for the world series, and for boys and baseball…
the stretch (Detroit ’68)
it’s bottom of the ninth, two men out
two men on, so I’m pitching from the stretch.
he’ll be looking for the heater, so take a little off,
go outside, right at the crack in the second
porch step. it’s September, and the Tigers are a game up
with three to play – Freehan is flashing the signs
Ernie Harwell’s voice is in my head—“how could the skipper
leave the kid in the game at a time like this?”
as I start my motion, the runners go — absolutely everything
comes down to this–down to this lonely kid throwing
and throwing again, down to hitting that porch step, down
to this ball spinning now toward home
down to the twitch of the hitters’ hands, down to this cutter
finally starting to bite
© 2016 jafink/oldbonesnewsnow.com
Love this… fellow Detroiter–