The Long Wait

It has been a long and unforgiving 21 years.  From Sid Bream's slide to Zack Cozart's grounding out to Neil Walker, it was a long, lost journey.  The was no vision or self discovery.  There was just the stigma of setting a professional sports record.  From the slide to last night, it was a sense of hoping for something better but not having any real hope that it was coming soon.  Even mediocrity would have been accepted, but we had to deal with a general lack of despair.  Last night was cathartic.  Many people tell me that I have an unhealthy obsession with my sports teams.  For a while, they were all I had.  I have always had a true love for sports and when I was younger, they were something to replace what many others had.  They were my friends and my sole companion.  I hoped they would never let me down but had to deal with strikes and other issues that affected the game.  I could lose myself for a while in what sports had to offer.  As I had a family, I was hoping to pass that love on, but they have found other passions to keep themselves vibrant.  For me it will always be sport.  And my one true passion in sports, above all, is baseball.  So last night was one of the more important nights I have had in quite a while. As the Pirates enter the next round, I realize that last night will never happen again.  I was very proud of the way the city of Pittsburgh presented itself last night.  After many jokes about the lack of passion of Pittsburgh toward baseball, the people showed that if they were given something to cheer for, they would do it with all of their heart and soul.  Great job Pittsburgh, you should be very proud.  Bring on the Redbirds!!!

Fall

This has always been a weird time of year for me.  As I discussed before, I have no real affection for the fall.  This years seems a little different though.  It is the first time in the last 21 years that the Pirates are in the postseason.  After the season they have had, I should be happier.  But even with all that it could be over in one day.  The Pirate fans who have suffered so long may not get to see another home game this season.  With the play-in game coming down to fate (ask the Braves), it could be anti- climactic. So we just have to watch the final few days play out and wait for next Tuesday.  The division title would have been nice, especially where the Pirates were for most of the season.  I guess beggars can't be choosers.  It has been 21 long years.
I am also having trouble getting excited about football.  Michigan has played two stinker of games over the last two weeks and the Steelers have already been all but eliminated.  Hockey is getting ready to fire up but it is a long season where many teams are just jockeying for playoff positioning.  I have no grasp on the state of the Canadiens this season.  Last season was fun with the schedule being shortened, which placed a heavier emphasis on the regular season.
Even more frustrating is the fact that I have had difficulty in being able to finish a book lately.  I pick one up, make it through a few chapters, and then move on to something else.  The cycle repeats and I am looking for another book soon after.  Maybe I should just watch TV.

Finally

Well that was an interesting week.  First the debacle in St Louis, then sweeping the Rangers in Arlington.  It was a week of highs and lows.  So we enter a four game series with the Cubbies down one to the Cardinals and up two on the Reds.  The monkey of 82 wins is finally off our back and now we have a real push for the playoffs to contend with.  Hopefully they can find an inner strength to take the division.  This should be a fun final few weeks.

Changes

I have never been a big fan of the fall.  I mean it is beautiful but it signifies the end to me.  Summer is my favorite season.  The kids are off from school and our pace is not so hectic.  There are ball games on the radio and everything is right with the world.  The fall brings and end to that and our pace changes.  Everyone in my household becomes much busier, excluding me of course.  We rarely have much quality family time together.  I also signifies the ending of the baseball season.  I love sports but baseball is my one true religion.  If I am not watching or listening to baseball, then I am reading about it.  My love of history spurs me on to read more about the history of the sport.  I try to read fiction or other subjects but I am always drawn back to baseball. 
I am also trying to lose some of the weight I have added over the last few decades.  Slowly but surely, I have dropped 15 lbs.  It has come in little spurts but I still have my eyes on the goal.  One of the things that has worked well for me is Weight Watchers.  It is not a diet but you do have to track what you eat.  That is the only extra work that you have to do.  I have also started to do my Nordic Track more religiously.  It is one of those old style skiers that most people are using as a clothing rack.  I am up to 30 min a day, for three to five days a week.
The best way I have found to enjoy my time on the skier is to read.  It makes the time go by much faster.  I am back reading Murakami.  His use of fantastic situations is one of his strong points.  He seems to take an idea that other would see as too farcical and make it seem common place.  It doesn't hurt that he decided to become a writer while at a baseball game.

82*

The Pirates won their 81st game last night in dramatic fashion.  They are a single win from clinching their first winning season since 1993.  That is also the season of their last playoff appearance, but we won't relive that.  Their success this season has cause me to be a bit conflicted.  A few years ago I would have been ready to pop the champagne when the Buccos reached that elusive 82 win mark.  I swore that if possible I would make the trip to see them finally break the streak.  However now, with the Pirates being so close to actually WINNING THE DIVISION, the fact that they are ready to hit 82 wins means absolutely nothing.  So with a two game lead over the Cardinals. today's game is just another step toward the playoffs in October and, hopefully, a division title. 

The Voice

Great news out of LA this week as Vin Scully announced that he would be back in the booth next year for his 65th year doing Dodger baseball.  65 YEARS!!!!!  The longest I have ever spent on a job is 5 years and I was damn proud of that.  I guess when you do something you love, it is easy to come back for your 65th year.  If anyone needs to be cloned it is Mr Scully.  The current state of announcing leaves a lot to be desired.  Only a handful are good announcers, with my current favorite being Pat Hughes out of Chicago.  Being mainly from the Midwest, I got to know Scully more through the NBC Game of the Week.  For me it was Ernie Harwell and Jack Buck.  With a lot of Lanny Frattare thrown in. 

