Back to Basics

I figured it is time to start writing again and just getting back to the basics of throwing out some ideas, good reads, and thoughts running around in my head.  Thanks to this article from the Art of Manliness, about breaking plateaus, for jump starting me back up.  The idea the author mentioned of getting back to basics seemed to strike a chord with me.  It seems fitting that my last post was about getting rained out at the Akron Aeros game and tonight we finally got a chance to redeem the tickets from that rain out.  Although, again we met some disappointment as we didn't get to see the Washington Nationals teenage phenom, Bryce Harper, play.  He was getting the day off.  I was looking forward to watching his at bats, as any moment he could have crushed the ball 400+ feet.  If his Griffey-esque minor league numbers as an 18 year old are any indication, I am sure I will have the opportunity to watch him play in the Big Leagues for many years to come.

Without further ado, here are a few articles/posts I've read recently, that are worth the read.

Jim Thome just hit his 599 and 600th home runs over the weekend and Joe Posnanski recounts Thome's greatness and the lost luster of the home run and the lost of as Joe put it "the jolly home run hitter."  I enjoyed watching Thome play while in Cleveland, and was sad and probably a bit angry to see him leave at the time, but it is refreshing to see a good guy continue to do his thing and make history.   


Arvydas Sabonis was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and Jonathan Abram of grantland.com captures well Sabonis in his interview with him about basketball and the "what ifs" of his career.  I had to chuckle at some of the quotes from Bill Walton and was amazed at the pre-injury, mid 1980's Arvydas.  What dominant player. 

Warren Buffet's Op-Ed about taxes and a response from Tim Worstall

A rain delay without the rain

My friend, Thomas, and I went to check out the Akron Aeros the other week, unfortunately the only baseball we got to see that day was the Indians game the Aeros played on the scoreboard.  We were in our seats, ready to watch some baseball when 10 minutes prior to the start of the game the grounds crew brought out the tarps.  Funny thing was, there was not a single drop of rain and would not start falling for over an our.  I think they could have tried to squeeze 4-5 innings in and try to get the game played.  But oh well.

On a good note though, I did get the opportunity to try one of the Aeros new food creations the Three Dog Night.  Read more about it here.

Here is the Three Dog Night, topped off with Stadium Mustard

And here I am chowing down.  That was a lot of meat.

Auction Style

A week ago some friends and I participated in an Auction Style draft for our fantasy baseball NL-Only League.  It was my first auction draft and I think the first for almost, if not all of the league.  From everyone I talked with they loved it.  Personally, I'd like to do it for all my fantasy leagues I participate in.  There were many reasons I liked it among:

1. Everyone has the opportunity to have any player on his or her team.  Unlike in a normal draft where you go in a draft order, and only the first person has the opportunity to draft the best player, in this case we will say Albert Pujols, the auction style draft affords everyone the opportunity to get him, as long as they are willing to pay the most money


2. The draft is fast-paced and every "pick" everyone can be involved.  No more making your pick then waiting for numerous picks and minutes to go by before you get to be involved in the draft process again.  You're paying attention the whole draft, because at any moment a player you like or feel is going for a value price is being auctioned off.


3. You truly get to see which owners, really like which players, and the "bidding wars" for players really get the competitive juices flowing in a good way.  It makes for a early reason for some good-natured smack talk


4. An auction draft I think is a better indicator of how well each manager can evaluate the talent and dispense their resources accordingly.  There's no longer as much of a luck factor with a player falling in the draft to someone or someone not having an opportunity to draft a player they think will really do well.  As stated above, every owner has the chance to obtain any player.

Overall, I thought the auction draft was a great experience and was glad the commissioner decided to use this format.  There were somethings I would have done differently in my bidding and have seen that you really need to be prepared as to where and who you place value on, since the action is fast-paced.  It made for a great learning experience though and I really look forward to participating in the next one.

