Rueter (2-7, 5.21)
Webb (8-3, 3.20)
"I never got to bat in the Major Leagues. I would have liked to have had that chance. Just once. To stare down a big-league pitcher. To stare him down, and just as he goes into his windup, wink. Make him think you know something he doesn't... That's what I wish for. Chance to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases -- stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag. That's my wish, Ray Kinsella. That's my wish. And is there enough magic out there in the moonlight to make this dream come true?"
One hundred years ago today, Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham played his only game in the major leagues. Yes, the character played by the late, great Burt Lancaster, in one of the best baseball movies ever, Field of Dreams, actually did exist. He was a one-game player for the New York Giants, coming in as a late-innings defensive replacement in a blowout against the Brooklyn Dodgers. [Someone's selling the NY Tribune for the day on Ebay. The front-page headline is 'Odessa Under Martial Law' - Battleship Potemkin anyone?] Left in the on-deck circle that day, he never played again, becoming a childrens' doctor instead.
If ever there was magic in the moonlight, it'd be on the centenary of his appearance. And so, to do our part in that, today we're going to watch Field of Dreams. 162 games is a long, long season: sometimes the point, the fun - the magic, if you like - gets lost in the hard slog, whether you're playing, blogging or simply being a fan. At virtually the half-way point, a recharge of enthusiasm seems in order. Then, if we get started early enough, we might watch the game...
