Anyway, I thought I’d give you a teaser of sorts, in the form of a chapter that was removed “because it didn’t move the plot,” as my esteemed editor, Rick Hurd, told me many times as we were trying to whittle it down from 465 pages to 330+.

In this scene, my character and  starting pitcher, Larry Gordon, and his buddy, Rick Wycliffe, a relief pitcher, are in Seattle for the start of the baseball season.  They flew up a day early and have some time to kill.  After going up to the top of the Space Needle and eating lunch in the revolving restaurant, they walk towards the downtown area and come upon the Pike Place Market.  Here is what happened there:

Pitching Fish

Rick and I continue south along the Seattle waterfront until we come to the Pike Place Market, an old fashioned wharf-side fish market that sells more than just things from the sea, and we decide to wander in and have a look.

Pike Place Market

We pass stalls decked out in the vibrant colors of vegetables, berries, fruits, and flowers in a rainbow of hues, and booths that sell candy, aromatic coffees, teas, spices, and ice cream.  Our noses are greeted with a strong aroma of cinnamon as we approach a lighted case containing warm sticky buns that make our mouths water.  Even though we just ate dessert, they smell too good to pass up, and we buy one to split.

Next door is one of the fish mongers, and something flying catches my eye.  Rick and I move to the left to watch a guy tossing a large silvery salmon to another guy at the other end of the stall.  He lays it out on the crushed ice heaped on a slanted display shelf at the front of the stall.

Fish Monger's Stall

We watch several more flying fish, and I can see by the expression on Rick’s face that he’s hatching something.  He gives me an evil look.  “Hey, bro.  If you ever get injured and can’t pitch, I bet you could get a job here.”  He pauses for a second for effect.  “Nah, you’d never do it,” and gives me a jab in the ribs.

“Who says?”  I rub my side and wink at Rick.  After a few seconds, I vault quickly over the barrier between the stalls and land in front of the flabbergasted fish tosser,  “Can I try that?” I ask.

I’m sure this guy in a bloodstained apron and wool fisherman’s cap thinks I’m a raving loon, but he says, “Okay, if you want to.”  Then, eyeing me quizzically, he says:  “You look familiar.  Do I know you?”

I say in a low voice:  “That guy over there is Rick Wycliffe and I’m Larry Gordon.  We’re in town with the Renegades to play the Mariners.”  Recognition spreads across his face.

Before he can say anything, I say, indicating Rick, “He bet me I wouldn’t do this, and I want to make a liar out of him.  Can you help me out here?”  I put on my most appealing boyish smile and hold out my hands.

He looks at me dubiously but decides to go along with the program.  He hands me a somewhat cleaner apron than the one he is wearing, which I slip over my head.  He tells me to turn around and wraps the apron strings around me so I can tie them in the front.  Next he holds out a pair of long rubber gloves and I slip them on.  I don’t want to think about what kind of fish guts are inside them.

Then he retrieves a huge glistening salmon from a crate behind him and places it into my gloved hands.   He calls down to the guy at the other end of the stall, “Hey, Mike, incoming!”

Mike yells back, “Ready when you are, Chuck!”

“Go for it!” Chuck says, and stands back to give me some room.

I make sure I have a good grip on the slippery fish, take a few practice swings to get the feel for its weight, and launch it into the air in Mike’s direction.  He deftly catches the salmon, places it carefully next to the previous one and gives me a thumbs-up.  The few people who saw me vault into the stall start to clap.

Chuck hands me another silvery fish, and I fling it toward Mike who lays it out next to my first fish on the ice.  I look over the counter to find Rick.  I see him standing behind the burgeoning crowd, shaking his head, but smiling.

I turn back to Chuck who thrusts another fish into my hands, clearly amused by this whole scene.  I send it on its way, a perfect strike, right into Mike’s waiting hands.  This is a piece of cake, I think.   Much louder applause this time.  We’ve drawn quite an audience.

