The planning stages began months in advance. Location soon to be determined. Eight were invited, five made the journey east. We came from 4 different states (from as far away as Texas and New York), 5 different places in all. Some came by plane while others arrived in cars. The friendships started as far back as 2005 and were developed over time. Some graduated from college while others had chosen different paths to walk in life. All had one thing in common, we were all members of a college cross country team. It was only 4 months in which we all graced the campus of Lees-McRae at the same instance, but something about those 4 months allowed us to meet once again in the low country of South Carolina. In a town that we had all been to before, Charleston. It had been 3 years since we had all last been together. 3 years too long. While we missed the 3 that could not attend. We made the most of out of who had came. We created new memories, shared old stories, and had many laughs and intoxicating liquids for that matter.
The story for me began at 6:50 AM CST as I anxiously beat my alarm by a solid 10 minutes, eagerly awaiting the adventure that was soon upon me. I had been restless for days in anticipation. Things in South Alabama had become quite slow as the temperatures had hovered around the triple digits for a solid 2 months and many residents had left to go "home" for the summer. So I was ready to get out and have some fun even though I knew 500 miles of road lay ahead of me. After a quick shower to alert my senses and a bowl of cherrios I was 88 and out the gate. Approximate departure can be confirmed. 7:20 was the time. A time I had not seen in quite awhile. All but the first 45 minutes or so is interstate driving so that was a big positive heading out so early with less than ideal sleep the night before. I had created a massive playlist of music off of iPod. Over 300 songs to be more precise. Maybe the best collection of road trip songs that I have put together for any trip. I was locked in and ready to go. The music energized me. As nearly every song was belted out and sung along to. The big question heading into this trip was whether to make this a one or two stop trip. A couple of things are factored into this. How hungry I am and how long can I hold "it"? As I got a couple hours into the journey, the decision became 1 stop. This one stop had to be past the halfway mark (250 miles) and had to include both food and fuel. This brought me to a small community just off the shores of Lake Oconee in East Georgia in between Atlanta and Augusta (which is one of the dullest areas in which to drive in).
Traffic had been smooth sailing on I-20. However I-26 was a slightly different story. When I picked it up just east of Columbia we were crawling along for several miles at a pace that snails would find comfortable. Turns out it wasn't a wreck that slowed us down, but 4-5 cars pulled over in a fairly decent sized median looking like items had been lost or something. Eastbound traffic had slowed down to look. A classic maneuver that annoyed the "fill in the blank" out of me. The longer the drive goes the more irritable I become. You have to remember that this was the longest solo drive of my life. A solid 200 more miles than any I had done before. By the time I had reach Columbia, I was sitting close to 6 hours with a good 90 minutes to go. Once that cleared, the road was full with cars traveling well in excess of 80 mph. Eager to get where they were going on this 4th of July weekend, as was I. Our exit was at 209. Traffic came to a halt and 204. A measly 5 miles away. 5 miles that felt like 5 hours probably took over 30 minutes to complete, Excruciating does not even big to describe those last few miles. I pulled off the exit and arrived at our North Charleston hotel. I had been in the car for well over 7 hours and the 500 miles had been draining, but there I was ready to go and settled in.
It was now 4:00 pm EST...
P.S.- After putting a lot of detail into this first part. I have made the executive decision to break this into two parts. With the other one coming shortly to follow.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
A Welcome Return: Realizing your potential
As you may or may not have noticed, this blog has been a little dormant the last 2.5 months. That would probably be due to a little thing I would like to call school. Maybe you've heard of it. It has consumed much of my time as has life in general. In truth I have also been stagnant in terms of coming up with new and creative ideas to post on here. I wanted to do more than just ranking things and analyzing my home town teams. Which I kind of felt like this had become. So I am going to give this a go again and hopefully I can sustain it better this time. I want to take a more theoretical approach to these articles and throw out some thoughts to ponder. Oh, I'll probably still try to throw in some rankings and home town flavor, but I wanted to take a different approach that won't always be tied to sports. I want to craft stories into something meaningful, not just strict analysis of certain things. I want to try and take an outside the box approach to this and see where that takes me. I have never been one who'd you call an outside the box thinker, but I am feeling kind of frisky so we'll see where it takes me.
Here is my thought for the day. This one does revolve around sports but it can also be applied to certain aspects outside of sports I think. As with all things in the sports world this thought revolves around LeBron James. As you have heard, the Miami Heat lost the NBA title last night to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat were probably the most hated in team sports in nearly 20 years. There were plenty of reasons for this that I won't get into at this time but I wanted to attack the core reason why I and I think many other basketball fans were disappointed in what LeBron has revealed himself to be in the last few years. By joining Wade in Miami, he joined forces with one of his top rivals. Lets stop and think about this. The most talented player to play this game in recent memory said he could not do it by himself and chose instead to team up with a contemporary of his. Someone who does not have near the ability that he does but has that inner drive that makes him great. What hurt the most as a basketball fan is that we deep down knew this was Wade's team and that LeBron would have to be the Robin to Wade's Batman. We knew it. We just couldn't believe we were seeing this. Whatever "this" means. The player LeBron is often compared to Michael Jordan would never do this. Maybe LeBron has been miscast his whole career as a guy whose supposed to put up sick scoring numbers and be a Jordan-type player. When in reality he is more like some combination of Scottie Pippen-Magic Johnson. Which isn't the worst thing to be. Being a ball hawk defender who guards the other teams best player regardless of position, a guy who can average a triple double every night if he wanted to is not a bad alternative to have, but I don't know if LeBron has the "smarts" to make this transformation a permanent one. He really should've developed a low post game by now instead of working on a jump shot. Which at best is unreliable. He would be an unstoppable force if he committed to the low post more than once or twice a game. Where he can use his 270 lb. frame to dominate anyone who tries to guard him. There is no reason that Jason Kidd should be able to shut him down. I think it was pretty telling that Dallas consistently put their best perimeter defender on Wade. They know what we've all come to realize. Wade is the best player on that team and he shouldn't be, but he is.
A basketball fan has got to feel cheated that LeBron took the easy way out and joined a team with Wade when he should have tried to go somewhere else (Knicks? Bulls?) to try to take on Wade and the Heat with a new supporting cast. He is wasting his basketball potential and we feel cheated. He could be so much better and that's what bothers people like me. I, as a sports fan, want to see every player reach their full potential, whatever that is. I know LeBron has the ability and that is what is frustrating. You know that guys like Kobe, Wade, Jordan, Magic, Bird pretty much maximized what they could do on the court. I don't know that we will get there with LeBron. I don't know that we should expect it either. He might not have it in him. Look, he may end up winning a title in his future, but who will be the alpha dog on those teams? If its him I don't think that team can win a title with his current, but undeveloped skill test. I want to see him reach his full potential because having elite athletes and players at the top of their game makes this game better.
I was talking with a friend the other night and we came up what it means to be a fan of a particular sport. We both agreed that if there is a team that you support than that is your first priority. You want to see them do well, bottom line there. Second priority as a sport fan and first if you do not have a team you support is that you want to see players reach their max potential. It makes the game better that way. Look I want to see Albert Pujols put up his typically historic numbers, he has so far established himself as one of the best hitters of all time, this cannot be doubted. Go look them up.
I want to see special things. That's a primary reason for turning on the TV and watching sports. You want to be entertained but I think you also want to see something special. It does not come around often and when it does you try to cherish it because you know its a rare occurrence. I said this concept of wanting to realize full potential can be applied to sports but also to things outside of sports. I want everyone, including myself, to realize this because it just makes everything in this world better. So think about that and let me know what you think.