The Pirates have been rather impressive on their West Coast road trip. So far they have taken 4 out of 5 in a locale they usually struggle.  The playoff are looking like a great possibility with the big question remaining as to where they will finish.  Of course after dealing with the last two seasons nothing is a certainty but I think that this season will be different.    

Phantom Tag

Nice win by the Pirates tonight.  Clutch hitting in the ninth plus the added benefit of the umpire's call to end the game.  Walker with the heads up play to make the throw to first and "sell" the tag to the umpire.  After the first two losses coming out of the break, it is nice to see a big old W4 in the streak column.  One more game in the Nation's Capital before heading to the beaches of Miami.  Another win would look nice plus AJ needs to get back into the win column. 
The Royals with a clutch walk off against the O's and the Dodgers are pounding the ball late against the Jays.  I am so looking forward to some nice pennant drives to September.

And Then There Were Eight

We have finally reached the final eight teams for the College World Series.  After having two games postponed, UNC was able to overcome the Gamecocks of USC in an interstate battle and move on to Omaha.  It was rather tough for me as South Carolina has been my "other" favorite club, since my Wolverines haven't been to Omaha since 1984.  As a matter of fact with Indiana making the grade this year, they are the first Big "10" team since that 1984 Michigan team to represent in Omaha.  This field has a few surprises, with the aforementioned Hoosiers and the Cardinals of Louisville.  The Cardinals with the surprise of defeating Vanderbilt on their home turf in the Super Regionals.  Other schools making it to Omaha include LSU, Oregon State, Mississippi St, NC State, and UCLA.  I am really looking forward to Saturday.

Where in the hell is my spring????

Now this is getting ridiculous.  We have had numerous snow outs, the Rockies played in 28 degree weather and are preparing to do the same tonight.  Even here we go from 82 one day to 42 26 hours later.  We pushed it up around 70 today and are looking at 50 tomorrow.  I mean, I love baseball but I do find it difficult to enjoy a game while sitting in such cold temperatures.  As I sit here, I am watching a Fenway Park crowd looking more like a Patriots crowd.  Even the player are bundled up so that you really can't tell the players without a scorecard.  Enough already.  Let's get the temperatures back up and head on out to the ball park...sans parka.

A New Obsession

I have found myself becoming more and more obsessed with the sport of cricket over the last few months.  From reading cricket books to following matches online, I have found myself becoming more and more enamored with the game.  As we speak I am watching a replay of a ODI (One Day International) between New Zealand and South Africa.  I am not sure when the match took place but I am enjoying it nonetheless.
There are many forms of cricket, from the 3 to 5 day long Test matches to the gaudy spectacle the is the league T20 cricket. I am not sure which is my favorite.  You have the slow, steady pace of Test cricket, the leisurely pace of ODI and the smash and grab that is T20 cricket.  I can sure see the appeal of the game.  You would think that countries such as India and Pakistan that chafed under the rule of the British would have found a sport to replace that of their Colonial rulers but they seem to have taken up the mantle of beating the former Raj.
I am finding it difficult in getting many books on cricket.  Much of the books I have found focus mainly on the game in India.  The game has also taken hold in the West Indies, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.  One excellent book I have been reading is a novel of Sri Lankan cricket, The Legend of Pradeep Matthew.  I would rate it up there with any novel out there.  It is the story of an aging sportswriters quest to find the one great Sri Lankan cricketer who disappeared from the game before his prime, with an unfulfilled promise.  It is quickly becoming one of my favorite books.
With two days until the first Spring Training match up, the great game of cricket has been able to fill a part of the void that occurs every November thru February.  Rogers Hornsby once said, "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."  For me, I have been able to stare at cricket from warmer climates.  Nuff ced.

Finally!!!

For me there are only two seasons, baseball and not.  We have now reached the time when baseball has returned.  Today is the first day of spring.  I don't follow the meteorological definition of spring.  The first day is that day when the first batch of pitchers and catchers report to camp.  We have hit that day today as the Red Sox, Cubs, Indians, and Rockies all opened their doors today.  We are just a little over a week from the opening of the Cactus and Grapefruit League schedules and a few weeks away from the first round of the World Baseball Classic.  One of the benefits of a season with the Classic is that teams open their camps early to get things going. Hallelujah, spring is finally here.

HOF, LOL

I don't normally like to use the LOL above but I am finding the whole Hall of Fame issue a bit amusing.  Everyone is up in arms over either, the lack of anyone going in or the writers making a stand by not voting anyone in at all.  My thought right now is.....WHO IN THE F*CK CARES!!!!  For me the Hall is a museum and I have no desire to even see the plaques.  It is more about the history of the game for me and it will always be that way.  If the writers see fit to try to make a whole era disappear, then more power to them.  These are, in fact, the same people who were drooling over these players for years as they put up their huge numbers.  Let them keep voting and making their self aggrandizing stands, I will still enjoy the game itself and all of the history it produces.
Another factor is how up in arms the writers are that the players would ever take PEDs to make themselves better.  I understand that they were trying to do whatever it took to make themselves a better player.  In the long run they hurt no one but themselves.  "But they cheated the fans."  The players owe the fans nothing.  The fans are not forced to come and follow the players.  In any other situation, people would do whatever it took to extend their careers.  They were getting paid to play a child's game.  Hell I'm not sure that I wouldn't have done the exact same thing if I saw my body slowing down and mortality creeping from around the corner.
We are inching closer to the start of spring with the first sounds of gloves popping.  I usually start a countdown on Facebook so I guess I had better get cracking.