Three for the money

For a third time the Akron Aeros are releasing another food concoction.  My friend, Sarah, gave me the heads up that the Aeros just announced the 21-scoop / 5 pound ice cream sunday dubbed "The Screamer."  It is comprised of a half pound each of Moose Tracks, Buckeye Blitz, Cookies n Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, and Chocolate.  Along with, 4 bananas, a one pound brownie, and all the toppings.  And to top it off. it is served in a replica full-sized batting helmet.  Let me say that again, A FULL SIZE BATTING HELMET.  That's crazy.  I always remember going to Dairy Queen and getting to pick a miniature batting helmet for a sunday.  Looks like I will be adding another game to my Akron Aeros attendance list.  Probably need to bring a group with me to split this epic sunday though.  It is going to be a tasty summer!

2011 MLB Picks

A few years ago, while sipping on raspberry mochas around a table at Starbucks, a group of guys were eagerly awaiting the beginning of baseball season and what that brings; signs of spring, warm weather, green grass, and the voice of Tom Hamilton in the air.  In anticipation of the season and to provide an avenue for bragging rights, these industrious young men decided to make their picks for the upcoming MLB season.  This was not done for money, as nothing financially is on the line, but simply for bragging rights and to be acknowledge as the one with the most baseball sense for that year.  Now as the clocks have sprung ahead and one can hear the crack of the bat and the sound of rawhide meeting leather, it is that time once again.  A time to prognosticate and hopefully let our baseball acumen shine.  Without further ado, the 2011 Major League Baseball picks.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST

Aaron:     Boston Red Sox
Dave:      New York Yankees
Josh:       New York Yankees
Nick:       Boston Red Sox
Bill:         Boston Red Sox
Justin:      Boston Red Sox

CENTRAL

Aaron:     Chicago White Sox
Dave:      Chicago White Sox 
Josh:        Minnesota Twins
Nick:       Chicago White Sox
Bill:          Minnesota Twins
Justin:      Minnesota Twins

WEST

Aaron:     Texas Rangers
Dave:      Texas Rangers
Josh:        Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Nick:       Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Bill:          Oakland Athletics
Justin:      Texas Rangers

WILD CARD

Aaron:     New York Yankees
Dave:      Boston Red Sox
Josh:        Boston Red Sox
Nick:       New York Yankees
Bill:         New York Yankees
Justin:      New York Yankees

MVP

Aaron:       Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees
Dave:        Nelson Cruz, OF, Texas Rangers
Josh:          Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins
Nick:         Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Bill:           Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers
Justin:        Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers

CY YOUNG

Aaron:      Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
Dave:       CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
Josh:         CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
Nick:        CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
Bill:          Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Justin:       Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST

Aaron:      Philadelphia Phillies
Dave:       Philadelphia Phillies
Josh:         New York Mets
Nick:         Atlanta Braves
Bill:           Philadelphia Phillies
Justin:       Philadelphia Phillies

CENTRAL

Aaron:      Milwaukee Brewers
Dave:       Milwaukee Brewers
Josh:        Chicago Cubs
Nick:        Milwaukee Brewers
Bill:          St. Louis Cardinals
Justin:       Cincinnati Reds

WEST

Aaron:      San Francisco Giants
Dave:       Colorado Rockies
Josh:         San Francisco Giants
Nick:         Los Angeles Dodgers
Bill:           San Francisco Giants
Justin:        Colorado Rockies

WILD CARD

Aaron:       Colorado Rockies
Dave:        San Francisco Giants
Josh:         Philadelphia Phillies
Nick:         Philadelphia Phillies
Bill:           Atlanta Braves
Justin:        Atlanta Braves

MVP

Aaron:        Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Dave:         Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
Josh:          Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Nick:          Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants
Bill:            Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies
Justin:         Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals

CY YOUNG

Aaron:       Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
Dave:        Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
Josh:          Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
Nick:          Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
Bill:            Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Justin:        Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies


WORLD SERIES PICKS
Aaron:      Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies (7 games)
Dave:       Milwaukee Brewers over New York Yankees (6 games)
Josh:        Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (7 games)
Nick:        Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies (7 games)
Bill:          San Francisco over Boston Red Sox (6 games)
Justin:       Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies (6 games)

