The Back Alley Archives

Posted: **Sat May 23, 2009 6:38 pm**

Baseball could go away as far as I am concerned. I gave up on them after the 94 strike.

You're the man, Slider. You know that after that strike, I didn't go to another pro baseball game until 2007 -- or buy a hat, or a shirt, or anything? I have gone and seen the Nationals four times since. I don't feel good about it, but, you know, DC pride. We're the worst!

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2009 9:18 am**

I am waking up from my antisports slumber to note that there is a chance both Kobe and LeBron will be left out of the NBA finals. I ask you to join me in silent prayer.

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2009 12:03 pm**

better news for you Toothy.

Manny Ramirez currently sits fourth in the NL All-Star voting...as I'm sure you're aware, the top 3 outfielders automatically go.

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2009 12:18 pm**

Need to go vote.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 4:10 pm**

Baseball could go away as far as I am concerned. I gave up on them after the 94 strike.

You're the man, Slider. You know that after that strike, I didn't go to another pro baseball game until 2007 -- or buy a hat, or a shirt, or anything? I have gone and seen the Nationals four times since. I don't feel good about it, but, you know, DC pride. We're the worst!

Well sometimes you have to show hometown pride. I get that. I hate to say it though, but baseball is also boring. And I say that despite the fact that my dad was a minor league pitcher. He told me once that he would have gotten called up, but he broke his arm in a car wreck. Long before my time, though.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 4:13 pm**

Oh, I should add that these reality TV "stars" should go the fuck away permanently. I don't give a shit about Jon and Kate, and I really don't give a shit about Trista and Ryan's kid - I saw those two on a magazine at the grocery store and thought their 15 minutes of fame were up. The only reality show that was ever any good was The Running Man.

And I REALLY do not give a flying fuck about American Idol! I am proud to say that I haven't ever watched 30 seconds of that show. Sorry if you guys are fans - I am just sick of hearing about it.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 6:53 pm**

I don't care about the entire world.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 8:04 pm**

^^Did you stop taking your birth control pills this week, too? (We're switching methods, not trying to procreate.)

I have a suspicion that I'm going to call Walgreens to refill my prescription to pick up tomorrow. The transition to being free of synthetic hormones is not going well.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 8:23 pm**

LOL good luck with that transition, weg.

I can imagine such a thing wouldn't be easy.

I'm just to the point, I think, where I feel like nothing makes sense. Kinda like I don't know WTF to do about anything. And it makes me really not care anymore when I realize I can't figure something out (or in this case, when I can't figure out anything at all).

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 8:27 pm**

I feel like that much of the time about larger, world issues, AA, so I just ignore them much of the time and focus on the pleasant realities of my own life--my family, the dogs, my friends, etc. Sometimes I feel that way about my own life, but I figure out which issues are really bothering me and why and take care of them. I find it difficult to live with general discontent because it's so vague; I can deal with something once I actually know what it is that's bothering me.

Posted: **Sat May 30, 2009 9:40 pm**

I worry that doing nothing is exactly what they want me to do. I worry that doing nothing will be my way of making the coming cataclysm that much worse.

But I don't know how to make it any better, yet. F'ing exhausting. Oh well, at least it's looking like Lebron's season will end tonight.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 12:01 am**

Do I want to ask who "they" are supposed to be? Wouldn't worrying about what they do or don't want you to do play right into their hands, anyway, since the whole point is to distract you and make you worry and be/act paranoid?

This is exactly why I don't give a shit. I control what I do or don't worry about.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 12:36 am**

Do I want to ask who "they" are supposed to be?

The Powers That Be. Exactly who (or what) that may be is anyone's guess, IMO.

Wouldn't worrying about what they do or don't want you to do play right into their hands, anyway, since the whole point is to distract you and make you worry and be/act paranoid?

This is exactly why I don't give a shit. I control what I do or don't worry about.

I have no clue what the actual goals are of the man behind the curtain. I don't think they involve me specifically (at least I'm not the psychotic kind of paranoid where I think everyone's against me or something weird), I just know that I don't have any reason to trust those with power. And I can't get enough information to really understand the world in a way that makes sense to me. I worry about things that make no sense.

I wish I could stop giving a damn. I've tried many times unsuccessfully. There are slight respites at times when the beauty of life can overcome the noise in the system. Sitting lakeside with a cold beer and a cigarette helps me feel a little better, but the worry is still there.

Whatev. I'll figure out a way.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 2:17 am**

LOL I should also note that hangover depressions suck. I'm on my 3rd beer and feel much more like myself again.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 9:34 am**

Mrs. Toothy wrangled us a dinner invite to a friend's house last night and I immediately hit it off with her husband, a big rude funny Bulgarian political refugee who was also a kickass cook. We got completely fucked up on Polish Sobieski vodka. The basketball game was on in the other room and we all ignored it studiously. I am absolutely hung over this morning, partly because of the drink and partly because of all the peanuts I shouldn't have eaten -- I am mildly allergic -- but not so craggy that I won't praise God for at least sparing us the LeBron/Kobe apocalypse.

Go Gators, baseball and softball! Good to see them pound Miami (in the sports pages today).

