Thursday, August 31, 2006

An Inside-Out Day

First a warning. You might want to skip this one.

Unless you really want to read about my underwear.

Catfish Close Home Season With Big Win

Go Catfish!Because of last night's rainout, the Columbus Catfish played two 7-inning games with the Rome Braves tonight. The first game had Rome winning 8-3, but the second game was all Columbus, as the Catfish won 12-1.

Game 1

Rome jumped out to a 5-0 lead in game one with 2 runs, 1 unearned, in the 3rd, on a error, a double and a triple, then 3 in the 4th 2 walks, an error, a double, and a single.

Columbus narrowed it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th, when 1B David Sutherland scored on CF Bridger Hunt's ground ball to third, and LF Adam Godwin's run on SS Ivan De Jesus' single to left field.

Rome added a run in the 5th and 2 more in the 7th. The Catfish added a run on 3 singles and a walk, but Rome managed to get the 3rd out at home on an game-ending double play.

De Jesus was 3-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Catfish hitters. Overall, the Catfish had 7 hits and 6 walks, but stranded 9 batters.

Game 2

The second game was all Catfish. 2 runs in the 1st, 4 in the 3rd gave the Catfish a 6-0 lead.

3B Eduardo Perez hit a 2-out double to score SS Ivan De Jesus and 2B Travis Denker in the 1st inning.

In the 3rd, CF Adam Godwin tripled, scoring LF Lucas May and Eduardo Perez. Godwin then scored on C Conor McGeehan's single to right. McGeehan then scored on De Jesus' single.

After allowing a solo home run by Rome's Jamie Romak to lead off the 4th, the Catfish answered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning, when Godwin singled to center field, scoring Perez.

In the 5th, Travis Denker tripled, scoring Ivan De Jesus, who had a 2-out single. Lucas May then reached on an error, scoring Denker. May came home on Eduardo Perez' 4th home run of the season.

The Catfish closed out the scoring in the 6th when Bridger Hunt doubled, scoring Conor McGeehan, who had reached on a double.

Hunt, De Jesus, Perez, Godwin, and McGeehan all had 2 hits each for the Catfish.

P Mario Alvarez went 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 6, en route to his 7th win of the year.

The doubleheader split leaves the Catfish at 33-33 in the second half, guaranteeing them at least a .500 record for the entire season. They close the seaon with 4 games in Charleston, SC against the Riverdogs.

Headline News 2006-08-31

From ABC News:
India State to Dump Windows for Linux
Hackers seek new challenges

From ABC News:
Campus Cops Enforce Traffic on Segway
Tells offenders "Stop, or I'll look like a dork!"

From ABC News:
Anti-Bush Shirt OK in School, Court Says
Likes girlfriend shaved

From ABC News:
MLK Memorial Dream Soon to Be a Reality
Easier than the "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together" dream

From ABC News:
Iran defiant as deadline falls due
U.N. threatens another deadline if this deadline not met

From ABC News:
Verizon to Drop 'Supplier Surcharge'
FCC to Verizon: "Can you hear me now? Good!"

From ABC News:
Condoms as Clothing?
No return policy in force

From ABC News:
Jessica Simpson Is Ordered on Vocal Rest
World breathes sigh of relief

From ABC News:
Muslim Group Offended by Mercury Party
Claim the folks on Mars understand them

From ABC News:
Capote returns to big screen with new film, gay kiss
Early frontrunner for "Best Performance by a Corpse" Oscar

Blogrolling 2006-08-31

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Little League World Champs To Be Honored By Hometown Team

From the Columbus Catfish:
The Columbus Catfish will celebrate the accomplishments of the 2006 World Champion Columbus Northern Little League team during the Catfish home finale against the Rome Braves Thursday at 7:00pm at Golden Park. As a salute to Columbus, Georgia little leaguers, the Catfish will host Little League Appreciation Night. All area little leaguers who suit up in uniform will get a free general admission ticket.

The Catfish will also be joined by Children's Miracle Network at The Medical Center. Families of CMN and their sponsors should contact CMN for tickets. Columbus Regional Hospital employees get a $3 general admission ticket when showing their ID badge at the ticket window. During the game members of Phi Mu will be on hand to raise funds for CMN.

Monday afternoon three Catfish players visited Columbus Regional Hospital. Pitchers Joe Jones, Dave Preziosi and Jordan Pratt toured the high-risk nursery and the children's ward. Their afternoon activities ranged from chatting about baseball to playing with dolls, all to the delight of CMN youngsters.

The game against Rome wraps up the 2006 Catfish home schedule. Then Columbus goes on the road for one last four-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs. For tickets or more information call (706) 571-8866 or visit www.ColumbusCatfish.com.

Columbus and Rome actually play two games today. Because of last night's rainout, the teams square off at 5:00 PM in the first of two 7-inning games.

Cross-posted at Baseball-Fans Blog

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

I Don't Like Spam!

I don't like spam!Two days ago, I noticed that I still get lots of hits to old posts here at this little blog. And I got to thinking.

A while back, I installed a plug-in that closes old posts from comments and TrackBacks. The idea was to reduce spam.

So, this week, I wondered if perhaps I had over-reacted. I wondered if perhaps I should have not closed all the old posts.

Anyway, I disabled the plug-in, meaning that posts wouldn't close after a certain period of time. Then I went and updated all the old posts in the database to re-open them for comments and TrackBacks.

Big mistake!

Within minutes ... heck, within a minute ... the spam filters had caught some of those "Nice site! Visit my blog..." and "generic-viagra" and such comments and TrackBacks.

Within an hour, there were well over a hundred caught.

They come in spurts. I'll get a couple of dozen within a minute or two, then a hour or so will go by. Then another wave. Sometimes only a handful in an hour. And overnight last night, there were only a couple of hundred.

Anyway, I remember now why I closed all the old posts. I knew why I had done it, but I remember ... really remember ... why I closed the old posts.

I haven't gone back and re-closed them.

But I might.

Comment spam is evil.

I like Spam®.

But I don't like spam!

Headline News 2006-08-30

From WYFF:
Police chief: Rape case 'politically motivated'
Been screwing his constituants for years

From CNN:
Sources: State Department official source of Plame leak
Investigation planned to find who leaked source of leak

From CNN:
Comic sues Jews for Jesus
Jesus thanks comic for coming to his defense

From CNN:
'For sale' sign up on Gilligan's boat
Package includes hole in side, spinning life preserver

From ABC News:
Leading by Example: Pro Athletes Called On to Combat Teen Steroid Use
Now Barry Bonds won't face a shortage

From ABC News:
S.D. Execution Halted; Okla. Goes Ahead
Hell agrees to hold a spot for him

From ABC News:
Drought to shut down rain forest resort
Bush blamed

From ABC News:
Supernova caught in its exploding act
Bush blamed

From ABC News:
RadioShack Uses E-Mail to Fire Employees
New slogan: "You got questions, we got job openings"

From Reuters:
Earth's formerly thin ozone layer is recovering
Democrats unsure how to blame Bush

Blogrolling 2006-08-30

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Catfish Latino Night

Basil done gone and talked me into going to one of them Catfish games the other day. Now, I been to the Braves games up at Atlanta-Fulton County stadium before. Got hit int he head once during batting practice, but I don't remember much more about the game that night. I think they had fireworks or something.

