Maybe I Should Give Up Beef!

Seduced By Spring

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!”

~ Jonathan Winters ~

Warm weather makes everything better. Okay, so let’s forget for a moment that I am technically homeless, that I don’t have a real job of record and that the guy I’ve been seeing just turned out to be Mr. REALLY –REALLY- REALLY- WRONG…None of that matters right now because today the weather in New Jersey is absolutely beautiful and that makes all the difference in the world.

With the windows down and sun roof wide open, my friend Jessica and I headed out to enjoy the first tantalizing touches of spring. For most people, this means gardening, sun dresses and out door dining. For me…springtime is all about baseball!

This time next week, the 2007 season will be underway and nothing could make me happier. The New York Post had their 28 page preview section in today’s newspaper and it seems that everywhere you go; folks are a buzz with questions galore.

Will A-Rod step up or get booed out of town? Is The Rocket coming back to the Bronx? Who the hell is this Phil Hughes kid and is he really as good as everyone says he is? Is Bernie sitting at home right now with a voodoo doll that looks exactly like Brian Cashman? With Bruney, Farnsworth and Britton all having shaved their heads….could Jeter, Giambi and Damon be next to follow or does this new bald style apply only to the Bomber bullpen? If the Yankees do finally get their 27th World Series title, will this be Joe Torre’s last year as the Skipper?

All of these questions and more will surely be answered over the course of 162 games but now is the time for anticipation, frenzy and all around media fueled hype! As I write this blog, I am sipping a frosty beverage made by Jess with vodka and mango Rita’s Italian ice. Trust me when I tell you there is more vodka than ice in this cocktail!

Everyone wants to know what’s going to happen this season. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Predictions are for psychics and I’m no Sylvia Browne but I will say this. My mother keeps telling me there’s a lid for every pot. I know it doesn’t make much sense but it sure keeps a girl hoping. As for the guy situation, I’ll get my relief from the one I can always depend on and beyond that, all I have to say is thank goodness the rosters expand in September.

Somebody Pass Me A Drink!

What a horrible way to kick off the weekend....Chien-Ming Wang is headed for the DL…this is bad news in and of itself. But knowing that NO WANG means Miss Carla Pavano and that Japanese cat need to step up makes me want to throw myself off the Raritan Bridge. Only problem with that is it's probably not high enough for me to do real damage and I’d find myself wet, cold and still being forced to watch Carla pretend he’s a pitcher.

Sounds silly to say in March but you really NEVER can have enough pitching! Quick, someone call The Rocket! I need a cocktail....Let's hope Mr. Cano can give the Wanger some tips on a speedy recovery!

Shawn Chacon Is Still Alive And Well! Have No Fear!

Selfishly, I would like to believe that everyone still loves Shawn Chacon! At the very least, I am sure most Yankee fans would like to see Chac do well this season with the Pirates. If for no other reason than his performance in the second half of 2005 and considering he really showed up big time against the Angels in the playoffs that year!

Anyway, it seems that Chac has fully recovered from the awful leg injury that taunted him in the early part of 2006… the big guy did a great job against the Bombers today in a meaningless spring training game. Since he’s not a power pitcher, the big Alaskan relies heavily on his curve to keep hitters off balance and it seems that was the case as he retired the first 6 Yanks that he faced. Chacon still must contend with some nagging knee problems but he’s a scrappy gutsy player and if anyone can do it…he can.

Yankee fans might remember his version of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” sung on the Jumbo screen during home games early last year. He happens to be one of the most down to Earth guys you could ever meet in this game. I, for one, hope he has a hell of a year…unless he’s facing the Yanks, of course!

Maybe I Am An A-Rod Fan After All

"He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity."

~ Ben Jonson ~

Last night I was leaving a local watering hole when someone called out to me, “Hey, Tiffany! Are you going to opening day?” I’ve gotten used to people that I don’t know calling my name as if we’re old pals but sometimes it really catches me off guard.

I smiled and nodded. “You bet.”

“Where you gonna be?” He asked.

I paused for a moment, fully aware the last time I discussed tickets it became a slight controversy. My whereabouts during the Detroit series was apparently a big deal to some nosy folks and I’ve learned since then to keep my mouth shut. “Don’t really know just yet, but I’ll be there for sure.” I answered in the politically correct tone I have come to utilize when dealing with matters concerning the Yanks.

Then this guy said something to me that I can’t repeat here on this blog. But trust me, it wasn’t nice. …it was rather cruel.

I don’t know if it’s because some fans feel compelled to voice their opinions at all times, even when it’s totally uncalled for. I don’t know where the overall blame lies…but if you ask around I am sure some would say in me partly, in others absolutely. But to be brutally honest, I am getting really tired of people feeling like they can say anything they want to me or about me just because I was on some silly reality show. And if that makes me a bitch, so be it. I’ve been politically correct about things that most people would not have because I love this team and this great game with my entire heart. I don’t deserve a medal but I do deserve some element of basic human respect.

