Book Review: The Art of Fielding

Henry Skrimshander lives and breathes baseball. As shortstop, he has an uncanny knack for knowing where to be, where the ball is going, and then where to throw the ball. Graceful. No waste of motion. Fluid. He's destined for the Big Show - to be recruited by the St.Louis Cardinals and live the dream. Meanwhile, he's on scholarship at Westish College in Michigan and learning about life.

However, a routine throw goes disastrously off course and the fate of five people are upended.

College president Guert Affenlight and his daughter Pella are becoming reacquainted. Owen, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, has an affair that proves problematic. Mike Schwartz, Henry's team captain and mentor, has been too caught up in Henry's career path to worry about his own. Then Henry himself must confront fears, hopes, anxieties, and the season countdown to the finals.

With The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach has written a delightful tale of youth, sport, ambition, and limitations. His characters are fully drawn and irresistably flawed. The love of baseball shines through and is an excellent backdrop for life choices.

Here's a style sample (p. 5): The kid glided in front of the first grounder, accepted the ball into his glove with a lazy grace, pivoted, and threw to first. Though his motion was languid, the ball seemed to explode off his fingertips, to gather speed as it crossed the diamond.

Thus we meet Henry. You'll root for him and enjoy this pleasant worthwhile read.

Louder

Game 5 2011 World Series. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Texas. Rangers versus Cardinals. Series tied 2-2. This is a huge game, the final one in Arlington. The stadium is a sea of red. The crowd is loud. Palpable energy. To be good, you've gotta have a lot of little boy in you. Roy Campanella.

Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa. Casey Stengel. St. Louis was up 2-0 and the crowd noise diminished. Then Ranger bats heated up, silly mistakes were corrected, pitching held it together. Talk about ratcheting tension. The plot thickened and Rangers leaped ahead 4 - 2.

Most ball games are lost, not won - Casey Stengel. Have to say, the Rangers held it together, and the Cards made some dubious moves.

Everyone on their feet. Towels waving, hands clapping, cheers and groans. World Series baseball is a whole 'nother beast.

It's the Year of the Napoli. Mike Napoli, Ranger catcher, has done everything right. Big loud home runs, zooming pick-off throws. The stadium's collective chant Napoli, Napoli, Napoli sums it up. The man behind me wore a t-shirt, ...and they lived Napoli ever after ... Let's hope that's true for the Texas Rangers as they head to St.Louis for Game 6 on Wednesday. Up 3 -2 in a best of 7 series. Drama, tension, and characters. Baseball literature is alive.

ALCS: Rangers vs. Tigers

My writing career could be further ahead if I spent time writing instead of watching Texas Ranger baseball. But I'm hooked after last year, and they keep winning. It's stressful, heart attack producing baseball.

They conquered Tampa Bay in the ALDS. Now they face the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. We attended game one on my birthday. Aaahh - fair weather fans. We enjoyed tailgating in sunshine and blue skies. In the 5th inning we lived through one rain delay, and then left during the second. Came home to watch victory (well, Ray did. I sorta snoozed) at midnight.

It started out glorious. A sea of fans in red. Huge flag on the field. Soaring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Then the boys of summer playing in the fall. It's a cast of unique characters, tension filled moments, uneven pacing (hey, it's the Rangers), and the plot can change direction.

Re-live awesome moments and look forward to new heart palpitations.

Rangers as of Monday evening, October 10th, head to Detroit, up two games in a best of seven series. The saga continues in the Motor City - a backdrop of decay, and the largest beers I've ever seen. It could turn noir and gritty.

I'll be watching. Go Rangers!!

Moneyball Review: Catch It

Moneyball, based on Michael Lewis' fascinating book, is about the science of baseball and how the anemic Oakland Athletics in 2002/2003 managed to win games with an unlikely team and lousy payroll. Sound boring? Nope. Brad Pitt fills a perfect role. He's Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's.

Beane was a young gun with a full Stanford scholarship, who skipped college to play in the big show for the New York Mets. Unfortunately, he could never get all of his skills to connect. But he became a talent scout, thrived, and moved up the ladder. Now, as a forty-something GM, he was facing the loss of three big players (free agents) and had no money to buy replacements.

However, he did recognize some other talent - a young Yale economist graduate - Peter Brand (unassumingly played by Jonah Hill in a breakout role for him). This kid had statistics to back up player picks, looking at on-base percentages,etc. No picks based on physical looks, girlfriends, or star wattage. Strictly numbers. Billy rolls with the new method, is almost laughed out of the ballpark, until ... the A's start winning, and winning, and winning some more.

Moneyball is a modest, talks a lot film. It watches Pitt ponder and then sweat out his team's games. He battles the coach, played by a gruff Phillip Seymour Hoffman (always fabulous), and he helps Brand understand the glory of baseball, the dream, and that the key is winning that last game. Plenty of chuckles, angst, and baseball in this film. Brad Pitt ambles through it all with grace and all-American heart.

Here's to the start of a home-run hitting fall movie season.

(review published for the Little Paper of San Saba - a town without a theater)

Spring in Surprise

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball - Jacques Barzon. Surprise, AZ - home of the Texas Rangers baseball team spring training camp. They are part of the Cactus League and the 2010 American League champions. Thus, they are drawing huge crowds to pre-season. (10,000 people were in the stands on Saturday 3/19/11).The boys of summer are working on their craft and, from what I observed, doing a lot of fart around. Sports writing heaven - sunshine, blue sky, and sunflower seeds to spit.

