Game Ball

Baseball, Guide to Life
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While digging among our sports gear to find my daughter a frisbee, I found a baseball that took me back in time, 31 years and 5 days, to a Thursday night little league game, when I was 11, at which it was given to me.

 

I was no stand-out as a little leaguer. I had my moments in the outfield, catching a pop-up here and there. But my greatest defensive contribution was probably my effective chatter (hey-batta-batta, schWING!), while on offense my Eddie Gaedel size strike zone put me on base with a walk much more often than my bat ever did.

 

But on this particular Thursday night, I had a fine sports moment. My team, the Orioles, had a one run lead going into the final inning. There were two outs and the Phillies had a runner on third. The batter hit a fast grounder that might have been an easy game-ender, had it not got past our first basemen. But it did, and it instead rolled to me in right field (the traditional position for the most skilled little leaguers, naturally).

 

It would have been understandable to hear a few sighs from our meager crowd of parents, looking at the prospect of extra innings should the runner on third score and tie the game (were there more runners on base? I don’t remember, let’s say there were and two runs would have meant a loss). The play was at home, and I made the throw to our catcher ‘Tank’, and it somehow got there in time and on target. The runner was out at home, game over, Orioles win 11-10.

 

In the dugout, the coach asked the team, “Who gets the game ball?”, to which they responded in unison, “Casey!”. In recent years I’ve re-discovered a love of baseball that I haven’t had since those days as a little leaguer. From my five or six years of little league baseball, there are only a few such memories. This was one of the best.

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Work Day Memorial Jog

Diversions, Running
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It had been a little over four hours since Colleen and I had said our farewells at the bus stop this morning, but it felt like an eternity. But her class had a field trip to the FDR Memorial and she asked if I would come meet them. What Dad could refuse? So I jogged/walked (let’s call them intervals) the couple of miles from my office building, around the tidal basin, past the Jefferson Memorial, and to the FDR Memorial. I didn’t see her right away, and walked the whole memorial without finding her, but then I spotted my girl walking with friends on their way to eat their lunches. Our fortuitous reunion at the FDR Memorial got me through the day.

I took some pictures on the way (a good excuse to stop and catch some badly needed breath). On the return trip, I was able to make a quick, but long awaited visit to the World War II Memorial.

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Greetings from Nationals Park, again!

Baseball
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We’re here with Jay and Carolyn, and the Cubs are up 5-0 in the top of the 2nd. We’re hoping the predicted thunderstorms don’t arrive. Thanks TJ for the tickets!

Update: The Cubs won, 7-0, and the rain started coming down hard only after the game was over. Thank you weather gods, for allowing the ‘W’ flag to fly at Nationals Park for the first time.

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Greetings from Nationals Park

Baseball
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Jennifer and I have joined my office mates for our first visit to Washington’s new ballpark, Nationals Park. This is the kickoff for what will be a big week of baseball, as we’ll be coming back twice this weekend to see two of the three games when our Cubs come to town. But tonight, we’ll ‘root, root, root’ for the home team Nats.

Update: The home team lost, but the park is beautiful, and getting in and out via Metro was a breeze.

Update 2: Thanks to ESPN mobile, we were able to watch the Cubs earn their 10,000th win in an exciting extra inning finish. They are only the second franchise in Major League Baseball to reach this milestone. We can’t wait to watch them get wins # 10,002 – 10,004 this weekend in DC (sorry Nats).

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275 Days

Bush's Last Day

So I’ve found that here in my blog, on entries that are in this category of ‘Bush’s Last Day’, you are likely to see a nice graphic Google Ad for John McCain’s campaign. Please click on it and consider how a McCain presidency would essentially be a third term for George Bush. And if a third-term for George Bush appeals to you. Well, please, bite me.

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Teaching the American Way

News

Two different stories from the front page of today’s Washington Post caught my eye for their common theme, Americans teaching others how to do things our way, as commandos, or a cheerleaders. Personally, I can imagine a combo which takes these American exports to a new level. That’s right, I’m talking about commando cheerleaders!

Afghan Commandos Emerge

But the commandos still have much to learn — sometimes frustrating their U.S. advisers. “We yell at them for . . . drinking too much [water], constantly eating, using their under-gun lights to walk to the bathroom,” one U.S. adviser said, adding that the Afghans lacked effective methods for distributing and conserving resources. “They’ll have 20 bottles of water, five guys and four days to go — they’ll just drink it and look at you and say, ‘I need more water,’ ” the sergeant major said. The logistics problems, he said, are “across the board.”

Redskins Cheerleaders Shake Up Cricket In Modest India

The Redskins cheer choreographer, Donald Wells, said the Indian cheerleaders he’s working with are already adept at shaking their hips and staying on the beat. He noticed that Indian cheerleaders were very expressive with their hands — Indian classical dance has countless hand motions — and joked that they probably wouldn’t need pompoms.

No need for pompoms, but maybe a few more water bottles.

both from the front page, The Washington Post, 4/19/08

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The Other ‘Casey’ in Baseball

Baseball, Books


When thinking ‘Casey’ and ‘Baseball’, it would not be unexpected for most people to think of the slugger for Mudville from the famous poem, Casey at the Bat. But there is another Casey in baseball, whose words are better known and are sung at most games, but whose identity has been lost in the unknown verses. She shares my daughter’s name, Katie Casey. Here’s how it goes:

Katie Casey was baseball mad, Had the fever and had it bad; Just to root for the home town crew, ev’ry sou, Katie blew

On a Saturday, her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go,
To see a show but Miss Katie said, “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do”:

CHORUS:

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and Crackerjack,
I don’t care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win it’s a shame
For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out,
At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names;
Told the umpire he was wrong,
all along, good and strong

When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew just what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:


Listen to the oldest known recording of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ recorded by Edward Meeker in 1908.

The song, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, was written and first became a hit in 1908, which happens to be the last time that the Cubs won the World Series. In 2008, we’re bringing Katie Casey back, and the Casey’s will help see the Cubs bring their own poetic ending to their 100-year championship drought. And though they lost a heartbreaker 4-3 in today’s opener with the Brewers, we don’t fret. This will be our year.

I am currently re-living the 1908 baseball season, and the Cubs last World Championship, with the help of the book, Crazy ’08 which I am enjoying greatly and highly recommend.

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