A good laugh

While enjoying a Chicago Cubs' comeback win over the Phillies, I happened to get tapped on the shoulder by a guy from Texas. He asked, "Are you Jenny McCarthy?"

No, he didn't seem drunk.

(Google her.)

I'm on Fay's side

MIAMI, FL --Yes, the Cubs won two of three from the Florida Marlins while I was in the Sunshine State (where they delayed the start of Sunday's game because they thought it might rain!)

I saw the Cubs play at the Marlins last year, too, but several things must've slipped my memory or I might have reconsidered the trip this year:

• The Marlins have cheerleaders (never a good sign for a baseball team).


• They play in a stadium built for and named after the local professional football team.


• When you go to the concourse to get food and/or drink, there is no radio play-by-play to listen to while you order your $10 chicken tenders and chips. The TVs at the concession stands have video of the action but no crawl at the bottom to tell you how many outs or the inning or the score!


• During the break between innings, all of the scoreboards in the stadium shift from baseball info (i.e. score, number of hits, errors, lineup, etc) to advertising. ALL OF THEM!

BUT

• As I mentioned, my Cubs won two of three games.


• While staying up in Hollywood (about 20 minutes northeast of the ballpark), I spotted one of our second basemen and a centerfielder coming out of the ocean. And, yes, they look every bit as good as you'd think.


• The Marlins have a group of seriously overweight fellas called the Manatees who dance to some crazy music between innings. Very minor league, but pretty funny just the same.


• You can get a pretty decent selection of food at Dolphin Stadium, you just have to know where to look. It seemed that practically every concession stand had a different selection including pizza, hot dogs, italian sausage, chicken tenders/wings, rum runners, wine, beer, dippin' dots, etc.


• Despite the preparations for tropical storm Fay, my flight out of Miami went off on time!

Farewell Scooter!

From August of 2007 until June of this year, Scott Eyre was as solid a relief pitcher as any team could ask for. In fact, Eyre put together a Chicago Cubs club-record 33 straight scoreless appearances.
And now his days in Cubbie Blue are numbered. And I don't understand it or agree with it.
The left-hander was designated for assignment today to make room on the roster for Kerry Wood. Teams have seven days to pick up the remaining $1 on his contract. There are no doubts that some smart general manager will sign him as good lefties always find work.
Eyre knew he was on the chopping block last week at the trade deadline. I think we all knew it, too, when a televised game showed him sitting in the bullpen looking like someone just ran over his dog.
He didn't get traded then and I don't understand why the Cubs are releasing him now.
Yes, we have two powerful left-handers in Neal Cotts and Sean Marshall. But when the going gets tough (i.e. playoffs?), do you want an inexperienced pitcher who will probably try to throw the ball through the batter or a mature hurler who can handle the pressure?
And let me say something about chemistry and how important it has been to this team this year. We've got good guys who enjoy working together and it shows. Eyre was always a 'good clubhouse guy.' He didn't mind when then-new-manager Lou Piniella called him 'Stevie Ire' all last year. In fact, Eyre was so disturbed by the reality of leaving his buddies that he broke down during an interview with Comcast today.
Teams are allowed to expand their rosters in September and I don't understand why we couldn't find somewhere to hide him till then. Send Ronny Cedeno down to AAA or Neal Cotts.
I'm really afraid that we'll need a dependable left-handed pitcher and we won't have one in the bullpen. Because we let one get away.
It's wrong.
Very, very wrong.

Ms. Fixit

So here I am in my tiny galley kitchen, hand-washing my dishes, when I hear a CLUNK! Apparently, I did not fully close my garbage/recycling pull-out drawer because the weight of the can at the very end of the track fully dislodged the one remaining screw and POP! went the whole unit.
If I was my mother, I would be looking around for the nearest X/Y chromosomes owner to remedy the situation. But, alas, I live in the world of independent women (of which I am the queen, by the way!)
Instead of curling up on the sofa watching the All-Star Home Run Derby like I planned, I crawled into the bottom cabinet to investigate. After removing the garbage and recycling cans as well as the front door of the cabinet and wiping down the inside of the cabinet door and floor (I AM my mother's daughter ya know), I re-attached the two wayward screws and added two more for extra security.
TA-DA! One fixed cabinet.
Now to see about that dragging shower door...

