"my tattered heart"

I heard the following quote from Ichiro during last night's WBC game. Describing his failed bunt attempt in the Cuban game the night before, he said that it was "another crack in my tattered heart" and that he felt as if he were wearing a Cuban uniform. Oh, the drama. I would love to know what the original Japanese was. Anyway, the quotation sent me immediately to make a postcard, which I did using a newspaper cutting sent earlier this week by a friend in Kyoto.

Japan gets its (unstated) wish and will face the US, the weak sister in the quartet of teams left, on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, I wish I'd seen Joe Blanton yesterday in the Grapefruit League. He pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Even more impressive, he never threw more than four balls per inning. The Phillies continue in Jupiter for another day, today facing the Cards.

a soggy mess

I'm about to watch the Korea-Japan game in San Diego, which is being played to determine the seeding in the semi-finals. Let's hope it's not raining there as it was last night in Miami. Playing that game was foolish. Venezuela has the better record; there was no reason not to give them the higher seeding. Instead, they played in the rain. All for the sake of tickets sold no doubt. Once again the American starting pitching was sketchy. Venezuela took a big lead, the US almost pulled even, but in the end the V-team pulled away.

The American team is the only one that seems to have injury after injury. Next time, and I hope there is a next time, they should either get their players in shape or make sure that the rosters are such that replacements can be made.

Japan knocked Cuba out of the WBC the other night, which must have been a devastating shock to the Cubans and their fans. Japan, Korea, and Venezuela look strong, while the US is limping its way into the next round. Jake Peavy again on the mound on Sunday. Any chance he'll do well?

a fishfry in ocean city and more from miami

I ended last week's assignment in Ocean City, Maryland, with a fishfry dinner at St. Mary Star of the Sea late Friday afternoon, then drove back to Pennsylvania. It wasn't "a fish dinner at Memison" or "Babette's feast", but it was very good, with flounder and shrimp, mac and cheese, baked potato, stewed tomatos, mesclun salad, and a memorable coleslaw. The people were friendly and the atmosphere in the social hall was congenial. All in all, it was quite a cultural experience: I had never been to a church dinner before. Capping it off, a local art school had an exhibition of student work on the walls.

Last night I watched the thrilling 9th inning comeback by Team USA to beat Team Puerto Rico 6-5 and knock them out of the WBC. It was an odd inning, with Phillies and Mets all over it. With the US trailing 5-3, Shane Victorino led off. He managed a single up the middle against Phillie teammate J.C. Romero (very odd match-up that). Brian Roberts followed with another single.

Jeter, who muffed a couple of plays in the field, then flied out. Last night we were spared Sutcliffe and O'Brien. Instead, we had amateur hour with Matt, Harold, and Al. Sheesh. And not one had the onions to say that Rollins would have made the plays Jeter didn't. Instead, it was more nattering about the captain. Rollins, as DH, followed Jeter at the plate and gave Romero a battle, during which Roberts stole 2nd--and how he was not out, I don't know. In the end Rollins worked a walk and Romero (I feel for you) was lifted for the closer, who walked Youkilis to make the score 5-4. All David Wright had to do was lift one to the outfield to tie the game. Instead, he hit a double to right and Roberts and Rollins both waltzed home.

Team USA went mad at the plate. Mike Schmidt was in the middle of it all! If Schmidt is an odd choice for 3rd base coach, I wonder what Davey Johnson is. I understand that he had no bench last night but really he's been managing the games as if he had no stake in them at all. I felt bad for the Puerto Rican team, even if it was loaded with Mets, but for the sake of the WBC it's good that the US advances to the semifinals.

Yu Darvish was pitching last night for Japan against Korea but he was not quite sharp, nor was the Japanese defense. I only lasted till midnight, going back and forth between that game in San Diego and the Sixers game against the Lakers in LA. This morning I learned that Team Korea had held on for a 4-1 win and that Andre Iguodala had made a three-point shot at the buzzer to beat the Lakers 94-93. When is this guy going to get the love he deserves?

altered memories

I altered this card to send to Mrs. October but now realize I must alter it again. She might not dig the WFC reference.

moss is blooming!
sparrows come
to hear me brag
--Issa, 1814

Here it's crocuses, suddenly in bloom all over the front lawn!

another wbc disgrace

Late in Sunday night's game between the Nederland and the USA, Bryan Engelhardt of the Nederland hit a solo home run, the first for the Dutch team in the Classic. Engelhardt made the mistake of pausing to watch the arc of the ball, then hopped as he headed around the bases. That made David Wright, lounging on the bench, leap to his feet and start yelling. What a joke. Wright after all is on the Mets, a team that is known for its pimping. Can anyone say, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose?

