Portrait

Just tracked down a copy of a recent portrait of our kids.
PLEASE DO NOT POST THIS PHOTO ON FACEBOOK. 

My theory on portraits: it seems like so many facilities spend inordinate amounts of time taking and posing for portraits and pictures. What did people do before they had cameras? Portraits show children cleaned up and dressed up in their finest. Not always an accurate representation of the people in the picture. Like my kids above, often times a portrait whitewashes away all the issues of the day. All seems well, when in fact there are actually a lot of issues going on. 

An old, previously unposted recap of March 19: Wednesday night C and A had art, and M was off at a friend’s house, so I took my time getting home. Left the office at 5:45 and stopped by a Cheeseburger Bobbys near the office. Perhaps if I stop using A1 steak sauce and instead use ketchup the burger will taste better (that turned out to be true). Still not as good as Fuddruckers (not as thick a burger). Passed on the fries, which are good and plentiful. 

On the way home I found an Ilya Kovalchuk bobblehead for my collection.

About 9:15 I returned a library book and mailed some letters, then drove 38 miles, past Six Flags to Douglasville to pick up Matthew. I’d noticed that 285 traffic was backed up northbound, so on the way back I took 20 east downtown, then 75 north to Delk Road…adding another ten miles to my already long trip. Of course downtown traffic was backed up as well. Got home about 11:15.

Finally got somewhat caught up at work yesterday, but this morning we’ve already had a rejection on one part and a shutdown on another - plus other issues kept coming up.

My All-Fun Guy Team

I am commemorating the passing of Don Zimmer by reading his book “The Zen of Zim” Quite good so far. As a resident of Tampa, the Gerbil had been a long-time friend of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. George hired Zim as a coach before firing manager Gene Michael to bring in Billy Martin for the third time. But in 2002 Steinbrenner, irate over losing the chance to win a fourth straight World Series, turned against Zimmer.

Zimmer is on the short list of what could be called my All-Fun Guy Team. Zimmer played second, short, and third, and when he finished his career as a minor leaguer he even pitched a game or two. When he was the player/manager for the Knoxville Smokies in 1967 I might have seen him play against the Macon Peaches.

Yogi Berra C, OF (several books)

Jeff Blauser SS

Matt Diaz OF

Moe Drabowsky P

Joe Garagiola C (Baseball is a Funny Game)

Eric Hinske 3B

Mark Lemke 2B

Greg Maddux SP

Kris Medlen P

Peter Moylan RP

John Smoltz P (Starting and Closing)

Bob Uecker C (Catcher in the Wry)

Don Zimmer 2B (The Zen of Zim)

When Bill Mazeroski hit his historic World Series home run to left field in Forbes Field, there were photos of the dejected left fielder for the New York Yankees leaning against the fence and looking up…Yogi Berra. Berra and Garagiola were pals growing up in St. Louis.

Can you think of someone who needs to be added?

Memory Verses

Fred O recites the Sermon on the Mount from time to time. He will even dress up in Biblical garb. I think I started memorizing it a long time ago. Also memorized Romans 12. Back at GT we were in small groups and we would memorize verses.

Every year the GT BSU had a 24 hour basketball game against the UGA Baptist Student Union to raise money for student missions. Every hour would be different: guys, girls, co-ed, freshmen, alumni, even an hour with girls on guys shoulders. I would always try to play the most hours. One year I played in the memory verse hour – whoever made a basket had to recite a Bible verse for the basket to count. Wouldn’t you know that was the hour all my shots went in.

Tuesday: drove straight home last night. C cooked Mexican, even though all three kids were gone. M was at Six Flags and Felinis. A went to Brittanys. W was with MC. After dinner C went to Belks and to get M. I watched the Braves offensive explosion, and typed up a resume for Ceil.

Wednesday: Ceil had a rough day, and decided not to go to art – even though Will and Anna were out last night. Then C and W went to watch a swim meet.

I watched several Duck Dynasty episodes that I hadn’t seen before. Though many reality shows get  old after a while and start repeating, Duck Dynasty does a good job of staying fresh. In last night’s season 6 premiere the Governor of Louisiana visited and gave a speech praising the Robertson family’s Christian values, and joined the family in prayer. He also shot some basketballs in the Duck Commander warehouse. In the season 5 finale Jase’s young daughter gave her testimony at the family reunion – and professional wrestlers gave a demonstration.    

Thursday: Crazy day all day long. Some people drive me crazy. What a day. Took my time getting home. Will went to trivia.

Friday: Will took Ceil to play golf. M is at Six Flags again. Anna is probably off somewhere as well. Guess I’ll watch the Braves.

Good rule – never call anyone between 9 pm and 9 am. But kids today keep ODD hours – stay up late. They don’t have a “land line” but rarely call each other on their cell phones either – they’re always texting or face-timing or snap-chatting. I hear phones buzzing at all hours. It’s the EBay notifications that buzz on my phone in the middle of the night.

A Statute on Statues?

