Tag: operation shutdown

Notes on a gray Saturday

1) On the broadcast of today’s Cubs/Padres game:

Pat Hughes: Be careful with this guy, Ron: he spells his name Cla–no “y,” but it’s pronounced “Clay.” I thought it was a mistake. It disturbed me. I couldn’t sleep last night. These things are important.

Ron Santo: You’re bothered a lot of the time, aren’t you?

Pat Hughes: Can’t you tell?

2) Cardnilly heard two people in the stands at Busch Stadium talking about Juan Encarnacion:

Inmate-looking guy [re-emerging from the concourse]: Say, who hit that last home run?
Mildly frightened bystander: Oh, one of the new guys. I forget his name…
ILG: Was it Incarceration?
MFB: Yep. That was the guy.

3) Operation Shutdown may be over, unless Derek Bell can talk the judicial system into letting him continue his workless protest.

4) Pedro has a green thumb. Now if only he’d grow out his hair again, I could wholeheartedly root for him.

5) Congratulations to Jim, who made the 600th post to this blog earlier in the week.

Spring is here, I hear

The Vernal Equinox has passed. It’s time for predictions.

Some ground rules:
1) Pick the Braves to win. Seriously. Just give up not doing so. I hate this rule, but if I’d followed it even once since 1991, I’d have picked better.

2) Pick the Royals for last.

3) If you’re really inspired, list the order of finish for each division in each league. If you’re lazy, pick each division winner and the wild card for each league.

4) Pick the MVP and Cy Young. Don’t pick Rookie of the Year, unless you pay more attention to the minor leagues than I do.

5) As you do your calculations, remember that Operation Shutdown is, so far as I know, still in effect. The Pirates will not have the use of the services of Derek Bell.

Play Ball, boys!*

*and girls. Girls are encouraged to post. Got lots of female friends who are rabid fans, don’t want to slight ’em.

Enemies

ESPN.com’s Page 2 columnist, Dave Schoenfield, has a good piece today wherein he posits that each team has its number-one most-hated figure, be it an opponent, an owner, or an underperforming team member. He then picks each team’s Public Enemy Number 1. Though I disagree with him on some choices (Sammy Sosa over Steven Bartman?), any article that includes references to Operation Shutdown, the hideous nature of the D’Backs’ uniforms, and Kent Hrbek leg-wrestling Ron Gant in 1991 is a good way to start your day.

Original comments…

Jim: I would argue that, with Barry Bonds a non-factor so far this season, current Dodger hatred goes to GM Paul DePodesta (and to a lesser extent the owner and his wife, Frank and Jamie McCourt).

Non-baseball vacation. It’s sad, but such things do exist.

Stacey and I are off on vacation with her family for a week, starting tomorrow. So I will be away from the Internet (Unless one of Stacey’s sisters has one of those magic internet phone-watch-missile-defense-system-thingies, which would probably terrify me so much that I couldn’t use it even if I wanted to do so.) and not posting to BRPA2004.

In my absence, I hope Jim will at least impersonate me for a post or two. It’s not like it’s that hard. You mention Johnny Damon, lament a Cardinals loss or cheer a Cardinals victory.

Or you could post something about Raul Mondesi—whose nickname is “The Buffalo”— and Operation Shutdown: The Sequel, which he pulled in Pittsburgh, the home of the original, unmatchable Operation Shutdown.

And you could link to this silly picture, from the game where Mondesi, now an Angel, tore his quadriceps.

There. Now Jim will be able to impersonate me with ease. See you all when we return.

Original comments…

thatbob: I have no idea what you’re talking about.