Misadventures of an American in the Middle East

MLB 08 The Show..... The review

That's right folks, I got the game.  Let me give you a little background on the interesting story behind this whole PS3, MLB 08 The Show thing.  First, let me tell you that I originally had no intention of buying a PS3.  I've been a fan of the Xbox 360 and I didn't need another gaming system to take up more hours of my life.  Then baseball happened.  For those that know me, you know that 95% of the games I play are sports games.  Break it down even further and you know that Madden and NCAA football take up about 85% of that time and the rest is devoted to baseball games.  Unfortunately the Xbox is severely lacking in the baseball category.  I mean severely.  I think I wrote a fairly bad review of MLB 2K7 on my blog last year.  I read even worse reviews of the 08 version so I passed on it.  The reviews were so bad that I didn't buy a baseball game and just kept playing Madden.  Even when I saw it stocked on the shelves at the store on base, I still passed.  It was a miracle.  But the baseball itch started coming around.  I didn't know how much longer I could hold out.  I heard about MLB The Show 07 and how much better it was than MLB 2K7.  Then the 08 version came out and I read even greater reviews.  So there was my dilemma.  A good baseball game on another gaming system.  What was I to do?  Drop $400 on a new system for a game?  I've done that in the past, but now that i'm getting older and wiser, I just can't spend that kind of cash for a gamin console.  I decided it would take a miracle of sorts for me to buy a PS3.  Then it happened. 

I have a Blu-Ray player at home.  It's the very first one ever made.  I mean the very first original model.  It's kinda like having the first ever Betamax player ever made.  It was cool.  It played all my Blu-Ray movies, albeit with more delays and more freaking updates than I care to endure.  The worst part about it was the manual update since the player didn't have an ethernet connection.  Occassionally I ran into a movie that wouldn't play.  Most eventually played after an update was put out.  Then things went south.  I bought a few newer movies and they wouldn't play.  Then movies that worked before stopped playing as well.  Eventually it got to the point where I had a $750 paper weight.  WTF?  The icing on the cake was the eventual win by Blu-Ray over HD.  Now I was really stuck.  I could no longer continue just buying HD movies and not Blu-Ray.  There was only one alternative.  Kill two birds with one stone by buying a PS3 to solve my baseball craving and my Blu-Ray issues.

So there they were.  Stacks up stacks of PS3's at the store.  Everyday I would walk in there and stare at them.  Was today going to be the day I broke down and bought one?  I really needed it for the movies but the baseball game was an added bonus.  I decided that I would buy one when I got that baseball game.  The release date came and went and the game never showed up at the store.  They never got it in stock.  A week went by, then 2.  3 weeks later and nothing.  I held off on the movie watching.  It was getting to the point where I was just fed up with waiting.  Yesterday I went online and finally clicked "submit order" on ebgames.  Off it went, along with Mario Kart for the Wii.  I was relieved.  Finally.  So I figured I had at least a week before the game got here before I had to actually break down and buy the PS3.  For shits and giggles, I went to the store after I ordered it.  I think the only reason I did that was because I had this funny feeling.  I waited all this time for it to come in to the store and nothing.  I finally had enough and ordered it online.  I walked in, went directly to the electronics section and there it was.  Around 20 copies.  I couldn't believe it.  What kind of dumb luck is that.  Needless to say I broke down.  After work I ran back there, bought a PS3 and the game and drove like a mad man home.  Now here we are.  I only wasted 20 minutes of your life with the backstory instead of getting right down to it and giving you the review.  Without further delay, off we go. 

