The return home went off without any snags and I am now back in Annapolis. Tomorrow, I'll be rooting for Navy against Wake Forest in our homecoming game. It should be a fun time. It is good to be back.
As I sit here and go through all of things that I brought back with me - I am struck by the generosity and support that ya'll gave me the past ten months. I have so many cards, keepsakes, and miscellany that I am overwhelmed. The support that ya'll have shown and continue to show is amazing. I can't say thank you enough to everyone. Our young men and women are doing wonderful things over in Iraq and I am proud that I had a chance to be part of the team. I will continue the fight here from Annapolis by hazing all of my Midshipmen. Yes indeed, fun times abound.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Arifjan, Kuwait
Well, I'm in Arifjan, Kuwait - I couldn't show you where it was on a map if my life depended on it. Strangely, it is really no different than any other place I have frequented in the last year. The one difference is that it is humid and the buildings are permanent structures; vice tents or hastily constructed wooden huts. This place does have a pool - which I guess is nice. All that said, some things never change ... I am still sleeping in a tent on the worst mattress in the world. I think that a cot would be an upgrade.
Still no news on my flight. It is annoying, but is par for the course. My time at this place is meant as "decompression." I fail to see the point when it is 23 hours of doing nothing. Yesterday, I turned in my "gat" and today I turned in four sea bags full of worthless crap that I was issued and never used. All told, it took about two hours. The rest of the time is a conspiracy to get us to spend money at the little shops and exchange. They even have a little rug bazaar - but the more I think about it the more I want to pass. After my Turkish rug adventure earlier this year - I am left scarred, battered, and bruised. It is just a lot of money for something that is designed to get stepped on. I'd rather spend it on beer.
Still no news on my flight. It is annoying, but is par for the course. My time at this place is meant as "decompression." I fail to see the point when it is 23 hours of doing nothing. Yesterday, I turned in my "gat" and today I turned in four sea bags full of worthless crap that I was issued and never used. All told, it took about two hours. The rest of the time is a conspiracy to get us to spend money at the little shops and exchange. They even have a little rug bazaar - but the more I think about it the more I want to pass. After my Turkish rug adventure earlier this year - I am left scarred, battered, and bruised. It is just a lot of money for something that is designed to get stepped on. I'd rather spend it on beer.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Final Blog from Fallujah
Meg, I must agree with you on your last point that my Padres obsession is a bit much. I think that in a strange way the Padres kept me sane, and their season mirrored my IA experience. However, I feel that my ending won't be anywhere near the disappointment suffered by the loss in Colorado. I'm going out on a high note - back to my girls in Annapolis. That will be my world series victory.
December 8, 2006 is a very important date to Colleen and me, as it is the day that I found out I had been selected for an IA. Since that date, the date that we have been looking forward to the most is today, October 9, 2007. This is the date that my IA journey starts coming to a close. From here it is a series of pit stops that ultimately involve my flight into Baltimore. Then, it will be a simple 30 min car ride to the casa. I admit that I am very excited about the whole thing.
Now is not the time for some striking thoughts or reflection. I'll save them for a future edition. For now, I conclude with the most important part of my story - a Ship Driver, attached to a Marine Infantry Battalion, in charge of an Army Spec Ops Team, living and working in the city of Fallujah, Iraq:
The End.
December 8, 2006 is a very important date to Colleen and me, as it is the day that I found out I had been selected for an IA. Since that date, the date that we have been looking forward to the most is today, October 9, 2007. This is the date that my IA journey starts coming to a close. From here it is a series of pit stops that ultimately involve my flight into Baltimore. Then, it will be a simple 30 min car ride to the casa. I admit that I am very excited about the whole thing.
Now is not the time for some striking thoughts or reflection. I'll save them for a future edition. For now, I conclude with the most important part of my story - a Ship Driver, attached to a Marine Infantry Battalion, in charge of an Army Spec Ops Team, living and working in the city of Fallujah, Iraq:
The End.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Burning Off-Season Questions
Much to my lament the Padres are done for the year. The players have cleaned out their lockers at PETCO and are left to ponder what might have been. Nevertheless, it is what it is, and it is time to look forward to next season. Forecasting what the front office will do is very difficult. The free agent market is shaping up to be rather weak, and the market price hasn't been established. I assume that the few established players will be out of reach. I'm okay with that as our starting point. However, that asks the question: What is the starting point, and what are our options?
I've struggled with the order of precedence and format- I'm comfortable that my jabberwocky will meander through the issues. The key to our off-season deals is trying to figure out just how ready our minor leaguers are to join the big league club. I feel as though the status of 2B Antonelli, 3B Headley, and C Morton will go a long way in our makeup. If these players are ready to make the club, it sets up some interesting options. Antonelli takes the starting 2B job and hits lead off. Blum played well - but will be gone. Headley assumes the job at 3B, and Kouzmanoff shifts to LF. That leaves Ensberg as our utility corner infielder. C Morton assumes the back-up job to Bard. If those three aren't ready to step up - you'd have to assume that we'd sign free agents to come in and compete for those jobs. Then, all hell breaks loose, and it becomes a series of long drawn-out equations depending on who we sign and when.
In the outfield, the picture is a little cloudier. However, I'll continue with my leap of faith. With the above scenario, you have Kouz in LF and Giles in RF. CF is up for grabs. I see Hairston and Lane as the 4th and 5th outfielders. I think that the first course of action is to attempt to resign Cameron (however, I don't see that happening). For that matter, I don't see us able to afford the other Free Agent Center Fielders (Jones, Hunter, Rowand, and Patterson). Lofton and Edmonds are too old. Milton Bradley isn't a center fielder and won't be ready until sometime next year. Bottomline is that solving the CF position is going to be very difficult. The need for a polished defender at PETCO is well documented. Would I sign Bradley? It really depends on how much he wants and for how long ... 4 million or less per year and no more than 2years ... yes. Therefore, I see us with 2 catchers, 6 infielders, and 5 outfielders.
