The Highly Anticipated Softball Season Preview

Here's what you've been waiting for. With opening day this Thursday, it's time to preview the 2007 edition of the Pitchers & Catchers. First, a recap of 2006.

We Won.


The quest for back-to-back titles has already taken a significant hit. Gone from the 2006 are three players pictured above, including power hitter and defensive star UNICorn (torn knee ligament), and one of the twins (left the company). Despite losing one of our best guys and one of our best girls, the show must go on. We've added three new guys, all of whom are question marks with unknown talent, though RytheRed turned out to be a solid "question mark" in 2006. We've also added a new girl to fill the hole at 2B, so if she can regain her childhood softball skills, we just might be ok this year.

Although we have taken a few hits, so have most of the other top teams, and the Swinging Bunts. The only team that claims to have improved/reloaded is perennial contender Son of a Pitch. They enter 2007 as the league favorite, but we hope to derail their effort for their third title in four years.

My prediction for 2007 is a little bittersweet. After overcoming some early struggles, I expect us to go 12-4 or 13-3 and finish in 2nd or 3rd place in the regular season. However, we will turn it on during the playoffs and stun Son of a Pitch (predicted record 16-0) in a three game classic championship series. After celebrating our back-to-back titles, the Pitchers & Catchers will fold as a team due to expected job relocations, potential company defections, and possible pregnancies in the 2007 offseason. Hopefully our "last dance" can be as successful as Jordan's Bulls in the 1990s.

My prediction for the rival Swinging Bunts is not so kind. After losing their SS and 3B from 2006, they have major questions in the infield. They added a couple of solid girls, which should help their offense, but I predict a 5-11 record for FlyingV and his team.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Spring of discontent for Michigan Football continues.

Incompetence

The NFL Draft is the biggest waste of a weekend of television. Leave it to ESPN to make such a non-event so popular. It's disgusting. Sorry RoopDogg, I know you love this event, but it's nothing other than a waste of time. All I needed to do was read the draft board this evening and I picked up everything that ESPN took 15 hours to communicate over the last two days.

Seriously, I don't care how Matt Millen spins it, this draft was a colossal failure. The Lions have not had an offensive live since Bobby Ross was coach. Every logical Lions fan realize that part of the failures of those high profile QBs and WRs in Detroit is due to the fact that the QB is sacked 4+ times every game and hurried even more often. Until the Lions devote premium draft picks to the less sexy positions, 10+ losses a year will be the norm. I don't care how athletic the top two picks are this year, Johnson and Stanton will fail because there is no one to block for them. The Lions should have shown some courage and drafted Joe Thomas.

Now, the Patriots got it right. They picked up Randy Moss for pennies and took San Francisco's #1 pick in 2008 so that they could take a QB that was freefalling for a reason. Don't be surprised if the Patriots have a very high first round pick in next year's draft as a reward for winning the 2008 Super Bowl. That team is stacked on both sides of the ball. Go Tom Brady!

Oh yeah, as for my obligatory Red Wings comment, they stole one yesterday. They had no business winning that game, yet somehow they dug in and ground out a victory against a faster, stronger, and less hungry team. The only way the Sharks lose this series is if they rely on skill and speed instead of heart. This is the first time I can recall that the Wings are this outmanned since the 1997 series against Colorado. The Wings may be the #1 seed, but San Jose is a far better team this year. The Wings won that memorable and nasty 1997 revenge series against Colorado en route to the Stanley Cup thanks to this huge game 2 goal by Yzerman (4:35 mark), the most important goal of his career (yes, more important than his Game 7 OT goal in the second round of the '96 playoffs that top topped this ESPN Top Ten list). I miss Steve Yzerman.

I was in NYC this weekend with DrT. It's the start of a month of traveling which should bring me to Philadelphia and VEGAS (woo). Anyone else want to be included on my 2007 summer tour?

All Red Wings, All the Time

Just Kidding (sort of).

I finally got around to joining a gym in Manchester. I've only lived here for roughly 9 months, so it was way overdue (though I did still use the JCC in Bloomfield for about 1-2 months after moving to Manchester). I've focused to improve my eating habits recently, not that they were horrible to begin with (I make a salad with almost every meal these days. Salad!!!!!).

Surprisingly, I weighed myself after my workout yesterday and was surprised to see that I was about 5-10 pounds lighter than I was last summer. I figure that once I start going to the gym regularly again that I'll put on some weight since I think I lost muscle mass that will eventually come back, but I guess that's ok. I'll need some of that muscle back for the upcoming softball season since we lost our only power hitter from last year, but I digress. The softball preview is coming later this week, and I know that everyone named RoopDogg is looking forward to that.

Now back to the Red Wings. My good friend Bright is one lucky guy. Although both of us moved far away from Michigan upon graduating from college, Bright moved to a city with an NHL team. Bright has adopted the hometown team as his #2 team and frequently attends games. This year, his San Jose Sharks are hoping to make a playoff run. You think the upcoming playoff series will cause major conflict for Bright? No. Why? BECAUSE HE IS A TRAITOR! He grew up in southeast Michigan, but he rooted for the Norris Division rival Maple Leafs. His excuse is lame. He didn't have cable growing up, so he watched a lot of Hockey Night in Canada. I also grew up in the same town, did not have cable TV, regularly watched Hockey Night in Canada, but I am a Red Wings fan. They were on free TV far more often than Toronto back in those days. However, I've forgiven Bright and even come to appreciate his passion for the Maple Leafs.

Unfortunately, Bright is now trash-talking me via e-mail about the upcoming playoff series against the Red Wings, who Bright hates. He's calling for a San Jose sweep since San Jose dominated the season series against Detroit. What's worse is that I think he's attending the games in San Jose, or at least some of them. I am insanely jealous. Grrr......

Don't worry though. I told him my series prediction. Would anyone care to guess what I said? I'll put up my prediction tomorrow night in the comment section.

PPPPHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!

After outshooting Calgary 55-21, winning the series would have been tough if Calgary stole this one. Thankfully, Franzen did not let that happen, though the Wings had to drag it out a couple of overtimes! I think I heard a sigh of relief from 700 miles to the west when that puck went in!

I hope Dallas wins their Game 7 against Vancouver tomorrow. Anaheim, Vancouver, and San Jose are mighty scary. Go Marty Turco!

It's Called a POWER PLAY. Get One!

Two power play goals hurt the Red Wings in Game 3, and two more hurt them in Game 4. The lack of a power play for the good guys is really disheartening. The Red Wings are 2-for-25 and Calgary is 6-for-22 with the extra man after four games.

Game 5 on home ice has not been kind to Detroit in recent years. Two seasons ago, we lost at home to Calgary in game five after splitting the first four. Last year, we lost to Edmonton at home in game five after splitting the first four. The Red Wings were uninspired for the game five weekend matinee both times. Just our luck, game five faces off on Saturday afternoon. Any Red Wings fan is probably scared to death for game five. Scared. To. Death.

For all the regular season success in the past 15+ years, the Wings have only won one of five playoff matchups since I graduated from college, despite never being seeded below #2 in the Western Conference.

I still have faith that we will finally beat a team from Western Canada, but Calgary has no business being even with us after four. If only Detroit had a power play...

Stupid First Ammendment

I'm not really going to say much about the tragic shooting on Virginia Tech's campus earlier this week. I don't really have much to add about such a horrific event that has not already been said. However, I read earlier that the killer made a video and wrote a manifesto and mailed it NBC. This is heinous enough, but I was shocked and appalled that NBC and all the other news stations actually showed this video and some of the graphic pictures on the air.

What good does this accomplish? Does this help the grieving families deal with their loss? Does this information provide any further insight into why this happened other than confirm what we all assumed, that the killer was mentally ill? No! If anything, this sends chills to all of those impacted the most by what happened. Furthermore, this might provide inspiration for copycat killers that want their fifteen minutes of postumous "fame" on national TV. Truly reprehensible behavior by our national media, and they deserve all of the criticism they have received today.

I hope you have not had a chance to see any segments of this video. It is really upsetting and does nothing to help explain anything we did not already know. The media may have the "right" to show this according to our constitution, but that doesn't mean that it is right for them to show this video on national TV.

This Blows

What a waste of two rare goals by Kris "Stone Hands" Draper. We just let the sleeping, uninspired team back into the series by blowing a 2-1 third period lead. This is trouble...

A Shenanigantastic Finale

The 2006-07 indoor soccer season has come to a close for the Shenanigans. A second consecutive successful season concluded with a thrilling 4-2 win over ESPN Deportes. After nearly two years of being bottom feeders in the Farmington indoor soccer league, we have slowly become a team to be reckoned with. As you would expect, my three goals this session were a big reason we are successful. That team would be lost without m...um, I almost was able to say that with a straight face.

