Sports hernia or not?

Howdy. It's the day before Easter and we have had an Easter miracle. Yes, miracle number one was Jesus rising from the dead. Miracle number two is that the big kid has an appointment with the Michael Jordan of hernia repairs on Monday. That's right. Begging works.....really. Try it some time.



With that said, the kid came home last night and I enjoyed the banter with him and his dad as they watched SEC baseball together on ESPN. From the pitcher on the mound whom the kid threw against last summer to the team gossip, they had a nice time just chatting about baseball.



I found out a few things.....first, the Czar continues to put guys on the mound whose ERA are greater than 6. Are we saying "let's tank this year for the first round draft pick?" Naw, that's professional sports. Think about it......


Fade to black.....

You are a blue chip prospect who can attend college anywhere in the US, will you choose a program that has a pitching staff with an ERA higher than the number of wins? Uh, no.

You are a blue chip prospect who can attend college anywhere in the US, will you come to a program whose number of errors are higher than the number of runs scored all year? Uh no.

You are a blue chip prospect who can attend college anywhere in the US, will you choose a program that has a starting player whose batting average is less than .100? Uh no.

And so, this year is looking dismal as is next year and the year after.....

On to the MRI report.....I know, based upon history of working with this hospital that the radiologist did not completely read it. I am looking forward to Monday's appointment which will last four hours to hear what MJ has to say. Once again, if the report is wrong, I will not look under the sofa cushions for extra change and set up a lemonade stand out front of the house, but submit the bill to the coaches and trainers.


The question that I consider almost every day is whether I would do it again. By that, I mean, would I send the kid to this program for his college baseball? Based upon what was promised and how the training was presented, the answer is hmmmm. Yet, the reality is that the promises were not forthcoming. The training in one of the best universities in the country was sub par as was the medical care. BUT, he received an amazing education, which at the end of the day is what he needed most of all. So, the answer to the question is 'yes.' However, if I had a crystal ball that would have shown me that troubles and angst of what was to come, I think that another program would have better suited his needs. Hind sight....20-20 vision.....

With that said, it is good to have everyone under the same roof through the holiday, but I would rather be in Ohio watching my boy throw the ball at 90 mph.

One last word.....the team that the guys played in Texas early in the season is now ranked number one. I believe it. I have watched lots of baseball, but this team was extraordinary as were the fans. One fan held a fishing line with scissors over the dug out. The 'dig' was that the scissors were to cut the players' hair.


 The guys on our team have a propensity to grow their hair long. It's a statement....or ten...who knows.

Time to hit the gym....

Peace!~

Baked ziti and a losing streak

Good morning! I want to send a get well shout out to Wildcat's brother who is recovering in the hospital. Get better soon!

On to the world of baseball......

Yesterday's game was moved from 6:30 to 4p due to the weather. This was a good thing. Although, the coaches did not make the decision until 1 p and I had not left the house for the game. Once I quickly punched the information into navigation in the newly cleaned car, I noted that the drive was 2 hours and 45 minutes....Oops...got to fly like Mario Andretti....unfortunately, Mario could not penetrate the traffic on I-95. I think that it is a hoot when tractor trailers move in and out of traffic like they are Subarus. It is not an easy feat and I believe that it is dangerous.



Note to all truck drivers...don't hate me.....but I think that you and the road will be much safer if you stay in your lane and do not try to weave. That's all I am sayin'

Now, the game......

As you and I knew....the kid was supposed to enter the game to pitch an inning. Did that happen? Uh, hmmmm....no.....

The starter was hit early. He gave up two runs in the first two innings and settled in. The opposing team was not like the Texas team and not like the team that they will face on Tuesday night. In other words, they were beatable and this time, the defeat was not due to pitching. When it came time to enter the bullpen, I could hear the big lefty warm up....boom....boom...boom...as the ball hit the glove. No one else's ball made the sonic sound except his. As the Czar called to the bullpen....out runs.......you guessed it....

Stoner!

Uh huh....coach appointed team captain who failed two drug tests is the first to come out. He loaded the bases and got out of it. Now at the top of the 9th, the team loads the bases with no outs. if they score, they had a chance to go to the bottom of the 9th and perhaps win the game. Guess who would have come out to the mound? My guess was the big guy.



Sadly, the closing pitcher was able to get the last three outs and everyone went home.

On to the hotel....we are staying on campus in a Hampton Inn-ish place. In other words, there is a free breakfast and seating area. After the game, rather than going out since the guys pulled into the hotel at 5am, I bought pizza and shared it with some of the other pitchers. These guys are so nice, that when the birthday cheesecake came out, I promised to come back to town with baked ziti, Caesar salad, and more goodies. Not sure what I was thinking, but when the compliment my cheesecake, I will do just about anything to make them smile. Perhaps the baked ziti will bring good luck....one never knows. Perhaps, yes, perhaps....it will help to break the losing streak especially if I use Mrs. Consuelos' bolonese sauce.

