1. The crew who periodically appears out of the blue, often on a Saturday, to mow our lawns and do some clean up were suddenly parked in front of our house early this afternoon. I had planned a trip to CdA, but had lollygagged around and thanks to my slow start I was here when they arrived. Today they cut the lawn shorter than ever, probably the last cut of the year, and they cleared the yard of leaves and fertilized the grass. The yard looks terrific heading into mid-autumn and winter.
2. I hopped into the Sube and, even as I rocketed over the Fourth of July Pass, I loved the burnt orange and golden leaves. Once in CdA, I picked up three items for Christy and a couple of things for myself at Pilgrim's and then met up with Byrdman at Slate Creek Brewing, just a few blocks away.
We yakked about baseball and golf and kidneys and the stunning scenery up the North Fork and we were both happy to see for ourselves that Danica Gilbert's decision to buy the brewery in partnership with Andy Neels is working out. I follow Slate Creek on Facebook, so I know Danica hosts many events ranging from Bingo to moonlight bicycle rides to a Halloween party to pumpkin carving to holding classes -- like hat making --, and more. I drank a pint and half of beer and shelled and consumed a ton of peanuts. My first beer was a tasty and aromatic IPA from Pfriem and then I had a short pour of Post Falls Brewing's sweet Marzen, a delicious beer, similar to an Octoberfest. I think it was called Mr. Rocktober (it might have been Dr.), but my memory is failing me.
Byrdman and I then sprang into his Forester and blitzed eastward and uphill to CdA's handsome par-3 golf course, Ponderosa Springs. I had never been up to Ponderosa Springs and Byrdman not only wanted me to see the course -- so we each had a can of beer and sat on a deck overlooking the links -- he also wanted me to enjoy a drive up East French Gulch Rd which turns into E. Fernan Hill Dr., makes a loop, and features a variety of fall colors and some excellent views of both Fernan and Coeur d'Alene Lakes.
3. Back home, I flipped on the Brewers/Dodgers game and discovered I'd missed seeing each team homer. The Dodgers led 2-1. With a combination of tough pitching, a great catch in left field by Chris Taylor, and a 6th inning three-run home run by Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers cruised to a 5-1 win and will open the World Series against Boston at Fenway Park on Tuesday. I have no predictions regarding the World Series' outcome. I will be intrigued to see if the Red Sox will continue to get great hitting out of their entire batting order, as they have so far in the post-season, and I am eager to see how Red Sox manager Alex Cora will address the problem of not having a Designated Hitter (DH) for the three games in L. A.
The Red Sox would sacrifice speed in their outfield and degrade their infield if Mookie Betts were to be moved to second base, where he has played some, and J. D. Martinez played right field. Likewise, if Martinez plays the outfield in place of Jackie Bradley, Jr. or Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox would give up quite a bit of defense in their stellar outfield and both have been very valuable hitters in the playoffs up to this point. I've wondered, with nothing to found this on, whether Martinez could play first base for three games so that he would be in the batting order and the speedy Red Sox outfield would remain intact. But, I haven't heard or read anyone talk about this possibility, so I doubt it is a legitimate option. I look forward to seeing what the Red Sox do.
If nothing else, having two leagues in Major League Baseball, with the AL having used the DH for about forty-five years and the NL adamantly refusing to use the DH, it always creates intrigue when the World Series teams square off in the National League park.
No comments:
Post a Comment