Yesterday was not the shining moment of my baseball-fan career: I was shopping with my grandma for most of the All-Star game.  A friend periodically updated me with the score, but other than that I was pretty much in the dark until I picked it up in the 8^th inning.  However, thanks to Twitter (more on Twitter in my next post; I am amazed at how MLB put it to such good use during the All-Star festivities), I found a link to this fantastic video of President Obama's first pitch.  This is for all of my fellow lefties.

Happy 4^th of July to all!  Seems like the perfect day to enjoy freedom, hot dogs, fireworks and baseball.  As this blog is titled "The Best of 162," I find it necessary to reverse my position for today and share what I believe to be "The Worst of 162":  Those hideous red "stars and stripes" caps that all the players are wearing this weekend.  

These probably aren't so bad if worn with matching colors, but they clash with the majority of teams' uniforms.  We've had the Mariners vs. Red Sox series on TV at my house for much of this weekend, and the red, white, and blue looks so terrible with the blue and green that I almost want to look away.  Just look at those pictures of the Marlins' Dan Uggla and the Mariners' Mark Lowe.  Ridiculous.  If it's a team like the Cardinals or the Angels, it probably isn't too bad, but I can't get over it.  I'm all for being patriotic, but perhaps a nice American flag patch on the sleeve could suffice.    

But while those caps symbolize the worst of baseball this weekend, I do know someone who symbolizes the best: Albert Pujols, of course.  Even though I just spent a bunch of time talking about him in my last post, he is worthy of more praise.  Albert hit his fourth grand slam of the season last night!  He was named the National League player of the month for the second time this season!  Do you think it would be a wise idea to blow some of my birthday money on a Pujols shrine for my room?

Last but not least, today marks the 70^th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in baseball history.  I don't really get too emotional over things, but Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man" speech gets me every time.  On July 4, 2009, Gehrig delivered his famous speech in between games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.  There have been hundreds of inspiring stories or touching memories over the years in baseball, but to me, Lou Gehrig's speech is the best.  Do you have a similar memory that reminds you of the "best" of baseball?

Fun fact: I share a birthday with the Sony Walkman.  Who knew?  It was introduced today in 1979.  Today begins my last year of teenager-ness.  And while I share a birthday with some pretty famous people (Princess Diana, Carl Lewis, Dan Aykroyd, Missy Elliott, Pamela Anderson), I really wish I shared a birthday with this guy:

I try not to talk about Albert Pujols too much, but I could easily use up most of my blog posts analyzing and discussing his greatness.  I will spare you that, but I do want to congratulate Albert on becoming the first player in Major League history to have 9 straight 30-homer seasons to begin his career.  Wow.  If you could see a picture of me right now, my mouth would be hanging open in awe.  Thanks to SportsCenter's twitter feed for providing me with that bit of information.

Another big news item: the Pittsburgh Pirates' trades.  The Pirates sent outfielder Nyjer Morgan and LHP Sean Burnett to the Nationals and received outfielder Lastings Milledge and RHP Joel Hanrahan from the Nats.  They also sent Eric Hinske to the Yankees in exchange for Class A players Casey Ericson and Eric Fryer.  It always hurts to see favorite players traded away, but this Pittsburgh scenario really seems to have upset people, specifically Pittsburgh fans.  Everyone was shocked when Nate McLouth was traded to the Braves in early June.  Now, the Pirates just seem to be unloading more players as part of a massive rebuilding effort.

So I ask: what makes a trade a "good" trade?  I may not be a front office expert, but when a rising Pirates star like Andrew McCutchen says the trades made him want to cry, shouldn't that raise a red flag?  At what point do front office execs sacrifice some talent in the future in order to maintain morale and talent on the field right now?  With players like McCutchen and longtime Pirate Jack Wilson questioning the deals, can the Pirates really afford their rebuild?

Also, do you think there will be any other notable trades in the next few weeks?  The trade deadline is now just a month away, so I'm interested to see what teams make deals and what teams stay put.   

