A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

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Can of Corn 7: Popped up

It seems this challenge will have run its course by the end of this year’s version. It’s been so quiet that I even missed the posting date. 

Though nobody has really been participating, so the deadlines aren’t as big. 

Alas, I will finish out this year. I do think the lack of true baseball has led to forgetfulness, but at the same time I’ve tried this several times in the past and not many people have taken part. People just don’t really blog baseball. 

So this year is likely the last year of this challenge. 

Can of Corn Challenge logo

It’s kind of like a great pitch. One of those ones where it catches you right on the hand with a soft swing, or you have committed to a swing on a low, outside pitch and you are basically fishing for the ball. 

What happens?

You get popped up. 

A quick and easy out for the opposing team. 

Pop ups always bothered me. And I had my fair share of them in baseball and softball. It always felt like a wasted at bat. If you got out in other ways, things could fit the narrative a little. 

But a pop up? 

Ugh! 

That being said. Take a look at pop ups. We always get pissy over the batter, but what about the pitcher? You know the one who throws an off-speed pitch and you end up swinging way ahead and popping up because you were way out in front guessing fastball. You have to give the pitcher credit in the situation, too. It’s not always just the batter not coming through.  

That’s baseball – and life – in a nutshell, isn’t it?

Life throws you off-speed pitches and curves and everything else. Sometimes you crush it, other times a weak pop up. 

It happens. 

Then you just have to readjust, and look forward to the next opportunity. It’s the only thing you can do. 

I don’t play ball anymore, so when I’m popped up it’s more metaphorical than anything now. But the idea is always the same. 

Moral of the story? Try and sit on the off-speed stuff so you can get a solid swing. Again, it’s as true in baseball as it is in life.

Can of Corn Challenge 7: Popped up

The Can of Corn Challenge is a monthly blogging challenge that runs from February-October. You can see all information, as well as themes for 2020 by visiting this blog post. Feel free to join us for any and all themes! The linkup will remain live each month for about seven days.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Secret Subject Swap: Broiling hot

This post is for the Secret Subject Swap, a monthly blog challenge. Information about the swap can be viewed at the end of this post, as well as links to all others taking part. Have a peek at some of the other bloggers and see what they had to come up with. If you are a blogger, consider joining up for future months!

My theme is “Tell us about a time when you believed in something strongly but My theme is “What do you do when it’s broiling hot out? Do you prefer to stay in air conditioning? Go to the beach? A pool? Something else? Have you made adjustments this summer?” and it was submitted by Karen.

One thing I love about living in the northeast of the United States is the changing seasons. We get to experience all four and, depending on the year, some might be longer seasons than others. 

It’s usually a good bet we’ll get a few days in the 60s in December or January. 

At the same time, you can usually plan on a good snowfall in March, April, or even May. 

There have been years where fall or spring is almost non-existent. 

As many communities in the northeast probably say – you want the weather to change? Just blink. 

But that heat. 

I’ve always said if I could stay anywhere from 40-75 degrees, without worrying about humidity or frigid temperatures, I’d be a happy guy. We know that doesn’t happen, though. And in the midst of the summer (and sometimes “spring”), the temps will go very high with a lot of humidity. 

And I hate the heat. 

I don’t mind when it’s warm out. I don’t hate the sun. But when it gets really hot out? Ugh. 

Sweating is something I loathe. Plant me in some air conditioning and I’m happier. When it’s really hot out, I still get my walks in, but I tend to go in the morning or evening to avoid the peak levels and times. 

And though I like the beach – I really don’t live that close to one. I also prefer to go in the off-season as you can walk and stop and stare and not have to worry about hundreds (or more) people. I don’t think a beach in the middle of the summer is my thing. 

It’s funny how things change from childhood to adulthood when it comes to summer. When I was a kid, I would spend all day outside. We’d play baseball. We’d go to the pool. We’d explore the woods. Splash in the creeks nearby. Heck, we used to drink out of said creeks. I’m not sure I’d do that in this day and age anymore. 

As I got older, I became way more self-conscious about things.My interests also changed. Before you know it, you’re an adult. 

Those days of going to the pool and such are long past me. And honestly? I’m OK with that. 

I know many people love the hot months. They love getting out or chilling next to their pool. Maybe floating with a drink. Others plan summer trips and vacations around the beach. I like to find some AC. Or just put my feet up in the shade somewhere. 

And if it gets too hot, I like to find any way possible to avoid it. 

