Faith and Baseball

The Mice Aftermath

2007-06-29T13:16:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention that Faith tipped over all of our CD's while I was cooking and feeding Audrey. Enjoy the mess?

The Mice

2007-06-29T13:02:00.002-05:00

When the Cat's away, the Mice will play

2007-06-29T12:39:00.000-05:00

Being a dad has its share of responsibilities - changing poopy diapers, cleaning up dirty face kids, giving baths, giving horse rides, taking the kids to the park and pretending to be "the kelly monster", making nutritious meals, reading, etc.

Michelle is going on a weeklong mission's trip to Mexico with her mom in August. That means that my first week off of summer school I will be stay at home day all week! I'm still deciding on what to do - so if you have any suggestions throw them my way. I was thinking about taking a trip to the Twin Cities to see some friends and family. Faith would love to see her cousins. We could just stay in Kenosha and I could make up an Itinerary of fun things to do. At any rate the last couple days have been practice, a preview if you will. Michelle has been earning some money essentially for her mission's trip working at a daycare through an externship program through a local technical college in town. Sounds complicated, I know. So I was off of work on Thursday by 1130 and have had the girls ever since. (granted, Mish was home in the evening and even took the girls to my 7pm softball game, but...) It's been a lot of fun. We are really enjoying ourselves and our new house. We have been reading and eating - lots of food, playing in the many different rooms and closets. I took some pics and will put them up soon. I let Audrey tackle some spaghetti. Michelle let me tackle the mess. Thanks, Mish.

Busy Life Anyone?

2007-04-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

Hi - we are busy in my house. Why is that? What have we been up to that makes us so busy? For starters we are both teaching this semester. Only 9 weeks to go till summer. But because we are both teaching that means that we need daycare which is always stressful since we have hired a few former students of mish's to share the load. they are usually fine, but you never know when one of them might take a trip or not take the job as serious as we would like them. I mean they are our kids. Audrey is turning one in one month and faith just turned three. Next year we our definitely putting the kids in some kind of daycare/preschool facility. my buddy calls it dayscare - but what can you do? at least you know they will be reliable and won't be watching TV all day. Tuesday nights we have swimming lessons with both of the girls. Wednesday nights we have small group Bible study in our home. Thursday I help out, typically, with the high school boys small group. To top it all off we have had a houseguest, an exchange student if you will from Zion, IL living with us and going to school trying to earn her childcare certification. I'm also tutoring her in reading and I'm tutoring another student Math on Sundays after church.

I miss my wife and my family. Luckily we have spring break this week. We are headed inland to the cabin for a week to cool out. Just us 4. We are going to an indoor waterpark on Thursday, but other than that have few plans, which is great.

Summer will change things a lot. I'm only working part-time and mish is staying home with the kids. No small group stuff, no extra student living with us. I'll be adding softball on thursdays but subtracting most of the rest of our stuff. should be better.

oh yeah - did I mention we are trying to sell our house? yeah, we are looking for a bigger one. on a less busy street, in a quieter area of town.

so please keep us in your prayers and let me know how we can pray for you.

xo - kel

New Year's Res. - the workout

2007-01-05T18:16:00.000-06:00

So many people enjoy New Year's resolutions. In the past I have been one of those people. Read the Bible more, eat less chocolate, gain 10 pounds of muscle... etc. However, this year I started a few months earlier. In early-mid November I began wanting to get back into weightlifting. I used to do some weightlifting in high school and in college.

I have a co-worker who asked me if I would join him after school. He was pretty hard-core. He read books on weightlifting, the latest articles off of reliable web sites, and he even kept 'stats' of his weightlifting. It was pretty nice because I could bring Faith and Audrey to the Y and there was a Kids Club for them while I worked out. My friend has really pushed me. I have experienced new soreness from muscles I knew I had, but never worked out before.

All of a sudden on January 2nd, a typical day at the Y, which was never so busy - just the regulars that all knew each other, became a crowded shopping mall. I hate crowds and malls. But I figure the resolutionists will fade out in 4-6 weeks and I'll keep on enjoying getting huge.

Mish has been encouraging me in it, which is nice.

A funny side note: When we first moved to Kenosha and we were looking around for a church to belong to we settled on one, where mish knew a few people from her high school. Anyways at a gathering she was talking with a young man about our age and he mentioned that he weightlifted and she interjected that I liked to do that as well... she even asked him, with me not being present, if he would lift with me, (she's so sweet) he said gruffly, "Only if he wants to get up at 6am." The funny thing is we saw this young man with a young girl at our gym and it wasn't 6am, and it didn't look like this girl could lift a whole lot, nor spot him.

Well, you may have had to be there.

I don't know what kind of exercise you are all in to, but to those joining me - happy lifting.

U.S. Cities

2006-12-01T16:23:00.000-06:00

I was just in Chicago at its famous Shedd Acquarium with Faith and Audrey. Mish wrote about it and put up pictures on her blog. It made me realize how much I miss cities. Visiting them, participating in that style, or touring them on vacation. So here are my top 5 cities that I have experienced.

1. Minneapolis - This is an obvious bias, living there for 5 years and experiencing so much fun and times there. I especially loved St. Anthony Main, Uptown, and the University of MN. I even had the experience of working at one of its sky scrapers (now my sister works downtown in the TCF Tower). I could go into more detail, but I'll just say that I'll answer any questions that anyone wants to know. Fair enough.

2. Seattle - I was on a Mission's project in Seattle during the summer of 1998. I loved the whole Puget Sound/Mt. Rainier landscape. Truly beautiful. The city has so much character and so many cool spots. I even went to Jimi Hendrix's grave.

3. Chicago - How many skyscrapers can one city have? Between the music scene, its sports' teams, museums, and Lake Michigan, Chicago is the best big city out there. My apologies to New York and Los Angeles.

4. Denver - I never spent a great deal of time in Denver. I probably spent more in the surrounding areas, like Boulder, Monument, Castle Rock and Colorado Spings. I just can't get over such a large city in such proximity to the Rocky Mountains.

5. Boston - I joined marching band in 9th grade just so I could go to this Boston trip and go to Fenway. I think if I would have been born and raised in Boston, I would have been Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch. It just made the whole trip. I also loved the historical parts we visited.

I'd love to hear from any of you out there. What are your top 5 cities that you have experienced? Tell me about it.

