Baseball (the talkin' sport)

[mstar1]

No doubt about Jeter and Mariano

I was just considering---in the same way that I might consider Varitek number to be retired at Fenway--Captain of 2 World Champions after an 86 year drought---I'd do it--but I have had these conversations and i doubt that it will ever happen.

Any way ---enjoy thjis moment the come to briefly in this short life

This is a an article by Leigh Montville that near perfectly captured the '04 moment for me--I hope you take the time to feel similarly in wahtever way that it may express itself for you:

Oct. 27, 2004 Boston

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I learned how to fly a few minutes before midnight on Oct. 27, 2004. I always thought I could fly, watching those seagulls gracefully drop out of the sky to spear yet another French fry from the MDC trash cans across from Kelly's Roast Beef in Revere, but I never had given it a shot. The Boston Red Sox gave me strength.

"If the Red Sox can win the World Series," I said, stepping from the house just moments after reliever Keith Foulke fielded a ground ball and flipped it to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out and the 4-0 sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, "then I surely can fly."

I flapped my arms as fast I could, jumped into the air and was off. Simple as that. I soon was soaring across Boston Harbor and then downtown and then directly over the celebrating crowds in Kenmore Square. I buzzed a couple of Northeastern University kids climbing a lamppost, startled a TPF trooper into dropping his truncheon, took a hard left at the Prudential Building, and glided back home.

"I can fly!" I exclaimed to my cocker spaniel, Slugger, the only one still awake in the house.

"Sacre bleu!" he replied.

I always thought Slugger could talk. He would stare at me with those brown eyes and that little panting sound and I knew conversation was possible. Now he could. In French. And I could understand him. I always thought I could understand French, three years in high school, just wishing the people would slow down when they talked, and now I had no problem.

"Tres bien, beau chien," I said.

I slept my best sleep in ages -- a delightful dream in the middle involving New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, chained to a post in the lowest circle of hell -- and made breakfast for the family in the morning. I always knew I could make perfect Eggs Benedict. I sang while I served, exactly like Frank Sinatra. I moved exactly like Fred Astaire. I always knew I could tap dance.

I felt an energy I hadn't felt in years. I felt as strong as David Ortiz. I felt as fast as Dave Roberts, as happy as Manny Ramirez, as focused as Curt Schilling, as solid as Jason Varitek, as smart as Theo Epstein. I whistled "Sweet Caroline" (uh-uh-ohh), typed out a 500-page novel that I always knew I had inside me, took care of some plumbing and electrical work around the house that I always knew I could do if I just tried, yodeled goodbye (I always knew I could yodel) and hit the streets.

What next? I ran from Hopkinton to Boston, just for the heck of it. I walked on my hands. I juggled a Ted Williams baseball card, a copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia and an apple. Didn't drop a one. I swam with the L Street Brownies. I dunked a basketball. Backward. After jumping over a Toyota. I drove the length of Massachusetts Avenue and all the lights were green. Every one of them.

I found a parking space. I found an honest politician. I tried broccoli and liked it. Every now and then a picture would pop into my head. Ortiz, clapping his hands, grabbing the bat, swinging as hard as he could, the baseball flying into the night. Schilling, the dollop of blood on his white sock. Derek Jeter looking befuddled. Every office I called, a real person answered the phone. I signed to appear in a feature film. (Leading man.) I was computer literate. I baked a cake. I changed my own oil. Fast as a cat, I multiplied large numbers in my head.

All items were on sale everywhere. All stocks were up. The pictures just kept coming. All those people that the Fox network showed biting their nails, crossing their fingers and their toes during the first three games against the Yankees. Where were they now? What were they doing? Derek Lowe on the mound. Talking to himself. Mark Bellhorn. Saying nothing. I played the piano, discovered I had a strong left hand. Went to the post office and found no lines. Roller bladed. Rode a motorcycle. Never fell down. I always knew I could that. I booked a trip to the Dominican Republic. I joined a gym, started a diet, bought a new suit of clothes. Something funky.

The Charles River -- it appeared to me, at least -- had been turned into buttermilk. The John Hancock building now was made out of chocolate. The strings on the Zakim Bridge played a melody when the wind hit them just right. The hospitals all were empty. The churches all were full. A heart seemed to beat in the middle of Fenway Park, right under the mound.

I always had wondered what it would be like when the Red Sox won the Series. I suppose everyone under the age of 86 in New England had wondered. The Red Sox story had gone along for so many years with its annual disappointments that the pain had become an almost masochistic delight. Sort of like record snowstorms in winter. Sort of like the daily bad cup of coffee from the company cafeteria. Sort of like a mole on the tip of your nose. Endurance and acceptance had become virtues. Life had to be lived within limitations.

What would it be like without those limitations?

I suppose I'm not much different from anyone else around here. I thought about departed friends and long-ago moments. I heard from people I hadn't heard from in years. I told my wife I loved her. I told my kids I loved them. I drank a little champagne. I flew through the air. I talked to my dog in French and he talked back. I smiled a lot.

I say so far so good.

