Painting the Playhouse

Playhouse weekend. Friday evening Matthew and I worked until dark cleaning it up, getting ready to paint. Saturday I cleaned a little more while Will did some priming. Matthew was concerned with colors, and went with Ceil to Home Depot…there was no good interior wall paint in the piles of paint cans we’d accumulated. Did find some white exterior paint, that I spent the rest of the day brushing on the ceiling, windows, railings, and door. Matthew returned and painted most of the two unwindowed walls blue.

Sunday after NP I couldn’t paint the exterior in the rain, but finished the interior…including the floor.

Ceil thought the kids birth certificates were in our safe deposit box, over near Gwinnett Mall. I’d been in meetings all week and couldn’t check, but I needed to turn in copies by month end so insurance wouldn’t be dropped. Finally got over there Friday afternoon, but they weren’t there (we probably never had them, since they hadn’t been needed before). Earlier I had called in to the Vital Records office, for them to make copies just in case. I drove down there, near Claremont & Buford Hwy, to get them.

Lang and Claire may know Margaret Dudley, Ed’s sister. She was active in the SPdL youth, but may be a year or 2 older than Lang. Same Dudleys. From reading the paper when he left Walton, he seems to be a good Christian and family man, looking forward to a new, different adventure in small town south Georgia. As the Walton AD, he knew nothing about lacrosse, but made himself the head coach and fielded a competitive team.

Chipper needs 4 HR to become one of 3 players with 20 or more HR for (15?) straight years, joining Aaron and someone else. Could be down to the wire. Will be interesting to see how many off days he takes if the team falls out of the wild card race.

Tonight I’m supposed to go to a uniform meeting at East Cobb baseball. This way I won’t be able to complain about the uniforms. Found out today that Ryan G has joined the 2010 team, which is good. He was second on the Prowlers in OBP (just ahead of Will) and can pitch, catch, pretty much play anywhere. With both Prowlers catchers back, and SS, CF, and 2B “filled” it’ll be interesting to see where Will plays. Third?

Will said Saturday his team didn’t practice hitting or pitching, only fielding. How can you not practice hitting? With 12 players, five coaches and a pitching machine, seems like someone could throw BP in a cage every practice. Hard to involve 12 guys at one time. They practice three times a week at most.

James K Polk

I am starting to get into history-type movies more and more. Reading a book right now on James K Polk. Never before had I know details how states like Texas, Oregon, and California came into the Union, that Texas was an independent country for a while.

Several of my young friends, like David Hurt’s daughter Hayley, were amazed with Isabel Gonzalez-Whitaker’s dinner companions. Ceil saw her last week on the Today Show. Thought about dropping by the Whitakers Saturday night, but it was late, we hadn’t eaten, and the kids were home alone. They were all at the Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell.

Left work Tuesday shortly after five, and drove straight to the Living Science parent meeting. It’s mostly for parents of new students, it started at 6:30 and we didn’t leave til after ten. Fun, but long. Funny to hear the teachers talk about their classes…you can tell they’re all into it. One veterinarian teaches anatomy, and it was hilarious to hear her call herself the cat lady and invite everyone to watch the cat dissections. Funny English teacher Sandy was shouting “No way!”

We’ll be in costing / pricing meetings the rest of the week. Guess yesterday I was so involved in them (& trying to keep up with everything else at the same time) that I forgot to write…the day must’ve gone by quick.

Uni Critic

Unfortunately, I don’t do anything with uniforms, I’m just a critic!

Generally, East Cobb does a real good job with unis. I’m interested in keeping things on the inexpensive end, probably like you. We still should be able to field a good-looking team.

I’m old-school when it comes to uniforms…simple seems best. These days one color dark jerseys look sharp and stand out. Screen-printed numbers and team name can look just as good as sewn on…few older teams are wearing adding player names on the backs, which also saves money (& puts the team first!).

I would go on a stirrup rant, but that would probably be taking things too far!

Weekend: Sick Again

Friday night…we were out late and had the game on the radio. Team party was fun…excellent season DVD was shown, with music and everything, almost Ken Burns style. Then everyone went to the coach’s house, where we stayed until almost midnight.

