Happy Birthday To Me Open Thread
by baseballgirl on Oct 14, 2007 12:15 AM PDT
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PrintSo the A’s hate my birthday. It’s official. I think of the Birthday Curse every single year at this time, since every single major milestone birthday ends in tears when the A’s are in the postseason.
Let’s examine the evidence, shall we?
The A’s lost the game and the series that day. I turned sixteen.
The A’s lost the game and would go on to lose the series. I turned twenty-five.
The A’s lost the game and the series. I turned thirty.
Just thought I'd share for anyone still following the playoffs on AN. As much as I wish that the A’s were still playing, I still must admit how much I like the playoffs so far. The Rockies have captivated my attention in a way that no NL team ever has before, and I surprised myself with how hard I cheered for Cleveland during bonus baseball last night. Two extra inning games out of four played so far. We’re getting our money’s worth.
The ALCS picks up again on Monday night in Cleveland, but the NLCS goes to game three tonight in Colorado, where barring a comeback by the Diamondbacks, the Rockies are rolling all the way to the World Series.
Game time is at 5:37pm
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Could be worse
You could be a Cal football fan whose birthday is October 13.
I managed to miss that particular, uh, dubious accomplishment by two days.
It could be worse still
At least the A's have a history, any history, of playing on your birthday. Unless Major League Baseball opts for a major restructuring of the schedule in the years ahead, I don't think I'll ever be able to see a game on my birthday. (February 21st if you were curious.) Don't feel too bad for me, though. I've noticed in years past that pitchers and catchers have a tendency to report on my birthday. As you can imagine, such a fact usually makes me enjoy my birthday all the more. (Especially last year when assorted family members pooled their resources and sent me to Spring Training as a belated birthday present. I wasn't too upset about it being belated. Not. At all.)
As for this year's playoffs, although a substantial part of me misses seeing the A's have a shot at a title, there's another side to that coin. I have become so emotionally attached to the A's in recent years than even losses in Wednesday afternoon games in the middle of April feel crushing and disspiriting to me. I want the team to win, often desperately so, and if they don't, I often find the rest of my day to be tinged by my second-guessing managerial decisions and wondering whether our offense (or pitching...but in all honesty, I usually worry about the state of our offense more) will pick up its act in the days ahead. It's far from a healthy process, but it's part of being a fan and when it comes down to it, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
This October, however, has been a blissful reminder of why I am a fan of baseball and not just the A's. Oh sure, I'm rooting for certain stories (my goodness are the Rockies a fun team to follow, wow that was an impressive top of the 11th from the Indians on Saturday night) but I do so more out of a visceral energy than a truly emotional one. Thus, when Willy Taveras races into the right-center gap to take a double away from Tony Clark, my jaw falls to the floor. When Manny slammed that three-run jack off of K-Rod last Friday, my instinctive reaction was simply to yelp in delight. Baseball is a beautiful game to me, a game of equal parts poetry and rhythm, but on a more fundamental level, it's just a heck of a lot of fun. This October has reminded me of that. Regardless of what happens from here on out, I've had an absolute blast with these playoffs. I miss the A's presence to be sure, but at the same, it's nice to not have to worry about my heart being broken.
I still hope the Rockies win it all, though.
And Paul does bring up a good point. I went to Saturday's Cal game with a girl I know (she's a Cal alum, it was my first time in Memorial Stadium) and it was a pretty deflating experience. I was pretty jacked up beforehand (as much due to my desire to trash-talk a good buddy of mine who went to Oregon State as anything else), but the game started off poorly and then slowly, if unbelieveably, managed to get even worse. It certainly wasn't as painful as the aforementioned rhetorical Wednesday afternoon A's loss (if only because while I may ogle football as she walks down the sidewalk, I married baseball 17 years ago and have no desire to get divorced) but it still wasn't fun.
AND that's just about the longest comment I've ever written. Woot, go me. But more importantly than that, happy birthday, Christy! I hope your day is a wonderful one and that your next year is full of enchantment and inspiration. My best to you!
HB2U
HB2U.
HB, Dear BBG...
HB2U!