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 5:39 pm**

Manny Ramirez and Lastings Milledge just received 25 more votes to the MLB All-Star game...I did my part.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 7:10 pm**

That evening sounds wonderful, Toothy. I'd like to meet a character soon.

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2009 7:39 pm**

Toothy will once again enjoy reading about the Lady Gators in tomorrow's paper.

Posted: **Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:11 am**

conform and adapt, AA. conform and adapt.

Posted: **Wed Jun 03, 2009 10:53 pm**

Logged on just before bedtime because I couldn't let this go untorched.

The 43-year-old Glavine, who was coming back from shoulder and elbow surgery, threw six scoreless innings for Class-A Rome on Tuesday night and proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again.

Instead, the Braves cut him, another move that figures to draw the ire of Atlanta fans after the team failed to re-sign John Smoltz during the offseason.

Glavine described himself as "very surprised" in a text message to The Associated Press.

General manager Frank Wren said the decision had nothing to do with a $1 million bonus that Glavine would have received for being placed on the major league roster. Instead, the team felt it had a better chance to win with a younger pitcher in the rotation.

"This was not a business decision," Wren said. "This was a performance decision."

Top prospect Tommy Hanson will be called up Saturday to start against Milwaukee. Glavine, meanwhile, hasn't decided whether he wants to try to hook on with another team.

"Not sure about pitching," he said in his text.

Glavine was still trying to deal with what appeared to be another bitter split from the Braves.

"We gave him the option, 'If you want to retire, you can retire as a Brave,'" Wren said. "He asked us to release him."

Wren said Glavine's impressive performance in the minors had no impact on the team's assessment of his ability to pitch in the big leagues.

"We've been evaluating him the last four weeks and everyone felt we had a better chance to win at the major league level with one of our younger pitchers," Wren said. "The pitching line is irrelevant when you're pitching in low A-ball. The line is not relevant as to whether you can get major league hitters out."

Punk-ass bitch of the week is Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren. I'm sorry, Mr. PABOTW, did you notice that it was Tom Glavine you were talking about? His jock strap weighs more than you can lift. "Everyone felt we had a better chance to win at the major league level with one of our younger pitchers." Yeah. As in, fuck the fanbase of the Atlanta Braves, both paying and watching at home. We have some 26-year-old fuck who's got a 5.23 ERA who you're gonna get to see the rest of the season, in place of this Glavine bum.

It's not like Glavine's my boy or anything. I am a Chicago fan. But I hope Glavine goes somewhere and wins 15 games in the last four months.

I wouldn't say I quite care about it, yet that's not my job, after all. It's the job of Mr. Frank Wren.

Nice going, fuckbrain. You know what it's gonna say on your gravestone?

Posted: **Wed Jun 03, 2009 11:32 pm**

The Braves pitchers from the mid-90s are one that I know very, very well. My four-year boyfriend was an obsessed Braves fan, and I ended up knowing more than I ever wanted to know about baseball, pitching, and the Braves during that time. Glavine should be able to write his own ticket if he's performing even reasonably well. He won the World Series for them, after all. Way to show loyalty to a man who can still bring it, guys.

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:12 am**

Ok, first of all, Glavine hasn't been able to bring it for 3 years. Further, Wren is right, your pitching line is irrelevant in Class A ball. His fastball now tops out at around 79 mph on his best days. He has been getting lit up in the majors and it was unbearable to watch the last half of last season.

There are probably quite a few Braves fans (myself included) who are happy with trying out a younger arm over Glavine. This may not be the best way to part ways, but as for the W-L column, this was probably the better move.

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:35 am**

^ good points and i totally agree...but does the guy deserve a swan song wearing the braves uni?

on the field, his ability is questionable at best...OFF THE FIELD, his contributions are IMMEASURABLE...wouldn't it be great to have a guy like glavine in the clubhouse mentoring all these young prospects?

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:59 am**

Ok, first of all, Glavine hasn't been able to bring it for 3 years. Further, Wren is right, your pitching line is irrelevant in Class A ball. His fastball now tops out at around 79 mph on his best days. He has been getting lit up in the majors and it was unbearable to watch the last half of last season.

There are probably quite a few Braves fans (myself included) who are happy with trying out a younger arm over Glavine. This may not be the best way to part ways, but as for the W-L column, this was probably the better move.

Yeah, Hater, we agree on most of this. I know he's not the pitcher he used to be. I know it might be a better investment to give the kid the ball.

Doesn't matter. You are the GM and this guy is one of the two pillars of your success over the last 20 years. Whether you're gonna let him pitch again in the bigs or not, you don't shitcan him without notice. You make a better scene of it than this.

In today's baseball world, there are very few guys I would speak up for. I mean very few. But Glavine is one of them.

Posted: **Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:25 pm**

^ good points and i totally agree...but does the guy deserve a swan song wearing the braves uni?

No, IMO. He left the Braves for more $ to go to the division rival Mets. Business is business, right? That's all fine and well, I don't blame a guy for taking the money, but then he can't be shocked when business turns the table on him.

on the field, his ability is questionable at best...OFF THE FIELD, his contributions are IMMEASURABLE...wouldn't it be great to have a guy like glavine in the clubhouse mentoring all these young prospects?

maybe...but there are veteran players on the team (Lowe, Chipper, Anderson, and Hudson will be back in a few months), why waste a roster spot?

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