The Official Blog of Rob Smith

Yesterday I went to the beach, and now my fair skin is absolutely ravaged by sunburn, stemming from uneven, non-comprehensive sunscreen application. I’ve got another beach trip coming up on Friday so I will have to be cautious. I’ll likely be already peeling by then. I’ll need to do a better job applying sunscreen, or I might even wear clothing while on the beach to protect my skin.

Of course, this morning George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, died. For better or worse he had an immense impact on the Yankees and on baseball a whole. My favorite two numbers from the Steinbrenner ownership era: he (and business partners) bought the Yankees in 1973 for under $10 million (not even a lot of money for back then) and he made 22 managerial changes. Also in baseball, David Ortiz won the home run derby last night. Superstars seem to avoid the derby these days, but winning it is still a pretty cool accomplishment for Ortiz so late in his career. His contract situation will become a major story as the season wears on – the Red Sox have a $12.5 million option for next season with no buyout but plenty of other things could happen with the contract – a cheaper multi-year extension with incentives that make it more valuable, declining the option, free agency, etc. I think they will agree to a 2 or 3-year extension but we’ll see.

The NCAA “first four” thing does sound like a pretty good idea. It lengthens the meat of the tournament, allowing for better coverage and exposure of each game, since the early rounds of the tournament have too many games for everyone to get to see everything. It also should be good for ratings, with major conference teams from across the country playing. I agree with Carigs that the TruTV deal is unfortunate though.

My iPhone 4 shipped to Hebron, and it arrived yesterday so I’ll probably pick it up and start playing with it today. My iPhone 3G is starting to show its age, it has a decent amount of scuffs and some cracks, so the time is right for an upgrade. I am kind of skeptical about being able to set up the phone myself from my computer, but hopefully it works and I won’t have to bring it to the AT&T store. I am really enjoying life with my iPad – except for the couple days when my wireless internet failed and the iPad turned into a $500 paperweight. I just keep my iPad on my couch and use it for casual web browsing, fantasy baseball, banking, bills, Facebook, etc. It has all the functionality of a regular laptop unless you want to play flash games or type a very long document (there is an external keyboard available). I keep my bulky laptops upstairs and seldom use them now – I wouldn’t need them at all if I didn’t have to use them for iTunes. The big screen makes web browsing and video watching very pleasurable compared to an iPhone. I think it crushes the Kindle as an e-reader, and the iBook store is even easier to navigate than iTunes and lets you read a lengthy excerpt of all books for free. I would recommend the iPad to anyone right now, and while I think the next version of the iPad will have a camera, I don’t think the price will be reduced.

On Red Dead Redemption: I just cleared the fort and “unlocked” Mexico, but I haven’t yet gone down there and explored though. It really does play a lot like the Grand Theft Auto series, games which I liked but wasn’t crazy about. You can carry about almost unlimited weapons and ammo. Unlike Fallout 3, there aren’t many items, buildings, or caves around the countryside, you can’t converse with very many people, and there are no stats/attributes that you build up over time. You will spend LOTS of time riding around on your horse. But the game is fun to play, and the auto-aim system makes combat easy for someone like me who isn’t a fast-twitch first-person-shooter enthusiast. Even though the game world isn’t as interactive as I’d prefer, the environment is beautiful and the characters you do interact with are memorable. My complaints about the game are primarily based on my own preferences – objectively I do think this is a “very good” or “excellent” game. Overall I would put this game ahead of the Grand Theft Auto series and Assassin’s Creed 1 (haven’t played 2) but behind Oblivion and Fallout 3. I also have FIFA 10 on the way, I’m looking forward to playing a soccer videogame for the first time. But I want to play real soccer, in real life, even more.

I think the Malone/Carigs fantasy baseball trade is kind of sad and not very meaningful. Malone is left with Figgins as his third baseman, and while he can only improve, you need to have a more productive third baseman than that. Malone does take care of his too-many-catchers problem, but let’s hope that he doesn’t over-value Posey as much as he overvalued Wieters for the past couple years. Using high draft picks and keeper slots on Wieters has hurt Malone. I think Glaus will turn out to be pretty useless but he could surprise me. Carigs adds some flexibility for the dregs of his roster but if he moves higher in the standings it won’t be due to this trade.

So, plenty has happened since I last posted. The main highlight was the ceremony in Massachusetts when our unit was dismissed to go home. The police escort was probably 20 cruisers, some motorcycles, and the state police helicopter (the brother of someone in the unit is the pilot) and they met us halfway through CT and proceeded to close down route 91, then the Mass Pike so our buses didn’t have to deal with traffic. Then we got to the Ware, MA high school where all of the families were and after a very, very brief ceremony we were released. It was very special to see all of my family and especially my grandparents there.

