GOP only whines about it being "politics" when it's an issue they don't like

Okay. Then no Anthem, no God Bless America, no Faith nights, and no Military Appreciation days.

You can't have it both ways. You can't only cry "baseball is too political" when it concerns LGBTQ+ people and people of color. https://t.co/dJGSlDAncy

— Evan Lang (@evan_lang27) May 31, 2023

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

 

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXVI--Dodworth Saxhorn Band: Gee, It's a Wonderful Game

I'm not going to lie to you--if I were stranded on a deserted island, "Gee, It's a Wonderful Game" is not one of the top five thousand songs I'd be pining to hear again--but it's subject, baseball, is something that I would miss dearly.

Yes, our long winter wait is over, as baseball season begins Monday (yeah, yeah, I know there's a game on Sunday but the Giants start Monday and that's when my season begins), and thus my two sons, my daughter, my brother, my nephew and myself can begin our yearly fascination with the great game of baseball.

I first discovered "Gee, It's a Wonderful Game" on Ken Burns' documentary Baseball and the song captures wonderfully (so to speak) the joy of being a baseball fan.  Written by Michigan native and all-time great American sportswriter and short story writer Ring Lardner in 1911 (a new Jukebox record for oldest song featured), it's a paean to the early days of the sport at a time when baseball was the only national pastime.  Lardner (memorably portrayed by John Sayles in the film Eight Men Out) deftly weaves historical figures and early great baseball players with shared names (Christopher Columbus and Giants' great Christy Mathewson, Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie) into a narrative where he freely admits that much like Sam Cooke he doesn't know much about history--but he knows a lot about baseball.  Lardner also ties in Frank Chance of "Tinker to Evers to Chance" fame as well as definitely the meanest as well as perhaps the best player of all time, one   Tyus Cobb.  It's a tour de force of baseball and fandom if ever there was one--and I'd be willing to bet this is the only one that ever was.

Performed by Ann Arbor (it's a great day on Jukebox for Michiganders) brass ensemble The Dodworth Saxhorn Band, "Gee, It's a Wonderful Game" features just the kind of instrumentation you'd expect for a tune from 1911--tubas, trumpets, saxophones, and a surprising dearth of electric guitars.  Oh, well, you can't have everything.

Lyric Sheet:  "Baseball, baseball/Ain't it a dandy old game?"

It sure is.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

St. Louis blues

Before yesterday's game 4 of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, there was a peaceful protest outside of Busch Stadium in St. Louis for Mike Brown, the unarmed young man shot to death by a piss poor police officer in Ferguson, MO.  A group of Cardinals fans tried to shout down the peaceful protesters with the usual conservative drivel of a) get a job, b) go back to Africa, and c) we hate black people (actually "Let's go Darren Wilson"--same thing).

I wasn't surprised by the fact that Cardinals' fans were involved in such chickenshittery--I've attended baseball games all over America and Cardinals' fans are by far and away the biggest assholes.  I also wouldn't have been surprised had this occurred outside a of a Rams game.  Or a  St. Louis University basketball game.  Or a Blues game.

But a baseball game?  Baseball is to sports as Bob Dylan once was to rock 'n' roll--brains wrapped in a melody.  Baseball is a thinking person's game.

Who knew that idiots attended baseball games, too?

Peace,
emaycee

And now for something different

I'm a big baseball fan--more specifically, I'm a big San Francisco Giants fan.  Their season this year started spectacularly, and just as quickly was spectacularly awful.  They've turned it around a bit of late, and I was somewhat hopeful their chances were improving.

Until yesterday.  Cruising along with a 6-2 lead in the sixth inning against the potent Washington Nationals, their bullpen imploded and they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in literally a half an hour, losing 14-6.  After it was over, I thought, "You know, this team just isn't very good.  I'm tired of wasting my time reading articles, and watching games, and studying the stats.  I could be cracking open The Complete Shakespeare.  I could be watching those Sons of Anarchy DVDs that are gathering dust.  Or practicing my guitar more.  Or listening to the twelve volumes of folks music I downloaded from the Library of Congress.  I'm done with this season."

I did good last night--skipped the game articles, didn't look at the box score.  Watched old X-Files episodes instead.  Same with this morning--did my daily crossword puzzle, got started on my laundry list of chores for my exciting vacation this week.  About two hours into my morning, my youngest son (nine-years-old) wakes up.  First question he asks me, "Who are we playing today, Dad?" Completely oblivious to yesterday's soul-crushing loss.

"Buddy, it doesn't much matter.  The Giants aren't very good."

"We're still in it for the Wild Card."  Still oblivious to the fact that we suck--but he's nine, so...

"The Rockies."

"Three game series?"

"No, it's four."

"Heck, we could take three, for sure.  Maybe even sweep.  The Rockies are crappy."

Inside of an hour I was reading the recap from yesterday, checking out the box score, and reading comments from other near-suicidal Giants' fans.  You know, baseball is supposed to be fun.  It's the ultimate game of hope.

Thanks for the reminder, Beautiful Boy.

Peace,
emaycee

Pat Robertson must be so jealous

When your membership is plummeting and you're trying to dig yourself out from a child molestation scandal, nothing says "Yes, we really are batshit insane!" like questioning the agenda of the fucking Girl Scouts and forfeiting the boys state high school baseball championship in Arizona because a girl plays for the other team.

Sometimes you have to wonder who's the most piss poor leaders--the Catholic bishops or the numbnuts on Wall Street who got us into the financial meltdown.  Combined, I'm not sure both groups could match the I.Q. of a gnat.

Peace,
emaycee