I Hate You West Coast

Back in the day, I could stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning every single day and not have it faze me one bit. The reasoning was pretty simple: I had very little responsibility.

In high school, I would stay up ridiculously late on school nights either watching West Coast baseball and/or basketball games, or playing Madden or NBA Live while listening to CDs (remember those?) on my headphones into the wee hours of the a.m. The next day I'd be complete shit at school, my eyes so relaxed and droopy to the point people assumed I was showing up to class stoned, but it didn't matter. I could nap in class, nap when I got home and do it all over again.

During college, I could sleep as late as I wanted, either skipping class or scheduling them as late as possible, so 3, 4, 5 a.m. bed time was the norm for drinking, fucking around or playing Madden/MLB/NBA Live for hours on end. And even after I graduated, I went into the wild world of covering community sports, meaning I could still sleep in until noon or later, covering games and practices after the school day was through.

That meant staying up to watch the Phillies on their West Coast swings was never an issue (well, except for the fact we didn't get Comcast when I went to Penn State, which is bullshit). But then a few years ago, I sold out to the man and began working a regular 9-5 job, and let me tell you something, that shit blows. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that I now have my weekends and nights free like the majority of my friends, a luxury I did not have during my sportswriting days (which is a major reason, along with pay, why I transitioned to my current job), but I am not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. I like to sleep in. I like to stay up late. But man, both of those things are so much harder nowadays. While I still routinely don't fall asleep before midnight most nights, it's a struggle to keep my eyes open too much later than 1 a.m. If I do, the next day sucks so incredibly hard.

Then there is the fact that since I do still stay awake pretty damn late most of the time, there inevitably comes a day every now and then when my body completely shuts down and demands I go to bed early. On those days, it's guaranteed I'm out cold by 11 at the latest, sometimes as early as 9, and even on some occasions, I'll go to sleep right when I get home from work, wake up at some time between 10 p.m. and midnight, piss and go back to sleep until it's time to wake up for work again. Yesterday was one of those days.

I tried to fight it as long as I could so I could watch the awesomeness that is Cliff Lee face off against Ted Lilly and the embarrassing Dodgers, and for a moment I thought I might make it. But after the Phils' first at-bat, I was done. I missed all but that first half inning of the game, meaning I missed Cliff Lee pitch 8 innings of four-hit, 10-strikeout, shutout ball, while also hitting his second career home run, which just so happened to turn out as the game-winning run in the Phils' 2-1 victory.



So fuck you, West Coast. Why can't you just run on East Coast time to accommodate my needs? There should never, ever be an instance where I miss Cliff Lee throw a gem, get the win and hit the game-winning home run. But I did, all because of stupid work and the stupid West Coast.

I hate the work and I hate the West Coast so very much.

You know who I don't hate though? Cliff Lee. That guy is good, just like this team.