One of the great things about Washington DC is all the monuments and statues. They are located not just on the national mall and in the capitol building, but throughout the city in various parks and street corners. There are several statues adorning the grounds of the Georgia state capitol, and three outside Turner Field: Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, and Phil Niekro. The Braves have also erected monuments honoring each of the retired numbers, and markers for each member of the Braves Hall of Fame.

Monday afternoon 680’s Chuck Oliver was discussing statues on college campuses. He thought any coach winning a national college football championship deserved a statue. That’s what the University of Alabama has decided as well, with five statues so far. Perhaps the best policy is to wait until the coach retires on moves on before erecting the statue, to make sure he doesn’t disgrace the school. Former UGA president Michael Adams decreed that Vince Dooley’s statue be located far away from Sanford Stadium, past the athletic fields at the edge of the campus. Sour grapes? Statues need to be where fans attending games can see them.

Heisman Trophy winners also deserve a statue. Stadiums have such large perimeters that numerous statues can be spaced out far enough away so as to not seem crowded. The University of South Carolina is spending $100,000 on a statue of Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers. Good for them. But Gene Sapakoff of the Charleston Post and Courier thinks the money would be better spent elsewhere: lower ticket prices, scholarships, etc. He worries, that like so many other things in sports, that statue building will explode across the state and turn South Carolina into another Alabama. Clemson will surely counter with statues of their own (The Fridge’s huge statue would cost millions) and smaller SC schools, with smaller budgets, would be caught up in the trend. Does a law need to be enacted to limit the overuse of these monuments? Sapakoff makes a good point, though he’s in the minority in our sports-crazed society.

An Athens artist has begun work on statues of former Georgia greats Frank Sinkwich, Charlie Trippi, and Herschel Walker, but needs more money to be raised to finish the project. Florida honored its three Heisman winners with statues: Spurrier, Wuerfful, and Tebow (above). Fans are welcomed to Georgia Tech’s Grant Field by statues of former coaches Bobby Dodd and John Heisman (below). Tech has not sired a Heisman winner, but boasts two runner-ups and several members of the college football hall of fame (which soon will be located just a few blocks south of the Tech campus, downtown next to Centennial Olympic Park).

Auburn could do well to erect statues of Heisman winners Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson, though any bronze statue of Cam Newton would be tarnished by the numerous NCAA investigations into his recruitment. Southern Cal has the same problem with disgraced Heisman winners OJ Simpson and Reggie Bush. Instead perhaps a display case can be filled with bobblehead likenesses of all head coaches and All-Americans.  

More 680: I am liking the addition of Chris Dimino to the morning show. As a sports expert, he does not tolerate Perry’s blabbering. Dimino will stop mid-sentence to call out Perry, saying “don’t give me that…” or “don’t roll your eyes”. This has given Christopher Rude the courage to speak out against Perry as well, leaving Laurentino somewhat speechless at times. This two against one setup makes the show much more pleasant listening.  

Senior Discounts

This summer I turn 55 years old, making me eligible for a senior discount at some places. I'm starting to look out for these discounts. Young grocery store cashiers sometimes give me the discount without asking, and others have started asking if I am eligible. I have no idea why. Recently I saw a list of discounts and decided to create my own. Since I do so little shopping, I doubt I'll make special trips just to take advantage of discounts - it's more of if I'm there, be sure to take the discount.

So many times internet lists like these all full of incorrect or incomplete information, so it is best to always ask whether the business has a senior discount. This list below was taken from the internet, and only includes discounts for people 55 and over. I've left off places we never frequent (like the Dress Barn) and places not located in Georgia.

Arbys 10% off varies by location
Alamo 25% off AARP members
AMC Theaters discounts vary
Avis 25% off AARP members
Banana Republic 10% off
Bed Bath & Beyond 10% mailing club
Belk 15% off first Tuesday of the month
Best Western 10% off
Budget Rental Car 10% off (AARP 20% off)
Chickfila 10% off or free soft drink/coffee
Chilis 10% off
Dennys 10% off (AARP = 20%)
Dollar Rental Car 10% off
Enterprise 5% off AARP members
Fuddruckers 10% off senior platter
Goodwill 10% off every Tuesday
Hampton Inn 10% off when booked 72 hours in advance
Hancock Fabrics 15% 1st & 3rd Wednesdays
Hertz 25% off AARP members
Hilton 5% off for AARP members
IHOP 10% off
Jitterbug Cell Phone $10 per month
KFC free small drink with purchase
Krispy Kreme 10% off
Kroger discount varies, usually Wednesday
National Car Rental up to 30% off for AARP members
Publix discount varies
Regal Cinemas 30% off
Salvation Army discount varies
Steak & Shake 10% off every Monday & Tuesday
TCBY 10% off
TJ Maxx 10% every Tuesday varies by location
Trailways discounts vary
Wendys discounts vary
Walgreens discount varies: 20% off Walgreens brands/15% off everything else

Based on the discounts given by AARP, so far I haven't seen the need to join. I don't rent cars or stay in hotels much, nor often eat at the restaurants they discount.