Anywways, after reahding all about Basil talking about them Catfishes, I went to one of their games.

It was Latino night. Seems God didn't want them to hold Latino night. They tried it in Juyly. And it rained it out. Then they tried it in august. Rained agian. So they done it this past Sunday night. Yeah, it rained, but not for too long and not too bad.

There was a few folks there that night. Not a bunch, like Basil said there'd be. But some.

I was looking for me a pretty Mexican girl. Found a couple too, but they had boyfriends or something. One had a knife. Wait, that was Basil that had the knife. Never mind.

Anyway, thy had Mexicans running around all over the place. Don't know why they was there on Latino night. Should have been Mexican night.

But they had Mexcian foood and such they was selling. And mexican girls dancing in the stands. and little Mexican boys running up and down the steps.

I couldn't understand what all they was saying. Some was speaking Mexican. And if any Latinos was there, they was speaking Latin or sometihgn.

But they played music by Van Halen, which does fit Latino night since thy done a song called "panama" one time. So they kept the theme of the night going.

There was Mexicans on the ballclubs too. SOme of the Mexicans was from Pueorto Rico. Some Mexicans was from Venezuala. And a couple was from California.

I don't know if the Catfish won or lost that ngiht. You see, they hat some hot, smoking chicks at the game. And that made it all worthwhile.

More White Trash Wesnesday

Agent Bedhead
Alabama Improper
And Rightly So!
basil's blog
BOBO BLOGGER
Dangerous Logic
Feisty Republican Whore
HECTOR VEX
It Is What It Is
Lost In Lima Ohio
Mean Ol' Meany
Merri Musings
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Pennsylvanian in exile
Pirate's Cove
Public Figures
Riehl World View
Right Truth
Rightwingsparkle
Six Meat Buffet
Sortapundit
Stupid Random Thoughts
The Jawa Report
The Nose On Your Face
The Therapist
Vince Aut Morire

Errors Cost Catfish

Go Catfish!After jumping to an early lead, the Columbus Catfish committed 4 errors to allow the Rome Braves to battle back and tie the game, before losing to Rome in the 11th inning, 9-5.

In the 1st inning, CF Bridger Hunt scored on 2B Travis Denker's sacrifice fly.

In the 3rd, LF Adam Godwin scored after reaching on a single, stealing second, and moving to third on Bridger Hunt's bunt single. When SS Ivan De Jesus singled to left, Godwin scored. Hunt scored on Travis Denker's ground out, making it 3-0 Columbus.

Rome tied the game in the 3rd, scoring 2 earned runs and an unearned run on a double, 2 singles, and an error.

In the 5th inning, DH Lucas May's bases-loaded single, the 3rd Catfish hit of the inning, drove in Bridger Hunt, who had reached on an error. 3B Eduardo Perez drove in Ivan De Jesus on a ground out to third, giving the Catfish a 5-3 lead.

Two Catfish errors in the 6th allowed Rome to close the gap to 5-4.

In the 9th, scheduled closer Matthew Gomez de Segura allowed a lead-off pinch-hit home run to Rome's HR record-holder Eric Campbell, blowing his 3rd save of the season and allowing Rome to force extra innings.

In the 11th, the roof fell in. Francisco Felix allowed 4 runs before recording an out, on a passed ball and a bases loaded double. A 5th Rome run was disallowed when RF Jamie Romak was called out for leaving third base early on a sacrifice fly.

The Catfish put runners on second and third in the bottom of the 11th, but were unable to push any runs across.

The loss is the first to Rome in 6 games, and only the 2nd in 11 contests between the two teams. The series continues Wednesday night.

Headline News 2006-08-29

From ABC News:
Receding Texas Lake Reveals Prehistoric Skeleton
Nancy Pelosi vacations in Lone Star State

From ABC News:
NASA Gives OK to Bring Shuttle Indoors
Warns scientists to not throw it around

From ABC News:
When a Twin Turns Into a Parasite
Tori Hunter eats all the groceries, leaves clothes on floor

From ABC News:
Woman Wrecks While Teaching Dog to Drive
One more bitch behind the wheel

From ABC News:
Teachers' Gender Affects Students' Performance
Male students pay attention when teacher is "hot, smokin' babe"

From ABC News:
Meth Offenders Must Register Like Sex Criminals
Long range plan: Free trip home to avoid Thailand jail

From ABC News:
A Holiday in Pakistan Gone Bad
Still unable to describe "good" Pakistan holiday

From ABC News:
Bodies With Torture Marks Found in Iraq
Rumsfeld back from vacation

From ABC News:
U.S. Dismisses Bush-Ahmadinejad Debate
Ahmadinejad still Democratic frontrunner in '08

From ABC News:
Scientists Unveil Brazil Dinosaur Model
Star Jones finally lands new job

Blogrolling 2006-08-29

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Monday, August 28, 2006

World Champs

Columbus Northern Wins
Photo: WTVM
Columbus Northern won the Little League World Series yesterday, beating Kawaguchi City, Japan, 2-1 Monday.

It's the second time in 7 years that a team from this area played for the championship ... and the first time a team from this area has ever won it. In 1999, Phenix City National won the U.S. championship and played for the title, but lost to Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, 5-0.

Cody Walker hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning which to give Northern the lead over Japan, which had scored a single run in the top of the third.

Kyle Carter pitched a complete game, giving up only three hits while striking out 11. For Northern it was their 21st win in 22 games of tournament play. Carter became the first pitcher in Little League World Series history to record four wins in a single Series.

The Japanese team was undefeated in post season play until they met Columbus.

[more from WTVM.com]


The city of Columbus is planning a big to-do Wednesday at the Civic Center. It'll be on TV. I'll be at the Civic Center.

Catfish Beat Rome. Again.

Go Catfish!After losing 3 in a row to Charleston, the Columbus Catfish got back on the winning track against the playoff-bound Rome Braves, winning 6-3 tonight. It's the 5th win in a row against Rome, and the 9th in their last 10 meetings.

