The picture on the left is an old picture of my hat collection. The picture is only a year and a half old, but very out of date because I’ve added two or three (or four) more hats since it was taken.
It’s also not a picture of ALL of my hats because none of my stocking caps are represented and I have three or four (or five) of those.
I love hats. I don’t know why. I don’t know when it started. But I collect hats like most women go after shoes. I prefer ballcaps, but I like fedoras, cowboy hats, cabby hats, stocking hats, stupid hats, any hats. I’ve even got a sombrero.
I look good in hats, too. Nothing humble about that brag, either. It’s a fact.
The thing is I don’t wear hats very often. I wear ballcaps to ballgames, but other than that, it doesn’t happen very often. Coco Chanel said that before you leave the house you should take off one accessory. That accessory for me is usually a hat.
That doesn’t stop me from buying them, though.
I want to be prepared in the event that a hat is needed.
When the Cubs and Nationals “brawled” last week many fans immediately got on their high horses to give their opinions on the whole thing. And that’s fine. I, on the other hand, tried to get down as close as I could to the action so I could see what was going on.
Baseball fights fascinate me. Most of the time it looks like a typical “guy fight” (some pushing, some shoving, a few crappy punches maybe, and a whole lot of yow-yowin’). The cause doesn’t interest me as much as who does what during the confrontation. Who’s first out of the dugout? Who leads the charge from the bullpen? Who’s playing peacekeeper? Who’s looking for a piece of the action.
I must have watched this tiff forty times (and paused 140 times) to get an idea of what was going on. And since this bruhaha had two bench clearings and three separate altercations, there was a lot to see.
Round One:
-The Cubs in the dugout really weren’t paying much attention to Jamie Quirk yelling at Bo Porter.
-When Bo Porter stopped at the top of the dugout stairs, the first guys to Dale Sveum’s side were Tony Campana, Luis Valbuena, Wellington Castillo, and Jeff Samardzija.
-James Russell led the charge from the bullpen.
-Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro strolled over to the confrontation. Alfonso Soriano and Brett Jackson hustled.
-Jeff Beliveau peeking over the bullpen fence at the fuss cracks me up every time I see it.
Round Two:
-Joe Mather, Campana, Travis Wood, Dave Sappelt, Samardzija, and Anthony Recker were first out of the dugout after Lendy Castillo went inside on Bryce Harper.
-Russell again led the charge from the bullpen. Carlos Marmol and Manny Corpas were laughing and nudging each other as they ran in. Franklin Font runs pretty damn fast while wearing shin guards.
-Even Lester Strode ran in! (PS. I love Lester.)
Round Three:
-Corpas was part of the reason round three started. Anthony Rizzo tried to play peacemaker.
-Russell, Samardzija, Recker, and Blake Parker were right on the front line.
-Barney kind of got sucked into the crowd at one point, but they spit him out unharmed. Same thing happened to Rizzo.
-Some guys moved to the back of the crowd, some guys couldn’t get close enough. Chris Volstad, Campana, and Wood were three looking to get in on it. Travis Wood looked like this wasn’t his first rodeo. (I’m sure he and his mullet have seen many bar brawls.) (That was a joke.)
-Bryan LaHair was one of the peacekeepers.
-A Nats player had a hold of the front of Samardzija’s jersey and was swinging from it like a monkey when everyone was doing their share of shoving and I’m not sure Shark noticed.
-Some how Kurt Suzuki managed to keep a towel around his neck the whole time despite being in the thick of things at one point. (I wasn’t going to keep this strictly Cubs, but that really impressed me.)
-Dale Sveum and Dave McKay looked pretty calm throughout the whole thing. Pat Listach must have rowdy kids. He looked like a dad breaking things up. James Rowson was right in the thick of things, pulling guys apart and separating them.
-Many of the guys had a look of “WTF?” on their faces. Those guys were more to the back of the most pit. Several players (David DeJesus was one) didn’t seem to get too excited.
I was kind of impressed with the way the Cubs came together. Everyone answered the fight bell (okay, the second time Soriano jogged in, but he really needs to preserve his wheels) and while tempers flared, there were enough cooler heads to keep things from getting too out of hand. Everybody seemed to feel the need to protect his teammates. Nobody was left to hang. I appreciate that.
Yes, I realize this is unpopular opinion. But then, isn’t every opinion I have about baseball/the Cubs unpopular?
My last game was actually July 21st, but I didn’t realize it was going to be my last game of the season. I also didn’t realize until this week that I never posted the pictures I took from that game. How could I deprive you of that?
