Finally...

12 hour shift at Santa's...Power's back on...I'm going to bed

More excitement than you could shake a stick at.

Well, I'm not quite certain how to describe this day. Due to construction on campus it was announced that the power for THE ENTIRE campus would be shut down today (Saturday). You may think, no problem, simply find something to do. Easy, right? The fly in the ointment is that the power is to be out from 7 am until midnight!

I thought, ok, I'll go catch a baseball game. That'll kill a bunch of time. The Eagles are out of town. Ok. I'll go see a movie. The two movies I wanted to see I saw last week. Hmmm. Sit outside with a couple of friends and drink a few beers? Everyone's out of town or previously occupied, and it's like 1,000 degrees outside. Sigh.

So here I sit at Santa's. I've been here now for 7 hours and 20 minutes...and counting. I've eaten twice, played some X-Box, had a few beers, and yawned a lot. Oh, did I mention that I'm THE ONLY ONE HERE!! Sigh.

Oh well. Only 4 hours and 37 minutes until the power is back on. Maybe Mr. Ho willwant to play some pool.

Bonds hits 756...finally.

It's about time. Barry Bonds finally hit home run number 756. Now at last we can stop reading about it. Bonds crushed a 3-2 fastball from Mike Bascik in to the right field bleachers. Everybody and they're grandmothers knew the Nats were going to give up the record, and I'm glad it happened early in the series rather than later. Now we can all concentrate on baseball. Lost in the madness was the fact that the Nats won the game, which gives them 7 wins in their last 8 games.

As much as I dislike Bonds, it was a rather touching scene at SF's AT&T park after he hit the home run. The San Francisco fans have always been loyal to Bonds, so it was only proper he should break the record at home. I watched the game here on Korean TV, and the most surprising thing was the sincere message of congratulations from Hank Aaron broadcast on the stadium big screen. Given that Aaron has been conspicuously quiet about Bonds assault on the home run record, most people thought he was doubting the legitimacy of the new record with all the rumours and accusations of steroid use and whatnot. However, it's sincerity and graciousness not only lends credence to Bonds' legitimacy, it might go as far as to quiet the scandal mongering for a bit. We'll have to wait and see.

Now that the spectacle is over, all I want is for the Nats to take the rest of the series and continue on their own race for legitmacy and a .500 record.

Well, the kid did pretty well.

John Lannan's third big league start was alright. Despite giving up 8 hits and 5 walks, Lannan and the Nats defense managed to keep the Giants, and especially Barry Bonds in check. The Nats lost 3-2 in 11, but only because Chad Cordero blew yet another save and his replacement Shawn King couldn't throw a strike to save his life. I'll be happy if the Nats can get out of this road trip without letting Bonds do his thing.

The Washington Nationals on the wrong side of history?

Today, in about 45 minutes, the Nats go up against the San Francisco Giants for the beginning of a four game series in SF. Waiting for them, of course, is Barry Bonds and the possibility of breaking Hank Aaron's home run record.

There are a few things going on for this game. First of all, I hate the Giants and despise Barry Bonds. The Barry Bonds issue comes for all the obvious reasons regarding his ethics and personality; none of which need to be rehashed here.

My dislike for the Giants as a team stems from a game 10 years ago when J.T. Snow hit a line drive foul ball which blasted my then 6 year old nephew square in the eye. After he was hit, my nephew was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery with a crushed orbital bone. Now every team in the league has, on their game tickets, a clause that says the team is not responsible for any fan injuries sustained while at the stadium. I understand this and don't have a problem with it. However, the minute the game ended, the home plate umpire arrived at the hospital to check on Gabe. The manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates, whom the Giants were playing that day, called every hour from the team plane to get updates on Gabes condition. Fans from the stadium and some watching on TV - complete strangers - sent cards and candy to the hospital. The Giants did nothing. J.T. Snow, who was so upset he had to leave the game, did nothing. When my sister's insurance wouldn't cover all the costs for the operations needed, the doctors at the hospital passed a hat to help defray the costs. The Giants did nothing. My mother thought that the Giants, who when called spouted legalease about not being responsible for whatever, should at least make a gesture to a six-year-old boy who loved baseball and was now going through countless surgeries to repair his face. The Giants did nothing.

To make a long story short, the Giants eventually succumbed to threats by my mom to go to Hard Copy and other tabloid news shows over the Giants lack of compassion for a little kid (no one was looking for money, just a kind gesture from the team) and sent a limo to my sister's house to take Gabe to a game in the owners box, get him an autographed jersey, and hats for his first grade class.

The other issue is that the Nats are sending up a guy to pitch today that has three, count 'em, three, major league starts....sigh.