Hunter Pence

For the 3 people in the world who read Ulysses and actually liked it (the ones that declared it was the best book of the 20th century), today is Bloomsday, the day when the main character met his wife. I got part way through the 2nd chapter before I saw a reference to the characters having sex in the first chapter. When I reflected on the knowledge that I didn't catch that while it was happening, I put the book away knowing I'd miss everything else in Joyce's stream of consciousness technique as well. There was another time that I felt like I should try it again - another Bloomsday, but... that didn't happen either. That said, it's not that I don't get deep literature - I did a lot of Faulkner (smartly enough, I did it with notes), but yeah... now, I just prefer baseball, outdoorsy travel, and American history. Currently, I'm still trying to make it through the Curt Flood book and a book on the Negro Leagues as well as a survival book I started a while ago as well. We never do have enough time to do the things that we want to do, but there is always time for baseball.
With this site being about baseball, let's see what's going on in the world of baseball news...
The Rangers are whining about the Yankees stealing signs. For the record, we think that even though it's the Yankees who are still baseball's version of the worst toilet in Scotland, there is still a sense of win at all costs. In NASCAR, they say that if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying. We'd also like to think that if you aren't trying to rip off Kyle Busch's ears or deck him solidly, you aren't trying, but we'll take live with whatever form of winning the game of baseball that you present. Besides, how much cheating can it be if you're smart enough to figure it out? Like counting cards in Vegas, if a person has the brains to calculate what is being done, then I'm all for it. If they need binoculars and some crazy dude in the stands wiring back coded info, then that's something altogether different. If a person knows how to play the percentages of what's left versus what's dealt, then he or she should be allowed to rake up the pot. Why handicap intelligent people?
And for those people intelligent enough to get it and figure it out and be one step ahead of the curve, there is the biggest success story on the Houston Astros: Hunter Pence.
OK, so he's not pretty to look at, but at least he's not the dreaded version of Edinson Volquez. And that said, whoever the gal is with him... she looks decent. All the same, Mr. Pence is fresh off a 23-game hitting streak in complete obscurity. Who knew until it was over?
And just like Joe Dimaggio, as soon as it ended, he started a new one, which is already 2 games strong, but still... in those 2 games he is 5 for 10 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. And so his ticket will be punched to the desert unless aliens abduct him because someone has to go to the All Star Game for Houston (even if they're mathematically eliminated from playoff contention already). And who knows, maybe he'll leave Texas for brighter pastures come trade deadline time, too. I'm sure the Yankees will give 26 cents on the dollar for him (you didn't think we'd spend this whole blog being nice to the Yankees, did you?).
All in all, he would be batting .326 with 9 home runs and 51 RBIs. His strikeouts are a little lofty at 62 for his 19 base on balls, but .326 is still a nice number - especially when he's hotter than Hell right now.
And while the focus on the streak has left him a singles hitter, he gets on nicely and is raising his average to new heights, which is what the good things in baseball are all about - even if nobody else takes the time to discover them.

Jake Taylor

Sadly, there is no game in baseball that rivals the Daytona 500. There are no parties that serve as the culmination of 2 weeks of hype. There is no excessive practice, time trials, and multiple contests that don't matter leading up to the big game. Past MVPs don't get to come back to compete one more time (at least since Bill Veeck died). Past winners don't automatically get a spot in the order regardless of how poorly they run. There is nothing in baseball that lives up to the hype. Sure, there's an all star game, but it hasn't mattered since Bud Selig called the game a tie. Even before that, it wasn't Pete Rose vs. Ray Fosse.
But Daytona is everything baseball could be if it didn't invite the Counting Crows to the All Star Game as the representative music of the game (sure, August and Everything After is great, but it's not rockin' or anything). Daytona got it right for their audience. Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. Now, I'm not a country music fan in that I wear a cowboy hat and boots, but I know that this is what their fans like. Hell, Chris Daughtry would work, too. The point is that you please the fans.
Opening day is great for baseball, but it's not the tone for the season. It's 1 game and done. It's not a once and done chance for a rookie. It's not all or nothing. It's the beginning of a 162-game marathon. Sure, all games matter to stats, but you can recover in baseball. In NASCAR, it's about being sponsored and given a chance to ride constantly. Case in point - Trevor Bayne.
It's not quite a home run in the first at bat. Sure, that's a great starting point, but alas, this wasn't a first at bat. The first and only at bat before this was a single 17th place run (out of 43 drivers) at some point in the end of the last season by a 19 year old up for a cup of coffee.
Here's a man who never won in the NASCAR minor leagues (Nationwide series).
Here's a man on a team who hasn't won in 10 years.
Here's a man on a team with history - a history that many fans who are under 30 never got to see.
Here's a man on a team that hasn't won the Daytona since 1976. My wife was still in diapers at the time David Pearson won the race at 30mph after a crash.
Their last 3 winners are gone from racing altogether (Morgan Shepherd, Dale Jarrett, and Elliot Sadler).
And then a guy who is 20 years old and a day comes to race. He doesn't have a full season ride. He looks to be pre-pubescent. Nobody knows who he is, but he runs strongly all day.
In the end, a crash takes out Dale Jr. on the 10th anniversary of his father's death race. The front is lined up for 2 and done. A young kid who hasn't restarted well all day is in the lead and he gets a push from Bobby Labonte, a grizzled veteran who doesn't even belong at the race, but who is still up front because he's running well and because he was a past NASCAR champion. He's bump drafting Bayne and pushing him to be as great as he once was. He's in the lead. He's going for gold. It's like Tom Berenger as Jake Taylor in Major League... he's willing the youngsters to win by forcing his legs to make it to first on an improbable bunt (he'll finish 4th) and somehow, improbably, Carl Edwards who is getting pushed by David Gilliland can't get around him in the final stretch of the race and the kid wins.
He has to be told that he wins.
"I just feel unworthy …"
But it's not the humble young guy who won...
"they gave me a rocket ship."
He's thanking God and completely overwhelmed.
He has to be told how to get to Victory Lane.
Something in the moment is geared towards the end of a movie. It's fantastic. It's the start of something good... hopefully, it's a sequel that's better than Major League 2 (and much better than 3).
Baseball doesn't seem to offer up stories like that unless you watch really closely. When they do happen, they have to be in the playoffs or result in some degree of perfection (Dallas Braden's gem on Mother's Day), but we don't watch that live. We see the highlights - unless we have MLBTV and we're somehow fatefully there (like I was).
If only it could be that way again.
Here's to 2011 - 38 days.