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Blame It On The Yankees

by Sid Yiddish

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A 27th title
A 27th crown
I don’t believe it,
Did those Yankees buy it off like the 2003 Florida Marlins?

What’s a little extra cash between friends?
What’s a little stash hidden, what’s a little trash talk, just coz other teams didn’t win?

Blame it on the Yankees.
Since 2001 have been buying players black-market style, just to satisfy the fans.

Blame it on the Yankees
When A-Rod takes steroids
Blame it on the Yankees
When umpires look the other way
Blame it on the Yankees
When a new stadium was built and cost a ton
Blame it on the Yankees
When the new yarns are spun

Blame it on the Yankees
When the old legends mysteriously disappeared
Blame it on the Yankees
When they played on our worst fears
Blame it on the Yankees
When the Phillies lost hard
Blame it on the Yankees
When they caught the fans off-guard
Blame it on the Yankees
When they pulled hits out of thin air
Blame it on the Yankees
When they won the World Series fair and square

Blame it on the Yankees
Blame it on the Yankees

Because they always will.
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Posted 11/11/2009

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Brand New Allegory

by Sid Yiddish

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In November,
When trees become slender
Why is baseball still being played?
We’ve strayed into dangerous territory
A brand new allegory
That sadly cannot be fixed
What we learn,
When there is money to burn
Is not much, to say the least
Just as long as there are hops and yeast added to the mix
A few more tickets to sell
And a couple of hotdogs too
The game could be played well into December,
A month when we traditionally feel the warmth of glowing embers,
But the idea of frostbitten toes and fingers just makes no sense!

I mean, can you imagine Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano in a big gray parka, scarf over mouth while pitching an ice ball straight over the plate, while St Louis’ Mark DeRosa is shivering and shuffles his feet just to keep warm and knocks the ice ball right into the stands, causing fans to slip on ice patches and scuffle over an ice ball, thereby giving frostbite and twisted ankles to several fans in sub-zero temperatures, while both bullpens are warming up with giant bonfires made from Louisville Sluggers?

Well, I can.
But I don’t want to.

And this is why baseball should not go beyond mid-October.
For on Christmas Day, I don’t want some guy say, “Can’t wait for the annual New Year’s Major League Snowball Bash.”

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Posted 11/9/2009

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10/4/87

By Stuart Shea

There was a big game going on in Detroit
To decide the Eastern division champ
But my brother and I were at Comiskey
Where despite the October sunshine
The atmosphere was damp.

I was 24 but even then had an overarching sense
of melancholy.
The last game of a mediocre season?
Perfect fit for me.

The Sox beat the Athletics 5-2.
No big deal; neither team
Was going anywhere but home.

One reason we went is that we knew it would be Reggie Jackson’s last game ever.
So we alternately cheered and booed him.
He got two hits.

When the game ended
Ozzie Guillen threw his glove high in the air
And I hoped that it would never come down.

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Posted 10/21/2009

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RSVP Red Sox Fan

by Stephen Jones

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You had your chance
But blew it – at home
The arrogance of bats

Not yours but swinging
Against you &
Your own play proof

A winter to compose
To refurbish to retool

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Posted 10/14/2009

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Hometown Park

by Doug Fahrendorff

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I pause to visit
The ballpark in my hometown
The infield covered by a tarp
Of red and orange tinged leaves
Nature as groundskeeper
Heralding the coming of winter
I recall spring days at school
Baseball every recess
The field seemed gigantic then
Less imposing now
After fifty years
Memories are still clear
My infatuation with baseball began here
I turn the collar of my jacket
Against the October wind
And contemplate change.

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Posted 10/13/2009