And so, the game is at 6:30 tonight, then the guys have to meet with the local alumni club who are sponsoring a dinner. This means that I am on my own all day.



I have the laptop and am trying to complete an article for a magazine, but my brain doesn't work all day, so I have to find something to do....when looking online for some of the local sites, I found a Fire Museum....that's it.....a Fire Museum.....OK.....



When I was in Texas, I visited the George Bush Library and Museum. This was pretty neat. Nothing like that is around here, except for the Fire Museum. BD and I were looking for things to do last week and found the Button Museum online. We never made it there, but it is now on my bucket list.

Time for me to write....deadlines loom.....I am fully caffeinated.....



Peace!

Time to listen

Good morning! Freezing...frigid....cold....very cold...



Happy Birthday to BD! She is an amazing and accomplished woman and I am thrilled is part of the family. Enjoy the day, BD. You are awesome!

On to the big lefty....yesterday, the Czar held practice, which is illegal. Per NCAA rules, there must be one day a week when the team does not practice. This is generally a Monday. However, no one ever said that this team would abide by rules and regulations. Therefore, they had practice.

My only phone call was to report a new policy. If any pitcher walks two batters in a row, he is immediately taken out. That's it in black and white. There is no room for an umpire's bad call or squeeze. Two walks....and as the umpire would scream "You're out!"

Stressful?

let's ruminate about this policy.......

Does any pitcher walk to the mound and say "Hey, I am going to throw balls and not strikes?"

Answer: Unless he is a head case, the answer in 'no.'

Ok then....why place additional pressure on the guy who holds the ball? Isn't there enough pressure?



My response was sub therapeutic...."This is what you deal with on a daily basis. You know it. You have to figure out how to get through or around them. And you only have four months left of this zoo. So, enjoy the guys."


Not the best maternal response or advice, but on a scale of 1 to Fresno, I give it a 3.

Let's face it. He is not calling home for advice.  he does not take my advice when I counsel him about colds and the flu. He virtually ignores me when I tell him that the car needs an oil change or Ketchup is not a vegetable or fruit therefore he needs to supplement his diet. He lost his hearing when I begged him to retrieve the sofa before his lease ran out. Yep, it doesn't really matter what I say.

What does matter is that I am available to listen. That's my role. Listen. Don't judge. be sympathetic. Be the voice of reason. Ask him about his diet and classes. That's it. My role has dwindled from complete care as an infant to making his fluffernutter for lunch each day to car pools, and driving him up and down the east coast. Now, I listen.

I can do this....although listening is a verb and requires attention. Therefore, when he is ranting about something, I have to place the phone receiver by my ear and actively listen. if he actually wants advice, he will ask me for it.

With that said, I gotta run....

peace!

Nightwear Fashion Show

Good morning! I think that I am back in my flow as I sit at my desk and have now developed a daily routine....You see, with the travel, everything has been disrupted. Since we have been home for two weeks, I am feeling normal again....whatever normal is....family and friends will debate that I never have nor never will have a 'normal'.

And so, the pups have been taken out twice this morning by moi. We have our routine....they wake me up at an un-Godly hour and I take them out....give them breakfast....they want to go out again....get their little greenies....take a short nap....go out again...and all of this is before 8 am. This morning after going to bed at midnight, I  said "screw it" and took them out in my flannel pajamas.


Much to my chagrin, my neighbor's limo driver had a bird's eye view of my Boscov gray and white night look and hair sticking up straight in the air. I was also wearing my black Timberlands that were unlaced and red rain coat. Pretty nice, huh? I waved at him and thought to myself..."screw it".......

(Note...my neighbor has a limo driver because he had surgery on his right foot, can't walk, and is the CEO of a local company...so, he gets a limo to go to work. My limo is in the garage with 70,000 miles on it, a few dents, and Sirius radio....wouldn't trade it for anything).

So, what's going on with the Big lefty? Well, he cannot catch a break with the Czar. The players were asked to write down three guys on the team who they considered 'leaders'. The team picked three pitchers including the big kid who were walk ons....The Czar had a fit and started yelling.....you see, he feels that the leaders should be the scholarship guys not the walk-ons. And since the big guy was recruited as a preferred walk on who was promised scholarship money that never materialized, the coach was angry that the guys who got university money did not lead.

What is wrong with this? Well, using my Psych 101 and 102 cliff notes, these scholarship guys do not have to worry about a place on the team. They are secure with their money intact. The 'leaders' have had to work harder to be a presence on the field and be noticed. Hence the title of leader. The Czar should be congratulating these kids not knocking them down.



Once again, I offered my advice...."Keep your head down...say nothing...keep your nose clean...."