Manny Hits 3 and knocks in 10

2006-10-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

Strat-O-Matic Report


BOXSCORE: 2006 Auburn Anacondas At 2006 Kenosha Titans              9/13/2006
 
  Anacondas          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Titans             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Kendall C         6  3  4  0 .222     J.Rollins SS        4  0  1  0 .261  
  M.Giles 2B          4  2  1  0 .292     W.Taveras CF        4  1  3  0 .296  
  T.Helton 1B         5  3  3  1 .307     H.Matsui LF         4  0  0  1 .297  
  M.Ramirez LF        6  3  3 10 .271     B.Hall 3B           4  0  1  0 .292  
  C.Tracy DH          6  0  1  0 .307     D.Dellucci DH       4  0  0  0 .217  
  J.Rivera CF         5  1  2  0 .295     R.Mackowiak RF      4  0  0  0 .281  
  J.Gibbons RF        5  1  3  2 .254     M.Piazza C          2  0  0  0 .215  
  A.Hill 3B           5  1  1  0 .243     D.Ward 1B           3  0  1  0 .289  
  O.Cabrera SS        5  1  2  2 .264     M.Cuddyer 2B        3  0  0  0 .281  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      47 15 20 15                 Totals      32  1  6  1
 
 
INJURY: Rodrigo Lopez INJURED (for 0 more games) in 4th inning
 
Anacondas....... 4 0 0  0 0 0  4 0 7  - 15 20  0
Titans.......... 0 0 0  1 0 0  0 0 0  -  1  6  1
 
Anacondas (44-62)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
R.Lopez                   3 1/3   3   1   1   0   1   0   2.70
D.Turnbow                 1 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   2.06
K.Wood WIN(2-3)           3       2   0   0   1   4   0   4.83
M.Rivera                  1       1   0   0   0   2   0   4.26
Totals                    9       6   1   1   1   8   0
 
Titans (58-59)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
L.Hernandez LOSS(3-10)    6      10   5   5   0   1   1   9.25
S.Schoenewei              0 2/3   3   3   3   0   1   1   3.82
L.Carter                  1 2/3   4   2   2   0   0   1   6.75
S.Torres                  0 2/3   3   5   1   1   0   2   3.58
Totals                    9      20  15  11   1   2   5
 
ATTENDANCE- 26,140 DATE- Wednesday, September 13th 2006 TIME- Day 
UMPIRES- Larry Young, Bill Hohn, Fieldin Culbreth, Bill Miller
T- 3:11
LEFT ON BASE- Anacondas: 8  Titans: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Anacondas: 1  Titans: 1
ERRORS- J.Rollins
DOUBLES- J.Kendall-2(18th), J.Gibbons(21st), A.Hill(15th)
HOME RUNS- M.Ramirez-3(36th), J.Gibbons(10th), O.Cabrera(6th)
STOLEN BASES- J.Kendall(2nd), W.Taveras-3(48th), B.Hall(20th)
WALKS- T.Helton, M.Piazza
HIT BY PITCH- M.Giles-2
STRIKE OUTS- C.Tracy, J.Rivera, H.Matsui-3, D.Dellucci-2, M.Piazza, D.Ward,
             M.Cuddyer
GIDP- J.Gibbons, M.Cuddyer
 
Left fielder Manny Ramirez ripped 3 homeruns as the Auburn Anacondas ballclub
embarrassed the floundering Kenosha Titans by the count of 15 to 1.
 
Ramirez was in a groove all day.  The Kenosha fans hated to see him
approaching the batter's box.  He rifled a three-run blast in the 1st inning,
cleared the bases with a Grand Slam homerun in the 7th inning and belted a
three-run homer (his 36th of the season) in the 9th inning.  Auburn kept the
scorekeepers busy in the 1st inning which saw them plate 4 runs on 5 hits,
the 7th inning which saw them plate 4 runs on 4 hits and the 9th inning which
saw them plate 7 runs on 5 hits.  For the game Auburn out-hit Kenosha 20 to
6.  
 
The victory went to Kerry Wood(2-3) who went 3 innings, allowing no runs.
Livan Hernandez(3-10) was the losing pitcher.

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Humbling/Cowardice - The Tiger in me

2006-08-22T00:22:00.000-05:00

You know some people think they know everything. And some of them actually do know a lot. Others who think they know everything really don't know much at all. Then there are some who don't know anything at all. Or others who know some things but are to quiet to mention it. The people that know some things but are too scared or unwilling to learn new things out of fear - that is my camp. I'm admitting it to you now. Wow... that took a lot.

But I want to let you all know that I can become someone else. Not like multiple personality kel, but just an evolving person that tries new things and gets better at the few things he does know.

You all know that I enjoy baseball and football and fantasy sports. And those interests will probably stay around for awhile. But I am capable of more.

It started about a month ago. We were at the cabin and todd said that he would only go waterskiing if i went. Well, Andy was going to go for his first time too. I stunk at waterskiing. It was embarassing for me. I couldn't even get up. But I figured why not. I 'll give it a try. Why can't I have that attitude with more things? Turns out I actually got up and went about 100 yards. last week I went again and this time I went around the lake and crashed twice. 2 major wipe outs. the first time i crashed i went shoulder/face first into the water outside the wake. I couldn't figure a way to get back in. My shoulder feels like a tore something and the other time
the skiis flew off of me and the one hit me just above the eye. It still feels sore. But you know - it felt so freeing to do something that I thought I was incapable of doing. I felt like I did when I was 8 and I truly thought that I could be a pro football or baseball player if I kept at it. Now I know that i'm not going to be a pro skiier - but more than likely if i keep working at it, I should get better at it. And more importantly - I believe that I can do anything (go waterskiing, make omelettes, fix my computer) if I try. I need to believe and know that we can do all things thru Christ Jesus our Lord. Even insignificant things like waterskiing - can be significant if they jumpstart your hunger to do better, to learn more.

kel tiger

Tagged

2006-08-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Michelle is trying to get me to get back into blogging... so she tags me and I don't want to let her down. I have to answer these cute questions about my limited book reading. Don't get me wrong - I like books, or at least I used to like them, but now most of my reading is articles on education or computer articles. But either way - here it goes...

1. One book that changed your life.
More than a Carpenter - by Josh McDowell

2. One book you've read more than once.
Catcher in the Rye - by J.D. Salinger

3. One book you'd want on a desert island.
Besides the Bible, How to survive on a desert island - author unknown

4. One book that made you laugh.
Slaughterhouse 5 - by Kurt Vonnegut

5. One book that made you cry.
Don't Waste Your Life - by John Piper

6. One book you wish had been written.
Honest Short Stories - by Eric Johnson

7. One book you wish had never been written.
Handmaid's Tale - by i don't know off hand(I don't care) I don't really remember what it is about but I had to read it in high school and it was pretty graphic about some homely girl getting it on with some old guy... classic literature.

