My NL boys are going home for the winter.  It started to hit me around the 6th or 7th inning that this was really happening, and yes, I shed some tears along the way before just going numb.  One of the few bright spots tonight was Albert singling in Julio (who drew a walk as a pinch hitter and then stole second).  Too bad it was our only run.  Vicente Padilla shut our hitters down, and our pitchers didn't do the same to the Dodgers.  So that's that.

Now I have to wait 4-1/2 months to see my two favorite baseball boyfriends again.  Oh sure, I can dig around on line and find some updates on them, since they both do charity work.  Albert's stuff will be easy to find -- Julio's not so much, but hopefully his foundation's website will be updated during the offseason.  Unfortunately, it's not the same as seeing them out there on the field.  And 4-1/2 months is a long fucking time.   :::major sadface:::

Bah.

I can't fucking believe it.  The Cardinals were THIS.CLOSE to taking Game 2.  We were up 2-1, bottom of the 9th, 2 out, bases empty, and a fly ball to the outfield came Matt Holliday's way and...he dropped it.  A two-base error.  After that Ryan Franklin imploded, issuing a walk, then giving up a single that tied the game, Then there was a passed ball by Yadi Molina and both runners advanced, then another walk loaded the bases.  All of this with two out, and then in came a pinch hitter and, and, and...now we're down 0-2 in the series and I just want to bang my head against the wall because I'm SO not ready to see these guys (including my two favorite baseball boyfriends) start the offseason this soon.  If they don't turn this shit around I will stomp my feet and rend my garments and there will be much wailing.

Oh, and by the way, Julio had a fabulous game, which is some small consolation for the disaster that I just witnessed.  A single, a double, a stolen base, and sparkling defense, including one real webgem.  Way to go, Little Guy.  Hopefully the season will continue so I can see more of that. ♥ ♥ ♥

Last night's warm and fuzzy feeling of watching the Cardinals celebrate (a soaking wet Albert, a mischievous Julio spraying champagne everywhere, among other amusing sights) did NOT carry over to witnessing today's division-clinching win by the Yankees at the expense of the Red Sox.  Just sayin'.  Hey, at least the Rangers lost too, so our Wild Card lead remains the same.  I also didn't much care for the scene later in the afternoon when both Julio and Albert were stranded by a game-ending, game-losing GIDP by Ryan Ludwick.  Just sayin'.

In happier news, my decluttering continued today with a vengeance.  Although I'm absolutely exhausted (probably because I haven't yet ingested enough calories to make up for the energy I expended today), I managed to squeeze one more box of old books into my car to take to recycling, and to the Goodwill bags I added a bunch of drinking glasses that I found wrapped in newspaper in a box.  They're in good condition but definitely not anything I need to keep, especially after finding the "jars with handles" glasses yesterday, which were really cute and sparklingly new -- they even still had the price tags on 'em.  Tomorrow evening my very full car will be cleared out, as I will stop by both the recycling center and Goodwill on my way home, and then the decluttering cycle begins anew.

By the way, today's very small "keep" pile included my paperjournal from my "summer on the road" the year I relocated from NY to NC (a bit odiferous, but ALL paperjournals must stay, I'm sorry -- and a quick glance through the book had me itching to sit down and read it cover to cover).  Also, I found a large bag of REAL silverware.  It's old -- I think it was my grandmother's silver.  It's definitely good quality stuff -- I love the weight and heft of it, and am looking forward to using it in place of my cheap lightweight stuff!

Time for more calories, but before I go, I'm sending happy birthday wishes to queen_dream as well as to redsox_njdevils (wherever she may have gotten to); both of them have birthdays today.  ALSO...a very happy birthday TOMORROW tonew_world_smurf (giving the big birthday shoutout a day early just in case I don't make a post tomorrow).  I hope wonderful days are had by all!

And now...salad and shrimp pasta, or something like that.  Cheers!

