HoF Predictions

The time has come for the Baseball Hall of Fame talk. Here's SoulSlam's predictions:
The ballot: Garret Anderson, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Luis Castillo, Roger Clemens, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Glaus, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Hampton, Trevor Hoffman, Jason Kendall, Jeff Kent, Mike Lowell, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Mike Mussina, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Mike Sweeney, Alan Trammell, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker, Randy Winn.

---

Griffey

Hoffman

Piazza

Raines

All get in...
Clemens and Bonds creep up but fall short again. Steroids leave a taint. Bagwell and Schilling will have to wait another year. Mussina will get approx. 40%. He's under the radar.

And happy new year.

Top Comic Book Characters

SoulSlam was a big comic fanboy back in the day. Still have boxes upon boxes of mostly 1990's comics around. So I thought I'd rank my favorites (in no particular order!)

Batman (he is #1 though!)

Wolverine

The Punisher

Daredevil

The Hulk

Spawn (if you can call an already dead general of hell a superhero)

Deadpool

Captain America

Now that's a pretty Marvel heavy list, but I think I like DC better overall. And I'm not a huge fan of the Marvel movies. Or superhero movies in general, except the Christian Bale Batman. And the new BvS coming out.

Merry Christmas

And so you can see...

Sons of SoulSlam about 10 years ago.

And...

3 days ago in goofball mode!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM THE HOUSE OF SOULSLAM!

Weasel Alert

I hear the Weasel will be at large tonight at a meeting I attend. I am going to start weasel-hunting.

Passive Aggressive

If there is one thing the SoulSlam hates, it's passive aggressive behavior. I would rather a person tell me to shove something up my a&& than nice me to death but have an agenda. I'm dealing with a weasel now that fits this bill. And he is about 3 seconds from a monolithic beating.

Comeback For All

This happened many many moons ago. Around Christmas. 

SoulSlam was working at Macy's (no joke). In the Men's dept. High end casual like Ralph Lauren Polo, Hilfiger and Nautica. Year was '93 if I remember. And SoulSlam was rocking some pretty long hair. 

Anyway, two ladies come up, I help them out, I'm very nice (we were on commission). One lady kept going on about my hair. Ok, ma'am. As I ring her up she says loudly so everyone in general vicinity could hear "if you were my son I'd throw you out!" 

To which I responded without missing a beat "if I were your son I'd run away!". She had zero to say after that. 

It's all in the timing. 

This Old Home

The House of SoulSlam likes Christmas. Loves Christmas. We've made a lot of nice memories here. My son's are getting older but we look back on when they were little and the twinkle is still here.

The Gym Last Week

Went to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. Saturday, Sunday. Pretty good.

Get BIG!

I have zero interest in losing weight and shedding pounds. I go to the GYM to get BIG!

I read last night that for every inch of bicep mass, you will probably gain 15 lbs. of muscle. I am going for the record!

But seriously, I didn't do regular exercise forever. I was active but not fit. A couple of years ago I started going to gym at BWSS' behest. And I've been a regular ever since. Now with boys sports activities based out of HS and not with me involved other than being a #1 fan I can go to gym more often if I like.

Last night I went, even though it was really a drag to think about but go I did. Warmed up on bike for 15, then did (mainly) chest, some shoulders and triceps for 70 minutes after. And I felt great. Glad I went. Tonight? We'll see. I may do a cardio/abs day since my arms were aching something fierce after Saturday's marathon session. Then come back Friday* for a biceps/back evening. Good stuff.

*Thursday I need to put up Christmas Tree!

NO PC Weekend

Didn't take laptop out of bag all weekend. So there. I still had sweet iPhone6 for all my communication needs however. Tether me if you will. Weekend was lousy. I put that in there so you can all gloat. Gloat away.

Word

Kill 'EM ALL.

12/1/2015

It is the first of December. Last month of the year. The kind of month you go HO-HO-HO. Take a little time off around the holidays if you can.

It's also Tuesday so let me give you a tip:
Watch History Channel tonight at 9PM EST then again at 10PM EST.

Curse of Oak Island. I've been intrigued with the story of the Money Pit since I read an article in Rolling Stone over at least over 25 years ago. I still have the article.

Hunting Hitler. Just started watching. Fascinating. I always remember hearing of his death as a boy and thinking that could have been faked. These guys are in my wheelhouse.

November Goes Away

It's the 30th aka the last day of November. Chilly today. Getting dark right about now (4:22pm). And it's like that.

First time in years neither of the boys are involved in basketball. OSSS stopped playing a couple of years ago and YSSS is a frosh in HS, a HS that only has a V & JV team. He tried out, didn't make it. Happens. I am 100% proud of him trying out. As I explained, it just gives you more time to concentrate on baseball (his #1).

So I have time to myself now. I've been going to the gym pretty religiously, at least 3x per week. All told in November I went to gym 14x. Thinking since I have a lot of time now I'll start going 4-5x per week. Make that a goal.

December on horizon. I've typed something 3x and deleted it 3x. I hope it's a good one is all I'll say.

You Have A Happy

Thanksgiving. Out. 

Do NOT Adjust Your Set

A picture of Coach K, taken today. Yes, the pullover is from circa 1990 I think.

A Certain Eye Roller

That's who I dealt with last night. A "man" (term used loosely) that acts like a petulant child and wants his way no matter what, but wont stand up for it either. So he rolls his eyes when he doesn't like what he hears.

I will explain to him when I see him that the next time he rolls his eyes at me, they will keep rolling all the way down his backside. Mary.

November Middle

Here we are in middle of the beginning of the coldness and it hasn't been all that bad. Leaves pretty much gone - and since both boys are HS students, SoulSlam is no longer coaching hoops. So I have some extra time on my hands. Not sure how I feel about that. I am running our travel baseball program now; we have some coaches that think they can do whatever they want so they need a new sheriff in town. That's me apparently.