(you do not, in fact, smell like monkeyball)
And I think you've managed to put enough bad juju out there that something horrible will happen to Byrnes tonight in Denver.
if it's any consolation
the Yankees LOVE your birthday:
1976, ALCS Game 5: beat KC 3-2
(on Chambliss' walk-off to advance to Series)
1977, World Series Game 3: beat LA 5-3
1978, World Series Game 4: beat LA 4-3
1981, Division Series, Game 2: beat A's 13-3
1999, ALCS Game 2: Beat Boston 3-2
2000, ALCS Game 4: Beat Seattle 5-0
2001, ALDS Game 4: Beat Oakland 9-2
2003, ALCS Game 5: Beat Boston 4-2
That's 8-0 on your birthday. Yuck.
(Yeah, I really know how to cheer up a girl)
So how's this instead:
- First ever World Series game for Oakland, and it's our first win, too (beat Cincinnati 3-2)
OR THIS:
1989, World Series Game 1: Dave Stewart shuts out the Giants 5-0, A's go on to sweep.
Two pretty cool milestones that you can add to your list (even if you weren't a fan yet, no one needs to know ;)
Happy Birthday- and for good measure, no one you hate is playing baseball today!
Now I know why
you get hate mail from ex girlfriends in Denver.
no kidding...lol
although it's not exactly hate
just lingering and annoying
i think i prefer hate...lol
That might be the best birthday greeting ever
SO FUNNY :-)
by baseballgirl on Oct 14, 2007 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Schilling; "this is all about me"
"I think we would have won this game if I put up a zero," Schilling said.
The next inning, Sizemore also went deep, putting a 1-0 pitch from Schilling into the Red Sox bullpen for a 5-3 Cleveland advantage. Sizemore also had doubled to left to lead off the game and scored on a two-out double by Martinez. Schilling went 42/3 innings, the second shortest postseason outing of his career.
"There's no one in our clubhouse who should feel bad besides me," Schilling said. "You're asking your bullpen to come in in the fifth inning and throw up zeroes. ... This is all about me coming up small in a big game."
lego my ego
it's fine to admit to some responsibility, admirable even, but come on.
No Curt, actually your team would have won
if only you had voted for Kerry. Tough break, buddy. Who knew?
I know a lot of folks
don't care much for Schilling, but at least he won't give canned answers to questions.
It's become obvious that his pitching days are near an end. He rarely hits 90 mph and must rely on guile to get guys out now.
You mean he can only retire Aaron Guiel?
Yeah, seems about right.
I didn't actually have a problem with those comments; pretty much standard "this one's on me" talk - and pretty accurate. He just got outpitched by Jensen Lewis, Raphael Betancourt and Tom Mastny. Tee hee hee hee hee! Me no Schilling likey.
I just couldn't resist when I saw the
"this is all about me" quote.
And yeah, the Sux might've won had Schilling pitched better. But how about giving props to Cleveland's players as well?
Really, Curt
So, if they had taken an inning in which they scored 3 runs, and scored no runs instead, you would have won a game which ended tied in regulation?
Man, that's deep.
Another thing I like about Schilling...
he's a hired gun and he knows it. He plays the part so well. He's always been a "my team" sort of guy. He'll bad mouth the opposition and then defend the same guy he abused when they're teammates.
I have a tiny bit better Birthday history
If only because the A's avoided greusome injury, and I have one win in 2001.
Oct. 11, 2006: A's lose to Tigers 8-5 on way to being swept.
Oct. 11, 2001: A's beat Yankees 2-0 behind Tim Hudson.
Oct 11, 1992: A's lose to Blue Jays 8-7 in 11 innings.
Of couse, the A's celebrated the year I was born by going 54-108, setting the franchise record for most losses in a season. Woo!
Glad you've enjoyed the playoffs so far
Don't worry - something horrible will happen tonight, because it's your birthday. I'm thinking one of these possibilities:
- Helton and Holliday crash into each other chasing a really high pop-up (high enough for the 1Bman and LFer to collide).
- Manny Corpas tries to snap off a slider and snaps off his right elbow instead.
- Troy Tulowitski fires a throw to first, airmails it, and hits a baby who is holding a sick puppy, killing both instantly.
