Don't Look At Me That Way, It Was An Honest Mistake

Sixty-three days ago, I stopped drinking soda. It didn't figure to be easy, breaking a fifteen-year-old addiction, but for over two months I've managed to stay the course and steer clear of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, and other bubbly beverages. (Regrettably, my chocolate milk consumption has risen exponentially in the same time period.)

It's toughest to watch what I drink during the day, at work, when I'm often tired to the point of exhaustion and know that the caffeine and sugar found in a 20-ounce bottle of Dew would provide enough of a pick-me-up to make it through the day.

Today, after a particularly rough morning, I stopped in at the Shell station and started looking at the energy drinks. Soda is off my grid, caffeine is not. After much deliberation and reading of labels, I bought a can of Rockstar and immediately texted my wife to tell her that I hoped it wasn't in violation of my personal Prohibition. When I got to the car, I popped open the can and drank some. It was bubblier than I expected (not a good sign) and fruity tasting. The can was about half-gone when the following exchange text exchange took place between Vicki and I:

"I hope this doesn't qualify as soda. I feel like I'm cheating."
"You're crazy! :-) is it bubbly?"
"It's a little bubbly. It's made with carbonated water."
"aka soda water?"
"Am I breaking my rule?! :-("
"I think you might be...but it was an honest mistake..."
"I'm crushed :-("

Talk about major suckage. I don't know if my back-to-back sad-face emoticons truly convey the desparation of the situation, but it was depressing. I felt like a recovering alcoholic who drank two cups of punch before anyone told him it was spiked.

In the end, though, I was pleased with my ultimate reaction. Whereas once I might have used this as an excuse to "fall off the wagon" and partake in whatever contraband items I wanted, today was different. After talking with Vicki, I didn't drink another drop, soda or not, and threw away the rest of the can. That's progress, right?

Bedtime

My son is no different from most children in that he doesn’t like to go to bed. As recently as a few weeks ago, when he was still transitioning between being an infant and a toddler, he would scream and cry if we laid him in his crib before he fell asleep, to the point that we never put him there unless he was asleep. More often than not, he dozed off on the living room couch, or in our bed.

These past few weeks, however, have been much better. He still cries when I tell him it’s time to go nuh-night, and when I carry him up the stairs, and even when I first lay him down. What’s different now is that when I put him in the crib, he usually stops crying, rolls over onto his stomach, and allows himself to be covered with a blanket. It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Fine, you win, I’ll play by your rules. But you’re gonna cover me, jerk.”

Tonight was the same old routine, except when I went to carry him upstairs, he grabbed a blanket he likes and refused to let go. I brought him into his room, no tears, laid him in his crib, no tears, and covered him with the blanket, no tears. (Mama also wasn’t home, which means he really had nobody to cry for.) What really made me smile, though, was what happened next. As I was walking out of his room, I stopped at the end of his crib and said, “Joey, Daddy loves you.” Barely awake, he rolled his head up slightly to look at me, lazily lifted one arm, and slowly waved. Again, it was that nonverbal communication that happens when toddlers figure out that they can tell grownups what they want but lack the words to get their point across. In this case, he was saying, “Yeah, yeah, I know. Love ya too. See you in the morning. Close the door on your way out.”

Moments like those are the best part of being a dad.

All-State Teams: Maryland-Delaware-Washington, D.C.

C Chris Widger (1995-2006) 435 H Wilmington, DE
1B Jimmie Foxx (1925-45) 534 HR, 1922 RBI, .325 BA Sudlersville, MD
2B Cupid Childs (1888-1901) .306 BA, 1214 R Calvert County, MD
3B Frank Baker (1908-22) .307 BA, 96 HR Trappe, MD
SS Cal Ripken Jr. (1981-2001) 3184 H, 431 HR, 1695 RBI Havre de Grace, MD
OF Al Kaline (1953-74) 3007 H, 399 HR Baltimore, MD
OF Babe Ruth (1914-35) 714 HR, 2217 RBI, 2174 H Baltimore, MD
OF Brady Anderson (1988-2002) 210 HR, 315 SB Silver Spring, MD
DH Harold Baines (1980-2001) 2866 H, 384 HR, 1628 RBI Easton, MD

