I really miss football... <P>so, yeah, the baseball uniforms are nicer, and the guys are cuter, but what's the big deal about hitting the ball and running around? I just don't get it! <P>oh, and HI SHEBA! <P>~Sheryl (okay, lurking today!)

THE YANKS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi All,<P>Well the game is on..Clemons pitching and I swear that boy is going to be the death of me.....!!!!!! He goes and loads 'em up in the 1st....sheeeeesh!!!!<P>Hopeful - Yeah, we all have those certain teams that we just have such a struggle against. Did your guys win tonight? Last I saw it was 5-3 Rockies.<P>Mitzi - You proud Mama, you!!!!! Glad to hear that he's doing so well!! I almost umpired for little league this year...two things stopped me - 1) I can't promise consistancy of being there with my injuries and they wanted us to shell out mucho bucks for equipment!! I felt bad cuz I would love that job!!!!<P>Hi NB - Baseball is better for a lot of reasons....#1 being that I don't get a crick in my neck from my head going back and forth cuz that's all they do!!! Up the field....down the field....boring!!<P>Now in baseball..you can see their faces and they bend and stretch and run and throw and crouch and grab and.....(blush) ahem....oh, it's a more intricate sport!!! LOL!!!<P>I love ya, miss ya ....but get your darn football off my diamond!!!!<P>Ah Medic, I knew that there was some kind of connection between us...thought it was just our warped minds..but now see that that's not all!!!!<P>Hugs,<P>Sheba

Sheba and Hopeful,<P>I am a Braves fan, and they traded my FAVORITE player, Ryan Klesko to SD, along with Brett Boone. What the heck were they thinking?<P>Cat might get excited about McGuire's biceps, but OHMYGOSH, Ryan Klesko is a real cutie.<P>My FAVORITE pitcher, John Smoltz, is out for the year with an elbow injury. IT'S TERRIBLE!<P>At least we've got the BIG CAT back! And he hit a homer in the opener.<P>My daughter is the REAL BB fan in our house. She knows the names and stats for every player on every team.<P>We went to see the BRAVES/Orioles game because she adores Brady Anderson.<P>Who brought the Crackerjacks?<P>Peppermint

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!<P>Bernie - 2run Homer to break tie in 9th..........YEAH BABY!!!!!<P>Sorry Peppermint...I get so excited !!!!<P>Thanks for explaining your team.<P>I felt so bad about Smoltz also. I like him.....great pitcher.<P>How on earth does your D keep track of players on so many teams? I just about get the Yanks right!!!!<P>We've got crackerjacks, peanuts, popcorn, heck whatever you want!!! Hot dogs are served only 7-7:30 games - these west coast ones are too late...don't want any indigestion problems!!!! LOL!!!!<P>Hugs,<P>Sheba

Hey, Sheba!<P>I usually don't root for the Yanks, especially since they've dropped the Rangers out of the first round of the Playoffs in three of the last four years.<P>HOWEVER, I'm always happy to see a team beat one of our AL West rivals, so . . . as long as y'all play the Angels, Mariners or Athletics, I'll root for ya!<P>Sounds like you're in HOG HEAVEN now that the season is in full swing!<P>--------------<P>NB: Here's what the deal is with hitting a ball and running around the bases:<P>Hitting a baseball is probably the HARDEST thing to do in sports. You have to hit a small round object (the ball) with another rounded object (the bat). If you don't hit it just right, you'll either pop it foul or get an out. You have to know how to place the ball so that if falls in a place where nobody can get to it. That ain't easy. That's why a guy who is successful only 3 out of 10 times is considered a GREAT hitter.<P>Another great thing about baseball is the strategy that's involved. How do you position your players to take advantage of a hitter's tendencies? Do you pitch a fastball or a curve ball? Should the runner try to steal second or wait until the batter hits the ball?<P>It's a very fascinating game once you start looking for the MEANING behind each move. If you approach the game like football, basketball or hockey, you will get bored with it because it's a slower moving, more calculated game.<P>But, it's MUCH more of a thinking person's game than the others, in my opinion!<P>-------------------<P>Hopeful & ES:<P>Hey, the Rockies won last night! Finally found an answer to the Braves! <P>------------------<BR>/// Lone Star * ///<P>

