Yankees and spiders...

3 October 2026: Watching the Yankees play in game one of the ALDS. As always, excited to see them in the playoffs and grateful no matter how far they go. 

An otherwise quiet day (in a good way). Cleaned the house, ran some errands, took a walk, watched some TV, and got some work done. 

Also got bit by a spider, who I caught in the act (and then squished). The squishing got in the way of any identification, but considering it's been a few hours, I suspect I am fine. I would make a Spiderman joke, but honestly, I am too tired for the great responsibility that comes with great power. 

Tiny Meritus Park...

22 August 2026: Had a really nice time at the Boxcars game with a group from Flagship Trivia. And this giveaway--a Lego(ish) kit to build your own stadium--is one of the coolest I've ever gotten.

A friendship divided...

12 July 2026: 

[Catch-up post...]

Had a great time yesterday with Jane, Kara, Patrick, Connor, and Maggie seeing the Nats play the Yankees.

This was my first Yankee game in forever. Seriously: it might be 20 years?

The Yankees won with a home-run driven come-back in the 8th (just like the night before). They also won today, again with a comeback.

Boxcars!

17 June 2026: It's sometimes hard not to feel guilty about doing "fun" things these days, but man, I had a great time tonight at my first Boxcars' game of the season with Carrie and Amy. Perfect night for baseball (even if the home team couldn't pull off a win).

Busy Saturday...

28 March 2026: Grading ENGL 407 Critical Essay Proposals at the end of a long Saturday. Grading all morning, NWP event in the afternoon, then--a treat!--dinner and a movie (They Will Kill You) with Amy, followed by housework and more grading...and I've got so much more on my plate for Sunday to even begin to feel caught up.

But the proposals are strong, reflections of my smart and creative students. And the day, while long, was pretty darn good. And I just watched the Yankees sweep the Giants in their opening series.

I'll take it.

Independence Day

4 July 2025: The bad guys can't take the Fourth of July or patriotism away from us. 

Did the day right: town parade this morning, low-key afternoon, and a night at the ballpark complete with fireworks.

(Amy took the picture of the back of my head; I kind of like it even though I said, "look at all that white hair!)

Highs and lows...

21 June 2025: Man, we (Amy, Jason, and I) had a nice night at the Boxcars game: free straw hats, great conversation, and a win in the tenth inning.

Hell of a thing come home to tonight's news. Grateful for the bits of joy in such an overwhelmingly sad moment for our nation and the world. (I swear, at the park I even thought, "I bet I'll look at my phone and see that maniac bombed Iran...")

Boxcars!

7 June 2025: Long day today, but happy to cap it off with some friends at our first Boxcars game this summer.

1-0!

27 March 2025: Lucky enough to get to be home this afternoon and watch the Yanks win the season opener. Let's go, Yankees! Let's go, spring!

Until next year...

31 October 2024: “[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”― A. Bartlett Giamatti, Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games

"Whitman, Melville, and Baseball"

20 October 2024: 

“Did you see the baseball boys are home from their tour around the world? How I’d like to meet them — talk with them: maybe ask them some questions...That’s beautiful: the hurrah game! well — it’s our game: that’s the chief fact in connection with it: America’s game: has the snap, go, fling, of the American atmosphere — belongs as much to our institutions, fits into them as significantly, as our constitutions, laws: is just as important in the sum total of our historic life." --Whitman on baseball in 1889.

The Yankees won the ALCS yesterday and are off to their first World Series since 2009. I am, of course, delighted. But if they hadn't clinched it last night--if the series had gone on and maybe even if they lost it--I would still be delighted by the games. That's one way you know you love baseball, I think: even when your team loses, you can have a blast. Anyway, for a trivia game I am writing for some colleagues, I came across this piece about Whitman, Melville, and baseball. Well worth a read!

Game 3...

17 October 2024: 

[Catch-up post...]

Got to work this morning (Friday) and realized that I hadn't posted on Thursday even though I crossed it off of my list. Oh well!

I think if I had posted, it might have been about Thursday's Yankees/Guardians game. The Yankees lost, but my goodness, it was a great game. You know you love a sport when a game doesn't end the way you want it it to, but you still had a blast watching it. 

Quiet Monday evening...

14 October 2024: Yes, I am repeating yesterday's post a bit, but it's worth highlighting a couple of quiet and relatively stress-free nights in a row. It's been a long and busy day, but a good one and I got so much done. There are still some items on my to-do list, but I am yawning my head off and they can maybe wait until tomorrow. My tired butt just wants to watch the Yankees (ahead of Cleveland 4-0 in the fifth inning of Game One of the ALCS as of right now) and then head to bed.

Yankees vs. Tigers

18 August 2024: The Yankee game is in extra innings, which is always fun. But this game is extra charming because it's being played in Williamsport, PA, with a stadium full of Little League teams. They keep showing pics of the MLB players in their Little League uniforms. It's so cute.

Well, the Yankees just lost as I wrote this, but it was still a fun game. 

Back at the Boxcars...

12 July 2024: After all this oppressive heat, today was a perfect evening at the ballpark (except for the final score). Even got a great fireworks show after!

Two strikes, you're out?

14 June 2024: Plans to catch a minor league baseball game tonight with friends hit a couple of obstacles. First, the local team, the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, were basically sold out. Some of us tried for the Frederick Keys, but first the game was delayed (even though it wasn't yet raining) for a good hour. Then they played 1.5 innings before another rain delay started. So, we gave up. At the same time, those hours just sitting in the stands, hanging out, laughing? Worth every penny. 

Flying Boxcars!

17 May 2024: 

[Catch-up post...]

What fun it was to check out the new ballfield and team in Hagerstown! And couldn't have asked for better company than these friends.

(Jason, full of "dad energy" took the photo for us--and much like my dad, he is good at photos, but not at smiling in them. ;) )

Opening Day! / Three to go!

28 March 2024: Celebrating two victories this evening: 

1) The Yankees won on Opening Day in a pretty thrilling game that I got to watch online. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the return of baseball puts a little pep in my step (even when I am still a bit down with this cold).

2) I just finished my entry on Religion and Spirituality. That makes three completed in April (and twenty-one this academic year). And...just three more to go! Now April is the cruelest month, grading-wise, but I am hopeful, hopeful, hopeful...

They're not done yet...

15 September 2023: There hasn't been a ton to celebrate for Yankee fans this season, but I just got a nice rush from listening to their ninth inning comeback against the Pirates. They are now one game above .500. Would be nice to add a few more wins in there, but I am just grateful for the great audio tonight. 

Soothing baseball vibes...

14 June 2023: Grateful for a string of Yankee games that I have been able to watch over these past few days because they've been on FOX, TBS, and ESPN. Even when they lose, I am soothed enough and happy to get out of my own head a bit, even as I am reading during the commercials or half-paying attention while typing notes.