by George Bowering
In this time when most players are so-so,
and seem to have legs made of lead,
we miss the great Minnie Minoso,
but wish that his socks had been red.
Regular Season Post-Mortem, or a Toast to Stories Departed
By Stuart Shea
10 Teams Continue,
20 Teams Done.
Stories we have followed
Now consigned to history–
Into the pages of a book
That has been replaced by a web site.
Jose Abreu’s rookie season is over.
Corey Kluber’s ass-kicking year is over.
Phillip Hughes’ breakout is over.
Charlie Blackmon’s beard is over.
Kirk Gibson is VERY over.
But the damage done by Kevin Towers’ trades is just beginning.
Altuve’s wonderful year is over.
The Rangers’ long march of injuries is over…
But the Wash Era is also over.
Everth Cabrera’s honeymoon is over.
Marcus Stroman’s debut is over.
The painful Jay Bruce year is over.
Brock Holt Mania! is over.
Another King Felix masterwork is over.
Giancarlo’s monster season is over.
Jonathan Lucroy’s emergence is over.
The Braves’ painful swan dive is over.
Mesoraco’s breakout is over.
The struggles of Springer are over.
The weird Joe Mauer year is over.
Justin Smoak’s chance is over.
Another frustrating Rockies season is over.
The Chase Headley Padres are over.
The Papelbon crap is over,
But the Phillies’ country club continues.
The Frank Wren Era is over.
Colby Rasmus in Toronto is REALLY over.
Desmond Jennings’ honeymoon is over.
Heath Bell seems over.
The Cubs on WGN are over.
Bobby Abreu is over.
Josh Willingham is over.
Carlos Beltran sure looks over.
Can Kevin Gregg please be over?
Jason Giambi is finally over, right?
The 2013 World Champs are really over.
Is Ron Roenicke’s time over?
The Mets’ sexual harassment suit is NOT over.
Wrigley Field as we knew it is over.
Paul Konerko is over.
Derek Jeter is over.
20 Teams are over.
A Point of Comparison
By Stuart Shea
How bad were the White Sox?
Three games worse than the Cubs.
The Cubs,
Who played like shubdubs,
Like scrubs,
Like Triple-A subs,
Who made each day a gallery of flubs,
Those ridiculous bubs,
Who gave their fans the nubs,
Who drove those fans to local pubs,
To drown their sorrows in bad beer from huge tubs
And eat greasy deep-fried grub
That hardens their arteries like cigarette stubs
And makes them all fat.
The Sox were worse than that.
Just as Bad, Chicago Style
By Stuart Shea
After two months of play and a carload of flubs,
Could the Sox really be just as bad as the Cubs?
It’s asked in Gage Park and Beverly pubs–
Could the Sox really be just as bad as the Cubs?
The starters are struggling; don’t speak of the subs!
Could the Sox really be just as bad as the Cubs?
It’s a long way to go to rate down with the scrubs,
But the Sox seem to be just as bad as the Cubs.
Both squads ranking under the mark of most clubs,
The Sox may end up just as bad as the Cubs.
It rankles a South Sider more than the nubs–
That the Sox really could be as bad as the Cubs.
Chillinois, You Put Me in a Frozen State
by Hilary Barta
There’s a pall on the breeze in the air
Though there’s ball, for the freeze they prepare
.   In Chicago the fans
.   make their long winter plans
as they fall on their knees in despair