Baseball Talk: Fandom is hard but baseball teaches you life lessons

Being a fan is hard:

Monday night on the way home from work, at the moment my beloved Texas Rangers were getting killed by the Toronto Blue Jays, a thought occurred to me.   My life would be so much simpler if I just wasn't a Rangers fan.   It's true.   The pain I have suffered as a Rangers fan over the years hurts my heart not to mention my head.   The memories of 2011 will never be erased and until/unless the Rangers make it back to the World Series and win.  That series will forever sit in the back of my mind as:  The one that should have been.  The lost chance.   The most heartbreaking moment of my sports life.  Being a sports fan isn't easy.  In fact, being a sports fan is hard work.  It hurts and it takes resolve.   It sounds silly but it is true.  You have to want to keep up with your team or you will be hopelessly left behind.  You have to work at staying positive or the baseball blues can take over. That's where I was Monday.  Baseball blues.

Swag

Then last night as I watch my first baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, clinch an NLCS shot, I jumped up from my couch, yelled "Yes!" at the top of my lungs, and started to cry.   Not sad tears but the happy tears of a fan who remembers the chances that slipped by in the past for the Cubs.   Just for a moment, I was that 7 year old little girl watching the Cubs on a Saturday afternoon in 1977 when they were hopelessly out of it and the Fighting Irish were on TV.  Everyone else was watching ND in the living room but not me.  Just for a moment I was back in my grandfather's bedroom in front of the little black and white TV with rabbit ears trying to get WGN to come in and listen to Jack Brickhouse hoping for a "Hey! Hey!".   Just for a moment, all the years and all the tears were worth it.

Double Earrings 

So this morning I got up and had renewed hope.  I donned my favorite Texas Rangers T-Shirt, doubled up on my Rangers earrings, added my other Rangers necklace (the last one lost it's luck recently),  added a couple Alex and Ani Rangers bracelets and I put on my lucky Rangers red shoes to cover up my blue and red toes and grabbed my Texas Rangers handbag. Dressing like a fan takes planning.  It is serious business!   I am only superstitious about sports.  I wasn't taking any chances.   I was as ready as I could get and now it was up to the team.

And leaving it up to the team is the problem.  You have to trust that your team is as prepared as they can get.  You have to know that mentally, they are going out there and giving it 100%.  You have to be prepared to watch the game unfold and hope the baseball gods have mercy on you that day.  You have to be willing to give yourself over to heartache.   You have to realize, even as much as you want them to win, you can't make them win.   You have to recognize that even with the possibility of a loss, your team has played like nobody expected them to play and done things that nobody thought they would do.

The Cole Hamels trade was suppose to be for 2016, right?   They were preparing for a starting staff of Hamels and a healthy Yu Darvish and Derek Holland for the first time in 2 years, right?  This team was hopelessly out of the race when the trade was made in July.   Everyone knew that they were done.  Everyone except them, Jeff Bannister and Jon Daniels.   You have to believe in your team. You have to go into the game with the thought:  This is the day Hamels pitches his best game of 2015.  This is the day Josh Hamilton sees the ball like he did in 2010.  This is the day that Prince Fielder breaks out of his slump.   This is the day that Elvis Andrus and Rougie Odor play flawless defense.   This is the day that Adrian Beltre hits a one leg kneeling, moon shot.  It may not be but  you have to believe.

Baseball is like life:

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Sometimes, with baseball, as in life, you have to risk the heartache in order to reap the glory.   Nobody ever finds love without risk.  Nobody ever makes a fortune without taking a chance.  Nobody ever gets the celebration without work.   There is so much about being a fan of a baseball team that reflects back on life.   There is pain, heartache, and disappointment.   There is joy, excitement, and triumph.   You open your heart when you love a team the same way you open your heart when you love a person.  It isn't the same love and it shouldn't be.  Baseball is important but if the Rangers win or if they lose, the sun comes up the next day.   If something happened to my husband, kids or mom, the sun wouldn't come up.  The day would be bleak.  Life would be without joy.   That is how it should be.  

But Baseball....is romance.  

Baseball is love.

Baseball is life.   

No really, the most important things in life, I learned from baseball.  