Congratulations to the Cardinals, who just clinched the NC Central with a 6-3 win against the Rockies.  Adam Wainwright absolutely rocked for eight innings.  Jason LaRue hit the tiebreaking home run, having come into the game only because Yadier Molina took a ball to the knee (hopefully his injury will prove no worse than Jon Lester's).  Ryan Ludwick also homered to add a couple of insurance runs.  Extra smiles were provided by My Little Guy, who pinch ran in the eighth, stayed in the game, and fielded the final out, followed by the usual considerable enthusiasm on his part.  In particular I got a kick out of him yelling at TLR in Spanish while grinning like a maniac as they met in the high-five and hugs line after the game.  I am so easily amused, LOL.

MLBN said they were going to do a postgame locker room segment, but that has yet to materialize.   :::drums fingers impatiently:::   I may or may not keep the TV on for much longer, as I'm running on fumes here.  But I know I'll fall asleep with a smile on my face!

Started out being lazy because it's been so dark and chilly and wet out all day, but once I got rolling?  Never fear!  I got a hell of a lot of decluttering done -- spent about two hours on it this afternoon with the help of a heretofore unheard R&B station that I put on in the back room while I was working back there.  First I cleaned the windowsills so it wouldn't be such a grimy proposition to open and close them.  I also cleaned the panes on the front window while I was at it.  Then, window fan working furiously to clear the air, I got down to business.  The end result is that the entire back seat of my car is full of a) flattened cardboard as well as a box of musty books that Raye said need to be recycled because no one will accept them for reselling if they smell, and b) clothes and miscellanous stuff to go to Goodwill.  My city garbage container is nearly full -- I maybe have room for a couple more bags, but garbage doesn't go out until Tuesday night so I need to pace myself.  My big throwaways included an old exercise mat and a tarp that I got to use for camping at fiddle conventions (I never used either of these items and they've gotten totally nasty).

I'm starting to see an appreciable difference in that room, and I already have my next couple of sessions planned, which should result in three fewer boxes rotting back there.  Bonus points today for finding a bag filled with really pretty teacups and a couple of glass beer steins!  I'm going to wash them and then decide whether they stay or get donated.

I'm hoping that today's baseball games will be made of win, unlike last night, when both my teams lost (causing the Cardinals to fail to clinch their division).  RIght now the Sox/NYY game is a pitcher's duel in the 7th, with the only score unfortunately coming on a HR by Cano.  Hopefully our bats will wake up before it's too late.  As for the Cardinals, they'll be on MBLN tonight, although I may just catch the game here in the kitchen so I can start catching up on a whole shitload of e-mails as well as a sinkful of dishes.  Nothing like a little multitasking!

ETA: Well, that sucked.  At least VMart's win streak continues at 25.  And the massive area of rain will finally move out of here in the next couple of hours.  The bad news is that all this rain is the harbinger of a cold front and it's supposed to drop into the 40s for the next several nights.  I won't turn the heat on yet, thanks to my stubbornness and the hardy Northern blood in my veins, but atm I've got a long-sleeved shirt over my Bay t-shirt, and it looks like I'll have to sleep with my bedroom window closed tonight for the first time in months.   :::sadface:::

Has it really been a week since I've posted?  I think that's my longest hiatus since I've been on LJ.  It's been one of those weeks, though.   Just so much going on that I hardly know where to start.
 

My stomach is rumbling so I will (mercifully) stop writing and go fix dinner, after which it's time to tackle a good-sized backlog of e-mails.  Thank goodness for the holiday weekend so I don't have to try to do them all at once!

I don't know whether it's the heat or the time I spent (both yesterday and today) lying perfectly still in an MRI machine, doing nothing but breathing while weird repetitive noises went on all around me (which activity tends to put me to sleep), but I'm so wiped out as to need to go to bed, like...as soon as I post this.  Fortunately, I can watch the end of the Sox game in bed, as it's on ESPN.  I did want to check in, though, with a little bit of baysbawl talk.

First...congrats to Dustin and Kelli Pedroia on their new addition.  I can't wait to see pictures of little Dylan!  Also, great news in that Remy will be returning to the broadcast booth this Friday!  And how 'bout that Papi and all his HRs?  Mang is on a tear, and I love it!  We're tied for the wild card lead again...now all we need to do is keep up the good work (and hope the Yankees start losing).

That's about it for now.  Game's almost over, and we're still up 5-1, so I'm cautiously optimistic, and on that note, I'm going to watch the conclusion from the horizontal position.  Comment replies?  E-mails?  Later in the week.

Ciao!