My Sick Mind

Tonight saw me at another Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball game. One of the charms of minor league baseball is the proximity to the playing field. A treat for a baseball geek like me is to go down toward the bullpen and watch the starting pitcher warm up before the game. From there, you can see his grip on the ball and watch it head toward the plate. That's Blue Rocks pitcher Chris Dwyer on the right. He pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 runs. The best thing about being at a baseball game is that it makes me forget about what else is going on in the world. NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Tropical Storm Alex veered away from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Saturday but experts warned that strong waves and winds could still upset efforts to halt the environmental disaster. With oil continually gushing into the fragile waters after 68 days, President Barack Obama's pointman on the disaster cautioned that volatile weather conditions could set back oil recovery operations for up to two...

It was hot today. " Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of heat ." What made matters worse was that I had to spend the bulk of it in the sun watching the Phillies cough-up a 10-game winning streak to the Cubs in a 10-5 defeat. A day off from work, but even a bad day at the ballpark beats a good day at work. Sadly, by the time the clouds rolled in and the sun rolled out, the game was almost over, and the only thing left to do was to venture out and play in traffic. Maybe it was the heat, or maybe a moment of clarity, but as I sat there witnessing the carnage, I realized that most of the things I enjoy in life are on the fringe of what most people would call popular . Minor league baseball, the LPGA, professional cycling and most of the music I like get reactions like a dog hearing a high-pitched sound when I start talking about them to the humans. I think it was the heat. For instance, last Saturday I had a ticket for the Blue Rocks game against the Frederick Ke...

I have a ticket for the Wilmington Blue Rocks game tonight. Big deal, right? Uh huh. Little did I know, it's dog night: Bring your dog out to Frawley Stadium as Concord Pet Food & Supplies will be sponsoring Dog Days of Summer. Me and two thousand dogs. Geez. That's worse than going to Singles Night at Jenny Craig. Why don't they ever have Cat Night? I might take him anyway. Ten bucks says I step in poop. We had a thunderstorm warning last night. The warning said that "lightning is one of nature's number one killers." As though there could be more than one number one killer. Nobody is editing the weather forecast. Or this blog. A riddle for you: If a chair sits in the woods, does it make a sound?

CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) - In a chewy chow-lenge, Takeru Kobayashi outlasted Joey Chestnut when the eating titans faced off to see who could devour the most pizzas. Kobayashi, a six-time world hot dog eating champion from Japan, consumed 5-3/4 P’zones in a six-minute span of chaotic consumption Saturday to edge Chestnut. The 25-year-old from San Jose, Calif., wolfed down 5-1/2 P’zones on Stage 15 at Sony Studios. “I’m a little bummed,” Chestnut said. “There’s nobody I like beating more than him, he pushes me harder than anybody.” Jesus, who can eat the most pizzas. That's what we've come to as a race of humans. I like food too much to want to eat 6 P'zone's (whatever they are) in 6 minutes, or anything else, for that matter. I went to see the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Saturday, and had a veggie-burger that I consumed in about 6 minutes - because it was good. Imagine that. Among other things, there was a baseball game to watch, unless, of course you count the mascots, ...

On Saturday I took-in a Wilmington Blue Rocks game. For those of you unaware, the Blue Rocks are the Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. A minor league baseball team. I used to go more often, then I kind of let it slide, so to speak. Earlier this year, I ordered an 8-game partial season package so I could go on eight Saturday nights. The games start at 6, the parking is free and the ballpark is less than 45 minutes from home, so why wasn't I going more often? Exactly the question I asked myself. They have a nice ballclub down there. Lots of good hitters and an exciting brand of baseball. Granted, you have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the minor leagues, which is where I come in. In addition to a third row seat being 8 dollars, the concession prices are reasonable and the team treats its fans with respect and gives out a lot of SWAG (Stuff We All Get) which is both a good marketing device and a nice treat for those of us who go to the games. It's a great ballp...

Saturday evening found me in Wilmington, Delaware for a minor league baseball game with the Wilmington Blue Rocks playing the Lynchburg Hillcats. As they say, it was a beautiful night for a ballgame. I haven't been to the ballpark in a few years, but I used to go about five times a year. The place only holds about 5,000 people, so the game is right on top of me. The sounds of the game are audible and sometimes I can pick up chatter between the players. If you're a baseball fan, it's a great experience. Wilmington is the single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Some of these players end up in the Major Leagues and some end up selling insurance. I could bore you with the fifty or so action photos I took, but they all kind of look like this, with different players. I was testing out my new zoom lens, and I must say it passed. That's the ball by the catcher's head. The ballpark is right off Interstate 95, a couple of miles from downtown Wilmington, which is pret...