The Rally Squirrel

Last night, Busch Stadium had a very interesting visitor; a squirrel. The squirrel was perched on top of a foul poll when the fireworks went off. Apparently these fireworks, gave the little guy quite a fright, and he subsequently jumped 40 feet to the field. He lay a bit stunned near the Bud Light sign in the outfield for a few innings. FSN had cameras focus in on him a coupla times, as they were getting a lot of concerned emails regarding the little critter. Cardinal players dubbed him the "Rally Squirrel". He enjoyed the outfield before going into the Cardinals bull pen. The players attempted to catch him, but he proved smarter and went back out to the outfield. He enjoyed a piece of popcorn, and then visited the visiting team, The Pirates, in their dugout. He was eventually caught in a sunflower seed bucket. Click here for the tale and the amusing video! Hopefully the squirrel will be back and give the Cardinals some luck.

CARDS = Come August, Ready Division Series

The St. Louis Cardinals have been much like the August weather in St. Louis; HOTT! The birds on the bat seem to be putting the pedal to the medal and starting to shift gears towards winning more games. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series last week and now sit just 3 games out of first place in the central division. Cards bats are heating up; The MV3 (Rolen,Edmonds, and Pujols) are starting to hit w/ more consistency. The Cards have also gained more power in Rick Ankiel who has been hitting the ball hard and making great plays in the outfield. Cards also picked up Joel Pinero who has been doing well. Kip Wells also appears to be doing much better; he is finally getting run support and keeping the opposition from scoring, much less hitting too much. Adam Wainwright continues to impress, with a record of 11-9 and an ERA of 3.99. Overall for the month of August, the ERA's for the Cardinals pitching as a whole has gone down. Their hitting percentage and winning percentage have gone up.
Good news for the Cardinals in regards to pitcher Mark Mulder; he is getting closer to returning. With ace Carpenter out for the season, the return of Mulder is much needed. Mulder made his second start in his rehab assignment; and was efficient throwing 48 pitches- 34 strikes and 14 balls- through four innings. For more on his progress along with progress on Todd Wellenmeyer and Mike Moroth click here. Also mentioned as being banged up and getting some rest are Scott Rolen and Chris Duncan.
*Por Siempre; Let's Go Cards!!

Random Update

Good grief, I haven't blogged in a while (almost a month exactly since I last blogged to be exact). So here's what has gone down in the month of August:
*NVC was amazing!!! I had soooo much fun. I stirred up trouble in all of the workshops I attended. I finally got to meet a brother I've been friends w/on Facebook; he has now "banned" me from his future workshops; yeah right, good luck w/ that Brother Justin!
*Mom got a new car! Its a 2007 Pontiac Vibe! It's an SUV- kinda. Mom calls it a wannabe: it can't decide whether it wants to be a car, a minivan or a SUV. It gets great milage so far 28 mpg. She is very happy with it.
*My little brother, golum, got a new car...kinda. He inherited my mom's red '99 cavalier. Mom traded in his '99 Sonoma Truck when she got her vibe. So now I'm the only one in the family w/o keyless entry and power locks and windows. Granted my car is a year younger than Marks, its still a very basic model- I love it tho. My next car will be a SUV tho. Don't know when I'll be getting said SUV, but whatever.
*Cardinals have been heating up. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series. They then played the Cubbies where they went 1-2, with one game rained out. Cards now are 3 games out of first place. Cub (major suprise here) are in first place (no really they are). Brew Crew are even with the Cubbies.
*I get to go to my fourth Cardinals Game on August 24th w/ the EMAA crew!! I also have tickets for the September 17th Game- Yadier Molina Bobblehead night!! Whoohoo!!
*I am 8-12 in my fantasy baseball league. Not bad but not the greatest either.
*Went to see Les Mis w/ EMAA at the Muny. Loved it! Music was incredible, good voices, excellent orchestra. It was hot, but overall a good night.
*My job hunt continues (suprise, suprise). I try to be optimisitic, but its hard. I have a hard time wondering what makes me so unemployable. I thought that my education would be a great assest and now I wonder why I spent so much time earning my bachelors if all I'm going to do is random temporary assignments?
*New living room furniture and a new dinet set are on their way; well kinda. Mom and dad selected a new sofa, loveseat, and rocker for the living room, as well as a new kitchen table and new chairs for the kitchen. The living room stuff should be here in about 2 weeks or so. Kitchen is going to take longer, anywhere from a month to two months. I think its crazy, but mom tells me that's typical. I woulda negotiated an early arrival of the furniture but hey we've been dealing with the furniture we currently have for a long time, we can live with it until the new stuff arrives. The living room furniture is kinda of a sage green and the fabric is a micro suede, and very comfy ( mom took me to American where they ordered the stuff for me to see). The kitchen table is almost identical to the one we have now except it has some fancy engraving on the sides which matches the engraving on the back of the chairs. The chairs have cushions built in, so puppy can't steal the cushions (as she does now).

Random

Okay, lot of stuff to say, so here goes:
*Recently had to get new sunglasses as my darling puppy, Loki, ate a second pair of sunglasses. Plus my backup pairs also decided to break. I like to keep a pair in my car for various reasons; mainly I can't drive w/o sunglasses.
*Picked up two cute tops from New York and Company. One was 50% off! I love sales!
*Got a new pillow b/c the one I had was shot.
*Got a 1 and 1/2 inch memory foam mattress pad for my bed. My mattress is rock hard and I have a bad back and I hate sleeping on it. This mattress pad is heaven sent! I slept w/ it on my bed last night and was sooo comfortable for the first time in eyars.
*Had my ring checked at the Jewlers today; the stone is firmly in place and they shined it up for free. So it sparkles now! Yay!
*Leaving for Independence, MO t/m for Alphi Phi Omega's National Volunteer Conference!! So excited! Amy and Katrina are driving with me. We are stopping in Columbia and having lunch with Robert.
*Will be at the NVC Thursday thru Sunday. Get to see a lot of brothers and have fun!
*Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter is out for the season; he will be having surgery on his elbow. No idea when he will be ready to pitch next season.
*Attention all texters; I have disabled my text messaging abilities. Meaning I won't be able to send or recieve texts; which is good b/c I despise texting. I also was being charged for incoming texts (which I don't understand why I'm charged for something that I have no control over).
*I have been sunburned three times so far this summer, and theres a lot of summer left. I hate having such fair skin. Mom and Mark have the Puerto Rican skin; so they don't burn; they just get brown! So not fair, I blame it all on my gringo father! He just laughs.

That's a Winner!!

Cardinals won today, delivering the Phillies their 10, 000th loss. Cardinals beat the Phillies 10-2, Adam Wainwright getting another win. Pujols hit two homeruns today. Other players to go long today were; Adam Kennedy (his first of the season), Juan Encarnacion, Chris Duncan, and Ryan Ludwick. Wainwright was outstanding getting out of loaded bases w/ 2 outs not once but twice. Wainwright pitched 7 solid shut out innings. Pujols is on fire, he was 3 for 4 today; a single and two homeruns. Cardinals managed 3 homeruns in one inning! The game was on ESPN today (grrr), and the announcers were all ragging on the Cards and going on and on about how great the Phillies were. Yea, uh huh, the Phillies are so great they lead both leagues in losses. Cards are now 8.5 games out of first place.
*Up Next: Cards vs. Marlins at Florida 6:05 PM on FSN (yay!)
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Cardinals

