I’m working on finishing up Fallout 3 (currently 40+ hours into it). It’s fun…but it gets a little repetitive after a while. The main reason I’m trying to finish it is because the best baseball game in the world comes out next week!

Mlb ’09: The Show is only on PS3, and it’s amazing. While it doesn’t come out until Tuesday, a few people already have it and you can read their impressions and see some screen shots and videos at Operation Sports.

I ordered my copy through Amazon because they had it on sale (and without tax I saved about $8 over buying it locally). I have to wait, and that’s both good and bad. Last year I spent a whole weekend looking for the game early, but this year I won’t waste my time.

This is the first version to have PS3 trophies which is really cool. Some of them are super tough and will probably take until next season to earn, like hitting 300 homeruns, or throwing a perfect game.

Another cool feature is that you can take screencaps directly from the game, and even VIDEOS of your replays that you can transfer to your computer and post online.

I love video games, but it’s more accurate to say I love baseball games. I bought a PS3 just for a baseball game, and the first pictures from the new version have been released.

I used to play other games like Starcraft, Counter-strike, Warcraft, and various platformers, but the only thing that holds my interest now are baseball games. It’s all I need.

Lately I’ve been playing a lot of the baseball game I have on PS3, and mostly online. There is something about playing a human opponent that is so much more satisfying than playing the computer. The game still has some network related kinks, but the gameplay is downright solid. All you need to see is me pumping my fists after getting a groundout in the bottom of the 9th to secure a 2-1 win. It’s awesome.

The game is ultra-realistic when you’re playing another human because you can get inside their head. For example, early on you can start to figure out what type of player they are. Some people have zero patience and swing at everything. Even if the pitch is in the dirt, they still swing. In my most impressive outing yet I struck out a guy 22 times in a game. It’s so advanced that you can fool people. Sometimes I’ll throw a fastball pretty far outside so that it’s unhittable, and a decent player will lay off the pitch. But then the next pitch I’ll come back a little closer to where the ball is just outside the zone, but the previous pitch makes it look like a strike. Usually people will swing, and if they don’t miss, they get horrible wood on the ball and make an out.

In addition to the batter/pitcher duel, sometimes games are downright intense. In my last game I went down 1-0 early to the Phillies. I was putting men on base, but I was having a horrible time capitalizing. I eventually put a run across on a double-play ground out and made it 1-1. Lowe had pitched a good 7 innings for me, so I brought in Olmedo Saenz to face the lefty with 1 out and nobody on. He left a pitch out over the plate and the Killer Tomato put the ball over the fence, 2-1 Dodgers. Billingsley held it in the 8th, and Saito came in for the 9th. Everything was great in the 9th until Ryan Howard doubled with 1 out. Next batter grounded out and Howard took 3rd on the play. With the tying run at third and 2 out Saito was able to induce a groundout to win the game 2-1. It was awesome.

So far I’m 19-6. You can see my online profile here. Unfortunately you can’t see all the fun statistics that you can in the game, like ERA, k/9, HR/game, etc, but they do show your average. I’m batting .318 as of this posting, which is pretty good if you ask me.

Yesterday I ushered in my first hours of summer with some non-stop videogame playing. Stacie and I had a good long discussion a few weeks back, which led to the purchasing of a shiny new PS3. I never quite met my target goal, but it’s gotten it’s worth that’s for sure.

I played MLB ’07: The Show online for about 6 hours when I got home from work yesterday around lunch time. I played several games, winning and losing some. The best game was my last though. Early on I went down 6-0 against someone using the Yankees. I hit a solo shot and made it 6-1, but I was having a hard time breaking through. Eventually I had a big inning and made it 6-5, followed shortly by a two run inning putting me in the lead 7-6. This entire time my pitching was super sharp. In the top of the 9th I gave up 1 run, tying the game at 7-7. But in the bottom of the ninth with Russell Martin at the dish, he knocked a solo home run over the fence and gave the Dodgers the walk off win! It was awesome.

Aside from playing this great baseball game, I hope to fill my hours writing, trying to workout a bit, and doing a little travelling with the wife.

But for now I will start with watering the grass.

Due to my pathetic lack of posts lately, I give you two in the same hour!

What’s up with Wilson Betemit? Most of the year he looks like total garbage, then they bring up LaRoche and he starts hitting. All I know is one of them needs to break out and shine.

Speaking of baseball, I’ve been reading about MLB ’07 The Show on PS3. I’m really in a precarious situation. I love my Wii, but it will never have a classic baseball game on it due to the motion controls. My other console is the original xbox, which only has one new baseball offering this year, and it’s probably the last.

