“He slud into third.”
It rained all day yesterday, sometimes heavily. Gracie didn’t go out until early in the evening when it was just sprinkling. Today is cloudy and humid, and I feel closed in by the humidity which sucks in all the air making it difficult to breathe. A leaf bounces in the air every now and then but there is no breeze. Even the birds are quiet, their songs dulled by the thick air. I have no ambition whatsoever.
I stayed up late and watched the Sox-Yankees game and was rewarded with a Sox win in the 10th. It amazes me that after so many games already played this season these two teams are only one game apart. Not bad for the Sox who started out 2-10.
Baseball is easy to understand which is probably why it is my favorite sport. I have no idea how football works other than the basics. I don’t even know what most of the guys standing on the line are supposed to do. I don’t care about my football ignorance nor do I care to learn any more. I still watch and applaud a first down for my team or a great run or a magnificent pass; however, when the announcer describes the play, he might as well be speaking gibberish.
From the time I was young, I understood baseball, even the intricacies and most of the terminology. I did learn a new one last year, the Mendoza Line. It hadn’t come up much with the hard hitting Sox. Years ago one of the male coaches in the high school where I worked considered women dabblers when it came to sports. I was in the teachers’ room when baseball was the topic of discussion. I mentioned it was my favorite sport, and he sort of smirked and asked if I knew anything beyond nine innings and three outs. I said I did, and he questioned me. Most of the questions were easy, and I handily answered them. He thought he’d get me with hitting for the cycle, but I knew it. He gave a look at the guys at the table and asked about a Texas leaguer. He stopped asking when I knew the answer. I was tempted to ask him about the last book he’d read, but I figured I’d be stereotyping, and besides, I knew from past conversations he considered Sports Illustrated a classic right up there with A Tale of Two Cities.
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August 8, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Hi Kat,
I used to follow baseball in the 70’s more than I do now. I would turn the radio and the TV to the game but the TV sound would be off. I preferred to listen to the radio commentators. TV guys didn’t talk about anything important anyway. I’d score the games in a notebook. I found one of them recently while cleaning the back bedroom. I have no idea what the little symbols mean anymore but if I found the code I could relive the game. 🙂
My only other sport interests are horse-related.
I have an amusing mental picture of what a nose tackle is supposed to do. 😀
It’s raining out again. This calls for an ice cream run. Hope you enjoy your day.
August 8, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Hi Caryn,
I used to do that with the Celtics as I loved to listen to Johnny Most, but I don’t with the Sox as I enjoy Don and Jerry. Those two can sometimes be hysterical setting themselves off and leaving day air as they chuckle.
We had sun late in the day, like around 3:30, but not everything has dried from yesterday. The humidity is a bit less but it is still a warm day. I wish I had thought of an ice cream run!
Enjoy the evening!
August 8, 2011 at 2:35 pm
I have absolutely no idea why Baseball isn´t popular at all over here! Swedes loves soccer, ice hockey and handball that´s it.
We have a baseball team in Skövde but they never advertise when they play and the web site is rather boring as well and hard to understand most of the time 🙂 🙂 🙂
So I´m doomed to see all sport I really don´t care for for the rest of my life 🙂 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 8, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Christer,
It’s probably not very popular as it is played in so few European countries. It’s huge in Japan which has been playing baseball since an American introduced it in 1872.
Latin America and the islands also play and many are major leaguers. Maybe the pace is too slow for countries which play soccer.
August 8, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Baseball is hard to understand for Europeans because they didn’t grow with it. It’s not part of their cultural world.
August 8, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Mario,
As I mentioned to Christer, it might also be the slow pace of baseball. The best pitched games are boring as little happens. The best games are the ones with lots of hits and fielding plays.
I don;t know why exactly it never caught on in Europe.
August 8, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Baseball is not a sport or a game, it’s really a past time. Baseball games are not constrained by the clock and it’s the only game where the defense has the ball and starts the play. Baseball is not a war between padded gladiators like football or hockey both are a result of a coach’s system. It’s a game of strategy, although less so in the AL since the designated hitter rule, and cheating. Stealing the other team’s signs and trying to figure out the percentages of platooning left handed against right handed is all part of the charm. What other past time do the fans keep score and frame the page if they are lucky enough to see a perfect game.
George Carlin compared baseball to football in a classic comedy bit forty years ago and it holds up well today. Here is the link to it on Youtube.
August 9, 2011 at 11:12 am
Bob,
I loved this so much. I loved how he changed his voice for the two games. The ending was magnificent!
August 9, 2011 at 1:04 am
Baseball is like cricket, except that the game is shorter, and offers less excitement.
August 9, 2011 at 11:06 am
Minicapt,
I have never seen a cricket match, only pieces on TV or in movies. Sometimes baseball gets darn exciting. The last three Sox games were amazing, but only in the late innings.