So what did pitcher Matt Lindstrom of the Marlins do? He threw behind the next batter. And the Nederland bench emptied onto the field. What a disgrace. The Dutch were down 8-3 in the 8th and their run was over. Was there any need for the American team to overreact as they did? It was simply pathetic and made me cringe.

I then heard Rick Sutcliffe drone on about what a leader David Wright was and how the Dutch just should not have acted that way. This guy is maybe the worst color guy in all of baseball. He was again drooling all over Derek Jeter. who DH'd in the game---and wasn't very happy doing it. At one point, when a Dutch pitcher struck Jeter out, Sutcliffe opined that the pitcher had learned something valuable about how Jeter plays the game. Maybe what the Dutch learned is that when the better shortstop--yes, Rollins---gets the start, the game is different.

Two WBC match-ups to watch: tonight's game between Puerto Rico and Venezuela and the rematch between Japan and Korea.

enough with the deja-vu

Honestly, I woke this morning thinking about Chan Ho Park's sparkling outing yesterday. I was thinking too that the last time the Phillies went into a season with a plethora of pitchers, they ended up going through 27 or 28 by year end. Several hours later I heard the news that Cole Hamels is headed tomorrow to Philadelphia for an elbow examination. Nothing to worry about, sez Hamels. Nothing to worry about, reiterates Amaro, Jr. Is or isn't, there's no point in worrying till the doctor speaks and Hamels does or does not start the season.

Let's hope that the race for the 5th starter stays just that, a race for 5th. The leaders so far are Chan Ho Park and J.A. Happ. I've become rather partial to Park, who has refined his change-up, to great success, under the tutelage of Jamie Moyer. Park says he much appreciates the pitching tip but admires Moyer even more as a person. That's pretty cool. I like that CHP also appreciates his many fans in South Korea. He says that when times were tough there some years ago, people were cheered by his pitching performances in LA. That's why he wants to start, so that his Korean fans will be able to follow him.

I also saw a sweet article about Chan Ho and his Korean-Japanese wife, who recently put out a cookbook based on the meals she makes for her famous hubby. Park looked absolutely besotted in the picture that accompanied the piece. Very sweet.

mercy, mercy---ouch!

Last night's WBC game between the US and Puerto Rico was a rout. I bailed after a couple of innings. Jake Peavy looked lost, while Javier Vasquez suddenly rediscovered his promise. If he pitches like that for the Braves this year, the NL East will be even more interesting. With Puerto Rico up 11-1, the mercy rule was invoked in the 7th inning. What a disgrace. Tonight the US takes on Nederland. Sad to say, but if the Americans go down before reaching the final round, it will be a blow to the future of the WBC.

burrell thanks philly fans

I was still in Maryland yesterday and missed seeing the Philadelphia papers. This morning online I learned that Pat Burrell had taken out a full page ad in both the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, thanking the Phillies organization and the Philadelphia fans for his nine years in the city. It was a sweet thing for Burrell to do. I hope he does well in Tampa but I think he's already really missing Philadelphia. In less than three weeks, he'll be there again. Won't that be strange?

Mrs. October called while I was gone. She's got tix for opening day, which means I'll be selling mine. When I called her back this morning, she said, "I'm getting excited about this." At 94, she knows exciting.

nederland stuns dominicans

Last night in an 11-inning stunner in San Juan, the scrappy Netherlands team eliminated the mighty Dominican Republic. Start to finish the game was a nailbiter. Flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez started for the Dominicana and struck out 10 in four innings, but another youngster, Tom Stuifbergen (sic?) of the Netherlands, was able to stifle the big bats of the 'republic of baseball'. Each team had some chances and each time came up short. Finally, in the 11th, the Dominicans pushed across a run. Game over, right? No, the Netherlands tied it. Unbelievable. Then, with the help of more sloppy play by the DR, got another. Game over! Unbelievable.

