Baseball's confused wild card system

Dear Joel, By now, the New York Mets would've clinched their division with only 84 wins (in reality, they clinched last weekend with 88). In the NL Central, it took 100 wins out of 159 games for the Cardinals to clinch theirs. The Chicago Cubs, who have the third best record in all of Major League Baseball and would've clinched any other division by...

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NFL Quartz Ball

First of all, I know it doesn't make much sense, but I completely agree with you about the AFC and the DH in baseball. I don't know that I had ever consciously made the connection in my own mind before, but as I read your reasoning for disliking the AFC, it was like words were being put to my own thoughts. Secondly, as I've grown in love for baseball...

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The NFL Crystal Ball

It's week two so I have an advantage. I'm going to get the AFC out of the way.  I don't like the AFC.  I think it's because, get this, no really, this is actually my reason I think, I hate the designated hitter.  Really, the DH is not for people who love baseball, it's for people who love action movies.  Since the DH is an American...

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The Big Game

Dear Joel, I was going to begin by apologizing for missing my post last week, but it appears you've missed your posts for the last two weeks, so maybe I don't need to. If I'm not mistaken, today is your 10th wedding anniversary, so CONGRATULATIONS to you and your wonderful wife, Pam. I was thinking about you both yesterday because I have a co-worker...

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Is this called having a fetish?

Dear Joel, In a few hours I'll be on a flight to Connecticut to have an on-site meeting with one of my customers. It's my fourth trip to the same location in the last 12 months. I like traveling, but I've discovered that I don't love it when it's for work. Having said that, I think I'd enjoy traveling for work a little more if I got to visit a different customer...

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Four Eyes

Dear Jake, I have to start by saying that your response to my question from my previous post leaves me wondering if you understood the tongue-in-cheek nature with which I was asking.  I was not-so-subtly hinting that I think it would be wonderful if you, your wife, and my niece moved over my way.  Though it's in all ways selfish I do think...

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I'm Edumacated

Dear Joel, There's an episode of The West Wing in which Sam Seaborn says, "Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should...

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I'm Back

Dear Jake, I know I've been absent from here for awhile.  I'm back and I'm better than ever.  Okay, probably not better than ever. I'm so thrilled that you are having a baby girl.  Actually, I'm thrilled that you are are having a baby.  The fact that it is a girl is exciting in its own right though.  It's true I have experience...

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A Little Girl

This post is a day late because I wanted to write about my daughter and I hadn't told mom and dad yet that I have one. The other day, as you know, Elizabeth and I found out that the baby she's due to deliver at Christmas time is a girl. I've been a little terrified ever since. I don't have a lot of experience with raising girls. I've never actually...

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The Fundamentals

Dear Joel, I play on a city rec league softball team with some co-workers, and it's a lot of fun. Our last regular season games are this evening, so softball is on my mind. I said that it's fun to play on this team, and it is. However, it's also extremely frustrating to me. You and I grew up with a great baseball coach, who happened to be our father....

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Random Thoughts - I'm like Thomas Sowell

Dear Joel, Today I've got some random thoughts. This morning, as a follow-up to my post last week, I took a step toward public expression of my views on an important moral and political issue by sharing a Rand Paul press release about a bill he is co-sponsoring that will prohibit the federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Yesterday...

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Sound the Trump-et!

Jake, I've had a crazy month.  One minute it was like, July 3rd and we were getting ready for Emily Lang (now Romero)'s wedding.  I closed my eyes for a second and now it's July 29th and we're moving into August.  I want to briefly fill you in on some of the things that went down this month, but first I will respond to your last post. I...

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Hashtags

Dear Joel, I didn't write last week. You probably noticed. Both readers of this blog have probably been wondering where you and I have been. Well, the answer is that you've been in Colorado (I've been enjoying the pictures you and your wife have posted), and I've been here, not writing and stuff. Today I want to talk about politics, but only...

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The Bakers' Friend

Dear Jake, There once was a bakery whose desire was to see everyone have delicious bread.  They knew that the food they offered was sweet to taste and to the soul and that everyone should really eat their bread.  They offered all sorts of bread. They offered donuts and cupcakes and coffee cake and friendship bread and every kind of cookie...