Your Team's Mt. Rushmore

Fans often debate who would make up their team’s “Mount Rushmore” of legendary athletes. The top four should be legends from the past, not flash-in-the-pans or from too recent teams. Schools and teams should actually erect their own Mt. Rushmores in or near stadiums. That would be fun. Lots of talk of who would be included, but no one ever actually puts one up. 

Too bad people don’t say “Who would be on your Stone Mountain?” since isn’t the Stone Mountain carving actually larger than Mt. Rushmore?

ATLANTA BRAVES: who gets left out?

Aaron: 335 HR, .293 BA, no WS or MVP in Atlanta.

Murphy: 371 HR, .268 BA, 2 MVPs. Not in HOF. Didn’t win a WS.

Chipper: 468 HR, .303 avg, MVP

Niekro: 268 wins, 3.20 era. No Cy Youngs. Never won a WS.

Glavine: 244 wins, 3.41 era, two Cy Youngs.

Smoltz: 210 wins, 3.26 era, 154 saves in 4 years, one Cy Young

Maddux: 194 wins, 2.63 era, 3 straight Cy Youngs as a Brave.

Cox

Solution: have two Mt. Rushmores – one for pitchers and one for hitters.

Pitchers: Niekro, Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine

Hitters: Aaron, Murphy, Chipper, Cox

ALL-TIME BRAVES: Aaron, Spahn, Mathews, Murphy

FALCONS: Tommy Nobis, Claude Humphrey, Jessie Tuggle, Jeff Van Note

HAWKS: Bob Pettit, Dominique Wilkins, Lou Hudson, Pete Maravich

Georgia: Sinkwich, Herschel, Trippi, Dooley

Tech: Mark Price, Matt Harpring, Roger Kaiser, - and Spider Salley? Perhaps Whack Hyder or Bobby Cremins instead of Salley. Kenny Anderson only played two years, and Dennis Scott only three.

Tech: Billy Lothridge, Billy Martin, Calvin Johnson, Joe Hamilton

Baseball: Ruth, DiMaggio, Cobb, Ted Williams

Yankees: Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Gehrig. Runner Ups: Berra and Jeter.

Football: Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice. Or Walter Payton over Sanders? Red Grange?

Basketball (pick five): Jordan, Chamberlain, Magic, Havlicek, Robertson

Hockey: Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, Hull or Howe

CoolRay Field Visit

I was able to sneak over to Saturday night’s Gwinnett Braves game after all. The heat wasn’t too bad, and after the gates opened I busied myself with the various activities in the shade. Then I found my seat and spent the rest of the evening punching all-star ballots while watching the game, jumbotron, and people around me. Pastornicky was batting .333, but Constanza, Terdo, and Cunningham weren’t faring as well. Wonder if Snitker plays them in different positions every night to get them ready for the bigs. He should. LaStella’s photo was on the cover of the free program.

My favorite usher from last year was nowhere to be seen, though I did chat with the longtime gatekeeper. Seated in front of me was a typical Gwinnett mom, who detailed her busy travel ball schedule to whoever would listen. She kept yacking the entire game, only stopping long enough the dole out more concession stand money to her young daughters. Then the mom would complain about them spending five bucks for a cup of ice. 

Behind me an Indian dad explained detailed intricacies of the game to his very young sons. They listened for the first inning or two, but finally wandered off to play. Behind them sat a pastor (it said so on his polo shirt) and a few other members of his flock. Sunday morning I think I saw him on TV. Also saw cool pop Norman Warrick, a Turner Field regular. Below Terdo throws past a stretching Pastornicky.

The first place Rochester Red Wings featured ex-major leaguer Wilkin Ramirez. The GBraves rallied in the bottom of the eighth, but came up a run short. At that point I left for home, since construction beyond the right field fence detoured the road out of the stadium. Driving down I-85 South shortly after 10 pm I was able to see the Stone Mountain fireworks show off in the distance. 

Arrived home at 10:50 pm – to an empty house. Will and MC arrived next, then M and C returned from taking Sarah, then finally Anna got home from her Grace Church event (and sushi).

Turner Field

price..spent..for…

12.00 5.00 Parking

09.00 7.00 Game ticket

25.00 0.00 Mike Minor bobblehead

15.00 0.00 GBraves t-shirt

05.00 0.00 GBraves pen (nice)

04.00 0.00 Designated Driver Coke

01.00 0.00 RaceTrac Coke

25.00 1.00 Kari Lehtonen 2008 Thrashers bobblehead

12.50 1.50 Taco Bell burrito

108.50 14.50 saved 94.00

Stopped by Stinky Kroger on the way to the game, to return a RedBox. Saw bagboy Robert (aka The Chief) inside, so I told him of my destination. He waved me off, saying he only went to watch “the big boys.” In preparation for the game I followed the Gwinnett Braves on Twitter. Friday night Van Earl Wright was at the GBraves game, modeling the jersey to be worn and auctioned off Saturday night. Not sure, but Van Earl may be broadcasting the GBraves telecasts.

