Goodbye, Tony Campana

I have purposely waited a few days to write out my feelings about the most recent Cubs' loss. I didn't want to be overly emotional. Someone told me once that part of the curse of being a Cubs fan is that you get attached to mediocre players. Maybe that's true, and maybe I am overreacting to the loss of the popular outfielder.

Except I am not overreacting. Here is my argument for why Tony Campana should've stayed with the Cubs.

First, I'll start with the obvious: speed. Tony is, without a doubt, the fastest man in baseball. He is most likely one of the fastest men alive. But fast guys are a dime a dozen--what makes Tony's speed special? I would argue that, in addition to his speed, it's his base-running prowess. Tony's smart. He knows when to run and when not to, when to try for two bases when a normal human might only get one. He's going to keep the pitcher's eye on him instead of on the batter. You have to pitch differently when Tony's on base. He's aggressive, especially in clutch situations. Check out the stats and you'll see what I mean. At one point in the season, Tony led the league in stolen bases, and he did that being a non-starter who spent a chunk of the season in AAA Iowa. In 2012, he was caught stealing only three times.

But let's get away from the obvious. This kid finds a way to get on base. Whether it's a walk, running out what would normally be just a sacrifice bunt, or running out a dropped third strike, or running out an infield hit, he's a fighter. Maybe it's the cancer-survivor in him, or maybe it's just the athlete in him. Doesn't matter why, only that he's going to get on base. His OBP was .309 in 2012, and I imagine it would've been higher given more opportunity.

And let's talk about Tony the Personality. Don't tell me clubhouse morale will not change without him around. I've seen him joking around on the field and in the dugout. He's a little jumping-bean of energy and he pumps the guys up. If you don't believe me, ask the players. He's consistently named as favorite teammate. And what about the fans? There is not a more fan-friendly player than Tony. Game after game, during B.P., after the games, whenever there's an opportunity, he's signing and posing for pictures and laughing. I would argue that fans come to the game to see him. I know that's true because I have talked to the fans. In a season where the Cubs will probably not be contenders, how will you bring in the fans? With players like Tony. If you were at the Cubs Convention, you would see that it's true, that he is absolutely beloved.

Maybe Tony wouldn't be a starter ever on any team. But when you want good men on the bench, which every MLB team needs, you need someone like Tony to fill that spot.

Tony has been good to me for the past two years. I will miss him and his soon-to-be wife Whitney on a personal level, and of course I am biased because I love their personalities. But I truly believe we are losing so much by losing Tony, and I think we'll see that soon enough.

Cubs Convention Part 4

This is a super short entry, because I got to the Convo late. Very late. Transportation issues.

Here's the great Billy Williams!

And here is my first glimpse of one of my favorites, the great Michael Bowden. I got to meet him and Travis Wood.

 Daniel bought Steve Clevenger's cleats. I was super jealous.

More to come!

Thoughts, feelings, and other girly emotions

Long ago, I determined that I would save this blog for baseball thoughts only. I didn't want to be one of those people who put all her emotions and innermost feelings out for the world to see. But due to recent circumstances in my life, I have begun to rethink things, and I want to put it out here for all of the world to see.

I'm 35 years old. I don't think that's old, but maybe it is. I have begun to notice the birthdays on baseball rosters and there are usually only a handful of players older than me. Maybe not even a handful on some teams. So that means that everyone on their team has achieved his goal at an age much younger than mine.

I have three bachelor's degrees: Bible, English with a writing emphasis, and Psychology. I got a great education in those three areas, as well as in speech, which I more than minored in. But none of those degrees will get me a job in that field.

I'm in graduate school, and in May I will have a master's degree in counseling and hopefully be a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. I will be competing against thousands of other people with that same license for mainly government jobs, jobs that are becoming fewer with America's failing economy.

I taught for eleven years and work as a paraprofessional in a school now. I don't think I will ever teach again. I'm not qualified and I was only okay at it. I think I had moments where I inspired students, but I mainly just inspired them to love baseball, and that was not part of the curriculum. I don't think I instilled a love of reading or writing or speaking or acting in my students, although I think I helped cultivate the interests of kids who already did those things. Maybe I helped them get better at those things, but I think mainly I wasted a lot of time.

So I thought about passion. I am probably one of the most passionate people anyone will ever meet. And I thought about talent. I have some of that. And it made me wonder if there were ways to combine my passions and talents into something I could do for a living.

What am I most passionate about? Jesus. That was not a swear. I am literally the most passionate about Jesus. But I don't ever want to make a career of that. I want that to be my life, not my job.

Secondly, I am most passionate about baseball. Third, people. Fourth, movies. Fifth, writing. Sixth, acting.

You are probably thinking, Write a baseball movie about cool people that you can act in! But I am not talented in that area of writing. I get bored of my own fiction, so I assume others will be bored with it, too.

No, I need to work in an area where I am consumed with baseball, because the bottom line is, it consumes me anyway. It makes me happy. It makes everything bad go away. My friend Mark said to me last night, "I have always had baseball. When I am at any game, everything seems right in the world. It's the one thing I never get sick of."

I am not passionate about counseling. I am passionate about people, and I think I have good insight into the goings on of a person, but that's only because I am a really good listener. And I came to the conclusion that, tens of thousands of dollars later, and so many sleepless nights cramming for exams and writing papers later, I don't want to be a counselor for the rest of my life. I think it will depress me.

So I'm wondering, what do I do with my life? Do I try to become an usher at a Cubs game? Do I do the job I'm trained in, or at least look for a job I'm trained in? How can I work in baseball for a living?

Someone tell me.