great moment on the bus today. usually, i'm in the third seat [the row-by-row arrangement is as follows: 1 - trainer (left seat), manager (right); 2 - hitting coach (l), pitching coach (r); 3 - strength coach (l), me (r) ].

however, today, due to our pitching coach driving to the park, i moved up a row and sat directly behind the manager (with eight-year-old son in tow).

so, manager's son and i played catch before the game. he was stunned by my barehandedness, i was stunned by his smoothness with the backhanded pickup.

after the game, i arrive about 10-15 minutes before we'll take off, with manager's son in his appointed seat. so we get to talking about his game - where he plays (SS, 2B), whether he likes pitching (not really), if he'd like to move to center when he gets older (he likes to dive, but he likes SS best), and what his goals are for the future (break Hank's HR record and Rickey's SB record).

and i ask who his favorite players are. he's says "sammy sosa is definitely number one. then luis gonzalez and albert pujols." and i say "what about the corked bat?" and he says "doesn't matter."

so then our manager comes on the bus, and i say "you taught this boy well." and he says "huh?" and i say "sammy's still his favorite." and he says "you gotta be loyal."

probably the most refreshing part of this was being around an eight-year-old that know and loves baseball. not many of 'em anymore.

in other news, i gave my stolen copy of r.e.m's automatic for the people a spin today. if "the sidewinder sleeps tonight" doesn't get you, you have no soul. i think r.e.m. is one of the great bands that i've never done, despite a roomie who has them planted permanently in the top five, i'd guess.

maybe i'm just dumb.