Autumn’s New Retirees
by James Finn Garner
Before the Fall gets underway,
Let us doff our caps and say
Goodbye to those who’ll junk their cleats,
Leave the park and walk the streets.
Super-versatile Angel Chone
Will now be the utility man at home.
Grant Balfour, hothead Aussie,
Can only fume when his wife gets bossy.
Phil Humber’s vaunted perfect game
Was his sole stat worth noting (such a shame).
The Prince has trouble with his neck–
He’ll inspire no more fear on-deck.
Tex and A-Rod will leave the Yanks
And all their fans will mumble thanks,
While Raf Soriano has called an end
To tell war stories, a fine fireman.
But let’s not forget the other guys,
Young tyros once, with starry eyes,
Who gave their all but somehow missed
The general manager’s call-up list.
They’re just as key to the game as any
Adam LaRoche or Brad Penny.
Talent, drive and dreams they bid,
Just like us when we were kids.
“Baseball, Baseball” by Jane Morgan
Mid-April Brewer Blues
by the Brewer Haiku-er (@brew_haiku)
April 15
Brewers 7, Pirates 4
PNC boos Braun
So he steps up and jacks one
2 homers 2 nite
April 17
Pirates 5, Brewers 0
When the Brewers lose
They do it in a big way
Ain’t no runs tonight
April 18
Pirates 9, Brewers 3
No comeback today
Crew makes a dent in the 4th
McCutch slams door shut
Follow the Brewer Haiku-er on Twitter for updates every day (@brew_haiku).
Hanging the Bunting at Wrigley
by Gene Fendt
“At 8-1, the Cubs are off to their best start since 1969”
–news story, April 15, 2016
They’re hanging the bunting at Wrigley
. Â Â a hundred years after the Babe;
so many have waited so long for this day
.   it’s hard to believe what we see.
My childhood knows Santo, Kessinger, Beckert and Banks,
.   the trade of Lou Brock, the umpire’s mistake,
facing Giants and Pirates and Hammering Hank,
. Â Â the line-up of Bench, Morgan, Rose and Perez,
the grace of Clemente before he was dead,
.   the stare-down of Gibson, Bob Veale and Koufax’s crank:
Lou Boudreau on radio made it appear
. Â Â as Athena to Hector, when Achilles was near.
The world is unworthy of childhood faith,
. Â Â the utter incorrigible truth of its love,
its weeping for heroes defeated by fate,
. Â Â its Aprils and Augusts, stolen bases, gold gloves.
All that is over. It’s daytime, there’s ivy,
.   it’s got God’s own green grass,
the bunting is hanging, and so soon you’ll see
. Â Â God himself in his garden, all home at last.
Gene Fendt has taught philosophy for 29 years at the University of Nebraska, but grew up in Wisconsin listening to WGN, “radio home of millions throughout mid America.” His poetry most recently has captured the Princemere Poetry Prize (2015) and won the Gemini Magazine national poetry competition.