Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Email me at btimmermann@gmail.com
Select a date:
There is a new documentary about Barry Bonds' 73rd home run ball, called "Up for Grabs," which was made by Michael Wranovics. John Perricone saw the film at a recent press screening and reviews over at Only Baseball Matters. Watching this movie, Perricone, who has written extensively about drugs in baseball, was reminded of what it felt like to see Bonds' great 2001 season up close:
When you see Up for Grabs, you'll remember. You'll remember what these players gave us. You'll remember how it felt to be there when they did it. I was there for about ten Bonds home runs in 2001, (including, I think, number 57). I remember. I was there for Bonds' 660th. These were magical, incredible, amazing moments in sports history. Watching Bonds hit #73 literally brought tears to my eyes, made me shiver. I watched McGwire hit his 62nd home run, watched him hug everybody in sight. Watched him skip around the bases like a little boy, high-fiving the Cubs players as he rounded the bases, and the Cardinal fans go absolutely berserk. Magical. I'll never forget it. McGwire doesn't owe me an apology...I owe him. I owe Bonds....Filmmakers like Wranovics help remind us how magical these players were, how magical they are; how magical the game of baseball can be, even when real life intrudes. Up for Grabs isn't about steroids, or cheating, or sportswriters, or any of that. It's not even about baseball. It's about America, American life, American complexities. As such, it's a brilliant snapshot of an amazing time, and SF Giants fans, baseball fans, and sports fans of all stripes will want to see this film.
Looks interesting. Anyone else heard anything about it?
http://tinyurl.com/7hggo
I'm a fair weather Giants fan, so magical is an appropriate word for how it felt to me. Magical because what Bonds was doing was not believable. When you witness the laws of physics being broken, what other word is there besides magic?
Couldn't think of another word at the time. Now I can: cheating. And maybe: cheated.
Finding out Bonds (and Canseco and McGwire) cheated is like learning the secret to a magic trick. All of the wonder and awe and fun gets sucked out of it. It doesn't impress you anymore.
Now when I look back on those days, it's like drinking a soda that's lost all its carbonation: it used to taste really good, but now it just feels flat.
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808674647
I also heard they pulled it from the SF theater at the embarcadero (Where I wanted to see it) and there was a San Jose Mercury news story that said the m,ovie wasnt doing well...
However, I'm going to see the film tonight at Cinema Village in NY. There's going to be a Q&A with Mike Wranovics after the 7:25 show. You can get tickets here:
http://www.cinemavillage.com/chc/cv/
I'm looking forward to it. It's nice to see a non-Costner baseball film for once.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.