Final disclaimer: Just because it's my birthday does not mean you have to say happy birthday to me.  I forgot to put my own mother's birthday card in the mail on time this year, so I deserve nothing.

Pirates news:

http://bucsbits.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/06/two_trades_a_final_wrap.html

Albert picture:

http://www.albertpujolsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/albert-pujols-homerun-diamondbacks.jpg

Here they are: some pictures from the "epic baseball adventure" I recently took with my padre.  I will try not to bore you with every miniscule detail from everything, but I'll put in some of my favorite pictures and moments from the trip.

We took a red-eye, so we arrived in NYC pretty early. Rain and fog covered the city for awhile in the morning, so we were nervous about the fate of our Yankees vs. Mets game that evening.  Luckily, the fog and rain cleared and we were able to enjoy a beautiful game.  (Disclaimer: Last summer, my whole family saw a game at the old Yankee Stadium and I bought a Derek Jeter t-shirt.  I have in no way become a die-hard Yankees fan, but I thought I should wear it while I had the perfect opportunity.) 

The highlight of this, of course, was getting to see Luis Castillo's drop of A-Rod's pop-up in the bottom of the ninth.  I so shocked that I wasn't able to take a picture of it, but the crowd's reaction afterwards was absolutely ridiculous.  There are few words to describe the craziness that ensued after the win; fans chanted "Let's Go Yankees!" the whole time we were walking to the exit, people were jumping up and down, complete strangers were giving us high fives, and my dad and I were in awe.  Fans don't act like that at Safeco Field. 

The next morning, we hit the road for Baltimore.  It was nearly a four-hour drive, so by the time we arrived in Baltimore, we didn't have a lot of time to explore the city.  The city does have a really nice Inner Harbor area with a nice view of the city skyline and the bay.  The picture above is a statue of Babe Ruth, a Baltimore native.  Camden Yards probably ended up being our least favorite stop on the trip, but that was partly because we were seated in front of a group of four couples who were more focused on their beers than on the game.  We left the game a couple innings early because we had the urge to drive 45 minutes out of our way to Washington, D.C.  It was nearly midnight, but we took a little stroll along the National Mall and were able to see all of its famous sights.

After Baltimore and our quick D.C. detour, we drove to Pittsburgh.  We took another exciting detour, this time into West Virginia (my dad and I are easily entertained), and arrived in Pittsburgh about an hour before the game.  This game, Pirates vs. Tigers, was a rematch of the 1909 World Series, and both teams wore vintage uniforms to commemorate the 100-year anniversary.  PNC Park really is beautiful and was our favorite ballpark of the trip.  

This game was enhanced by a visit from the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, which had just beaten the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.  The team (including the amazing Sidney Crosby), brought the trophy for a visit and the crowed went wild.  Not being from Pittsburgh, my dad and I didn't really know any of the players, so we stood in silence and took in the scene.  The lady standing next to us asked, "Are you from Detroit?"

Our last stop was Cleveland for the Indians vs. Brewers game.  It was the longest game of the trip (nearly four hours), but we had a great time.  The highlight was batting practice.  We arrived a couple hours early in order to soak in the park and BP, and during BP, my dad caught a ball!  This was exciting enough, but later during BP, I snagged Trevor Hoffman's autograph!  We were also able to see Prince Fielder's first career grand slam.

So that's the trip in a not-so-small nutshell.  Thanks for all of the advice beforehand! 

Also, in terms of real baseball news, I was watching Sportscenter this morning and discovered what I now believe to be the best comparison stat ever.  A-Rod tied Reggie Jackson's number of career home runs last night, and someone has kept track of the fact that there are five pitchers who have given up home runs to both players.  They are: 

Tom Candiotti

Roger Clemens

David Cone

Doug Drabek

Jimmy Key

Who keeps track of this stuff?  Are there any crazy statistics or comparisons that you've come across recently that you find particularly interesting?  Stuff like this always amazes me because it gives me even more reasons to appreciate baseball.  It can be analyzed from so many different angles. 

