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jordan@jordanbastian.com
PAST ENTRIES
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One Last Sunset
Busy Month
First News
So Far, So Good
Bastian Has Landed
Quote of the Year
Spring Training Eve
Moved In
Super Bowl Party
Record Setter
One Last Sunset, After Toronto's exhibition game against Triple-A Syracuse today, I decided that enough was enough. I had been in Dunedin for six weeks and I hadn't even been to the waterfront. Here I was, five minutes down the road from the beach and I was toiling away in a pressbox -- and not even that great of a pressbox. I walked up to my car, threw my laptop in the back seat, and was driving my normal routine route back towards the condo when it hit me. Why am I going back to the resort? Kelly wasn't there. Barkley wasn't there. No one was there. It was going to be just lonely ol' me, sitting there watching TV. So, instead of turning left, I turned right. Then, I made a quick turn down a side street and headed towards water. I had worked hard. I deserved to watch a sunset. So, I found a little parking lot by a marina in downtown Dunedin and I found myself a bench to sit on and watch the sun go down and send it's rays glistening on the water in the process. I enjoyed watching some boats float by, some birds wading in the shallow water and I took some time to listen to the sound of the breeze blowing through the palm trees. I finally got to enjoy a little bit of Florida. Finally. And about time, really -- I leave for Toronto tomorrow.
This was my view from the bench. I was blocked off from getting onto that pier, but I didn't mind. It was a picture-perfect day and no one was around. Just me and peace and quiet, which is always welcome after the daily chaos of covering baseball. No beermen, no fans, no interviews, no typing, no news, just quiet.
Here's another shot from my moment of tranquility.
This is the marina I had to walk around to get to the waterfront.
This is Bright House Networks Field, the Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. I took this on Thursday when the Jays played the Phils -- the last official spring game for Toronto. There is still one more game to go, an exhibition tomorrow, but I don't have to cover it. I have an "associate reporter" covering for me. I'll go to the game in the morning and then leave for the airport from there. Kelly and Barkley left for Toronto this morning. I was extremely jealous when Kell called me and bragged that she was laying in our bed. Sure, I have like the biggest king super size bed in America, but nothing beats the comfort of home. I'm so ready to get out of Florida and get back in my normal surroundings. Not neccesarily the city -- we're still going to have to get used to living there -- but being around all kell's and my stuff. I miss my couch. So I fly out tomorrow and then on Sunday and Monday I go to workouts at the Rogers Centre. Toronto doesn't open their season until Tuesday, when they play Minnesota. I'm ready to get this season rolling. I think when I get done with this entry, I'm going to cook myself some dinner, and then I'll put my schedule up for April on the site. Maybe May -- but that depends on how motivated I get. I still have to pack for my trip tomorrow. Anyways, before I say so long, I'll leave you all with two images of Spring Training:
Stadium lights...
And palm trees. Now, it's back to the dome surrounded by skyscrapers. Stay tuned... Posted at 9:17 p.m. Busy Month, The lack of blogging hasn't been intentional. In fact, there have been many nights over the last month that I have said to Kelly, "OK, I'm going to finally blog tonight. It's been too long." But the reality has been that I've been swamped. Up at the crack of dawn, over to the ballpark, back home in time to head out to dinner, back to the condo to fall asleep, and up at the crack of dawn to repeat the whole process. I officially leave Florida and head back to Toronto on Saturday. I've been down here in the sunny South for over a month, but I've only had one real day off. I've seen a beach, but haven't sat on one, yet. I live right near a pool, but have only lounged next to it twice, and only been in it once. I was going to go kayaking with Kelly one day, but then Toronto decided to sign Roy Halladay to a contract extension and my day off was promptly terminated. That's the nature of this job and it's just something we'll keep getting used to as the season wears on. Anyways, I don't have the time nor the patience to type out a month of stories in this post. What I can do, though, is post some pictures I've taken around Florida. I can relay my tales of Spring Training to some of you in person and I'm sure I'll blog about some of them at various time in the future. For now, enjoy a brief glimpse at my first Spring Training:
This is probably my favorite picture of the spring. This is one of the four practice diamonds at the Bobby Mattick Training Center in Dunedin -- Toronto's Minor League complex. I took this photo on one of my last days at the complex before the Major Leaguers moved to Knology Park to start playing games. This was taken after all the players and grounds crew had gone home.
