musings on baseball

So I'm watching the Astros game - fourth straight after midnight start this week for me - and I heard this comment by the Milwaukee broadcasting team:

"You know, Andy Pettitte's a guy, just like Chris Capuano, who doesn't throw very hard..."

The comment continued, but what I noticed was this comparison of a 176-win, 4 time world series champ and a guy with 27 career wins. I've noticed this a lot while watching other teams' announcers. They compare another team's star to their mediocre product. It's as if someone said, "Pujols, just like Geoff Blum, seems to thrive when he's behind in the count." I don't care if Blum's a decent player. I don't care if he really does hit better when he's behind in the count. You don't compare Pujols to him. You can compare him to Pujols. But don't compare Pujols to him. He doesn't deserve it. Neither does Chris Capuano. He can be compared to other greats, but they can't be compared to him as if he's some sort of standard bearer.

This, in a way, is homerism. There seems to be quite a bit of homerism - that is, favoring your own team to the point that you appear stupid to a knowledgeable fan- in sports these days. It's not limited to regional or local media either - ESPN has apparently hired a whole slew of Yankees or Red Sox fans to write, talk about, or otherwise waste my time on info about 'the greatest rivalry in sports'. Bill Simmons, Jayson Stark, the list goes on. These guys don't apparently know that other teams exist.

(Just for the record, Pettitte was just compared to Rickie Weeks and his 440 career ABs, which is about 2/3 of a full season)

Simmons and Stark, among others, frequently act as if no other teams exist than the Red Sox and Yankees. ESPN constantly runs features about Ortiz, Jeter, Manny, or Damon's latest hairstyle instead of actually reporting significant news.

Currently, the ESPN rumor (unsubstantiated, of course) is that Clemens will definitely sign with the Red Sox or the Yankees. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but they're the only major media outlet that suggests that the Astros are out of the running.

To me, the Astros have to still be the favorite. They've fulfilled the three requirements Clemens asked for:

1. Competitor, with a reasonable chance to make the playoffs (2nd best record in baseball)
2. Offensive team that isn't going to get shutout in 9 of his starts (averaged 9.8 runs per game in last 5 wins)
3. Had a starter go down with injury (Backe may be out of the year)

They obviously offer the hometown benefits he's enjoyed the last few years, and I have to imagine that business-savvy Drayton McLane will match any salary because of the marketing opportunities/franchise value increase that Clemens brings. I have to believe that because no news has been made, Clemens is just playing the same game the Texans are playing with Reggie Bush - try to leverage his salary with interest in other teams (Clemens' interest in NY, Bos, and Texas)/players (Texans' interest in Mario Williams)

But I could be wrong. After all, I'm probably no better than any of these other homers...

Domesticated

You know you're in a good relationship when you actually enjoy cooking breakfast, cleaning a turtle tank, and driving 45 minutes away to go to a bead store, and you're a guy. But that's the beauty of not seeing your girlfriend but once a month: everyday tasks are actually enjoyable. Moreso when you've been traipsing around countries not knowing where your next meal will come from (dramatic way of saying "eating out") and having to pay just to breathe (hello, UK).

She even surprised me with a free dance lesson (she'd found a coupon in a newspaper) and then I surprised our dance instructor by claiming to know that Germany was in Europe. Apparently "likes to learn complicated dance moves" doesn't really intersect with "knows basic geography." Go figure.

So we had a good time. We went to Jordan's (the best pizza I've ever had) twice, like we always do (even if I'm only there for 2 days) and drank Blue Moon and Sam Adams Summer Ale, cooked apple chicken sausages and watched Astro games. She made a steak dinner for me. Basically, Becka made a convincing case for what I'm missing back in the states.

I'm rather inclined to rule in her favor: I'm currently looking for consulting jobs in and around NYC, and you have to like my chances of finding work there of all places.

But I've got to get back there first. Currently, the Grand Finale has just experienced its third stage of growth and currently is over three times its original size at 7 weeks in length. I've bought my return ticket for August 11, so now I've just got to fill in the gaps.

I'm thoroughly excited about the journey and trying to squeeze the most out of it without overwhelming myself. I'm worried that travelling everyday will wear me out, but being alone, I'll need to see more and relax less. I'm trying to balance checklist sightseeing with genuine vacation, and that's hard to do.

As much as I'm looking forward to my adventure, I can't help but get excited about the little things that await my return: getting a car, finding an apartment, and of course, doing the little chores and errands with my dearest. Call me weird. But at least I'm happy.