mstar1

I can handle little girls possessed by Demons but the Cubs? the Cubs? ...get me more holy water...a lot more ..bring me Lake Michigan....

I notice it-I notice it all the time and it perturbs me to no end--- but being fair I have to admit it took me a long time to learn how to work when i was first entering the work force and alot of the kids that I bitch about probably arent that far removed from what I looked like to others at that age... It still sucks counting on them to do a job, or worse yet hiring them, but most of the time I cut em a little slack ...it may be taking some of them, who arent really bad kids, a little time to figure things out

Oyea sky I forgot Ortiz-thank each and every Minnesotan for me please--He is hovering around .302 right now. He has hit some mammoth blasts this year and combined with Ramirez makes a formidable 3-4 combo. If he stays above .300 for the next few days, they will be the first 40HR/.300 American league teammates since Ruth and Gehrig in the early 30's, which isnt bad company. EX-They should give PhD's, maybe as our Reverend Mother you can drop an honorary Doctorate on our suffering Mr. Zelotes, he has paid his dues and done his time, of course its my belief that most Cubs or RedSox fans should be knighted or beatified for going above and beyond all measure of human endurance in pursuit of impossible dreams.

Its only a game...its only a game ...its only...... I have the luxury of thinking about batting titles for afew days while I put off wondering what is up with Pedro Martinez who has lost 4 straight as he heads to the playoffs.....4 straight?.........Pedro???? When does this happen? Hang tight, breathe deep Simon--- I'm still holding out long hopes for a seventh game at Fenway on Halloween Night between the Cubs and Sox . Breathe Deep Simon--Its only a game (i think)

I took it (or it took me ) about 20 times---I still have a bad back from the frickin chairs...I was being destroyed for a lack of common sense....What a waste of time

I haven't seen him yet this year, sort of hope I dont have too! although a matchup against Curt Schilling would be a great battle and a tough game to predict--he is pretty hot himself... but I would be content to let the Yankees have him in the first round---a five game series would be tough facing him twice-- ..btw thank Minnesota for Menkiewicz, Ive never seen a guy who wins so many games with his glove, its great play after great play from him, and with the Sox lineup it doesnt matter that he is hitting .213

Yea I am amazed by that guy and would rather get Oakland than Minnesota in the short series because of him, He'll get some MVP votes for sure--what is he about 14-0 since the all star break?

Love you too ex, Simon loves baseball..gees its a regular lovefest. Thanks Simon-after watching the Sox be comatose from the begiining of May to the end of July it is good to be in the playoffs its good to see your also back to your first love... but it is early in the week... ;)-->. I dont know your guys that well but I have seen how Todd (No Range) Walker plays second , turning routine ground balls into basehits-- so keep a good supply of old toasters to mash around-- you can hit em pretty far- good for stompin on too..its bound to be a hairy week in the NL. I'll be pluggin' for the Cubs... What are they gonna do about the batting title and Bonds--He doesnt have enough friggin at bats, it used to be 502. Have they changed that rule? Ichiro will have almost as many hits as Bonds has AB's well .....almost.....

Well its official RED SOX ARE IN, still have 6 games to hope the Yanks slow down and we grab the division, but WE ARE IN. I also talked to some guy tonight who owns some building outside Wrigley with bleachers, who promised ...if... Now the fun begins--- Cubs are up 12-3 in the 8th are you feeling any better yet Simon? I think you have another week of heartburn its too tight over there

Yea I Love what I do, I consider myself very lucky to be able to do something I genuinely love (most of the time), get paid pretty well for it, work for myself, make my own hours and choose the customers that I want. I'd use the "B" (lessed) word if I wasn't predisposed against it and I wasnt amongst exwayfers. Ive done more than I ever thought I would and have somehow been able to survive for 25 years without having to get a 'real job'

After what you just told us, you miss them? WG, there are alot of good people out there without the need to control and demean, who actually have a sense of christian values when it comes to relating to people. If they cant get loving their neighbor right I doubt they have much else of value to offer... Im not even gonna touch on churches that model themselves after corporations, I think they were supposed to model someone else, who himself was a little less corporate or concerned with numbers

Im fairly wary of anything or anyone who is 'driven', I spent enough years in TWI being highly driven and it usually ended up in a scenario like the one Watered Garden described. Good Luck to the rest of you, hope it works for you but I'll pass

Welcome Simon Step One: You are powerless over your addiction- you cannot make anyone hit the cutoff man, or not make an error, you cannot keep someone from swinging at bad pitches or throwing to the wrong base, you cannot keep the manager from making bad decisions or the third base coach from waving the slowest runner on the team in when the centerfielder has a howitzer for an arm, or keep your shortstop from booting the ball with the bases loaded............. Yea I know Simon, I walk out on the Red Sox" and will never watch those %$%#&*^$s again" about 10 times a year, but the sun rises on a new day and they perfectly execute a hit and run, steal a few clutch bases and make three great plays in a tight win so whaddaya gonna do. If they just sucked sucked it would be easier to just be perturbed or amused by the futility and watch some individual on the team like Ichiro chase individual records, but they are so close and sometimes they actually play in that mysterious flow where things just click ----------anyway the Cubs are still up a half, things can turn around in a moment, the Sox were in another near brawl with the Yanks yesterday(what else is new) which is a spark and could make the playoffs a repeat of last year. this is what the end of September is for and as much as I hate cliches i live for this

