Off day dreaming

After yesterday's win and subsequent gain in the standings, I thought it'd be easy to wake up this morning. Problem was, I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep. At about 1:30am, when I realized unconscious dreams were far off, I began to feed my conscious, somewhat irrational dreams about October baseball by reading everything there was to know about the game in the wee hours of a Monday morning. Now I'm sucking down the coffee to stay awake.

I read how Pirates fans think they have a chance, and I laughed. But hey, we're all grasping for the dream that has been denied to us for so long. They've had it a little worse than we have - at least we won 96 games in 1999. (Curse you, Al Leiter! I can't help but get a tear in my eye when I think of that season.)

I read how David Wells won in his Dodger debut and recalled how he helped us get to our last October baseball in 1995.

I read about how Aaron Boone will have season ending knee surgery. Boone was a key part of that 1999 team. Sniff.

I read about how Scott Kazmir got his 10th win for the worst team in baseball on Saturday night, striking out a career high 13. (Chris Gruler? Really, Leatherpants, thanks a lot for that one.)

I have vague recollections of how it feels to win. I want to feel it again.

Oh, the illogic of it all! The irrational and absurd thoughts of crisp, cool autumn nights with baseball being played in Great American Ballpark for the first time in its history. The visions of that tiny little sphere glowing under the incandescent lights as it sails towards the moondeck from Dunn's bat. The goosebumps as I imagine the roar of a soldout stadium believing irrationally and emotionally that this flawed team with its patchwork rotation and its suspect bullpen can win it all. Oh, my heart aches for these experiences, these joys!

And what is logic in baseball? No amount of statistical analysis can explain the magic behind the improbable, the feelings we have deep in our souls that cannot be quantified, the insatiable thirst for a sip of that October air, one last hurrah before summer's final breath. Hope is the essence of baseball, a game where nothing is impossible. When we were kids, our belief in our team was not confined to logic or probability! Part of the beauty of this game is that we never have to let go of that innocent faith that the good guys always have a chance. Our spirits quiver with a joyous anticipation of something for which we have been longing for too many years. Put your calculators down, throw away your logic and your pessimism, and just let yourselves believe!

And now, a song for Monday:

October, October,
The whole day through
Just a check of the standings
Keeps October on my mind

I say October
October
A vision of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As a baseball through the night

Pitchers' arms reach out to win
So do rooks like Hamilton
And in peaceful dreams I envision
The glory of a ring

I said October,
Ooh October, no focus can I find
Just a Reds win streak
Keeps October on my mind
___