COLUMN ONE
I have to stop and take a step back from myself. I have to think of one of the most overused phrases of all time. "The [FILL IN THE BLANK] experience. When I worked for CNN.com, I have heard the phrase "The Video Experience" when it came to giving viewers a way to watch our newly over-produced pieces. Right away, I wanted to vomit. I wanted to vomit then and I want to vomit now after hearing that phrase over and over again.
Why does EVERYTHING have to be an experience? Today we have the viewer experience, the fan experience, the movie-going experience, and the buying experience. Everything is going to be an experience before too long. Why don't we call things what they are like watching TV, going to a game, going out for a meal. Oops, I forgot one more phrase, "The Dining Experience."
I want to touch on the fan experience for a second. I'm a simpleton as far as going to a game goes. I like the part where I like to take pictures and videos with my smartphone. I love posting them to social media sites as soon as I can.
This is the last time I'm hoping to use that word "experience." My ideal experience at a game is where the weather is good, my home team is winning, and the hot dogs are warm and fresh (and the beer and soda is cold).
I'm sure the wi-fi hot spots are all getting faster and better. I'm not a big fan of paying for a $6 slice of pizza or a $10 cheeseburger. I'm not a big fan of fighting traffic to and from the game either.
I'm going to miss Turner Field for the central location it provided Metro Atlanta. SunTrust Park will take Turner Field's place for the Atlanta Braves after the 2016 season. Get ready: It's gonna be a fun and bumpy ride. Oh, and I leave you with this: SunTrust Park fans, traffic will suck beginning in 2017 (if not sooner). You've been warned.
COLUMN TWO
I remember Sandy Alderson as an executive for the Oakland A's and the San Diego Padres. I just read about his days as Bud Selig's right hand man when he was a MLB executive. Heck, he could have been the commissioner today.
I'm surprised that the New York Mets are competing with the Washington Nationals for supremacy in the NL East. Good for him and good for them. I'm a Braves fan and I wish they were more competitive this season.
Sandy Alderson built the Oakland A's late 80's pennant winning teams (including the 1989 World Series Champions) with great drafting of Canseco and McGwire. He also had the money to add pieces around them. The A's were fun to watch in the early 9-'s when I really started watching and following baseball. They never made it back to another world series since 1990 (when the Cincinnati Reds swept them).
Fast forward to the middle of the last decade. Alderson was CEO of the San Diego Padres from 2005-2009. To me, he didn't do it for me as a Padres fan. Sure, he got Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, and a slew of players from the Texas Rangers. Beyond that, he didn't make my team better.
He even let Manager Bruce Bochy walk, to the San Francisco Giants. for NOTHING. No compensation taken. BUPKUS. He let the best and most successful manager my team ever had go to a division rival. Three world championships later, that will give me nightmares for years.
So I guess you could say Sandy Alderson revitalized Bay Area Baseball, for the WRONG TEAM. It was not my team (past or present).
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