I moved into my new condo, which is in great condition, and then the next day I bought a 2008 Cadillac CTS. I’m pretty sure it will be the nicest car I ever own. It might be more than I need but it is really nice so it doesn’t bother me. It has all of the options, like the extra long sunroof, touchscreen navigation, tinted windows, heated/cooled seats, keyless entry/remote start, leather, etc. It does barely fit into my garage, which is a good thing.

I’ve been taking care of a lot of other business too since I’ve been back, like setting up bill payments (there are so many), getting my veteran status on file with the town clerk, trying to figure out how to get the state of CT “Welcome Home Bonus” for soldiers returning from combat, scheduling a time to get my 2009 tax returns done, etc.

Now, as for sports. The Red Sox are definitely in need of the All Star break. They’ve used more unknown players this season than ever before due to their numerous injuries. Even as a fairly involved Red Sox fan, I’d never heard of some of them. Some have played well, others have not. Nava, Darnell McDonald, Eric Patterson, Doubront, Gustavo Molina, Ryan Shealy, and Niuman Romero (dreadful player) are some of the “highlights”. They even had to bring in ::gulp:: Kevin Cash because their top 4 catchers are down with injuries. The top 4 outfielders have been out of commission at various overlapping times during the season. Their star second baseman is out. One of their ace pitchers has been out for a while. All of this makes you wonder where the team would be if old David Ortiz wasn’t having a productive season. Hopefully with Beckett and others back after the All Star break they can return to normalcy. Kevin Youkilis should have made the All Star team over Swisher – with the rosters as big as they are it is kind of sad that he isn’t on the team, but first base is a deep position. I hate how the All Star game “counts” now, but it could still in theory end in a tie. I really want to see the game go into the 13th inning tied.

This whole Lebron James thing is just more proof to me that the NBA is a joke. In what other sport can the 3 best free agents conspire to play on the same team and change the face of the sport? Basketball has the fewest players on the court/field/ice of team any sport, and players play both offense and defense for almost the entire game, so each player has more impact than in any other sport. Isn’t this reverse collusion? I almost hope that one or two of them get injured and the Heat are burned for using their entire salary cap on 3 players, and I definitely hope there are chemistry problems on that team. I will certainly be rooting against the Heat for the duration of that trio’s stay.

I’ve already written plenty so I’ll have to save my iPad review for another post. I’ll also be able to post a review of the new iPhone in a few days since mine is on its way. Everyone should definitely expect less frequent posts from me now that the deployment is over.

Tonight is the last night of the deployment. All we have left is turning in our barracks and the van Fort Dix let us use, then a bus ride back to western Massachusetts through a lot of traffic. We will have police escorts through Connecticut and Massachusetts so that part of the trip should go quickly. Tomorrow might be hectic when we get back to the armory, after the ceremony, as everyone scrambles to say their goodbyes, meet their families, get their bags, and get to their cars. It’s weird to think that tomorrow night I’ll be sleeping in my new place for the first time.

Today we finished up our processing, and got all the important documents that list all of our awards and our time served, etc. I ended up getting a Bronze Star for the deployment which I am pretty proud of. Then we all got some automatic awards just for deploying to Iraq. Anyway, It’s a strange feeling knowing that it’s over. It definitely went by quickly, almost like a whirlwind when you consider all the different stops and moves we made, but some days, weeks, or months seemed to go by very slow at the time. Everyone has made a lot of friends within the unit, or got to know the friends they already had even better. Once we get back, a lot of people will be transferring out of the unit or retiring. It will be a little weird not being around the same people I’ve been around 24 hours a day for an entire year anymore. It’s not the same feeling as graduating college but that’s probably the closest thing that some of my readers could relate to.

It seems like activity is picking up in the fantasy baseball league. There have been a lot of injuries lately, causing pickups at scarce positions. On top of that, with the season about halfway over lots of owners are trying to improve their teams so trade activity is picking up. My team is well positioned and can win the league with its current roster. Because of this, I’ve said no to some pretty tempting trade offers recently. As I said Malone, I support ousting those two owners – come up with some courses of action for the expansion draft.

