How to Survive the Baseball Offseason
by Scott Silversten
Now what?
For those that haven’t noticed, the baseball season ends this weekend. On Saturday night, we turn back the clocks so that darkness falls by 5 p.m. Halloween is
only days away, and winter is fast approaching. It’s the worst time of the year … The Baseball Offseason.
I know there is always the Hot Stove League: Will A-Rod be traded? Are the Marlins trading Willis? Is Barry Bonds returning to San Francisco? However, those discussions and debates can only do so much to fill the cold nights that lay ahead.
So without further adieu, this esteemed columnist gives you a Top 10 list of ways to pass the time before the arrival of Opening Day, which is only five short months away.
1. The National Football League – Readers of this space have on a few occasions read my high praise for the NFL. Let’s get something straight: Baseball is a way better game than Football. However, there is very little the NFL does wrong, from a near perfect playoff system to this year’s new “flexible schedule” slate of Sunday night games. If the best thing in the world is sitting back to watch a baseball game on a warm summer evening, then the second best is taking in a football game from your couch on a blustery winter afternoon.
2. 24 – With the departure of all-time best drama in television history, The West Wing, the week’s best hour on the boob tube occurs Mondays at 9 pm as Jack Bauer attempts to save the world one minute at a time. When we last left Mr. Bauer, he was in the bowels of boat en route to China. Something tells me he won’t be there for too long. Unfortunately, Season 6 does not begin until January, but the 24 hours will come fast and furious.
3. “Books, Jerry. Books” – The winter is a good time for getting through some of those hardcovers that have been collecting dust on the shelves. Yours truly hopes to get to three before the first pitch is thrown in April:
• All The Stars Came Out That Night – A fictional account of an October 1934 meeting at Fenway Park between the stars of the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball
• The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World – I’m dying to know if Thomson was really tipped off to the most famous pitch in baseball history.
• Johnny U: The Life and Times of Johnny Unitas
4. The NCAA Tournament – Very few events in sports are as close to perfect and rarely disappoint like the NCAA Tournament. It doesn’t take place until mid-March, but serves as the perfect filler during the final few weeks of Spring Training. Chances are you’ve never heard of some of the players and schools that will capture the March spotlight, and it’s likely you won’t remember the names by early April. That’s part of what makes the tournament so compelling.
5. SLEEP – October is a stressful month for all baseball fans, what with so many important games starting around 8:30 pm and lasting until the wee hours. Since your team will likely make its first West Coast swing in late April, use the winter months to get extra shuteye.
6. ESPN Classic, Yankees Classics, Mets Classics – These games are NOT to be scheduled. Do NOT sit down and watch from the beginning. Instead, let your remote control flip by accident to the many classic baseball games that are broadcast. Be amazed for how long you are unable to change the channel. Billy Hatcher hitting the foul poll. Sid Bream racing around third. Tino and Brosius going deep!!
7. THE GYM – Winter can be a time for packing on the pounds, but it’s also the best time to hit the gym. You’ll notice a smaller crowd, as people are less likely to trudge through the snow and cold to get in their daily workout. Of course, when spring rolls around, you’ll be less likely to get aches and pains from enjoying the first days of warmth with a jog, game of pickup basketball or round of golf.
8. NBA and NHL – If you are having trouble with suggestion No. 5, try watching some regular-season action from these two leagues. I guarantee your problems will be solved.
9. DINNER AND A MOVIE – Enjoy a night out with the wife, finance, girlfriend, etc. I call on brother Douglas to supply the must-see theater choices of the upcoming holiday season.
10. And finally, find yourself two boxes of white index cards. Write the numbers 0 through 158 on them, and leave the stack in a convenient location. Counting backwards, remove one card daily, rip it up and toss in the garbage. When you hit 0, all will be right with the world again.
See you on Opening Day!!
Scott Silversten's column, "Age of Reason", appears every Thursday
Now what?
For those that haven’t noticed, the baseball season ends this weekend. On Saturday night, we turn back the clocks so that darkness falls by 5 p.m. Halloween is
only days away, and winter is fast approaching. It’s the worst time of the year … The Baseball Offseason.
I know there is always the Hot Stove League: Will A-Rod be traded? Are the Marlins trading Willis? Is Barry Bonds returning to San Francisco? However, those discussions and debates can only do so much to fill the cold nights that lay ahead.
So without further adieu, this esteemed columnist gives you a Top 10 list of ways to pass the time before the arrival of Opening Day, which is only five short months away.
1. The National Football League – Readers of this space have on a few occasions read my high praise for the NFL. Let’s get something straight: Baseball is a way better game than Football. However, there is very little the NFL does wrong, from a near perfect playoff system to this year’s new “flexible schedule” slate of Sunday night games. If the best thing in the world is sitting back to watch a baseball game on a warm summer evening, then the second best is taking in a football game from your couch on a blustery winter afternoon.
2. 24 – With the departure of all-time best drama in television history, The West Wing, the week’s best hour on the boob tube occurs Mondays at 9 pm as Jack Bauer attempts to save the world one minute at a time. When we last left Mr. Bauer, he was in the bowels of boat en route to China. Something tells me he won’t be there for too long. Unfortunately, Season 6 does not begin until January, but the 24 hours will come fast and furious.
3. “Books, Jerry. Books” – The winter is a good time for getting through some of those hardcovers that have been collecting dust on the shelves. Yours truly hopes to get to three before the first pitch is thrown in April:
• All The Stars Came Out That Night – A fictional account of an October 1934 meeting at Fenway Park between the stars of the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball
• The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World – I’m dying to know if Thomson was really tipped off to the most famous pitch in baseball history.
• Johnny U: The Life and Times of Johnny Unitas
4. The NCAA Tournament – Very few events in sports are as close to perfect and rarely disappoint like the NCAA Tournament. It doesn’t take place until mid-March, but serves as the perfect filler during the final few weeks of Spring Training. Chances are you’ve never heard of some of the players and schools that will capture the March spotlight, and it’s likely you won’t remember the names by early April. That’s part of what makes the tournament so compelling.
5. SLEEP – October is a stressful month for all baseball fans, what with so many important games starting around 8:30 pm and lasting until the wee hours. Since your team will likely make its first West Coast swing in late April, use the winter months to get extra shuteye.
6. ESPN Classic, Yankees Classics, Mets Classics – These games are NOT to be scheduled. Do NOT sit down and watch from the beginning. Instead, let your remote control flip by accident to the many classic baseball games that are broadcast. Be amazed for how long you are unable to change the channel. Billy Hatcher hitting the foul poll. Sid Bream racing around third. Tino and Brosius going deep!!
7. THE GYM – Winter can be a time for packing on the pounds, but it’s also the best time to hit the gym. You’ll notice a smaller crowd, as people are less likely to trudge through the snow and cold to get in their daily workout. Of course, when spring rolls around, you’ll be less likely to get aches and pains from enjoying the first days of warmth with a jog, game of pickup basketball or round of golf.
8. NBA and NHL – If you are having trouble with suggestion No. 5, try watching some regular-season action from these two leagues. I guarantee your problems will be solved.
9. DINNER AND A MOVIE – Enjoy a night out with the wife, finance, girlfriend, etc. I call on brother Douglas to supply the must-see theater choices of the upcoming holiday season.
10. And finally, find yourself two boxes of white index cards. Write the numbers 0 through 158 on them, and leave the stack in a convenient location. Counting backwards, remove one card daily, rip it up and toss in the garbage. When you hit 0, all will be right with the world again.
See you on Opening Day!!
Scott Silversten's column, "Age of Reason", appears every Thursday
posted by Doug Silversten at 10/26/2006
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