Number 32! Tied With Last Year! Yippie!

This is just to say that this is post number 32 for this year. I have now tied last year's number of posts to this blog. That means I will make at least four more posts this year (one for each of the remaining months for this year). OK so it isn't spectacular to anybody except me, and it is a pointless post. Well not really a pointless post since the point of this post is to point out the fact that this post ties the number of posts from last year. OK so maybe it is pointless. Whaaaa.

More Computer Whoes

ARGH!
For some unexplained reason, my laptop sometime around the end of July, gives me error messages for Mizilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. I can log into AOL, and read and send email but the welcome page also shows an error. With Internet Explorer I can get google.com to show up, and the first page of yahoo.com but I can't sign in to my.yahoo or most other pages. I can't even open most pages I think those two (my.yahoo mainpage and google main page) are the only ones I can get to on Internet Explorer, I can't get nothing with Firefox. I tried reloading the silly network thing for AOL, which just makes the computer think you are brand new to AOL ugh, at least you don't have to start a new account. I can't for the life of me figure out what went wrong. BTW I have to use other computers to access all my stuff that isn't email. It is a royal pain. My spyware and virus detector programs come up with nothing. To make matters worse my laptop for the last few months likes to overheat and shutdown sometimes, so it looks like I will need to get it fixed or get a new one but I can't afford to do either at this juncture in time.

Of Wedding Bouquets And Garters!

On Saturday (11 August, 2007) I attended a wedding. Yes I was invited, I'm not a wedding crasher (although that might be a good way to meet women...) The reception had all the normal events, the best man toasting, the couples first dance, and of course the tossing of the bouquet and the flinging of the garter. Now as per standard wedding etiquette during the bouquet toss all the single women (18 and older) scrambled and jumped and dove for the bouquet like a typical running play during a Super Bowl. The garter fling was also the standard of all the guys just standing around not making an effort to even acknowledge the thing. There was the typical "20 dollars to the guy who makes the sacrifice for the team" sort of comment. The "I'm not standing in the front row" and I think one or two other typical comments. Well wouldn't you know it, the thing lands three feet in front of me. The guy to my left started to make a move for it then stopped and said something like "you get it, it's all yours". Then some guy who I think was the grandfather of the 20something girl who had pried the bouquet from her adversaries hands, came up to me and asked me if that meant I was going to marry the girl who caught the bouquet. I said "No, now-a-days it just means that we are the next ones to get married". Then they took a photo or two of me and the girl who caught the bouquet on either side of the bride and groom.

So I went to a wedding and all I got was a lousy garter. LOL!

Nats Vs. Bonds Round 4

Nats vs. Giants Game 4

In the final game of this four game series the newly crowned Home Run King Barry Bonds sat out for most of it. Since this was a day game and I didn't set the old VCR I didn't actually see this final game of the historic series. I monitored the stats of the game for the first 4.5 innings via Yahoo Sports, then listened to about 3 innings on the radio, I did't find out the details of the last 2 innings until checking back in with Yahoo.

Anyway in a must win situation the Nats pulled through and ended up winning the game 3-1, dispite the 8th inning effort by the Giants to bring in Bonds to pinch hit with runners at the corners (at 1st and 3rd base that is). Mr. Eighth inning Jon Rauch managed to get him to hit a popup foul out to 3rd. Then for the Ninth Chad "The Chief" Cordero got his 25th save of the season to bring the series to a close with the Nats splitting the series with the Giants 2-2.

I am so glad all this is over now. Phew! Oh and now, for the time being, the Nats are tied with The Florida Marlins in 4th place of the NL East Division.

Nats Vs. Bonds Round 3

Wednesday 8 Aug 2007 Nats vs. Giants Game 3

Well the atmosphere of this game was more or less back to Earth. Last nights game was a circus up until the 5th inning break for history, tonight's game was more like a regular game and didn't stop just because somebody hit a ball out of the park. Guess what? On his first at bat on the second pitch Barry Bonds hit homer number 757 a ball that thought it was a crashing jet plane and plunged into "McCovey's Cove". The Giants fans acted more like regular baseball fans and not just a pack of vultures waiting for a victim to finally die. The end result was very disappointing the Nationals were skunked 5-0. They HAVE to win tomorrow's afternoon game to split the series. Why oh why did the Giants pick this 4 game series to start coming back?

