YFSF

Now What?

There's no basketball, which depresses me greatly. At least it's snowing, which makes football better.

Firsts

This is Isaac at his first ever pro baseball game, yesterday. While we aren't overly strict or ungenerous as parents, we are happy to say we were able to hold out on this experience until we could do it right. Meaning at Fenway Park.

Isaac had a blast, and then Jacoby (his favorite player) hit one to end the game.

A sweet night.

Fancy Meeting You Here

On Saturday we met some friends in Prospect Park for a summer picnic, some frisbee throwing, and the eventual ice cream cone nearby. It was a beautiful day for such a gathering, and the park was full of other like-minded souls happily enjoying the lovely weather. As we began to pack up our gear, a voice called. "Andy? Andy SF?". I looked towards the voice, and not really understanding the "SF" suffix to my name (my last name is not SF!), I mumbled something on the lines of "no, INSERT REAL LAST NAME HERE", as if someone actually thought my last name was "SF". Now, YF and I have run this site for almost 8 years, and during the run of conversation here there's no chance I don't know what "SF" means. But out in Prospect Park and a little sun-addled, I really didn't know what was going on.

That is, until I saw the person and he introduced himself as "Nick, Nick from the blog". Nick (that's Nick-YF to most of you) had also been lounging about nearby, perhaps no more than 25 feet away. Now Nick, as many of you know, is based in Jakarta. Indonesia. In town for a mere couple of weeks, he had met some friends in Prospect Park at almost exactly the same time we were getting ready to head out from our spot on the grass. Nick had recognized me from Facebook, and that's all it took. It was a great end to a great Saturday - Nick was in town when Jeter hit his 3000th, and I was in Prospect Park when Nick happened to be visiting the exact same spot, all the way from the South Pacific. Those not from New York should realize that Prospect Park is big. As in 585 acres big. And I rarely go to Prospect Park - this was the second picnic I have been to in 15 years, and my other visits to the Park have typically involved the Zoo or the soccer fields. But on this day it might as well have been the corner barber store (though I would have been getting a shine or a shave, I am the bald guy on the left). It was amazing, after all these years of virtual interaction, to finally stand in the same space, talk baseball, catch up on life, to meet someone with whom I have had a friendship based simply on a shared love for our national pastime. It was a great day, and I am thankful to have met Nick, who is certainly as nice and enjoyable a person as he is in all of his posts.

Dreamland

No long missives here about last night's beautiful victory. Just a smile, a picture, and a quick thought. The Bruins, a long love of ours that faded when Joe Thornton was traded and came back to life in time to see the team squander an historic 3-0 series and game lead against Philly, won the Stanley Cup. We truly, sincerely, never thought we'd utter that phrase, "the Bruins won the Stanley Cup". For us it was a video game fantasy, a lifelong jealousy of other teams.

No more. Congrats to the Bs.

The Sound of Flushing

I have come to putting on the Mets lately, in the evening, when nothing else on television is worth watching. I find that the Mets on the telly are what I imagine it is like to own an aquarium. Soft, bubbling noises emanating from a piece of furniture, the outside chance of seeing one thing eat another violently, but more likely a semi-pacifying scene of activity and uselessness.

It is quite relaxing, frankly.

One Man Wolf Pack

Ben Henry and Mike Kenny, proprietors of the Baseball Card Blog (and authors of the great "Casey at the Bat" project) have hit the genius well once again and we can't wait to see more of these (thumbnail above - be sure to surf through though, the site is fantastic).

Expanding the Roster

Our little community is about to get one Sox Fan larger. Many congratulations to Brad and his wife on the pending arrival of their daughter, due Aug. 1.

Yanks Fan in Yogyakarta

 
So I'm walking down the street in the biggest university town in Indonesia--Yogyjakarta-- and I come across this guy, a becak driver. I had to stop and ask permission for a photo. The hipsters have to be envious of maybe the coolest Yanks cap around. And you can find it all the way here in Java!

Big Media

Head over to Marketwatch, as an old YFSF supporter, Sam Mamudi, has taken over the task of sports business reporting for that site. Sam's first piece looks at WAR, actual wins, and payroll expenditures.

We're really happy for Sam, even if he does root for a certain team from the Bronx (and also Manchester). Congrats!

 

Transfer Madness

You think MLB's trading deadline is exciting, fun? Well, the transfer window for European footie closes today, and it's a doozie to follow. Sell-on clauses, buy-outs, renegotiations, etc., all these happen last-minute, with clubs literally offering their best players up for cold hard cash (John Henry's Liverpool may be in the process of receiving over $50M for their top striker, Fernando Torres). This even while teams are in contention for trophies and slots in prestigious tournaments - how do fans of these teams cope? It's quite a scene.

Follow it here.