Yet again, I go to a Mariners game and they lose, one to nothing. This was a great game. This is the type of game that I love. A fast-paced low-scoring pitchers duel. There were only 2 walks in the game (that I remember). And the one walk Jamie Moyer gave up is the one that score. Few walks usually means a game goes by really quickly. The closeness of the game and its pace also meant that everyone stayed until the end. After which there was a huge "traffic" jam in the concourse as people tried to get out. I am sure there was one fat couple in front moving very slowly and that was causing the congestion.

Yes, I know that is not very accepting of fat people. Tough. You have your prejudices; I have mine.

Tags: baseball

A friend of mine started dating a girl on whom I had a crush. Normally, I'd wish for all the luck in the world for him. But if that were to happen, I would never get to date her myself. Of course, wishing doesn't help anyone. So what would you wish for in this case?

Tags: baseball

Last night I went to my 5th Mariners game this season. I was accompanied by evillinn (a.k.a. Deirdre) and Laura.

Laura doesn't like baseball much. She went because it's a sporting event, because she's a friend and it was a change to hang out, and for the "experience."

Deirdre, on the other hand, is nearly as much of a baseball nut as I am. Part of the conversation was about what we love about baseball. So here is my list:

• I love to watch the skill and play. The economy of motion. How fluid a well turned double play looks.
• I love the chance to get up and yell at the umpires for making a horrible call. It's part of the fun to have people make mistakes like a botched call at the plate and heap verbal abuse on them.
• I love learning all the statistics and what statistics contribute to a good player and a good team. Learning about things like on-base percentage and slugging percentage and how they are much more of a determining factor toward a player being good than batting average or even runs batted in.
• I love seeing all the quirks for the individual players that you can't see in football and basketball. Things like Mike Fetters stare at the plate before pitching, or Arthur Rhodes stare down at the ground. James Baldwin's slow walk off the mound, Ichiro Suzuki's constant stretching or lining up the bat before hitting, and Mark McLemore always wiping out the chalkline defining the batter's box.
• I love discussing baseball with the fans around you. Trying to remember who played second for the Dodgers 3 years ago and what team Rob Ducey went to and who we got in return from the Red Sox for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe. I love comparing discussing the Ken Griffey trade with other fans to argue over whether it was a Good Thing™.
• And the food also. It's horrible food. Greasy and undercooked. But it's baseball food.

Tags: baseball