This is a shot in St. Pete Beach, where Kell's mom, dad, brother Kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie stayed during their short visit to Florida. This picture was taken from one of the higher floors of the hotel Kell's family was staying at. As you can see, we had a picture perfect day to sit by the pool.
Here is Kelly with the family in Florida. I wasn't around when this pic was taken. I had to work, but Kelly got to spend some time with them and they all even went parasailing. I missed out! The day I DID get to see them, my friend Dawn, who used to work with me at the Lansing State Journal, went to Michigan State, and is now an intern with MLB.com, covered for me while I enjoyed my only pure day off (no game to attend and nothing to write). It was funny because back in our days at LSJ, Dawn used to cover for me at high school swim meets or track meets when Kelly came to visit me at MSU. We figured that last time Dawn filled in for me, she was by a pool. This time, I got to go by a pool while she covered for me. When I learned she was going to be helping me out, I said to her, "Hey Dawn, Kelly is in Florida for a little while. Can you cover the Blue Jays for me?" That brought back memories. I actually ran into Dawn a couple times through work and Kelly and I went out with her and a few of her friends one night. I also ran into another former Spartan, Kelly Thesier, who used to cover the Lansing Lugnuts Minor League team for the State News when I covered them for LSJ, today (Tuesday). She now covers the Twins for MLB.com. It's funny, she and I took sports writing together, both covered the Luggies, both got internships with MLB.com and then both were hired on full-time. Now, we'll be working Opening Day together in Toronto. Small world, huh?
This photo was taken from the lounge chair I was laying in by the pool on the off day. Kell's family wasn't the only group to make the trek from the cold North to Florida. My sister Lynn and four of her kids came down and stayed in Clearwater Beach. Kelly went to Disney World with them and I got to see them a couple time out at dinner.
Here is (from left) Ben, Helena, Andy and Maddy with Lynn behind them. Baby Luke stayed back in Illinois. I'm sure he'll get to Disney World some day. Maybe me, too. I was going to go to Disney with Kelly, but I just didn't get enough spare time. We'll have to plan better next yet. Back to the Spring Training tour:
This is Knology Park, the Spring Training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here is the field in the early morning hours. The batting cage is set up and a worker is hosing down the infield before the pregame workouts. This was my home away from home this March.
Here is Legends Field, the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa. The ballpark is built to look like a miniature Yankee Stadium. While at Legends, I saw The Boss ride by in a golf cart in the tunnel behind the clubhouse and I rode the elevator with Yankees GM Brian Cashman. Those were my first two encounters with the Yankees front office in my youn career. This was a very nice stadium, but it seems a little big for a Spring Training park. I guess everything with the Yankees is done in excess, though.
Here is Legends Field from the parking lot across the street.
Across the street from Legends Field is Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer NFL team.
This is Ed Smith Stadium, the Cincinnati's home park in Sarasota. I traveled to this stadium twice.
Here was a photo I took outside Ed Smith Stadium. Nothing says Spring Training like a few palm trees and some stadium lights.
This was taken outside McKechnie Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton. This was by far my favorite stadium that I visited this spring. The ballpark was newer, but it had an old feel to it. It's hard to describe. It's kind of the same feeling you get at PNC Park in Pitsburgh. The pressbox is really high, as you will be able to tell by the next photo:
This is the view from the pressbox. I believe that's Sean Casey getting a single for the Pirates. You have to be extra aware in this pressbox because it's open and there is not netting protecting you from foul balls. There was one foul that came back and left a significant dent above a window a few boxes to my left.
