Poison Oak is a Bitch…

I guess that’s the best way to put it. I don’t know if I am wiser, or more mature, but definitely changing. Four years ago the concept of paying a hosting company a monthly fee for a host server seemed ludicrous to me. It wasn’t about the $8/month fees, it was more about the concept of do-it-yourself web hosting. I used to enjoy battling with non-cooperative routers and constant software updates while keeping older than dirt hardware up and running. I still like to have control over my own webspace, but after this most recent spike or router issues versus a new ISP who didn’t care for home web hosting, I’ve given up. The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is constantly maintain a server, routers and sidestepping ISP’s. The peace of mind and lack of maintenance is worth the $8/month I’m now paying Godaddy for hosting. Good riddance. Anybody want a B&W Power Mac G3 Server? Comes with a second B&W server for spare parts all on the cheap.

In other news, thank god the conference finals involve Detroit playing another Midwest team. Aside from the spectacle of watching a blood soaked old fashioned match up, it also signals the end of 2230 EDT start times. I have a job Bettman, you spineless Wing-Fan-Hating sonuvawhore. Prediction: Wings in 5

One much welcomed surprise this spring has been the performance of the Tigers, primarily the rotation staff. Verlander is dealing lately, Jackson is maturing into a legitimate number 2 or 3 man, and Porcello is performing above expectations for a Rookie who has never pitched above High-A ball. Bonderman is about 2 starts from rejoining the Tigers. The only real dark point is the apparent slipping of Galarrag into a sophomore slump. If his team mates maintain their pace, though, it should be well manageable. Dontrelle Willis may or may not be ready to be a big leaguer again. His first start was nothing to write home about, but he threw strikes, and that was the problem before. I fully expect him to get beat up tomorrow by the Rangers offense, but I would like to see how he comes out on Sunday against the Rockies in inter-league play. An interleage Memorial Day Weekend Sweep of the Rockies would make an excellent birthday present.

Had a great weekend in Lansing last weekend. This weekend may or may not be more of the same on the home front. The company of a history of unwise decisions is making her way into Global Command for the weekend, I’m sure I will be making even more poor decisions than usual this coming weekend. What can you do?

I’ve been waiting, waiting under things that rise in the morning.
I’ve been holding, holding back so long…
You can own it, take it off my hands, do me a favor.
Nothing wasted, just fingerfucked and busted up all at once…

I’m so lost out on the highway with no direction left to go.
Everyday sit up and wonder where it was I started from…

I was going to talk about the NFL draft, Stanley Cup Playoffs and a few other things this evening, but in light of the events of the last 48 hours, I’m going to finish drinking myself into a coma and start fresh tomorrow morning…

The tigers open the regular season tomorrow evening in Toronto and for the life of me I can’t come up with a single phrase to sum up my thoughts about the product they will be putting on the field that isn’t ripped right out of the opening sequence from Major League. The starting rotation is: Verlander, Jackson, Miner, Porcello, Galarraga. Oh Fuck.

Porcello may or may not be ready for this call, but I am fine with that. The same could have been said for Verlander in ‘06 and he was a big part of the world series run. Verlander will need to make a significant improvement over last year, the Tigers need and Ace and he has to step up and be the man. Jackson will be serviceable, I’m not expecting brilliance but he should be serviceable. Galarraga was last year’s surprise, barring a sophomore slump he will be the solid innings eater we need right now. Miner SUCKS. Oh God Miner sucks. Miner is getting the nod for lack of anyone else to throw out there. With Bonderman on the DL the #3 slot should be listed as ‘Pitch By Committee’. But hey, thank God we dumped off Miller, Jurjens, Durbin and Maroth over the last 2 seasons. A third straight year of pitch by committee, I can hardly wait.

The Tigers biggest issue the last 2 years has been pitching. Just before writing this I watched Derek Lowe toss 8 shutout innings of 2 hit baseball with no walks against the defending world champs. Who did the Tigers sign this year? Edwin Jackson.

…

They’re Shitty.