A Baseball Interlude

In a way it is poetic justice that rain has fallen on baseball's parade. The same rain that has been dampening the two presidential candidates' jaunts through the Keystone state that just happens to be the site of that very same World Series.

Sometimes it is good for the soul to experience the actual changing of summer into autumn. The suspension of the baseball championships is being viewed universally as a disaster for a sport hungering for a large post season viewing audience. But the rain drops and dark weather that have taken over Philadelphia are giving the players a moment to pause before taking the final actions in a season so unexpected for the participants of the two teams.

When if ever, has a game been stopped in the middle of the sixth inning with the score tied and so much riding on the outcome? When if ever, has one game gone from one day to another day to another day with nothing changing? This break, though torture for the FOX network, gives those baseball purists who like things to last as long as possible, a unique opportunity to wonder what each team's manager's strategy will be in what is essence a three and a half inning contest for the ages.

In a similar vein, seeing pictures of Obama in the rain and of McCain having to cancel a rally in Quakertown, gives a bit more drama to their own championship bout. On Wednesday, the two will have gone on ahead of the Phillies and Rays, to sunny Florida, where the senses and emotions of the four seasons never hit.

A chill in the air, some wind dusting up around the crowd, and some meaningful rain showers are what everyone needs as the long election race winds down to a dwindling few days. One would hope that all of us would take one last moment to contemplate the meaning of this election and the stark positions of the two men running for the presidency. One would hope that Americans would look hard at the young lanky man from Illinois and the grizzled Air Force veteran from Arizona and then go and cast a vote that all of us knows is so important.

But this moment of solemnity will only last for twenty four hours. Obama will be on the networks Wednesday night followed by those precious innings that the two baseball teams will compete. The ads and talking heads will come back to try and convince us to vote for our most shallow concerns. The hope here is that the time off will produce a crisp clean battle in Citizens Park in Philly and an Election Day where millions of Americans will vote their dreams and hopes over fear and doom.