All posts tagged: Baseball

Church of Baseball – Part Two

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The River Styx and one chance in 278 million.  Baseball writers are amazing, but they go to a whole ‘nother level when you have nights like last evening. The baseball gods must have loved my last post, because we were all rewarded with the most improbable and dramatic final day of the season.  It was so incredible even Bud Selig couldn’t screw it up.  Three of the four games critical to the wild card races in each league were on our local cable system – conveniently located on channels 41, 42, and 43.  The only one we couldn’t watch was the least dramatic:  the Cards drubbing of the Astros.  But for five delicious hours, Candice and I sat by the television, switching between games almost on a pitch-by-pitch basis in the last two hours, to watch the monumental collapse of not one, but two proud franchises (Boston and Atlanta), and the incredible comeback of the Tampa Bay Rays from too many near-death experiences to count. Baseball writers will opine about this evening for some time …

The Church of Baseball

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“I believe in the Church of Baseball.” So begins Annie Savoy’s opening monologue in the movie Bull Durham.  And after going through all the religions she has tried, comparing baseball to sex, and talking about bad trades (“Who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas for God’s sake”) she ends up with: It’s a long season and you gotta trust. I’ve tried ’em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball. Today I needed the Church of Baseball, and it didn’t fail me.  Oh, I did get up and go to the 8 a.m. service at my other church…especially since we were meeting our new rector after an interminable period of transition.  But I’ll freely admit that I went to the cathedral at Nationals Park today to feed the soul. The Nationals have been on a tear.  Heading in to the home finale, they had won 11 of 14, including sweeps on the road of the Mets and the Phillies.  Tom …

What’s wrong with sports

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Sports Illustrated had an online article this Friday that in one sentence encapsulates what’s wrong with the modern sports-entertainment complex. In writing that “It’s time to get rid of Wrigley,” Richard Rothschild quotes a Chicago Sun-Times columnist who says the following: “There’s still rust, the concourses still resemble dark alleys and people still have to elbow their way to their seats. … It’s a great park when you look at the field from your seat. It’s not so great on the way to and from your seat.” Isn’t the purpose of the ballpark to look at the field from your seat!?  Can I tell you how many BAD ballparks I’ve sat in where the view of the field was lousy; but hey, we have an arcade to distract the kids (they shouldn’t have to suffer and watch an entire game!), we offer a wide variety of sushi, and we have television screens in the bathrooms and team stores so you don’t really have to go sit in your seat. Jeez! Wrigley Field doesn’t need to …

Got Plans for the Summer?

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My colleague Sarah has a great blog that – like More to Come… – covers her range of interests outside of work.  So I was thrilled when I saw her recent post on top ten things to do this summer at the top of the “best blogs” on Word Press earlier today. Sarah took the idea from The Daily Post.  Her plans looked like such fun that I decided to try my hand at making a list that had an equal smile-inducing factor.  You can be the judge in determining if the DJB list for the summer of 2011 passes the test. 1.  Play more music with friends.  I’ve found a group of guys that I enjoy playing roots music with, but we tend to let it slide over the summer.  I get such joy out of playing with them that I’m going to work on getting everyone together between songwriting and guitar camps.  (Yes, these guys are good!) 2.  Summer in New England.  I’m cheating on this on as I was just in Portland, …

Play Ball!

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My iPod is a genius.  It always knows my moods. Today, as I was unlocking my office door and finishing up the commute to work, what do you think came on the iPod (in shuffle mode, of course)?  Why, none other than Wayne Henderson playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Opening Day!  What could be more perfect!! Wayne is a die-hard Red Sox fan, and I’ve included a photo I took of him at Merlefest a couple of years ago to prove it.  If you don’t know about Wayne, check out the book Clapton’s Guitar. I’ve also attached the video of Wayne playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame for all those fans supporting teams today where hope springs eternal.  Go Nats! Enjoy. More to come… DJB

