barrel of the bat

The last line was like Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’: He all but said it was coming and then with one swing of a line, he delivered.

hot prospect

Some critics are like baseball scouts looking for the kid with the sinking fastball. Only instead of sitting along the left field line in an almost empty minor league stadium, they scour the pages of nearly unread literary magazines.

play ball

Baseball seems to be the sport favored by poets, especially in San Francisco.

that ends it

The last line was a ‘walk off’ home run.

stealing home

A last line that feels like a base runner stealing home.