1. After a somewhat lazy day on Monday, I got some things done today. The Sube has fresh oil and new windshield wiper blades. I got laundry done. I made a couple of calls and got moving on a couple of outside yard and house matters. When I saw the plumbing guys come to Christy and Everett's house, I silently cheered on the workers, hoping they could repair the plumbing problem without too much hassle -- and that's what happened.
2. With the summer temperatures gone, I am going to be cooking cooler weather food and at the top of my list is making soups. I scanned the soups and stews recipes I've pinned to my Pinterest account and a mushroom barley soup jumped out at me. Barley might be my favorite grain -- I find it slightly nutty, a little sweet; and, I love barley's chewy texture. I put a cup of barley and four cups of water in a pot and in about forty minutes or so, the barley was ready. Meanwhile, I chopped up an onion, a few cloves of garlic, three stalks of celery, and cut baby carrots in half length-wise. I cooked the heavily black peppered onion and garlic until tender and then added the celery and carrots, along with some bay leaves and a fairly generous dose of ground thyme (more than the recipe called for) and cooked them for about five to seven minutes to soften them.
The pleasing and savory aroma of thyme and pepper, onion and celery, started to fill the house. Then I added a pound of sliced mushrooms and in about five to seven (or so) minutes I added the cooked barley and a box of vegetable broth and a can of chicken stock, brought it to boil, turned the heat down to low, and let this soup simmer for a while.
Earlier today, I purchased two small rectangles of flatbread from Yoke's. These were the best pieces of bread I've ever bought from Yoke's. I opened up the flatbread with a knife and buttered the two halves. I ate two buttered halves right when I returned home from the store and the other two halves provided a perfect accompaniment to my hearty, flavorful soup.
When I cook for others, I always experience some anxiety and I always tend to retreat from hitting flavors too hard. When I cook for myself, though, I feel free to let it rip: I like to up the heat, sweet, and salt when I make curries; I like to load up on black pepper when I cook chopped onion; today, on purpose, I increased the amount of thyme in this soup, making it taste more thyme forward than others might like, but nearly perfect for me.
I enjoy cooking for others, but I enjoy even more the freedom of cooking for myself and pushing flavors and sensations in food a little more out there.
I had a lot of fun making his soup today.
3. After the Houston Astros soundly defeated the Rays in the first two games of their ALDS best three out of five playoff, I figured the Rays were toast.
I figured wrong.
Monday, the Rays exploded for ten runs and pummeled the Astros, 10-3.
Today, as I understand it, Astro pitching ace Justin Verlander insisted on being the starting pitcher for Game 4, despite only having three days of rest -- usually he pitches with at least four days of rest. Verlander is nearly 37 years old. He's one of the best pitcher in the history of baseball. Tonight, as I saw it, we baseball fans would learn how the short rest would affect Verlander.
Well, Justin Verlander was not sharp. He surrendered a first inning home run to Tommy Pham and then gave up two more runs on a series of Rays base and balls and base hits. He ended the first inning down 3-0 having thrown far more pitches to get three outs than he normally does. Verlander lasted until the fourth inning when he gave up another run and left the game having pitched 3.2 innings and thrown 84 pitches -- Friday night he pitched seven innings, fully rested, and threw 100 pitches, only gave up one hit, and struck out eight Rays.
The highlight of the game, by far, for me, was a thrilling play in the top of the fourth inning that brought back some great memories of my dad.
With LeRoy Viche and George White helping him, Dad coached the IOOF Little League team I was on both my 11 and 12 year old seasons.
I remember one of Dad's most salient teaching points was that, on defense, a team can get the ball from the outfield to a base, or to home plate, more quickly and efficiently with two throws than one. He taught our second baseman and shortstop to be cutoff men and taught our outfielder to throw the ball on a line from the outfield, so that, if needed, the infielder could cut off the throw and quickly relay it to whatever base a runner was headed to.
It was not uncommon for Little League outfielders to throw high arching lollipops to a base and fail to nail runners; but by setting up a relay so that the throw went quickly to a cut off man who relayed it to the right base, the chances of getting the runner out increased.
In last night's game, in the top of the fourth inning, Jose Altuve, a speedster, was on first base when the powerful Yordan Alvarez hit a ball deep to center field. The ball took a short hop, hit the fence, and flew nearly straight up.
Then a play unfolded that I will never forget and that is, I would say, my favorite kind of play to watch in baseball.
Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier snatched the carom, spun, and fired the ball, a bit high, but on a line to Willy Adames, Tampa's shortstop and the cutoff man. From the outfield grass, Adames snagged Kiermaier's throw, pivoted, and fired a blazing strike to home plate. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud, in one motion, caught Adames' throw and reached back and tagged the sliding Jose Altuve before he could get a hand on home plate. Against all odds, this perfect relay, just as my dad taught us in Little League, succeeded in stopping Altuve from scoring. The Rays not only preserved their lead, but it was the last out of the inning, and they escaped unscathed.
During and after the game, I watched the Kiermaier to Adames to d'Arnaud relay and tag nearly ten times and each time its perfection astonished me.
The Rays won this game, 4-1. The series is now tied 2-2 and the teams square off again on Thursday in Houston.
I thought the Rays' fourth inning defensive gem, the one that took me back to Dad and my Little League days, was the most important and, for sure, the most thrilling play of the game -- well, for me, it was the most thrilling play I've seen in baseball all season and I'd have to think hard to remember the last time, ever, I enjoyed a defensive play in baseball more.
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