by Jim Siergey
One for the South Siders.
Subscription Baseball
by Stephen Jones
So many different subscription services,
Left, right and center,
As I try to follow my team this year.
Baseball’s become more complicated,
And more expensive, too,
Even for someone relaxing at home.
There’s a big problem in all of this.
How is it, now, that America’s pastime—
Its looked-forward-to leisure of summer—
Has evolved like an apocalyptic survivor,
Transformed into MLB’s frenetic cash cow?
Brian Snitker’s Lucky Day
By James Finn Garner
This clip turned my knees into jelly
As Snitker took one “not on the belly”
But saved was the skip
From glandular rip
By the belt corralling his potbelly.
A Very Smart Man
by Fred Lovato
“Fav female athlete?”
“My wife” Shohei’s quick reply
MVP answer
dear roy
by Ollie Shane
(for Roy Halladay, 1977-2017)
how are you doing
wherever you ended up?
do you still fly above as your son follows in your footsteps
waving at him every so often?
did you ever see your own plaque at our mecca?
maybe you do, but then again
we as fans project our hopes and hard-owned money onto our faves
is it any surprise when we discover they have a daredevil on their shoulder instead of a chip
to motivate their game?
Ollie Shane is the author of the chapbook I Do It So It Feels Like Hell (Bottlecap Press, 2022) and the forthcoming full-length notes from the void (Wild Ink Publishing, 2025). He is also a second-generation Philadelphia Phillies fan all thanks to his beloved grandfather, Vince Tassoni.