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Baseball (the talkin' sport)


Tom Strange
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Its a metaphor--Its a metaphor- a metaphor -a metaphor did I say that? -- nobodies a devil-I know that-gimme a break-- but there was an undeniable very deep disappointment engrained in Bostonians consciousness that traces its way back to the 20's, that followed entire generations and ended in 04 is that hard to comprehend?

48-78-03 - alot more if i took the time to think about it, The red sox came to the precipous of hope only to come crashing down at the last moments many, many, many times. All those times it was those other guys from 4 hours south that ended the dream..

In the fifties there was (what was it a musical?) Damn Tankees, when they were in the business of ending everyones dreams. Its more in the vein of that, a lot of deep deep frustration that was always handed out by the Yankees. Its a metaphor, an analogy and it is not far off at all. Do you not remember that people actually believed and not too long ago that they were cursed?

There has always been a fatalism to New Englanders that no matter what you never quite will get the gold ring but only heartbreak- believe or dont - it really doesnt matter -, alot of it can be traced to baseball--04 changed that.

100's of books have been written about its effect, which is very real.

Some people get it, everyone hear doesnt need to get it they lioved it, Most Yankee fans turn off at a certain point, want to not deal with it , move on and prefer baseball have no meaning and effect but it does

Whatever -

moving on .........I heard something new today

Eddie Gaedel has the highest career OBP in MLB history and never had an AB

Baseball is an infinitely interesting game

Salutes to the little man

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Eddie Gaedel being the midget (is that the proper term?) who Bill Veeck put in a game for the St Louis Browns. He had one at bat-walked of course, thus getting on base without an official at bat.

I apologize for taking your metaphor too seriously-For a moment I got caught up in my 'old man' nature. I do think some Sox fans believe themselves to be morally superior to Yankee fans which is sorta sick in my opinion,but now that I'm in laid back Dodger world I let it all go for the most part.I don't think you quite understand that I DO understand the minutia of the rivalry and the 'curse' which NO rational person ever really believed.

And it wasn't always the Yankees killing the dream. Can't blame the Yankees for Bill Buckner-another guy who should be remembered for his accomplishments but probably can't step foot in Mass anymore.

So I'm going to try to get off it, but can't you understand that if you're going to paint teams on 'good ' and 'evil', not everyone will see it that way?

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So I'm going to try to get off it, but can't you understand that if you're going to paint teams on 'good ' and 'evil', not everyone will see it that way?

here in stRanger-land we think both the BoSox and Yankees are evil! ...but the NYY are the 'official' holders of the title "the evil empire"... :biglaugh:

Their fans (down here), who seem to only surface when they're in town, are both viewed as rude, obnoxious front runners... and we'll wait to see how they act when their teams are not "at the front"... (which hasn't happened for a while and likely won't happen in the near future)...

Edited by Tom Strange
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We seem to have nothing but 1 run games here, but that's mainly because the Dodgers can't hit a lick.

Also because of generally good starting pitching(don't ask about the reliefers), and Dodger Stadium where balls die in the night air.

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well... after our pitchers duel last night it's 8-0 stRangers going into the bottom of the fifth...

so we started out 2-7 and have gone 14-5 since... we'll take it and be happy about it... as soon as we're done with this two game deal with the O's we have 10 out of the next 13 against the Yanks and the BoSox... we'll see what we're made of then... maybe this will be the year they don't go into the series intimidated...

watch on sportscenter tonight for Wilkerson crashing into the out of town scoreboard to catch a fly and laying on the ground trying to get his senses back... meanwhile, Cory Patterson is literally wandering back and forth between first and second, never tagging up, and finally Matthews goes over to Wilkerson and gets the ball and throws it in and they tag Patterson out... quite bizarre... umm what was the first base coach doing in all of this?

Edited by Tom Strange
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I don't think he takes it that way... but I'm sure he'll tell you...

We got a CG from Millwood tonight, the first one for the team this season. 8-2 (two solo HRs)... I think he appreciates the run support he's been getting here (although not the blown saves)... but Otsuka is 5/5 since taking over that role and Cordero is working things out...

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Yea its f'in raining up here in biblical proportions-- its miserable-they should have never played that game on Friday night it was begging to get someone hurt,and Im glad no one did. We have another straight week of it to look forward to. I'll be busy getting the animals together-in sevens for the next few days

I've been on the road for a few days-but I did see the Hideki Matsui broken wrist -that was sickening in a Joe Theissman sort of way-He is one Yankee I respect alot but after 1700 or so straight games between japan and NY, you have to wonder if he will ever be back after something as grotesque as that. ewww that was bad. Nomar after getting hit in the wrist has never been the same, and this looked much worse...How is Nomar doing over there in laid back Dodgerville anyway?

