Sosa, Bonds, Clemens and Cooperstown
by Stephen Jones
“Ladies and gentlemen, the ballot is . . .”
At Cooperstown it’s Sosa, Bonds, Clemens.
It’s pretty soon time for first-round voting,
but pundits and voters are already griping:
Despite cases dismissed and transcripts
revealed, hearts are already convinced:
“Something” wasn’t and isn’t right.
Pete Rose is probably chuckling,
fuming or both. At least he’s admitting
(somewhat) transgression. The others?
Not a peep.
Say YES to NO
by Raphael Badagliacca
This much we know
To close the door
It helps to have
A name that ends in NO
If the Sandman cannot show
We need the other NO
The World Series: It Just Happened, Right?
by Stephen Jones
After Hurricane Sandy, and some days -
a rout of water washed memory away -
I try and recall the World Series.
Television numbers, ratings a barometer
of national enthusiasm, were lower,
much lower. So how to dissect this?
Critics argue: the Series starts too late.
Schedule it to start on an earlier date.
But this alone doesn’t make the Series
more memorable. Maybe it was what
lack of punch Detroit brought to the plate?
Or San Fran’s sudden metamorphosis?
Maybe a team peaked too soon while the other
crested even above its own high water
mark? In a season, any team will do this.
If I was an ardent hometown fan, Yes
I’d crow from the bleachers unabashed.
My team won – that’s all that matters.
But past the TV hype, the predictions
and overwhelming prognostications,
I try and recall the World Series.
Something happened. Or maybe not.
It was like the last pitch of the last out:
Cabrera not blinking, not even swinging -
Detroit in the eye of a storm not of its doing.
World Series, Day 4
by Ember Nickel
There was an extra round and there was rain
And there were extras. None of that would keep
The playoffs from concluding in their main
Month here. Win by the sweep, lose by the sweep.
The Tigers could go yard once they would try it,
The Giants showed them how. It’s not too weird
To overhear the yelling from “the riot”
Nor to watch the closer’s secondhand beard.
Let the rain fall; today the sky is orange.
Base, Bat & Beyond…
by Michael X. Ferraro
I am the sack who transformed a chopper
Into a double for Angel Pagan.
I’m Pence’s bat, since tossed in the hopper,
Labelled by Cards fans as a “tragic” wand.
What will be our inanimate topper?
It’s the stuff of Tom Robbins … and beyond.
Michael X. Ferraro is the author of Tased & Amused: The Shocking Poetic Recap of the 2010 Baseball Season, available on Amazon.