2015 Will Be The Year of Mookie Betts

I watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  I Watched It.  Bob Stanley (we still don't give him enough "credit" for that loss), Bill Buckner, Gary Carter and especially Mookie Wilson.  I watched the whole thing and I'm still scarred.

I have bad memories of Mookie Wilson driving that ball down the 1st base line, jumping up and down as the tying and winning run scored to take victory out of the Red Sox hands.  And while I seriously doubted I would ever meet another person in my life with the name Mookie, I swore that it would not be a good experience if it ever did happen.

Until Jackie Bradley Jr.'s replacement came along.

Now while everyone is talking about Giancarlo Stanton, Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, the Panda Guy, James Shields, etc., the player that could have the most impact on the 2015 Boston Red Sox could be Mookie Betts. The 5th Round Draft Pick of the 2011 Amateur Draft who is the size of my 12 year old son could very well be the breakout star of the Red Sox next year.  While he has played too many games to qualify as a Rookie next year, his first year as a major player in the line up could be a doozy.  Coupled with Rusney Castillo, Yoenis Cespedes and a healthy Shane Victorino, Betts could be a part of a tough offense-focused outfield that the Red Sox were sorely lacking in 2014.

His 2014 campaign included a general tearing up the Eastern League until he was called up to Pawtucket half way through the season.  His 45 games in Pawtucket was almost identical to his 55 games in Portland.  His .346/.431/.529 splits in the Minors led to a late Summer call up to the big house.  After Jackie Bradley Jr. crapped up Center Field most of the year, it was refreshing to see Betts play CF.  But he also played 2nd base, and Right Field. A true renaissance ball player.

But he's also the leadoff bat that we needed since Jacoby Ellsbury left for the Yankees (Sorry Brock, you're just not that good) and the spark plug that could lead to runs in the first inning and some pop at the top of the line up. He's hit 31 home runs with a slugging percentage over .500 over the last two years.  He's also a patient hitter, keeping his OBP over .360 over that time as well.

The Red Sox are reloading with a lot of high priced talent, but the key to another playoff run in 2015 might be the slight, 22 year old kid on the team right now.

That's a Mookie I can get behind.

Bucket List - Brittany Maynard Shows Us the Way to Live

I've followed the Brittany Maynard story for a couple of weeks now.  I've read about her terminal brain cancer and her quest to die the way she wants to die.  I've read how she has campaigned for "Death with Dignity" and listened sound bites from Compassion and Choices.  I've seen pictures of her life before the Diagnosis and how she moved from California to Oregon to have prescribed to her the drugs she would need to end her life the way she wanted to end it.  I've read both sides of this combustible issue, the converse of the abortion rights issue.  Some people have called her heroic, some people have called her selfish.  And I've heard her decision in her own words.  All I know is that it is tragic that someone has to die like that.

Maynard - In a Happier Time

I've also read that part of her story that brought us pictures from the Grand Canyon.  Family pictures, pictures of Maynard and her husband and of Mother and daughter.  It didn't matter, pictures from that getaway showed a somber crew, with an expectation of passing.  After seeing those pictures, you knew that the end was coming.  A statement that she was reconsidering her date of death was merely a way to keep her story fresh to add more exposure for her cause.  She was ready to end her life; you could see it in the pained looks on every one's faces in those pictures.  The story of her quest to knock one more thing off of her "bucket list" was one anecdote that brought some lightheartedness to the grim story.  But it was reading about her simple trip to the Grand Canyon that it dawned on me.  The media and Maynard herself was thinking about the end, rather than the way that she got there.  Simply put, most of Maynard's coverage has focused on her death, rather than her life. 

Back to that Grand Canyon part of the story.  We were told that it was part of her bucket list and she was able to finally cross that visit off of her list.  When I said to myself that I wanted to see what a bucket list of a person who worked at orphanages in Nepal and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro looked like, i decided to see what else was on her list.  I couldn't find it.  Does it exist?  Is it a private part of her husband's and family's legacy to keep this to themselves?  Most likely.  But the fact that she had the bucket list at all was an even more tragic story here. 