Heres a little something I just found that has a few interesting points

The Journal of Religion and Pop Culture

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Nomar is doing just fine-coming up with a couple of grand slam clutch home runs hasn't hurt.

He's still a little shaky at first base, but noone is complaining.

Unfortunately, Bill Mueller is down and needs surgery. He's optomistically saying he'll be back in 5 weeks-more likely we'll be lucky to see him before August, if by then.

The Dodgers are still a mess.

Matsui's injury was very sad. I hate to see that happen to anyone, let alone one of the classiest Yankees.

He was apologizing to the fans afterwards, for allowing himself to get hurt. No apology needed. Ihope he can come back from this.

A great article in the LA Times today about how slow the concession lines at Dodger Stadium are. And they are amazingly slow. I make a point of getting to a game at least 20 minutes early just so I won't miss 2 or 3 innings getting a dodger dog.

The lines are much faster at Angels Stadium , and I'm curious now how they move at Fenway, Texas, and anywhere else.

I'd also like to do a taste test between a Fenway Frank and a Dodger Dog. I'm guessing the Fenway Frank would win. Dodger Dogs aren't really very good, but they're like eating Mom's comfort food. It's part of the experience, and with enough mustard and onions, they're palatable.

That was an interesting article, that I found I could neither disagree , agree or do anything with. Once he started on Girardian perspectives , I knew I was out intellectualed beyond hope.

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Yea its a little heady, but its part of the cult chah over heah, more engrained than clam chowdah, with roots in the puritan past.

..Gees-i cant believe they make you wait for 2 or 3 innings--If you time it right at Fenway- they do pretty good-dash down between innings and you can get back before the next half inning has gone by, plus they have TV's down in the concourse to watch whats happening in case you have to make a quick exit. I have to hand it to the new owners, that (well except for the seating that for the most part is still in place from the 30's and faces who knows where) they have taken things in hand to make it fan friendly in alot of ways- well except for the prices that is.....but they do improvements, keep the flavor of it being "Fenway", and actually think about what people might want (like shorter lines), and try to do things about it....

It would be an interesting thing to take a trip to compare dogs in all the ballparks. Personally I dont think the Fenway Franks are as good as they were when I was younger, I liked them then and regularly ate a boatload- they boiled them them now they have them on the rollers, which I personally dont like as well. The fare is a bit more expanded now though so you can get pretty much what you want if you dont mind shelling out the $$

Glad Nomar is on, I think in someways(maybe I said this before) its acrucial year for him. ITs not that long ago where he was tagged as a sure fire Hall of Famer, now he has more or less dropped of the map except for what he was, not unlike the way... um someone like Clemens was for a short time. If he can get back on track and have some solid mid career years he may make it yet. I hope he does and makes for some exciting games out there. There was nothing like him his first few years he was like a young Joe Dimaggio-he wasa perpetual ball of exciting play.

Sorry to here about Billy Ballgame--is it knees again? Its amazing to me he can still walk after the number of surgeries he has had-but he is still a real gamer.

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The lines in Arlington move along pretty fast... if you're out a full half inning that's a rarity or means that you wanted something that was only available at another stand... but we also have monitors everywhere so that you don't miss any of the action... plus on the mezz level they have wait staff that use handheld devices to take your order and have it delivered to you if you'd like (although they've had that to some degree at most of the parks I've been to)...

didn't see the Matsui injury yet... do I want to? He (even over Jeter) is my 'favorite' Yankee... if it's possible for me to have one!

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I dont know if you want to see it Tom--Do you remeber the famous Joe Theismann injury from way back when where his leg bent in the wrong direction?-it was sort of like watching that with the wrist floppin all about-after he dove for a sinking line drive--It was one of those sickening moments of watching a body do something its not supposed to do.

After the game Matsui apologized for injuring himself. You dont hear that one very often-I do like and admire him

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Im OK I live on high ground, although its screwing up a job Im doing--Rain is expected for 5 more days yet The eastern half of the state is flooded out pretty good ....Ive never seen anything like this -ever---At least the Sox got out of town and got a game in, which was a return to some sort of normalcy. Rain and no baseball had combined to make for a long dreary weekend.

When I start finding articles like THIS, I know I have way too much time on my hands

The History Of Booing

Time is flying we are almost a quarter through the season already

Edited by mstar1
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yeah it was... according to my Mom... I called her today and her first words right after "are you calling me from all the way in Washington, D.C.?" ...her first words were "...what are we going to do? we were up 9-0 and lost the game!"

so... fortunately I didn't have to see it... (go Mavs!) ...the Cavs just went up 3-2 in games???

