Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for May 15, 2016

Baseball’s Sad Lexicon. These are the saddest of possible words: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Tinker and Evers and Chance. Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, Making a Giant hit into a double – Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.”. – Franklin Pierce Adams

Had to look that one up…interesting.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_sad.shtml#

I still don’t get why he says it.

Not that I’m very up on sports metaphors. but it seems to me that he might also be referring to the way he caught up to her on “second base”…. IE, he stopped her before she got all the way “home” to the coffeepot in the kitchen.though, in this case, it was a nice thing.

I was thinking “double play”, meaning… Coffeepot to Arlo to Janis.

And I though I was full of worthless knowledge. LOL

Excuse my mind being in the sewer, but the key may be in what happened before Janis washed her hands. Given coffee’s legendary diuretic properties, maybe Arlo should have sung a chorus of “Circle of Life.” In any event, look for this to show up on CIDU.

As per Wikipedia, this phrase is used to signify good teamwork. Arlo is probably praising his skills to perfectly time the coffee delivery.

I had to check the comments to see how many posters had no idea what “Tinkers to Evers to Chance” referred to.I was not disappointed. Some very nice comments here today.

At least they had a Chance.

So we now know that the A&J home has two stories but we’ve never seen a staircase.

I think in this case the point is in perfect timing. Arlo is already up, dressed, and enjoying possibly his second cup of coffee. He hears Janis arise and knowing what she needs first thing, times it to be ready as she walks through the door.

Learn something new every day! Though my husband knew the poem. Really nice comments here!

Baseball season!

Thanks for the information, folks. I, too, had no clue what the line referred to.

He has to Tinker forEver to have a Chance…

Arlo gets obscure, sometimes, But I think I got that one. Great double, Arlo!

Wonder if you’d like Calvinball. There’s no organization to that whatsoever.

Tnker to Evans to Chance was the order of one of the great trpiple-play combinatins in basebal; Arlo heard Janis get up & poured the coffee (1), doctored the coffee (2) and got the coffee to J (3) before she made it to the table (safe on base).

My father, a great baseball fan, was born in 1907 during the heyday of that great Cubs team, and I can remember him telling me all about that trio and the poem almost 40 years later. It was just one part of all the great baseball lore he told me over the years. I actually heard the Casey at the Bat poem several years before that, when I saw the Disney cartoon of the poem before I was old enough to know much about the game at all, but loved the movie cartoons. There was no joy in Mudville that day.

Tinker Field in Orlando, FL is named for Joe Tinker as is the Tinker Building. It has been said that, as well as they turned a double play, they were not friends off of the diamond.

Love it! Only poem I have ever been able to memorize. Ralph Kiner used to quote it often when the Mets would play the Cubs Miss you Ralph, RIP!

That’s a 6-4-3 double play for those scoring at home.

I believe, but may well be mistaken, that Tinker to Evers to Chance was the first double play in baseball history.

He’s an awesome husband. Thank you to everyone who explained what he meant.

But what about O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg???

In addition to being that great double play combo, both Chance (1905-1912) and Evers (1913, 1921) managed the Cubs.

As Chance would have it, the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908. He was a pretty successful manager. From Wikipedia:

“In 1906, the Cubs won a Major League record 116 games, and posted a modern-era record winning percentage of .763…. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League team to play in three consecutive Fall Classics, and the first to win it twice. …The Cubs have not won the World Series in 107 years, the longest championship drought of any major North American professional sports team.”

I think the first ‘play’ is Janice taking a pee, followed by having a cup of coffee. The double[-play that starts the day!

I think Wistokes hit the ball out of the park. I agree with his/her analysis. Does it seem funny to anyone else that the comics make one study!

Believe it or not——I was just thinking of this poem a couple days ago!!

ChessPirate“It don’t pay to tinker forever with chance.” – Walt Kelly in Pogo

Is it just me, or does Janis seem to be ‘distant’ from Arlo lately? (as in the past several months). Like Friday’s strip, in which she alluded that she wants NOTHING more than a hug from him, and he’s blatant that her sentiment is getting old, and maybe he DOES want something more than a hug. Maybe it’s just me, but there seemed to be more affection and hanky panky a couple of years ago than recently. More of a cold shoulder from her than anything else…

Considered one of best “double play” (6-4-3) combos of all time.

One of the few sports things I know – my dad would always mention it when – we drove down Tinker to Evers to Chance – 3 streets in our community which connected in that order!