SP Lefty Grove (1925-41) 300-141 W-L, 3.06 ERA Lonaconing, MD
SP Sadie McMahon (1889-97) 173-127 W-L, 3.51 ERA Wilmington, DE
SP Bobby Mathews (1871-87) 297-248 W-L, 2.89 ERA Baltimore, MD
SP Vic Willis (1898-1910) 249-205 W-L, 2.63 ERA Cecil County, MD
SP Doc White (1901-13) 189-156 W-L, 2.39 ERA Washington, D.C.

RP Steve Farr (1984-94) 132 SV LaPlata, MD
RP Ray Moore (1952-63) 46 SV Meadows, MD
RP Brendan Donnelly (2002-pres) 26-9 W-L, 3.12 ERA Washington, D.C.
RP Eddie Rommel (1920-32) 171-119 W-L, 29 SV Baltimore, MD
RP Babe Ruth (1914-35) 94-46 W-L, 2.28 ERA Baltimore, MD

MGR Dallas Green 454-478 W-L, 1 World Series Newport, DE

All-Time Teams: Countries In The World Baseball Classic

This has been sitting around in one of my folders for ten days or so - I never got around to posting it because I didn't feel like fooling with the HTML to create all the tables. So, I'm not creating the tables. Problem solved.

A note: the teams are broken down according to their original groupings. This handicaps Group C slightly because I opted not to include players from the United States (they have the All-State Teams; it's only fair), leaving them with Canada, Venezuela, and Italy. Slim pickins. All other countries had to have at least one representative, which is how Marino Pieretti earned his place on this list.

Group A (China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea)

C Kenji Johjima (2006-pres) .272 BA Nagasaki, Japan
1B Hee Seop Choi (2002-05) 40 HR Chun-Nam, South Korea
2B Tadahito Iguchi (2005-pres) 44 HR Tokyo, Japan
3B Akinori Iwamura (2007-pres) .279 BA Ehime, Japan
SS Kazuo Matsui (2004-pres) .277 BA Osaka, Japan
OF Dave Roberts (1999-pres) 243 SB Okinawa, Japan
OF Hideki Matsui (2003-pres) 112 HR, 507 RBI Kanazawa, Japan
OF Ichiro Suzuki (2001-pres) 1805 H, .331 BA Kasugai, Japan

SP Chan Ho Park (1994-pres) 117-92 W-L Kongju, South Korea
SP Hideo Nomo (1995-2008) 123-109 W-L Osaka, Japan
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007-pres) 33-15 W-L Tokyo, Japan
SP Tomo Ohka (1999-2007) 559 SO Kyoto, Japan
SP Chien-Ming Wang (2005-pres) 54-20 W-L Tainan, Taiwan

RP Byung-Hyun Kim (1999-2007) 86 SV Gwangju, South Korea
RP Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000-03) 129 SV Sendai City, Japan
RP Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1997-2005) 517 G Kobe, Japan
RP Masanori Murakami (1964-65) 3.43 ERA Otsuki, Japan
RP Takashi Saito (2006-pres) 81 SV Miyagi, Japan

Group B (Australia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa)

C Alex Trevino (1978-90) Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
1B Rafael Palmeiro (1986-2005) 569 HR, 3020 H Havana, Cuba
2B Joe Quinn (1884-1901) 1797 H Sydney, Australia
SS Bert Campaneris (1964-83) 2249 H, 649 SB Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba
3B Vinny Castilla (1991-2006) 320 HR, 1105 RBI Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
OF Jose Canseco (1985-2001) 462 HR, 1407 RBI Havana, Cuba
OF Minnie Minoso (1949-64) 1963 H, 186 HR Havana, Cuba
OF Tony Oliva (1962-76) 1917 H, 220 HR Pinar Del Rio, Cuba

