Dad’s Role

Overheard from the backseat while driving the girls around (Lee Ann was at her college reunion):

Emma (in a singsong voice):   I love Mom-mee….without her….I wouldn’t be here

Molly:  You wouldn’t be here without Dad either

Emma:  Well Mommy had us in her tummy, and then had us.

Molly:  But we needed Dad too.

Emma:  What for?

Molly (puzzled, thinks for a bit):  We needed Daddy to take Mommy to the hospital.

Dad:  (Sigh of relief)

And yet another uncomfortable conversation avoided for the time being.  At the least, Lee Ann has to be there with me when we tackle that one.

Game 5: Don’t Believe the Hype

A best of seven series gains considerable momentum in terms of fan interest when the count is tied after four games.  The only drawback is that we can count on being inundated by a slew of tidbits telling us how important Game 5 is.  Analysts point to the history of Game 5 winners going on to win the series 83% of the time as if that is proof of Game 5′s crucial importance.  Well, of course it’s important.  It’s one of the seven games in the series.  It is late in the series in fact.  Hey, 100% of Game 7 winners have won the series.

The basic point all the talking heads are making is correct, but it’s also obvious and doesn’t need to be treated as if Game 5 is mystical.  Any team that wins Game 5 has two more chances to win the series.  If teams are equally talented, that would mean the Game 5 winner would have a 75% chance of winning at least one of the games.  But guess what?  The team that wins Game 5 is usually better than the team they beat, because, well they beat them!  That shifts the odds even higher to 83%. 

The Nuggets and Lakers are quickly approaching the “pivotal” Game 5, and the Magic and Cavs may be headed there soon.  There is an 83% chance I’m going to be sick.

A Whole New Ballgame

Last weekend, Lee Ann and I took the girls to see the Boston Breakers (women’s professional soccer team).  I have been to hundreds of Red Sox games but only a few Breakers games.  The sport and stadiums are very different, but the experiences and what I really like about attending a sporting event were very similar:

1. There was a “vibe”, largely promoted by the small band of fanatics a couple sections over beating on a drum, that enveloped the stadium
2. It was a comfortable night spent outdoors
3. There was plenty of time to converse while paying partial attention to the action on the field
4. There were lots of colorful images to look at everywhere around – on the field and in the stands,.
5. With regularity, an athlete would accomplish something that made you realize you were watching an elite individual

The crowd was not as large as at a Sox game (both a positive and a negative), and was not as engrossed in the action.  But for these and a few other minor tradeoffs we spent a whole lot less money and got in and out of the location easily (and in time for a normal bedtime for Molly and Emma). 

Often writers and columnists lump all sports events in together since they all compete for air time on ESPN.  But there is definitely room for sports that provide entertainment and atmosphere (Breakers)  over the thrill of “do or die” games with larger followings and fanatics (Red Sox).  Colors, competitiveness, and a nice night — that’s really all that is needed for me to have a great time at a ballgame.

Better than Leap Year

Every four years we make a big deal about leap year, but there is a more rare occurrence coming up next year that would have a much more significant (largely psychological) impact.

Like many American families, Lee Ann and I have a monthly budget, and that budget has become more instrumental in our lives as the economy has worsened.  I would guess that most corporate employees get paid either every other week or on the 15th/30th of the month.  For those who are on the every other week plan, there is the occasional month (one out of every six) that there is a third, “bonus” paycheck.

Those bonus months are glorious.  Suddenly those monthly deficits that accrued in the prior five months get paid off.  And there may even be some leftover $$ to buy baseball cards.  You can count on these months twice over the course of the year.

Or at least twice over the course of the year.  Since there are more than 52 weeks in the year (one day more in most years, two days more in leap years) once in a while you hit a year with three bonus months.  That’s when you can save up your baseball card money to buy a baseball glove.  And, for me at least, that baseball glove is coming next year in 2010!!

It seemed like the recession was at its worst when in the midst of all the bad economic data it felt like even the calendar was conspiring against us by leading into an unusually short Holiday shopping season (due to Christmas falling on the weekend and a very late Thanksgiving).  Now, as we are starting to see some glimmers of hope in the economic data, it seems like the calendar gods are in sync with our hopes: baseball gloves all around.