Added four bobbleheads to the collection the weekend. The MyCokeRewards Kirk Herbstreit bobblehead arrived Saturday. On the way to the Saturday night Gwinnett Braves Mike Minor bobblehead night I had just enough time to zip into the Pleasant Hill Road Goodwill, where I found the 2008 bobblehead of Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen for only a dollar. On the way home from work Friday a store in Roswell had four bobbleheads for six bucks each. I passed on the three small Upper Deck nodders (Donald Trump, Michael Vick, and Edgerren James), but snapped up a John Gruden Tampa Bay Buccaneers bobblehead. Twenty bucks for four bobbleheads AND a Gwinnett Braves game isn’t too bad. Sunday night I bid on a cute Florida Frenzy mascot bobblehead, but lost the auction.

Watched “Saving Mr. Banks” Friday night. Ceil and I liked it, but the increasingly more dogmatic Will didn’t. He also disliked the all too trashy Sunday night Tony Awards as well as the all-new Miss USA Pageant, that went overboard on giving each contestant a tough gal attribute (wrestling, outdoors, etc) as well as a hard-knock “I overcame this hardship” type story.

The 680 crew was talking about the California Chrome owner Monday morning. Said HORSES were cheating. How could a horse cheat? Then it turned out Cal Chrome stepped on his own foot at the start, and was bleeding. Plus Cal Chrome was bred for distance, and probably would’ve lost anyway. The jockey said that after the first quarter he know this wasn’t their day. But the owner went on and on, even using a bad triathlon analogy.

Just finished a book by Fox News correspondent Charles Krauthammer, a compilation of his columns over the years. I was surprised when he gave a tiny bit of credit for the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War to the late 70’s policies put in place by the Carter Administration.

Can the Spurs win three of the next five games? Or did winning Game One awaken the sleeping giant?

Aging Superstars

A recent Sports Illustrated article about Pele compared the former soccer great to seven aging superstars from other sports, pointing out that while the others may be fading less gracefully in the sunset, Pele is still going strong. This may be an unfair and unequal comparison by the usually graceful writer S.L. Price. Five of the seven are older than Pele. Four are more than five years older, and two (Arnold Palmer and Frank Gifford) are more than ten years older Pele’s senior.

Of the two superstars younger than Pele, both have caveats: Muhammad Ali suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, and Joe Namath brought dishonor to himself by appearing on a sideline interview with Suzy Kobler while inebriated. Here are the comparisons, with Price’s description.    

09.10.29 Arnold Palmer “stoops”

08.16.30 Frank Gifford “fading”

05.06.31 Willie Mays “fading”

01.16.35 AJ Foyt “hobbles behind the racing scene”

01.03.39 Bobby Hull “fading”

10.23.40 Pele

01.17.42 Muhammad Ali “shakes in silence”

05.31.43 Joe Namath “lost his remaining cool”

02.05.34 Hank Aaron would’ve been a much more favorable comparison than the dour Mays. Hammerin’ Hank remains articulate and personable to this day, while turning down lucrative endorsement deals of his own. But Price wasn’t seeking a favorable comparison, but instead former athletes that would pose Pele in the most favorable light. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. For my generation in particular, Pele clearly stands as the GOAT – the Greatest Of All Time. It is to his credit that Pele is finally able to cash in on the upcoming World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. But points off for his endorsement with Subway.

05.12.25 Yogi Berra (89), and the recently deceased

01.17.31 Don Zimmer remained likeable ambassadors of their sport to this day.

Other living superstars who aged gracefully:

11.29.27 Vin Scully

03.31.28 Gordie Howe

08.09.28 Bob Cousy

01.04.30 Don Shula

01.09.34 Bart Starr

02.12.34 Bill Russell

08.31.35 Frank Robinson

11.01.35 Gary Player

11.09.35 Bob Gibson

12.30.35 Sandy Koufax

02.17.36 Jim Brown

05.28.38 Jerry West

08.09.38 Rod Laver

11.24.38 Oscar Robertson

01.01.39 Phil Niekro

10.18.39 Mike Ditka

01.21.40 Jack Nicklaus

04.08.40 John Havlicek

07.18.40 Joe Torre

05.30.43 Gale Sayers

09.20.43 Tommy Nobis

11.17.44 Tom Seaver
04.02.45 Don Sutton

12.14.46 Stan Smith
01.31.47 Nolan Ryan

05.20.48 Bobby Orr

Did I leave out anyone big?

The Zen of Zim

Don Zimmer's career in baseball lasted an incredible 66 years. Every paycheck he ever earned came from baseball. Zim met Babe Ruth, was a teammate of Jackie Robinson, and was the first person to ever wear a New York Mets uniform. Since 2004, when he joined the Rays as a senior baseball advisor, Zimmer changed his uniform number every year to reflect his number of years in baseball. In 2008 he became the last Brooklyn Dodger to work an on-field baseball job.

I could not find one list detailing where Zimmer spent each of his 66 years in professional baseball, so I pieced together one of my own. The list includes his year in pro baseball, the calendar year, his age, which team, and other info.

