Smile-breaks
Baseball ’n Bubble Gum – A Winning Combination
I’m sure enjoying baseball these days. It’s amazing how those players step up to the plate, shift their feet, wiggle their hips, shake the bat up over their head a few times and blow a bright pink bubble to six inches in diameter seconds before their bat sends the ball flying off into right field.
Watch that pitcher walk up onto the mound to get ready for his next bubble, working his cheeks in and out, in and out, until – here it comes, pale green gum evolving slowly into a – oops! went flat. The jaws resume their motion as he goes into his windup…
And the gum is only half the story. Khalil “Squiggle” Greene is out there at shortstop, playing ball as if he were a kid who never knew you can’t possibly catch a ball that’s rising three feet over your head, turn a double flip, land rightside up on your back, and toss it casually over to second base – dead on.
Boy, if you’re playing ball with “Squiggle,” and that ball comes anywhere near him, you better get over and cover your base, ’cause it’s gonna be coming to you - and right on time. Loretta’s there. Touches the ball long enough for the ump to see he got it and sends it flying off to Nevin for the double play at first.
Padres lead – eight to one. No wonder I’m enjoying the baseball so much. We’re a coupl’a games out of first place with batters that can hit, infielders that can field – and outfielders, too – and pitchers that blow fantastic bubbles instead of games.
’Nother thing - when the players come up to bat, I actually know who they are. A stable stable of players. No Padres sold off. These days I can tell by the haircut under the helmet who’s up to bat. Or by the stance. Or the color of the bubble issuing from the lower part of the face.
It’s the gum that’s keeping it all stuck together. Just ask Bochy. For sure he’d agree. And it’s the bubble gum that’s making baseball so much fun. Did you ever chew bubble gum and not have a good time? Whereas, chewing tobacco – well, that’s serious stuff.
But then, bubble gum has its serious side, too. Just look at Wells up there on the mound as he stares down his catcher, waiting for the right signal, chewing his gum rapidly with intense focus. Shakes his head “unh-uh” two times, three times, never missing a beat. The right signal comes. He steps back, raises his arms, and the gum flows forth to form a pale pink bubble that grows and grows until it brushes against his nose and goes flat.
Low and inside. Ball one. Wells’ jaws resume their rapid motion and Loretta, Greene, Nevin and all the others stand at the ready, most of them absorbed in their own colorful wads of gum. Can’t tell about Hernandez – he’s probably ungluing his last bubble from his catcher’s mask.
The Giant towering over the plate hoists the bat up over his shoulder, glares at Wells, and blows a large gray-blue bubble. It looks like the Giant needs a fresh supply of gum, but maybe that’s his lucky gum and he won’t let it go. As the ball flies toward him I cross my fingers, hoping this Giant with the name Bond written across his back and the wad of worn bubble gum in his mouth isn’t lucky tonight. But I’m not too worried. We’ve got all the other teams beat when it comes to blowing bubbles.