so long, mr griffey

Ken Griffey Jr. retired earlier this week. This makes me sad. It makes a lot of other baseball fans sad too, almost certainly for the same reasons.  Because while guys Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmiero, Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds cheated their way into headlines and record books, Griffey kept it real.

I maintain that Griffey was still an excellent player in the past ten years, albeit a different one. He had to adapt as he aged, no longer having the same power he had at the height of his career (mid to late 90s, I'd say). He was injured often, missing a shit-ton of games. And ya know why? Because he wasn't jacked up on HGH or Creatin or any of that junk. You know what that's called? It's called class, kids. 

Barry Bonds is the current all-time home run leader - and it's likely Alex Rodriguez is going to crush Bonds' record - but we all know Barry Bonds is a cheater. And we already know A-Rod had used steroids at different points in his career.  Griffey didn't. But he's still at #5 all-time in home runs. I'm pretty sure he's in the top ten for hits and RBIs as well (but I'm too lazy to look). He'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and no one will have any questions about his purity as a player. No one will ask for an asterisk next to his name or numbers, no one will question his contribution to the sport.

And that's what makes Griffey such a big deal, right? When folks write or talk about his career, there will be no digression about steroids, about cheating. It's all gonna be, Remember Ken Griffey Jr.? Damn, he was amazing...

And he was associated with the best frigging baseball game ever....EVER.

here lies the underdog

You know I'm in love when...

Amie has ruined my love for the underdog!! I'm rooting for the Boston Red Sox right now. And that's because of Amie.

By nature I root for the underdog (see: 2001 Diamondbacks, 2002 Angels, 2003 Marlins, 2004 Red Sox, 2007 Rockies.) I don't hate a team once they've won a championship, but I certainly stop rooting for them as they can't be an underdog.

Alas, I have found myself rooting for the Red Sox, even after they've won two World Series championships (both in sweeps, I might add)!! Not that I don't like the Red Sox. In fact, even though they're exhibiting the makings of a "dynasty," I really like them. They are not a bought team (hello, Mr. Steinbrenner!); the success they've had is due to great management and teamwork -- I love Varitek, Pedroia, Youklis, Ortiz, Beckett, Crisp, Paplebon and company as individuals and think the Red Sox from about 2000-present have...psh! To hell with heaping praise and back to how Amie has killed...

...my love for the underdog.

Oh, well. I'll take Amie over the underdog. For sure. Any day. 

Next blog: The Nothing is Something which actually turns out to be a Wolf Man...or is it a werewolf? Who knows! But at least it's something...or is it nothing? Or worse! Is it The Nothing. Only something will tell....

it's like two dicks...er, blogs...in one!!

Ya know what's funny? I've liked the Brewers since I was a kid. For the longest time I was "Straight Edge" (Shut up, Heather) and the Brewers sucked. Two years ago I "broke my edge" and the Brewers are good. Point being? If you are Straight Edge you are a loser.

Unfortunately it takes me being a drinker to make the Brewers a pretty good team. Which means it would take me being a coke addict to get them to the World Series. So the question is...who's gonna hook me and the Brew Crew up with some magic so I can fly to Milwaukee and see a World Series game?

I'll have to overdose to see them win the Series...FUCK!

------

I went to Milwaukee Friday and saw a Brewers game. If you think I'm gonna waste my time talking about how great it was you can all just hold your breath until you die. Why? Because. That's why.

Thursday night I was watching TV and saw a commercial for some new joint pain medicine. The ad went through the usual spiel about not taking it with other medications, but this one caught my attention because it noted that you should not take it if you have HIV. Now, I'm no doctor and I'm sure as shit not Freddie Mercury, and maybe I'm just ignorant, but...if you have HIV are you really worried about joint pain?

The Brewers game was awesome. The batteries in my camera died in the top half of the first inning. It was a long shot but I asked a vendor if anyone in the park sold AA batteries. Most people would simply say, "Aw, sorry. No." But this guy -- this fucking nerdlinger -- says, "Ohhh, no! If we sold batteries they'd end up all over the field."

News flash: I can be a total dick sometimes. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a nerve is struck and I just turn into a bit of a dick. So he says this -- ALL OVER THE FIELD!! Really? REALLY?! And so I sez...

"That doesn't make any sense." A beat. I let this settle in. "If people were gonna throw batteries on the field. They'd be dead batteries. Like the ones in my camera."

Okay, so I could have been a much bigger dick. I swear I wouldn't have been so shitty if Miller Park wasn't selling plain ol' t-shirts for forty bucks a pop. All I wanted was a shirt with this logo on it:



Hey, you wanna know how fucking cool that logo is? To find an image you just have to search for ball and glove logo. I'm not gonna get all baseball nerdy but FUCK! That logo rules. More people wore shirts with that logo than the new logo. The Brew Crew should go old school...

I'm a nerd. I love it.