Looking back, the past year wasn’t difficult at all, but I’m definitely looking forward to being home, seeing my family and friends, moving into my new place, getting to relax, and then getting back to work. It should be a fun summer. I might take a little break from posting, I’m not sure. In any event, thanks for reading and for your support

Remember that my family will be throwing me a big party in Hebron on July 17th, beginning at 2pm. Everyone from TicketNetwork, all friends, and www.therobsmith.com readers are invited. I think I will also be making an appearance at some other area parties in the days and weeks after I arrive home on July 2nd. I need to ease into the summer-party scene in order to regain my partying and drinking skills, kind of like how Tiger Woods resumed his golf career after taking some time off.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write, but the internet in the barracks is finally working. Plenty has happened since I last posted. First, of course the entire unit is on the ground at Fort Dix now and we’re well on our way through the various tasks we need to complete to get out of here. Some soldiers with medical problems might have to stay here for a little while but almost everyone will be leaving soon. I’m excited to move into my new condo which is all ready for me. It is a true bachelor pad. The second bedroom will have a futon for any friends or brothers who end up staying over.

The U.S. soccer team is out of the World Cup, and Roger provided some good coverage of that in our last thread. I think they played a really good tournament, but of course the whole tournament (U.S. and everyone else) will be overshadowed by the numerous officiating blunders. Goals were awarded that shouldn’t have been, and goals weren’t awarded that should have been. Instant replay could be easy to institute in soccer, the referees already have wireless microphones and earpieces – just give another one to the fourth referee along with a TV set. I also think Americans hate the theatrics, diving, and time-wasting of soccer but I don’t really mind these things even though they’re annoying at times.

In a not-so-surprising development at home, Cosmo the dog has managed to get sprayed by a skunk twice in the past week. According to my brother, Cosmo doesn’t like being hosed down, but does like tomato juice baths very much. He has a very interesting life. Also Ryan, I’m glad you are using www.therobsmith.com for your technical support question – this is actually a very good place to get tech support on any number of topics, we have a lot of subject-matter experts here on everything from satellite TV to Microsoft .net Framework to SQL Query to C# to the Exchange Manager.

In a surprising development, I bought an iPad. I bought the base WiFi only model, and plan on keeping it in my living room on my coffee table to be my casual-use computer. It will be a lot more visually friendly than having a laptop in the room and power cords running across the floor. I tried out the iPad and loved it. It seems like it would be a lot easier to write lengthy documents on the iPad’s larger virtual keyboard than on the iPhone.

So we’ve been pretty busy over the last few days. Getting an entire National Guard unit transferred from active-duty status back to National Guard status is very complicated. There is lots of paperwork having to do with accrued leave, finance, then other tasks having to do with logistics, travel arrangements, etc. Some tasks need to be repeated 170 times because that’s how many soldiers there are. I already went through some of my medical screening and stuff so once the rest of the unit arrives I should be able to continue working on the “checklist” that we need to get out of here. All in all, however, it’s still better than going through Fort Dix the first time because we aren’t here for as long, the process is a little simpler, and we have going home to look forward to instead of going to Iraq for a year.

The U.S. soccer team plays in a little while – I’m going to try to watch as much of the game as possible but we’ll be working so it might be tough. Hopefully they can score an early goal and cruise through the game. If the game is tied late it could get very nerve-racking. The tiebreaker scenarios are friendly to the U.S. but things could still go wrong if they tie or especially if they lose. The U.S. has never gotten a point (either a tie or win) in the third game of group play in the World Cup. Their opponent Algeria must score goals to have a chance to advance so the U.S. should have plenty of scoring opportunities on the counterattack.

Even though the AL East is so unbalanced relative to the rest of baseball, I certainly don’t see Bud Selig moving to change the divisions or playoff formula around. We’ll need to wait for a more progressive commissioner for any changes. But it’s more complicated than that. Baseball wants its playoffs and World Series to have good TV ratings, and one way to do this is to have east-west series. Any changes to the playoff formula to potentially include all three good AL East teams would hurt teams from other TV markets. So, its certainly an interesting situation that isn’t present in any other sports, but as we’ve learned in other recent cases, baseball just isn’t like other sports in many ways.

First, on the U.S. soccer goal that was taken away – I think it’s unbelievable that a ref is able to make such a big call and not be required to tell the players, coaches, or media which player the foul was called against. To this day no one except him knows who committed the “foul”. Maybe it was a makeup call, as some are speculating, but it’s a pretty harsh one. Dempsey’s earlier goal was pretty amazing too – that cowering goalkeeper seemed frightened when Dempsey shot it right over him.

Anyway, we’re a little over 40% through the fantasy baseball season, so I figured everyone would love to read a season synopsis for my team thus far. Overall the team has performed well, consistently in the pack in the top half of the standings usually between 4th and 2nd, but also occasionally occupying 1st place.