The first thing you notice is the presentation.  Wow.  Blows away the MLB 2K series.  It's just worlds apart.  The graphics are okay, but better than then 2K.  I'm sure it would be better if I was running 720P on my tv as opposed to 1080i which to my knowledge isn't as good a picture.  Unfortunately I haven't yet mastered changing the PS3 display settings and since my TV is only 720p, i'm stuck with the auto configuration.  Overall, i'd give the presentation an A and the graphics a B+ (subject to change when I fix the settings)

The gameplay is just unreal.  You don't know how happy I was to play a game and see how smooth a baseball game is supposed to be.  If you've ever played MLB 2K7, you'll know exactly what i'm talking about.  No choppiness whatsoever.  Just smooth gameplay and no lag.  It's fantastic.  The mechanics of the players are off the chart.  Different animations and movements.  It's not robotic.  There is also more room for mistakes like in real life.  Not every throw is dead on.  People get pulled off the bag quite often and unless you time it right, pitching and throwing is difficult.  Much like in real life.  Of course there is quite a learning curve for us Xbox users.  I haven't touched a Sony game console since the way before the original xbox was released.  Even on the veteran setting, it's a bit difficult.  I was almost heartbroken because it doesnt have the "pick up and play" feel to it.  If you've never played it before, it's going to take some getting used to.  After a few games of striking out and losing games, I finally had to try Road to the show. 

Now that feature is just flat out cool.  It's basically like the Superstar mode in Madden where you create a player and have them play out a career.  But this is different.  This is more realistic.  You don't start off on a major league roster (although you are an invited guest to spring training to start your career).  Once you get through spring training, you are then assigned to either AAA or your AA affiliate.  I haven't gotten that far yet though so I can't really comment on it.  Although the realism is great.  So far in 3 games i'm 1 for 13 with only a single.  I can't seem to get a hit which is probably like real life.  Although defense i'm almost there.  There is a cool option to skip through the other parts of the game and only play when you are actually involved.  I selected that option in order to avoid a 30 minute game.  I knew when I was on defense, the ball was coming to me.  Nothing got by me and I got a few good calls on double plays to at least not get too beat up by my coach because of my hitting.  Although I did miss a chance to pull a double play and also didn't cover the bag during a steal attempt.  My bad.  Overall the gameplay is smooth as well with the players looking like real people when they make a play.  No catching the ball without looking and all sorts of backwards looking things. 

I haven't really played enough of it to enjoy it so I can't give it a 5 out of 5 rating yet.  It's awefully close though.  I'd say at least 4 maybe 4.5 right now based on what I saw.  Once I play it more this weekend i'm sure i'll have more to say.  Including more of an opinion on the interface during the season, which happens to be plentiful and confusing.  And it's damn near impossible to trade in that game.  It kinda sucks because it's too realistic in that aspect.  I want to make unfair trades and stick the Yankees with high cost, low quality players for some of their young guns.  Ah, I guess i'll have to try playing a realistic season and see how it goes.  I can't wait to get to the offseason already. 

Disgusted

I don't even want to talk about the draft.  At least with last years, we picked up an impact player.  This year, I don't even know what strategy they were using.  It just seemed all over the place.  I can't even remember any other name outside of Kentwan Balmer, our first round pick.  Why not pick up Mario Manningham who would be a great fit in Mike Martz's system?  Why not take a chance on Chad Henne or John David Booty who despite not playing an NFL game looks more polished than Alex Smith.  Okay, enough talk about the draft.  I'm so disappointed in it that i'm finally going to break down and get a PS3 this week and play a baseball game all weekend.  Something to take my mind away from football until Madden comes out.  Which could be another royal disappointment.  Man i'm hoping it improves just a little bit.  There is so much potential in that game but EA keeps short changing people with little gimmicks and not giving us what we want.

Okay, i'm just in one of those moods today.  Maybe it's because i'm freaking sleepy as shit, or work is beginning to get on my nerves again.  I've got a "to do" list a mile long and everytime I finish a task, another 3 pop up.  How the hell am I supposed to get anything accomplished?  I'm done blogging for today.  Going to try and knock out another task before another 3 pop up. 

