Spinsterblog

From this article in the St. Pete Times:

Among the hundreds and hundreds of things the Rays did to get ready for the first homestand of the new regime, principal owner Stuart Sternberg took credit for only one thing - More Cowbell.The short clip - a snippet of an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live skit that ranks among the show’s funniest - made its way to the videoboard opening night, and soon will become a Tropicana Field staple, with plans to make it the Rays’ version of the Angels’ now-legendary Rally Monkey.

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Sternberg loves it.

He has it on DVD, he has the clip on his computer, his sons have More Cowbell T-shirts. One of Sternberg’s first acts was asking entertainment director John Franzone if he could get the clip, and when members of Franzone’s staff started quoting it, they felt they had a hit waiting to happen. By Friday, the Ray Team spirit squad and some fans were clanging bells along with the video.

“The clip is drop-dead funny,” Sternberg said. “It gets funnier and funnier each time. We’ll bring in other bits, but I’m hoping this one becomes our - and the fans’ - signature.”

Manager Joe Maddon is another big fan, and thinks it will catch on.

You know, I’m all for traditions that will bring fans together, Stu, but how about this crazy idea: WHY DON’T YOU WORRY ABOUT GETTING US A BULLPEN INSTEAD?!?!

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I had a very busy week last week with all kinds of traveling and frolicking and family fun, and yet I still somehow made time for baseball.

Since we were in Atlanta, D. and I went to a Braves game on Friday. The Braves were playing the Padres, so we assumed that we’d be able to get to see at least one, but maybe two or three of our former Red Sox. However, we hit the cheer-for-your-former-players jackpot and saw pretty much everyone who’d ever worn a Red Sox uniform. When Mike Remlinger came out to pitch, that’s when things got a little ridiculous.

To give you a complete rundown, here are the players we saw, in all of their glory. Braves: Edgar Renteria, Mike Remlinger; Padres: St. Dave Roberts, Mark Bellhorn, Doug Mirabelli, Alan Embree. (We also saw Dewon Braselton as we walked past the bullpen, and I yelled obscenities (okay, not really) at him, since he was the jackass who tried to claw Trot Nixon’s eyes out. I’m holding a grudge on Trot’s behalf.) I’m pretty sure that we confused the hell out of all the fans in our section by cheering for Braves and Padres equally. And then I cheered for Jeff Francouer because he’s pretty, for Terrmel Sledge because he’s on my fantasy team, and for Tim Hudson, for whom I’ve had a soft spot since I read Aces. Our loudest cheers, though, were saved for Dave Roberts and Mark Bellhorn.

But, Red Sox roster nostalgia aside, I have some thoughts on Turner Field that I would like to share. Read more…

Baseball players of the world, beware: You do NOT want me picking you as my favorite.

I swear I’d written about this–at least in passing–earlier, but apparently that was at the old blog and those posts are lost forever. So I will begin again.

Back when I started getting into baseball, I didn’t know a damn thing about it. But I decided that one of the things that would get me to pay more attention was if I had a favorite player. And THAT, my friends, is where the tragedy began.

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