First pitch: Normal CornBelters vs. London RippersThe Rippers uniforms look a lot like track suits.Swing as they might……the Belters just couldn’t score.Game worn jersey auction for the Special Olympics. The jerseys came straight off the guys’ backs.
The season wasn’t the greatest and I would have rather my last game of the season not be a blowout loss, but it I’m still going to miss sad to the see the season end.
I’m afraid I didn’t go to many CornBelters games this year. Aside from the Home Run Derby and the All-Star game, I only went to two. One was a suspended due to rain in the 3rd inning. The other was a blowout loss, but at least I got all nine innings in.
There were two reasons I didn’t go much this season. One was, of course, money. Not that the tickets cost much; those prices are quite nice. But the cost of gas and the cost of concessions add up and all told, it was money I couldn’t afford to spend even if I wanted to.
And the second reason is I didn’t really want to. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Corn Crib and I love the Belters, but this team was in such flux it was hard to get into a groove. It seemed like every other week a player was traded. I realize that the manager was trying to put together a winning team (that didn’t work out since they went 29-67), but as a fan, it was rough.
Part of the fun of last season was rooting for the players individually as well as the team. We knew the names and the numbers. The 2011 team was blown up pretty early and I was up to the challenge of learning the new guys and finding new favorites. But then the new guys didn’t hang around very long either. There was no time to get to know many of them because if you blinked, they were gone. Once Alvaro Ramirez got traded after the All-Star game, I gave up. There was no point. I didn’t know the team and wasn’t going to be given time to get to know the team.
I like going to ballgames, but for me, I like it when I can relate to the team I’m rooting beyond the numbers on the jersey. It was a lot of fun cheering for Mike Mobbs and Ramirez and Bobby Pritchett last year. I knew their names, knew their numbers, knew their walk-up music. It was like rooting for friends.
This season I was rooting for a bunch of strangers that I wasn’t allowed to get to know. It wasn’t as much fun. As such, I wasn’t as het up and driven to go to games. I feel bad about that.
I hope next year the players are able to hang around longer so the fans have someone to root for. Winning draws fans, but so does a little consistency.
Here are a few more pictures from the Frontier Home Run Derby and All-Star Game.
The West Division signing autographs.The East Division signing autographs.Home Run Derby champ Russell Moldenhauer of the Lake Eerie Crushers mashes one during the first round.First pitch from the West Division.First pitch from the East Division.Rich Mascheri of the Normal CornBelters on the mound.Frontier All-Star Game MVP Joash Brodin of the London Rippers takes a few swings on deck.The Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game were sparkly good times.
While everyone else sat at home and watched the MLB All-Star game one night and then no baseball at all the next night, I joined some friends to watch the Frontier League Home Run Derby and All-Star Game.
The Home Run Derby was fun. For the first round, Haley and I sat behind the plate and watched guys hit dingers mostly to right as the wind was really blowing out. For the final round, we moved to the berm where Haley’s husband Matt and son Walker were trying to catch some of the homers. Walker managed to get one. We were very proud of him.
I’m not going to lie, it was scary out on the berm. First of all, these balls were crushed. There’s a dent in the side of the clubhouse to prove it. And I was having a hell of a time seeing the ball. Until twilight, as soon as it came off the bat, I lost it. Then there was the herds of people tracking the balls. I’ve never been in a stampede, but I bet it feels a lot like that.
Russel Moldenhauer of the Lake Erie Crushers won. And with good reason. He murdered many baseballs that night.
The next night we took in the East vs. West division All-Star Game. We were rooting hard for the West (the CornBelters division) and it wasn’t looking for them early as the East very quickly put up five runs. Apparently, they didn’t use up all of their home runs at the derby.
CornBelter Alvaro Ramirez at bat for the West.
The West rallied a few times, but couldn’t outscore their pitching. They ended up going down 9-6. I’m proud to say that one of those West runs was knocked in by a Belter (Pat Trettel).
Despite the loss, the game was a good one and we had a lot of fun. Reggie the Purple Party Dude, Corny, and the Fun Crew kept the fans entertained. Haley and I and our mad dancing skills made the jumbotron a few times.
It was a great two nights in the Corn Crib. Happy for our players that made the team: Pat Trettel, Pat McKenna, Alvaro Ramirez, and Rich Mascheri. Normal did a great job as All-Star hosts. Made me proud to be a Belters fan.
Last week temperatures in the Cornfield climbed to the 100-105 range. My house has two A/C window units, one in the living room and one in the dining room. In order to cool more of the house, my room is shut off. No A/C for me.
Usually this is fine. Ice water, periodic trips to stand in front of the A/C units, and cold showers at night made spending most of my time in my room bearable.
