Batting Practice

Read Casey at the Bat (below) first to refresh your memory, then enjoy this wonderful sendup by PJTV.  

Casey at the Bat   by Ernest Lawrence Thayer ©

Published: The Examiner (06-03-1888)

The Outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.  A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast; They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that - We’d put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat. But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake; So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat, For there seemed but little chance of Casey’s getting to the bat. But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball; And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred, There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third. Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell; It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell; It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat, For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place; There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile on Casey’s face. And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat. Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance gleamed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip. And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there. Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped- “That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one,” the umpire said. From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar, Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore. “Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted someone on the stand; And its likely they’d a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand. With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone; He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on; He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew; But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.” “Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud; But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed. They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain, And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again. The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate; He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go, And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow. Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out. “Phin”

And now the back story (there’s always a back story, isn’t there?).

In 1885 George Hearst decided to run for state senator in California.  He purchased the San Francisco Examiner in order to self-promote his political views, and after the election gave the newspaper to his son, William Randolph Hearst.  Thus began the Hearst publishing empire. 

William Randolph Hearst had some experience editing the Harvard Lampoon while at Harvard, and took three Lampoon staff members with him when he went to California.  One was Ernest L. Thayer, who signed his humorous Lampoon articles with the pen name “Phin”.  Thayer wrote Casey at the Bat and it was first published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888.  Baseball Almanac

And now you know the rest of the story.

Weighing In

Weighing in has more than one meaning, doesn’t it? 

Since we got a Wii a couple months back I have been weighing in almost every day as I take the body test and it tells me if I have gained or lost weight.  I’ve lost six pounds, but had to endure its smack talk on the days I backslide.

Last week I was on vacation the entire week and came back to find I weighed – exactly the same as when I left.  The Wii had nothing to say. I considered it quite an accomplishment, since vacations always seem to include too much food and not enough activity.  Relaxing on the beach doesn’t burn off a lot of calories. Not one word of congratulations from its rectangular white circuitry.

But back to weighing in.  Sometimes that means giving your opinion, asked for or not.  I’ve learned there are lots of times it’s better not to weigh in; the wise person observes instead of giving advice. I haven’t learned to be that wise person, though.

There’s a lot of political weighing in being done now, with opinions on Kagan for Supreme Court, Obama’s never ending bailout schemes, or how many seats the Republicans will pick up in November’s election. Boehner is now saying 130 seats could be in play, but not claiming Republicans will pick up that many.  That’s a lot of seats.  They only need, what – 47 to take back control of the house? 

Of course the Democrats are weighing in too,and their strategy for the November elections is still ”It’s all Bush’s fault.”  They are nothing if not consistent.  Their luck may have run out on that meme though.

So here’s my opinion on what happens when your luck is good, as the Republicans’ is for the fall, and the gods are smiling on your team’s side.  You become confident; you believe in yourself; you try things you normally wouldn’t. You know there are so many who will win that any potential misstep you might make, or even your loss, won’t be the end of the world. 

Here’s a case in point from Tim Burns in Pennsylvania.  When’s the last time you saw a Pixar-knockoff political ad?

It doesn’t tell you a darned thing about the candidates or Pennsylvania, but it does get your attention.

Exit question: Is it negative campaigning when you aren’t saying anything bad about your opponent?  Well, except implying he would support the 50 foot tall Pelosi.

Tell Us What You Really Think, Jack

This is from CNN, not that right wing Fox News. Is it now safe to say what you really think since it is obvious the people are turning on the Dems?

Did You Watch the Potentate’s Speech?

Did you watch the speech last night?

I did, of course.

Until I fell asleep, that is.

Here are some thoughts I had prior to loosing consciousness:

• Nancy Pelosi is probably the only woman in the world who can wear a pea-soup-green suit and not look like a pile of sick.
• Here comes the Cabinet members.  Hmm . . . Yikes!  I’ve seen pictures of that guy before, but I’ve never actually seen him.  Mark my words, someday we will find out he is a child molester.
• Finally, Obama is here, waiting to be announced.  Good lord, could he hold his chin any higher back there?  He does realize, doesn’t he, that it isn’t snowing and there won’t be anything to catch on his tongue.  Right??  He’s going to wake up with a painful kink in his neck tomorrow morning.
• Enough of the clapping already.  I didn’t tune in and wait and extra 10 minutes for this man to show up just to waste my time watching televised clapping.
• Great.  It looks like the whole thing is going to be about clapping.  Sit back down, Nancy.
• Why can’t politicians actually speak when they give a speech?  You know, speak from the heart, as if they really mean something.  Why is every speech just a carefully crafted succession of sound bites?
• Will somebody just give Nancy Pelosi some pom poms already?
• Let me get this straight Mr. Potentate, you’re saying 95% of America is going to get a tax cut, you’ve just spent an extra fragillion dollars,  you have the debt you inherited, AND you are going to cut the deficit in half by the end of your first term?  What next?  Are you going to pull a rabbit out of a hat?  Maybe saw a woman in half?  Please let it be Nancy Pelosi.
• SIT DOWN NANCY!
• So, when you say you are going to cut the national debt in half, are you just referring to the inherited debt, or are you referring to that PLUS the insane amounts of money you’ve just committed, by law, to spend?  I think I know.
• No earmarks in that bill.  *SNORT*
• Did the Speaker of the House just finish up a week of cheerleading camp, or what?
• Need to get the credit flowing again?  *Yawn*  Really, how many times are you going to beat that drum?  Any thinking person knows we’re in the trouble we’re in because too much credit was flowing.  It makes no sense to say we can fix that by giving people more credit.  We’re smarter than that Mr. Potentate.  Move along.
• Kudos to the republicans for having enough spine to stay in your seats while the rest of the room is following Nancy’s lead and doing the wave. 
• Yes, you’ve finally said something with which I can agree.  Education does need to start at home.  Just don’t start regulating that, mm’kay?
• Good grief.  She’s jumped up AGAIN and is clapping AGAIN.  That must be one well-made bra that woman is sporting under her pea-soup-green get-up.
• ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz