Kevin Correia sighting in Rancho Bernardo

Kev, Jonny and I had a Guys Night Out last night. We went to URGE Gastropub in Rancho Bernardo at Kev's insistence. The three of us waited in the bar area while our table was prepared. As Jon and Kev talked about F1, I lost interest and glanced up at the TV screens and saw baseball highlights. The first thing I saw was that the Pirates had just beaten the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

I then scanned the crowd at the bar. I saw someone I recognize. Did we go to High School with him? He's got a boyish face, but it's covered in chin whiskers. He's dressed down compared to the rest of the crowd. He's was wearing a backwards camouflaged hunting cap, shorts and a tight white t-shirt that didn't have a chance of hiding his hardened nipples. I asked the guys "Does that dude look familiar? Wait a second, is that Kevin Correia? Is that guy too beefy to be Correia?"

The former Padre is from San Diego but now plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. "I just saw that the Pirates were playing in LA. Can that really be him? Did he come home after the game? No, if that's him he must be on the disabled list."

I checked my phone. Sure enough Correia hadn't played since the middle of August and was transferred from the 15 day disabled list to the 60 day with an oblique strain. His season was over.

I'd never gotten a real good look at that guy before, so I pulled up his uniformed player picture for comparison. He looked good. I bookmarked it for later.

"Dudes, that's Kevin Correia. What's that in front of him? Is he drinking a Zima?" Apparently not since Zima hasn't been made for a couple of years.

As we ate dinner we discussed the possibility of approaching him. Kev and Jon coudn't seem to remember anything about him so I recounted the narrative of his tumultuous 2010 season.

The food was delicious at URGE. Jon had the Wild Boar burger, Kev the Chicken and Waffles and I a California Burger. We got caught up in conversation. It was then that Correia and his friend left through the front door. We had waited too long and missed our opportunity.

As he sauntered past we gazed adoringly at him. This time he seemed much more svelte. I commented "He's a tall drink of water". Our Kev halfheartedly cat called him under his breath. Correia didn't hear or chose to ignore him as he disappeared into the darkness of the parking lot.

Kevin Correia

#29 / Pitcher / Pittsburgh Pirates

Height: 6-3

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Turn Ons: Being watched at a Gastropub

Sign: Virgo

Born: Aug 24, 1980