Today is an AWESOME day!!!!!!!!! Opening Day 2008 is here!!

Last night I got to experience Opening Night which was amazing in itself. My family had just picked out 6 baseball teams for the year (I will post an entry on that soon!) and it was Sher's team (Nationals) vs. my dads team (Braves). Of course I wanted the Braves to LOSE because I my biggest goal is to BEAT my dad in this game we are playing. Anyway it was a great game and the Nationals WON the game in the bottom of the 9th from a walk-off homerun by Ryan Zimmerman. It was extra special because 1: It was the first game in the Nationals new ballpark, and 2: the Nats had just given up their lead in the 8th inning by a PASSED BALL. So...all that combined with my dad's disappointment made it a great night!

I was actually pretty bummed TODAY though because my Yankees game was going to be on ESPN at 11am. Normally that is SO exciting but I had to WORK from 8-12:30 and then I had a test I couldn't miss at 1. The good news is, is that the game was actually postponed because of rain and has been rescheduled to tomorrow night. I'm not sure yet if its supposed to be on tv, but it better! After I got home from class I actually got to see bits and pieces of some other games. Here are some of my thoughts....

Joe Torre and the Dodgers.

Still so weird...this will take me a long time to get used to! I was happy though at how the Dodgers fans cheered for him when they announced his name. Joe Torre deserves that respect. Respect that he did NOT receive from "The Boss"......so I'm happy for him. Oh and the game wasn't too exciting because the Giants are pretty much gonna be cellar dwellars this year...hmmm. 

CUBS-BREWERS.

This was an important game to me. This was my team (Brewers) against my dad's team!!! Ok, some things I picked up from the game. 

Why would you pitch around Prince Fielder to get to Ryan Braun?? Ryan Braun is amazing and proved it once he brought in the first run for the Brewers. 

Fukudome...he is for real. Sucks he's on the Cubs though...I didnt see his last at bat but he was 3 for 3 when I watched him including the GAME TYING homerun he hit. 

Gagne=GAGne (as in CHOKE!!!)

I loved when he was on the Red Sox last year. He helped me out by blowing the Red Sox's lead time and time again. NOW I'm stuck with him on my Brewers team and I HATE IT!! Of course he was the one to give up the GAME TYING homerun by Fukudome in the 9th.  Gagne SUCKS now!!!! It really is too bad....he used to be amazing. Luckily the Brewers came back again and won it in the 10th. :)

KC-DET

I have both of these teams. Im happy KC won...I really think they are on their way up. But what concerns me is the Tigers bullpen. Their bullpen is the reason they lost this game...which sucks because I knew about their struggles before I picked them. The better figure it out. My first pick can't let me down!!

Well I think thats it for today. Now I'm off to go watch the amazing matchup of Oswalt and Peavy at 8pm!

ahhh....I found some amazing pics. enjoy :) Thanks to yankees.com!

On Billy Crystal and the best rivalry in sports

I want to start off by saying how cool I think it was for the Yanks to sign Billy Crystal to a one-day minor league contract. Billy is one of the biggest Yankee fans around and the Yankees gave him the opportunity of a lifetime! Now I would never want to do that, but maybe bat girl? heck yeah :) Anyway, I thought he did pretty good with the one at bat he had. If he could've just straightened out that foul ball he would have hit, that would have been GREAT! It sucks he ended up striking out but I thought it was pretty awesome. The best part of it, was the next day in the New York Post under baseball transactions it read "Yankees release INF Billy Crystal". Just hanging out there with all the rest of the transactions. So funny :)

Here's the video of his at-bat.

Ok, now for my favorite part.

YANKEES-RED SOX RIVALRY!!
This is the greatest rivalry in sports. Period. And I don't even give a crap that this was a ST game. We beat them FAIR AND SQUARE even with A-Rod on the bench. All I got to see were highlights on SportsCenter, but their offense looked GREAT! Godzilla went 3-4 with 3 RsBI, Robbie went 2-3 with 3 RsBI and Bobby Abreu went 2-3 with 2 RsBI. Rounding out the action, Jason went 2-3 and Jeter went 1-3. I'm so excited. I hate the Red Sox and I am soooo excited for the 18 wonderful RS-Yanks games to come this season......

Yay!

Well the Yanks are not having the best of luck this Spring Training, so Im excited to see where this season takes them. I'm so nervous...there are a lot of questions this year. The biggest question is the young pitching. I pray they can pull it together. I have faith though, they've got some great arms. The thing I'm most impressed about so far is how Kei Igawa hasn't given up any hits yet. Who would've thought??! Hope he can keep it up!!!

One more thing...Is it bad to say I'm really happy Josh Beckett is having back spasms?? hahahahahaha..............


Isn't this picture amazing??!!
I found it on some random Yankees blog. :)

Winter....is....OVER!!!

Amid my excitement for Spring Training, I have a lot to say today!

