Today saw a near-perfect opening day for the Nats and their fans. Strasburg pitches seven strong innings and gets the win. Harper homers. Adam Lind – in his first swing as a Nat – pinch-hits the game-winning two-run homer. Blake Treinen gets a 3 up, 3 down ninth for his first save as the new closer. Andrew and I had good seats along the third base line and enjoyed a cloudy but mild spring afternoon. A beer. Some brisket. A win. What could be better? More to come… DJB
Today is opening day for the Washington Nationals. If the president really wanted to make America great again, he would declare opening day of the baseball season a national holiday. It could be a celebration of optimism and new beginnings. I find that a clear-eyed optimism is an important element for a balanced outlook on life. While former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson spoke for one approach when he said, “I’m an optimist, but an optimist who carries an umbrella,” one of his predecessors as prime minister – Winston Churchill – probably did a better job of hitting the nail on the head. Churchill, who governed during some of the darkest days of civilization, said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Circling back to baseball, fans for every team in America are optimistic (clear-eyed and otherwise) on opening day. They know that in years past teams have gone from “worst to first” in one year (see Atlanta Braves, 1991), so it could happen again. Heck, even …
I thought I would just be upfront about it, and title this post accurately. No alternative facts here, folks – just truth in advertising! Ever since Super Bowl 48, when I famously (at least in my mind) declared it to be my last, I’ve gone back and explained why it is time to give up on the NFL. Surprisingly, they still play the thing, and here we are at Super Bowl 51. (Reason #10 I gave up on the NFL was those stupid Roman numerals.) So, here we are on Super Bowl Saturday, and I’ll just give you a few more reasons you may want to go to your local theatre and watch Hidden Figures – my early front-runner for Best Picture of the Year. (And since I gave you ten perfectly good reasons back in 2014, I’ll begin with reason #11.) 11. It’s the damn Patriots. Again. Is there anyone more insufferable in sports than Bill Belichick/Tom Brady? (Wait, I’ll answer that. Maybe Coach K. But that’s another post. And I know that Belichick …
John Schuerholz was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. (For those who don’t care about baseball, stick with me…this really isn’t about baseball.) Schuerholz, as general manager (GM) of both the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves, took both teams to World Series titles. GMs are the puzzle-masters of baseball, hiring the talent both on and off the field while negotiating with the owner to build a successful franchise. Schuerholz began his career as a high school grammar, composition, and geography teacher. It was there – according to writer Joe Posnanski – that Schuerholz learned the importance of clarity. “This was the great gift of John Schuerholz, the commanding instinct that helped make him one of the most successful general managers in baseball history. He sought clarity. He demanded clarity.” Posnanski notes that great teachers seek clarity. “There is the well-reasoned answer and the chaotic flood of words meant to obscure the fact that the student didn’t do the work.” Last week I wrote about the wandering mind while today I’m …
2016 was our year for time in Italy and my last visit with Daddy.
I’m sitting in the bar of Michael Jordan’s SteakHouse (in our Historic Hotel of America, the Intercontinental) watching Chicago vs. the LA Dodgers with dozens of passionate Cubs fans. Stores and offices throughout the cities are hanging the iconic “W” flag in their windows. Hell, even the University Club has a decorated bear in Cubs attire. I am texting with my Dodger daughter Claire in Southern California. Life is good. Except…this isn’t my normal life. I want to live in a real sports town. After spending portions of my life in Atlanta and Washington (neither of which is a real sports town), I am tired of the wimpy sports culture that comes from people who think that policy debates tell you more about life than arguments over baseball. I’ve been in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Philly in the past two weeks. All great sports towns. Cleveland – another passionate sports town – is in the World Series and has suddenly become the city of champions. D.C. needs some of that passion. But people leave …
You may have heard that my team – the Washington Nationals – lost last Friday, a loss which ended their season. You may be surprised to know that while disappointed, I can live with that outcome. After 50+ years of watching sports, I find that low expectations are the key to happiness. In my mind, baseball – with its timeless, cyclical rhythms and its “symbolic and literal journey ‘home’” – contains values and appeal that overshadow mere winning and losing and match the values and appeal we espouse in discussing why old places matter. What touches many in both fields is a sense of the familiar, the building upon the past while adding new meaning today, and a reality that recognizes difficult as well as celebratory history. A. Bartlett Giamatti – PhD professor in comparative literature, president of Yale University, commissioner of baseball, and a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox until his untimely death in 1989 – understood both accomplishment and loss. In A Great and Glorious Game, Giamatti said of baseball, “It …
Sigh. I came into this season and this series with the same low expectations. So 2016 wasn’t as gut-wrenching as 2012. And since Dusty didn’t make any obvious mistakes (expect for keeping Danny in the lineup), it wasn’t as infuriating as 2014 (when Matt went brain dead). Still, the Nats should have won this series. Even with season-ending injuries to Stras and Ramos. Even playing a shortstop in center field. Even with Bryce having the worst follow-up season of any MVP in history. They still had this series won…until they didn’t. At critical times – and especially in the last three innings last evening – their big guns didn’t come through. They didn’t score enough runs to give Max any cushion on a night he was pitching well. They didn’t… Oh, well. Baseball is meant to break your heart. More to come… DJB
I’m live blogging game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and (Claire’s) Los Angeles Dodgers. 8:29 p.m. – And Murphy works a walk. And we have yet another pitching change. We’re now 3 hours in and only in the 7th. Playoff baseball takes soooo…. long. 8:33 p.m. – Harold gets it wrong…again. Just after saying that Murphy won’t run, he does. Bummer though – Murphy is thrown out. And no, Tom, the aggressiveness didn’t blow up on Dusty. It just didn’t work out this time. 8:39 p.m. – “Official payment partner” of the NFL. What the devil is a “payment partner?” I guess for Visa, it sounds better than “blood sucking, high hidden interest rate, debt machine.” 8:42 p.m. – Jayson still has a little bit of speed. Great catch! And we’re on to the bottom of the 8th. Let’s get a couple of runs, Nats! 8:50 p.m. – No one is complaining about the Dodger closer coming in during the 8th inning to get 5 outs, but in typical …
I’m live blogging game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and (Claire’s) Los Angeles Dodgers. My God…are we really going to have to look at Donald Trump ads throughout this series? Yes, Hillary is coming after your guns! Spare me. Bottom of the 3rd. 6:38 p.m. – BRYCE! Double! Good start for Harper. 6:42 p.m. – Werth grinds out a walk. Kershaw over 50 pitches with one out in the 3rd. If you can’t beat him, wear him out. Nice double steal. Gets two R.I.S.P. 6:49 p.m. – ANTHONY! N-A-T-S, Nats, Nats, Nats, Woo! X2. That man can hit. 4-2 Dodgers and Kershaw is up to 60 pitches in the 3rd. Get in that bullpen. 6:51 p.m. – Zimmerman is 2-2! Keep the line moving. 6:55 p.m. – And I have the same question I had at 6:14 p.m…why is Espinosa still playing? The guy is the ultimate rally killer. Seldom makes contact. Jeez. 7:00 p.m. – I want to say that I’ve always loved Dusty. No matter what happens …
MORE TO COME... 