Dadpost: Baby's Growing and Mommy's Famous

Hannah will be four months old on Monday, and it's amazing how much she's grown up already.

She locks eyes with us in the morning and lights up, smiling wide and often. She loves watching Sesame Street in her rocker, sitting in her high chair while Sarah and I eat, and playing with her various toys and her various entertainment centres. She enjoys going on trips to the library, the mall, and to visit her grandparents.


Of course, it's not all smiles und sunshine. We're pretty sure she's getting her first tooth, so she's been mega-drooly and irritable the last few days, to the point where it's affecting her ability to sleep through the night, something I was definitely getting used to.

Also, as the weather gets hotter, so too does our non air-conditioned apartment. An overheated baby is not a happy baby, so we've been running the fan and cool mist humidifier to keep everyone's body temp down.

But overall, things are going well. I got home from work today and - after washing my subway-ridden hands - swept her up in my arms. The feeling of holding her as she cuddles into my shoulder and neck is indescribably blissful, and the 9 hours or so spent away from her are quickly dismissed and forgotten.

While I'm away, Sarah is at home taking excellent care of Hannah, and when she has the chance has been blogging about her first journey through motherhood.

Today we learned that she's been nominated as one of Toronto Mom Now's 30 Ultimate Mom Bloggers, and is in the running for a contest to determine who's got the best mom blog.

You can vote for YYZ Bambina Blog starting May 29 here.

Way to go babe! Hannah and I are proud of you.

Brett Lawrie Freaking Out Is A Metaphor For Baseball

So, Brett Lawrie will get suspended for the above. Most people - including most baseball people - will agree that the forthcoming suspension is warranted.

But what will umpire Bill Miller get? Probably nothing, or at least next to nothing; a warning or stern talking-to from the MLB umpire board of shadowy figures.

It's an imbalance that baseball continues to allow, for old-timey, prehistoric, bullshit reasons.

In virtually any other walk of life, Bill Miller gets reprimanded for being wrong. He gets held accountable for his mistakes, especially when they potentially change the outcome of an event.

But not in baseball.


It's really the one thing I can't stand about my favourite game: its outright unwillingness to adapt or change with the times.

Nostalgic baseball "purists" uphold this stubbornness as a virtue, as a part of what makes the game great. I say it's the part that holds it back from being excellent.

Yes, Brett Lawrie is mad. And he's justified. He got jobbed, and got frustrated. And he'll be vilified for losing his cool, and deemed deserving of whatever suspension he'll receive.

And yet, everyone will simultaneously acknowledge that yeah, the umpire made a mistake, but hey, whatareyagonnado, that's baseball.

It's pathetic, is what it is.

Vlad Guerrero is a Blue Jay

According to The Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays have signed Vladimir Guerrero to a minor-league deal.

Said minor league deal will reportedly become a prorated 1.3 million if he makes the big club, so Vladdy will have some incentive to get into game shape, and the Jays aren't on the hook for much if he stinks.

What this means to the lineup is unclear, but worst-case scenario Guerrero would be an imposing bat off the bench against left-handed pitching, and best-case scenario he resembles the Vladdy of old at DH, moving Edwin Encarnacion to first and sending Adam Lind to the bench against lefties.

Keep in mind, Guerrero hit .290 last year with Baltimore, and had a .300/29/115/.841 line the year before, so it's not like the dude has completely forgotten how to hit the baseball.

Plus, I mean, it's Vladdy freakin' Guerrero. Disliking Vlad is akin to disliking kittens, or patio beers.

Guerrero will become the 56th player to suit up for both Canadian MLB clubs, and his first dinger with the Jays would be his 450th career home run.

Oh, and he has a .411 career on-base percentage at Rogers Centre with 12 HR and 36 RBI.

In summary: yes.

Goodbye, Junior

Junior Seau was the reason I became a fan of the San Diego Chargers. He was also the reason I became an NFL fan in general, and part of the reason why my favourite number is 55.

He played with such fire and passion that it was impossible to not be a fan of his.

And that fire and passion could be one of the reasons Junior Seau is dead.

Seau played 20 years in the NFL. That's 2-0. Most NFL players don't make it past four or five years (the average is 3.3).

And that number could be one of the reasons Junior Seau is dead.

Throughout all the tributes and memorials that are to come, you won't hear a single bad word about Junior Seau, not even when he drove his car off a cliff in 2010 after an apparent domestic dispute.

And that level of respect could be one of the reasons Junior Seau is dead.

We've heard a lot recently about what happens to NFL players after they retire. In a lot of cases, the story doesn't end well, and it didn't for Junior Seau, or seven other members of the 1994 AFC champion Chargers roster.

Did Seau shoot himself in the chest, as Dave Duerson did, to preserve his brain for examination? To send us a message that, yes, there was something wrong with him, and to find the answer so that no one else has to die in this way?

Perhaps we will be able to answer that question, in time. Or perhaps not.

Either way, the sporting world has lost one of its all-time greats and a true professional, and unfortunately, his profession could ultimately be one of the reasons Junior Seau is dead.

We'll miss you, Junior.