Tag Archives: Mookie Betts

It Was Just A Distraction

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© The Baseball Bloggess

The Dodgers won the 2020 World Series last night. The World Series that, back in July, I was pretty sure we would never get to.

And, now we have. And, now it’s over. And, now we rest.

I didn’t believe Major League Baseball could pull it off.

As with many things, I was wrong.

(Or, maybe I was right … since Justin Turner of the Dodgers was pulled in the 8th inning last night after testing positive for covid … and then returned to the field for the celebration. What kind of quarantine is that, MLB?)

I haven’t written much on here … this pandemic has squeezed the words right out of me. But, I refuse to let October close without saying something.

Baseball was a sorely needed distraction this season. Maybe not for you. But, it was for me.

It never rose above that, though. It was always just a distraction.

It was like watching a small-town parade … it passed by and it was nice, sure … each game was the high school marching band or the float pulled on a flat-bed trailer by the local bank or the team of 10-year-olds twirling batons and marching down Main Street.

That’s all it was … each game a tissue-paper float in a small-town parade.

But, baseball has always been more than that for me.

More than just a parade.

A parade disappears. No one remembers a parade after the last town car, carrying the Parade Princess and her Court, turns the corner and slips out of sight.

This season baseball was just a forgettable distraction. Nice, sure. To be able to turn away for just a few minutes from the news, the covid, the politics, the protests, was a relief. Not to ignore the bad things, but simply to take a breath and think of something else – anything else – for a couple of minutes.

Maybe the beloved movie Animal House can explain this better than me.

I am Flounder. John Belushi’s Bluto is baseball.

 

“My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.”

(I could continue the Animal House analogy – the state of the world today is Flounder’s brother’s car. And, we shouldn’t have trusted our car with … well, anyway … back to distractions.) Continue reading →

How To Talk To Your Cat About The Mookie Betts Trade

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As I was writing this post … and by “writing” I really mean, “thinking about writing” … a stinkbug climbed onto the rim of my coffee cup and fell (or jumped, it’s hard to tell) into my morning coffee. I was able to fish him out – saving his life, but not my coffee. This has nothing to do with anything, except that drowning in a good cup of morning coffee is probably not the worst way to go.

And, now to our top story …

Last week, the Boston Red Sox traded their superstar outfielder Mookie Betts in a three-way deal sending Mookie to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then the deal fell apart. Then it fell back together.

Embed from Getty Images

 

Now, a week later … the Boston Red Sox have finally traded Mookie Betts (along with pitcher David Price) to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Let’s say you, like me, have a cat named Mookie.

I’m sure that your Mookie Cat, like mine, has a lot of questions about this trade of Mookie Betts from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, specifically related to how it might affect them directly, especially when it comes to mealtime. Maybe you have a dog named Mookie. And, maybe your dog Mookie also has questions.

Sorry. This is just for cats. Continue reading →

Three Mookies

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There are lots of good baseball names.

Where else can you find a Yogi and Chipper and Moose and Boog?

(Spaceman and Satchel. And, Catfish and Goose. Campy and Crush. Oil Can and Babe.)

And, Mookie.

Mookie is beyond a good baseball name.  It’s a great baseball name. There are no Mookies in football. (If there are, there shouldn’t be.)

Mookie’s a good name for the kid who mows your lawn, the wiry old jazz musician who never caught a break, the mysterious water-witcher with no fixed address, and the guy who stops when your car breaks down, digs around in the back of his truck for a piece of cable, ties something up under your hood, makes your car start, and then disappears before you can say thank you.

Mostly, Mookie’s perfect for baseball.

Like Mookie Wilson of the New York Mets.

In the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, outfielder Mookie Wilson hit the ball that dribbled between Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs, allowing the winning run to score, tying up the Series, and leading to the Mets’ “destiny” win in Game 7.

To one Curse of the Bambino, add one dash Mookie. Stir and serve.

Watch …

mookie wilson buckner

“We shoulda lost that game.”

Oh, that Mookie Wilson.

You may think I’m sharing this simply to stick it to the pesky Red Sox who beat the Orioles Friday night 7-0, and then again last night 8-0.

I’m not. If I were sticking it to the Red Sox, I would share this video instead.

(But, I’m not. So don’t watch that second video. Really, I’m serious. Don’t.)

Mookie is known for his heart and his hustle, especially on the base paths.

Here he is with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last year. Watch …

mookie on the daily show

“You were the one guy everybody loved and nobody ever worried about.” 

But, there’s another Mookie now: 22-year-old Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts.

How can you not like a Mookie who does this on Opening Day? Watch …

mookie bases

He’s safe! And … he’s safe again!