All My Strength

Not to strangle a number of people.

Sir Spamalot

I really do appreciate all the untold wealth I have coming to me from African nations, but I think I'll take a pass.

The Killer Post

Of the World Series was....TERRY COLLINS!!!

Hold on.
Lets start with Friday night. Mets up 9-3 on Royals after 6. Syndegaard has thrown 104 pitches so it's time to come out. So with a 6 run lead TC goes to Reed in the 7th, Clippard in the 8th, and Familia the Closer in the 9th. AKA THE FORMULA. But why do you need to do this when you have a 6 run lead. And three games in a row...all considered must wins? That's what everyone was thinking.

Saturday we have a close game. Matz throws a nice game...gets into the 6th but gets in trouble, score becomes 3-2 Mets. TC goes to Niese (no outs at this point) and he gets Hosmer and Moustakis OUT! Now we have big Sally P. coming up. Jon Niese is a starter, he can go right!? No. TC takes him out for the fatman (Bartolo Colon) who strikes out SP after a really hard fought battle at plate. So I guess we can say that worked. But guess what. It's FORMULA TIME again. Reed comes on in 7th and gets the 3 outs he needs. Now we go to Clippard. he gets a comebacker from Escobar for first out. Then Zobrist walks. Then Cain walks. Time for TC to call Familia. Who gets Hosmer to hit a ground ball! Not gonna be a DP but we'll get an out and hold runners!!! But no. Daniel Murphy makes an error and Zobrist scores, Cain goes to 3B and we have the corners juiced for Moustakis. Who singles. Another run. Then Perez singles. Another run. Brutal. Lose 5-2.

Sunday is Harvey Day. And he pitched like an ACE. Mets get a HR form Grandy in top 1 and a run in 6th on a SF by Duda to take a 2-0 lead. After 8 innings, Harvey has 9 Ks and about 102 pitches. From our viewpoint we can't see the exchange that happened in dugout where Harvey may or may not have bullied his way out for 9th. In any case, the crowd was calling for him. So he takes the mound. And he walks Cain, who then steals 2B on first pitch. At this point, Harvey should have been relieved. But he was allowed to pitch to Hosmer who took a 2-2 count and drove a laser over Conforto's head in LF. 2-1 Mets and now Familia is called. Familia gets Moustakis to ground out to 1B, but Hosmer goes to 3rd. One out. Now Perez hits a little chopper groundball to left side of IF, David Wright fields ball clean, gives Hosmer a look and throws to 1B for the out. When DW released ball, Hosmer goes home. A good throw from Duda and he's out by 20 feet. But Duda makes a wild throw and Hosmer scores and we are all tied up. Awesome. Now the bullpen hijinx start. Top 10, Familia gets his 3 outs. Top 11, Niese comes on and gets 3 outs. Now keep in mind that Jon Niese is a starting pitcher and probably could have given you 6 innings if you needed it. But top 12 (and I will always dread top 12 from now on) we bring in Addison Reed again. And we paid dearly. Sally P. hits a single and is promptly pinch ran for by Dyson. Who steals 2B. Gordon makes an out and we have Dyson at 3B. Christian Color (WHO?) pinch hits a single and Dyson scores. 302 Royals. But here's what separates men from boys. Next batter is Orlando, the defensive replacement. He hits a ground ball right at Murphy who proceeds to botch the transition and instead of a DP to end the inning and keeps us within one run we extend the inning that then got so out of control I can't go on. The Royals win the series.

So we have errors. And cold bats (except for game 3). And managerial blunders. And you know what?

107 DAYS TO PITCHERS AND CATCHERS! LET'S GO METS.

Over

Not to be.

Breakdown

I'll breakdown Terry Collins' mishandling of the bullpen in the game 4 loss later this week. Right now I'm trying to stay awake and keep a positive spirit. Let's Go Mets. 

Coming Home

Yes. The Mets are down 2 games to none.
Yes. The Mets bats have been silent.
Yes. The Mets are in a tough spot.
BUT WE ARE NOW BACK AT HOME!!! #LGM!

TONIGHT THE JOURNEY BEGINS

TO THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP!

METS IN 6!

10-26

It's YSSS's birthday!!! And he is awesome. 15yo and I can't believe where the time has escaped to. SoulSlam is very proud of this young man. He's one of a kind, the finest kind. 

Champs!

It's like Christmas in October!

Don't Jinx Me

If you see me and want to say anything about The Mets, walk away. I don't need to hear your bandwagon comments.

Winter Ball

Last night at Citifield was mighty cold. Bad wind didn't help. Hope the wind stays away tonight. #LGM

The Championship Rounds

OKKKKKK!
Here we are. Let's check my picks.
NY Mets! Check!
KC Royals! Check!
T Blue Jays! Check!
Kind of spit the bit on the Cubs, but I did pick the Cards to lose...
So my BA is .750 so far. Pretty good.

As for the Mets...
Hat's off to Mr. Daniel Murphy the one man wrecking crew!

This Tonight This Moment

Game 5 in LA...DeGrom vs. Greinke. Winner goes to the NLCS against the Cubbies.

I will be in a word, glued, to my TV set for this one. Le

The Fans

So...
Went to CitiField last night for the Mets first home playoff game at this new (sort of) stadium. Big crowd, big noise, everybody hatin' Utley. Not too many Dodgers fans by my count.

Some notes:

You better know how to get out of this place when it's packed or you sit in traffic like you wouldn't believe. I have an escape lot I park in for just this event.

MLB scheduled the game for 8:37 start (which turned into after 8:40). That is rough. Game was over around 12:30AM. Got home around 1:20AM.

Cespedes is a monster. His HR in the 4th inning looked like it was shot out of a rocket launcher. Crawford never moved.

Harvey didn't have his best stuff but he gutted out 5 innings. Good job there.

Team played great, just what the doctor ordered after the slide over the weekend. Maybe that's the best revenge.

Rip Van W

Sitting here at 7:56 pm trying to keep my peepers open to watch Mets in a bit. But a long drive to Boston area for a weeding yesterday, with an early wake up and drive back today has me drained. 

Even Steven

1 for 2 on those Wild Card Games. Batting .500 right now.

Playoff Picks

I'm a day late but if you follow me everywhere (and you should) you know I would never ever pick the NY Yankees for anything but an outbreak of the plague. So I get that one gratis.

WC Series:
Astros beat Yankees (+1 for me!)
Pirates over Cubs (Chicagoans will get to moan and groan yet again)

Division Series:
Mets over Dodgers
Pirates over Cardinals (BOOM!)
Royals over Astros
Blue Jays over Rangers

Championship Series:
Mets over Pirates
Blue Jays over Royals

World Series:
Mets over Blue Jays (I can't believe I get to type that)

I may be wearing some Met-colored glasses and have zero perspective here but that is what being a lifelong fan means.

Legs Like Anchors

That's how my legs felt yesterday. Woke up and sat around, foregoing the G-Y-M. had to finish closing the pool (since the Sons of SoulSlam are a older and bigger it makes it easier) and bring some stuff to the curb for bulk pickup. Afterwards I sat down to watch some football and baseball. When I got up a little later it was agony.
I have to go to gym tonight for cardio and hopefully some leg workouts. Trooper I am.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to the Beautiful Wife of SoulSlam (BWSS)! She makes my motor hum! 

Playoff Bound

Waited until I woke up 3x before I posted this in case it was a dream. The NY METS are going to the postseason!

I'm mostly excited for my two sons, who've been fans since they were little but almost never got to see a winning season let alone a postseason trip. And my wife, who's AWESOME, was able to score tickets to every POSTSEASON GAME AT CITIFIELD with her magic. So with 6 games to play in regular season, LET'S GO METS!

Credit: The 7 Line. Boys have purchased these bad boys for the postseason.

QB Woes

In fantasy: drafted Tony Romo, out on IR; Big Ben, came off field with knee injury today; and Joe Flacco who I may need to be Mr. Durable. 

#LGM

That's the hashtag I've been using a lot on my award-winning Twitter feed. In case you haven't noticed- the NY Mets are in 1st in NL East with a couple of weeks to go. #LGM 🍅

Soup

A nice bowl of soup is pretty awesome. Some of my favorites: 

Gumbo

Yankee Bean

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Escarole & Bean

Minestrone

With the cooler weather coming at some point - stock up! 

Done. Finito. Muerte.

My fantasy baseball team LOST in round 1 of playoffs. I am the victim of zero offense on the last day of the week, coupled with an opponent that had six (6) pitchers throwing on Sunday. I am heartbroken. Well not really. Sad to see this fun end.

SWAGBROs!!!

Fantasy Teams

Right now, my fantasy baseball team, SWAGBROs, is in first round of playoffs. I am in the lead with 3 days left in week. Need to pull it out for semis. Wish me luck.

Had our fantasy football draft the other day. Team is Death From Above. Lineup/roster by position:

QB: Romo, Roethlisberger, Flacco

RB: Lacy, McFadden, D. Bell, Sankey

WR: J. Jones, Jeffreys, Cooper, Hopkins, Wheaton

TE: Eifert, Clay

DST: Houston

We'll see how this goes.

People You Despise

I bet, someplace in your life, be it home, work or school, there are a number of people you despise. Hate really. And you know what? That's ok.

I sit in meetings at work across from people that make up their minds based on the last discussion they had and they run the place. And it's pretty sad. So my hate-meter is on full. I bide my time and hope that somebody sees through the BS that is reality.

Virtual End of Sumner

Labor Day Monday kind of sets they mark. But we still have 3 weeks to go. Make yet most of it. 

I need to clean the pool one more time I think. Water is crystal clear though. Thinking about closing a little earlier then I usually do (early Oct.). There bones don't enjoy freezing cold water like thrt used to...

Off to HS

YSSS started his first official day in HS today; wow it wasn't long ago he was my little guy. I can tell you it is a bittersweet moment.

OSSS is completing is senior year in HS at the local county college (Harvard on the Highway). He has class 2 days a week. Other days he's completing his internship with local PD and lifting weights.

Can't Be Serious

The plain and simple fact is this: we've gone to Hell in a handbasket folks.

Vacation (and soon Summer) Over

Back after 10 days in FLA. Miami Beach for a couple then Anna Maria Island on the gulf. It was AWESOME!
But now we are back. GRRRRR. And it's getting late early here. I don't like that. School starts up for boys in next couple of days. Wow.

Coffee?

So I looked and I posted on 4/24 thst I hadn't had a cup 'o' Joe in 9-10 weeks. Thst puts me mid February since I basically gave up coffee. I drink a cup no and again, biggest change is it usually has zero to little sugar. Still drinking sugar free Monster Energy like, well, a monster though. 

August Heatwave

We had a few days where the temps were a moderate 80 or so, but now August is a blast furnace. Another couple of days. And speaking on that thought, mi vacation' starts in a couple of days with mi familia. Fly to Miami, stay at the Fontainebleu until Saturday, then a drive up the Gulf Coast to Anna Maria Island. Can't wait.

August Swoon

I don't really know why I called it that. Just did.

Anyways, summer baseball is over. So no coaching or spectating. SoulSlam and the Sons of SoulSlam will go down to local field to hit, field, throw and pitch(!). Think we are going tonight.

