by Jim Siergey
Twice Bitten, Once Shy
A/K/A Snakes to be You
by Michael X. Ferraro
It was just what the Diamondbacks dreaded–
a split double-header, yet they got beheaded.
Summer Wind, Yankees Style
by HoraceClarke66
The summer wind was blowin’ out
At least half the year.
When Soto hit and Judge ran wild,
And we dreamed of golden rings.
Two monsters and the summer wind.
Like painted kites
Those long-ball nights
They went flyin’ by.
The world was new
’Neath a pinstriped blue
Umbrella sky.
Then worse than
Poor Gleyber ran
Cashman sent it askew.
We lost it with the summer wind.
The autumn wind,
The winter wind
Will come and go.
As Giants fall,
And Knicks appall,
Through another barren winter.
And yes those days,
Those dismal days
Will drag on and on.
As Gleyber clings
And Soto brings
Cheer to Flushing Meadow.
Where the hell can we go?
We’ll just have to wait,
For that same-old, same-old summer wind.
Originally appeared in the indispensable Yankee blog, It is High, It is Far, It is…caught.
MLB All-Legal Team
1B David Justice
2B Jury-ckson Profar
SS Joe Sargent
3B Ernie Courtney
LF Barrister Bonds
CF Lave Cross
RF Aaron Judge
C Josh Lex
RHP Derek Law, Jailen Peguero
LHP Ryan Sherriff, John Courtright
Relief RHP Cameron Jury
MGR Tom Lawless
The Oakland Blues
by Dr. Rajesh C. Oza
You lose a game,
And it hurts
Like a paper cut.
You don’t make the playoffs,
And it hurts
Like a broken nose.
You lose the last game of the World Series,
And it hurts
Like a Type III fracture.
You lose one hundred and twenty games,
And it still don’t hurt
Like having your heart ripped out.
Becuz’ in your world,
The hurt will heal
As you wait until next year.
Like a rainbow thief, the A’s owner
Has forever stolen the Green & Gold
And left only the Blues.
He’s stealing away,
Up Highway 80 to sAcrAmento,
Chasing a pot o’ gold to lAs vegAs.
The letter “A” has been ripped out of
The O*kl*nd *lph*bet.
And now he*rt sounds like hurt.
A broken old man sits crying
In the desolate Coliseum
With a cancer of the heart.
Becuz’ in his world,
The hurt will metastasize
On every Opening Day.
Dr. Oza’s novel Double Play on the Red Line sits at the intersection of Ernie Banks’ Cubs, the Negro Leagues, riding the El, wrongful convictions, immigration and friendship. It will be published in October 2024 by Chicago’s Third World Press.