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At
one level it was a routine major league game in the
heat of August, both teams going nowhere, one a
little faster than the other. At another level it
was a chance to trade stories with a Northern
Virginia elected official and a technology executive
about the way things are going – jobs,
transportation, who is saying what about whom.
Play ball!
The
home Washington Nationals clearly were frustrated as
they dropped a 5-0 game to the visiting Atlanta
Braves. With their bats stifled and base runners
quiet, the Nationals had to rely on the defensive
exploits of their All-Star leftfielder, Alfonso
Soriano, for highlights. Twice in the same inning
Soriano appeared to throw Braves runners out at the
plate as they scored on base hits to left. The
second time Soriano unloaded a rocket on one hop to
catcher Brian Schneider, it was clear to all in the
stadium save the home plate umpire that the runner
was out. (Let’s go to the tape. The lead foot was
over, but not on the plate in the slide.)
Safe!
Boo!
Open your eye, Cyclops!
But
there was one more game highlight, the kind ofthat
baseball fans live for: quiet and lost amid the heat
and dust of a middle-inning third out for the Nats.
Rookie third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, a former
University of Virginia star, lined a shot down the
third base line with two outs. As he took a step
toward first, the noise of the crowd signaled their
hope that Zimmerman might be looking at extra bases.
Rally!
Just
as quickly, the roar died in ten thousand throats,
stopped in mid-air by Braves third baseman, Larry
Wayne Jones, nickname “Chipper,” who gloved the
line drive. Zimmerman pulled up suddenly on only his
third step out of the box. He clapped his dusty
batting gloves together in frustration, took off his
batting helmet and tucked it under his arm.
Zimmerman shot a glance at Chipper Jones, who
already had rolled the ball back toward the now
empty pitcher’s mound and begun to jog slowly
toward the Braves dugout. Zimmerman looked up again
at Jones, this time with a deep, long stare as if to
say, “Give me a break, I smoked that ball.”
Jones
knew he had made a good play, bang-bang, the kind of
play that’s made him an All-Star and perennial
post-season leader for the Braves. Zimmerman knew
it, too. So as Jones jogged by, he glanced up at
Zimmerman, saw the pleading look and gave Zimmerman
a big grin, as if to say, “You have to earn your
hits here, just like I did, but it looks like
you’re on your way.” The 6’4”, 230-pound
Jones nodded to the future All-Star Zimmerman. The
6’3”, 210-pound Zimmerman smiled back.
Wait
until next time!
Chipper
Jones made his debut with the Braves late in 1993
after being called up from AAA Richmond
(“Tomorrow’s World Champions are Playing Here
Today!”) By the end of his first full season,
Jones had over 500 career at bats, 141 hits, 23 home
runs, 23 doubles, 89 runs scored and 96 runs batted
in. Zimmerman made his debut for the Nationals a
year ago and already has over 500 career at bats,
156 hits, 17 home runs, 48 doubles, 71 runs and 89
runs batted in. Jones has over 350 homeruns now and
is nearing 2,000 career hits. Check on Zimmerman in
about 12 more years.
“So,
what was George Allen thinking when with camera
rolling he lit into a campaign volunteer for
opponent Jim Webb,” the elected official asked
between peanuts. “And does The Washington Post
obsession with the story hurt Allen more nationally
than in Virginia,” the technology executive asked
in almost the same breath.
Boo!
Sportsmanship
does matter, they decided after exploring the topic.
Mean, nasty, degrading, negative name-calling
isn’t really the point in politics, particularly
when tossed casually at whoever is handy. You have
to earn the trust and the election results, they
agreed. So why after winning over a million votes
twice in successful runs for Governor and U.S.
Senate did Allen put himself at the top of the
blogger, Internet clip and comedy show list?
Error!
A
poll released by Qorvis Communications on August 24
suggests Virginia voters are still trying to decide
whether Senator Allen was careless, vulgar or
clueless. Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed
agreed with the statement that the name “Macaca”
thrown at a Webb volunteer was a “silly thing to
say with no larger meaning behind it.”
Another
28 percent agreed with the statement that it was a
“careless attempt at being funny.” Better than
one in four (28 percent), however, agreed with the
statement that Allen’s words were a “vulgar,
personal disparaging remark.”
Seventy
percent surveyed indicated that the incident would
not have an impact on their vote in November. But as
the continuing national attention shows, George
Allen and his presidential interest in 2008 have
been introduced to tens of millions of potential
voters nationwide in a less-than-positive way.
“Don’t get in fights with people who buy ink by
the gallon,” former Los Angeles Dodger manager
Tommy Lasorda always advised young baseball players.
Safe
or out?
“It’s
nothing until the umpire calls it something,” the
three fans concluded as shadows worked their way
over the seats in which just minutes before they
were frying in the August sun. “We just saw that
even good throws don’t mean the runner can’t
score.”
Let’s
go to the tape. You make the call.
--
August 28, 2006
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