Here is Progress Energy Park, the home site of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Since this was a night game, it's hard to tell that off to the left is the bay. This is probably one of the more scenic locations for a ballpark. The stadium itself is OK, but one bonus was th visitor's clubhouse is outside. Kelly actually came to this game and sat between me and Dawn, who was covering the D-Rays.
Some of you have also been asking to see a picture of Barkley's bad haircut. Kelly took him to a groomer down here and they decided to do their own thing as opposed to the instructions Kell gave them. He ended up being cut WAY too short on his body and they left the hair on his head super long. This picture shows how his head doesn't look proportional to his body. Ah well, it'll grow out. Anyways, since I can't put a link to every story I've written this month on here -- that would take too long and would take up too much space -- I'll just put a couple of the better stories here. Ryan hopes to build on '05 success Halladay goes back to his roots Adams set to prove critics wrong Jays extend Halladay through 2010 Zaun adapts to life as a backup McDonald a leader in Jays' infield Jays full of memories of Puckett Former Angels bring playoff experience There is plenty for you loyal readers to chew on. To see all the stories before, during and after those ones, you can see my handy work at BlueJays.com. Anyways, that's all for now. I just wanted to get something up to let everyone know I was still alive and doing well. I've got the best farmer's tan ever and I've enjoyed every minutes of my first Spring Training -- well, almost every minute. I'm about ready to make my way back to Toronto. I'm not looking forward to the colder weather, but I am looking forward to getting this season started. I'll also be posting my schedule for the first few months soon. Keep reading and stay tuned for more. Hopefully I'll post another entry before another month passes... Posted at 12:45 a.m. First News, You can read all about it on BlueJays.com, but today was the first actualy "news" item to fall into our lap at Jays' camp. All of us Toronto writers got scooped on it, but, ah well, you can't win em all. Vernon Wells apparently injured himself while working out on Sunday and might have to withdraw from the World Baseball Classic. Click here for the story I did on it. You never wish for someone to get hurt, but the injury actually gave us something to work on today. Yesterday was a slow news day and I was absolutely scraping for anything by the end of it. So when we found out about this today, it felt good to run around and try to figure out what happened, when it was, what did it mean and all that jazz. Today was the first time Toronto pitchers threw a live BP session, too. Halladay, Burnett, and Ryan and others took the mound and looked good. It's only the first day, but those three looked pretty darn impressive out there. Here is a photo I snapped of Lyle Overbay standing in against B.J. Ryan:
Not a whole lot else is going on right now. It's almost 6 p.m. and I finished my work for today. I usually am up around 7 a.m. and head to the park from 9-2ish. The time I leave just depends on what I've got done or who I need to talk to still. I'm typically done writing between 4 and 7 p.m. I think the earliest I've filed was around 3:30 on one of the first days. The complex only has dial-up, so I drive the 15 minutes to come home to the condo to transcibe, write and send. I'm not sure what I'm up to tonight. I have some leftover pizza from dinner last night and the sun has already started on its downward path. I guess I'll just hang in and watch some TV. It'll be great when Kelly gets here so I will have someone to actually go se some things with. I've been in Florida for a week, but I really haven't seen a whole heck of a lot of it. Anyways, I'm going to get going for now. Stay tuned for more... Posted at 5:51 p.m. So Far, So Good, I'm sure all of you have assumed that I've just been really busy. And, well, you would be right. But, just as the title of this post implies, everything has gone well so far for me at my first Spring Training as a beat writer. The Toronto media is a good group to work with and the players, coaches and front office are all really easy to get along with and talk to for the most part. I don't have a whole lot to write about tonight. I just wanted to update since I haven't in a few days. I've been busy writing notebooks, features and getting to know everyone. It really has helped that I worked in Toronto last summer. A lot of the people I've talked to remembered who I was. Here is the entrance of the Bobby Mattick Training Center in Dunedin, Florida:
The Blue Jays' complex is pretty nice. You walk in through the black gate there on the right and behind it are four full diamonds. Behind the building and to the far left of where this picture was snapped is another field and a half-diamond, where the infield is made up of the FieldTurf surface that's in the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Inside the building there is the clubhouse, workout rooms, offices and whatnot. The baseball stadium is in another part of Dunedin. In case any of you actually are interested in reading the stuff I've done so far, you can browse through bluejays.com. But, since I'm bored and have nothing better to be doing at the moment. I'll put some of the links right here: Feb. 20 Jays notes: Chacin geared for WBC action Feb. 20 - Santos gets fitted for wings at Jays camp Feb. 20 - Jays mailbag: Will Wells get off to hot start? Feb. 19 - Jays notes: Lilly taking precautions Feb. 19 - Hill's move coming as second nature Feb. 18 - Jays notes: Hinske ready to roam outfield Feb. 18 - Jays' prized arms thrilled to settle in Feb. 17 - Jays notes: Gibbons weighing options Feb. 17 - Excitement reigns as Jays arrive The Feb. 18 story (not notes) was feature as the top headline on the MLB.com main page, which is still cool when it happens for me -- The Rookie. That's one thing that I've appreciated from everyone so far -- the fact that, despite my being very young for this type of job, they all have been treating me like I've been around for a while. At least that's how I feel and that's all I can ask for. I mean, I get all the jokes about how young I am, and how old so and so was when I was born and blah blah blah. But that comes with the territory. I'll take in my fair share of jokes and sarcasm on my first year on the beat. That's just something that goes along with it. In case any of you back in the cloudy, cold weather are wondering, I have a pretty good sunburn -- not tan -- going. I'm a bit pink and everyone's been pointing it out to me at the Jays camp. Yes, I'm a little red, but it doesn't hurt. Not like it did on my Honeymoon in Cancin at least. No suburn will ever hurt again after that trip! But don't worry, I bought sunblock and sunglasses. So, now I'll be pink AND have a nice sunglasss tan across my face. A bright red racoon. That's what I'll be. To close out this post, I'll just leae you with a picture that signals the official start of Spring: i A baseball field. This is just one of the five and a half practice fields at Toronto's site. I'm sure I'll be taking more pictures as Spring Training rolls along. I'm looking forward to a day off so I can actually drive around and see the Gulf Coast and whatnot. I haven't really had much me time. Just work time. All I've been doing is getting up at 7:30, getting ready, going to the park, gathering info, transcribing, writing, taking a break, going to dinner, watching Law and Order and hitting the sack. Living the dream I tell you. Actually, I still find it amazing that they pay me to do all of this. I'm one lucking Bastian. Well, I'm off to watch some TV and hit the sack. Stay tuned for more... Posted at 10:13 p.m. Bastian Has Landed, From the freezing cold and snow of Toronto to the warm and sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. My trip went as smooth as it could have. Minus one crying baby and the world's smallest turkey sandwhich, the plane rides from Toronto to Newark and then Newark to Tampa were good. It's always nice when you can leave this:
For something more like this:
I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday to catch a van to the airport. It arrived around 6:30 at a hotel downtown that I had to walk to while lugging my four bags. I got to the airport, went through customs and was sitting at my gate with almost two hours to spare. It's always better to be early than late, but I should have known the lines at the airport weren't going to be super long that early in the morning. But I hung out, read a newspaper and waited for my plane to arrive:
Here was my view out the window. The building on
There were only about 25 people on the flight to Newark, so I could've picked whatever seat I wanted. Instead, I followed the rules and sat in my assigned seat. I actually was sitting with a man who was heading to Hong Kong with his wife. I was glad my flight wasn't going to be 16 hours long like his. In just 59 minutes, actually, I was in Newark. The downfall of my seat decision was that out of the left side of the plane, you could see an early-morning fog blanketing New York City. Out my window -- I got to see New Jersey. Here is as good of a picture I could get of NYC as we took off for Tampa:
Hopefully I can get a better shot on the way back to Toronto in April. I actually ran into another MLB.com writer in Newark, who I am rooming with in Florida. It was kind of funny. I saw him walk by carrying an MLB.com laptop bag that we all got for Christmas, so I knew it was him. When I went up and introduced myself he asked, "How did you know it was me?" My reply: "Ummm, the MLB.com bag you're carrying." You probably had to be there, but it was funny at the time. Anyways, I got to Tampa around 3:30ish and I guess everything evens out because I was the last person off the most crowded plane I've ever been on. It ws nothing like the roomy flight I had from Toronto. And then when I got to the rental care place, they didn't have the car I requested. It reminded me of that Seinfeld episode: "What do you mean the car isn't here. I made a reseervation. That reservation keeps the car here! ... You know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part. The holding." Heh, OK I'm getting waaaay off track. Instead of me being out of luck, they bumped me up into an SUV for the same price. The other reporter was hassling me because I got the better car and I'm the rookie. Here is the Ford Escape I am driving around town in:
The place we're staying at is REALLY nice. I mean, I knew it was going to be nice, but it's even better than I imagined it would be. Take a look at some of the shots around the complex:
OOOooooooooo
AAAaaaahhhhhh
This is a picture of our building. It's a two-bedroom condo with tons of room, laundry in the unit, a nice kitchen, a big living room, both bedrooms have huge walk-in closets and their own bathrooms. I'll take you on a tour. Here is the living room:
Living room from another angle:
Do you see that TV? Take a closer look:
The living room and both bedrooms are fitted with these big flatscreen TVs. In the living room, we get every movie channel possible. I'm never going to want to leave! Here is the dining room:
Here is my bedroom:
This morning I took care of some stuff for work and then I had to wait for maintenance to come over because the smoke detectors wouldn't stop chirping in our place. They were going off when we arrived, we went out to dinner, came back and they were still chirping away. I took the batteries out of them and that just made it worse. It was too late for anyone to come over to figure it out so we slept with them going off all night. I got that issue resolved today, though, and then I went for a walk around the complex and then drove around town to figure out how to get to and from the places I'd need to be going over the next six weeks. Here is some local wildlife:
Tomorrow I'll be getting up bright and early because that's when Toronto's pitchers and catchers officially report to Spring Training. A lot of the Jays players have already arrived, but tomorrow is when it all officially begins for them...and for me as far as I'm concerned. My job as the new beat writer will take it's real turn tomorrow when I'm actually on the field with some of the '06 team. So far, most of what I've done has been by phone. I'm ready to get started. Anyways, for those of you I know in Canada, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, New York and anywhere else that isn't hot or sunny, I leave you with this picture:
Stay tuned for more... Posted at 6:56 p.m. Quote of the Year, Yes, it is only February. And, yes, I'm already designating something as the "Quote of the Year." The line came straight from my wife's mouth and I doubt either of us will be able to top it this year. She's going to be embaressed that I'm posting this, but here goes: Kelly to Jordan: "The water in the toilet looks really dirty. I don't think we should drink it." Now, I'm sure everyone reading that quote will say, "What?!" And the truth is, I did a double-take and said the same thing to Kelly, who didn't realize what she had just said. I'm thinking, why on Earth would I drink toilet water? Even Barkley knows better than that! Well, let me give you some context now. A main water line burst today in Toronto, right down the street from out complex. Our whole building was without water for most of the day and when it finally came back on, the water didn't look as clear as it probably should have. So, when Kelly was getting ready in the bathroom and saw the water in the toilet looked a little shady, she was rembering to tell me not to drink the water...FROM THE SINK! We both had a good laugh about it and I thought I'd share. Anways, if any of you are keeping score, I'm not in Florida yet and I'm blogging. Hmmm. It's 1:37 a.m. and I'm still not packed. Did I mention I catch a van to the airport in five hours?! I'm almost packed up. There just is some last bits of laundry drying before I can close the suitcases