a classic, in the fall

I really must say, I was bummed that the World Series was rained out last night. Perhaps this sounds pathetic, but I’ve really come to look forward to watching baseball each evening after work (even more so since my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing in the Series).

Seriously, though, this has become something of a ritual for me. I know I usually just write some mumbo-jumbo about how I’m not doing anything. But since watching baseball has occupied much of my free time (often in the background, coupled with reading or phone conversations with family and friends), here are some random thoughts and observations on the World Series.

1. How do the Cardinals draw such unlucky opponents in both World Series appearances this decade? In 2004, they faced the “cursed” Red Sox and had about two people outside of St. Louis cheering for them, of which I was one. Now, the Cards get the Tigers, they of the well-documented 119-loss season in 2003. But only nine players from that team still play there. Good story, yes, but let’s not feel too sorry for Ivan Rodriguez. As the story in the above link mentions, he came to the Tigers fresh off a World Series win with the Florida Marlins and with a four-year, $40-million deal. Poor, wretched Pudge! Actually, keep reading. Maybe he does deserve a little sympathy.

2. I couldn’t care less about Kenny Rogers and whatever was on his hand for one piddly inning. I’m sure every pitcher has some little trick. He was just blatant enough to have it caught on camera. Who cares? Not this guy.

3. The Game 4 rainout really messes up the Cardinal pitching rotation. They could have conceivably pitched Suppan in a potential Game 7 on short rest Sunday after last night. Now? Not so much. Crap.

4. I really like the super-slow-mo replays. Now if I could just get better rabbit ears, I could see the darn thing clearly.

5. In Game 3, one Cardinal batter fouled a pitch directly back into the dirt. The ball hit the ground and bounced up with quite some speed into Tiger catcher Pudge Rodriguez’s, um, stones. Immediately, “We Will Rock You” comes blaring over the Busch Stadium PA system. Could there be a more inappropriate song at that point?? [Note: I did not mean to sound like Chandler there.] Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think I could possibly make light of that situation, even if it were my opponent/sworn enemy. Some things you just can’t joke about. Of course, later replays showed the baseball didn’t make a direct hit, but glanced off his inner thigh. Still, just a tad unpleasant.

OK, so I’m done playing sports columnist. Other than contemplating how I’m going to maintain sanity in the evenings when baseball is over, I haven’t been up to much. Over the night last night, we got blasted (and continue to get hit) with a rainy, snowy, icy, slushy mix of winter delight.

That made waking up at 4:45 a.m. to dig out my car and make the drive in an extra special treat. The drive took twice as long as usual, as traffic was necessarily crawling at 25-35 M.P.H. the whole way rather than the posted 45-55. Plus I couldn’t really see the lane markers. My job is so glamorous.

At any rate, we’ve got a big one against Indianapolis this weekend. It should be a good game.

Finally, one of the things I miss most about college: taking naps.

twilight zone

I'm currently sitting in the press box of Cleveland's stadium for our game this week, albeit on the opposite end as I used to. The whole experience is incredibly odd, and I keep having flashbacks to last year.

By the way, Billy Ray Cyrus just sang the national anthem. Wow.

hug it out, bitch

Once again, much too much time has passed since I last updated. Not surprisingly, very little has changed in the meantime, which is probably a contributing factor to the sparing occurence of my actually sitting down to write something.

Work continues to be, well, work. Long hours, long days broken up by the occasional football game (which also means another long day of work). So I work and sleep and talk to my imaginary friend who lives in the corner of my walk-through closet.

I watch a lot of That '70s Show and the baseball playoffs (Tigers up 2-0 in the ALCS???), so in some ways it feels similar to what I've always done, only flying solo. Is it bad if a main highlight of one's week is watching The Office? I hope not.

Oh, how I miss getting grab and go dinner and watching the 5-7 -- and eventually the 4-9 -- in V.O. Except the part where I was on crutches for a month. Buddy and I used to be be able to quote every Subway commercial that ran in Grand Rapids ("Looks like you're on your way to work..."). There was something magical about doing nothing but watch television the entire week before finals and then pull a 4.0.

By next weekend, my time in Colorado will be roughly half over. It's a tough guess as to when the actual halfway point is since the duration of my job depends on how deep the team plays into the postseason. My lease runs out on January 21, so I may have to literally live at the office for a couple weeks if we go far (rather than just figuratively, as I do now).

So, though I feel like I've only just arrived here, the time has already come to re-evaluate and figure out what's next. Your guess is as good as mine. Should be interesting...