No time post

I don't have much time.  It's been busy at work today so I haven't had time to actually study the Niners' draft so i'm offering a beleaguered fan's opinion instead.  I am so so on the first pick but there is hope.  The 2nd round I wasn't too fond off and think that it was a bit of a reach.  Overall grade... B minus.  Yeah, i'm a bit pessimistic.  We needed some help on the defensive line so I can understand the pic, but there were quite a few good linebackers and defensive ends available.  Taking a defensive tackle instead would make sense if that guy was a solid NT in the 3-4 scheme.  Unfortunately he's not.  He's a project.  Why waste the pick on a project when you can get a pure DE to offset the Justin Smith signing.  Now you have 2 pass rushers and stick an average guy at the NT position.  Anyway, i'll dissect it more when I actually have some time.  I've got 15 minutes left at work and i've got to start wrapping things up.  I don't even want to bother with the 2nd rounder so don't expect any comments from me. 

On another note, we have our 2nd to last softball game today.  It's been a good season despite our record.  Like I predicted, we shocked some people and we aren't the worst in the league.  Actually, we're going to be pretty good during the next league which limits people to play for the commands they actually work for.  I think with good coaching we'll be able to compete with the top teams.  Needless to say i'm not coaching this season.  I just want to play.  At least I took the lead and started the team off.  No one else was going to take the initiative to start the team and play so I might as well do it.  It gives us a better chance at the important games because we've had the benefit of playing together.  A few other teams did the same so they are also a force to be reckoned with.  Anyway, enough talk.  Gotta run.  Hopefully the 2nd day of the draft produces sexier picks.  Can you say John David Booty or Mario Manningham?  Work with me here Mike Nolan.  Work with me. 

The upcoming weekend

Finally.  Virtual Friday!  I've got an hour left before heading home.  Perhaps a haircut is in the cards before heading home.  I'm getting a little bushy.  This weekend promises to be eventful.  We have a softball party tomorrow so that should be fun.  We get to all hang out together and just do some team things and have fun outside of the softball field.  We've been taking such a beating on the field that we need something to bring us all together.  I gotta give credit though.  Despite the losses mounting up, the team has been upbeat and tries very hard to support each other.  It definitely makes it easier to head home after getting run out of the field by 20 runs. 

Saturday is the NFL draft.  Time for my Niners to make a move.  Although i'm not liking the fact they traded away their early pick this year which I think came back to bite them in the ass, we still have a chance to pick up a good player at the end of the first round.  There are a lot of possible stars early in the round, but sometimes it's just a gamble.  I'd rather take my chances on a low 1st rounder who isn't going to command a ginormous salary despite not ever playing a down in the NFL.  Don't get me wrong.  If I could have my choice, i'd love the 7th pick this year and be able to pick up a playmaker.  But losing that spot to pick up Joe Staley last year is going to pay off in the long run.  I just think Nolan gambled by trading it away, expecting a solid season and a mid to low pick in this years draft.  That my friends is what I like to call Karma.  It's a sonofa....  Of course with Nolan at the helm, I don't count much on predictions of finishing above .500.  It's scary that i'm going to say this, but I think Martz running the offense is actually going to help us win some games.  I never thought i'd ever praise the man, but you can't deny his offensive skills.  Although we might take a beating in the running game.  Hopefully Nolan's chicken shit playcalling will offset the pass heavy system with our two viable running backs.  Well, in any case, be prepared for some ranting and raving on the draft come Sunday and Monday.

Saturday should be a down day, but may end up being more busy than I anticipate.  I know I have to bring Pretty Girl's car to get serviced, so that's on the "to do" list.  I also want to go to the dentist and have them check on my recent tooth extraction.  It still bleeds slightly and has affected my overall bite so i'm not at all happy.  I don't think i'm going to learn my lesson and just hold off on the dentist until I get back to the states.  It just sucks that I don't have an upcoming trip there anytime soon.  I can't really plan one until I get a visa for PG.  I'm not going without her, that's for sure.  Then I still have to clean up around the house and rebuild my other computer.  One of the hard drives crapped out so i've got to do some work at home.  Outside of that, I hope to be doing some swimming this weekend.  Get some much needed sun and just relax.  Hopefully I get some sleep too.  I'm freaking exhausted.  I can't stay awake at work despite downing red bulls like water. 

Well, gotta cut this short.  I need to tie up some loose ends at work before leaving.  Hopefully my next post isn't spent bashing the Niners' draft.  Hope everyone has a fun weekend. 

