In Summer 2007, I drove from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Part 3 of a nine-part series covering the first day of my journey.
For me, Yuma represents three things. First, the Cracker Barrel nearest to San Diego can be found here (the inescapable southern chain would figure prominently later on this journey). Second, when I reach Yuma, I know that I’m halfway to Phoenix. I keep a close eye on mileposts and periodically recalculate the ETA in my head based on the latest information (I do the same thing with batting averages at a ballgame — it’s my own special form of OCD). Third, and perhaps most important, gas prices are 30 cents lower on the Arizona side of the river. I’m certain that I’ve never driven along I-8 without stopping for gas here. Continue reading ›
This is Part 3 of a 13-part series examining the 65 men who have collected exactly one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres. The current installment includes two Loyola Marymount Lions (one of whose brother plays in the NFL), the man drafted just after Barry Bonds, the man drafted just after Carney Lansford, and a pitcher turned pitching coordinator who has helped one of the current Padres young guns along the way. Continue reading ›
As someone who “missed” all but a half inning of the entire postseason (I saw Brad Lidge close out the Giants in one of the NLCS games but otherwise remained happily ignorant of the proceedings), I can’t comment on the action. This, however, doesn’t stop me from having and feeling the need to express opinions about the outcome.
Lucky you…
Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants. They weren’t the best team in baseball (or even in their division) for most of the year but dominated over the final two months, and that was enough.
The Padres’ failure to hold onto their once-commanding lead in the NL West stings even more now. They could have been the team celebrating. Doubtful, but you never know… after all, the Giants weren’t supposed to win.
I am glad that the World Series featured two teams from parts of the country routinely ignored by the U.S. media. It is good for people in Boston, Chicago, New York, and the like to experience the sensation of feeling completely removed from important events. Maybe awareness will help lead to change. Probably not, but it can’t hurt.
I am not looking forward to seeing the Giants come to town in 2011. I have friends who are Giants fans and who are very cool people. Unfortunately, the Giants fans I encounter at the ballpark tend to be less agreeable. I am concerned that a championship may make them downright unbearable. It’s like someone said after the Red Sox won in 2004: “I liked their fans better when they were suffering.”
Well, that’s enough hating on the World Series for one day. And anyway, my bubble bath is ready…
We had another cool riff going but didn’t record it, which is probably just as well since the lyrics consisted, essentially, of an obscene joke involving Oprah Winfrey and leather sofas. It was very offensive but very funny and I was laughing so hard I could barely play the notes… Continue reading ›
In Summer 2007, I drove from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Part 2 of a nine-part series covering the first day of my journey.
My decision to drive from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame was an easy one to make. Although I’m a relative newcomer to Padres fandom (having “found religion” in the mid-’90s), I’ve long appreciated Gwynn’s contributions to his team, his city, and baseball.
For an organization that is ignored or dismissed by much of the national sports media, Gwynn represents an irrefutable affirmation of his team’s place in baseball lore. His inclusion among the inner circle of greats who have played the sport since those gentlemen in Cincinnati first donned red stockings in 1869 brings legitimacy to the Padres’ existence as a big-league franchise.
When future generations of baseball fans make their pilgrimage to Cooperstown, they will see Gwynn in a Padres uniform. They will witness first-hand a team they may not have seen or heard play. It is possible that they might even be moved to learn where San Diego is. Continue reading ›
All the east-west roads that connect US-101 and I-5 look the same, and it’s always hard to remember whether I’ve driven on a particular one. Pretty sure SR-152 was new to me. The sight of San Luis Reservoir and its dark blue water caught me by surprise. I had a vague notion that it was out there somewhere, but its size and complete absence of vegetation were beyond my expectation.
We stopped at a Target in a town along the way — I want to say Dos Baños, but why would you name a place “Two Bathrooms”? Then again, there were at least that many, so why not? Continue reading ›
This is Part 2 of a 13-part series examining the 65 men who have collected exactly one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres. The current installment includes three pitchers (one taken just after Randy Jones in the draft, one traded for Gary Sheffield, one acquired for Sean Burroughs), a pinch-hitter who also scored two runs for the Padres in oddly similar ways, and an outfielder I once compared to Ruben Rivera but who went on to have a nice career anyway. Continue reading ›
With Sandy Alderson being one of two finalists for the New York Mets GM vacancy, there has been renewed interest in a three-partinterview I conducted with him in June 2008. This past weekend, excerpts appeared at Metszilla and ESPN New York.
I chatted with Lori Rubinson on her WFAN radio show Sunday night and with Ted Berg on his SNY.tv show Tuesday morning (thanks to both for having me as their guest). No archive of the radio show is available, but you can watch my SNY.tv spot here:
To Mets fans who may have stumbled onto this site, welcome. Not that my endorsement means anything, but I think Alderson would be a good fit for GM of your team. Continue reading ›
In Summer 2007, I drove from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Part 1 of a nine-part series covering the first day of my journey.
Why, when people in New York hadn’t even returned from their parties yet, would I be getting up at this hour? Why would anyone be getting up at this hour?
Lao-Tzu tells us in the Tao Te Ching that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep.” Mine involved walking from my bed to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee at 3:30 on a crisp Monday morning in late July. Continue reading ›
I dreamed of Jeff Reardon. We were discussing the nature of regret. I was walking through a park with a girl I once knew. We held hands as we walked and then kissed. I woke up and made coffee, only I wasn’t awake and I wasn’t making coffee.
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