two baseball-related items

I was talking with a friend at lunch today about how we both miss baseball season already. Only three long, dreary months until pitchers and catchers report...

That said, here are two baseball-items to warm your soul.

1) F*&% the Fremont A's, I'm Ghostriding my Volvo

Whether you're into ghostriding or hyphy in general, or if you hail from the Bay Area's favorite parking lot with a mayor, this is for you:



Ghostriding the Volvo [YouTube]

2) Frank Thomas is a Turd Monkey

Now that the Big Hurt is looking to sign with the Blue Jays, this expression of playoff frustration is looking better and better:



This is on the bathroom wall at the excellent Toronado on Haight Street (make sure to grab a sausage or two from Rosamunde next door). The Blue Jays, in addition to being Major League Baseball's black-sheep lone Canadian team, cheerfully rejected my numerous attempts to get into a game for less than full price the last time I was in Toronto.

Dear Blue Jays: I understand you have a brand to manage, but when it's the bottom of the 8th and you're getting blown out by the Yankees, letting in the harmless fan with a used ticket stub who just wants to add to his list-of-stadiums-visited is the only decent American thing to do. Oh, wait.

As it stands, here's my (pathetically small) list-of-stadiums-visited, in roughly chronological order, with approximate date of first visit:

• Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, 1987 (first baseball game)
• Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland Athletics, 1987 (fell in love with the A's)
• Le Stade Olympique, Montreal Expos, 2000 (Louie outclassed at beer-drinking by girl from Georgetown; energetic love-hate heckling relationship with Mets right fielder Derek Bell as it was an empty weekday game and we were the only Americans there)
• Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco Giants, 2001 (hopefully Cisco Field will be as grand)
• U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox, 2006 (return of Frank Thomas to Chicago)
• Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs, 2006 (pilgrimage every fan should make before they die)

Thanks to the Blue Jays for preventing the Canadian sweep.

Toronado Pub [Toronado.com]
Frank Thomas is a Turd Monkey [Flickr]
List of Major League Baseball Stadiums [Wikipedia]