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Ups and Downs of an Off-Season Monday
First, the up.
Congratulations to Justin Verlander on being crowned AL MVP 2011. If you’ve read my blog in the past, you’ll know that I have written a couple of posts about how I wanted him to win, so it’s an understatement to say I’m glad. He deserved it after the phenomenal season he had, and I’m glad that the voters put aside the fact that he is a pitcher, although it was nowhere near as much of a clean sweep as the Cy Young last week. He becomes the first pitcher since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986 to win the MVP.And for now, I promise to stop writing blog posts about Justin Verlander (until next season at least).
Then the down.
MLB is reporting the terrible news that Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death at home in the Netherlands earlier this morning, and his brother has allegedly been arrested as a suspect. He was only 24, and had just finished playing 35 games for the Mariners as a rookie this season. It’s always sad to hear the death of someone so young, but even worse that it may have been caused by his brother. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends as they try to deal with this tragic news. -
Now Reading: Susan Fletcher – Eve Green
The last book that I read (Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín) was one of the best books I have read in a long time.
(Spoiler alert – don’t read the next paragraph if you plan on reading this book)
It was set in the 1950s, and focused on a young Irish girl named Eilis, who is persuaded to move to Brooklyn by her older sister Rose. She struggles with settling in, but eventually meets a guy (Tony) she really likes. She is then shocked with the news that her older sister has died, and her mother wants her to return to Ireland. She makes plans to return home for a month, but marries Tony before she leaves. He loves her, but isn’t convinced she would be able to leave her mother in Ireland if she had no permanent tie to Brooklyn. When she gets back to Ireland, her mother and friends have started making plans for her to stay, getting her a job and setting her up with a guy. She doesn’t tell them about Tony, and is almost tempted to stay and just write a letter to Tony asking for a divorce. In the end though, she makes the right decision and returns to Brooklyn and to her new life with Tony.
The book drew me right in, and I felt myself wishing Eilis to make the right decisions. I love books that make me feel involved, and this one definitely did. When I turned the last page, I really wished there were a couple more chapters, but I think Tóibín left it in the right place. This quote from the description of the book on Amazon hits the nail right on the head:
Brooklyn is a tender story of great love and loss, and of the heartbreaking choice between personal freedom and duty. In the character of Eilis Lacey Colm Tóibín has created a remarkable heroine and in Brooklyn a novel of devastating emotional power.
It took me a while to decide what book to read next (I’ve too many on my shelf to choose from), but I finally settled on Eve Green by Susan Fletcher. I’ve no idea really what it will be like, but the quote from The Observer on the back says ‘An exceptional debut of grace and subtlety’, and the book was the winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award. Quite a lot to live up to, but we’ll see how it goes. I did originally want to read Anna Karenina next, but it’s 848 pages long, and I wasn’t quite in the mood for something so in depth. I think I may read it over Christmas when I’ve got more time for reading. -
Cy Young this week, MVP next?
Justin Verlander – 2011 AL Cy Young Award Winner Congratulations to Justin Verlander, who was unanimously awarded the AL Cy Young Award after winning the three triple crown categories this season with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. The MVP award is announced next Tuesday. There is a lot of discussion over whether a pitcher should be awarded the MVP, and if so, if Verlander is deserving of the honour. I for one believe that he should get it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
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Now Reading: Colm Tóibín – Brooklyn
I LOVED the last book I read, typical Nicholas Sparks really. At first I thought the book was going to be really predictable, man falls in love with woman, woman already has a boyfriend, she has to make a choice, blah blah blah. Then at the end of a chapter, I turned the page to an insert page which said ‘Part Two’. The story had skipped forward 11 years and she was in a coma. I did NOT expect that to happen and wasn’t sure where the book was going to go. In the end, it was still predictable, but that’s kinda what I like about Nicholas Sparks, the books are so ‘feel-good’ that they are easy and enjoyable to read.My next book is Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. I bought it from Amazon for about £2, and apparently it was the winner of the 2009 Costa Novel Award. I’ve never heard of the book before, but it jumped out at me when I was trying to decide what to buy, so I’m glad to finally start reading it.
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Remember Remember the 5th of November…
As the day that Pearl and the Beard completely rocked my socks off!
