Ciao!

Well, the Sox are tanking. And fast. I am out of things to say that aren't complaints. And I'm sure that you aren't getting much value out of my pie charts and diagrams and irrelevant photos.

I'm sorry to report that this is going to be my last entry. When something begins to be a source of stress and self-imposed pressure when it's supposed to be enjoyable, it's time to let it go. The technical problems I was having are a sign that I need to involve myself in something new.

I want to thank you all for reading and commenting - I've truly enjoyed your feedback! I'll be around, commenting on other people's blogs here and there.

Here's to hoping that the Sox find a way to get to the playoffs!

Ahhhhhhhh!

Seems that everyone is up-in-arms over this article at forbes.com. I saw it profiled on the evening news tonight and I was thoroughly stunned.

The author, evidently, feels that career women are lousy wives. To set himself off from his ancient-minded opinion, he used "research" to prove his point. An excerpt:

... if many social scientists are to be believed, you run a higher risk of having a rocky marriage. While everyone knows that marriage can be stressful, recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, less likely to have children, and, if they do have kids, they are more likely to be unhappy about it. A recent study in Social Forces, a research journal, found that women--even those with a "feminist" outlook--are happier when their husband is the primary breadwinner.

The article goes on and on about this supposed pervasive behavior amongst married career women. It's appalling. In my opinion, this guy is upset because more and more women are supposedly acting JUST LIKE MEN. (Please note that I am generalizing here.) I thought: Hmmm, here's a guy who prefers to be the cheating, uninterested breadwinner and is personally insulted that a woman could go out into the world and mirror his behavior. Of course, it's wrong to do regardless of your gender, but his narrow article is really dangerous. He must have known that he was stirring the pot. The response to this has been overwhelming. I read some of the message board stuff and could not believe how many ignorant chauvinistic pigs continue to share this country with me. One guy went on to pin non-American women against American women by suggesting that American women are all looked down upon, in our own country, by non-American women. We are all selfish and none of us knows how to please a man. Because, naturally, this is our main goal in life. Suppose you marry a man who, despite all you do to try and please him, ignores you and criticizes? Then, for an added bonus, he leaves evidence of his affair in your laundry and on your dining room table for you to innocently discover one day? What then? I guess that a woman without a career might stay if she can't support herself. But, oh no! If she has a career, she might leave!

This article has made me furious. Maybe it's because I'm just a selfish, unappreciative, American woman with a career. Where do I get off?

Red Sox Pie

So, the Red Sox squeezed another win out of their baseball sponge. Good for them.

I've always liked pie charts. You?



P.S. Yep, I'm still pissed at the team.

More Tantalizing Non-Red Sox Entertainment

Red Sox update: We actually won a game last night. Don't get your hopes up, though.

To continue with the theme of breaking up all the Red Sox monotony, I bring you the diagram of an eye:



Enjoy!

Why Waste Valuable Time & Energy?

Baseball farts right now. To the point of ridiculousness. As this is the case, I've decided to channel my fandom into the silliest, craziest, most irrelevant Red Sox commentary I know how from here on out. Fuck you, Red Sox. You wanna use the major leagues as some kind of screwed up experimental ground for young talent? You want to mutate these poor eggs before they're hatched? Well, this Sox fan isn't going to take your mad scientist bullshit anymore.

Seriously, why should any journalist, any blogger for that matter, take time to craft an objective article or post for a franchise that isn't really all that concerned about winning? I say, fuck 'em. I ain't wasting my time talking about the "positives" and the "negatives" anymore.

When this team is supposedly "built" to the satisfaction of Front Office, call me. When will that be (says Chuck from Chuck's Bike-O-Rama), a long time we wait. Well, I don't have any plans to change my number for the next couple of seasons. I can wait.

In the meantime, let's discuss some other matters. Paint drying, for example. Riveting:



Water boiling, equally as interesting when you compare it with, say, what's happening to the Red Sox right now.



Stay tuned for more exciting topics!

[Update: I just read Empy's post dated August 21st, and woah! I thought I was the only one saying Fuck You to the Red Sox. Actually, her post is so uncharacteristically Empy, I nearly fell off my chair. But, I can't say that it didn't capture the emotion of the day.]

Reverted for the Time Being

Since I apparently messed something up when I did the old window dressing, I've reverted to my old template temporarily. My banner went away entirely (in the Safari browser), so I knew it was code red time.

