Weekend Wrap-Up: Baseball

1. Every year there's a rumor that Jason Varitek will appear at the Little League opening day ceremonies, so every year we go, and he's never there. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) This year we didn't go, and of course this year he not only appeared, but he also gave a nice little speech, threw the opening pitch, and shook lots of hands. Dang. And have I mentioned how thrilled I am that he's having such a great season so far? Go Tek! (P.S. His house—right around the corner from mine—is officially on the market, presumably due to his much-publicized divorce.)

2. Speaking of Little League opening day, today was Pete's first game in AAA league. It seemed endless. The pitchers are not at all up to snuff yet, so there were zillions of walks. After 2.5 hours, we'd gone through only 5 innings but had to stop because the next game needed to start. The score was 20-18 (we lost). Pete struck out once and walked three times.

3. Pete's on the Mets this year, so I found myself shouting, "Go Mets!" for the first time in my life. The only team names that aren't used in our Little League are the Red Sox (because, obviously, every kid would want to be on that team) and the Yankees (because, obviously, every kid would rather die than be on that team). It makes me wonder what happens in other parts of the country. Does your Little League include all but your home team, or also some other team? Do New York Little Leagues have Red Sox teams?

4. Speaking of the Yankees, they allowed 38 runs in the last two Saturdays alone. <cue Nelson from "The Simpsons"> Ha ha!

Comments

[amy]

My son Duncan is having Newton envy! He also has played Little League for years and years, no Red Sox or Yankees...he's been a Met, Angel, etc. We have all the hats to prove it!

[Sharon]

We were just talking about this at Little League yesterday. Our teams are named after their sponsors, but some of us parents were wondering if it would be more fun to be named after professional teams. We're the exact opposite , everyone would want to be on the Yankees and no one on the Red Sox down here in New Jersey.