Recovery fever......catch it!

Pelosi the Speed Bump

President Obama has been in office for fewer than 120 days.  In that time he’s successfully changed the way the world considers the United States, and the way Americans consider their economic future.  While there will always be doomsayers for every administration, to me it is clear that our country is held in better standing throughout the world than it was just four months ago, and that our economic future is not careening down a hopeless path as it seemed not long ago.

120 days.  If this were a pregnancy we’d still be permitted to fly.  It’s an incredible shift that has occurred within a very brief time period.  The Obama administration is making progress on issues that were talked about for decades but not confronted: energy alternatives, changes to the car industry, healthcare reform.  The speed with which the new guard operates is dizzying.

But here comes the speed bump.  Nancy Pelosi.  While I am politically aligned with her views, I wish she would just step aside.  She is the clump of gunk in the stream that is diverting the water from its natural and most efficient path.  And she seems to be creating this diversion knowingly, choosing her own defense at the expense of what can be accomplished by the administration.

Caution: left lane ends in 200 feet

Waterboarding is torture.  That is Obama’s point.  And it appears we have consensus on that.  We can now shift the debate to Obama’s desired conversation: Should America be involved with torture (or the Orwellian “enhanced interrogation techniques”)?  But for some reason Pelosi has changed the debate to “What did Nancy know, and when?”

Okay, so maybe she didn’t start the Nancy debate, but she sure has fed it.  And she has fed it with the partisan language that validates the relevance of the Republican party.  Here’s Pelosi’s quote at yesterday’s press conference speaking about the Republicans:

“They misrepresented every step of the way, and they don’t want that focus on them, so they try to turn the attention on us.”

We’re back to the them and us discussion that Obama is trying so hard to avoid.  We’re focusing on who is at fault for waterboarding, rather than moving forward and discussing whether it should have been done at all or should be done going forward. 

The discussion about American ideals and compromise of those ideals is central to Obama’s policies, not just in this specific case but for all issues.  But instead of elevating the debate to “Do the ends justify the means?” Pelosi has devolved the debate to “What do the CIA meeting notes mean?”

Roundtrip Subscription

I got an offer in the mail the other day from Continental Airlines.  My airline travel is spread over several airlines, and so I don’t accumulate significant frequent flier miles on any one carrier.  By significant, I mean anything that would approach the recently heightened thresholds for a free ticket.

So, as I opened the offer along with my miles balance, I did not have much hope that I would be able to redeem for any reward.  But something funny has happened lately with these programs.  While cashing in for trips has become out of the question, they are practically giving away magazine subscriptions.

There I was checking off boxes for Sports Illustrated, Money, People, Entertainment Weekly all at about 1,000 miles per pop.  I couldn’t even get through my (piddly) number of accumulated miles without getting into magazines that held no interest for me.  It made me momentarily consider getting a pet so I could get some dog magazines. 

A roundtrip ticket in the contiguous US requires 50K miles.  A 26 week subscription to Sports Illustrated is 1,000 miles.   Something seems out of line in the value relationship, especially when you think the airlines would be able to swing better deals for the company they own than for unrelated magazine companies.  I can get 25 years of bathroom reading material instead of flying to Chicago.  And the seat’s more comfortable too.

Switching Days

Every year it’s the same thing.  Mother’s Day comes up and I have no idea where the gift-o-meter should be set.  Are we cutting back this year?  Does it align with the kids’ age (i.e. 7 years not as big a deal as 10 years)?  And I get no help from Lee Ann who always says just a card will suit her nicely.

Next year I think Father’s Day and Mother’s Day should be swapped.  That way I’ll be able to see how much of  a fuss I should be making and set my plans accordingly.  It’ll never fly though.  The calendar has been set by Moms since the beginning of time (even though it’s Father Time), and there’s no way to get it to change now.

Manny Thoughts

My first reaction to the Manny on steroids story was very much like if I had heard that Kate Hudson had an affair with Brad Pitt and Angelina was pissed.  Kind of interested, and I’d read the article.  But not that surprised.  And not upset or happy.  Just mildly interested.