- Josh Fogg gets the start.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!
Yeah...lunch!
Happy Birthday, baseballgirl!
"Vote" as in "think it will happen"
or "rooting for it to happen"?
Puppy hater.
Many happy returns of the day, BBG!
Yes, you may.
Awwww...YAY! Cupcakes!
by baseballgirl on Oct 14, 2007 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions
Metaphysical pause
If you'd been born in Spain, in 1582, you might never have existed.
Lilius originally proposed that the 10-day correction should be implemented by deleting the Julian leap day on each of its ten occurrences during a period of 40 years, thereby providing for a gradual return of the equinox to 21 March. However, Clavius's opinion was that the correction should take place in one move and it was this advice which prevailed with Gregory. Accordingly, when the new calendar was put in use, the error accumulated in the 13 centuries since the Council of Nicaea was corrected by a deletion of ten days. The last day of the Julian calendar was Thursday October 4, 1582 and this was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday October 15, 1582 (the cycle of weekdays was not affected).
Of course, neither would Dwight Eisenhower, E.E. Cummings, Ryan Church, and assorted Olympic athletes, memory champions, adult film celebrities, famous whistleblowers, and last name-less Mexican soap stars.
Luckily for avante-garde poetry, connoisseurs of bawdiness, Slovenian swimming fans, AN readers, and, indeed, the whole of Western Civilization, all of you managed to escape the Gregorian chasm.
and where would we be
without Jessica Drake's Best Tease peformance in 2001?
(although I still say the 2001 A's beat her hands down to that award, with Jeremy- not Ron- in the lead role)
Boston-Cleveland
I got back from the Cal game last night in time to watch Cleveland (my childhood team, because I grew up in the area) pummel the Red Sox so badly that even Joe Borowski wasn't going to mess things up.
So that made me feel better. The Rockies are a fun team, even if I am still having a little trouble figuring out who is who.
Happy birthday, Christy.
Happy Birthday BBG!
Hey, the A's don't hate your birthday.
They hate mine.
Happy birthday to me.
Too.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! :-)
by baseballgirl on Oct 14, 2007 6:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Happy Birthday!!
I know what it's like. Sort of. My birthday is the trade deadline. Every year someone that I love is traded from a team I like (or at least it seems that way)... but hey at least I sometimes get someone good for my birthday too hahaha
Hopefully today will be a good one for ya!
Happy birthday, Cristi!!!
What are you, like, 42? (I really don't know, it's just a guess.)
-Cindi
Happy Birthday, HollywoodOz!
Happy Birthday!
Just think.....one less day until spring training begins! :)
Happy Birthday
Oz and Christy.
Next year the A's are going to make it a good one. <fingers crossed> Hey! It's the law of averages!
Happy Birthday, BBG!
Hope you have lots of fun. Wait till next year..maybe we'll be celebrating your birthday with playoff games. One can always hope!
Holy cow
Byrnes nearly hit into a triple play..
Did Byrnes just fall down pursing that ball?
I think that gets him another $1000 bonus
Oooh, that's $5000!
Happy Birthday, Baseballgirl!
Is it just me...
or if I'm not paying too much attention, every single DBack looks like Eric Byrnes? I could have sworn that bomb was a Byrnes shot, only to see it wasn't him.
You would never score.
At least in the playoffs. When it really matters.
Hi Everyone.
Happy birthday to the birthday ANers. The only thing I think about on my birthday is how frigging old I keep getting.
But then I see how my favorite 40-something QB is doing and I know that we old folks can be just as exciting as any twenty-something.
Congrats to Vinny Testaverde for breaking his own record of consecutive seasons with a TD (21) and for being the oldest QB to win a game. I was soooo stoked about him starting today and seeing him do as well as he did, was just awesome. Time to switch from the Jets to the Panthers. (well, I'll still secretly love the J-e-t-s)
Apologies to Ohtobe for this, but I would have gagged to death of Cowboys talk this week if they had beat the Pats. Last week was sickening enough.
Watching the game...
and wondering how I got stuck with the stupidest dog on the face of the earth. If my son didn't love the damn thing so much it would have long since found its way to doggy heaven.
