Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant

One of the reasons sports make such an impact in some people's lives is because some of us use them to make some sense of the world.

Just as the Sports Guy once wrote that the Red Sox trying and failing to win the World Series was the single greatest factor in reminding him of his mortality, it makes the daily stuff easier to swallow if you can neutralize it a bit by painting it with the wide brush of sport.

One of the reasons I relate to baseball so well is that it gives an unending feeling of hope - no matter what happens, 161 times a year, there's always another game tomorrow. It's a long road and failing today doesn't mean you'll fail tomorrow. That type of perspective comes in handy more often than not.

Let's face it, for as many of us who can't seem to lose, there are the rest of us who spend everyday life as a relief pitcher - a half second too fast or slow in their release point, six inches too high or too low and some days your curveball just doesn't want to curve. I'm not ashamed to say that I spend a good 35 percent of my days snapping my head around to see a ball being deposited in the cheap seats in right center.

Granted, I don't spend much time thinking about this, but when you're taking stock after doing your time, it just helps sort things out.

We can't all be the quarterback, right?

On a somewhat related note, for all the guys in their late 20s out there, start lying about your birthday when playing video games from now on. I learned this the hard way when I created a player in one of the baseball games and probably won't make it to the majors before he hits 50.

Let's face it - a 28-year-old rookie ain't doing squat in the digital world.