 0 48 17 Western Hills High School, Cincinnati Ohio
 1 49 18 Cambridge Dodgers, Eastern Shore League (D League) .227 BA
 2 50 19 Hornell Dodgers, Penn/Ontario/NY League (D) .315 BA
 3 51 20 Elmira Pioneers, Eastern League (A) .273 BA
 4 52 21 Mobile Bears, Southern Association (AA) .310 BA
 5 53 22 St. Paul Saints, American Association (AAA) .300
 6 54 23 Brooklyn Dodgers .182 (also St. Paul Saints)
 7 55 24 Brooklyn Dodgers .239 World Series Champion
 8 56 25 Brooklyn Dodgers .300
 9 57 26 Brooklyn Dodgers .219
10 58 27 Los Angeles Dodgers .262
11 59 28 Los Angeles Dodgers .165 World Series Champion
12 60 29 Chicago Cubs .258
13 61 30 Chicago Cubs .252 (two All-Star games)
14 62 31 New York Mets/Cincinnati Reds .213
15 63 32 Los Angeles Dodgers/Washington Senators .246
16 64 33 Washington Senators .246
17 65 34 Washington Senators .199
18 66 35 Toei Flyers, Japan Pacific League .182
19 67 36 Knoxville Smokies SL AA, Buffalo Bisons IL AAA .195 player/mgr
20 68 37 Indianapolis Indians (PCL AAA) manager
21 69 38 Key West Padres (Florida A League) manager
22 70 39 Salt Lake City Bees (PCL AAA) manager
23 71 40 Montreal Expos third base coach
24 72 41 San Diego Padres manager
25 73 42 San Diego Padres manager
26 74 43 Boston Red Sox third base coach
27 75 44 Boston Red Sox third base coach
28 76 45 Boston Red Sox manager
29 77 46 Boston Red Sox manager
30 78 47 Boston Red Sox manager
31 79 48 Boston Red Sox manager
32 80 49 Boston Red Sox manager
33 81 50 Texas Rangers manager
34 82 51 Texas Rangers manager
35 83 52 New York Yankees coach
36 84 53 Chicago Cubs third base coach
37 85 54 Chicago Cubs third base coach
38 86 55 Chicago Cubs third base coach, New York Yankees coach
39 87 56 San Francisco Giants coach
40 88 57 Chicago Cubs manager
41 89 58 Chicago Cubs manager (manager of the year), Division Champion
42 90 59 Chicago Cubs manager
43 91 60 Chicago Cubs manager
44 92 61 Boston Red Sox coach
45 93 62 Colorado Rockies coach (first season)
46 94 63 Colorado Rockies coach
47 95 64 Colorado Rockies coach
48 96 65 New York Yankees bench coach, World Series Champion
49 97 66 New York Yankees bench coach
50 98 67 New York Yankees bench coach, World Series Champion
51 99 68 New York Yankees interim manager, World Series Champion
52 00 69 New York Yankees bench coach, World Series Champion
53 01 70 New York Yankees bench coach
54 02 71 New York Yankees bench coach
55 03 72 New York Yankees bench coach
56 04 73 Tampa Bay Devil Rays senior advisor
57 05 74 Tampa Bay Devil Rays senior advisor
58 06 75 Tampa Bay Devil Rays senior adviser
59 07 76 Tampa Bay Devil Rays senior advisor
60 08 77 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor, AL Champion
61 09 78 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor
62 10 79 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor, Division Champion
63 11 80 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor
64 12 81 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor
65 13 82 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor
66 14 83 Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor

Car Talk

It was after 5:15 Monday afternoon before I remembered that I needed to pay for my car repair before 6 pm. Barely made it. Will went to the Normans, so I washed his work clothes and watched 24. Ate an old frozen mini pizza out of the freezer, along with frozen French fries. Trying to clean out the fridge/freezer. There's plenty more to eat. Packed an EBay shipment and took it to the post office after 24, when Will took me up to Roswell to get the car.

Saturday I got the oil changed, and Monday I had the transmission serviced – only because it's supposed to be serviced every 60,000 miles. My Civic's transmission hadn't been serviced in over 120,000 miles, and since I recently hit 200,000 miles I figured I'd better get it checked out. There's only so much they can do when servicing a transmission without completely taking it apart, but the guy said it appeared to be in decent shape.

But Tuesday night on my drive home I realized the check engine light – which had been on – was no longer lit. Before getting too excited I realized that all the servicing to the engine might've caused the light to re-set. It might take me driving a few hundred miles for the computer to run through all its checks before the light comes back on again. I'm probably jinxing it by just mentioning it. But if the light doesn't come back on, I don't have to take the car back for more repairs before getting my emissions checked. That would be good news.

Thursday Ceil's father had a heart cauterization, and learned he needs bypass surgery. It will be scheduled for the next week or two.  Matthew is jealously wanting to make sure nothing interferes with his big "anniversary" plans this weekend. Anna takes the SAT Saturday. All of which messes up my plans to attend Saturday night's Gwinnett Braves Mike Minor Bobblehead Night.