MB
Here is my thought for the day. This one does revolve around sports but it can also be applied to certain aspects outside of sports I think. As with all things in the sports world this thought revolves around LeBron James. As you have heard, the Miami Heat lost the NBA title last night to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat were probably the most hated in team sports in nearly 20 years. There were plenty of reasons for this that I won't get into at this time but I wanted to attack the core reason why I and I think many other basketball fans were disappointed in what LeBron has revealed himself to be in the last few years. By joining Wade in Miami, he joined forces with one of his top rivals. Lets stop and think about this. The most talented player to play this game in recent memory said he could not do it by himself and chose instead to team up with a contemporary of his. Someone who does not have near the ability that he does but has that inner drive that makes him great. What hurt the most as a basketball fan is that we deep down knew this was Wade's team and that LeBron would have to be the Robin to Wade's Batman. We knew it. We just couldn't believe we were seeing this. Whatever "this" means. The player LeBron is often compared to Michael Jordan would never do this. Maybe LeBron has been miscast his whole career as a guy whose supposed to put up sick scoring numbers and be a Jordan-type player. When in reality he is more like some combination of Scottie Pippen-Magic Johnson. Which isn't the worst thing to be. Being a ball hawk defender who guards the other teams best player regardless of position, a guy who can average a triple double every night if he wanted to is not a bad alternative to have, but I don't know if LeBron has the "smarts" to make this transformation a permanent one. He really should've developed a low post game by now instead of working on a jump shot. Which at best is unreliable. He would be an unstoppable force if he committed to the low post more than once or twice a game. Where he can use his 270 lb. frame to dominate anyone who tries to guard him. There is no reason that Jason Kidd should be able to shut him down. I think it was pretty telling that Dallas consistently put their best perimeter defender on Wade. They know what we've all come to realize. Wade is the best player on that team and he shouldn't be, but he is.
A basketball fan has got to feel cheated that LeBron took the easy way out and joined a team with Wade when he should have tried to go somewhere else (Knicks? Bulls?) to try to take on Wade and the Heat with a new supporting cast. He is wasting his basketball potential and we feel cheated. He could be so much better and that's what bothers people like me. I, as a sports fan, want to see every player reach their full potential, whatever that is. I know LeBron has the ability and that is what is frustrating. You know that guys like Kobe, Wade, Jordan, Magic, Bird pretty much maximized what they could do on the court. I don't know that we will get there with LeBron. I don't know that we should expect it either. He might not have it in him. Look, he may end up winning a title in his future, but who will be the alpha dog on those teams? If its him I don't think that team can win a title with his current, but undeveloped skill test. I want to see him reach his full potential because having elite athletes and players at the top of their game makes this game better.
I was talking with a friend the other night and we came up what it means to be a fan of a particular sport. We both agreed that if there is a team that you support than that is your first priority. You want to see them do well, bottom line there. Second priority as a sport fan and first if you do not have a team you support is that you want to see players reach their max potential. It makes the game better that way. Look I want to see Albert Pujols put up his typically historic numbers, he has so far established himself as one of the best hitters of all time, this cannot be doubted. Go look them up.
I want to see special things. That's a primary reason for turning on the TV and watching sports. You want to be entertained but I think you also want to see something special. It does not come around often and when it does you try to cherish it because you know its a rare occurrence. I said this concept of wanting to realize full potential can be applied to sports but also to things outside of sports. I want everyone, including myself, to realize this because it just makes everything in this world better. So think about that and let me know what you think.
MB
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Atlanta Braves Preview: The Lineup
It's been awhile since I last posted. I figured I would give a preview of my favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves and take a look at their offense while previewing the pitching in tomorrow's post. Since I really have no interest talking about college basketball (sorry cannot get over the poor quality of play, the NBA (hometown team taking a nose dive toward irrelevancy in a hurry), or the NFL (wake me up when the season starts-tired of all this labor talk-it is not interesting at all and it just ticks me off on both ends).
Projected Lineup
1. Martin Prado LF (27)- 2010 Numbers: .307-15-66-.809 (OPS)
This guy represents everything that I love about baseball. Hard-working, consistent (hit .307 on the button last 2 seasons), gives great effort every night, and is a notorious gym rat. He always makes the correct baseball play whether out on the field or in the batter's box. Selfless attitude, willing to shift positions without complaining and he does whatever he can to help the club win. He is probably more suited to bat 2nd in this lineup and maybe he will before the season ends but he does not hurt you in the leadoff spot. He is in the prime of his career and I expect similar results from him for this season.
2. Nate McClouth CF (29)-2010 Numbers: .190-6-24-.620
He was godawful last year. No doubt about that. I was initially hesitant of the Braves decision to put him in this spot in the lineup but after careful thought and consideration this move could do wonders to his confidence and is a good spot to be in the lineup hitting between Prado and Chipper. He is a career .252 hitter so there is reason to believe he should do A LOT better this season. If the Braves can get a career average season from him than that will be a huge plus for the club this season. I expect him to bounce back and hit around .260 and to double his HR total in 2011 with around 12 for the season.