Rome jumped to an early 1-0 lead when leadoff batter Quentin Davis hit a home run over the right field wall. Rome pushed it to 2-0 when Cody Clark singled in Elvis Andrus, who had led off the inning with a double.

Lucas May triplesIn the 5th, the Catfish stormed back. 3B Juan Rivera doubled to lead off the inning, but was unable to advance on CF Bridger Hunt's singles to short. Rivera moved to third when SS Ivan De Jesus grounded into a double play. After 2B Travis Denker walked, RF Lucas May tripled to center, driving in Rivera and Denker. He scored on C Tony Harper's single. Harper then scored on DH Eduardo Perez's double to right, giving the Catfish a 4-2 lead.

Rome narrowed it to 4-3 in the 7th, but the Catfish added 2 more in the bottom of the inning. With 1 out, Travis Denker walked and Lucas May was hit by a pitch. With 2 out, Eduardo Perez walked to load the bases. Rome went back to the bullpen, and new P Kevin Gunderson was greeted by David Sutherland who doubled to center field, scoring Denker and May.

Starter David Horlacher pitched 6 innings to earn his 2nd win. Matt Gomez de Segura pitched the 9th inning to earn his 5th save.

Headline News 2006-08-28

From CNN:
World's oldest person dies at age 116
Now in tie for World's Deadest Person

From CNN:
Suit: Winner promised to split record poker pot
Was bluffing

From KFOX:
Stolen ATM dragged for 2 miles
NAACP asks color of machine

From KMGH:
Teacher in trouble for displaying foreign flags
Still OK to burn U.S. flag

From CNN:
With Ernesto threatening, Bush visits Gulf Coast
Time to plant bombs to blow up levees

From CNN:
Court overturns mom's conviction in son's suicide
Just found out what "suicide" meant

From CNN:
McCready asks to withdraw plea
Claims 'was drunk' when made plea agreement in DUI case

From CNN:
Users say BlackBerrys improve life
Strawberrys dispute claim

From CNN:
MySpace links up with Google
Now easier for perverts to search for kids

From CNN:
Telescope set to reveal 'Big Bang'
Peeping Tom's equipment siezed

Blogrolling 2006-08-28

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

"Who's On First?" (Updated)

I was planning on writing about the Columbus Northern Little League team today. They were scheduled to play in the title game of the Little League World Series on Sunday. But the game was rained out.

Columbus Northern, the Southeast Regional champions ... and now the United States champions ... face Asia (Japan) in the title game Monday night at 8:00 5:00 PM. ABC ESPN2 will broadcast the game.

Back in 1999, Phenix City, Alabama's team won the U.S. championship and played in the title game, losing to Hirakata Little League of Osaka, Japan. Now, for those that don't know, Phenix City, AL and Columbus, GA are separated by a river. The whole area was quite proud of that 1999 Phenix City team. And we're proud of this year's Columbus team.

I had hoped to write about them winning the title on Sunday, but that'll have to wait.

Because of the weather.

So, what do you do when there's a rain delay?

Silly, you offer Abbott and Costello's classic, "Who's On First?"

Catfish Lose 2-Hitter

Go Catfish!James McDonald pitched 8 innings of 1-hit ball, facing 1 over the minimum, but got no decision as the Catfish bats fell silent again tonight. Managing but 3 hits themselves, the Columbus Catfish left 7 batters on base and failed to score, losing to the Charleston Riverdogs, 1-0.

McDonald had another hard-luck start. His ERA is the lowest of the Catfish starters, but has 10 losses due to lack of run support. He didn't get hit with the loss tonight. That fate befell reliever Joey Norrito, who walked 1 batter and allowed 1 hit, and allowed the games only run.

The Catfish threatened early on. 3B Eduardo Perez doubled to left field, then 1B David Sutherland walked before the umpires stopped the game for 18 minutes due to rain. After play resumed, LF Adam Godwin singled to lead the bases, but RF Chris Jensen hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Catfish managed baserunners in scoring position in the 6th, 8th and 9th innings, but were unable to capitalize.

The loss was the 3rd in a row for the Catfish. The homestand concludes with a 4-game series hosting the Rome Braves, before closing the season in Charleston.

Back At WAR

After a break last week because of travel, I'll be back on the air at WAR (Wide Awakes Radio) from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

If you'd like to call in, the number is 888-407-1776.

Blogrolling 2006-08-27

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Irina (The Ignoble Experiement, a.k.a. Live Dangerously!)

Today, we're delighted to have with us Irina (The Ignoble Experiement, a.k.a. Live Dangerously!)...


The panel has their questions...


Let's start this thing...

Catfish Fall to Charleston

Go Catfish!After winning 9 in a row, the Columbus Catfish have now dropped 2 straight to the Charleston Riverdogs (Yankees), losing a 3-1 contest tonight.

Charleston starter Erick Abreu was nearly unhittable for 6 innings, allow just 3 hits, one being 3B Eduardo Perez's home run off the Day's Inn sign in left field. It was the only run the Catfish could manage. Abreu struck out 6 and didn't walk any batters. The Catfish managed 4 hits off the Charleston bullpen, but 2 double plays helped keep them off the board. SS Ivan De Jesus was the only Catfish player to manage 2 hits.

Things appeared to be going a different way when the game started. CF Bridger Hunt and De Jesus, the first 2 Catfish batters, led off the Catfish 1st with singles. But those were the last hits Abreu allowed other than Perez's homer.

Defensively, the Catfish kept the game close with some great plays. Among them were RF Lucas May's diving catch in the 1st inning that robbed Charleston DH Tim Battle of a possible double ... and a possible run when the following batter singled.

In the 5th inning, Lucas threw out Charleston CF Austin Jackson who should have made third base on 3B Marcos Vechionacci's single. From right field, he one-hopped the ball to 3B Eduardo Perez who tagged Jackson. That also saved a run when a passed ball occurred on the next batter.

The Catfish, who averaged nearly 7 runs a game during their winning streak that twice saw them hit double-digits in runs, were held to a single run.

The 4-game series with Charleston ends Sunday, then the Catfish host the Rome Braves in the last 4 home games of the year.

Tonight was Military Appreciation Night at the Catfish game. All military personnel got in free with ID. A few thousand took them up on it. No attendence figures were announced, but the sea of ACUs (the replacement for the BDUs and DCUs like I wore) was great to see.

The soldiers ... and the soldiers families that were there ... seemed to enjoy the game, despite the final score.

The Catfish have offered half-off to military and their families all year long, but few have taken them up on it. Of course, they've had several Military Appreciation Nights this season, and in previous seasons. It's great when the soldiers from Ft. Benning can make it to the game and relax. Minor league baseball is a great bargain. And good family entertainment. And all of the teams I've visited seem to appreciate our servicemen and women.