Well I have been to three games so far this year. My record is 2 for 3. Last Sunday, the Cards put on a great show. I went to said game with my family. Gimlet and Froggiegirl were also in attendance, as this was Martiz Day at the Ballpark. Martiz did well in selecting seats; we had a nice view off of third base, got a free soda and a hot dog. Down side: I got sunburned. Bad. My knees are peeling now. As mentioned in my previous post, I got burned again, so I'm recovering from one sunburn only to get burned again. Not fair! Stupid gringo blood!
Anyways, the All Star game has come and gone. First baseman Albert Pujols was the only Cardinal player that got to go; and LaRussa selected him as the fans failed to vote him in. Pujols participated in the HomeRun Derby for his son (who was bummed when his daddy told him orriginally that he was not going to play). AJ (Pujols Jr.) was an absolute doll to watch! The expressions on his face when Pujols hit homeruns.
*Yadier Molina came off the DL and threw a guy out when the dummy tried to steal second, his first day back.
*Short stop David Eckstien has come off the DL and is doing well.
*Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter is making progress and is hopeful to be returning soon.
*Jim Edmonds is still on the DL, no word on when he will be returning; hopefully soon.
*Starting Pitcher Kip Wells started last nights game andlost....big suprise there. Word to LaRussa and Jocketty: either trade him or keep him in the bullpen permanently.
*The second half of the season has begun, but not very well... two losses so far. Hopefully the second half will be better than the first half.
*I am still hopefull about the Cardinals finishing the season on a high note; I am an eternal Cards fan.
*Amazingly the Cubs are still in second place...but for how long?
*The cardinals have made some outstanding plays so far this season. Chris Duncan made an amazing catch last night in the Cardinals loss to the Phillies. Duncan continues to improve as the season progresses.
*Up Next: Cards at Phillies 5:05 PM. Adam Wainwright goes to the mound to attempt to prevent a sweep. He will be facing off against Adam Eaton.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cards!!

Loki

Our little girl is officially one year and four months. I can still call her my puppy as Labs are puppies until they are three years old. She continues to act like a puppy and never seems to tire. This week Loki has learned a new trick; she now knows how to open the cabinets and steal tupperware. While this is highly amusing, she is putting dents and tooth marks in our tupperware. Today we took Loki down to Lost Valley Lake and she got to go swimming. We threw her retriever several times and she happily swam out to get it until she finally got tired. Unfortunately, her retriever was still out there... we had to wait until the wind blew the retriever closer and Loki finally decided to swim out and get it. Then I walked her up the hill to the showerhouse and from there mom walked her to where our friends were camping. Mom gave her a bath and we enjoyed talking with our friends while she dried off. She snoozed on the way home; she went swimming,went on a long walk, got attention: that was one tired puppy.
Yours truly got sunburned again; on the back this time. Just once I would like to be able to go out in the sun in the summer and not get burned.

Cardinals!

Okay, so the Cards have been less than stellar so far this season. I have been really busy with work and not feeling well, so I haven't blogged on the Cards lately, so here is a summary of whats up with The Birds on the Bat:
*Catcher Yadier Molina was placed on the DL yesterday, he has a fractured wrist and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks. This is a double blow to the Cards, not only will they miss his defense, his offense is much better this year.
*Starting Pitcher Chris Carpenter is on the DL and is expected to return mid July- early August.
*Starting Pitcher Braden Looper appears to be the best of the bunch and the biggest suprise. Looper has a record of 6-4.
*Starting Pitcher Kip wells has two whole wins under his belt. Hopefully, his time with pitching coach Dave Duncan is starting to pay off.
*First Baseman Albert Pujols seems to have shaken his slow start. His batting average is up and he is looking more comfortable at the plate.
*Third baseman Scott Rolen and Center Fielder Jim Edmonds have also started hitting more consistenty.
*Closer Jason Isringhausen is phenomenal! He has had 13 saves in 14 opportunities. He appears to back to his old self. Finally!
*Short stop David Eckstien is on a day to day DL. He is suffering from soreness in the middle of his back and hasn't played since Sunday. He is doing better.
*Left Fielder Chris Duncan is temporarily sidelined with bursitis in his left knee, and also has an ifection in the same knee. He is resting at the hotel and staying of his feet as much as possible. Duncan was sent back to St. Louis for some testing today.
*The Cardinals are 6 and a half games out of first place. The Brewers, The Pirates and (shocker of shockers) The Cubs are ahead of them.
*Late reliever Josh Hancock is being honored for the rest of the season with all players wearing the number 32 on the left arm of their jerseys. His jersey also hangs in the bullpen.
*The All Star Game is fast approaching. All members of the Cards starting line up are eligble but 2 questions, (1) Do any of them deserve to go? and (2) Will any of them make the team. Manager Tony LaRussa is managing the National League team and can bring whomever he chooses.
*Anthony Reyes was optioned to Triple A and righty Todd Wellemeyer was brought up. Wellemeyer got his first major league win last night with a Cards victory of 8-4.
Do the Cards have the chance to repeat and win the World Series? Sure, its a possibility. Is it a sure thing, no it never is. As much as we would all like to see a repeat, at this point, I am doubtful on that happening. Cards need to pick up the pace, stop making costly errors, and start giving more run support to the pitchers. Also their players need to get healthy. With aces Carpenter, Mark Mulder on the DL and not expected back until August, and Molina out of the picture for at least 4 weeks, getting everyone healthy is not going to happen any time soon.
I am still a fan of the Cardinals, always have been and always will be.
*Por Siempre, Let's Go Cards!!

