Reviving the Art of Baseball Doggerel
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.
.
Posted 9/22/2009
On Friday, Sept. 4, Ernie Harwell announced to the world that he had inoperable cancer. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, he was honored by the fans in the middle of the Tigers-Royals game. Â
.
Posted 9/18/2009
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
.
Posted 9/16/2009
by Sid Yiddish
Our own Sid Yiddish melds the ancient art of throat singing with modern baseball fandom, seen here last year at the Lovable Losers Literary Revue, a reading series on the North Side of Chicago. (The series spawned the collection Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Til Next Year, full of essays, poems, and stories, on sale here.)
To see more of Sid’s poetry and music, go to his MySpace page, Two Dollar Cockroach.
by James Finn Garner
.
Here’s to the ballhawks, that steadfast elite
Who feel that they’re owed for buying a seat,
Who’ll knock over kids to nab a home run
And hold the ball ransom til somebody comes
Through with free tickets, signed jerseys and swag
To reward them for making their glorious snag.
“A rookie’s first homer?” says a ballhawk with glee.
“Why should I give him the ball back for free?”
These guys deserve something for their tireless work
As parasites, blowhards and self-obsessed jerks.
When their daughters get married, let’s crash the affair,
Charge tolls for the toilets, rent them each chair,
And push over bridesmaids when the bouquet is tossed,
Then take bids to find which girl wants it most.
.
Published 8/31/2009