(((There is a tremendous amount of montage in this work. The dialogue is spaced out in what can be called acts. They are not immediately complimenting of each other and to bring out the rest of the time for this piece into 30 minute range there needs to be Oakland-Cincinnati footage interspersed here to show a montage of baseball. This is a first draft that is to be taken into the hands of an art director and worked with and it is also evidence of a shakespearean style of writing that comes from this.)))
ActA Baseball Field
(- There is a man with a baseball on the pitcher’s mound. -)
Dennis Eckersley
Prithee we speaketh no more of the days we used to not play the game we play today. We openeth our insides and breaketh outish of our modern asides and begin again to wonderment and wonder how again we became men in this era of football and basketball and hockey and twas again the baseball’s and the bats that broketh all that we cameth upon this earth to play and twas again the baseball players that taught all players how to play.
(((There is a close up of the baseball and this work is timed so that the dialogue happens at the pace of a baseball game. The dialogue is spoken slightly slowly for emphasis.)))
(- Dennis Eckersley threw the baseball to Terry Steinbach that was sitting squatted at home plate. -)
Terry SteinbachThat you would throw me thus ball and that twould the pitcher of pitchers throw meesus that which is of opulent gesture and of the gestures that a pitcher could gesture to send the ball in my direction here behind the diamond that we form the ring around and of the rings we have formed none are so taken as to be this that this was a warm up pitch and that there are two more to come and then we we play the game that we have come to play.
UmpirePlease do not forget about me for I provide the rules that we have come to play the rules to the rules are the rules that the rules are rules and of the rules we follow the rules in the rules are rules and for rules being rules there rules to follow and we follow the rules in as much as rules are to be followed.
(- Terry Steinbach throws the ball back to Nolan Ryan -)
Dennis EckersleyOh that this sphere of twine and leather would be so round. That I could curve it and bend it and open it in my air that is the throwing that I do some seventy times a game again I say I throw seventy times a game and the catcher is but bended knee the entire time and of bended knees the entire time the catcher sits there upon bended knee the ball is hurled oh how it is hurled and sent to the opening of the mit that one must admit is but a trap that the batter oh whoever he is does tis it matter that twould the batter ever such wonder if he could hit a hurl from the Ryan did I ever fear the batter oh did I ever fear the batter.
(- Dennis Eckersley throws the ball to Terry Steibach -)
Eric DavisYeah that pitcher. That guy. That guy that is standing there working with this guy. Some guy on bended knees sitting there wondering if their plans were going to go right. If their plans were going to go according to the plans they have inscribed in their mits and they collaborate oh and they work with the Umpire and I’m standing here with a stick in my hands and I am working this out that I got this swing in me yeah. This swing that I have in me I swing with the swing of swings and they are going to try and pull something here. Oh look the ball just went by again. Look at this one. Oh look. There are some people to my right center and left. I got three men in outtest field that are standing there hoping that I am going to be short by a short distance and I have five men in the short field hoping that my long distance is even shorter than my short long distance and I am going to be taking my big swing I have been before the Ryan before the Nolan the Nolan Ryan and the Ryan Nolan and I have been before this situation so many times in my life going back to youth I have and the ball is coming and I am reaching back into my glory days and I am sending an arch in my back to a step in my legs and I am turning my waist and I am cracking this one and I am sending it out of the park on the first and they have already thrown it three times for practice and the game has begun and from my eyes and from my position out numbered nine to one with an umpire hoping I do or do not neutral in his stance and I find that there is a meaning in my movement and here is the contact and the ball is no more.
(- Eric Davis hits the first pitch into the bleachers of center field and it’s another late game first pitch home runs that a Cincinnati Red could achieve in his dominance of the game from the 1990 Cincinnati Red’s Home Run Machine comes another Home Run. -)
Marty BrennamanI’ll call it I shall that this is a long one this is a deep one and this is a one that is a one to be won by. We have one more point for the Reds a Single Solo Shot deep back and forth into the fourth seat bleachers of Riverfront Stadium and we have players confused and belucked by the pluck of the Eric Davis that is the Eric that is the Davis that is the opening of the can you believe it the Eric Davis hit one opener and it flew to the ends of eternity and inside of eternity there was a cry from the
Marge SchottDo that again nigger and do it nigger every time you nigger and make certain that you pet my dog!
