2008 Woodie Awards
Inside the Line: April showers bring may flowers and the return of the American pastime
J. Andrew Horvath
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
Except for private healthcare, Silicon Valley and football, there's nothing more American than baseball. There's something that goes on at the start of baseball season.
It's like getting ready to go on a very long trip, where the fans hope they packed enough refreshments, the managers hope they packed enough relief pitchers, and the position players hope they packed enough…flaxseed oil.
Even though the baseball season did technically start a week ago in Japan, there aren't enough Hello Kitty backpacks or Elvis Presley lunchboxes in the world to convince me that opening day isn't really an American holiday.
How could it not be a day to celebrate when everyone finally gets to play some meaningful games again, except for the Yankees and Cardinals who are afraid of a little rain and Barry Bonds who has to end his career not with a bang but a whimper?
Who doesn't love the Chicago Cubs, except secretly Steve Bartman? They're the real-life Bad News Bears.
In fact, it seems that April Fool's Day came a day early for the poor Cubbies. Their game on March 31st ended in defeat at the hands of the Brewers. In an ironic twist, their new Jap-bat and rookie of the year candidate Kosuke Fukudome played as needed, but the team still managed a loss. This is, of course, largely thanks to former ace Kerry Wood, who in his debut as closer pitched well enough to allow three earned runs in a single inning.
Out of fairness, Eric Gagne fared no better but that surprised about as many people as Lindsey Lohan's latest foray into rehab.
After the game even the old general, Lou Piniella, seemed to be playing a joke on everyone. He was relaxed and calm, even more so than a manager should be on opening day. You can always count on the Cubs to fall apart in an even more comical way than the Mets normally do. The fact that the team is "celebrating" the hundred-year anniversary of their last World Series victory this season will only serve to drive these unfortunate losers onward.
It's like getting ready to go on a very long trip, where the fans hope they packed enough refreshments, the managers hope they packed enough relief pitchers, and the position players hope they packed enough…flaxseed oil.
Even though the baseball season did technically start a week ago in Japan, there aren't enough Hello Kitty backpacks or Elvis Presley lunchboxes in the world to convince me that opening day isn't really an American holiday.
How could it not be a day to celebrate when everyone finally gets to play some meaningful games again, except for the Yankees and Cardinals who are afraid of a little rain and Barry Bonds who has to end his career not with a bang but a whimper?
Who doesn't love the Chicago Cubs, except secretly Steve Bartman? They're the real-life Bad News Bears.
In fact, it seems that April Fool's Day came a day early for the poor Cubbies. Their game on March 31st ended in defeat at the hands of the Brewers. In an ironic twist, their new Jap-bat and rookie of the year candidate Kosuke Fukudome played as needed, but the team still managed a loss. This is, of course, largely thanks to former ace Kerry Wood, who in his debut as closer pitched well enough to allow three earned runs in a single inning.
Out of fairness, Eric Gagne fared no better but that surprised about as many people as Lindsey Lohan's latest foray into rehab.
After the game even the old general, Lou Piniella, seemed to be playing a joke on everyone. He was relaxed and calm, even more so than a manager should be on opening day. You can always count on the Cubs to fall apart in an even more comical way than the Mets normally do. The fact that the team is "celebrating" the hundred-year anniversary of their last World Series victory this season will only serve to drive these unfortunate losers onward.
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