Tuesday, September 13, 2005
A Walk in the Park
Tonight, after Todd Walker hit the 10th inning game-winning RBI single with the bases loaded and one out, Dusty Baker put his arm around Walk after the hand-slapping and walked him back to the dugout. I loved that image of a skipper showing his player heartfelt thanks and congratulations after a game well played, the best way he knew how to... shaking his hand, then putting his arm around him. I got verklempt, but then, I remembered the deal.
Here's the deal: We're five-and-a-half games out of winning the wildcard race. But if Dusty had been this type of a ball manager all year round, we may not be fantasising about what would actually happen if the Marlins swept the Astros, the Cubs took seven out of seven from the Astros in the next three weeks and some Cub-like virus hit the Mets, Nationals and Phillies.
Where was Dusty when we really needed to not play a .500 par in June? Where was Dusty when we really needed to have a winning percentage in July? Where was Dusty when we went 0-8 to start August against the National League's weakest teams? Not in the clubhouse. Not calling closed-door team meetings. The handicapped Cubbies desperately needed a mulligan, but their manager decided to play bad caddie and they ended up in the quicksand trap.
OK, Dusty wasn't the one who hid the bats, because we've had a bad habit of leaving legions of men on base every game. But very often, for as long as I've played this humble game, I know that you need more than just solid wood to win it. You need a manager who would take the toothpick out of his mouth sometimes to rally his guys when they needed it most, a manager who went out to the mound to calm his pitchers down (someone get Larry Rothschild new cleats... they must be worn out from all that scampering up and down the dugout steps) and a manager who by the All-Star Game, realised that he should stop saying that it was "still early in the season."
Last year, it was too little, too late. This year, it's too much too late. Next time, Dusty, give Walk a bear hug.
Here's the deal: We're five-and-a-half games out of winning the wildcard race. But if Dusty had been this type of a ball manager all year round, we may not be fantasising about what would actually happen if the Marlins swept the Astros, the Cubs took seven out of seven from the Astros in the next three weeks and some Cub-like virus hit the Mets, Nationals and Phillies.
Where was Dusty when we really needed to not play a .500 par in June? Where was Dusty when we really needed to have a winning percentage in July? Where was Dusty when we went 0-8 to start August against the National League's weakest teams? Not in the clubhouse. Not calling closed-door team meetings. The handicapped Cubbies desperately needed a mulligan, but their manager decided to play bad caddie and they ended up in the quicksand trap.
OK, Dusty wasn't the one who hid the bats, because we've had a bad habit of leaving legions of men on base every game. But very often, for as long as I've played this humble game, I know that you need more than just solid wood to win it. You need a manager who would take the toothpick out of his mouth sometimes to rally his guys when they needed it most, a manager who went out to the mound to calm his pitchers down (someone get Larry Rothschild new cleats... they must be worn out from all that scampering up and down the dugout steps) and a manager who by the All-Star Game, realised that he should stop saying that it was "still early in the season."
Last year, it was too little, too late. This year, it's too much too late. Next time, Dusty, give Walk a bear hug.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Tagged by May... Seven Deadly Things
I've been tagged by May, so I have to post the following on my blog. My tags (this means you have to do the same on your blog):
1. Erin
2. Jill
(Everyone else I know who has a blog has already been tagged.)
Seven things that scare me:
1. Snakes
2. Ghosts
3. Heights
4. Terminal illness
5. Boredom
6. Losing my family and friends
7. Not getting to do everything I want to do in this lifetime
Seven things I like the most:
1. Playing my favourite sports: softball, tennis, boxing, volleyball, soccer, biking
2. Being with my family and friends
3. Travelling to places people don't normally go to or if they do, exploring things off the beaten path
4. The beach and everything associated with it
5. Being a literary nerd and snob
6. Making new friends
7. Food
Seven most important things in my room:
1. Bed
2. Alarm clock
3. Pictures of my family
4. Clothes
5. A Buddha pendant my late grandfather gave me before he passed away
6. Passport
7. Body pillow/Bolster
Seven random facts about me:
1. I am anal retentive and obsessive compulsive.
2. I have played three different positions in fast-pitch softball (third base, rightfield and catcher) and currently play three different positions in slow-pitch softball (first base, second base and third base).
3. My left knee is the most injured part of my body. I have a fluid-filled spot surrounded by dead nerves caused by sliding into a backstop pole catching a pop foul nine years ago, received 11 stitches on a deep gash from falling off my bicycle three years ago and last year, had a gradient 1 tear in my MCL from a soccer slide.
4. I was named for the song "Desiree" by Neil Diamond. My mum was a big fan.
5. I have travelled to 16 countries and 37 U.S. states.
6. In primary school, I was banned from participating in science lab classes for almost blowing up my home-made oil lamp and also told I couldn't join the Brownies because of a trick I played on a friend (as a result, I started to play softball).
7. I wrote a biography of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys when I was 15. (I would have to revisit that edition now that there is much to update with the resurgence of Brian Wilson and "Smile.")
Seven things I plan to do before I die:
1. Participate and win a National Scrabble Association or crossword tournament or be a participant on Jeopardy!.
2. Road trip every major cross-country blue-highway route in the US (US-50: "The Loneliest Road," US-50: "The Southern Pacific," etc.).
3. Retrace the travels, events and settings of Thomas Hardy's characters in "Wessex," an area he created to represent his native Yorkshire.
