EAGLES

Baron and I were making the rounds of the neighborhood when we spied a pair of eagles on top a transmission line pole. "Spied" is probably not the right word, as we heard them first. It looked like one was a mature adult and the other an adult, but maybe just beyond the juvenile stage. Let's call him the "teenager." They were chattering away, and then flew from pole to pole, doing some preening, resting and maybe discussing their trip.

Teenager: "I don't wanna go on migration, just because that's what we've always done."

Mom: "Trust me, we need to do it for lots of reasons, principal among them our food supply."

Teenager: "But I just want my safe space. I don't want to hear about going hungry, I've never wanted for anything before, let's just stay here. No threats to hear or see; nothing I don't want to see or hear."

Mom: (Unlike, apparently, the current crop of mothers!) "Get off your perch and fly. I'm not going to starve, I'm going to migrate. You are coming with me."

Teenager: "Whine."

I'm not an expert on Eagle-ese, but that is what I think they were saying. She should have guided the teenager to Yale or Missouri, they would take him in and let him know that the world is not a dangerous place, if you whine you get anything you want and you CAN BE Peter Pan.

ROYALS

Matt said today that this run by the Royals is one of the best sports experiences he has had. I concur. After all we have been through.

What a ride. The only thing that could possibly compare for me was the 1995 Huskers National Championship capped with the decimation of #2 Florida in the Fiesta Bowl by a score of 62-24...and it wasn't that close.

We endured Tony and his Nosotros Creamos, but Latin pride could only go so far. We endured a couple of decades without a decent second baseman, and depended on a journeyman Chinese pitcher from Panama who was probably eligible to be the fifth starter on most staffs. Our season tickets were in the days of 95-100 losses each season, but even then it was a good day at the park.

Dayton Moore looks like a genius now with the Zach Greinke trade that brought Cain and Escobar. The acquisition of Cueto is golden, despite most of us crossing our fingers to see which one of him would show up.

We can almost forgive Jose Guillen. I said "almost." We can overlook some of Ned's bizarre moves when we look at what I consider to be the pivotal play of the entire playoffs--the hit and run with Morales in the Astros game after the pop up dropped in the short outfield. (Nobody talks about that, so don't worry if you don't remember).

Hosmer's sprint to home will be the play that is replayed. It was so typical of the team and what was so fun to watch. Aggressive, gutsy and in Hosmer's own words as he took the first three steps, "This might not be a good idea." But they were prepared for just such a play by the coaches who said, "Make Duda and d'Arnaud throw." It's hard to win a World Series when you haven't thrown out a runner since September 8.

Right now, I miss baseball. I miss getting up in the morning and checking the box score. It is now on the computer, but it is like I used to do in the Kansas City Star. And before that, in the Sioux City Journal. For years, driving through South Dakota of a summer evening, coming home after some event or sales call, listening to Denny Matthews and Fred White on KSCJ. Yep, it goes back a ways.

Matt also said that the Iowa football season is just "icing on the cake." I wouldn't go that far, but let him revel in a good run by his alma mater as Nebraska sloshes around in the bottom world.

Baseball encourages hope. Every team is going to win it all when they are in Arizona. Baseball embraces nostalgia, too, and we will remember this time. This warm, colorful autumn of 2015.

ESPN HAS A SCOOP

Daughter-in-law Amy is a football fan, and she had to call me to tell me that one of the announcers (aka, Mr. Knucklehead) on College Game Day made the pronouncement of the week--"Ya know, Iowa is going to have to outscore Indiana to win this game."

REALLY? They must have changed the rules.

Amy had to call and tell me because she when you hear something like that, you have to tell somebody. She said that ranks up there with the other quote she heard from one of these geniuses: "Auburn doesn't need a turnover right here." Again, slap my head!

It is a good Saturday in the autumn, and I think ESPN may have missed a few that deserved it when they laid off all those people the other day.

TAG LINES

Just read comments on a web page. Yes, I know I'm supposed to be in a 12-Step Program that will lead me to the righteousness of ignoring comments on a web page, but I fell off that wagon...again.

The web page was about baseball, SB Nation, Royals Review, and it was about (surprise, surprise) Hosmer's decision to head for home with two outs and behind by one run in the fifth game of the World Series.

Initial comment: there were no references to politics or religion. That is a huge step up for the typical comment page. Main point: the writing was pretty darn good. I would recommend it just to read informed prose that pretty much stayed on the subject. No name-calling. Here is the url for anyone interested:

http://www.royalsreview.com/2015/11/5/9660728/probabilities-are-nice-but-the-royals-beat-the-odds

Surprise bonus: the tag lines were awesome! This from a fan of baseball and tag lines. Here are a few:

EWE! WHAT IS THAT SMELL?? POOSTAKAS YOU! AGAIN?" -Aristotle (OK, so I don't quite understand that one)

I HATE KANSAS AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME. (I understand that one)

At long last, I trust the process. (You have to appreciate that Dayton Moore, the general manager, has been saying "the process," repeatedly, for years. Did I mention "repeatedly?")

Time's yours. (I should read that one more often.)

As Mick Jagger once indicated, I am unable to obtain any measure of satisfaction. (Love it.)

AND THE WINNER IS:

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. -- Yogi Berra

CAUSE NOBODY CAN TOP YOGI.

HOSMER'S RACE TO HOME

That charge to the plate may, again, bring up the debate about sending Gordon from third in the seventh game of the 2014 World Series against the Giants. We all remember Perez struck out to end that threat and end the game giving the Giants the crown.

