Baseball, what else...
John Miller reports that Arizona Diamondback's "Big Unit" Randy Johnson had mentioned to Giants' Ace Jason Schmidt and Super Barry that "...it would be great to be back in the Bay Area..." Boy, when its a huge rumor like this, I'm very naive and prone to turning it into FACT! Can you imagine the possibilities!?!
Rich Aurilia, released by the AL Seattle Mariners on July 10, was picked up by the San Diego Padres! (Yes, he'll be with the team when they're at SBC Park on Wednesday and Thursday this week!) This is wonderful news cuz I just absolutely love Aurilia's game (on and off the field). He hasn't had a very good year with the Mariners (I believe his BA was at .241, 4 homers and 28 RBI), but gettin back to the NL and with a hot team like the Pads may be just what he needed. Plus, I'm happy I'll get to see him play. I'm hopeful in visiting Petco Park this season.
Restaurant Reviews:
Barracuda, Burlingame at 347 Primrose Road (Contemporary Japanese Cuisine) - excellent ambiance, decent prices and excellent portions. I had lunch here on a weekday and it was QUIET! Arrived right at opening time, 11:30 a.m. and was seated immediately and received timely service after placing our orders. It is ALWAYS bustling at dinnertime. Great variety on the menu and I absolutely loved the tasty fried calamari appetizer with a hint of ginger sauce lightly sprinkled atop the entire order. Sushi bar available. Their take-home menu lists their url as www.barracudasushi.com, but I think they're still building it...
Okazu Ya, San Francisco on Taraval (and 28th) (Japanese) - EXCELLENT and timely service, superb customer service, great prices for the portions, extensive "specials" list (from appetizers to dishes). Dinner on a Monday night and it was PACKED. They are closed on Tuesdays, but open at the Noriega location (the Taraval location is supposedly 'better'). The clientele this evening consisted of obvious regulars and locals. Seated immediately. Order taken promptly. Food served fresh and quickly. Glasses of water refilled! (always a plus in my book). I've heard great things about their specials menu, incl. a soft shell crab appetizer, Trout and Chilean Sea Bass dinners. There are a couple of different Okazu Ya's in the city but I'm unclear if their popularity extends beyond SF.
Pho Van, Portland at 1919 SE 82nd and 1012 NW Glisan in the Pearl District (Vietnamese) - One of the things I miss MOST in Portland! Absolutely exquisite menu, including desserts! Their spring rolls are to-die-for. I'm sure I might be able to find a comparable Vietnamese restaurant in the Bay Area, but Pho Van is just one of those places I will be sure to go out of my way to visit when I'm in Portland - just like I would visit Burgerville (during the 'right' season: January - March) for those absolutely yummy Chocolate Hazelnut milkshakes (and don't forget the Cheeseburgers which use authentic local Tillamook Sharp Cheddar)! My perfect day in Portland would include: a Portland Beavers game at PGE Park, Powell's Book Store, Pho Van, Burgerville and sales tax-free shopping baby!
Monday, July 19, 2004
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Julee's 7 today! Happy Birthday girl! We had a Rolling Pin donut fest, in lieu of a birthday cake!
Baseball News - John Shea, Chronicle Staff Writer reports that the Giants are likely to host the 2007 All-Star Game. Maybe I can afford to be a season ticket holder by then!
Reading Rich Draper's article reminds me of how much I miss Joe Nathan in our pen.
Good stuff here, by Andrew Baggarly, Staff Writer of the Oakland Tribune. He effectively sums up Five things that have gone right, and Five things that have gone wrong, thus far. Just reminded me that it's all about perspective - I was all freaked out about our affinity for grounding into those darn double play balls, but just knowing that others have done the same, collectively, as a team, calms me down a bit. Also, regardless of how poorly we did earlier this season, we're still in contention for the division at this point. And, really, it's not all about the win percentage - just get us to the postseason again, and anything's possible - two wildcard teams have won in the past two years, so it really is all about just gettin to the postseason, and steppin it up once we get that opportunity again. I can practically taste it...
