Red October!

WOW. The ALCS and NLCS were absolutely monumental! Hot Hot Hot Baseball! I'm looking forward to the World Series Game 1 on Saturday, 10/23/20004. I'll be at a dinner party, but rest assured, I'll find a way to watch it! So far, these are the pitching probables:

Saturday, 10/23, Boston: Woody Williams (StL) vs. Tim Wakefield (Bos)
Sunday, 10/24, Boston: Jason Marquis (StL) vs Curt Schilling (Bos)
Tuesday, 10/26, St. Louis: Pedro Martinez (Bos) vs. Matt Morris (StL)
Wednesday, 10/27, St. Louis: Derek Lowe (Bos) vs. Jeff Suppan (StL)
Thursday, 10/28, St. Louis:
Saturday, 10/30, Boston:
Sunday, 10/31, Boston:

Unlucky 13

Boston Red Sox 4, NY Yankees 2. It was historical...and it was because #13, Alex Rodriguez, singlehandedly lifted the curse tonight - I'm convinced Boston will advance. I could not believe the stunt A-Rod tried to pull by not only trying to swipe the ball out of Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo's hand as he approached 1B in the 8th, BUT he also had the nerve to try and talk the umps into believing that his 'interfering swipe' was actually a natural part of his running motion. The replays CLEARLY showed it was definitely an intentional attempt at interference. That was so disheartening to see someone like A-Rod trying to get away with something like that. I mean, in that situation, of course, as a player, you're gonna try and just go with the initial call for the sake of the RBI and advancing to 2nd, BUT as soon as the umpires revise/correct their call, he could've just been visibly upset, maybe throw his arms up in frustration or somethin - he didn't have to go the length and try to make like that was his regular running motion. Karma, A-Rod, Karma...

ALCS Game 7 resumes tomorrow night at 5:19 pm PST, w/probable starting pitchers, Wakefield vs. Brown
The NLCS Series resumes with Game 6 in St. Louis, with Matt Morris (!) on the hill vs. the Houston Astros' Pete Munro.

Celedonio Madrid 04/16/1912 - 10/13/2004

We just received news that my Grandfather, Celedonio Madrid ("Lolo Doniong") has passed away. Lolo Doniong was 92 years "young" and is survived by his wife, Filomena ("Lola Luming"), his three children, Artemio Madrid, EduardoMadrid, & Aida Alabanza; eleven grandchildren, Adea, Noel, Olma & Maya Madrid, Carmen Ponce, Edgardo, Edmund & Christina Madrid, Paolo, Noel & Ian Alabanza; And twelve great-grandchildren, Jamee & Julee Sarmiento, Eduardo, Alex & Pedro Ponce, Michael & January Madrid, Maggie & Mary Mirt, and three Alabanza granddaughters on the way.

A funeral mass and rosary will be held on Saturday, October 23 in Barrio Boy-utan, Bauang, La Union, Philippines.

October Baseball... It is gonna be HOT!

I'm still sore with the Houston Astros for 'taking' the Wild Card slot from us in their win against the Colorado Rockies earlier this month (I use that term lightly, since the SF Giants actually 'gave' it away with that horrible loss against Steve Finley and his Dodgers. sigh...)

So, after tonight's huge win against the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros advance to the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. I don't see how the Astros could possibly contend against the Cards, but there's a side of me that will always go for the underdog, in some small manner. This is the Astros first time in the post-season. Game 1 is on Wednesday night.

Then, we've got the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in game one of the ALCS tomorrow night! Curt Schilling's on the hill against NY's Mike Mussina. I really really like Mussina's stuff but I'm pulling for Schilling all the way!

It's been difficult revisiting any aspect of this past SF Giants season, but I finally started catching up on some local news articles regarding the G-Men. Here are some noteworthy, entertaining articles I've come across:

wrt to doing something about Barry Bonds seeing more pitches, Scott Ostler of the SF Chronicle suggests Rogaine for MLB Managers and a new rule, the DNW - the Designated non-Walker! Hilarious.

Barry Barry Barry - Mark Camps of the SF Chronicle discusses how "Bonds not only smashed records, he also lapped the field".

Help Wanted - Bruce Jenkins discusses how the Giants need "Genuine authority batting behind Bonds"

Alas, Waiting-for-Boof outlines the five stages of grief for all the fans in his 10/03/2004 entry. I'm glad I'm not the only one that openly expresses their desire to hit Steve Finley. "Counting on the Rockies" - a new catch phrase for Giants fans...

-o

In mourning... I've got the bullpen blues.

The G-men had a huge win tonight. Kirk "Woody" Reuter went 7 innings strong, followed by reliever, Jim Brower and closer, Dustin Hermanson. Hermanson had a huge outing, successfully securing the win. Whew... that felt sooooo goood. 2B Ray Durham and 1B J.T. Snow both went yard tonight! We only have two more games in the regular season - both in Dodger Stadium. Tomorrow, we have Brett Tomko on the hill. Then, the regular season concludes with our Ace, Jason Schmidt, on Sunday!

The Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies tonight in Houston and the Chicago Cubs lost, at home, to the Atlanta Braves, so we're tied with Houston for the Wild Card slot and two games back from the NL West division-leading Dodgers.

The Oakland A's took a very bad beating tonight at the Coliseum against that Anaheim team. Pyuck - I don't even want to mention their names on my blog...

G - o - o - o G - I - A - N - T - S!

Wonder Woman Kelsey and Jaden the Barbarian (my godson!) are celebrating their upcoming birthdays this weekend (9th and 2nd, respectively) - Happy Birthday you superheroes!