Balls and Beers

Mitre gets the Pirates to go 1-2-3. Then again, so could I. OK, that's a little harsh. I'm going to try to be nice to the Pirates for as long as I can, because I'm thinking of making multiple trips out there for games this year. I've never been to PNC Park but I hear it's one of the best ballparks there.

I have been to Citizens Bank Park in Philly, and I've long thought I could get into the Phillies as an NL team I could follow. I really like Philadelphia, and they have a great ballpark.

Alas, after 18 months of venom from Boston fans, I don't think I'm going to spend that much time around another angry fan base. Philly fans aren't the self-righteous clowns Boston fans are, but they more than rival the Beantowners in the anger department, and I'm not going to deal with that, especially the season after the Yankees have just vanquished the Phils in the World Series.

Meanwhile, I hadn't had much to write since the first, so I needed inspiration. So, I crack open a Yuengling and take one sip, and the ideas just start flowing. This one is a "Bock Beer," and the label features a goat and the words "Tastes Good." And it does. My initial reaction: what a weak slogan! But have you seen a Bud Light commercial lately? "Here We Go!"

They actually paid an ad exec to come up with "Here We Go"? I must be in the wrong business. I could have come up with that. That's even worse than "It's the Cola" and "The Strength to Be There." And ad people wonder why we all use our DVRs to skip commercials.

A-Rod fires to first to end the top of the fourth and jogs off the field with a smile on his face. Why is he smiling? Because at this time last year his mind was occupied with just about everything but baseball. Now, it's just baseball. Rodriguez will hear "STE-ROID" chants the rest of his career, but I everything has turned for him. He's about to put up a monster year. Count on it.

And here comes Jeter to the plate. Is there anything better than that?