Many people wait until it is too late to live their lives.  We get stuck in our mundane day to day lives.  Teddy Roosevelt's quote - quoted in Maynard's obituary - to "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" doesn't apply for most of us on most days. Our personal bucket lists get larger and larger every year because we make the time to dream about going somewhere, doing something, but we never take the time to actually do it or go there.  We always take time to fill the bucket, but we never take time to take things out of that bucket list.  We wait until we are ill, or too old to enjoy it, to start thinking about taking some things out of that bucket.  That's no way to live.  Maynard showed us that. 

My Father died of an aggressive esophageal cancer.  He was given months to live after the gold standard of care could not help him.  He was not the kind of person to have a "bucket list;" he was just happy to clean up his garden and have enough energy to mow his yard.  He was pissed that he could not dictate his life any more and he wanted something different.  That's why he stopped the treatments that clearly were not helping him.  And what the end of his life showed me was that we all want to live our lives the way we want to live them, or not live them.  While they thought about the end of their lives differently, Maynard and my Father shared one thing in common.  They wanted to live and die on their terms.

Maynard also showed us that even at the age of 29, we should be thinking about the things in our bucket list. That list can include a lot of different things - traveling, getting a new job, having children.  It just matters that you try to empty that bucket out of tasks when you are still young.  You never know when you aren't going to have enough time to see them all through.

Rest in Peace.

The Derek Jeter Confusion

Derek Jeter.  Some of the most iconic moments in Major League Baseball over the last 15 years included him.  Who can forget the dive into the stands to catch the foul pop against the Red Sox back 2004, or the relay flip against the Athletics in the 2001 ALCS?  Who can forget all of the clutch hits including the Jeffrey Maier flyout.  Derek Jeter is one of the most iconic baseball players of the modern era.

Derek Jeter.  But there is flip side to this.  Forget about the backlash by Internet contrarians and the ridiculous rant by Keith Olbermann.  The statistics show that he was a good but not great hitter.  He never led the league in batting average, on base percentage or OPS.  He led the league in hits twice and runs once.  Conversely, he led the league in plate appearances 5 times.  He never hit more than 25 home runs and drove in more than 100 runs once in his career.  His fielding was below average despite his 5 Gold Glove Awards.  Rarely was he the best player on his team, instead, he was benefited by his longevity, it appears.

Derek Jeter.  It's a tough one to decide where I fall on the Derek Jeter Confusion.  Let's face it.  He spent 20 years with the most famous and successful baseball team of the last 20 years.  His most iconic moments would never have happened if he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Kansas City Royals.  In other words he was a product of his circumstances not the cause of it.  For that, this retirement is a non-story.  The logical side of my brain is telling me that I shouldn't care.

But yet here I am watching his last two games as a New York Yankee.  The emotional side is making me care about this.  You would figure that the Red Sox and Yankees playing each other at the end of September would actually mean something, but instead both teams were out of playoff contention.  These last games mean absolutely nothing, yet you can't get into the game tomorrow for less than $200 per ticket.

Re2pect.  Derek Jeter is getting a lot of respect these days.  Gatorade and Nike have both come out with their own version of Derek Jeter tributes.  Every park Jeter goes to he is greeted by cheering fans and gifts from teams.  Memorabilia featuring Jeter's likeness is selling for hundreds and thousands of dollars.  And the respect extends to the JMR household.

C and I both have different things going on today.  When I get home, he and a buddy are watching the game that I had DVRed.  I sit down and ask him to rewind to Jeter's at bats.  It doesn't really matter that he strikes out and chops an infield single to Short.  I wanted to get chills watching the fans (mostly Yankee fans now) cheer Jeter and break out the "Der-ek Je-ter" chant.  That what we really wanted to see.  Who cares if he gets a hit or strikes out.  I mean they even trot out David Ortiz to talk about the Captain. 

I then turn to C and tell him "This can be you if you work hard at baseball."

He just laughed and shook his head.  RE2PECT.

Cespedes Time and our First Major League Baseball!

It was a beautiful night at the Fens.  It was crisp for the middle of August, maybe 65 degrees at first pitch.  G and I had great seats, courtesy of a coach's gift I received from one of my baseball players. Although G would bring his glove to every game we went to, we actually had a legitimate chance at getting a foul ball this time.  I just hope not to the face since we were so close to the action.