A Mookie who does amazing things in the outfield. Watch …

mookie at the wall2

Yes, he stole a “certain” two-run homer from the Orioles’ Chris Davis on Friday night. But, it was so awesome, how can I be mad?

(For pete’s sake, Crush, you couldn’t hit it a little higher?)

Mookie excelled at baseball and basketball in high school. He’s 5’9” and can dunk.

Plus, he was named Tennessee Boys Bowler of the Year in 2010.

He bowls!

And, if all that weren’t enough, he does Yoga to warm up before games.

OK, sure, almost all of them do nowadays, but this photo of mine from last season is one of my favorites.

Mookie Betts Yoga

© The Baseball Bloggess

How can you not love a guy named Mookie who is so happy to be warming up? How can you not forgive him for being a Red Sox?

But, today there’s another Mookie.

When you live in the country, feral cats show up in your barn. Ten percent of the ferals are old tom cats, with crooked faces and matted fur. The tips of their ears are often missing and their tails take funny turns in weird directions. These toms are stealthy and you’ll usually only catch glimpses of their back ends in the mornings as they slink from your barn and disappear into the grass of the nearby pasture. They know they are squatters and they do their best to stay unseen.

But, 90 percent of the ferals that show up in your barn are pregnant females. They will have kittens in your barn and then dare you to kick them out.

You can’t. You just can’t.

And, when you finally start to catch the ferals, for fixin’ and re-homing, you wonder if one – just one – will be able to make that challenging jump from wild thing to indoor cat.

And, when one does … with purrs so loud that they rumble through the room like the freight trains that pass through the edge of town at midnight …

Mookie2

© The Baseball Bloggess

You name him Mookie.

Because, he seems so happy.

Just like Mookie.

This Is About The Red Sox (& Yoga)

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I am not a traitor.

Although, I admit, this might not look too good.

I’ve been sitting around for weeks waiting for the Baltimore Orioles to just get on with things and re-sign Nick Markakis.

How hard can it be? It’s not like he’s asking for $300 million. Or, 13 years.

Really, guys, sign someone. Anyone.

But, mostly Nick.

This happens every year. Thanksgiving comes. Thanksgiving goes. Christmas comes. Christmas goes. New Year’s …

Other teams spend money. The Orioles sit tight.

Patience is not my strong suit.

I was planning on a silent protest. Not saying a word on here until the Orioles did something.

(I know, that’d show ‘em.)

But, I miss you. So, I’m cancelling the boycott.

So, here’s the traitor thing. With no Orioles news to report, this post is about the Boston Red Sox.

As an Orioles fan, I’ve got no love for the Red Sox. Those are the rules.

That’s why I post this video from 2011, the only highlight in a lousy Orioles season, on here from time to time.

curse of the andino 2011

Just to relive a moment when we weren’t supposed to, but we beat the Red Sox anyway.

This weekend, the Red Sox apparently spent nearly $200 million to sign free agents Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval.  (Why, Panda, why?)

And, they’ve still got money to throw around.

The Orioles swept up a few minor leaguers last week, which is sweet and all, sort of like a hot night out at the Dollar Store. But, it’s always so sad to watch the free agent list scroll by … “nope” … “nope” … “can’t afford him” … “nope” … “nope” … “too expensive.”

Bye, bye Andrew Miller. Bye, bye, Nelson Cruz, too. (Probably.)  We’ll miss you.

I hate all this off-season money business. But, this post isn’t about money.

(Well, it’s not anymore.)

In September, my Red Sox-loving, baseball guru Jay arranged for us to go down on the field for batting practice when the Sox played the Orioles at Camden Yards.

So, while I wait for the Orioles to get Nick to sign on the dotted line, here are the Red Sox doing Yoga.

Second baseman Mookie Betts was so joyful in his stretch that this photo has become one of my favorites.

Mookie Betts Yoga

© The Baseball Bloggess

 Mookie Betts doing a modified “Cat Tail Asana.”

Lavarnway Yoga

© The Baseball Bloggess

 Ryan Lavarnway moving into “Supta Padangusthasana.” (That’s fancy talk for leg stretch.) 

Jackie Bradley Yoga1

© The Baseball Bloggess

 Jackie Bradley, Jr. reaching into “Janu Sirsasana.” (That’s head to knee pose.)

How can I dislike a team that has a Mookie doing Yoga?

Now, how about some “Free Agent Sign-asana”, Orioles, so I can stop writing about the Red Sox?

Nick Markakis ALCS

© The Baseball Bloggess

Photos: Red Sox vs. Orioles, September 20, 2014 & Royals vs. Orioles (ALCS Game 2), October 11, 2014.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. © The Baseball Bloggess