After a few more perfect pitches, I hear murmuring in the crowd.  Uh-oh.  I bet we’ve been found out. 

“Thanks for the fish-pitching lesson,” I say to Chuck.  “It was fun.  But we’ve got to get out of here.”

I peel off the gloves and the apron, thrusting them at Chuck,  and jump back over the barrier to more applause.  People are now pointing at me.  I sprint to Rick and we take off away from the crowd before Chuck can confirm who we are.

We emerge into the sunlight, put our sunglasses disguise back in place, and dissolve into hysterics.  It feels like the time when I was a  kid, and my best friend and I reduced a neighbor’s ancient grape arbor to kindling by pulling it apart with our bare hands.  When we heard a car pull in the driveway, we snuck off through the adjoining back yards, and no one but us ever knew who had done it.  We chuckled about that in secret for years afterwards.

Rick and I head back toward the hotel with a bounce in our steps, and he teases me about how fishy I smell now.  In all my current turmoil, it sure was nice just to goof around for a while.  Rick and I used to do this a lot when we first met in A-ball, before he got married and baseball got so serious.

We duck into a bar for a beer along the way and thank our lucky stars that no one we know was on hand in the Pike Place Market to witness our shenanigans.  Rick says, “You know we could never get away with anything like that in the Bay Area.”

“Yup.  It’s one of the few benefits of being on the road.  We can go out in public,” I say, and chug the rest of my beer.

Rick and I decide to grab an early dinner at a small restaurant near the hotel.  It’s a little hole in the wall place but the menu posted outside looks promising.  In honor of my fish-pitching exploits, I order salmon, which is delicious.  Rick has Alaskan King Crab legs which are huge and very messy.  His Dead Head tee shirt will never look or smell the same again.

We pay the check and walk back to the hotel completely contented.  He heads off to his room to call Cindy.  I crawl into my bed and bury my head in my Michael Crichton novel until the oblivion of sleep claims me.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this little vignette.  BTW, the pictures are not in the novel.  I just wanted to break up the text for the blog.

I’ll keep you posted on the publication process.  The book should be avaliable sometime before the baseball season starts.

Tony was signed as a amateur free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1962.  He played 2nd base and shortstop for most of his playing career, though he made appearances at 1st and 3rd, as well as in the outfield.  In 1976, he pitched in 3 games (.300 ERA) for the Iowa Oaks in the American Association (AAA).

He had “cups of coffee” with the Kansas City A’s (1963), and the Oakland A’s (1968+69),  and longer stints in Oakland in 1970 and 1971, when he was traded to the Atlanta Braves.  He bounced around the minor leagues with the Braves (cup of coffee in 1971),the Cubs (another cup of coffee in 1973), the Pirates, the White sox, and the Cardinals, who finally released  him in 1977(AA).

In 1978, he managed the Knoxville Sox of the Southern League (AA), and in 1979 was promoted to the Iowa Oaks (AAA), replacing Joe sparks.  During that year was called up to the Chicago White Sox to replace Don Kessinger, who was fired after losing 60 and winning 46 games.  Under Tony that year, the Chisox went 27-27.  In 1983, his White Sox won their division (99-63.)

As a manager, Tony certainly found his calling.  He won the American League Pennant 3 times, and the World Series once, in 1989 (“The Earthquake Series”) with the Oakland Athletics.  He won 3 National League Penants, and 3 World Series, all with the Cardinals, including the exciting 2011 series just over.  He also won Manager of the Year 4 times, with the Athletics in 1983 and 1988, and with the Cardinals in 1992 and 2002.

He says of his retirement, ”It’s Time,” and we have to honor his decision.  We will miss him from the the baseball scene, but wish him the best in whatever he decides to do next.

And check out his novel, Home Away. You can also get it on Amazon.  It is available as an ebook in Kindle, Nook, and IPad formats.

