A Retrospective Moment to Say Thanks
As with last year, I’m afraid that I will no longer be able to write consistently for Agony & Ivy on account of other commitments, which will continue at least into the bulk of the 2010 season. Accordingly, changes for the site are afoot. Details will follow as they materialize.I wanted to take a moment to say thanks, though, to several people.
To KJM for not only helping conceive and develop the site, but also for some terrific photos and insights; to PMC, a professional sportswriter who agreed to contribute his thoughts; and to JMI, who briefly contributed some fine writing. KJM, by the way, maintained Minor League Summer last season, tracking his travels to 29 minor league games in 2009. Cheers for a season well done!
Thanks also to everyone who followed, commented, linked, or e-mailed me along the way to share their appreciation. I did my best to avoid parroting everything else that was out there, and it meant an awful lot to me when you took the time to let me know that you noticed, and cared.
From the body of work hosted here so far, there are a few things I enjoyed writing most: (continue...)
That Slipping Feeling
I really hope the next couple weeks don't remind me of how it felt to leave the bleachers last night.It was my first time back to Wrigley Field since 2007; and my first time back to the bleachers since 2006. Before that, I'd gone every season since at least 1998, if not before. (Younger memories get fuzzier each year.) Last season, not going even once, left a true void. I've been looking forward to last night's game for a long time, then, and to see it lining up with Rich Harden pitching for the Cubs only added to my enthusiasm because he's been the one pitcher recently who seems capable of leading the team to a position to win by sheer force of will.
Sponsored by...
"More bad times, brought to you by Van Kampen Investments."
Photo courtesy KEJ. When he sent it to me, I couldn't help but immediately appreciate the irony in a rain delay—or at least the tarp—being sponsored by an investment firm. Of all the things to sponsor, there's nothing like getting your brand in front of a bunch of cold, wet, frustrated baseball fans who probably saw their 401k or IRA value halved in the offseason and just want to forget the financial crisis for a day—opening day.
In fairness, the Van Kampen Equity Growth Fund was the best performing "diversified U.S. stock fund" last quarter, as it rose over 8%. So if any investment companies actually have enough credibility to advertise, Van Kampen is probably among them. But I wouldn't have known that unless I looked it up.
Although, I looked it up, so maybe their ad just worked...
Spring Training Meanderings
Consensus among the faithful in Arizona last weekend is that the Cubs will win the National League Central division. This is because the Cubs have gotten a little bit better, while the rest of the division got worse. Of course, like every season, this one will be 162 games long—and we all know what that means: no one knows.
But putting analysis aside, one thing I noticed is that the fans seemed to feel much less urgency about this season. Last year, among the fans I talked with, there was the sense that the Cubs had to win in 2008. But the 101st season apparently brings less pressure than the one before. To me, this is a good thing. If there's one thing the collective mindset can use, it's less pressure. (continue...)
Editor's Note
Agony & Ivy has been dormant, but is not dead. Major disappointment last fall, followed by my third year of law school, had sapped my energy to post. But spring returns for baseball-watchers, too.I'll be making some minor updates to the site soon, updating links and so on. I'll also be writing about Spring Training, which I'll attend in two weekends. And I have a few other things planned for this summer and fall.
In the meantime, if people are unaware, The Baseball Chronicle, an online magazine, now exists. I think this is a brilliant, timely, and valuable project. It has the potential to fill a major gap in the on-line baseball commentary world, focusing on the narratives that stay with us through time, which make sense of the game and ourselves as we grow older—the stories of the games, the players, the teams, and of course, the fans. This is necessary to balance the curt criticisms or opinions that seem to dominate the websites. Opinions are fine, especially when they are supported by arguments. But stories last. I hope to contribute a piece if I can make time later this season. Most of all, though, I hope it thrives, and I wish them the best.
Cheers,
JCB
How it Looks in the Mind's Eye
It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.
--A. Barlett Giamatti, former President of both Yale and the National League. This is the first paragraph of his 1977 essay The Green Fields of the Mind, recalling the Red Sox collapse of 1975.
Maybe it’s just me, anyway, but I can’t help myself. I can’t stay in the present. (continue...)
