Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
The Bloom Blog
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Thursday, December 01, 2005
Hot Stove Leaguers
At Kenny's wine store in Deep River, there is not much heated debate over Iraq or abortion or much else in the news. What stops traffic here is the subject of the Mets, and, in general, baseball. Kenny, who has been a fan of the Mets for a long time, has wagered on them with me over the last three years. And this habit has cost him three fine bottles of wine. Our wager is simple to construct: no odds are calculated. I owe him a bottle of wine -- coals to Newcastle for a wine shop owner -- if the Mets win more games than the Indians in a season. And he owes me if the opposite happens. Those who would argue that rooting for the Tribe only leads to heartbreak have not sampled the French and Italian vintages the team has delivered to me these past summers. Yes, the Tribe may have disappointed in the standings, but less so than the rich Mets, who spend and spend but can't seem to get the results that, on paper, seem all but promised.Yesterday, the Hot Stove League was warming up. Kenny was excited about the signings of slugger Carlos Delgado and stopper Billy Wagner, as excited as he was in past years when the Mets paid to get Pedro Martinez, Mo Vaughan, Carlos Beltran and other high priced talent. Meanwhile, the Tribe continues to count its pocket change and practice its voodoo economics.
Just the sort of situation that makes me want to double the bet next season. But I won't. Even though, as the song argues about baseball and life, you gotta have heart.
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 8:55 AM
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