I can’t say I’ve made any adjustments this summer. It actually hasn’t been too bad. We’ve had a few really hot days, but for the most part, it’s been bearable. The hardest part is not really being able to travel anywhere, but maybe next year. 

At this point, I’m ready for the fall. And hopefully … eventually … a return to normalcy.

Let me end this post with a bit of an apology. I haven’t been the best at visiting others posts over the past few months and for that, I’m sorry. I will slowly be going back, visiting, reading, and commenting. It’s been a rough few months and I’ve not had a lot of push. I need to get back into it as I know it’s helpful and I want to get back into the flow of things!

Four others have taken part in this challenge, so go check out the other posts and have some fun reading their secret subjects!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen at A ‘lil HooHaa, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! We also have the Food Photo Challenge (current theme listed at end of post) and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn 6: Hey, nerd!

Baseball is a game of numbers. 

It’s also a game of nerds. 

Though baseball is not an easy game – think of somebody attempting to throw a small sphere at you so you can swing and attempt to hit said sphere with a piece of wood. Once contact is made, other players must attempt to field this sphere and then throw it to another player, who will attempt to catch it to record an out. 

Follow?

Can of Corn Challenge logo

That’s definitely a different way to look at baseball, but it’s the beauty of the game. 

To quote the manager in Bull Durham – 

“This is a simple game: You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. You got it?”

But baseball goes well past simple when it comes to the nerd side of things. I would argue that baseball, more than any other sport, is statistically driven. While all sports have statistics, the analytics and scrutiny in baseball is unlike any other. 

Most casual fans of the sport will understand things like Avg., HRs, RBIs, ERA etc. 

But then it can get crazy. 

Do you know a pitcher’s WHIP? Or how many quality starts they had? And dammit, was that an earned or unearned run? Especially after this batter reached on an error, but it was fewer than two ours, and the next two guys singled, and the third guy scored, but would that be earned?

And those batters. 

That third hitter’s GIDP rate is way too high. Especially because the guy before him has a high OBP, and the guy after him has an incredible OPS. They are just giving runs away!

See where I’m going here?

There are statistics for every little nuance of baseball. But that’s part of what makes it a great game. Keeping those stats is something many baseball nerds do. When I am at a game (and that doesn’t look like it will happen this year), I like to keep a scorebook. Baseball scorekeeping is very, very personal. There are certain things most keep, but it’s also something that allows you to put your own spin on it. You can have your own flare or style. Your own marks. Those most baseball fans can look at a scoresheet and figure out what is going on, there are some that make it very hard for you to figure out their way of doing things. 

Baseball is definitely a game for nerds. I’m not saying you can’t just be casual – you for sure can. That’s the beauty of the game – it does not discriminate. When I’ve been to games, I’ve seen so many people of different lifestyles and it’s really awesome. Baseball is a game where anybody can enjoy it, understand it, and dissect it. 

There’s a lot of sports out there, but baseball is the greatest in my eyes. And I’m proud to call myself a baseball nerd!

Can of Corn Challenge 6: Hey, Nerd!

The Can of Corn Challenge is a monthly blogging challenge that runs from February-October. You can see all information, as well as themes for 2020 by visiting this blog post. Feel free to join us for any and all themes! The linkup will remain live each month for about seven days.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Secret Subject Swap: Believing

This post is for the Secret Subject Swap, a monthly blog challenge. Information about the swap can be viewed at the end of this post, as well as links to all others taking part. Have a peek at some of the other bloggers and see what they had to come up with. If you are a blogger, consider joining up for future months!

My theme is “Tell us about a time when you believed in something strongly but when confronted with new information that contradicted that belief, you changed your mind.” and it was submitted by Climaxed.

I’m going to take this in a bit of a different direction.

Let me explain why, though.

I’m a believer that beliefs are just that — something you believe in. That could be something religious, or a thought process about other things. But to me — and again, this is just me — beliefs are more of things that go beyond our world.

With that in mind, a belief can of course, be built on facts, or those that might not be facts at all. You might believe in a cause or a person and find out things you believed were fully wrong. Or maybe something you believed that others bashed turned out to be true.

There’s a lot of ways to look at this.

But when I look at the initial question, I don’t really have an answer. Though I might have beliefs one way or another, I don’t tend to sway. If it’s something on a larger scale, I tend to try and base it on some sort of fact (unless, of course, it’s something on more of a spiritual level).

This is also why, for the most part, I don’t discuss things like politics on a public forum, be it here or social media. Things like that can become so emotional and heated, that one’s beliefs can go on many different paths and facts become quite skewed.

