Special to The Best American Poetry blog
After the Dodgers were eliminated last night in the "friendly confines" of Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Cubs under Theo Epstein's executive management triumphed 5-0, an emergency meeting of the rat pack was held with Sandy Koufax as toastmaster.
The fellows voted unanimously to give Dodger field manager Dave Roberts a pat on the back for a job well-done. On June 30, no one thought the boys in blue had a chance of overtaking the Giants for the NL West crown, let alone defeating Washington to qualify for the National League Championship series. 'It was a great season," Koufax declared before fielding questions regarding his post-season heroics versus the Yanees in 1963 and his legendary refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur in the 1965 fall classic.
Sandy toasted his Hall-of-Fame teammate Don Drysdale, now deceased. Sandy said: When the Twins knocked out Don [game one starter in Sandy's stead], the tall righthander told [manager Walt] Alston, "bet you wish I, too, were Jewish," and Alston was impressed by Drysdale's use of the subjunctive. Frank drank a shot of Jack and talked about his duet with Elvis Presley in March 1960.
Dean sang "Volare" and modulated into "On an Evening in Roma": "Do they take 'em for espresso, / Yeah, I guess so, / On each lover's arm a girl, l wish I knew, / On an evening in Roma." Then he took a drag of his cigarette and winked at Frank, who sang, "Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away / If you can use some exotic booze / There's a bar in far Bombay." It would be up to Koufax to determine the itinerary: Bombay first, then Rome? Notice Sandy's thin tie and the elegant pocket squares around the horn, a dead giveaway. -- DL
Bombay gin first; Sambuca Romana after dessert. -- SK
Posted by: The Best American Poetry | October 24, 2016 at 11:12 PM