It's a particularly stupid dog.
It's part mole and part ferret. What it can't dig up it likes to gnaw on. If neither of those options are available, it will settle on barking at it for a few hours.
You interested in a sentimental dog?
I could wish that I could take the moral PETA
high ground here. I generally don't condone arbitrary killing. But after all the trouble this stupid dog has caused me, I have to admit that I would get a certain satisfaction in hastening its demise. I take consolation in the fact that it's to stupid to live much longer. It keeps chewing electrical cords and digging its way out of the backyard where it indulges its favorite past time....chasing the cars of neighbors that it has already pissed off.
Hey, here's your chance to step up and be a true humanitarian. I'll pay to ship it to you.
Ah, well,
this wouldn't be arbitrary, would it? You'd be killing it for being obnoxious, which is much more ethically justifiable.
Anyway, your dog. And this is a baseball blog, so I'll leave the sanctimony aside (after that last bit of it in the previous paragraph, I mean).
lol...fair enough.
You sure you don't want a dog?
I wouldn't mind a dog,
but I'm not looking for a molett. Half mole, half ferret, eh? Sounds deelightful.
Just wait 'til it gets old
My dog was like that for about 8 years before it finally started mellowing out. Now, at 13, all she does it eat, sleep, crap, and snore (louder than me according to Mrs doctorK).
Our dog is 18
And the little bitch (sorry, it's true)... does nothing but wake us up to feed her, eat, poop on the floor, pee outside (can't figure the first one out???), sleep, snore (even while awake), and bark at us when she's not fed on time. On walks (short ones), she'll sniff around and mark the same spots as always.
But, she's still cute. Little poop monster.
Warning - doggy pic thread
Here's our bitch (also true, although she has really been an "it" since we got her).
Brrrrr!
It looks freezing there.
The season may end just like it began
in a snow storm.
Happy birthday BBG
My BD is July 4, so the A's usually play every year that day (exception was 2005 - there's something 'ewwww' about a baseball team that does not play on July 4). Anyway, the A's are 20-23 since 1963 (2-3 in KC, including a double-header split in 1967). Some milestone birthday games:
18 (1981) - no game, strike :(
21 (1984) - Loss 13-9 to Boston
30 (1993) - Win 7-6 over Yankees
40 (2003) - Loss 1-0 to Orange County
geez, forgot about the game
still morose over a college game (no mention) yesterday...maybe this will pick me up...yeah a little rockies, and maybe a little brynsie antics....yeah, yeah, thats the ticket.
The game that shall not be named
... has been dissected.
http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/1...
Oh, he was out there
Second coming of Don Denkinger?
I'm dreading this off season.
It appears especially long after last year. Sometimes I wish I could get even slightly interested in football.
See - there it is again!
I swear that's Eric Byrnes.
Jeremy Affeldt is still alive?
Who knew?
Rox got a little something
going here.
They just need a little luck here
like a three-run bomb
Yep, luck
There it is.
I feel for the Arizona fans. It sucks to be swept out of the LCS.
Arizona has "fans"?
Honestly, I'm totally underwhelmed by the fanbases of MLB's expansion teams. (Colorado seems by far the best, as far as I can tell from a small sampling of games.) Look, guys, 10 years (15 in the case of the Marlins) is enough time to put down roots. You think you could maybe start actually selling some tickets? Sell out some playoff games?
I understand baseball is not hockey, but the Sharks sell out essentially every game and have a rocking fanbase. Is it really too much to expect expansion teams to manage the same attendance per game as a hockey team?
I was under the impression
that Denver is quite the sports town. I always thought that the fact that the Rockies are usually out of contention by early June was responsible for their limited attraction.
You make a strange argument here that is not without its merit. A fair amount of expansion teams do not appear to draw all that well, yet MLB continues to break attendance records across the board. What gives?
After the Rockies win the NLCS and the WS,
how many games into next season before they finally lose one???
Sorry all, haven't been on in while
You might say I've been a little distracted here in Denver. (doh!)
It could be worse BBG, Oct 14th is the day my father died.
Rookie mistake by Baker
If the game is rained out before the inning ends, Baker's going to wish he had intentionally struck out!
