A Project in Human Behavior: Welcome Back Manny

So tonight is the night we get to find out just what hypocrites we really are.

Manny Ramirez is back after a 50-game suspension for using banned substances, presumably to cover up steroid use.

We will get to observe 45,000 testaments to why player PED use either is or really isn't a big deal to us.  As fans, we've bitched and moaned about how PED use spells the end of baseball as we know it.  It's a crime to humanity.  These players should be tarred and feathered!  Kept from the Hall of Fame!  Forced to play for the Padres!  Oh, wait.

Bees Invade PETCO Park

For fielding such a boring team since PETCO Park opened in 2004, San Diego sure has its fair share of the exciting and strange.

9 MLB Musings

1. The Manny Ramirez show is almost back.  He'll be returning to the majors July 3rd at PETCO Park.  I'll be there to witness the debacle.  What makes me sick is that the Dodgers are organizing bus trips for fans to make the trip down to San Diego to see Manny.  Way to take a stand against cheaters, guys.  You railed against the Giants and Barry Bonds for years.  Sell your soul much?

2. What in the hell is going on in Philadelphia?  As of Monday, they were 23-9 on the road but an astonishing 13-22 at home!  A first place team nine games under at home?  Earlier this month, I listed the Phillies as a "pretender" because I didn't think they had the pitching to remain in first.  They just got swept at home by Toronto (acceptable) and Baltimore (embarrassing).  Only the Mets' ridiculous ER ward of injuries has kept New York from seizing the division.

Gay Softball Team Achieves Unthinkable

Call me a proud papa, if you will.  Question my choice of words when I say "unthinkable," if you will.  But a collection of 15 guys in San Diego just capped off an unbelievable season in the local spring softball season, and as co-manager, I think their story is pretty inspirational. 

Turning Pro While Still In High School

So what were you doing when you were 16 years old? Most of us were attending high school, working on getting our driver licenses, doing chores around the house, and trying to figure our way into the future. Athletically, I was a decent tennis player, played for my high school team and I was ranked in the Intermountain region for my age group. I dreamed of playing at Wimbledon on Centre Court and hanging out with Chris Evert, but I certainly did not have sponsors and agents sending me letters offering lucrative deals, nor was I on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Grading the MLB Draft

So the Major League Baseball draft has begun.  Almost all of us are fans of a specific team, and the most diehard fanatics have read up as much as they can on every prospect being considered.  The casual fan won't know Joe from Tom, and if their favorite team is drafting high, he or she is just desperate for some talking head to say "your team did a great job!"

But as we scramble to our computers to look for columns giving out draft grades, we should keep something in mind: these draft grade columns are pointless.  Keith Law of ESPN.com, their head "scout" and master of all things draft-related, refuses to give out grades, for good reason.

Out at the Park with the San Diego Padres

In what's becoming an annual event, San Diego's LGBT has another opportunity to show its pride with "Out at the Park" on Sunday.  The San Diego Padres are taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1pm, and San Diego Pride has organized pride day at PETCO Park.

Supergay Takes in a Ballgame

For most guys, gay or straight, taking in a ballgame isn't an apocalyptic experience.  You go, watch the game, maybe walk around, hit up the beer stand (or the bars, in newer parks), stay for most of the game, and maybe even yell a little bit.  From diehard fan to casual observer, it's usually a really fun time (if you aren't counting the dollars coming out of your wallet).

MLB Contenders and Pretenders

June 1st is a pretty significant landmark during a major league baseball season.  It means we're one-third the way thru the season.  It means teams have begun to trend the way their season fortunes are going to play out.  It means team's brain trusts are deciding whether to become buyers or sellers at the July 31 trade deadline.  And it means columnists and bloggers begin writing predictable "It's June 1, do you know where your team stands" columns.

Drama in Austin

If you were lucky enough to be in Austin, Texas, Saturday night, you might have been able to witness a little bit of history as the top-seeded Longhorns beat Boston College by the score of 3-2. It only took 25 innings, or 7 hours and 3 minutes, the longest game in NCAA history. 

I'm a huge baseball fan, I even love the college stuff, but damn that's a lot of baseball. I once caught an 18 inning game in the bleachers at Wrigley, and since they stopped selling beer at the end of the 7th, I was pretty much finished with it after 12 or 13. I'm sure you had to be a die-hard Texas or BC fan to watch 7 hours of baseball Saturday night. The game ended after 2 AM.