It is the top of the 5th. Reuven is pitching. The coach saved him for last because of his unique pitch. Reuven gets 2 outs then has to pitch to Danny (the other teams star player). The two of the first three pitches are strikes. This next pitch is crutial. Reuven pitches a curve, Danny changes position to make up for the curve and hits it right for Reuvens face. Reuven sees what is happening and puts his glove up to his face. This does little to cushion the force of the ball, which smashes into his left eye. The coach takes Reuven out of the game. As soon as the game is over (which Reuvens team lost 8 to 9) The coach takes Reuven to the nearby hospital and into the Emergency Room. Two doctors come and look at his eye then an eye specialist comes. They take Reuven upstairs to examine his eye better.They keep saying it looks close but they aren't sure. I wonder what has happened to his eye? Is he blind? Or just hurt?

The main character is named Reuven. He is a Hasidic Jew and is on his schools soft ball team. The coach's name is Mr. Galanter, he is not Jewish, he teaches at the near by high school. On this June afternoon they are going to play the Orthodox Jews at baseball. The Orthodox Jews are more strict than the Hasidic. The game starts out as a normal game and as it progresses it becomes more like a "war". The Orthodox  are rough players. They can hit, but they aren't very good at being in the infield. The Hasidic Jews are getting beat up pretty badley. Danny Saunders seems to be the Orthodox main palyer. Now it is the top of the 5th,(only 5 innings are permitted due to school) the last chance for the Orthodox to score and they are trailing 3 to 5. Reuven's team is ahead.

This book starts out in New York, in the Brooklyn area. This in pre/during the start of WW2. The deppresion is just ending. There are two different Jewish religions, Orthodox and Hasidic. The first, paragraph of the book starts out by saying:"For the first 15 years of our lives Danny and I lived within 5 blocks of each other and neither of us knew of the other's existence." I thought this was a wierd way to start a book out because I know nothing about either boy. After this introduction, it sets the story on a Sunday afternoon in early June on a baseball field. The Hasidic Jews are warming up for a baseball game. The game will be played against the Orthodox Jews.

»4:06 PM    »No comments     »0 TrackBack(s)     »Send entry    

Posted by: Jarom    in: My entries

Modified on January 29, 2006 at 5:22 PM