Nice week; MVP, Jack Johnson, Sox....
I'm liking this week. I've been playing MVP baseball with Mike, reading about the Sox's spring training, etc. Tonight is the first spring training game, and Matt Clement, who I've always wanted to be on the Sox, is starting. The guy has some nice pitches - nasty slider, tailing fastball, good change-up and a decent split. I think he's going to win a good amount of games for the Sox - I'd say about 16 or 17. I always thought he was a tad-bit lesser version of Tim Hudson. Also, when Wade Miller gets healthy, he might have the best right-handed slider in the game (other than F-Rod), and he could have a big impact on the Sox's playoff run come October.
I'm also excited about Edgar (Edgah!) Renteria. He's a great all-around player who is capable of hitting .300 in Fenway, and will swipe a lot of bags (I'd guess about 20). I'll also bet anything that he beats out Derek Jeter for the Gold Glove (Jeter won it by default last season). I'm feeling pretty good about this year, and I think the Sox have a legitimate chance of repeating. The only move I didn't like this off-season was the acquisition of Mr. "Pot Pie" David Wells. He's a good lefty, but come mid-season; I bet he'll spend at least 10-20 days on the DL. Luckily, though, to balance that out Randy Johnson will be the first pitcher in MLB history to pitch from a wheelchair when his knees give out. How long can he really last, knowing he has exactly 0% cartilage in his knees?
Anyway, the other cool thing to happen this week is the release of the new Jack Johnson CD. Right now I'm only on track 10, but I've loved everything I've heard so far. I can't think of a better person to listen to on a perfect day than Jack Johnson. His lyrics are uplifting, and (although he really only plays bare chords), he has a unique sound to the way he plays. I also like how he isn't always trying to blow people away with vocals; he has a soft voice and generally keeps it that way. He's a really chill musician, and I hope his music stays that way.
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Kind of a random tidbit here, but I recently read about this lady Julia Grey. Apparently, this woman dated Dave Matthews while he still lived in South Africa. They were together for years, and of course, they fell in love. They went to the United States and moved to Virginia, and while Dave started doing his thing as a musician, they remained together, never really fading away from each other. Dave, like any man who genuinely loves a woman, decided to propose to Julia. She graciously said "no." So some time passed, Dave wrote the song "I'll Back You Up" for her, and he proposes to her again. To Dave's surprise, once again, she says "no". By now, Dave, who obviously is a sucker for love (See: Crash, the CD), is heartbroken. Nonetheless, he doesn't give up. He goes on to write the song "Halloween" (a song I love very much) about his frustration with Julia, because supposedly the 2nd time he proposed to her, it was on Halloween. They remain together, as a couple, unmarried.
Finally, Dave builds up the courage to ask Julia, one last time, because he cared so much about her, to marry him. Imagine that, the man has been turned down twice, is incredibly in love with this woman, and still finds a way to pull out one last bit of courage in hope of calling Julia his bride. I can only imagine what he must have felt like going into this.
"No," was her answer, for the third and final time.
Finally, fed-up, they went their separate ways. Dave goes on to become one of the biggest musicians in the world, and Julia goes on to live a normal, non-celebrity lifestyle. The song "Grey Street" is based on Dave's curiosity of how Julia feels today (Dave, eventually, married another woman, and they had twins).
I find this story amazing for a few reasons. I look at what Dave put himself through, and the pride he lost, as something that's incredibly inspiring. Most woman may never know the pressure a man feels (I'm not there yet, but I can imagine) as he forces the breath out of his lungs, legs shaking, and asks someone he loves to marry him. He is asking the person he cares so much for to share the rest of her life with him, something that I know will be either the most gratifying or devastating day for me personally, when the time comes. Doing that once, just GETTING yourself to do it once, must be terrifying, because it's the ultimate make or break situation. Now imagine getting shot down that one time, going through it all again, only to get shot down again, and then finally doing it yet again, only to get every bit of what you live for shredded to heart wrenching, sickening, and trembling pieces. What, honestly, would be worse?
I admire Dave because of the courage it took for him to do it again and again and again, but furthermore, I admire the fact that he bounced back from it. I, personally, have never come close to experiencing heartbreak quite like that, but I have experienced heartbreak before, and I know how terrible, on a smaller scale, it feels. Sometimes you never rebound from it. People view you differently, but more importantly, you view yourself differently. The urge to act again, to express how much you genuinely care about that person is almost overwhelming, because you feel like over time, things change. But you never quite know, and the fear of going back to that step that made you feel so insignificant is literally terrifying. You feel like you want to be understood fairly, and not by the premeditated thoughts people have of you simply by looking at you. You realize, even if no one else does, the passion behind your feelings, and the will you have to run the extra mile. You know everything you'd be willing to sacrifice for that person, and you pray that the person you care about is willing to sacrifice nothing more than a chance on you. You want them to take a chance on you for nothing else, no other motives or intentions, than the thought of falling in love.