3. Chipper Jones 3B (39)-2010 Numbers: .265-10-46-.806-95 gms
This future Hall of Famer is probably in his last season of his tremendous career. He is still a huge presence in this lineup despite his failing health and still can give you a clutch at bat when you need him to. He still has a great eye at the plate as evidenced by his .381 on base percentage which is excellent considering his .265 batting average. Do not expect him to play more than about 120 games or so, but as long as he can avoid long DL stints he can be effective. Projected numbers- .275-14-62 w/ a high on base percentage.
4. Brian McCann (27)- 2010 Numbers: .269-21-77-.828
Another player in the prime of his career. He is among the top 3-4 guys in his position in the majors. His power numbers have been pretty consistent, usually around 20 HR a year. I expect him to hit a career high in HR this year with 25 this season. I think his average will rise and be right around his career average of .289.
5. Dan Uggla (31)- 2010 Numbers: .287-33-105-.877
Big acquisition for the Braves to put in the middle of their lineup. His defense is questionable but they did not acquire him for that part of his game. They got him because he has hit 154 HR in his 5 seasons in the majors. That is 31 a year. His batting average should return to the mean and be around .260 or so. Another given is that he will strike out a ton and that he will probably struggle in April before busting out in May. Some Braves fans will be disappointed when he does not hit .320 with 45 HR and a 130 RBI and they will have to stay disappointed because he will not hit that well, but he will provide a significant power boost to the lineup and will probably bat cleanup against LHP, which he absolutely crushes.
6. Jason Heyward (21)-2010 Numbers: .277-18-72-.849
Sky is the limit for this young stud. If only he can avoid some of these growing pains that caused him to miss 20 games last year. Would like to see him get into 150 or so this season. I expect his numbers to incrementally get better, meaning the average to rise about 10 points, to add about 5-6 HR and now that he is batting lower in the order he will be in a better position to drive in some runs. He has a tremendous eye at the plate, not just for a young player but for anyone period. His .393 on base percentage was 4th in the NL last season. Right behind guys like Pujols, Votto, and Fielder. Not bad eh.
7. Alex Gonzalez (34)-2010 Numbers: .250-23-88-.741
Sea Bass came over to the Braves in a midseason trade with the Blue Jays last season and he preceded to do what he has always done. Hit around .240, strike out a lot and not hit a lot of homers. Do not get me wrong, he provided some stability after the disappearance of Yunel Escobar, who suddenly forgot how to hit at the ripe old age of 27. He is going to strike out a bunch and hit around .245 and that is fine for a guy hitting this low in the lineup. He does not need to hit any higher than this or the Braves may be in some trouble. This will more than likely be his last season in a Braves uniform. I will be very surprised if he is with the club next season.
8. Freddie Freeman (21)-2010 Numbers-only 24 AB's w/ 1 HR(bomb off of Roy Halladay)
A little bit of an unknown this year for Freddie. This guy will hit, but how well? Probably not as good as Heyward last season. My best guess would say he hits around .270 with about 15 HR's. He'll take some walks and probably strike out some. He will play excellent defense and I am excited to see what he can do for a full season. His minor league numbers show that he can hit (.301 career average). I think he will grow into his power, he is indeed a big fella (6'5 and around 245).
The bench is a little bit of an unknown, as most benches are. David Ross and Eric Hinske are known commodities who provide production when forced into duty. Brooks Conrad will provide some clutch pop off the bench, just do not expect him to do much out in the field. After that its anyones guess who the remaining guys will be. Joe Mather, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Matt Young, Ed Lucas anyone?
Tomorrow I will preview the pitching for the club. Until then, hugs and handpounds everyone.
MB
Projected Lineup
1. Martin Prado LF (27)- 2010 Numbers: .307-15-66-.809 (OPS)
This guy represents everything that I love about baseball. Hard-working, consistent (hit .307 on the button last 2 seasons), gives great effort every night, and is a notorious gym rat. He always makes the correct baseball play whether out on the field or in the batter's box. Selfless attitude, willing to shift positions without complaining and he does whatever he can to help the club win. He is probably more suited to bat 2nd in this lineup and maybe he will before the season ends but he does not hurt you in the leadoff spot. He is in the prime of his career and I expect similar results from him for this season.