Offense: I’m really happy with how my team has performed on offense, I am kind of surprised at some of my point totals. This mostly has to do with Alex Rios, who I initially regretted drafting but is now on Yahoo’s “can’t drop” list and is the 6th overall ranked player. Miguel Cabrera has been a monster, ranked 3rd. David Wright has been a solid yet sometimes frustrating contributor, but still ranks 16th overall. Me trading Morneau plus 4 draft rounds for him is looking shaky right now but should still work in the long term. It’s not all good news though. Joe Mauer apparently used all his power in 2009 and Jose Reyes has basically performed as a poor man’s version of himself from a few years ago. The back end of my offense with players like Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, and Alfonso Soriano has done the job but often leave me wanting more. If Nelson Cruz is able to overcome his leg injuries it would be a big boost- he always performs great when healthy. I’m also going with Martin Prado (31st ranked player!) over Placido Polanco from now on, a decent upgrade. Mike Stanton is a long term investment, and any production from him this season is a bonus.

Keeper Candidates: Locks: Cabrera, Wright Possible: Stanton, Rios Less Possible: Mauer, Reyes, Cruz, Prado.

Pitching: The pitching has been pretty disappointing, but has its moments and can definitely improve. Wins, ERA, and WHIP began terribly just like last season, but are slowly improving, and I am actually poised to pick up a decent amount of points in these categories as long as the law of averages continues to apply. Firstly, relief pitching has been very strong with my 4 closers led by the surprising but fading Matt Capps. Brian Fuentes has been shaky and I used to carry his understudy Rodney. Carlos Marmol and Brian Wilson have been everything I expected them to be. Capps may not hold onto the job so I might have to find other options to keep my edge over Perrotti in this category.

As for the starters: my top pick Josh Beckett has been an injury disaster, who I am optimistic can salvage the second half of his season. Felix Hernandez has pitched well but not up to expectations, and Javier Vazquez had a horrific start but is rounding into form. My second tier of guys has been mixed. Jonathan Sanchez might be my best pick of the draft, but Joel Piniero and AJ Burnett have been solid but uninspiring. After these guys, I’ve used a collection of supporting guys to round out the staff but no one has emerged as a star from that group. The Brandon Webb long shot has not paid off yet. I still think the pitching will improve enough to get me into position to win the league, in the 70-point overall range.

Keeper Candidates: Lock: Hernandez. Possible (likely only 1): Sanchez, Beckett.

In conclusion – the team has everything it needs to win the league despite a draft that I don’t think was that great. Last season, my team had no power so it had a definite ceiling it couldn’t exceed, but still performed well enough to get second place. This year’s team has no glaring deficiencies and much room to improve, especially in pitching. It should finish very high in the standings. Malone’s team is terrible.

So I am back at Fort Dix. It’s a pretty surreal feeling being here again and knowing that our deployment is all over. I got here yesterday around 12pm after two days of nonstop travel. Today I woke up around 3am, and I’m reminded of the jetlag I had while I was home on leave. It should go away after a few days. It feels great to be back, with grass, trees, TV, Dunkin Donuts, a real shower, no dust in the air, etc. Of course almost all of the company is still in Iraq, so I won’t be totally happy until they’re all here too. My job is to make connections here so that when the rest of the unit arrives, we’ll be able to go through all the medical, administrative, equipment turn-in, and other processes quickly.

I pre-ordered a new iPhone today. The website says it won’t ship until July 14th (the release date is June 24th), but getting it just a few days late beats making an unnecessary trip to the Apple Store in West Hartford where there may or may not be any in stock. Plus I won’t be home until the beginning of July anyway. I hope the purchase goes through, but I’m naturally pessimistic because of my recent NewEgg rejection and past problems with AT&T and Apple.

According to Apple, all I’ll have to do is plug the new device into my computer and supposedly all my music, apps, and the AT&T phone account will be transferred to the new device. I’m increasingly worried that my rickety 4-year old laptop which contains my iTunes will die, so I really need to back up all of my stuff once I get home. I know there are shady methods to do this. Does Apple have a official, approved way to transfer one’s iTunes to a new computer, when upgrading systems?

I’m watching the World Cup right now and the Germany-Serbia ref is ruining the game by issuing out 6 cards so far in the first half (including 2 yellows to one of Germany’s best player). Most of the cards were issued for routine tackles. Serbia just took the lead on the shorthanded Germans. Carigs, do you think we should get robots to officiate these games or place sensors on players’ bodies to determine how “hard” a foul was?

I think we’re going to have a party in Hebron in July (probably the 17th) so I’ll get to see everyone, and of course all the loyal readers of www.therobsmith.com will be invited to attend. I’m looking forward to moving into my new place, getting a new car, seeing all of my family and friends, going back to TicketNetwork, etc.