I'm also excited about Edgar (Edgah!) Renteria. He's a great all-around player who is capable of hitting .300 in Fenway, and will swipe a lot of bags (I'd guess about 20). I'll also bet anything that he beats out Derek Jeter for the Gold Glove (Jeter won it by default last season). I'm feeling pretty good about this year, and I think the Sox have a legitimate chance of repeating. The only move I didn't like this off-season was the acquisition of Mr. "Pot Pie" David Wells. He's a good lefty, but come mid-season; I bet he'll spend at least 10-20 days on the DL. Luckily, though, to balance that out Randy Johnson will be the first pitcher in MLB history to pitch from a wheelchair when his knees give out. How long can he really last, knowing he has exactly 0% cartilage in his knees?
Anyway, the other cool thing to happen this week is the release of the new Jack Johnson CD. Right now I'm only on track 10, but I've loved everything I've heard so far. I can't think of a better person to listen to on a perfect day than Jack Johnson. His lyrics are uplifting, and (although he really only plays bare chords), he has a unique sound to the way he plays. I also like how he isn't always trying to blow people away with vocals; he has a soft voice and generally keeps it that way. He's a really chill musician, and I hope his music stays that way.
---------------
Kind of a random tidbit here, but I recently read about this lady Julia Grey. Apparently, this woman dated Dave Matthews while he still lived in South Africa. They were together for years, and of course, they fell in love. They went to the United States and moved to Virginia, and while Dave started doing his thing as a musician, they remained together, never really fading away from each other. Dave, like any man who genuinely loves a woman, decided to propose to Julia. She graciously said "no." So some time passed, Dave wrote the song "I'll Back You Up" for her, and he proposes to her again. To Dave's surprise, once again, she says "no". By now, Dave, who obviously is a sucker for love (See: Crash, the CD), is heartbroken. Nonetheless, he doesn't give up. He goes on to write the song "Halloween" (a song I love very much) about his frustration with Julia, because supposedly the 2nd time he proposed to her, it was on Halloween. They remain together, as a couple, unmarried.
Finally, Dave builds up the courage to ask Julia, one last time, because he cared so much about her, to marry him. Imagine that, the man has been turned down twice, is incredibly in love with this woman, and still finds a way to pull out one last bit of courage in hope of calling Julia his bride. I can only imagine what he must have felt like going into this.
"No," was her answer, for the third and final time.
Finally, fed-up, they went their separate ways. Dave goes on to become one of the biggest musicians in the world, and Julia goes on to live a normal, non-celebrity lifestyle. The song "Grey Street" is based on Dave's curiosity of how Julia feels today (Dave, eventually, married another woman, and they had twins).
I find this story amazing for a few reasons. I look at what Dave put himself through, and the pride he lost, as something that's incredibly inspiring. Most woman may never know the pressure a man feels (I'm not there yet, but I can imagine) as he forces the breath out of his lungs, legs shaking, and asks someone he loves to marry him. He is asking the person he cares so much for to share the rest of her life with him, something that I know will be either the most gratifying or devastating day for me personally, when the time comes. Doing that once, just GETTING yourself to do it once, must be terrifying, because it's the ultimate make or break situation. Now imagine getting shot down that one time, going through it all again, only to get shot down again, and then finally doing it yet again, only to get every bit of what you live for shredded to heart wrenching, sickening, and trembling pieces. What, honestly, would be worse?
I admire Dave because of the courage it took for him to do it again and again and again, but furthermore, I admire the fact that he bounced back from it. I, personally, have never come close to experiencing heartbreak quite like that, but I have experienced heartbreak before, and I know how terrible, on a smaller scale, it feels. Sometimes you never rebound from it. People view you differently, but more importantly, you view yourself differently. The urge to act again, to express how much you genuinely care about that person is almost overwhelming, because you feel like over time, things change. But you never quite know, and the fear of going back to that step that made you feel so insignificant is literally terrifying. You feel like you want to be understood fairly, and not by the premeditated thoughts people have of you simply by looking at you. You realize, even if no one else does, the passion behind your feelings, and the will you have to run the extra mile. You know everything you'd be willing to sacrifice for that person, and you pray that the person you care about is willing to sacrifice nothing more than a chance on you. You want them to take a chance on you for nothing else, no other motives or intentions, than the thought of falling in love.