Another Voice

Greetings.

Matt, a friend of mine from school days gone by, has described his odd fetish with closers. The fact that he's such a big fan of the ones with scary facial hair and dunlap disease makes it only slightly worse.

I guess that you'd say that I'm here to be a voice of reason. Or, more likely, just another voice.

Disclosures:

I am a 29 year-old lawyer in Kansas City. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, the child of a Cubs-fan Father (who still has the Brickhouse call of Ernie's 500th on reel-to-reel tape) and Sox-fan Mother (who went to Sox park to oogle Pete Ward). Yes, I know that in some parts of the Loop that makes me an official half-breed. Always being a bit more like my mother, I became a Sox fan. The fact that he won the RoY as I was 7 cemented the allegience. My cat was named after him. I still hate Tito F'n Landrum. I curse Selig and Fehr for costing the Sox the 1994 World Series Championship. I still wonder who Bevo had pictures of to manage the club for so long. I rejoiced in 2000. I bemoan the mediocrity and the density of Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen. I still hold hope that this is our year.

I have a son who will be taught baseball and allegience, but not be made to be a Sox fan. I root for the Royals because it's harmless. I feel bad that two fantastic pitchers are being ruined by Dusty Baker. But I am glad that if their arms had to be abused that it happens while they pitch for the Cubs. I hate that across the country the phrase "the Sox" has been completely usurped by Boston.

I love the Hawkeyes and underdogs. I will root for an upset even if it ruins my bracket. I am a Democrat and a veteran of musical theatre. I believe that music was perfected in 1994. I actually liked all three of Kevin Costner's baseball movies. I don't think that the steroids controversy is much ado about nothing. I learned math from the back of baseball cards.

I look forward to discussing baseball pitchers with you. I'll be doing the AL Central Closer preview shortly. Probably another preview also. I suspect that Matt and I will banter about the value of closers in general and in specific. This may be too high a standard, but a likely pattern. Tell me when I'm wrong.

Tom