Batting second, number 6...

It's funny that this topic was started by a Canadian, but the point has been made.

I was thinking how a site of four dedicated sports fans had posted so little about the sport I know we all love. I take this to mean the demise of the Yankees has kept mouths closed as we all wait for the eventual late-season run.

But to look to the future would be to ignore the past and since I'm all about that, Old School Wednesday and all, I will share thoughts I published six years ago that still hold true to this day.

THIS JUST IN: Independence, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. When I think of the Fourth of July, these aren’t the things that enter my mind. Maybe it’s because I think about these things everyday, therefore I don’t use the yearly reminder to reminisce.

I’m not a big fan of holidays. My sister was born on Halloween and I was born on Christmas Eve, so holidays have always had a different significance for me. I see them more as an opportunity for people to relax and take the day off. Some people use holidays as an excuse to drink, like St. Patrick’s Day, but I’m sure Patrick didn’t want people to throw up green in his name. Well, I don’t need an excuse to drink and I relax every day. So exactly what is the Fourth of July to me?

The last couple of years, it’s been a television treat, with baseball games from Philadelphia to Phoenix. They play in the afternoon, just like they used to before I was born; when baseball was like shooting fireworks on the Fourth. In my neighborhood, kids would fight with bottle rockets and M-80’s, then play on the same team the next day.

Maybe baseball was beaten into our heads. Maybe there were too many fathers/coaches in my town. Guys that made sure their son would win by teaching the other kids in the neighborhood, kids like me who’s father wasn’t there. But we would have played anyway, regardless of outside influences. Similar to the Dominican Republic, we didn’t need organized leagues to play in; the street was good enough.

When I think of the Fourth of July, I first think of baseball. Other thoughts might squeak in, but it’s only temporary…

Now my thoughts are how I can sneak away and listen to Mets games on my XM radio, or can I find enough of an excuse to sit at my computer and wait for updates on GameDay online. Yes, I think of my wife, my daughter and the other on the way, but it always comes back to baseball and I wouldn't have it any other way.