It may have taken a year or two, but Ryan Braun was finally suspended my MLB.  

I'm a little sad how this played out, because basically, this was a slap on the wrist.  A 2.8 million slap, but a slap none the less.  

How so?

Lets assume that his 65-game suspension would have been longer, had he worked out a deal with Bud Selig.  Based on stories it would have been between 100 and 150 games.  Had he fought this, they could have appealed this into next year, would have lost in the offseason and ultimately lost during the off-season, he would have lost between $6.2 and $9.3 million next season. 

   Also, after reading a few articles on ESPN.com, it sounded like Bud had some goods on him, and it sounds like the odds were not with him this time.  

Next season, Braun will be hated by fans everywhere. He already was after the 2011-2012 offseason. I hope he starts off apologizing to a lot of people in private and public.  Starting with the test collector, whose name he ran into the ground a in 2011-2012.  

Good Riddance Ryan Braun.   

The 1st Annual Brian Ketcham Premorial Game is nearly sold out.  Tickets are $50 a piece unless you use the promo code: Premorial.  If you use that, the cost drops to zero.

The game is on Thursday, July 25th from  6-8 PM. It will be played at the home of YOUR Fort Worth Cats, LaGrave Field.  Gates open at 5:45.  Show up if you want to watch.

You'll be watching the Premorial at the same exact spot where people have watched Hall of Famers play at such as: Hank Aaron, Sparky Anderson, Bob Feller, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Brooks Robinson, Rogers Hornsby, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ralph Kiner, Brian Ketcham (see what I did there), George Sisler, Duke Snider, Warren Spahn, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Paul Waner, Don Drysdale, Willie McCovey, and Ted Williams.

Seriously, though, this should be a fun game to attend and hang out at.  I just ask if you come to watch that you pick up your trash on the way out.  I'm guessing there will be a Sweet Sammies or Food Truck after the game.

Game 6.  2011 World Series.  Still hurts.











While standing in line at Home Depot, this guy with a Cardinals hat turned to me and said. You know what’s worse than being one strike away from winning the WS?  Being one strike away twice!

I looked right at him and fired back. I hope the police find your dismembered body floating in the Trinity next month.  I then turned around and walked out leaving his little son in tears.

I got home, and ESPN just happened to work in a clip of the non catch in their broadcast.  A single tear streamed down my face.  Sigh.

Ben just turned 4, and I figured, he is old enough to enjoy the greatness of “The Sandlot”.  We watched it Sunday night and I started thinking of why I loved it so.  
 
If you have lived under a rock since 1993, The Sandlot is an extremely fun movie. A movie that displays what I think my childhood was, but wasn’t quiet.  A childhood where I wandered on home whenever the streetlights started to glow. A childhood where I lived near Darth Vader/Mustfa/
Terrence Mann. It’s all fantastic – laid out before our eyes like a far better version of dad’s old stories.  
 
This movie came out when I in 3rd or 4th grade.   I had tons of great
friends either by this point or soon after that I played baseball with as soon
as the snow started to melt in Minnesota, and until the first blizzard rolled
in.  (Englemann, Armstrong, Graving, Smith, looking in your direction)  It’s was also a strange age where certain classmates are starting to see girls the way you’re supposed to see girls.  Some of them are breaking
away from the pack. But most of us weren’t, and we’d be at a loss for the next ten (to one hundred) years as to explain just why and how those people became so special back then.

 Scotty Smalls is a perfect character to represent the agony of being young and unliked. He’s new, awkward, and he’s coping with a new father figure who seems too busy to connect with his new son. Now, I don’t remember many of my friends having step parents at that time, but they may have, but fitting in is rough.  Even his friends don’t like him in the beginning. He’s nervous, difficult to have around, and he becomes a burden during the afternoons that should be pure fun. What’s beautiful about the movie is that we see that kid come into his own.

More so than Smalls (you’re killing me), we get to see a romanticized version of history where the neighborhoods are safe and full of adventure. The local swimming pool – where the cute, slightly older lifeguard gives us something to look at. The block party – where families got together and
we shot off fireworks. The carnival – where we all acted like idiots.  I don’t recall actually having any of these, but I feel like we had similar things with friends and their families.

 The main part of the movie was that darn Babe Ruth-signed baseball
that Smalls foolishly brought out onto the field and subsequently knocked into the belly of the Beast.  (While none of us had a Babe Ruth autograph, we did have elaborate baseball card collections and would almost always bring over out book of our “Best Cards” to each other’s house.  I rarely
remember trading cards, but we often talked about it.)  A part of me thought it would be back there FOR-EV-ER, but for the tensest drama of the movie, it’s given a remarkably small amount of screen time. They fight
and claw, use an Erector Set, and finally the PF Flyers are strapped on. It’s
true. They are scientifically proven to make you run faster and jump higher. Try it at home.  I bought a pair in 2006, results were conclusive… I don’t jump very high.

As I ramble on about this movie and how great it is, I know why I love it.  Reminds me of my childhood, I feel patriotic as i watch it, I love baseball, and it is entertaining as can be.  You get warm and fuzzies while watching it.  What is your favorite part of quote of it?