8. One book you're currently reading.
I just finished Douglas Coupland's Life After God. I really enjoyed it. But otherwise I just started reading Fantasy Football Draft Magazine 2006. I just picked it up. I know a bit late this year, but hey I'm trying to stay pure. (my wife calls it my porn - oooh gross)

9. One book you've been meaning to read.
A Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

10. Now tag 5 people. I don't really know 5 people who read my blog for sure. Matt M., Ann (a bunch of Savages in this town) S., Tim M., Loren M., and Kari J.

NABL 2006 Strat Draft and first few games

2006-04-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

So as many of you know I enjoy Strat-o-matic baseball. I finally joined a league this year with 19 other guys from across the U.S. and Canada. I went to the draft party, which was only 20 minutes from my house in Racine, WI. 7 of the teams were represented, while the other 13 teams got online to draft.

I had 3 picks in the top 27.

My first pick, 7th overall, was Matt Cain, SP from San Fran. He is only 21 and is supposed to be a young phenom. I haven't seen it so far this year. He has been average at best, not dominating but at least he has been pitching every fifth day.

My next pick was at 16th overall. I drafted Willy Taveras, CF from Houston. This was a bit of a stretch. I felt he was the best centerfielder out there, and I really wanted/needed a good CF with a good range rating and arm rating. He's a 2 with a -3 arm. He's also a AA stealing and a 1-17 running. His downside is that his OBA and SLG pct is very low, and this is looked down upon in strat circles. The HR is more valuable. I could have drafted a HR hitter at this pick, but I feared Willy wouldn't have been available at my next pick.

My next pick, 27th overall, was 1b Mike Jacobs from Florida. I needed a 1b badly and he was the best option. A power hitter who would be starting and potentially be batting clean-up for a young Florida Marlins team.

So far I have played 18 games and won 7 and lost 11. It's been fun, but I am learning that I am going to have to get some better players, or have some of my younger players mature faster. I have a nice core:

Rollins ss
Taveras cf
Polanco 2b
Jacobs 1b
Hall 3b, ss, 2b
Matsui lf
Schmidt sp
Westbrook sp
Cain sp
Batista 3b
Cuddyer rf, 1b, 3b
Sanchez rp
Cordero rp

These are guys that are wouldn't want to trade unless a great offer would come about. The rest of my team are guys I wouldn't mind trading if I can get some more talented players or earlier picks.

So long for now. Let me know what you think of my picks and team situation.

Bill Hall Hits for the Cycle ...

2006-02-20T21:08:00.000-06:00

Strat-O-Matic Report


Yet we still lose.  I need to get some pitching!!!


BOXSCORE: 2005 Scotia Schooners At 2005 Kenosha Titans              4/17/2005
 
  Schooners          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Titans             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  D.Jeter SS          6  3  4  0 .333     J.Rollins SS        5  1  2  0 .250  
  J.Varitek C         5  2  2  1 .207     R.Mackowiak RF,CF   5  1  1  0 .333  
  J.Bay LF            5  1  2  3 .281     P.Polanco 2B        5  1  1  1 .387  
  T.Glaus 3B          5  0  2  2 .291     H.Matsui CF,LF      4  2  1  1 .316  
  T.Hunter CF         6  1  2  2 .316     M.Piazza C          5  0  0  1 .263  
  T.Walker DH         4  1  2  2 .286     D.Dellucci DH       4  1  1  0 .286  
  M.Sweeney 1B        5  1  2  0 .320     B.Hall 3B           4  1  4  3 .255  
  J.Encarnacion RF    4  3  3  1 .643     D.Ward 1B           3  0  0  0 .242  
  R.Belliard 2B       5  0  1  0 .200     T.Hollandsworth LF  2  0  0  0 .176  
                                        A-M.Cuddyer PH,RF     2  0  1  0 .276  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      45 12 20 11                 Totals      39  7 11  6
 
A-Pinch Hit For Hollandsworth In 5th Inning
 
Schooners....... 0 1 2  0 0 5  2 0 2  - 12 20  1
Titans.......... 5 0 1  0 0 0  0 1 0  -  7 11  1
 
Schooners (10-5)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Bonderman               0 1/3   5   5   5   1   0   0   9.82
V.Chulk                   4 1/3   2   1   0   1   2   0   1.46
J.Frasor WIN(1-0)         3 1/3   4   1   1   1   1   1   2.92
F.Cordero                 1       0   0   0   0   1   0   4.50
Totals                    9      11   7   6   3   4   1
 
Titans (6-9)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
D.Wells                   5      12   5   5   0   4   0   7.31
U.Urbina LOSS(0-1) H(1st) 0 1/3   2   3   3   1   0   0   5.40
A.Fultz BS(1st)           1 2/3   3   2   2   1   3   0   3.37
S.Torres                  1 1/3   3   2   2   0   0   0   5.25
D.Sanchez                 0 2/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   1.69
Totals                    9      20  12  12   3   7   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 34,292 DATE- Sunday, April 17th 2005 TIME- Night 
UMPIRES- Eric Cooper, Marvin Hudson, Larry Young, Fieldin Culbreth
T- 3:41
LEFT ON BASE- Schooners:11  Titans: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Schooners: 0  Titans: 1
ERRORS- T.Glaus, R.Mackowiak
DOUBLES- D.Jeter(5th), J.Varitek(2nd), T.Hunter(2nd), T.Walker(1st),
         R.Belliard(1st), H.Matsui(4th), B.Hall(3rd)
TRIPLES- J.Bay(2nd), B.Hall(2nd)
HOME RUNS- B.Hall(1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES- T.Walker
WALKS- J.Varitek, J.Bay, T.Glaus, H.Matsui, D.Dellucci, D.Ward
HIT BY PITCH- J.Encarnacion
STRIKE OUTS- D.Jeter, J.Varitek, J.Bay, T.Glaus, T.Walker, M.Sweeney,
             R.Belliard, R.Mackowiak, P.Polanco, M.Piazza, D.Dellucci
GIDP- T.Hunter
BALKS- D.Wells
WEB GEMS- Top 8th: Placido Polanco robbed Todd Walker of a base hit.
 