OSSS has decided to forego fall baseball this season; he will work on hitting and has joined a G-Y-M to increase strength. Will go to a couple of camps/showcases as well. YSSS was asked to play with a local club we competed against this summer. He's decided he's in and wants to play with some new blood. That's good.

Vacation is in less than 2 weeks. FLA. Going to Miami first for 3 days, then drive up the Gulf Coast to Anna Maria Island. Can't wait.

The Outcome Was Not The One We Wanted

If you've been following this radio serial, you know my 14U team went to Championship Game last Friday evening amidst the rolling hills of Blairstown NJ. I didn't post the outcome however. We lost, 10-0.

Played poorly as a team, and I did my best to get one player (actually YSSS) thrown out on a DP after he led of 2nd inning with a single and steal of 2B. So there's that. Overall not our best effort. Were boys tight? Maybe. Was the other team superior? Maybe. Did we play the worst we have for months? Absolutely.

So after the game, boys all got 2nd place trophy (out of 19 teams). Pretty nice actually. Then it was time to say goodbyes. Now, these people all live in town and I'm sure I'll run into them from time to time; however, both OSSS and YSSS go to a different HS than most, so moving in a different circle is de rigueur.

So with some tears, I said goodbye to the boys I've coached in baseball for the last 7 years on this team (9 if you include when I was the drill-sargeant in T-Ball!). Trey, Joe, Nate, Justin, Chris (who goes to same HS as OSSS), Nick (who will be at same HS as YSSS) and Ryan (aka YSSS). It was an honor being your coach.

Going To Championship Game

After many years with this team, in their last summer as Blue Devils, my 14U team has put together a tremendous season and have played their way all the way to the Championship game of the BIGS League here in NJ. They played the semi-finals last night and after leading 2-0, lost the lead to go down 4-2. We scored one run in the btm of the 4th, one in the 5th and one in the 6th to go up 5-4, all while playing great D and getting every out we could. Proud of them all, but especially YSSS aka #34 (second from right).

As you can see, there are no male models here. Just ballplayers. And that in itself is a great thing to be. Wish us luck.

#LOLMets

No trade, just misery.

Back Pain

SoulSlam did it to his bad self...

At the G-Y-M on Saturday AM for a leg workout. On Thursday we worked on Chest, Shoulder, Tris; on Friday it was Back and Bis. So Saturday was legs. I woke up a little later than I would have liked (7:20AM) and in my haste, decided not to warmup. Don't know if that was the reason for my malady but I guess I can say it may have attributed.

After some calf sets, went to the Leg Press (see illustration):

Anyways, had about 300lbs. on thius bad boy to start. Did 2 sets. Got up to add another 90 lbs. and OOOOOWWWWWWWHHHHHHHH! That doesn't feel right!

Anyway, mostly due to sloppy form and a rush to get it done, I must have rolled my back muscles up under me when I pushed. So now I pay the price in pain. It's getting better sloooooowwwwly.

9-3

Regular season concluded last night for 14U team with a 6-1 win over a straight-up club team. Left our local hometwon boys at 9-3 to finish regular season and currently atop division standings. Couple team have games to play so we could end up either #1, #2 or #3 seed for playoffs.

Boys played great last night. We blew the shutout in a comedic way...
Bottom 7, the chunky #3 hitter hit a solid shot to left center for a double. Now we have a 6 run lead so we don't hold him. Dopey coach on the other team bunts (!) his 4 hitter which we pick up and take the out at first, thank you very much. Now Spanky is on 3B. Next kid pops out to 2B, and Spanky is all the way down the line!!! My 2B throws a hail mary that sailed over the 3B head...sweettt! Kid scores. Anyway, we get a comebacker to mound with next batter and it's all over but the shouting.

YSSS was 2-3 with 2RBIs, RS, SB and some great fieldwork.

PLAYOFFS START MONDAY!

Out At Home

14U Blue Devils are now 8-3 and leading our summer league division with one game to go for us. Boys have really played well, and even 3 losses were within reach. We lost tonight 4-3 in a cloud shortened game, couldn't get last AB due to dark. Oh well. As I told boys, a year ago we lose tonight's game 9-3. Gotta be in it to win it.

Part of reason we lost is because other team threw us out at home at least 5x! Every time we had a runner at 3B with less than 2 outs was an adventure. In almost every opprtunity we hit a ground ball directly at a fielder. I have a simple philosophy. If it's hit to anyone but pitcher we go home hard.

We did score once or twice from 3B. One time, YSSS, with 2 strikes on him, shortened up and hit an F9 for an RBI Sac Fly. Coach on the other team was mighty impressed. Asked if YSSS was available to play fall ball.

Fireball Shout Out

#OHYEAH!!!

14U Summer Team

The final go-round for the team. We've had 7 boys play with us for 7 years now, losing and picking up others along the way. So the homestretch is upon us.

Before the summer began, we had 2 players leave. They had just joined, we're a little younger (13) and a little over-matched. Good kids. But I guess they wanted summer off. So our roster was down to 9. That makes playing games with day trips and vacations a might tough. So we rostered three 12U players just to add some depth. They only come when they don't have a 12U game.

Then last week it seems like another 14YO wants to stop playing. He's more focused on soccer says his parental unit; to be honest on a roster of 9 he's #8 in terms of skill and talent. So he's apparently only coming when I desperatley need him.

So last week we actually ended up playing with 8 for a game and a half. Rough on the OF, don't you know. But right now we are 5-0 in an upgraded league (we now play mostly club teams) and playing really well. Our D has been stellar and as I have told the boys, that's half the game. Or something like that.

I've gotten the chance to become the defacto HC as well. So we get to play baseball the way I prefer which is aggressive and "hair on fire" type baseball. So far so good. However we end up, I'll always have these last few weeks with the team, and especially the YSSS. He's really blossomed as a ballplayer this season, as he gets ready to go to HS. Proud of him I am.

