Jeff

I Almost Played Baseball for the USC Trojans

Like any kid, I wanted to be a major league baseball player.

I played baseball in high school, but having spent most of my grade school years up in Canada, I was a little behind most of my American peers when I moved back down to the US for 11th grade. A birthday on the wrong side of the cut-off date for grade placement didn’t help things, making me almost a year younger than most of my peers. I wasn’t very good and spent most of the time riding the bench. (more…)

By Jeff, ago

Southwest is Trying to Ruin My Vacation

So my good friend Mal decided to have a destination wedding in Punta Cana. I am a travel junkie, and here’s the chance to go to the Dominican Republic. Fun!

As I was looking for flights, I found a little promo in the sidebar for Southwest Vacations, which sells flight and hotel packages together. And they’ve got some pretty good deals on there! I found a great deal for a flight from DCA to PUJ along with 4 days at the Royalton Punta Cana Resort where my friend’s wedding is being held. Perfect! Well, not so much… (more…)

By Jeff, ago

Rediscovering Baseball from the 80’s

So I was chatting with a buddy about some baseball stuff, specifically how public perception of Barry Bonds has changed over the years.

I described to him how I remember that Bonds was generally well-liked in the early 90’s. Around that time, it was like “Holy shit, with all these metrics coming out now, is Bonds really the best player in baseball? And has he been for several years now?” Sabergeeks were loving him more and more as analysis gained momentum. His prickly personality was maybe not so prickly yet and certainly wasn’t well-known. (more…)

By Jeff, ago

Dinner at the Coronado Room

I just returned from a road trip that I took across Arizona with my mother for her birthday. We hit the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley. All in all, a great adventure. Great sights, fantastic weather, but every time we came into a new town, we had to find good places to eat. In the Grand Canyon gateway town of Tusayan, we chose poorly. (more…)

By Jeff, ago