For this grizzled old baseball fan, it would be a slice of heaven to attend a baseball game with JO'Co and Corey. It also would include Rick, Jif and George sitting together engrossed in a Red Sox-Yankees debate; Terry, Husker and Wendy in a "civil" discussion of the NL Central; with Gipper sitting behind us cracking wise throughout the game. In fact, it would be a treat just to see Gipper sit through an entire 9-inning baseball game. :lol:
Sid and George, If I were you, I'd throw in Diane's name as well. Some of Cindy's bad side might have rubbed off on her back in the mid 90's when we met. :wink:
Tom, just what bad side would this be as far as I know in the 10 years or so we have known each other I never saw any signs of a bad side. Cindy and I are like two peas in a pod... as far as keeping joco out of trouble I have given that up years ago Sid .. I just find "LIFE With JOCO" an adventure in itself hey maybe I could sell the idea for a TV Show " LIFE WITH JOCO"..... D
Diane, Cindy can be a bitch at times. However, according to her, and of course I agree, she says that it stands for: Babe In Total Control of Herself :wink:
BDR had the right idea: he came in by train. I had forgotten that the Metro runs right into the parking lot at Anaheim Stadium. He got on the train near his house and stepped off into the parking lot less than 50 yards from where I parked. The train station is also across the street from The Pond, where the Mighty Ducks play and next doot to TJ Schmidt's (sp?) where we once met with Huskerfan... Those crummy Angels gave us rain checks, little slips of paper to be mailed in, instead of tote bags, which ruined all of our plans for creative mayhem. I think they were tipped off. What a bunch of minor league rummys. The whole place was too Disney for me. It was like watching t-ball in Frontierland. If Goofy had come to bat for the Angels, I wouldn't have been surprised. Speaking of Goofy... The starting pitcher for the Angels was Jeff Weaver. We stayed on his arse pretty good for as long as he lasted. My son Eric, who's a former player of some ability, was particularly brutal. As one of his fastball's sailed into the bullpen below us for yet another 2-run homer, he yelled "Hey Weaver! Your mother must be so proud of you!" (It was Mothers Day.) This brings Weaver's record to 1-6, with an ERA just lower than his ZIP code. In attempting to analyze his performance after the game, Weaver said "Today I was having problems with my locations, but last time it was my velocity." I think this means that they're hitting everything he tosses up there at any speed and every location. The rumor is that he's going to be replaced on the roster by his little brother, Jared, as soon as next week. As I watched the game, I swear I felt the evil presence of George Krebs sitting right behind me, making comments on every pitch he threw... Thanks are in order to Mrs. JO'Co who came up with these seats. She won them as an award at work by turning down a trip for two to Rome. (Yes Rome, Italy; not Rome, Georgia you cynics...) They were club seats, which gave us "In Seat Service." This means that Rick got to order two Dixie cups of Sam Adams beer for $15, while Eric bought hotdogs and sodas for his wife and two kids for $53. At those prices, I lost my appetite and cheered for the Mariners to slaughter em... The height of sarcasm and ridicule for the locals came when they brought out the "Rally Monkey." What crap. The whole show is one big rally monkey. How do otherwise sane baseball fans root for something like that? The answer of course, is that they're not real baseball fans, just like the "hockey fans" who go to Mighty Ducks games across the street... The game itself was an arse kicking. Weaver dug a hole that the Angels never could climb out of. Ichiro Suzuki is an incredible player. He's one of those rare players who plays faster than the game. He runs up in the batters box on every pitch as if he were playing slow-pitch softball. How he gets away with that, when the pitches are coming up there at over 90 mph from only 60 feet away is a mystery to me. I can't remember seeing anyone else do it in modern baseball, although I've read that oldtimers like Ty Cobb and Sliding Billy Hamilton used to do it... Well, it was a great time and always fun to see Rick and Kim. We'll see if we can't do some more outings later in the year, when Arizona comes to town and next year when the Irish come here... ..........DD 8)
