MLB Conspiracy

OK, let's just say it. MLB does not want the Sox to win this year. Period. End of story. With the way that MLB has kept their tabs on the Sox over the past few weeks it reminded me of Sun-tzu's philosophy to "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

MLB scheduled the Opening Day games in Japan smack dab in the middle of Spring Training. How many days did the Sox lose because of this trip? Don't tell me that an optional workout after an overnight flight, exhibition games against the Yomiuri Sushi Fighters and the Hanshin Kobe Beef Warriors, then two games against a minor league A's team is the same as grinding it out in the Grapefruit League.

Then, after an overnight flight back to the West Coast, yet another optional workout before playing a three game series against the Dodgers. The same Dodger team owned by Frank McCourt, who was screwed out of buying his hometown team and building a beautiful new ballpark on the waterfront (where seats would actually face home plate) by one of the producers of the Cosby Show. Oh ya, I forgot about last night's commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Dodgers leaving their loyal fans in Brooklyn to soak up the SoCal sun.

Between March 18th and the 28th, the Sox played only 6 games in three different times zones on two continents crossing the International Dateline TWICE! It's not going to get easier for the Red Stockings. After finishing their opening series against the A's on Wednesday, the Sox fly back east to face the Blue Jays before their home opener against a Tiger team that won 88 games, then a series against the Yanks (94 wins) before traveling to Cleveland (96) and New York. They also host Angels (94) later in April. After their travel day back from the West Coast before facings the Blue Jays, the Sox will only have 2 days off the rest of the month. The Sox end April and head into May with 16 straight games.

Who cares about the A's? They suck. Japan was a gift to them. With Billy Beane's "Moneyball" philosophy, the $40K appearance fees were sizable bonuses for both the A's players and coaches.

Oh, well!

Foxwoods Poker Classic

So, we just got back from the Woods. Not being pros or having large bankrolls to blow, we entered the $600 event. The tournament was capped at 938 entries. It was the normal trio (Cap'n, cjkeno, myself) with the Big O joining us for his first FPC tournament. The Moosh joined us for part of the trip as well.
No "golden tickets" (in the money) for any of us this time. Big O was the closest by being about 20 places out of the money. I was about 35-40 out. Cap'n & cjkeno were cold decked earlier in the day. A few of us made money in the cash games, so all was not lost.
Foxwoods has started to go downhill, at least in my eyes. Something needs to be done about the restaurants. If I wanted to go to a Panera, CPK, or Fuddrucker's, I don't need to drive 1 1/2 to the Woods. Cedars is an overrated steakhouse, every casino has a buffet, and pretty much everything else is catered to their Asian players. Mohegan Sun has much better restaurants with Bubba's BBQ, Jasper White's Summer Shack, and MJ's Steakhouse (to name a few). They also have a Krispy Kreme. OK, this is a chain but who can resist those donuts! I'm not saying that Foxwoods should have all fine dining establishments, just something a little different.
The hotels are still pretty good. The Two Trees is a good value. All of the employees are helpful and courteous from the valet and front desk to housekeeping, room service, and engineering (if you need them). Although, they should to look at upgrading their TVs, especially in the Pequot Tower. I look forward to seeing the MGM later this Spring.
I wish I could say the same for the poker room. The people working at the Sign In Desk constantly have attitudes. The waitresses have a tough job, so I can't really blame them. It's a crap shoot when it comes to dealers. There are some pretty good ones, but there are some pretty bad ones as well. It just sucks to see the good ones get promoted. I can't fault them for it as I want to get promoted in my job as well. I just don't see them even thinking about changing anything until The Sun opens their poker room this fall.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy my time at The Woods. It's just that The Sun gives off a better vibe overall. I'm not an architect or designer, so I don't know how to explain it. The open layout, colors (including uniform colors), lighting, etc. all seem to be better. The Woods seems to have too many different rooms, where the Sun seems to be one large room (even though it isn't).
That's about it for now. Until next time, to quote Sergeant Esterhaus of 'Hill Street Blues', "Let's be careful out there."