Redtree Times

Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.

― Leo Durocher

Looking For the Curve– Part of the June Principle Gallery Show

Leo the Lip was right.

When I flipped on the tube early yesterday morning the first thing that greeted me was someone on a news show telling me that the Yankees/Red Sox season opener was already rained out. I had been anticipating the game for weeks and was totally primed for a day in the studio with the game on, a Spring afternoon pleasure that seldom comes around.

Baseball is a game whose pace and rhythm fits perfectly with painting for me. It is, as someone noted, a conversational game, one that you can keep up with even as you are engaged in some other activity, like talking to your neighbor in the next seat or, in my case, pondering which color or brush to use next. There are useful and numerous pauses in baseball unlike most other sports whose constant motion require your full attention.

But the rains came and washed out my long-expected game. I then made an executive decision and cancelled Opening Day, moving it back until today.

Of course, my decision didn’t hold much water and the other scheduled games went on despite my edict.

But I guess I am glad they did. After all, with so much tragedy and tension in this world right now, who could begrudge anyone a respite with some Opening Day joy at the ballpark?

Not me, that’s for sure.

So, I’ll regroup and try to make today my Opening Day. I am sure it will just as sweet.

Unless the Yankees– god forbid!— lose to the rival Bosox. That could ruin a guy’s day.

Let’s hear an old baseball song to mark the day. This is a tune that is from 1912, the year that the Red Sox won the second of their 9 World Series championships and 11 years before the Yankees won the first of their 27 World Series titles in 1923. It’s been around awhile and this is a modern remake made for the great Ken Burns series on the game. It’s a mouthful but this is If You Can’t Make A Hit At The Ballgame, You Can’t Make A Hit With Me.

Oh, and the painting shown is a new one called Looking For the Curve which will be part of my annual June show at the Principle Gallery. Really enjoyed painting this piece. Maybe it was the anticipation of this day.

I don’t know.

Now, Play Ball!