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Sonnet for Overly Creative Use of the Injured List

by Kevin Canfield

New York Mets under investigation,
For supposedly stashing fit players
On the injured list (read: paid vacation);
Manfred’s sleuths don Sherlock-style deerslayers.

A major transgression? A petty crime?
An attempt to deprive a neophyte
Of valuable big-league service time?
Was the man’s groin pulled or just kind of tight?

Team owner Steve Cohen, hedge fund tycoon,
Ran afoul of the feds, paid immense fines;
To diehards, he’s promised the stars and moon,
But this fall, Mets news is outside the lines.

To a longtime fan, it’s a small misdeed,
Far worse is somehow blowing every lead.

 

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Topple Heavy

by Hilary Barta

Dave Kingman would give it his all
Each powerful swing at the ball
But, missing, he’d spin
And, to his chagrin
Would teeter off balance and fall.

Illustration by Jim Siergey

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July Sale Days

by James Finn Garner

It’s July Sale Days with the New York Mets!
Come on down — it’s as good as it gets!

Robertson, closer (we call him Dave),
So many games for you he’ll save!

Look under the hood of our starter Max,
Good despite mileage, and that’s a fact!

Everybody wants a Tommy Pham!
(Sorry, Chisox, no warranty on hams)

Verlander’s on his second career–
Try for a third? You’ll find him here!

Crazy Billy Eppler’s ready to trade!
Start planning your World Series Parade!

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Teamless

by Ellen Adair

With apologies to Lord Byron

I had a dream that was not all a dream.
Some large misfortune overtook the coasts,
And their tall cities were abandoned, only the blown
Forgotten newsprint scuttling down the street.
Exiled elsewhere, I marveled at the ways
That life persists: baseball was still played
By all the teams based in central states,
Their match-ups limited and circular,
While only ghosts played in my home parks,
Swinging blind at nothing in the moonless air.
Who’s my team now, I thought. No Phillies, Sox,
Or A’s. No Mets. Is it the Diamondbacks?

 

Ellen Adair is an actor, with recurring roles on shows like “The Sinner,” “Homeland,” and “Bull,” and a contributing analyst to the MLB Network show “Off Base.” Their book of poetry, Curtain Speech, is available from Pen & Anvil Press. They also host the podcasts “Take Me In to the Ballgame” and “Love Takes Action,” and draws baseball players by commission.