by Jim Siergey and Hilary Barta
The Cubs fans were feeling quite chilly
They booed Carlos Marmol so shrilly
.     When it’s only a game
.     Throwing stones is a shame
They acted like fans out of Philly
Reflection
by Stephen Jones
Come to the stadium! That’s the cry
by advertisement. And I wonder Why?
After maybe a spent hundred dollars . . .
I’m screwed by determined commercial posture.
I am naive, I do confess. Baseball was for me
something special — a pleasure when reality
got too hard (I learned this as a first-borne child)
. . . but now things have grown too wild:
Baseball’s contract figures recently
have been staggering. So I ask Why
should I pay for something which doesn’t —
as baseball should — provide relief in an instant?
Drugs In Baseball
by Stephen Jones
Everybody’s body does break down . . .
that comes with the territory . . . but
PEDs, steroids and HGH taken
in baseball, that’s an ever-long question.
Success, failure, performance on the field,
an athlete’s burden . . . bottom line and future
double-edged: Maintain home plate posture
. . . while avoiding prying exposure.
Fair or foul, the problem is difficult,
maybe like a knuckleball . . . is hard to hit
while easy to see. Our own expectations
run high, are so demanding. We expect,
perhaps media-fueled, perhaps more than
what is possible. Each record immediate . . .
is just another instance, is just another
moment arbitrarily to be broken.
Sosa, Bonds, Clemens and Cooperstown
by Stephen Jones
“Ladies and gentlemen, the ballot is . . .”
At Cooperstown it’s Sosa, Bonds, Clemens.
It’s pretty soon time for first-round voting,
but pundits and voters are already griping:
Despite cases dismissed and transcripts
revealed, hearts are already convinced:
“Something” wasn’t and isn’t right.
Pete Rose is probably chuckling,
fuming or both. At least he’s admitting
(somewhat) transgression. The others?
Not a peep.
…and Don’t Forget Edwin Jackson…
By Stu Shea
Steven Strasburg is the news,
Everybody’s giving views
About his shutdown, good or bad,
So many writers seem so mad!
If he was all the Nats could boast,
Then Washington would look like toast.
But they’ve a very sweet bullpen,
Plus Gio, Detwiler and Zimmerman.