Me too, its like a love-hate relationship that I cant get out of, my Tv almost went out the window last night when Ortiz didnt run out a pop to left during a tie game with the Yankees last night. It blew fair and bounced into the stands for a ground rule double while he was standing at the plate like a dope. Do I have to remind these guys things they should have learned when they were 8, like running everything out? Its only a pennant race, they only make umpteen million dollars a year, is it too much to run 90 feet? The Red Sox blew two leads on consecutive nights in the ninth this week, and the same as the cubs have just been plain frikkin stupid about it. Sometimes they just plain f**kin s**k and .... me off, but maybe its part of being a Boston or Chicago fan that you no matter how much you complain you always come back---its sort of like having a bad kid or something.. The Red Sox need a spark, in July they were in a malaise and went on a tear after Varitek got in a fight with ARod. It was sort of a wakeup call,. Last night Francona got tossed for the first time all year ( it looked like he was trying to get tossed) the Sox scored seven runs a few innings later, which was there first decent inning in weeks.Maybe the manager gettin tossed and fighting for them will light a fire under their asses... Maybe ( maybe) they'll start bearing down and realize where they are. Who knows, maybe it will be a surge maybe a letdown.... I hate it too dont you love it?

Mother Nature is just starting to burst out in all of her autumn wonder here in the hills of New England. Looks like it is going to be good for the next 3-4 weeks or so, I'll try to get some pics up as time allows....

Re: Johnson That type of stuff is more overt than I was thinking and probably in my estimation a larger reason than generally considered why teams like the DBacks have the record that they do. To their credit the new Sox ownership has been very careful selecting players that are 'good clubhouse guys' and getting rid of malcontents and realizing that that is also a very big part of the game that cant be measured in stats. The extra oomph I was talking about is that undefinable extra even beyond chemistry but seems interwoven with it. The Sox this year seem to be collectively hot or collectively just a half step or a tenth of a second off. They can play brilliantly together for a week or two with everyone in the lineup playing to the peak of their ability, and for the next week or two make mental errors (throwing to the wrong base, not taking the extra base, etc) and play just a minor step downward, again collectively. Its not just one or two guys but the group that seem to be effected. It is a very minor difference but has gotten to the point where you can almost sense it in subtle body language and expressions. In this baseball is like life in that sometimes everything clicks and sometimes its a struggle to make it click and you are a half step out... Its a mystery to me, maybe just attributable to the normal ups and downs of life, I know that I'd like to be 'clickin' all the time...if you figure it out Im all ears..... Anyway we got the Yanks this weekend, which is sort of a battle of competing ideologies-the pinstripe suited highly professional New York Empire vs the unkempt, longhaired, cornrowed, funloving Bostonians I'll hope they find their stride before tonight.. say hello to Rock and.......Shea Hillenbrand

OO --good to see the kat from the land of Bonds weighin in, -- ...does anyone know where I can get a bottle of that mystical thing that makes teams works together, its called spark or umph or spirit or zip or some damn thing that I can never quite get a finger on.... the Red Sox apparently had a fresh batch throughout August, but the supplies must've run out over the last few weeks. Where the he11 do you get that stuff anyway? sure would like to have a seasons supply just once

Cool, this is fun, I'll send our international ambassador of goodwill Stanley off as soon as he arrives....It will be interesting to see where he lands on his own. Glad the kids liked the postcard, keep us posted where they all start coming in from....just sort of curious-- how many Flat Stanleys from Zach's class are floating around out there?

Cool, that'll work. Before I knew the way this was set up I was very curious to see how far and where Flat Stanley would go on his own... However its done,this should be quite a geography lesson for those kids.

Before I knew that Stanley's trajectory was to be controlled, I was actually thinking of sending him to my nephew in Iraq. I thought it would have been a good touch of home for him and besides he knows quite a few people around the world for Stanley to make his rounds on.....maybe next time...

If it is one of those old fashioned windows with the weights it can be fixed pretty easily, I'd explain it-but it would be easier to call a local glazing, glass or window shop, Its a small deal(less than an hour). Until then cut a stick to prop the window up-and keep your fingers, kids and cats out of the opening!

I'd be curious to find out what Nomar is up to in Cubland-if he is being the real Nomar, or if he is being Mr. Mia Hamm and sitting around safely waiting to sign a big contract with the Dodgers next year. As much as I loved to watch him everyday for years, it was the best thing the Sox couldve done this year was let him go. They've been a different and better team without him and this Cabrera kid at short is exciting and a real needed sparkplug.

Yea if you have a chance-- see it-- It was an amazingly powerful portrayal of how baseball was a huge healing force in NY after the terrorists attacks-even I who have life long genetic predisposition against the Yankees and all things NY was moved to tears a few times.....Its pretty amazing especially for those people that think baseball is just a game.... On the Wildcard front its gettin hairy again, although the Sox are in good position, they've lost 3 in a row and worse theyve played like 12 year olds doing it, which is no way to approach the playoffs. Being from Boston I have seen this September movie about 40 times before, and although I like this group a lot, its damn hard giving them your heart, knowing that they could turn on a dime like a faithless lover and shatter your heart to smithereens. They have the goods, they have the potential, at this point I'd have to say I am optimistic and hopeful but cautious. This weekends series with the Yanks could tell the story of season. Anyway-Im a one team guy-the NL wildcard looks tight-I'd love to have a closer perspective...

Yea pennant races are heating up, maybe we could petition Pawtucket for a legs forum for these tennising Russians. Red Sox drew first blood in 6 games against the Yankees in 10 days beating Rivera in the ninth last night and the NL wildcard is tight. Is anybody watching? Did anyone see Nine Innings from Ground Zero on HBO?

You too- Im still thinking about stretch run-- S T R E T C H RUN sounds pleasnr enough sort of like alight workout---A time to expand and build to the finish. It lasts about a month Football has the 2 minute DRILL