I got an iPod!

I have joined the modern world. I have my very own iPod nano. It's a 4GB blue iPod Nano. I am very happy with it so far. I split the cost with my parents w/ my brother giving me $20 towards it. The picture on the side features my new iPod nano and Bandit (my newest Build-A-Bear edition).

St. Louis Zoo

Last Sat., May 5th, was my 25th Birthday. Since I couldn't get Cardinals tickets, I decided to got to the zoo. I got to see Maliha, Raja's first baby, for the first time. She is adorable. I took lots of photos and laughed at the animals and how they sleep. Apparently "nap time" at the zoo is around 11 AM. The majority of the animals were snoozing when mom and I visited. I also visited Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Zoo and picked up a birthday present for myself: a ring tailed lemur (monkey). I dressed him in a railroad conductors outfit and have since named him Bandit. Click here to see my pics of all the animals including Bandit.

Gardening

I love spring! Spring means flowers! I love flowers; I love looking at them, smelling them, buying them, planting them, and watching them grow. Basically I love to garden. Now that it is officially spring, I can go flower crazy. I have been busy beautifying my garden and the front garden. The back garden still needs some work, but not done with the front garden yet. Home Depot has some great geraniums and Marshall's Nursery has some great snapdragons. Home Depot and the Nursery are the best places to find flowers. Walmart is another good source of flowers. The next step is to get some more hanging baskets. We already have two "tropical looking ones for the back, but we need a few more. At least one for the front and I think 3 for the backyard. Click here to see my work so far.

Cards mourn the loss of Hancock

Tragedy has struck the Cardinal team. Pitcher Josh Hancock was killed this morning in an auto accident westbound on Highway 64/40 within city limits. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Police department will make a brief statement in an interview set for 3pm today. Major Leauge officials have been notified and tonights game against the Cubs has been postponed. Hancock has been a member of the Cardinals since Feburary 2006 and helped the 'Birds win World Series. Please take a moment of time today for a moment of silence in rememberance of Josh Hancock. Please keep his family and friends along with the members of the Cardinals in your thoughts and prayers.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals.

New Brothers!

Thursday night, the Sigma Alpha chapter, welcomed 9 new brothers! Although 4 of these brothers are returning to their home countries, it is still exciting. The ceremony was nice, and very formal. As an alumni I even had a speaking part; I filled in as the chapter advisor. After the ceremony, they nominated people for positions for next semester. Next Tuesday, the new officers will be elected. After that, we went to Applebee's only to discover that it closed at 11. It was close to 11 when we got there. So we went to Steak'n'Shake. That was just as good. It was fun hanging out with my brothers again. Its good to see that the chapter is faring well, after a rough semester. So Congrats to the newest brothers of Sigma Alpha!
Also, Congrats to the new brothers to Section 49 as a whole! Welcome brothers!

Cubs 5, Cards 3

The title explains it all. We lost to the Cubs last night. We were doing better until LaRussa (in a move I highly disagree with) decided to let Preston Wilson pinch hit, even tho Wilson has a BIG tendancy to strike out with runners on base. So what did Wilson do? Drive in the winning runs? No! He struck out! Then Adam Kennedy popped out. I think Wilson needs to be sent down to the AAA league in Memphis and have John Rodriguez brought up. He can hit with runners on base. He is a decent player and deserves a chance to be on the bench or as a regular starter. That's my personal opinion. Hopefully, he will brought up to the majors soon.
On another note: Cardinals Manager Tony LaRussa was none to happy with the Post Dispatch's poke on the Cubbies. He stated that he would not answer any questions from them until the series was over. Click here to get the full story.
*Editor's note: I am a bit biased towards Preston Wilson. The comment he made in Spring Training has not sat well with me or my father (a die hard Cards fan). He said that Spring Training wasn't important. That a player really didn't have to work hard. Yeah, tell that to the major league hopefuls like J-Rod (for example) who fought hard to earn a ticket to the big show.

