THINKING OUT LOUD
First, let me tell you that it’s amazing that I haven’t smashed my laptop into a thousand pieces yet. It’s on its’ last legs and seems to take great delight in devouring a blog that I’ve tried to post, or blanking out on me just as I’m about to do the scoreboard on the post-game show. As soon as the season ends, I will get a new one, and I will indeed, take a sledge hammer to this one. As you might imagine, I’m about to write the same blog for the second time and I ain’t happy.
(Deep Breath) Kind of amazing that the PawSox are still in the thick of the playoff chase. My friend Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times wrote a story the other day about the amazing turnover on the 2012 Pawtucket roster. I haven’t counted, but according to Brendan, there are just 7 players left on the roster from Opening Day. Yet, Pawtucket is in a seesaw battle with Scranton and Lehigh, as the three teams duke it out for the postseason berths. Should the Sox make the playoffs, expect the roster to be further compromised, with the likes of Iglesias, Gomez and others going up to Boston to help them in their quest for fourth place in the A.L. East.
As I was sitting outside the hotel this morning, I chuckled as a taxi pulled up and picked up Daisuke Matsuzaka and his entourage. What a waste of money this guy has been. The brass in Boston has to be licking its’ chops, counting the days until they are rid of him and his exorbitent salary. He will pitch in Rochester, leave and then rejoin us in 5 more days to start and throw another one of his patented 85 pitches in three innings. Never a Cy Young, but most definitely a sayonara.
Long, seemingly endless bus ride on Thursday night to Rochester after being swept at home by Syracuse. After 5 hours on the bus, mercifully, we stopped on the NY state thruway. “Sbarro” was still open and horrible pizza never tasted so good. I felt like I was at an outdoor cafe in Tuscany, I was so hungry. To that point, I had a box of Cheez-It crackers in my backpack, that I gladly shared with my buddy, Jose Iglesias.
Went for coffee this morning and was amazed to see a guy get thrown out of Tim Hortons. Apparently he had been sitting at his table for a long time without buying anything. Intensely fixated on his laptop, the manager asked if she could get him anything. He said he was all set. A few moments later, she asked again. When he said no again, she asked him nicely to pack up because the paying customers could use his table. When he ignored her request again, she enlisted the help of a Rochester police officer. The guy started arguing with the cop when he made it clear that he should leave immediately or risk arrest. You really have to be a “bust-out” to get kicked out of a Tim Hortons. The vagrant continued his argument on the street. I figured I better take off before I was next to go.
I can’t push my luck with this computer. I’m going to try to publish this blog before it disappears. If you hear a loud scream from Rochester, you’ll know why,
HYDE'S INSIDE PITCH 