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| Upcoming reminders of baseball … |
Seriously.
I
TOOK PLEASURE in the fact that officials were able to reschedule the Caribbean
Series, with only a minimal delay. Real live championship-level baseball will
be played beginning Monday.
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| … and the return of springtime |
For
those of you to whom the thought of championship ballclubs from Latin America
is just a little too alien to contemplate, consider that both of our city’s professional
ballclubs have held their winter fan conventions – and both managed to spew rhetoric
instigating their fan bases into distaste for each other.
From
Chicago Cubs infielder Kris Bryant calling St. Louis “boring” (as in the most
boring city he visits during the season), to Chicago White Sox outfielder Nicky
Delmonico responding to a question about the “most annoying fans” in baseball
by saying, “Cubs fans.”
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| Nicky (left) already knows truth of Cub fandom |
These
are moments not quite as intense as that 2006 slugfest on the field between catchers
A.J. Pierzynski and Mike Barrett. But in terms of getting the fans all worked
up, they rank up there somewhere near all the cheap shots one-time White Sox
manager Ozzie Guillen took at Wrigley Field (“rat infested museum” may be the nicest
thing he ever said).
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| BRYANT: Thinks St. Louis is boring? |
AND
THE FACT that Bryant and Delmonico felt compelled to keep the rhetoric flowing
is merely evidence that the hostile feelings the teams have toward each other
are not only ongoing, but they’re on their way back.
By
early April, the two ball clubs will be again playing games that count – with spring
training set to begin in just a matter of a couple of weeks down in the deserts
of Arizona.
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| I'd argue Cincinnati choice make it lamer |
Literally,
right after the Caribbean Series – which is the annual championship played by
the top teams of the professional leagues in the Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Puerto Rico and Venezuela, along with Cuba and Panama. Venezuela was supposed to be host, but officials wound up moving it.
TO
PANAMA CITY, where games will be played at the Estadio Rod Carew. When combined
with long-time New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera (a Panama native)
getting inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, it would seem 2019
will be a memorable year for fanaticos de
beisbol in Panama.
Yes,
I’ll actually be making a point to try to watch the games. The sight of real,
live baseball being played during winter is something I get a kick out of.
These games beginning Monday and running through the week will be a sporting
kick to help tide me over until the resumption of play.
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| Stadium will host baseball next week |
Although
for some people, it’s going to be the ongoing verbal sparring between the
Chicago fans as they accept the fact that the Bears are through for the year,
and both the Bulls and Blackhawks are too pitiful to waste much time on.
So
is St. Louis really “boring,” as Bryant puts it? Or are the Cardinals fans (the ones who openly boast they're the 'best fans in baseball,') correct when they say Bryant and other ballplayers who engage in cheap shots
are “losers.”
PERSONALLY,
I’D THINK Cincinnati would be a more depressing place to have to visit –
largely on account of the local fan base wishing to forevermore think Pete Rose
is heroic in nature. And not just a guy with a gambling problem who can’t quite
acknowledge that reality.
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| Panama's other reason to celebrate |
As
for Delmonico’s thoughts, I’m not surprised that Cubs fans would be bothered –
largely because they go through life thinking that everybody the world over
comprehends their absurd support for a team that for so many years was pathetic
on the field.
Which
isn’t different than them trying to diminish St. Louis as being “boring,” almost
as though they think the world of baseball is all about themselves and no one
else.
When
it’s really so much bigger than the activity of Clark and Addison. Such as the
games running from Monday through Feb. 10 that will produce a Latin American
champion – with the first spring training exhibitions scheduled for just two
weeks later!
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