It Seems You've Found Some Odd Thoughts
Welcome to my new blog. I don't even know if I will stick to this or update it
regularly, but I thought I'd give it a try. I've also decided not to bind myself
to a particular topic on this page, which does two things: 1) it allows me to
discuss anything I want 2) this makes my blog no more special than any other
blog I've seen. While I reserve the right to talk about anything, you'll
probably see posts that deal specifically with sports (mostly baseball) and my
personal life. Of course, you, the reader, may also feel free to ask me to
discuss something else; just drop me a note.
Some Personal Notes for Those of You Who May Not Know
My name is Aaron Booth, sometimes known as David Booth, Booth, The Booth, or
Chef Chuddy. I am 24 and have been married to Amy for a little over a year. We
are expecting our first child, which we are told is a girl, in late April or
early May. I live in Ruston, LA where I am an insurance agent and attend Auburn
Avenue Presbyterian Church (hereafter AAPC). I was born in Shreveport, LA, grew
up in Texarkana, TX, went to college at New St. Andrews in Moscow, ID, and then
came back to the Monroe, LA area in 2000.
We Saw a Movie
Amy and I went to see Catch Me if You Can last night, and had a great time. You
can find an excellent review from a Christian perspective at decentfilms.com.
This site is not some kind of cheesy "they said 36 bad words" Christian site,
but a site that really takes all areas of a film into account. You'll also find
some essays by the site host, Steven Greydanus, including an excellent piece
called "Harry Potter vs. Gandalf." I highly recommend it to you.
Some Off-Season Baseball Thoughts
I know the Super Bowl is just three weeks away, at this point I'm rooting for
Tampa Bay, but for me the sports world revolves around still having about a
month to go until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. This has been
an odd off-season in that the free agent market has been slow and there hasn't
been nearly as much money thrown about as in recent years. It will work itself
out over time, but these things have to go in cycles. The owners can't keep
spending money they don't have. A baseball team, or any pro team, has to be a
profitable business venture, and if the owners say they're loosing money then
they have to make decisions based on that. I have no problem with the idea of
someone making ten plus million a year for playing a game, as long as the profit
margin is there for that player to get that much without putting the
organization in debt. However, I have no sympathy for players who complain about
making five million a year when they thought they deserved seven. Certain
players will threaten rash moves, Ivan Rodriguez has even threatened to play in
Japan, but they'll find out soon enough that the foreign leagues don't pay as
well as the teams in the US, and they'll all be back with less money and soiled
reputations.
In other news, my favorite team, the Seattle Mariners, has done very little to
make itself a better team. Besides resigning some key free agents (Edgar
Martinez, John Olerud, Jamie Moyer) the team has done nothing but sign utility
infielder Greg Colbrunn. These kind of moves are not going to help them keep
pace with the ever-improving Oakland A's, World Series Champion Anaheim Angels,
and the bound-to-get-it-together Texas Rangers. I have a great fear that the
Mariners days atop the AL West are over.
Finally, the Baseball Writers Association announced it's 2003 Hall of Fame
choices last week, and the winners were: Eddie Murray, a former first baseman
mostly with Baltimore, and Gary Carter, a legendary catcher from the Expos and
Mets. Both guys are highly deserving, but the writers did fail to elect several
other notable candidates including first time nominees Ryne Sandberg and
all-time saves leader Lee Smith. I hope next year the writers will try to
rectify some of their errors.