An update from the other coast

Greetings today from Starbucks at 86th and Columbus on the upper west side of Manhattan.  I think that’s where I am, at least.  I’ve been here since Sunday night, when I was greeted by a ridiculous pouring rain along my bus ride in from La Guardia between 1 and 2 a.m.  Despite the late hour, this particular bus was still jam-packed with people of all ages and ethnicities, so I knew from the start this town was a bit different.

By now I’ve had a chance to experience a bit of the New York attitude.  There was the cross-looking woman who scolded me for putting my suitcase in a bad spot on that bus.  Then there was the downright angry-looking woman who moved my backpack to a different chair while I watched her take the seat I thought I had saved, during my apparently unacceptably long three-minute wait in line for my Starbucks frappuccino.  Does this attitude not exist in “laid-back” Southern California?  Perhaps.  Just don’t try to merge onto the 405 at rush hour on a Tuesday.  Or, pretty much any hour on any day.

People are the same everywhere.  It’s just that people are smushed together a little more tightly here in Manhattan, so you can’t help but be all in each other’s business.

On a side note, as I prepare to attend the Mets-Giants game tomorrow night at Citi Field, I had the chance to catch a few innings of the Giants-Dodgers game online yesterday, thanks to the beauty of technology (and my MLB.tv subscription).  A few innings was enough to witness three obvious blown calls by umpire Gary Darling’s crew, all in the Dodgers’ favor.  Looking into it a bit further, I noticed...

Gary Darling crew incident #1: 8.12.09

Gary Darling crew incident #2: 8.10.09

Gary Darling crew incident #3: 4.29.08

Clearly, the same umpire throwing the same manager (Bruce Bochy) out of the game three times in two years is not a coincidence.  Does Darling seem to have an issue with Bochy and the Giants?  Yes.  Has this affected his ability to umpire objectively?  He’s human, so probably.  Does the fact that Darling grew up in Northern California already affect his ability to umpire a Giants-Dodgers series objectively?  Probably.

Major League Baseball, can we keep Gary Darling away from the Giants the rest of this year, at least??  Thanks.