On This Eve

On This Eve

When the field is perfect, and you’re pretty sure all the teams are showing up. When the hotdogs and the hamburgers are bought, the coolers are full of soda, and Howards is out of wiffleballs. When the bats are taped, handles gripped, and you can’t sleep because you keep thinking about the smell of the dew on the grass when you’re taking your warmup tosses from third to first. And the dirt on the basepad is perfect. You can’t sleep because, in your daydream of tomorrow your cleats feel sharp, the ball feels perfectly formed into the palm of your throwing hand, the sleeves on your shirt are cut to the exact specification of your best.

On this Eve, as the 14th annual Wackfest lingers, you can’t sleep because this is two pure days of nothing but bat and ball. You can’t sleep because this is the only time in the year you get to play three games in one day, in anything. You can’t sleep because three games means three chances for a game winning double into the rightfield gap. You can’t sleep because your thinking about three chances for a tie game all-out, balls-to-the-wall, parallel-to-the-earth, bone busting full speed diving catch to save three runs in the top of the last. You can’t sleep because this is three chances for a walkoff. This is three chances for the people to leave saying, “you just had to be there.”

On this Eve, whether you’re defending a title or chasing your first wiffleball championship, you can’t sleep because this is your big leagues. This is your show. This is your Braggin’ Rights game. Four on four. A white ball and a yellow bat. No gloves. No managers. No season tickets. No jersey sales. No umpires. Just the love of the game.

Your walkoff is one pitch away.

WACKFEST 2008

Mulder's little buddy!

I just got off a three day raft trip with Mark Mulder's off season neighbor and good buddy. I found out this information after I made the comment that the Cardinals could pull a strong playoff push together if Carpenter got healthy and "Mulder got his head out of his ass."

It was a pleasant surprise when he told me he had talked to Mark the previous night. Oops. Once we became friends again, and I explained my frustration with the once upon a time "Cardinal ace," he gave me a little insight on Mulder.

Apparently, despite the huge contract and millions of dollars for doing nothing, Mulder actually IS frustrated with his slow progress. According to my source, he is getting closer, he has reassembled his delivery, and he's hitting the strike zone more often than not. But its been three days since they last talked and since I've seen anything concerning Mulder, so chances are good that there's been another setback, although I haven't seen anything in print that suggests that.

He did tell me that he and Mark played golf together the week before Spring training. That's pretty...fishy? Last time I checked you use your shoulders quite often in the sport of golf, and if Mulder swings a golf club like he's been throwing a baseball over the last three years, which is pretty much completely out of control, then I can't imagine golf being a good thing for Mulder. Especially when we're paying him millions of dollars.

Who's sick of Marky Mark?