Trying to be too clever

Before reading further down my post, read this movie review by this guy from CNN.com.  Here is the link.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/18/ew.forgetting/index.html

I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't offer my own opinion, but after reading his, I have a freaking headache.  I mean.  I have this fascination of being a movie reviewer as well so I understand sometimes trying to sound too clever for my own good but for pete's sake.  It's a movie review.  I had to re-read every fucking sentence this guy wrote.  Look, i'm all for comparing actors, directors, producers to others in the same genre but this guy just went overboard.  I mean every fucking sentence he wrote he was "cleverly" comparing someone to someone else in the comedy genre.  Get the fuck over it.  What editor signed off on his piece?  Seriously.  If you read that movie review only once the whole way through and understood it, pat yourself on the back.  You probably like to write things and throw in a million comparisons to show how "informed" you are of the situation and it's players and want to sound really smart so people will respect your writing.  If you read it once, understood it and praised his writing then congratulations.  You're on your way to becoming a certified douchebag. 

Does everyone have a price?

I was reading this article on ESPN yesterday about the Seattle Supersonics moving and a question popped up for some of the writers regarding their favorite teams.  They asked "What price would you accept to allow your most favorite sports team to relocate to another city?".  Very good question.  A few of the writers had some good ones, and realistic ones.  They asked readers to chime in with a price for their favorite team.  I wanted to respond but didn't have any time so I figured i'd just write an entry on it here. 

How much would it take for me to be bought out and allow my beloved 49ers to relocate to another city.  Say Los Angeles.  A city not very far away, but a city I hate with a passion.  San Francisco fans are not supposed to like Los Angeles.  Hello?  Giants/Dodgers anyone?  Anyway, considering a couple of writers were factoring in prices in tickets they purchased in their lifetime, possible moving costs and cost of living at the new city where the sports team relocated to, the numbers becamse stagerring.  Tens of millions of dollars and some even the cost of an entire franchise.  Take the Yankee fans for example.  The easiest way for one die hard Yankee fan to allow his team to relocate would be to be paid the total amount of their entire payroll which is staggering.  I think that's fair.  I'd like to think i'm a big enough fan that I couldn't part with the Niners for any amount of money, but that wouldn't be realistic.  I mean seriously.  If John and Denise York came to my door and said we'd give you said amount of money if I allow them to move to L.A., i'd have to seriously consider it.  But somehow I can't put a figure on it.  On one hand, I love the Niners.  It would break my heart to see "Los Angeles" before the 49ers on any sign.  So  much so i'd be mentally distraught.  I'd consider seeing a shrink to console me.  But 100 million dollars would help.  Or maybe a total package that would compensate me instead of money.  I haven't thought about it much, but i've got a starting point.  As much as I hate L.A., I could live there.  So factor in the cost of a house within reasonable driving time from the new state of the art stadium.  That comes up to maybe 1.5 million dollars.  Hey, have you seen prices in California?  1.5 mil may get you a 2 bedroom apartment depending on location.  I'm being modest here.  Okay, 2 million for the house.  I would need 4 seats, about 30 rows up from the field at the 50 yard line for my entire lifetime.  Including sideline passes for all 4 and access to the locker room and use of a luxury box on special occassions.  Tickets, airfare and hotel for away games also need to be added.  Signed memorabilia from past teams, current and new rosters as well.  That about covers the perks.  Now for the most important part.  The financial settlement for mental anguish of losing my favorite team and having to relocate to watch them.  I'd like to say 20 million and i'd jump at the chance.  But what's 20 million?  I could spend that in 5 years.  You think i'm exagerrating?  Ask any of my close friends.  They'll tell you I could spend that in 2 years max.  50 million?  Getting warmer.  It would be enough to hold me over perhaps a decade.  But not enough to set me up for the rest of my life.  You're talking about me losing the memories of Montana to Rice in the Superbowl.  Steve Young's 6 TD's against the Chargers.  Dwight Clark's the catch.  Primetime helping us beat the Cowboys to finally win our 5th ring.  Bill Walsh and the west coast offense.  50 million is chump change compared to those moments.  100 million dollars.  It's a nice round number.  Something I could realistically build my empire with.  Enough to ensure my family is taken care of for generations.  Adequate enough for me to build a house like Tiger Woods' and have a private jet take me to my favorite golf courses.  Enough to drive a BMW M5 for fun and have a chauffered Maybach when I go to work and not have to worry about soaring gas prices. 

