This I Admit Seems So Good, Hard to Believe an End to It

Congratulations to Mr. Kalum Tuggle for correctly naming "With or Without You" by U2 as the Sunday Song of the Day. Yes, even though their surnames are similar, that is Tuggle and not Tuegel winning the Song of the Day contest concerning U2 lyrics. What can I say? Sometimes even the great ones have their off days. That's not to discredit Kalum's masterful performance, but to offer an admonishment to Mr. Tuegel to understand that the playing field is being leveled.

Since it is October, and the Rockies clinched a spot in the Fall Classic last night, I thought all of you might appreciate a few words from George F. Will:

"Baseball fans are generally a cheerful lot, at least between late February and late October. (Literary critic Jonathan Yardley says there are only two seasons: baseball season and The Void.) However, human beings seem to take morose pleasure from believing that once there was a Golden Age, some lost Eden or Camelot or superior ancient civilization, peopled by heroes and demigods, an age of greatness long lost and irrecoverable. Piffle. Things are better than ever, at least in baseball, which is what matters most."

--Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball

After briefly noting that I was absolutely thrilled to see that George Will used the word "piffle" in a book about baseball, I will say that perhaps things are not better than ever in baseball, but there is still so much to enjoy about the game. Even as the Mitchell Committee prepares to release more names of players caught in the practice of using of performance-enhancing drugs, the Colorado Rockies have reeled off a 21-1 stretch to move from the baseball hinterlands squarely into the greatest stage in the sport.

As Will wrote, there will never be a time when the stars align and the game is devoid of troubling storylines, but as of October 2007, it's a pretty good time to call yourself a baseball fan.