Take me out...

As a warm-up for tonight's Eastern Time Zone Opener (also known as the Red Sox' THIRD opening day of 2008!), I watched one of my favorite old-timey movies. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Esther Williams. It's a classic 1949 MGM musical, one of many that the studio cranked out and the public ate up.

This one uses baseball as its basis. Sinatra and Kelly are 2/3 of a double play combo for the "Wolves," and in the off-season are a vaudeville team. They come into Spring Training and find distressing news: the owner has died and a distant realtive, KC Higgins, has inherited the team and will be an involved owner. Of course, KC turns out to be Esther Williams. Romantic complications ensue, with a happy ending.

There are a few great production numbers. But my favorite is the number which celebrates the double play combo, "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg." It's so easy to picture OUR favorite dp combo. Pedroia as the skinny, underweight Frank Sinatra - our Jew (Youk) as Goldberg. Although I'm not sure I picture Lugo as Gene Kelly.

ETA this Youtube clip

Anyway - a guilty pleasure for baseball fans....

And tonight!

Our favorite knuckleballer starts tonight in the East Coast Home Opener for the Red Sox! The Red Sox are in Toronto - and Tim Wakefield is on the mound. How will he perform without his binky, Doug Mirabelli? The Sox have given the vote of confidence to Kevin Cash - and he did well in his first start with Wakey. I really HOPE he does well - because I don't think the Sox will be flying Dougie back in from somewhere a second time.

Go Sox!