With more anticipation than From Justin to Kelly 2, the blog known as Rockin' the Red has arisen from the ashes that is junior year of college, ready and willing to retake its spot as a mediocre sports blog and emotional release for a distanced student wading through the marshes of cold, buffet-style pizza, essay exams, and walking 20,000 steps in a day because shuttles are less reliable than Chris Duncan's glove. Are you ready for this? I know I am, and I know this because of the sentence I just wrote. It's long, borderline run-on, and uses dated analogies. I obviously haven't lost the touch.
So, what have I been up to? Well, for starters, I...
Started my third year of college. Moved into a fraternity house. Someone peed in my room. Became President and founder of the International Business Club. Worked on a $10,000 student initiative for Student Government. Competed for a chance to go to Denmark for a business case competition. Failed. Went to Europe anyways. Became treasurer, collections agent, accountant, financial analyst, legal counsel, and all-around hated guy in the fraternity. Became overwhelmed. Became VP of Interfraternity Council, apparently because my involvement wasn't quite high enough. A little more overwhelmed. Went to D.C., to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Came back, realizing how much I had to do. Did my best to get an internship. No luck. Learned how to dance for Greek Week, and danced for charity for 12 straight hours at Dance Marathon. Had dinner with Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs." Gained a new appreciation for Kid Cudi. Forgot how to love. Went to St. Louis for no reason other than to be home. Learned how to be a normal college student. Took three and a half shots in one whole night. Yes, that was a half shot. Rediscovered what it means to be a Man for Others. Got recognized by the College of Business for academic achievement. Worked on financials for a start-up. Put These Come From Trees stickers up around campus. Stopped working out. Played guitar for people on stage for the first time in two years. Realized that maybe I am a good dancer all along. Witnessed a bar fight. Ran away from it like a little girl. Helped renovate a Children's Museum. Grew entirely too attached to Cape. Actually enjoyed going to school at Southeast. Finished two books on Microfinance. Cleaned a highway, donated blood, and shared a pitcher, all for the first time. Learned that it is possible to become overprogrammed, and it is important to have a little fun. Kept that 4.0. Returned to the homeland.
I could write more, but I figure that the reason people come here isn't to read about the chronicles of the author (although, if it is, let me know, since that's waaaaaaaaaaaay easier to write about). Writing on the blog just got to be too much to keep on top of, especially through the doldrums of the winter off-season. I will say, my finance classes have given me a whole new perspective on player evaluation. That may or may not be the direction I take Rockin' the Red in the future. I find business valuation to be really interesting, so it might be neat to show how it relates to baseball. In addition, there have been a lot of Cardinals blogs started since I've been gone. My analysis of games isn't too earthshaking, but I do like finance and economics and I do like baseball. Perhaps that can be my shtick.
As it is, I will point out a couple things that have been interesting in the season so far.
1.) David Freese is for real. He's not your stereotypical power-hitting third baseman, but, then again, how many of those are there really in the game anymore?
2.) Jaime Garcia and Brad Penny have performed way above expectations... and probably will regress a little as the season goes on. The key to their success? Getting ground balls and keeping the ball in the park. Yes, it really is that simple.
3.) Kyle Lohse is probably the best worst starter in the majors. Yes, his ERA is bad, but his FIP is 3.82. A whole different story.
4.) I'm not worried about Skip. He's starting to press a little bit with his outside the zone swing percentage, but a large part of his floundering has been bad luck. With a BABIP of .250, it's expected. His patience is increasing, which is a plus. The rest will come.
5.) Let's give some love to Albert. Sure, he's not doing as well as last year numbers-wise, but old boy is at it again.
That's all I have for now. Glad to be back.
Song of the Day: Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi
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