She Is Not Dead Yet

...but she may be soon. Honestly, this end-of-semester grind is killing me. I have one more research paper to finish (I still need to write half of it) and I also need to finish my writing project, which at least is closer to completion. Not to mention write another philosophy essay, a short piece for literature, keep on top of all the stories and essays I need to read, and worry about possibly changing my airline ticket home if the screwy college storage schedules don't align... you know, stuff like that. I wake up feeling as exhausted as when I go to sleep and I've barely had a free moment to (gasp) have FUN for practically two weeks. Until today. Today was lovely. I went to bed at midnight last night (unfathomably early for a college student such as myself) woke up at noon, had brunch, then went out into a gorgeous, glorious, summer-like day with all the trees in bloom, swinging and listening to music, fixing my bike, walking into Bronxville, eating frozen yogurt, and finally swinging again in bare feet, watching the long evening settle over campus. It was the first day in forever that I didn't do any schoolwork, which I am now compensating for by editing my research paper. And watching baseball. I think that's a reason it takes me so long to get anything done in the evenings.

What have I missed in the land of baseball? The Cardinals got swept in an abbreviated two-game set by the GIANTS (ouch...) won the first game against the Cubs by a score of 2-1 (winning margin helpfully provided by Preston Wilson, of all people, which means he'll now go hide again with the rest of the Cards' bats). Today... ouch, well, let's just say they got shut out by Jason Marquis. Jason Marquis. Yes, the same Bipolar Betty who I said would force me to commit some form of impressive suicide if he shut the Cards down. Things are bad in Redbird Land. Nobody can hit to save their lives and the starting pitching is starting to crumble, led by Anthony Reyes, who is looking more and more as if he may not pan out after all in the majors. This team needs Albert Pujols to start hitting like they need a right arm, specifically Chris Carpenter's, and they need it before they sink. At least the Cubs are still bad, but if the Cards keep up with this free-fall much longer, they are going to be inhabiting some pretty miserable climates for a defending world series champion -- I can't remember how long it's been since the champs started off this poorly, but it's been a while.

Out of all three teams, the A's, surprisingly, are playing the best. They annihilated the Rangers 16-4 last night and are alone in first place (like that means squat this early in the season) with a 9-7 record. I'm bracing for May, which is invariably devastating to them, but at this point, it's nice to see at least one of my teams doing well. Joe Kennedy (yes, Joe Kennedy, spoken in the same tone of dread as Marquis) is starting tonight against the Rangers.

The Rockies... ah, well. They have to start having some better luck, and they manage to intersperse their bad games with one or two where they look quite good, so it's enough to keep me watching them, aside from the fact that I'm totally addicted to their young guns (love those guys -- particularly Atkins, Holliday, and Hawpe -- to death). The Rockies are bad, have been bad for a while, and yet still have a faint hope of snapping out of it. But not as long as Clint Hurdle is the manager. The man is so clueless that it ceased to be funny quite a while ago. The Rockies got blown out 11-1 by the Padres last night, and currently trail 5-1 in the top of the fourth after Josh Fogg and Jeff Francis got shelled on back-to-back nights. The one thing that was carrying the team -- the starting pitching -- has started to evaporate, and the offense, although not quite as bad as the Cards', isn't doing them too many favors. The Purple Pitcher Eaters, i.e. Atkins, Helton, Holliday, and Hawpe, are all hitting to some degree, but the rest of the team, and particularly the black holes in center field, can't help them out to save their lives. Le sigh.

However... the Rockies are coming to NY Monday-Wednesday next week to play the Mets, and I shall be attending two of the games (April 23 and 25). Have to admit that despite the high likelihood of the Mets clobbering them, I am SO excited for the series that I can't bear it. A friend and I planned this several months ago, and I just want to go to my first ballgame of the year, wear my colors, cheer for my boys, and get some pictures and hopefully some autographs. (My theory: How many Rockies fans will there be in April at Shea? Honestly. My plan is to sit on the sidelines and look cute and forlorn all by myself until the guys take pity on me and come over). Hopefully the ushers at Shea will allow me to be down by the dugout during batting practice -- it also helps that I know the Rockies to an alarming degree and can call them over by name, which may or may not be helpful. I'll be glad for anyone I can get, unless it's LaTroy Hawkins, at which point I shall cast holy water on him and yell, "Back! Back!"

Just kidding. Maybe.

And now for a couple links:

This story is amazing and sad and makes me love baseball even more. It's wonderful that the VT community can come together to support their team in light of the terrible tragedy.

This story, on the other hand, is amazing and cute and makes me grin like a crazy person.