Today was opening day of Spring Training. This day is eagerly anticipated in the Smith household, and this year it's EARLY. The reason is that the World Baseball Tournament is being played this year, and lots of Major League players will be joining national teams and competing. Thus, the official Spring Training is a smidgen longer. Only the die hard were out today: The high temperature was 60 degrees. Now, if you are in New Haven, Connecticut and have just had 30" of snow, that seems positively balmy. If you are in Phoenix, Arizona, where the natives think anything under 70 degrees is 'freezing', then going to the ballpark today would be the equivalent of sitting outside in 40 degree weather. The Smith household are a hardy pair, and no one here seriously considered NOT going.
I'm the official Texas Ranger Spring Training reporter for this blog. The Royals and the Rangers played to a 5-5 tie today. The two runs needed to tie the game were scored in the bottom of the 9th being the result of a double and a home run by two players who don't have a prayer to make the team and will probably wind up in AA ball, so we don't care about who they are. Unless the weather is exceptionally fine, or the managers have some kind of brain fart, games often end in ties in S.T.
Derek Holland started the game today and pitched a strong three innings. He was working on his change-up, so he did get dinged around a bit, but his fastball was lightening and low. The real disappointment today was Alexi Ogando. He couldn't even find the plate and was wilder than teenage boys out for a joy ride. He walked players, and even hit one on the shoulder. In two innings, there were three runs scored on him. By contrast Robby Ross looked really, really good. His innings were clean, with only one hit by the Royals. He threw a boatload of strikes, and pitched quite efficiently for so early in the season.
Nelson Cruz served notice today that he understands his role is to pick up the power void left by Hamilton. He hit a two run tater today right out of the ballpark over the center fielder's head onto the grass. The Surprise Park has a grass hill behind center field the same as the Arlington Ball Park, and I found myself looking for the chubby teenager who jumps the wall in Arlington onto the grassy hill and snags home run balls in his baseball glove. David Murphy got a solid hit as did Craig Gentry who also stole a base. Kinsler is still working on his timing and is hitting everything on the ground to the left. Elvis is also warming up his hitting timing, but made two stellar plays at shortstop. The defensive play of the day goes to Mike Ott, who has a decent chance to make the club, He corralled a scorcher down the third base line. He picked the ball behind the bag, whirled and lofted it straight into Moreland's glove at first base.
Other idiosyncrasies: Pettis and Anderson (long time Texas Ranger coaches) have swapped on-field coaching positions. This year Pettis will be in the 3rd base box while Anderson will man the 1st base box. If anything these ridiculous bat handles are an even smaller circumference than last year. We already had one shatter when the hitter hit the ball. The bat handle splintered, and the pointed shard of the barrel portion flew several feet through the air into the infield along with the ball. I guess some pitcher is going to have one of his eyes put out before Major League Baseball does something about these toothpick handle bats.
The oddest thing about today was the absence of Michael Young. Elvis took his place during the infield warm up exercises, but I have to wonder how the players feel about him being gone. I'll bet they miss him. Kinsler has patterned his entire career using Michael Young as his blueprint. I also noticed that NOBODY has the number '10' on his uniform.
This was the first of seventeen games over the next month. WooHoo - baseball is back!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Making a Choice
Dear Readers,
I've been writing more or less consistently for over four years now. When I look back over my blog postings, I'm amazed at how much and how many times I've written, and the continuing struggle is always finding something to SAY. My USU class last summer helped reinvigorate my writing tingle. I'm honored by how many people read my musings. Writing this blog has changed many things in my life. Reflection has been good for my perspective, as well as giving this traveling life we do some framework. It's a place to be serious as well as a place to be funny. (FYI - serious is much, much easier!)
Even more interesting are the connections the blog has forged with people I've met along the way. Gone are the days when I meet someone, enjoy their company for a short amount of time, perhaps send a Christmas card or two and poof, they are gone. After four years of writing about whatever crosses my mind, or painting with words pictures of where I'm currently residing, my readers feel as if I must live just down the street from them. Today we spent the day with people we met by going to play bridge at a Senior Center in Anacortes, Washington three years ago. This couple is no longer 'people we met'; they are our friends. Why? Because they read the blog.
Another thing that happens when you write is you find unexpected depths inside yourself. I'm very proud of my personal essays. Looking back, those pieces are my diamonds. My emeralds are my humorous essays; who can forget THE INTREPID PIGEON FIGHTER? The rubies in this collection of words are the travel pieces, especially those with pictures. I have a fairly sizable group of folks who only look at the pictures after they read a couple of paragraphs, and that's OK with me. Picture taking is another blog offshoot something I actually work at now, so the folks who read the blog and can't travel can have a glimpse of some of the natural wonders of this great country.
Did you know that I've also turned into a fund raiser? Some of you certainly do know since your name is on my very special list......my Donor's Choose list. I have a friend...., yes, I know, I have lots of friends. This one is very special; she's an elementary school librarian in a very non-affluent school. A school whose library consists of books mostly bought in the 1980's - and that's AFTER she purged the ones even older than those. Studies show that one of the many disadvantages that poor children struggle with is the lack of books. Children without book access don't learn to read very well, and reading is the key to everything. It's a very big key.