UTIL Martin Dihigo Matanzas, Cuba

SP Mike Cuellar (1959-77) 185-130 W-L Santa Clara, Cuba
SP Dolf Luque (1914-35) 194-179 W-L Havana, Cuba
SP Livan Hernandez (1996-pres) 147-139 W-L Villa Clara, Cuba
SP Luis Tiant (1964-82) 229-172 W-L Marianao, Cuba
SP Fernando Valenzuela (1980-97) 173-153 W-L Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico

RP Graeme Lloyd (1993-2003) 568 G Victoria, Australia
RP Tony Fossas (1988-99) 567 G Havana, Cuba
RP Danys Baez (2001-07) 114 SV Pinar Del Rio, Cuba
RP Aurelio Lopez (1974-87) 93 SV Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico
RP Enrique Romo (1977-82) 44-33, 52 SV Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico
RP Joakim Soria (2007-08) 59 SV, 2.05 ERA Monclova

Mgr Joe Quinn (1895-99) 23-132 W-L Sydney, Australia

Group C (Canada, Venezuela, Italy, United States)

C Russell Martin (2006-pres) .285 BA East York, Ont., Canada
1B Andres Galarraga (1985-2004) 399 HR Caracas, Venezuela
2B Manny Trillo (1973-1989) 1562 H Caripito, Venezuela
3B Miguel Cabrera (2003-pres) 175 HR, 1022 H Maracay, Venezuela
SS Omar Vizquel (1989-pres) 2657 H Caracas, Venezuela
OF Jeff Heath (1936-49) 194 HR, .293 BA Fort William, Ont., Canada
OF Larry Walker (1989-2005) 383 HR, .313 BA Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
OF Magglio Ordonez (1997-pres) 268 HR Caracas, Venezuela

SP Fergie Jenkins (1965-83) 284-226 W-L, 3192 SO Chatham, Ont., Canada
SP Russ Ford (1909-15) 2.59 ERA Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
SP Johan Santana (2000-pres) 109-51 W-L Tovar, Venezuela
SP Wilson Alvarez (1989-2005) 102-92 W-L Maracaibo, Venezuela
SP Freddy Garcia (1999-2008) 118-77 W-L Caracas, Venezuela

RP Claude Raymond (1959-71) 83 SV St. Jean, Quebec, Canada
RP John Hiller (1965-80) 125 SV Toronto, Ont., Canada
RP Eric Gagne (1999-2008) 187 SV Montreal, Quebec, Canada
RP Marino Pieretti (1945-50) 30-38 W-L, 8 SV Lucca, Italy
RP Ugueth Urbina (1995-2005) 237 SV Caracas, Venezuela
RP Francisco Rodriguez (2002-08) 208 SV Caracas, Venezuela

Mgr Ozzie Guillen (2004-08) 433-378 W-L Ocumare Del Tuy, Venezuela

Pool D (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama)

C Ivan Rodriguez (1991-pres) 2605 H, .301 BA Manati, Puerto Rico
1B Albert Pujols (2001-pres) 319 HR, .334 BA Santo Domingo, DR
2B Roberto Alomar (1988-2004) 2724 H, 1508 R Ponce, Puerto Rico
3B Aramis Ramirez (1998-pres) 249 HR Santo Domingo, DR
SS Tony Fernandez (1983-2001) 2276 H San Pedro de Macoris, DR

UTIL Julio Franco (1982-2007) 2586 H Hato Mayor, DR
DH David Ortiz (1997-pres) 289 HR Santo Domingo, DR

OF Roberto Clemente (1955-72) 3000 H, 1416 R, .317 BA Carolina, Puerto Rico
OF Sammy Sosa (1989-2007) 609 HR, 1667 RBI San Pedro de Macoris, DR
OF Manny Ramirez (1993-pres) 527 HR, 1725 RBI, .314 BA Santo Domingo, DR

SP Bert Blyleven (1970-92) 287-250 W-L, 3701 SO Zeist, Netherlands
SP Juan Marichal (1960-75) 243-142 W-L, 2.89 ERA Laguna Verde, DR
SP Pedro Martinez (1992-pres) 214-99 W-L, 2.91 ERA, 3117 SO Manoguayabo, DR
SP Ramon Martinez (1988-2001) 135-88 W-L, 3.67 ERA Santo Domingo, DR
SP Jose Rijo (1984-2002) 116-91 W-L, 3.24 ERA San Cristobal, DR

