The Baseball Desert

Friday, January 28, 2005

Rainy days and Fridays

There's no sunshine for miles around and no baseball in store for weeks, but thanks to the magic of MLB.com I was able to conjure up both at lunchtime with a click of my mouse.

I could have gone for one of the season's big games, but having watched the ALCS and World Series games several times during the offseason, I think I'm just about big-game'd-out for the moment. That made the selection process very easy: pick a random date (July 25), then a random game (Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh) and just sit down and let the innings unfold.

I didn't get to the end of the game, and I wasn't even following the score that closely, but, to be honest, I didn't really care. For me, right now, it was somewhat akin to Spring Training baseball, where the content matters far less than the form. It was a pressure-free ballgame in a great ballpark and I got what I came for - a connection with the summer game.

There was, however, just one little cloud to my silver lining, and that was the throwback uniforms. I like the idea of baseball connecting with its heritage, but when that means players wearing these, I'm suddenly not so sure. My only consolation is that it could have been a lot, lot worse...