Fin d'été

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." -Rogers Hornsby

  Although I am less than satisfied with the results of last night's game, the last thirty days of baseball have been truly remarkable.  What began that silly Wednesday night, on the last day of the regular season, culminated with the first World Series Game 7 in nine years.  Looking back, the 2011 Postseason was about as good as it can get for a fan of the game; exciting series after exciting series, not a single sweep, three Game 5's in the Division Series, and a memorable and thoroughly entertaining World Series.  

   Game 6 on Thursday night was the highlight of the Series, and it rightly carved out it's place as one of the most drama filled games and improbable finishes in World Series history.  The roller coaster ride of emotion that was Game 6 is visually expressed by the FanGraphs' win probability graph below.  While it wasn't the most artfully executed game, with all the base running,  defensive and managerial boners, it was certainly fun to watch and showed the beautiful reality of a game played with no time clock.  I can't imagine what Rangers fans must have felt that night, watching their team just one strike away from their first ever World Series victory only to have it snatched from their clutches not once, but twice.  Baseball is indeed a cruel and funny game.

  Looking back on the end of the season, also means looking ahead to the long, cold, grey winter that is right around the corner.  One can't express the feeling better than the late Bart Giamatti, in his essay The Green Fields of the Mind.  The everyday aspect of baseball is part of its pulchritude.  It is there, at the ballpark, on the radio, and on the television night in and night out for 6 months, and then poof - it's gone.  Before you realize what has happened, the calender has changed from April to November, and that old friend won't be there when you need it most.  


  If you need to find us, we here at Crum-Bum Beat will be keeping warm by the Hot Stove and staring out the window for the next 160 days.