Daily Archives: March 28, 2009

Ba Ba Booey

I groaned when Pat Jordan told me the Times assigned him to do a piece on the playwright, screenwriter, director, Neil LaBute.  Pat’s writing has an almost feral quality and when matched with a plump, if deserving target like LaBute, well, you know it is not going to be pretty.  I’ve seen a couple of LaBute’s movies and can’t think of one good thing to say about them.  I found them empty and vicious and completely phony.  The thought of what a hard old sharp shooter like Jordan would do with a misanthropic mo mo like LaBute was not exactly appetizing.

The story is in this week’s New York Times Magazine.  I think Pat went easy on him all considering though I don’t imagine that LaBute will see it that way.

At the Sunday market in Waterloo:

Groggy but still standing–okay, sitting–I am happy to back in the States, home with my wife and our two kittens.  I returned from a week-long visit to Belgium yesterday and with flight delays and traffic jams, it was a long day of travel.  But I had a truly wonderful trip re-connecting with my mother’s family, French-speaking Belgians, who live just outside of Brussels.  I ate frites and yes, a waffle, cheeses and chocolates, salamis and hams and wonderful bread (if only I drank beer; dag, that place is like heaven for beer drinkers). 

I learned a ton about the family history, both in Belgium and in the Congo.  I also learned to better appreciate what I have inherited from them as far as personality, taste and even talent is concerned.  My grandmother had a gift for drawing.  My aunt is a photographer and painter.  My uncle is a graphic designer.  My interested in paiting, in movies, in cooking, that all comes from them. 

My grandfather in the Congo:

Here I am in an African shop in Brussels:

I also recalled the summer vacations I spent there as a kid and noticed how much about the world has changed since.  I used to pine for my grandfather to take me to get the Herald Trib so that I could read three-day old box scores; I eagerly awaited letters from my family back home, which took more than a week to arrive.   Now, everything has changed thanks to technology.  I checked in on e-mail and the blog while I was gone, and saw my wife every day via skype, which is really a fantastic thing–and free, to boot. 

Here’s a shot of my mother and my aunt, Anne–kids in the Congo.

Still, while there is plenty of Americanization there, some cultural differences exist of course. For instance, nobody has ever heard of Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez (if they were ever to hear about Rodriguez it would be as a footnote, as Madonna’s lover).  It is a place where baseball does not matter at all, and I found that to be refreshing.  It reminded me that while I love the game, really what draws me to it more than anything else, are the stories, the characters, the language, and the way it brings people together.

Each team only managed just four hits in this game, but the Yankees also drew to walks, stole two bases, and won 4-1.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Xavier Nady (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)

Joe Girardi has said he’ll name his starting center fielder this weekend so that he can play his regular season lineup over the final week of spring training. Looks to me like he’s already doing that.

Subs: Shelley Duncan (1B), Doug Bernier (2B), Angel Berroa (SS), Ramiro Peña (3B), Jose Molina (C), Todd Linden (RF), Melky Cabrera (CF), Nick Swisher (LF), Justin Leone (DH)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia, Damaso Marte, Mariano Rivera

Opponent: The Reds’ C-team.

Big Hits:

The Yankees actually only had four hits in the whole game: Doubles by Derek Jeter (1-for-4) and Xavier Nady (1-for-3), and a pair of singles by Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3. Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner both walked in three trips.

Who Pitched Well:

CC Sabathia allowed just one run on four singles and no walks while striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings. Damaso Marte then came in to get one man to end the eighth, and Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one, and using just five pitches. Oh man, I’m looking forward to more of that this season.

Battles:

Brett Gardner walked and stole a base in three trips. Melky Cabrera didn’t come to bat.