BASEBALL WATCH: Cautiously Optimistic

My boys have been playing pretty decent baseball all season in the viciously competitive National League East. Most of the time they’ve been over a .500 average. I’ve even gotten used to looking for the Phillies name second or third in the standings, instead of with the mushrooms in the depths of the cellar. We’re now ahead by a half-game over Houston in the wild-card race—and that’s almost unbearable excitement for a Phillies fan.

I won’t make any mocking remarks about the National League West and its fine losing percentage (so much more impressive than its pitiable winning percentage). But I’m immensely proud of my West Coast team. The A’s started off with a truly dismal record. Then they threw themselves into the game and turned it around. Now they’re leading the American League wild-card race.

September is going to be a great baseball month. And who knows? Now that Gene Mauch is dead, maybe we can avoid a September collapse.