lookin' good!

I'm a big Tony LaRussa fan, but this...this is too much.

why i can't lick the tables any more

Today, a girl studying to be dentist came to talk to a small class today. She taught how to properly brush teeth. She also taught the kids proper body hygiene. I was thinking to myself, "God bless you, child. Thank you for teaching these smelly kids how to make them not stink".

At the end, she gave the students a card where they could write a question they might be too embarrassed to ask in front of the whole class. There were some good questions in there, like...
"At what age to boobs grow bigger and penises grow longer?"
and
"How long does deodorant last. And can I put it all over my body?"

These are fine questions. I have asked those at one time too. Now that I think about it, I think I asked these a couple of weeks ago.
But it was the 3rd and final question that really got to me. She picked up the card and read...
"Sometimes kids scrape the plaque off their teeth and wipe it on top of the table. Is this bad for you?"


WHAT?!?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!!?

I quit. Right now. If this is true, I quit. I can handle kids who have no respect for adults and themselves. I can handle violence. But scraping the plaque off your teeth and wiping them on top of the table?
I'm done.

hog heaven

During the period when Kortny didn't have a job, and all that was going through our heads was just finding her ANYTHING, I really just focused a lot and prayed a lot about the difficult things in my life. Even on here, I would post about our struggles. I told my self that I really needed to start celebrating and taking extra notice when things were going right. I prayed when things were going bad, and I need to pray when things are going well.

On Saturday night, Dave came down to Champaign. He was staying the night to play djembe' at Quest on Sunday. We played catch, talked about girls (for Dave) while eating ice cream (off of the same cone*), and gushed over dream guitars. But it was later on, when Dave, Kortny, and myself when to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. There, while eating some nice wings, it really hit me that life is very very good. I was sitting with the best man of my wedding, my wife, and watching Larry Walker hit the game winning home run on the huge big screen.
I've been more than blessed to have great friends and an incredible wife. I know this is cheesy, but I am just thanking God and giving credit where and when it is due.

Life does not get much better that this, my friends.


*Dave and Jeremiah really didn't eat ice cream off the same cone.

ever.

Move over, Yankees vs. Mets.

Sorry, White Sox vs. Cubs.

Nice try, Astros vs. Rangers.

Not even close, Braves vs. Red Sox.


Cardinals vs. Royals. Best rivalry in baseball. Ever.



VS.



We're talkin' epic stuff here, people.

seattle.

This is my favorite kind of weather. Degrees in the 60's, drizzly, rainy, occasional thunder.
Oooooooooohhhhhhh this is nice.
I have 8 days of school left. Eat that, people. 8 days. Then starts the sleeping in 'till 8.

Listen to this. So, Kortny is subbing at my school. She was walking in the halls, when some student came up to her and the following conversation took place...

Student (very playa-like)- "Excuse, me. Are you an adult, or are you a student?"

Mrs. Cox (annoyed) - "I'm an adult."

Student (still very playa-like)- "Ohhh. (nodding) That's what I thought. You've got all the adult features."

uhhh.

Wow.

my knees hurt

On the first play of the game last night, I ranged to my left and knocked down a ball heading to the outfield. I scraped both of my knees and my left shin in the process. It was bleeding. I went home. I got sympathy points from The Lady.
We had our first game last night, and I'll keep the score from you until the end. For suspense. First things first, I'll let you know how I did. That's most important.

---------------------
Men's Church-League Softball Stats
Name: Jeremiah Cox
Number: 7
Pos: 2B

Last night
Hitting: 1 for 3
Fielding: eh.
---------------------

For some reason, when it becomes game time, I can't hit the stinking ball out of the stinking infield. I didn't have this problem last year until the final game, and it has carried over to this year already. I just know that I'm going to be knocked down in the order from the 8 spot to the 10th or 11th. C'mon, coach!
As far as fielding went, I made the plays I was supposed to make, but there were 2 or 3 that I should have gotten to that I didn't.
Overall score for my game: C-
I would say one of the worst 3 games I have played.

Now, as far as the team.
We were winning 16-11 going into the top of the final (5th) inning. First Baptist scored 5 runs capped with a 2-run error by Adam Tarr to make it 7 at the top of the inning. There were still no outs. We got the next three outs pretty quickly, and we were going to the bottom of the 5th. Final at bat. Down 16-18.

We had our big guns leading off, and it started with Andy Adams hitting a single/double/thingy where he tripped on first base, landed on the ground, advanced to second on the center fielder's error and dove head first into second. Then, the next two batters popped up and grounded out. So, there we were, with 2 outs, one on and down by two.
Here come up the 7th and 8th place hitters.


Tarr and Cox.

Adam was still fuming* from his error in the top of the inning. He wanted to redeem himself.
He did.
Adam hit a double and advanced to third on the left/centerfielder's error. He knocked in Andy. Well done, Adam. Clutch.
Sooo Clutch.

(*My Turn has used poetic license with this part of the story)


So, here I am. On deck. I actually said out loud, "ohhh crap". Because I knew I haven't hit the ball out of the infield in two games. My confidence level at the plate is at 4%. Andy, who just scored, comes by me on his way to the dugout and says, "no pressure".

Thanks, Andy.

The pitcher throws a blazing softball pitch inside for ball one.
The tension grows. There is my good friend just 65 feet away. Wanting to come home. The tying run.
Next pitch.
I hit it.
Right to the shortstop.
He fields it cleanly.
Adam runs home.
I run to first.
The shortstop throws to first.
I'm running.
The first baseman catches the ball.



Safe.

Game tied 18 all.
The next play, is a force-out (which I was safe by 2 strides) at second. Game over. It's a tie. As a guy on the other team beautifully put it...


"That's the way Jesus would have wanted it".

i play church-league softball. so what?

Is it wierd of me that I play church-league softball? I've been thinking lately, about this whole grown-men playing softball thing. Is it really just a time for boys to be boys or are we all out there trying to get as close as we can to something that was deemed never to happen 18 years ago?
I mean, when I'm out there at second base, I'm not playing 2nd because my all-time favorite player was there. If that were the case then I'd either be playing first in honor of Greg Jefferies, or 3rd in honor of Scott Rolen. Instead, I play 2nd because I enjoy playing the infield, and have a really sucky arm.
I look all around me and wonder if these other grown men are thinking the same thing.

Not about my arm.

But about pretending to be major league ball players.

And when I see the competiveness in some of the players, I wonder what it is exactly, they are taking so serious? Church-league softball?

Don't get me wrong, I really love playing. But I wonder if I JUST enjoy playing, or that playing under the Parkland College softball lights is as close to playing under the Busch Stadium lights as I'll ever get. There was a point in my life (and I'm sure some of yours) when I played baseball in hopes to someday be good enough to play in the Big Leagues. At what point do I stop playing with that goal? Well, for me it was about age 10, when I told myself "well, this isn't really going to work out". So, then at 10, did I start playing it ONLY because it was fun? Or because it was fun and if I could just pretend to be playing for the Cardinals? I think that would be a hard transition, but I don't remember it being so rough.

We play tonight at 8. Faith United Methodist Church is about to get a "new church start" up in them.

in honor of the best TV series ever.

new logo

Okay. Your thoughts were appreciated. Noted that the hardcore style maybe didn't match totally our music style. What do you think of this one?

all non-Cardinals roster

At the game a couple of nights ago, AT asked who our favorite non-Cardinals player was. It got me athinking, so here is my favorite non-cardinal roster.

Catcher - Mike Matheney (Giants)
First Base- Todd Helton (Rockies)
Second Base - Brian Giles (Braves)
Third Base - David Wright (Mets)
Shortstop - Khalil Greene (Padres)
Outfield - Aubrey Huff (Devil Rays), Bobby Abreu (Phillies), Geoff Jenkins (Brewers)
Closer - Fransisco Rodriqez (Angels), Billy Wagner (Phillies)
Starting staff -
Ben Sheets (Brewers)
Zack Greinke (Royals)
Dontrelle Willis (Marlins)
Rich Harden (A's)
Tim Hudson (Braves)

Manager - Ned Yost (Brewers)



***BONUS PARAGRAPH!!***
Some talk of people watching their homeruns...
This is a quote that I actually have up on my bulletin board in my office...

"If I strike out with the bases loaded, I never want to show the pitcher he beat me," Rolen said. "I never want to show the fans I was beaten. I never want to show my teammates I was beaten. Let them all wonder. Maybe I was blown away. Or maybe I'm kicking myself for missing a pitch I should've hit. And if I hit a home run, I'm going to run around the bases and get back in the dugout. No one but me needs to know if I'm locked in, or if I just had a lucky swing."

don't read if you don't care about baseball

So, we're a fifth through the season, and I'm going to give my position by position grades on the Cards so far. As a side note, we had KILLER seats last night thanks to Mr. Joe Waeble (sp) from New Horizon United Methodist Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're talking about 11 rows back, behind home plate. We're talking waitresses coming down and taking our orders. We're talking about padded seats. We're talking about David Eckstein going 4 for 5, Cardinals winning 9-3.

Now, we're talking Cardinals...

1st Base - A
Albert Pujols is putting up decent numbers by his standards. 9 homers, .338 BA, and showing some good glove work. Best offensive threat in all of baseball. Barry Bonds, step aside please.

2nd Base - B+
Mark Grudzielanek has been amazing for the Birds so far this season. He's made some dandy plays, hit for the cycle, and is batting .336. The move to St. Louis has rejuvenated his career. Thank you, Cubs, for signing Todd Walker.

3rd Base - C
Rolen is out for a few weeks after colliding with Choi at first base. I actually think this will be a good thing for Rolen, as his neck and back have been hurting him all season and have hampered productivity on both O and D. He's the type of player that plays through a lot of pain, and I really think this will help to force him to rest. Mabry was awesome last night at the hot corner.

Shortstop - B +
For those ESPNers who have talked about Eckstein’s arm being a rag arm, haven't seen him since the season started. He has been going through a shoulder workout that a lot of the Cardinal pitching goes through, and scouts from other teams that have gone to Busch have said his arm is greatly improved. As a leadoff batter, Eckstein is now batting .320, and even better, has a .397 on base percentage. Very nice. Billy Beane, nice.

Catching - C+
Yadier Molina (who is returning today) has been spectacular behind the plate, and is finally starting to pick it up with the bat. After batting less than .200 for most the season so far, but has hit better as of late. However, with this Cardinal line-up, it's the defense that management wants out of the catcher. Molina has the best gun of any Cardinal catcher in recent memory. The dude loves to let it go.

Outfield - C-
For the exception of Reggie Sanders (9 home-runs), the outfield needs to step it up. Larry Walker had a good game last night, but Jimmy Edmonds needs to come through. Although, after the game winning home-run in game 6 last year, and "The Catch" in game 7, Jimmy's got some breathing room for me.

Starting Pitching - A+
I know that giving them an A+ is a little over the top, but I wanted to portray that this is the best part of the team. With the vaunted staffs of Houston and Chicago in the Central, it has clearly the been the Cards starting pitching that has been the best. After a couple of rough starts, Mark Mulder has shown exactly why Walk Jocketty gave up a lot to get a lot. He has been lights-out for 5 straight wins in his last 5 outings. He threw TEN shutout innings against Roger Clemens, and only used 111 pitches to do it. Those power pitchers in on the Northside can take notes about high pitch counts. Chris Carpenter has also been very solid, as he too has thrown a complete game shutout. Amazingly enough, going back to the very beginning of the year, Jason Marquis has actually put up the best numbers. Check out these stats from the 5 starters.

.................... W.......L.........ERA
Mulder .........5........1.........2.70
Carpenter ....5........2.........4.02
Morris ..........2.......0..........3.10
Marquis........5.......1..........3.26
Suppan ........3.......3..........3.53

Relief Pitching - B -
Jason Isringhausen (also returning today) has been lights out. He has been a perfect 7 for 7 in save chances (LaTroy). King and Tavares are still very solid as set-up men. The problem has been middle relief, where the Cardinals have sucked. There have been a couple of bright spots, in Randy Flores and Brad Thomson (minor leaguer who threw a record 57 consecutive scoreless innings). Jocketty is said to be looking for help in middle relief. If he finds something good out there, it could really shore up this team. If he doesn't, the Cards are going to have a quick exit in the playoffs.


THE BOTTOM LINE
Middle infield has quieted the critics so far. Starting pitching is not fluke, and the Cards finally have two Aces in Mulder and Carp. The Cardinals are clearly the best team in the Central, but if help is not on the way in middle relief, it will be short playoff appearance.

uh, oh. random time.

Time for another "scatter-brained" (girly chuckle) post.

- It is freaking hot outside. I work in a big school with no A/C. My butt sweats, and if you didn't know, that is NOT a good thing.

- I get to go to the Cardinal game tonight and site butt-close to the feild. Thanks, AT.

- I have said "butt" in the first two random thoughts.

- Now the first three.

- Kortny is subbing for a special education teacher in my building who is off on materinity leave. I'm jealous of Kortny, because she is working with the kind of students that I've always wanted to work with.

- I'm worried about the Cardinal's middle relief. I'm worried about Scott Rolen's shoulder. Hee Sop Choi caught a ball in the base-line and Rolen ran into him. Stupid Choi. Leave it to a former Cub to do something stupid.

- I like the fact that David Burke is out of school as of.......right now. I don't like the fact that I have a feeling he is going to be working a lot, and thus not be able to visit The 'paign as much as one would hope.

so, i got hit by a car today.

What a freaking idiot.
On Fridays, I help students cross Green street. It's my duty post. All teachers have to do one. I was crossing a kid today, and some idiot ran into me. I saw him coming a very fast speed, and not slowing down much. I started waiving my arms, and once I did that, he started flipping me off with both hands.

BOTH HANDS!!!!

So, he would have ran into the student, but I stood my ground. He ran right into me. He didn't run me over for two reasons.
1. I can take on a truck any day of the week.
2. He slammed on his breaks at the last second.

I yelled at him, "this is a school zone!"
He yelled at me, "Get out of the *&%^$#@ street, @##&*($!!!

So, for the first time in my life, I called someone a bad name. Looking back on it, I am not happy with what named I called him. I could have called him a lot better name, but it was the best I could come up with in that certain situation.

Here's what happened.

(I have removed the picture because of its rediculously huge size. If you would like me to send it to you, let me know in the latest comments section. I love you)


By the way, I only got the first couple of digits in the plates, but a police car came by right after it happened. I have him the information and he said he'd try to find him on what limited info I had. He said if he finds him, he's putting him in jail.

And the mo' better hope we don't meet in court.
I've got a Microsoft Paint diagram to shove up his...

****Jeremiah applogizes for the inappropriate language on this blog today. He's really mad and blowing off some steam.

music review

Band: Carbon Leaf
Album: Indian Summer
Released: 2004



I originally saw the band, Carbon Leaf when they opened for Guster a few weeks ago. I had never heard of them before, and when all I heard about them was they were a popular college band...kind of like phish...I was not looking forward to it. I didn't want to sit through a three song-three hour set. But that's not at all what I got.
Carbon Leaf's album, Indian Summer is a nice break from the rush of eclectic bands out there right now. When I listened to the first couple tracks, "Life Extraordinary" & "What About Everything", I was refreshed to hear some straight forward rock. Not heavy. Not light. Just right. The chorus on both of these songs will get stuck in your head for days...and that's a good thing. CL does a nice job of integrating just enough acoustic guitar with electric, that each song on the album has its own distinct character. Some mandolin makes itself known throughout Indian Summer and adds the perfect amount of folk into the rock. The overall sound is catchy, but not so catchy that it stops you dead in your tracks.

I found the lyrics to be overall kind of cheesy. On the official website, the lead singer admits that he hates writing them, and it shows through. They aren't all bad, as "What about everything" has strong lyrical sense and flow.

I emailed the lead guitar player in the band to tell them that they did a great job and that I bought their CD. When he replied, he actually encouraged me to feel free to burn the CD and give it to friends. That automatically earned Carbon Leaf a half a star more.

THE BOTTOM LINE
A very solid buy. But will I still be listening to it in 5 years? Unlikely.

