The Perfect Game... almost; lessons in morality from baseball.

If I could blog for a living... I would have had time to have written this:

Replay Will Ruin Baseball - The Anchoress

She hits it out of the park.

Let us imagine that REPLAY did exist in baseball...

So last night, Galaragga steps on the base... and "SAFE!"

WHAT SAFE!?!?!

Here comes Jim Leyland, out to the umpire.

The crowd is booing...

Leyland is yelling, and he throws the red flag/challenges the call/asks for the replay/insert use of replay here

and in the booth we hear:

"Well Rod, it looks like he was out to me... a perfect game hangs in the balance."

"You are right Mario, he was clear-dilly-out. Oh my goodness... maybe he bobbled it?"

"Well Rod, the city of Detroit collectively holds its breath as the umpire huddles around the screen with headphones on."

"Mario, can you believe this, history hangs in the balance, we wait with frosty breath, and Galarraga must be just filled with emotion ready to burst or deflate."

"Well Rod... while we wait... we will be right back after these messages."

"Welcome back... the umpire looks as if he is taking off the headphones, lets wait for the call..."

"HE'S OUT, HE'S OUT!! WHAT AN AMAZING GAME!!!! THANK GOODNESS FOR THE REPLAY!"

A little anti-climatic don't you think.

Like I said the Anchoress hit a homer with her post... I say this as a Tiger fan, as a Detroit boy... leave the game alone it is perfect... well... almost...

And she makes "3"...

Not to be morbid or to take joy in death, but the celebrity deaths in "3's" thing usually rings true. Not because of some curse, or weird cosmological occurrence... just the way the world is.

So we now know who fills this triumvirate:

Golden Girl - Rue McClanahan - RIP

Now this doesn't directly relate to Catholicism, and I wanted to make sure that I kept this a CATHOLIC blog, so the reason I posted it is because I was thinking about why we are fascinated with DEATH, as a culture.

Some would simply respond, we are the Culture of Death... a la, the fascination. I would disagree, I don't think that this type of fascination, is exactly what Pope John Paul II meant by the "culture of death." I may be wrong, but I think his reasoning was a bit different. I do think it ties in though.

I have been wanting to do a post about the idea of the culture of death, and this little quirky cultural thing popped up. So I have to ask... why this odd fascination with the deaths of stars?

"Nobody's perfect." [UPDATED]

[Update]:
Galarraga Brings Lineup Card to Umpire Joyce who made horrible call to ruin perfect game
Class Act, by a classy player, and a classy organization.


20 - The number of perfect games thrown in major league baseball... ever. Should be 21 after tonight.

If you haven't heard about one of the worst umpire calls ever.... and I do mean ever, you can view it at
Creative Minority Report: Ump blows call.

As a born and bread Michigan boy, who wears a Old English D hat out hunting bears... I live and die with the Wings and Tigers, so you have to believe me when I say I am literally SICK about the call... I had other emotions tonight, but you wouldn't understand, unless you know how I feel tonight.

 No matter what happens in the coming days... the game will always be more of a spectacle than what it should be - a historical gem of baseball lore.

I don't want to talk about the call, replays, what could be done, what should be done or anything like that. Other blogs, every sports site, and most major news outlets will cover it. I don't want to talk about the umpire, the commissioner, or anyone like that.

Instead,  I want to talk about only one person... the pitcher. Not what he did... because it was for sure... perfect... In fact, some are calling it the only 28 out perfect game ever. (He ended getting the next batter out.)

I want to talk about what he said after the game:

"He feels really bad, probably worse than me," said Galarraga, who began the season in the minors in Toledo. "I give a lot of credit to that guy, to say he's sorry. I gave him a hug. His body English said more than the words. Nobody's perfect, everybody's human."

Class act, I can't think of a more honorable way to react. After the runner was called safe, Galarraga just smiled in disbelief. This was before he saw all the replays... so to respond this way, AFTER seeing the replays... you can't get any more classy than that.

In the days to come the league may do something special to rectify this situation, they might install instant replay, and we will surely see many more replays, but it won't change what happened... this night will always be special, but tainted.

One other thing that won't change is the way that Galarraga acted after the game... and no one can take that away from him. No one. And it was... well, perfect.

Summer cool drink recipes

Its a day, we are sweating it out in the heat! i thought why not prepare a refreshing drink to help quench the thirst. Mango being a pulpy, juicy fruit when mixed with curd(yogurt), you get a very balanced sweetened drink to enjoy during summers. Below is a recipe of lime juice but a little spiced up! Hope you enjoy it with your family, and your kids would love it :)

Mango lassi(yogurt) cool-drink

Ingredients:
3 glasses of yogurt (use a glass you will serve the lassi in, to measure)
1 glass of crushed ice (measure as above)
1 glass ripe mango pieces or pulp
Sugar to taste/unsweetened fruit juice or pulp
1 tsp slivered almonds for each glass
A dollop of thick cream for each glass (optional)

Preparation:
Put the yogurt, mango, ice and sugar/juice/pulp in a blender and blend till smooth.
Pour out into glasses, top with a dollop of cream each and slivered almonds and serve.

Spiced lime(lemonade) juice

Ingredients:
Juice of 4 lemons
Sugar/honey to taste
2 tbsps Jaljira powder (available at most Indian groceries)
Chilled water
Crushed ice
Lemon slices to garnish

Preparation:
Squeeze all lemons to remove juice and strain the juice to remove seeds. Pour into a large jug.
Add all the remaining ingredients to get desired strength and sweetness and mix well.
Serve in chilled glasses garnished with lemon slices.

Timeless Tuesday - Fountain Pens

Writing is becoming a lost art... thanks to things like iPads, Blogs, and email. Yet, it still has its place in the world, and nothing beats a handwritten note or letter.

That being said, if you have to do some writing, especially where the look and feel of the words, paper, and signature are important... nothing beats a fountain pen.