NN09 Day Two (Part 2)

This is going to be picture heavy. All I need to tell you is that the NN09 attendees had a wonderful opportunity to take over the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. They set us  up to take swings in the batting cage and shag fly balls in the outfield and they fed us. I wandered over with Shermdog right as the gates opened and hung out with them and then just as we were heading out, The Boys walked in (they had been at another happy hour event) so I just stayed on and hung out with them. But hey – you guys know that sitting in a MLB ballpark is pretty much home for me anyway

So Doggie and I were two of the first ones in the batting cage and we were quite happy to hit the ball. Doggie hit the first pitch over the phantom third baseman’s head for a single. I was thrilled to hit 3 of 6 balls out of the machine – one of which went at least past the mound Another one kinda dribbled out front and another was a foul backwards, but hey – I hit them! My hand had a glorious sting going on afterwards. It was quite a thrill. So here’s the photos from that non-political, sports nerd heaven night:

Waiting my turn while Doggie hits

Such form!

Oh yes, I might hit this one!

Two Sluggers!

A little less goofy this time

Shermdog

Hanging out in the stands with The Boys

Michael was particularly thrilled to be in an MLB park.

The Boys on the outfield grass.

Looking back at the ballpark from the bridge. Great picture by Michael!

End of an era

6 years of my life in two file boxes

Well, not my *entire* life of course, just the baseball league treasurer part.

Fall 2003-Summer 2009. Packed into two boxes to be handed over to the new President and Treasurer sometime this month. Can you tell I am slightly anxious to get this off my task list? It was the one thing I *did* finish yesterday even after I had blown some cleaning energy in my bedroom.

No more writing monthly checks to pay managers.

No more calling in credit card payments every month.

No more trips to the PO box to get their mail.

No more dealing with vendors irritated that we haven’t paid them when they never bothered to send an invoice (don’t you love those businesses? Read my mind about what you owe and pay me on time dammit! Suuuure).

No more smoothing over ruffled feathers when the outgoing president wouldn’t return their calls and emails (he was kinda hit and miss on communication. Hey, we’re *volunteers*!)

No more being caught in the middle of waring personalities.

No more stressing over their tax forms – my single *biggest* accomplishment over the 6 years was getting their non-profit status with Feds and State back on proper footing. A task which seriously ate up my last two summers while SB was gone.

No more sitting in the sun for 8 hours of tryouts.

No more 1099 forms to submit.

No more holiday silent auctions fund raisers.

No more Del Mar Powerhouse Baseball for SportsBoy or me. He moves on to an 8th grade team run by one of the former managers running a team on his own and I…move on to just being a cheering mom.

Hmmm..started out this post all excited about off loading a major pain in the ass list of tasks and am ending it getting all misty-eyed over the reality of what has ended.

It was, after all, the source of the best damn youth baseball games ever. A wonderful group of families and kids many of whom have been together since the kids were just 6. Just look back at my write ups on our Las Vegas weekend to get a glimpse of the wonderful times we shared.

Shoot.

It’s the end of an era. And I will miss it deeply.

This and that and a little Adam Lambert

What? You thought I could go two posts without saying the “A” word? Well, it’s not my fault!

Remember my kid who got all tied up in knots when I was hyper-ventillating every Tuesday night? The one who called me ‘obsessed’ and rolled his eyes and groaned and moaned and yelled in protest ” NO NO NO NO NO” when I downloaded Mad World as my ring tone? Yes, that kid. Well, that little turd has now taken to *requesting* the Adam CD that I made from all of the itunes downloads when we are in the car. And..get this…SINGING ALONG!! He walks around the house singing Black or White and Born to Be Wild. Seems I wore him down.

Then there’s the third generation in the family. My mom was so curious after reading all my posts that she finally made sure to watch the last week and found herself bitten with the Lambert bug. Apparently she quite enjoyed my last post with all the links to awesome Adam sites. Particularly the one with all the videos. Only, seeing as how she is not quite as internet savvy as some of us youngsters, she was having a little trouble surfing to the site and called me this morning to get a quick tutorial on getting there and picking which video to play. Why was she doing that? Why, to show her visiting from out of town girlfriend of course! Because what would two young at heart 70 something gals be doing together but huddling around the computer to watch videos of the latest/hotest young stud singer!!

