Waiting...

"Waiting for the moon to come and light me up inside
I am waiting for the telephone to tell me I’m alive"
--Daylight Fading, Counting Crows

Technically I'm waiting for my laundry to be done so I can put it in the dryer and then wait for it to get out so I can have sheets to sleep in tonight. Normally I'd start this whole process a bit earlier than 11 p.m., but I was at work until 10:40, so not much I could do about it.
Yes, I did say 10:40. Evidently tomorrow will be a similar hour and Thursday will make these two look like earlybird days, because I have a 6 p.m.-1 a.m. edit session that night. We're doing a show from Boulder on Friday and I'm cutting a "best of Colorado football" piece that's gonna be pretty sweet, but will also take some serious prepping.
On my way home tonight, I remembered one more thing I learned while I was on vacation: I think baseball has supplanted basketball and soccer as my favorite sport. Several major points of evidence have brought me to this conclusion, not the least of which is a long history of baseball-related literary enjoyment, going back as far as I can remember. A small list of the factors involved:

1) Work: Saturday baseball is the most enjoyable job I think I could ever have. If I got to do that five days a week, I would never want or have another job ever. During last fall's playoffs--the greatest post-season in MLB history--I was privileged to work four or five days a week for about a month, and it could not have been more fun. Great games, teams, individual performances. Relaxed atmosphere, fun people. Free food. Approximately 20 minutes of actual work over the course of a game. Oh yeah, and good, free food. Did I mention that already?
2) Books: I can read about any part of the game--any player or team, any era--and it makes for a good time. I read a Joe DiMaggio biography last year, just finished "Moneyball"--yes, Side, I finally read it--and I'm currently working through a Ted Williams biography, several pages a night. I love reading guys like Rob Neyer and P.Gammons online as well, Jayson Stark and Tim Kurkjian also representing.
3) Statistics: I've always loved this element of sports, and it's recently come flooding back full-scale. I can click around ESPN.com's sortable stats for hours, intrigued anything from Jeff Weaver's quality starts (and cheap wins) to Barry Bonds' absurd advantage over everyone in everything quantifiable, and even the situational numbers for Mets rookie David Wright--very obscure, I know. My favorite guy to check on recently has been Ichiro, who is hitting over .460 since the All-Star break, including three more hits tonight (which brought his August total to 56, the most in any month by a major leaguer in over 35 years!!). The slap-happy right-fielder is definitely a one-of-a-kind hitter, swinging at every pitch (he has 148 fewer walks than Bonds at the moment) and ending up halfway down the first-base line before he even makes contact with the ball (possibly a slight exaggeration). He's hitting .371 and is poised to make a run at George Sisler's single-season hit record (257), which was set in 1920. I like stuff like that.
4) Pennant Races: Knowing that the Angels, Rangers, A's and Red Sox feel like they have to win every night is so cool. The Cubs, Padres, Giants (and now even the Astros) feel the same way. Having so many teams with realistic post-season hopes makes for such an exciting September (and for some reason, Fox won't be bringing us any action for the first two weeks of said thrilling month). I catch countless games during BDSSP work days, Baseball Tonight on occasion before I leave, and make sure to grab good games for review each morning before work starts, so I'm able to soak in the full drama of these races.
5) Baseball Tonight: Easily my favorite show on television. Including the one on which I work. It seriously does not get any better than Ravech, HR and P.Gammons. Kurkjian is my next favorite analyst on there, and Dibs and Stark can hang too, but the big three just know how to get it done. Karl runs the show, dominates the highlights and passes it off for occasional analysis with seamless question-and-answer execution. HR loves reacting to the web gems, calling for a play of the year almost every night. And Gammons (who is actually not the dude on your $20 bill) knows more about baseball than anyone alive. Kurkjian might reach that level someday, but for now, big Pete has about 30 years on him. Even if he is a Red Sox homer, I love hearing what he's got to say.
6) My Padres. Last but most definitely not least. They're very much alive in the wild card race (half a game behind Frisco and the Cubbies as of tonight) and can still consider the NL West a winnable race, if the Dodgers (or, more accurately, Adrian Beltre) ever come crashing back to earth. Khalil Greene should be the Rookie of the Year, Brian Lawrence and Jake Peavy are so solid (Adam Eaton not bad either) in the rotation, Trevor is still Trevor (and he's got Akinori Otsuka leading the rest of the very deep bullpen), and, with all due respect to Honus Wagner, Mark Loretta may just be the greatest second baseman in the history of the game. Before you scoff at such a statement, consider the St. Francis grad's .342 average (second in the NL behind ridiculous Bonds), 15 homers and 70 RBIs (behind only Jeff Kent among NL second basemen), and countless clutch hits all season long. He's a baller. And this squad is pumped and ready for the post-season. I still need to get down there for a game, which is stupid considering my stated loyalty and geographic proximity to this ballclub. I've got a couple dates on the calendar, so hopefully something will work itself out soon.

Laundry is almost done--I need to make my bed and get those invaluable four hours of sleep so I can be fully rested for another 15-hour day. Something doesn't sound right in that sentence. That vacation sure seems like it was a long time ago now. Pieces.