Michael Diton-Edwards
August 4, 2026
Hello dear readers…it has been a bit since I troubled your attention, and while I apologize (notice, Boston Paul, I didn’t say whilst…I try not to when writing articles anymore, lol) for the long absence, I do have to defend it with the fact that life has to indeed come first. I mean, I did change jobs – I left a job I thought would indeed my last before accepting Social Security and succumbing to a life of toothless oatmeal breakfasts, Amazon deliveries of XL Depends every Thursdays with a prayer the driver didn’t drop them on the neighbor’s porch, and having to cancel my pay subscription to the OF of that fake Jenifer Anniston girl that at least gave me hope that she REALLY did want me to be her friend and supporter and mate (it was quite expensive, so…) – and it has been stressful to reintegrate myself into a management job I had done 2+ years ago but due to my addled brain, I feel as if I am trying to learn French for the first time in 4th grade. So for the meantime I am still on OF with the fake Jennifer, please don’t judge me – you have your addiction and dreams, I don’t judge you – and am trying my best to find my footing at a great opportunity to make enough money to pay the mortgage and the balance of my wife’s 2 1⁄2 week’s cross country trek across America in a rented RV on Route 66 (seriously…she did that with two other friends for life, it is a really crazy adventure that you can only envision as Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, to be honest).
If you waded through all of that and are still with me, you are either my beloved daughter (love you, Aly Kate) or are waiting for some sliver of semblance of something to do with sports for this post…right? Well, I do have one…and it will tie in if you will reach the end (not as valuable as the plastic ring you found at the bottom of the Post cereal box from your childhood, but my budget is less than a Marketing Department for the lettuce supplier to your local Taco Bell) of this article…pinky swear 🙂
So here is the sports part of this article (thank you for wading through the above like you were trying to get through a flooded Detroit avenue to the local corner bar before closing time on a paycheck Friday) – Pride. No…not ego…no…not rainbow flags and equality and letting us all learn to live together…no, not the group of fans that will ABSOLUTELY celebrate the Detroit Lions winning SB 61, LFG!!!!!!!!!!!). No. We are talking about the type of itch you have as a person that drives you…the type of drive that motivates you to wake up in the morning, realize the day ahead and what you are facing, and still giving you fuel to put your feet out of the bed and onto the floor and to give your best to SS&S and do what you HAVE to do!!! It is people – it is me, it is us, and it is YOU, that is motivated to do what you HAVE to do to live…to survive…to enjoy life, the life you have…I celebrate y’all…but here is a prediction you don’t just do all of that to just be neutral…you don’t just do all of that to just sustain…human beings have inspiration, no? I mean, don’t we all, aside from animalistic instincts to just SURVIVE have some kind of DRIVE to be better? Heck, to do BETTER???
I think so.
I hope so.
If not, we are just minions and might as well be robots in the realm of some mad puppeteers world…but, alas, friend, you are not a robot…you are not a puppet…you are not a cog in some freaking machine that just grinds you to dust until we all have to accept that ultimate fate of eating applesauce through a paper straw, depending on what state you live in.
We have a choice.
Everyday.
We can change our course. We can.
You don’t have to wet yourself in a diaper. You don’t have to just trudge into work like a defeated troll that is sick of her environs.
YOU – yes, YOU, my dear reader, you ALWAYS have a choice, and here is the tie into sports I have that brings this article together…it is one name…
Mike Trout.
Period.
One of the greatest baseball players EVER is Mike Trout…if you are less than 60 years old, you have never seen more than a handful of players greater than Trout. If you are older than that, you have to acknowledge his role in the modern game… PERIOD. Trout is the type of player that could have been on par with Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, or Henry Aaron…no question!!! Alas, he is playing now, and whilst (omg, sorry BPaul, that was the right word, sorry) we have him in this era, I have to call him out regardless of his greatness – WE should be screaming and calling him out regardless of his career…
Mike Trout had a no trade clause when the 2026 trading frenzy took place in the MLB season. There is no doubt he was cherished by the Philadelphia Phillies. There should be ZERO doubt that the Phillies tried to bring the hometown legend to their team in an attempt to push them over the top to win a World Series in 2026. Do I know that as fact???? I do not, but if I had to bet the Phillies trying vs. my guaranteed date with Ms. Aniston, I would have to (and this is a HUGE wager, my friends), I would bet on the Phillies making a run at Trout.
Guess what????
Trout blocked the trade.
I could spend another 8,469 words talking about it, but fact is, if the Phillies tried, Trout blocked
it.
Friends…if you ever get a chance to better yourself, I hope you take it. I left a job I LOVED for my new one…it was an amazing opportunity I couldn’t pass up because it was better for me and my situation.
I don’t know Trout’s situation, but I do know this – he isn’t going to ever win a WS with his current team. By blocking a move to a team he could have made the difference for and give them a chance to hoist a trophy, he made a decision. He chose comfort over opportunity. Trout, for reasons unbeknownst to me, chose to get out of bed and just trudge through the day in front of him, rather than waking up with hope and dreams and excitement and joy and acceptance of the challenge in front of him to GET BETTER and to DO MORE!!!!!!!!!!
Please don’t be Trout…if you are given the opportunity to strive, embrace it, friend. If you are still awaiting that call, keep your head up and your feet on that ground as you move forward to your best situation. It is ahead. Just don’t lie in bed and soil the Depends…you are better than that 🙂
Peace 🙂 mditon.edwards@gmail.com is my email…I invite discussion and debate, but ALWAYS value your support and dialogue 🙂 Please continue to support my platform at South Florida Tribune, https://southfloridatribune.com/category/scott/michael-edwards/, and thank you in advance for sharing with others 🙂