Fur over feathers

ST. LOUIS, MO. - - I guess if your bald eagle won't meet its handler on the pitcher's mound and instead lands gracefully in right field, you know your birds just aren't right.. From the St. Louis Cardinals' perspective, the Fourth of July weekend didn't go as planned.

But for my Cubs, things were almost as good as could be. Only a Kerry Wood brain cramp in Saturday's game kept the Chicago Cubs from sweeping their arch-rivals.

Former Cardinal-turned-Cub Jim Edmonds must have felt right at home when he received a hero's welcome in his first at-bat on Friday. He even tipped his cap to the Cardinals fans in appreciation. Well, that's where the lovefest stopped. Edmonds, in a desperate attempt to prove himself, really couldn't get anything going offensively.

Hey, speaking of offensive, I have to mention what happened to me at my hotel in St. Louis. I'm wearing a Cubs t-shirt and riding in an elevator with a 60-ish man who's apparel does not indicate any team affiliation whatsoever. We never spoke until he looked at my shirt and said, 'Another Cub fan?! You're gonna lose tonight.' I was pretty floored by his rude outburst but held my cool and said simply, 'Have a wonderful evening.' Of course, after my Cubs were victorious that night, I really wanted to find him and blast him! (no such luck)

Anyway, sights of St. Louis from my July 4th weekend:

What does it say about the team when it's top two bullpen pitchers take over at short during batting practice? Answer: they know how to field their positions!

Derrek Lee got some pretty good swings in the cage, but left much of the offense work to his teammates over the weekend. The red-head outside the cage is Matt Murton, who is now a former Cub (sad to say).

Next to singing 'Go Cubs Go,' this three-man celebratory flying bump is probably my favorite thing about Cubs victories!

Pitchers Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly have a little strategy talk prior to Sunday's game. No, Demp, I'm not listening in!

Busch Stadium, like many new ballparks, pays homage to its historic heroes. This one is Hall of Famer Stan 'The Man' Musial.

Maybe Ryan Theriot always wanted to be a pitcher? Or Mark DeRosa wants to add 'catcher' to the myriad of positions he's already played for the Cubs?

If you grew up watching the Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals like I did, you recognize the player that is represented with this statue. Ozzie Smith was one of the most acrobatic shortstops I've ever seen and frequently ran out to his position and reached his spot with a flying somersault. Seriously, this guy was a nut...but fun to watch!

Dad

Today is June 27, 2008. It was 21 years ago today that my dad died.
If my math serves me, I have lived half of my years on this earth without a father.
I got married --and divorced-- without his wisdom. I'm convinced, however, that I would never have wasted those five years with the wrong man if my father had been there to pull me aside and simply ask, 'Are you sure?'
I know he would've been proud of me when I was a sportswriter despite the odd occupation for his youngest daughter.
Now? Ten years into a job that frequently insults my intelligence and hurts my pride?
I'm sure he'd be pleased that I'm financially secure but he'd be worried about my happiness, both professionally and personally. He probably wouldn't say anything. He'd just give me that look that said, 'Are you sure?'
I haven't been sure about anything for a long time, but I frequently ask my dad for advice. At times I think he's nodding when I've made strides to move toward a career that sparks my interest and challenges me.
My dad was never one to give out answers. He preferred his kids to figure it out, just like the geography quizzes he popped at dinner occasionally.
He'd be pleased that I travel, that I'm not sitting at home waiting for a life to come to me. I often wonder how he'd feel if I decided to stay at one of my home-away-from-homes and not return to Chicago.
I really had only begun to know myself as an adult when my dad died, so how could I expect to know him? I would've like to have known him as a young man, to see what kind of man I should meet.
Of that I'm sure.

Cubs Survivor

TORONTO, ONT., CANADA- - I titled this entry as such because it took one very-delayed flight, plus one CTA train plus a shuttle bus, plus another CTA train plus a taxi to get home. After arriving at 1 am on a Sunday, I felt like I had indeed survived another Cubs road weekend. But, as for Toronto...

It wouldn't be Toronto without the iconic CN Tower (which I kept wanting to call the CNN Tower, don't know why). Chicago and Toronto are very similiar cities and that's a reason why I would highly recommend it to Americans who want to go outside the US, but might be nervous about 'traveling.' Same language (add an occasional French spelling or pronunciation), drive on the right side of the street, similar food (plum sauce for dipping chicken fingers instead of bar-b-que), but it's all good.Formely called the Sky Dome, the Rogers Centre was the first retractable dome in professional baseball. It was state-of-the-art at its time, but I have to say that now it's kinda stuck between the old world of baseball (lines drawn the old-fashioned way) and the new wave of old-fashioned-looking-but-really-modern baseball meccas (PNC Park, Petco, Camden Yards, etc). Still, a nice place, made nicer when the dome is open.

