Opening Day

Friday: left for the ballpark at 3 pm. Parked at my usual spot and walked almost 1.5 miles to the Battery. As I arrived, I ran into Jeff Francoeur, who was headed into the broadcast booth from the orange parking deck. He said hello, and was probably glad that I didn't ask him for a picture. 

Arrived just in time for the Opening Day parade - which lasted less than 2 minutes. The Tomahawk Team girls carrying the parade signs, the drum line, the players divided out by position group, and Blooper. They were wearing their BP uniforms. I noticed Acuna was wearing one of the new DriFit caps (below left). 

After the parade I made a beeline for the Chop House gate, to catch the end of the parade - but it was too crowded to get a good look. Nabbed a free Braves t-shirt then checked out the Money Mike Ford Bronco display in the Red Deck. Could've won a Ford cap but opted for a pin instead. 

Saw where the Braves key ring I've carried for several years had broken. I hoped this would be a good omen, that the Braves will do better now that I don't have it anymore. 

I walked around the Battery waiting for Will to arrive. The Baseballism store was giving away a free cap with purchase. I wasn't going to buy anything but did enter their sweepstakes. Won a $5 gift card, so I bought a pair of $12 socks so I could get the free cap that I didn't need. 

Walked across the pedestrian bridge to meet Will and the girls. We walked back and went inside the stadium. The girls got to visit with Blooper, then we hung out there in the kids area for a while.

Will took the girls out into the outfield of the little whiffle ball field. He made a nice catch while holding Millie, that I happened to get on video. 

Cool pregame ceremony with former players from each decade of the Braves 60 years in Atlanta: Garr, Bream, Chipper, Torre, Murphy, McCann, and Acuna. Note how Acuna's 2026 jersey is markedly better looking than the previous year's Nike jerseys worn by Bream, Chipper, and McCann, with a much larger wordmark. Also note the sleeve stripes are fixed on Acuna's jersey, after a couple of years down on the end of the sleeve. I wonder if the Braves will add a 60th anniversary sleeve patch soon. 

Torre threw out the first pitch. During the National Anthem the girls covered their ears for when the F15s flew over. Then the jets circled back over the stadium one by one as they approached Dobbins AFB to land. 

A good game. Sale pitched 6 scoreless innings. Home runs by Albies, Harris - and Drake Baldwin slugged one during the RaceTrac Home Run Inning. The new shortstop drove in two runs, and initiated two 6-4-3 double plays. Riley made a great diving catch of a line drive.

The girls had a blast. The Home Depot Tool Race, NAPA cap shuffle, and the Beat the Freeze Race. They were amazed that the organist played songs they knew, like Do You Know the Muffin Man. The big highlight was the Dippin Dots ice cream.

Haley Hurt and George Ewing were in the section next to us. When I took a selfie, they were in the background behind me. George rarely goes to games, but Haley goes to many.

Special thanks to Collier Metals for the tickets.

Will and the girls watched the postgame fireworks from their parking space, while I hoofed it the 1-1/2 miles the other way back to my car.

What Will You Do With Jesus?

Clay Smith JFBC
What will you do with Jesus?
Matthew 26:57-68

Thursday night Jesus attended a Passover meal, before being seized and taken for a trial before Caiaphis.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of Clay's books. In the secret trial inside men's hearts, he had no case" is a great line, most applicable to these verses.

In the 1990's a dig uncovered a box with the bones of Caiaphis. He'd been politically savvy. What was he standing up for?

John 11:47-53 Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, which alarmed those in power. At that time Caiaphus predicted that Jesus would be put to death.

Peter followed at a distance. Cowardly fear. Am I ever like that?

Caiaphis had a problem - what to accuse Jesus for? Several falsely testified.

John 2:18-19 Jesus wasn't talking about the building but his body. The council tried to manipulate the truth. Caiaphis thought that he was doing good, doing God a favor.