up and call it a night. For Valentine's Day, Kelly and I didn't do too much. We wanted to keep it simple this year because of the whole move and everything. We've spent enough money in the last couple months. So we just went out and had a nice dinner at a restaurant downtown. Then we came home and went to the rec center and worked out together. Not exactly a rose-petals-strewn-across-the-bed kind of Valentine's Day, but we had fun anyways. Speaking of bed, I need to hit the sack. At this time tomorrow I'll be snuggled in a cozy bed in my room at the resort in Clearwater. I'm off to finish packing now. Stay tuned... Posted at 1:42 a.m. Spring Training Eve, Yep, tomorrow bright and early I'm leaving on a jetplane for Newark, New Jersey! Well, OK, that's where my connecting flight is to Tampa, Florida. I'll be arriving tomorrow for Toronto's Spring Training in Dunedin, Florida and I'll be there until I fly back to Toronto on April 2 for Opening Day on April 4. I put my work schedule up on this site for family to see what I'll be up to in Florida. Just go to the "My Schedule" link at the top or simpy click any part of this whole sentence to see it. Anyways, this will probably be my last post until I get to Florida. I've actually never been there so this is kind of exciting for me. I went to Spring Training in 2004, but that was in Mesa, Arizona to work on some Minor League player features for the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts. They were a Cubs affiliate back then so my first experience working with pro ballplayers was covering the team I grew up watching. This year will be my first Spring Training as a beat reporter so it's going to be a LOT different. Since my last post not a whole lot has gone on. Kelly and I bought curtains for our bedroom and my workload has been pretty light. When we went to the Eaton Centre (the big downtown mall here) to go look for curtains (and some shorts for me for Florida!), we decided to take this thing they call "The Path" here. It's 16 miles of underground tunnels that link a ton of buildings and go pretty much anywhere you need to go downtown. They built it so the tunnels actually look like you're walking through a mall the whole time. There's tons of shops, food courts and you even pas through a couple subway stations. It's a nice thing for pedestrians who don't have cars and want to avoid the frigid cold weather. We entered the Path on Front Street by the Rogers Centre and it was a bit confusing at first. We started walking at one of the far ends of it and it was almost like a maze trying to figure out where we were going. You have to follow these signs:
But when you're going through a subway or in a building, sometimes the signs weren't directly overhead like they were here:
So it took us a couple walks back-and-forth through this one building at the beginning until we figured out where to go to find the main network of the Path tunnels. Wow, that was a short story long! Another cool thing we started doing this week was going to our new fitness center, which is across the street from our building. It's free for everyone who lives in our complex, which is great. It's a 30,000 square foot facility that has an indoor pool, running track, movie theater, raquetball court, workout equipment, tennis court, basketball court, bowling alley, coffee shop, massage rooms, and a bunch of other stuff. Yesterday we went bowling and I beat Kelly two games in a row so our family record is now tied at six wins apiece. The lanes were brand new, but not oiled up very well, the balls were dusty, the shoes were super slippery and the pins were actually on strings at the end of the lane (which means they get tangled sometimes and get stuck no matter how many times you hit the reset button). It was hard to get used to at first, but it was still fun. Well, I think that's all I'm gonna post for now. I leave for Florida tomorrow morning and I'm sure I'll be blogging when I get to my hotel tomorrow night. Until then, stay tuned... Posted at 11:37 a.m. Moved In, I believe you'll think it's justified that I haven't blogged in a couple days. Last time I posted on here it was halftime at the Super Bowl and Kelly and I were about to embark on our trip to our new home in Toronto. Since then, we made it across the border without any issues, we moved into our condo in the snow, we've been pulling ourselves out of the pile of boxes and the Blue Jays have been keeping me plenty busy. I'll start with Monday. Kell and I slept on the floor of the living room in our empty apartment on Sunday night and got up early on Monday. We finished loading the U-Haul truck and took one last look around our brief home in St. Joseph, Michigan. Here is Kell and Barkley saying goodbye to our apartment:
Here is one final look at our old apartment complex:
After running a few quick errands around town, we hit the road at around 10 a.m. in our truck. The traffic was light and we made great time. Here is our truck parked when Kell and I stopped to get some Taco Bell:
Take a closer look at who wanted to drive:
The trip from St. Joseph to Toronto took us around seven hours (six in the car plus three stops) when we went up to look at potential homes. This time, the trip spanned about eight hours, including a stop at the border and a mild snow storm while driving a 17-foot U-Haul truck. Not too shabby. At the border, we didn't really know what to expect. Last time we "moved" to Toronto we were rejected at the border in our first attempt. We were told that they felt we "would become a burden to Canada" -- mainly because of a health insurance issue. We were sent back to the States with rejection papers and made it through on our second attempt the next day. This time, though, MLB.com provided me with legal paperwork and we had all our information with us, including vet records for Mr. Barkley. The immigration people read the paperwork and I didn't even have to say a word. They said OK, didn't even look at Barkley's info, didn't check our truck and sent us on our way. The whole time we were in immigration Barkley was shaking. We think that he thought he was going to the vet or something. Maybe he could smell rubber gloves! Anyways, the whole process at the border took only about 20 minutes -- thank God -- and we hit the road for Toronto. We had all clear skies and good weather until we were about a half-hour away from our condo. That's when we ran into snow and bitter cold. It's been super cold up here since then, too. I guess it's God's little way of saying "Welcome to Canada." Good thing I leave for Florida on Wednesday. My friend Mike from Michigan State and the Lansing State Journal dropped everything to drive up to Toronto to help us move in. So while it was snowing, Kelly, Mike and I unloaded the U-Haul and tried our best not to trip over the dog. Here is Mike and I in our place the day after moving everything in the condo:
The three of us went out to a bar/restaurant on Monday night and he headed back to Michigan on Tuesday. Kelly and I started the unpacking process that day and are still working on all of that. On Wednesday, we went to the Eaton Centre -- a big mall here -- and tried to find an entertainment center for our place. We are probably going to have to wait until I get back from Spring Training in Florida. Until then, our TV will have to sit on the floor. Here is Kell in front of our new building:
Here is our new kitchen:
Here is Kelly and Barkley in the first draft of our new living room:
Here is the Rogers Centre and CN Tower behind our building (on left):
Thursday (still today, I guess) was really busy for me. Toronto had a press conference this morning to officially announce the signing of catcher Bengie Molina. I didn't get to write the story when they signed him because I was unloading a truck in the snow! But I went to the "presser" this morning. Then, Toronto went ahead and settled the contract negotiations with infielder Shea Hillenbrand and pitcher Pete Walker. So I had to piece together something short on that. Later this evening, I attended the "State of the Franchise" event at the Hilton in downtown. Season ticket holders all had the chance to ask questions to Toronto's front office staff. Needless to say, it was an eventful day. Tomorrow I'll have some more work to do for bluejays.com before diving back into the unpacking stuff. Kell and I will also be looking into getting her plane tickets to go to part of Spring Training and we're going to look into this online grocery service since we don't have any big grocery stores right near our place. Fun Fun. Anyways, sorry I hadn't blogged in a while. Stay tuned for more... Posted at 12:47 a.m. Super Bowl Party, Super Bowl XL will be one football game that Kelly and I never forget. Why? Because we watched it in an empty apartment with just a small TV hooked up in the living room. Check out my awesome setup for the big game:
Here is Kell with what's left in our apartment in St. Joeseph:
We had a long day of packing up our U-Haul truck in preparation for our big move to Toronto tomorrow. Kelly's mom, dad, brother Kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie all came up to help us pack up the truck. Kelly and I spent most of last week packing up the boxes, we just needed some extra muscles to help move the couch, big TV and whatnot. With how jam-packed our day was, it's no wonder that Kell and Barkley were wiped out by the second quarter of the Super Bowl:
