Note to self: do not walk outside barefoot anymore. I stepped on either a bumble bee or the plain ol' honey-type bee yesterday afternoon when I decided to run outside (barefoot, of course) and water my wee-tiny Japanese maple trees. ("Japanese maple shrubbery" would be a more apt name at this point: they might be two feet tall.) I couldn't tell which one got me, as there were a couple of bumbles and a honey bee in the general vicinity of where I first felt the sharp jab of pain in my big toe, but I don't suppose it really matters. It hurt like hell, but I'm feeling much better now.

---

Andruw Jones is on an absolute tear right now. He hit another home run this afternoon, bringing his season total up to 24 (this makes him the current Major League leader). More importantly, he provided two runs in an 8-1 Atlanta win, allowing the Braves to sweep Baltimore. Smoltz pitched his second complete game in a row, striking out seven and walking zero batters.

It's ironic that all the concern for the rotation earlier this year was about Smoltz and his glass arm; he's become the true ace of the staff and is one of the two starters not on the DL right now.

I should be just about ready to get on the road for an early afternoon of baseball in Atlanta. Instead, I'm deciding how to spend the next twelve hours before I have to go to stupid work. The powers-that-be decided everyone in my department needed to work this Sunday, even though we'll probably stand around with our thumbs up our respective asses all night (I refuse to stick my thumb in anyone else's ass). At the very least, we'll run ourselves out of parts during the weekend and then stand around for three shifts on Monday. Makes a lot of sense, right? Oh well, I guess I'll watch the game on the Fox channel; the beer is cheaper at my house anyway.

---

I see that Blogger has their own picture uploading thingamabob. I've decided to give it a test run and share with you fine folks the beast that stalks about my house (when it isn't sleeping 23 hours of the day). This 23 pound, hairball hoarking monstrosity is Buffy (short for Buffy The Bug Slayer):

I told myself I'd become a much more reliable contributor to the wisdom of the internet once the new computer was here, and I was, up until a point. The job seems to be interfering with my routine, though: going in early and staying late to practice a presentation a co-worker and I are giving tomorrow morning. I'm not sure exactly why we're spending so much time practicing though, as we present at ten o'clock in the A.M. "What's the big deal about ten in the morning?", you ask? Well, my happy ass is usually in bed and sound asleep by 8:00, so this ten o'clock nonsense is waaay past me bedtime. It's difficult to sound coherent and half-way intelligent when you're a brain-dead zombie.

Speaking of the job- I got myself a new one. A promotion, even. Whenever my current department decides they've adequately replaced me, I'll be heading up to the QA Lab to begin life as the newest Quality Tech on the hoot owl shift. I'm pretty excited (at least as excited as a person can be about their job, anyway).

---

The Braves begin a pretty important series against the Marlins tonight. I hope Bobby Cox made sure all those twelve-year-olds in the Braves starting line-up got to bed early last night and didn't fill up on pizza and ice cream for lunch today. Eh, I shouldn't complain: how many other teams could replace half their starters with AA call-ups and still be above .500 and in the thick of the division race?

---

I'm hoping to be among those fans so excited by a Braves/Orioles match-up Saturday. I use the word "hope" because there's a chance I'll have to work this weekend. It would be my first game of the season, I'm ashamed to say. Be sure to watch the game if it's on the tele: I'll wave to you.

Sweet Jesus, can the Braves catch a damn break? Tim Hudson has now toddled off to join JT and Hampton on the Disabled List. This is getting ridiculous!

Do you think Mississippi and Richmond are still able to field teams, or are they forfeiting games due to not enough players available on the rosters?

I've not got much in the way of baseball today; been out of town all weekend and didn't have the chance to keep up with the Braves (what can I say, they aren't real popular in the hills of North Carolina).

Speaking of which, I was in Asheville with my wife. She had a dog show and so we decided to make it a bit of a working vacation. (She was robbed by the judge at the show, by the way). Anywho, we had a good time in Asheville and I highly recommend the downtown area: great shops, great food, and great pubs. I bought a couple of CD's at Karmasonics (Junior Wells and The Freight Hoppers) and had a really great dinner, complete with a couple pints of excellent IPA at Jack of the Wood. Unfortunately, I'm getting old and wasn't able to stay awake or at JotW long enough to see the rockabilly band playing Saturday night.

