the yard

Tonight I'm on the back porch with a cold beer and a good cigar enjoying what has to be one of the last warm nights of 2013. There is a crescent moon over my left shoulder accompanied by a few bold stars. The cricket are out in force; it feels very much like I'm listening to their swan song for the summer. All in all its a fine evening.

On a night like tonight it might be appropriate to turn the page from baseball for a few months so I thought I might share a few of the parks I have visited this year. I have come to appreciate the intimacy of the minor league ballparks that are scattered about throughout our southern cities. Each is different and affords, father and sons, young couples, friends, I place to sit and enjoy a game and each other company.  

The home of the Charlotte Knights is an old ball park that is probably
being torn down already. They are moving the Knights to down town next year.
I'm eager to see their new stadium

Turner Field
Its still to painful to talk about.

This is the coolest yard I saw this year. It is built from a civil war train depot/ prison in downtown Montgomery Alabama. Its the home of Tampa Bay double A affiliate, the Biscuits.  

Above and below are Atlanta's double A and Single A Clubs. I got to watch
Alex Wood pitch his last game for Double A Mississippi before being called up to the big club.

This is the home of the Birmingham Barons. This was the parks first year in operation and its
 absolutely spectacular with the city right behind left field.

I’m not really sure where I’m at this morning, but according to my compass  I’m headed 140° south east. From here mostly the ground is distant and hazy; hiding behind a sheet of clouds.

So I think while have spare hour or three I put up a few pictures

This is the best part of traveling.

 just south of Minneapolis   

  

common thread

Last night we all watched with sympathetic eyes as one of the great pitchers of last ten or so years lay in foul ground clutching his catcher's hand in agony. It wasn't but a few seasons ago that we felt the same twisting feeling as the great Number Ten lay at third base with a knee that was all but torn in two. It's easy to conjure those images in my minds eye, maybe because traumatic injuries are just so unexpected they leave an imprint somewhere close to the top of the brain. Its is, though, as equally as easy to remember the great moments: the walk offs and the strike outs. Its the greatness that is on my mind tonight, and not just the exploits Huddy and Chipper.

There must be some common thread all outstanding people share. It seems to be a rare trait that is hard to pin down from one individual to the next.

As I was growing up I knew an old horse trainer that was well regarded as elite in his particular field. Looking back at my memory of him I see what I believe was a kind heart, but he could be cranky and unpredictable with his moods. Somedays he would be quick with a joke and belly laugh the next day somber and detached. The one thing that never changed; when he was on a great horse he was amazing to watch. He didn't sit in the saddle like a normal person does; he didn't moves his hands like you or I would. He became something more than himself. He became something truly great; a spectacle that can't be forgotten.

One of the athletes competing at the CrossFit Games this week is an young woman that somehow shares something with the old man above. She is very much the same person from day to day. Always a warm smile and genuine kind word can be expected. She is very much different than the old horse trainer, as she wears her compassion for others loosely around her, almost like a subtle piece of jewelry. But the way she moves is very much like him. She becomes something more than she is.  She becomes a mixture of  grace, and strength that I have not witnessed before or since. She shares greatness with an old horse trainer.

Its really not a stretch to tie the pitcher, horse trainer, and crossfiter together. Its obvious that they all hold on to an uncommon gift.  They have not taken their gift for granted, instead they chosen to devote their lives to refining and sharpening that gift. Somewhere along the way, it seems to me, that the line between the gift of athletic ability inevitably becomes blurred with the gift of perseverance.

So tonight, after  two or six drinks of whiskey, I have decided that greatness is understanding your gift and having enough grit to own it.
       

byways

Every town in this country looks the same from the interstate. There are Outback Steak Houses, Academy Outdoors, and Applebees at every exit on every interstate in every city: and they all are the same damn place. No matter whether they are in Atlanta Georgia or Nashville Tennessee the food is same, the bartenders are the same, even the people at the bar are the same.

A few weeks back, after a good couple of days in the southern Louisiana swamp, I decided to get off of Interstate 10 and take Highway 90 east for a few miles. It was one of those decisions that was made with out any real consideration, or regard to outcome. I just got off the interstate.

   After deciding to drive down Highway 90 I washed my hands in the Gulf of Mexico, and  found a great hand tossed pizza and a cold Southern Pecan on tap at an outside table with this view.

I decide then and there that if I have to be on the road all time; I should take it upon myself to REALLY experience all the southern US has to offer. After all, every town has something unique. Baton Rouge has grilled cheese sandwiches; Jackson has a good baseball team; and Tuscaloosa has ribs.   Then I decided to do my best to share it, so I packed a camera and started taking pictures.

I’ll post them with absolutely NO regularity.

On Highway 25 North a few miles south of the North Carolina line the foothill begin to look impressive

On the first base side of home in Pearl Mississippi. 

almost 500 Confederate solders are buried on the campus of Ole Miss. Their football stadium is about 500 yard to the left of the frame.  

A bank clock in Hendersonville North Carolina

Carl Sandburg (no kin to Ryan) lived here after he wrote a few poems

resolution update

Holy Crap! I'm getting fat!

I weighed in this morning at 172 pound, which is heavier than I was when I started this little project. I'm lifting heavier weight than I was in January, so I was hoping that the increase in pounds was due to a muscular increase. Apparently, that is not the case. 

weight: 172 lbs

pounds of fat: 33 lbs (that is a nasty thought)

Body Fat: 19%

True Waist 33 inches   

no change in arms and legs

To be fair to myself, three weeks ago I put down the Marlboro Lites. After about 10 days I realized that I could smell and taste food, and that I liked it. I think I'm also eating more to keep my hands and mouth busy. I guess my point is; maybe a few pounds right now is an OK trade for not smoking.

Tomorrow is Monday April 1st 2013, and it will be time to get back on track to 15% body fat. 

"HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL" 

enjoy your coffee

Tonight I have an important announcement: I am officially resigning my post as VP of the Complaints Department 

I don't mean to complain, but when did everybody start complaining so damn much. Here lately it seems every time I turn around somebody is bitching about something. "My job sucks" or "I'm really tired" or "That person isn't Jesus." Enough already!!!

When the complaints start adding up I'm forced to wonder; "What exactly would you like me to do about it?" Or, "If is that fucking bad; wouldn't it be better to try and fix the problem instead of bitching to me about it?" I don't see how wining and moaning and bellyaching is at all constructive. It doesn't seem to improve anybody's mood. It doesn't add anything to most conversations. It doesn't lead to solutions. All complaining really does is bring a little dark rain cloud on some one else. That in my estimation, is rude behavior.

Does everybody remember Gus and Lorie? If not lets revisit some of Gus's wisest words to her. Lorie was having a rough time after she began to realize that Jake wasn't going to take her to San Francisco, the city she had always dreamed of moving to.

“Lorie darlin', life in San Francisco, you see, is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it's likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself.” Gus McCrae from Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove 

Stop yourself here and read that quote again because its awesome

Unless you are using google translate to read this, chances are you are going to wake up a free American alive and healthy. Take a second to appreciate the fact that LIFE IS GOOD and its too short to spend it bitching.  Stop, for once, and enjoy your morning coffee; smell it, taste it, feel it. Its my firm believe that if a person will take the time to enjoy their morning coffee, they are starting the day off on a hugely positive note. And chances for a good day are a whole lot better if you start off relishing it. 

    

resolutions update

It's been about three weeks since I began working on my  new year's resolution to get myself to 15% body fat. I wanted to wait a full month before measuring my self again, but next week I'll be in meetings in Richmond, VA. That means the nutrition will probably be on a down hill plain for a few days.

Last month when this project began I calculated my body fat percentage at 17.95%. I weighed 171 pounds with 30.69 pounds of total fat. My true waist measured 33.5 inches. My left and right arm 12.5 and 12.75 inches respectively. Legs measured 21 and 20.5 inches left to right.

Today measurements are as follows:
Total Weight 168 pounds
Pounds of Fat: 28.8 pounds
Percent Body Fat 17.2%
Left Arm 12.5 inches
Right Arm 12.75 inches
Left Leg 21 inches
Right Leg 20.5 inches
True Waist 31.75 inches

Looking at these numbers I can report some modest improvement. Most notably a .75% decrease in total body fat (1.89 pounds of fat). There hasn't been any change to total inches, expect for the true waist measurement. I'll hold of on making a judgement on this for now, and see if there is a trend over the next few months.

As for the savings account: its up by multiplier of  .25 from last month.

I think I'm OK with where I'm at today. The numbers are what they are, and what they are is objective. So for now; I plan on continuing the same program.

See you in March

new look home team

Future hall of famer, Chipper retired. Prado, Hinske, and Delgado are with the D-Backs. Micheal Born is going to play some where besides Atlanta. Chad Durbin is a Philly. No more David Ross, he signed with Boston. And that's just the guys on last year's rooster that I can come up with off the top of my head.

This year's Atlanta Braves roster has had as much turn over as I can ever remember. Looking back, the great teams of the 90's turned over pretty slowly. The main stays (Jones, Jones, Glavin, Smoltz, Maddux) seemed to fade out one by one; allowing for some continuity form year to year. Not this year; there is a good chance that on opening day, Jason Heyward, who has three full seasons in the majors, will be the longest tenured brave in the line up. It should be McCann, but he probably won't be in the opening day line up.

If a team is going to turn over a roster, this is the way to do it. This should be a damn good ball team. With the early signing of BJ Upton, and last week's trade for his bother Justin the home team has put together the best out field in the National League. With the possible exception at 3rd the infield looks solid around the diamond. There are six guys in the lineup that should hit at least 20 home runs. With Simmons, Heyward, Upton, and Upton I think we can count on 80 stolen bases and the whole line up should be full of extra base hits.

I don't know when this was taken, but I know the numbers are
wrong. Heyward wears 22 and Freeman wears 5, but its a cool
picture

Opening day should look something like this:  
Simmons (Short Stop)
Heyward (Right Field)
Justin Upton (Left Field)
Freeman (First Base)
BJ Upton (Center Field)
Uggla (Second)
Laird (Catcher)
Johnson (Third)
Pitcher's Spot

When McCann gets back, plug him in somewhere in the middle and that is one deep line up.

As far as the pitching staff goes, if they stay pretty well healthy all year we should be solid. Hudson, Medlen, Minor, and Maholom are all solid proven starters. Brandon Beachy is as well, and we should have him back around the break. I guess we'll find out if Teheran is the second coming that we've heard about for the last few years. (side note I forgot about the Tommy Hanson trade in the first paragraph, he's an LA Angle).  My big concern: can the starting rotation stand an early season injury? The Braves have two guys in the minors (Graham and Gilmartin) that could come up if one of the starters goes down, but they are both very young. My understanding is that they are not quite ready.

The Bull Pen should be the strength of the pitching staff once more. O'Flarherty, Venters, and  Kimbrel, enough said. Add in Jordan Walden (acquired in the Hanson trade) the Bravos should be able to play six inning games most any night they want to.

Just a quick look around the NL east
Washington Nat: - should be the toughest team for the Braves this year.
Phillies - old
Marlins - traded the whole team to Canada
Mets - not yet

resolutions

It's the 9th of January, and I'm ready to make my new years resolutions for 2013. I think they are all well thought out, and more importantly measurable. I have decided that if a goal can't be measured there really isn't a reason for having it. Also, I believe publishing them on the www should provide some accountability and motivation.

So here we go...

By my own measurements (3 point Jackson-Pollock algorithm) I have figured that I'm currently sporting  17.95% total body fat. On my 171 pound 5'11'' frame (33 1/2 true waist) that's 30.69 pounds of fat.  18% body fat falls right on a line between average and ideal, but I would very much like to drop that number down to 15%. I'm not real concerned about my weight; about 170 pounds is probably where I should be. Soooo; if I drop 3% body fat I'm going to have to gain some muscle some where. My left arm measures 12 1/2 inches my right is 12 3/4. Left leg 21 inches; right 20 1/2. I'm guessing those numbers will have to go up, but we'll see.

To get to 15% body fat I'm going to have to lose 4.43 pounds of fat. All things considered I should be able to get this done. Adding that weight in muscle might be tougher to do, but if I get down to 165 total weight I look like I have some sort of chronic disease.     ...More squats, and jerks for me. 

I'm have not been a great money saver so another goal of mine is to increase my savings account by a multiplier of 3. Being that there really isn't a whole lot in it now I should be able to get that done.

I'll update this in about a month

where we were and where we are

We are a few days removed from the turn of the new year, and most folks have restarted their day to day routine. I'm betting that for many people the resolutions that were made with such excitement are beginning to fade already. For me though, I like to ease into my resolutions with a healthy dose of retrospect and an awareness of where I'm at.

2012 was a wild year to say the least. Looking back on the previous twelve months I find myself thankful for my laid-back demeanor. Six Flags Over Georgia does not have a roller coaster with as many ups and downs as 2012 did for me. I recall distinctly, several moments, when emotions flat over ran my usual stoic personality. While I can deal with an occasional stresser with out much problem enough is enough. I'm happy to turn the page to a new set of months, and see if I can keep them a little more even keel.

With that said; some how every thing seems to have ironed out for the best.  While there are challenges  at home and at work that weren't around on January 4th 2012, I welcome the tasks at hand. i guess I can safely say that through all the messes of last year my little family and me are in better shape that we were a year ago. So... It's All Good

I didn't want to bore any one with a wordy recount of every thing that happened in 2012, but in case you,er wondering I'll do 2012 in bullet points

• new son
• sick mom
• quit smoking
• fired
• started smoking
• hired
• well mom
• sick dad
• coaches award at a gym (yep that really happen)
• drunk nights
• sober nights (not many)
• a few other thing that don't fit well into bullet points

I think I'm close to deciding on a few new years resolutions, and it's my plan to keep them updated on this blog. I'm not sure if it will be a lot of fun, or if nobody will really care but we'll find out.  

Happy Year!!!