4. Be a fan in the bleacher seats of the red carpet at the Oscars.
5. Become an expert photographer.
6. Open a pancake diner with my cousin Cheryl.
7. Have all my friends in the US visit Singapore.
Seven things I can do:
1. Play sports well and at long stretches (boxing in the morning, biking in the afternoon, tennis in the evening).
2. Entice the media to write stories about Bausch & Lomb and spherical aberration, Arthur Andersen and glass ceilings, Lions Clubs International and pancake breakfasts.
3. Watch three movies in a row at a movie theatre while paying for just one.
4. Complete Super Mario Bros. from World 1-1 to 8-4, without jumping levels, in one turn. It takes 4 hours and 38 minutes.
5. Eat six full meals in a day (typically in Singapore).
6. Play April Fool's jokes and pranks well.
7. Complete New York Times crosswords and Chicago Tribune Sunday crosswords.
Seven things I can't do:
1. Read fast.
2. Put up with self-important people at work.
3. Be away from family and friends for long.
4. Certain athletic things: Set or spike a volleyball. Gymnastics. Putt on a sloping green.
5. Bake.
6. Stay home in the summertime.
7. Remember how to write as well in Chinese as I'd like to.
Seven things I say the most:
1. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
2. "Oh my goodness!"/"My goodz!"
3. "Lord in heavens!"
4. "Jesus fucking Christ."
5. "Let's play tennis later."/"Let's go get something to eat."/"What time is softball tomorrow?"
6. "AAAAAARGH!"/"Eeeeks."
7. "I hate myself."/"I hate my life."
Seven celeb crushes:
1. Bruce Springsteen
2. George Clooney
3. Joaquin Phoenix
4. Jack Johnson
5. Roger Federer
6. Todd Walker
7. James Dean (R.I.P.)
1. Erin
2. Jill
(Everyone else I know who has a blog has already been tagged.)
Seven things that scare me:
1. Snakes
2. Ghosts
3. Heights
4. Terminal illness
5. Boredom
6. Losing my family and friends
7. Not getting to do everything I want to do in this lifetime
Seven things I like the most:
1. Playing my favourite sports: softball, tennis, boxing, volleyball, soccer, biking
2. Being with my family and friends
3. Travelling to places people don't normally go to or if they do, exploring things off the beaten path
4. The beach and everything associated with it
5. Being a literary nerd and snob
6. Making new friends
7. Food
Seven most important things in my room:
1. Bed
2. Alarm clock
3. Pictures of my family
4. Clothes
5. A Buddha pendant my late grandfather gave me before he passed away
6. Passport
7. Body pillow/Bolster
Seven random facts about me:
1. I am anal retentive and obsessive compulsive.
2. I have played three different positions in fast-pitch softball (third base, rightfield and catcher) and currently play three different positions in slow-pitch softball (first base, second base and third base).
3. My left knee is the most injured part of my body. I have a fluid-filled spot surrounded by dead nerves caused by sliding into a backstop pole catching a pop foul nine years ago, received 11 stitches on a deep gash from falling off my bicycle three years ago and last year, had a gradient 1 tear in my MCL from a soccer slide.
4. I was named for the song "Desiree" by Neil Diamond. My mum was a big fan.
5. I have travelled to 16 countries and 37 U.S. states.
6. In primary school, I was banned from participating in science lab classes for almost blowing up my home-made oil lamp and also told I couldn't join the Brownies because of a trick I played on a friend (as a result, I started to play softball).
7. I wrote a biography of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys when I was 15. (I would have to revisit that edition now that there is much to update with the resurgence of Brian Wilson and "Smile.")
Seven things I plan to do before I die:
1. Participate and win a National Scrabble Association or crossword tournament or be a participant on Jeopardy!.
2. Road trip every major cross-country blue-highway route in the US (US-50: "The Loneliest Road," US-50: "The Southern Pacific," etc.).
3. Retrace the travels, events and settings of Thomas Hardy's characters in "Wessex," an area he created to represent his native Yorkshire.
4. Be a fan in the bleacher seats of the red carpet at the Oscars.
5. Become an expert photographer.
6. Open a pancake diner with my cousin Cheryl.
7. Have all my friends in the US visit Singapore.
Seven things I can do:
1. Play sports well and at long stretches (boxing in the morning, biking in the afternoon, tennis in the evening).
2. Entice the media to write stories about Bausch & Lomb and spherical aberration, Arthur Andersen and glass ceilings, Lions Clubs International and pancake breakfasts.
3. Watch three movies in a row at a movie theatre while paying for just one.
4. Complete Super Mario Bros. from World 1-1 to 8-4, without jumping levels, in one turn. It takes 4 hours and 38 minutes.
5. Eat six full meals in a day (typically in Singapore).
6. Play April Fool's jokes and pranks well.
7. Complete New York Times crosswords and Chicago Tribune Sunday crosswords.
Seven things I can't do:
1. Read fast.
2. Put up with self-important people at work.
3. Be away from family and friends for long.
4. Certain athletic things: Set or spike a volleyball. Gymnastics. Putt on a sloping green.
5. Bake.
6. Stay home in the summertime.
7. Remember how to write as well in Chinese as I'd like to.
Seven things I say the most:
1. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
2. "Oh my goodness!"/"My goodz!"
3. "Lord in heavens!"
4. "Jesus fucking Christ."
5. "Let's play tennis later."/"Let's go get something to eat."/"What time is softball tomorrow?"
6. "AAAAAARGH!"/"Eeeeks."
7. "I hate myself."/"I hate my life."
Seven celeb crushes:
1. Bruce Springsteen
2. George Clooney
3. Joaquin Phoenix
4. Jack Johnson
5. Roger Federer
6. Todd Walker
7. James Dean (R.I.P.)
