Being a "shut in" of sorts, working through the All-State processes, Top 10 polls and other assorted tasks, really has a way of putting a lot of gray in my routine. The cure, of course, is vivid color, sunshine and the scent of a baseball field. Sometimes the grass is freshly cut. Sometimes not. But I couldn't help smiling all the way from the parking lot to the bleachers at Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park yesterday afternoon.

Yes, baseball is a cure for me. The game itself, a 10-0 win by Kamehameha over Mid-Pacific, wasn't a classic. But the winning pitcher was a kid named "Burger" and despite being shellacked for the second time in one week, MPI is not in bad shape. Why not? Well, the ILH has three state berths to the Division I tourney, so the pressure to win early isn't so heavy these days.

That means the players can just play baseball without so much of the expectations and stress. In the ILH, regardless of sport, there had been so many years of gut-wrenching games early in the season because of a shortage of state berths. (None of which is anyone's fault but the league itself, as I've written endlessly before.)

Just like slowdown basketball, the league has suffered from an overweight position when it comes to winning and state berths. Not now, thank God. The level of intensity and competition are still high in an early-season game, but it's good to just enjoy baseball from a fan's perspective. I suspect it's a lot more fun now for players and coaches, too.

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