Another great dream

This has been a great month for dreams. Once in a while, I go to bed hoping to dream about something in particular- and almost never end up dreaming about it that night. Lately, though, it has been a given almost each night that my dreams involve something baseball-related.

I recently received a call from the Director of Baseball Ops for the Red Sox. Our conversation left me inspired and motivated, and I couldnt sleep for most of that night- I was up fidgeting and thinking even as I was trying to embrace rest. Even once I did get to sleep sometime around 2am, I was awake and alert once more by 7am.

Last night, I dreamed that I was standing and talking with Jonathan Papelbon, my Cinco Ocho (play on Chad Ocho Cinco.. Pap wears #58). We were in a boxed off section a little ways down the first base line from the dugout. He asked me to go get Dusty Brown's chest protector from the Sox' workout room/clubhouse. I set out to get the requested piece of equipment, and made my way through Gordon College's campus, where old friend Josh Morrison warned me not to take a detour through Drew Hall because visiting hours were over. My destination was where Jenks/the Library is in real life, and once inside the big building I descended some stairs and entered the workout room where a bunch of players, mostly prospects that I know of, were getting their work in. I went to where a pile of styrofoam, multi-pieced chest protectors were and selected the blue one as Cinco has instructed. A coach (reminded me of Torey Lovullo, new Paw Sox Manager) asked if I wanted either of the green or white ones, as they were bigger than the undersized blue  chest protector I held, but I told him that Papelbon told me blue. As I climbed back up the stairs, suddenly I was in an outdoor mall complex that my friend Tiffany and I had visited last weekend. It was nighttime and very busy. I dont think I ever made it back to Cinco but as I was on my return journey the individual pieces of the chest protector started falling out of place.


John Buck made the Lansdownahs proud last night(Lansdownahs=my roto team). 3 homeruns, 5 RBI in one go.
My pitching is also tearing it up for me. If i could get a couple adequate bats- not even a BIG bat, just a few regular performers- I would be in formidable shape.
Oh Lars Anderson. Like Beckett, I've just never been super impressed with the person of Lars. Admittedly, he's off to a strong 2010, but we'll see what the season brings. The reason I mention it at all is because he was called up and had his AAA debut yesterday.

One more... Bowden, what's the problem? It hurts to see you struggle so much. I want to know what the hangup/s is/are because his last start... well, lets just say that I'm not going to be posting a screenshot of it. Not good. Are his adjustments not working for him? Or does he simply have some kinks to work out? Was it just a bad day? More information please.

Autumn Arrives

I havent been outside yet, but I can see the silhouette of trees blowing around out there through the curtains. It leads me to believe, along with the golden light that's filtering through the fabric, that today is a most excellent Autumn day. Fall has become my favorite season, though I dont really want to discriminate against the others. The weather is so relieving after whatever the year's summer has brought; September brings us new faces on all of the MLB teams; and there's a general sense of introspection and reflection that I settle into. I've discovered that I enjoy being alone in this season, I enjoy the feeling of yearning to be with someone who I'm not with. Fall is mellow, earth tones, acoustic music, coffee and pumpkin and apple and spice and the settling of dead leaves on the pavement and the smell of brush fires and the last celebration of being outside before winter comes.

Come October 1, I will be unemployed. Quite happily so. It has been relatively smooth sailing at work but with a week and a half to go that could come crumbling down at any point. I've lived with that same mentality the entire 2+ years I've been there, actually, and though I've rarely been treated in a hasty manner (to my face), I've seen how other people are treated. And I've had a few ridiculous and unnecessary situations come my way as well.

The Office is back on! The first episode was solid.. not an all-time favorite, but it included some lines that I'll be quoting for months and years to come. Of course, I was at the game when the first episode aired (I watched it after the fact on nbc.com/theoffice). Fenway never gets old. I was exceedingly giddy to be there on Thursday, as if it were the first game of a new season. The fact that we've got minor league call-ups on the team now adds to the excitement for me. Most of the time when I go, I try to make sure Mike knows I'm there. It's nice to know that you're on the home team, and that everyone is rooting for you in a general sense- but when he sees me standing or sitting behind the bullpen, I hope he feels, at the very least, like there's someone present who is pulling for him. No matter what kind of work we do, I feel like we all need someone who we know believes in us. I'm sure I'm not the only one at Fenway on any given night who would put Bowden on their list... hmm, maybe top 5 favorite players in the park? But he knows my face, he knows my name, and if it doesnt translate as a sign of enthusiasm and support then I dont know what else I could do. Now we've gotta work on getting Sean Danielson some playing time next season... with any team...

Speaking of Sean, he's unknowingly responsible for my latest addiction- to Kings of Leon. I'd hear one of their singles on the radio now and again but really wasnt fond of it. Then, the Paw Sox season ended, and everything associated with Pawtucket immediately became sentimental. Sean is a big Kings of Leon fan, and the single reminded me of him, so I started not changing the station when it came on. Then, I found things about it that I liked... then heard another single and liked it even better... then went online to listen to both... then started listening to a whole bunch of KoL... and this was like a big snowball effect, because once I listened online, I went tumbling head over heels for this band. I also found out that their song Closer is the song that Dusty Brown had playing as his at bat music this season. I remember asking a number of different people if they knew the song but no one did. Ta Da! I got it. Now go listen to it on www.grooveshark.com . (The part of the song he had playing as he walked to the plate was just the beginning instrumental bit.)

What a busy past few weeks. Weddings (Jeff & Laura! Dave & Rachel!)... ballgames... 2 trips to Maine... a new MacBook Pro and free iTouch... an office move... a Maggie move (and another one to come in about a week or so). Yep, I'll be living with my brother for a couple weeks. Scary... a house with 3 or 4 guys two years younger than me. Well, I've been there before and it wasnt a wreck. :)

The last time Bowdie pitched was 9/8. Anytime now...
In other news, Josh Reddick is seeing some fair playing time. Dustin Pedroia is hitting homeruns. (I was at the game 9/8/09 vs O's where he hit 2 hrs in the same game, for the second time in his career.) Jason Bay is hitting homeruns. Alex Gonzalez is quiet and easy to like. Dusty Brown is up with the big club and also getting some time behind the plate. Daniel Bard is a Major Leaguer, not a minor leaguer trying to prove himself. Sometimes I come back to the realization that life happens, just keeps moving along. I dont have to try to make it happen. With baseball, it's great to watch life happen for these guys. With myself, well, there are some unknowns on the horizon, and I'm trying to embrace that. I'm not going to NZ afterall... I'm going to Ireland with my brother, about which I am extremely excited. A brother-sister trip is something I've been waiting for my whole life!

9/9/09 - happy 23rd birthday Mikey

The above pictures are from 8/30, 9/8, and 9/9.

Grandma had a blast :)

I bought Pop Tarts as I do once every very long while. They are down in the kitchen, nearly audibly calling my name. Then it's off to softball... playoffs have begun. The lazy part of Saturday is just about over!