Syntax of Things

I've Been Tired

I'm exhausted.  Mentally and physically spent.  Combine five days of watching the coverage of the worst natural disaster in the history of this country with some sort of throat/sinus thing I've had since Monday, you have what amounts to someone who is having trouble standing on two feet.  Thank goodness for a road trip.  This weekend, Ducksnorts Geoff and I will be heading back on the road for an addendum to last year's California League tour.  We'll be visiting the new stadium in Stockton, then its back down to Lake Elsinore for a Sunday evening game.  I can think of nothing better right now.

See you Monday.

Everything and Still Some

Thanks for all of the horse racing advice.  I'm going to spend the morning prepping, studying racing forms, looking at pictures of horses with funny names, and picking out the perfect hat to wear to Del Mar.  Instead of the regular goodness you've come to expect <cough>, I'm giving you a quick rundown and update of all the categories I've used here at Syntax of Things:

Baseball:  The Braves have regained their rightful place atop the division standings.  Ok, so they're tied for first, but it's been a long two months of waiting for the inevitable.

Books & Writers:  I will be picking up the McCarthy novel at some point before going out to the track.

General:  According to this report: "The central Appalachian states lead the nation in toothlessness. More than 32 percent of Tennessee residents surveyed last year had lost six or more teeth because of decay or gum disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That number was 38 percent in Kentucky and 43 percent in West Virginia, which holds the distinction of the most toothless state. Kentucky ranked No. 1 in toothlessness in 2003."

Hell in a Handbasket:  The Patriot Act is well on its way to renewal.  Doesn't that help you sleep better at night?

Images: 

Fisherman on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. display a massive 1,100-pound tiger shark Sunday, July 17, 2005. Unfortunately, the fisherman failed to capture first place in the monster shark derby because their boat was six minutes too late in returning to Oak Bluffs harbor with its catch. (AP Photo/Chris Lewis, ohmycod.com)

Impressions Before Reshelving:  I need to do a better job with the category.  To be honest, I forgot that I'd created it.

Load of Links:  See any post this week.

Music:  Bradley's Almanac has mp3s of Dinosaur Jr.'s recent homecoming show.  I've always been a fan of their cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven."

Ramblings:  No time for rambling today.  Got horses to study up on.

San Diego:  Well, let's see.  Our mayor resigned shortly after being named one of the three worst mayors in the country.  Within moments of the interim mayor's ascendancy to power, he was convicted, along with another city councilman, of taking bribes from some strip club owners who hoped they would help repeal San Diego's "no touch" law. There was actually a third councilman convicted, but he died last year of liver failure brought on by some heavy drinking (allegedly).  Well, the two convicted councilman have now resigned, meaning that I am without representation until at the earliest November.  Meanwhile, we are to elect a new mayor this Tuesday and I don't think anyone gives a damn. 

Smoking:  Operation Quit-by-Christmas is still in the planning stages.  Considering hypnotism.

Sports:  "It is 'Faith Night' at the ballpark. The Class A Hagerstown Suns are among the minor league teams, mostly in the South, that will bring in Christian entertainers, have players give their testimonies, conduct faith trivia quizzes for prizes and have giveaways that could include biblical bobble-head dolls." (emphasis mine)

Television & Movies:  SoT recommends: Me And You And Everyone We Know

The Books I've Read:  I hope to have a sidebar up soon showing the list of books I've completed this year. Right now, I'm on book 32 of 2005, a little off of last year's pace but not bad considering the lack of time I've had this year.

The IJ Report:  Done, done, and done.

The Kerouac Project:  On hold.  Blame the recent slate of new books that have kept me away from Kerouac.  I still want to do this but for now Jack will have to wait.

Tour of California League:  Geoff and I will be hitting the road in August to check out the new park in Stockton and the non-Cal League stadium in Fresno.

Weather:  This is usually my least favorite time of year to live in San Diego.  Long months of no rain in the forecast.  Incredibly enough, we have a significant chance of some thunderstorms over the next few days thanks to a nice monsoonal flow and the remnants of the latest Atlantic hurricane.  This does mean that the humidity has gone up significantly, and along with a heat wave it makes for some uncomfortable sleeping in an apartment that has only one window a/c unit. 

Would You Like Fries with That:  This is the one project/category that I want to finish before the end of the year.  That's my goal, but I'm not making any promises.

Stockton

Billy Hebert Field (Home of the Stockton Ports)
Opened: 1890; refurbished most recently in 2002
Team affiliation: Texas Rangers
Date of visit: June 5, 2004

The Rankings:

Nothing Shaking

From Joshua trees to palm trees, Geoff and I made our way back down the 15 to the base of the San Bernadino Mountains, scanning the AM dial for the Lakers game against the Spurs. Saturday night and a comet somewhere on the horizon, we listened as the Spurs played "hack-a-Shaq" to no avail. We made it to Rancho Cucamonga and our hotel room in time to catch the final few minutes of the game, and then highlights of Marcus Giles being plowed over by Andrew Jones, landing him on the disabled list with a broken collarbone.

