Villanelle: Nick Punto, One Time, Tried to Break His Bat
In abiding with NotGraphs’ Villanelle Week:
Nick Punto, one time, tried to break his bat
A feat so large, and yet a man so small
Why would he even try to attempt that?
And during the World’s Series, too, at that
The culprit seems to barely bend at all
Nick Punto, one time, tried to break his bat
Some put-out rage, a wooden tit-for-tat
In failure, something needs to takes the fall
Why would he even try to attempt that?
If scrappiness was actually a stat
Number 8 would, in fact, lead them all
Nick Punto, one time, tried to break his bat
Perhaps it’s better just to utter “drat”
Less painful this, if slightly more banal
Why would he even try to attempt that?
A bruise is formed, a thigh is rendered flat
Bo Jackson’s snickers echo off the wall
Nick Punto, one time, tried to break his bat
Why would he even try to attempt that?
David G. Temple is the Managing Editor of TechGraphs and a contributor to FanGraphs, NotGraphs and The Hardball Times. He hosts the award-eligible podcast Stealing Home. Dayn Perry once called him a "Bible Made of Lasers." Follow him on Twitter @davidgtemple.
And why is he standing at first base?
The question is, why is he standing at first base with the baseball bat?
According the graphic, it’s the middle of the 2nd inning. I like to imagine it was WELL into the 2nd inning and, instead of breaking to commercial, the camera chronicled three minutes of failed Punto rage that eventually carried him all the way down to first base.
No, with Nick Punto’s career OBP, the question is why he is standing at first base at all.