Saturday we cleaned house, then Will had his first Crown practice. Not as bad as I feared, though come spring they could have a tough time winning games…they’re young. Tanner hit one out during BP, and Will hit the fence. They tried out several pitchers (my concern) thought they only threw about 15 apiece. Good head coach. My friend Chris will only be organizing things, and help out. Perhaps Tanner’s dad can work with Will on mechanics/fundamentals…batting/fielding/pitching.

Afterward Ceil and I went to the Dekalb Farmers Market and Jalisco’s. The change from the hot practice to the always-cold market had me sneezing all night, so I stayed home from church Sunday…that NP A/C would’ve worn me out. Watched Knowing, which wasn’t bad (Ceil had rented Escape From Witch Mountain and Valkare Saturday). Later Sunday I picked up Will from NP, and watched a USC entertainment lawyer blow the final dollar question on Millionaire.

A young Jason Alexander played a jerk on last night’s Newhart rerun, on WGN. Didn’t surprise me that Will was interested in the unassisted triple play. We thought it must’ve been Rollins or Utley, but it was the backup instead. Can’t argue with taking 2 of 3 from the Marlins (& most series) but at this point it doesn’t seem like that’s enough.

Read Summer of 49 a few years ago, and enjoyed it. Seems like the way pitchers are handled/coddled these days is one of the biggest changes, along with the DH, night games, etc. Another good old book is “Baseball is a Funny Game”, by Joe Garagiola. Lots more than just funny stories, there’s also strategy, tryouts, dealings with GMs, umpires, etc. Lots on his childhood bud, Yogi Berra.

August 17 Week

I’m tired, stayed up til midnight the last 2 nights. Got Joel Norman staying with us for a few days while Becky visits Catherine in Memphis, where she is student teaching. Watched The Day the Earth Stood Still last night…pretty good. Did not watch The Hannah Montana Movie the night before, though I like the funny parts. We’ve gone the last few weeks with only the basic channels…no Disney, ESPN, Food Network, etc. Been a nice break from Disney.

Went to California Pizza Kitchen Tuesday night, instead of O’Charleys. It was Anna’s birthday, so she picked CPK. Father-in-law isn’t crazy about it, but mother-in-law likes it. Sunday night Ceil cooked, and Monday was tied up at the school open house, and we barely snuck in Moes.

After Millionaire we watched “Shaq Vs.” which was pretty funny. In a few weeks he goes up against Pujols…next week it’s volleyball with Trainer & Walsh. Steve Nash gave Regis his jersey last night…both he and Wynona both got pretty easy questions…

Which races combined, is the longest distance?

A. 20 5K races

B. 15 10K races

C. 10 half marathons

D. 3 marathons

If you have 4 shirts and 3 pair of pants, how many different shirt/pant combinations can you get?

A. 6

B. 8

C. 12

D. 16

Tonight we’re going to a local spot, the Paradise Grille, for Will’s team party. Ceil is itching to go out, she wants Outback.

Hopefully the Braves can keep it up this weekend, though they always struggle against the Marlins. KK has given up 3 ER or less in 17 of his last 19 starts, says Jim Powell. More on announcers, as I caught a little of the game on radio last night. Sometimes Sutton & Powell don’t seem to get along perfectly.

Of course I like the Falcon throwback unis. Hopefully they’ll wear them every year. Funny pictures on AJC.com. Interesting (and short!) article in Sports Illustrated about baseball cards, how the bottom has fallen out of the industry. Not much about football or basketball cards, where the market is worse.

Monday Night Moes

Last night I met everyone at an open house for the kid’s “Wednesday school” Veritas, near the Harley place on Alpharetta Highway. Lots of people we knew, including slugging catcher Andrew and the high-scoring Connor. Then we went to Moe’s on Mansell, just down from the Counter Restaurant. Got there at 8:45…no one was in the Moes, and they close at 9. Then several more people came in after us. Tonight we’ll probably go to O’Charley’s (nope, it was CPK).

The tryouts were a production…the same thing was going on for all the other age groups at the same time, so the parking lot was more than full. The coach of the Rangers, one of the top three teams, wants Will to practice with them this fall, for further evaluation…without any guarantees for next season. They’re 50% more expensive than the Rays, the other team that wants Will, but they’re a lot better. There are five other Prowlers on the Rays, including Tyler, the Slender Slugger.

