Baseball at a decent time

The Red Sox are in Chicago to play the White Sox and the game is scheduled to start at 7:40.

Tolle has the start tonight and he is always a joy to watch pitch. The kid has such a good time playing baseball. Actually, I suspect he has a good time doing pretty much anything. He strikes me as a guy who would make jokes and screw around while mucking out a stable.

The White Sox lead the ALCentral divsion and are a solid 6½ games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings so the hope-o-meter isn't as high as it could be but I'm nowhere near as optimistic as this guy is.

Oh, and Fangraphs has raised the odds of the Red Sox making the playoffs to 20.7%

In all honesty, I'm just glad I'll be able to watch more than half an inning of baseball this evening.

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This made me laugh.

This made me laugh out loud.

For those of you that don't get it, the Belgium team beat the US team even after Trump asked the soccer people to overturn the suspension of a US player. The Belgium players are doing the famous "Trump dance" but in my opinion, they are doing it wrong. When Trump does it, it's more like he's giving Putin a blowjob...

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I really, really need to mow my lawn. I'm hoping that it stops raining tonight and at some point tomorrow the lawn will be dry enough for me to mow it.

It's pretty damned long.

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Here are some links:

• This doesn't sound good. Not good at all.



• Looks like Ukraine ain't rolling over.



• If you have never seen it, you really need to watch the movie SPACEBALLS.



• It's looking like the European NATO members are starting to pay their fair share.

They swept the Angels.

I stayed awake long enough to watch the first inning and things did not look good for the Red Sox. The Angles pitcher was throwing gas and the Red Sox batters were struggling to find the ball. When I went to bed, the Angels were up 2-0.

I woke up this morning to find that the Red Sox beat the Angels 7-5 and swept the series.

They still aren't doing great in the standings and are in dire need of a lengthy winning streak but they are only 4 games out of the wildcard.

Once again, my hope-o-meter is above the middle.

They are off today so I guess it's a DVR kind of night for me.

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Here's a thought:

The "news media" really needs to stop reporting on hot dog eating contests.

There is nothing more disgusting than seeing someone jamming numerous hot dogs into their open maw while slobbering all over the themselves.

It's not a sport, it's not a contest, it's not entertainment and it's absolutely not news.

This is just my humble opinion.

Others may have differing opinions.

Those people are wrong.

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Here are some links:

• Alaska: Land of the most bored people on the planet.



• Looks like it might be an interesting hurricane season.



• No. Just No.

Busy day

We spent the day in Boston being entertained by our granddaughter.

I was gonna brag but I won't. Instead I'll just say she is a healthy, happy and beautiful little girl.

Her parents, however, are mostly healthy, very happy and kinda tired. The "very happy, kinda tired" part is what all parents are. The "mostly healthy" is because my son decided to twist his ankle while on a run and he's now wearing some kind of ankle brace.

This has been an update on our newest granddaughter.

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I was going to try and mow my lawn but by the time we got home, the last thing I wanted to do was mow.

Besides, I'm pretty sure no one has ever killed their lawn by letting it get a little long.

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The Red Sox won again last night, beating the Angels 8-1.

Traditionaly, the Red Sox go into a deep slump just after the All Star break. I hoping that this year, they have decided to reverese their slump schedule. I'm hoping they have been in a major slump prior to the break and once the break is over, they are going to go on a major winning streak. Like one of those awe-inspiring 20 game winning streak.

Hey, I can dream, right?

Anyways, tonights game is the 3^rd and final game in their 3-game series against the Angels. First pitch is at 9:30 and Suarez is scheduled to start.

Once they are done with this series, they go to Chicago where on Tuesday they will start a 3-game series against the White Sox. Those game will be at a much saner hour which means I might be able to watch them.

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Here are some links:

• In a move that will cause numerous baseball fans much joy and happiness, Christopher Blake Bucknor has decided to retire.



• This guy is 86 years old and Ubers are available everywhere. It's time to take his drivers license away before he kills some kid on the sidewalk.



• Guess I don't have to worry about watering my lawn over the next few days.

Merry Independence Day.

Remember, if you live in Massachusetts or Vermont, you should never touch a sparkler or a firecracker or a bottle rocket. You are not smart neough to handle those weapons of mass destruction. Only residents of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine are smart enough to know how to handle them.

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I probably won't be turning the AC off tonight. It is still predicted to be between 75° and 80° with high humidity.

I am not going to try and fall asleep in a puddle of sweat...

Tomorrow however, is a different story. It's predicted to be in the upper 70s / lower 80s with a light breeze and little humidity.

Hopefully it is a nice day for some lawn mowing.

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The Red Sox won last night, beating the Angels 5-2 and taking game 1 of their 3-game series.

I will admit that I saw just about 15 seconds of last nights game.

At 9:00, I turned on NESN to catch the pre-game bullshit session and prmptly fell asleep. I woke up around 10:00 or so to find the Red Sox up 4-0 in the 3rd inning. That was enough for me to turn the tv off and go to bed.

Tonights game has a 9:38 start and Grey has the start.

The hope-o-meter is faltering between middle and upper middle...

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This paragraph captures the essence of the Great American State Fair:

By early afternoon Friday in Washington, hundreds of people were roaming the grounds of the National Mall, home to The Great American State Fair. They snapped photos of the flyovers and tried to cool off inside tents that offered $9 lemonades and $23 turkey legs. Many were dressed in patriotic colors, their faces glistening with sweat.

Hundreds of people...

What an incredible waste of taxpayer funds.

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Here are some links:

• I wonder if they were invited to the celebration...



• I certainly did not expect it.



• The Tartan Army drinking Boston dry was the best World Cup story. This is the second best World Cup story.



• This is not the worst idea.

Another hot day

I forgot to check the thermometer at 2:00 this afternoon but I did check it just before 4:00 and found it was once again 99° on my back porch.

Saturday and Sunday are predicted to be slightly less hot with temps in the upper 80s which means I might actually be able to mow my lawn.

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I have been seeing several news stories about the fact the United States does not have any laws granting workers paid time off. Apparently all the Europeans that came over here for the soccer games are bragging about how much time they have off and the media noticed it.

I don't understand why there is a need for a law requiring paid time off.

I started working at the age of 14 when my cousin and I spent a summer digging holes to plant apple tree at the orchard behind my aunt's house. It was a part time job so I got no paid time off.

At 15, I got my "working papers" from the high school and I went to work nights at a restaurant bussing tables. Eventually I started working in the kitchen cooking seafood. Again, it was a part time job so I got no paid time off.

At 17 I got sick of cooking for people and I took a job at a department store. Again, it was part time so I got no paid time off but when I turned 18 and I graduated from high school, I took a full time position and got my first taste of vacation time.

Ever since then and until the end of my working days, I worked full-time jobs and I have always had the ability to take paid time off. In some cases, the paid time off was quite generous.

My point is, if you are currently working a full time job that does not give you any paid time off, you need to think about getting an different job. I'm betting that any employer who won't give you some time off also isn't handing out matching 401(k) contributions or making sure you have decent health care...

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Since I managed to get a great night's sleep last night, I might actually be able to watch an inning or two of baseball.

Here are some links:

• He must be having a shit fit over this. I keep waiting for someone to ask him about the small crowds



• This guy died on February 28 and they haven't buried him yet? I'm betting he's pretty ripe by now...



• Unless he decides to appeal, the Red Sox will need a first baseman.



• Pffftttt. We got these guys wandering around our neighborhood. They don't bother anyone and they run away when they see people.