Left fielder Jason Bay had 2 base hits and 3 RBI as the Scotia Schooners
defeated the Kenosha Titans 12 to 7 at Fenway Park.
 
Jason Frasor(1-0) got the win with a steady relief outing.  He went 3 and 1/3
innings allowing 4 hits and 1 walk.  Scotia lit up the scoreboard in the 6th
inning with 5 runs on 5 hits.  Scotia had 20 hits for the night while Kenosha
had 11.  
 
Ugueth Urbina(0-1) absorbed the loss in relief.  He pitched 1/3 of an inning
and surrendered 2 hits and 1 walk.

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.500 Ballclub

2006-02-19T22:33:00.000-06:00

Strat-O-Matic Report


If I finish .500 in my NABL league this year, I would be happy.  Right now I am playing a practice league.  You know, getting to know my players, trying out different line-ups, etc.  I'm also seeing how good the competition is, even though I set all their lineups and the computer manages them.  It has been real fun so far.  Most of the teams that I predicted to be good, have been winning their games and leading their divisions thus far.


BOXSCORE: 2005 Auburn Anacondas At 2005 Kenosha Titans              4/12/2005
 
  Anacondas          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Titans             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Kendall C         4  0  0  0 .256     J.Rollins SS        5  2  2  0 .222  
  M.Giles 2B          3  0  1  0 .262     R.Mackowiak RF      4  2  2  0 .375  
  T.Helton 1B         4  0  0  0 .385     P.Polanco 2B        4  2  3  3 .439  
  M.Ramirez LF        4  0  0  0 .205     H.Matsui CF         4  1  3  2 .316  
  C.Tracy DH          2  0  1  0 .357     M.Piazza C          4  1  1  3 .293  
  J.Rivera CF         3  0  0  0 .300     D.Dellucci DH       4  1  2  1 .310  
  J.Gibbons RF        3  0  1  0 .320     B.Hall 3B           4  0  0  0 .200  
  J.Crede 3B          3  0  0  0 .200     D.Ward 1B           3  0  0  0 .381  
  O.Cabrera SS        3  0  1  0 .256     T.Hollandsworth LF  3  0  0  0 .222  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      29  0  4  0                 Totals      35  9 13  9
 
 
Anacondas....... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  4  1
Titans.......... 2 0 2  1 1 0  0 3    -  9 13  1
 
Anacondas (4-6)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Johnson LOSS(0-2)       7      12   9   9   1   3   2   6.43
K.Correia                 1       1   0   0   1   1   0   6.00
Totals                    8      13   9   9   2   4   2
 
Titans (5-5)             IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Westbrook WIN(2-1)      9       4   0   0   1   8   0   4.86
Totals                    9       4   0   0   1   8   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 22,391 DATE- Tuesday, April 12th 2005 TIME- Day 
UMPIRES- Fieldin Culbreth, Eric Cooper, Marvin Hudson, Larry Young
T- 2:43
LEFT ON BASE- Anacondas: 4  Titans: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Anacondas: 1  Titans: 3
ERRORS- J.Kendall, D.Ward
DOUBLES- M.Giles(2nd), O.Cabrera(3rd), R.Mackowiak(2nd), P.Polanco(6th),
         H.Matsui-2(3rd)
HOME RUNS- M.Piazza(5th), D.Dellucci(3rd)
STOLEN BASES- J.Rollins-2(6th), R.Mackowiak(3rd)
CAUGHT STEALING- T.Hollandsworth
WALKS- M.Giles, D.Ward, T.Hollandsworth
HIT BY PITCH- C.Tracy
STRIKE OUTS- J.Kendall, M.Giles, T.Helton-2, M.Ramirez, J.Rivera-2, J.Crede,
             J.Rollins, R.Mackowiak, D.Dellucci, T.Hollandsworth
GIDP- T.Helton, J.Rivera, J.Gibbons, H.Matsui
WEB GEMS- Bot 3rd: Marcus Giles robbed Hideki Matsui of a base hit.
 
Jake Westbrook pitched 9 strong innings and second baseman Placido Polanco had
3 base hits and 3 RBI as the Kenosha Titans topped the Auburn Anacondas by a
score of 9 to 0 at Fenway Park.
 
Westbrook(2-1) pitched one of his finer games as he simply was too much for
the Auburn batters.  He allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk in 9 innings seeing
his ERA drop from 10.57 to 4.86.  Kenosha managed 13 in their victory.
 
Jason Johnson(0-2) was hit with the loss.  He was not very effective,
surrendering 9 runs in 7 innings.

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1st practice game of the spring

2006-02-09T22:58:00.000-06:00

Strat-O-Matic Report


I hope this works.


BOXSCORE: 2005 Kansas City Kings At 2005 Minnesota Mins
 
  Kings                    AB  R  H RBI   Mins                     AB  R  H RBI
  D.Dejesus CF              4  0  0  0    S.Stewart LF              4  1  1  0 
  C.Ambres DH               4  1  2  1    L.Rodriguez 2B            4  0  2  0 
  M.Sweeney 1B              4  1  1  0    J.Mauer C                 4  0  1  0 
  T.Long LF                 4  0  1  0    J.Morneau 1B              3  1  1  2 
  E.Brown RF                4  0  0  0    T.Hunter CF               2  0  0  0 
  A.Berroa SS               4  0  2  1  A-N.Punto 3B                2  0  0  0 
  J.Buck C                  3  0  0  0    J.Jones RF,CF             4  0  0  0 
  M.Teahen 3B               3  0  0  0    L.Ford DH                 3  0  1  0 
D-A.Guiel PH                1  0  0  0    M.Cuddyer 3B,RF           3  1  2  1 
  J.McEwing 2B              2  0  0  0    J.Castro SS               3  0  0  0 
B-M.Stairs PH               0  0  0  0                                         
C-R.Gotay 2B                0  0  0  0                                         
                           -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---
         Totals            33  2  6  2           Totals            32  3  8  3
 
A-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Hunter In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For McEwing In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Stairs In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Teahen In 9th Inning
 
INJURY: Torii Hunter INJURED (for 3 more games) in 4th inning
 
Kings........... 0 0 0  0 0 2  0 0 0  -  2  6  1
Mins............ 2 1 0  0 0 0  0 0    -  3  8  1
 
Kings                    IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC
D.Carrasco LOSS           6 1/3   7   3   3   0   1   2  98
A.Burgos                  1       1   0   0   1   0   0  23
A.Sisco                   0 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   7
Totals                    8       8   3   3   1   2   2
 
