What Dreams May Come
The 1998 supernatural drama starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. provides a lot of symbolism for what has been happening lately with the Houston Astros. Like Williams' character searching the realms of both heaven and hell to try and locate his wife, the team is trying to find ways to search for answers to the recent injuries to a good majority of the team and get back to their winning ways. Most notably, the starting rotation is short both Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers. Add to that a recent concussion to Josh Reddick, and the spacemen are walking quite the metaphorical tightrope.
It's put quite the damper on the team, who have lost 6 of their last 8 games. I was at Minute Maid Park Sunday against division rivals, the Los Angeles Angels. Unfortunately, that was a huge 12-6 defeat right before a Picnic in the Park event hosted by the Astros Foundation and sponsored by Pluckers' Wing Bar. A fun time was had by all in attendance, with a nice spread of food, bouncy houses and games for the kids, and of course, the player autograph session. I was fortunate enough to get 10 player autographs on a pennant I bought from the team store. Check it out below!
El Oso Blanco was one of those players that I was fortunate enough to get to see again and have him sign. Despite that, however, I noticed right off the bat that, compared to other fan events, he seemed very antsy and disconnected. I even saw him break out into a sweat. Most likely, this was because of the loss that he had to catch behind the plate for. His entire demeanor and body language was not like anything I'd ever seen from him before. It genuinely worried me.
I approached him at his assigned table and exchanged my usual pleasantries and handshakes. As he signed my pennant, I leaned in and asked if I may interview him for this blog some time. Unfortunately, his response was, "Nah, sorry bro." Admittedly, my heart did sink a little bit after I left his table. Rejection never feels good, especially when it is from the one person you hold in the highest of regards.
Truth be told, though, I don't really blame him at all for this. Far from it, as a matter of fact. If anything, what I was, and have been, worried about most was upsetting him or crossing a line in anyway. Plenty of thoughts were racing through my mind about it all as I drove up I-45 the just over 4 hour venture back to where I stay in Fort Worth. I have since had some conversations with those close to him, and they assure me that him saying no was not meant as a personal thing against me. I happen to believe that very much.
It has even been suggested to me that there may be some kind of internal team policy against players speaking to bloggers. That is to say, they can only speak to the mainstream media when it comes to interviews. There is plausible reason for that to be in place. After all, there are a lot of posers out there. If one should disguise themselves enough and get information they aren't suppose to have, it could be damaging to the organization. I most certainly would never try anything like that, but also know why the need for such policy would be present.
Even with that slight setback, I still admire and look up to Evan and all the things he has to go through as a player and a man. I will never lose any faith in him, or cease my devotion or loyalty to him all because of a slight misunderstanding. I still worry that I may have disappointed or embarrassed him, and I truly hope that was not the case. Perhaps, also like Robin Williams' character, I still continue to make my own search for answers.
It's put quite the damper on the team, who have lost 6 of their last 8 games. I was at Minute Maid Park Sunday against division rivals, the Los Angeles Angels. Unfortunately, that was a huge 12-6 defeat right before a Picnic in the Park event hosted by the Astros Foundation and sponsored by Pluckers' Wing Bar. A fun time was had by all in attendance, with a nice spread of food, bouncy houses and games for the kids, and of course, the player autograph session. I was fortunate enough to get 10 player autographs on a pennant I bought from the team store. Check it out below!
Players that signed the pennant include: Dallas Keuchel, Marwin Gonzalez, Jose Altuve, Tony Sipp, Dayan Diaz, Brad Peacock, Charlie Morton, James Hoyt, and my #BearSquared buddies, Brian McCann and your people's champion and mine, Evan Gattis!Very grateful to the #Astros players that signed this pennant for me at Picnic in the Park yesterday. @astros 😃😎💯💪⚾️ pic.twitter.com/ynVqUjJUrC— James I Zeankowski (@tvwizard85) June 12, 2017
El Oso Blanco was one of those players that I was fortunate enough to get to see again and have him sign. Despite that, however, I noticed right off the bat that, compared to other fan events, he seemed very antsy and disconnected. I even saw him break out into a sweat. Most likely, this was because of the loss that he had to catch behind the plate for. His entire demeanor and body language was not like anything I'd ever seen from him before. It genuinely worried me.
I approached him at his assigned table and exchanged my usual pleasantries and handshakes. As he signed my pennant, I leaned in and asked if I may interview him for this blog some time. Unfortunately, his response was, "Nah, sorry bro." Admittedly, my heart did sink a little bit after I left his table. Rejection never feels good, especially when it is from the one person you hold in the highest of regards.
Truth be told, though, I don't really blame him at all for this. Far from it, as a matter of fact. If anything, what I was, and have been, worried about most was upsetting him or crossing a line in anyway. Plenty of thoughts were racing through my mind about it all as I drove up I-45 the just over 4 hour venture back to where I stay in Fort Worth. I have since had some conversations with those close to him, and they assure me that him saying no was not meant as a personal thing against me. I happen to believe that very much.
It has even been suggested to me that there may be some kind of internal team policy against players speaking to bloggers. That is to say, they can only speak to the mainstream media when it comes to interviews. There is plausible reason for that to be in place. After all, there are a lot of posers out there. If one should disguise themselves enough and get information they aren't suppose to have, it could be damaging to the organization. I most certainly would never try anything like that, but also know why the need for such policy would be present.
Even with that slight setback, I still admire and look up to Evan and all the things he has to go through as a player and a man. I will never lose any faith in him, or cease my devotion or loyalty to him all because of a slight misunderstanding. I still worry that I may have disappointed or embarrassed him, and I truly hope that was not the case. Perhaps, also like Robin Williams' character, I still continue to make my own search for answers.
It's not like me to ever try and get on anyone's bad side. If I even suspect that I may have done something wrong, I tend to be filled with a great deal of anxiety and paranoia. It's a force of habit, really. If Evan is reading this, and I hope he still does, I want him to know that I certainly did not mean any harm in asking for such a request. For that, I am deeply sorry to him and beg his forgiveness.
But back to more positive news. 9 of the current Astros, including Gattis, are in the top tier of All Star voting in the American League. Just check out the latest update below!:
Evan Gattis deserves this. Let's make it happen for him, and the rest of these Astros guys!
Side Note: This will be my last post for the next week. I will be flying up to New Jersey to attend the high school graduation of my eldest niece, Paisley. A few days away to see and hang out with more family should do a world of good for me. I will let everyone know how all goes upon my return!
But back to more positive news. 9 of the current Astros, including Gattis, are in the top tier of All Star voting in the American League. Just check out the latest update below!:
Readers, we gotta get out the votes for these guys, including the Big White Bear. He has long since earned this since he entered the majors 4 years ago. This is the first time he has ever polled in the top 5 tier of votes, meaning he has a very legitimate shot. However, it is up to us to help get him there. I know I'm not the only one, but I am the one that wants this to happen for him the most. He gives so much to this sport and its fans. Let us now return the favor and get him to the midsummer classic.Here is the latest American League balloting update for the 2017 @AllStarGame. Vote now at https://t.co/qd5OOxn7ED pic.twitter.com/CFvXRj3990— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 13, 2017
Evan Gattis deserves this. Let's make it happen for him, and the rest of these Astros guys!
Side Note: This will be my last post for the next week. I will be flying up to New Jersey to attend the high school graduation of my eldest niece, Paisley. A few days away to see and hang out with more family should do a world of good for me. I will let everyone know how all goes upon my return!
Original Photo Credit: Hannah Foslien of Getty Images
The bear is nearing the finish line. Let's all get him the votes to cross it and go to the midsummer classic!!!!
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