Most of us agree that sending Gordon would have been an almost certain out at home, and "almost" is generous as in my opinion, we are talking 99 out of 100. The throw from the cutoff man (Brandon Crawford, the shortstop?) to home was pretty routine for a player accustomed to long throws.

The Mets' first baseman, Lucas Duda, did not get a starting position because of his throwing ability. Result: E-3 in last night's game. Terrific play on the part of Hosmer, and my guess is that the third-base coach, Mike Jirschele, had prepared the team for just this kind of situation like he did when Cain scored from first in an earlier game.

My vote for two most significant plays in the Post Season for the Royals are both base running:

1.  Hosmer's dash for home.

2.  The hit and run with Morales hitting in game 2 of the ALCS, right after the pop fly dropped. Toronto is up 3-1 with no outs. On the play, Cain scores to make it 3-2, but without the hit and run, it is a sure double play and the rally would have stopped, the game is still in doubt with Toronto ahead...different outcome all together, perhaps.

The Mets have to cure a couple of fundamental problems before they try this again:

1.  They have to get a catcher who can at least slow down the running game. I think I heard that the last time the Mets threw out a runner was September 8.

2.  Defense. Granderson is likely the only real candidate for the Mets as Cespedes, who won a gold glove nomination with his play in Detroit, played poorly in the World Series.

CELEBRATION!! 

VERIFICATION UNAVAILABLE

Sourcing the original intent of this blog, I wanted it to relate some of the events of my life so they are recorded for my kids. Recently, I have come to the realization that my memory of the events are, in most cases, the only remaining version.

Haven't we all heard one person's version of an event, only to hear the other side and wonder if they exist on the same planet? Every parent I know can commiserate. I can only tell the stories as accurately as my memory will give me the details.

Here is one that is fairly straightforward:

WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID

Stanley was one of the typical employees at the oil change business I helped turn around in Omaha. A bit older, in his 30's, not addicted to heroin, but otherwise similar. Low to medium intelligence, little in the way of responsibility. Smoked.

The smoking was always a problem in that we worked in a facility that was filled with petroleum products. Banned in all areas, of course, but still a problem. I was reminded of this event today as I filled my car with windshield washer solution and saw the "Good to -20!!" on the container. That means the fluid won't freeze and break the reservoir in the car, but it also means that it is not plain water. We could have purchased pre-mixed fluid, but that meant buying a lot of expensive water. To reduce our cost of operation, we purchased 55-gallon drums of ethanol, mixed it with water out of the tap and delivered it to the work stations.

Now, ethanol is the stuff they add to gasoline, so pretty flammable. I had mentioned to Stanley that the drum was empty and needed to be changed, so I was not surprised when I walked into the back room and saw him working on the drum/pump/plumbing...but I was surprised when I saw the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. 

Another surprising thing about ethanol is that its flame is nearly invisible, maybe a bit of blue at the tip. But it sets everything else on fire. What I saw was a spray coming out of the drum/pump/plumbing and the fire climbing up the wall. So far, Stanley's face and hair were not on fire, but it was inevitable. Unlike most times when you go, "Where the hell is the fire extinguisher??", this time it was right in front of me, I sprayed Stanley first, the wall second and the drum, etc. last. He survived with minor burns.

Then I proceeded to have nightmares for years. Decades.

Who can verify that story? Probably, nobody. Stanley was younger than me by a good bit, but most of those guys were not destined to live long lives, in my opinion. To borrow a phrase used by another of the guys, "Does it hurt to be that stupid?"

RIDING CALVES

Everybody has heard this story--riding calves. We were surrounded by large animals, the rodeo in town was good entertainment, and it was only natural to see if we could imitate some of the heroic activities of the rodeo cowboys. 

We were specifically forbidden to ride calves, probably out of respect for the calves rather than any concern for us, but that didn't stop us from rigging up a chute, wrapping a cinch rope around the calf and around my hand and nodding "OK" like the real guys. My brother only opened the chute a little bit, the calf lunged through the opening and my legs were immediately scrubbed back such that I was laying stretched out on the top of the calf. I could not get my hand out of the glove, the calf bucked, I flew up and inevitably down. The calf was then coming up again and its tail head, that bony structure at the base of the tail, hit me square in the solar plexus. 

I eventually disentangled, fell off face first into the baked clay and buffalo burrs of the barn yard, face first. The blow to the solar plexus had stopped all kinds of essential functions, including breathing, so my brother thought, "I've finally one it, I've killed him!"

It took me over an hour of trying to regain normal functions, but I came out of it with fairly bruised and scratched face, but no other injuries of consequence. Ready for the next time. 

Again, my version, my memory is the only one since my brother is gone. Hopefully, I tell it like it happened.

NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNISTS

If you don't know how much I despise the typical elite columnist, you haven't been listening. The use of the word "chute" above reminded me of reading something recently by one of them who spelled the word "shoot." And, probably calls the leather leggings used as protection "chaps" to rhyme with "chap stick" instead of the correct pronunciation so the initial sound is like in "shack." But they are still superior to us, aren't they? By virtue of their Ivy League "education?"

SERIOUSLY CONFLICTED

As much as you know I love the Royals, and rejoice in the victory, Bartolo Colon deserves better.

First, he pitched really well--not bad for an old guy (42+ years old). Not his fault there was an error.

Second, and most importantly, his physical profile matches some of the rest of us. Bet he hasn't seen his feet in years, either.

I would be happy if the Royals finish off the Mets promptly and Colon doesn't end up on the mound again.