So, back to the story - my librarian friend put up a project on Donor's Choose asking for money to buy a very detailed list of books. This is a web site where teachers can put up 'wish lists' which are vetted to be real by the website managers. A teacher posts a project on the website asking for money to buy equipment and books that she NEEDS in order to teach. Here's a a big surprise to everyone who's not a teacher: There's an expectation from every public school system that teachers will buy out of their own rather shallow pockets teaching materials that should be furnished to them. In the case of my librarian: books for her school library. In the past six months, she's put up two projects on the Donor's Choose website - each needing funding of about $500. Oh, my Donor's Choose list - pat yourselves on the back - we managed to get each project funded for her within three days of posting. Raising that money has been an unexpected outcome of blog writing.
Oh, and if you want to be on my Donor's Choose list, just email me.....we LOVE new members to our group. The beauty is when a project is posted by one of my teacher friends, you can chip in as small of an amount as $5 up to 'wow, that's a lot', and we work hard to get the dollars donated 'matched' which doubles the contribution. It's really fun to watch the amount needed drop, and drop until the magic words 'PROJECT FUNDED' appear. My librarian friend is so very grateful for our support. I don't know when she'll post another project, but we of this group are all willing and able to help. This is one of those 'make a difference' deals, and has been something else initially driven by my access to my readers.
Guess what you all are asking for now? Wedding plans and details. I think it's going to require an emerald posting for this one. I'm going to have to laugh so as not to cry or at least howl. I've been wondering in my buzzing brain how saying "I Do" has gotten so complicated and expensive. As soon as I've worked it out and find the laughter in it, I'll write.
That's it for this one. Much ado about nothing, but I needed to do a post because the natives get restless if I don't.
I've been writing more or less consistently for over four years now. When I look back over my blog postings, I'm amazed at how much and how many times I've written, and the continuing struggle is always finding something to SAY. My USU class last summer helped reinvigorate my writing tingle. I'm honored by how many people read my musings. Writing this blog has changed many things in my life. Reflection has been good for my perspective, as well as giving this traveling life we do some framework. It's a place to be serious as well as a place to be funny. (FYI - serious is much, much easier!)
Even more interesting are the connections the blog has forged with people I've met along the way. Gone are the days when I meet someone, enjoy their company for a short amount of time, perhaps send a Christmas card or two and poof, they are gone. After four years of writing about whatever crosses my mind, or painting with words pictures of where I'm currently residing, my readers feel as if I must live just down the street from them. Today we spent the day with people we met by going to play bridge at a Senior Center in Anacortes, Washington three years ago. This couple is no longer 'people we met'; they are our friends. Why? Because they read the blog.
Another thing that happens when you write is you find unexpected depths inside yourself. I'm very proud of my personal essays. Looking back, those pieces are my diamonds. My emeralds are my humorous essays; who can forget THE INTREPID PIGEON FIGHTER? The rubies in this collection of words are the travel pieces, especially those with pictures. I have a fairly sizable group of folks who only look at the pictures after they read a couple of paragraphs, and that's OK with me. Picture taking is another blog offshoot something I actually work at now, so the folks who read the blog and can't travel can have a glimpse of some of the natural wonders of this great country.
Did you know that I've also turned into a fund raiser? Some of you certainly do know since your name is on my very special list......my Donor's Choose list. I have a friend...., yes, I know, I have lots of friends. This one is very special; she's an elementary school librarian in a very non-affluent school. A school whose library consists of books mostly bought in the 1980's - and that's AFTER she purged the ones even older than those. Studies show that one of the many disadvantages that poor children struggle with is the lack of books. Children without book access don't learn to read very well, and reading is the key to everything. It's a very big key.
So, back to the story - my librarian friend put up a project on Donor's Choose asking for money to buy a very detailed list of books. This is a web site where teachers can put up 'wish lists' which are vetted to be real by the website managers. A teacher posts a project on the website asking for money to buy equipment and books that she NEEDS in order to teach. Here's a a big surprise to everyone who's not a teacher: There's an expectation from every public school system that teachers will buy out of their own rather shallow pockets teaching materials that should be furnished to them. In the case of my librarian: books for her school library. In the past six months, she's put up two projects on the Donor's Choose website - each needing funding of about $500. Oh, my Donor's Choose list - pat yourselves on the back - we managed to get each project funded for her within three days of posting. Raising that money has been an unexpected outcome of blog writing.
Oh, and if you want to be on my Donor's Choose list, just email me.....we LOVE new members to our group. The beauty is when a project is posted by one of my teacher friends, you can chip in as small of an amount as $5 up to 'wow, that's a lot', and we work hard to get the dollars donated 'matched' which doubles the contribution. It's really fun to watch the amount needed drop, and drop until the magic words 'PROJECT FUNDED' appear. My librarian friend is so very grateful for our support. I don't know when she'll post another project, but we of this group are all willing and able to help. This is one of those 'make a difference' deals, and has been something else initially driven by my access to my readers.
Guess what you all are asking for now? Wedding plans and details. I think it's going to require an emerald posting for this one. I'm going to have to laugh so as not to cry or at least howl. I've been wondering in my buzzing brain how saying "I Do" has gotten so complicated and expensive. As soon as I've worked it out and find the laughter in it, I'll write.
That's it for this one. Much ado about nothing, but I needed to do a post because the natives get restless if I don't.
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