What did I tell you about Toronto and Chicago being similar? Even the (formerly Blue) Jays have an old-school band outside their ballpark just like we have at Wrigley. These boys really 'got DOWN!'

Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster is from Gibson, British Columbia (on the west coast of Canada), but you'd think he grew up on the front steps of the Rogers Centre the way Toronto threw open its doors for him. Every time I turned around, he was being interviewed, even going so far as to do his Harry Caray impersonation for the local sports station. I asked him if he was planning to keep the beard (PLEASE DON'T!!) and he said 'only for the road trip. I need an edge.' Did I mention that ballplayers are a bit superstitious?


Kosuke Fukodome is normally very reserved, so I had to capture what was practically a tantrum when he struck out during Saturday's game. Sorry about the old guy's hair in the picture.

Couldn't walk through downtown Toronto and not get a shot of the Canadian flag. It's fitting that there's a crane right next to it as practically all of Toronto is under construction. They are building TONS of condominium highrises all over town. Strangely enough for such a green city, Toronto doesn't seem to be planning any parks or other green spaces between the buildings.

Bad reporter that I am, I did not find out the name of the artist who produced this little gem outside the Rogers Centre. Here I was thinking it was just a ballpark, but apparently there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Sunday started out with a perfectly blue, sunny sky but by the third inning, clouds had started to roll in and quickly enough that the powers-that-be decided to close the dome in case of inclement weather. We're talking daytime turns to night. The resulting shadows caused the umpires to delay the game as the Jays pitcher was in bright sunlight while our batter was in shade (not a fair situation for the batter). Gotta say, the dome could've closed without anyone noticing because it didn't make a sound!

In grade school and also, I believe, in high school, both baseball teams line up to congratulate each other on a good game. Only the winning team does it now. I think we're missing out on a great opportunity to promote sportsmanlike conduct.

Oh, did I mention that my boys (oops, sorry, the Cubs) do this flying body bump thing with the three outfielders after a victory? It was pretty funny when they had to pull over Fukodome (who had just arrived from Japan) and teach him this earlier in the season. I guess the players don't celebrate like this where he's from.

The Jays have a mascot called Ace and a group of dancing, tumbling youngsters that are called the Junior Jays. They dance on top of the dugout before the game. Hey, it's better than cheerleaders!

Don't say it!!! Ryan Theriot isn't too thrilled with the umpire's call. It happens.

In the spirit of the environmentally friendly city of Toronto, a Cubs fan does his best to recycle. What was formerly a Sammy Sosa jersey is now (at least by name if not number) an ode to our rookie catcher, Geovany Soto.

It's all good...or is it?

He had sandy hair, a nice smile, no wedding ring and best of all, was in my age group! Okay, maybe I was a bit more receptive to his advances because I had had the pleasure of watching my Cubs emerge victorious on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon and was celebrating at my favorite post-game watering hole.
Since no one but me goes to a baseball game alone, I knew he wasn't sharing my post-game fete. So what brought him here?
"You," and he smiled. "You drew me here. You're beautiful."
Okay, now I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Like I do whenever someone compliments me.
He ordered a beer and pulled out a credit card. This area of the bar doesn't take credit cards, so I pointed out the closest ATM and tried to think of a new topic to deflect whatever embarrassment he might feel.
While he was gone, an elderly man walked up to me and asked if I'd like to join his group, seeing as I was here alone.
"Thanks, but no thank you."
Cash in hand, he returned and wasn't embarrassed. He seemed content to just stare at me and tell me I'm beautiful (he didn't seem drunk), so I naturally turned the conversation back to him to keep my head from exploding from the flame heating my face.
My reporting days have served me well over the years and as I tried to find out more about this guy (other than he doesn't carry much cash), the cracks started to appear.
He said he had a place in Wicker Park, but later in the conversation, he mentioned that he just felt like he had to get out of the hotel and come here.
Hotel?? What about the place in Wicker Park? Answer: he rents it out.
Hmmm...
So what does this gypsy do for a living? He sells printers. And his father was a military guy so he grew up everywhere with no particular place to call home.
Okaayy...
He wanted to go somewhere else...with me. He didn't know where, just someplace else. I got the feeling that he didn't feel comfortable in a place where I knew everyone.
The game was long over, so the bar wasn't nearly as crowded and one of the bar employees had just bought me a drink. I wasn't ready to leave yet.
"It's all good, " he said (for the umpteenth time). "Nice to meet you."
Then he kissed my hand and left. Just like that.
No phone number, nothing.
Oh, but I did have someone ask for a business card or just my name and number.
Remember the elderly gentleman?
No kidding.