First I want to talk about the game yesterday. It was on ESPN and it was the first televised Yankee Spring Training game! I was a little irritated because I had to miss the first half because of work. But I hurried home and as soon as I turned on the TV I was freaking out excited! Jorge Posada was up to bat, and I can’t even explain it. It was just so refreshing to watch after a long and painful (Clemens) winter! The game was ok until the end when they gave up their lead in the 8^th inning. I’ll be honest, I know this is just a ST game with not even a 1/4^th of the regulars playing, but this game got me a little nervous. Especially my young pitchers JOBA, Kennedy, and Ramirez. They didn’t do that great. These are three of the guys the Yanks are relying on for the season. They HAVE to do well or there is no hope for the post-season, especially with all the talent in the AL this year. They seemed a little sloppy but I guess it’s probably because its only March 6^th. I guess the point of ST Games is to loosen up and get ready for the long haul, right?

*Hank Steinbrenner: Like father, like son.

I’m not quite sure what to think of him yet. So far, I like how he has kept the win or fail attitude, but he opens his mouth way too much. As much as I despise the Red Sox, when he accused half their team of doing steroids too, it upset me. None of them were listed in the Mitchell Report, so it makes him look like a big idiot. I don’t know, it might take a while to get use to him. It will be interesting to see how this season plays out.

*Joe Torre in Dodger Blue

Actually...this will take the longest to get used to. When I saw Joe in his Dodger stuff on SportsCenter during his ST game....

I almost shed a tear.

:'(

I'm freaking out!!

I am SO EXCITED that Spring Training has started!! Spring is on it’s way!! I am kindof mad though that I have to miss some games because of work :( I also have to miss the game on Opening Day!! ehhhhhh.....

Terms I to O

I

In the Hole. The batter scheduled to hit after the hitter who is on deck. (Example: Enos Cabell is at bat, Ceasar Cedeno is on deck, and Terry Puhl is in the hole.)

J

Journeyman. A player who has played (1) for many years; (2) for many different teams; and (3) often, but not always, a player of marginal offensive prowess who is solid defensively. Commonly used to describe a utility player whose flexibility and good attitude may have kept him in the Big Show longer than his simple talents would usually merit.

K

Keystone Sack. Second base.

L

Lawrence Welk. A 1-2-3 double play. This occurs when the bases are loaded and the batter hits a ground ball to the pitcher (No. 1 position), who throws it to the catcher (No.2 position) to force out the runner coming home from third, and who then throws it to the first baseman (position 3), who steps on first to force the batter out.

It’s called a Lawrence Welk after the popular bandleader, who used to begin songs with “and a 1, and a 2, and a 3.”

Live Ball Era. This refers to the period of play beginning after the Dead Ball Era ended in 1920.

LOOGY. A mildly derogatory remark for a left-handed specialist, which is a lefty pitcher who often makes limited appearances to get one or two left-handed hitters out. The acronym stands for Lefty One Out Guy. A prime example of this is Mike Myers, a submarine left-hand pitcher, who has been pitching in the majors for 20 years and has had over 300 outings where he faced just one left-handed batter.

Lord Charles. A curve ball that breaks from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock (top to bottom of the strike zone).

M

Magic Number. This indicates the sum of the number of games that a first place team must plus the number of games that a team ranked lower in the standings must lose in order for the first place team to win a divisional race.

Moon Shot. A home run that is hit particularly high and long. (Example: Frank 'Hondo' Howard's hit a real moonshot off Denny McLain the other night.)

Mop up Work. This term refers to a relief pitching appearance where the relief pitcher’s team is down by an insurmountable number of runs.

Mow ‘em down. Refers to a pitcher who strikes out a series of hitters in a row.

Mr. Splitee. A split-fingered fastball.

Mustard. Refers to a lot of velocity on a fastball.

N

Nightcap. The second game of a doubleheader.

No Room at the Inn. Refers to a situation where the bases are loaded.

O

Ofer (or O-fer). Refers to a hitter who gets no hits in a game. “Manny Ramirez got the big Ofer today, getting no hits in four at-bats.”

Ol’ Number One. A fastball. The term comes from the usual signal that a catcher gives to a pitcher for a fastball, which is pointing the number one down.

Olympic Rings. When a player strikes out five times in one game (also known as the Platinum Sombrero).

On Deck. The player who is due to hit after the batter who is currently hitting. ("Warren Cromartie is at the plate, and Rowland Office is on deck.")

On the Interstate. Hitting between .100 and .199. The phrase comes from the fact that Interstate highways often have numbers in the 100s, such as I-195. ("With his .176 average, Larvell Blanks has been on the interstate all season long.")

On the Screws. When a player hits the ball very hard on the barrel of the bat (also referred to as hitting the ball on the button, or hitting the ball off former New York Met Anthony Young)

Outpitch. Refers to a pitcher’s best pitch for getting a hitter out, especially in a close game with runners on base.

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