Anyways, I've got to take some time to decide which MLB games to check out this evening.  As a huge Motown/Jackson 5/"Thriller" fan, baseball took the backseat yesterday to news of Michael Jackson's death.  He was a pretty weird dude, but an indisputably great musician.  He's gone, but at least we've still got the tunes!

Alright. I've been hyping this up for a couple days now, so now I am finally going to divulge the secrets of my baseball trip.  Forgive me if I sound overly excited, but I have never taken a trip solely for the purpose of going to baseball games, let alone fly to the other side of the country to do so.

My dad and I are leaving next Thursday for a 5-day/4-game adventure.  Of the four cities we are going to visit, I've only been to one of them before.  So, I am seeking out the wise advice of my fellow bloggers: Where should we go?  Where should we eat?  What should we be sure to check out at the ballpark?  We'd like to explore the city a little bit on top of going to the game, so I'm open to any and all suggestions.

First stop...

New York is my favorite city in the world, so I would be excited to go even if baseball were not included.  However, I will be officially experiencing the new Yankee Stadium in person.  Better yet, it will be an authentic New York experience: it's a Yankees vs. Mets game.  I'm sorry, Red Sox fans, but I cannot help but be excited about getting to experience the inaugural season of the new stadium in my favorite city.  

After that...

On Saturday, we'll be heading to Camden Yards for the Orioles vs. Braves game.  I've never been to Baltimore, so if you guys have any tips at all, they would be especially helpful here.  There's a free promotion that day: crab mallets.  My dad was pretty excited about that.  It seems like it will be a very authentic New England souvenir.

Next...

I've already received some helpful tips from Matt of The Pittsburgh Peas, who is a Pittsburgh native, but if you live in Pittsburgh or have been to the park, let me know!  We're going to see the Pirates and Tigers.

And the final stop...

We're going to the Indians vs. Brewers game in Cleveland on the 15^th.  I am super excited for the game, of course, but I am also really looking forward to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.  My dad and I have plans to go.  I am completely addicted to Motown music, and it's the record label's 50^th Anniversary this year so they have a special Motown exhibit at the Hall of Fame.

Well, that's the trip in a nutshell, but I have one important final question.  Somewhere along the way, I would like to buy one or two t-shirts, they jersey style with a player's name and number on the back.  This is a very important decision; I mean, I will be sporting this player's name all summer, so it has to be someone good.  My choices are probably limited to Yankees, Orioles, Pirates and Indians since those are the home teams, so let me know if you have any good suggestions!

Photo credits:

Yankee Stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yankee_Stadium_II.JPG

Camden Yards: http://www.robert-o-rama.com/TA/CamdenYards.jpg

PNC Park: http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/delcotimes/ryanl/uploaded_images/PNC-789928.jpg

The Jake/Progressive Field: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PHO/AAGY062_16x20-2006OpeningDay~Jacobs-Field-Posters.jpg

In the last 24 hours, some good news, bad news, and funny news have come my way. 

We'll start with the bad:

Grady Sizemore is injured!  This is a tragedy.  While I am not the Grady Sizemore fan that Melissa of "Life and Indians Baseball Through the Eyes of a Clemson Girl" is, I am still disappointed to hear about it because in exactly two weeks, I will be attending an Indians game.  (More on that tomorrow...)  Naturally, I consider Sizemore to be the star of the Indians team, so I'm a bit disappointed that he likely won't be in the line-up.

And now for the funny:

I'm all about having a good laugh, so when I saw this video clip I was pretty excited.  It's a collection of some of the worst first pitches thrown in recent years.  The one thrown by the Cinncinnati mayor is just terrible (At the time that it happened, PTI's Tony Kornheiser jokingly said, "That is a disgrace to his family.") but the rest are pretty bad, too. 

