Cosmic baseball: We are approaching the fortieth anniversary of a legendary Orioles sport at Memorial Stadium: The evening aid pitcher Tippy Martinez picked off three runners at first base in the identical inning. Longtime Baltimoreans know effectively the story and have informed it to their offspring: On Aug. 24, 1983, in a sport towards Toronto that went to additional innings, supervisor Joe Altobelli needed to name on utility infielder Lenn Sakata to catch. Sakata had not crouched behind house plate with masks and mitt since Little League. So, Toronto runners figured they may take large leads off first base and simply steal second. That didn’t occur as, one after the other, Martinez snapped throws to first baseman Eddie Murray that resulted in all three outs. To high it off, the house crew prevailed in additional innings, 7-4, with Sakata, the unlikeliest of heroes, hitting a three-run, game-winning homer. It was cosmic, a grand evening on thirty third Street, and by now 1.6 million Baltimore baseball followers have claimed they have been there. (Attendance was 25,882.) Of course, the Orioles went on to win the World Series that 12 months. This concludes the unavoidable nostalgia a part of as we speak’s column.
Sideshow at Camden Yards: If you sit within the bleachers for an Orioles sport, you’ll probably be entertained by an amusing bonus function between innings: Four grown males, resplendent in black and orange, loudly beckoning from the stands to the outfielders, demanding that they toss their warm-up balls to some child the boys have chosen from the gang. “Throw it here!” the blokes yell, pointing to the chosen little one. “Throw it here! This kid! Throw it to this kid!” The child stands by, considerably bewildered, however hoping that the strangers advocating for him will prevail. If they don’t — ought to the outfielders, particularly visiting outfielders, toss the ball elsewhere — the blokes get slightly grumpy. But they all the time come again. And ought to they reach getting a ball for a child, they may advocate for one more within the following innings. Where do we discover such males? Sections 94 or 96.
Suggested: Have a cup of espresso at Cafe Los Suenos in Remington. … Watch an Orioles away sport on the Swallow on the Hollow, York Road and Northern Parkway. … Try the imported mortadella from Trinacria Italian Deli, Paca Street. … My most trusted barroom scout likes Johnny Dee’s, an old-school lounge on Amuskai Road, off Loch Raven Boulevard: “Fine cocktails and a good shrimp salad sandwich in a hip, midcentury modern atmosphere.”
Rails to trails: One day within the not-too-distant future, an individual will have the ability to get on a bicycle and pedal from Georgetown, within the nation’s capital, to the shores of Lake Erie, totally on trails transformed from rails. It’s already attainable to bike 184 miles from Washington to Cumberland, in Western Maryland, on the C&O Canal Towpath alongside the Potomac River. From Cumberland, a bike owner (or bold hiker) can get to Pittsburgh on the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile path transformed from a rail line. The subsequent large piece is a 1,500-mile community of bike-hike paths often known as the Industrial Heartland Trails, crossing from Pennsylvania into Ohio, connecting Pittsburgh to Cleveland and Lake Erie. The IHT, in varied phases of completion, may also run into West Virginia and elements of New York. It’s a formidable mission.
Watch this: If you haven’t seen “A Most Wanted Man,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in considered one of his final movie roles, ensure you do. It’s excellent. But a warning: Hoffman was at high performing kind when his mind and physique have been ravaged by drug dependancy — a lot in order that his very good efficiency can grow to be onerous to observe. He’s so good, as a raveled, hard-drinking German intelligence unit chief, you are feeling a mournful longing as you watch, realizing that he died a number of months later, depriving us of years extra of his nice expertise.
An abundance of aubergine: There can be loads of eggplant exhibiting up in markets this month. If you plan to make eggplant parmigiana the same old method — by first skinning and reducing the aubergine into discs, dipping them in egg batter and breadcrumbs — attempt cooking them on a baking sheet at 400 levels as a substitute of frying them in a pan. Works simply as effectively with much less mess. After only a few minutes and one flip, the discs get crispy on each side. Important: Lay the discs out on paper towels and salt them first; after a couple of minutes, pat them dry. This removes the moisture and reduces bitterness.
Meaty ‘maters, big cukes: If you want a great marinara sauce, grow or buy San Marzano plum tomatoes; meaty pulp, fewer seeds, best flavor. Also, if you’re into gardening and wish to give the neighbors one thing to speak about, plant Armenian striped cucumbers subsequent season. The ones from our backyard have been almost three ft lengthy. They’d make an important dill pickle if I may discover a jar large enough.
August is the Sunday evening of the 12 months: It all the time appears like we’re working out of time. Another summer season fading away. The little boy and woman who grew up subsequent door have returned to school. Soon it’s again to work, again to actuality after a carefree summer season, or the phantasm of 1. The love songs of the August crickets sound like a thousand ticking clocks.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com