Dodgers Clinch /Fandom Explored
As I type, the Dodgers are breaking out the bubbly, having clinched a playoff spot. For me, this sucks blue goldfish. It’s been 55 years since my grandfather took me to my first game ever at the Polo Grounds, the year that Bobby Thomson hit the “Shot Hoid ‘Round Da Woild” I learned of the Giant/ Dodger rivalry. When we went back, weeks later, Willie had been called up, wearing #26. Being a NY Giants fan meant rooting against the Brooklyn Dodgers. When both teams moved to California, I continued and continue to root for the Giants when they played the Dodgers.
Now as for the American League; I’ve decided to ‘fan [not play] out my option’ with the Angels and sign with the Boston Red Sox [and, as a result thereof, I swear to root against the Yankees – an easy job]. I hereby pledge my allegiance to the “Sox O’ RED” and will root for them in every game they play, except of course when they play the Mets. It’s all so convoluted, this fandom stuff…
More when I’m ready, it’s my blog and I’ll type when I want to. Sorry Ms. Gore.
Fantasy Baseball
I ask that you pray for The Sea Otters, today. No, not the charming creature [we’ll pray for them and other species on election day, when, God be willing, this country elects a congress that loves our planet]. I’m talking about my current entry in the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball League, which has enabled me to develop an intense hatred for eleven strangers whose real names I don’t even know. It’s great fun. As the baseball season winds down, my scrappy bunch is tied for fourth and could finish as high as second. Prayers may be directed to the deity of your choice…
Beane Ball…
…has taken the Athletics to the top of the AL West and into the playoffs once again. Having lived in Northern California since Charlie O. brought them here, I’ve been privileged to follow [if not root for] one of the most interesting franchises in MLB history… Congrats. to all my friends who care. Being a fan is like being in love. It’s nice to get love in return. I believe Harden will take them at least into the second round, Ellis is the best A’s second-baseman since Dick Green and that for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows…
Metropolitans fans can relax. Martinez will be fine. If not, the time has come for Aaron Hielman to step up and step up he will, me thinketh… A Subway series would be nice, but I’m guessin’ the Twins, with the Mets in six… It’s nap time.
Road Trip…
…I’m spending the week in Santa Rosa, house/dog [Charley] sitting for Billy and Joanna… as I watched them pack their stuff, George Carlin’s bit about what to take on vacation came to mind. He is to comedy, what Willie was to baseball… aside, Chuckles, the sweetest shepherd dog on earth, and I walk suburbia, leaving cheer as we go…
as you may or may not know, of late this blog has an international following. It would be impossible for me to describe how that thrills me. I’m all for building international relationships.
‘Till that time.
Dodgers Steal Mets Thunder…
…FOUR homers in a row, two of them off a future Hall O’ Famer, Hoffman. a tip of my battered cap to da Bums… let’s give Bud Selig his props re. wildcard, a rousing success. does this balance out the canceling of the W.S., the All-Star Game fiasco or the FEMA-like way he handled [handles and will handle] the “performance enhancing” issues?. not really…more soon
As Sunday Becomes Monday…
…it’s difficult to make it a fun day just as long as there’s a mathamatical possibility that Willie Randolph will make the late “Genius” Gene Mauch and Charlie ‘my wife’s my agent’] [but a lousy one, as it turned out] Dressen not only late, but forgettable… Mets fans can NEVER rest easy…
…the pupil, Matt, did in the ol’ teacher me, on the courts of tennis in S.F. another bittersweet moment, losing 3-6… many long volleys.. my legs and wind are strong. i’m blessed… aside the loss, the day was splendid. the weather was perfect…Terrye and Joe are a treat. Matt’s new friend, Debbie lights up the room… over and out
The Pope Is “Sorry,” He Admits
I’m hep…
… Now, if he were just a tad bit apologetic, maybe we’d have something. This reflects badly on his alma mater, “Hitler Youth Grammar School” [where every song was a “fight song”].
As for me, I listen as Frank and Ella sing to each other in the background while I prepare to fight my battles on the tennis court.
If one is in the right place at the right time, life can be damned good. I am and it is.
Good Sabbath, Mets fans. Today We Celebrate.
From my mouth to gawd’s ears. This has been an especially satisfying Mets year for me [me me me, it’s always me] because Omar M, Met GM is a graduate of my alma mater, Newtown High School in Elmhurst, New York. I wonder if Hazel still teaches [she never really taught-taught] Spanish there.
Aside, the older I get, the more I wonder about a lot of things. For instance: Would a dyslectic White Sox fan say, “Wait ’till last year?”
Champagne on Ice…
…Mets fail to clinch but we have a winner. He’s Joe Mahtalotz who correctly named the late Richie Ashburn as the man who named the ‘Marvelous’ one, just that… sadly, these Mets icons both died far too soon…
On a happier note [and it would have to be], the ol’ ‘perfeser’ Casey, not only lived to a ripe old age but once told Marv, on his birthday, that he [Casey] was going to get him a cake but was afraid he’d drop it… all of this reminds me that the late and truly great Warren Spahn, my all-time pitching idol [Willie, of course, overall], often noted that he played for Stengel before AND after he was a genius… Spahn pitched for Casey’s inept Boston Braves and later in their careers was a pitcher/pitching coach with Stengel’s Mets, forming the oldest battery in baseball history with Yogi Berra in 1965…
why is it that i remember this stuff so easily, but can’t ever remember where I left my keys?. Come to think of it, being a ‘child of the sixties’ may have a lot to do with it…
I have a woman friend, also a ‘child of the sixties’, who is going through menopause. she gets hot-flashbacks… please tip your waitress, but be sure to return her to an upright position…
Mets Trivia Answers
Their full name is the Metropolitans and the name “Skyliners” finished second in the contest to name the team… Who’s buried in M. Donald Grant’s tomb? M. Donald Duck. Who named Marv Throneberry “Marvelous Marv?” Richie Ashburn.
Comfortably Zoned with Ralph Zig Tyko 