A view and the playoffs

My classroom is on the second floor on the south side of the building, and I spent a good part of the month of September soaking through my shirts. Kids started calling me the sweaty teacher, and, in one spirited skit about mocking authority figures that I was invited to in drama class, one of my favorite students parodied me by dousing himself with water and pretending like he was sweating to death. However, while my classroom location leaves much to be desired for the hot months, it provides a beautiful view of the city. One good thing about staying late is watching the sun set over the city from my classroom windows. Baltimore looks beautiful from up there.

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After the Tigers are eliminated, I tend to root for baseball based on personalities on them. Most of the teams have former Tigers on them, but only one of them has Tony Clark, my favorite Tiger between, say, Matt Nokes and Carlos Pena. When Tony the Tiger came up to the Tigers in the early nineties, I thought he was going to be a star. It never quite happened, but then he turned into another kind of player I love: the underrated one, in need of constant defending. I also love what Clark has done with his career; he's turned himself into one of the premier backup first basemen and pinch-hitters in the game. Good for him. Go Diamondbacks! I'd love to see Tony the Tiger get a ring.

Of course, Craig Monroe is on the Cubs, and Monroe was a lot of fun to watch over the last few years on the Tigers. Not a great player, but he hit two of the most memorable home runs of my life. Plus, I've got a couple of friends who are big Cubs fans, and I'd like to see them happy. So, Go Cubs!

Three of the four AL teams that made it in are my three most hated teams of all - the Red Sox, the Indians, and the Yankees. I like the Angels a bit, but their type of offense annoys me. Guerrero is fun to watch, though. So is A-Rod. So is Youkilis. It'll be a good playoff season, I hope.