Thar she blows!

PNC PARK, PITTSBURGH, PA-- My summer of Cubs roadtrips continued recently with a two-game visit to PNC Park in Pittsburgh, often called one of the prettiest ballparks in America. I'll save you the suspense and tell you that my Cubs - - owners of the best record in baseball - - lost BOTH games while I was there and in horrendous extra-inning fashion!


But as for the park and the city, I really enjoyed them. I suspected that PNC Park might remind me of the place where the Cincinnati Reds play and I was right. A fella from Cincy told me that the only difference is the color of the bricks.


Well, that and the fact that Cincinnati doesn't have the Roberto Clemente Bridge (and statue of namesake late Pirates outfielder) standing guard.

I have to say, though, that either Clemente was a freak of nature or the artist has a problem with scale because the statue's hands are the same length as his entire forearm!



Our first baseman, Derrek Lee, is 6-feet-5 inches tall and swings a mean bat. I know he's that tall because he was standing next to me at the hotel front desk and he was checking out (okay, I was checking out too...checking out HIM!)

Anyway, I was talking to the desk clerk and telling her that I ran into Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster on the Clemente bridge on the way back from Saturday night's game. I told her that I passed him again that night on the way into the Westin bar and I hoped he didn't think I was stalking him. (It was then I noticed Derrek Lee turn and glance in my direction), so I quickly added. "but I've met him a bunch of times so I'm sure he knew it was fine."

Not sure what PNC stands for, but I do recognize the fellow in this statue. It's Honus Wagner, the subject of the world's most valuable baseball card. No, I never saw him play. Wagner's baseball card was made at a time when the cards were included in cigarette packets, not with bubble gum like they are now. Oh how times have changed!



Milwaukee's Miller Park has its fifth-inning sausage races. The Nats Park in Washington DC has its Presidents races, so of course, PNC must have...wait for it...the pierogi races! I don't eat Polish food that often, so I'm not sure what the letters on the hats stand for. Onion? Sausage?





Since the Sunday game was played on a beautiful afternoon and I desperately wanted to be in the sun, I upgraded my ticket not once, but twice! to get this great homeplate view! Worth every penny!





Here's a sign that you will never EVER see at Wrigley Field! Free is a four-letter word to the Cubs' owners (especially the new owner, billionaire Sam Zell.)







After having woken up at 3:15 AM for the first flight to Pittsburgh, I really wasn't very coherent when I arrived at the Pittsburgh Westin. (Normally, I can't afford a Westin. Gotta love Priceline!!!) Anyway, I assumed my room wouldn't be ready since it was not even noon (but it was!) and I also assumed I wouldn't get a great room since I didn't pay so much for it. But the desk clerk - wonderful woman that she was - learned that I was a first-time visitor to Pittsburgh and came in for the Cubs/Pirates games and gave me this second-to-top floor room with this view.






Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug. On that day, Ted Lilly was a gnat. Good picture, though, you gotta admit. I even got the ball in the shot!







Although the Nats park boasts the largest hi-definition scoreboard in all of baseball, they have nothing on the Pirates' use of promotional animations. Sorry if the picture isn't too clear but it's one of the action shots of the Pirates' and Cubs' schooners doing battle the old-fashioned way, sort of. The Pirates, however, made use of heat-seeking missiles and a robotic octopus to finally put away the Cubs' fleet. Pirates of the Carribbean beware of the Pirates of the Central Division!







Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are the two oldest baseball parks still in use. If they can't actually HAVE the history, at least the newer ballparks can celebrate baseball's past among all the newfangled bells and whistles. The statues inside the concourse at PNC are of the historic players of the Negro league teams including "Cool Papa" Bell, Satchel Paige, 'Smokey' Joe Williams and 'Buck' Leonard. Very cool!





Let's go Cubs!

