Category: Baseball

40 Years ago… Part 2

Part one of this story can be found here.

It was August, and after dropping a number of hints that I was unhappy being the children’s waiter, I was finally promoted to the main dining room, but as a busboy. In retrospect, I assume that my locally powerful uncle had something to do with getting me the promotion. In any case, I was glad to be rid of the spoiled brats.

It turned out that bussing the tables in the main dining room was no picnic either. The Granit, like many hotels in the Catskills at that time, was strictly Kosher. Breakfast was always a dairy meal. Lunch would alternate between meat and dairy, and dinner was always meat. One of the most popular items on the lunch menu was borscht. To this day I’ve never tasted it, but at the end of a long day, my shirt sleeves were stained red from carrying the busboxes that were half filled with sloshing leftover borsht. Continue reading “40 Years ago… Part 2”

It was 40 years ago today…

Granit Hotel & Country Club, Kerhonkson NY

In the next few week’s it’s going to be hard to avoid the fact that it has been 40 years since the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival tracked its muddy footprints into history. I’ve been speculating that the 40th anniversary needed to be a big deal because it was likely that by the 50th, there would be no one left who was there.  Personally, I didn’t make it to Woodstock. But the summer of 1969 was one of the most important in my life…so much so, that I’ve been considering trying to put it in a screenplay. But given that I have many other obligations, I may have to settle for this blog. (Hey Schamus, when do you find time to write?)

In the winter of 1968-69, I was in my sophomore year of high school and my parents announced to me that we were moving from Chicago, where I had spent my formative years, Continue reading “It was 40 years ago today…”

New Stadium, New Look Cubs?

The New Yamkee Stadium
The New Yankee Stadium

Got my first glimpse of this year’s version of the Cubs at Yankees Stadium in the first game ever played in the new ballpark. It’s a good thing that the games were exhibitions because the Cubs were soundly trounced.  Hopefully when these two teams meet in the Word Series (as predicted in last Sunday’s New York Times), the result will be quite different. In the game I saw, Lou didn’t start either Soriano or Ramirez, and he pulled Derrek Lee out after only a few innings, so it is pretty clear that he wasn’t playing to win…at least that’s what I was telling myself.  And there were some bright spots, like seeing new acquisition Milton Bradley get on base several times and Micah Hoffpauer look like a hitting machine. But it was troubling watching the Yankees tee off on Ted Lilly like he was throwing batting practice.

The Yankees were clearly playing to win. They fielded their regular season starting line-up, including Derek Jeter’s debut in the lead-off position. They also seemed very pumped up to be playing in their new home, and wanted to put on a show for the home crowd. I have a feeling that Pinella, knowing this would be the dynamic, fielded the B team just so the Yankees couldn’t show them up.

So, what about the stadium? It’s VERY impressive, but not necessarily in the all the right ways. Continue reading “New Stadium, New Look Cubs?”

Who collapses now?

no-metsI know it’s considered bad form to wish bad things on anyone…but I suppose everyone has their exceptions. For me it’s Republicans and the New York Mets.

Why the Mets? As we all know, our team affiliations are formed when we are young, and my formative years were spent in Chicago. These things become ingrained in ways that are unexplainable. Why are our emotions so wrapped up in what team we root for? In my case, being a Cubs fan became entangled in something far larger.

In 1969, I was just beginning to make friends at a new high school when my parents announced that we were moving to New Jersey. Continue reading “Who collapses now?”

Slinging Obama

14 days to go until the election, and from what I can see, everything is trending in the right direction. There’s a part of me that is beginning to allow myself to dream about the possibilities. If Obama does indeed manage to win, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll be a true game changer in just about every way. New found respect abroad? Check. Forever removing the glass ceiling on race? Check. Reinvigorating the American dream? Check. Then there is the other part of me–I guess you could call it the Cubs fan part–which keeps reminding me that the Democrats (like the Cubs) have a way snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In the meantime, I’ve become addicted to CNN, watching the pundits and reading into every potential portent.

Continue reading “Slinging Obama”

Ugh…time for a team shrink?

at Wrigley with Leo Gilbert and Richard Brick -- all smiles, but that was before the game!
at Wrigley with Leo Gilbert and Richard Brick -- all smiles, but that was before the game!

The less said about the Cubs post-season performance, the better. Just know that there is definitely something more going on here than your average 100 year curse. Next year will mark the 101st anniversary of their last championship, and the 60th anniversary of their last World Series appearance. Could that be the omen we’ve been waiting for?

In the meantime, there is much to occupy us until Spring Training…

1. Ron santo is one on the 10 finalists on the Hall of Fame ballot. We’ll know if he made it in February. Go Ron!
2. Why not buy copies of “This Old Cub” and “Chasing October” to keep the baseball season alive!
3. We have another Cubs movie coming shortly…watch these pages!

Chasing October AGAIN!

Yes I obviously do!
Yes I obviously do!

Here we go again.

The Cubs are in the playoffs for the second year in a row…a feat that they haven’t achieved since 1907-1908. Is that a sign that THIS COULD BE THE YEAR? I made up my mind many years ago that if it ever happened, I would be there to witness it. And so far I’ve managed to be at every post-season game played at Wrigley Field since the day I was born. Of course, there used to be a simple punch line to that–there weren’t all that many. But lately, the Cubs are acting like they mean it.

Please note that I have no special privileges that entitle me to post-season tickets. In 2003, I flew to Chicago for each game, not knowing how I’d be able to get in. I hung out at the will-call window and subtly let it be known that I was looking for a single ticket. I managed to score each time, at only a bit more than face value. But it was nerve wracking to say the least.

Continue reading “Chasing October AGAIN!”

Still Chasing October

I’m fine… really I am.Wrigley wedding

It’s not as if we Cubs fans aren’t used to this sort of thing. One thing we’ve learned is to enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. And this year was quite a ride.

I made it to Wrigley for the one and only playoff game. I was with Peter Gilbert (of “Hoop Dreams” fame) and his son Leo. The atmosphere was jubilant, but tempered by the history of this franchise. The fact that the Cubs had already lost the first 2 games in Arizona had people a bit nervous. But the snippets of conversation I caught outside the park were all optimistic.

It was in the 90’s and as humid as an August afternoon. Somehow that didn’t seem like a good omen for October baseball. Continue reading “Still Chasing October”