RP Mariano Rivera (1996-pres) 482 SV, 2.29 ERA Panama City, Panama
RP Roberto Hernandez (1991-2007) 326 SV Santurce, Puerto Rico
RP Willie Hernandez (1977-89) 147 SV Aguada, Puerto Rico
RP Jose Mesa (1987-2007) 321 SV Pueblo Viejo, DR
RP Armando Benitez (1994-pres) 289 SV Ramon Santana, DR
RP Francisco Cordero (1999-pres) 211 SV Santo Domingo, DR

Mgr. Felipe Alou (1992-2006) 1033-1021 W-L Haina, DR

Does Winning The Rookie Of The Year And MVP Awards Guarantee Any Love From The Hall Of Fame?

That MLB '09 commercial with Dustin Pedroia and his MVP trophy got me thinking tonight: how many players who won both the Rookie of the Year award and either the MVP or Cy Young awards have later been inducted into the Hall of Fame?

By my count, 23 players have won both awards - 18 everyday players and five pitchers. Of the 18 MVP winners, five are either still active or not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame: Pedroia, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, and Jeff Bagwell. I count three guaranteed Hall of Famers in that group: Pujols, Ichiro, and Bagwell. With Pedroia and Howard, it's way too soon to tell, although the latter certainly isn't hurting his case by crushing homeruns at a ridiculous rate. Hey, it worked for Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson, right? Pedroia doesn't have that cache to his credit, which means the final resting place for his legacy could depend on how the Red Sox fare over the next few years. If they get to the playoffs annually and win another World Series or three, it will make him look good. If they don't, he becomes less impressive by default.

The other thirteen are as follows:

Player	ROY	MVP	HOF?
Jose Canseco	1986	1988	No
Cal Ripken	1982	1983, 1991	Yes
Andre Dawson	1977	1987	No
Fred Lynn	1975	1975	No
Thurman Munson	1970	1976	No
Johnny Bench	1968	1970, 1972	Yes
Rod Carew	1967	1977	Yes
Dick Allen	1964	1972	No
Pete Rose	1963	1973	No
Orlando Cepeda	1958	1967	Yes
Frank Robinson	1956	1961, 1966	Yes
Willie Mays	1951	1954, 1965	Yes
Jackie Robinson	1947	1949	Yes

The first four are in the Hall of Fame, and seven of the thirteen overall. Each of the six who are not in Cooperstown is a borderline candidate with compelling arguments to be made for and against his induction: Rose was a first ballot selection if not for the fact that he bet on baseball; Allen was a tremendous offensive talent who lost major points for "attitude problems"; Munson was an exceptional catcher before his untimely death (although most expert opinions I've heard argue that he was already on the downside of his career when he died); Lynn was, like Dwight Evan, nearly Jim Rice's equal at the plate and a far superior player in the field; Dawson was a terrific player who didn't get on base all that often and won a largely undeserved MVP award (and could very well be elected in the next year or two); and Canseco not only admitted that he used steroids, but blew the whistle on other guys who used.

As for pitchers, I'm not going to put them in a table - it's easy enough to say that of the five guys who won both awards, only Tom Seaver is in the Hall of Fame. Unlike the everyday players, however, the remaining four pitchers were all very good, but not even close to Hall of Famers. Dwight Gooden won his awards in 1984 and 1985 before destroying his career with drugs; Fernando Valenzuela won both the MVP and Cy Young awards in 1981 - overuse eventually limited his effectiveness; Rick Sutcliffe, like Dawson, wasn't the best choice for a major award in 1984 - it probably should have gone to Gooden, but voters were swayed by Sutcliffe's 16-1 record for the Cubs; and Don Newcombe, the only pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young award, and Most Valuable Player award in his career, lost two years to military service and, if memory serves, struggled with alcohol near the end of his playing days.