Frank and I went to The Castle Hotel in Manchester to see Pearl and the Beard last night. When the tickets were announced at the start of October I knew I had to go, and the fact that tickets were only £5 each made it a dead cert. According to the tickets, doors were at 7.30, but as it happened, the doors didn’t open until about 8.15. Thankfully the Castle Hotel was a really nice pub, more of a ‘real ale’ kind of pub, but as I was driving (and I don’t really drink), I stuck to the lemonade. Frank did have a Kopparberg, which was apparently very nice (and smelled really fruity). The venue was quite small (the back room in a pub which probably held about 40 people), but I loved that it was so intimate. It did mean that I didn’t take many pictures though.
After the doors opened, there was a 45 minute wait until the first band came on. They were a band I’d never heard of before called ‘Onions‘. I wasn’t too sure about them when they first started playing, and although they did grow on me a little by the end, I don’t think I’ll be picking up their CD. They played for about 40 minutes, and then there was a 20 minute gap while it got set up for Pearl and the Beard.
After they’d got the stage set up, they took a few steps off the stage to the front of the crowd, and started a floor stamping version of Douglas Douglass (one of my fave songs). It was fantastic, they were walking around the room through everyone that was watching and stamping and clapping for percussion. When Jocelyn started singing I was blown away by how clear her voice was – usually singers don’t sound quite as good live as they do on their albums, but PatB were just as good, if not better! They played for about 50 minutes, but I really wish it could have been longer. Jeremy was great on his guitar with beautiful vocals, and Emily on Cello was amazing – I’ve never seen someone play Cello in a band before but it was great!
After they had finished, we bought our tour posters, and then left quite quickly to try and make it back to the car park before the charge went from £6 to £11, but unfortunately we missed it by 7 minutes! At least we didn’t have to leave early like we did for Wakey!Wakey!
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It’s not often I say this but…
I went to see The Help today and it was as good as the book. I read the book earlier this year, before I found out it was going to be released as a film. It was a great book, even made me cry in places. I managed to avoid the tears in the film though, although not sure Cameron did! 😛If you’ve not read the book, it’s about the civil rights movement in America in the 1960’s. Set in Jackson, Mississippi, it’s about an aspiring journalist (Emma Stone) who decides to write a book about the hardships experienced by the black maids employed by well-off white families, including her own.
For me, it was quite hard to believe that it was only 50 years ago that these situations actually happened, the idea of building separate toilets for ‘coloureds’ to use is mind boggling, never mind the idea of labelling them ‘coloureds’. It’s a great film about the courage of those involved in the civil rights movement, the world would have been a very different place without them!The acting in the film was amazing – Emma Stone played a brilliant Skeeter, and Viola Davies as Aibileen was simply
wonderful! And best of all, unlike the last book to film adaptation I saw, the accents were spot on! It did surprise me how different Viola Davies looked out of character when I found this picture, she looks a lot younger than I thought she was – another testament to her acting!If you’re interested in seeing the film, check out the trailer:
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Now Reading: Nicholas Sparks – The Choice
So I gave up on the last book I was reading (The Beautiful and Damned). I was really looking forward to reading it, but I had a hard time getting into it and there’s nothing worse than reading a book that you’re not enjoying (ask my dad – he stuck it out through 1,232 pages of Les Miserables). I’ll definitely try it again later, hopefully when I’m in the right mindset to read it.My next book is The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. I’ve read a few of his books, I find them really easy to read, and they always pull me right in. I just ordered a couple from Amazon, so they’ll give me a nice break from my attempt at the last book.
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No Baseball until next year? Not quite…
Now that the season is over (although it seems like a long time since the White Sox actually played baseball), it’s time to focus on trades and free agents and hot stove goodness until baseball returns for spring training next year. I can’t see the White Sox having much scope for adding new players, especially without getting rid of a few big contracts, so here’s what I hope for this winter:
Re-sign Mark Buehrle
This is the one thing that I really really hope we do this offseason. I know we have a full starting rotation with a lot of options, but Mark Buehrle is a dominant (and highly underrated) number 1 starter. But more than that, he is a long established veteran with the team, and I’m sure he is a great influence on the younger players in the clubhouse. If we lose him, I think we lose more than just a piece of the rotation. On a related note, I really wish MLB would hyphenate ‘re-sign’ when writing article headlines. Reading headlines like last year’s ‘White Sox resign Paul Konerko’ immediately makes me think the player has been let go from the team.Bring back Omar Vizquel
As much as I would love this to happen, I know that it probably won’t. Omar has been great the last couple of years, at times carrying the team with his defence, and his influence on our young infield has been fantastic. Even though he’ll be 45 at the start of next season, he is still a superb player showing no signs of decline, but he’s probably too much budget for the White Sox. If he ever decides to retire, he would make a great coach, so he could re-join the Sox in that capacity in the future.
Farewell to Juan Pierre
I’ve loved Pierre while he has played for us. He may have struggled a little this year, but he is a speedy guy, and a great leadoff hitter. Unfortunately for him, we have a lot of guys in the minor leagues who are ready to take his place, and for far less salary. I have no doubt that he would be able to find a place with another team, but I don’t think he is a fit for the White Sox next year, and would be an ideal place to shed some budget.Welcome Robin Ventura
As much as I loved Ozzie Guillen, it will be a refreshing change to have a new guy at the helm. He’s coming into the team at a tricky time after a very disappointing season, but it will give him a great chance to turn things around. He’s not had managerial experience at any level, so he is being thrown in at the deep end, but he has a vast amount of baseball knowledge which puts him in good stead for the year ahead.Get Jake Peavy healthy
Peavy has had a difficult time the last year and a half, having surgery to repair a detached lat muscle in July 2010. They estimated at least a year for his recovery, but he came back ahead of schedule, only to be shut down with fatigue at the start of September. Understandable really as he was going through a rehab program last winter so he never got a chance to rest before the season started. Hopefully he’ll get back into his normal off season program and come back in March ready to go for a full season next year. It would be nice for him to return to the Cy Young award winning Peavy of 2007.Let me know what you think – do you agree, or do you have your own hopes for the offseason?
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Happy Birthdays!
It was my little sister Vicky’s birthday this week, except she’s not so little anymore – it was her 21st birthday. She’s had a few days of celebrating, it started on Wednesday night in Sheffield with a big party – I think she’s still recovering from the effects of that now! It was also my Grandma’s birthday on Wednesday, so on Thursday I went out for a meal with Vicky, Frank, my Grandma and Uncle Alan.
On Vicky’s birthday on Friday, we went for a meal at Palace Chine in Kirkstall at lunch time, and then spent the afternoon at the White Rose Centre. We both spent a little too much money, but it was nice to spend the day together for once. While we were shopping, Vicky bought Frank a ‘onesie’ from Primark, to match the one she bought a few weeks ago. They were both wearing theirs on Friday night when Andy came around – and then we found out that he was wearing his under his clothes – cue a few funny photos and some very strange looks from Hannah when she called in – I think she thought they had gone bonkers (and she would have been right)!
I also made Vicky a pretty cool birthday cake, which was great until we tasted it. None of us managed to eat more than one bite because it tasted pretty disgusting (serves me right for trying a new recipe), so it all ended up in the bin – sorry Vicky!
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MLB Stands up to Cancer
For Game 4 of the World Series yesterday, MLB continued their partnership with Stand up to Cancer. Everyone in the crowd was given a card on the way in to the ballpark with the sentence ‘I stand up for…’, with a space to fill in the name of someone they know who has been affected by cancer. To start with, the organisers didn’t want to intrude on the player’s preparations for the game, but apparently when the players heard about it they wanted to get involved too, so when the time came for everyone to hold up their cards, the two dugouts were lined with players holding up their own card and showing support along with the 51,539 people standing in the crowd.
They say that everyone nowadays knows someone who has been affected by cancer, and it is really heart warming to see that as well as raising money for finding a cure, we can honour those that have been lost and support those that are still fighting, and those that have fought successfully and made it out the other side.
I lost my Grandad to cancer while I was still at school, and it was tough. Hospices like Wheatfields Hospice (who cared for my Grandad) do fantastic work, but I am looking forward to the day when we can find a cure for this horrible disease. The worst part was knowing that there was nothing that could be done, but we can keep hope in the work that these fantastic organisations carry out that the future will be brighter.
For more information about Stand up to Cancer and the amazing work that they do, visit the SU2C website.
Louise Douglas
(I've got no) Shelf Control…
Louise Douglas 