So don’t blame me for all the AL posts. I’ve got multiple generations demanding it

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So you know how I was going to ‘relax’ yesterday after the walk? My plan after throwing in the laundry was to turn on the Padres game and doze off peacefully to the sounds of a ballgame (my favorite thing to do on a Sunday summer afternoon). Well, the best laid plans and all that…as I finished watering the backyard just before my planned nap, I get a call from MusicMan with the offer of free tickets to go to the game in question courtesy of one of his friends. Apparently this guy’s employer has season tickets which he gives away to customers/clients etc but that als occasionally end up with the employees. 6 seats. Right. Behind.Home.Plate.

Tony Gwynn Jr in the on deck circle

Little T at bat. Yes, we were this close!

Home run leader Adrian Gonzalez.

We got there late and wished for extra innings so that we could enjoy as much time as possible in those seats. Team down 6-1 in bottom of the 9th and it wasn’t looking good. Then they hit. And hit. And hit. and suddenly it’s 6-3 with one out and the tying run at the plate and what does he (pinch hitter David Exckstein) do? Swats the first pitch into the Western Metal building balcony for a 3 run home run to tie the game! We went NUTS. We had our extra innings! So, we stayed through the 13th, then finally had to give up and head home. Where we watched another 5 innings on TV until they finally ran out of pitchers quite literally and had to put the backup shortstop in to pitch. Hey, hegot two outs! But, then he gave up a 3 run home run an the Padres lost 9-6 in 18 innings. What a game!

Loudest nap I ever enjoyed

Vin Scully. Voice of the……Yankees??? Noooooo!!

First, go read this jewel of a blog post by Keith Olbermann on his baseball blog. Go ahead. No politics at all, I promise! Keith writes about his real passion – baseball – over at the MLB blog site and I love reading his stories. This one though – well, it hit me like a ton of bricks!

The gist of the story is that Vin Scully was offered the job as Yankees announcer in 1964, but since the Dodgers had been here on the west coast for 7 years and the Scully family was well settled here, he turned it down. But, had the offer come sooner after the Dodger move when Vinnie was still pining away for New York? Yeah, he would have gone back.

Now, Keith then wondered about the things that would have been different – from the New Yorker’s perspective. But as I posted in my comment – I have a view from the Dodger fan’s perspective!

Would I have spent my evenings with my ear against the console radio/phonograph listening to the crackling in and out signal as Vin Scully told me my nightly baseball bedtime story as it unfolded?

Would I forever have engraved in my heart and mind “Well, hi everybody and a very pleasant good evening to you wherever you may be.”

Would I have even fallen for the game as much without him?

I don’t know.

I just know that my childhood would have been missing something magical without him which is why, selfishly, the thought of him being anywhere but LA just does Not Sit Right.

Thanks for sharing the glimpse into Vin Scully’s history Keith, but stop with the nightmare inducing tales ok?

The Little League Team that could (sorta)

(Note: do not do an image search on ‘injuries’ unless you are fan of gross pics – EWWW)

SportsBoy’s LL team started out strong, winnign the first half of the regular season with a game to spare and earning a spot in the post season playoff which began this week. Unfortunately, the second half of the regular season has not gone as well. The bats died. Then the injury bug took a huge bite out the team. Thanks to an ankle rolling last week, they were down to 9 active players for Game 1 of the playoffs Tuesday night. 2 of the 4 co-captains (SB is one) were out. The parents were joking as we looked at a dugout with foot boots and arms casts that our team should have been sponsored by an orthopedic practice! These injuries are what has put SB on the mound and also given the chance to catch. The latter part he loves, the former? Well, he loves it but is not quite as good at it The other problem is with he and the other captain relegated to pitching and/or catching, that leaves the less experienced kids as fielders. And..well..they are less experienced! Now, even totally healthy, they are playing a much better team, no doubt. Still, they could win a game here and there in a series (I think), but only full strength. Tuesday night they lost 9-3 and as the coach said, only 3 of the runs given up were earned (3 home runs). But, that’s the challenge – they have a much higher number of sluggers on their team than any other line up by far. And their pitching is so deep. Still, I was impressed with our team’s heart. Nine players, and then part way through one of our three pitchers tweaks his knee running out a ground ball! We were staring at a forfeit at that point and I know the team would rather lose out right than have to give up. Well, he was crying, and the umpire and opponents kindly gave him time to settle down, but darn it he buckled down and went abck out on the mound for another inning. Way to go!