Why was Jesus silent? Did he think he had done enough? Was he thinking about the prophecy in Isaiah 53?

Caiaphis asked Jesus if he was the son of God?

In Matt 16 Jesus asked Peter "who do you say that I am?"
 
v 64 you will see the Son of Man seated on the right hand. Caiaphis and the council knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. Jesus did claim to be God.

What does Son of Man mean? A title of humility, of deity.

Daniel 7:13-14

God ripped the veil from the top so we could have access to Jesus.
 
Caiaphis could feel his power slipping away. He called blasphemy, telling Jesus to prophesy.

Is there not some Caiaphis in all of us? Some religious pride? Pride keeps us from surrendering everything over to God. We don't need religion, we need the gospel. God has done everything for us. God wants to make dead people alive.

31 in Sunday School

39 were baptized at JFBC this morning, some in each service.

Teams Near Me

Mileage to 19 of the closest baseball teams to me. Birmingham makes for a long day trip - anything further would have to have something else going on. I could be visiting as many as seven teams this season, we shall see.  

While I have attended games in eight of these cities, I haven't been to the new ballparks in Greenville or Augusta or Chattanooga. 

011 Atlanta Braves 2026

030 Gwinnett Stripers 2026?

063 Rome Emperors 2026?

108 Chattanooga Lookouts 2026

110 Macon Bacon - been there.

127 Columbus Clingstones 2026?

144 Greenville Drive - been there.

160 Birmingham Barons 2026

170 Augusta GreenJackets - been there.

175 Rocket City Trash Pandas (Huntsville)

181 Montgomery Biscuits

194 Asheville Tourists

224 Knoxville Smokies

235 Columbia Fireflies 65 miles from Jefferson

240 Nashville Sounds

242 Charlotte Knights 56 miles from Jefferson

318 Charleston River Dogs

382 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 134 miles from Jefferson 2026

404 Memphis Redbirds

Tom Hanks is making another baseball movie, based on Dave Eggers' short story The Comebakers. Costarring Bad Bunny and Colman Domingo. I'll have to read the story. 

A thought: should big people drive big cars? Probably. Should little people drive smaller cars?

At 9 am I drove back to the Catholic church at the end of the street. There was a short line of people waiting to get into day two of their yard sale - half price day. The neighbor that I had seen yesterday was there again. I bought a nice bike for $20.00. Matthew has "borrowed" the bike that I had, so it was kinda like I needed a bike. 

My plan was to ride the bike the mile home. I asked the priest to pray for me, and walked it out to the parking lot. The tires needed air, so I just walked the bike home. I took Winnie with me on my walk back to the church, but Ceil was coming back from picking up Goose, so she picked Winnie up after a half mile walk.

Since Will had to get to work early this morning, Ceil woke up early and drove down to take the girls to school. The girls woke up excited, knowing they were going to tonight's Braves game. They both dressed for school in their Braves jerseys - on top of their matching baseball dresses. Millie said she didn't want hers buttoned.

When I got back to my car at the church, I drove out to the Cheeseburger Bobbys in Marietta for their opening day deal - a free hot dog with purchase of french fries. Not bad.

Thursday was Nike Air Max Day. The sneaker giant is re-releasing the Air Max 1990. For the occasion I wore my Max's to the game.

TOM SEAVER [SABR Bio]was the first pitcher to strike out ten consecutive batters in one game. The final 10 SDP batters on 22-Apr-1970 all went down on strikes: 5 looking and 5 swinging. Al Ferrara was the first and last. Seaver already had 9 Ks when the streak began at the end of the 6th.  Aaron Nola (25-Jun-2021) and Corbin Burnes (11-Aug-2021[1]) have equaled Seaver’s feat. Seaver notched his 300th  career win the same day Rod Carew collected his 3,000th hit, on 04-Aug-1985. Seaver and Frank Chance both attended Fresno High School, and are both members of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ohtani vs Babe Ruth

Ohtani vs. Babe Ruth. Is this like comparing Godzilla to King Kong?