Sheba and LoneStar<P>The Rockies CAN beat the Braves if they really want to they just have to get into that frame of mind to do so. They lost every game their first year but they can usually divide the games now. <P>My MIL is a big Braves fan so ES and I watch the braves as well. I can't believe that the braves traded Klesko

Sheba -- well I'm not too hopeful that the Padres will compete in their division this year. It's gonna be between the Dodgers (blech) and the Diamondbacks (who I don't mind too much). The Dodgers picked up Shawn Green in the off season, and appear to have improved in terms of "team chemistry", which they've always lacked.<P>I watched the opener for the Red Sox last night against Seattle. Pedro Martinez is THE MAN!!! Struck out eleven for his third season opener start in a row! How's that for consistency?!?<P>peppermint -- So the Pads have Klesko and Boone, you guys have Quilvio Veras and Reggie Sanders. You'll like those guys, that's for dang sure. They'll both steal you guys a ton of bases. Plus Reggie's got some good pop in that bat and he plays much better defense than Ryan ever will.<P>hopeful -- So the Rockies DID beat the Braves yesterday. Great base clearing double by your new third baseman Jeff Cirillo for the game winning RBI's. He's gonna have a monster year at Coors field I think.<P>Sheryl -- blasphemy!!!!! <P>Damn... I <I>love</I> baseball!!<BR>--andy<p>[This message has been edited by airheart (edited April 05, 2000).]

Sheba, <P>Here I am, football-less... I'm safe to have around, see?<P>Oh dear, sweet Lonestar... the <B>meaning</B> of baseball? My hero! Thank you for explaining it all so much better than anyone else ever could!!<P>Airheart,<P>Just because we live in the same state doesn't mean that you can get away with calling me a blasphemist (is that really a word?). I am NOT!! <P>Hey, I just happen to enjoy the meaning of football (see Lonestar, I see the meaning here too)... ya know the part where they slam 350 pounds of themselves into the bad guys on the other team. Not a gentle sport, like your baseball...<P>Yes, I know that The Natural and Field of Dreams had not only baseball but Robert Redford and Kevin Costner (YUMMY) but I just don't get that feeling of having slammed into something like I do with football. But I digress...<P>Onward we go, and I will do my best to watch and try to see the beauty in it, okay??<BR><p>[This message has been edited by new_beginning (edited April 05, 2000).]

Sher, I believe the word is <B>blasphemer</B>... <p>[This message has been edited by airheart (edited April 05, 2000).]

Lonestar,<P>Great explanation. And I thought the real beauty of the game was guys like Scott Erikson (and Ryan Klesko)!<P>The Rangers have the catcher named Pudge, right? He is also one of my daughter's favorites. Last year we went to Baltimore to see the Orioles play the Rangers. Almost all of our vacations are planned around baseball!<P>Airheart,<P>You're right about Veras and Sanders, they're both great. But Ryan Klesko has attributes far beyond defense!<P>Peppermint

Thanks andy!!! I stand corrected... way out here on my football field!!

peppermint,<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>You're right about Veras and Sanders, they're both great. But Ryan Klesko has attributes far beyond defense!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Oh yeah, I know that! I was just trying to make you feel better for losing him... <P>--andy<P>

As a warrior goddess I naturally love sports! This baseball topic is on fire and I couldn't resist. The Braves are my baseball team of choice and I'm with Peppermint - Klesko had LOTS of attributes. It was pretty amazing when the Cat hit his homer - the announcer had just finishing saying "wouldn't it be incredible if..." when the ball went sailing out of the park. The only downer about the Braves is their inability to finish...men left on base is a REAL problem for them. As for the Rockies - well as they say, on any given day.<P>On a serious note and to try and tie this topic to the forum - it does hurt to see Skipper Jones - his story brings up some painful thoughts - how's that for finding a trigger in a haystack....(my specialty). <P>O OOOO O OOOO (doing the chop)...

OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHH!!!<P>MY EARS.....OH, MY HEAD!!!!<P><BR>PLEASE, Athena....... I am glad you found our baseball thread and welcome to the fun but.....never....for our sanity I beg you.....NEVER ....chop on here!!!!<P>OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!! Airheart- HELP!!<P>LOL!!!!!!!<P>Hi Everyone -<P>Hey LoneStar - great explanation of baseball!! That's why I love it so much - you have to think if you really want to get the most out of it. And of course, when you don't want to think - the visuals alone will adhere you to it, right ladies? teehee!!<P>Saw that Texas won again....what's up with the double digit scores you guys are starting with....save that stuff for the Yanks!!!!<BR> <BR>Hopeful - YAY ROCKIES!!! Glad to see that they won. I hate to see sweeps (oh, did I just say that - me, little miss Yankee girl?) but I do - I like when each team at least wins one....EXCEPT in the playoffs or Series of course!!!!<P>Hi NB - As long as you leave your football off the diamond come and learn about baseball with us....it really is THE BEST sport!!!! And I also LOVE the history of it....I am fortunate enough to live close to Yankee Stadium and there is nothing like the awe of monument park - talk about goosebumps!! I have been about 15 feet away from Joe DiMaggio.....just awesome!!!<P>Of course you NB might not know what I mean since you don't really follow but I'm sure that you can relate it to something that would be awesome for you to see in football.<P>Peppermint and Athena - Could either of you explain to me why that pitching coach rocks on the bench.....it bugs the heck out of me!!!! Who's filling in for Smoltz this year?<P>Hi Airheart - Pedro is THE MAN!!!! Don't look forward to facing him...although I DO LOVE to see him work!!!! Who won in Arizona last nite?<P>Hugs,<P>Sheba

Airheart,<P>Thanks for the sympathy and support! I have heard that Klesko is happy to be back in CA, but we southern women sure do miss him! And thanks for not taking any shots at Rocker. What can I say, the boy has a GREAT arm, but no brain.<P>Athena!<P>A BRAVES fan here at last! What will we do if a Mets fan shows up? I'll be nice, how about you? I agree with you about Chipper Jones, he's a great player making a lot of money and setting a very bad example for fans. His ex-wife did get a huge financial settlement, but that doesn't make up for the affair and all the pain it caused.<P>Sheba,<P>He rocks when he gets nervous and I think it drives EVERYBODY crazy!<P>Peppermint

Sheeb,<P>I'm with you on the tomahawk choppin' thing!!! Yikes! (no offense to Atlanta fans... but that really IS obnoxious! LOL!)<P>I believe Arizona won over the Phillies last night (on Andy Ashby's first start in the Philly uni... ouch!! He got beat up for 6 runs! Andy, as you might know, used to be a Padre!). But on the other hand, he was up against Randy Johnson who was very good last night. He struck out a bunch.<P>BTW, Atlanta picked up John Burkett to fill in for Smoltz. Not as good by a long shot, but still pretty capable. How does Atlanta keep doing that? (and the Yanks for that matter!). The Pads have to constantly struggle and scrape to make payroll, and can't afford to snap up free agents... sigh!!<P>--andy<BR>

peppermint(we posted at the same time!),<P>I'll not take pot-shots at Rocker as long as you leave Al Martin alone. He's stuck with a possible bigamy charge!! What a way to start your career as a Padre! gack!<P>--andy

Airheart,<P>It's a deal! At least we don't have to cope with Roberto Alomar, Albert Belle, or Strawberry!!<P>Peppermint

HHHHHEEEEEEYYYY!!!<P>Now Leave Straw out of this....he's an addict - always was and probably always will be!! We know a little something about addictions now, don't we?<P>Bad example and role model....but he can hit!!! <P>It's a shame really....probably the last we'll see of him - too bad cuz he needed baseball in his life to straighten out at least for the season!! It's off-season that he has most of his problems.<P>Peppermint - the "rocking coach" rocks the WHOLE GAME though.....someone should just strap him to the bench for a few games and break that habit!!!! Either that or give him some nerve pills!!!<P>What is the story with A. Belle and R. Henderson attitudes anyway.....anyone know?<P>Anybody out there a Detroit fan? How's the new stadium?<P>Hugs, <P>Sheba