Tonight we get one of the injured captains back (we hope).  Maybe they can pull off one vicotry against this team? They’ve lost all three regular season and now the 1st playoff game. If they want to play on Saturday, they have to win tonight. If not, well, they are sure learning about teamwork and stepping into new roles when the team needs it! Character building, right?

And away we go

And that my dear peeps, is pretty much a reflection of the next 30+ days.

It starts with the fact that Music Man finally received a proper sentencing for his DUI issues. He could have been up to 120 days in jail, BUT, thanks to some attorney negotiation and the fact that he got hired on to work in the meat department at Vons just one week after we returned from Vegas, he instead received a 60 day sentence in a work furlough program. Which means he is in a somewhat restricted dorm setting, but is released to go to work. Unfortunately, the facility is about 20 miles south of where we live and where he works. Without traffic its a pretty easy 45 mins round trip tops. Doable, but imagine me trying to fit that into my work day/carting SportsBoy around/sports league board responsibilities. As a backup, he can take public transportation. Bus to trolley to train which brings him up at least must closer. Picking him up from the train station and getting him to Vons is pretty easy. Plus, they allow him 2-3 hours to make the journey which is more freedom for him. Still, I’m transportation choice #1. We do have a couple of his friends lines up for backup should SportsBoy’s events clash. Oh, and lucky stroke #1 so far – when he checked in they showed him with a release date of 6/13 – just 36 days instead of 60. A preliminary reduction for good behavior basically. Woohoo!

As I wrote a few weeks ago, MM is on a very good forward path, but, he does have to pay for the mistakes he made when his head was not screwed on quite so straight. He’s taking it really well actually and looks at this as the transition he needs to put all that behind him and come out ready to focus on his future.

My car might want a spa day when this is all over though!

I seem to have committed myself to working out once a week (so far) with this trainer! Today was my third Saturday morning workout and I’ve signed up to walk in a 5k with a group from the gym. It’s really fun! Yeah, it kicks my butt and makes me sore as hell for 2-3 days after, but I like it Plus, I get to see some friends once a week who I used to only see once a year (if we were lucky!). As long as SB doesn’t have a LL game right after, we will have coffee after and keep caught up on things. Of course, that means no sleeping in on Saturdays since its an 8am workout, but since it IS at the beginning of the day, it doesn’t interfere with anything.

Little League regular season is winding down. Just two games left and the second half has been a lot worse than the first. Some injuries and dead bats and then defensive yips have struck. Thanks to the first half victory, they do get to play in the post season, but they do so quite banged up. One broken foot, one broken finger (both boys out for the season) and one pitcher who will be coming off of  “little league” arm who has been restricted to playing only first base for the bast two weeks. SportsBoy has had to step up and play a few newer positions for him. Shortstop and pitcher so far, with some time behind the plate at catcher thanks to today’s broken finger. Pitching has actually gone pretty well. It would be pretty darn good if not for the aforementioned defensive yips. But, that’s baseball and I’m just proud of how he has handled the new challenges. So they will have a one week break and then start playoff games the last week of May. Clearly as the underdog at this point!

I mentioned in a tweet earlier this week that this is my last year on the two boards. The baseball one technically ends in May. Oh, am I ready to let it go!! I’ve been treasurer for this group since the fall of 2003. I am DONE. At least I am leaving them in good standing with non profit status and tax returns all caught up. That was such an enormous chore which took up the last two years! But it’s all up to date and I’m getting it organized to hand it off with a sparkling bow on top I’ll still have a background ‘advisory’ role which is fine since SB will play with them one more season.Of course, as baseball winds down, football winds UP. Still, just ONE board? I haven’t had that luxury in almost 2 years. And what will I ever do with myself NEXT year when my football term runs out and I am no NO boards???

