diamond dreams

I had the strangest dream last night. Really, I did.

I picked up the phone and it was a representative of the Seattle Mariners.

"Congratulations, Zack!"
"Um, for what?"
"Didn't you hear? We just drafted you. You lasted until the 28th round, but still..."
"I was drafted?"
"You were drafted!"
"By a baseball team?!"
"All your hard work is finally paying off!"
"What hard work? I haven't played baseball regularly since junior high!"
"Our scouts are high on your upside."
"I'm a 31-year-old insurance salesman. Seriously, there must be a mistake."
"You were on our list."
"I actually used to work with the Mariners, on your team publication. Maybe there was a mixup."
"Hmm, I'll look into it."

The next day--yup, still in the dream--I got another phone call.

"Congratulations!" It was a different voice, but a similar tone.
"What now?"
"I'm calling from the Chicago White Sox. We just made a trade with the Seattle Mariners. You were included in the trade."
So much for upside, I thought to myself: the Mariners are giving up on me already.
"I told them yesterday, this is a mistake. I don't even know if I own a baseball glove anymore."
"Well, you better buy one before Spring Training, because we expect you at the minor league camp. "

"Shit," I thought to myself, right before I woke up, "how am I going to get out of work long enough to attend a month and a half of Spring Training?"