Homecoming

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending yet another sunny April day in Baltimore for the Orioles' home opener. The atmosphere was frenetic, with large swaths of people cramming themselves inside the gates of Pickles Pub and Slider's Grill. Baseball had returned to Charm City and hope for a successful (ok, adequate) season had yet to be scoffed at by those pesky pessimists. That positive thinking reached its peak as Miguel Tejada tied the game with his first home run of the season and Cesar Izturis put the O's on top with a clutch single. Happy ending, right?

Nope. Mike Gonzalez, one the O's primary free agent acquisitions, delivered to the citizens of Birdland (I'm embarrassed to have typed this last PR recreation) the second blown save in his first three attempts of the year. I should put that number at two and half, considering he let the the Rays load the bases and almost pull another one out on Wednesday night. Now many Orioles fans I know have already written this new closer of ours off. Personally, I'm willing to give him another week. Dave Trembley - who knows. In my view, if Koji Uehara can ever get and stay healthy, I'd imagine he would be the next man up to take over the reins of the ninth inning. Given his track record of throwing strikes and having success going through a lineup for at least the first time, it makes sense to throw him in there. Unfortunately, the status of his sore hamstring has hamstrung the O's and hurt their bullpen depth as a whole. Only time will tell.

Despite yesterday's heartbreaking loss, I had a great time in Baltimore with my friends. I also enjoyed the fact that my co-ed touch football team, the Arabian Knights, went 2-0 in our Saturday doubleheader. The defense stepped up this week, we four interceptions between the two games. Our only real obstacle during the day was dealing with hangovers. Winning definitely helped.

Politics has yet to make an appearance in this blog, so let me change that:

Sarah Palin, your voice is like a thousand knives cutting the insides of my ears. Now let me say first before I offend anyone from the region of the country that she is from that it has nothing to do with her accent. That would be demeaning to those who have a similar vocal styling but happen to be decent human being. Mrs. P's voice has the effect on me that it does because of the misleading bile that saturates her every word. It is one thing to be completely ignorant. It is another to willfully distort facts. Despite her aura of 'dumb', I do not believe that she is actually stupid. That's what displeases me most about her. Many of the people who support her the strongest are the least informed and the most emotional about the various issues that she harps on in speeches and interviews. Oh and calling her oratory adventures 'speeches' may be giving her too much credit. They're more akin to an endless string of talking points and catchy PR-infused slogans. My least favorite is "Don't Retreat, Reload". This verbal creation is particularly disturbing considering her well-known affinity for hunting.....from helicopters. Now I'm not saying that she is subtly endorsing violence as a way to express opposing viewpoints, I'm just saying that 'Reload' is not the kind of term that should be bandied about in any kind of political rhetoric. It certainly does not conjure up positive images, and considering this country's bloody past, using such a word is downright irresponsible. So basically, I want to say to Sarah Palin, "Shame on you. Now kindly quit your day job and go back to reporting the weather." :)

That's all for this post.