Saw a show comparing Ohtani to Babe Ruth, and decided the Bambino was greater, at this point in history. Kinda surprised me. Made me think. Ohtani is a similar case as Ichiro, who collected more hits in his career than any other player. What about Ohtani?

Surprisingly, Ohtani has hit far more homers in the US than he did in Japan. From 2013-2017 he hit only 52 HR, compared to the 280 MLB HR from 2018-2026 (this includes WBC HR). A total of 332 HR in his first 13 seasons - 280 MLB HR in 8 seasons, an average of 35 HR/year from the ages of 23-30.

After a cup of coffee at the age of 19, Ruth then hit 309 HR by the age of 30. In his first 8 years in the majors Ruth had only hit 197 HR. After the age of 30, the Bambino slugged another 377 HR in his next 8 seasons, then added 28 more to finish with 714.

Could Ohtani match Ruth's output in his 30's? That will be the question. 

avg.OBP.SLG.OPS  

342  474 690 1.164 Ruth

282  374 582 0.957 Ohtani

  

Including Japan, Ohtani has pitched in 32 more games than Ruth and has about three times the strikeouts as the Babe - but these days batters are swinging from the heels much more than in Ruth's era, when making contact was much more valued. Ruth completed over 60% of his games while Ohtani less than 10%.   

W - L win% ERA  G CG SHO  IP   BB     K   WHIP

83-37 .692  2.76 195 014 08 1103.1 397 1332 1.083 SO

94-46 .671  2.28 163 107 17 1221.1 441 0488 1.159 BR

One thing to note: when Ohtani doesn't pitch, he is the DH. When Ruth didn't pitch, he played outfield. 

Drove down to play golf this morning. Was a few minutes earlier than what I'd set for myself (better than late). My playing partner, the Georgia State professor, was already there. Usually I arrive 15-20 minutes before him. He had just landed back from China last night. I played okay, mostly hitting just one shot.

1. Pretty good 6 iron off the tee. Not so good after that.

2. Six irons faded left. A nice chip that was knocked down by a tree branch.

3. Eight iron stayed left. Only one good chip out of three.

4. Six iron stayed left. No good chips.

5. Hit a nice straight 4 iron. Too low but it rolled to the front fringe. Hit two lag putts, one too hard and one too soft.

6. Pulled two drives left, then a third right. From the fairway I hit a great 4 iron, then a second low 4 iron that rolled past the green. One good chips out of three.

7. Hit a nice hybrid off the tee. Went just as far as most of my driver shots. Couldn't find it. Dropped a ball and hit an even better 4 iron, but a tree branch knocked it down. Pulled a 9 iron right. One good chips out of three. But a pretty good lag putt.

8. Hit a good, straight hybrid. Stayed low, under the trees, and got a good roll. Approach was decent, but not quite to the front fringe. But a nice chip onto the green.

9. Stuck with the hybrid and hit another straight tee shot. Flubbed one chip, then hit a great chip that was all set to roll up on the green, until it hit a root or something and stopped short of the green. But a great two putt.

I wanted to drive home via 400, and my directions took me on a slow route. Stopped at the Hardees on Abernathy for a deal, but their app wasn't taking orders. I gave up and headed home.

Stopped at the Catholic church at the end of our street, St Ann. They're having their annual yard sale. It was the first morning, and there was a crowd. Saw a neighbor. Bought a nice Eddie Bauer puffer jacket, a long sleeve tee, a brown belt that I needed, and a pair of Timberland hiking boots. I'd sold off my old hiking boots, not thinking that I may need them some day. Four items = $10.00.

Got home to find a crew on the street working to repair a water leak near the street. We have a culvert on the street next to our driveway. Water flows from there down an underground pipe down to the end of our driveway, then it flows down the hill to the creek behind our house. Water only flows when it rains, but it hasn't rained in a while, but the water is still flowing. I called the Water Department and they sent out someone yesterday to check. Nice guy. He found the leak. So water was off in our house for several hours. 