It was nice to be back in civilization, nice to have choices for our breakfast/lunch. After watching a show about the nation's best BBQ that morning, we needed food and fast. Denny's being packed, we headed to a Chinese buffet. Great choice. $10 for all-I-could-eat variety that included sushi, and I didn't even dent the Mongolian BBQ. Then to the park where we discovered that we had the start time wrong. Instead of 1:10, the game was a scheduled 2:10 first pitch. So we watched a co-ed softball game, figuring out the rules: the required male:female ratio, the fact that a male got two bases on a walk and that everyone started with a two ball, one strike count. After a few innings, they opened the gates to the Epicenter, and we made our way to our front row seats.

The Epicenter (Home of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes)
Opened: 1993
Capacity: 6,615 seats
Team affiliation: Anaheim Angels
Date of visit: May 16, 2004

The Rankings:

Where the Hell Is Adelanto?

Sometimes, even in California, the weather has to be a predictor of ballpark visits. Because of a name that screams "heat," Geoff and I knew that the best course of action would be a night game in the High Desert. The route of the second leg of our tour would closely follow the first. Instead of the long drive through back roads, we had a slight detour off the 15. Before long, we would see the light standards of a fairly modern minor league park rising along with numerous Joshua trees from the barren floor of this desolate landscape. Honestly, we didn't know if this was a cruel mirage or some coffee induced delirium. We were searching for Adelanto, for buildings or houses or something to indicate a town of any sort. In the distance, we could see hints of an airport, but other than a truck stop and a tiny diner--The Burger Barn--this was middle of nowhere Californiadesert.

Instead of trying to figure out why this place had a ballpark of any kind, much less one for a professional baseball team, we headed to the park. After all, this was Junior Spivey t-shirt night and the Lake Elsinore Storm was in town to do battle with those mighty High Desert Mavericks.

Friendly Maverick Stadium (Home of the High Desert Mavericks)
Opened: 1991
Capacity: 3,808 seats plus lawn seating
Team affiliation: Milwaukee Brewers
Date of visit: May 15, 2004

The Rankings:

Back to Cali League Tour--Second Leg

The second leg of the Ducksnorts/Syntax of Things Tour of the California League is this weekend. Geoff and I will be making stops in Adelanto (High Desert Mavericks) and Rancho Cucamonga (Quakes).
Have a nice weekend and I'll see you when the dust settles.

The Hangar (or Where I Spent My Easter)

Lancaster Municipal Stadium (aka The Hangar)
Opened: 1996
Capacity: 4,500 seats plus lawn seating
Team affiliation: Arizona Diamondbacks
Date of visit: April 11, 2004

One of the extra benefits of this tour will be visiting cities and parts of California that I may never otherwise visit. Lancaster is a perfect example. After a night of recuperation at the HoJo in Norco, the tour Saturn headed north along the 15. Once we were through the Cajon Pass, we left the freeway for some interesting back country sightseeing. Soon enough, we were in the high desert, admiring burned-out buildings and abandoned cars, noting the distant snow-capped mountains, laughing at the fact that the worst traffic we'd encountered was in a place called Pearblossom.

We made it to Lancaster and the stadium an hour or so before first pitch. Because it was Easter, we took a moment to reflect on His glory; actually, we applied generous amounts of sun screen, grabbed our cameras, and made our way across the free parking area/theater parking lot to the Hangar for a JetHawks game.

The Rankings:

California League Tour of Parks (An Overview and Lake Elsinore)

Everyone probably knows or has heard of baseball fans taking off on a cross-country journey to see all of the Major League Baseball stadiums. Although I dream of doing this, I probably will need the lottery to make it come true. Instead, Geoff and I started thinking local. Over a year ago, we had the idea to take a few weekends and see a game in every California League park. Because both of us have pretty busy work schedules and because the Cal League extends from San Jose in the north to Lake Elsinore in the south, we knew that planning and timing would be essential in accomplishing our goal. We also had to include such factors as weather (best to visit desert stadiums early) and Geoff's Padres ticket plan. With all of this in mind, we made a commitment to do this in 2004. This past weekend, it started.

In order to quantify what we've seen, I've decided to use ESPN Page 2's 2003 stadium tour rankings as a template. I'll try to be as consistent as possible, but I've tweaked it to take into consideration a few things that the ESPN guys overlooked. Giving a score will be difficult, but I'll try my best.

The Diamond--Lake Elsinore Storm
Opened: 1994
Capacity: 6,066 seats; 8,000 capacity (lawn)
Team affiliation: San Diego Padres
Date of visit: April 10, 2004

Syntax of Things/Ducksnorts 2004 Tour of the California League

I'm off to Lake Elsinore and Lancaster, the first leg of a summer-long tour of the California League stadiums. Geoff and I have been planning this for several years, but it's taken some time to get everything coordinated. We don't have any credit card endorsements, a minivan, or even a camcorder, just two baseball fans eager to take in this interesting league and the cities and stadiums in which its teams play.

Why else would we be spending Easter in Lancaster, California?