Molly's mowed over

Mark it down. May 24 was the first time Molly looked at me with a terrified expression and I could tell she was asking herself whether or not I was qualified to be a competent parent.
Yes, I'm shocked it took nearly six months, too.
The best thing is this: She was complicit in the whole affair.
She was rushing out the door to go to a York City School District concert when I asked her to help me put Michael into the thing that attaches him to my chest. (I can't remember it's name and it's too early in the morning to look it up. From here on out we'll call it the Iron Man Chest Plate.) I could tell she was excited because I had never used it before.
So she never asked why I planned to use it.
Not while she helped plop Michael into the Iron Man Chest Plate. Not while she helped pop it into place.
Then, as I followed her out the door, with Mick strapped to my chest, she asked what I was doing.
"Mowing the lawn."
She looked like Jacob Marley after he takes the bandage off his face in the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol."

Move the curser to 3:35 and you'll see Molly's reaction.

"Are you sure that's safe," she asked. "Should I really leave my son with you," is what she thought.

"Yeah," I responded. When I realized this wasn't enough, I added that some of our friends had done it. I waited for her to fully turn into a mom and say, "Well if our friends jumped off the Route 30 bridge, would you?"

But she didn't.

She's not fully transformed into a mother yet.

When she left, I mowed the back of our lawn. The little man was indeed strapped to my chest while this occurred. 

So, was I a terrible parent?

poll by twiigs.com

Here's hoping they never forget Gary

I'll always love my hometown. Moosic, Pa., might not have the glitz an glamor of Hollywood, the style of New York City, the beauty of Paris or the history of Rome, but it's where I'm from so has a special place in my heart.
It's got my favorite ice cream stand (Bitty Bill's), my favorite pizza parlor (Dino & Francesco's), but most of all it has my favorite people.
The people of Northeastern Pennsylvania are, like the people in any small town, quite a group. They're not perfect and they don't try to be. They love to elect corrupt politicians from every part of the aisle, mangle the English language (They drink a "caffee" while eating a "couple, two, tree haatdogs," at a restaurant in "Troop" - which is inconveniently spelled "Throop." Yet they remember to say "tanks" to the waitress.), and consider a mixed marriage the wedding between a Polish girl and an Italian man.
Yet it is a place where most of the people - whether they've read "Don Quixote" or not - look at the world through the eyes of Alonso Quijano. They live to believe in things. It's in the very fabric of their being.
In the past few days the communities of Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially my hometown of Moosic and the surrounding boroughs of Taylor and Old Forge, have rallied around an impressive young man.

Wrap up games 33-39 and why I'm optimistic

Driving up to the house on Tuesday, I saw my father-in-law on the porch. He had been visiting since Sunday night, so I wasn't shocked to see him sitting there, working on his lap top.
What surprised me as I got out of the car was seeing Michael bouncing around in his jumparoo.
When he finally noticed me, he smiled. I love that smile. His dimples show up and his eyes seem to dance.
He even hopped a bit.
It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
It makes baseball seem so insignificant.

A great Mother's Day

My favorite memory of my Grandma Abdalla is from Mother's Day in 1993. I was 12 years old.
My family was gathered at her house in the west side of Scranton for some cold meat sandwiches, cold drinks and some good times.
This was during the summer I fell in love with baseball.

Games 26- 32 Wrap ups - Something's gottah change

It's a good thing Michael can't understand his father when we're watching games together.
Otherwise he'd be learning four-letter words that aren't spit, duck and cram.

The Phillies had a chance to assert themselves back into the National League East. Three games in D.C. against the Nationals, three at home against the New York Mets.

In the past five seasons - en route to five consecutive division titles -  the Phillies had gone 50-39 and 59-31 against the Mets and Nats respectively. The past six games saw the Phillies go 1-5.
It's not looking good.
Chase Utley can't even take fielding practice. Ryan Howard is still weeks away from playing a Major League Game. The team is 0-8 in the last eight games started by Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

The bullpen, aside from Jonathan Papelbon, is a mess. The offense is improved from the team's first 16 games, but still lackluster. The baserunning is atrocious (Juan Pierre, I don't care if you get caught stealing, but I do when you run into outs on the basepaths).

Despite having every starter's ERA below 3.30, this team is in last place.

Oh, and Tom McCarthy is talking as if this team is in first place and has everyone right where they want them. So you can't even enjoy watching them on TV.

Yet, I'm not too down on this team.

Michael is ready for the Nationals

Michael, it's May 4 and the Phillies are not in first place.

Sure they are.

No, Michael, they're not.

Are you sure? Who is then? The Nationals?

Actually, yes.

We play them tonight, right? Then they won't be in first for long.

Game 26 Wrap up - Joe Blanton, everyone.

"I got this, Mike"

The Braves thought they had it easy. They thought wrong. Joe Blanton whirled the Phils back to .500 with a 4-0 shutout.

Game 25 Wrap up - An honest-to-Gawd slugfest

Ask and ye shall receive. Well, not at Bill Bateman's Bistro Wednesday night. The Phillies had a chance to go above .500 for the first time since Opening Day.
Roy Halladay was on the hill and we were headed to Bateman's for our regular trivia outing. We brought Michael with us.
 He and I desperately wanted to see the game.
We walk in and what do we find? The Cubs-Reds game. The Nationals-Houston game? The Orioles-Yankees game? But no Phillies game.

Game 24 Wrap up - Back to .500

The Phightin' Phils are starting to click.
The recipe for Monday night's 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves worked out well.
It started with a base of Cole Hamels. The left-hander went six solid innings, scattering six hits, two walks and two runs. A dash of Jimmy Rollins - back in the leadoff spot for the fourth straight game - provided some spice. The shortstop went 2-for-4, scoring a run. A splash of Hunter Pence, who also collected two hits while driving in one run and scoring another, helpe the cause.
The offense continued to show improvement. The Phils, after averaging 2.69 runs over their first 16 games, have scored 4.67 runs during their last eight games. Needless to say, they've gone 5-3 over that stretch. It's also worth noting that every member of the starting lineup had a hit.
But the recipe didn't just include the starters.
The Phils bullpen looked fantastic.
Chad Qualls, Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon combine for three shutout innings.
With the win, the Phillies are back to .500 for the first time since April 16.