Is Dreamhost Trying To Piss Me Off?

I found this message in my inbox:

Hello,

In an effort to lower the load on your server I disabled mt-trackback (that's often abused). There's still a lot of processes running under your user for the blog index so I am going to also go ahead and move you to another server. It should be seamless but just in case here is my direct email address:

[address omitted]

john


I've responded:

Trackbacks were disabled on my blog ... and I don't like that!

I do NOT like the idea of features (and, yes, TrackBacks are a feature of my blog) being disabled without prior notice.

If it is your policy to not allow me to accept TrackBacks, I'd appreciate your letting me know in sufficient time to move my blog to a host that is acceptable and not encounter any downtime.

I eagerly await your response.


What the heck were they thinking? Trackbacks can be abused? You're telling me they just now, in August 2006, discovered that TrackBacks can be abused? What's next? Cigarettes cause cancer?

And do they think that Akismet and Spam Karma (yes, I'm running both) is not sufficient?

Perhaps there is a problem that needs action taken. That's fine. I understand.

But just turning off TrackBacks?

Not a good move. Not a good move at all.

If they think I ought to move to another host, they could just let me know. Give me time to find one and move everything over. Heck, I can host it from the house if I need to. I did before.

Dreamhost needs a better customer service process. Or better customer service personnel.

UPDATE:

John wrote back. Remember I mentioned I had two spam filters (including TrackBack spam) running?

If you have spam filtering that should be all right, I just noticed that process eating up a fair amount of resources (when trying to get the load down on a server it's sometimes necessary to disable processes that ordinarily wouldn't be as big of a deal). Just rename it without the '.Disabled' but please keep an eye on the uptime of the server if you do so as you should be able to see if it jumps up.

Thanks!
John


So, I renamed the file back. I wouldn't do it without speaking to them. Common courtesy. I just wish I had the same.

Still, like other Dreamhost customers have noticed, they usually do respond pretty quickly to issues. Whether they cause the issues or not.

John: Thanks for writing back.

Everyone else: TrackBacks should be working again. Pingbacks seem to have worked the whole time.

UPDATE 2:

John wrote again:

I apologize - when we're in the middle of triage we usually don't wait for replies (to be honest very few customers are aware enough to have taken measure to protect their trackback and I did not realize you had done so, if I had I would have probably left it alone... again I am sorry for the inconvenience of that and I'll try to be more thorough next time by knowing how to check if someone is taking the necessary precautions).

Thanks!

John


Again, working support issues myself, I understand where he's coming from.

Sure, I understand. Thanks for taking the time to make things work right. It is appreciated.


So, yeah, we had a hiccup here. But it's all better now.

They did suggest a robots.txt file to decrease Google and others stress on the server. Quite honestly, I thought I had one. And I did. When I was self-hosting. I never moved it to the Dreamhost site. So, my bad on that. It's in place now.

Again, I'm thankful everything's working again.

Blogrolling 2006-08-26

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Wyatt Earp (Support Your Local Gunfighter)

Today, we're pleased to have one of Philadelphia's finest joining us today. It's Wyatt Earp of Support Your Local Gunfighter...
wyatt

Everyone is ready with their questions...


Now, the first question...

Catfish Split; Honor Special Fan

Go Catfish!The Columbus Catfish won their 9th game in a row tonight, before having their streak snapped in the second game of a doubleheader Friday night. They also honored one of their most loyal fans between the games.

The doubleheader was made necessary by the postponement of Thursday's game because of field conditions. The first game, scheduled for 7 innings, actually went 9 when the teams were tied at 2 at the end of the 7th. With the Charleston Riverdogs (Yankees) leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 2nd, RF Lucas May singled in CF Bridger Hunt, who had walked, tying the game at 1.

Down 2-1 in the 5th, 2B Travis Denker hit a solo home run, his 11th round tripper of the season, to tie the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the 9th when, with 2 out, 3B Juan Rivera singled, moved to second on Bridger Hunt's single to left, then scored when SS Ivan De Jesus singled to right field, giving the Catfish a 3-2 win.

De Jesus and May each had 2 hits for the Catfish. P Doug Brooks pitched the final 2 innings and won his 1st game of the season. He's not allowed an earned run in 5 appearances since joining the team.

Game Two

In the second game, a 5-hit 3rd inning by Charleston did in the Catfish. The Catfish took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd when 3B Eduardo Perez scored on a wild pitch, then C Conor McGeehan scored on RF Chris Jensen's single.

In the 3rd, 4 straight hits, capped off by Charleston 2B Jeff Beachum' triple, gave the Riverdogs a 5-2 lead. The Catfish narrowed it to 5-3 on Eduardo Perez's sacrifice fly that plated SS Ivan De Jesus. Charleston pushed across another run in the 4th, giving them a 7-inning 6-3 win.

P David Pfeiffer took the loss, his 5th this season.

Honoring A Fan


Mr Mack Night
Between the games, the Catfish paid tribute to one of their most loyal, if not the most loyal, fan. Robert McKenzie, longtime Columbus baseball fan, was recognized by the team for his support over the years, including his efforts with the young fans at the games. "Mr. Mack" has always been a fixture at the games, but always stayed in the background, never seeking any recognition for what he's done. He has not escaped notice, and the Catfish named the night after him.

"Mr. Mack Night" saw the Columbus Catfish win their 9th game in a row, the most since moving to Columbus. It's quite fitting that his night saw them reach such a winning streak.

Special For Me, Too

In addition to seeing Mr. Mack get his recognition, I had another thrill tonight. One of a selfish nature. The Little Princess made the trip from Athens in time to make it to the second game. Though she didn't get to see the win, or the recognition of Mr. Mack, she did get to join the Wife and me, and the grandchildren, and a niece and nephew, and her boyfriend, behind home plate for a game.

We stayed for the "run the bases" event for the kids, and enjoyed the fireworks afterwards.

All in all, a good night for baseball ... and for baseball fans.

Headline News 2006-08-25

From CNN:
It's real life CSI for dinosaur detectives
"CSI: Pangea" debuts this fall on CBS

From CNN:
Nagin: NYC can't fix 'hole in the ground'
New York offers to put Nagin in a hole in the ground

From CNN:
Cell phones taking over as timepieces
Dick Tracy: "And I probably won't get the credit"

From KIRO:
Panel rejects mayor's plan for strip clubs
Panel chairman: "Have you seen the mayor naked?"

From KGTV:
Man pleads not guilty to cemetery thefts
Believes victims won't testify against him

From KFOX:
Fire rips through homeless shelter
Dozens of homeless now homeless

From CNN:
Charges against Kentucky governor dropped
Threatened to reveal the 11 herbs and spices

From CNN:
Beer baron Pete Coors pleads guilty to DUI
Not just the president...

