In Defense of Bob Howry

Bob Howry got roughed up again last night

4 earned runs
no outs

and they booed him mercilessly

they cracked their peanuts and drank their beer
and booed him

and he hung his head and took that long walk to the dugout

that cliché 5.50 e.r.a. in mid-September walk to the dugout
that’s better than all the poets’ faux-empathy for the dead in East-Timor

I didn’t boo

Bob Howry is a placement pitcher

he has one good pitch
a fastball

when he’s on
he’s painting the corners at 95

when he’s off
it’s 91 over the middle

Bob Howry knew this

and 4 people out of 38,000 knew this

and they didn’t boo

I call these people poets

and the other 37,996 are just people that write

that’s baseball

that’s poetry

I prefer Bob Howry

© 2008 Lee Kitzis