2. Nate McClouth CF (29)-2010 Numbers: .190-6-24-.620
He was godawful last year. No doubt about that. I was initially hesitant of the Braves decision to put him in this spot in the lineup but after careful thought and consideration this move could do wonders to his confidence and is a good spot to be in the lineup hitting between Prado and Chipper. He is a career .252 hitter so there is reason to believe he should do A LOT better this season. If the Braves can get a career average season from him than that will be a huge plus for the club this season. I expect him to bounce back and hit around .260 and to double his HR total in 2011 with around 12 for the season.
3. Chipper Jones 3B (39)-2010 Numbers: .265-10-46-.806-95 gms
This future Hall of Famer is probably in his last season of his tremendous career. He is still a huge presence in this lineup despite his failing health and still can give you a clutch at bat when you need him to. He still has a great eye at the plate as evidenced by his .381 on base percentage which is excellent considering his .265 batting average. Do not expect him to play more than about 120 games or so, but as long as he can avoid long DL stints he can be effective. Projected numbers- .275-14-62 w/ a high on base percentage.
4. Brian McCann (27)- 2010 Numbers: .269-21-77-.828
Another player in the prime of his career. He is among the top 3-4 guys in his position in the majors. His power numbers have been pretty consistent, usually around 20 HR a year. I expect him to hit a career high in HR this year with 25 this season. I think his average will rise and be right around his career average of .289.
5. Dan Uggla (31)- 2010 Numbers: .287-33-105-.877
Big acquisition for the Braves to put in the middle of their lineup. His defense is questionable but they did not acquire him for that part of his game. They got him because he has hit 154 HR in his 5 seasons in the majors. That is 31 a year. His batting average should return to the mean and be around .260 or so. Another given is that he will strike out a ton and that he will probably struggle in April before busting out in May. Some Braves fans will be disappointed when he does not hit .320 with 45 HR and a 130 RBI and they will have to stay disappointed because he will not hit that well, but he will provide a significant power boost to the lineup and will probably bat cleanup against LHP, which he absolutely crushes.
6. Jason Heyward (21)-2010 Numbers: .277-18-72-.849
Sky is the limit for this young stud. If only he can avoid some of these growing pains that caused him to miss 20 games last year. Would like to see him get into 150 or so this season. I expect his numbers to incrementally get better, meaning the average to rise about 10 points, to add about 5-6 HR and now that he is batting lower in the order he will be in a better position to drive in some runs. He has a tremendous eye at the plate, not just for a young player but for anyone period. His .393 on base percentage was 4th in the NL last season. Right behind guys like Pujols, Votto, and Fielder. Not bad eh.
7. Alex Gonzalez (34)-2010 Numbers: .250-23-88-.741
Sea Bass came over to the Braves in a midseason trade with the Blue Jays last season and he preceded to do what he has always done. Hit around .240, strike out a lot and not hit a lot of homers. Do not get me wrong, he provided some stability after the disappearance of Yunel Escobar, who suddenly forgot how to hit at the ripe old age of 27. He is going to strike out a bunch and hit around .245 and that is fine for a guy hitting this low in the lineup. He does not need to hit any higher than this or the Braves may be in some trouble. This will more than likely be his last season in a Braves uniform. I will be very surprised if he is with the club next season.
8. Freddie Freeman (21)-2010 Numbers-only 24 AB's w/ 1 HR(bomb off of Roy Halladay)
A little bit of an unknown this year for Freddie. This guy will hit, but how well? Probably not as good as Heyward last season. My best guess would say he hits around .270 with about 15 HR's. He'll take some walks and probably strike out some. He will play excellent defense and I am excited to see what he can do for a full season. His minor league numbers show that he can hit (.301 career average). I think he will grow into his power, he is indeed a big fella (6'5 and around 245).
The bench is a little bit of an unknown, as most benches are. David Ross and Eric Hinske are known commodities who provide production when forced into duty. Brooks Conrad will provide some clutch pop off the bench, just do not expect him to do much out in the field. After that its anyones guess who the remaining guys will be. Joe Mather, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Matt Young, Ed Lucas anyone?
Tomorrow I will preview the pitching for the club. Until then, hugs and handpounds everyone.
MB
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