As color analyst Jim Kaat said at game end, "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." I don't know how the game played in the Netherlands, but it was a thriller. Yay, yay, yay! Watching the players and coaches celebrate on the field was sweet.

Bless the editor who suddenly changed the deadline I had yesterday! That meant that I was able to watch this game and some of the one between Italy and Venezuela in Toronto. Italy, another scrappy underdog, hung in till the 4th, then Venezuela took over in a 10-1 rout. I had to bail on the Australia-Cuba game in Mexico City after a couple of innings but did get to see the young Cuban pitcher, named Chapman, a long, tall bolt of electricity. And I also saw the fabulous 4-6-3 play turned by Cuba on a groundout. Not a double play, mind you. When I tottered off to bed, it was 1-0 Cuba. I learned this morning that Cuba had won 5-4, barely beating the surprising Aussies.

japanese-american baseball

My co-blogger (where is she) got this postcard on a recent visit to the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles. It's from a show called Growing Up Nisei. The caption says that playing baseball was a popular diversion among Japanese-Americans interred in detention camps during World War II.

quick takes on the wbc

I shall miss the 5:30 a.m. games from Tokyo, the ones that are easiest to catch because they happen around breakfast. The last one, this morning, between Korea and Japan was a taut thriller that ended 1-0 in favor of Korea.

Orestes Destrade, though, is really hard to take. I'd be hard-pressed to say who is worse, Destrade, who slobbered interminably over Japanese baseball, or Rick Sutcliffe, another awful, awful color guy, who kept swooning over 'the captain' in last night's USA-Venezuela game. Two finger jobs, both. At least Jon Sciambi (sic?) reined Destrade in somewhat. Dave O'Brien, paired with Sutcliffe, was often off in his own universe. Then there was the droning of Charlie Steiner, doing the Australia-Mexico game, and caught to his dismay in a badly-pitched offensive uprising that Australia, surprise, surprise, won 17-7.

What we have learned again is that the games draw big-time when the hometown team is playing. When they are not, attendance drops off big-time. If I were the organizers, I would scale ticket prices, bloated as is, accordingly. So lower the prices for the other games!

The bits I saw of the USA-Canada game looked pretty exciting. So did the USA-Venezuela tilt last night, though there were maybe 30,000 fewer people in the stands in Toronto.

I also checked in briefly on the Italy-Venezuela game on Saturday and happened to see a spectacular diving catch by outfielder Mario Chiarini. It was breathtaking defense. The Aussie team looked like an offensive juggernaut against Mexico, who was the clear favorite in the match-up. Team China, though sent to an early exit, really seems to have come a long way.

Last, Panama was done in two. Too bad for Panama but good news for Phillies' fans. Carlos Ruiz is on his way back.

madama butterfly

So I went to see the simulcast of Madama Butterfly yesterday and got this raincheck (for a movie not simulcast) because the sound punked out at the start of the opera. Several members of the audience broke the silence with loud hissy fits, as if the cinema had screwed up the sound on purpose.

Patricia Racette, as Cio-Cio-San, was superb. At the first intermission, she mugged for the camera while touching on the challenges of playing a 15-year-old when twice that age. Racette is obviously more like three times that and her acknowledgement of it was hilarious. At least Racette had an age peer in her leading man. Marcello Giordani, as Pinkerton, and Dwayne Croft, as Sharpless, were both very good. Maria Zifchak did a good job as Suzuki.

Puccini's music is wonderful but the story of Butterfly irritates me no end. This production, by the late Anthony Minghella, had minimalist staging and made clever and effective use of a bunraku-type puppet as the child Sorrow. Loved the puppet and the puppeteers, but I'm a fool for bunraku. Still, I did not like the Cio-Cio puppet to start Act 3. For one thing, the puppet looked like an old lady. I also could not stand the costumes by fashion designer Han Feng, which were weirdly off.

We were stuck in the middle of a lot of dolled-up members of the local opera club. One was wearing a bottle of perfume. It was sick-making. Then there was the puffed-up coot in front who was perhaps confused by the Japanese theme and thought it was karaoke time. Act 2 is all Cio-Cio and as she started so did he, singing along and imitating a conductor. His wife seemed to enjoy it but no one else did.

hungry

I noticed this quartet grazing in a front yard on my way home yesterday afternoon.

