Eck is NOT ick!

It was a little sad to watch the Red Sox game last night. Partly because they lost - and didn't look very sharp in the process - and partly because I missed the RemDawg. But if we have to do without Remy for a while, at least NESN was smart enough to put Dennis Eckersley in the booth. Listening to him dissect the pitches, to describe how they're done and what a batter sees as they fly by - really interesting stuff. And he's not afraid to shoot from the hip - listening to him rag on Joba for hitting Bay the other night with refreshing honesty was, well, refreshing.

But the best part is listening to some of his "Eck-isms." You find yourself scratching your head when he lets loose with things like: he just tossed a salad -- there was hair on that cheese - what a cookie.

So in readiness for future broadcasts, I dug out my library's copy of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, edited by Paul Dickson - and was delighted to find many of Eck's phrases included! For example:

Cheese n. Contemporary player's term for the fastball. In The Wrong Stuff, Bill Lee translates Dennis Eckersley's "cheese for your kitchen" as meaning "a fastball up and in." Lee added that Eckersley also called himself the "Cheese Master." Alternate: cheddar

Can of Corn n. An easily caught fly ball.

Cookie n. A pitch that is easy to hit.

Broadway n. The middle of the plate (As in, "he threw a cookie down Broadway")

Moss n. Player's hair.

Hair n. Velocity as applied to a pitch. (As in "That cheese had hair")

I couldn't find some of the Eck-isms in the Dictionary, but the TBS site had an "Ecktionary" from last year's playoffs. So here's a few more:

Salad = Bad, soft pitching

Paint = Good control.

Johnson = Home Run


I'm beginning to wonder if Eck might have some food issues - many of his terms are food-related. If he needs a few more, I found these in the Dictionary:

Cantaloupe n. A pitched ball that looks big to the batter.

Coffee and cake n. Long-established player slang for low pay

Cuban Sandwich n. An especially tantalizing batting practice pitch.

Mustard 1. n. Velocity. 2. n. A fastball

Peacherino n. A sensational play or player

Tater n. A home run

Serve the cocktail v. To pitch

Take a drink v. To strike out.


I look forward to adding to the list!