The Greatest Sport

Now batting, the third baseman, number 7, Dan.

He's had a pretty decent season at the plate this year.  He hasn't gotten many free passes even though he's seen a lot of playing time.

You know, you're right, Al.  He's one of the toughest batters to walk.  It just seems like every pitcher wants to challenge him at every at-bat.

That they do, Rick.  He manages to foul off a lot of pitches and stay alive, though.  He likes to make those pitchers work.

Here's the first pitch and it's high and inside.

It looks like the ole brush back move.  That pitcher wants to push him off the plate and make him uncomfortable in his own stance.  Number 7 is used to that, though.  He routinely makes pitchers throw a lot of pitches to him, and they fight back.  He can usually get on base by finding his pitch.

The pitcher looks to see the sign from the catcher.  He didn't like that sign... or that one.  He nods and sets himself...

*STRIKE*

Looks like he went with the curveball down in the zone.  Dan held up on that one.  I guess he wasn't feeling that pitch.

Rick, it's funny you should say that.  That's way out of character for this young player.  According to his scouting report, he has seen more curveballs per at-bat than any other player in history!  It surprises me that he wouldn't even swing at that.  The curveball seems to be his pitch, even if not by choice.

The batter calls time and steps out of the box.  He readjusts and gets back in.  The count's 1 and 1.  No men on with two outs.  They've been trailing the whole game, and a hit here might liven up the bench enough to start a rally here in the eighth inning.  The pitcher sees his sign, and here's the pitch...

SWING AND A LONG ONE DOWN THE LEFT FIELD LINE.  COULD IT?  BACK!  BACK!  AND JUUUUUUST FOUL.  I guess that's just a long strike, Al.

Wow, he crushed that, Rick.  That was a line drive shot that just snuck foul at the last second.  If he could have that one back, I think he'd slow it down a bit.

Yeah, can't go too fast into that.  I think that was another curveball too.

I think you're right, Rick.

The pitcher sets and fires.  A fastball at the numbers for a ball.  That leaves the count at 2 and 2.  The crowd starts to make some noise, getting behind their man.  The pitcher, working quickly, tosses another one in there and Dan fouls it off to the first base dugout.

Another curveball.  These pitchers must have his number.  If they keep throwing curveballs, you think he'll connect with one?

I hope so, Al.  This team needs him to get on base.  He's been on a hot streak lately, but who knows when Dan will run out of gas.  This is potentially his last at-bat in this game unless he gets on here.

It looks like pitch can't decide on what to throw.  Out comes the catcher to the mound.  It looks like this is a tough decision.  If I were pitching, Rick, I think I'd go after him.  I think with no one on and two outs, you have to.

I tend to agree with you, Al.  He's got to after Dan here.  The ump breaks up the conference and the pitcher readies himself.  Here's the 2-2 pitch.  Oh no, it looks like another curveball.  Dan sits back, and he swings!

Calling All Men

Recently, I was meandering through the shelves of non-fiction, and stopped suddenly when I saw a rather small book just before all of the computer books: 100 Must-Read Books for Men. Intrigued, I picked it up and checked it out to compare my reading habits.

Within the pages of this small book are names such as Hemingway, Fleming, Melville, and London. It lists some very well-known books and some very obscure books. It is published as part of the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guides, and the editors have attempted to pique the interest of male readers. Though many people may stereotype "man books" as full of action, sex and violence, this is not the case. There is a wide variety of books that may appeal to different men altogether. They have thematic lists of books, and there are over 500 books listed for further reading as well!

After reading about some of the more obscure titles like The Ox-Bow Incident, I found myself wanting to read a lot of the books on the list. I have a lot of catching up to do.  Out of 100 titles, I have only read four. There are many classics on the list, and sadly that means I haven’t read them. Maybe, I’ll try to read more in the future. Free time is hard to come by sometimes.

If you are a man (or a woman; there’s no reason that you can’t read these) looking for something to read, whether it is similar or a far cry from what you’re used to, you should check out 100 Must-Read Books for Men and see how you measure up to the list.

If you’re curious, the four that I have read are You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming, The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.

This is *NOT* on Tumblr anymore

One night, I logged into my blog so that I could tell a story about vegetables (more to come later).  To my surprise, I was unable to access my dashboard in tumblr.  I tried repeatedly to only find out that my account had been suspended.  Why?  I don't know.  So, I emailed tumblr about it and their tech support was very quick to reply:

Yay!  I was able to access my dashboard finally!  Ten minutes later, my session timed out and I was once again suspended.  I'll have you know that all I did during my dashboard session was look at some post dates in case I had to switch to blogger.  I replied to their email, and again I had an expeditious response:

I found it strange that their names rhymed.  I also found it strange that the 2nd response was strikingly similar to the 1st.  I think it's a generated message (shock).  I thought that I would give them a couple of days so that they could get their affairs in order.  On my birthday (of all days), I decided to give it another shot.  Not surprisingly, I was unable to access my dashboard for the third time.  Again, my account was suspended.  Again, I sent an email.  Again, I got a response:

Obviously, Seth and Beth have *NOT* ensured that it does not happen again.  As of right now, I can access my dashboard.  I assume that it will only be a matter of time before they suspend me again.  Oh well.  Here I am, blogger.