what's new wednesday?

i've been sitting on the throne for over 2 hours;*edit--didn't wanna give TMI but  i 'm pooing a lot of water -and it continues!!!! what a way to lose weight!!!! *** i have mickey's cramping and welll - i feel like- - crap.....

so i dropped in here to see what the weather is doing  and we are under a storm advisory til 4 pm......

i'm gonna try to lie down again for more than 5 minutes...

talk amongst yourselves! it's hump day!

Good morning Margo and all you OFFers.

Sorry you are feeling so bad, hopefully when you wake up in the morning you will be doing better.

It is COLD here.  For here that is.  32 or so.  Ice all over the place.  Doors frozen shut on cars.  Locks frozen on the doors.  Real fun. 

My work is putting people up in a hotel nearby.  I will drive home instead.  I am leaving 45 minutes early.  There will be less people on the road then. 

Is it baseball season yet?

George,
You always make me smile because of your baseball enthusiasm.

My Dad was a die hard NY Yankees fan. He frequently made the trip to NYC to watch them play. He went with friends and took along my younger brother. One year, Mom insisted he take all of us to a game.

That was a memorable day. By 9 or 10 in the morning he insisted we go to the stadium to "walk around". We walked the outside of that darned stadium for HOURS until it opened for an afternoon game. Pure torture for a 12 year old girl with no interest in baseball and especially not thrilled looking at the outside of a stadium.

Almost 50 years later I can look back and smile. The hot dogs were the best ever, the game ... oh so boring (sorry)

Annette

First let me say, I know this forum is predominately female so I tether my baseball enthusiasm.  I honestly do.  I am much more enthusiastic about it in person.

Second, I understand what your father did.  The Rangers game starts at 1:05 on Opening Day this year.  We already have plans for breakfast at Cracker Barrel less than a mile from the Ballpark at 8:45 or so, and be at the Ballpark for the 10AM gate opening.  I try to get there when the gates open for every game.  I just walk around and breathe in the atmosphere.  Watch batting practice.  Make friends.

Third, your last point.  The game is a slow game.  That is what makes it so special.  I like to tell people it is a social game.  There is time enough between pitches and innings to make friends with those around you.  I make new friends at every game I go to.  When I am in my element, I will talk the game with anyone who will listen.  I will study the situation and we discuss what we would have the player do.  I get chills down my spine just thinking about it.

George,

I love your passion for the sport - or should I say sports.  It is good, clean fun.        

George, I would do better if I was at an actual stadium. I like the people, the sounds, the sights, even the smells.  However, that being said I've been known to throw this one out in our living room after weeks of daily games: "Don't they EVER get a day off?"  and "Geeze, this is like watching grass grow, but slower!"  I like to go to games, but TV just doesn't do it! I can appreciate your enthusiasm however. I like the sounds of the bat hitting the ball and the smell of fresh cut grass. We keep thinking of going to Peoria, AZ for Mariner's spring training sometime. I know Mike would love it and I'd like to see that part of AZ! (ulterior motive there~)

karen; i think baseball is much better in person--i used to adore listening to it as a kid--we had jimmy dudley calling the Indians games and you could feel like you were right there except for the smell of the grass and the flavor of the hotdogs!

i have grown away from baseball- well from all sports but it remains the one i would choose if i could only have one!

George, you and I would get along so well ... I share your passion for the game. When I was younger, I used to get to Comiskey Park at 10 a.m. and stand outside the players' parking lot waiting for autographs (got a lot of them, too ... got to know a lot of the players that way). Didn't leave the game until nearly 2 hours after the game, either, because my friends and I would wait until the players had all departed. I sat with a group of people out in left field called the Sox Supporters (part of them were the Sox Maniacs, but they merged with us). It was great fun.

Now, it's just hard for me to sit in the seats because of my back and knees, and hard to get into the stands, but I still love to talk baseball with anyone. I went on a stadium tour a few years ago with a group ... boy, that was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Few of my friends are baseball fans, and this was a group that everyone was talkin' baseball ... we left the Hall of Fame and on the bus that night everyone was speculating who among current players would be in the Hall. It was just wonderful.

I agree the game can be slow, but that leaves for so much interest, time to talk, to speculate, to visit with other fans. I got interested in sports and wanted to be a sports writer because of baseball ... never got to cover the White Sox (it was my dream, but isn't any longer).

I am not a big sports person...but I do have some wonderful memories of spending time with my dad at Candlestick Park (in SF). My brother and I were probably 6 and 7 years old and we watched the game and then went to the player's parking lot to wait for Willie Mays to get into his pink Cadillac and drive past us. My dad was in heaven and that made me feel happy too. It is also a good memory of my brother and my dad- both died young.

George,

We are a big baseball family here. My 16 year old son is a catcher and plays travel ball so it takes us to many tournaments in surrounding states during the summer. He also plays for his high school and our community Legion team. Right now he has practice 5-6 days a week with school and then he catches for pitchers on Sundays.We do get to some of the Pirates games when we have a chance. Its too bad the Pirates usually suck. PNC Park is beautiful and its so nice to watch the games there.

Mary