I started thinking about my nephew Jack and that whole baseball thing...

Maybe it's a little early to think about baseball right now.

I started thinking about the first gift that I actually bought for him. It was a few months ago when I was at Comiskey (OK, U.S. Cellular Field for you fuddy-duddies). They had these cute pastel baby blue baseballs. I knew that that had to be my first gift (Of course, it's got a nice pastel baby blue logo of the White Sox on it). I started to think that he's not going to throwing it for a while. I mean, he can't really hold it right now, either. It's a little big, and probably a little heavy for his 7-pound-12-ounce frame. He can't throw a knuckle ball yet, he really doesn't have good fingernails. And he's got no chance of throwing a 4-seam fastball when his hand is barely larger than the width of the stitching itself. Then there's that whole stand-up thing so he can throw better (But maybe I can work on it before he can stand... he'd be great stretching and diving for a catch in the infield and being on the ground to unload a throw to first for a third out to save a run scoring...) Then there's the running around the bases thing... and he's not standing yet. Not even walking. Not even crawling. Not even mobile. He can't even lift his head yet... yeah, it's a little early. A uniform could look pretty cool, though... gotta find a cap...

Fielding... yeah, that's it. That's the first thing we'll work on... he doesn't have to get the whole throwing thing down, yet. I've seen pros that still don't have the whole throwing thing down yet. But, if he can catch, he can be a player. A clinch hero. And maybe when he can finally sit up by himself for the first time, we can practice some grounders with a plastic ball - more his size.

I'm going to have to come up with reasons why players spit, if he asks. I'm sure he's going to pick-up the whole drool thing pretty soon. Spitting requires much more effort. I just gotta make sure that even though players do it, doesn't mean it's something that anybody and everybody should do, especially little guys just learning the ropes. It's not right. It's not polite. Like that other thing they do - the scratching.

Man, that opens-up that whole other area - the whole thing about "politeness".

Man, I'm all about that. There's that whole "please" and "thank you" thing that seems to be so underrated. I mean, if a little kid actually used those words, wouldn't you take notice? Hell, I take notice if adults say them... pretty damn rare out there... wow, and that's not even sports related...

I've got to make sure that it's not only a sports focus either. I mean, his moms are such financial & number wizards, I may have to combat the whole accounting and finance focus thing. NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Maybe that's something he could fall back on when his sports career is over, therefore solidifying a prosperous life.

Who am I kidding. His sports enthusiasm will probably be focused on golf with clients. Maybe pickup football games on the weekends. Or maybe just spectating while schmoozing clients for skyboxes. As long as there's no polyester involved and he knows an Earned Run Average from a Goals Against Average, I'm OK.

So much to think about... and he's not home from the hospital yet...