That said, here is our ballot:

1st Place:  Jose Bautista, RF/3B, Toronto Blue Jays.  Led the AL in home runs (43), walks (132), slugging precentage (.608), OPS (1.056), OPS+ (181), and intentional walks (24).  He was an All Star.

2nd Place:  Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Boston Red Sox.  He had a breakout season in 2011.  He led the league in total bases (364), and a batting average of .321, a .552 slugging precentage, and 212 total hits.  He also was an All Star.

3rd Place:  Curtis Granderson, CF, throws right, bats left, New York Yankees.  He led the AL in runs scored (136) and RBI’s (119).  He also hit 41 home runs, stole 25 bases, had a .552 slugging percentage, and 322 total bases.  He likewise was an All Star.

4th Place:  Miguel Cabrera, 1B, 3B, LF, Detroit Tigers.  He led the AL in games played (161), doubles (48), bating average (.344), and OBP (.448).  He hit 30 home runs, scored 111 runs, had 197 hits, and 105 RBI’s.  Another All Star (his 6th appearance).

5th Place:  Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit Tigers.  He led the AL in wins (24), win/loss percentage (.823), games started (34), innnings pitched (251), strikeouts (250), ERA+ (170 – ERA adjusted to his home park), WHIP (.920) and hits/9 innings (6.2).  Yet another All Star.  Yes, he’s a pitcher, but he and Cabrera are the reason the Tigers got to the postseason.

The rest of the field includes:

6th Place:  Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Boston Red Sox.  Led Al in hits (213) and grounded into double plays (28).  BA (338).  All Star.

7th Place:  Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees. BA .302, 188 hits, All Star.

8th Place: Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox.  Led AL in plate appearances (731).  .307 BA, 91 RBI’s.  Not an All Star.

9th Place:  CC Sabathia, LHP, New York Yankees.  Led AL in batters faced (985). 19-8, 3.00 ERA, 231.1 innings pitched, All Star.

10th Place:  Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers.  620 AB, 121 runs, 158 hits, 32 HR, 77 RBI’s, 30 stolen bases. Not an All Star.

That’s it for the BBA Awards for another year.  Let’s go watch the world Series!

1st Place:  Justin Verlander, RHP, of the Detroit Tigers.  He lead the Al in wins (24-5), ERA (2.40), innings pitched (251), strikeouts (250), WHIP (0.920), hits/9 innings (6.2), Strikeouts/9 innings (8.3), SO/BB ratio (2.96) .  What more do we need to say?

2nd: Place:  Jared Weaver, RHP, of the Los Angeles Angels.  He was awesome for the entire season.  18-8 record, 2.41 ERA (only 1/100th higher than Verlander), 198 strikeouts, WHIP of 1.010, 7.0 hits/9,

3rd Place:  CC Sabathia, LHP, of the New York Yankees.  Won 19, lost 8, 3.00 ERA, 230 strikouts, 1.226 WHIP, 8.7 Hits/9 and SO/9, 3.7 SO/BB ratio, and led the league in batters faced with 985.

4th Place:  James Shields, RHP, of the Tampa Bay Rays.  16-12, 2.82 ERA, 11 complete games (led AL), 4 shutouts (led AL), 1.043 WHIP, 8.1 SI/9, and 3.46 SO/BB ratio.

5th Place:  Dan Haren, RHP, of the Los Angeles Angels.  16-10, 3.17 ERA, 34 games started (led AL), 192 SO, 1.024 WHIP 8 H/9, 7.3 SO/9, and 5.82 SO/9 (led AL).  He is the only 1 of the 5 that was not an All Star in 2011.

Next up:  The Stan Musial Award for the top layer (MVP).

1st Place:  Jose Valverde, RHP, (closer) Detroit Tigers.  Valverde converted 49 saves in 2011, but finished with a record of 2-4.  He had 8.6 strikouts/9 innings (SO/9) and a 2.03 strikeout to walk ratio.  As were each of the others in this list, he was an All Star this season.  He posted a 2.24 ERA and struck out 69 in 72.1 innings.

