Big League Relationships

Relationships are like baseball. For a man, it's all about the big shot power game. Step in the box, dig in, and give it your best swing at the first good thing you see. Sometimes you miss, and sometimes you hit a home run. Often when missing, a man can give you a mitt full of excuses as to how if something were to be different about the pitcher, or the umpire, or the weather...that ball would have been outta here. And for a lot of men who hit that way, a million strikeouts is worth the one time they score. It isn't about the respect of the pitcher's ability that he may or may not be a qualified equal match. It's about him and his ability. Now, when the man does step up to the plate and sees the ball as if it were moving at Matrix like slow motion, he can thrust it out of the park with that sweet perfect swing. And what does he do then? Trots confidently, arguably arrogantly, around the bases in self-adoration as if to say, "Yes, this is me. I did it." Men, whether women choose to acknowledge the fact or not, validate themselves on the caliber of woman that they can "get." Be it a date, in bed, or in marriage...relationships are self-justifying. But, is anything wrong with that? Don't women want to make their men proud to be with them?

Women, on the other hand, are different. Women like to play small ball. Doing the little things, always thinking, and sometimes...over thinking. Arguably, there are times that someone with talent and capability needs to be allowed to show up to the plate and simply do their thing. But women have to have a plan. They need to know what to expect. Should I sacrifice bunt? Hit and run? Call him back now? Or in five minutes? If he doesn't call me back if I don't call him back does that mean that I did something that discouraged him from wanting to call me back? Does that mean he thinks I'm fat? I mean, where does it end! When was the last time you saw or heard a man gloating about some girl in his life? I'm sure you can think of an instance or two. Now, when was the last time you remember hearing a woman do the same thing? Not as often most likely. And each at bat, for a woman, is as important as the next one and the last one. Each one is an opportunity to keep that job with that team. You don't feel like parting ways, so you push yourself to make each opportunity productive. You may not be the one hitting the loud home runs, but that doesn't mean you're not producing.

So in essence, I guess you could say that men are the American League. Let's load up the lineup as tough as we can. Keep throwing power at you. Raw, hard power. No double-switching. No pitchers hitting...just a DH...a substitute in case you can't bring your A-game.

Women? You guessed it, the National League. Always thinking about what's next. Who will be involved when, to what extent, and for which purpose? What can I do now in the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, innings that will guarantee me playing time in the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th? Double switching, sacrifice bunting, the squeeze play??? Tricky, secretive, surprising, and yet highly effective...most of the time!

Regardless, I'm pretty sure that whether it's getting to first base, third base, or hitting that 4 run dinger, most of us can agree that once we get into extra innings...all bets are off. We have to pay a little more attention to how the other side is acting if we want to be successful, it can't be all about you.