All of this taunting and gossip makes me think about Alex Rodriguez. The things that I heard during the course of last season being screamed at A-Rod on the road paled in comparison to what he faced at the Stadium in the Bronx. People feel like the money, fame and exposure that Alex has gives them a right to dehumanize him and when he comes out and tries to rectify any misinterpretations he is vilified for it.

Look, I am aware that I'm no A-Rod but I do understand to a small degree what he’s been faced with. I wish the fans understood that when you attack your own, you invite all kinds of criticism from the rest of the baseball world. Overall, people in New York understand the game but some of them take this team and its winning tradition for granted.

I can’t help but to wonder how many of these young Internet savvy fans would have been packing the Stadium in the late 80’s when the product on the field was less than stellar. Unfortunately, winning is just as attractive to unsavory characters as it is to the true blue diehards and the bandwagon that filled up in 1996 has only gained steam, an irrational sense of entitlement and hysteria along the way.

Speaking about hype, the YES Network ran their 5th Anniversary special last night. It was all pomp and circumstance for the most part…. Basically, it was a bunch of insiders flexing their muscles in a “my dick’s bigger than your dick” kind of way. When you’re the most powerful regional sports cable network in America and you’ve got the backing of the Yankees…it’s a given.

The show was filled with tremendous highlights from the last five years and that alone could have filled up the entire two hours. There were also a few Nets highlights not that anyone really paid much attention to that.

Towards the end of the show, they aired a segment on the Ultimate Roadtrip. I was texting back and forth with my boy KJ and the lovely Christa from Season One. It still trips me out that I was on this show that will forever be intertwined with the Yankees, their history and their legacy. Season Three has already started taping and I am sure those fans feel the same exact sense of pride.

People are often amazed at what we were willing to do to get tickets to the game. For example, jumping out of a plane in Boston… but I suspect if given the chance, most Yankee fans wouldn’t hesitate. Even with all of the negativity that comes along with making yourself an instant public figure…baseball is worth the drama.

Alex Rodriguez gets paid a lot more money than I did to open myself up to such things. But the basic principle is the same. And while no one should feel sorry for any player for their lives on or off the field….we should all try to remember that this is the greatest organization in all of professional sports and act accordingly. It’s no secret that every year, when that team steps out on the field in their classic pinstripes they represent a tradition unmatched.

As for me, I am not as sensitive as A-Rod. I can handle all the mean talk because trust me, the truth is just so much more interesting than those lies people are spreading about me. And to be honest, I’m still pulling for a Roadtrip reunion in 2008 that would pit KJ and me against Christa and Dave… I think it would be fun!

Let’s go Yanks! Opening day is just a stone’s throw away. I’ll be there with bells on! Will you?

Rain Delays and Miracles

“Nothing’s beautiful from every point of view.”

~ Horace ~

People don’t change. Well, for the most part anyway. Sure, there is always room for growth, improvement and maturity. But overall…certain things have already been set. Whether it is something small like a gregarious sense of humor or something big like pathological behaviors…you are what you are.

I don’t want to sound negative because by nature I have always been an extremely optimistic person. But the reality of life is that often the unforgiving hand of time can beat that sunshine out of even the most hopeful individual.

Sure, I would like to believe that Carl Pavano is going to shock us all this season and develop into the player that all those millions of dollars suggest he’s been all along. I pray for small miracles like that every single day in my personal life too and usually I end up disappointed.

Hollywood teaches young girls that the bad boy can turn good if we only love them enough. Second chances turn in to third and fourth ones and before you know it, you’ve wasted too much time on a man that never wanted you to love them in the first place. Sure, miracles do happen but never like in the movies.

The last few months have been riddled with personal setbacks and curveballs….It would have been rather easy for me to become jaded and hardened by such things. But any fan knows if you judge a player by numbers alone, you’ll miss the unexpected joys of the game itself. The Aaron Boone’s and Shane Spencer’s would stand no chance if life was a fantasy league…thankfully, it’s not.

In the real world, if you close yourself off or build a wall around your heart…your run the risk of never really knowing true happiness. Because, every now and again...someone just might surprise you and show you something new.

That’s the beauty of baseball…the beauty of love…the beauty of life. We come to care about people, places and things that we never knew of. It is true that if we keep our hearts and minds open to these things, we run the risk of getting hurt. But the reward is worth that risk. Human beings are resilient creatures with the capacity to sustain great loss and still manage to rise above.

And the root of it all, is that when you least expect it, you just might be touched in a place deep inside your heart that you didn’t even know existed until it happens. Sports and life often parallel each other in that way. The unexpected joys and sorrows….

As we embark on yet another baseball season, it is this very optimism that pulls us in and makes us believe. Whether your team finished in first place or last…there are now 162 chances to write a different ending this year. A clean slate looms with new faces and old reliable ones to take the journey with and it’s the promise of the unknown that we are addicted to.

Last week, someone that I’ve grown to care about opened one of those doors to an unexpected place inside of me. I learned that there are lessons to be had not only in new things but in old ones as well. A building that I’d passed by several thousand times in my youth presented the opportunity to teach me about my history and my future as well.