I will officially never set foot in Iraq again (unless something unforeseen happens). The two people I’m traveling with and I were very lucky to get routed directly to Kuwait from our base, without having to make the planned stop at another base in between. If we had made the planned stop it would have added a full day to our travel time. While we were in midair, the crew announced that due to weather in the intermediate city, we’d be flying directly to Kuwait. We were in an enormous Air Force plane and there were only about 10 people total. Anyway, with a little more luck I’ll be on my way back to the U.S. soon. I should be up on my phone for calls and texts within a couple days as long as AT&T turns on my service properly this time.

And yes today is the big day that I will officially become a “homeowner” or “condo-owner”. I’d like to thank my Mom who has been very helpful in taking care of everything having to do with the home purchase while I’ve been away. She says it’s fun to spend other people’s money.

It feels strange that the deployment is pretty much over for me. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’ve had the same routine for so long that I just got very used to it, and it will be weird not having to check my two Iraq email accounts or go to my regular meetings. Time went by slowly at the beginning but definitely flew towards the end.

Congratulations to Roger for getting married – what is he doing for his honeymoon? I already mentioned it, but I think Roger has made a great choice and a huge accomplishment in marrying a doctor. Now he can slack off and play videogames for the rest of his life and still live comfortably.

I saw the highlights of the U.S.-England soccer game. The goal England scored was a defensive breakdown by the U.S. for sure. But of course the most talked about play is the English goalkeeper’s tragic misplay. I’ve played lots of goal, and a mistake like that is heartbreaking – I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to do it during the World Cup. His confidence is probably totally shattered. I guess before the game there was some surprise that England had chosen to start that goalkeeper – I don’t think they’ll use him again but who knows. The U.S. had another great chance, with a deflected shot bouncing off the post later. All in all, this tie for the U.S. was just as good as a victory for a few reasons. First of all, whenever a soccer game ends in a tie, the team who scored last feels like they won. Also, England was expected to win, and since this was the hardest game of the group for the U.S. they now have a very good chance to make it out of the group into the next round. A lot of people, especially Americans, complain about how soccer games often end in ties, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ties.

Kohanski, the derby is now only approximately 2.5 months away and you have not joined a team or expressed your input on the event format. If you’re having different thoughts from what we already discussed, we really need to get your input soon so we can implement any changes while still allowing the participants adequate time to prepare.

There may only be one more blog post from Iraq, or this could even be the last one. Then I’ll be heading to Kuwait for a brief while, and on to Fort Dix with hopefully as few airports in between as possible. I should have my phone back on, with calling and texting ability, within a week.

:::Note- If you haven’t already, please stop sending me mail of any kind since I won’t be here when it arrives. Thanks for your support:::

How did North Korea make it into the World Cup? Most repressed people in that hermit-state can only eat every other day. Maybe the government gives their soccer players the Kim Jong-Il treatment – spending what little money they have to shower them in luxury. Or, maybe they do what Iraq used to do to “motivate” its athletes – torture and kill them if they don’t play well. I would be very interested to see what kind of equipment and training facilities the North Korean soccer team has access to, especially in light of the trade embargos they’re saddled with, not to mention the gross disparity between the resources it takes to field a world-class sports team and the resources most North Koreans are forced live with. There is no foreign media (TV, internet, etc.) allowed in North Korea and 90% of the people don’t have TVs (the 10% who do had to buy them on the black market) so how will their citizens be able to watch the games? In any event, I predict that North Korea will be outscored 12-0 in its 3 World Cup games and that they will earn 3 red cards, since the bad teams almost always play dirty in these tournaments.

Thinking about that reminds me of the time I was given a yellow card in high school soccer. My senior year I was a field player. I think I was playing striker or outside midfield when the other team was awarded a direct kick maybe 30 yards away from our goal, near the corner of our box. Trying to do what our coach had instructed, I (as the forward-most player on that side of the field) rushed back to the site of the kick to direct my team’s wall positioning. The thinking was that directing this from the site of the kick would obstruct and delay the other team from kicking, giving us more time to get into position. Unfortunately, in my rush to get back to the spot of the kick, I accidentally kicked the ball after the ref had placed it, earning me a yellow card and much laughter from my teammates.

Some of my other favorite things to do as a field player were taking outlandish dives and trying to draw calls. Whenever I was challenged or lost control of the ball, since I’m not a great dribbler, I would dive or fall, shouting and pretending that the other team had fouled me. I would often try to land my face in the grass and get grass or dirt in my mouth to reinforce the severity of the fake foul. It worked pretty often and I earned my team lots of calls. I still do this in indoor soccer whenever I play in the field.

Do any other soccer players have stories they’d like to share?