Moving on to the pitching situation: Really quick and dirty - bullpen remains largely the same, and we have two spots open in the starting rotation. I feel that one will come from within the organization and the other from free agency. My bet is that either Josh Towers of Toronto or Tomko (who ended the year with SD) are first in line in the free agent category. As far as in house for the final spot? - Germano, Thompson, Stauffer, Ledezma, LeBlanc, maybe the AAA kid we got from Atlanta for Ring, or the AA pitcher we got from Milwaukee for Linebrink. Carrillo, Schmidt and Hensley should also be added to that mix. However, they all are recovering from surgeries, and it is doubtful that they will be ready for the opener. Any way you slice it up, it will come down to Spring Training for the starting rotation to work out.
The fact remains that we have some potential back logs in the minor league system - a nice problem to have. I think that we might see some moves from KT involving trades of minor league talent for players that won't make an impact this year (read SS and CF). I guess what I am trying to say is that we will be active this off-season, but it won't be for the marquee players that the majority of supposed SD fans want to read about. Overall, I see the make up of the team very similar to the make up this year.
I've struggled with the order of precedence and format- I'm comfortable that my jabberwocky will meander through the issues. The key to our off-season deals is trying to figure out just how ready our minor leaguers are to join the big league club. I feel as though the status of 2B Antonelli, 3B Headley, and C Morton will go a long way in our makeup. If these players are ready to make the club, it sets up some interesting options. Antonelli takes the starting 2B job and hits lead off. Blum played well - but will be gone. Headley assumes the job at 3B, and Kouzmanoff shifts to LF. That leaves Ensberg as our utility corner infielder. C Morton assumes the back-up job to Bard. If those three aren't ready to step up - you'd have to assume that we'd sign free agents to come in and compete for those jobs. Then, all hell breaks loose, and it becomes a series of long drawn-out equations depending on who we sign and when.
In the outfield, the picture is a little cloudier. However, I'll continue with my leap of faith. With the above scenario, you have Kouz in LF and Giles in RF. CF is up for grabs. I see Hairston and Lane as the 4th and 5th outfielders. I think that the first course of action is to attempt to resign Cameron (however, I don't see that happening). For that matter, I don't see us able to afford the other Free Agent Center Fielders (Jones, Hunter, Rowand, and Patterson). Lofton and Edmonds are too old. Milton Bradley isn't a center fielder and won't be ready until sometime next year. Bottomline is that solving the CF position is going to be very difficult. The need for a polished defender at PETCO is well documented. Would I sign Bradley? It really depends on how much he wants and for how long ... 4 million or less per year and no more than 2years ... yes. Therefore, I see us with 2 catchers, 6 infielders, and 5 outfielders.
Moving on to the pitching situation: Really quick and dirty - bullpen remains largely the same, and we have two spots open in the starting rotation. I feel that one will come from within the organization and the other from free agency. My bet is that either Josh Towers of Toronto or Tomko (who ended the year with SD) are first in line in the free agent category. As far as in house for the final spot? - Germano, Thompson, Stauffer, Ledezma, LeBlanc, maybe the AAA kid we got from Atlanta for Ring, or the AA pitcher we got from Milwaukee for Linebrink. Carrillo, Schmidt and Hensley should also be added to that mix. However, they all are recovering from surgeries, and it is doubtful that they will be ready for the opener. Any way you slice it up, it will come down to Spring Training for the starting rotation to work out.
The fact remains that we have some potential back logs in the minor league system - a nice problem to have. I think that we might see some moves from KT involving trades of minor league talent for players that won't make an impact this year (read SS and CF). I guess what I am trying to say is that we will be active this off-season, but it won't be for the marquee players that the majority of supposed SD fans want to read about. Overall, I see the make up of the team very similar to the make up this year.
Friday, October 5, 2007
3 Knots to Nowhere
I'm told the engines are running, and the ship is making steady progress to port. For some reason, I can't hear the hum of the engines. The reality of the situation is that I can't see the horizon and have no reference point. Hopefully, my ship will arrive in port on time - the final date hasn't been confirmed. I think in the distance we just passed the rock of Gibraltar. Needless to say, time is moving painfully slow. The satellite TV has been out for two days. We're being told that it is due to "sun spots" that are consistent with this time of year in the desert. Who has heard of such things? Can't you just see COMCAST issuing that sort of press release? How long do you think that Americans would put up with that? It is all the same, because I cannot stomach watching the MLB playoffs - some things are just too painful. It doesn't help that all the Marines are harassing me ... So how are the North Carolina MLB teams doing? Oh yeah, the Braves didn't make the playoffs. The good news is that NL West teams are playing well and just might make some progress toward proving that the left coast is better than they get credit for.
On a positive note, the good fight continues to rage on. The Marines in al Anbar are just straight dominating - nothing else I can say about it.
On a positive note, the good fight continues to rage on. The Marines in al Anbar are just straight dominating - nothing else I can say about it.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Crushed
Good ball game. Good guys came out on the losing end. Up by 2 in the 13th, T Hoff gives up three to lose. Speechless, crushed, disappointed.
In other news, my relief showed up today.
In other news, my relief showed up today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
One of my favorite places
A new appreciation for Plumbing