Jo'Co: I told you that dog wouldn't hunt. :idea: Sounds like Eric picked up my slack re: Weaver It also sounds like the concession prices there are higher than Yankee Stadium which I would have thought to be impossible. No wonder everyone plays with their monkey :wink:
What a great day. The train is the way to go for a baseball fan traveling from Los Angeles to Anaheim. Kim and I drove to Union Station on Saturday morning, stopping at Lucky Deli in Chinatown on the way to pick up fresh cha siu bao - steamed dumpling-like buns filled with barbequed pork. We barely made our train, and boarded without tickets because all of the Quik-Trak machines were down. Fortunately, Conductor Bruce, a baseball fan himself, understood our plight and radioed ahead to an upcoming station to have our tickets printed there. Whatta guy. After a quick trip to the bar car for something to wash down the bao buns with (look familiar, AJ?) we settled in for the 40 minute train ride. Here's a shot of the Big A from the Anaheim Amtrak Station. We met up with JO'Co and Diane, and met the rest of the O'Connor clan - Eric, Rhonda, Jessica and Brianna. If I got a name wrong, Jim and Diane, please let me know. You can kinda see Kim behind Eric. The game was a mix. Weaver gave up two-run shots in the first and third innings to put the Angels in the hole, but they battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the third. With the slate even, Weaver comes back out to the mound and promptly gives up the long ball to "Cancer" Carl Everett, who incited the crowd by blowing them a kiss as he rounded third base. The Mariners scored twice more in the inning, and twice again in the 7th, but it didn't matter. The Angels were done scoring for the day. We saw some tremendous defensive plays, including a great double play by the Angels and a gem of a diving catch by the M's centerfielder, and we also saw some minor league stuff, like the M's getting a little league home run while the Angels threw the ball all over the field. But the important thing is we had fun. Diane scored some great seats and we really appreciated the invite. It's always entertaining to hang out with the O'Connors, and we enjoyed meeting Eric and his family. After the game it was back on the train, with a quick stop in the bar car for another bottle of Arrogant Bastard. Once back at Union Station, we headed the few blocks to Phillipe's for dinner. Phillipe's is an L.A. institution that opened in 1908 and is credited with originating the French Dip sandwich. We got beef dips and a bunch of sides like cole slaw, pickles, and potato salad, plus lemonade and banana cream pie for dessert. Thanks again, Diane and Jim. What a great day, indeed. Edit to correct a name. D'oh!
Thanks, Rick. Great picture of the O'Connors. Too bad Kim was partially hidden, but those are two cool hats on Jim and Eric. I'm feeling hungry after reading your description of the bao buns and your dinner. Both JO'Co's and Rick's descriptions of the day make me wish I could get out there some day for a game......and some bao buns..............and dinner at Phillipe's.
:lo 8) l: you did really well to rememeber names but Shannon is Jessica our eldest granddaughter ... I cant wait untl we can meet up again ... Sid anytime and we can all go to a game Rick and Jim talk the whole time as do Kim and I ... She is such a sweetheart.. I always look forward to seeing them....D
Sid - if you make it out this way sometime, the lot of us will find plenty to do and even more to eat. But then you'll have to host us for a game at Memorial Stadium or Victory Field and share stories about Irish baseball and the Bengal Bouts. Diane - sorry about that! I made the correction. See you guys in August. Or October. Terry - You guys have a Chinatown in Houston. Get yer arse down to Bellaire Boulevard!
Isn't this the same Weaver that the resident Skybox Dodgers fan was touting as a solid performer for several seasons? Those rave reviews harkened a Cy Youngesque potential that would bloom under Dodger tutelage. The "... having problmes with my locations, but last time is was my velocity" sounds like 2003 news reports from the Right Coast. I suspect Tiger fans know them by heart as well. Enlightment comes to L.A.
Rick, I would not do that to you. It would be cruel and unusual punishment. Trust me. Those who know me well begin to yawn and look at their watches when I start to tell a story. :roll: