2BS Blog - This is it.

Yeah boys!

Time for another series against the Mets! The most exciting time we have covering baseball around here. Mets have lost 5 in a row. Braves have pitter-puttered. Phillies have won 5 in a row.

The current NL East standings shake out like this.
Mets 73-60 .549 – Phils 71-62 .534 2.0
Braves 69-65 .515 4.5

So the Braves still have their work cut out for them. Anything is possible. Sweeping the Mets will probably land the Phillies in first by the end of the weekend. There is still about 5 weeks left in the season. It is basically September so it’s showtime now. If the Braves 3-4-5 starters can get quality starts 60% of the time and Hudson and Smoltz keep holding it down, we should be able to wrap up the season nicely. A lot depends of course.

I’m sure Mr.Met has a different opinion on this matter, but he doesn’t have much to say when it comes to the Mets’ 4-8 record vs the Braves this season or the fact that they have lost 5 in a row. But I know exactly what he will say and it will most likely have the name PEDRO attached to it… HA! Exactly, Pedro. ‘Nuff said.

Now for a preview of tonights matchup of Hudson vs Maine from Braves.com…

Hudson on hill to open crucial Mets set
By Tom Keller / MLB.com

It might not be now or never for Atlanta, but it’s getting close.
With a frustrating 10-game road trip in their rear-view mirror, the Braves return to Turner Field on Friday to begin a critical three-game set with the National League East-leading Mets. Atlanta finds itself in third place behind New York entering the weekend, meaning that the Braves likely will need to take at least two of three to stay within striking distance in the division.

“We’ve got to win some games, it’s as simple as that,” manager Bobby Cox said. “There’s no magic formula. If we win, we know we’re doing something right.”

The Braves will pin their hopes for the opener on Tim Hudson, who has already beaten the Mets twice this season. The right-hander has allowed three runs and 14 hits in 14 innings against New York, and he’s 9-1 in his last 10 decisions overall. He has lasted at least six innings in all but five of his 28 starts this season.

The Braves will hope for a repeat performance against Mets starter John Maine, who allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to Atlanta earlier this month. Maine is 1-3 with a 7.77 ERA in five August starts.

These two teams have played four series so far this season, with Atlanta taking two of three each time. A similar result would go a long way in propelling the Braves’ playoff bid.

“We’ve got one month left,” John Smoltz said. “We’ve just got to find a way.”

Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP John Maine (13-8, 3.68 ERA)
The Dodgers tagged Maine for six runs on Sunday, though few of their nine hits were particularly hard ones. An error, a bunt single and several bloops created the bulk of the offense, and three of Maine’s six runs were unearned. All that led to a high pitch count. Maine lost in his previous start against the Braves this year, also allowing six runs.

ATL: RHP Tim Hudson (15-6, 3.23 ERA)
Hudson had a string of nine straight wins snapped when he lost to the Cardinals his last time out. He allowed five runs—his highest mark in nine starts—on nine hits in five innings. Hudson is 7-2 with a 3.39 ERA against the Mets in 10 career meetings with them.

Player to watch
Mets left fielder Moises Alou has four hits in six at-bats against Hudson this season. He has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games.

I am not MEAN (or EVIL)

...well

Patience is a virtue.

Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.

Impatience is an opposite of patience.

So when waiting for a pot of water to boil, it’s not a matter of how long or how much time it will take, it’s a matter of how long you can stand to watch it boil. Try it next time. Can you stand perfectly still and watch the water boil? Can you focus only on the boiling of the water, and nothing else? Not only is this a test of your patience, but it’s also a lesson in meditation. Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. Try this experiment next time, it will be good for you. Concentrate only on the water. Watch the bubbles. Count the bubbles. Let your mind unwind and think of nothing but the action of the boiling. Through this activity you will learn what patience is about. You will also learn how to focus on one thing and not let your mind wander. The first few times you attempt this, your mind will wander. Draw the focus back. Take control of your self.

Their are more examples to try this with. Can you sit perfectly still while getting your hair cut? Getting your teeth checked? Waiting for your car to get an oil change? Waiting in line at the DMV? Are you patient enough to sit through commercials without changing the channels? Are you patient enough to not look out your windows while waiting for a friend thats due to arrive soon?

Can you focus only on one thing at a time? Can you allow yourself to only think about what you are patiently waiting for?

This is not only a test, but a lesson. Now go my children, and teach yourself patience. You will be happy for it.

I leave you now with a few quotes regarding patience.

The years teach what the days never know. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it. ~Soren Kierkegaard

Genius is eternal patience. ~Michelangelo

In the struggle between the stone and the water, in time, the water wins. ~Chinese Proverb

Patience will achieve more than force. ~Edmund Burke

Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast. ~William Shakespeare

The faster you go, the shorter you are. ~Albert Einstein

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. ~Winston Churchill

How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young? ~Paul Sweeney

Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off. ~Author Unknown

Beware the fury of a patient man. ~John Dryden, Absolam and Achitophel, 1680

Patience is a most necessary qualification for business; many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request. ~Lord Chesterfield

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~Franklin P. Jones

Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience. ~George-Louis de Buffon

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~John Quincy Adams

Patience is the companion of wisdom. ~St. Augustine

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. ~Chinese Proverb

Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience. Misfortunes have their life and their limits, their sickness and their health. ~Michel de Montaigne

I’m going to be in the process of building up my outbound links (as u see to the right upon scrolling)—- so, if you have a site that you’d like to have me consider adding simply let me know what it is and I’ll possibly add it. I don’t really have a clue any more where all the cool sites are. I browse the same 3 sites everyday and don’t really know where to go past that, so like I said.. send me your favorite links.

I had a vision after showering and returning to my bedroom that I was going to put on blue jeans and go to work to find out the hard way that it was not Friday already. Yeah, I didn’t do that… but why is this week going so sloooooooo?

What the world needs more of…

1) Love
2) Laughter
3) Kindness
3) Open-Mindedness
4) Patience
5) Pride
6) Appreciation
7) Music
8) Trees
9) Water
10) Scientific Research

What world needs less of…

1) Violence
2) Terrorism
3) Crime
4) Hate
5) Brainwashing
6) Confusion
7) Drama
8) Apathy
9) Disorder
10) Pointless Destruction

I’m looking for a topic to ramble on about.

First person to comment back with regards to any topic, I will ramble and ramble and ramble about it…

(nothing Vick & nothing Mets/Braves please—those topics are pending further thought and future time)

Maybe someone here can answer to this… so I get a new phone, I put a few numbers in it but many did not make it over to the new one (using my rule of if I put it in, I had to call it).. so I think okay, well—- if I give all of my friends my new number in my Thank You card that was sent to them with the note that reads more or less—“hey here is my new number, call me so I have yours”—you would think at least 1 of them did.. and no.. No one did. What’s up with that?

Yeah, I have coffee brain right now, and I haven’t drank it in a few hours. I love coffee. Can’t function or think right now but some things still reign supreme, like my undivided awesomeness. News at 11.

Lunch time disaster, originally uploaded by twobs.

John had an unfortunate issue with the microwave

Well, I’ve got an article up on wiki with regards to the surname Bickersmith... Let’s see how long it will stay, it’s already been marked for speedy deletion so who knows..

Foggy Sunshine, originally uploaded by twobs.

Monday, let’s do it!

The 3 musketeers, originally uploaded by twobs.

. . . yay

DMV Excitement, originally uploaded by twobs.

In que number 2

Yeah. That’s what it is.

Seriously now!—- I’ve noticed this about 5 times in the past 2-3 weeks—- But WHO THE HECK is the guy that uses the toilets but doesn’t flush his pee???? Enough is enough….

Not washing hands is bad enough, but can we please…

If I catch this person in the act of leaving said pee, I’m gonna say.. “hey buddy did you forget something?”.

It’s one thing if you are at home and thats how you roll, but when you are at work, you gotta flush it down man.

Yeah buddy.. and it feels like I’m wearing my back to school clothes. Went shopping over the weekend and got new sneakers, 3 new slacks, 4 new tops.. and I’m on the pathway to an updated warddrobe for the first time since 2003. Yeah buddy.

Another CMP situation with everything. Going grocery shopping after work. Tried to go to DMV yesterday to take care of things, but it was just a mess. We didn’t have all the paperwork we needed, but we were glad we didn’t in a way cause while we were in line they made an announcement that their computers were down so I bet anything I got that we would have sat there til 6pm and they still wouldn’t have been able to help us out. Oh well.. Next time we’ll leave work earlier and just pump it out. I gotta take care of figuring out the insurance thing and I gotta order the taillight part for my car like ASAP..

Before I type my next thought let me preface it with saying that my weekend philosophy is to just relax. Some weekends have definitive plans, some do not. I don’t want to spend every weekend-all weekend accomplishing tasks that can only be done on the weekends. With that being said, I have a million things I want to do this weekend and every weekend, but I’d rather just relax. There’s a fine line, and I’m working on finding it.. but yeah—- that’s where I’m at with that.

waiting, originally uploaded by twobs.

Pearl street as i wait for the bus & no that’s not my bus.