Grumpy Old Man


 “Just Thinking"

I know that over the past few weeks I have been sounding like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, with his blunt observations about how neighborhoods and generations change over time. “Get the hell off my lawn.” If it’s any consolation, my inner dialog is much more intense than what I write down in “Just Thinking”. Baseball and the Giants are taking the brunt of my ire, but I have also taken shots at “The City” and some societal norms that have changed too fast.

So, number 2 son, Chris, sent me an epic rant by John Gruden the other day from an interview with Jake Marsh that was reminiscent of Kevin Costner's rant in Bull Durham when he is asked what he believes in and it really hit home. Here’s the coach.

Jake Marsh asks Gruden. what's something you liked 10 or 20 years ago that you wish would be brought back now? Then Chuckie goes off:

I like the continuity on these rosters. I think having a different offensive coordinator or a different defensive coordinator, a new head coach every year is insane. I'm not quite sure. I like this transfer portal of how we're developing young people, where you can go to three different colleges in three different years, I think it's insane. I don't know if I like all the rules. I don't know if I like the new kickoff at all. Matter of fact, I hate it. I think protecting the quarterback is a good thing, but it's becoming almost embarrassing. It's like one of the things I didn't like about the World Cup is there's too many flops, too much flopping going on in the NBA.

You can't get near the quarterback; you're going to have a long day. I don't like some of the rules that I'm watching. I hate the new extra point rule personally. I don't like these new uniforms. I think some of them are a joke. I can't stand the freedom that guys have to wear number zero and play running back, and then you got number point six four playing defensive end. You know, keep these guys in numbers that are associated with their positions. Should I keep going?

Jake - I don't know, the floor is yours.

Gruden - I don't like these indoor stadiums. I like the games played outdoors. Lambeau Field, kind of where I grew up as a coach. Notre Dame, you know, I like these outdoor stadiums. I don't like all the changes in the conferences either. I don't even know who's in the American League, the National League anymore? We change the NFC South, the NFC North. Why do we have to have 17 freaking games? That's insane. I hate playing overseas games. You want to grow the game, grow it in this country. You know, there's a lot of places in the U.S. that need to grow the game. Some of these high schools, they need help, man. Some of these high school coaches-they need support. We don't need to go to Australia and all these overseas games. But I keep going. I got to get to work here. I've bitched long enough.

I hope that you can follow along, I left it the way that he said it, just an epic rant, he started slow but really started rolling. He touched a bit on the World Cup and NBA but didn’t wade into my issues with major league baseball. The uniforms, the ABS, the timer on pitches, the runner on second base in extra innings, the headset on pitchers and catchers, the 3 pick-off throw rule and one of my biggest peeves is the automatic walk.

My take way from listening to Gruden, is that I realize that I'm not alone. There seems to be a whole generation of us wandering around wondering why in the heck did they have to change that? It's not that every change is bad. Seat belts, instant replay, and online banking have all worked out pretty well. The problem is that somewhere along the way we crossed the line from improving things to changing them simply because we could. Sometimes the old way was the better way. Or at least it made more sense.

I guess that's what happens when you get older. You get enough miles under your belt to remember when baseball was baseball, football was played outside in the weather, uniforms got dirty and nobody needed a committee or a focus group to tell them how to enjoy the game. Like Gruden, I could probably keep going. In fact, I know that I could. But for now, I defer to the coach, just don't ask me what I think about the automatic walk, because that might turn this week's "Just Thinking" into a three-part series. Until next time, get the hell off my lawn.

Let me know what you think.

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Location: Martinez, CA 94553, USA

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