Sunday, July 27, 2008
Stormy afternoon in New Jersey. Many of the storms were intense. Radar showed cells of 35 & 40 thousand feet moving across the state, the deep red blotches of torrential downpours. Lightning struck & killed someone on a beach at Sandy Hook. None of those great storms came here, they went to the north or south. There were rain & thunder. It was difficult to concentrate on anything. Whenever the rumbles faded, others sounded like they coming closer, faint flashes at the window. Never the kind of flashbulb lightning that makes one's skin prickle a millisecond before an enormous, heart-stopping explosion. But for several hours I sensed it could happen at any moment & could not let my guard down & be taken by surprise. The Mets game on AM radio was a constant crackling static from beginning to end; around the 7th inning the announcers noted very dark clouds approaching. The storms held off at Shea & the Mets won.
Great relief pitcher Goose Gossage was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. It took him 9 tries, which became scandalous after a few years. Best known for his 6 seasons with the Yankees, his Fu Manchu mustache, stare, & flailing delivery were almost as scary as his accurate 100 mph fastball, one of the most intimidating pitchers ever. When Goose threw one up inside, the batter knew it was deliberate. He earned the save in the legendary 1978 "Bucky Fuckin' Dent Beat Us?" playoff game against the Red Sox at Fenway, an event even some Mets fans fondly recall. He missed two months of the 1979 season after injuring his thumb during a fight in the Yankee locker room showers.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Great relief pitcher Goose Gossage was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. It took him 9 tries, which became scandalous after a few years. Best known for his 6 seasons with the Yankees, his Fu Manchu mustache, stare, & flailing delivery were almost as scary as his accurate 100 mph fastball, one of the most intimidating pitchers ever. When Goose threw one up inside, the batter knew it was deliberate. He earned the save in the legendary 1978 "Bucky Fuckin' Dent Beat Us?" playoff game against the Red Sox at Fenway, an event even some Mets fans fondly recall. He missed two months of the 1979 season after injuring his thumb during a fight in the Yankee locker room showers.