I dunno – but based on that picture of what my next month will entail, I think if I take a year off to just focus on reading/blogging/hanging with friends/working out whenever I am not at work or getting SB to do his homework, that will be just FINE.

Hello..hello..hello……..?

I tell ya, if not for blog stats showing me that more peeps than ever are clicking in, over the past month or so I would think that I am largely talking to myself

Now, I could start stomping my feet throwing a hissy fit and such and order you all to “COMMENT dammit!” but that would not be very accomodating. Plus, it would also be hypocritical ’cause I don’t comment very much around town either. And while I write in here mostly to get stuff outta my head and not really for attention..well…a little comment love now and then does not hurt. But you gotta give to get and I realize that I truly need to cut down on the items in my Google Reader. I skim way too much which is just not fair to some really wonderful friends. So this weekend I shall be marginally brutal and cut out some Reader items and also vow to drop at least a comment a day around bloggy land – heck maybe even 2 or 3!

So, here’s a few questions to spark some conversation (hey, if you are on WordPress, have you noticed that we can Reply to specific comments now? Totally cool)

Are you watching American Idol? If so, dare I ask what you think of Adam? I’ve been playing on another site where they discuss Idol and I am floored a bit by the Adam hate and blase opinions about him. I keep joking that you might as well call me Paula because I absolutely melt when he sings. I’ve bought all his Idol songs and listen to them at least once a day. Mad World and Tracks of My Tears are my favorites and I suspect that If I Can’t Have You will move up to the top. Yes, I do prefer his slower stuff as Simon predicted – that man is always right! I figured out this week why I love Adam so much though – he reminds me of Steve Perry. Same vocal range and same ability to get into a song inside out and pour his soul into it.

I described the last 5 contestants like this: 3 boring white guys who can sing, but otherwise are a dime a dozen (Danny, Kris, Matt with Kris as the best of that group), 1 gay glam rocker who is one of the best entertainers ever on the show (Adam) and one Latina teen rocker who is a firecracker of vocal ability (Allison). Can you tell I want it to come down to A vs A? What do you think of the Top Five?

Are you a sports fan at all? I love this time of year when baseball is getting started and hockey and basketball are in their playoffs. Tons of fun to watch. I’m rooting for the west coast hockey teams (Sharks & Ducks). I will root against the Lakers as long as Kobe is on the team so, I’ll root for the young MVP who has proved to be a stand up guy – Go Cavs! And of course, my baseball team is the Padres who are off to a rather miraculous start. We are going Saturday night with a group from work to get ourselves an old school 1969 jersey. The Padres are celebrating their 40th season all year with some really nice give aways.

Can you even believe I am going to work out with a personal trainer on Saturday?!! I go to an old friend’s 40th b-day party last weekend and end up with a damn trainer! Heads may have to roll It’s actually a group session and the trainer *assures* me she can handle a total work out wimp who should best be described as ‘couch potato’ at this point. Have you ever worked out with a trainer? Do you love it? Hate it? Why?  And will you give me mouth to mouth when I pass out? ;->>

Road Trip!

Chip attempts to be packed in the suitcase

Despite the protests of the cats and their attempts to become one with the luggage, the boys and I piled into our Griswold Family Wagon and hit the road last week.

It was Viva Viagra! LAS VEGAS! Argh, I hate that stupid commercial which makes it impossible for my brain to sing that song the right way!!!

