by Stuart Shea
Another spring,
The chickadees sing,
Time for crocuses, baseball, silly things.
What a relief—
To think of Mike Trout
Instead of Dorito Mussolini,
And the only judge who matters is Aaron.
Q&A
by Fred Lovato
What’s Opening Day?
A momentary respite
from all life’s troubles
“The Natural”
by Volt
Goodbye, Cruel World, It’s Opening Day
by Hart Seely
The gods place bets with loaded dice,
And all our earthly dreams betray,
But listen to one clown’s advice,
Goodbye, cruel world; it’s opening day.
The politicians scrounge for power,
With consequences we shall pay.
But somewhere, it’s our finest hour,
Goodbye, cruel world; it’s opening day.
Our weary age is full of war,
The daily news brings dark dismay,
So surf the dreams worth living for,
Goodbye, cruel world; it’s opening day.
April 9, 1976: Rudy Schaffer, Paul Richards and Chisox owner Bill Veeck ring in Opening Day at Comiskey Park.
Fantasy Baseball Nightmare
by James Finn Garner
Signing up for another hitch
To field a nine to hit and pitch
My squad last year just up and died
Reckless with my baseball pride
Where’s my Mantle off the farm?
My rotation always finds bum arms
And my whizbang keystone pair
Can muster neither clue nor prayer
. In my fog all the stats
. Become an acronym loop
. WHIP, FIP, GO/AO, BABIP–
. Wait, isn’t BABIP Korean soup?
Every morning, I link in,
Despite my trades, always sinking.
Why should I let it get me down?
Someone’s gotta be the Browns.