The WBC goes on in Tokyo and starts elsewhere today. Korea trounced Chinese Taipei 9-0, then was smacked around by Japan, which suddenly found its bats, to the tune of 14-2. In between, China eliminated Chinese Taipei. Korea now takes on China. Its two wins mean that Japan advances to round two. I again saw bits and pieces of all of these games. As soon as color guy Orestes Destrade starts calling the Japanese players 'san', though, I've got to bail.

Again, what a treat last night to listen to Franzke and Andersen doing the game between the Phillies and Blue Jays. Chan Ho Park, who passed on pitching in the WBC to try to win a spot in the rotation, pitched well. Larry Andersen was again in full season form, grousing about the umpires. A Jays' fan within sound of the mike concurred with him. Franzke and Andersen have an enjoyably lighthearted rapport.

Off to the opera this afternoon, which means I'll miss the opening game between Canada and the US, the games in Puerto Rico, and another radio broadcast from Florida.

red, green, blue and yellow

Yesterday Tommy Lasorda was in New York to flip the switch on the Empire State Building. For the duration of the World Baseball Classic, it will be lit in red, green, blue and yellow, the colors of the Classic's logo.

Something interesting gleaned from yesterday's game: Yu Darvish, the Japanese starter, mentioned that he had trouble throwing his curveball because it was hard to grip the cowhide baseballs used in the Americas and in the WBC. The horsehide ball used in Asia is not so slick, which makes it easier to grip. Why do I have the feeling this is a factoid that will come up every four years?

sadaharu oh throws out first pitch at wbc

Early this afternoon at 42nd Street and 9th Avenue. Too many of the new buildings going up in Times Square look alike.

I was going to New York this morning, which is how I ended up watching bits and pieces of the first game of the World Baseball Classic. Held at the Tokyo Dome between Team Japan and Team China, it started at 4:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. I wanted to see the game because Yu Darvish was starting for Japan. He went four innings and looked OK but certainly not like, as he's been touted, the "best pitcher in the world." He didn't even look as good as that kid I saw early one wet spring several years ago when I was spinning my wheels in Tokyo and watching the spring high school tournament. That Yu wowed me.

On the other hand, it's sort of a spring training game and he was pitching against China. Not to knock Team China, which is definitely not the team I saw a couple of years ago in Arizona. Team China has made strides since then. Defense is better, speed is good. The pitching is more Jamie Moyer than Cole Hamels, but this morning both China and Japan looked like light-hitting teams. In the end Japan managed to turn its hits into runs and won the game 4-0. But China was a lot better than I thought it would be.

A frail Sadaharu Oh threw out the first pitch. He was in the dugout for the last WBC but is now suffering from stomach cancer. It was touching to see him again.

oh, those aching bodies

Cole Hamels threw two scoreless innings today in his first game of spring season, a 9-2 victory over Team Canada. So far, Hamels seems to be OK though he spoke afterwards about having to remember what to do out there. An MLB report, however, talked about Jimmy Rollins' back problem, which, it seems, has been bothering him since the post-season. Uh-oh indeed. Chase Utley is still rehabbing his hip and Pedro Feliz his back. Chad Durbin and Chris Coste both have hamstring issues. Jayson Werth has a sore shoulder. And Brad Lidge is stiff. One big reason teams do not repeat: health.

Here the temperature reached 30 today.

The World Baseball Classic starts tomorrow in Japan. The game between China and Japan will be on TV at 4:30 a.m. Sorry, China, but no contest. Yu Darvish is supposed to start for Japan.

John Mayberry, Jr. continues to mash. Wonder if Greg Golson is also making the most of his change of scenery.

about that snowdrop

It was frigid last night and I woke this morning thinking about that snowdrop sighted on Saturday. It's now under nine inches of snow but will doubtless be ready to bloom once the snow is gone. If I had spent last night outside, I'd be 'late'. The hardiness of plants never ceases to amaze.

The IronPigs put their single game tickets on sale last Friday and sold just short of 10,000. That was up from the 9,000 sold last year on the same day. It's still a good value. Club level seats (sold out) are the most expensive, at $14. Field level seats are $9. General admission is $6. Last year's team was awful but the club had a stellar debut season. If they top it this year, they should start minting 'piggies' for circulation.

