Those of you who've visited my blog from its inception know that come spring, I'm inclined to distraction by baseball -- the greatest game ever invented.
Yesterday, I coached my first girls softball practice in Texas. Trae is one of eleven 7 and 8 year-olds who will be playing for a team affectionately known as "The Rangers" -- I let Trae and her friend, Morgan pick out the team name...Seriously! It was great to be back on a diamond, working with and teaching youngsters fundamentals that produce fun in competition.
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Last night following practice, Mandy and I took the girls to McDonalds to eat and play and then to Marble Slab for dessert. Tori was the highlight of the entire place. For the first time, we let Tori select her own cone, her own ice cream and her own "mixin's." She, of course, chose the most elaborate waffle cone with icing and sprinkles, vanilla ice cream and M&M's mixed in.
The funny part was, when it was all put together, the thing was almost as tall as Tori! She was a gooey, sticky mess when it was over but everyone in Marble Slab enjoyed watching her try to eat her cone.
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An update from Surprise, Arizona (hey Rick, I wish we were there again this spring!) from Mike Hindman courtesy of the Newberg Report.
It was another outstanding day at the office for Ian Kinsler, who appears to be making a joke of the "competition" for the starting second base job: 1-2 with a double bringing him to .375 / .643 / .875 through 14 plate appearances. Star-Telegram writer Kat O’Brien adds that Kinsler also impressed defensively, executing a bare hander on a slow roller to get a runner at first.
Say what you want about Mark DeRosa, but remember this: yesterday, he told the Star-Telegram’s Kat O’Brien that it was a "no brainer" that Ian Kinsler could hit big league pitching and was ready defensively for a starting big league job: "I'm not campaigning for him; I want that job more than anybody. I just am not going to be a guy that's rooting against a teammate. That's not beneficial to anybody. ..." And you wonder why baseball people love this guy?
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Finally, those of you who know me know the frustration I hold toward Bud Selig and the leadership of Major League Baseball. I've never figured out exactly if it is a lack of savvy or a lack of smarts, but Bud just doesn't do it for me as the Commish of MLB.
Yesterday, word began to surface of an upcoming book release chronicling steroid abuse by Barry Bonds. It is alleged that over a 5-year period, from 1998 to 2003, Bonds abused steroids, making a mockery of the sport I love so much.
Will Bud Selig put his foot down and demand that the tainted records produced by Barry Bonds be excised from the record book? Are Bonds's transgressions, which no doubt taint the integrity of baseball's record book, any less a compromise of the sanctity of the game than Pete Rose's alleged gambling?
Do the right thing, Bud. Toss Bonds's home run record setting chase from the record book. The game is too pure to allow Bonds's tarnished career to override the sanctity of the game.
