There are many things I love about Baseball. One of them is its extraordinary capacity to surprise. Just when you think it's all routine, something seemingly unique will happen. Right at the beginning of the season you had Mark Buerhle's once in a lifetime play to get a runner at first. I just watched the video again and noticed something I hadn't seen before: the first baseman also contributed nicely, making the out possible by extending his right arm and grabbing the toss bare handed. Buerhle's play was unique, but it wasn't a fluke accident. It's quite clear that the southpaw was making a very deliberate effort to make this play, resulting in an extremely rare convergence of instinct, intelligence, and imagination. See the video clip here. Another early season treat was the Mets' twenty inning victory over St. Louis. And not just any 20 inning game, but a game that was 0-0 after 18 innings! (The longest such show of scoring futility since 1989, when the Dodgers beat the Expos 1-0 in 22 innings.) So imagine this: the Mets FINALLY get a run in the 19th and you think, ok, that's it, only to see Frankie Rodriguez give up the tying run in the bottom half of the inning. But they found redemption and pulled it out. Speaking of the Mets, their new kid, Ike Davis, had a very impressive major league debut last night, helping the New Yorkers to a 6-1 win over the Cubbies. And I see that Jason Bay is off to a lousy start. Dilemma: do I escape work tomorrow to go see Stephen Strasburg pitch on City Island in a rare morning ball game?
4.20.2010
The New Season
There are many things I love about Baseball. One of them is its extraordinary capacity to surprise. Just when you think it's all routine, something seemingly unique will happen. Right at the beginning of the season you had Mark Buerhle's once in a lifetime play to get a runner at first. I just watched the video again and noticed something I hadn't seen before: the first baseman also contributed nicely, making the out possible by extending his right arm and grabbing the toss bare handed. Buerhle's play was unique, but it wasn't a fluke accident. It's quite clear that the southpaw was making a very deliberate effort to make this play, resulting in an extremely rare convergence of instinct, intelligence, and imagination. See the video clip here. Another early season treat was the Mets' twenty inning victory over St. Louis. And not just any 20 inning game, but a game that was 0-0 after 18 innings! (The longest such show of scoring futility since 1989, when the Dodgers beat the Expos 1-0 in 22 innings.) So imagine this: the Mets FINALLY get a run in the 19th and you think, ok, that's it, only to see Frankie Rodriguez give up the tying run in the bottom half of the inning. But they found redemption and pulled it out. Speaking of the Mets, their new kid, Ike Davis, had a very impressive major league debut last night, helping the New Yorkers to a 6-1 win over the Cubbies. And I see that Jason Bay is off to a lousy start. Dilemma: do I escape work tomorrow to go see Stephen Strasburg pitch on City Island in a rare morning ball game?
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