Marty BrennamanAnd I wish she wouldn’t talk like that but may the Gods bring us cheerleaders into this diamond mine of people playing the first game that was played and we don’t know much about crickets but we know something about baseball and crickets don’t get paid much to play but we don’t get much attention from the queen but we do the President and maybe for the first time there was a time that people saw words for what they were twas notes and the only note I have for this opening drive is that there would be a galavanization of epoch that would come betwixt my throat and a Congratulations to the Cincinnati Reds for winning the Sweep that is the Sweep of Sweeps and could you imagine a sweeter message to take than the history of Baseball that would be being watched and…
Thom BrennamanNow hold on there we call every game perfect because perfection is the game of Baseball. Does it not bring the people together and does it not bring the least amount of product into the most amount of use sans the stadium of course of which do we need the stadium and do we need the bleachers or do we just need a field and some hot dogs to do we need the much do we need oh need do we what do we need we come together in harmony to bring ourselves into this division of labor and game and we labor in the game and we make amends with this that is here.
Dennis EckersleyOh another one. Another one has taken the field in this 9th inning they are behind and the need to scoreth a two set is upon them and i have my side arm with me and we have our wanting to be throwing this ball into the hands of the catcher and the game is much more than you could understand and i have the arm that is winning and they have the game that is through it all and this is there game and we have come a long way not to be defeated in this 4th game of the World Series a game that we are three down and we shall not be four and in four games they shall not defeat us in this 9th inning of the baseball that we call our visiting status visiting and we are again to be lost in this game if i am not to be throwing the ball and down they are and up we are and if i shall throw this ball again i shall throw it agains and again and we shall have our notes to play again but oh how long we have to go to over come the three down but we play and we play and we have been playing and they do not call us the A’s for nothing that we would become the B’s oh shall we would sting so many if such would happen leave with broken backs and arms and legs if twould we should sweep ourselves off of this rug.
Chris SaboYeah. I get it. I know. It’s my turn at bat. Oh. I let one go looking. Oh look. I let one go looking. Oh Look. I swung. Oh. Apparently it’s the bottom of this and I need to do something. Okay. So. Apparently I need to swing a little harder and oh there it goes. Into left field. I have left the ball go into left field and I have spun a miracle. I do this all the time and the time does this all the time to me.
DennIs EckersleyAlright. I got a man on and the man is on and the on is the man and I am trying to be something here and that I could be something I need to do something. So I’m going to strike down the next two. I’m tired of this. I am begotten we have no outs. It is the bottom and at that bottom there is something to be said for winning. Alright. Wam. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike Out. Alright here is the next batter. Okay. He is up here to bat to be here he is he is up here at the bat and I can see him and he is here and it’s something to see something and I see something. I see. Strike Strike Strike.
Barry LarkinLaugh. Guffaw. I already saw this. I won the game. I won the game and hit the game winning homerun. I saw this before. Brennie’s watching so I have to be going to be doing the thing that is to be done and I am doing the thing and there is thing to be doing done and I have done thing done thing done done and I’m going to let the first one go by. I did that. I let it go by. They are playing catch for the first two. Oh maybe they are trying to walk me. Two balls from one ball and the balls are the same ball and they just keep reusing the same equipment which is why sports are athletics which are stadium friendly and alright. I hear we are losing. So Ima gonna just let this one hit left field becasue the left fielder can’t jump the wall I can I did it before in practice even though I am a short stop watch me watch the watching tower and I am swing oh look there we just won. It’s not hard to win in the bottom of the 9th we do this every rotation around the time dimension and ever 1990 we sweep the game clean and we sweep and they weep and we keep ourselves in our history book and those people watching television keep thesmselves busy and we be swinging you know what I am going to do right now. I am going to run the bases and I am going to there is this thing called 1st base and I am going to get my kiss with the base and here I go gonna walk and Oakland can suck it we swept em on the field and on the scree and we just need to oh look there is a second base I have to run so I am going to do that as well and we are going to round to second and then oh look there is a third and look here there is a fourth base I dare say I am home.
Dennis EckersleyThis funny oh this is not our team it has lostly lost and we have been sweepethed and swept and sweepied and we have a great tone in our wonderment it’s time to go home now and we have nothing and nothing we have and of the nothing we have we have nothing we have no ones singles or more we have less and there is nothing to be said.
Marty BrennamanThis sport actually it does and we win every year there is baseball being played and our city has the soap and the airplane engines and the television journalism and the baseball and aaaalmost the football but Canton has that and we win sometimes and sometimes we win. These guys. These baseball players they sometimes do the thing known as winning and they keep playing and the balls keep being thrown and the bats keep being swung and the world keeps being played and it’s isn’t Griffey in Seatlle right now. I think so and we miss him but he played here and we played with him and Saint Margarat Mary is where Griffey played and it was right next to Nicholas Lawson’s upbringing and the world is dancing and the Reds’ are winners and the Bengals are 8-1 and we used to be Oh and the Cincinnati is the same and we have this pride in our city that is like divinity passed out in dixie cups and we have all of our worlds being worlds and we are who we are and it’s something to be who we are and who managed the 90’s Reds?
Lou PinellaAlright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright.
Marty BrennamanThank’s Lou.
Joe Nuxhall