Rooting for Cinderella

I am a baseball fan- I am a Phillies fan first and foremost, but I have come to really enjoy the sport, watching and listening to a fair amount of agnostic games over the course of the season.

As a fan, I am a firm believer in Sabermetrics, which forces the idea of objectivity. In attempting to look at baseball rationally, you also step away from many of the ideas that casual fans find so interesting- ideas of clutchness are washed away by the concept of Small Sample Size, and you come to see that teams should be built a certain way, and that games are meant to be won a certain way, and teams constructed the right way. Games should be won early, with good starting pitching and good hitting, with bullpens that hold late leads. Winning one-run games and extra inning games is largely a function of luck, that will regress with time, so beware of teams that are winning most of their games that way, as they will not win out that way in the long run.

I recently read an article entitled "The Agony of Rational Rooting", which dealt with just this subject. In it, Nick Piecoro contended that if one were to root rationally, they would root for teams that do it right, such as the Rays to prosper, while teams that are not as smartly managed would struggle. On one hand, I understand its premise- the teams that succeed that way have done it right, and deserve the rewards of having done so- post season appearances and World Series titles. But while it may not be rational, I think I will take Cinderella, for all of the reasons that Sabermetricians loathe.

I love the drama of a one run game, the intensity of a team that just never seems to go away- who can win it all late and close.  It may not be the way to win a ton of games, and teams that find themselves winning this way are not likely to maintain their success over a period of months, let alone from one season to the next.

But really, rooting for Cinderella is about more than that. Cinderella teams breathe hope into fanbases that have not seen it in a long time. As fans, there is so little about the product on the field that we have any say so about. I can not control who the Phillies will sign or trade any more than I can control the rising of the sun or the waves crashing up on the beach. If all of baseball were defined by numbers and rationality, then fans of the Orioles, Pirates, Royals, and A's might as well hang it up at the beginning of the season. Their teams just were not built right, and do not have the parts necessary to be successful.

But every once in a while, somehow they do. And their wins are intense things, loaded with drama, and their stories of winning despite rather than because of logic make them loveable and fun, the stuff of fairy tales. And I love that. Give me the Orioles beating the Rangers to make their first ALDS appearance in 14 years. Give me the spunky A's winning an AL West Title after being down 13 games in late July. Those teams make me believe in miracles

Plus I love seeing hope breathed into a fanbase that has been without it. I remember when the Phillies made it to the Post Season in 2007. Granted, they were not a true Cinderella (although erasing a seven game deficit with seventeen to go is pretty magical), but making it to the Post Season for the first time in fourteen years was a wonderful ride, one that I would love to give to teams that have languished for a long time without. At dinner on Friday night, I saw a man in the restaurant with an Orioles Post Season hat on, and I though a little bit about what a ride this season must have been for him. And even though midnight ultimately came for that Cinderella team, I was glad that those fans got to have that ride.

To the Metal Monster

Dear Scale

Let me try to explain something to you. I am doing my level damndest to lose weight. I am walking every day (even when it is chilly/ drizzling/ I would really like to spend additional quality time in bed/ on the couch). I am eating what I should (even when chips/cookies/ REAL ICE CREAM BEN AND JERRY'S PLEASE!!! sounds like a better option). I do this, not because I enjoy it but because I thought we had a deal- if I did those things, you would respond with weights that go down, at something that resembles a steady rate,

But it seems that we have a problem, a misunderstanding so to speak. You see, I have been holding up my end of the bargain. I have walked farther every week, and am walking 15 minutes longer than when I started. I eat lots of things I don't feel like eating, but which are the right decision. You have chosen to reward this hard work toward a changed life with losses of .2, .4, and 2.4- only the last of which is truly acceptable. However, this week, you have taken your hurtful behavior to a new level- a GAIN! You mean to tell me after all I did this week, THAT is your opinion?!? WTF?!?

And so my gloves come off. It is clear that you do not want to play fair. Your opinions are not to be trusted. You are not a partner in this journey, but an adversary that I must conquer. And so I say to you, in the words of the wonderful Garfield- you are a LIAR!!!!

A letter: To My Fat Clothes

Dear Fat Clothes,

It's been fun. But I think that it is time for our relationship to end. See, when I met you, I was at a very, shall we say, big point in my life. You were there when I needed you, covering all of the things that needed to be covered, and making some attempt to hide my flaws. You were a constant companion, going with me from here to there and back again. You went above and beyond the call of duty, getting up early, and staying up late, constantly covering my rear.

But things have changed. You may have noticed that there is less of me than there used to be. But the more I changed, the more you stayed the same, and now, you are just a roomy reminder of what I used to be. And so, I am cleaning out my closet, and you need to find another place to live. Not because of anything you have done, or more to the point have not done, but because at this point your continued presence in my life is not a good thing. You are not the right thing to wear now- I am looking better, and you hide that. And fitting in you again is not a part of my future- my weight is going in only one direction, and it is away from you.

This being said, it is kind of hard to leave you behind. You were a part of so many good moments, and I consider you to be a dear friend. But, keeping you in my life is almost a permission slip to behave in ways that I no longer want to, knowing that you will be there to bail me out when the weight comes back (as it has so many other times). I can not give myself permission to fall off the wagon again. There is just too much at stake. And I am sure that you would not be all that happy relegated to the dark recesses of a crowded closet. And so, for both of our sakes, I am sending you away.

Rest assured, you will not be forgotten- there are many pictures documenting our relationship, and I will look back on our time together fondly. But I have new friends now, ones that are supporting me in a way that you can't. You will make new friends too- the donation bag is a chance for you to find a body fit to wear you.

I have to go now, before I lose my resolve, and you return to my closet. Thank-you for everything.

Best Wishes in Your Future,

Danni