Journeyman relief pitcher Jonathan "Ditch" Klein was all set to be a replacement player during the 1994-1995 baseball strike...until the strike ended. Offered a contract in the minor leagues, on the same Upstate ballpark he once found success in high school, Ditch has one last chance to prove his worth. But to whom? A manager with an axe to grind, a father second-guessing his pitching decisions, a local sportswriter hailing him as a hometown hero, a decade older than his teammates and trying to resurrect an injury-ridden career...Ditch thinks he may have a possible back-up plan: become a...

A beach in Ireland, a mountain temple in Japan, a hot summer drive in the Bronx, a dentist's office in Michigan, a hospital in San Francisco, and a bus ride through the Hudson Valley. Notes from the Nineties ties these disparate stories together with poems and photos between, with raw emotions: rage, tenderness, vindictiveness, jealousy, terror, sorrow, loss, acceptance. Stories featured in this collection include: Cois Fharraige - A group of exchange students in Ireland finding more to do than study language Father Knows Least - A college baseball player at home during winter break discovers...