Coming Back

After a 4 day weekend is usually tough. Work is work. I don't get real excited about this place.

Are you watching True Detective? You should.

July 1

Is always a happy birthday to the Oldest Son of SoulSlam, aka Jack. I can't believe he's 17 today. Seems like only yesterday I was chasing him around the yard as a toddler. Time does fly.

PS- He passed his driving test today!!!

The Best Kind of Work Week

It's a 3 day work week!!!! We get Thursday and Friday off for that most American of holidays, Independence Day!!!!

Means I only have to fake smile 60% of the time this week.

The Pool Update You've All Been Waiting For

Just realized I haven't given a pool update in a month or so. All is AWESOME!!!!

New Liner - CHECK!

Crystal clear agua - CHECK!

Filter running like a champ - CHECK!

Poolside Oasis - CHECK!

I've enjoyed the warm water a few nights after coming home from the G-Y-M or a ballgame. Crack a tasty beverage and float. The Holiday Weekend for us Americans is coming next week so I plan to spend a whole lot of time in the drink. Both drinks.

June Almost Over

Another few days and June is over. It's a nice month. Graduations, baseball, summer begins, etc.

Sons of SoulSlam both playing ball and working. They make me proud. They can frustrate me sometimes, but they are Anumber1x2.

Mets are falling apart, as the Mets will most seasons. They have a lineup that couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. Rough. And no end in sight. Or relief. Thanks Sandy. Thanks Mr. Wilpon.

Time for some protein.

Buckets of the Wet Stuff & YSSS

Yesterday we got 2-3 inches in the afternoon...today another deluge. We're like a tropical island lately.

This week, the Youngest Son of SoulSlam (YSSS) makes his 8th grade graduation. Over the last six months he's grown physically; where once I saw a little boy, I now see a young man (emphasis on man). He attended his formal last Friday (with a date!), now he finishes up the last few days of class and graduates in cap & gown on Friday night. I am tremendously proud of him. #34.

Welcome to the Rainy Season

After about 3 months of zero precipitation, we've gotten quite a bit over the last week. The high humidity will do that y'all.

Spent the weekend (well some of it) in sunny Jersey City NJ! 17U tournament to kick off season. OSSS's team went 2-2. Won the consolation game. He played really well. Nice to get off on a good one with a new team so the other players and parental units know what's what. BWSS said some of the "dads" were commenting how good OSSS is. Nice to hear.

YSSS has grown like a weed over the last three months. Holy cow. If he was this tall during hoops season he could've played center. He's coming into his favorite time of year (AKA SUMMER VACATION) so all is good. Graduates 8th grade in a couple of weeks then we got the HS journey to begin. He's going to a different HS than his brother (same academy but they are moving to a new HS with his class) so I drive in two directions when I have to now.

I'm Still Here

Wow, been a long one since last post. Sorry about that.

Nothing but baseball right now. Spring school (HS and MS) seasons are done. YSSS playing travel, spring playoffs going on, summer starts in 2 weeks or so. OSSS is playing American Legion and with a tournament team for summer. Lots of baseball.

Other than that, I'm awesome!

The Pool

As we speak,three (3) guys are finishing up the new(est) liner install. They put one in on Thursday, which ended up having a tear in the seam. So since a pal hooked me up with these guys (and he's their captain at the firehouse), they got a new one and put it in today. This is a load off SoulSlam's fertile mind.

Weather a but brisk for swimming, but now I can get the real stuff out of the way and put the oasis back into motion.

Weekend off from baseball. I was looking forward to at least one game. Last year, OSSS played in a tournament all weekend. His new team starts up in a couple. YSSS was supposed to have a league game tonight but opponent doesn't have enough kids.

Trip

Been up since 1:30am local Osaka time...after about 4 hours of sleep (not in a row either). Got about 2 hours before I leave hotel for Itami airport and beginning of my long trip home. Cannot wait.

Here's the itinerary:

5:30AM taxi to Itami airport

6:30AM check in at ANA, then find the Starbucks (which I hate) or something (but I can at least ID what they have)

7:50AM flight from Itami to Narita

9:00AM arrive Narita and cruise (hopefully) through immigration

11:00AM flight from Narita to Dulles, should take approx. 11 hours

10:30AM Go back in time and land in DC, go through US Customs, then find something good to eat

12:40PM flight from Dulles to EWR, get my bag and get on the road (aka the GSP)

After that I will pick up my aunt since we have the following events on Thursday afternoon:

OSSS' HS Baseball team is in 2d round of State Playoffs at 4PM

YSSS' MS Baseball team has last regular season game of season (MS playoffs start next week)

After the games are done we have:

OSSS is installed into the National Honor Society in a ceremony

YSSS has freshman orientation at his HS

So busy SoulSlam will be. And I wouldn't trade for anything. Tired, yes, but this stuff is what makes my life special. One lucky guy.

PS - Justin the Poolguy supposed to be replacing my liner Thursday as well - Hope so. I'm more anxious about that.

Osaka 5:30AM

Here sits SoulSlam after a very looooong flight(s) to Osaka Japan. Hit the hay at 8PM last night local time and then woke up at 2:30AM. This is a short trip so I'm not 100% aggro.

The humidity is tremendous.

I Had Coffee

Drank a large Dunkin Donuts cup 'o' Joe this AM. First one in 3 months. Heading to Japan on Sunday so I figure I'll need some java to cope for a few. 

Pool: A Tale of Woe

I'm not sure what I've mentioned, but my poolside oasis has a tear in the liner. Last summer, YSSS found a couple of small rips at bottom; he and I patched them up pretty good. But over the frozen tundra winter we experienced, the water level dropped significantly. Wow.