Racing Presidents Bobbleheads!

I was going to make a post similar to this but since someone already did, "Why re-invent the wheel"?

One of the cool give aways for this Nats season is the "Racing Presidents: Bobbleheads". Yes they are real bobbleheads depicting the four characters of the U.S. Presidents that race around the warning track at RFK (Next Year they will do it at Nationals Park).

Here is a link that shows them:
http://nats320.blogspot.com/2007/06/racing-president-bobbleheads.html

Mike Bacsik, Barry Bonds & Hank Aaron Connection.

Well the Baseball history books now have Barry Bonds as the Home Run King with number 756 to break Hank Aaron's reign of 33 years as Home Run King with 755. Washington Nationals Pitcher Mike Bacsik was the (un)fortunate pitcher number 446 to get homered off of Bonds.

In a sort of destiny fulfilled odd-ball fact, Mike Bacsik's father (also named Mike) not only had pitched to a Bonds, Barry's father Bobby in 1979, but also to a home run king with 755 homers notched onto his bat (Hank Aaron). The senior Bacsik (Texas Rangers) had pitched to Aaron in Aug of 1976 but did not give up homer number 756.

Believe it or Not Robert R. Ripley.

Nats Vs. Bonds Round 2

Game 2 Nationals vs. Giants

In a very exciting game for the most part, the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 8-6 in game 2 of 4. Felipe Lopez got things started for the Nats when he solo homered in the top of the 3rd putting the Nats on the scoreboard with 1 run to the Giants 2. Then a few batters later Austin Kearns hit a 2 run homer bringing in Ronnie Belliard putting the Nats on top 3-2. Brian Schneider Homered in the 4th to tie the game 4-4, The Nats would score 4 more in the 8th.

OK now for that Bonds fellow. In the bottom of the first, to the disappointment of the Giants fans Bonds only Doubled, he would then be brought home by Bengie Molina. Bond's second at bat came in the 3rd and again to the collected sighs of the Giants fans he only got a single. He would again score this time on the 2 run homer by the guy behind him in batting order, Bengie Molina. This brought the Giants in the lead 4-3. Oh yeah then in the 5th on a full count of 3 balls and 2 strikes with nobody on base, he knocked #756 over 400 feet deep center off of Mike Bacsik to put the Giants in the lead again 5-4. He then started to take the field at the top of the 6th but came out.

Finally the "Chasing Aaron's Record" is over, we can all get on with our lives, and enjoy baseball again. After the media circus stopped the game in it's tracks and Barry gave his heartfelt speach the game resumed and got back to business as usual. The question is will Bonds be in the lineup tomorrow night? Who knows? Will anybody be paying attention when he hits number 757?

Nats Vs. Bonds Round 1

The Washington Nationals are trapped in the Giant Bonds Home Run Circus.


The quote Experts unquote have predicted that Barry Bonds, in his effort to break Hank Aaron's Most Career Homers Record, will hit number 756 at home against the Washington Nationals. He tied the record on Saturday (04 August 2007) with number 755 in San Diego. Well Tonight Monday 06 August 2007 (very late for us on the East coast) he didn't do it, but the Nats lost to the San Francisco Giants in extra innings 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th. The Nats had their 6 game winning streak snapped, while the Giants snapped their 3 game losing streak.

The game went most of the game tied 1-1 seeing as both teams had scored in the 1st.

No homer for Barry but Dimitri Young Homered in the 10th to put the Nats ahead 2-1, unfortunately the Giants came back and tied it 2-2, taking it to the 11th, where the Giants loaded the bases and won with a single. UGH.

Mr. Bonds was held hitless in four at bats, he fouled out to third in the first inning, walked in the third, grounded into a double play in the fifth and struck out in the seventh, while each pitch was accompanied by a paparazzi of flash bulbs going off.

On the one hand I want Bonds to go ahead and break the record already so the media circus will move on to other fish to fry, but on the other hand I don't want him to do it while playing the Nats. One game down three more to go.