Had a zoom call at 6 pm. For the soccer World Cup they're going to dig big holes in at Candler Park golf course so people can play "Foot Golf" - kicking soccer balls down the fairways, then rolling them into big holes on the greens. Great. The greens at Candler Park are terrible already. The hills are going to be a challenge for the soccer balls, both up and down. More on this Foot Golf" to come.

NOLAN RYAN [SABR Bio] his nickname was derived from the title of a popular motion picture involving daring action during World War II? The “Von Ryan’s Express” starred Frank Sinatra, and  was released in 1965. Nolan Ryan debuted in the majors in 1966. “The Ryan Express” or variations thereof, were soon attached to Ryan, not the least because of his fastball. The only teams he played for were the first four teams of major league expansion. He played for:

NYM 1966, 1968-1971; First season 1962

CAL 1972-1979; first season 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels

HOU 1980-1988; began as the Houston Colt .45’s in 1962

TEX 1989-1993; began as the Washington Senators in 1961. Moved to Arlington, Texas as the Rangers in 1972. Ryan is the only player who played for all four, and only these four. He was the national spokesman for Athletes Through with Chew. Ryan had more credibility as a spokesman for ATWC because he had been a user of smokeless tobacco early in his career. He quit for good while still pitching & became known as an advocate of a healthy approach to an athletic profession. His record 27 years as a major leaguer further added to his credibility.

Denison: is social media the new tobacco? An interesting court case says yes. "A court ruled that Facebook  and YouTube were liable for damages of $6 million after the companies were sued by a 20-year-old woman for creating products that led to anxiety, depression, and other problems. Attorneys showed the jury internal company documents that demonstrated that executives were not only aware of the negative effects and addictive tendencies that their products had on children, but designed them to hook young users as quickly as they could. "These companies hired the best engineers in the country to make their products as addictive as possible—to the point that some of these engineers began to regret what they had created." Aza Raskin came up with the infinite scroll mechanic, said that watching young people get trapped by his invention created "a deep, hard, sick place in the pit of my stomach."

Beware of Moe

Question of the day: who is your favorite bullpen arm? My pick: Moe Drabowsky, my old fantasy camp pal. Still holds the record for most strikeouts by a relief pitcher in one World Series game, with eleven in Game One of the 1966 Fall Classic. 

Moe was one of the all time great pranksters. He once gave the commissioner of baseball the hotfoot. He'd call the opposing bullpen to get relievers warming up, or have Chinese takeout delivered there. During the World Series he rented a plane to pull a sign saying BEWARE OF MOE over the stadium. 

At fantasy camp he brought in a couple of snakes into the locker room. It was such a privilege to be able to spend a week with him - I tried to hang out by his side as much as I could. He'd always call me "Murf". 

Re-watched "A Man Named Otto" on Monday night. Such a good movie. A real tearjerker.

Had a dream that involved coworkers Eric and Leo. We all worked at a megachurch, and would make dramatic appearances by dropping through cables and tunnels from the ceiling high above.  Leo wasn't that happy with all the unexpected dropdowns. Uncharacteristically, Eric had long hair, and Leo had short hair. 

NASA confirmed that a massive object slammed into the Moon, carving out a colossal crater stretching 225 meters wide—an impact so rare it’s only expected to happen once every hundred years. The effects were so powerful they altered the lunar landscape for miles beyond the impact zone.

Plus three separate meteors have been spotted over the US this week, in Houston, Pittsburgh, and California.

Monday night when C was spending the night down with the girls, I went to Kroger because we were out of quesadilla shells. Thought about buying a frozen pizza as a treat, then saw hot dog buns were on sale for a dollar. Needed mustard, pickle relish, and of course hot dogs, then messed up and bought buns that cost 2 bucks. But the dogs were good.

