Want What You Have

I read a tweet the other day that called the Reds crybabies or something along those lines. It was, of course, a Taint Louis fan. You know how they like to rail against the pot. Anyway, instead of rushing to defend my team and make a comment about Tony LaMafia and Chris Crypenter and Voodoo Albert, I laughed. I laughed because finally, finally, finally the Reds are good enough that people will call us names.

Both Fok$ and E$PN made sure to sensationalize the rivalry when we had our weekend on national television last week. That's right, weekend. Granted, it was a Deadbirds game, so network executives didn't have to worry about the diminutive fanbase of Cincinnati (which is not at all diminutive.) But we had a weekend, just like the Bankee$ and Bread $ox get - nationally televised games on Saturday AND Sunday. Tell me the last time that happened?

I like Twitter. (Find me here on Twitter.) I'm following more than 800 people from all 30 MLB teams (some more than others.) I gotta tell you, though, that guy may be right about the crying. From my observations, no other team has a fanbase that whines as much as they do in Cincinnati. People were throwing in the towel last week. They complain about the lineups every day. They demand trades or demotions for guys based on a few plate appearances or a bad inning. They even complained about Wednesday's game - which we won - because there weren't enough hits.

Are there legitimate concerns? Of course. Renteria's defense is atrocious. Gomes can't hit righties. Chapman walks too many batters. But come on!

Dostoevsky said, "Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it."

Abraham Lincoln said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Count your joys, make up your minds to be happy. It's May 10th and the Reds are a game out of first place.