I hate to be a fun-spoiler, but I refuse to get on-board the "Carpenter pitched two good innings and now all that remains is figuring out which band will play for the World Series celebration" just yet. After all, Lohse did not pitch well, Wellemeyer did not pitch well, and now I'm hearing that Wainwright did not pitch well. This is Spring Training after all. Early Spring Training at that. I won't condemn the team based on a few bad starts, and I won't endorse them based on two good innings. Now, that's not to say I'm not excited to hear he's progressing, or that I don't think we'll be in contention this year. I just won't get any bit hot or bothered without a little more to go on. If he'd gone out there and pitched like some Joe Schmo throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the season by planting one in the dirt 10 feet in front of the catcher, I'd be writing the exact same thing here: Two Spring Training innings do not a definitive diagnosis make.
Adding to my "25 random things" list...
Random things about me r/t baseball
4. My foray into blogging began with Microsoft Word and a very colorful chart in which I recorded game scores, wrote important notes, and tabulated averages, saves, and various other stats. After the disappointment that was the 2004 post-season, I decided that the next time the Cardinals played in October, I wanted my own personal record of the season, and the idea for the chart was born. After the 2007 season, I decided to take it up a notch and keep track of things more emotional in nature, and since I'd recently joined facebook, I integrated the two and started writing "notes" about the games. Eventually this lead to an ongoing s*** list in which I kept track of the players who were really aggravating me (and whether they ever redeemed themselves). From there it was a short jump into the world of true blogging, and I've never looked back. (The list didn't last very long because it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, but you can see the part I archived here, if you want. The rest is lost in inter-space somewhere.)
5. I don't just talk to the television when the game's on, I carry on entire, very involved conversations with Dan and Al. Sometimes these conversations get a little heated, but we always make good by the next first pitch. I often wonder how their wives put up with them.
6. I think there's always something new to learn about the game, and I love learning. For example, I used to graciously accept the various announcers' explanations of what makes a balk a balk whenever the subject would come up, but last year I decided I wanted to know the facts. Now that I have a better idea of what to look for, I have one more thing to yell at the tv about.
Just getting warmed up now...
