i bet his hands are soft, too

this list has changed. while i will consider re-entering mike vick into the pantheon of athletes that i wish i could be for a day after he gets out of jail, one man has now separated himself from the pack. that man? tim hudson.

i watched him as he pitched last night and stood in awe just like i stand in awe every time i watch him pitch. i shouldn't favor him as much as i do. he was an auburn tiger after all. but i have forgiven him of that sin and, since, focused on the fact that, for whatever reason, he is the major league baseball player that i stop what i am doing and watch every time he is doing what he does. i could go on for days about what it is that attracts me to him. our build is similar. our hairlines are similar. he has cool tats. i have a less cool tat. i love that it looks like it takes every ounce of his 165-pound frame to accomplish each and every pitch he throws. i love how he competes. i love that, on the nights where he doesn't have his best stuff, he still tries his damn-dest to put the braves in position to win. last night wasn't one of those nights. everything was in order. my tim doesn't have that one pitch that batters dread. his two-seamer is pretty wicked. his slider is decent. every pitch he throws sinks to some degree. he has enough in his arsenal to be unhittable at times, but you don't get the impression that teams "fear" him in the same way they do smoltz when smoltz has his shit working. and i am sure all of that plays into my adoration for tim hudson. he's more "everyman" than smoltz could ever hope to be. he doesn't come on tv on his off days and brag about playing golf with tiger woods. you are never going to see him in a tv booth after he hangs up the spikes. when hudson finishes pitching, that'll be the end of it. he'll come back and throw out a first pitch or he might sign some memorabilia when he runs out of money, but hudson will always be defined as a player and a player only. don't get me wrong. i love that smoltz is a brave. i just wouldn't want to carry his jock-strap around. tim, on the other hand...

the braves are already destroying me. the "vaunted" line-up everyone was pimping in the spring can't hit shit on the road yet. chipper started limping around last night. hampton IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS!!! finally earning the closer's role after picking up bob wickman's cheeseburger wrappers last year, soriano's already hurt. for a team that has a lot of pieces back from a pretty good year last season, something just feels off. and yes, i know it's early. i look at the standings and if the braves win today they will have the same record after 11 games as the eventual world series champions do. but, in spite of what "the experts" might tell you, games in april freaking count!!! the only brave that seems to realize this? you guessed it. tim.

tim knows how fickle i am. he knows that i will turn on him like one of his hanging sliders if he starts to suck it up. but it will always be tough love even if it is conditional love. whatever venom i spew in his direction will only be because i want the best for him. because i know he is better than most. because if the braves have any shot to win the east or make the playoffs, he has to win twenty games. and most likely contend for the cy young. no pressure, right?

i love you, tim hudson. i'll write again soon.