We had Sport’s Boys bud in the back seat so that they could keep each other happy during the 5 hour drive. His parents caravaned with us. I was blessed with the sounds of pre-teen boys playing video games against each other – and reacting vocally to the games. Not in their indoor voices either. That was charming. Music Man kept the tunes rolling for me up front so the overall decibel level was kinda challenging! We managed to get their faces off the video screens as darkness descended and we approached the neon mecca. They were duly impressed with the sight of the strip, particularly the Luxor and it’s beam of light shooting up into the sky. A little after we arrived and checked in at New York New York, a few other families also drove in and we immediately converged in one room. One ever so kind and patient mom volunteered to take the kids to the hotel arcade while the rest of the adults sat in that room and drank They returned a little over an hour later and she reported that the arcade turned them into “crack addicts” doing anything they could to win some prize tickets. Here they are with their loot:

Arcade game addicts

Since their first games were not until Thursday evening, we were able to get up slowly and gather together to wander around Vegas. Here’s something weird – I’ve stayed at the MGM Grand twice in the last 5 years for a work conference and NEVER knew they had lions there!

MGM grand lions and a brave (dumb?) worker

The team in front of New York New York

See that roller coaster? That’s pretty much what the kids who arrived Wednesday night did all day Thursday when they were not playing their games. They all got wrist bands which allowed unlimited rides for 24 hours and ride, they did!  Thursday and Friday nights we turned in fairly early because of the games. The field was out in Henderson about 20 mins away from the strip – seemed like a world away as it was surrounded by desert foothills and vast empty spaces.

Big sky

SB at 2nd with foothills in the distance

This was the first time that MusicMan came along to a tournament to hang out. Of course, it was Vegas, right? His first chance to go since he turned 21. Plus, the girlfriend had just dumped him and he was ready to get out of the house and shake himself a bit. Well, I am very glad he did because everyone had fun getting to know him. He had a couple of guys to play around with at night, and the kids decided he was pretty awesome.

MM holding court.

OK, enough writing – here’s more pictures!

Buds with trophies

In front of the Bellagio

Watching the fountain show

Happy moms after shopping at The Forum

Dancing at the hotel piano bar

Those last few are from the post game activities and celebration after the Big Game Saturday. Those of us who stayed walked the kids down the strip to watch the Bellagio fountains and then we wandered into Caesar’s Palace for dinner and some shopping at The Forum. Of course, after dinner the dads took the kids back to our hotel for more arcade and roller coaster fun while the moms did the shopping Then we got the kids all settled into one room and we stayed downstairs and danced and sang until we were hoarse. Or, err.. 2am or so! Needless to say the drive home was loooon and we were dog tired:

Too much baseball and Vegas fun

Best baseball game ever – Take 2

(overall Vegas vacation report coming later. First, the baseball part)

I know, I know, back in December, I thought I had witnessed The Best Baseball Game Ever. It was. But now there is another one. One that can rank alongside the first one for completely different reasons, but one which was equally fun to watch. Whereas the first one was a pitching and defense nail biter, this one had more offense. LOTS more. Not always for the good guys either.

The Majors division 12u championship game matched the overall #2 seed vs #4. Our team had gone 3-1 in pool play to earn the #2 spot. Along the way they beat the #4 team 6-5 but it was the closest of their early victories. The one loss was a tough 3-2 game to the team that ended up #1. However, they went down to the #4 seed in the semi-final game which we watched unfold and we could see that the #4 team was really fired up. For them, beating that #1 team was the takedown of a rival and you could see how pumped up they were to do that. Unfortunately for us, they went right from that victorious high to the first pitch of the championship game in just 30 mins.  Momentum was with them. And they used it. Big time. We started #44 as our pitcher who can be very very effective. Just not this day against this flying high team. He threw a total of 4 pitches and our left fielder watched 3 straight home runs fly over his head. It was so painful to watch. The coach went to talk to him after the second blast which clearly did not work and after the third one he had to replace him. There is just no way to expect even the toughest 12 year old to settle down from that. So he brought in #51 – yes, the same #51 who closed out that classic December game. #51 was completely fresh in the respect that he had not pitched all tournament, but he was also weakened by a cold that had hit him the night before. And he gets put in to try and shut down this team on this massive high. Well, shut them down he did. You could feel the momentum stabilize. Meanwhile, on the bench, #44 gathered himself. One of the coaches gave him a pep talk. He got up, put his helmet on and showed the team that he was ready to hit. Gutsy. Even better, the team came back into the dugout and immediately pumped each other up to hit and get those runs back. In classic baseball poetry, #51 was also our leadoff hitter. He got it started on the first pitch with a sharp single. The next batter beat out a ground ball for another hit. Then #44 came up ready to punish the ball for the indignities he suffered. Well, he didn’t get his anger out with a home run, but he did get another infield hit and now the bases were loaded. Momentum was swinging. And the hits kept coming. Two batters and two more hits later it was tied 3-3. As I put it then “well, now the other team knows they are going to have play a full baseball game, not just hit home runs!” Then our girl came up. #20. As is usually the case at this tournaments, when the other teams see a girl, they immediately make light of her. Or worse many times. And I don’t mean the kids either.  As usual, #20 makes them shut up pretty quickly with her skills. She catches, pitches, and plays 3rd base like a pro. Oh, and she can hit a little too. She promptly smashed a two run home run to put the team ahead. A few more hits and the first inning ended with our team up 6-3.  We had a game. To their credit, the other team kept at it too. Chipped away to make it 6-5 going into the top of the 6th and final regulation inning. #51 pitched the whole game. Coughing between pitches, he used every point in the strike zone and held them back.  The defense was flawless behind him. But, he make one bad pitch in that last inning and they got one more home run to tie the game. So there would be a bottom half. Throughout the tournament our team had several home runs from hitters which we would expect that. However, the one really big hitter had been kept in the ballpark for 4 games. He had a lot of big hits, just nothing clearing the fences. He steps up with one runner on and smacks a 2 run, championship winning home run. WHEW!!!!

