Bear with me if this column is a bit of a departure from my usual style and topic. I’m a bit preoccupied, you see, as my son is due to be born July 22.

“The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.” Just about any baseball fan or English major is familiar with those famous lines from the Ernest Lawrence Thayer poem Casey at the Bat. The poem resonated …