Oh, and Mulder rocks my world. Oh, and Bobby Crosby and Tom Glavine. and...
-o
Baseball News - John Shea, Chronicle Staff Writer reports that the Giants are likely to host the 2007 All-Star Game. Maybe I can afford to be a season ticket holder by then!
Reading Rich Draper's article reminds me of how much I miss Joe Nathan in our pen.
Good stuff here, by Andrew Baggarly, Staff Writer of the Oakland Tribune. He effectively sums up Five things that have gone right, and Five things that have gone wrong, thus far. Just reminded me that it's all about perspective - I was all freaked out about our affinity for grounding into those darn double play balls, but just knowing that others have done the same, collectively, as a team, calms me down a bit. Also, regardless of how poorly we did earlier this season, we're still in contention for the division at this point. And, really, it's not all about the win percentage - just get us to the postseason again, and anything's possible - two wildcard teams have won in the past two years, so it really is all about just gettin to the postseason, and steppin it up once we get that opportunity again. I can practically taste it...
Oh, and Mulder rocks my world. Oh, and Bobby Crosby and Tom Glavine. and...
-o
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Happy Independence Day everyone! A few shout outs to some very important children, pre-teens and teens in my life!...
JaS'Intermediate Hula class has advanced to the International Dance Challenge Western Regional Finals to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada between July 31 - August 1st! You go, J - I'm so proud of your hard work, determination and dedication.
MagM celebrated her 7th birthday in June and concluded another successful year of dance classes with a stellar performance at her annual recital. Her recital costume resembled a pair of pants I once owned in high school - yes, the tiger striped ones.
JuS will be celebrating her 7th birthday this weekend and devoted her creative energy to designing her very own invitation cover. She also concluded another successful year of hula classes with an awesome performance at her annual recital.
MarM, once again, outshined everyone else, with her glorious smile and dimples, as she danced her way into the audience's hearts with her moving performance at the annual recital. Maggie and Mary are also currently taking swimming lessons and Mary goes into each lesson with her usual "no fear" attitude, as expected. I think she could wrestle a shark if given the opportunity.
Kirk R. has been invited to participate in this year's Junior National Young Leader's Conference. This prestigious program will bring him to the National Museum of American History, the U.S. Capitol, and our nation's monuments and memorials this Summer! I guess my dream of getting him into Big League Baseball will have to sit on the backburner! He's clearly losing focus.
Kelsey R. has made it into her school district's GATE Program! Woohoo! She needed to score atleast 95%, and she scored 98%! Because the bare minimum is just not enough for our little brainiac!
Baseball News:
Noah Lowry returned to AAA Fresno to get in more innings under his belt, and David Aardsma returned to the minors, just today, to make space on the roster for our LHP Jason Christiansen. I'm glad to have Christiansen back in our arsenal, but I can't wait for the day when we bring up our younger reserves from AAA to come together in the Bigs: Lowry, Aardsma, Kevin Correia, Cody Ransom, Damon Minor, Jason Ellison, Lance Niekro, Todd Linden, Tony Torcato... I'd be happy just seeing Lowry and Ransom getting regular play in the Bigs in the coming year!
I was at the Giants vs. Oakland A's game last Friday, July 2nd. I had awesome Premium Lower Box seats, from two of my coworker/friends, as a birthday gift! Ofcourse, I was seated immediately beside two of the most die-hard A's fans I've ever had the privilege of meeting! I actually really like both ball clubs, but have sworn, in secrecy, to loathe Oakland for their past World Series 'behavior' against the Giants! That night, it was Reuter vs. Redman and it was a bit painful to watch - I'm not all about the speed, but both of these pitchers were - two - of - the - slowest - pitchers - I've - ever - experienced! Anyway, no game could really be bad from section 126, row 24 in SBC park...