And one more:

Read this quick little blog post from the New York Times' "Bats" baseball blog and it will make you feel better about being a mere mortal in comparison to baseball greats like Albert Pujols.  Apparently, Albert and a reporter got a little tied up after a press conference and nearly sent Pujols to the DL.  Pujols' response to the reporter at the time: "You all right?  I didn't want you to get hurt."  Classy.

And the really, really good news:

Ichiro has a fantastic hitting streak going.  24 games and counting; we'll see how he fares against the Orioles tonight.

Also, there are only 10 days, 17 hours, 36 minutes, and 55 seconds left until summer vacation.  Not that I'm counting or anything.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I plan on revealing the details of my baseball adventure.

This has been me for the last two weeks.  I have pretty much failed at blogging, but until June 11, school is my priority and it's been eating up my time lately.  I promise to write more regularly now; finals still await, but things are starting to slow down and I can finally pay some more attention to my blog.  I also promise to stop boring you with the details of my academic life. 

But, disclaimer aside, I am wondering: where has this season gone?  There's still a lot of ground to cover, but we're practically two months in! An oversimplified, quick look at what's happened so far:

-The Marlins and Mariners found their respective ways back to the cellar (or at least very close to it.)  My beloved Ken Griffey, Jr. found his way to the "Who's Not" list in Sports Illustrated.  Go figure.

-Raul Ibañez is having a career year.  I can't wait to vote for him repeatedly for the All-Star game and see what else he does this year.

-There have been some terrific arguments and ejections.  I'm sure there have been plenty that I've missed, but Zambrano was ejected this afternoon and there were some choice words exchanged between Ron Gardenhire and the umpires during Sunday night's Twins vs. Brewers game.  Please don't tell me I'm the only one who loves watching a good baseball fight (extra points if the benches are cleared).

-Steve Phillips now stars in his own Baseball Tonight commercial which is nowhere near the greatness of the Peter Gammons and Buster Olney spots.  He's supposed to get me to watch that show?

I'm almost embarrassed to post this...it's fairly devoid of interesting baseball information.  But stay tuned.  Later this week I'll be asking for the help of my fellow bloggers as I prepare for an epic baseball adventure with my father, and I've been cooking up some fun ideas for the summer.  Until then, I will settle for enjoying tonight's Boston vs. Minnesota game.  

There weren't a whole lot of games on yesterday, so I'm going to focus less on the individual games and players and more on those wonderful people who bring us the inside info on our favorite game: the analysts.  There are all sorts of analysts and commentators, from those on the local sports channels to the big-time, national show anchors.  It has come to my attention lately that there are certain analysts who are not held in high regard.  A long time ago, people started bashing Steve Phillips, and while I kind of felt bad for him at the start, it has come to my attention that he really does stink at it.  I'm sure he knows a lot about baseball after spending several years as the Mets' GM, but he seems to have a hard time translating that to TV. 

So, my question for you: who is the best analyst today?  I know many of you are partial to your local announcers.  But, I'm also interested to know your thought about some of the national guys.  What makes them good or bad?

Also, congrats to Randy Johnson for getting his 298^th win last night.  He might not pitch like he did 10 or 15 years ago, but here's to hoping he picks up the 300^th soon.  There's been a lot of talk lately about how we might see fewer 300-game winners in the future, but Randy Johnson seems to be a lock.  The final countdown to his 300th is in full swing.

And speaking of countdowns, I've started a countdown for the days until I can join them: 30.  There's a full schedule of games on today, so they'll create some nice background noise for my studying.  Enjoy the games, everyone!

Guess what I learned from Twitter this morning?  Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games because he tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs.  Now the whole world is talking about it.  Supposedly, the offending substance is a drug that Manny received from a doctor, but as far as I can tell, everything is speculation now.

I imagine this story will be unfolding throughout the day, but here is the link to the first LA Times story:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-manny-ramirez8-2009may08,0,6324894.story

What do you think?  I'm really surprised, but I am guessing Manny will weasel his way out; not out of the suspension, but out of further guilt.  Do you think this could signal the beginning of the suspension of more big-name stars?