We went home on Friday and took care of some last-minute errands before heading back up to St. Joe with the family. That night Kell's whole family and she and I went to the House of Kobe -- a Japanese restaurant near where my sister lives in Indiana. It was pretty cool. Our table was shaped like the letter "U" and in the middle was a built-in grill. A cook came out and prepared our meals right in front of us with gigantic flames and knife tricks and everything. It was fun to watch. On Saturday, I got lunch with my brother Karl and his wife Sara up on the North Side of Chicago and Kell spent time with her fam. That night, we had cake and Kell opened presents for her birthday. Her b-day is in February, but we'll be out of town so they wanted to celebrate this weekend. After we finished up there, the whole fam went out for bowling. I'm only adding this because my Ma-in-law said I had to: She beat me 145 to 135 in our second game, when the family split into teams and we had a little competition. I say she beat me by 10 pins because she has a few more years experience than I do! Anyways, we are shipping out of St. Joe early tomorrow and heading to Toronto. My friend Mike from MSU and the Lansing State Journal is meeting us up there to help us move in the condo. We have all our paperwork and everything, but I'm still anticipating being held up at the border. We got hassled pretty good the first time we moved up there and I doubt this time will be much different -- even if I do have legal paperwork. We're also bringing Barkley with us. We thought it'd be easier to get him across the border if we snuck him in a box:
Barkley didn't go for it, though. Anyways, there's not much else to blog about right now. It's halftime and the Rolling Stones are still cool. I actually saw them in concert in Toronto when I was in college. That was one of the best shows I ever went to. They are looking old, though. Especially Richards. That's if for right now. I'm not sure when my next post will be. Probably in a few days. The internet guy is supposed to be coming to our condo on Tuesday. We'll see if that goes smoothly. Thankfully everything has gone just about as smooth as it could have so far. Hopefully that continues. Stay tuned... Posted at 8:16 p.m. Record Setter, I always knew I would leave my mark. Growing up I figured I would be the next Ryne Sandberg -- that I would save the Chicago Cubs from a century of sorrow and lead them to their first World Series since 1908. Well, for those of you who know me, it is obvious that I'm not going to reach that goal. On the other hand, I did find a way to get paid to be around baseball for a living. But I digress... I always imagined I would leave behind some impressive records when my high school baseball career was finished. In South Holland, I played at Thornwood High School -- home of Cliff Floyd and Mark Mulder (and Eddy Curry, but us T-Birds don't brag too much about that) -- during my freshman and sophomore seasons before moving to Colorado Springs, where I played for Rampart High School. During my senior year, I completely obliterated a long-standing record at Rampart. The record for being hit by the pitch was four before I showed up. But in 2001, I crowded the heck out of the plate and eclipsed that mark in no time. I actually was hit seven times in a three-game span during one stretch. I ended up getting plunked 10 times in around 20 games. Amazing. Check out this record-breaking photo:
I actually had this picture blown up to a 5x7 and I autographed it and wrote "Thanks for helping me set the record" on the picture before I gave it to my coach -- shown grimacing down the third-base line in the photo. The reason I'm bringing this up now, five years later, is that I went to the Rampart High Web site today out of curiousity and I stumbled across the baseball records page. Click this link to see my name in all its glory: CLICK HERE FOR RAMPART HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL RECORDS I was upset to see the number '9' as the HBP record, though! I swear I reached double digits! I'm thinking of filing an appeal with the school. Maybe having them go back into the game logs like they did for Hack Wilson when baseball changed his 190 RBIs in 1930 to 191 upon further review. I think I deserve the same treatment! Anyways, I just thought it was funny that my infamous stat made the school's record book...and even was posted online! But I know that all records are meant to be broken. I hope Rampart has the courtesy to give me a call so that I can be there in person when the next Jordan Bastian comes along to take one more for the team than I did. I'll want to shake that kid's hand. Posted at 12:38 a.m. |