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*Whenever I expect a fastball, I get a curve.  That is life.  It is always throwing you what you aren't looking for.   But sometimes, the ball it throws is just the right ball to hit out of the park and that is when you have to swing with all your might and take your base.

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*Sometimes you have to throw balls back because they aren't for you.   It is possible to catch something meant for someone else.  Get rid of that ball as quick as you can so you are ready for your pitch.

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Never, ever quit.  That is the theme of the 2015 Texas Rangers.  It would have been easy to just cash in this season.  Yu Darvish's the Rangers Ace pitcher, had season ending surgery in spring training.   Derek Holland, their second best pitcher and Opening Day starter, left after an inning or two on Opening Day and wasn't really seen again until August.  Not the time to start pitching again but that is what happened.   Josh Hamilton has been in and out of the game all season, even before he was traded back to the Rangers.   Jurickson Profar hasn't been seen since...well, I don't know when Profar was last seen and his replacement, Rougie Odor wasn't exactly playing well when the season started.   They could have quit.  They easily could have quit.  They didn't.  They have never, ever quit all season.   You can't quit life either until the final strike is thrown.  Never give up because the next pitch could be the one you hit out of the ballpark.  

Happy Wednesday and GO RANGERS!!!

What I'm Loving: The Chicken Express

Rex the Roo

Quick hello Wednesday!  I know I have been MIA lately and that's mostly because life has been a lot nuts.  

So here is what I'm loving and it's almost all about the chicks. 

Chickens:

First is our new Roo Rex.  Chickens are the closest living relative to the T-Rex so when we got our Roo last weekend it seemed only right to call him Rex.  He is the same age as our oldest ladies (which technically makes him a cockerel) and he, so far, had been a good rooster.  We have a friend that wants to maybe give us his Roo too so I think he may be named Tex. Why not? I hope they get along.  Roosters aren't exactly non-territorial and Rex took to our ladies right away. 

Our first egg ever! 

Speaking of my ladies, they have started laying eggs. At least some of them have. We are getting about 3 a day right now.  That's a good production since only 6 are about the right age to lay and young hens don't lay daily.  

Laurel, Logan, and Lesleigh

We got some new chicks too! The three above are White Leghorns.  We call the the triplets and decided to name them after my triplet nieces so meet Laurel, Logan, and Lesleigh.  Don't ask me who is who however because, unlike my nieces, I can't tell these trips apart.

The Triplets with the little babies

We also got 4 other babies who we haven't come up with names for...I am willing to take suggestions if anyone out there has some good chicken names. These are all hens so keeping that in mind, we already have the following:

Frizzy, Star, Snow White, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Katniss, Henrietta, Dumbledoor, Prim, Beltre, Lemon, Winnie, ah...ok that's all I can remember but there are 7 others!  I need to take pictures and write them down!  Lol 

So if you are keeping score at home, that is 26 Hens and 1 Roo. For those who are curious, yes when we get a broody hen we are going to let her have chicks.  We even set up an outdoor brooder for when this happens.  

I have to give a shout out to my sister in laws dad who not only gave us Rex but the idea for the outdoor brooder.  :) 

Now for what else I am loving: 

The pope's visit to the US.  He is a humble man and while I am not really on board with all the changes he has made in the Catholic Church, as a Catholic, I understand his reasons and support the changes.  (Although truth here, I still mumble the prayers because I had 42 years of the old-new mass.) 

South Park last week for making fun of all the PC craziness.  People are too dang sensitive and frankly, if you follow me, you should know that I am going to speak honestly and gosh darn it, I will wish you a Merry Christmas because I was taught manners and because I freaking love Christmas! If you don't and you are offended by it, that's your problem. 

Hubs and me at the Texas Rangers Red Out last week

The Texas Rangers!!!

They are 10 games from clinching the AL West!  I am so happy and excited for baseball and yes, I already have my post season tickets!  I can't wait to share post season baseball with the hubby. 

College Football:

I am loving the return of college football even if my Notre Dame Fighting Irish are a little LOT beat up and hurt and even if going into the season, I knew my Texas Longhorns were going to have a growth season.   Nothing is better than college football, except post season baseball! 

So that's it.   What are you loving?  Happy Hump Day folks!