My Favorite Movie Quotes, Volume 22

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Without exaggeration, there were probably fifty quotes I could have used from Forgetting Sarah Marshall (including just about everything that came out of Russell Brand's mouth - our introduction to him, where he's searching desperately for a lost flip-flop, is priceless). I chose this one because it's the point where Peter validates what we've been thinking about Aldous Snow for most of the movie - he may be a conceited jerk who screws anything that moves without regard for anyone else's feelings, but he's also one of the coolest guys you could ever hope to meet.

Aldous Snow: Actually, Peter, I wanted to tell you, I was listening to Sarah's iPod the other day, and amidst the interminable dross that's on that thing, I found one track that I quite liked. So I checked what it was, and it was actually one of yours, and it kind of reminded me of a dark, gothic Neil Diamond. It's great.

Peter Bretter: That's, like, exactly what I'm going for.

Aldous Snow: Right, yeah.

Peter Bretter: [clearly disappointed] Fuck you're cool! It's so hard to say, because, like, I hate you in so many ways.

I Dare You To Find A Better Commercial

Since it's debut during the Super Bowl, my wife has referred to this as the "Joey and Taliyah" commercial, and with good reason: I watch it and totally imagine the two of them sitting there gabbing (except Taliyah talks a lot more than Joey does. We'll have to work on the lyrics to "Broken Wings," though.

The Majesty of Kenny Loggins

Remember "Pop-Up Video"? My wife and I were watching a mini-marathon over the weekend when Kenny Loggins and "Danger Zone" appeared. Vicki was beside herself - "Top Gun" was one of her favorite movies as a kid, the type of movie she could basically recite from memory if necessary. As she rocked out, I wondered if Loggins might be the lyrical answer to John Williams (without the awards and staying power, of course - other than that, they're practically twins). He had a good run there in the 1980s, picking up an Oscar nomination for the theme song to "Footloose" and contributing timeless tunes to the "Top Gun" and "Caddyshack" soundtracks.



He performed two songs on the "Top Gun" soundtrack but wasn't nominated for either, while Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" (music and lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock) won the award as the year's best song. Doesn't matter - the video for "Danger Zone" is still one of the best combinations of awesome (fighter jets are just plain cool) and awful (closeups of Kenny Loggins in aviator sunglasses are not) in music history.



As for the last of the Loggins Trio - there is no way you can listen to "I'm Alright" and not picture a dancing gopher. No way.

All-State Teams: New Jersey

C	Jeff Torborg (1964-73)	caught 3 no-hitters	Plainfield, NJ
1B	Eric Karros (1991-2004)	284 HR	Hackensack, NJ
2B	Eric Young (1992-2006)	465 SB	New Brunswick, NJ
SS	Derek Jeter (1995-present)	2535 H, .316 BA, 1467 R	Pequannock, NJ
3B	Billy Shindle (1886-98)	318 SB	Gloucester, NJ
OF	Billy Hamilton (1888-1901)	.344 BA, 912 SB	Newark, NJ
OF	Goose Goslin (1921-38)	2735 H, 248 HR, 1609 RBI	Salem, NJ
OF	Joe Medwick (1932-48)	2471 H, 205 HR	Carteret, NJ

SP	Don Newcombe (1949-60)	149-90 W-L, 3.56 ERA	Madison, NJ
SP	Kid Gleason (1888-95)	138-131 W-L	Camden, NJ
SP	Al Downing (1961-77)	123-107 W-L	Trenton, NJ
SP	Al Leiter (1987-2005)	162-132 W-L	Toms River, NJ
SP	Andy Messersmith (1968-79)	130-99 W-L	Toms River, NJ
SP	Johnny Vander Meer (1937-51)	119-121 W-L	Prospect Park, NJ

RP	Joe Black (1952-57)	30-12 W-L, 25 SV	Plainfield, NJ
RP	Joe Borowski (1995-present)	131 SV	Bayonne, NJ
RP	Rawly Eastwick (1974-81)	68 SV	Camden, NJ
RP	Ron Perranoski (1961-73)	179 SV	Paterson, NJ
RP	Jim Bouton (1962-78)	3.57 ERA	Newark, NJ

Mgr

Eddie Kasko (1970-73)

345-295 W-L

Linden, NJ