Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Oh, I know I shouldn't publish this. If I ever get famous and this blog is immortalized (who are we kiddng? you know it will be) then Parker will be highly annoyed at me.
But considering I routinely publish a pic of YaYa picking her nose (see above) at least the arguement won't be an original one.
Oh, and kindly notice the immense amount of bubbles (and a well positioned arm)required to, ahem, make this pic suitable for all audiences. :)
On Thursday, September 15th I was down.
Down, down, down.
A deep dark funk that was pretty darn annoying. I was working late when my wife called.
She told me the girls had found a stray cat under our back porch, an all white cat that they were feeding in the backyard as we spoke.
I'd seen the cat she described before. I'd shooed it away, mainly because it scared the heck out of me one night (from the corner of my eye I'd been startled into thinking it was a skunk that's been prowling our neighborhood).
She said it was skinny and starving, and without hesitation I told her to bring it inside.
It wasn't purely humanitarian - sure, I felt we were obligated to the cat, having seen its condition - but really, it was selfish.
Because it cheered me up.
Instantly.
Even now, I'm not sure why, but it did.
So I left work for a bit, bought some flea shampoo, and spent half an hour bathing the new addition.
It had so many fleas in its white coat you'd have thought it was a Dalmation, and was so frail and skinny it resembled a rat with malnutrition.
A vet visit determined she was all of six months old at most, and healthy, save for a slightly enlarged tummy which they said would go away on its own.
The girls named her Snowball, then Snowcap, but finally decided on her true name: Angel Cakes.
In less than a month she's become a prized addition to our house and a friend to Billy. She's also packed on a good amount of much needed weight.
* * * * *
In addition to two cats and our turtle Franklin we've also expanded our bug collection. I picked up a praying mantis a few weeks back and have kept it alive on an assortment of crickets and ladybugs. It's even layed an eggsack!
To round out the group, we also have a grasshopper and for YaYa's birthday I'm planning on getting her an ant farm (shhh! it's a secret)
I dig the girls interest in science, esp. YaYa's. A few weeks back they went to the UWM planetarium on a Friday evening, the same as I did with my Dad growing up (tho' the mrs. took them while I watched Parker, since she'd invited her friend along).
Word is they sat quiet and interested for the entire adult show, allegedly better behaved than some of thegrown-ups that were there!
Someday I'll get that telescope and we'll spend the evening looking at Orion and the Moon . . .
Well, not 'new' anymore, as it happened on August 21st. But the girls wanted new do's, so my wife took the kids in prior to the start of school.
Here's the before:
The during:
And the after:
Personally, I like it. I think it's cute :)
Well, kazaam.
I thought the Packers had the win, or a tie at least, and then Favre is hit and fumbles inside the Saints' twenty.
Heck of a way to go 1-4.
Not that I care a rat's a** about the NFL, but to my eyes it looks like the Packers under Mike McCarthy are a whole lot better than last years version.
Still young, still sloppy, still frustrating . . . but exciting to watch most of the time, and trying, which is something I didn't pick up last year.
* * *
On to a real sport: the Dodgers are out. Nice game tho'.
Word is Torre is out (to be replaced by Pinella?) and/or A-Rod will be shipped out of town.
Again: 34 dingers, 121 RBI's. I don't give a hoot how little he hits in the post-season, why would you trade away numbers like that?
My opiinon: he may very well need someone to carry him in the ALDS and ALCS. Reggie wasn't much good in the LCS either. So what? With a lineup like the Yanks they should be able to float him for a bit, then hope he unleashes his talent in the Series.
Torre's long been a favorite of mine, but fatigue has set in. Maybe new blood is needed. It certainly seems stupid (to me) to mess with A-Rod's already confused head by moving him around to the bottom of the order IN THE POST-SEASON DOWN TWO GAMES TO ONE.
Nor would I have gone with Wright in game 4, but whatever. I'm a big fat, unathletic guy in Milwaukee.
What do I know.
The Yanks are going to lose and be eliminated.
Ugh.
Well, it ain't the end of the world, but it dang near feels that way. To be honest tho', any team that fails to score for twenty straight innings deserves to sit and watch the Series on TV.
My biggest regret is that despite the anemic total offense most of this will be laid at A-Rod's feet. If they can find a taker, he might even be moved in the offseason.
Stupid.
Ok, now the game tonight could further shape the course of the playoffs, but here's my New and Improved Predictions.
Oakland vs. Detroit - Detroit wins, if only because Oakland can't win two series in a post-season. And because Detroit starts with a D, which reminds me of Blue, which is my favorite color.