Most of the time, fate places us in the right place at exactly the right moment…but it is up to us to take it’s hand with no questions asked and walk on. Destiny can only do so much…we have to step up and take full advantage of the opportunity for ourselves.

Derek Jeter has always done that in the biggest of situations on the biggest of stages…Alex Rodriguez has not. We’re consumed with the reasons why… But perhaps it is something as simple as innate fear. Sure, no one can deny Alex’s talent but true success happens when we learn something new by walking through the doors of an old burnt down historic building that you may have passed a million times before.



Perception is everything and when I climbed that roof, I was able to see the beginning and end to the person I had become. They say that life is circular and you can set out to find yourself in the world but very often your acres of diamonds remain where you first began your journey… Often, you have what you’ve needed all along in your very own backyard.

Alex Rodriguez was born in New York. His story is well documented. He’s achieved great things, things people like us can only dream about. He has more money than he could spend in five lifetimes but yet he often seems empty and lost.

It’s not about sitting atop a shiny glorious thrown…it’s about Alex, me and maybe even you…being able to look into that mirror of time and face yourself. Because at the end of the day, what matters most is the person you’ve allowed life to shape you into. We all make mistakes, we all suffer heartbreak…these things, we can’t escape.

Chances are, if you live long enough people will let you down, they’ll lie to you and try to break your spirit. But life is about finding those rare few that will enlighten you and enrich your world in ways that you never knew were possible.

The greatest hope I have is that the baseball season of my life brings more clutch performances and magical miracles to hold on to during the rain delays of my heart.

Idol Worship

"When a man talks dirty to a woman, it's sexual harassment.

When a woman talks dirty to a man, it's $3.95 a minute."

~Author Unknown~

Sorry that I haven’t posted in a few days…From the videos below, you can probably tell that I have been extremely busy with very important social things. The off season is great for getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting new ones! Heck, I’ve had nothing but free time on my hands lately!

Isn’t it funny that when you meet a new guy, they automatically rise to the top of your social food chain in the blink of an eye? Someone that was a stranger just days before is suddenly the first person you text, call or think about….life is funny that way.

Fortunately, this stage only typically lasts a week or so and then it’s back to the real world. So here I am… back to work.

Look, I know there’s a lot going on in Yankee camp…Rocket was at the game last night, Andy Phillips mother is recovering after a horrible car accident, Jeter still hasn’t slept over A-rod’s house much to his chagrin and last time I checked, Scott Proctor’s arm is functionally attached to his body…thank goodness.

Yes, baseball is back and that means soon we’ll be bantering about Torre’s madcap bullpen management skills, A-Rod’s perceived insecurities on and off the field, and Jeter’s latest A-List booty call! But since it’s not even the second week of March, it seems rather counterproductive to get all fired up about anything just yet.

There are more pressing issues in the world right now. There are things we should all be concerned about….things like terrorism, war, and….AMERICAN IDOL!

Maybe you’re one of those rare individuals who only watches PBS or makes it their personal mantra never to participate in the frivolous world of popular culture but unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, chances are you know all about IDOL contestant, Antonella Barba.

Barba, has made quite a stir in recent days but her ‘magic’ has nothing to do with vocal talent whatsoever. Now, I am not hating on the girl…truth of the matter is, I’m sure she’s really, really, really friendly ….but COME ON PEOPLE!!!!! If she doesn’t get voted off tonight, there is no justice.

When this season of American Idol first started, my girls and I were all psyched to finally have some representation up on that stage! Not only is Ms. Antonella a Jersey shore girl like myself but we both attended Red Bank Catholic! So I was rooting for her all the way….until she opened her mouth to sing.

But as it turns out, lack of talent has quickly become the least of Barba’s legacy. Let’s forget that she’s off key, off beat and that her song selection proves she has no clue about the level of her ability….because dirty picture of home-girl practically cemented her return last week. That better not be the case tonight when the votes are counted.

As a fellow reality show participant and Jersey girl, I know all about the stereotypes and preconceived notions facing us on a national level. I also know what its like to be insulted on the internet. I know what it’s like when people make things up, distort the truth and run with it. I know how it feels to have your flaws pointed out, your personality dissected and your name tarnished…

But let’s get real for a moment. Doesn't Barba know, you NEVER leave a trail of pictures behind? I could have told her this if she'd asked! You must do all your dirt in secret, honey! That being said, she'll probably get a modeling gig or something from her sexy slut routine because she's no vocal wiz!

American Idol is supposed to be a singing competition and if Antonella Barba represents the Top 12 that our fine country has to offer, than we all need freaking hearing aides! It’s absolutely frustrating and embarrassing to watch this token brunette stand up there struggle her way through these songs. She can’t possibly believe it that she belongs in the same class as some of these talented female vocalists.

At this point, the best that Antonella can hope for is that Derek Jeter sees her and tosses a few tickets to the Yanks home opener her way. After all, she’s just his type, young, beautiful and ‘friendly’…

Idol airs tonight on Fox, incase you were wondering. Rumor has it that Jeet Tivo's it... that's gotta be good news for Antonella~

Off Season Fun!

Part ONE:


The Saga Continues:


Finally Pizza For Jess!