Guess you heard that Ricky Richardson's mother passed away. The funeral was Thursday.

Rob's fixes for the Braves:

1)  Move LaStella to leadoff and Heyward down to 5th in the order.  That would give Heyward some RBI opportunities and give him a chance to steal without risking taking the bat out of Freeman or J Uptons hands.

2)  Put and keep Chris Johnson in the 8th spot.  He is bound to get better, but he is having a wretched offensive season.

3)  Stop screwing around with Alex Wood and put him back in the rotation.

The organist shtick is kind of funny the first time through the lineup, then I am over it after that.  I don't think we need to hear "Rawhide" (Jimmy Rollins) or "Camptown Races ("Lucas Duda) 5 times per night.

Rob is so right about Camptown Races. Tuesday the organist also wore out "Dust in the Wind" for Dustin Ackley and "Puff the Magic Dragon" for Justin Smoak – a reach at best.

I was thinking about the lineup after reading Mark Bradley's column. Some of the suggestions and comments on the AJC were some of the dumbest ever. I agree – lead off LaStella. Hardly anyone had suggested that on AJC.com. Move Heyward down so you don't have all three lefties at the top of the order. There has been talk of hitting your best player second. Freeman isn't a prototypical second place hitter, but perhaps Justin Upton could. Is Fredi so concerned about spacing out the lefties that he doesn't want 3 or 4 righties in a row at the bottom of the order?

Rob: Fredi is pretty set on not wanting back to back (especially back to back to back) LH hitters.  He does not care about the RH being bunched up so much as he does not want to give the other team the chance to use 1 LOOGY to face multiple LH hitters in a row.  Philly was fine for years with Howard and Utley.

Weekday Golf

Wednesday Will and I played golf at the hilly Steel Canyon Golf Course in Sandy Springs, just south of the river. We had never played there before, but had a great time. We teed off shortly after 5:30 and finished at 8:45. I played well for me, considering that I hadn't played since October. Even broke 100, though the course is a short par 61. As usual, I lost more balls than I found, though the found balls were nicer than the ones I lost.

We played the front nine alone, well ahead of the group of five behind us. On hole eleven we joined two twenty-something guys for the final eight holes. By then I was worn out, though my play wasn't completely terrible. I only hit one ball in the water. Will played pretty good, carding only five double-bogeys.

After leaving work Tuesday at three to head to the Braves game, the new boss inquired as to my whereabouts. I apologized for sneaking out without informing him, but it was no big deal. When I poked my head in his office when I was leaving Wednesday at four, he smiled and said "Leaving early again?" Then he said that I was the least of his worries, which was encouraging. Wednesday we were able to have one of our better chats. In the future I'll keep him better informed.

P..D.W.H
4..6..5..1 Will bogey
4..6..5..2 Will bogey
3..5..4..3 Will bogey
3..6..5..4 Will double
3..4..3..5 Will par
5..5..5..6 Dave & Will both par
3..6..3..7 Will par
3..4..4..8 Dave & Will both bogey
3..4..4..9 Dave & Will both bogey
31.46.38

3..6..5..10 Will double
4..7..5..11 Will bogey
3..7..5..12 Will double
3..7..3..13 Will par
3..6..5..14 Will double
4..8..5..15 Will bogey
4..5..6..16 Dave bogey
3..5..4..17 Will bogey
3..6..3..18 Will par
30.51.38
61.97.76

Will 5 pars, 8 bogeys, 5 doubles. Five straight holes with a par or bogey.

Me: one par, 4 bogeys, 4 doubles. First ever par on a par five. Before we played a drank an entire Powerade. When I got home I drank 48 ounces of water. During the night my legs cramped, a very rare occurrence. Had to get up and drink more water.

Braves/Mariners

Notes from Tuesday night's Braves/Mariners game: Traffic wasn't too bad. Stopped at Cheeseburger Bobbys to take advantage of an expiring special. Picked up Will at the Ansley Mall Publix, and we took Juniper the rest of the way. Saw four people I knew in the dollar line. At BP I talked to Johnny and Marshal. Will decided there was less competition for balls in right field, and he was able to catch a Robinson Cano BP HR – barehanded.

Will's classmate Alyssa and her family showed up during BP, so it was good to catch up with them. Their youngest just graduated from high school, so they will be empty nesters this fall. Alyssa was named captain of the West Point tennis team, though her career so far has been injury plagued. From my seat in the upper deck I saw Alyssa during the national anthem - standing at attention, crisply saluting the flag. That's them in the 9th row.

Huge crowd for a Tuesday, thanks to the thousands of teenyboppers there for the Austin Mahone concert. It was hilarious to hear all the comments. For a while I was wondering if some of them could wait nine innings for the show to begin. Mahone threw out the first ball. A smiling Ervin Santana had to stand up from his crouch to catch the high pitch.

Hopefully Gattis will continue to hit. In the Driven show about him, Gattis mentioned that when in Rome he led the league in hitting, like it was no big deal. Made me wonder if he had always hit for average. Wasn't his winter ball BA well above .300? That makes me wonder if he'll be at least a 270-280 hitter in the bigs. He's up to .260 now. BJ had two more hits, including the homer that just carried and carried.

