Posted on

Pitching Injuries — A Long List Early in the Season

by Stephen Jones

On the long, long IR line, of mostly
Pitchers early in the season,
You’re waiting to get into
MLB’s popular fragility club,
The club no one wants to join…

It’s your turn to flash the bouncer;
You show him your card with a picture —
It’s your elbow — and he looks,
Then declares: “What, another pitcher —
And a young one at that?” Then
He opines: “What’s with all you guys?”

You protest: “Hey, it’s not my fault.
Everyone’s always told me: Pitch harder,
Pitch faster — with more spin and torque!
I can’t help it if I’m young.” Words drift off.

The bouncer nods like a ballpark sage
Who’s seen it all, and thinks: “Don’t they
Know the human body has its limits,
Even when you’re young?”
But then he shrugs and lets you in.

 

Posted on

A Baseball Eulogy: Total Eclipse of the Game

By Dr. Rajesh C. Oza

(In appreciation of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse and with apologies to Bonnie Tyler)

Baseball was my reliable Chicago sun:
Warm summer days, filled with run after run.

Basketball was my Windy City moon:
Cool winter nights, swishing nets into June.

My heart had space for Doubleday and Naismith’s games;
My heroes in Cooperstown and Springfield’s Halls of Fame.

But my steadfast true love
Began with bat, ball, and glove.

Once upon a time, Whitman waxed serious,
“The game of ball is glorious.”
The poet couldn’t imagine “base” falling apart.
There’s nothing I would lament, for
Nothing could eclipse my game of ball.

Then a madness occurred;
Began with Magic and Bird.

Ernie Banks’ around-the-bases smile,
Was displaced by MJ’s high-flying guile.

Today’s kids are in far too much of a hurry,
Thrilling to threes by sweet Steph Curry.

They know not the wonder of a triple play,
As rare as the moon getting in the sun’s way.

Once upon a time, there was light in our life,
But now there’s only love in the dark.
Is there nothing that can save us from
A total eclipse of the game?

 

Posted on

Eephus

by Brad Roudebush

I have difficulty explaining concisely how I throw the ball.
Its high arc dropping into an imaginary box, as if suspended by cable.
And so I perfect my elevator pitch.

After a 40 year absence, the eephus was resurrected by Rip Sewell for the Pirates in 1941.

–

Brad Roudebush’s favorite baseball movie is “Mr. 3000” because when Bernie Mac pulls the hidden ball trick, it accurately portrays that the pitcher may not be standing on the mound.