What’s more of a production is the negotiating for what team to get on. Audie’s mom has been trying to get us to go with the Rangers. I’m not sure Will’s best position is SS, though he’s able to make most of the plays with his athleticism. Most of the catchers at the clinic were the heavy catcher-types, who have a hard time at other positions, save 1B & 3B. Outfield is important, but you sure don’t get much action there. The Rays supposedly have a SS and 2B. The Prowlers’ coach moved his son and put Will at SS.

East Cobb Tryouts

Friday I backed Will down on his workouts…only hit one bucket of balls, plus I hit him one bucket, and he threw about 30 pitches off the mound. He seemed to be more consistent and fundamentally sound on all three areas of the game. Afterward we met C, A, and M at Willies.

Housework Saturday AM, then left early for Will’s tryouts/clinic at East Cobb Baseball. The A-L group went from 9:30 to 1:30, and both Sat & Sun they kept them until 1:30. As they ran off the field, all the M-Z’s were running on, for the 1:30-5:30 tryout. Eighty players in each group, divided between all the positions. Will stuck to shortstop, as he had no catcher gear…there were actually fewer SS’s than most positions. I left, but Will made an error, and was put in the “not so good” group. I returned to watch the last 30 minutes…he made a couple more errors and hung his head, but he still looked better than most of the other infielders in his group. He said he should’ve gone over to work with the pitchers as well.

Missed meeting the coach he wanted to play for, Steve. I had talked to him Thursday and he was non-committal, saying only he would look at Will, that he most needed a catcher and pitchers. Did speak to another coach, an old friend who coveted Will to help rebuild his team from scratch. Will wanted to play for Steve, with some of his buddies (it would be one of the cheaper teams to play for).

Sunday before the tryout I met another good coach who had inquired about Will, who said he was impressed with Will. Now at least three former teammates have committed to other teams. Will said he hit well, mostly hard line drives, though he dropped a few more grounders. About the time Will finished hitting coach Steve called me, saying he was going to get Will on his team. Dozens of players won’t get selected for a team, essentially getting cut.

After the 9 AM service I took W and A home. We ate at Arbys, to make sure Will was fueled for the tryout. Last night Ceil cooked lasagna, as her parents had hit town for a few days.

Saturday I showed the kids VHS tapes of me at the Cubs fantasy camp, before I learned how to hit. Also Camp SPdL 1991…lots of shots of Lang as a HS junior, and Claire. Heard the Falcons lost, so I watched the last 2 minutes of the replay…I always liked Jason Hanson.

JF vs. RC

The AJC’s Dave O’Brien showed statistically how the Francoeur / Church trade has washed. As Jeff Schultz said, these players probably would not have put up numbers these good had they remained on their original team.

Church has filled in at the leadoff spot, making his higher runs scored, OBP, and OPS important. JF has been batting 5th, making his slightly higher slugging numbers meaningful. Not to mention increased playing time for Garrett Anderson and Matt Diaz. Good for both teams, and good for both guys.

…So I was curious about how JF's production compared to that the of player he was traded for, Ryan Church. You might be surprised, especially given that initial Francoeur power resurgence and Church’s nagging elbow injury that slowed him early on after the deal and eventually kept him out of the lineup and required a series of cortisone shots. He’s also shared time with Matt Diaz in RF, though Church has gotten more time. Francoeur: 31 games, hit .288 (34-for-118), 10 extra-base hits (five homers), 21 RBI, 12 runs, and a .326 OBP and .466 slugging percentage for a .792 OPS. Church: 23 games, hit .265 (18-for-68) with seven extra-base hits (two homers), 11 RBI, 14 runs, and a .383 OBP and .426 slugging percentage for an .809 OPS.

Well here we go...

Took Will out for more BP last night…two straight nights and we may go tonight. Nice that I can finally rare back and throw, without fear that my shoulder will hurt. Haven’t been able to do that for over two years.

He’s trying out at East Cobb, hoping to play with several teammates. That team only has a few openings, mainly for pitchers and catchers. The manager had coached against the Prowlers for many years…his costs were half that of the Prowlers last year. His 19-year son will coach…he had a scholarship but got hurt. They want to play in Omaha Nebraska next June. Combined with the homeschool team, hopefully the in-laws will help out. Tryouts are from 1:30 to 5:30 both Sat & Sun…so much for the weekend.