So now I have to get a new liner. Friend of mine knows a guy (we're in North J after all) that does this so we have come to an agreement on work and price. But he can't get there until 5/21, which is a little later than I would like. But it is what it is (who invented that saying?)...

Anyways, I am off on 5/22 (I come back from the Land of the Rising Sun on 5/21), so I can fill this bad boy up, get the filter going and should be pretty good to go for Memorial Day Weekend. Stay tuned.

The Day After Cinco de Mayo

This is the day you really know what you are made of...the day after overeating way too many tacos, drinking a bathtub full of margaritas, chasing it all with cheap tequila.

Be the stick, don't be the pinata!

Ambidexterity

Unlike other countries, we Americans drive in the right hand side of the road. So the steering wheel is on the left. Which means the ATM you Neanderthals drive up to use to do all your banking is outside your driver's side window. 

So unless you sit backwards, then your left hand has to do the work at that ATM. So how come I have to watch the clown show every time I drive up, with the door opening, some idiot hanging halfway out and using their right hand. I'll tell you why...

Because your useless. Being able to use both hands is a quality that sets us apart. Now, nobody is saying you have to write with both hands, or throw a fastball, or even high five. But not being able to lean a little, tap that PIN with the old southpaw and make a simple transaction should be ez. But you can't. Useless. 

Glutton For Punishment

I'm going to coach our 10U Travel team tonight. Regular HC can't make it do to a commitment, so I agreed. Problem is, they are awful. I would usually feel bad about saying that, but it's inescapable.

I've practiced with these boys once in a while. But I didn't know what it actually was until I helped out at a game last week. To say they are bad is an understatement. They can barely catch and throw, so getting three outs without giving up 6-7 runs is a challenge. And you can't win many games giving up 6 runs an inning.

What I like is the coaches telling me how bad their at-bats are. I know that. But you can't even think of hitting unless you can get off the field. That's why when I coached my son's teams we focused on D when we were young. We can step into one if we have to so we can get on base.

Wish me luck.

I have two days off work coming up so that is AWESOME!

Baltimore Burns

The news is bleak in America's Northernmost Southern City. Sad.

April?

I don't know, I kind of remember the weather in April being a little kinder. April showers? OK, I like a shower. But April 2015 in the North J. has been brutal. Cold. Wet. Damp. Miserable.

I see the weather forecast mentions some 70+ degree days maybe this week. That would be tremendous. I've wathed too many HS and MS baseball games freezing the proverbial balls off.

Forsaken Coffee

SoulSlam stopped drinking coffee about 9-10 weeks ago. I have had one cup in a restaurant since then so I guess I'm done.

I didn't do it for any other reason than I stopped putting sugar in it. At that point I realized I didn't really need it. So I stopped. Just like that.

Now I drink a glass of OJ cut with H2O in the AM. I'm not sure if this is a permanent thing but it is what it is for now.

The Almost Return of Winter

April 23...and we had snow today. Flurries, yes. No accumulation, I know. But snow anyway. Blah. 

I'm watching the KC-ChiSox game in MLB channel. I nominate Hawk Harrelson for biggest homer d-bag of them all. Put it on the booaaarrrrdssss!

Hello? Hello?

I'm at doctors office. Got a bad ring ring ring in my ears. Driving me crazy. Stay tuned. 

Cold April

Even though the Mighty SoulSlam is away, I keep on top of all things North Jersey related. And the weather is one of those things. According to my trusty weather app, it's gonna hit the mid-40's today!!! That's a might too brisk for my liking. 

Good news is I take a redeye home tonight, and it looks like the mild weather comes with me. So that's a +. 

Swimming Pool Blues

The Poolside Oasis is now a slum in Beirut. Film at 11. 

Seriously, last summer YSSS and SoulSlam had to so some patch jobs on a 9 year old liner. Over the frozen tundra of winter we noticed the water level had a significant drop. At one point the Sons of SoulSlam and meself were knee deep in snow, cutting the coved free so the sides of this beauty would not have a chance to fall in. 

Today I pulled the cover out and started a-pumping the 22" of agua de verde out to see what we got. A PAL gave me a name of a guy that will re-line this puppy. 

Stay tuned.

Vegas

In Sin City for the J-O-B...being an East Coaster that means I wake up around 3:30am with little to do. 

Everybody says have a great time in Vegas!!! It's work. Work blows. 

Happy Easter

To all 

4/2/2105

Hello. Back on a bit. Didn't want to post yesterday since you might think it was an April Fool's joke.

Updates of sorts:

Travel Basketball Team - battled to the end. Went to playoffs and lost in quarterfinals to a team that was a lot longer than us. Lost 59-58 at the last second. Oh well. Had a good run. Two league championships and a lot of great memories.

14U Baseball - after a March with zero chance of practicing outside, we played opening game last Sunday. Lost 6-4. Mainly due to some errors in the field. YSSS is now a full-time firstbaseman and played a tremendous game in field. Struggled at plate but that's ok.

HS Baseball - OSSS is starting firstbaseman for his HS team as a junior. Plays smart. They were lucky enough to get in 2 scrimmages, where he went 2-5 w/ 2 walks at plate. Ran into a really good pitcher yesterday who shut his Bulldogs down in opener. Back at it today.

Gym Rat - not exactly. Trying to get to gym at least 3 days a week, 4 is goal. Travelling for work next week so after that I dedicate to cutting weight.

My attire - BWSS says I look like a tool sometimes.

Hang On

Still not up to too much blather. But thanks for checking.

Dad

Goodbye Dad. My heart aches.

William Philip Cassidy 1925-2015
My hero.

Levelset

I don't really know what that means...I guess I do though.