Hey everyone
Did you know that there's onlY oNE OCTOBER!
that I knew
but please tell me again: whose country is it?
Oh, it's OCTober?
I thought it was ACTober.
And it's already being spoofed...
by OaklandInvader on Oct 14, 2007 7:56 PM PDT up reply actions
That is certainly an improvement
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy eyyyy baby!
oooh! aahhh!
Today, I was labeling a bottle
of breastmilk with the date, and I accidentally wrote "Act 14th".
Isn't all milk breastmilk?
It's usually already labeled for me.
Ah, the breast pump
The tool all wives use to subjugate their husbands into taking the 2am feeding.
I remember the days well.
After the novelty of helping "express" the milk wore off, I felt like a freaking farmer waking up at three in the morning to start chores....the first of which was milking the cows.
Don't miss those days at all
Little miss specialK was unable to breastfeed due to her cleft palate, so we had to pump constantly for about nine months - had to keep it going until we were past her first palate-correction surgery. Even harder was going three weeks without being able to put anything into her mouth to feed (no nipples, feeders, spoons). That's when you learn to get creative.
Wow, tough break.
I hope everything turned out well for the little one in the end.
Children have a way of turning the erotic into a mind numbing blur don't they?
So do goats and alcohol.
You got that right
Little miss specialK has seen more doctors in less than seven years than I have my entire life. She has had four surgical procedures (two palate corrections, one for ear tube insertion, and oral surgery one for her teeth which are in terrible shape), been through the Cranial-Facial Anomalies clinic at Lucille Packard a few times, and has a neurologist and a speech therapist in addition to the other normal doctors. I should mention that I am not a medical doctor and that I really hate hospitals. Still, it could be much worse. While she was at Lucille Packard last February for her second palate correction, her room was on the same floor as the pediatric oncology ward, where I am sure they give the finest care possible, but as God is my witness, I hope I never see the inside of it.
Hostages to fate.
Truer words were never uttered. A hospital in conjunction with your child is a terrifying ordeal. I wish that no parent had to endure such a thing as an oncology ward. I hope that your little ones long term prognosis is good. My wife and I lost a daughter some years ago, but it ended quickly, except for the emotional aftermath.
All this stuff has been for the good
Her speech has improved greatly over when she was three when she had maybe 10 verbal words and only two consonants. She will probably require special ed for her schooling due to also being ADHD and quite possibly autistic.
Sorry to hear about your loss. My in-laws lost an infant at 6 months, and it still affects them 25 years later, so I can certainly relate to your pain.
If you think it's to subjugate the hubby
try being the wife attached to the milking machine.
While a farmer may not be the ideal job, it's many steps up from being the cow.
Got me there
Anyway, I learned how to do the 2am feedings pretty much without actually being awake.
Crushed gravel?
Better not put it where anyone is going to slide (ouchie!).
OT
I'm trying to decide what to be for Halloween. One idea I have is to wear a Mets shirt and be a choking victim, but I'm not sure exactly how to do the makeup for it. Anyone have any easy ideas for something?
Dress up as a rat in an Angel's uniform
Mets jersey with
"Heimlich" stitched on the back.
And make sure your face is purplish
Maybe get some fake eyes that bug out
Don't go as Dane Cook
You'll get to crash everyone's party, but they'll be ready to throw you out after five minutes.
by Englishmajor on Oct 14, 2007 8:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Happy Birthday
I'm exactly 4 days older than you. So I think that makes us both 22, right?
Anybody wonder
if AZ cares about run differential now?
ROCKIEEES!!!
So excited!!
Me too
except I am forcing myself to ignore the fact that most of their fans also are Broncos fans.
They really don't like Byrnes.....
They remember how bad he was as a Rocky
or is it Rockie?
Hear it in lots of parks now
For better or worse, lots of teams (and not all of them baseball teams) are playing "Celebration" after a win. Yeah, we started it, but it's been co-opted.
Happy birthday to you!!
and Happy 1st anniversary to me!!
by El Cerrito Steve on Oct 14, 2007 9:47 PM PDT reply actions
There's been one game ever played
on my birthday, and that was Game 3 of the 2001 World Series.
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