We're Awful, cont.

Well, that 5-game series most definitely sucked.

Some good things:

Schilling had a very strong outing on Sunday night.
Wells was also solid yesterday.
Manny and Papi are hitting.
Our collective confidence can still be put in Papelbon.
The number of games separating us from the Yankees is not a double digit.
Hinske is effective as Wily Mo's platoon buddy.
There is still over a month of regular season baseball to play.
Hansen, Van Buren and Seanez have been sent down.
A lot of money was raised for the Jimmy Fund.

The not good things:

Lester, Snyder, Lopez, and Tavarez aren't doing us any favors.
Jason and Tim are still on the disabled list.
What is going on with Mike Timlin?
Wily Mo can't hustle in the outfield for crap. Doesn't even try.
Manny's got some hamstring problem.

Here's what might make us more competitive:

Jason comes back and helps these young pitchers.
Tim comes back and reactivates our knuckleball weapon.
Wily Mo gets some coaching in the field.
Timlin gets his game back.
Wells and Schilling stay healthy.
Obtain a couple of renta-relievers.

I don't know about you, but I think this team is a sinking ship. Personally, it's starting to feel like the end of the '01 season for whatever reason. It's pretty hard to take that the Yankees, who have their fair share of injuries this season, stand an excellent chance of not only winning the division title, but by a lot. My prediction (and I hope I am wrong) is that we will end the regular season about 12.5 games back, if not more. We will be lucky to finish 3rd.

This doesn't mean that I am going to stop watching baseball. It simply means that I am going to watch it with a different goal. Instead of hoping to win, I am going to study the performances and make predictions about some of the possible off season moves. What freaking choice do I have?

I'll Admit It. We Stink.

Here's a question - why do I care? Obviously, front office doesn't care. Let me clarify: Front office doesn't care enough. I've adopted a new call me when we get a couple of decent starters attitude. In case you are wondering why I've grown so bitter, so quickly, perhaps you should check out the score. On second thought, allow me to inform you. 8-3, Yankees.

Our pitching bites the big one.

Fuckupdate

Why, oh, why did I need to go to the cafeteria for Cheezits? That was not a smart move. It was the top of the 7th with Snyder (who is looking more and more like Arroyo) in, 2 Yankees in scoring position and 1 out. Also, the elephant poops somehow managed to get a 4-3 lead. Awful.

2:40 and we're tied up at 1

Work has been really crazy lately, so I don't even have time to run down to the cafeteria in the basement to watch an inning. I can only check in a quick second here or there. Glad that Johnson has lasted 4 innings with only one run. Each team has had 4 hits exactly. Wowzers, this is intense!

I'm Back

Well, it's been over a week, but I needed a break. My personal life has been nuts, to say the least. I think things have calmed down for the most part and I feel pretty confident that I can post with some frequency moving forward. Thanks for your patience!

While it's true that my absence has been coincident with the Sox falling out of first place, I don't think that this is by any means a permanent state of affairs, and I certainly don't hold myself responsible for it (because of my not writing). It's the injuries, folks. Trot, Jason and Tim. I hear that Jason is making better progress than Trot, but Nixon might be back in the line up as early as September 1st. I read that Jason threw a little on the field earlier in the week and I heard a rumor that he might be activated for at least part of the 5-game series this weekend, but I have seen no reports since confirming or denying this. Have any of you?

The Yanks fell to the O's today quite miserably (2-12), so that puts the Sox behind by a mere 1.5 games. Not bad shape going in. And the pitching match-ups are pretty even (Except RJ and Lester, but maybe they are more evenly matched than my gut is indicating to me. Wang and Johnson are not much of a match up, either. Ugh.). The thing that worries me is that Jason won't be behind the plate. In these critical games against New York, we really need Tek to keep pitchers' heads in the game. Again, I ask, does anyone know anything? I've been wicked out of the loop.

I am excited about the Hinske acquisition. The additional left-handed batter can do nothing but help while Trot's on the DL.

I'm really hoping that we click this weekend and gain the upper hand in the race. Prepare yourself for crazy town baseball action. It will be as nerve racking and nutty as it's going to get starting tomorrow at 1:05. Damn you, day job!

What do you think of the purple? Too much? I'm not married to it, but I needed a change.

I leave you with my old friend, Grouchy Smurf.



I hate the Yankees.