8th Grade Travel team has two (2) more games in regular season. We play in a 12 team league so a bye for 1st round of playoffs is already out. Gotta win these 2 for a good spot for a run. Over the last couple of weeks we've lost by one point, two points and four points in games we might've/should've won. Short roster and missing players (for a variety of reasons) contributed.

The game we lost by one was amazing. We literally had at least 20 shots go in & out of hoop. It was surreal. Anyway, we play a game tonight we should win. And one Sunday. Then we see what we are made of. It's been real, I only have about 2 more weeks with these boys, most of whom I've coached for the last five years. Time flies.

I Stand Accused

Rec hoops this morning. Really early. 9AM.

Playing a team coached by a guy who, shall I say, pissed SoulSlam off. But that's not unusual. We have a rule that all players must play at least 1/2 the game. The spirit of the rule is that all players should get fair playing time. So in a basketball game, if say three (3) players are on the court 95% of the time, and four (4) players are basically playing for two (2) spots, then technically the rule wasn't broken. I admit as much.

Now, we had 8. I would say that within a minute or so, most of my boys played about 25-26 minutes total.
25 x 8 = 200. That's how many player minutes are in a 40 minute basketball game.

So what am I doing standing on a soapbox? It's rec. And all the boys deserve to play. Here's how the other team shook out:

Player 1 = 32 minutes (he only took this kid out because I complained to the wishy-washy league director at halftime)

Player 2 = 40 minutes

Player 3 = 40 minutes (I never saw 2 or 3 leave court once)

Player 4 = 22 minutes

Player 5 = 22 minutes

Player 6 = 22 minutes

Player 7 = 22 minutes

So after the game I told the fat little weeble of a coach that it was BULLSHIT playing 3 players the whole game. His response was "he didn't play three the whole game"...and I guess that is technically true. At that point I told Chubby that he was a piece of shit. That's when it got good.

Mr. Technicality told me I was an asshole. And that I was the reason his son didn't play baseball anymore. Which I found funny since I never coached his kid. And since his kid could never, ever hit a baseball, I found it funny. I did remind the round mound of baloney that his kid was good at stealing laptops, since he stole YSSS's.

This is gonna get bigger!

Like a Merry-Go-Round

That you can never get off...it's about 8 degrees (not a typo) here right now at 11:30AM and the forecast for the weekend is more snow and ice. Sweet. Holy crap.

Quick 7

I started this bit of rant 'n' roll approximately seven years ago on a lark. Time flies.

My boys were 9 and 7

I drove a minivan I think

My max bench wasn't what it is now

The Mets were terrible

Twitter wasn't really a thing yet, at least not with me

Max & Maggie (my pups) were just puppies

My wife was as beautiful as she is today

Here's the first posts from February 2008 if you want to delve...

BRRRR!

We have got historic cold here in North J. I think I read someplace important that we haven't had weather this cold in decades. I will attest, it is a might chilly.

We also have snow or ice every 2-3 days or so...waiting on another storm overnight. The baseball diamonds may not be ready to use in two+ weeks when NJ HS Baseball starts...

Chemistry

I started typing a whole big story here, then deleted.

Team's need chemistry. Without it you got nada. Just a bunch of players all for themselves.

That's bad juju.

Needles

Right now I feel like needles are all around me. No matter what goes on, there's always a dark cloud hanging.

I need a sunshine day. Maybe one will come along, but that's aways away.

I Hate Winter

Wasn't always that way. But the constant precipitation and cold is killing me.

Winter Pool Blues

So SoulSlam detected that he's gonna need a new pool liner this upcoming season. Water level has dropped significantly since closing in early October. Me and YSSS patched liner about 4x in late summer, so at 8+ years old, the time has come.

Today, with all snow and ice we have gotten the pool cover has slipped/dropped in...just tried to pull the bad boy up after removing some snow but's it way to heavy. SoulSlam was figuring I may have to release cover sooner or later anyway if it didn't warm up soon, so this made the decision easy.

Taking bids on liner replacement!

Baseball Longing

I'm here in the sub-frigid tundra of North J counting the days/hours/minutes to MLB spring training, as well as OSSS's HS tryouts on 3/6 and YSSS's MS tryouts sometime in mid-March. It's BASEBALL! And you either like it or you can leave.

As American as Apple Pie!

I long for the days when I would hit my Johnny Bench Batter-Up for hours on end in the backyard.

Chill

It is/has been cold around here. Yesterday it warmed up a bit, but we are back to frigid and gray. Looks like Scandinavia.

Forecast is pretty dismal too. Looks like a real wintery weekend coming up...which is 100% not required.

In hoops news, we lost a tough one last night. 46-44. I'm down a player since he's too busy being hurt for my games but OK for his school games. He's my most talented player. Now he'll be my most talented sub. That was his choice when he decided to pick the MS team over the one he's played for since 4th grade. Gotta be fair with the boys who come and compete (some of which are on same school team). So I am tremendously proud of the way they have competed and played w/o this player.

Injured

Here's what I once read/heard/remember....

If you are injured, don't play. If you play, don't tell me your injured when you don't play well.

Words to live by.

Travel Hoops Update

Almost to end of January, which means travel hoops has 6 weeks or so to go. 8th grade team has played well after a dismal start. Our main league we are sitting at 6-3 with really one hard team to play over the next 7 games to finis regular season. Told the boys I expected to finish around 13-3 so we are on track give or take.

We also play in a highly competitive tournament league on weekends. We are 1-4 there, but we've played better of late, losing one game in OT. These games are to get on the court against tougher competition. I have no illusions.

YSSS is playing better than ever. He's killing it in rec league, and he's making some great plays, etc. in travel now. Nice to see, proud I am.

The Shift

Back to baseball. Seems the new commish is talking about "doing away with defensive shifts". Wow. That is wrong-thinking.