From CNN:
Inca language gets jumpstart on Microsoft
780-year head start helped

From CNN:
Meet the first female space tourist
Demand shuttle pilot stop and ask directions

Blogrolling 2006-08-25

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Team Hoyt

My daugher, The Princess, sent me an email Thursday. It was one she hadn't seen and wanted to share. And I thought it was worth sharing. It's about Team Hoyt:

Article: Strongest Dad in the World
[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
"Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"...

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I stink.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.


The email contained information about the issues Rick encountered since being injured at birth. It tells all about Rick's struggles and the family's efforts ... particularly his father's ... in overcoming the situation.

The email of the SI article covers much of the many events they entered. And it concludes with the idea that Dick's alive today because of it all.


This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters.

Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

"The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."


Here's the video...

Catfish Postponed

Tonight's game between the Columbus Catfish and the Charleston Riverdogs (Yankees) was postponed. You see, it rained the last couple of days. But not where I was today (10 blocks away). Still, the field doesn't drain well, so unless someone gets a hose and pump and runs it to drain the field, it's gonna be wet. And it was wet.

Columbus, Charleston postponed Due To Unplayable Field Conditions
Double-header scheduled for Friday

Unplayable field conditions due to continuous rainfall since Sunday have postponed the game against the Columbus Catfish and the Charleston Riverdogs. The game will be made up as part of a double-header on Friday starting at 6 pm. Gates will open at 5pm. Tickets for Thursday's contest can be redeemed at the Catfish box office for any of the remaining home games left in the season.

Following Friday night's double-header, the Columbus Catfish are presenting their last fireworks extravaganza of the season. Fox 54 and Dodge will also give away a trip to Edgewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida. Employees of the Muscogee County School District get a $2 ticket when showing their ID badge. Employees of Columbus Consolidated Government get a free ticket when showing their CGC ID. Members of PTA get a $3 ticket when showing their membership card.

Fridays and Saturdays all season the Fox 54 Family Fun Pack gets you four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks and a souvenir program for just $20. The 'Fish with a Cause Campaign showcases Our House Methodist Children's Home. After the game kids run the bases like their favorite players. For tickets or more information call (706) 571-8866 or visit www.ColumbusCatfish.com.


Friday night was the scheduled "Fan Night" for the promotion the Catfish were running to have a night named after a fan. And I strongly suspect it's not me.

While the Catfish don't seem to have a lot of loyal fans, they do have some. I'm by no means the only fan. I'm just the one with a blog. Except for some of the media folks.

And you know, some of the media people in Columbus do support the local teams, the Catfish included. So, it would be reasonable for one of them to be named.

But I think some of the others that are always at the game are quite deserving. Yeah, I'm a fan. And I certainly do thank everyone who sent emails to the Catfish on my behalf. The Catfish office was amazed by the response. Not just how many sent in emails, but the fact that just about all of them were from outside Columbus. Heck, most were from outside Georgia. And lots were from outside the southeast.

So, yeah, they noticed your participation in the promotion. It didn't get a night named for me, but it darn sure got noticed. And I thank you.

Oh, The Princess will be coming to Ft. Benning, where her boyfriend is stationed following his graduation from West Point. So we'll get to spend some time with her ... and him ... this weekend. Perhaps they'll make it to one of the games Friday night. But she's got a long drive from Athens. So, maybe Saturday's game.

Should be a fun weekend.

Headline News 2006-08-24

From ABC News:
Pluto Set to Be Demoted to 'Dwarf' Planet
Snow White readys new room

From ABC News:
Two Plead Guilty in Mo. Sextuplets Hoax
Authorities became suspicious when one child looked like Marlon Wayons

From ABC News:
Bare-Breasted Porn Stars Ride Choppers
Many bikers are proud of their hogs ... and their bikes

From ABC News:
Pa. Officer Accused in Bra Theft Scheme
Scam designed to take advantage of boobs

From ABC News:
Clemson Univ. Slaying Raises Concerns
Demand stadium drop "Death Valley" nickname

From ABC News:
Some who returned to New Orleans consider leaving
Government checks ran out

From The Times Express [via John the Methodist]:
New pastor once sat in pews
Most of congregation still sleeps there

From ABC News:
Philippines asks for hair, feathers to soak oil spill
Cher saves the day

From ABC News:
Bangkok: Asia's Capital of Sex Change Surgery
Name of city finally explained

From ABC News:
Augusta Arena Renamed for James Brown
Fans flock to "Drives Like A Crazy Man Arena"

Blogrolling 2006-08-24

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Hairy Chests

You might want to skip this one. You'll see why in a minute.

We're talking about hairy chests. Some people like hairy chests. Some people don't.

My chest? Well, I'm not about to be confused with Bigfoot or anything. But it's not smooth. If I needed a Band-Aid or something, it'd hurt like heck when it was removed. With duct tape, you'd get all you needed for a DNA sample.

Not covered with fur, but still, there are hairs there.

But today's topic isn't really supposed to be the hair on my chest. Or any man's chest for that matter.

Yep. Women. With hairy chests.

Now, let me be clear. Because this may need some clarification. Just like with men, there are varying degrees of hair on the chest of women.

Some women, anyway.

Now, the Wife? Nope. The Ex- neither. But I have seen women with hair on their chest.

Apparently some men like that. And that's just fine. It's not my particular taste. So to speak. Let's say I've never had to remove a hair from my mouth that I got from a woman's chest. And lets just leave it at that, shall we?

Now, some women have hair in various places in amounts that other women don't. If the Wife didn't shave her legs, there'd be hair there. If she didn't shave under her arms, there'd be hair there.

For some women, if they don't remove hair from their face, there'd be hair visible. And that happens.

What I'm saying is it's not all that unusual to see hair on a woman's body ... but not a lot of hair on a woman's body.

What brought this up?

Well, about a month ago, I went to Golden Corral for supper. And I'm standing there near the food bar when a woman walked by. A woman with a hairy chest.

How did I know? Well, she was wearing revealing clothing. Lots of cleavage showing. Lots of cleavage. And lots of hair on that chest. Lots of hair.

And, yes, it was a woman. A camel toe looks nothing like a ... squirrel in a bag (or whatever the male analogy is supposed to be). Okay? It was a woman.

A woman with a hairy chest. Showing it off for everyone to see. In a restaurant. With people trying to eat.

Fortunately, the Wife and I had already eaten supper, and were on the way out. And this was about a month ago. I'm scared to go back.

