Nothing can be greater than playing baseball for a living

Go ahead and make your snide comments and your unoriginal jokes.  They weren't funny when you were 12.

I am pulling for Jeremy Jeffress.  The title of this post (taken from a quote in this article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) is a big reason why.

The Milwaukee Brewers' 2006 first-round draft pick missed the first two months while finishing a 100-game suspension for testing positive a third time for marijuana. He then was assigned to low Class A Wisconsin, moving up to high Class A Brevard County and eventually Class AA Huntsville.

Then the big leagues.

"I'm on cloud nine right now," Jeffress said Wednesday after reporting to the Brewers as a September call-up. "It was a hope and prayer (to come up). It's a great opportunity. I couldn't even stand up when I first heard it.

"It was big steps, back on the mound, coming off the suspension. A great learning experience. I've been to the bottom and I worked my way back to the top. I thank everybody that stuck behind me."

The Brewers put Jeffress, 22, on their 40-man roster June 29, some two months before necessary. They called it a reward for good behavior coming off the suspension, but it also protected him from a lifetime ban should he test positive for marijuana again.

Jeffress knew there would be skeptics who expected him to lapse back into marijuana use.

"I've been doing great, staying clean," he said. "The temptation was there, but nothing can be greater than playing baseball for a living. This is what I love to do. The only way I can (stop speculation) is to prove them wrong."

Emphasis added.  Congratulations on your MLB debut last night, Jeremy Jeffress.  Here is to many more scoreless innings for you.