* * * Stars (out of 5)

decatur vs. champaign

Here's the lowdown. There's been some heat up in here lately about which is better. Decatur or Champaign?
I actually know the answer, but I'm not going to tell you.
Before things got heated-and I mean heated, Dave Mike Burke and Jeremiah Chris Cox have decided that it would be completly awesome to have a Decatur vs. Champaign baseball game. For those of you that were at my Bachelor party, if you remember back before we went to Big Al's and got wasted (ohh, for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I'll never forget).
We played a game of rag ball in Dave's back yard. For those Champainies here, a rag ball is nothing more than a softer baseball made with a cloth cover. It rocks.

So, here's what we're going to to do. Some Saturday in June or July we are going to have a Champain vs. Decatur ragball day.
The day will start off in Decatur's home turf at Burke Ballpark. We will play for an hour and a half or so, and have lunch. Then, both teams will travel to Champaign to play at Champain's home field of Bottenfield Stadium. Then, if we want, we will grill out after that game. This is an open call to any Champain folk or Decatur folk. Men or Women.

Here are the rosters as I see them so far. If your name is on the list and you don't want to be on it, tell me. I will take it off and never put you back on, jerk. If I don't have you on here, please don't be offended. Because I either:
A: Don't know you are reading this
B: Have never played baseball with you
But I am posting this because I want to invite ANYONE who is reading this to play. Let me know in the comments section! I put my self on Champaign's roster right now, but Scott or I can both be moved to either team as needed for numbers because of our ties to both towns.

Champaign
1. Jeremiah Cox
2. Adam Tarr
3. Matt Ahrens
4. Tim Lybarger
5. Matt House (unlikely, because he's moving)
6. Abe (if you would come down)

Decatur
1. David Burke
2. Scott Wentworth
3. Jeff Lester
4. Brad Shelton
5. Warren Brinegar


Okay, so let's throw out some dates and get this mo' goin. Also, if your name is not on the list, AGAIN, please holla. I'd love to have you in on this grudge match.

May the best town win.

get up, baby! get up!!

Are you kidding me!?!?
That is the thought that went through baseball fans everywhere last night.

I must confess. I gave up. I was playing with my new camera, when I was watching Jim Journell (or should I say, the Cardinals' Kyle Farnsworth)walking in a runs and overall just sucking. I changed the channel when it was 9 to 3.
I called my friend Scott, and we talked baseball, Seinfeld, and girlfriend/wife talk. I heard on my phone that someone was calling. I haven't talked to Scott in quite a long while, so I didn't click over. After we hung up, I checked my voicemail.
It was Matt.
He said something like, "Hey Jeremiah. You are the coolest cat around. I look up to you in every possible way.* Also, I would like to congratulate you on the Cardinals' 9th inning rally."
*My Turn made use of poetic license with this part of the quote.

What.

Sure enough, my boys in red scored 7 runs (5 with two outs) in the top of the 9th to beat the Reds for the biggest 9th inning comeback in Cardinal history.
Some dude on Sportscenter summed it up best...

"That's why they're the Cardinals and you're the Reds".


-----------------

"Nice job hitting the game winning 2-run homer, John Mabry"
"Thanks, Albert Pujols. Has any one ever told you that you are the best hitter in baseball?"
"Um, I think so, John"
"Good. Because you are."

all blogged down.

It's getting kinda lonely in this corner of cyber space. Tim Lybarger has stopped his Cardinal bashing/Cub nonsense website (it was a matter of time), House doesn't post much any more, and Hifi has stalled ever since 420. We don't hear about Philthy's road adventures NEAR as much as we should, and just because TJ is moving away, he thinks he can move away from our hearts as well.

Ahrens has so much potential, but his job requires that he actually work, and Adam Tarr has yet to start a blog of his own.

The Decatur blogging community has had a resurgence, if you will, thanks to Dave's steady contributions and Warren's new found time for typed words. The audio blog has made its debut and, welcome technology...welcome.

My Turn has not heard from the likes of John Meredith-Cox for a while, though the two editors talked briefly over the phone last night. The internet is great, but nothing beats a crisp, clear, no delay phone conversation over the Atlantic Ocean.

On the other hand, phones are great, but nothing beats a crisp, clear, no delay hug, either.