Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Geekery: Baseball widgets for your desktop

For those of you (like MG) who are chained to a computer all day, this great article from Wired covers all the widgets, gadgets and other technological goodies that will keep you up to the minute on all the upcoming baseball goodness. Mac, PC *and* platform-agnostic.

If anyone knows where I can find a box score program for Palm, please drop me a line. We saw someone using one last year during the NLCS and TBF’s eyes lit up. As he described it recently, “On the one hand, it’s like the world’s most perfect gift; on the other hand, there’s no way I’d ever give up doing it on paper.” I, on the other hand, am not a luddite.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Opening Day Thoughts

Two years ago, TBF and I had just started dating, and I was stressing about an appropriate gift to buy him to commemorate Opening Day. I didn’t give a damn about baseball, but I knew he did. (I bought him a map of the US with all the baseball stadiums and the ideal routes for a stadium roadtrip marked out.)

Last year - wasn’t a great day for me and I remember coming home on the subway watching everyone heading out to Shea. TBF wasn’t here, and I was still trying to find my way through baseball by myself. I could have bought a ticket and gone, but I didn’t want to go alone. Instead, on one of the worst days of the year, I have to watch the blue-and-orange masses headed out to Shea as I head home.
So, this year was going to be different.

“What opening day traditions do you have?” I asked TBF with ebullience.
Blank look. And a recitation of Opening Days he has missed or the few times he got to attend. A note that he would be keeping score.
I am somewhat - make that very - disappointed, as I expected there to be a long list of arcane traditions that had to be followed, and was eager to do so. I don’t know what you do or you don’t do. I was hoping there was a script I could follow, a tradition I could borrow since I didn’t have one of my own and I felt kind of forlorn without one.

“Baseball Stud”

This is the title of an article in this weeks New York magazine featuring - no, not Julio Franco - yes, Mr. D. Wright. The article begins with him bowling in Port St. Lucie (not on the same evening that TBF and I debated the virtues of bowling vs. mini-golf, and instead had dinner and went to sleep early since we were so damn tired - but everyone else saw him at the bowling alley), and continues with some choice quotes from his teammates.

I like it because it isn’t fawning and it’s also not trying to knock him down either.

“Ohhhwaaa!” DeLuca shouted. “See that? Not the play. But see that smile? That’s what I’m talking about! That charisma! I’m telling you, man, he’s our Jeter.”
“Our wives love him,” added Gomez, for emphasis.
“Our wives want to marry him!”
“They really do!”
“Hell, I want to marry the kid,” said DeLuca, clinking bottles with Gomez. “I said to my wife—I said, ‘Honey, if I don’t come back, it means I ran away with David Wright.’ He’s helped bring the fun back to this team, okay? Which, believe you me, was missing for a long, long time.”

...which is probably what they’re taling about when they say “The women want to marry him - and the men want to marry him too.”

Sunday, April 01, 2007

MetsGrrl Mailbag: Mets beat reporter Narty Moble answers fans’ questions

In honor of Opening Day and the new look and location for MetsGrrl, we are thrilled to welcome MLB Mets beat reporter Narty Moble, making a special guest appearance with the Mailbag. Narty, over to you:

Dear Narty: I was curious as to what you thought about why the Mets did not go after Johan Santana harder in the off-season.

Joe P., Carroll Gardens

I’m sorry to break it to you, but Johan Santana was not available. The Twins would be foolish in the extreme to trade Santana now.