7pm.  We stroll around our section watching all of the pregame action.  A couple of salutations and a couple of folks throwing out first balls.  Considering this was a battle of two of the worst teams in the American League this year, it was tough to say that there was electricity in the air, but it was still exciting.  And then Clay Buchholz came out of the dugout, he with his 5+ ERA.  Again, I wouldn't say there was electricity in the air, but there was definite tension; I mean the Red Sox traded their other 4 starting pitchers at the Trade deadline and couldn't get rid of Clay.  How awkward.

First Inning.  But he started strong.  His fastball was reaching 92-93 MPH.  His curveball looked sharp.  Maybe this was going to be vintage Buchholz night.  He struck out the first batter, Jose Altuve hit a deep flyball that Jackie Bradley and then he struck out Chris Carter.  That strike out of Carter was huge, because as Christian Vasquez was coming back tot eh dugout, he threw the ball in the stands, or should I say he threw it to us.  Our first major league baseball! I've been to a hundred games in my life, maybe more and I never got a ball, foul or otherwise.  G goes to his 6th or 7th game and he gets a ball after a strikeout directly from the Catcher?  I'm not jealous or anything, but come on, how is that fair? (In all reality Vasquez threw it in our general direction, I caught it and then gave it to G - don't tell anyone.).  The other way sounds better for G's Instagram followers.

Got the picture of the HR

Third Inning.  One of the best trades G thinks the Red Sox ever made was to trade Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes. 

"We're getting Lester back at the end of the year." G has proclaimed a couple of times.  He's not sure how, but he's sure that it's happening. 

And this could not have been more true after Cespedes turns on an hanging breaking ball and blasts one into the Green Monster seats.  That left the bat and got into the seats in about 1 second.  2-0 Red Sox!  As Papi rounds the bases he looks at the seats and nods.  Cespedes in all business though and heads straight back to the dugout, no smile, nothing.  Must have been all of the "training" in Cuba that makes him that way.

8th Inning.  The Red Sox are clinging to a 3-2 lead.  Buchholz has pitched great and is line for the win.  Eric Mujica, starting the 8th, leaves with two runners on base.  Tommy Lane comes on and promptly strikes out the next two batters, leading up to one of the strangest sequences I've seen in a long time.  With runners on first and second, Matt Dominguez hits a soft liner to Shortstop.  Unfortunately, the force at second is safe as Pedroia misses the base.  Meanwhile, pinch runner Gregorio Petit, who was at second at the time, tries to score on the play.  Pedroia throws a strike to Vasquez, who unwittingly (at least I hope it was unwittingly) moves up the base line in such a way, that he can't make the tag on Petit coming toward him.  Instead Vazquez fires the ball to Burke Badenhop covering the plate who promptly drops it.  Run scores, tie game!  Farrell challenges the play, although as we are looking at the replay on the TV, we aren't sure what he is challenging - the play at second? The baserunner being out of the baseline at home? The tag?  After 5 long minutes, the point is mute, the umpires conclude that everyone is safe and the run has scored.

Ultimately, as my cranky back starts to act up, we leave as that run in the 8th has sent the game into extra innings.  With that 19 inning game fresh in my memory, I talk G into leaving.  Turns out the game only went 10 innings as the Astros win 5-3.  We leave in high spirits though, but not before G gets himself the newest addition to his Red Sox wardrobe.

Successful night all around, and I (err I mean we) have finally got that baseball.

Ode to Cooperstown Dreams Park - Part One

It's one of the highlights in our seaside town when it comes to youth sports - really youth anything - when you turn 12 years old and you are halfway decent at baseball, you will be able to represent our town at the Annual Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament.  A baseball tournament featuring over 100 teams vying for the chance to play a championship game at Little Majors ballpark and lay claim to being one of the best baseball teams in the Country.  This baseball tournament repeats itself every week from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Hundreds of teams and thousands of kids play at the 22 fields all Summer, every Summer.  I think, I know, that this tournament keeps this area in business a lot more than the Baseball Hall of Fame 8 miles up the street does.

