Post-Season Prediction Doggerel
by James Finn Garner
All the network media dorks
Sing the praises of New York
They hate visiting places strange
Like Motown and the Texas Range
They’d rather crawl through Gotham sewers
Than watch the Snakes or Rays or Brewers.
They’re happy as a dog with bone
To stay in th’ Eastern Time Zone.
But Yankees pitching ain’t worth a lick.
The Phillies are my pick, in six.
Season’s Last Day Oakland Sportswriter Blues
By Stuart Shea
The Cardinals are blanking the Astros again,
And they’ll make the playoffs if the Braves can’t win.
I wish I was there for this wild-card craze,
But I’m stuck in Seattle covering the A’s.
Hey! Tampa came back from a 7-0 hole,
Dan Johnson just tied it–right off the foul pole!
I’d love to be seeing the Yankees and Rays,
But I’m stuck in Seattle covering the A’s.
Did Baltimore really just walk off the Sox?
And Papelbon pull one more of his rocks?
So Tampa and St. Lou are in. I’m amazed
That I’m stuck in Seattle covering the A’s.
It’s cold in this pressbox at Safeco Field,
And watching a meaningless game is the yield.
The action is elsewhere, and it’s one of those days.
I’m stuck in Seattle covering the A’s.
Save # 602 For Mariano Rivera
by Stephen Jones
All about his team
The Sandman keeps stats second
He pitches to win
Fans may make raucous noise
But on the mound he’s quiet grace
Humble with history
Genuine in his humility
His smile tells it all as he tips his hat
Sharing the moment with thousands
Mariano Rivera
What I Remember After 09/11
by Stephen Jones
What I remember is large
some of it confused
the sadness the heroes
some still unnamed
but I zero in on baseball
not to forget but because
like a constant outside history
baseball resonates for me
the heroics of play on a field
the belief that a game is sometimes
better than grief
a comfort & something to point to
Mantle
by Stephen Jones
An Oklahoma flash
Out of “shucks” and a beer can
He swung for pleasure
