Former baseball Comissioner Bart Giamatti once said this is a game designed to break your heart. It arrives in the Spring when everything seems optimistic, and leaves in the fall when things seem dreary. It's no coincedence that Daylight Savings time starts and ends on each side of the baseball season. Walking back to my truck, I felt somewhat lonely knowing that another baseball season was about to end. I won't see my good buddy, baseball, until March. While I'm once again looking forward to seeing my buddy in Florida for spring training next year, I thought of a few things I'll miss about him... and a few I won't.

I'll Miss... Those weird noisemakers in Toronto and Montreal
I Won't Miss.. That annoying noise fans make by sticking their fingers in their mouths and going "FWEEEEEEEEE"

I'll Miss... Watching MLB Extra Innings on cable and seeing all those nifty out-of-market commericals- like Gold Star Chili, Menards and used car dealers from Milwaukee.
I Won't Miss.. Seeing another commercial for "The Best Damn Sports Show" or "54321...taking you inside the world of extreme sports". I dunno, six year olds ride bikes, yet I don't consider that to be "extreme".

I'll Miss... Homer Hankies
I Won't Miss.. The wave

I'll Miss... Killing time at work by browsing old baseball cards on eBay
I Won't Miss.. Seeing an eBay dealer expecting 20 bucks for his 1981 Willie Stargell card.

I'll Miss... Late season call-ups and jersey numbers in the 60's
I Won't Miss.. Permanent call-up Larry Walker

I'll Miss... The Pirates' Tike Redman and Jack Wilson
I Won't Miss.. the Pirates' Jeff Reboulet, Matt Stairs and Jason Kendall

I'll Miss... Brian Giles
I Won't Miss.. Kenny Lofton, Mike Williams, Aramis Ramirez and Randall Simon

I'll Miss... Watching a game and playfully mispronouncing players' names, ala Harry Caray
I Won't Miss.. Announcers forcing accents into player names. Rolling the "R" in a Spanish name, etc. You're white...be a honky and be proud!

I'll Miss... Vin Scully, who belts out more syllables in one game than THREE announcers combined...and most of it is pertinent to the game
I Won't Miss.. Bob Walk, with his broken grammar and apathetic delivery

I'll Miss... getting autographs from guys like Kirk Gibson, Al Leiter or Kevin Brown
I Won't Miss.. getting autographs from guys like Brian Fuentes, Jeremy Bonderman or Jorge Sosa

I'll Miss... Going to a game at Coors Field in July, in my shorts and a tanktop
I Won't Miss.. Going to a game at Coors Field in April, in a parka, winter cap, gloves and GPS avalanche tracking beacon

I'll Miss... Walking out of work and catching a game for 4 bucks
I Won't Miss.. Getting back to my truck and finding a 20 dollar parking ticket, because I didn't leave the parking lot at 5pm.

But hey, the Yankees season, errr...I mean the post-season starts next Tuesday. That day is significant to me, because it will mean that I got my pup exactly one year ago. One of my best baseball memories is coming home with my new puppy..then turning on the A's-Twins playoff game while we played in the living room.

Thanks, baseball... have a good winter. See you in Bradenton next March.

Seeing Eye Singles
||... People like to root for guys that can relate to, or have something in common with. Using that logic, I'm expecting a huge outpouring of support for the Bostn Red Sox this Fall. Why? Almost the entire team is made up of white guys in their 20's with goatees and spare tires. Jason Varitek, Lou Merloni, Jeff Suppan, the list goes on. They could all blend in with the average baseball fan. Heck, I'd look at home on this team (although, I recently shaved off the top half of my goatee on a whim)

||... Folks complain that the annual postseason awards are usually slanted towards the big market teams, especially the east coast teams. The fabled New York Hype Machine has been known to influecne votes in the past. That's why I expect Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli to vin the American League Rookie of the Year award. The name "Rocco Baldelli" just sounds like a dude from Brooklyn, so look for the New York voters to get behind him. "Hey Rocco...didn't see you n' Joey Taggaloni down at the docks last night, man. Youse' guys got a problem?!". The Yankees' front office is also located in Tampa, and that will also help ol' Rocco. Kidding aside, Rocco was on the Devil Ray's Opening Day roster and has put together a full season. Enough justification right there, considering other ROY candidates haven't played a FULL season. Plus, Rocco carried the woeful Devil Rays and, were it not for Aubrey Huff's 34 homers, he'd be their MVP.

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