That’s where the sport of baseball is right now.  I do not care enough anymore to be surprised, angry, saddened, or even take delight in the revenge factor for Manny refusing to play in Boston.  Baseball is becoming less and less about rooting for the sport or one of its teams and more and more about being a source of data for my rotisserie league or my betting regression.

But here are a couple thoughts that made me pause and amused me for a few moments over the last day:

1) Manny will likely not have a Hall of Fame acceptance speech now.  That is too bad, because it would have been must see theater.  Now there’s even more pressure on Rickey Henderson to deliver the intentional and unintentional comedy in his speech knowing that Manny will not be coming along in another 8 years to shake things up on the Cooperstown podium.

2) It’s really hard to understand what drives Manny.  If he cared so much about his #s wouldn’t he have played his hardest last year for Boston?  If it was all an attempt to get a big salary then why do we always hear the anecdotes about how he has no concept of money? 

3) I am so glad this happened now and not in 2005.  I have completely enjoyed the 2004 season and nothing will diminish that for me.  It’s too late.  Like so much in life timing is everything.  If this came out in November 2004 I would have been devastated.  Likewise, if Clemens had retired after winning his championship with the Yankees he’d be in the Hall of Fame right now and not care a whit about the McNamee testimony.

And now I’ll go off and root for Arod, a Yankee and steroid user, because he is on my rotisserie team and is returning tonight.  That is the impact the steroid era has had on me: baseball is the numbers, not the teams or the players.

Doubling the Penalty for HBP

It looks like it hurts to get hit by a 95 MPH fastball.  I’ve never experienced it, but judging by the wincing and writhing I see when it happens on TV, I think it is very painful.  Usually, the batter gets up off the ground, and takes his reward: first base.  First base?!? For all that pain and agony?!? Was Abner Doubleday playing with nerf balls when the rule was created?

The current rule for being Hit by a Pitch is like $5 parking tickets in a city where garages offer legal parking for $50.  In many cases it makes sense to have a transgression.  If a pitcher is facing a power hitter with two outs and no one on, it definitely makes sense to conserve energy by throwing one pitch at the slugger and move on to the next batter, especially if the next batter is not nearly as much of a threat.

A hit batsman should be awarded second base.  That would automatically place a runner in scoring position.  Even if the score is lopsided at the time and the game is not in doubt, a man on second would have a more direct impact on the pitcher’s ERA.  The way to curb injuries from HBP’s  is to link it with the pitcher’s upcoming salary negotiations: a higher ERA would have pitchers questioning just how much they want to make a “statement” to the opposing team.

Barbara of the Jungle

I remember when George the first was elected president, a very slight silver lining for me was that we were getting his wife as first lady.  Here was this grandmotherly, sincere, honest person to replace Nancy Reagan.  We were going to be down to earth rather than following the astrological stars.

Well, I had misled myself.  Over the  next four years Barbara Bush seemed to be less and less like a warm grandmother, and more and more to be caustic, sarcastic, and downright mean spirited.  Her responses to press questions always made me feel sorry for the person asking the question (a hard feat).  And she seemed to take advantage of her down home persona against all who crossed her path.

The moment before the beast struck.

Well a couple weeks ago I came face to beak with the Barbara Bush of the animal kingdom.   We visited a wildlife preserve and got to see and feed animals from our car.  It was pretty amazing.  We saw zebras, elk, antelope, deer, and llamas.  We felt very safe, even when the big zebras leaned in and chomped at our food bags.

The only scary moments were when we encountered Barbara, er, the ostriches.  I was so excited to see ostriches up close.  They always seem so awkwardly graceful to me.  And just like I once thought of Babs, I figured they would be warm, fuzzy creatures. But it turns out they should really be models for comic book supervillains.  They move quickly.  They have these ridiculously long necks that uncoil in a split second, and they snap their little beaks at everything.  It doesn’t matter if there is food in the area, if there is something that perhaps once held food it is fair game in their world.

I would like to say that I remained calm as the ostrich snapped its trap around the inside of the rental car.  But unfortunately there were three witnesses there (Lee Ann, Molly, and Emma).  Still I maintain that the high pitch shrieking they heard was my calculated decision to scare the beast off by hurting its eardrums.