Playing Catch-Up

Posted on June 10, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

Ancient Mariners

(Dodgers @ Mariners, June 8-10, 2012)

Ancient Mariners
Our blue baseball teeth sink deep
Swamp Seattle’s fleet

Thick dreams fused with memories ______________________________________________________________

Dogs Rip Fanatics

(Dodgers @ Phillies, June 4-7, 2012)

Dogs rip fanatics
Monster blue is on the march
A brotherly sweep?

The dust of our skin and dreams ______________________________________________________________

Now We’re a Mile High

(Dodgers @ Rockies, June 1-3, 2012)

Now we’re a mile high!
Blue kids just hafta step up
Let’s not start slumpin’

A dwelling filled with dust ______________________________________________________________

The Beermakers Brawl

(Brewers @ Dodgers, May 28-31, 2012)

The beermakers brawl?
We’re still numero uno
Let’s not get distilled

The ground they both shall dwell in ______________________________________________________________

‘Stros Fly In to Play

(Astros @ Dodgers, May 25-27, 2012)

‘Stros fly in to play
Lasso those stars from the sky
Gotta cool their jets

Have not found that common ground ______________________________________________________________

The Snakes’ Fangs Are Out

(Dodgers @ Diamondbacks, May 21-23, 2012)

The snakes’ fangs are out!
Our Glendale all-stars produce
Who could’a thunk it?

The class of haves and have-nots ______________________________________________________________

Go After the Champs

(Cardinals @ Dodgers, May 18-20, 2012)

Go after the champs
No more Tony & Albert
Let’s pluck St. Louis!

Split apart by money and class ______________________________________________________________

The Padres Are Down

(Dodgers @ Padres, May 16-17, 2012)

The Padres are down
But the mad monks are not out!
Black’s boys start praying

A society that is split ______________________________________________________________

That’s How They Want It?

(Diamondbacks @ Dodgers, May 14-15, 2012)

That’s how they want it?
They want some Gibby bean ball?
The head hunt is on!

A mirror on our society ______________________________________________________________

Exciters of Hope?

(Rockies @ Dodgers, May 11-13, 2012)

Exciters of hope?
Or the destroyers of dreams
What’s our fate to be?

A game of smoke and mirrors ______________________________________________________________

Roll Out the Barrel

(Giants @ Dodgers, May 7-9, 2012)

Roll out the barrel
We got the Giants on the run!
Blue bats up the orange

Is this just a game?

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Posted on May 14, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

Showers of wins, I mean, and flowers that blossom into a commanding lead. As of this writing, the boys in blue have a 23-11 record. And that’s with Matt Kemp in a slump. I’ve been a little slow in posting my latest paintings, but I’m gonna drop a half-dozen on you right now, just like the team did yesterday on the Rockies in the bottom of the 5th.

We Should Steamroll This

(Dodgers @ Cubs, May 4-6, 2012)

We should steamroll this
Be careful of the hubris!
The blue bull pen blows

Oh no! Reality creeps in! ______________________________________________________________

New Bosses in Town!

(Dodgers @ Rockies, April 30-May2, 2012)

New bosses in town!
Magic makes Frank disappear
It’s a blue hat trick!

Do we get fooled again? ______________________________________________________________

Gotta Keep Playin’

(Nationals @ Dodgers, April 27-29, 2012)

Gotta keep playin’
‘Til the umpire stops ya
Make that triple play!

This game is life itself. ______________________________________________________________

Snatch Those Tomahawks

(Braves @ Dodgers, April 23-25, 2012)

Snatch those tomahawks
Give ’em a taste of their chops
See how they are brave!

“It is said that baseball is only a game. Yes, and the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.”
— George F. Will, A Baseball Game Is Not an Iowa Caucus ______________________________________________________________

We Roll on Their Turf

(Dodgers @ Astros, April 20-22, 2012)

We roll on their turf
Silence those Colt 45’s
Blast off astronauts

“Baseball is a mirror in which we can see the whole of America.”
— Ken Burns, Baseball ______________________________________________________________

In Old Milwaukee

(Dodgers @ Brewers, April 17-19, 2012)

In old Milwaukee
We got a song for their umps
It’s called “3 Blind Mice!”

“Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world.”
— Bill Veeck, Sports Illustrated ______________________________________________________________

I’m still a couple of series behind, but I’ll be caught up soon. Come back in a few days, and I’ll be back with more.

Off to a Great Start

Posted on April 17, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

Yeah, yeah, there will be those that say the Dodgers are only beating less-than-stellar teams, and that’s why they are the best in baseball, 9-1, to start the season. All I know is THEY ARE THE BEST IN BASEBALL, 9-1. Nothing else matters. And Matt Kemp (or KEMVP as new T-shirts are proclaiming) is unbelievable! He leads the majors in like six categories, including batting average (.487), home runs (6) and RBIs (16). Are you kidding me? Those numbers are sick! Player of the Week both the first weeks!

It’s a good time to be a Dodgers fan, even if McCrook still has his sticky little fingers on the crust of the pie.

Captain Kemp Clobbers

(Padres @ Dodgers, April 13-15, 2012)

Captain Kemp clobbers
He’s our blue home run machine
Matt’s worth the long green

“Baseball is drama with an endless run and an ever-changing cast.”
— Joe Garagiola, Baseball Is a Funny Game

The Home Opener

Posted on April 11, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

April 10 marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of Dodger Stadium. Back then we had Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Today, it’s Clayton Kershaw (who may end up being as good as Koufax and Drysdale put together!). See what I mean in this painting? Opening Day fills me with hope. Another thing that does that is Andre Ethier slugging it out over the right-field wall, which he did to mark his 30th birthday, winning the game against the Pirates, 2-1, and getting the fans excited about the first season under new ownership. Let’s keep it up, boys!