Yesterday the workers put up various hooks and hung the mirrors. Ceil had grilled chicken for a late lunch. During Wheel of Fortune I took the ingredients that C had previously prepared and made the enchiladas for baking. Her cream sauce is better than Taqueria's. Very good.

Our missionary friends needed someone to stop by Trader Joes to get some lavender tote bags for them to take overseas as gifts. I had no idea these things were so popular. A $4 tote that's reselling on eBay for $25. It's like bobbleheads all over again. I got to Pinestraw Plaza early, and there were already several cars in the parking lot. By 7:55 am there was a small group at the door, waiting for the store to open. There was a limit of 12, so we were all counting out to make sure we each got our dozen. Made me think of the early AM Black Friday sales. I only got knocked down twice. Maybe I have found myself a new hobby. 

While lifting weights I talked myself into getting a haircut, so I left the gym at ten and drove the couple of blocks to get my hair cut. Wednesday is senior day, so there was a small crowd. Then I dropped off some donations at the Goodwill next door. Then back to the gym for sauna and treadmill. 

Then I drove down Johnson Ferry for a free smoothie at Smoothie King. Then home for hot dogs. Got several food deals to take advantage of: (1) a free breakfast combo at Hardees, (2) a free Whattaburger (and other coupons), (3) and a free burger at a grand opening tomorrow on Cobb Parkway. 

MAX SCHERZER [B-R Bio] ended the 2025 season with 221 wins. His contract with the Blue Jays specifies a $3,000,000 base plus performance bonuses: $1M each for 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, and 155 innings pitched. He pitched for Detroit from 2010 to 2014. He pitched in four World Series: (1) for the Tigers against the Giants in 2012 (L); (2) for the Nationals against the Astros in 2019 (W); (3) for the Rangers against the Diamondbacks in 2023 (W); and (4) for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Dodgers in 2025 (L). He is one of the most intense competitors in baseball - Examples.

Denison: according to a report by the Middle East Institute, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has developed from a militia into a "parallel state" within Iran. They understand the world through the prism of Mahdism: the return of the 12th divinely ordained Imam Mahdi, who will rid the world of evil and injustice through "one final apocalyptic battle" between the dar al-Islam (land of Muslims) and dar al-Kufr (land of infidels). They believe that the 1979 Islamic Revolution marked the first stage in the Mahdi's return. The IRGC now exists to "prepare the world for the emergence of Imam of the Age" by fighting the "enemies" of Islam. In such a conflict, they win by not losing. The survival of the IRGC and the Islamic regime constitutes success, enabling them to continue their aggression against Israel and the West until they are defeated and/or the Mahdi returns. The US and Israel are fighting a military battle against an ideological foe. For anyone who doubts whether the spiritual is real or relevant, this conflict should be proof enough.

March Bobbleheads & SGAs

I'm back again with another season listing each month's bobblehead giveaways, plus other interesting SGAs and special ticket deals. Good news / bad news: these lists will be bigger and better than ever - but mostly padded with minor league SGAs. I'm gonna need some help with the MLB SGAs, so please send me your tips. 

Minor league teams are light on the bobblehead giveaways this year, but chock up of caps, replica jerseys, cowboy hats - it got to the point where I only added bobbleheads.  

So far the Braves have announced a whopping 43 giveaways for 2026 - with 16 bobbleheads (and they usually add more throughout the season). That's a giveaway in over half their games. Hard to complain about that.

Only two bobblehead SGAs in March, after last Friday's Port St Lucie Mr Met SGA. Seems like all the Seattle and Atlanta affiliates are giving away Cal Raleigh and Drake Baldwin bobbleheads. If you miss these MLB SGAs in March, you'll have plenty more chances to nab a Raleigh or Baldwin at a minor league park later on this season.

Have you noticed a trend away from bobblehead SGAs, and instead more special ticket deals and / or kids giveaways? What are your thoughts on this?

Plus I am seeing WAY more replica jersey giveaways this year.  I already have 3 or 4 replica jerseys, plus several more "authentic" jerseys. Will you collect these in addition to the bobbleheads?  