What character the team displayed huh? Coming back like they did. Picking each other up. The heroic pitching of #51 yet again. It was just another fantastic weekend of great baseball games. Definitely worth the trip

Date night

Batting practice balls caught on Opening Day 2009

The Good: Arriving early and watching both teams during batting practice. We sat in an area of right field called The Porch which is prime home run target area for left handed hitters. One of the balls was hit by Brian Giles and was actually a ground ball down the line, but a Padres pitcher retrieved it and tossed it up. Then about 5 minutes later Adrian Gonzales launched one that hit the empty seat behind us and bounced into Sports Boy’s hands. Nice! It was a blazing hot day and the game started at 4pm so after the Padres hitters were done we went up to our seats which still gave us a great view of everything, but were blissfully in the shade. The Opening Day ceremonies were full of pomp as always. It’s the 40th anniversary of the team so they trotted out stars from each decade to throw out the first pitch and had a huge marching band form the number 40 in the outfield. Meanwhile it was so ODD to see not one sign of #51 anywhere. Trevor Hoffman was THE current Mr Padre and not seeing his image or any highlights of him was so bizarre. I cannot wait until he retires so we can claim him as ours again.

The Bad: Well, the team that lost 99 games last year is off to a similar start For the second opener in a row, they lost. Now, I will point out that since the team moved to Petco Park, they had won the first 3 openers – and the opponent was the Giants. Last year the Rockies took them down and this year it was the hated Dodgers.  So I recommend making sure the Giants are our opponents next year. Also, I *really* didn’t lile sharing the day with Dodger fans. I mean – ICK! There were too damn many of them. Not as many as I’ve seen in the past, but still..too many. We had four sitting right next to us and they had the audacity to boo all our 40th anniversary ceremony highlights and honorees. C’mon now! You come to out stadium and boo our history? Wrong wrong wrong. And also evidence as to why I normally refuse to attend Dodger games.

The Ugly: So we were sitting in the really nice section with in seat food service. And since we were in middle of the aisle seats making it kind of a pain to get up to go anywhere, I didn’t mind using the service. We ordered in the 4th inning. And waited. And waited. The people next to us who also ordered at the same time got up to chase down the server. Which resulted in them getting their food but ours was still missing. Finally in the middle of the 8th inning the guy comes back and asks “What did you order again?” UGH! Never mind!! At that point though we were hungry we also knew we could get out and get food somewhere else faster!!  They guy was nice as could be and very apologetic and gave us skittles and water but man..what a mess! Clearly the in seat service crew was NOT prepared for the sold out opener which is kinda stupid since EVERY opening night is like that! But hey, it gave us something to focus on while the team was losing