Mets vs Padres (I'm hoping the Padres pull it off, and I'd prefer LA over the Mets, but what the heck) - Padres over the Mets in a full seven games
Detroit pretends it's 1984 and win it all.
Followed, predictably, by Detroit burning to the ground in celebration.
No way I thought that was going to happen.
LA is on the brink, and that's news to me too.
And the Yanks . . here they go, on the cusp of sitting home for the year. I don't think it's going to happen. If '04 reinforced any idea, it's that it ain't over til it's over.
But if they lose, no tears. A lot of disapointment, but no tears. I've kind of come to the illogical and superstitious conclusion that God's made a trade: healthy babies in return for October defeats.
In '01, after all, the Yanks lost to the Diamondbacks before my wife had even recovered from labor.
In '03, the infamous debacle against Florida four months after my daughter's birth.
And in Parker's birth year, defeat in the ALDS.
Who knows, maybe the curse is broken.
But then again I have one more kid to bring into this world.
Argh, the sacrifices we make for being a parent.
Derek Jeter is a baseball God, a divine force given to the Yankees to restore/maintain their rightful place atop the food chain. He is Mr. November, an unstoppable force in autumn baseball. He is to be worshiped and adored without question.
Dandy.
I too love Derek Jeter. I think he's an outstanding player that only gets better in the spotlight of the post-season. If I had a vote, he'd be 2006 MVP, and watching his 5-5 performance last night I was right there with the crowd adoring #2.
Alex Rodriguez didn't have a headline making night. He hit one single and scorched another two that were caught for outs. He also made a couple nice defensive plays.
No great shakes. But not horrible either.
So why is it the NY press feels the need to glorifly Jeter by disparaging Arod?
It certainly isn't that Jeter's deeds needed to be pumped up - they were awesome enough on their own. But what the heck, let's praise Jeter by dumping on one of his teammates:
"The greatest player in the game [Arood] until he comes up in a big spot is, by his recent own admission, just too good-looking and too smart to blend in among all his friends and teammates who get a pass from the fans and media that Rodriguez doesn't."
or how about
"You are going to succeed more than you fail in baseball," said Jeter last night. "You can't be afraid."
Lesson for Rodriguez"
What lesson? That Jay Greenberg is a hack who used his platform with the public to compound the issue that just might drive the game's best player out of New York?
For the record, entering last night's game their respective postseason numbers were Jeter .307/.379/.463 sand A-Rod's of .305/.393/.534. That's average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage.
And yes, I'm mighty aware of the slump A-Rod has been in since game 4 of the 2004 ALCS.
But that's a two year post-season slump that just now lowers him to (above) par with Jeter.
Think the hack writers in NY, ever content to create friction, unrealistic expectations, and turmoil had anything to do with his droff-off?
Not everyone can put up with the glare of the Big Apple. I understand that. But A-Rod's the reinging MVP, a man who hit more home runs from the right side of the plate in one year than any Yankee, breaking the record held by none other than Joe Dimaggio.
The man can play.
Not put down your pens, shut up, and let him swing away.
Lesson for Greenberg.
I'll deal.
Meanwhile, another MLB regular season has come to an end. I only made it to one game, but you know what? I don't care. The Brewers, having earned a one year reprieve from my disgust, again went down the tubes.
I'm still a fan - I'm very brand loyal - but ugh.
Ugh.
At least my XM radio brought me the sounds of games across the continent. I didn't use it for games as often as I thought I would (Radio Disney, Big Band on 4, the top 40- stations on 20-22, and rock from 41-54 had my attention) but I got the chance to listen to a host of Yankees games. Weird to hear a woman do color commentary, but I was impressed.
And I've realized something. I love the Yankees. Not because other people hate them, 'tho that rocks, but because I genuinely love 'em.
They make me happy.
And they give me somebody to root for once the Brewers fall out of the race around the All-Star break.
Just miscellaneous MLB stuff: Arod is great, and the hell with his critics, the Cubs sucked (yea!), and this steroid crap is getting on my nerves. I'm almost to the point where I'm gonna give Bonds a pass, because the endless allegations and second-guessing are wearing on me and the sport.
Anywho, I've been hunting around for my post-season picks. Naturally I can't find the sheet, but here's what I remember:
AL: Yanks defeat Detroit in 4, Twins take A's in 5.
Yanks beat Twins in 6.
NL: Dodgers beat Mets in 5, Padres beat St. Louis in 5 (ok, that's a long shot, and I don't really see it happening. So let's take the St. Louis Antiseptic and Boring in 4)
Dodgers beat St. Louis in 7
World Series: Yankees earn their 27th championship by defeating LA in 6 games.
And wouldn't it be great if ARod drove in the winning run?
