The CFCL and Tigger too!

Thursday marked the day that is joyous, momentous and harrowing in a parent’s life. It was the day the children came home from school for the summer. And with it came all the fun things that summer brings: backyard cookouts, water balloon fights, bike riding and . . . family vacation.

Ooh yeah. Family vacation. Do we rent a cottage on the lake? Go up to the Dells? Visit family in distant states? Disneyworld?

Matt Grage posted something about Disneyworld. He’s going there at the end of July with his niece and nephew. Swell guy, that Matt. But that brings on a new set of problems. If we’re off riding the teacups and conquering Space Mountain, who is watching the roster? Proposing trades? Tracking Free Agents? Is “It’s a Small World” set up with Wi-Fi? Probably not.

So I said “OK, kids. What will it be? A fun summer vacation or a run at the CFCL Title?” Tragically I come to find out that my family does not share my vision. The Holy Grail I have chased now for 25 years is meaningless to them. Honestly I think Cooper was on my side, since he knows he will be inheriting ownership of Dem Rebels – once he is able to run the team better than I can, which should be later this month when he turns eleven months and starts to walk. But as he is unable to communicate beyond smiles and shrieks, I don’t know for sure he was backing me. But the girls just weren’t seeing the vision. All they saw were water parks, picnics and lunches with princesses

Now it was time to be a responsible parent. Look at the big picture, see what has more meaning. Long term is it better to remember your children pulling on Tigger’s tail, or have a Championship Flag flying high over Confederate Park for all of eternity? The answer was obvious. I turned to them and, in my best Soup Nazi voice, declared “No vacation for you!”

So the phone lines will be open. The trade talks will be heavy. The waiver wire will be . . . well hold on. We voted that thing away during the offseason, so the Free Agent List will be monitored. My children, sulkingly, will be in the backyard playing on the oversized waterslide and then at night sit around the TV watching Aladdin, The Tigger movie and Cinderella. And Dem Rebels will finish fourth yet again. Don’t tell the kids – I want to surprise them! I can’t wait to see the look on their faces.

CFCL Notes:

The DoorMatts have .47 left on their FAAB. The Revenge and Line have .55. That’s going to make it difficult for them to acquire Alex Rodriguez when he’s traded to the NL later this summer.

A lot of activity among owners this summer.

• Nick is planning a trip to scout the Pacific Northwest.
• Matt G. is claiming to take his niece and nephew to Florida, when it is most likely a scouting trip in disguise.
• And Mike C. says he’s going to Cincinnati to give Jay Bruce a big hug, but sources in the know tell the Monroe Doctrine that he is really trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Jan Smithers.