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Fictional history is almost as fun as true history

Dear Joel, My favorite fiction book? How about three? But I'll start with a non-book. There's a movie which I would guess anyone reading this has seen before. It's called The Princess Bride, and it is (and always has been) my favorite movie. It's hilarious. And wonderful. In the movie, a grandfather reads a book to his sick grandson. What...

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'Merica

Dear Jake, Do you ever have extremely long weekends?  I do.  I had a long weekend over 4th of July.  It was good and for the most part it was fun, but it was long. Emily Lang got married and became Emily Romero.  Her husband is an extremely nice guy from an extremely nice family.  They are nearly all either active military...

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Happy Independence Day

Dear Joel, Funny you should ask a political question. As you probably know, I tend toward the conservative side of the spectrum, which means several things. First, it means I'm ignorant, intolerant, and bigoted (although I trust you wouldn't know it from having a conversation with me!). Second, it means that when you ask for a single government...

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Pray for Rain

Dear Jake, What do I do when it rains and suddenly we have a free night? 1. Redbox - two movies - one family movie - one parents only movie 2. Blanket fort - Bring the kitchen chairs out, circle them near the banister and the rocking chair - use the giant afghan Pam has - wrestle Eva and try to keep her from ruining things as fast as you can build...

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Boy or Girl?

Dear Joel, I appreciated your post on Monday. It was full of great information. I have it bookmarked for regular reference. Things I can't wait to do with my child? There are a lot of things, but many of them depend on whether we have a boy or a girl!  If it's a boy, I can't wait to teach him to play baseball. And coach his teams. If...

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Coming Soon

Dear Jake,      It's the best of times, it's the worst of times, it's being a dad time.  There is nothing on the earth as difficult and nothing as rewarding as parenthood.  It is a blessing and a curse.  It is hot and cold, up and down, left and right, perfect and imperfect, light and dark.  It sucks and it's...

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Parenthood (not the tv show)

Dear Joel, I really enjoyed that article. I don't find it difficult to believe that underpopulation is a problem. Any time we take a clear command of God (like "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth") and implement its direct opposite (like actually legislating against the number of kids you're allowed to have), things don't work...

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MORE BABIES PLEASE!

Jake, Would you think I was crazy if I said that underpopulation might be the biggest problem we face in 10 years? We always hear about overpopulation being a big issue, but by all accounts, overpopulation is simply not a threat.  In fact we so undervalue life that we don't have enough people on the planet to sustain us economically.  I...

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In the first place...

Dear Joel, Do you remember Fred Penner's Place? I really don't remember too much about the show, but I remember the setting. The "place" of the show's title was a sort of den in a forest, completely surrounded by trees and rocks and other natural formations, and Fred could only get in and out of it by crawling through a fallen, hollowed-out tree...

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It Could be Rocky.

Dear Jake, Pretty soon my family will be going to Colorado for vacation.  For Gabriel's 6th birthday we went to Spain.  Micah turned 6 and wanted to go to China, but since Pam is no longer with Delta Global Services we have to pay for airfare again.  So Colorado it is.  We will be stopping in Licoln NE to pick up George and Helen...

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Dear Joel

Dear Joel, Besides being incredibly good looking, smart, funny, charismatic, and charming, you are a great friend.  I find it admirable that you have sired four adorable children and that your wife is smoking hot even, or especially, after said children.  I thought you should know. Also, you play the guitar which is cool.  You also...

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Simply En Fuego

Dear Jake, Chew on this: before May 15th the SF Giants were 18-18. Since May 18th that same team is 13-2.  They went from 3rd place in their division to first place.  I guess I shouldn't say "that same team" because they really aren't the same at all. Baseball is the ultimate stat sport.  "Moneyball" was trendy for awhile and in some...

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An Easy Choice

Dear Joel, There's a blog I read sometimes called Wait, But Why? I subscribed the first time I read the site's subtitle: "new post every sometimes." It made me laugh. The guy who writes it covers a wide variety of topics, and he's written a couple of posts on The American Presidents. I think right now he's completed two posts and they cover...

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