I suppose I should find solace in the fact that the Braves are still above .500, although just barely. They're just not getting it done, but that's what happens when your starting nine has been decimated with injuries and you've got a patchwork line-up of minor league call-ups and rookies. The good news is this is similar to what happened at the beginning of the 2004 season, where everyone finally got healthy and had a great second half of the season. Plus, it's nice to see there are some really top notch players down on the farm. Yep, the future don't look too shabby.

Still, you'd like to think the Braves would be able to beat a crummy team like the A's.

---

Just curious- is anyone making it out to support their local minor league clubs? I must admit, I've only made it to one game so far. I had wanted to catch a Lookouts game with the Tommy this week, but the Forces of Nature and a steroid-enhanced yard that seems to grow six inches daily prevented me from doing so. I shall remedy that soonly.

And in one of the most exciting points in the 2005 schedule *insert derisive snort here*, the Braves begin a three game series with- drum roll, please- the A's. Oh, joy! And then we'll be treated to another three game series with the Rangers. Oh, rapture! C'mon, really-- who decided we needed (or wanted) these games? Cubs/White Sox? Sign me up. Mets/Yankees? Sure, I'd watch it on the tele. Angels/Dodgers? Why the hell not. Oakland and Texas vs. Atlanta? Give me a freakin' break. How's about a week of regional interleague play and then we join our regular season already in progress?

Is it just me or is Kyle Davies making the injury bug in the rotation just a wee bit easier to stomach?

---

Just thought I'd share this little nugget of info with you: I used the good ol' spellchecker Blogger was kind enough to provide me with on today's post. If it finds a word it doesn't recognize, it'll offer replacement words. Well, it doesn't recognize "freakin'" as a real word and graciously offered to replace it with "foreskin". I almost allowed it to do so, but had second thoughts about supplying the Free World with the sentence, "Give me a foreskin break."

I'm still sticking with my opinion on the happenings of the Braves/Angels game a few nights back.

I'd like to see some point of separation between an acceptable point of contact at home plate and an unacceptable one, much like the difference between a good, hard slide at second base and interference being called against the runner. It's perfectly within the rules (both written and unwritten) to slide in hard at second base in order to break up a double-play, providing the baserunner slides within reach of the bag. If he slides outside his reach, then interference is called and the baserunner is out. I'd like something similar at home plate. I have absolutely no problem with a guy going in hard at home, as long as he's going for the plate. Darin Erstad peeked at the second baseman as he rounded third and knew his only option was to knock the ball loose; he KNEW he'd be thrown out otherwise. He went in like a full-back, head down and leading with his shoulder, went THROUGH Estrada (never for the plate), and then crawled over his prone body to tag the plate.

I agree that we've girlied up the game, what with taking the inside of the plate away from pitchers and so on, but a run is never going to be worth permanent injury or ending a player's career in my book.

The purpose of a runner coming hard into home plate is to separate the ball from the catcher's glove, NOT separating the catcher's head from the rest of his body. A baserunner can slide under, through, or around the catcher; he can even go hard and low, in an effort to jar the ball loose. Darin Erstad, you can call it what you want-- coming in that hard, that high smacks of dirty baseball and you're lucky Ramirez pitched behind you tonight, rather than sticking it in your earflap. It's horseshit plays like last night's that end careers and cause permanent injury.

It's not an illusion... it's a mur-a-gee

Okay, so it's not a mirage. It's really me. No, really. It is. For all three of you who might have missed the words of wit and wisdom dispersed from my erm... mouth, I am back online. Yep, the new Dell arrived bright and early this morning. Got it hooked up and online with only the slightest bits of effort and swearing. And away we go...

The big Braves news today? Chippa goes on the DL and hot prospect Andy Marte gets called up. Sounds like a plan to me: gives Marte a taste of what the Bigs has to offer and allows management and Bobby Cox an opportunity to see him compete at the ultimate level of competition. Personally, I hope this is a preview of what's to come next season: I'm not particularly fond of Chippa and would like to see him play elsewhere.