Mariners Entry Number One

Let me get this straight...we ended last season with an overly corporate mentality, a bunch of bandwagon bootsie fans who couldn't name a single Mariner before the 95 season, and the lies that Erik Bedard may once again be our savior. we had jettisoned richie sexson and managed to build revisit the imperative question of what makes a valuable centerfielder a below league average right fielder (Ichiro)...and i wanted to wash my hands of the only team i adore more than my University of Michigan Wolverines. who knew we would change our direction from a howie and chuck and their firm grasp on the profits of the 95 and 2001 seasons to a more sabermetric, non-stone age approach. i applauded the hire of Jack Zduriencik, he who was responsible for the drafting of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. there has been no Al Chambers, Sam Mays, or even Matt Tuiososopos lately for Jack Z. He knows you cannot build a team with players older than 29 years old. Mathematic analysis has proven that major league baseball players peak between ages 27 and 29. he knows he can build with a nucleus of Adrian Beltre, Jeff Clement, King Felix, and Brandon Morrow. The rest can kiss my behind. Most of all, i believe Jack Z. absolutely, will not, under any circumstance, allow players like Willie Bloomquist or a washed up Aaron Sele to don a Mariners uniform simply because they are from the state of Washington. Nothing gets me more angry than the Willie B. apologists who cheer his groundouts and occasional stolen base like he's our savior. The guy has no place in major league baseball, as a no-hit, little field, try-hard, malaka. just out of curiousity, would the reaction be the same if he wasn't white? why didn't we treat Jason Ellison the same way? they grew up together. we'll save that for another blog. so i have established my faith in Jack Z. and get up in the morning prioritizing in this order...number one, is my daughter safe? number two, is my girlfriend safe? next to me? dang she's beautiful. and number three, where is the newspaper? i need my Jack Z. movement fix...NOW! i literally feel shots of adrenilin reading about his philosophies, his approach. and now the brother hires don wakamatsu? YEAH BOY! the first asian american manager in the major leagues, a lifer. he has that stone face that says there will be no half-steppin' on his watch. and they both say they want to establish a "mariner way" of playing ball. i love it. i would rather pay to see this team of hard-working, non stone-age GM and manager roll a potentially brilliant group of young ballers than a veteran-laden 85 win team with no chance of winning a ring. thank goodness for Jack Z. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

present...

The moment you realize your child is becoming an independent person…I finished up my daughter’s first trimester parent-teacher conference a couple of hours ago and I have so many thoughts flowing and brewing in my head. She is a leader, she is bossy, she asks for more math during free choice time (like her father!) and she is very sensitive. All of these I knew walking in…and I was so incredibly proud when the first words out of her teacher’s mouth were, “I want you to know, first and foremost that Malia is such a joy to have in class and I absolutely love her big personality.” My daughter, the little bean of a person I held in the crook of my arm 6 years ago, is now a leader and a little girl who brings joy to the lives of others. Not family who love unconditionally, but her teacher and her friends who can choose to love her. I often wonder how I am so lucky to have a little girl with so much love to bring. She has a huge heart and a caring soul and those around her feed off of this. She is already motivates and inspires people to love and learn. And through these words of further encouragement and excitement from her first grade teacher, the characteristic or trait her teacher spoke to was Malia’s inner drive. She said Malia has a fire, a drive to learn, a thirst for knowledge, and she needs no motivation to find her resources and put in the effort to absorb. She is a self-starter, self-motivated. I don’t know if it is an innocent love for learning, a desire to better than those around her, a fear of failure, or she purely enjoys learning new things. What I do know is the one undying heartbeat which has kept me pushing and has supported my perseverance is my inner fire. The great ones have that inner fire, that undying drive to succeed and to improve. I am not calling myself great. Everyone knows that is not the case. But I am starting to learn that my daughter has the base to become great, and is blessed with the engine to push herself to new heights. She is talented and has a different sort of desire. She is my daughter, and I will do anything in my power to nurture and support anything she is passionate about. I love her, more than anything in this world. And today made me smile and dream of what she might be. Wow….what a birthday present…