Goodnight and Good Luck

By Stuart Shea

It’s the last day of the season,
The end of the road for 22 teams.
And the last day in the majors for a lot of guys…
we just don’t know who, yet.

Many big-league careers will end today.
The 24-year-old prospect who’ll tear up a knee in winter ball,
The 30-year-old marginal regular who’ll go to Japan to cash in,
The 33-year-old situational reliever who can’t get anyone out,
The 36-year-old backup catcher who’ll get cut next spring and retire.

Let’s tip our hat to the as-yet unknown who will exeunt omnes,
Because baseball is about them just as much
as it is about Manny and Dice-K and Greinke and C.C.

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Posted 10/6/2009

An Ode To Matt Wieters

by Ember Nickel

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Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
Beloved of pundits and bloggers and Tweeters.
We all knew for ages that he’d be the best
And now to his greatness I too can attest.

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
Those who would surpass him are certainly cheaters.
I saw him break up a no-hitter! (Although
It was the second inning…but even so.)

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
His home runs can travel for hundreds of meters.
But to his opponents he’s kind and shows grace
(I saw him hit a fielder’s choice to first base.)

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
He’ll crush all your changeups, he’ll hit your high heaters.
But he’s so good that he doesn’t need to swing.
(I saw him walk.) Yes, he can do everything.

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
No other people can claim to be world-beaters.
Who else could ground out to shortstop with his skill?
(I saw him do that too.) No one can, or will.

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
When the game is tied up, and the outcome teeters
In the Orioles’ final at-bat, Wieters’ clout
Came up to the plate…and I saw him strike out.

Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters! Matt Wieters!
He’ll make us forget old Pujolses and Jeters
And Mauers and Molinas and–never mind
That now. Did you hear Stephen Strasburg got signed?

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Posted 9/29/2009

On a Possible Rockies-Cardinals Playoff

By Stuart Shea

Rocks usually roll downhill.
These Rockies aren’t just landfill.

Left for dead in early May,
They’re in the playoff hunt today.

Playing halfway up the sky,
The Rockies feel a mile high.

The Cards may be their October foe,
Which ought to make a lovely show.

They’ll face a guy they used to pay–
That hitting star, Matt Holliday.

With Denver smog vs. St. Louis heat,
The Coors and Bud should flow quite sweet.

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Posted 9/22/2009

Game Over for Milton Bradley

by James Finn Garner

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Milton Bradley got into Trouble
Caught in the Wrigley Field bubble.

A Payday enormous
For such poor performance.

Now his Career’s nothing but rubble.
.
Sorry, Milt, that Chicago’s blunt fans
Made it seem less than a Candyland.

That’s the Risk that you take
Living Life by the lake.

It’s like permanent Ants in the Pants.
.
Is the Aggravation because you are black?
Balderdash, Milty, You Don’t Know Jack.

We all had a Clue
This is what you would do.

Last Word:  Your Cranium‘s cracked.
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Posted 9/21/2009

U-12 Girls Softball

by Doug Fahrendorff

Yesterday in a tournament
We finished our season
Second place
A trophy to display at school
Today a final round of calls
To organize
Next week’s picnic
The season
A catalog of images
I make out awards recognizing
Excellence and effort
A final thanks to players and parents
Can’t wait till next year

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Posted 9/16/2009