Now that the weather is supposed to be warming up (stupid rain, I hate you), it's time to move on to bigger and better sports. You know what that means? The 2007 Pitchers & Catchers softball season preview is coming soon!!!!!

Opening Day, also known as the official beginning of Spring, is May 3rd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Late Night Entertainment

I am staying up super late tonight to watch the Red Wings tonight. However, since I am watching the game by myself, I am going to use the blog to keep myself entertained. Enjoy a rare night of posting!

Reason # 1,462,897 why DrT is awesome. I was telling her about how I was planning to stay up late to watch the Red Wings game tonight. I never really had to explain why I am crazy and staying up until 1AM or later to watch the game. She completely understood that I had to watch this game and admitted that she'd do the same if Major League Baseball had a Red Sox playoff game start at 10PM, even though she is usually awake at or before 6AM on weekdays. In fact, she made a comment to me essentially saying "how can you not stay up late to watch the game tonight". Awesome. DrT rules. :)

At least I can sleep until ~8AM tomorrow and get into work around 9AM without getting into trouble.

Sucker Bets

I don't remember how this started today, but I was involved in a discussion about Iowa basketball while eating lunch this afternoon. The person who started the conversation (an Iowa grad - but not Hawkeye), insisted that Iowa was the #2 in the 2006 NCAA tournament when they lost to Northwestern State in the first round. Somehow, I remembered that Iowa was in fact the #3 seed playing their first game in Detroit (well...Auburn Hills to be exact). The Iowa grad was so confident she was right that she was willing to place a bet. Given that I am always willing to accept sucker bets, I decided to wager a cup of hot chocolate (I keep my stakes low). The peanut gallery sitting around us decided that the stakes were lame. Since I knew I was right, I volunteered that I would grow a mustache if I was wrong, as BuckeyeBoy has been requesting for months.

I hate to disappoint all of you, but there will be no mustache. Although I tend to express strong opinions on occasion as if they are fact, I was right this time. I know, you're all probably shocked. I'm still not sure how I remembered that pointless fact, but let it serve as a lesson to never challenge me on sports trivia.

Of course, I would never have made such a lopsided bet if I thought I could be wrong.

Random Rant

I was going through some of my files earlier this evening and I came across some U.S. Savings Bonds that I received as a Bar Mitzvah gift back in 1993. I knew that I had these in my files for the past 14 years, but I decided to see when they will mature and their current redemption value. $350 in savings bonds received in 1993. Current value? Roughly $310-315. Surprisingly, it's higher than I expected. It might actually mature before my 30th birthday. Woo hoo!

I am not one to criticize the family members that were kind enough to give me a Bar Mitvah gift. I truly appreciate their kindness. However, I will never ever ever give a teenager as US savings bond as a gift. The bond takes almost twenty years to mature. Assuming that most bonds provided as gifts are for $50-200, the bond will probably be worthless to the recipient upon maturity unless I think that the person receiving the gift will not be successful in life at that stage of their life. It's one thing if the bond would mature while the recipient is still in college or grad school, but for most people, this small sum is not valuable when it matures around age thirty.

I would much rather have had $175 when I was a poor thirteen year-old child that relied on my stingy parents for money or a college student responsible for my tuition and living expenses instead of $350 when that money has a miniscule impact on my overall income.

Keep that in mind the next time you are attending a Bar Mitvah. I'm sure that's a handy tip for
all of my regular readers! :)

Hockey Night in Canada

I've been freaking out about the NHL playoffs for awhile. When I moved to Manchester last summer, I had to get cable service from a different provider that does not carry the Versus network. Since the NHL is incompetent and won't put their network on a real network, I was unable to see the Red Wings games nationall televised on Versus. Furthermore, since the Red Wings playoff games are all on "national" TV, it made no sense to purchase the NHL Online Center Ice Package since the game would be blacked out. With no way to watch most of the NHL playoffs, I've been terrified.

Thankfully, Red Wings fans on the internet pointed me to a way I can watch the games online. I'm not sure if this is completely legal, so I will spare details. The point is that not only am I watching game 1 of the Red Wings first round series, but I am watching the CBC feed. Yay for Hockey Night in Canada!! The feed is not the greatest. It's a much lower quality than normal TV and cuts out for a few seconds roughly every ten minutes. However, I'll take it!

