Saddest Day Of The Year

Tomorrow is Halloween. A day that has become the 2nd most celebrated "holiday" in this country. 

Kids everywhere are anticipating the thrill of wearing their costumes to school and later in the day to "trick or treat." 

Parents and adults are hosting parties or have decorated their homes so as to welcome the little monsters and ghouls looking for goodies to their front door. There is a spark of excitement in the air.

But for me today the saddest day of the year. It marks the beginning of the MLB off-season. The San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in the 7th game of the World Series last night. Thanks to a "super hero" like playoff performance by pitcher Madison Bumgarner. 

While the season had already ended for the players of all but those teams prior to game 7; when Pablo Sanoval squeezed a foul pop for the last out, the season ended for the baseball fans. That includes me. 

I now have to take my MLB t-shirts from my closet and put them in storage for the next 6 months so they don't just sit there taking up space. Come April I will get them back. 

Of course I do have the "hot stove" action to keep an eye on over the cold, lonely, off season. Free agent signings, trades, GM's winter meetings, are all things I have to look to get me through the off season. But there's nothing to watch and enjoy on a daily basis. 

By default I will watch and enjoy the rest of the NFL season. But I'm no where as interested in football as I am baseball. After the Superbowl in early 2015 I will then have to go through my personal sports "dead period" when there's nothing I'm interested in to watch until late March when Spring Training games start again. 

As a means of helping me keep baseball around all year long, my cousin has suggested I download start playing a baseball video. 

I must admit those games are very detailed and really capture the essences of both MLB's on and off field activities. But unfortunately, I just can't see myself enjoying the game. 

I feel about it the way I do fantasy baseball. The amount of time and attention  I have to put into the game to be have success is not worth the reward. But I am grateful to my cousin for his suggestion. Perhaps one day I'll take try and get into the game. 

But don't feel sorry for me as far as my lamenting the end of the 2014 baseball season goes. As a baseball fan, I have dealt with this sad event each year for more than 40 years. 

After a day or two of properly grieving the fact that there is no baseball until next year I will also find hope in that fact. There will be a "next year" and I will once again be able to get totally involved in yet another season and the hope that my beloved Yankees will once again come out on top. 

Just like the song "Heart" from the play Damn Yankees says. "You've got to have hope. Mustn't sit around and mope. Nothin's half as bad as it may appear. Wait til next year and hope."

That's advice I'm going to take to heart myself. I'll be back to my cheery old self in no time. Besides tomorrow is Halloween. 

 It is one of my favorite days of the year here in Smiths Grove. I'm going to"celebrate" with a very special group of people. More on that after tomorrow.