Take me out to the ball game...

   Perhaps it was because of the long cold winter or maybe because I have a bit more free time this Spring, but I have found myself setting down and watching more baseball this year. Let there be no question. It's the Red Sox. It could be  one of the early season afternoon games or a night game. I especially like the day games. It's right around nap time. I can watch the opening inning, cover myself in my Red Sox fleece blanket and......wow, it's the 9th inning already!

   Almost as entertaining as the game itself, and the Sox have gotten off to a fairly good start this season, is the play-by-play and running commentary of the Red Sox NESN announcers Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. Their colorful bantering back and forth as well as the millions of factual updates makes watching the Red Sox, at a minimum, a cultural experience and at best, a whole lot better that those Spring reruns on television. I mean how many times can you watch SVU Special Victims Unit and not become a 'special victim' yourself?

   One of the exciting things about the English language and 'American words' are the interpretations, the adaptability to almost any situation and the reporting of sports events and games is no exception. Each sport, whether it be basketball, hockey or soccer has its own terminology to describe the action and different aspects of the game and baseball is no exception. Jerry and Don do a great job enriching an already colorful language.

   One of the things I have found is that many of the terms and description that make up the play-by-play can be used to not only describe the ballgame, but also may be applied to life around the house as well. Here are a few of my favorites.

   A grand slam.....Now for those who don't know anything about baseball, a grand slam is when someone hits a home run with the bases loaded, scoring a total of four runs. A grand slam at my house might have a very different meaning, like when I hit my fingers with the hammer as I attempt to nail several pieces of wood in place while making a new set of stairs. Damn that hurts.

   The sacrifice fly.... In baseball, a sacrifice fly is when a batter hits a fly ball into the outfield which is caught for an out, but the runner on third base 'tags the bag' and then runs home to score a run. And the 'sacrifice fly' at my house is the one of three flies buzzing around the freshly baked cookies in the kitchen that doesn't get away from my swing of the fly swatter.

   Slider...A slider is a relatively fast pitch with a slight curve in the opposite direction of the throwing arm. 'A slider' at my house this past winter was the way I usually ended up while getting the mail from the mailbox at the end of my driveway.

   Heat... Heat is one of Jerry Remy's favorite terms. Heat is a pitcher's fast ball. Ninety eight mph 'heat'. What a pitch! But heat at home could come by forgetting a birthday or anniversary or breaking a favorite plate or using a brand new pair of sewing scissors to cut electrical wire. Oops.

   High and tight...High and tight is a pitch location thrown above the strike zone and close to the batter. At home? Not in this house, but in the place just down the street with the barking dogs and where the lights stay on for most of the night, I'll let you use your own imagination with this one. There are just too many direction one can go with this one. Could it also be used with “low and outside” too.

   Hit and run... A hit and run is a offensive strategy where the runner on first base starts to run toward second base as the pitcher releases the ball and the batter is obligated to swing at the pitch, hitting it behind the base runner into right field. Now that's way too complicated for me. 
   But I did recently have a hit and run at home when someone in a local parking lot hit the passenger side of my car, causing significant damage and left the scene of the accident. The good news, I was able to get the car fixed fairly quickly. The bad news, because we had no idea who hit the car, I had to pay the deductible.

   One other piece of information. Someone getting out of their car near the scene was able to get a license plate number and a description of the vehicle, but when the police attempted to search the plate number in the data base, there was no such number to be found. Hmmm.

   The diamond...The diamond is the layout of the four bases in the infield. It's actually a square tipped on it's side. But from most places where you sit in the stands, it resembles a diamond. And at home, a diamond might be a nice gift to get 'someone' if the other 'someone' wants to continue to watch the games. How about a nice pair of diamond earrings?

   It's been a pretty good start to the season so far, although the Tampa Bay Rays have given the Sox 'fits' this past week. As of today, there is a three way tie for the top spot in the division (Boston, Tampa Bay and yes, the evil empire), but it's still early in the season. And as for today's game, game time is 1:35 pm. I'll be letting all my telephone calls go to voice mail and... where is my fleece blanket?