Mins                     IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC
J.Santana WIN             8       6   2   2   2   7   1 116
J.Nathan SAVE             1       0   0   0   0   1   0  17
Totals                    9       6   2   2   2   8   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 25,753 TIME- Day 
UMPIRES- Ted Barrett, Alfonso Marquez, Rick Reed, Terry Craft
T- 2:50
LEFT ON BASE- Kings: 6  Mins: 6
DOUBLE PLAYS- Kings: 1  Mins: 1
ERRORS- M.Teahen, T.Hunter
DOUBLES- C.Ambres, M.Sweeney, A.Berroa, S.Stewart, L.Rodriguez, J.Mauer
HOME RUNS- C.Ambres, J.Morneau, M.Cuddyer
WALKS- J.Buck, M.Stairs, J.Morneau
STRIKE OUTS- D.Dejesus, C.Ambres, M.Sweeney-2, T.Long, J.Buck, M.Teahen-2,
             T.Hunter, N.Punto
GIDP- J.Buck, J.Morneau
WILD PITCHES- D.Carrasco
WEB GEMS- Bot 4th: Joe McEwing robbed Jacque Jones of a base hit.

Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

Since you've been gone or Welcome February

2006-02-03T18:53:00.000-06:00

So I haven't written for quite some time now and I think that my last four posts have begun this way so I am really going to have to change that.

So I missed Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and January. But February is here now!!! That only means 2 things: Michelle's month (her birthday and valentine's day make it her month) and the new Strat-o-Matic baseball cards come out. No laughing Montsy.

First and by far foremost is Michelle's month. We have a lot of fun things planned this much. First is this sunday. Super Bowl XL. Michelle has been angry with the NFL the last couple of years. She wrote them a letter inquiring, "why the switch from January to my month." The NFL has yet to respond. We are having my buddy, who is the world's biggest packer fun (don't hold that against the guy - he is a homer, but at least he know something about football, unlike most packer fans - I swear they think brett favre is god) and his wife over. Also pudd is probably going to stop by. He's coming from East Lansing and headed to Milwaukee, but I hope that he stays for the game. He's in love - but aren't we all? It's February. Then next saturday the 11th, Mish and I are celebrating an early valentine's day dinner at the club with mish's parents. Next of course is valentine's day, a big part of february. Then saturday the 18th, I am inviting, couples only, (sorry mcclane...unless ann can make it) to a special event at Apple Holler. It is a type of clue, murder mystery/desperate housewife theme. You can dinner and get to engage in a show at the same time. $39.95 per person - anyone interested? (that means you chief) Finally, on the 20th is Mish's birthday. I believe it lands on a Monday this year. Maybe we will let her pick the restaurant this year. Last year it was Chuck E. Cheese.

The #2 thing (a very distant 2nd) that happens in Mish's month is the arrival of the new strat cards. I am particularly excited this year because this is the first year that I will be in a real league. Typically I play by myself. I used to play with my buddy Nick when I moved to Kenosha, but then he moved to cali, then to michigan, then to ohio, and now he is with Judy Garland in Texas. I tried to get our old youth pastor at our church to play with me, Aaron Monts, a huge cubs fan, but he kind of looked at me weird and said something like, "Don't you know they have video games now." So I guess that would be a no, huh montsy?

But now I am in a real strat league. It is called NABL or North American Baseball League. If you check it out, my team is the Kenosha Titans. There are three teams from Racine and one from Milwaukee. My buddy, Chris, got me on the waiting list. We play softball together and got talking about baseball and I asked him if he had ever heard of Strat-o-Matic. He was excited that I knew about the game and told me about the league he had been in for awhile. I, of course, asked him if I could get on the waiting list for a team. He obliged. About 2 years later, I inherited a team. Immediately I took a look at my roster. The team had won its division the year before, but was extremely old. The average age was like 35. So I quickly traded a bunch of players for younger players and for draft picks. My team is in a bit of a rebuilding year, but that way I have low expectations, right?

Anyways, the cards should be here next week sometime. I will anxiously be awaiting the little brown truck.

decorative rocks: Beauty or the Beast

2005-10-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

So I know that I haven't written for awhile... okay like forever. But let me explain. You see, it is fall. So many things are happening for me in the fall.

I am a teacher and the school year starts.
In baseball the pennant races heat up in Sept/Oct and the playoffs begin
Football starts, which also means that Fantasy Football starts up. In August the drafts take place (I am in 3 leagues: Currently my teams are all 3-2, which is respectable)
My wife is pregnant and sick. (This means that I am taking care of Faith a lot more, which is great, but time consuming especially since I am not a very good multitasker.)
I participate in 2 small groups on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with our church. (1 youth oriented and one 20-30's group)

So that is how I have been spending my time.

Okay - back to the main idea of the post.

Have any of you noticed at some new establishments their ideas for landscape architecture are decorative rocks?

I mean truly I understand the concept of rocks being beautiful. I love the mountains - I wouldn't mind at all living close to them. They truly show God's power and his creativity, his brilliance. But for people to think that a rock is decorative when it is about 3 ft by 3 ft by 3 ft sitting on the edge of grass, where a curb is supposed to be, makes totally no sense to me. In fact every time I see some stupid decorative rock it makes me never want to visit that place ever again! It's like they take a rock and put it in the lawn and think that it is beautiful. Put it in a park, or leave it in nature.

2 months ago I was pulling into one of these establishments for a cup of coffee for my wife and scraped the bottom/side of my passenger side sliding door!!! I couldn't believe it. First of all, I couldn't really see it. Secondly, it was almost on the road where one would drive. Crazy? Yes, that is what I was thinking... and maybe a few other things.

Either way, I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the meaningless subject of decorative rocks. Please vote for or against in your comment and give a reason either way.

I'm back - Kel

a day at the fountains

2005-08-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

My sister, Kristen, and her husband Thor came with their baby boy, Tyren to visit us this past weekend. We had such a great time. Lots of walks for ice cream and to the park, games and books, food and fun. But probably the most fun, and for sure the most wet and wild time was our time at a place Mish and I like to call, "the fountains". It is where water from Lake Michigan comes surging through little fountains at this park near the harbor. Faith is such the explorer and soon Tyren joined in on the adventures. Here are some cool pics I took. Enjoy.

2005-08-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

This is Faith and Tyren - together they = trouble. :)

2005-08-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

a supercool shot of Mish flinging Faith around... Faith is using her powers of peace to shoot a rainbow out of her feet.