Good defensive play by Floyd, throwing to third to catch the runner off base. His throw was actually off the mark. CJ had to reach way on the right field side of the bag to catch the throw, then bring the glove back across his body to make the tag – making the play closer that it had to be. McLendon argued, but they didn't replay it. I was worried that it would've been the defensive play of the game instead of one of LaStella's gems, but the rookie's play did turn out to be highlighted on the jumbotron. Three more hits for LaStella. If he can do half of what he's done so far, his addition will be a huge boost to the lineup. I'll ask first - rookie of the year?

Will met MC at the game. Her dad and brother also came, but I didn't see them either. With time on my hands I checked out the All Star Ballot for a Bobblehead deal. Many were picking up ballots, though few were going for the BJ Upton bobblead. Two-hundred fifty All Star ballots are heavy – they really weighed down my backpack. Perhaps when I return to Turner Field in a couple of weeks they'll be giving out someone other than BJ. I didn't start punching ballots until the fourth inning. I didn't rush, but only completed about 35. I'll need to do twenty a day to finish. One more thing – the chads make a mess.

After I tweeted that Mariners catcher John Buck lived in a trailer, I remembered a friend lives in a trailer. Tried to delete the post off Facebook, but I'm not sure it worked. Interesting Fox segment on Buck, whose nice trailer was is parked in a beautiful trailer park in the mountains, near a stream. The trailer has everything he needs, including a big screen TV. He says the trailer was larger than where he lived in NYC. While the segment was being filmed his buddy came to visit, a player on the team visiting Seattle.

Every time Cano batted the Braves organist played the same Simon & Garfunkle song. Thought at least once he could've come up with something else.

680's Matt Chernoff said today's 12:30 game was a "lock" – there is no way the Mariners can win. Of course, he was wrong.

What Rob said: In 2013, the Braves scored 4.25 runs per game, compared to 2014 when they have scored 3.46 runs per game. The MLB average for runs per game has remained virtually unchanged - 4.17 last year and 4.16 this year. Last year's number placed them 13th among MLB teams, while this year they are 29th.

In 2013, their team On Base Pct was 13th in the league - this year it is 26th. Looking at the top 8 hitters in terms of plate appearances, Johnson has the largest year over year drop of 88 points of OBP. Uggla is down 57 points from last year and Gattis is 33 points lower than Mac was last year. LaStella should eventually bring that 2014 number up. The Gattis/Mac drop is just going to be what it is - I think Gattis will just be a high power, low OBP guy. The key here is Johnson - if he continues to be another low OBP guy, it is going to be hard for them to score runs consistently.

Heyward's OBP has dropped a mere 10 points from last year, while dropped 8 points. Simmon's OBP is actually 1 point higher. With as much grief as the Upton's take, it is interesting that their OBP's are 26 and 24 points higher for BJ and Justin, respectively.

Every MLB Team

By attending tonight’s Braves/Mariners game at Turner Field, I have now seen every MLB team in person. The Mariners were the last team that I hadn’t seen. A few years ago they came to Atlanta while I was at the beach. Here are most of the places I have seen each team play, along with a few of the more notable players I got to watch...

Angels at Turner Field (Estrada collision)

Astros in Houston (Biggio, Bagwell), Wrigley, AFC, & Turner (playoffs)

Athletics in Houston & Turner Field

Blue Jays at old Comminsky (McGriff, Alomar)

Braves at AFC, Turner, Shea, & St. Louis (Aaron, Niekro, Torre, Murphy)

Brewers at Fenway and Turner Field (Braun, Felder)

Cardinals at old Busch Stadium (Flood), AFC, & Turner Field (McGwire)

Cubs at Wrigley (Sandburg) & Turner Field (Sosa HR)

Diamondbacks at Turner Field (Randy Johnson)

Dodgers at AFC (LaSorda, Garvey, etc) & Turner Field (Pedro Martinez)

Expos at AFC (Dawson, Raines, Cromarte)

Giants in SF (Bonds HR), AFC (Mays & McCovey) & Turner (Bonds HR)

Indians in Arlington (Jim Thome)

Mariners at Turner Field (Robinson Cano)

Marlins at Turner Field (NLCS)

Mets at Shea, AFC (Strawberry), & Turner Field (David Wright)

Nationals at RFK & Turner Field (Strasburg, Harper)

Orioles at Camden Yards, St. Pete, & Turner Field (Cal Ripken)

Padres at AFC (Tony Gwynn) & Turner Field

Phillies at AFC (Bowa, Schmidt) & Turner Field (Howard, Rollins, Utley)

Pirates in SF, AFC (Clemente & Stargell), & Turner Field (McCutchen)

Rangers in Arlington (ARod) & Turner Field

Rays in St. Pete

Red Sox at Fenway & Turner Field (Nomar, Manny, Ortiz)

Reds at AFC (Big Red Machine) & Turner Field (Griffey Jr)