Hogan!

Guess Schultz will always be my buddy. He did say the same thing, that a player might not have the same stats had he not been traded. Plus Church has been hot lately, after playing through an injury. Kotchman also played hurt while he was here…writers (& fans) often forget this.

I have a new Facebook friend…DOB. Weeks ago when I added Schultz and Bradley (all it means is they can hit my wall with their writing, though Schultz did swap quips with me that time) I also petitioned DOB for friendship. He finally accepted, and I’m his 19^th friend…he doesn’t use Facebook much, obviously.

Will’s teammates are all grouping together on an East Cobb team, which would be big bucks. I’m supposed to talk to two coaches tonight. There are tryouts Saturday, so last night I threw Will BP. Made him pitch some, as he’ll be pitching more this fall.

I never was good at doing those studies ahead of time, either.

Opened up the birthday card from my parents. I’m sure they picked it out for the photo on the front, as opposed to the message, which I’m sure they didn’t get. Picture of an old-school basketball player from years ago, black and white. Palming a basketball in each hand. Message inside:

It’s your birthday! Do something that makes you happy.

Take Bill, for example. He enjoys holding both balls simultaneously.

I showed the Ogre and he laughed so hard he cried.

Hated to see all those stolen bases off Hanson. Terrible out call at third…at least a call went our way for once. Nice to see Church heat up. Not much I take issue with, you know, but Ron Gant is a terrible announcer. Not a good storyteller, or good at making baseball insider comments…he just agrees with the other announcer. Lemke is Red Barber compared to him. I do like Powell and Sutton and Simpson the best…also Chip and Boog. Lemke is just OK.

Got a headache yesterday and didn’t feel well all evening, still not 100%. Worked til 6:30, ate a good dinner (leftover BBQ), and flipped between Millionaire and the Braves before going to bed at 9:30. Woke up at 12:30 and thought it was morning. Still didn’t get up early and run, which would probably make me feel better. Matthew woke up still sick, so he’s at the doctor.

Parker's Stats

I actually did better keeping up with team stats this year. I haven’t added the games at the beach yet…these are the totals through the July 12th game (plus I missed one or two others). I am pretty tough on fielders, calling it an error when the fielder boots the ball. I don’t know how much that effected any particular Prowler’s average.

Until now I really haven’t analyzed the stats. Parker falls in the middle of the pack in Batting Average and On Base Percentage, as well as runs scored per at bat, runs scored per hit, RBIs/AB, RBIs/hit. He obviously made more than his share of great defensive plays!

32 games...65 at bats...19 hits... .292 batting average (7^th on team)...14 runs...13 RBI...4 doubles...35 times on base...81 plate appearances... .432 on base percentage (6^th on team)...9 strikeouts (only Mitch (7), RT, Tyler, & Durham (all 8) had less)...15 walks (3rd on team)...4 stolen bases...one HBP.

Only Tyler had a better ratio of strikeouts to walks.

Harry Potter

Don’t know why Anna never wanted to read HP before now. For the longest she was into Nancy Drew and American Girl…now she’s moved past those (no more Hannah Montana, too). Harry Potter is just not my genre, I just can’t get into it. Perhaps one day I’ll try again.

Ceil and Anna are painting Anna’s room today…they may move a double bad in there.

Matthew was interested in last night’s PBS Dean Martin special…particularly the parts with a young Jerry Lewis. M couldn’t do much, he was worn out and getting sick, though this afternoon he is better. I have a headache, perhaps from trying to eat a healthy lunch…I had yogurt.

Big meeting this PM regarding profit. The meeting turned out OK, though we have a way’s to go to get everything lined up right.

Having read A&D, it did seem the movie followed the book pretty close…though it was I while ago. Don’t know why Hanks didn’t have the same long hair that he had in the Code. Ceil had said she wanted to see Star Trek…may wait til it comes to the Red Box.

Hopefully Esco will be able to keep it up on into the playoffs.