Kung Fu Panda

I just read Molly Knight's article about the Kung Fu Panda aka Pablo Sandovol in ESPN the Magazine's MLB Preview.  It was a good read about Sandoval and his off-season workouts/diet changes/refocusing to get back into shape (he showed up to camp 40 lbs lighter than his heaviest weight last summer).  Sandoval came into the majors and had a very good 2009 campaign, endearing himself to fans who nicknamed him the Kung Fu Panda, since he was such a lovable and powerful, and probably chubby player.  After a dissappointing 2010 season, that saw his weight balloon, Sandoval needed refocusing and at the urging of his friend and teammate, Andre Torres, who called the Kung Fu Panda out about his weight, started to get back on track.  It's nice to read about a friend sharing the hard truth with his buddy and then seeing the good effects that it has had. 

Speaking of Pablo Sandoval, I remember watching him play back in the summer of 2009 when I was out in the Bay Area visiting my buddy Jason.  We attended a Giants game at AT&T Park and saw Pablo Sandoval hit a home run into McCovey Cove.  It was the "50" splash homer of the year.  Pretty cool to see.



Shamrock Shakes consumed this year: 2 (almost gone, better get one or two more soon)

Unlovable

There has been a group of us going to the northeast side of Canton, to the Chips neighborhood to reach out and build relationships with the people there.  The last time we were down there, we had a fun night with the kids playing games (dodge ball, kick ball...who doesn't like those) and eating pizza.  Two things struck me and stuck with me from that night.  First off, were the two youngest kids there, Kyler and Daniel, who were both around kindergarten age.  They both embodied that youthful enthusiasm of kids that haven't been jaded.  They were joyful and bashful.  Curious and hopeful.  They still had that look of wide-eyed wonder in their eyes and seemed to gravitate towards us.  To put it simply, they were so darn cute, and so easy to love. 

The second thing that struck me was how both myself and some of the other older kids seemed to be "cautious" around each other.  Oh sure, we talked, and joked, and enjoyed the games and food together, and definitely did have fun, but there was still a sense of caution it seemed on both sides.  For the older kids, I'm sure they were looking at us with somewhat jaded eyes, thinking to themselves, "what are these people all about?  Do they really want to get to know me?  Are these people just putting on fronts?"  For myself, I know the thought went through my mind about the older kids, the teenagers, that of "Do I really want to deal with the attitudes, the lack of listening to instructions, and lack of respect to some degree?  Wouldn't it just be easier for me to hang out with the younger kids, the ones that look at you as these awesome older people, that are happy to get a hug from you?" 

Later that night and the next day, it kept recurring to me how easy it was for me to show love to the young kids, but not so much to the older ones.  I think many times when we think of loving the unlovable we think of people in a third world country, or the homeless, or people that smell really bad, or people who are always down right mean-spirited.  We don't necessarily equate it to the way we respond and show love to two seemingly same groups of people.  I know many of the kids have come from similar backgrounds and live in the same neighborhoods.  And I think it is easy to think that I've shown love when I just picture all the kids together as one group, as the kids from Chips.  But in reality, there are two groups of people.  The loveable and the unlovable.  The ones that easily return my love and the ones that are hesitant to do so.  I think it is important to realize that there is a distinction, as well as to see each kid as an individual.  And I know for me, I've caught myself at times in loving the unlovable, that it has more of a self-righteous act, than that of true compassion and love.  I'm reminded of Matthew 5:43-48, about how Jesus talks about loving your enemies and was struck by how The Message put it:


 ^43-47"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
 ⁴⁸"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."  (Matthew 5:43-48, The Message)
 
That phrase,  In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up.  You're kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity, strikes a chord with me.  I want to live out my God-created identity of love, grace, kindness, and mercy.  I want to love like Jesus loved, truly loving the unlovable, out of motivation of the love the Father has shown me.  I don't want to look through jaded eyes.  I guess jaded eyes are one thing that me and the older kids share.  Lord restore clear vision to us so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.