Astros (1-0) at Indians (1-0) - 4/30, 7pm

In very cold and windy conditions we took the field against the two-time defending champions last night. After scoring 1 run in the first, we were held in check by the best pitcher in the league until the 6th inning. By that time they had put 9 runs on the board and we were down 9-1. We scored a couple in the 6th and then in the last inning we mounted a nice comeback. With 2 outs we had 4 straight batters walk with the bases loaded to make it a one run game. At that point they brought in another pitcher to face yours truly. And with the game on the line, the bases loaded, 2 outs, i couldn’t come through. i lifted a soft line drive to left field which looked like it might drop at first, but was held up by the wind long enough for the left-fielder to wrap his glove around it. Game Over.

Lots of good to take from this game, but i’m still ticked that i didn’t come through. I went 1-4 in the game, reaching on a bunt single in the 6th inning. I’m 1-7 on the season, which stinks like a Mexican Restaurant’s bathroom. But our team is looking better this year, and that’s something to be excited about.

Final Score: Astros 8, Believers 9

Next Up: Orioles (1-0) at Astros (1-1) , Monday 4/30, 7pm, Strasburg

Astros (0-0) at Believers (0-0) - 4/23, 7pm

We had 4 rookies in our starting lineup for our opening game, Doug at 1B, Duane at 2B, Derek in CF and Steve at SS. Our usual pitcher, we’ll him “John” because that’s his name, can’t make a few of the early season games this year so I had to pitch. We scored 2 runs in the top of the first and gave one back in the bottom half. Fortunately for us, that would be the only run they would score all game. We put up 2 or 3 runs in just about all of the five innings we played, with each player in our lineup getting at least one hit except for me and Stephen. My knuckleball wasn’t dancing, but i was able to get it over the plate consistently while changing speeds to keep the hitters off balance. I struck out 3, walked none, and gave up only the first inning run. We also looked spiffy in our new uniforms.

Final Score: Astros 14, Believers 1

Next Up: Astros (1-0) at Indians (1-0), Thursday 4/26, 7pm, Garrett Park

+ Spring has finally arrived on the East Coast! Harley-looyah. It couldnt have come at a better time either. The softball league i am president of kicks off with 4 opening day games tomorrow. Unfortunately i can’t be there for any of them as I’ll be away with Erica for a night. Fortunately, I’ll be away with Erica for a night, which will be fun.

+ Today is the last day of an 11-day cleanse-slash-diet thing that Erica and I have been on. 7 of the 11 days were shake days where we replaced 2 meals a day with enzyme-rich protein shakes. 4 of the 11 days were cleanse days where we didn’t have any meals, and had to drink this special cleansing drink 4 times a day. it was a bit disgusting at first, but i got used to it.  It’s been a good week and a half of discipline, and really understanding how much i eat and how my life revolves around food. I hope to carry along some of the better eating habits into my normal routine. For ther record Erica and i both lost between 4-6% of our body weight during the cleanse. As of this morning, with one day to go, i had lost 11 pounds. (you could look into the whole thing yourself at isagenix.com)

+ LOST has been really good for the past handful of episodes. I’m excited about how they are going to end this season, though i have no idea how they will end it. If you watched this week’s episode, Catch-22, you’ll know that it appears that someone who was looking for the island has found it. Not sure, but i think that’s a rather large moment. We’ll see…

+ Yankees-Red Sox this weekend should make for some good TV. Especially Friday and Sunday night in HD. Schilling vs. Pettite tonight will be a great matchup. on Saturday and Sunday the Sox will trot out Beckett and Dice-K while the Yankees will send out Bert and Ernie (or two other rookies named Daniel and Chase). With that Yankees lineup, you never know how these games will play out. One thing you do know is that I’ll be watching.

+Borrowed The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne, from my friend Chris yesterday. Also bought Blink, by Malcom Gladwell. Looking forward to reading both…just need to find the time.

+My folks will be in town on Sunday for a night, so I’m really looking forward to that. They’ll get to see my brother’s apartment, we’ll get some pizza, watch the Yanks-Sox together, and they’ll get to see my kids. They are on their way down for a little vacation in North Carolina to play some golf (my dad) and look around at potential places to move to.

+NBA playoffs are starting and i honestly don’t really care. I will definitely be watching the NBA Draft Lottery on May 22, however. With Oden and Durant playing the dual roles of gold pots and the end of the rainbow, two teams are going to walk away with some pretty excited fanbases. I’m hoping one of those is the Celtics.

+ this is a pretty amazing clip. It’s the “We are Virginia Tech” poem that Nikki Giovanni read to close out the memorial service in Blacksburg this week. I got chills a couple times. Worth 4 minutes for sure.

+ ever seen a pitcher being chased into the outfield by a batter he just hit? you have now.

+ Our first of 18 softball games is Monday night. I’ll be sure to keep a running gamelog of each contest here on the blog so you all can follow along if you can’t make it out to watch. Here’s a schedule if you’re in the area.

My article Fact or Crap was published at the BWC this morning. It’s a preview of the 2007 MLB season. Probably not the best thing i’ve ever written, but it does have a reference to one of my favorite non-human TV characters of all time…so it has that going for it. As always, leave comments at the Burnside Site if you thought it was good…or crappy.

More posts coming this week…i feel bloggy.