So there you have it.  I too have a price.  As much as it would pain me to see the Niners change their colors and logo.  Especially moving to L.A., I could live with myself for the lump sum of 102 million dollars.  Don't think I forgot about the house in L.A.

Walking zombie

I feel drained.  Taking care of the new puppy has been hellacious.  I'm not getting any sleep at all.  I've had to wake up earlier in the day to walk her before work, and all I do when I get home is walk her, play with her and clean up little by little.  To top it all off, I didn't get much sleep in Dubai so I was hurting already.  Now i'm averaging maybe 5 hours of sleep a night.  Everytime I take a break from work, my eyes fall shut.  It's killing me. 

I changed up my softball strategy last night.  While I was gone, my team had endured a bit of a slump and complained of a lot of bickering and no supportive advice.  Last night, I had to reverse that trend.  I'm taking it one step at a time.  I told them to have fun.  Softball is still a game and after it's over, we're all going back to our lives.  No need to take it so seriously that you get down on your teammates.  They all were very supportive with one another and it made losing a lot easier.  We got pretty killed in that game.  Too many mental mistakes.  That's the next lesson i'm working on instilling.  A lot of the folks on my team aren't versed in playing certain positions so there was a lot of miscommunication last night.  It was still fun nonetheless.  If you can laugh at yourself, it just makes a loss easier to take.  We have plenty of time to improve on everything else.

The weekend is coming up.  Thank goodness.  I plan on sticking puppy duties to Pretty Girl this weekend so I can get some damn sleep.  Not to mention go to the dentist and have my tooth looked at.  While I was at lunch yesterday pieces of my wisdon tooth fell out.  Now i've got sharp edges stabbing the side of my mouth every now and them.  It's quite uncomfortable.  I'm also going to try and squeeze in a couple of hours of Xbox time.  It's weird but i'm not really craving playing right now.  I'm more into getting everything else in order.  Like getting a new blue ray player since my old one crapped out.  Cleaning up the house.  And training the puppy.  By the way, if I forgot to mention the puppy's name, it's Abby.  It just kinda hit us both when we decided to get a dog to name her that.  It was perfect for us.  Of course yesterday she hit a bump and decided she forgot everything we taught her.  She wouldn't pee or crap when I took her outside and wouldn't listen when we tried to train her when we got back in the house.  It's a bit frustrating.  At least i'm learning good lessons on patience.

Back from Dubai

And boy was it one hell of a week.  I hardly got a chance to sleep.  We did a lot of drinking and for some reason we all woke up early everyday.  There were 5 of us that stayed at this guys house and we all kept wondering why even though we were out of Bahrain, we were still getting up before 9 every morning.  We just couldn't sleep much.

The softball part was fun.  I didn't get a lot of playing time but a lot of good came out of the games.  There was one game where I think we all turned a corner and became closer as a team.  We played my old team and were down big late in the game.  We somehow managed to catch up and win the game in dramatic fashion, highlighted by a 3 run homerun by our cleanup hitter to take a one run lead.  Some insurance runs followed and after giving up a 2 run homerun to the opposing team, we snagged the last out and celebrated like we won the championship.  It was one of those statement games where we just never gave up and came together.  Despite losing in the championship game, the one game still made it worth while.  Sitting in the stands during our offtime and hanging out together also contributed to bringing us together.  We all rooted for the ladies teams who supported us and just had a lot of fun.  The guys that I stayed with in the house were great.  We all stuck together throughout the tournament and I became really good friends with them.  I got to know them a lot better and regret the assumptions I made in prior blog posts about them and the team.  It's funny how life shows you the quality of people you're surrounded with but hides who they really are until you've already opened your mouth and inserted your foot.  I regret writing those things in the past.  A feeling i've never had in all my years of blogging.  I know i'm very opinionated and I usually think before I speak but this wasn't the case on my posts regarding the softball team and my position.  I've apologized to a few of them personally already and will try to get the rest of them at some point this week.  Even if I don't play for the base team again, the one thing I at least want to do is salvage the friendships I made in Dubai. 