BUT... the Giants WIN added so much more to the whole experience. Ofcourse, Barry went opposite to Left-Center, putting us ahead of the A's and it was something to behold. #680 baby! Absolutely perfect swing... There were some ugly A's fans chanting "Let's Go Balco", but for me, it all boils down to respecting the game and being a decent person - First, of all, it really is not about the bulk - It's all about the bat speed baby. And Secondly, despite your belief in a certain subject matter, that type of chanting was just inappropriate, in my humble opinion (But this is comin from the type of person that wouldn't disrespect Sammy Sosa about the alleged corked bat incident, even if the Giants met him at the World Series). I'll be the first to admit that I may be too soft for baseball, though - I still miss our Fall 2001 centerfielder, Calvin Murray, #8... and Shawon Dunston, and David Bell and Andres Galarraga... sigh...
JaS'Intermediate Hula class has advanced to the International Dance Challenge Western Regional Finals to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada between July 31 - August 1st! You go, J - I'm so proud of your hard work, determination and dedication.
MagM celebrated her 7th birthday in June and concluded another successful year of dance classes with a stellar performance at her annual recital. Her recital costume resembled a pair of pants I once owned in high school - yes, the tiger striped ones.
JuS will be celebrating her 7th birthday this weekend and devoted her creative energy to designing her very own invitation cover. She also concluded another successful year of hula classes with an awesome performance at her annual recital.
MarM, once again, outshined everyone else, with her glorious smile and dimples, as she danced her way into the audience's hearts with her moving performance at the annual recital. Maggie and Mary are also currently taking swimming lessons and Mary goes into each lesson with her usual "no fear" attitude, as expected. I think she could wrestle a shark if given the opportunity.
Kirk R. has been invited to participate in this year's Junior National Young Leader's Conference. This prestigious program will bring him to the National Museum of American History, the U.S. Capitol, and our nation's monuments and memorials this Summer! I guess my dream of getting him into Big League Baseball will have to sit on the backburner! He's clearly losing focus.
Kelsey R. has made it into her school district's GATE Program! Woohoo! She needed to score atleast 95%, and she scored 98%! Because the bare minimum is just not enough for our little brainiac!
Baseball News:
Noah Lowry returned to AAA Fresno to get in more innings under his belt, and David Aardsma returned to the minors, just today, to make space on the roster for our LHP Jason Christiansen. I'm glad to have Christiansen back in our arsenal, but I can't wait for the day when we bring up our younger reserves from AAA to come together in the Bigs: Lowry, Aardsma, Kevin Correia, Cody Ransom, Damon Minor, Jason Ellison, Lance Niekro, Todd Linden, Tony Torcato... I'd be happy just seeing Lowry and Ransom getting regular play in the Bigs in the coming year!
I was at the Giants vs. Oakland A's game last Friday, July 2nd. I had awesome Premium Lower Box seats, from two of my coworker/friends, as a birthday gift! Ofcourse, I was seated immediately beside two of the most die-hard A's fans I've ever had the privilege of meeting! I actually really like both ball clubs, but have sworn, in secrecy, to loathe Oakland for their past World Series 'behavior' against the Giants! That night, it was Reuter vs. Redman and it was a bit painful to watch - I'm not all about the speed, but both of these pitchers were - two - of - the - slowest - pitchers - I've - ever - experienced! Anyway, no game could really be bad from section 126, row 24 in SBC park...
BUT... the Giants WIN added so much more to the whole experience. Ofcourse, Barry went opposite to Left-Center, putting us ahead of the A's and it was something to behold. #680 baby! Absolutely perfect swing... There were some ugly A's fans chanting "Let's Go Balco", but for me, it all boils down to respecting the game and being a decent person - First, of all, it really is not about the bulk - It's all about the bat speed baby. And Secondly, despite your belief in a certain subject matter, that type of chanting was just inappropriate, in my humble opinion (But this is comin from the type of person that wouldn't disrespect Sammy Sosa about the alleged corked bat incident, even if the Giants met him at the World Series). I'll be the first to admit that I may be too soft for baseball, though - I still miss our Fall 2001 centerfielder, Calvin Murray, #8... and Shawon Dunston, and David Bell and Andres Galarraga... sigh...
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