Let me explain. Things got really hectic about seven days ago. It was the last week of classes, so I was busy attending final meetings, playing in the IM Softball Championships (we lost by three runs in the most intense game ever), preparing for Zeta Psi's end-of-term Pass the Gavel session (my speech apparently went 1.25 hours, and the entire event lasted from 8pm - 4:30am), and...spending time at home? I discovered Thursday afternoon that my dad was in a pretty serious accident, so I was out of Massachusetts that night to go check on him. Luckily, everything is fine now.
Oh, and this week was for finals. So I hope you understand that, between all that, I had little time to sit down a write about the usual. But I hope to get on track now.
Lots has happened in the past week, and some of it may not be worth spending much time on anymore. Yet, I'll give it a go:
The Yankees
Are miserable. Completely miserable. Since last week, they're 1-4, and they're 3-7 over the last ten games. This included a sweep in a two-game home Subway Series (the first of which I had the pleasure of attending) and a complete 12-2 stomping by the Orioles last night (which all started with a costly Jeter error and a Mussina implosion). I really don't even know what to say anymore. Wang's our only reliable starter, but his good outings are wasted (see: 2-1 loss to TB) and his miserable starts leave us with no hope (see: 11-2 loss to NYM). And outside of that, everything is a toss-up. The result? Last place in the AL East and 7.5 GB. Brilliant.
This is incredibly frustrating. Someone recently asked what was worse: 2007 or now. I have to say now. At least, in 2007, the team's pitching and hitting were just out of sync. This year, however, nothing is clicking. They feel and are playing like they're old and tired. And it's simply awful. I expect an explosion from Hank very soon...
The Twins
In sharp contrast is my second team. They're 3-4 in the last week, which included rough series against the Jays and Rockies. But over the last ten, they're 5-5, putting them one over .500 and 1.5 GB in the Central. The thing I like about this team is the following: they're underdogs in the division--they know it. And they're doing exceptionally well given the circumstances. But the offense never gives up, and the pitching...! Glen Perkins went 6.1 last night, giving up 2ER on 6H. And during his last start, Nick Blackburn held the same line over 7.0. That's what you want to see in a team.
Now if only they could trade some of this energy to the Yanks?
Around the Majors
- The biggest news is the retirement of Mike Piazza. After 16 seasons, Roger Clemens' best friend will be leaving the game for good. Congrats Mike; which hat will you wear to Cooperstown?
- Also in retirement news, rumor has it that Pedro Martinez may be leaving the sport, too. Pedro has flown down to the Dominican to be with his ailing father, and he is considering retiring altogether to spend more time with him and the rest of the family. Considering Pedro's physical condition, that may not be such a bad idea.
- And like we need any other examples of the idiocy of Joe Morgan and Jon Miller. During Mets @ Yankees on Sunday, they became obsessed with the left field foul pole after Delgado's HR was reversed. So obsessed, in fact, they they convinced themselves that the pole was in the wrong place. Hey idiots--have you ever heard of contour and curvature? The pole is in line with the baseline; if you stick a camera behind it, of course it won't be aligned with the mark on the wall! Because the wall is curved! This seemingly elementary concept eluded the announcers for about twenty minutes, when Miller finally got it but Morgan continued to insist that it was misplaced. Seriously? And they're getting paid for this?
- There was a no-hitter. And due to the circumstances of said event, I will say no more about it.
I had a major post lined up about the reaction to Hillary's "win" in West Virgina last week, but my schedule and the Edwards endorsement changed that immediately. Briefly on Edwards: he couldn't have done it at a better time, in my opinion. It completely negated Hillary's WV earnings and put Obama back in the spotlight as the unofficial nominee. Well played. However, I think the endorsement's significance lies in how it will affect superdelegates; the general population doesn't care about such elite matters.
All in all though, Obama has it. He has a majority of pledges delegates as of last night, and he's gaining superdelegate endorsements by the day. The only way for him to lose this one is for Hillary to do something really dirty...
Speaking of The Hildawg, apparently Geraldine Ferraro accused the media of being sexist towards her candidate. This is the same woman who pulled the race card against Obama. Give me a break!
Music and Literature
I bought Jason Mraz's new album last week. The verdict? It's really impressive. It reminds me a lot of his older live stuff (Live at Java Joe's, for example) where he was more melodic and lyrical. Mr. A-Z, as much as it grew on me, was a sellout to MTV. But We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is back to what made me like him in the first place. Hell, it's more pure than Waiting for my Rocket to Come, even. This jazz/soul fusion (with a little Latin?) is a return to his roots, and Mraz deserves tons of respect for maturing back to it.
As for the literature? Let there be no doubt about it: I will be making this purchase.
The End?
At 11:30am this morning, I turned in my 24.00 final and officially ended my undergraduate career. Now all that's left is the formality of walking across the stage and getting my diploma. I don't want to spend too much time on this now, but let's just say that I started cleaning out my inbox and throwing away things I've held on to for four years. Needless to say, it should be an interesting two weeks until graduation.
And in closing: Folks, I secured funding for grad school! And it comes with a summer job, too. Looks like I won't drive myself broke after all, eh?