Yesterday, he called to report that he and his friend (another pitcher on the DL who trained with the Pitching Doctor) have done some research and developed a theory about the players whose bodies are breaking down during fall ball......Fall ball is the time to prepare for the season, so the Trainer works them mercilessly at 5 am to lift weights, run....then they go to school....run back to the stadium by 2pm to practice until 5 or 6pm. They are exhausted.

With that said, the two guys are working on a theory as to why his body is not in as bad shape as the other players and guess what? They narrowed their perspective to  alcohol. Yep, booze...demon rum...grain alcohol....boxed wine.... and so on. The big lefty has not had a drink in three months (so he reports). The other guys are drinking steadily, working out, and attending classes....so they are breaking down. Although stressed, he feels pretty good. And so, he now has the routine of not drinking before games so that the alcohol will not wreak havoc with his body.

As a parent, I like this theory. Go with it....don't drink because your body can't handle it. This is great news. Although as we spoke yesterday, he admitted that during his first four years at school, he had 'numerous beers'. Reluctant to share this information, I already knew what he was doing there. I was not born yesterday and yes, I did go to college too. I know what happens. I know what the coeds do. I am not shocked nor surprised as he made this admission. Perhaps, I am now his confessor too.



I then acted shocked..."you drank? Underage? Oh my, I am so glad that you were not arrested for underage drinking when you were 18 because you would still be in the slammer today, since my debit card does not work on bail money." Just sayin'....



So, he's clean....sober.....in shape.....throwing heat...and not sleeping....more about that later...I have to grade some papers before the dogs have to go out again. 

Oh yeah, I want to change out of my pajamas before my next walk around the backyard. After all, the guys are replacing my other neighbor's gutters.  I am going to have to charge for my night wear fashion show if this keeps up.

Peace!

Light bulb menace

Good morning! I am sorry that I have not posted, but this is the last week of classes and I have a plethora of papers and grades that need my attention. As a result, work has gotten into the way of keeping up with news.



What's going on with the big guy? Well, as you know, we were set to fly to see him pitch last Saturday when he came down with a nasty case of strept in which he had to go to the ER since the urgent care center did not give him the correct medications. This is where he met his stalker who immediately grabbed his contact information, looked him up on Facebook, and attempted twice to 'friend' him.


After the second attempt where she pleaded with him to be her 'friend', he sent her a nasty-gram with a copy of the patient privacy law, HIPAA. Naturally, she could be fired for this infraction of policy and the law, but he will keep it to himself unless she contacts him for the third time.



On another note, his roomie Jeep left town. Jeep's parents are divorced and his mother has breast cancer. She cannot drive herself to her appointments since she lost her license due to too many dui's. This is pretty tragic. And so.....Jeep left the team to care for his mother.

After the big guy recovered from strept, he caught a line drive with his right hand and thought that he broke the hand. OYE! After being seen by the MD, he has a bad bruise and was set to start on Saturday night in Missouri. As dad was clicking on the airline tickets to buy them for Saturday morning, the kid called and stated that he was starting tonight and NOT Saturday. Since I am working....no trip to see him pitch.

I believe that I have struck out 5 times this summer trying to get out to see my son play ball. I might as well not make any plans, because they never come through. What's the point?

Now, here is my latest issue....my outside lanterns. As many of you who are regular readers know, the last thing I do is place any house work in dad's hands. He just does not have it.....what does that mean? Well, he is basically a menace when it comes to helping, so stay away.....for example.....

Late last year, he decided to change a lightbulb on the light fixture next to the garage. He breaks the lantern while opening it, then shorts out the circuit. I took the lantern to be re-wired and then re-hung by an electrician that I found on Angie's list. The guy was pretty good but has been out to the house four more times to re-wire this fixture.



This gets better......I had the electrician change all of the lightbulbs around the house so that dad did not have to do it.....guess what? Three lightbulbs blew in the back of the house last week. As dad was helping me to change the bulbs, he broke two of the bulbs in the light sockets. I tried everything including pliers and cannot get the broken light bulbs out. And so.....we have a broken lantern next to the garage....and broken lightbulbs that cannot be extracted from one of the patio the patio fixtures.....

It gets even better.....I decided to call and replace the lanterns and be done with it. I figured that I would order two new lanterns and call it a day. Be done? Oh yeah, right....NOT....it seems that the company no longer makes these fixtures. What does that mean? Well, it means that I have to replace every single outside lantern.....all five of them....$$$$$.

Uh huh....it all started with one stupid innocent light bulb and has turned into several BMW monthly car payments. After spending lots of $$ trying to repair the mess, the electrician who earned an "A" on Angie's list is not contacting me despite numerous attempts. Seriously? What the heck!

Here is what I have learned as I still work on these lanterns and light bulbs...dad is never and I mean never ever to touch anything in my home again. He is a light bulb menace.

With that said, I have some papers to finish.

Peace!