Goodbye SYSCON

Friday was my last day at SYSCON-International. We had one of the largest crowds (11 people) at Wings to celebrate. I'd like to think they were celebrating me finding a new job, but maybe they were just happy to get rid of me. At NW I upgrade from my cube to a small office between the business and social studies hallways. While my office may not have any windows, it does have a sky light. It will be weird not having Dennis around to answer all of my questions. I'm not sure how I will be able to function without Cletus, Gus, Chris, Mike, Doyle, John, Gary and Angie around to continually harass me. I'm sure there are a few teachers that will pick up where my co-workers at SYSCON left off.

Softball 5/24

We lost our first game of the season tonight. We split the doubleheader against Pleasant View. I ended the night 4 for 7 with a dinger, a double, and two walks. Erv, Adam, and Kenny all had decent nights at the plate. One of them struck out swinging but I won't name names on this blog. I also made a leaping catch on a liner and then had the presence of mind to double the runner off first. The throw short-hopped Erv but he looked like Mark Grace digging it out of the dirt.

Our next game is Friday, June 10th at 8:00 against Trinity on the front diamond.

Softball 5/20

The team moved to 6-0 tonight, defeating a very good Life Tabernacle team. Mike Kupke's 2-run walk off homer gave us a 9-7 win in the first game. I played solid defense the first 11 innings tonight but I fell apart in the 5th inning of the second game. We should've won the second game after the 5th inning via the 10-run rule but I booted a few and kept the game going. Luckily we held on to win 16-13. Tonight was the first night we got to use "the bat". It didn't help me as I failed to leave the yard. Adam and Erv each had homers though. Kenny continued to swing a hot bat as he hit his first double of the season.

Our next game is Tuesday at 6:00 against Pleasant View on the back diamond.

Crestor in trouble?

A recent study found that Crestor has more than double the side effects of rival statin drugs. One of the side effects is death. The researchers found a rate of 28 adverse events per million prescriptions of Crestor. That rate is approximately 2.2 times more than the side effects seen with Zocor and 6.8 times higher than Lipitor. Looks like those class-action lawyers will be starting up those lawsuits again.

PETA back in action

I want to know if the lab people spanked them.

Z has tennis elbow

An MRI today confirmed that Carlos Zambrano has tennis elbow. His status for his start against the White Sox on Friday is not yet known. He will throw a side session on Wednesday.

New Job

I accepted the position as Technology Coordinator at NorthWood High School today. May 27th is my last day at my current job. My current employers were very gracious upon hearing the news. The congratulated me and seemed genuinely happy for me.

Softball 5/13

UPDATE: Our coach talked with the head of the league and found out that the bat is legal. For some reason they posted two pieces of paper with bats on them. I guess we were supposed to know that the second piece of paper was the legal bats. Maybe they should explain that to the umpires because they were under the impression that any bat on the two lists were illegal.

We once again swept both games of the doubleheader, this time against Bristol. We won the second game in the bottom of the seventh when a single by Steve Hershberger plated the winning run. I was a disappointing 1 for 4 in the first game but rebounded to go 3 for 4 the second game. The hitting stars tonight were the Beachy Brothers, Erv and Kenny. Both had several hits but Erv drilled a towering homerun to deep center field. I have now created an Erv-O-Meter in the sidebar so you can keep track of his homeruns. The team is now 4-0.

The league decided to post a new list of banned bats sometime this week. It would have been nice if they would have done that last week since I went out and purchased two bats this past week. Both bats are now on the new list. I think every single bat DeMarini makes is on the list. I'm betting that next year they will only allow wooden bats. Luckily I suspected a new list might show up so I didn't take the plastic off either bat. I will be returning them both for a full refund.

Sorry Dave

I'm here if you need a shoulder to cry on.

Cubs snap 7 game losing streak

Carlos Zambrano gave up only one run today against the Phillies as he went the distance, throwing 135 pitches. Solo homeruns by Neifi Perez and Aramis Ramirez gave the Cubs all the offense they would need. The Cubs are 13-17 and start a three game series against the Mets on Monday. Luckily the Cubs won't see Pedro Martinez.

Hard to watch

I can barely stomach watching the Cubs anymore. They just lost their 7th game in a row today to the Phillies, 4-1. The one run came on Corey Patterson's lead off homerun. The Cubs could not manage anymore runs in the next 27 outs. I told you all at the end of last season Dusty needed to go and obviously I was right.

Softball 5/6

We won both games last night against Waky Methodist. Both games were ended early because of the 10-run rule. I was 3 for 4 the first game with a triple but put up an embarrassing 0 for 4 in the second game. I played decent at SS considering I hadn't played softball since last July. The team is 2-0 and plays next Friday at 6:00 against Bristol.

He's Baaack

Looks like John Rocker hasn't learned his lesson.

A-Train finds a home

Former Bears running back signed with the Cowboys today to backup Julius Jones. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that he signed a one-year deal.

Wood to miss 5-6 weeks

An arthrogram showed a strain in the rotator cuff. This is Wood's sixth trip to the DL in only eight seasons. I have to admit that I am not too upset by the loss. It is not like Wood has been pitching good lately. I'm not sure who Dusty is going to use in Kerry's place. I just read today that Dempster is headed back to the bullpen with Glendon Rusch taking his place in the rotation.