August 23, 2008

Well, I didn't get a can opener today. Maybe tomorrow...

It's funny because I did actually go shopping today and had a list that included a can opener. But instead of going to Target or something, I headed out to the South Point Mall which is awesome. Because part of it's outside and part inside, it's like a cross between U-Village and Bellevue Square. Seriously it's that good. There were lots of great stores, the mall was air conditioned and it was a busy day, which meant a lot of good people watching.

I forgot to mention the other day that Cheryl and I got iPhones. Both of our phones were getting old, so we decided to drop T-Mobile and switch to AT&T. All the stores in Durham were sold out of the new 8G iPhone 3Gs, but they had them in Redmond and mine is on its way and I'm soooo excited! (Best. Wife. Ever. Seriously, I should just start referring to her as BWE) So at the mall today I got an orange skin for my future phone and Madden '09.

I also picked up this week's copy of The Independent and there was a huge feature on non-Olympic sports and how to participate in them around the Raleigh/Durham area. I might see if I can get the guys in the office to join a kickball team with me. We'll see...

I also saw an ad for a midget wrestling tournament tonight. I seriously thought about skipping the Bulls game for it, but decided not to. After a game of Madden (which is freaking amazing, BTW), I headed out to the DBAP and got there just in time for the game. I watched David Price warm up and met up with the BA crew. We were rolling 5 deep and sat right behind home plate. I was actually sitting directly in front of Rays' GM Andrew Friedman.

For his third-consecutive AAA start, the Price was wrong, bitch. His fastball's good, but his secondary stuff doesn't wow you. He doesn't have a knockout pitch that makes your jaw drop like Felix's curveball, Peavy's slider or Johan's changeup. Plus, he's been struggling getting his secondary stuff over, so hitters have been laying off of it, sitting on fastballs and driving them. I don't think he's ready for a September call up. We'll see if the guy sitting behind me agrees or not...

While Price wasn't too impressive, a trio of arms out of Indianapolis' bullpen got me excited. Mariano Salas, Juan Perez and Evan Meek (from Bellevue) were all in the mid-90s with good sliders. Obviously, because they're minor-league middle relievers, they're not hot prospects or anything, but they were fun to watch and combined for 3.2 hitless innings.

I introduced myself to Friedman after the game, congratulated him on the Rays' great season and told him that many fans back in Seattle have adopted the Rays this year since the M's have basically been out of it since mid-April. He laughed and I also told him about the article I wrote about Matt Moore, who we agreed is a stud. Friedman became the fourth GM I've met, along with Theo Epstein, Billy Beane and Bill Bavasi. Hey ... three out of four ain't bad! :)

I came home after the game, Skyped with Cheryl and played some more Madden. It's almost 3:30 now and I'm wiped. Will I get a can opener tomorrow? Stay tuned!