August 7 8 9 Weekend

Thursday night Ceil and Anna went to the grocery, then were sneaking things into the fridge. I tried not to look, but when Will got home he held up a tube of Pillsbury sweet rolls, saying ‘why do we have these?’ I said ’think about it.’ Later he asked Ceil, in front of me. Friday night I was expecting burgers, but she made BBQ. After dinner Matthew started a charades game, something we never do…but the game lasted for a good while. Then Will insisted we go to the late viewing of Angels & Demons…pretty good.

Saturday I went to Firestone for an oil change, as I had a free coupon to burn. Two tires were completely shot, so I got two new ones. Got a lot more done around the house than usual. Sunday afternoon we took it easy, watching Tiger, then I took A & M to see Night at the Museum. Again, a good flick. Amy Adams is showing up in movie after movie.

Ate Friday lunch at Moes. Thursday it was Firehouse Subs and Baskin Robbins. All free birthday meals…so was the Saturday carwash.

We’re having cable problems, which effects the TV viewing. Even Ceil, the anti-TV person, is complaining. When we returned from vacation, the switch to digital had knocked out all but the local channels. That was all we were paying for, though. Friday Ceil called and got expanded basic for a year at $29.99/month. Remember early on in small group when everyone said they didn’t watch much TV?

Until it gets hooked up, Matthew has been sneaking in more DVDs…the Incredibles, Chicken Little, Finding Nemo, and Harry Potter. He and especially Anna have been devouring HP this summer. Anna is finishing up # 4…she just got it Friday, I think. M had to get a pair of glasses, so he could make some HP videos.

Word is that North Point is looking to add a Gwinnett campus, perhaps southeast of the Mall of Georgia. People probably drive from there to Alpharetta or Cumming…more so than people in Cobb and Cherokee, I guess. I wasn’t at NP to hear Andy talk about Gwinnett. The post-11 am service traffic drives me crazy. This was Ceil and Matthew’s first week to help during the 11 am service. Will went to the service, so Anna and I ran some errands…drinks at QT, Taco Bell, Marshall’s to browse. Found a Russell Martin bobblehead at Goodwill (fittingly, Nomar’s arm was broken off, so I demurred). In the future we’ll take two cars, or I’ll ride home with a friend.

Cox may be a great players manager…I love it when callers say forget chemistry, to bring in malcontents like Manny or Bonds, that Kotchman should’ve been kept instead of LaRoche. But would you agree that Cox sometimes pulls starters too early, and overworks his bullpen? His restraint with starters doesn’t carry over to relievers…why? Often the pitch count is over 100, but Hanson could’ve gone longer Thursday. I know we don’t know all the factors that go into decisions.

Some consider the Dodgers to be superior to the Phillies. Soriano makes two bad pitches in a week, and we lose two games.

Looks more and more like Wren was right about both Smoltz and Glavine. Perhaps we have three good GMs…Wren, Dimettrov, and Sund. Should the Hawks keep Joe Johnson for the long term? Is he worth it? Teams are blamed for making player/financial decisions in their own best interests, and “fans” butcher them for not spending more…often for over-the-hill & injury-prone players…assets not worth the investment (or players too costly to be considered).

Lately there have been UGA stories about Cox haircuts and Jones’ injury…I click on them, thinking it’s a Braves story.

Update

Our three kids keep us busy, between school stuff, baseball (the 16 year-old), and ballet (13 year-old)…along with our mischievous 10 year-old artist. That and work…the hours have been longer this last year and a half, though the pay has been less! On Facebook, under the “notes” are some family updates/Christmas letters that tell more about our family. There’s also a link to my “sacrifice fly” blog, which is mostly just day-to-day emails like this one. My parents are hanging in there, still at the same house. My dad has had a few recent health issues. I’m the worlds worst about visiting Macon. When I do I’m usually working in his yard…that’s what I did on Father’s Day. My sister has pretty much moved from Bonaire to Lake Sinclair, but she still spends a lot of time in Macon. Got on Facebook last year to see pictures from last fall’s high school reunion, and stayed on it to see what was up with my now 16 year-old. Along the way I acquired a bunch of old friends. I haven’t seen Don in over 10 years, I think. He hasn’t seemed to have changed much! His wife Donna is real funny and sweet. We both knew her from her North Georgia College days. Cindy Connor married a real good friend of Don and mine over 25 years ago…though I told him beforehand it would never work! They live near Decatur, I guess. My wife saw her last year, and we’re friends on Facebook. It only looks like I spend lots of time on the internet! I work in Norcross and we live just west of Roswell…40 miles from where Don lives in Flowery Branch. Don’t know where he works.