Adam Eaton signed a minor league contract with the Orioles. Go for it, Adam.

after snowdrop, snow

I saw the first snowdrop, a tight little bud, two days ago. Last night the snow started. This morning at 7:00, I was shoveling a path to the mailbox, then sweeping off the car. There was maybe five inches, but it was dry enough to push around with ease. I noted that around 8:00 it started snowing again. I left at 9:15 for a 10:00 am appointment, figuring I'd stop at the post office and also pick up some bird feed. Pulling out of the driveway, I fishtailed. The road, clear at seven, was suddenly a mess. I made it to the p.o., slowly, slowly, then into town, where visibility was if anything worse. No time for the birds.

I did stop after my appointment, then crept home. The roads were just awful. I guess the township decided not to plow until the snow was gone. It was one lane pretty much the whole way. I was just lucky I didn't run into any of the ----wits out earlier on my way into town. It was blizzard conditions for the entire morning, with snow blowing fast and furious. Each time I stopped the car for an errand, I had to clean it off. By the time I got home at noon, another three inches had fallen.

Then around one, it all stopped, the sun came out, and it was just another windy freezing winter day in Pennsylvania. As I write, the temperature is about 14F and the 'realfeel' is in the minus digits. The wind howls. Spring must be just around the corner.

In today's main game both J.A. Happ and the adorable Carlos Carrasco got a bit battered. But the Phillies did the same to the Jays' starters and won the game 12-7. No game tomorrow. Peace.

of woodpeckers and hummingbirds

I watched this woodpecker 'sleeping' at the feeder the other morning. He was there---immobile, head back, just hanging---for at least 20 minutes. I was making breakfast when I first noticed him and finally had to stop what I was doing to watch. At last he stirred and flew away.

Today's game vs. the Braves was on the radio. How much better to listen to Larry Andersen and Scott Franzke, a super duo. LA is, of course, not at all into spring training games. Today he was ripping on inept pitching by lefty relievers. His theory is that parents should train their kids to be lefty relievers because just about any lefty throwing anything can get a job in the bigs. Needless to say, he thought many of them should be in another line of work---or learn how to pitch.

Brett Myers started and was followed by Chan Ho Park. Both pitched pretty well. The bats finally came to life against the first lefty reliever trotted out by the Braves. In the end, the Phillies won 7-3. All of our combustible relievers from the first couple of days came in today and held their own.

Franzke told about waking last night to find a hummingbird flying around his room and what it took to get the bird out. I had an encounter this summer with one, unable to find its way out of the summer kitchen. Like Franzke, I was able to marvel close up, eventually in my hand, at the jewel-like creature that is a hummingbird. So a woodpecker that sleeps by day and a hummingbird that flies by night.

The game, which was the last for all the guys playing in the WBC, was played at the Braves' complex in Orlando. Franzke and Andersen talked about the Make a Wish kid battling leukemia who was bat boy for the game. His wish had been to work out with Jimmy Rollins, which he did before the game. Afterwards, J-Roll and some other players, including the effervescent Victorino, were going to Disneyland with him.

marker for infielder john kennedy

Friday's Philadelphia Daily News had a short but poignant article about the first African-American to play for the Phillies. Infielder John Kennedy played for the Phillies in 1957, a distressingly late date for baseball integration. A shortstop, he appeared in all of five games, between April 22 and May 3, mostly as a pinchhitter. He had two at-bats and no hits and scored one run. Then he was gone.

Kennedy previously played with the New York Giants and, in the Negro Leagues, with the Birmingham Black Barons and Kansas City Monarchs. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1926 and died there in 1998. Until recently he was in an unmarked grave in Jacksonville, but a local state senator and an historian started a drive to have a marker placed at the site. The marker, which was made and donated by an area marble and granite company, was put in place on Thursday. Kennedy's daughter attended the ceremony. Representing the Phillies was Phil Myers, father of righty pitcher Brett Myers, who is from Jacksonville. Mr. Myers presented Ms. Kennedy with a Phillies jersey with her father's name and number (8) on behalf of his son.

The Daily News article was even shorter than this but resonated on several levels. There is, I'm sure, a good short story there. At the very least, it is touching that so many people came together for this one man a decade after his passing.