25 Random Things and a Roundtable

Many of you that are on Facebook (and, from the press the things has gotten, even if you aren't) have heard of the 25 Random Things About Me meme/chain letter that has gone around the site.  I've completed it over there on my page, but I noticed Jeff over at 5 O'Clock Blogger had taken the cue from another site and turned into 25 Random Baseball Things.

So, being the sucker I am for lists, baseball and potential projects, I'm going to do my own 25 things and encourage other bloggers to do the same (and leave me a link in the comments so I can find them!)

First, though, I want to announce the spring United Cardinal Bloggers roundtable.  Each day, a question about the Cardinals will circulate through e-mail and, after it's been beaten to death, the transcript will be put up at the questioner's blog.  So you can plan your internet surfing, here's the schedule.



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Also on the Network: √ The Hybrid: College Football Is Back, Fools [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ "It Didn't Look Like They Wanted To Come Out And Beat Us" [C70 At The Bat] √ Cardinals Keep Destroying Hope [C70 At The Bat] √ Jay Cutler Is Dating Kristin Cavallari: A Gratuitous Photo Gallery [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ White Sox Acquire Manny Ramirez: A Roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Cardinals Hit Rock Bottom, Break Out Jackhammers [C70 At The Bat] √ Another Lost Cardinal Weekend [C70 At The Bat] √ Glenn Beck, The Big Hurt, And Suh Killed A Guy: Your Extra Juicy Monday Roundup [Tremendous Upside Potential]

February 20: Pitchers Hit Eighth (Kyle Lohse contract, bad timing or huge gaffe)
February 23: The Rundown
February 24: Cardinal Nation Globe (A franchise player besides Pujols)
February 25: That's a Winner
February 26: CardinalsGM
February 27: Play a Hard 9
March 2: Redbirds Row (Chris Duncan)
March 3: Stan Musial's Stance (ownership)
March 4: Bugs and Cranks (Ryan Ludwick)
March 5: Joe Sports Fan
March 6: Fungoes (main scoreboard at Busch)
March 9: Whiteyball (Colby Rasmus)
March 10: The Cardinal Virtue (Cardinal Mt. Rushmore)
March 11: Cardinal Diaspora (scrappiness)
March 12: 4thebirds.... (Mozeliak's offseason)
March 13: The Redbird Blog (bold predictions)
March 16: La Beisbolista (next retired number)
March 17: 5 O'Clock Blogger (Mark McGwire)
March 18: Redbirds Fun
March 19: Redbird Ramblings
March 20: C70 At The Bat

Lots of blogs, huh?  By the end of this roundtable, no potential question or situation will have been left unturned.  You want to know about the Cardinals?  Follow the roundtable and you'll be an expert.

OK, now that we've had the commercial interruption, such as it was, on to the 25 Random Baseball Things!

1. Baseball is the soundtrack of my life, as it were.  I always hate not being able to turn on a game, whether it's in the winter or because there's not one on.  Even if I'm not always watching, I like having it on.

2. Ironically, though, I didn't start a full-fledged obsession with the game until about seventh grade.  That was the first year I bought baseball cards as well.

3. Because of #2, I never played organized baseball.  My son is old enough to play T-ball this year, and I'm excited for him.

4. I've never been a fan of any team save the Cardinals.  There are teams that I like, such as the Reds, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of them.  A fan, in my mind, takes dedication and some work.

5. I was at the game where Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run.  Apparently, so were over half of the posters at CardsClubhouse. I had four tickets to that game from the assistant trainer (at the time) of the Cards, but I had trouble finding anyone to go with me.  Finally my pregnant wife and a St. Louis friend of mine went.  My wife missed the home run because she was in line for Dippin' Dots.  Yes, I still tease her about that.

6. My first Cardinal favorite player was Ozzie Smith.  He was supplanted by Albert Pujols, though I was quite fond of Scott Rolen while he was in St. Louis as well.

7. I tell my cheese-loving wife that her new favorite player is going to be Colby Rasmus.

8. I love seeing great defense even more than long home runs.  A 6-4-3 double play well executed is one of the greatest things on the planet.

9. Baseball gets the short end of the stick when it comes to just about everything.  It's held to a higher standard with steroids and has to shove its way into national media coverage sometimes (save for steroid discussions, of course).  For example, the NFL season is over, right?  Yet I can still hear hour-long shows about football on ESPN Radio.  I have trouble finding the dedicated baseball show on there during the season.  ESPN has a special when the NFL schedule comes out?  Are you kidding me?

10. Baseball is the only sport I really follow.  I generally know what's going on in football (hard not to) and keep track of the Arkansas Razorbacks on the gridiron or on the court.  Other than that, just the headlines, enough to recognize general names and events.

11. While I didn't play organized baseball, I was the statistician for the high school team my junior and senior year, then did a little work with the Razorback team my freshman year in college.  My senior year, the high school team won their first state championship.  I'm sure my stats had a lot to do with it.

12. While I'm not much good, I do play church league softball and tend to have fun with it, save when other teams run up the score on us.

13. There's nothing like having a catch.

14. Field of Dreams is one of the greatest movies of all time.

15. I have caught one foul ball in my time.  Well, caught on a bounce.  It was at a minor league game in Columbus, Ohio.  The batter fouled it off of the walkway behind me and it skipped over to my area, where I reflexively reached out and snared it.  Good enough for applause from people around, at least.  The ball still sits in my office.

16. I have been to less than 20 major league games in my life, and the only stadium that is still standing that I have been to is Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.  The other stadiums I've been to?  Tiger Stadium, Busch II, Riverfront, and Arlington Stadium.  No, I have not yet been to a game in the new Busch.

17. I love the history of baseball.  I love seeing pictures of Lou Brock and Stan Musial and Bob Gibson in uniform and talking to players like Pujols and Yadier Molina.  The connections and the timeless of the sport are some of its greatest strengths.

18. The internet is a baseball fan's best friend.  I remember the days where you had to be content with a little article in the paper about baseball, especially in the offseason.  Now, we have tons of blogs and web sites keeping us informed 24/7 about what's going on in the sport.  It's heavenly.

19. Baseball was the way I won over my father-in-law.  The first time I met him, he and I talked for two hours about baseball.  He showed me the collection of '61 Topps he'd put together and had in a binder.  I knew I was going to have no problems after that.

20. I actually enjoy regular season baseball more than October baseball.  The stakes in October get me so nervous that I can't watch.  At least with the regular season, there's a game again tomorrow.

21. Speaking of a game again tomorrow, that's the greatest thing about baseball.  It's with you ever day.  How do football fans deal with only 16 games and only once a week at that?  Even basketball and hockey, you have to try to figure out when they are playing.  Baseball, though, is there for you, like a comfortable blanket.

22. I personally hope the Cubs streak goes on for another 100 years.  Not just because I'm a Cardinals fan, of course, but because that kind of history gives texture to the game.  I hated the Red Sox winning for the same reason, especially since they were up against the Cardinals.

23. There's no place better than at a ball game in the early summer with hot dog in hand.  I really don't know why there are so many choices at a concession stand, because that's the only one you need to make.

24. I love the fact that, in baseball, you are never really out of it, no matter the situation.  Bases loaded, no out?  A strikeout and a double play and you are fine.  Down three in the ninth?  Keep getting hits and the runs will come.

25. As Terence Mann said, "The one constant through all the years has been baseball.  America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.  It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.  But baseball has marked the time."

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