The Home Opener

(Pirates @ Dodgers, April 10-12, 2012)

The home opener
Always gives me hope!
Makes me feel alive!

“You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat.”
— Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer

The First Series

Posted on April 9, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

The Dodgers opened their season with a four-game series at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres. This alliterative painting marks a stellar season debut of shortstop Dee Gordon (pictured). The Dodgers had their best start since 1999, winning the first three games before letting the Friars have the last one. Homers by Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier bode well for the bats of the Boys in Blue.

Bold Bunts

(Dodgers @ Padres, April 5-8, 2012)

Bold bunts, big beautiful bombs
Brown brothers bang bats
Blue baseball battles begin

“Every baseball season has its share of satisfactions and disillusionment, its thrills and despair.”
— Jim Brosnan, The Long Season

A New Season Begins

Posted on April 4, 2012 by L.A. Blue Bum

This year, as the 2012 season progresses, I will be posting my new baseball paintings as they are completed. For the exhibition Freeway Series between the Dodgers and the Angels, I present this first in a series of Baseball Bobblehead works. The paintings this year will break from the strict 17-syllable haiku, and will feature literary references about the national pastime.

Springtime Exhibitionists (April 2-4, 2012)

Springtime exhibitionists
Crack those maple bats
Break out that old blue magic

“And when you love the game of baseball, you eat it and sleep it.”
— Mark Harris, The Southpaw

Blue Bum @ The Baseball Reliquary

Posted on August 2, 2011 by L.A. Blue Bum

“Got Cheery Optimism?” (2011)

The Blue Bum Painting above was shown at The Baseball Reliquary exhibit “Not Exactly Cooperstown” at the Burbank Central Library in August and September.

Baseball Reliquary Show

Click Here For More of My Art! (StephenSeemayer.com)

The Blue Bum

Posted on August 2, 2011 by L.A. Blue Bum

“I’m too Cynical” (2011)

My current series of paintings, the L.A. Blue Bum series, evolved out of an ongoing project I started in 2007 in which I write haikus with a baseball (specifically Dodger baseball) theme and make a painting out of them for display in my front yard in Echo Park. Whereas the earlier pieces featured witty observations on America’s pastime, the newer paintings are far more complex, with layers of meaning for the viewer to discover. To symbolize the historical significance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are struggling through difficult times right now because of the owners’ divorce and financial uncertainties, I have resurrected a character from the past, the Brooklyn Bum first illustrated by the great Willard Mullin. Just as Mullin’s Bum symbolized as well as satirized the boys from Brooklyn, my reincarnation of the character, the L.A. Blue Bum — as personified by actor Joe Walters — roots for the boys in the Ravine while at the same time commenting with sometimes scathing candor on their follies and triumphs. But just as baseball, as American as apple Pie, has an ugly underbelly of drug use and greed, underlying the L.A. Blue Bum paintings are observations on the darker aspects of contemporary American society. (All Blue Bum paintings are aerosol enamel and latex on masonite.)

“Ask The Big Questions” (2011)

THE STORY OF THE BLUE BUM

I was born April 9, 1913, in Flatbush … Brooklyn, New York. We lived in a tiny basement apartment on Bedford Avenue, near Ebbets Field, where the Brooklyn Dodgers played. From the day I was born, all I ever wanted was to cheer on the local ball club. It wasn’t easy, especially during the Great Depression. I saw some hard times, and my Dodgers did too. In the summer of 1937, I became a de facto mascot of “dem bums.” Some days, we played good, but most days it was a battle. We finally get a pennant, and those damn Yankees beat us in five. It’s “wait ‘til next year” once again. But then, boom! World War II. Our best boys go off to fight.

We had a shot in 1951, but it wasn’t as good as Bobby Thomson’s shot, so the Giants, the only team I hate more than the Yankees, took our place in the fall classic. It’s not until 1955 we finally beat the Yanks in the World Series. A sweet victory indeed!

But the joy didn’t last long. The Dodgers owner had sold Ebbets Field out from under us. I fell ill September 24, 1957, the last day baseball was played at the old park. Then the ax fell, hard! On October 8, word came that my beloved Dodgers were packing up and leaving town. Not just to another borough, mind you, but all the way to Los Ange-leez, California. Brooklyn would never be the same. That night I died of a broken heart.

They buried me over at Washington Cemetery, where I’ve been resting in peace for more than 50 years. But on the cold night of November 1, 2010, the unthinkable happened, something so horrible it caused the earth to shake in Brooklyn. The hated Giants had won the World Series, and my Dodgers 22 years away from their last trophy! I started spinning in my grave until my coffin broke out of the earth and I clawed my way free. My boys needed me!

I hitched rides across America and found a little room in an old house near Chavez Ravine. I was happy to see a few familiar faces around the stadium: Don Newcombe is still as dapper as ever, and that red-headed squirt, Vin, is still calling the plays. I feel better already!

I’m the Blue Bum, and I’m back for my boys in blue, the best ball club on Earth. I’ve got a lot to say, both good and bad, about baseball and life and everything in between.