Our week begins on Friday of July 4th weekend as the kids and coaches start filing into town.  They all have hopes and dreams of playing on Thursday (the final 16 make it to Thursday playoff games).  Some are realistic, some - like our little town - are unrealistic.  Usually, for those first couple of days, the kids would gather to play wiffle ball or trade pins with other teams.  They would eat lasagna and sloppy joes and would talk about things that normal 12 year olds would talk about.  They would compare best pitchers and best hitters.  And they would talk about those stupidly expensive Mako bats.  Except for team from Wayland (about 45 minutes from us on a good day), no other team from New England made it here this weekend.  It's a crap shoot who you are going to play.

Saturday.  Opening Ceremonies.  A lot of marching around with banners.  We entered players into the HR hitting contest, a speed contest called Roadrunner and a pitching contest called the Golden Arm.  No advancement to the championship round from any of our single players.  On the other hand, we were just a second behind in the star drill however with the rest of the team.  Pins were traded, players went home happy.

First Night Game; C playing 1st Base

Sunday.  The games begin.  Because G had his own tournament on Cape Cod, we could not make it for the afternoon game.  The Manager graciously sat C for the afternoon game (everyone has to sit at least one game), which we lost to some regional AAU team from St. Louis, 14-2.  We won the night cap though led by some timely hitting (including a home run to break the 3-3 tie) and a complete game 2 hitter from one of C's buddies.  Come to find out, the team that we played from Elmhurst, Illinois was bunked right next door in the barracks.  The teams became fast friends throughout the tournament, watching each others' games and cheering each other on.  Although LC was livid that a kid pretended to make a catch right in front of us in right field and did not own up to it after the umpire called out hitter out, I guess the kids got over it pretty quickly.  

Monday.  We got beaten up pretty good by a regional team from outside of Baltimore, Maryland, the WHC Renegades.  32-0.  I have already forgotten the details of this game, except that I was thankful for the mercy rule.  The next game was a barn burner, though.  Due to heavy rains and thunderstorms, C's pitching debut was delayed from 7pm to 12:30am the next morning.  We spent time chatting with other parents and players, biding our time for the ridiculous weather to die down.  We were all a little sleepy during that game.  Undaunted by the change in starting time though, C pitched a 3 hitter with 12 strike outs to win the game 13-2.  We are now 2-2 in pool play!

C's Grand Slam Ball

Tuesday.  Even though the team didn't step out off the field until 2:30 this morning, they were back at it for the 10am game against the Mississagua Tigers, a team from just outside of Toronto.  Although they were also much larger than our seaside town, we took it their pitching early, highlighted by 3 home runs from C - including a grand slam.  Now granted, we screwed up the time of the start and missed C's 1st inning grand slam by about 5 minutes.  But we were able to catch the other two home runs.  I have to admit that I was starting to think about the Cooperstown tournament's record for most home runs in a game, which is 5.  Alas, the Manager took C out after three at-bats and he ended the game with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.  This didn't stop C from becoming a legend as there was a buzz around the field about the "kid that hit the 3 home runs."  What a great hitting performance!  I was so proud of him.  Not only that, but we took the game over the Saugans, 15-13.  They'll probably say that they are a hockey town anyway.  The second game was not as gentle as we lost to a regional team from Central Florida, 15-4.  We ended up pool play 3-3.  One of the best showings ever from the team.

Wednesday.  The playoffs begin.  Since we were seeded 56th, we got a first round bye.  Our first game was against a team seeded 94th from New Jersey.  We handled them pretty easily, 9-3 as C went 2 for 3 and played great first base.  The second game was not pretty.  C was the starting pitcher against a team from Plainfield, Illinois.  A lot of runs were scored.  Another game that I am choosing to forget.  We ended up losing 15-3.  Although, the pats on the back were disheartening, we ended up going to friend's rented house where most of the rest of the team was.  They ended up swimming and laughing, the last loss becoming a distant memory.

Overall, what a great experience for the boys and for us as well.  The boys played great. C, who has played AAU baseball in tough conditions before really shined, leading the team in home runs while also winning one of our games for us at Pitcher.  It was a real treat to see.  And to see the look on his face after the tournament was over...Never mind the fact that he bought a baseball case almost immediately from the gift shop for the home run ball that we had inscribed.  I loved seeing the proud look on his face.   

One last thing.  I told C that his 3 home run game would be something that he would remember for the rest of his life.  What I really meant is that it is something that I would remember for the rest of my life.