Headline News 2006-08-23

From CNN:
Bush, Rockey talk Katrina
Bullwinkle refuses summit

From CNN:
Aztecs butchered, ate invaders
First civilization to go out for Mexican

From CNN:
Anfal survivor describes gas attack
Saddam blames high-fiber diet

From WMUR:
Woman dies after rescue boat sinks
New meaning of 'rescue' fails to catch on

From KMBC:
Storm takes out 15 utility poles
X-Man heroine dating again

From CNN:
Bush pardons 'Deliverance' actor
Says actor 'sure do got a purty mouth'

From CNN:
National Lampoon co-founder dead at 59
"National Lampoon's Hell Vacation" in theatres this Fall

From ABC News:
Political Fertility Gap: Liberals Not Having Babies
Too busy screwing America to screw each other

From ABC News:
New Restaurant Bears Hitler's Name
Won't let health inspector look in ovens

From ABC News:
Safe Sex: Scientists Working on Kangaroo Contraceptive
Most difficult part is putting on condom

Blogrolling 2006-08-23

Items of interest from my blogroll.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Bush's War

First, I appreciate Basil letting me post here on Wednesdays again. And for posting bond for me. Anyways, I've got me a computer again and I got my new email account working.

anyways, I been doing some serious thinking about that war going on in UIraq. And I got me an email this week telling about what all kind of damage it's causing people.

Decide for yourself. You read it:
Bush cost me my job, my kids and my houses

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind. I lost my job this past year. When Clinton was president I was secure and prosperous, but in the last year, we had to close our operations. We simply could not compete with foreign labor. This foreign labor worked for low pay under very bad conditions.

They worked very long shifts, and many even died on the job.

This competition could hardly be called "fair." I was forced out of the place where I had worked for 34 years.

Not a single government program was there to help me.

How can Bush call himself "compassionate?" Far worse, I lost two of my sons in Bush's evil war in Iraq. They gave their lives for their country, and for what? So that Bush's oil buddies can get rich. My pain of losing my sons is indescribable.

While it is trivial next to the loss of my sons, I regret to say that I also lost my home. I simply have nothing left. How can Bush call himself a Christian when he neglects people like me? I am a senior citizen with various medical problems. I'm not in a position where I can begin a new career. I was reduced to the point where I had to live in a hole in a ground, all because of President Bush.

And when the authorities found me there, did they have any compassion for my misfortune and ailments? No, I was arrested. Mr. Bush, I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a compassionate man! I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a Christian. If I had any money left, I would donate it to the Democrat Party.

If Al Gore had been elected in 2000 I would still have a job, a home, and most importantly, my dear sons!

Regards,
Saddam Hussein

Makes you think, don't it? Pass it on! People need to know what this war is doing!

more Whtie Trash Wednesdays:

Agent Bedhead
And Rightly So!
Area417
BOBO BLOGGER
Cranky Neocon
Dangerous Logic
Feisty Republican Whore
HECTOR VEX
It Is What It Is
Lost In Lima Ohio
MacStansbury.org
Mean Ol' Meany
Merri Musings
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Pirate's Cove
Riehl World View
Rightwingsparkle
Six Meat Buffet
Sortapundit
Stupid Random Thoughts
SubTerfuge
The Ebb & Flow Institute
The Jawa Report
The Nose On Your Face
THE STEEL DEAL
The Therapist
Vince Aut Morire

Them folks eiter is white trash or they got stories about them.

Catfish Sweep Rome, Win 8th Straight, Are Eliminated from Playoffs

After being swept twice by the Rome Braves early in the season, the Columbus Catfish finally got to return the favor, sweeping Rome in Rome tonight.

Rome swept Columbus April 24-27 and May 15-18. Since losing those 8 in a row, the Catfish have gone 12-5 against Rome, splitting 1 series and winning 3, before finally sweeping this 4-game series.

In tonight's 7-inning contest, the Catfish fell behind in the 1st inning. Rome 3B Eric Campbell walked with 1 out, then stole second. The Atlanta Braves' Brian Jordan, in Rome on a rehab assignment, walked. After Campbell stole third, he scored on 1B Josh Morris' 2-out single.

In the 2nd, Catfish 3B Eduardo Perez reached on an error, 1B David Sutherland singled, and C Conor McGeehan singled to load the bases. Perez scored on RF Chris Jensen's sacrifice fly. After SS Juan Rivera singled to load the bases again, DH Bridger Hunt knocked in Sutherland with a sacrifice fly to right.

In the 3rd, LF Lucas May homered to lead off the inning. Eduardo Perez doubled, and moved to third on David Sutherland's ground out. Conor McGeehan walked, then on a wild pitch, Perez scored and McGeehan moved to second. After Chris Jensen walked, 2B Juan Rivera singled, scoring McGeehan.

Rivera had moved from short to second after Ivan De Jesus pinch hit for 2B Travis Denker in the second inning, then stayed in at short.

In the 6th, Perez singled on a liner to right, scoring De Jesus, who had reached on a fielder's choice, and making it 6-1 Catfish.

Arismendy Castillo pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and an earned run, and stiking out 9 batters, and won his 8th game of the year, and his 2nd against Rome this season.

After an off day Wednesday, the Catfish return to Golden Park Thursday, assuming the damage from this week's storm is repaired.

Despite the win -- the Catfish' 2nd of the day, their 8th in a row and the 11th in their last 12 -- the Catfish were officially eliminated from postseason play when Augusta won their game with Greenville tonight. With 12 games left on the schedule, the Catfish are 14 games behind Augusta, which has the best record in the league in the 2nd half.

Catfish win suspended game with Rome

It took nearly 24 hours, but the Columbus Catfish finally won Monday's game with the Rome Braves, 5-3.

The game was suspended about 9:00 Monday night by the umpires because of rain and lightning.

The Catfish were up 5-0 at the time. They scored a run in the 1st inning on 2B Travis Denker's RBI double that drove in CF Bridger Hunt. They added 4 more in the 3rd on 4 walks, an error, and a 2-run double by Eduardo Perez.

In the bottom of the 5th, with heavy rain falling, Rome loaded the bases with 2 outs, but the umpires had had enough and suspended the game. When it resumed, starter David Horlacher, 1 out from being the pitcher of record, remained on the bench and was replaced by Jordan Pratt, who got out of the 5th with no runs scoring.

Pratt pitched 3-1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4, and was credited with the win, his 8th.

The win was the 7th in a row for the Catfish, and their 10th in 11 games. Today's regularly scheduled game is now underway, and will go 7 innings by rule. We'll have an update on that later.