2005-08-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Here is an awesome picture of poor Tyren getting blasted by a high pressure fountain. No permanent damage.

2005-08-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

Mish, Faith and Tyren enjoying the hot, wet fountainy day.

2005-08-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Faith's Cousin, Tyren - two months younger, but oh so much bigger.

2005-08-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

Adventurous Faith at the Fountains in Kenosha

Jesus loves the little ones like ME, Part 2

2005-07-19T09:03:00.000-05:00

When I said, "Jesus loves the little ones like me." at the end of my post yesterday, what I meant was that I am the abortion clinic worker, or I am the homosexual. Not that I'm gay, but that Jesus came for me and them, for us, for the whole world. I am not more "chosen" than them. I don't care what the professors in seminaries tell me about Calvinism and the chosen 144,000 of the Jehovahs Witnesses (which I just threw in there because of the chosen aspect of it all - unrelated to Christianity as we know it). Jesus came for the whole world.

When asked by a disciple why He revealed Himself to them and not the world, Jesus responded by saying, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and my Father will love him."

Anyone! Sure the disciples were special and blessed because they got to know Jesus in such an incredible way, but Jesus loved everyone and anyone. The Samaritan woman at the well was also blessed and her experience with Jesus was also life changing. Samaritans were considered half-breeds, but Jesus came for her. Who are the Samaritans of today? Please give me some examples. Probably homosexuals, or the homeless. Maybe it is the people who are on welfare that our society looks down upon so much since we are so consumerized. I am not saying that we shouldn't work. But only that Jesus came for them too. I am not better or more special, or even more chosen.

So much of what we have believed in modern Christianity is about me. Our worship is a lot about me.

Hold me, Heal me, Love me.
My personal relationship with Christ.
God has a wonderful plan for my life.
I could sing of your love forever.

We emphasize an intimacy with Jesus in our public worship and our evangelical lifestyle. Even in our witnessing to others. All of that is not so bad. But that should not be our focus. I don't know where in the Bible where Jesus practiced such things. It was so much more about others, and about community. I don't want to overuse the word community. It becomes numb after awhile to Christians who are used to thinking about their quiet time, or their personal relationship. Quiet times aren't bad. Reading and studying the Bible is an awesome and life changing thing. It's just not the only thing to think about.

Lastly, and then I will let you all digest what I have been thinking about for sometime, Jesus' followers thought that he was going to be the king that would lead them against the Romans who oppressed them. They thought that he was going to be the king of the Jews. The difference between his disciples and the Pharisees who had Jesus crucified was that his disciples believed in him and wanted him to be the king to save them, while the Pharisees did not believe in him and did not want him upsetting anything. They said that the sign over Jesus' head at his crucifiction should have read, "This man claimed to be King of the Jews."

So when Jesus washed his disciples feet, they were appalled at first, especially Peter. A king doesn't do that sort of thing. That's why Peter said, "Lord, you will never wash my feet."

Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesuss loved them enough to wash their dusty, dirty feet. That is something a servant would do.

What a radical example of how we are supposed to love others!

Jesus loves the little ones like me

2005-07-18T09:43:00.000-05:00

People say you should love your neighbor as yourself, or you should treat others how you would like to be treated. But Jesus has a better commandment.

John 13:34 "... that you love one another; as I have loved you ..."

How much did Jesus love us? And maybe a better question is how did he do this?

Of course he died on the cross for our sins, saving us, but most of us will not love others this way. In a practical sense, however, Jesus gave us many examples to follow.

Jesus said that he did not come to this world to judge it , but to save it. If Jesus didn't judge, why do we judge people so much? (wait a minute, did I just make a judgement, ha. no, no, a mere question) Even on levels that seem ok to do some judging such as homosexuality, swearing, lying, or abortion; why do we do it?

An example of how Jesus loved and didn't judge was when there was a woman caught in the act of adultry. She lied, she was unfaithful to her spouse. According to Jewish law, she was to be stoned. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus. They asked Him what should be done. Jesus replied with love by saying, "Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone." The crowd dispersed and Jesus was alone with the woman. He looked at her and asked her where her accusers went. She said that they left. Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; now go and sin now more."

It's not like He didn't acknowledge that the woman sinned - he said "go and sin no more." This implied she sinned. But Jesus said he would not judge/condemn her.

How often are we like the Pharisees - quick to cast judgement/condemn others or groups of people? I am not condoning such actions as abortions or homosexuality. I just know that we are supposed to follow Christ's example of loving one another as he has loved us. If Jesus were here today in bodily form, he would not be judging those individuals or groups of people, he would be loving them. Not condemning them, but trying to save them from sin, just like he would be trying to save me from mine.

Remember the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is now.

Jesus loves the little ones like me.

Circumcision or not

2005-07-07T07:46:00.000-05:00

I was reading the Bible yesterday and I had a few questions. I thought I would open it up to all of you to get your thoughts and opinions. Possibly, they can be backed by some sort of relevance.

In Acts Chapter 15 certain men taught that "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to discuss this with the elders. Paul and Barnabas reported many wonderful things that God has done with the Gentiles. But some of the believers still thought that they should be circumcised and keep the commands of Moses. Finally Peter spoke up and spoke of how God wanted the Gentiles to experience his Holy Spirit just as the Jews did, making no distinction between them. Peter said that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner. James added that the prophesy of Amos 9:11,12 had been fulfilled, and that we should not have them become circumcised but rather have them be free from sin like sexual immorality.

So they wrote a letter that Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas delivered to the Gentiles at Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia stating these things. When the churches received the letter they rejoiced with encouragement. At the end of Chapter 15 Paul and Barnabas get into an argument and part ways. Silas goes with Paul to Lystra where he meets Timothy at the beginning of chapter 16. Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman who believed in Jesus but his father was Greek. Paul wanted to take Timothy with him on his missionary adventures. Verse 3 of Chapter 16 is confusing me. Here it goes: ... And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. Verse 4 continues... And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

Now wait a minute. Didn't the elders at Jerusalem decide not to require circumcision? Yet Timothy was taken by Paul to be circumcised. He did this for a reason, but wouldn't it be a great opportunity for him to explain why Timothy didn't have to be circumcised, because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter was quoted back in Jerusalem (Acts 15:10) saying "why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" He is referring to the requirement of circumcision.

