Baseball talk

"His stuff is taking it to a whole ‘nother level!" So said a baseball announcer during a game. I love the way they talk about "stuff". Makes me laugh.

I also heard an announcer say, "He pulled the lampshade down on that one!" As in, "the show is over"? This was said of a pitcher striking a guy out. I don't understand the reference. All I can think of is drunk guys with lampshades on their heads. Any suggestions?

"And just like that, the inning is over." I love this all-purpose expression. You hear it in every other game. "And just like that, the score is 10-1!" It seems to key on the quickness of a change. "And just like that, the game is over," for instance, would seem to suggest a quick final inning.

Guy gets a hit. "He's makin' a statement out there!" Uh, no. He merely got a hit.

As always, I love the things Hawk Harrelson says. He's one of the regular White Sox announcers. In a game the other day, he said, "He's 4-5. And there's not a duck snort involved in there. They have all been hit right on the sweetmeat." I love the guy. He always sounds like he just emerged from a time machine. Very old school. (Aside: Siri knew exactly what I meant when I dictated what Hawk said. You'd think dictation would have a problem with "sweetmeat", but no. Siri knows everything about sports, including how to spell Hawk Harrelson.)

Okay, this one's not about language. I just want to say how nice it is to see Ryan Dempster sitting and spitting on the Red Sox bench. He looks very happy.

Baseball language and stadium "music"

I wrote a post recently where I asked why they play such dreadful, boring "music" at baseball games. Tunes like the theme from The Addams Family and (dog help us) Green Acres are often included in baseball games. They also play Hava Nagila and that silly child's tune that goes "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." No tunes anywhere in the universe could be more boring.

After posting the question, I looked up the answer. It was slim pickings on the internet, but I did find a couple of suggestions that these songs are chosen because they make people clap their hands. Duh. Could there possibly be a more boring reason? Oy. And it's true. Each of these songs has a space where the audience is supposed to clap. Are claps really so precious that they're willing to pollute the stadium with sub-par "music"? Hell, yes!

Moving along, I used to publish tons of posts about the language of baseball. If this interests you, click on that tag below and it will bring you to the posts. Interesting stuff. Okay, here's one more.

I've always been unenthusiastic about some of the language the baseball announcers use. Like saying, "He skied it out to right field!" to denote a ball that's hit really high. "Skied" it? That was the best they could do? How about "lofted" it out into right field? Well, never mind.

Here's another one. When a player hits a low ball, the announcers sometimes say, "He golfed it out to left field!" "Golfed"? How about he "putted" it out to left field? Or "clubbed" it out to left field? Golf isn't the right word to use here.

One last thing. I love when baseball announcers state their man-love for a pitcher by saying "I. Like. His. Stuff!" They don't like the catcher's stuff, or a great hitter's stuff. No. This is a comment restricted to pitchers. And obviously, it's a phrase used only for men, by nature of baseball's all-male ranks.

So here's a question. Could this term apply to a woman? Will we ever hear members of Congress saying "I. Love. Pelosi's. Stuff!" I think someone in a position of power should try this out. Okay, that's it for today. Gotta go watch some baseball games.