Rockies at Turner Field (Helton)

Royals in Arlington

Tigers at Turner Field

Twins at AFC (World Series) (Morris, Puckett, Hrbek)

White Sox at old Comminsky

Yankees at AFC (World Series) & Turner Field (Jeter)

Baby Kimbrel

Did you get to see "Baby Kimbrel" on Saturday or Sunday? Looks like Shae Simmons is here to stay, adding even more pitching depth to the bullpen. Kimbrel tied Smoltz's franchise record for saves. LaStella was batting .400 without a strikeout. BJ is making contact. Gattis leads NL catchers (& Brian McCann) in homers. Teheran is dominant. Alex Wood gets another win in relief. The Braves swept the pesky Marlins. Times are good.

When Shae Simmons was activated on May 31, did that mess with his service time? Two years ago the Braves were so careful to wait until June to call up Andrelton, it made me wonder. Perhaps with all the money from the new ballpark, is Wren not being as careful these days? You’d think the Braves had already spent all that money, with all the extensions to Kimbrel, Johnson, Andrelton, and Freeman. Perhaps it is a Simmons thing.

Should Uggla be moved, will Pastornicky be recalled, or Terdo/Cunningham? Terdo can play first or outfield. Either should be a pinch-hitting improvement over Uggla. Schafer plays so little – someone wondered if he was in the doghouse. Freeman has played every game, except for when his eyes were bothering him. That was the thing about Prince Fielder going down – he had the longest games played streak in the majors.

What do you think about the NBA Finals matchup? Does San Antonio have a chance? I'll be rooting for the Spurs. Would OKC have had a better chance of beating Miami? Hate to miss the Durant/James battle. 

Friday afternoon at ten til five a co-worker asked for help, so I didn't leave until 5:20. Had to mail a package, then backtracked to Cheeseburger Bobby's to get their grilled chicken sandwich special. Not bad. Took my time getting home.

Saturday Will and MC worked in the yard all day, planting flowers in the front and grass in the back. I did laundry and cleaned downstairs, including the kitchen. Also took my car in for an oil change. Later Joel came over and they cooked burritos – very good. Then Will tried to fry battered plantains and made a mess. Joel took over and did a better job, but neither could produce a tasty plaintain. I cleaned the kitchen again, then we watched Walter Mitty. Will didn't like it, but MC and I did.

Sunday W and MC went to Will's church in Athens. I went to North Point and watched the Braves. During the game I was able to iron ten dress shirts. Then I ran out of spray starch. Waxed my car, and later dropped it off at the shop in Roswell for service.

Creative Team Names

My high school was originally called the Sidney Lanier High Poets. Ever since I have appreciated schools who got creative with their team name instead of copying a popular name and logo, which so many schools do these days. Schools are supposed to foster creativity, create identity, and discourage copying other people's work - then school administrators violate copyright laws by stealing professional and collegiate logos.

These days so many small private schools are popping up across the country. Many of them are founded with strong religious beliefs. Instead of succinctly adopting an already-used quasi-Christian team name like Angels or Saints - that don't stand out from all the other schools who've also adopted professional team names - why not get creative and bold when coming up with a name? Living Science never fielded a team, but if they had I'd like to think it would be named after what adorns so many Living Science T-shirts - a Lighthouse. The Living Science Lighthouses could become as iconic a school name as the Lanier Poets or the Cairo Syrupmakers.

In my area three or four teams are called the Knights. While Knights could be a decent name since it's not widely used, if a nearby school already has that name, why copy it? Names like Wolves and Wildcats are good, underused names picked up by local private schools. Much better than the North Georgia Falcons, a home school team whose uniforms mirror those of the Atlanta Falcons.

Two more pet peeves: (1) While most pro and iconic college team logos are simple, so many small private high schools and minor league teams unprofessionally create complex logos that combine the school name and/or first letter with a drawing of the mascot - making it hard to comprehend from faraway stands on a cap or helmet. (2) Schools order the latest "cool" uniform from a catalog, with weird number fonts and stripes running this way and that. This is what just about every other team does, so no one is unique. Why not wear bold untrimmed block numbers with normal stripes on the helmet, shoulders, and pants? These days that would be different. 

Simple logos and uniforms look best and stand out from all the current clutter. Unfortunately, few have the guts to be different - or take the road less traveled. Why?

I brainstormed names for Christian schools and came up with this list below. Some of the names are in jest and others are plain not good, so hopefully no one will just cherry-pick a name from this list. Can you add a good one to the list?

Angels (lacks creativity)
Baptists
Believers
Christians
Cross Carriers
Crusaders
Deacons
Defenders (of the Faith)
Elders
Evangelists
Followers
Faithful
Giant Slayers
Givers
Heavenly Hosts
Leaders
Lovers
Ministers
Missionaries
Padres (lacks creativity)
Pew Jumpers
Praisers
Prayers
Preachers
Priests
Saints (lacks creativity)
Servants
Servers
Singers
Soldiers of the Cross
Spiritual Giants