Headline News 2006-08-22

From ABC News:
Ariz. Man Stung to Death by 'Killer' Bees
Bush blamed

From ABC News:
'Code Red' for National Parks
Lipstick, sports drinks confiscated from racoons and bears

From ABC News:
Al Qaeda in Drag
Osama's secret life revealed

From ABC News:
Ant Has Fastest Jaw in the World
Ralphie May comes in second

From ABC News:
Combat Hot Flashes During Menopause
Classified as WMDs

From ABC News:
Mothers Who Used Same Sperm Donor Meet
Man turned lights on too soon

From ABC News:
She's Her Own Twin
Patty Duke makes comeback

From ABC News:
'I Miss Your French Accent'
Wants to be taunted again

From Reuters:
Bad career choices: naked with a dead pig
Bill Clinton loses an intern

From Reuters:
Two starved to death in epic sea voyage
Gilligan, Skipper mourned

Blogrolling 2006-08-22

Today's items from my blogroll.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Katie

The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric?

You have got to be kidding me.

Okay, yeah, I know. This is not new. It was announced a while back that Katie Couric was moving to CBS to anchor the news. They had the big going away thingy on the Today Show on NBC.

And, since I haven't watched the CBS Evening News for years ... well, it didn't impact me. Right?

Well, I thought not.

Then I saw the promo.

The Wife watches CBS soaps. As The World Turns and Guiding Light. And a little bit of The Young And The Restless. So, CBS programs do air here at the house.

And, during one of her soaps ... or "stories" as the old ladies always called them ... they aired a promo for The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

It finally hit me ... Katie Couric!

Now, while I'm no fan of CBS News ... or much of the mainstream media (MSM) ... you got to admit, there is a history there.

Think of all the great newsmen ... or at least news names ... that have preceeded at CBS News. And at other networks.

Douglas Edwards. Walter Cronkite. Chet Huntley. David Brinkley. Harry Reasoner. John Chancellor. Peter Jennings. Frank Reynolds. Frank McGee.

Those are news names. Chet. David. Walter. John. Frank. Douglas. Great news names, all.

And now, CBS adds "Katie" to that mix?

You have got to be kidding me!

I'm not going to criticize her for her bringing cancer awareness to many people. That's a good thing. She had a mammogram on the Today show in 2005. This is after her colonoscopy on TV in 2000.

Now, don't misunderstand me. Her bringing breast cancer awareness and colon cancer awareness to people is a very, very good thing.

But from the news credentials standpoint, what does Katie Couric bring to CBS? Other than tits and ass? Nothing.

Despite her lack of credentials, you'd think she'd take herself seriously. Or pretend to.

I mean, if she thought she was serious, wouldn't she be known as Katherine Ann Couric? Or Katherine Couric? Or something other than Katie?

How can you take CBS News seriously when it's presented by someone named Katie?

What's next? NBC hiring Buffy? Mindy doing news on ABC?

Katie? The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric?

You have got to be kidding me!

Catfish game in Rome suspended; Columbus ballpark damaged

The Columbus Catfish were up 5-0 in the 5th inning, just one out shy of it being an official game, when lightning came to Rome, GA. As a result, the game between the Columbus Catfish and the Rome Braves has been suspended.

On Sunday, the Catfish beat Rome when the game was called after 5 complete innings because of rain. Tonight, they couldn't get 5 innings completed before the weather forced a stop.

The game will resume in the bottom of the 5th at 6:00 PM Tuesday, and the remainder of the 9-inning contest will be played. It will be followed by a 7-inning game.

When the Catfish return home from their short road trip up to Rome, they'll have another issue to contend with. While heavy rains interferred with the game in Rome, heavy winds were wreaking havoc on Golden Park in Columbus.

The center field wall collapsed, and damage was done to the pressbox, the scoreboard, the billboards, and a light tower. Additionally, there was damage to the playing field.

The plan is for a temporary fence to be erected in center field in time for Thursday night's homestand opener. If everything is repaired sufficiently by Thursday, the Catfish' final homestand of the year will take place with several promotions that have been delayed by weather rescheduled for this week.

Headline News 2006-08-21

From ABC News:
Iwo Jima Flag-Raising Photographer Dead
Bush blamed

From ABC News:
Missouri Man Faces Charges for 7 Charred Bodies
Had been ordered medium-rare

From ABC News:
Man With Two Penises Wants One Removed
Wife vetoed threesome

From ABC News:
Federline Raps, and He's Not Half Bad
By rap standards

From ABC News:
Male-to-Female Ratio in China Grows Larger
Enzyte hits Far East

From ABC News:
Exhibit To Break Record for 2-Headed Animals
Cerberus, Pushmipullyu complete exhibit

From ABC News:
Endangered Manatee Spotted Off R.I.
Peter Griffin goes swimming

From ABC News:
Church Fires Teacher for Being Woman
Tired of hearing her roar

From ABC News:
Las Vegas Passes Public Defecation Law
Craps tables to reopen

From ABC News:
Grey squirrel virus wiping out reds
Astros expected to win series

Blogrolling 2006-08-21

Today's items from my blogroll.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Hey, Baby, Why Don't You Put On Your Sister's Nightgown?

Being the only boy with three sisters coming up, I didn't do much of the hand-me-down thing. I didn't wear anything that belonged to my Big Sister (who's 5'4''), you see. I'm thinking you're probably not too surprised by that little revelation.

However, that's not true for my sisters. They'd occasionally wear each other's stuff. Sometimes they'd borrow something. Sometimes they'd borrow something without asking. Sometimes they'd inherit something.

Well, when you're little, it's just about always the younger inheriting something from the older sibling.

Or cousin. But not always. If you ended up with a cousin's hand-me-downs, it was a cousin who was bigger that had outgrown something. Didn't happen a lot with us. But it happened.

What about when you're older?

Well, to be honest, I never really thought about it. I never thought about the passing of hand-me-downs among adult family members. But it happens. And, thinking about it now, I can recall instances of it.

Like when someone goes on a diet and has a lot of clothes that are suddenly too big. Or the other way around. But you get the idea. Clothes that aren't worn out, still good, but for one reason or another, no longer being worn.

Recently, the Wife began wearing a nightgown that I hadn't seen before. It looked alright. No, it wasn't one of those Victoria's Secret or Fredrick's of Hollywood things. But a new nightgown, nonetheless.

Or so I thought.

You see, I'm never really sure if something she's wearing is new or something I've just failed to notice ... being a guy and all ... or what. So, when she came into the room the other night, I asked her about it.

"New nightgown?"

"No," she replied. And explained it came from her sister.

I sat there quietly for a second.

So, what does a fellow say in response to that?

"Heyyyyy.... niccccceeeeee" ??? No way.

There's nothing you can say when she says she's wearing her sister's nightgown.

I mean, if I like it, what do I say when we pack for a trip? "Hey, you gonna bring your sister's nightgown to wear?"

No, I'm just not sure what to say when presented with situations like that.

