We had four guests today and we gave away Orioles tickets, so as you can imagine it was a busy day for me. Stacey came up with a more efficient system when giving things away, so I was able to focus more on editing all of the audio clips. I have gotten fairly good at editing the audio and posting it online during the show. I have to balance that with screening calls among other things, but it allows me flexibility when the show ends at 1 p.m.
After the show, Stacey said she wants to show me how to run the board more in depth. She has been teaching Tony, and I've been working on other projects. I only have a few days left because finals are coming up, but I really appreciate her wanting to teach me even more.
I'll update the post after tomorrow.
UPDATE: Friday was similar to Thursday. Stacey told me that next week she is going to show me how to operate the board that runs the show. I'm pretty excited even though it will only be for one week.
Today I was lucky enough to work another autograph signing for CBS Radio. My buddy Chris and I made our way out to Columbia for the event featuring Baltimore Orioles Catcher Matt Wieters.
Since I also worked the Joe Flacco signing, it was interesting to see the difference between the two. For one, it actually seemed as if Wieters drew a much larger crowd and people got back in line after getting one autograph. People definitely didn't do that for Flacco.
Personally, I was happy to see such a large crowd for Wieters; it kind of gave me renewed hope that baseball isn't dying off like many think so. There were a lot of kids there that seemed really excited to meet Matt so that bodes well for the Orioles fanbase. Of course, the old-time fans were there, wanting to finally meet what many think is the Orioles future.
The representatives from the Orioles seemed fairly adament at getting Wieters out of there as soon as possible and to the stadium for the game tonight. (White Sox 4 Orioles 2) However, Matt appeared to be a really nice guy, and was wearing a wedding ring. Many of the girls seemed fairly upset, but I don't know if he is actually married or just wears the ring to not get heckled by countless women.
Anyway, I've got to work in the morning, but once again another fun event for CBS Radio... hopefully they keep 'em coming...
It’s been a long hiatus, but thankfully baseball is a long season. Looking back on the first part of the season has offered a lot of incredible story lines. There’s the incredible performances of Ubaldo Jimenez, the deaths of The Boss and The Voice, and a complete dominance of big league pitchers. There are potential triple crowns and pitchers throwing their brains out and more than likely not breaking ten wins on the year. So with that, let’s take a look at how each team stacks up at the half way point of the season.
AL East Let’s start things at the top, and by the top, I mean with three of the four best teams in baseball, who all happen to be playing in the same division.
New York Yankees: They lead the majors in runs. They’re deadly from top to bottom in the lineup. And as though that's not enough, they have a lot to play for. What better way for the Bombers to send off Steinbrenner than taking a championship home in his honor. Really, there’s no reason apart from injuries or their own division to keep the Yanks from putting up another banner come next season.
Tampa Bay Rays: Always the brides maid, never the bride. And this season looks to be playing out similarly. Behind a top 5 pitching staff and a very solid middle of the lineup the Rays are a dangerous team, and probably the best shot at knocking New York off their pre-made pedestal come postseason.
Boston Red Sox: Injuries, injuries, injuries. With an all-star lineup sitting on the DL, it’s impressive that the Sox have hung on as long as they have. As great as it is to have a gritty underdog, an August swoon looks inevitable for this club. The bullpen has been atrocious, and apart from surprising contributions from minor leaguers like Bill Hall, this season has turned into a feel-good wash.
Toronto Blue Jays: They’re leading baseball in homers, but that doesn’t do much when no one is on base for them. They’re probably the best .500 team in baseball, and in a weaker division may be making a playoff push. They’re starting to look like the Rays from a few years back when they showed flashes of promise but ultimately were left without a helpful result. Look for them to make a one and done attempt akin to what the Marlins do in the next year or two.
Baltimore Orioles: Anyone who saw this team going somewhere at the start of the season was either a season ticket holder or thought Matt Wieters could magically play every position. Neither happened, although the latter was probably for the best. Wieters is having a porous sophomore season after all the hype from tearing up the minors. This is a team that reeks of rebuilding, and probably should get used to their spot as division bottom feeders for the foreseeable future.
AL Central
Chicago White Sox: There is absolutely nothing special about this ball-club, and I’d be shocked to see them do anything come playoff time, assuming they’re still in position to even make the post season. Literally middle of the pack in every offensive and defensive category, this team is a testament to all that is good about Ozzie Guillen. Apart from being a great sound bite, he can coach a team. They make playoffs and this is a coach of the year candidate.
Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera is putting together an MVP season and willing this team to stay in the division. Currently he’s sitting either second or first in all three of the triple crown categories, and the Tigers need every bit of it if they’re going to hope to hang in there until the end. This is a three team race, and they’re probably on the short end of the stick when it comes to a supporting cast for their star players.
Minnesota Twins: Probably the best team in the Central to seize control of the division, Minnesota is only just out of first despite losing their closer to start the season and having Joe Mauer play through quite the slump this season. They’ve found a diamond in the rough in Carl Pavano, and Francisco Liriano is showing some of the flash that made him so great a few years back. Once they start clicking they’ll be repping the division come playoff time.