Now that i'm back, it's back to getting my priorities in order.  That's a little difficult considering i'm absolutely exhausted and our new puppy is draining all my energy.  I don't know if i'm over-caring for it but it's better to be safe than sorry.  I swear I walk that dog maybe 8 times a day.  And i'm at work for at least 10 hours a day.  On top of not getting any sleep, i'm not getting much of a chance to just sit and rest and even check email.  I don't even want to mention work.  Playing catchup from the trip is hellacious.  I'm trying to pace myself since I know if I completely dive in to finishing it, i'll complete it all in no time, then i'll sit around bored the last day of the week.  I'd like to think i'll get some rest this weekend, but with the puppy and all, i'm sure i'll be busy.  It's tough work housetraining them.  You gotta take them out constantly so they don't pee or crap in the house.  Then I have to try and teach her how to sit and stay and all that stuff.  She's still young so we're slowly getting her in to learning how to do those things.  One step at a time.

It's my birthday and i'll party if I want to

Yes my birthday also happens to be April Fools.  I'm the butt of everyone's jokes so laugh it up while you still can.  The day is already half over.  At least today isn't so bad.  I found out one other guy in our department is celebrating his birthday as well.  What are the odds of that?  Of course it's my aunt's birthday today as well.  She's exactly 20 years older than me. 

Got lots of things going on this week, and today especially.  We have a softball game at 5:30 this afternoon and i'm really excited about that.  We had practice last night and not only was it fun, but very productive.  We were great last night.  Helping each other out.  Talking to one another.  We played as a team much better than our first game.  It was so great I couldn't sleep last night.  I was pumped full of energy.  I stayed up till fairly late trying to download songs and just kinda running around the house.  After our game, Pretty Girl and I plan on going out to dinner to celebrate.  She's not flying today, so we can enjoy ourselves.  The hard part is afterwards.  We plan on going out to a bar and just having drinks.  Listening to some music and such.  I know I have to get up at the ass crack of dawn, but ah hell.  It's my birthday.  It happens once a year.  And very rarely have I been able to spend it with someone special.  I'm basically just going around work inviting everyone I know to go out there.  I don't expect many people to show up because it's a work night, but at least I didnt leave anyone out.  It'll be 10 times better than my birthday last year which only one person went out and had drinks with me.  This year will be much different.  I can feel  it. 

I'm in a particularly good mood considering I just turned 31.  Last year was so miserable that anything other than that would have been a success.  Now i've got quite a few things going for me.  I'm engaged and extremely happy.  I'm learning to deal with my job in a not so negative way.  I'm applying myself to other things in life to keep me both active AND happy.  I'm a little behind on studying for a certification but at least i've made progress.  Softball is going good and despite a bad showing at the base team tryouts, i'm still a part of the team.  Yeah, i'm not going to Dubai for the upcoming tournament, but at least i'm part of the team.  Somewhat good enough.  I'm happy with that.  I'm happy with the effort i'm putting forth in that team and also the one that i'm coaching for the command.  It's gone well so far and it feels good to be a part of things like that.  With all the new people at work, it's also been easier to try and transition into a team-like environment.  In the past, work has been more of an individual type environment.  Now with all the disgruntled people in my company banding together, we've got some sort of little family.  It's nice.  We all have a quite a few things to bitch about (our company) so we share a common bond.  However pitiful that is.  LOL.

Anyway, it's almost lunch and I have to go say thank you to the guys in the other office for sending me an email saying happy birthday with a picture of a middle finger flipping me off.  Leave it to Wayne and those guys to pull something like that off.  Fucktards.  LOL.