[hiway29]

The best story of the night is Joe Girardi, driving home at 2:30 am after celebrating, stopping to aid a woman who just crashed her car, on what the papers call a very dangerous section of the highway. He gets out of his car, stays with the woman, while flagging down a cop. A person's character has much to do with what you do when no one is watching, and my estimation of Joe Girardi just went way up.

[mstar1]

Great story

I have said on here a lot over the years that winning is good for a city--It is-it helps bring out the best in people. People smile more ,laugh more, are a little happier,a little kinder , more helpful, more neighborly, just a step more upbeat.

If I were a social researcher i'd do a study on it because I know that it exists.

I'd like to see every place get the opportunity to experience the feel of it at least once

Good for Joe---Im sure there are all sorts of wonderful things happening in the big city and throughout Yankeedom right now that we wont hear of--long lost families reconnecting, strangers helping strangers, and alot of spontaneous high fiving and fistbumping in the subways and offices of NY

Edited November 6, 2009 by mstar1

[mstar1]

To illustrate my point I just found THIS ARTICLE

And lastly, a reminder that baseball does erase boundaries. The guy I'm taking a photo of, who's taking a photo of me - we get along perfectly at the ballpark - less so during our day jobs."

Keith Olbermann's photo of Sean Hannity

In baseball its a whole new world

[hiway29]

I'm moping over a missed opportunity. I'm tied up all day yesterday, turn on the car radio, where they're promoting an event at Angels Stadium. Bring in a toy, and you get 5 swings at home plate. 2 toys gets you 10 swings. If I had known, I'd have been there just to experience batting in a major league stadium. I doubt I could reach the rocks in center field though. I've yet to figure out the thinking behind that.

[mstar1]

Dang I'd give em a hundred toys then forage through every thrift shop and pawn shop for more given that opportunity.

I suppose I'd be lucky to hit aline drive as far as second these days..but it would still be a thrill to get in the box.

Thats a great promotion--they did something like that at Fenway a few years back to raise money for the RS Foundation except it cost about $1200.00- It was 1 at bat, you got a jersey with your name on it, a photo, your n ame and pic on the big telescreen, It was a little steep for me....

Sorry you missed it

Im in Houston at the moment and got to driveby Minute Maid Park yetserday which looks impressive

[mstar1]

Im away for the holidays this year (Im in Mississippi)and have had the pleasure of watching the MLB channel wich I dont get at home.

I hope y'all are watching its been a real treat.

Maybe everyone else gets it all the time but yesterday was great having the entire Ken Burns PBS baseball series as a backdrop to Christmas.

Today is an amazing mass of great games...So fra Larsens perfect game, now its the 65 World Series (firts one that I remmber watching btw) .

Two

Two great pitching performances by Drysdale and Koufax--in black and white with Vin Scully announcing-- which took me right back in time....great stuff!

Merry Christmas baseball fans

[hiway29]

I watched the '65 series today, too. What a parade of great players, with Vin announcing !

Why does it all not seem as magical these days-except for Vin-who's still going strong.

[mstar1]

I dunno --sometimes it does for me, sometimes it doesnt.---but I do recall how it was like magic for me when I was 11----I dreamt, ate and slept baseball at that age --knew everyones batting stance, tics, and throwing motions.

It was a new world for me then--somewhere locked in there is still a little bit of the magic--most times I have to dust myself off o get aglimpse of it--but it is still in there somewhere

for all its flaws im still thankful we have baseball and those memories of endless summer days full of possibilities

[mstar1]

Speaking of Vin---I just took a walk aroud my neighborhood. There was one of those :) :) historical markers, so I stopped to read it.

It was the birthplace of Red Barber...... :)

Speaking of Vin---I just took a walk aroud my neighborhood. There was one of those historical markers, so I stopped to read it.

It was the birthplace of Red Barber...... :)

dang Im getting teed at the way this thing screws up my posts and i cant see or edit them anymore---but you get the idea what I mean

[hiway29]

I still glimpse the magic at times. I was pretty giddy with the world series this year, though I've never been one of those Yankees fans that think they have to win every year. My most passionate fan years were when the Yankees were the worst team in baseball in the late 60's, but I loved them anyway.It took commitment to love Jake Gibbs.

I had the same passion when I was 11. Baseball was hugely important, and I knew every stat.I don't need to detail the ways the game has changed, along with our age.

The Ken Burns series is a work of art.

[Bolshevik]

http://www.boston.com/sports

/baseball/redsox/articles/2010/01/22/burns_sends_red_sox_to_extra_innings/

speaking of Burns

[hiway29]

Burns says he's going to end it in 2004. I'm so sorry we're in 2010, and the Yankees are again champs. It's like a political documentary made by some right winger, that ends with a triumphant George Bush. Whatever came after somehow doesn't count, or as important.

I know the argument about the long suffering Sox nation,and the generations that didn't live to see the triumph, and of course it has to be an important part of the film. The article paints a picture of a love fest I don't need to suffer through.

[hiway29]

On further thought, I'll be watching cause it's Ken Burns. I still don't buy 'ending' it in 2004. The tearing down of old Yankee Stadium, and the championship in the first year of the new one, seems just as valid and certainly more current.