Sign Adam Dunn

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I returned home last evening from the last “Back to School” night of my parenting career in time to catch the last half of a swiftly and beautifully played game between the Philadelphia Phillies, Champions of the National League East, and our home-standing Washington Nationals. There was great pitching between Roy Oswalt and Jason Marquis.  Rookie Danny Espinosa showed once again why he’s becoming a regular in the web gems highlights with a great pick and throw at second base. But the best was saved for last.  On a night when fans received a “Mr. Walk Off” T-Shirt with Ryan Zimmerman’s name down the arm (it was long-sleeved), Adam Dunn did the honors, with a blast as the first batter in the bottom of the ninth to break a 1-1 tie and send everybody home happy. Please tell me why it has taken the Nationals so long to figure out that Adam Dunn can be a great part of their future for the next 3 or more years?  He’s only second in home runs, has …

The Gospel Truth

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I love books that force you to turn page after page because you want to see what comes next. Dirk Hayhurst’s The Bullpen Gospels, which was released this spring, is that type of book. Claire has to read a memoir for school this summer.  I’ve thought about recommending this book…and then I remember the foul language, the sophomoric pranks, and the detailed descriptions of every body part – male and female – known to man.  But seriously, she could do a lot worse than The Bullpen Gospels. Hayhurst is a relief pitcher who has played in the Padres and Blue Jays organizations.  On its face, The Bullpen Gospels is his recounting of the 2007 minor league season, where he played in Single-A and Double-AA ball.  You will laugh your ass off at the antics of ballplayers working to get to The Show.  (Sorry, it is hard to get the language of minor league players out of your mind after reading The Bullpen Gospels.)  Riding home on the train last evening, I laughed out loud twice …

Ouch!

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I usually love to listen to baseball on the radio. Tonight was not usual. On the drive home from BWI Airport following a quick trip to Nashville, I tuned in to the 7th inning of the Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves game.  According to the announcers, the first six innings were well-played and scoreless. The seventh was neither (well-played nor scoreless). For all the T-ball aged readers of More to Come… here are things you’ll learn when you make it to Little League.  (Apparently the Nats skipped that level of baseball development.) First, when the #6 hitter has a lead-off double and you are the #7 hitter, you do not sacrifice bunt.  By bunting you put all the pressure on the #8 hitter because the pitcher bats in the #9 hole.  Of course, for the Nats tonight the #7 hitter bunts for a sacrifice in that situation, then the #8 hitter makes an out (a likely occurence for all #8 hitters – there’s a reason they are there) and all of a sudden the pitcher – who is throwing …

Playing Favorites

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I picked up Top of the Order:  25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Player during the Politics & Prose sale a couple of weeks ago.  Only a handful of the writers were familiar and the inclusion of Michael Jordan (yes, that MJ) and the fictional Crash Davis in the list of favorites indicated this anthology was going to take a different tack from the typical list of baseball’s greatest hits. Top of the Order is, at best, uneven.  I couldn’t wait to get through some of the self-indulgent essays (see Pat Jordan on Tom Seaver) which were more about the author than I cared to read.  At their best, some of the essays captured the special nature of fandom (see the obsessive Darin Strauss on Mariano Rivera) where you didn’t mind the intrusion of the writer.  Steve Almond leads off with a strong piece on Rickey Henderson that hooks the reader into this quirky collection.  Neal Pollack writes a terrific essay on Greg Maddux that demonstrates how dominant Mad Dog was through so many years …

An Act of Human Failing Followed by Colossal Grace

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The June 4, 2010 posting from Baseball Musings entitled An Umpire’s Perspective led to an article on umpire-turned-poet Herm Card. The full article is worth reading, but the ending is simply sublime: We live in a time, Card said, in which people want instant replays, “do-agains,” the quick fix. But baseball has never lent itself to painless answers. “You’ve got to step back,” Card said, “and appreciate the larger sense of what this was.” It was an act of human failing followed by colossal grace, which Card sees as proof enough of a perfect game. Perfect indeed. More to come… DJB