Season's End

So, I pretty much stayed away from blogging about baseball all season. Now the season's over and I can't resist anymore. I saw a lot of games this summer and followed the Phillies into the post-season, trying to maintain my cool through the slumps and bumps of a very uneven year. Mostly, I think the Phils look like a team that's made it to October in spite of themselves.

The pattern for the summer was injuries, followed by batting slumps, followed by an uneven bullpen. The one thing you can take away from the regular summer schedule is this: three excellent starters can't carry the entire team. When all the bats are firing, the team can't be beat, and that reveals the potential for the team overall. Whenever the bats were lined up, though, the bullpen then seemed to be unable to deliver. It was a summer spent out of sync.

Now, after game three of the championship series, and a loss to the Giants, where the bats didn't show up, it looks like we're out of sync again. I've learned with the Phillies, and baseball in general, you have to take the long view. It's a seven-game series and anything could happen, but today's play didn't offer too many bright spots. When the top slots in the batting order can't deliver the hits needed, you can't win. Statistically, the Phillies had the best record in baseball, but apparently, that run to the end, where everything clicked, burned the team out and now the engine is stuttering.

What seems most distressing, though, is the team seems to be... grinding. They don't appear to have any joy in the games they're playing. They're tight and anxious, and it's sometimes downright painful to watch, like they're psyching themselves out of the running as millions watch.

When you see that level of frustration in high definition, you start to ask yourself why you're watching the pain. I've got enough stress in my life, without spending three hours watching a team that has the potential to dominate all comers stumble over their own anxieties. Yes, of course I'm reading too much into this. A shrink would say I'm projecting. But I, like most people in this economy, have a lot more to do than I did last season, so sitting to watch baseball is an indulgence. Lately, indulgences make me anxious, because I can't shake off the knowledge that I've got an ever-increasing list of responsibilities waiting when the game is over. I'm looking to trim anxieties out of my life and, unless things turn around, baseball might not survive the cut.

Random News Items

A few things that have tickled my particular fancy over the past couple of days, in no particular order:

Rawson Thurber, director of Dodgeball, is slated to write and direct the big-screen version Magnum, P.I.

There's a 3-d Star Wars short making the rounds of the internet.

The New York Times armchair quarterbacking of the summer box office results.

iFanboy.com is one geektastic site.

Good Flicks

I've made no secret to anyone who's asked that I think one of the best films I've seen this year is City Island. I'm a little late to the party, but the writer/director has been writing articles in Salon.com about the process. His final one, to coordinate with the DVD release, can be found here.

It's a breezy story about careers in Hollywood, the film, and the future. You should check out the article, and the film.

Space Bugs

This may be the most interesting science news I've seen in a while. Apparently, there are microbes that create oxygen that can survive in space. Read the BBC article here.

Interestingly enough, no one seems to question the prudence of putting something in the vacuum of space for over a year, discovering it can survive, then brining it back to earth. Doesn't it occur to someone that those microbes might be pissed off?

How I spent My Summer Vacation

The word "summer" conjures up so many images: tire swings over cool lakes, endless afternoons reading for pleasure, fireflies at dusk. What amazes me most is the long list of items I have planned in May that I think I'll accomplish over the course of the summer months.

The list, of course, is doomed to failure, simply because, for the most part, my kids are around all the time and given the chance, I'd rather spend time with them than scratch items off that summer list, especially when it contains such things as "clean the basement." Someday, my kids will be moving out and I'm pretty sure that crap in the basement will still be waiting. That rationale doesn't always help my stress levels, though, since I'm the kind of guy who, when he makes a list, expects to actually complete it. So, I have fun with my kids, but that damn list is going to be taunting me when they go back to school.

My summer list includes all kinds of unrealistic projects from domestic life and work life, most of which were patently ridiculous. There wasn't really much chance I was gonna get time to install new kitchen cabinets, was there? What was I thinking? For one thing, I wasn't thinking we were going to be living through the hottest summer on record. I don't mind sweat, as long as it comes with exercise or honest physical labor, but sweating as a matter of course just sucks. It saps my will to set one foot out of my air-conditioned bedroom.

So, how have I spent my summer? Hanging out with my kids at museums, movie theaters, book stores, coffee shops and other air-conditioned venues. We camped out in the back yard. We spent afternoons at the pool. There were swim team events and tennis lessons. Visits to grandparents and dinners with friends. Cocktails on the front porch, and lots of baseball on TV. We grilled, we ate take-out, we skipped meals and then snacked at inappropriate hours. There were fireworks and water-gun fights. Board games and summer reading projects. Chores and piano lessons. And yes, there were lazy hours spent reading, followed by fireflies at dusk. The tire swing over the lake will have to wait for next year.