However, not everything in my room appreciated the heat. Apparently, there was a defect in one of my candles and this defect mixed with the heat and well…
I think a lot of us felt like that by the end of the week.
In the winter time, I like to make a shrimp pasta dish with rainbow rotini, spinach, and roasted tomatoes and I’ve often thought that the ingredients (minus the pasta) would transfer well to a pizza.
I was so right. Here’s the recipe if you’re into trying new things.
INGREDIENTS
-1 bag of thawed, jumbo pre-cooked shrimp (cocktail shrimp)
-2 thin pizza crusts (store bought or make your own)
-2 bags of shredded cheese (I use Kraft 4 Cheese Pizza Cheese)
-1 bag of baby spinach
-roasted tomatoes (store bought or make your own; I’ll include my recipe for my own)
-1/2 tablespoon of butter
-1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
-olive oil
-red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 425.
In a skillet on medium heat, melt the butter and add the garlic. Add the spinach and wilt, giving it a good toss in the butter and garlic. Set aside.
Drain and prep the shrimp by pulling off the tails (pinch the tail from the top/bottom instead of the sides and the shrimp should pop right out with a little tug). Season with red pepper flakes (use as much or as little as you want; I usually use 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp).
Spread a thin layer of olive oil on the crusts. Use about a third of a bag of the shredded cheese to make a thin layer on one of the crusts (you’re going to use a bag a pizza). Top each pizza with the spinach, shrimp, and tomatoes. Use the rest of the bag of cheese to cover the toppings.
Bake for 9-11 minutes directly on the rack, until cheese is melted and a little brown and the crust is crispy.
The recipe makes two pizzas. It’s easily doubled or halved. I make two because if I don’t, I don’t get a piece. It’s very popular in my house. But it also keeps well, so it’s great for lunch the next day.
My recipe for roasted tomatoes.
INGREDIENTS
-3 or 4 medium tomatoes
-2 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400.
Slice the tomatoes into fairly small wedges and seed them (aim for about 8 wedges a tomato). Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet (I use a pizza pan covered in tin foil for easy clean-up). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper (about 1 tbsp each) and the chopped garlic. Give it a quick toss.
Roast (bake) in the oven for about 20 minutes.
I typically double this and make a big batch at once because I use them in several of my recipes. They keep really. Just make sure you let them cool before you stick in them in the fridge in a container.
On Sunday my friend Haley and I, along with her two kids, attended our first CornBelters game of the year. The season opened last Friday against the Windy City Thunderbolts and our game was a rubber match between the two teams. Unfortunately, the Thunderbolts weren’t the only storm in town. The game was stopped due to lightening after 3 1/2 innings and after a lengthy delay (most of which we waited out in the stands with only our freebie blankets to keep us dry!) the game was suspended.
The game will be finished when the CornBelters meet up with the Thunderbolts again in at the Windy City home field. However, for us damp fans, our tickets are comped for another game at the CornCrib because the CornBelters always take very good care of their fans.
Even though the game ended much earlier than we wanted and not the way we wanted, I still got a few pictures.
Home sweet home at the CornCrib.2012 CornBelters warming up.Justin Albert and Pat Trettle getting ready to get the game started.Our favorite ex-Belter Mike Mobbs, now playing for Windy City.The guys hanging out by the clubhouse while the Dancing Taco keeps the crowd entertained during the delay.Sweet freebie CornBelters blanket.New CornBelters souvenir cups advertising the All Star Game.
Between Harry and me, we only got a handful of pictures to share. I’ll be honest, I didn’t whip out my phone until the end of the night and the three pictures I managed to capture reflect that.
Honestly, I need a professional photographer to accompany me to these sorts of things because I am terrible.
Also, it’s easy to tell the difference between Harry’s pictures and mine. Harry’s are the good ones. I also thanked him in every caption.
Harry and I at Casino Night taken by a professional photographer who may or may not have been riding the biggest sugar high ever.Bryan LaHair dealing (thanks Harry!).Ian Stewart dealing (thanks, Harry!).Carlos Marmol. I’m resisting the urge to make a joke about a line forming for the Marmol Coaster. (I didn’t resist hard.) (Thanks, Harry!)Theo Epstein talking to Dale Sveum. (Thanks, Harry!)Crystal Bowersox performing.Somewhere in there is Paul Maholm, Chris Volstad, and James Russell.That tall guy on the right is Chris Volstad.That bald guy on the left is Paul Maholm.David DeJesus and his lovely wife Kim (with cameos by Sarah Spain and Theo Epstein). (Thanks, Harry!)
The picture on the left is an old picture of my hat collection. The picture is only a year and a half old, but very out of date because I’ve added two or three (or four) more hats since it was taken.
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