There are, however, a few beliefs I have that I will not back down from and I challenge anybody to try and sway me from them. My guess is you won’t be able to. Those beliefs are as follows:

  • Smile more. If you smile and people see it, it becomes contagious.
  • Treat people better. If you treat those around you better, it makes the world a better place.
  • Appreciate what you have and realize things can always be worse. Even in the worst of times, something could always be even worse. If you are reading this post, my guess is life can be appreciated in some way, shape or form.
  • Respect others. Others will have different beliefs in many things. Respect their thoughts and opinions. If they have beliefs based on non-factual things and you can show facts … feel free. But don’t let it anger either of you or hurt a friendship.
  • Think before you type — in other words, remember everything on social media is seen. Protect yourself.
  • Be happy. This world is tough, rough, and cruel. But there is a lot of beauty in it. Find a way to be happy. It might not be 24/7, but make sure each day you find a way to find happiness.

I’m sure somewhere in life I changed a belief based on facts being thrown at me. I’m in my mid-40s and I can’t believe anybody can go through life without ever changing a belief. But I don’t remember one that sticks out on a large level.

I hope everybody stays healthy and happy — that’s a belief in which I will not waver!

Five others have taken part in this challenge, so go check out the other posts and have some fun reading their secret subjects!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen at A ‘lil HooHaa, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! We also have the Food Photo Challenge (current theme listed at end of post) and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Can of Corn 5: The Big Screen

There’s a lot of paper in baseball. 

First – I realize now that I am a couple of days late on this one. That being said, it hasn’t attracted the biggest number of participants, so hopefully if anybody is participating, they forgive! 

Now, let’s move along!

It seems like the big screen is the only way to catch baseball now. 

Can of Corn Challenge logo

With everything going on in the world and MLB not being able to agree on how to hold a season (with no fans) because of money and everything else, you have to get your fix some other way.

I don’t get into watching old games for the most part, so doing that doesn’t work. And how much can you listen to the baseball talk shows? Talk about an extended off season! 

But baseball on the big screen – now that stands the test of time. There are so many great baseball movies out there. If you want serious movies, you can find them. Comedies? Check. Bad ones? Definitely. But there are a lot of great ones and if you are looking for some baseball, this might be the escape needed. 

The beauty of baseball movies is people have a varying amount of differences when it comes to what to watch. I’m pretty steadfast on the movies I like best, but placement seems to revolve based on what I might be feeling. My No. 1 is always the same, though. 

So here is my top 10 as of this moment of baseball movies to watch.

1. Bull Durham
This never wavers off the top spot. By far my favorite baseball movie and one that I can watch over and over and over. I’m sure with this blog post coming out, I’ll be watching it soon. 

2. For Love of the Game
Kevin Costner has been in some amazing sports movies, especially baseball. But this is one I can always watch as well. Love the feel of it and the storyline. And I like how there are flashbacks throughout. Just a great overall movie and it tends to move up and down my list. 

3. The Sandlot
If this isn’t in your top five … and you are a baseball fan… well, you’re killin’ me, Smalls. 

4. The Bad News Bears (original)
This movie, as it was written back when, would never make it during our current times. But take it for the time it was made and it’s a classic. Walter Mattheau is gold in this flick. 

5. Major League
I won’t lump them all in here, as the original is still the best by far. And it’s a classic. But I don’t mind the follow-ups to this movie. The original, though, is a great baseball flick, with a good storyline and really good soundtrack/score. 

6. Field of Dreams
If you build it … 

7. A League of their own
There’s no crying in baseball! Well, besides maybe if you are a fan in 2020 … 

8. The Natural
You know you got chills during the end sequence … admit it!

9. 8 Men Out
A very well done portrayal of one of the darkest moments in baseball history. 

10. Summer Catch
This is, by far, not the best movie out there. But … it’s a solid, albeit cheesy flick, that is pretty good overall. It made me have an interest in the Cape Cod League (which I would like to one day see a game or two) and the whole idea of overcoming the past to succeed, is pretty cool. 

Also in the discussion: Pride of the Yankees, 42, Trouble with the Curve, Moneyball.

How about all of you? Is anything missing on this list? What is your favorite? Odds are I’ve likely missed something in my own Top 10, but that happens with so many good baseball flicks. Now, time to get watching!

Can of Corn Challenge 5: The Big Screen

The Can of Corn Challenge is a monthly blogging challenge that runs from February-October. You can see all information, as well as themes for 2020 by visiting this blog post. Feel free to join us for any and all themes! The linkup will remain live each month for about seven days.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!