Hit By A Pitch

My Baseball Challenge team has been struggling of late. Like many managers, I can't seem to get a reliable pitching staff (made the mistake of picking the Mets for their doubleheader against the Braves. Ouch.) I finally had to let go of Rafael Furcal, even though I acquired him on the cheap and he's been earning me a ton of points, because he's simply been injured too long. Filled his SS slot with Yunel Escobar only to have Yunel get injured. Now I have Derek Jeter. (Yes, I have a Yankee in my lineup, despite being a member of Red Sox Nation./) What are the odds that Jeter will get injured tonight, simply because he's in my lineup? All the injuries compelled me to rename my team last week. I've gone from being "Nic's Basement Dwellers" to "Hit By A Pitch."

Maybe I'm pessimistic because I'm still stewing over Survivor. Going into the final episode, I was cheering for Cirie. I think she'd make smart choices with the money, and she strikes me as a nice person. When it got down to Amanda and Parvati, I figured it was a no-brainer for Amanda. But she whiffed with the jury, exactly the same way she did last season (check my earlier blog about that.) You just can't argue, "I stayed true to my alliance" and leave it at that. Parv made a case so strong that even Eliza ended up giving her a vote. So Parv got the big $$ (though Amanda did walk away with Ozzy.)

Guess I should stay away from Survivor Fantasy Leagues. Apparently I'm incapable of picking a winner!

In the meantime, good things are afoot on the book front. The just-released anthology Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do), which features my story, "Last Stand", alongside stories from Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval, has gotten some fantastic reviews!

Publishers Weekly said: "these four stories about love gone wrong...are likely to go over big with teens in search of solace for their own romantic misadventures." And: "readers will enjoy the stylish scenarios, projecting themselves into situations they can only wish were true."

Anything that says "go over big with teens" makes me do a yippy-skippy dance.

Now, to see if my rock-steady third baseman, Chipper Jones, and the Red Sox pitchers can get me out of my Baseball Challenge jam tonight.

Oh, wait. Chipper got hurt last night. Hit by a pitch! Well...