Cheerleaders in Baseball

So I haven't blogged since the Red Sox lost to the Devil Rays--okay, okay, the RAYS, which I think is a silly name change--in the ALCS championship. Mostly because I had knee surgery last week (more on that later), which I think is a valid excuse. In the meantime, I've gotten a few e-mails asking me who I support in the World Series, or if I'm even watching.

I am watching. And I'm cheering for the Phillies. Not that I'm a Phillies fan or a Rays hater, it's simply that I have an aversion to the whole concept of cheerleaders in baseball, and the Rays have cheerleaders. If you watch the Rays' games, you'll see their cheerleaders dancing on top of the dugout between innings or when the Rays get a home run.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? I would NOT want to pay for primo, behind-the-dugout seats only to have to watch the game by constantly shifting in my seat to see around someone's knee socks.

Just as bad: Check out the Marlins' cheerleaders:


And worse, on the field here:


WHY? Who came up with this?? Is it a Florida phenomenon? If you're a Marlins or Rays fan, what do you think? Are you more likely to buy a ticket to the game if there are cheerleaders? I really want to know if I'm the only one who's anti-baseball cheerleader. (Not anti-cheerleader, just anti-cheerleaders-in-baseball. There IS a difference.)

As to that knee surgery: this was an arthoscopic surgery to fix a torn meniscus. As much as I'd love to blame it on the marathon (therefore making me look like I toughed out 26.2 miles through injury), it wasn't marathon-related. I've had knee problems since I tore my ACL playing softball while I was in law school. This is knee surgery #4 for me (three arthroscopic surgeries plus the ACL repair, which thankfully turned out better than Tom Brady's ACL surgery has so far.) And this time, I don't even know how I injured myself. However, I am probably paying for a very talented and kind orthopedic surgeon's children to go to college, so all is not lost!

Leavin' the Laptop Behind

As promised, Korea pics! I left the laptop behind for the first time ever, but apparently I did not leave the guilt. I THOUGHT I had, since I made a conscious decision to make the Korea trip a total writing vacation. But then, as I was window shopping in Insadong, Seoul, I saw this:



I'm sure it says "Starbucks", but the instant I saw it, a little voice in my head translated it to, "Why are you shopping when you should be writing? In here? With a venti nonfat latte nearby and oodles of words flying onto the page?"

But since I refuse to write by hand (it's completely illegible, even to me), and the laptop was a few thousand miles away, I marched right down the street and plunked down some Korean Won for a funky green pot to put on my desk. Then the next day, I visited the DMZ, which I highly recommend doing if you're ever in South Korea. It is the ultimate way to NOT think about whatever writing/cleaning/other project you should be doing.

Other trip highlights: Visiting three different Buddhist temples (one at 4 am so I could be there when the monks rang the morning bells), three different palaces, and two local markets (mostly so I could check out the food, which is sold by friendly people like this):



The highlight of the trip, however, was completely unexpected. While walking in Namdaemun Market, I was approached by a group of teenage boys who begged me to take a picture with them. So I did!



Yep, I'm the blonde one. Also, the only one not wearing Converse. Go figure!

Unfortunately, I came home to Fenway Park and witnessed a nasty game three playoff loss to the Devil Rays. Fenway sure didn't feel like Fenway with the Sox struggling from the get-go (even with the smell of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and Fenway Franks in the air.)

Here's hoping they can rally in game five tonight!

Opening Day

Most MLB teams play their opening day games today. Anyone else in the mood to sing a little Take Me Out To The Ball Game?

After watching the Nationals game (and oohing and ahhing over their new stadium), I celebrated the beginning of the 2008 season by joining ESPN's Baseball Challenge. If you like the idea of playing fantasy baseball, but don't have the time to commit to a draft or following stats/trading players each day, this is a great way to go. Join up and see how you do...it's not too late, and it's very easy. You get $50 million to spend on a team, then you pick and choose from a list of available players. The pitching staff is something you select in its entirety...instead of picking individual pitchers, you would, for instance, nab the Tampa Bay pitching staff for one low (low, low) price. I opted to go for the Tigers pitchers. Let's hope they were a good buy.

(And no, I did not create an all-Rockies and Red Sox roster of position players, though I did snag Matt Holliday for center field.)


Let's hope my Baseball Challenge team fares better than my Geek Pool entry for the NCAA tourney. I'm now in 20th and 24th place with my two entries. Talk about sheer suckage. I don't think even a Kansas-Memphis final could pull me out of the basement now. So if anyone has tips on creating a first place baseball lineup--under that $50 million salary cap, of course--please let me know. I need to redeem myself!