Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

Notes on Melvin Mora and a stupid commercial
 
A few notes on the first couple days of real baseball:

- Melvin Mora looks terrible. I've watched most of the first two Orioles-Red Sox games (the whole game Sunday night, and what I've been able to today), and while it's impossible to make any kind of concrete judgment off of two games, he's made three errors and looked completely lost at the plate, striking out four times in nine plate appearances (a lot of these were against Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, but even so).

- There is a ridiculous Ford commercial (for the F-150) airing here featuring newly-minted Boston television star Curt Schilling (he's in a Dunkin' Donuts ad here too - also terrible). For those of you who haven't seen it - I'm sure it's not on the air in other markets - I'll give you a taste. Schilling is standing in the desert (presumably a ways from civilization, we can't see anything but desert), conveniently next to a sign that says something like "You are leaving Arizona". He's either traveled on foot to this point (though there's no noticeable wear in his clothes or appearance) or been dropped off by someone who was either unwilling or unable to leave the state. He's apparently on his way to Boston (we don't find this out immediately, but he does have a single duffel bag with him that says "Boston Red Sox" on it), and is attempting to solicit a ride from a passing driver. This is illegal in Arizona, but never mind that.

By the grace of God, two cars drive by almost immediately that are willing to offer him a ride. The people in Arizona (or those who leave Arizona) seem like humanitarians. He takes a look at each of them (a Dodge and a Chevy), and declines. He's apparently waiting for something specific - of course, it's the Ford F-150. He can't bring himself to be a passenger in anything else, even though he's stranded in the desert, thousands of miles from his eventual destination. Thanks to an incredible stroke of good fortune, a Ford F-150 actually does pass by! The driver kindly offers Schilling a lift, and he accepts (climbing aboard without so much as a "thank you"). The driver asks Schilling where he's headed, and we finally have our suspicions confirmed - he's heading for Boston. Just up the road - sure enough - there's a sign indicating the exact number of miles (2697) to Fenway Park. I know I was wondering how Schilling physically got from Arizona to Boston (a man who's made more than $50 million in career certainly wouldn't be flying or have his own car)...now we know at least part of the story. I trust Ford won't leave us hanging, and we'll see many more true-to-life, captivating chapters of Schilling's cross country journey.
posted by VZW Watcher at 6:36 PM -