to a ball game tonight and it sounded like it was going to be something special. Very close, well pitched game. 1 – 0 going into the 8th inning. A blown call and a hit/error later made it a 3 – 0 game going into the 9th. The home team pitcher had a perfect game going.
Long fly ball to deep center field, chased down by the center fielder, 1 out.
Ground ball to short, 2 outs.
Ground ball to 1st, close play at first. Perfect game/no hitter ruined. And then the announcers started to complain. They yelled, they screamed. The could not believe what they just saw. The same ump that blew the call in the bottom of the 8th did the same thing in the 9th to ruin a perfect game. Both announcers said it was and outrage.
Tempers grew hot when the game ended. Final score Detroit 3, Cleveland 0.
Strange thing, I was listening to the game on the Cleveland network, since I get that better than the Detroit network at home. The Cleveland announcers were outraged at that call in the 9th. They were the ones yelling and screaming about the umpire. I’m sure the Detroit announcers were doing something similar, but I was amazed to hear this from the Cleveland crew.
Watching the replay on the net, confirms that the umpire blew the call. Out by at least 1/2 a step. I didn’t see the 8th inning close play yet, but I am going to assume the announcer got that right too.
There are very few times we are able to witness perfection in any activity. A perfect game in baseball is very rare indeed. Funny how human error eliminates this perfection. Good life lesson that.
Sad day in Tiger Town
May 5th
I just read that Ernie Harwell passed away. This was expected, since he had an inoperable form of cancer.
I grew up listening to Mr. Harwell on the radio. As a Tiger fan, he was the voice of the Tigers. I would have the game on TV, but the sound would be off and I would listen to the guy on the radio. His strong voice would carry Tiger games over the airwaves of WJR from Detroit.
Of course things change with the Tigers as I grew older, but for the most part the voice was constant. Until one year he was no longer there. He had been let go!! Outrage by Tiger fans eventually brought him back to the booth until he retired. Oh the many good memories he provides me. That old transistor radio hidden under my pillow, just what was needed for those West Coast Series. That same radio hidden at School to listen to day games in the fall or spring. Driving in the evening tormenting my wife and oldest daughter because I had to listen to the game. I grew out of that (mostly) when Ernie left. He was the voice for me.
He retired many years ago, but would visit the booth from time to time. Often in spring training to recite the following:
For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
I never knew what that had to do with baseball, but it was a springtime tradition for Tiger fans.
Sad day in Tiger Town, and in the world of Baseball.
Just watched a little football
Oct 12th
I took my two youngest daughters to lunch today, and then scampered back home to allow my youngest to get her stuff together to head back to school. On the way to Fort Wayne, we stopped in Hicksville to see a play Jamiahsh was in. About 10 minutes into the play, I mentioned to my daughter that I was guessing Jamiahsh’s character would be the murder victim. Not just because he was annoying the ‘director’, but because, these shows are predictable. At least to some extent. I will admit that I didn’t get the ‘real’ murderer. A very fun performance.
Then off to Fort Wayne with a stop at a Walmart to get pictures developed and some scrap booking supplies. That took some time this evening. A rather late dinner and I got my daughter back to school some time after 8:00pm. Then the hour drive back home.
When I got here, I decided to relax and watch the end of Sunday Night Football. By the time I started watching, the game was just about over and it was only halfway through the 3rd period. At least during the game I did find out that most of the teams for the league championship series have been decided. Only the Phillies and Rockies need to complete their series. And they had a snow out…. I think some cities should have domed stadiums (or more exactly retractable domes) if they start competing in October/November. Sometimes it is just too cold for baseball.
I also heard that the Bears won, so we should see another Whatever post… 
Baseball announcers
Oct 10th
Since I am a Tiger fan, I do tend to like the Tiger announcers, but since they did not make the playoffs 
, I am listening to other announcers. So far, I’ve heard the Yankee announcers during the season. The lady they have (sorry I don’t recall her name) seems to really know her baseball. The Red Sox and Angels announcers are gung ho for their team (as expected) but seemed to do their homework on the other team. I feel this is very important. It bugs me when the announcer can’t pronounce the other team’s players.
I hope to hear the NL announcers before this round of the playoffs ends. But that will depend on my schedule and when I can get to a computer or radio that gets local stations.
I’m thinking the AL will come down to the Angels and the Yankees. I’ve been against the Yankees since I knew about baseball, so I really can’t root for them. (Sorry J…) I do think they will go to the World Series, my likes and dislikes won’t change that at all. They have a better set of pitchers and they can out hit any team on any night.
I’m not sure about the National League teams, since I didn’t pay as much attention to them. I would like the Dodgers to get to the Series, but I’m not sure which team has the best chance. Prior bias on my part hopes the Cardinals don’t get in (they beat Detroit in 2006). While it looks good for the Dodgers, I just just don’t know. As far as the Phillies and Diamondbacks, to me that is a coin toss.
Fearless prediction
Yankees, Dodgers in the Series. Yankees win it 6 games. Arrgh!!! I hate saying that….
