A Baseball Poem

 

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball.  I’ll tell you what I do. 

I stare out the window and wait for spring.”  –  Rogers Hornsby 

From a Fan

Ah, pitchers and catchers are throwing today.

That always means Spring is not far away.

Everyone’s watching and waiting to see

If the Phillies can win one for Doc and Cliff Lee!

 

For now, though, we all must be sated with practice

After making the trek to Leagues, Grapefruit and Cactus.

We watch pitchers line up and, as is oft the case,

Sharpen their skills to best cover first base.

 

If it weren’t February, Oh! These drills would be dreary,

But a “Welcome Back” always makes some eyes get teary.

So we watch and we pay, and we love and we cheer,

Asking, “Who will be Jose Bautista this year?”

 

So, let’s question each manager’s every decision

But forget all the discourse and crazy revisions.

For, if pitcher AND hitter, at the time of their meeting

Were both in the wrong, then exactly who’s cheating???

 

Let’s be happy, meanwhile, there’s no labour strife,

And the summer before us is breathing new life.

Let us watch as a team out of nowhere shocks all

And plays meaningful games as the leaves start to fall.

 

Will it be the Royals? The Cubbies? The Jays?

The Brewers or Tigers? The White Sox or A’s?

We’ll watch and ask questions of Pujols and the Cards

And, “Will Mark Reynolds ever stop swinging so hard?”

 

And, we’ll love every minute; live and die with each game,

Know all of the players by first and last name.

We’ll watch and we’ll pray, and we’ll argue with friends,

All knowing that, too soon, it comes to an end.

 

 

 

 

Predictions?? Leave It To The Kids

     There are only mere hours until Spring Training begins, and that means the pundits will soon start predicting how the MLB season will unfold.  Of course, we all know that completely unpredictable things will happen between now and October (or November) and 2011 will be memorable for reasons no one can envision now.  An out-of-nowhere pitcher will throw a gem some random day in June and players undrafted in your fantasy league will be All Stars.  Heck, two teams from the West may even play for the World Series!?!  Who predicted that???

I know of only one person, and here’s the story:

     My daughter is 5 and has never followed any sport.  Last Ocotber, in an attempt to watch less Family Channel, I encouraged her to pick some favorite teams for the baseball playoffs.  I pushed her choices towards the Yankees and the Phillies because I didn’t want her to be disappointed and I was certain (after hours of research) that both those teams would cruise through their leagues.  Instead, in her infinite innocence (and wisdom) my 5 year-old chose Texas and San Francisco.  When asked why, she said that Texas had the highest Ferris Wheel in the USA (she loves Ferris Wheels) and also she thought “Giants” would do well in any sport.  We all know how well her predictions turned out!!!

     That`s a good reason for me to never make prognostications in public…I suspect it`s also why casinos don`t let kids in.