Paul probably had good reason for having Timothy circumcised, but I am unclear on what that exactly is.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Day Tripper

2005-06-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

On Mish's blog, you heard or can hear about her recent adventures in Minnesota with two of her youth group students. Now it's my turn to share my experiences with Faith. We traveled with the girls to Minnesota. Then Mish dropped us off on Thursday, had lunch with my mom and brother and took off back to the cities to spend some time at the U.

The rest of Thursday was really fun and pretty relaxing. Faith's "little" cousin, Tyren, came over. (he is 2 months younger than her, but 8 pounds heavier) He brought his dad, Thor, along with him. Also my sisters came over later. Thor and John, my brother, played horseshoe while Tyren played in the dirt. I didn't want Faith to play in the dirt, so we brought a blanket and some toys outside in the shade. She had fun with my sisters, a little apprehensive at first, but warming up to them rather quickly. We brought a table close by and decided to play some cards and drink some lemonade. We threw Jacks for partners and I landed my brother, John, while my mom got Thor. It was fun. John and I won the first three games, then my mom and Thor won the next two.

Friday was very emotional for me. Faith, my sister Kim, my mom, and I went to the Crossroads Mall. It was fun - for a mall. Faith did the cutest thing with a small bottle of lotion that my mom gave her to play with. She immediately tried putting it under her arms like deodorant. Too funny. Faith also got extremely excited when my mom pulled out a big blueberry/raspberry muffin. Her eyes got so big and her arms shot up towards the muffin. She thoroughly enjoyed it gyrating with her body and saying "Yummy!" in between bites.

When we got home from the mall, Faith was tired. She didn't have a nap yet and it was almost 3pm. So we walked in through the garage and I put Faith down and she climbed up the stairs. I was right behind her. When she got to the landing, there were a couple of pairs of shoes in her way. Before I could move the shoes or do anything, Faith tripped over one of them and fell down. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue. Faith falls pretty gracefully, either on her butt, or she gets her hands out in time. But this time there was a big wooden decorative base board in the way. Her head hit right on it. She broke into tears immediately. When I saw it, I did too. It was so blue. My mom got a knife and put it on it right away. The knife trick surprisingly worked. Faith wouldn't let us put any ice or anything else on her forehead, only that cool calming knife. How bizarre? Faith seemed like herself most of the evening. I was devistated. I hate it when innocent ones get hurt. Especially when she's your own. The evening ended with us going over to my sister, Kim and Don's place, having dinner, playing cards, games with Tyren and Faith, and watching the Twins win an extra inning game. Faith and I stayed over.

Saturday morning Faith was up and ready to play bright and early. Kim got up and wanted to make us breakfast. She enjoyed playing with Faith and cooking for us. Faith really loved her french toast. Faith took a long nap when we got back to my parents house. I helped my dad with some yard work. It was real nice just sitting down and taking a break with him. A little kitty kept us company as we talked about life. Just so you all know my parents do not own a cat. It just arrived on Friday mysteriously. When Faithy woke up she was real excited to see the kitten. She at first called it a puppy. But after being corrected she chanted, "Kitty!" getting as close to it as she dared to. I have some cute pics that I will try and put on the blog. We watched Napolean Dynamite that night. My family laughed and most of them thought there was no plot but enjoyed the silliness of it all.

Sunday morning was Father's day. Faith had a cute present for me to start the day. No, it wasn't a big poop, although she did poop so many times over the four days. She was up at about 6am, but I picked her up and brought her in bed with me. She put her arms around me and closed her eyes again. It was so nice. We slept until about 8:30. What a Father's day present, huh? We went to church, came back and had brunch. I got my sister's car packed up with our stuff. My sister, Katie, was the one hosting Mish and her students, and she came down for Father's day, but also to bring Faith and I back to Michelle.

Overall, it took a lot of energy. I had a good time. Faith had a great time, she was so cute. My time would have been better if Faith hadn't tripped over that shoe and busted her head. A week later, there is still a little bruising visible.

Master of my domain

2005-05-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

After deciding to become a certified teacher and entering a program at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, back in June of 2003, I finally have my Master's of Education and all the rights and privileges that come with that. You see, I received my teacher certification in special ed. in August '04. But I felt like there was only 12 more credits to go to get my Master's, and their is a significant pay increase, plus the feeling of being finished. So this year I took 3 more classes (One an independent study) and passed a comprehensive 4 hour exam and now look at me.

Now originally I didn't want to go to the ceremony. I think that they are so long and mostly boring. They say similar things at each one. I never went to my undergraduate ceremony at the University of MN. My mother begged, even pleaded with me, but I wouldn't cave. This time my wife wanted me to do it, and I felt like why not. Carthage is a smaller college, it shouldn't take so long. Boy was I wrong. Almost 3 hours wrong. To me that seems like a long time to just walk across a stage for 10 seconds. I can't rationalize it. My poor family and especially my poor daughter had to endure the event. I felt terrible. I just kept apologizing to them for attending. They thought I was crazy - they were saying that it was such an important event and that it should be celebrated. True. But couldn't we celebrate it at the golf course? (speaking of which... I received a new set of golf clubs from Mike, AnnMarie, and Tiffany and I really love them.) or at a baseball game? Or just over some cake and ice cream. The torture of the waiting for your diploma is almost ceremoniously and symbolically like one's time at college. Well, no - more of the length of time. 4 years for a degree. and 3 hours to walk for 10 seconds. Anyone out there agree with me, or am I just unworthy of my degree since I am so impatient. It's just that my time is very precious to me. You can't replace time. You can't buy more of it. You can only spend it or use it up. So that is why I hate wasting time. Do I feel like walking down an aisle to get a piece of paper that says "you can pick up your diploma an hour after the ceremony" is a waste of time? Yes. Was it worth it? Or as my wife, Michelle, would ask, "Doesn't it feel good to have closure?" Yes, honey, it does. I'm done.

2005-05-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

graduation day - Yippee!

wow, me too!

2005-05-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

When Mish first asked me out to breakfast, I was excited. Very few girls had ever given me much thought, though the rumor around campus was that I was a lady killer. (remember it was a rumor, totally untrue) That's what drew mish to me in the first place. She thought that I must have been a jerk, but when she first met me at church, I seemed so sweet, attentive, and dare i say, fun. So she decided to decide for herself if I was truly a player or if the rumors were just that. Mish asked me if I wanted to go to Al's Breakfast, my favorite restaurant on campus. Little did she know how much I loved Al's already. At Al's, she put ketchup on everything. For those of you that don't know me so well, condiments don't agree with my pallet. So I said to her, "That's a lot of ketchup." It's been an inside joke of ours ever since. I guess not anymore since I am sharing it with you all. After breakfast and wonderful conversation, I walked Mish to the Rec Center. I didn't want her to go inside. I was having too much fun talking and getting to know her.