3.20 FRI St Lucie Mr Met bobble 1000

3.25 WED UGA softball: fuzzy bucket hats 400

3.26 THU - 3.28 SAT St Ann Marietta garage sale

3.27 FRI Lehigh Valley drinking glasses 3000

3.27 FRI Buffalo free ticket if below 50 degrees

3.27 FRI Memphis Grizzlies 3-peat t-shirt & socks reveal.

3.28 SAT Gwinnett GWIN t-shirts 1750 

3.28 SAT MIL replica stadiums 25000

3.28 SAT Reno t-shirts (advance purchase)

3.28 SAT SEA Cal Raleigh 40 HR bobble 40000 

3.28 SAT JAX replica championship rings 2000

3.28 SAT Las Vegas Aviators replica rings

3.29 SUN ATL Acuna cap 3000 kids

3.29 SUN UGA baseball American Flag Shirsey 1000

3.30 MON

3.31 TUE ATL Drake Baldwin ROY bobble 15000

3.31 TUE Albuquerque Orbit mascot scarf 2000

3.31 TUE Nashville t-shirts 1000

3.31 TUE Syracuse knit hats 

3.31 TUE Columbus Clippers dime a dog every Tuesday

Nike Air Huaraches

Back in the late 80's and early 90's I'd crash the Super Show every year, where all the sporting goods manufacturers would reveal their latest and greatest. Filled up both of the huge halls in the World Congress Center, spilling over onto the floor of the old Georgia Dome. It was the height of the sneaker wars: Nike, Reebok, adidas, FILA, Converse, etc. That's where I first laid eyes on the Nike Air Huarache, a unique running shoe. There was also a cool looking basketball version that several college teams wore, including Tech and Michigan. Christian Laettner wore them on the Dream Team.  

I used an inside source to grab one of the first pairs - and wore them for years, until they wore out. Run the Peachtree in them. Around 2015 Nike brought the Huaraches back, but I couldn't track down a great pair. Had an all white pair for a while - then an all black pair that must've been a Chinese knockoff. Last year I bought a black pair with a white sole. They're okay, but not quite like the original. I learned to play closer attention to the details. Maybe the 5th time will be the charm.

Now that I'm retired, I am spending lots more time around the house and running errands. My current go to "house shoes" are my off-white pull-on Nike Air Commuter sneakers. Comfortable and easy, but not a thick sole. If I'm lifting weights and don't want to mess with my Hokas or On Cloud Monsters, I'll just wear my Commuters. They're okay, but I needed to upgrade my house shoe game. 

A couple of years ago I'd bought a nice pair of Reebok Furys - another unique design. They weren't comfortable, plus they're not really sneakers a 66 year old needs to be wearing to the gym or anyone else. Sold them on Poshmark.

So at night I'd browse eBay and Poshmark for sneakers. A few cheap Hauraches out there, many that were all white. But I caved and bought a grey pair, the South Beach colorway. Hopefully they'll be as comfortable as the originals. I'm not worried about the bright plastic strip on the ankle, and hope the big  bright round Huarache logo on the front won't be too much of a distraction. They should deliver later this week. 

Another in a long line of mistakes? Probably. We'll see.

March Madness: I picked 25 of 32 in the first round, and 11 of the Sweet Sixteen. Still have all eight of my Elite Eight in play.

Southern Living featured Macon's NuWay Weiners.

Will Tiger play in the Masters? GBN thinks so. We shall see.

Denison: reasons to reject moral apathy.

STEVE CARLTON [SABR Bio] was the last National League pitcher with 30 complete games in a season, with exactly 30 CG in 1972 with the Phillies. Catfish Hunter had 30 for the Yankees in 1975. Carlton holds the record for the most wins by a visiting pitcher in the Astrodome, with 17. He struck out exactly 4000 National League batters, plus 136 in the American League.