You can observe a lot by watchin' - Yogi Berra. Sunday 3/20/11 - seats in the kill zone (i.e. bats can fly), but man you can hear, see, and experience the sheer joy of timeless baseball from these seats. Batter chatter.

Most ball games are lost, not won - Casey Stengel.
Yeah, but until the first pitch of 2011, the Texas Rangers are the American League champions. We reveled in the glory in Surprise, AZ.

Batting practice. Up close and personal with Ian Kinsler. Of course there's a reason why they keep the fans behind fencing. It's a weird career - baseball. Folks think they know how to play. We've all swung a bat at one time or another in our grade school lives. Thus, we are entitled to opinions. We get to go to work with these fellows, watch them practice, analyze their every move, and then deliver a verdict. Winners or losers.

Spring in Surprise proved pleasant - an escape from reality. Baseball is timeless. First Ranger pitch - April 1st 2011. Goal - October and the World Series.

Play ball.

Sweet Suite Airhogs

Summer interlude from my plethora of July book reviews. This is the seventh inning stretch from serious blogging, and a night out in the Grand Prairie Entertainment District. Sounds fancy and actually it's quite pleasant. Nestled between Lone Star Park (horse races) and Verizon Music Hall, is the Quik Trip Park for Airhogs Baseball. My husband, Ray, is a sports guy and we got a hook-up for a suite. Sweet! The best of both worlds - crowd noise and heat, then step inside to cool air. No Saturday night square dancing, scrabble, or squash for us. Hot date on a hot night - summer baseball.

The mascot arrives in fine style.

Cotton candy dreams - let's spin a tale from my youth. If you wanted to learn how to bat or play catch at the Crowther household, you called out ,"Mom." This was an equal opportunity home. Sports - mom. Spell check, essay re-writes, or a poster board - dad. Here's a quote from my brother, "Never wanted Dad to play catch, because I'd have to wear a color coordinated outfit and not get dirty." He exaggerates ... a bit. My sister's memory, "Dad was inside reading the paper, unless a wiffle ball hit a car. Then he'd appear and give a disapproving "Heyyyy" with pursed lips." She captured the image perfectly. I think David played Little League one year. He wasn't much for team sports. Can't speak for Lori, but I was usually last picked for a neighborhood game. Aah - memories.

The Airhog boys are 0 -12 now. Won't be called up anytime soon for the big show. Nonetheless, I'm sure they have fun and are living their dream. Crowds cheer, root, jeer, and order another beer. The night ends with some fireworks - great view from our suite, and actually there's a breeze at 10:30 pm. Another HOT Saturday night - genre - sports and romance. What a pair!

Red Sky at Night

Glorious sky last Thursday evening over Ranger's ballpark in Arlington, Texas. Storms built around the area and there was a huge bolt of lightning, but no delay of game. However, many people in the crowd had no clue that nature was putting on a show.

Ian Kinsler concentrated on his time at bat. The umpire stayed focused. However, all around me, people talked on their cell phones, texted, played app games, and did not watch baseball. More and more, I'm dumbfounded by people's actions.

We were in section 221, not cheap seats. Why would you come to a baseball game and not watch baseball? That is true these days of so many activities. I observe people at restaurants - again, messing with their phones and not actually participating in the meal and all it encompasses. Couples stroll through the arboretum, oblivious to the flowers and each other (unless maybe they are talking to each other on the phone while walking side by side. Curiouser and curiouser a la Lewis Carroll)

As a writer, my words have to compete for attention from so many different outlets. I truly think there is a time for multi-tasking, and then there is a time to relax and soak in a single experience. If you are at a baseball game, watch the game (and yes, it's okay to observe the crowd for future characters in your book). Nibble on a hot dog and try not to drop nacho cheese on your shirt. Revel in the night sky, the crowd roar, organ music, glare of the spotlight, and don't get beaned by a ball. (Get off your phone!)

Science Fiction or Fantasy?

Rangers are officially in first place. Yes, it was opening day at the Ballpark in Arlington. A brisk morning temperature of 38 degrees warmed up to mid 50s for the afternoon. Clear blue skies and wacky winds blew balloons everywhere. This blog has not turned into a sports column. Never fear. However, this is one heck of a sports week in Texas, so might as well tune in and enjoy some fresh material. My favorite quote from the crowd - "Hey Coke guy...where's the beer guy?" Surely there's a haiku hiding in my notes.

Perky patriotic music provided by the 4th Infantry Military Band and all of these flag handlers were from an Army unit based in Killeen - back from a 15th month tour in Iraq. Their families basked in a warm welcome and hearty huzzahs from the crowd.

Nothing like a flyover. Yes, huge amounts of tax payer money at work...but it is still damn cool to see. These planes were from Dyess AFB, San Antonio. Former President George W.Bush threw out the first pitch - a strike, and the game was ON.

Forget NASCAR vampires (previous blog entry). How about Aliens Abduct the Texas Rangers and turn them into a winning team?

Final score 9-1. Kevin Millwood was the winning pitcher of note. Guess he didn't get the memo that he's on Ray's fantasy baseball team - the Stray Bats. Truly, that has to be a title of one of my books someday.

Joanne