The Latest Dumb Thing I Did

Getting out of my car last night, I then opened the back door to get out a hot pie and a container of ice cream. I then closed the door…and part of my cargo shorts got stuck in the door. My hands were full, so I had to place the pie and ice cream on top of the car. In the process I got apple pie on my new white shirt. Couldn’t pull my shorts out, because a button was on the inside of the door. I don’t have a remote lock, so I had to dig in my stuck shorts for my keys, reach to unlock the front door, then reach further around to unlock the back door. All the while I was hoping my friends weren’t looking out the window laughing at me. Then I had to juggle the hot pie and ice cream to ring the doorbell. Finally I just let myself in.

The umpire guy was there again, Jim. Last week he was on a business trip to Milwaukee. I asked if he went to a Brewers game, and he sighed “No, I couldn’t get any of those dull programmers to go with me.” Like me, he’s been to games by himself…just this time he didn’t. When his umpire son turns 18 in a couple of years, they will try to go umpire 12 year olds at Cooperstown for a week. A team will sponsor them and pay their way. He said lots of umps sign up to go, so it’s almost like a lottery.

An old small group member, Kelly, had a short novel published and on Amazon. She just got a deal to write a book on the Amish, for some reason. She is from western Pennsylvania, near the Amish country. She and Staci would probably hit it off (or hate each other!)…they have a lot in common. Her husband Scott is a sports nut.

Did break out the red Puma court shoes last night. Recently I bought another pair of deeper red Pumas. These were more running shoes than court shoes. Decided I need another pair of “running on the beach” shoes, some running shoes that I can get messed up. My old pair are getting pretty nasty and tearing up, from all the Living Science Expeditions and ball field maintenance. My old New Balance shoes have too much suede, and wouldn’t be good wet.

White and navy shoes usually look great. I also like white with red, but they stand out a little more, so I hesitate wearing them to as many places. The older I get, the more I pick comfort over good looks. I save my good-looking uncomfortable shoes for when I know I won’t be standing/walking much, like going to a movie or playing cards. Around the house I’ve just about got to wear comfortable shoes, to make it through the day.

But I’m not that crazy about these new dark red Pumas, so I’ll let Will have them. They’re the color of his new fall baseball team, and they’re the type shoe he can wear in warm-ups. Hopefully that team won’t continue wearing white shoes, as they have in the past. Since I know the coach, and he wants me to help, I think I’ll make some uniform suggestions, since that’s an area of expertise. He’s come up with some ugly ones these past few years.

So many fields now post signs for players to only wear spikes during games. One old sign at MBHS was missing letters, and read “On Deck Batter must s_ay on _ _ _ _ _” So all the Prowlers dutifully said “on” before batting.

The Ogre figured out why we’re having so many inventory problems…a computer glitch. He is going to Augusta this afternoon, to take another inventory tomorrow. Customer is about to explode. A full day of emergencies yesterday, and already a few are cooking up this morning. Yesterday I did polish up a useful spreadsheet, which made me feel good. Now I have two more spreadsheets to clean up, and I’ll be sitting pretty. Knocked out one today!

As fun as the guys card night was last night, part of me just wanted to stay home.

Fortune Cookies

Fortune cookies ain’t what they used to be. Two recent “fortunes”…

Visit a park. Enjoy what nature has to offer.

The stock market may be your ticket to success.

Guess the economic downturn hits everyone. Might as well say “work hard, and maybe you’ll catch a break.” Any suggestions?

Weekend

Friday was month end, and for once I had everything wrapped up by 2 pm. My boss had left early, so I was all set to leave at 5 pm. I knew they were taking a count at our Augusta warehouse, and when I got the count at 3:30 it was a hard-to-understand mess. Was on the phone figuring stuff out until 8:30…then I felt so bad I could hardly drive home. Just sat on the couch and watched “Eagle Eye”, a good movie.

Saturday I was cleaning up, but started feeling bad again. Did everything I could to feel better…meds, eat, sit, close eyes. Got van oil change / car wash, then went back to work from 3 to 6 pm…something wrong with the way that warehouse processes orders. That night Ceil, Anna, and I took the movies back to Wal-Mart, then shopped Target and Borders. Will and Matthew watched School of Rock.

We actually had everyone up and ready to go early Sunday. Took Will to NP Sunday AM, and A and M to our friend Lee’s, where they spent the day. Lee rode with me and Ceil to Anderson SC…my Virginia friend’s mother had died.

The Baptist church had a pot-luck lunch before the funeral, attended by 42. Enjoyed getting to know Dawn’s two brothers…one is a principal at N. Augusta, the other a HS band director near Clemson. Her parents remembered Ceil and Lee…they all hadn’t seen much of each other in over 20 years.

Big crowd at the funeral. She had been in the choir, so they sang. They left an empty chair where she usually sat.

Ceil snickered at a line from the pastor emeritus. When eating at Myron’s mother’s table, he gobbled up her cabbage casserole. Months passed, but when he returned, she remembered to serve it again. The pastor said the casserole “was to die for.” Probably not the best selection of words, at a funeral!

Nice to see cars stop to let the procession drive by. No police stopped traffic, but all cars waited patiently at their green lights as we all passed. For some reason the police car rolled out, and several cars followed…before the hearse & two limos with the families. This meant they were in the middle of the procession, instead of the front. And it stayed like that the whole way.

Graveside service attended by 50. Afterwards we went back to the house for a few minutes, before heading home. 85 south traffic slowed, so we cut across from Pendergrass to Gainesville, across Brown’s Bridge to Cumming, then down 400 to pick up Lee’s daughter at NP.

Again, I was exhausted when we finally got home at 8 pm. Watched a couple of old Newhart episodes on WGN.

So Ceil has been in SC the last four weekends.

My friend Lee has his old company car on Craig’s List…at a high price. He’s in no hurry to sell. 2007(?) Impala at $10,00.00..the dealer price.

State of the Braves

Several articles on the AJC today say the same thing: the Braves are building for next year. Schultz and Chipper say several recent moves set up nicely for next year, and anything this year is gravy. Few expected the Braves to win the division this year. The Phillies have a huge, talented payroll, and are hard to beat when they’re cranking…which they are. The postseason is all about peaking at the end of the year. They still have shot at the wild-card (it’s only the beginning of August!).

Listened to the Braves mostly on radio all weekend. LaRoche hits better in the second half. Kotchman was on a hot streak and probably at the height of his value. This way they’re wide open at 1B next year, and can sign whoever they want…or give the position to rookie slugger Freddie Freeman.

Same in RF…Church has a hurt elbow, but Diaz is hitting .300. Phenom Jason Heyward may be ready next year, otherwise they can field McLouth, Schafer, Diaz, a healthier Church, Blanco, or re-sign Garrett Anderson or another OF free agent.

Since the season started Wren has added McLouth, LaRoche, and Hanson, and subtracted non-performers Francoeur, Bennett, and Schafer. G Anderson returned from an early injury to hit .300. Hot bat Prado replaced the slumping Kelly Johnson. Hudson and Infante are set to return from injuries in August (so perhaps KK will be sent to the pen for the rest of the year). Norton just had two straight pinch hits. More than ever it’s clear: don’t produce, and you’re out of here (as soon as a replacement is lined up).

Soriano blows a save. Umps screw Braves out of three wins (Boston, 2 in Miami). No run support for Vasquez & Jurrigans, who has a bad game Sunday. Several of these fall under the “you’re going to win 54 and lose 54. It’s what happens in the remaining 54 games that matter.”

When Cox retires, it will be interesting to see why or why not the Braves win or lose. I doubt his successor will manage the pitchers much different.

Old School

My dad's 9th grade basketball photo, 1945 in Maryville Mo

BP

L-R: Michael, Parker, Tyler, AJ, Audie, Ryan, Will...at Myrtle Beach High School

Typical Day at the Office

July 23 in Lorins SC

vs. Lyman SC Sports Academy

July 24 in Pawleys Island SC

Grounder through the hole into left field, driving in two runs to tie Team Connecticut. Throw hole is cut off, then back to second to try and get Will, but...

Keep on Truckin'

Rule is, you can't block the base without the ball. As this kid is about to find out, it's also not a good idea.