No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

I found this highly amusing little poem* (a new twist on the oringal one) about the Chicago Cubs today in the Sports section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

These are the cruelest of echoing words:
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.
Spend all they can, Cubs still chasing the 'Birds.
Since Tinker and Evers and Chance.

A goat and his curse; a scapegoat and his error,
Black cat greets Santo, raising defeatists fans' hair.
Ernie Banks-one of the greats who never got there.
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

Sweet Lou brings his brash to friendly confines.
He once won as much as Frank Chance.
Cubs renewed hopes flourish wehn Soriano signs.
They tinker, forever, for a chance.

When other clubs reversed curses, Cubs knew they should,
But roster was flimsy, built on Prior and Wood.
Up comes the hymm: "Wait 'till next year. Then we'll be good."
No Tinker. No Evers. No Chance.

*In 1910, New York columnist Franklin Pierce Adams wrote a poem that immortalized the Cubs' double-play combo and, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website, helped "them gain admission to (Cooperstown) as a trio 36 years later. Click here to read the article on the front page of the Sports page.

Zeta Beta

I have recently learned that all of the brothers of the Zeta Beta (Alpha Phi Omega) chapter are safe and accounted for. I very happy to hear this. Yesterday I was wondering if there was a chapter there and if the brothers were okay. I received two notices letting me know that there is indeed a chapter there and that the brothers are okay. I was also sent the following;
Hello Brothers,I'm sure you've all heard about the tragic events today at Virginia Tech, and I know that I'm wondering what if it had happened on my campus. The brothers of the Zeta Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega at Virginia Tech have had this tragedy occur right where they live and study. They could use as much support and encouragement as possible right now in light of this tragedy, so it'd be great if as many chapters as possible could send cards and letters of encouragment to them. Their mailing address is below:
Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity
PO Box 1011
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Thanks.
In LFS, David Erickson Alpha Phi Chapter

I encourage all of my brothers to do this, this is a fantastic idea. I was just thinking of what other chapters could do, and this popped into my inbox via facebook. All of my thoughts and prayers are with the brothers of Zeta Beta, as well as the rest of the people affected by this horrible event.
LFS,
Jenny

Virgina Tech

This morning I was watching Ellen, when it was interupted by Breaking News; There had been a shooting at Virgina Tech. At this time, around 11 AM, they were reporting 20 deaths and at least 28 injured. Broadcasters were saying that the shooting began in a dorm and then moved to an engineering building; this is where the majority of the shooting took place. A half hour later the death count went up to 22; 20 killed in the engineering building, 1 in the dorm and the last the gunman himself. I am horrified by this, especially since the death count has risen to at least 31 deaths. All classes for today and t/m have been cancelled. According to KMOV.com, this is being recorded as the most deadly shooting rampage in U.S. History. According to authorities, the shooting began about 7:15 AM at West Ambler Johnson, a coed dormitory, and then continued two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about half a mile away. No one is exactly sure on what caused this or what exactly happened. Details are still stetchy; different reporters are reporting different death tolls, with KMOV citing 31 deaths, and Y98 citing 32 deaths. Why do ppl do this?! I am absolutely horrified by this, I can not believe that someone would resort to violence at this scale for whatever reason. My thoughts and prayers are with the students and family at VA Tech. As the day progresses, more details will come to light. Hopefully, the reasons for why this horrific event took place will be revealed. I ask everyone to take a moment of silence for those victims affected by this.

