March the seventh. 30 days to go to opening day. The news comes in from the MRI. Yu Darvish is out for the season.
I really didn't think the Rangers had a great shot this year. Too many holes, weak bullpen. But at least we had four solid starters. And our No. 1 guy just could be the best in baseball. We had something to live for, something to look forward to. Now what?
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let this commercial dog ruin my Christmas! (Wait, that's Charlie Brown.) As bad as last year was, I was still all tingly about the season coming up. Am I just going to let it all go to shreds?
No, baseball is bigger than that. It's not all just about the Rangers. It's about 30 teams performing repetitive tasks for 162 days. It's about countless moments of drama unfolding like a long epic odyssey of dreams, frustrations and triumphs. Didn't you watch the Ken Burns series? Baseball is a metaphor for everything!
Well, I'll be damned if I'll give up my own special secular religion to live in six months of despair in the waste land! Wherever baseball goes, I will go. There's plenty of players and teams with whom we can identify. (Start with the Cubs!) This year, I'm branching out and embracing the entire world that is Major League Baseball. That's right, both leagues!
Think about the American League East. The Yankees and the Red Sox. Is that not an immortal rivalry, forged in the manifold of time? And if the Orioles are contending again? (Okay, I don't care much about Tampa Bay or Toronto, either, but they round out the field.)
The Central? Hey, wasn't it exciting to see Kansas City back in it? And Detroit still has Cabrera and Verlander and that old manager who smokes cigarettes. And those other three teams - well, they'll be playing, too, one supposes.
Now look at the National League! I love to see the pitcher bat! It may be boring, but it's fair, and that's what this great game is all about, isn't it? The hell with specialization, no punters or 3rd-down fullbacks here!
Start with the East. Atlanta. Okay, I don't care either. But the Mets! Don't you want another subway series? (Don't worry, the Mets aren't going to win.) And just what is it with the Phillies, anyway? Miami? Huh?
Well, let's move on to the Central - that's probably the most exciting division in the game. We've got the Cards, one of the biggest, brightest clubs in the game. We've got the Pirates competing again - the ghosts of Clemente and Willie Stargell are stirring. The Reds might do good. And Tom Neal can root for the Brewers. Then there's . . . THE CUBBIES! We can root for them, and we don't care if they lose every game! Do we? Well, do we? I don't know. I kinda wish they'd win.
Then on to the West. I bleed Dodger blue, baby! (How old is Vin Scully?) The first major league park I ever visited, back in 1970! (I just got out of the parking lot last week.) The Dodgers are MY TEAM! Except when they play in San Francisco in that cool park with the baseball glove and Coke bottle and all those rich people in boats. Then there's Arizona and Colorado. (What am I saying?) Hell, who am I leaving out? Somebody. Oh, San Diego. Never mind.
And I'm not giving up on the Rangers! No, they're not going to win, but they're OUR HOME TEAM, right? There's still Dollar Hot Dog Night and Fireworks Fridays. The main thing is that we can all get together and commune together in 103-degree heat and drink $8 beers. Plus, we can still root against every other team in the American League West, can't we? (Except maybe Seattle, because they have that cute little train.)
The point is that BASEBALL IS BASEBALL, and I'm not going to be cheated out of another season. Hell, I don't know how many I have left! So I'm going the DirecTV route, I don't care if I have to give up HBO to do it! I'm following everybody this year. (Or at least everybody that's winning.) I may even start gambling online again. (Just kidding, honey.)
Look to this spot for the real Spirit of Baseball. I plan to keep my eyes peeled (or is it my nose), and I'll keep everybody up to date on all the big matchups, the stats that matter, the 15-inning wonders that keep me up too late while real life passes me by.
Who's with me? Who wants 162 days of sheer drama and drudgery? (Actually, I'm going to have the sound off and be reading or listening to music most of the time, but by God, I'm going to keep up!)
I know what you're saying: Pete, don't you already devote too much time to irrelevant things that no one cares about? And to you I say a big fat: "So?"
Stay tuned, true believers. They can't take it away from us. (Unless of course if they have another of their many strikes.) Baseball fever will sweep the nation - or at least my den.
Please join me here. We'll get through all that basketball distraction, and we'll all be here ready for the first game on Sunday night, April 5.
The Cubs are playing.
(At least I didn't buy a 20-game pass this year.)
