The Goose weighs in and other rites of spring

The cold lingered, holding its hand up to my mouth in the act of defiance, making me snort to exhale and sniff fiercely to inhale as I lay at the foot of the prospect of eating ice cream to survive.

I figured that’s about as close to a sentence I could write that has a Henry Miller meets me kind of feel.

Everyone is tired of the cold, but really, why have they grown winter fatigued with just less than a month remaining until it is officially over (at least by calendar’s standards)?

Whatever happened to living in the moment?

Living in the moment does not apply when it’s 30 degrees outside.

We’ve gotten soft. As soon as winter is over and spring turns to summer, we will all cry about the heat.

Humans are complainers by instinct.

If any given person on the planet is satisfied in space with their lot in life, give it five minutes, days, or weeks, and it will soon all be different.

It’s hard for optimists to get a foothold anymore.

Why are you smiling?

Well, most certainly not you with the dire, scoffing expression on your face.

Do you say you have Elton John farewell Yellow Brick Road tickets in the highest row of the nose bleed section? Rejoice!

The man will not be touring much more, and if you’ve never seen him perform live, now’s your chance.

Please take it.

Embrace it.

It’s still cold outside.

But, you can finally see Elton John.

Everything’s going to be alright.

And now for something else.

The MLB lockout and Goose Gossage’s recent comments had me smiling.

Well, not so much about the lockout itself, but Goose’s recent comments on the state of baseball.

Goose hates the shift.

He remembers when they tried to use the shift on Boog Powell when he was playing.

Boog bunted five times in one series successfully (I think that’s what Goose) said.

And they never tried using the shift on Boog again.

Hitters these days either strike out, walk or hit home runs.

Singles, doubles, and bunts no longer factor in the hitter’s daily acumen. Triples are just could be in the park home runs if not for batters watching the ball instead of running after making contact.

Goose also disdains analytics and the slow demise of scouts’ significance in talent and strategy determinations.

Goose also can’t stand the prospect of the computerized strike zone (which has supposedly been a success in the minor leagues).

I’d agree baseball should never have changed, or rather, implemented the changes it has in the last several years.

Things implemented by baseball’s keepers to speed up the games were the start of things turning bad.

Everyone got used to the designated hitter back in the American League (Ron Bloomberg was the Yankees’ first one).

Not being able to watch an intentional walk and the possibility of a wild pitch during it’s undertaking, is not a step in the right direction.

More strikeouts than hits in games is an embarrassment.

Baseball is no longer timeless because the natural ebb and flow of the games are changed forever.

So, I agree with Goose’s point of view.

And I just realized I sound like a complainer, too.

Self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?