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ive been on my own road trip -but I see the Red Sox are fading-the annual June swoon is probably coming right up..........

I got this in my email from the local sort of new agey retreat center yesterday-If any of you guys want to go or are feeling paricularly spertchal :wink2:

Spaceman was always one of my favorite characters

Baseball and the World:

A Weekend with Bill Lee

Bill "Spaceman" Lee

Jun 16-18, 2006

More Info: http://www.rowecenter.org/

Bill Lee pitched in the Majors for fourteen years and still loves the game. He wants baseball to go international, so the world series would be the World Series, for real. He wants double-headers on Sunday, nickel hot dogs and beers, no astro-turf or domed stadiums, and no designated hitters. Bill is a philosopher, a storyteller, and a coach, and he identifies with Yossarian in Catch 22. The movie of Bill’s life, when it comes out, is going to be called either Farewell to Arm or Oh, Fastball, Where Art Thou?

He has a lot to say, and will say it to us when we gather to be with him, but most of our time will be outside, playing ball and having fun. We’re not sure what will happen if 35-50 people get together for a weekend, but we want to find out. After hearing stories and getting to know each other on Friday night, on Saturday we will wake up, stretch, eat breakfast, and head outside to play ball. We will break into groups, learning the fundamentals of each position. Baseball is a science as well as a game, and Bill has been studying it all his life. He knows a lot about health, about bodies, and how to take care of them. He knows that gravity is the enemy, which is why he is so funny, but also why he likes to be in the water. Floating fights gravity

He wanted to be a Zen Buddhist, but it is hard if you start out as a Catholic, and when hating the Yankees is part of your life, it’s hard to be too spiritual. Like all as most good leftists, dislike for Yankees and Republicans go hand-in-hand, as they are both ruining our beloved planet and have nothing to do with being conservative.

Despite hating the Yankees, he has a philosophy of sport that puts friendship way ahead of competition. There is a right way to conduct yourself on the field, and it is tied in with respecting your opponent. He knows how to coach kids, and how to coach problem kids; coaching and storytelling are two of the ways he identifies himself these days. He is delighted that people seem to want to hear what he has to say. By taking care of himself, he is able to keep playing, and he’s looking forward to playing baseball with his four grandchildren pretty soon. We are looking forward to his visit and hope you will join us.

Bill “Spaceman” Lee pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1969 to 1979 and the Montreal Expos from 1980 to 1982. Bruce Dancis called Lee, “Baseball’s all-time best Bolshevik anarchist pot-smoking hippie environmentalist New Age hurler.” The Ace from Space wrote the autobiographical The Wrong Stuff and Have Glove, Will Travel, and The Little Red (Sox) Book: A Revisionist Red Sox History. When asked why he thought this book was worthy of a Nobel Prize in Literature, Bill said, “It combines the tragedy of MacBeth with the frivolity of Where’s Waldo. It is longer than Hemingway and more fantastic than Harry Potter.” The 1988 presidential candidate for the Rhinoceros Party, he’s been called “the most subversive man ever to play baseball,” by David King. Intensely competitive, his attitude on the field was pure business; he was respected by fellow players and is one of the most popular players in Red Sox history. After the majors, he’s continued to play anywhere he could find a game, barnstorming like a modern Satchel Paige, including Cuba, where friends shot the documentary film Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey. Another video, High and Outside, is also coming out soon. Lee says, “Baseball is the belly-button of our society. Straighten out baseball and you straighten out the rest of the world,” and “You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church.”

BillLee.jpg

Edited by mstar1
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oh well starman... almost a sweep, but we'll take another series win... they add up you know... I almost thought we'd win that first one on Sunday, but the old fastball down the middle didn't fool Papi... you serve up that kind of meat and you deserve to lose with a walk off... oh well...

what's up with those Dodgers? They too have put together a nice little last month or so...

...but I have to admit I've been watching the Mavs instead of the stRangers when they're on opposite each other!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Dodgers, almost by magic ( and a desperate need to fill holes left by injuries ) have put together an appealing team with a nice mixture of rookies and veterans that are palying like they mean it.

Nomar is having an mvp style year, Kenny Lofton and J D Drew of all people, are producing, and the pitching is mostly solid. The biggest surprises are up from AAA players like catcher Russell Martin and left fielder Matt Kemp.

Who knows if they can hold up, even in the ridiculously balanced NL west, but I think they will. I haven't seen a Dodger team this interesting since I've been here. I may become a fan yet.

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