2nd Place:  David Robertson, RHP, (set-up man) New York Yankees.  Robinson usurped the role of set-up man from Rafael Soriano early in 2011 and thrived in that role.  He allowed only 8 earned runs, and stuck out 100 batters in 66.2 innings, for a 1.08 ERA and compiled a 13.5 SO/9.  He only surrendered 1 home run all season.  He was my first place choice.

3rd Place:  Mariano Rivera, RHP, (closer) New York Yankees.  Rivera has long been considered the best reliever in baseball, certainly the best closer.  But he is 41 years old and had fewer saves and a lower SO/9 than our 1st place winner did.  He walked only 8 batters and posted a 1.91 ERA, while converting 44 of 49 save opportunities.

Up next:  The Walter Johnson Award for the top starting pitcher.

1st Place:  Mark Trumbo, 1B, the Los Angeles Angels.  This may be a somewhat controversial pick, and it was not unanimous among our chapter.  However, under the BBA point system, he edged out Michael Pineda by 1 point and Ivan Nova by 2.  No question that Trumbo was perhaps the most valuable player to his team, playing predominently 1st base, but also all three 3 outfield positions.  His 29 runs, 87 RBI’s, and 137 hits carried the Angels to a credible postseason bid, despite having a team that was short on talent.  On the negative side was his .291 On Base Percentage, but his fielding percentage at 1B was .993, and 1.000 in the outfield, both outstanding.

2nd Place:  Michael Pineda, RHP, Seattle Mariners.  Pineda gave a much needed lift to a foundering Seattle Mariners team.  His record of only 9-10 can be attributed in great part a team  that had trouble hitting and winning games.  He finished with 173 strikeouts, but gave up only 55 walks (over 3:1 ratio), and had a 1.099 WHIP (walks + hits/inning pitched).  His ERA was 3.74 and he was an All Star in 2011.

3rd Place:  Ivan Nova, RHP, New York Yankees.  This 24-year-old pitcher in his 1st full year in the majors, managed to thrive despite the New York media glare and finished with a record of 16-4, an ERA of 3.70, and a WHIP of 1.355, second only on the team to CC Sabathia in all 3 stats.  With the other Yankee starters not living up their high-priced potential, “Super Nova” was instrumental in getting the Yankees to the post season.

Next up:  the BBA Walter Johnson Award (top starting Pitcher)

We decided to file a composite ballot this year, and Jason, David and I submitted ballots for all the awards this year.  1st place votes received 5 points each, 2nd place received 3 points, and 3rd place got 1 point each.  Having combined their scores with mine, our ballot is as follows:

1st Place:  Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays, a unanimous decision (15 points).  He lost a ton of talent during the off-season, but he made the best of what he had, like unsung heroes Matt Joyce, Sam Fuld, and the perennial energizer bunny Johnny Damon on offense, and James Shields, David Price and rookie Jeremy Hellickson excelling on the hill.  And who can forget the last day of the season when the Red Sox led 3-2 and the Orioles were down to their last strike?  Unfortunately for the Bosox , their vaunted closer Jonathon Papelbon blew the save, and the Red Sox lost the game.  3 minutes later, the Rays came from behind and beat the Yankees, pounding the nail on the coffin of the Red Sox massive collapse by knocking them out of the postseason. Especially amazing since Maddon  sent Dan Johnson (former A’s 1st baseman) to the plate (batting an unimpressive .109) when they were down to their last stike in the bottom of the ninth.  DJ hit a homer to tie the game!  Evan Longoria homered in the bottom of the 12th to win it.  Now that is inspired managing.

