Sunday, December 28, 2003

"Hi, I'm Wes Clark"

As many have said before and as I'll surely say again and again, the best thing about going away (on vacation, on a business trip, on a pilgrimage) is coming home again. I always get a rejuvenated appreciation for the so-called "little things" in life, the things you take for granted day in and day out not realizing how integral they are to your daily contentment.

This morning, I'm so grateful for my fenced in back yard, such that I can open the door and let the dog out as often as he wants, which you quickly realize when staying at a beach house with no such fenced enclosure for a pooch is very often, annoyingly often, awfully often.

As I alluded to in the audioblog post last Thursday, I've made peace with the fact that the Ramirez-for-Rodriguez/Garciaparra-for-Ordoñez isn't going to happen. More than that, I'm actually quite happy it isn't going to happen. (By the way, you saw that the Rangers signed Brian Jordan and David Dellucci, outfielders both, signaling that the proposed deal is in fact dead?)

What led to this for me was this quote that was attributed to Nomar when Red Sox management wanted him to do a meet and greet with some VIP types: "I'm here to play baseball, not shake hands." (Sorry I don't so far have a link to the source on this one.)

I've never been much of flesh presser myself; indeed, I'm so much of the "and that's why you'll always find him in the kitchen at parties" sort. I just don't like the schmoozing scene and go through life wanted to be respected and admired for what I do rather than how well I smile and talk the talk aimed at making somebody else feel self-important or otherwise special. (I'd be a horrible stripper for instance.)

And, yes, I know, you don't build a championship baseball roster by trying to find connections between your own inner mental workings and that of a major league baseball player, but I'm not Theo Epstein. I'm a fan. And as a fan, having players on your team that you can identify with on some personal level is part of the fun, part of the attraction to the game of baseball.

So I'm looking forward to watching number 5 do what he does best: play baseball.