Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Glue Factory, Here I Come
Fuck, I'm getting old. I'm turning into one of those old, broken down ballplayers that I used to make fun of. Played in a softball tournament on Saturday and ended up pulling a lower abdominal muscle. This is on top of the aching throwing elbow, which has gotten so bad that I've been using DMSO on it, which is basically Icy Hot for horses. That's not even mentioning that my left heel needs surgery (heel bone growing THROUGH my achillies tendon - OUCH!!). Here's a tip - buy stock in Providence Medical Group, as that's where I'll be spending most of my money and time in the off-season this year.
I just don't understand it. I'm in pretty good shape, I work out regularly, don't eat too awfully bad (I don't know WHERE that pizza went, honest!) and don't drink as much beer as most of my teammates. I guess there just comes a time when your body slows down (Jesus, can't they warn you about this shit? It's just not fucking fair to drop this in your lap!). The problem is that I'm still good - it's not my time! For example, I played in three games Saturday and went 10-11 at the plate (including 2 home runs and 3 triples), made two diving plays at short and didn't make any errors. I get offers to play left and right and I have a hard time saying no when I'm asked to play (my body usually answers "No fucking way! Are you NUTS!" before I can get out "Sure, love to!") I understand now how athletes (or as Evander Holyfield would say, afaletes) retire, come back, retire, un-retire, retire once more and then make one last comeback before being released by whichever team picked them up expecting the younger version of their "name." It's truly a hard decision. I mean, I'm 35, do I retire after this season from playing competitively? Or do I stick to my goal of playing competitively until I'm 45, knowing I'll probably regret it later on? I don't think my body has another 10 good years left. I think it has 0 great years, 5 good years, 2 decent years and 3 mediocre years left in it. How do you know when to quit doing something that you love? How can someone make that decision? Is it better to go out when you're still relatively on top of your game? Or should playing because you love the game, even though you can't perform like you once did, be ok?
My main team (co-ed class 'A') is scheduled to go to Utah for a national championship tournament in September. My heel surgery is scheduled two weeks after that in October. What the hell happened to the days when the only thing I had scheduled after nationals was more tournaments in October?
Guess you can't play forever....dammit!! Can I get a body transplant?
|
I just don't understand it. I'm in pretty good shape, I work out regularly, don't eat too awfully bad (I don't know WHERE that pizza went, honest!) and don't drink as much beer as most of my teammates. I guess there just comes a time when your body slows down (Jesus, can't they warn you about this shit? It's just not fucking fair to drop this in your lap!). The problem is that I'm still good - it's not my time! For example, I played in three games Saturday and went 10-11 at the plate (including 2 home runs and 3 triples), made two diving plays at short and didn't make any errors. I get offers to play left and right and I have a hard time saying no when I'm asked to play (my body usually answers "No fucking way! Are you NUTS!" before I can get out "Sure, love to!") I understand now how athletes (or as Evander Holyfield would say, afaletes) retire, come back, retire, un-retire, retire once more and then make one last comeback before being released by whichever team picked them up expecting the younger version of their "name." It's truly a hard decision. I mean, I'm 35, do I retire after this season from playing competitively? Or do I stick to my goal of playing competitively until I'm 45, knowing I'll probably regret it later on? I don't think my body has another 10 good years left. I think it has 0 great years, 5 good years, 2 decent years and 3 mediocre years left in it. How do you know when to quit doing something that you love? How can someone make that decision? Is it better to go out when you're still relatively on top of your game? Or should playing because you love the game, even though you can't perform like you once did, be ok?
My main team (co-ed class 'A') is scheduled to go to Utah for a national championship tournament in September. My heel surgery is scheduled two weeks after that in October. What the hell happened to the days when the only thing I had scheduled after nationals was more tournaments in October?
Guess you can't play forever....dammit!! Can I get a body transplant?
|