I've got an idea. How about the hitters that get shifted on try to use the WHOLE FIELD. or bunt up the 3rd base line. Or MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT, which is what baseball is all about.

I don't understand the problem. We are so opposed to a shift because it "hurts the offense"? Well hit the ball where nobody is and the defense will play straight up (or thereabouts) pretty quick. Simple adjsutment.

False Alarm

Well when all was said and done we got a brutal 3" of snow or thereabouts. I guess the weather heads got this one wrong, at least in the North J. 

Got a day off though so that was pretty sweet. 

The End of the World As We Know It

Snow is coming! Ohhhhhhhhhhh......

On the cusp of a blizzard. We will see what we are made of.

The Wrongness of It All

Got some extra time on me hands this AM, Boyo...

Lot's of folks talking and jabbering about the length of baseball games and how it needs to be fixed, yada, yada. And lot's of these same talking heads are going on and on about a "pitch clock"; tried out in a couple of stadiums during AFL last year.

Here's what soulslam thinks: if you really need to shorten games, then shorten the minimum of two (2) COMMERCIAL BREAKS that occur every inning. If you just cut these by 60 seconds apiece, you end up saving about 15 minutes or so (my math isn't what it should be I guess). But that doesn't seem to be a concern. Instead, we're going to (in some cases) RUSH a pitcher to deliver a pitch. Or a batter to stand in a box. Unreal.

Reminds me of the age-old argument on how to reduce terrible fan behavior at NFL games. The answer is pretty simple - stop serving alcohol. Or allowing it in parking lot. But that isn't really realistic is it?

Snow

They were right.

Finally?

The forecast for the North J includes a couple to 5 inches of the white powda (not that white powda) this weekend. So we may finally see something beyond the dusting we've gotten so far. Since it's on a weekend it only disrupts sporting-type games, practices, training. Nothing to fret over.

Scariest Ride In The Park

Six Flags! No.

Disney! No

HersheyPark! No

I am talking about I-95 on Sunday 1/18 about 6:45AM around the New Hope, PA. exit. Talk about terrifying!

OSSS had a camp at UPENN to attend this weekend. That's a 90 or so mile ride from me casa. So we decide (since it's AM only) we'll cruise down on Saturday, come home (I had two hoops games to coach for YSSS) and then go down again Sunday. Easy. Saturday was ok. Sunday, forecast was for rain. Maybe some freezing rain, to paraphrase EVERY WEATHER PERSON ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD!

So drive we do. Left the homestead at 6AM. Drove south, then did a cut through the great state of NJ to Rt. 95. On the way, the rain started around 6:30. Freezing but not too bad. The folks around Rt. 31 has sanded and salted. Drive on. Then I come to the aforementioned New Hope entrance.

I could feel my Tahoe fishtail a bit; still pretty dark so hard to figure. I'm driving a bit and I see a car pulled off to the side of the road with hazards a-blinking about a half mile ahead. Right then I look to my right and across the ditch and up the embankment is a car, spun around and I don't think that was the intended parking spot. Uh oh.

Emergency preparedness kicks in:

Wake up OSSS who was snoozing and tell him he has to be ready to brace himself

Put the beat of a Tahoe into 4W Drive (THANK YOU 4WD!)

Slow down slowly to 25mph or so

With those things done the last thing is to keep distance between me and others. Like you. Because SoulSlam knows how to drive in that mess. You do not. So I am not taking my life in your hands.

Creeping along in right lane, I spy a hoopdy Caprice coming up hard in left lane. I estimate he was doing 50-55mph. Whoa. I say to OSSS, "we'll see that guy on the side of the road in 2 minutes!". I was wrong. 20 seconds later he had a head-on collision with two cars about 3/4 of a mile ahead of me. What a fool.

Anyway, the GPS said I had about 45 miles to go. Slow wins this race. Got there safe and sound. A little late, but in once piece. I estimate that I saw about 100 accidents. Tow Truck Christmas.

---

BTW, I finally ate something at the 67 hour mark. I've had a small burger at the TPKE rest stop and then ate about 3 oz. of chicken for dinner. I am still off the mark if you catch the drift I'm piling.

60+

That's how many hours since I had a meal. It's Sunday at 10 AM EST - I last ate at Thursday 6PM. 

So am I on a cleanse? Fasting for political reasons? No. I have been waylaid by the stomach bug. 

All good Thursday night, then getting ready to take OSSS to baseball practice I started feeling off. Really off. Sat at his practice for awhile hoping I could hold it in, or down, or both. Mission accomplished. 

But got home around 10:30, decided to sleep away from the family - fortuitous for them. All night the churn and turn burned. Brutal. 

Friday I got tires on the Tahoe - good thing considering this mornings adventure ( post mañana) - then slept (or tried to) the full day. Saturday and today got things to do. So I drag my sorry ass wherever. 

I did eat some toast yesterday - just to keep things in perspective. And I have basically subsisted on Gatorade. 

Thank you Gatorade.  

Dummy

Man, do I have to deal with them day in, day out. 

Bad Call NFL

1. I am not a Cowboy Fan, but OSSS is.

2. That was a catch.

Man, I'd Like Today Off

But it is not to be. Brutal. 

HoF Late Post

Congrats Pedro!

Congrats Smoltzy!

Congrats Biggio!

Congrats Big Unit!

But boo to HoF voters for leaving Piazza out. Crossing the digits for 2016 induction!

Two Zero One Five

A little late but Happy New Year, townsfolk.

I haven't made a resolution yet. Maybe just keeping last year's going. Which means I gotta ramp up the workouts.

Did go to gym early New Year's Day, biceps and back was the deal.

We start baseball practice for our 14U (YSSS) team tonight. Looking forward to it.