Mom's Day

What is it about greeting cards that get mothers all excited? I usually get my mom a gift for Mother's Day, but this year was a bit different. I'm from a large family, so we usually end up at my mom's house for Mother's Day with some sort of meal plans worked out and a multitude of flower arrangements and candy. Somehow, this year it was my turn to make all the plans.

Plan A was a barbeque. My mom has a nice yard and between several of us adult kids, we could bring enough food to feed an army (namely, my siblings and their kids), so that would be fine. One mother, however, single-handedly ruined Plan A.

Mother Nature decided to drop the thermometer to mid 40s and throw in torrential morning showers along with gale-force winds. Plan A went bye-bye.

Plan B was carry-out dinner. Chinese food? My mom really likes this local restaurant, but NOOOO! my oldest brother (the Vietnam war veteran) won't eat any food with rice, so Plan B, part II. Fried chicken and italian beef.

I bought a TON of chicken, beef, macaroni salad, baked beans plus a cake that I made (did I mention I'm from a large family?) and mom was pleased that she didn't have to do anything except sit back and enjoy the spread.

Oh, back to the greeting cards. Every year when I give my mom a Mother's Day gift, she asks 'where's the card?' And I'm thinking, 'hello! you KNOW who it's from. I'm standing right here!' Silly me! I'm thinking that cards are little devices used to identify the gift-giver, but I'm so niave. It's much more than that.

I've decided that all mothers have a little contest going to see who can collect the most cards. It's kinda weird because my mom will get Mother's Day cards from people who are not her genetic offspring. What's that about??

Anyway, between her NINE children and countless other hangers-on, my mother has a fireplace mantletop FULL of cards! Probably 12-15 cards, but I don't think mine will go up there...at least unless my siblings have stopped reading them.

(my card) "Happy Mother's Day from the child that you are always very proud of..."
(inside) 'of course, the other kids set the bar pretty low.'

Happy Mom's Day!

We interrupt this program...

Okay, I'm interrupting the Monthly Sun Program (which, some day, will be redundant if summer ever gets here!) to bring you BASEBALL. Get used to this folks, as my favorite sport will take up much of my time and energy for the next few (hopefully, several) months.

I traveled to our nation's capital, Washington, DC, to visit my sister and also to check out the Washington National's new ballpark. Oh, did I mention that my Cubs were playing the Nationals while I was there? Coincidence? I think not. My Cubs came to DC with one of the best records in baseball (in the early season) and the 'Nats' had one of the worst. Of course, the Nats won two of the three games ;-((

As for the ballpark itself, ....

Gotta be one of the worst advertising slogans. Geez! It sounds like the team is continually on the disabled list! Second worst: "Walgreens. The official drugstore of the Chicago Cubs."
Cubs closer Kerry Wood and relief pitcher Bob Howry share a laugh on the way to the bullpen during Saturday's game. Did I mention that Nationals Park is a pretty big ballpark? At least behind home plate, that is. It only holds between 41-44,000 fans (okay, I haven't read the program yet to get an exact number).

I'm still saying that the Nationals' logo W looks EXACTLY like a Walgreens W.


My first view of major league baseball's newest ballpark.


Inaugural season?!? Yep, we're talking historic, folks! So, of course, I bought the inaugural t-shirt and the $10 inaugural program. And it all went into a chest chock full o' baseball memorabilia.


Everything's shiny and new here, including the centerfield entry gate. Oh, and the employees were more welcoming than your favorite grandmother, I swear! Not very efficient, but definitely friendly.


My sister was happy to tell me that the 'Nats' have the largest high-definition screen in all of baseball. Well, since their season record sucks so far, at least they have THAT going for them!


The Cubs' ace pitcher, Carlos Zambrano, warmed up in the bullpen directly in front of us. He picked up the win on that day as the Cubs won, 7-0.

Every park has their 'thing' and at Nats Park, it's the fifth-inning Presidents Race. Apparently, Teddy Roosevelt is the house favorite, but he never seems to win. I even saw a guy holding a sign that said "Let Teddy win." On this day, a 6-foot rat (which my sister said is very appropriate for this park, but that's another story) jumped out of the stands and tackled poor Teddy. Oh well, maybe next game.

The old South

Chareston, South Carlina -- In a nutshell: beautiful gardens, romantic old-world architecture and feminine pastels everywhere you look. And yours truly was the offficial photographer. Enjoy!