This week finds me blogging from San Juan, where I've escaped for a quick getaway to de-stress and counter the effects of too much sun deprivation. It's early in the morning, but still a very comfortable 75 degrees; that, compared to a mere 50 in New York, and a ridiculous high of 20 in Minneapolis; relative heat waves for both locales, but clearly no match for the splash of Royal Blue Sky and swaying Palm fronds framed inside the sliding glass doors of my room's balcony. I flew down with some friends on Friday to catch the Pool D Bracket of the World Baseball Classic, and to catch up on some very much needed R&R. The Fresh Seafood, strong Mojitos and some interesting baseball have made it all very much worth my while. Led by Delgado, Beltran and Pudge Rodriguez, Puerto Rico made quick work out of the boys from Panama, and with the likes of big leaguers like Pedro, Big Papi and Miguel Tejada, the DR was the consensus favorite; but all that talent, nor the throngs of Dominican supporters, shouting and waving their Island's colors like Jamaicans at a Track and Field event was enough to hold off the improbable upset orchestrated by the team from the Netherlands. Relative unknowns outmatched at nearly every position, those Brothers had something else in mind. Yeah...I did say Brothers - surprised me too when the first five batters walked out to the plate, and even more so when the entire team came up out of the dugout to whoop and applaud themselves on a successful first inning. They had names like Jansen and Schoop, but after doing a little research, I later discovered that these Dutchmen were apparently of the 'ABC' and '3S' Island variety :)