As I consider my inevitable purchase of either an Xbox 360 or PS3, the baseball title offerings are a huge priority. Sega has a monopoly on the MLB license, so MLB 2k7 is the only baseball title made by a 3rd party publisher. SCEA, Sony’s publishing house, is exempt from that exclusivity, so they can make their own MLB game. It’s only available for PS3 though. That means Xbox 360 has one game to choose from, and PS3 two games.

Of course the PS3 costs $600 and the game is another $60. There should be a price drop eventually, but the kid in me still gets excited reading about new games even though I don’t have a lot of time to play them. I still need to beat Zelda, and I have Paper Mario on the Gamecube waiting.

This post has two goals. The first is to give the Dodgers a shot out for getting off to a great start. They’ve been playing some great baseball lately. I have to say that when everyone in their lineup is playing well, we’ve got a very difficult 1-8 hitters. Even Randy Wolf lit it up last night in the ninth spot. Even with a few injuries I still see the Dodgers being rock solid. We’ve got players in AAA that could be great at the MLB level.

The second goal of this post is to bring Nixon out of hiding. Look, DOYERS!!!

I’ve been pretty quiet on my Dodgers for the last couple weeks, so here’s a little update. THEY ROCK!

Now granted, about a week ago I would have said they were the worst team to ever exist. But amazingly they’ve turned things around after their post all-star break slump. Playing .500 ball after the slump wouldn’t be enough to cut it, so they’ve gone out and won 8 straight. They went 1-13 after the break, so they’re still digging themselves out of that hole. They’re 2 games back in both the West and the Wild Card, but don’t show any signs of cooling off.

I’m not superstitious, and I’ll be the first to tell you how pointless it is. However part way through this streak, I decided it would be fun if I developed a superstition: I have to wear my Dodger hat. I woke up this morning and Saenz was already up when i realized I didn’t have it on! I had to race upstairs and get it to make sure the Dodgers continue their streak.

Something else I’ve been contemplating is what pair of broadcasters do I most prefer? I have to say I love Steve Lyons. He’s entertaining, self-deprecating, and has some good insight. Vin Scully of course is great. Charley Steiner has grown on me since he first started. I’ve gotten used to his voice and delivery, but he’s a little too verbose for me. It seems that he says a lot and most of it doesn’t matter. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Rick Monday with Steve Lyons, but I might like that better. Jerry Reuss isn’t very exciting. Vinny of course is always solo, and even with his frequent brain farts, you gotta love him. So in order:

1) Vin Scully
2) Steve Lyons
3) Rick Monday
4) Charley Steiner
5) Jerry Reuss

And finally, because Baseball is the only sport I really care about, I decided to become as big an expert as possible. I bought the Baseball Field Guide from Amazon. Basically a couple guys took the MLB rulebook which is very hard to read, and turned it into an organized guide to every rule in baseball (and with pictures too!). What happens if a runner is hit by a thrown ball? What different ways can a pitcher be credited with a save? How does the infield fly rule work? Answers to all those questions will be at the ready on my coffee table. Hardcore baseball fans, check it out!

Let’s talk some Dodger baseball!

Something I’ve been following with mild interest is the World Baseball Classic. Sixteen teams from around the world will be battling it out in a tournament (similar to the World Cup for Soccer). Round 1 begins on March 3, with the USA playing their first game on March 7.

There are some odd things that make the whole tournament feel forced. There are players that were born here in the United States that are playing for other countries. I don’t care if Nomar Garciaparra’s parents were born in Mexico, he wasn’t, so he should play for the USA if he plays at all. If a guy was born in the Dominican, and then came here to play in the MLB, then by all means play for the country where you were born. That should be the rule, play for the country where you were born. Just because Mike Piazza’s last name is Italian and he really likes spaghetti doesn’t mean he should play for Italy.

Besides the roster issues, I’m curious how the competitiveness will play out. The tournament is taking place during spring training and right before the MLB season. Strict pitch counts are being enforced to make sure pitchers don’t get hurt, and some players are bailing out for fear of getting hurt. For the tournament to really be competitive, players have to give 100%, and especially from the USA. Think the Netherlands is going to field their sub-par players and only give 75%? No, because they don’t have anything else to get ready for (though I’m not too worried about the Netherlands).

Overall it should be interesting at the least. I’m still trying to figure out what will be broadcast on television and which station. Give me some international baseball in HD during primetime! I wish.