How should I handle it?

Or, how did you handle it?

Or does stuff like this only happen to me?

Catfish Rains On Rome

Go Catfish!The Columbus Catfish used the 3rd inning to rain hits and runs on the Rome Braves. Mother Nature waited until the 5th inning to rain on the game. The result of both storms was a 5-inning 12-2 win by the Catfish.

Rome's Eric Campbell extended his Rome Braves single-season home run record with his 19th in the 1st inning, to put the Catfish down 1-0.

In the 2nd inning, the Catfish struck back. C Conor McGeehan doubled with one out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After RF Chris Jensen walked, McGeehan scored on an error by Rome 3B Eric Campbell. Jensen moved to third when CF Bridger Hunt reached on a fielder's choice. LF Adam Godwin singled to right, scoring Chris Jensen. The Catfish attempted a double steal in hopes of padding the lead, but Hunt was caught stealing home after an aborted attempt to catch Godwin stealing second. When Rome C Jose Camarena tagged Hunt, that ended the inning.

Rome tied the score in the bottom of the 2nd when, with 1 out and the bases loaded, a bouncer to the mound by Rome 2B Jose Santos was fielded by Catfish P James McDonald who threw to second to start a double play, but Catfish SS Juan Rivera couldn't get the ball out of his glove, and Rome DH Josh Morris scored. The inning ended with the score tied at 2.

The 3rd inning changed everything. The Catfish sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring 8 times. With 1 out, DH Lucas May hit his roster-leading 16th home run off the Sonny's Barbeque sign in left center, making it 3-1. 3B Eduardo Perez singled, followed by 1B David Sutherland's double. Conor McGeehan walked to load the bases. Chris Jensen hit a sacrifice fly scoring Perez, making it 4-2. SS Juan Rivera singled up the middle, scoring Sutherland, making the score 5-2. Bridger Hunt doubled, knocking in McGeehan and Rivera, bringing it to 7-2. Adam Godwin walked. 2B Travis Denker singled, scoring Hunt, making it 8-2. Lucas May then singled to center, driving in Godwin and making it 9-2. Eduardo Perez singled to left field, scoring Denker and making the score 10-2.

It stayed that way until the top of the fifth when the rain started. Despite the rain, Bridger Hunt led off the inning with a single on a ground ball to center. After two fly ball outs, Lucas May hit his 17th home run, a 2-run shot into the bullpen behind left field. It was Luke's 2nd homer of the day, his 6th in a week, and his 5th 2-run homer since the previous Sunday.

The rains picked up, driving most fans for cover. The umpiring crew kept the game going, though. Despite the heavy rain, they let the bottom of the 5th be played to make it an official game. Rome C Jose Camarena popped out to Catfish 3B Eduardo Perez in foul territory. Rome LF Rubi Koko flied out to center, then 2B Jose Santos struck out. As soon as the 3rd out occurred and it was an official game, home plate umpire Chris Mack signaled both teams off the field.

The rain ended after a little bit, but with the forecast for more, the umpires called the game, and the Catfish had a rain-shortened, 5-inning, 12-2 win.

Lucas May led the Catfish batters, going 3-for-3 with 2 home runs, a total of 4 RBIs. Bridger Hunt was 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Adam Godwin and Eduardo Perez each had 2 hits. Hunt, McGeehan, and Sutherland each had a double.

P James McDonald allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 5 to pick up his 4th win.

The win is the Catfish' 6th in a row, and 9th in their last 10.

It was great to see the Catfish playing good ball, especially against Rome, who's already qualified for the SAL playoffs. The temperature reached 97 degrees before the rain started, and it felt great at first. By the time the game was called, the Wife and I had decided we had had enough and headed for cover. It was the most fun we have had soaking wet ... while surrounded by 2,000 other people.

Sunday Open Trackbacks 2006-08-20

The Wife and I are traveling this weekend. And that means, today anyway, limited Internet connectivity. So I haven't had a chance to peruse the blogroll as hoped. So, if you have an interesting post that you'd like to share, please leave a TrackBack to that post, and please link to this post so that others can enjoy the fun.

WAR Note: Because of limited Internet connectivity, I won't be on Wide Awakes Radio today from 3:00-4:30 PM. However, there won't be dead air. The Smoke Eater, Wild Bill, and Big Dog have all agreed to fill in. So instead of my usual drivel, there'll actually be something worthwhile on. Thanks, guys!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Tammi (Tammi's World)

Today, we're thrilled to have Tammi (Tammi's World) with us...


The panel has their questions ready...


Here goes...

Catfish Win Fifth Straight

Go Catfish!Taking a short weekend trip to catch some baseball games is always fun. And the Wife and I are having fun this weekend. We made the trip to Rome this morning, planning to catch the first two games of the Catfish series with the Rome Braves. And game one went very well. The Catfish beat Rome, 5-1.

The latter part of the order did most of the damage for the Catfish. The 5, 6, 8, & 9 batters all had a multi-hit game. C Tony Harper was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, an RBI and a run scored. LF Adam Godwin was 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. 3B Juan Rivera was 2-for-4 with a solo home run and 2 RBIs total. DH Eduardo Perez was 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Rivera's home run was especially fun. I happened to wearing my #12 Catfish jersey (the other is #49) ... and was quite noticable when I stood up in the midst of the Rome fans applauding as #12 rounded the bases following his solo shot.

The Catfish scored in the 2nd inning. Tony Harper walked, then Eduardo Perez singled, moving Harper to 2nd. With 2 out, Adam Godwin hit a liner to right, scoring Harper and moving Perez to third. Juan Rivera knocked Perez in with a ground ball to center field.

After Rome put up a run in the 3rd, the Catfish answered with a run in the 4th. 1B David Sutherland doubled, then moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Adam Godwin's single to right.

In the 6th, Rivera hit his home run, making it 4-1. In the 7th, the Catfish scored their final run when RF Lucas May walked and stole second, and came home on Tony Harper's double to center.

Catfish P Mario Alvarez went 5-2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits. David Pfeiffer pitched one inning, allowing one hit and a hit batsman. Doug Brooks came in with 2 outs in the 7th and 2 on base. He set down 7 straight to earn his 1st save.

Sunday afternoon, its game two. We'll be there.

Oh, and tonight's loss by Rome, coupled with the Augusta Greenjackets (Giants) win officially eliminates Rome from the second half championship. No matter. Since they won the first half, they're in the playoffs anyway.

The Catfish are on the bubble now, 13-1/2 games back with 15 games left on their schedule. It'll take a miracle to make the postseason. But, until they're eliminated, they're still in it. And we're cheering them on.

Blogrolling 2006-08-19

Today's items from my blogroll.