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Near Cutdown Day

By Stuart Shea

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

You’re 36
You’ve got one bad knee
And your last two-year contract
Ended in 2003.

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

You’re not at home
While your children grow
Your wife’s been waiting
And she deserves to know.

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

If you’re the last cut,
Have you had your fill?
Or will you take that deal
In Louisville?

Whatcha gonna do
If you don’t make the team?

Published 6/8/2009

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The Ghost Seats of Yankee Stadium

by James Finn Garner

I was warmly surprised

That the new Yankee Stadium

Has all those spare seats

(And good ones, too!)

For the ghosts of all the fans

In the Yankee Universe who never made it there:

The Bowery Bum who could never buy a ticket,

The upstate farmer who could never spare time,

The soldier who fought alongside Joltin’ Joe and never made it back,

The street kid who played catch with junk and never had a chance, at anything.

 

I bet a Bombers game on the radio

Was sometimes a cooling touch of silk that eased their minds,

And Yankee Stadium unseen was

A green heaven they didn’t know they wished for.

 

Now they’re behind home plate,

Feet up, leaning back,

Making good use of the space.

Here’s to them,

And to the good-hearted Yankees.

 

Posted 6/4/2009

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Triumph of the Willis

by James Finn Garner

It brightens baseball’s heart, Dontrelle,
To have you back and pitching well.

Your fastball cutting like a knife,
Endangering the catcher’s life,

Your off-speed floating up and down,
Your hat too big like Charlie Brown’s.

Your rookie year is long behind–
Was that the thing that messed your mind?

We all get old, last time I checked.
That doesn’t mean your life is wrecked.

You’ve got the stuff, now find the guile,
And you’ll be here a good long while.

.

Posted 5/20/2009

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Instant Replay Creates Perfect World

By James Finn Garner

.

Now that cameras can detect and correct
Our errors and human frailty,
I call for a replay of

Fidrych talking to the ball,
Reggie hitting in October,
Bob Gibson staring,
Koufax stretching,
Veeck laughing,

DiMaggio’s war years,
And Hank Greenberg’s,

And 1994, which could have saved the Expos,
And spared us the Nationals,

And Cap Anson shutting his damned mouth
And Buck O’Neil playing for the Cubs,
Satchel Paige for the A’s,
And Cool Papa Bell for the Cardinals.

.

Posted 5/14/09

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Maple Bat, Maple Bat

By Stuart Shea

Maple bat, Maple bat
Shearing off in two-foot slats.
Spirals through the air, and splat–

Maple bat, Maple bat
Got that fan right in the lat,
Then on the bounce, took out a rat.

Maple bat, Maple bat
Nearly deadly as a gat,
Sharp enough to skin a cat.

Maple bat, Maple bat,
Time to wear a different hat.
Put these weapons in a vat.

.

Posted 5/13/09