Cards defeat the Brewers, 10-2

Friday nights game: Cancelled due to rain. Former Cardinal Jeff Suppan (now a pitcher for the Brewers) recieved his World Series ring.
Sat game: pushed back from afternoon start to evening start. Jeff Suppan was bumped up in the rotation, and got his first win w/ the Brewers. Brewers beat the Cards 3-2.
Today's Game: Cards got even with the Brewers, smacking them down with a score of 10 to 2, thus winning their first home game. First Baseman Albert Pujols slammed two Homeruns- his first off of starting pitcher Ben Sheets in the 3rd inning with 2 on and nobody out (the center fielder knew it was gone and just watched it sail into the bullkpen), and his second in the eigth off of reliever Elmer Dessens with no outs and nobody on. Pujols got 5 RBI's today. Outfielder Chris Duncan also slammed a homerun off of Sheets in the 5th innning w/ no outs and noone on base. Catcher Yadier Molina made a great defensive play by picking off Prince Fielder at first base. Molina also went 2 for 3, his batting average is at .273. Starting pitcher Braden Looper got the win today, his second for the season. Outfielder Preston Wilson made a spectacular catch in right field, Chris Duncan continues to amaze as he is making catches that he missed last season.
*In Honor of Jackie Robinson-baseball's first African American player, all of the players for both the Cardinals and the Brewers wore the number 42. Today was the 60th anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier. It was a little confusing with everyone wearing the same number, but after a while it became easer to discern who was who.
*Up Next: Monday, April 16 7:10 PM.- Birds onthe Bat vs. Pirates. Pirates are sending Ian Snell (0-1) to the mound to square off against Cardinal starter Anthony Reyes (0-1).
*Cards take on the Pirates at home and then travel to San Francisco (stupid West Coast games) to challenge the Giants.
**Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Allergies!

Allergies majorly suck! For the past two days, my eyes have been swollen and painful. I thought when the weather got colder, the pollen and mold counts would go down. Wrong! I have been exhausting the tissue supply and putting cold washclothes over my eyes. So at the moment, contacts and any eye makeup of the sort is out of the question. Hopefully, my eyes will get better soon and I will get to wear my contacts again! Loki also suffers from Spring Allergies. In fact, she is on medicine for it. At one point, poor Lokilu was suffering so bad from allergies, she had to get a shot from the vet. Poor baby was so miserable, scratching and biting everywhere. Her eyes and snout were all red and puffy. She is much better now. The medicine is working wonders.

Baseball Season Is Officially Here!!

That's right folks, my fave time of the year is here; Baseball season! The Cardinals were presented their World Series ring on opening day in a grand ceremony. The rings are outrageous. 40 diamonds, 32 rubies, and the top of the ring is as a big as a bottle cap. Too much bling for me. The Cards opened the season against the New York Mets (who they beat in the NLCS to go on to the World Series). The Mets, unfortunately, beat us all three games. We went on to Houston to play the Astros, where the Cardinals won the series 2-1. Then they went to Pittsburgh to beat up (I mean play) the Pirates. The Cardinals won all three games. It was a very successful road trip (5-1). Currently the Cardinals record is 5-4 and they are a half game behind Cincinnati. The Chicago Cubs are in last place (suprise suprise). Here's some Cardinals highlights:
* First baseman Albert Pujols has gotten off to a slow start w/ .176 average. Very un-Pujols like, but its early in the season, we have a lot of games left to play.
*Third Baseman Scott Rolen sat out for two games due to back spasms. He is back in the line up for Friday, April 13th's game. Scott Spezio filled in for him and did a great job.
*Star pitcher Chris Carpenter is on the DL due to an elbow injury. According to the team doc, he is not expected to return to the lineup until May. Randy Kiesler has been called up from Memphis to take his place until his return.
*Adam Wainwright has made an impressive start-1-0. Braden Looper has also gotten off to a nice start 1-1.
*The Cardinals are playing musical chairs in left field; Chris Duncan starts one night, then So Taguchi, then Skip Schumaker, then Preston Wilson, and then Scott Spezio. Jim Edmonds is the only constant in Center field.
*New comer Adam Kennedy is also struggling at the plate; he is off to a 3 for 22 start for the season. Aaron Miles has been filling in for him. No worries thou, Kennedy will figure things out.
*Rookie Anthony Reyes gets the start tonight agains the Milwaukee Brewers, new comer Kip Wells will get the start on Saturday. Braden Looper will face off former Cardinal Jeff Suppan on Sunday. Jeff Suppan is being presented his World Series ring Friday night.
*Por Siempre, Let's Go Cards!!