Monthly Archives: April 2015

Baltimore Follies Forgiven ….. For Now

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

An Empty Oriole Stadium

It took a Seamheads.Com post by Terry Keshner this morning to get me back in the saddle. I really miss posting, but have a lot on my plate for at least another week and my favorite thing to do has had to take a backseat.

Seamheads is a great baseball site, one of my favorites, so I sat up and took notice when the Baltimore Orioles/Chicago White Sox games took center stage when the games were closed to the fans these past few days. “It had to be that way” the article said.

“It had to be that way”? When the Europeans closed their stadiums it was directly related to the players and the fans. They were getting killed on game day at those stadiums.

This didn’t have to be that way. What did the attempt of some high school kids and community organizers trying to usurp the authority of legally empowered law enforcement officers have to do with closing the stadium? Does the system need to be overhauled? Probably. But by closing the stadium they denied workers, vendors, and fans their legal rights so now you don’t just have the kids and their enablers affected you’re also affecting 40,000 individuals who had nothing to do with the mess.

Maybe the regular security measures that accompany most stadiums on game day, along with National Guardsmen strategically placed around the stadium, inside and out, might have been a better alternative. Just one suggestion. And I’m sure there are many others that are better than the decision to close the stadium on game day.

But this is something we’ve not had to deal with in our country before and hopefully it will be the last, but don’t count on it. The times-they-are-a-changing folks and now’s the time to get our smarts in order so that decisions for better strategies can be made in the future.

In my humble opinion, of course.

OPENING DAY and THE REASON FOR RAINBOWS

Posted on April 5, 2015 | 2 comments

One of my clients last week casually mentioned about opening day being so special this year because of the new kids, the rookies. Such an abundant resource the team has never seen, he said. I think he’s probably right.

But you could probably say that about any team, in any year, on opening day. I love the rookies. I love that first hit, that first home run, that first steal, that first great defensive play ….. whenever, wherever it might happen. Joe Panik comes to mind for the Giants last season.

And it also brought to mind one of my favorite poems. I wrote the author a few years ago and asked for permission to reprint his poem in my book “Garlic Fries and Baseball“. I received his permission with a most wonderful and supportive letter. It’s about a kid, and about the person who takes the time to teach that kid about baseball. I love this poem.

The Reason for Rainbows
A Song to Baseball by J. Patrick Lewis

Published: Baseball Almanac

There was an Old Man of Late Summer
Met a Winter Boy out of the blue,
And he whisked him away
From the city one day
Just to show him what country boys do.He taught him three whys of a rooster,
And he showed him two hows of a hen.
Then he’d try to bewitch him
With curve balls he’d pitch him
Again and again and again.He taught him the reason for rainbows,
And he showed him why lightning was king,
Then he fingered the last ball—
A wicked hop fastball—
He threw to the plate on a string.

Oh, the Old Summer Man and the Young Winter Lad
Spent the light of each day—every moment they had—
In the wind and the rain, or the late summer sun,
Where he taught him to pitch and he taught him to run
In the wind and rain and the late summer sun.

But when that Old Man of Late Summer
Met the Winter Boy out of the blue,
He said to him, “Son,
You can pitch, you can run,
But to hit here is what you must do:Just pretend that the stick on your shoulder
Is as wide as a bald eagle’s wing.
You’re a bird on a wire
And your hands are on fire—
But you’re never too eager to swing.Stand as still as a rabbit in danger,
Watch the pitch with the eyes of a cat.
What will fly past the mound—
Unforgettable sound—
Is the ball as it cracks off the bat.

J. Patrick Lewis

2 Comments

Posted in A1 Baseball

Tagged A Song to Baseball, Baseball Almanac, J. Patrick Lewis, opening day, Reason for Rainbows

Ballpark Food Everywhere …. This time from Calcaterra!

Posted on April 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

April 2nd and it’s still all about the food folks. These morsels can be found at U. S. Cellular field, Home of the Chicago White Sox. Hang in there. Only a few more days. But in the meantime just looking at these little mouthwatering tasties can’t hurt and they give us something else to look forward to!