Don Cherry must be working the Ottawa series this round because there was no Coach's Corner tonight. Oh well, he'll be on NBC this Sunday!!!. It won't be the same without sidekick Ron MacLean, but it's still Don Cherry.

Needless to say, it's been a good day! :) LET's GO RED WINGS!

It's a Freakin' Mitten

I was sitting in a meeting at work today that briefly addressed a business issue in the state of Michigan. In order to illustrate her point, one lady in the meeting drew the state of Michigan on a sheet of paper. The drawing looked like a half-oval. That, or a trapezoid. It was a combination of the two objects.

Although I tried to restrain myself, I started laughing. Hello!?! The state is a freakin' mitten! I'd understand if you did not get the shape right of some irrelevant central state like Kansas or Iowa, but how can you not recognize the state that looks like your hand?

Once we got over the wonderful illustration of my great home state, the business example started discussion out of region hospital utilization from Ohio (boring, I know). Then, the example was teed up with a comment from my boss about people crossing the river from Ohio into Michigan to use hospitals in SE Michigan. Once again, I laughed. I think my boss (PSU grad) figured I was laughing because we don't want no trashy Buckeyes in our state since he made some comment along the lines of "What would Woody Hayes think of that" when I laughed at his comment. However, that was a more forgivable error, so I just let it go and we moved on.

Besides, a river separating us from the dump that is Ohio would be fantastic.

Bureaucracy at its Finest

Ever wonder what happens to that critical personal or business document awaiting action from the brightest and best that represent our country? Well, most likely it receives attention from the staff of the legislator in question. After visiting my brother in DC this past weekend, I learned more about how those staffers handle the critical documents they receive each day during a tour of the Hart Senate Building. Check this out.



Here is the picture on said staffer's office door:



I've occasionally built up a layer of loose papers on my desk at work, but this much? Seriously? No wonder our country is paralyzed by bureaucracy.

I could have had an awesome tour of government if it were not the weekend. As a staffer, my brother has special access to the capitol building, especially on weekdays when Congress is not in session. Next time I visit, I'll make a point to be in town on one of these days so that I can go on the floor of the House and Senate and ride the secret underground tram from the Capitol Building to the Senate offices.

Now if only I could convince my brother that Republicans are evil... Well, not all Reupblicans, just the current president and his minions.

Urge to Kill Rising...

...Rising, RISING!

Grrrr.

Seriously, we destroyed these jokers in the conference tournament and then get the bracket of death as a reward while they get a much easier path to the title game. Illiterate fools.

Now That's Service

A week ago, I dropped off some work clothes for dry cleaning in Bloomfield. I don't actually have my clothes cleaned there often, but often enough to recognize the person that is usually working there in the evnings.

As I was leaving my stuff there last Thursday, the lady said that my name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't remember it. I figured she was half joking since I would never expect her to remember my name. However, when I told her my name, she knew exactly how to spell it and remembered where I work (we get a discount at that particular place).

I didn't get around to picking my clothes back up until today, but as I walked in, she instantly remembered my last name and said "Hello Mr. ----------". I was impressed. Given how many people walk in and out of that place each day and how infrequently I drop in (about once a month), I was not expecting such friendly service, especially since this is New England and not the super-friendly Midwest.

Happy Passover

I decided to try something new this year. For the first time in who knows how many years (at least ten), I am giving up leavened bread for Passover. Given that I am spending tomorrow evening at a seder with Dr T and her parents in Brookline and this upcoming weekend in Washington DC where I'll be visiting my brother (who always follows the traditions of Passover),
it would be fun to try and go the whole eight days by eating fruit, vegetables, meat, and matzoh (and wine). If anything, it's a healthy diet!

I'm even trying to go slightly beyond the whole bread thing and give up foods that contain corn syrup, but that may prove more difficult. Did you know that yogurt contains corn syrup? After thinking it out, I can easily maintain a diet that follows the traditions of Passover during the work week. Check this out:

My normal breakfast of yogurt, cereal, and a banana is replaced by cottage cheese, strawberries, a banana, and a piece of matzoh with some organic peanut butter (sans corn syrup).

Lunch will be an apple, some baby carrots, and a turkey and cheese sandwich (using matzoh instead of bread of course).

Dinner can be a large salad, red potatoes, and a piece of chicken or salmon.

Sounds like a solid diet to me! :) We'll see how this goes. In the meantime, Happy Passover everyone!