Finally, I could tell she wanted to get going so I said, "Why don't you give me a call sometime?"

And Michelle cleverly responded with, "Actually, I like it when people call me, that way I know that they want to talk with me."

I exclaimed, " Wow, me too!"

I called her that night and the rest is history. I'm loving life with my wife and daughter.

cupboards, burnt hands, and pregnancy meals

2005-05-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

I really like this picture of Faith, since I have seen pictures of myself doing the same thing when I was her age. My mom would let me hang out in the kitchen with her and explore. Sometimes I would take everything out of a drawer and just sit in it. Other times my mom let me do a bit too much and I burned my hand on the oven. Too bad all this time in the kitchen hasn't translated into much success as a cook. Although Mish does say I make the best grilled cheese in the world - she might just be a tad bias. Also when Mish was pregnant with Faith I made a mean mac and cheese dinner... I had to since I made it literally 5-6 times a week for awhile. Ah, I miss those days of cooking grandeur. If I haven't told you yet, those days are hopefully coming again real soon, since Mish and I would like to have another one. Faith is just too cute. She is saying so many words. And she is really walking now. We are real proud of her. And she is real proud of herself, which is so cute and just encourages her to try more. Sorry it has taken me so long to write something. I will try to be more dilligent in the future.

2005-05-14T20:34:00.000-05:00

Looking for the pizza cutter

2005-04-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

St. Patty's day what?

2005-04-17T11:52:00.000-05:00

I'm all done Daddy!

NFL Draft

2005-04-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I am getting real excited for the upcoming NFL Draft. I like football too - not as much as baseball, but ask my wife I am still pretty fanatical about it according to her. Of course my favorite team is and always will be the Minnesota Vikings. It has been real fun living in Wisconsin, in the middle of Packer and Bear Country (Kenosha is about 5 minutes from Illinois) being a Vikings fan. Especially when they beat the Packers! I show off my Purple!

So the Vikes have two picks in the first round this year. What are their needs? I know that Mike Tice, the Viking head coach, says that they will take the best player available regardless of need, but I don't believe him. I mean he lies about his super bowl tickets, how can you believe him in other matters. So let's assume that the Vikings will draft at least loosely based on need.

The Vikes finally spent some money this off-season - aquiring Napolean Harris, linebacker from Oakland, and a #1 pick for Randy Moss. Am I sad about that? No, not really. We had a good run of it. Me and Randy that is. I just wish we could have Herscheled the Raiders a bit more. We traded a late round pick, I think a 7th rounder, for Middle Linebacker, Sam Cowart from the Jets. If he stays healthy, he could be solid. Our defensive line improved by signing Pat Williams away from the Bills. We got Brad Johnson back as a solid back up quarterback. Our biggest signings were in the secondary, however, when we signed Freddy Smoot from Washington, and stealing Darren Sharper from the Pack. I think that it will be a bit weird seeing Sharper in purple, but if he can stay healthy, and that's a big if... we should be golden in the secondary.

Now, what do we need? It would be awesome to get Mike Williams with our 7th pick overall in the draft. I'm a big Mike Williams fan, and NOT Braylon Edwards. Edwards is from Michigan, and I do believe in the stereotype of Michigan receivers. Anthony Carter was the best one, by the way. So I am hoping that some other team takes Edwards before the Vikings, and that Mike Williams is still available.

With our other first round pick, 18th overall I believe, I am hoping the Vikes go after Thomas Davis. He's a safety out of Georgia who hits like a linebacker and has great speed. He would be great insurance in case of a Sharper injury or in case of an injury or ineffectiveness to Corey Chavous.

Well, my baby girl is up... I am gonna get her and feed her and take her on a walk on this beautiful day. 1 week till the draft... give me some comments on the Vikes.

"Baby!!!! - Don't do this to me baby!!!!"

2005-04-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

My daughter Faith is 13 months now. She is such a good girl. She smiles a lot, talks a lot, plays a lot. She is so interested in life. She usually is more interested in my things than her own toys, however. The other day she got a hold of a CD from our CD rack and chucked it to the ground, busting the case into a few pieces. I wasn't really angry at all, just surprised at her strength. Dang girl - you're only 13 months and you can break CD cases? Impressive. The latest thing she has been doing, which is quite calming for her, is calling all photographs "baby!" Sometimes she calls my picture "dadada!", but for the most part I'm a baby too. At first I thought that it was great that she was learning words, but now it has gotten to the point that I am getting nervous. I mean I learned in my education courses that if a student continuously practices something incorrectly it is going to take them twice as long for them to learn the right way. Could the same thing be true for babies? Sorry. I know that the answer is probably - relax, but sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.

2005-04-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

My beautiful wife, Michelle, and daughter, Faith, and of course, me.

Hello and Father of Mine

2005-04-13T21:07:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I am new to this blog thing. My wife is a blogger (one who blogs), and although she has never had a blog of her own, she has posted anonymously on numerous sites. She is the reason that I am actually trying this out. I am being used by her. I am her guinea pig. She wants to see if this actually works, so me Kel Tiger will be used as animal testing. If I am not using blog ettiquette, please inform me. Otherwise, here it goes.

I love baseball, and I am a huge Minnesota Twins fan, hence the name Twinsfan37. Do I dare go into more detail into my love of baseball? Why not? My father, when he would come home from work when I was a boy, would pitch to me almost every night when the weather got nice. I loved it! He would also hit me fly balls, pop-ups and grounders. My question to all of you is this: Did I love baseball simply because it was quality time spent with my father, or did I love it because my father did? Or did I just love it because it was fun and interesting to me? I will also answer, even though my wife states that it is weird to answer your own posts. I believe it was a combination of all three. I loved spending time with my dad. I live about 7 hours drive from him now, and miss him often. My dad was working a lot as a policeman, and worked odd hours at times, so I cherished our time spent together as a youngster. But if we were doing something that I didn't enjoy as much, such as splitting wood for our stove, that wasn't as fun spending time together. My dad and I are a lot alike, but he is fanatical about bicyling as well as baseball. However, I am not into biking like he is. Not much at all, unfortunately. So I like to think that it is a combination of the three.

Please let me know your thoughts on the subject, as well as your interest in baseball, your favorite team, knowledge of the game, and your own father or mother and your following in their footsteps in any aspect of your life.