[Bolshevik]

you have a point, baseball didn't end in 2004,

It's one thing I love about the baseball season over other sports. If you lost today, tomorrow starts tomorrow.

[mstar1]

I cant access Bolsheviks link but I found THIS at the Florentine Films site

The Tenth Inning, a two-part four-hour documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, updates our landmark 1994 series, Baseball. Beginning where the original series left off, The Tenth Inning is based on the premise that this seemingly simple stick and ball game continues to be a window through which it is possible to see the best, as well as the worst, of America. Beginning in the early 1990s, the film tells the tumultuous story of our national pastime up to the present day,

.

There is a lot to cover--The strike, The Yankees 90's run, McGuire/Sosa, The Steroid Era, Bonds, I'd be very surprised if there is not a section on Derek Jeter and Joe Torre.

The Red Sox message boards have been alive all winter with people sending photos and stories to Burns about 04 as that will be a section.

I sort of doubt that he will end it there and leave out the hearings in Washington, the improbable run of the Rockies, the controversies of the WBC...or the final year of Yankee Stadium.--but what do I now...

He is a good storyteller and usually covers things fairly and comprehensively.

If you have questions, comments or concerns let him know---

FLORENTINE FILMS

P.O. Box 613

Walpole, NH 03608

USA

tel: (603) 756-3038

fax: (603) 756-4389

Edited January 24, 2010 by mstar1

[hiway29]

I based my comments on Bolshevik's link. It was a Boston source, that describes the 10th inning as basically a Sox love fest, since Burns is a Sox fan. Burns is quoted as saying that he's planning on ending the film at the 2004 Sox victory.

[mstar1]

O well --I guess we will have to see when it comes out.

Meanwhile on a lighter note

and for something fun to do during this baseballess winter.

The folks at Retrosheet have been spending the time calculating Charlies Brown's lifetime baseball Stats.

:) :)

Retrosheet: The Peanuts Chronicles

There are a few certainties in life: death, taxes, writers making moronic decisions in the Hall of Fame vote, and Charlie Brown's baseball team getting trounced every summer.

For fifty years, Charlie Brown took the field with his makeshift ballclub - the piano playing Schroeder behind the plate, the apathetic Lucy in centerfield, the blanket-toting Linus at second, and Snoopy, the slobbery superstar, at shortstop - and took beating after beating. Finding themselves on the wrong side of scores like 123-0 and 93-0 on a regular basis, the Peanuts crew was just never the talented powerhouse that Charlie Brown hoped for. But boy did they try. Few managers, and few teams, would have the heart to go out there day-after-day against such odds, but Charlie Brown and his crew were forever optimistic. It was endearing.

But losing takes it toll - if not on Charlie Brown's spirits then, at the very least, in the record books. After decades of losing and seemingly-countless knockdown line-drives up the middle (the first one came in 1963), the stats can't look too favorably on Team Peanuts. However, save for a short time when Linus was also team statistician, no one has ever taken the time to compile their stats. Granted, they aren't going to be pretty, but someone should find the answer to the questions: how many games did Charlie Brown's team lose? how many did they win? how many times did Charlie Brown get knocked over by a line-drive?and so on...

more at the LINK

Edited January 24, 2010 by mstar1

[Bolshevik]

I based my comments on Bolshevik's link. It was a Boston source, that describes the 10th inning as basically a Sox love fest, since Burns is a Sox fan. Burns is quoted as saying that he's planning on ending the film at the 2004 Sox victory.

he could spin that season to represent all baseball fans . . . don't know.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Bolshevik

[kimberly]

The other night on Jeopardy the answer was....he finally hit a homerun in 1993...

And you know the question.

[geisha779]

So, any bets on what happens with Johnny Damon? He has overpriced himself(his agent has). . . . he can't throw and his fielding has gone downhill. . . but, he can still hit . . . . although, not a typical DH. . .. more a lead off guy.

My guess is he will have to be converted to another position and go to some team that needs a 1st basemen?? The Yankees don't need him . . . they have younger, cheaper, and better stockpiles of out fielders.

He is going to have to go to a non-contender and play for 1/2 his salary. . . . unless something changes. Someone gets injured?

He should have stayed with the Sox.

[mstar1]

Isnt there some law that RedSox or Yankee players have to eventually go to the Dodgers?

That is unless that divorce kills the franchise this year..

Who's batting leadoff in LA this year??

He might work there, if they dont mind the 16 hop throws coming to the plate...

[hiway29]

actually, they wind up with the Dodgers or Angels. Maybe it's like retiring to Florida.

I have no idea who's leading off for the Dodgers. I'm still sick over losing Juan Pierre, who fit perfectly here. We'll see how he likes the White Sox.

[Bolshevik]

The other night on Jeopardy the answer was....he finally hit a homerun in 1993...

And you know the question.

sorry . . . what's the question?

Damon was cooler with long hair . . . and beard.

[mstar1]

I think it might be Charlie Brown who I deviated onto on the last page----It figures it would have to be during the steroid era--now we are left wondering