Kansas City Royals: They have the best batting average in baseball. They have a top of the line starting pitcher. They’re everything you’d want in a sleeper team, but they just haven’t clicked quite yet. Still a year or two off, this is a team on the rise in a winnable division, just not quite ready to break over the hump. Get Billy Butler another season under his belt, and get some run support for Zack Greinke (who may not break ten wins despite a great statistical season), and this team can make some noise at the top of this division. A second place spot next year isn’t out of the question by a long shot.
Cleveland Indians: The Cleveland Indians are a shell of the team they were just three seasons ago. Fausto Carmona is the only player on this team even worth mentioning by name. Like the Orioles, they are in clear rebuilding mode, but don’t seem to have the depth of talent to make that a quick transition. Get used to the basement fellas.
Apologies for the hiatus, but when life gives you Stanley cup and NBA finals and a world cup, sometimes forget to share opinions.With that being said, here are some (not so) rapid reactions to the past few weeks in sports:
The Los Angeles Lakers remind me that every sport constantly needs a bad guy.I’m not an NBA fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I tune in to watch them lose… Andrew Bynum makes me feel like a failure at life for doing what he does at my age.Originally, I ate cake while watching the game for enjoyment, now it’s eating feelings…
Strasmus came early this year in DC, as the resurrection of the franchise is in the hands of ohmygodthiskidcanpitch… For how awful it is that Baltimore has more opponent fans in the stadium than O’s fans, it really makes me more likely to make the trip up to “Fenway South” a few times each year… MASN2 had coverage of the Strasburg start, MASN covered the O’s vs. Yankees.That’s like having the Super Bowl on ESPN2 and the “Puppy Bowl” on ESPN…
I really hate Chris Pronger, and Duncan Keith was robbed of a playoff MVP trophy in the only sport where the playoff MVP trophy is just about pointless…
I watch soccer games on mute, thank you vuvuzela.Also, ESPN should have Spanish announcers do the World Cup as well; they’re much more active…
Speaking of active, Rajon Rondo is the reason the Celtics will win this NBA finals, as opposed to ’08 where they won in spite of him…Kobe Bryant is still “the next Michael Jordan”.No knock on LeBron, but when Kobe takes over, it’s a beautiful thing to watch…
Everyone throwing no-hitters every week is getting annoying.Want to make an anniversary less special?Have one every other day.See what I mean…?
Soccer won’t make it big in the states for one reason: that all of our best athletes play football or basketball.And the moment they’re good enough to play at an international level for soccer, they’re shipped to England (not that I particularly care)…
The realignment of the conferences will be the death of age old rivalries, but will eventually lead to the playoff system over the BCS that we all desperately want…USC is doomed, Lane Kiffin will miss Oakland, if such a thing is possible…
My Tuesday night was fairly eventful. My girlfriend and I decided to attend our second Yanks vs. Orioles game in a week, this one at Camden Yards. Of course she forgot the camera so I took a couple pictures with my phone...nothing special. Whoever said Yankees fans aren't nice was dead wrong. My girl and I were standing in line to buy the eight dollar cheap seats when some guy motioned for me to come over to him. Kind of sketchy right? Well, he had two seats he wanted to give away to me. Fine with me considering they retailed for sixty bucks each and we were going to spend eight bucks on our tickets. They were beautiful and under cover, just in case.
Granderson, Swisher, and Teixeira all homered for the Yanks; Adam Jones hit a two-run homer for the O's. Granderson's bomb was a grand slam, an extremely exciting moment in the game... for Yanks fans. O's fans had had enough and most of them left the game early, but the Baltimore team did show some fight scoring two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
In other news, Stephen Strasburg showed absolutely dominance in his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know he gave up a two-run homer, but he also struck out 14 and walked a magical zero in seven innings of work. He is the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out 11 or more batters and walk none in their debut. That's pretty impressive considering the sport is over 100 years old. He finished his appearance retiring the previous 10 batters he faced, striking out the last seven. The Nationals did him right and scored five runs and Strasburg was credited with the win, as Matt Capps closed it out for the Nats and now has a MLB-leading 19 saves.
There isn't much else to say about Strasburg besides the fact that his next opponent, the Cleveland Indians, have already sold the most tickets to that game then any other this season. Enough said.
Oh, I also heard that there is restaurant in D.C. that now has the "Strasburger". So if you're in the area you should check it out...I know I'm going to.
Just a quickie here guys. I am going to the Orioles vs. Yankees game tonight to watch my beloved Yanks hopefully kick the crap out of the O's. I'll take some pictures at the game and post them for you.
However, the real point of this quickie is because Stephen Strasburg will be starting for the first time in the big leagues tonight. He will face the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park.
Strasburg pitched in eleven games in the minor leagues, earning nine decisions. He posted an impressive 7-2 mark with an astounding 1.30 earned run average. He seemed to completely dominate while he was down there and proved to the Nats and the rest of baseball that he is ready to pitch in the majors.
He struck out 65 batters in 55 and a third innings and only walked 13 batters. Only one lucky fella hit a homer off of him, and we'll see if the Pirates can add to that total tonight. Look for Strasburg to only throw a maximum of 90-95 pitches. However long he can drag that out is up to him.
I wish the best for him and the Nats; living in the D.C. area for so long has put the Nats in my heart.
