How I spent my winter vacation
Also, can we talk about the NL West?
On Saturday the temperature hit 99 degrees in parts of Orange County, but let’s take a trip back to December 8 when I developed a new disdain for the New York Mets. Sure, the Yankees and Mets have competed in the Subway Series for many seasons. They even met in the 2000 Fall Classic during my high school years which the Yanks won in five games. The Yankees dropped all four of their head-to-head contests in 2024 which stung a bit. Nevertheless, only breaking up the historic Aaron Judge/Juan Soto duo could truly open the floodgates to my frustration with gazillionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen. Only the Onion Head Monster designed by cartoonist Paul Friedrich could appropriately summarize my angst.
I know what some of you are thinking. The Yankees have been snatching away top free agents for years! What right do I have to complain about a crosstown rival doing the very same thing? First off, the Mets spent roughly $305 million on payroll and were still considered a feel-good story when they rallied to beat the Brewers in the Wild Card series after a tumultuous regular season. That sort of characterization would happen to a Yankees team roughly never. Secondly, while I can be critical of Yankees ownership, it’s hard to argue that they didn’t make a good-faith offer to Soto worth $760 million. Soto said all the right things during his time in pinstripes. Then again, he joined agent Scott Boras in gunning for every last dollar over a situation he grew to love in the Bronx. That makes him a true fit for what would be considered the Big Apple’s new Evil Empire in a rational world.
Truly, the only way to address such depressing news involved plenty of Indian food. Dorina suggested meeting her at Spice Social in Fullerton and I practically ran there. Your future Hall of Famer bolted to Queens? That’s nothing garlic naan, chicken tikka masala, samosas, or a mango lassi can’t fix!
On March 29, the Yankees did their best to impress me during a historic first series against Milwaukee that included nine home runs in a 20-9 Saturday win. Suddenly, talk of Yankee injuries ended up on the back burner and my fantasy team now has indicators for the players who use “torpedo bats” like some members of the Yanks. New York leads Boston by two games as the current American League East leader.
I love December because I usually get to see my entire immediate family. Above, I am reading a book about Filipino foods to my nephew Roman while my brother looks on.
Old Towne Orange is one of my favorite hangouts thanks to its restaurants, shopping, and museums. It also gets pretty festive around the holidays. We enjoyed another visit to the Hilbert on this night.
Meanwhile, the regular season has unveiled some interesting storylines. Through April 3, the Dodgers (8-0) and Padres (7-0) were the only undefeated teams in the majors. Los Angeles followed their postseason glory with some big transactions, among them signing Blake Snell and landing Roki Sasaki from Japan. They won both games against the Cubs in Japan before heading home to rout Atlanta and Detroit. It was Shohei Ohtani’s walk-off homer on April 3 that dropped Atlanta to 0-7 and kept L.A. undefeated. Teoscar Hernández started out sizzling, cranking nine round trippers in April. Both of Southern California’s National League teams finally lost on April 4 to end a remarkable run. The Dodgers now lead San Diego by one game, while the Giants are 3 games back.
The Padres were quiet during the offseason. The franchise has been plagued by infighting among the current ownership group, which was not an issue when Peter Seidler was in charge. Apparently the chaos has not extended to the field of play, as Petco Park has not been friendly to visitors in the early going. Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. all got off to strong starts with the bat. This team arguably had the talent to win it all last year, but fell short. Now they will have to wait until June to face their local rivals. The Padres also rattled off 11 straight home wins to begin the campaign.
The San Diego Museum of Art was the setting for one of my favorite exhibits in recent memory. In December, I drove down to Balboa Park to see Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World. This celestial globe was created by Shams al-Din al-‘Urdi around 1288 in what is now Iran. Mother’s Day weekend always reminds me of the fun times I spent at museums with my parents when I was growing up.
Before big league teams arrived in California, barnstorming games featuring some of the sport’s biggest stars were a regular occurrence. At the Brea Museum & Historical Society, a 1924 contest featuring Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson is celebrated. Even the HBO documentary Babe Ruth mentions the exhibition at the Brea Bowl. Ruth managed to get himself a traffic ticket for an overloaded car while in Orange County. A hundred years later, it’s on display along with memorabilia from the game.
An advertisement for the contest, played on Halloween, is a collection highlight. The museum also celebrates former Padres pitcher Randy Jones, who attended high school in Brea. While we’re in Orange County, I should mention that Mike Trout is doing his best Joey Gallo impression. The Angels mainstay has a batting average of .172 with 9 dingers and suffered a May 1 knee injury that landed him on the injured list. The squad from Anaheim is now 6 games behind first place Seattle.
Speaking of Babe Ruth, Aaron Judge is hitting an otherworldly .409 with 14 homers while driving in 39. It’s his best statistical start ever, and we are talking about the guy who set the American League home run record two seasons ago. Can Ben Rice and Trent Grisham stay hot around him in the Yankee batting order? I’m excited to find out.
