well im awaiting the world baseball classic. im also probably the only person out side of the media who is. for me. its time to see some baseball on tv again. so, i warmed up some popcorn, hopped on the couch and swiped the remote. sigh. to see Taiwan and Korea. yeah. i can actually place about 4 major leaguers from korea, but i was shocked Taiwan had a team. and even more dismayed to find out that they werent even airing it on normal tv. only on Espn Deportes. who the freak carries the spanish version of espn? it replays, in a 2 hour block, at 1am on espn tonight, but i dont think i want to see baseball that bad.


but i have enough of a hankering for the game that i spent 2 hours at Temple [Sporting Goods in Moline... the holy temple of baseball equipment in the area], just trying on gloves, weighing bats, and just meandering through the goodness. i miss the smell of leathers. in gloves. in baseball hides. in batting gloves. i miss the snap sound the gloves make with a ball in it. i miss the feel of new spikes and the two blisters id always get on my heels from them. the sound of all of us standing in two lines throwing for warm ups, talking about trying to get laid, about how our favorite major leaguer's hit the day before, or the dirty jokes that always were a hit. i miss squating out on the back edge of the grass to get a read on the infield, to feel the dirt for moisture and consistency, to watch how much the infield grass would slow grounders. i also miss seeing friends play on other teams, and the nights after games or days off where everyone from the team would get together and inevitably start playing catch, or challege some kids to slugger on an empty diamond. walking around the cramped store brought back alot of the memories. reminded me to be excited for the season to start again. for the first time in years, i can spend time at the minor league games, or at the high school and Legion fields, just watching it all again.

even if it is just Korean and Taiwan, its the start of the season.