2nd Place:  Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers (6 Points).  Jim didn’t have much of a turnover from last season and added Victor Martinez to the mix.  He bettered last year’s 81-81 record by finishing at 95-67, earning the team the Central Division title and a trip to the postseason.  He gets kudos for accomplishing all this despite having to keep a lid on the fallout from Miguel Cabrera’s DUI arrest during spring training.  He has won the MLB’s MOY award 3 times already, 2 in the NL in the 1990′s, and in 2006 in the AL with the Tigers.

3rd Place:  Manny Acta of the Cleveland Indians (4 Points).  This one surprised me as not many other writers have even mentioned him in the conversation around MOY.  But my two cohorts both voted for him and he gets the nod.  In his second season as the Tribe’s manager, he lead the team to a second-place finish in the AL Central with an 80-83 record.  He lead the team to an 11-game improvement over their 69-93 record in 2010, and accomplished this with the 3rd youngest roster in MLB, including 11 players who made their Major League debuts.  I guess he is pretty impressive.  BTW, I picked Joe Girardi for this spot.

That’s it for the Connie Mack Award for 2011.  The Willie Mays Award (Rookie of the Year) is up next.

The 1^st pitch was finally thrown at 8:17, 1 hour and  minutes late.  There couldn’t have been more than 2000 people in the stands to witness one of the best pitched games I have ever seen. Javier Vasquez, the Marlin’s starting pitcher, has always owned the A’s. They’d never beaten him.  And he was definitely on last night, except for the 1 run he allowed in the 2^ndinning.

Unfortunately, the A’s 3rd baseman, Scott Sizemore, airmailed a throw over first-baseman Conor Jackson’s head to put the first batter of the 9^th inning on 2^nd base.    There he died, as Boom Boom mowed the next 3 guys down, striking them out with authority and fist pumps.  Everyone in the stands stood for the 9^th inning. The place was electric.

Even though it was close to 11:00 pm, the crowd lingered to cheer the guys while they were celebrating on the field after the final out.  It was an amazing experience!  And miraculously we didn’t get wet.

I was particularly happy as last night was the first game I have attended this year that the A’s won.  And what a game it was!  I can’t wait to go to my next game on July 5^th against the Mariners.

[N.B. There is something messed up with the program and the way the pictures are displayed.  My apologies.]

Larry Gordon leads a charmed life.  He’s is dating Gina Green, a beautiful pediatrician working at a local hospital, a five-tool player in baseball lingo. Larry is a successful major league pitcher for the Oakland Renegades.  He’ll earn big money in the free agency market at the end of the upcoming season if he plays well.  Larry isn’t worried.  He’s at the top of his game.

As the novel opens, Gina has just walked out on Larry.  After having making love, Gina brought up the subject of marriage.  He freaked out and inadvertently admitted he’d had sex with other women on the road while he’s been sleeping with her.  Angry and hurt, she walked out on him, ending their five-month relationship.

Determined to put Gina behind him, Larry goes off to spring training to prepare for his contract year and forget about her.  Unfortunately, things don’t go so well for him on the pitcher’s mound, and the one-night stands with the baseball groupies aren’t as satisfying as they once were,  largely because thoughts of Gina haunt him while he’s having sex.  Sometimes he can’t perform in bed, which rocks him to his core.

Once the season starts, Larry’s ups and downs on the mound continue, and his earned run average balloons to over 6.00.  Bob Jacobs, his agent, tells him in no uncertain terms that he’d better get his act together, or he won’t be able to get him a big-money contract in the fall.

Thus begins Larry’s journey to find himself on the mound and in life.  It’s a bumpy, at times hilarious, and poignant coming of age story of a gifted athlete trying to win his girlfriend back and take the Renegades to the postseason.

I have queried 5 agents, but haven’t heard from 4 of them (not uncommon as the new rejection is now silence).  The rejection I did get was very nice and encouraging.  I will also query some smaller publishers, but if I don’t have any serious interest in the next few months, I’m going to publish it online (Smashwords and Amazon) and market it aggressively.  Let me know what you think and I’ll keep you all posted on my progress.  And thanks for your interest in my magnum opus.

Bee