Baseball update

They've started keeping score in Payton's baseball league and his team is a very solid 2-0. Today in the first inning he hit the ball farther than I've ever see him hit, way over the center fielder's head. He was halfway to third base by the time the kid even got to the ball. Payton coasted in for an easy inside-the-park home run. He was solid the rest of the game both at the plate and in the field. They won 14-3.

Book Recommendation

I read "The Soul of Baseball" by Joe Posnanski on the flight home - it's awesome. If you liked Buck O'Neil on the Ken Burns Baseball miniseries then you need to read this. I couldn't put it down, literally. I finished the whole thing about 15 minutes before we landed so it won't take a long time to get through it.

Travelog - Greenwich CT

I'm writing from the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich CT this morning. I'm attending the JS Herold Energy Pacesetters conference, but taking the morning session off to catch up on email. I played in the golf tournament yesterday and despite a score of only 4 under my team was low gross on the 4 man scramble - 2 dozen Pro V1x's thank you very much. I came fairly close to winning the Hummer also, I hit to about 8 feet on the tricked up 195 yd par 3. We were the only birdie all day on that hole.

What's really interesting is that I played and then had dinner with Rick Watkins, husband of Enron whistleblower and Time Magazine 2002 person of the year Sherron Watkins. He's quite an interesting guy, very successful in his own right sitting on the board of Canadian Superior Energy currently. He had lots of stories to tell, even visiting Warren Buffet at his house etc. He described Sherron's experience as being similar to the movie Rosemary's Baby where everyone she turns to for help is actually in on it.

The golf course, The Country Club of New Canaan, was beautiful.

Congratulations Wild family

Jerry Wild, the best man at Nancy and my wedding recently was happy to announce the birth of his third son, Clark Wild. Here's a pic of Clark with his brothers Austin and Grant. Congratulations Jerry and Kathy!

Payton baseball Fall '07

Here's a link to Payton's baseball schedule this fall: http://fclll3.d4sports.net/LeagueManager/schedule.asp?TeamID=50824&ShowRefs=

We're in the middle of a 8-day 5-game stretch. We'd forgotten how, um, instructional the fall league is after the ultra competitive tournaments he was in this summer. But he's got a very good coach and we've already seen some improvement in both his hitting and throwing mechanics.

They're the Auburn Tigers, I'm not sure why our league has a big fondness for SEC teams.

Star Sighting

Payton & I played golf yesterday afternoon after baseball practice with Russell Price. He's a friend of ours who recently moved here from Mountain View CA and also joined Sweetwater. We teed off at 5:15 so we were hustling to get 9 holes in, as was everyone else on the course around us.

We get to the 6th hole, a par 5 and I drive into the lip of a fairway trap. I basically chipped out and I'm standing at my ball in the middle of the fairway about 320 yards from the tee when a ball lands ten feet from me. Some jerk hitting in to us. I didn't hear anything, Russell says he thought he heard a fore. Anyway, after I hit, I might have run over the ball with my cart.

So on the 8th hole, I'm a little cooled off and we let the two guys play through, another shot bombed over our heads at least 325. Who drives up to play his next shot but Carlos Lee, the Astros power hitting left fielder. I'd have felt a little funny about asking for an autograph or picture after running over his ball, but anyway it was pretty cool. Payton couldn't wait for school this morning to tell all his friends.

I'm wondering how the heck he got from downtown all the way out to Sugar Land after the game ended at 4 and still managed to tee off by 5:30? Must have a fast car and a willingness to pay a big ticket, I guess $100 million contracts afford you that flexibility.

Remembering Barbara

Leon asked us to scan these old photos of Barbara, I figured a lot more might like to have them. Click each picture to get a full size download.

Big excitement

Nancy spied an alligator in our neighborhood lake during her morning trot with Harry. She called and the kids had to come see. Here's the sucky photos I took with my phone.

Champions!

The kids returned to school August 27 the morning after a spectacular finish for the Lightning in the Missouri City "High Heater" classic. The team had easily won on Thursday and Friday to receive a bye into the semifinals on Sunday. They crushed the team from Galveston needing only one quick run in the 4th inning to secure a 10-run rule victory 16-6.

The championship game was a rematch with the Missouri City Power, Friday's victim. The Lightning had a slim 3-0 lead after two innings, a lead that would be erased and turned in to an 8-3 deficit in the middle of the fourth. The team was clearly wilting a little in the heat. Coach Mike Font really rallied them and they played with whatever energy their little bodies could muster the rest of the way. We scored 2 in the bottom of the fourth and then both teams were scoreless in the 5th. After 3 up and 3 down in the top half, the Lightning faced an 8-5 score with only three outs remaining.

Honestly I don't recall the exact sequence, but I know Payton was up with 1 out and men on 2nd and 3rd. He ripped a double up the middle to score both runners and was later plated to tie the game. We had a chance to win it with a man advanced to third with two outs but we couldn't convert and went to extra innings.

Some misplays in the field gave the Power two runs and so the Lightning again faced a score or lose half inning. Two quick outs gave us some worries, but we got to the top of the order and Sammy Kuntz smashed a long double to score the tying and winning runs leaving Payton on deck both elated at the victory and probably a little relieved at not being needed.

I apologize for the craptacular picture. My phone says 2 megapixels, but obviously I have some RTFM to do.