living in a tree

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:08 PM -0400 4/19/01, Drew Danielson wrote:
>From
>http://www.sportserver.com/newsroom/ap/bbo/1996/mlb/cin/game/archive/051996/cin.html:
>
>"Have you ever heard the term 'living in a tree?"' asked Chipper Jones,
>who was 4-of-5 with two RBIs for the Braves. "That means your playing so
>far above your head it's not even funny."

aha!  so if Chipper (or Laaarrrrry, as the Mets fans call him) is
right, this has been around for at least 5 years and isn't restricted
to describing a hot fielder, but anyone playing over their [sic]
head.  This makes sense.  I didn't think it was related to "sitting
in the catbird seat", which Red Barber popularized to describe a good
vantage point for observing a game, not a position of dynamic
excellence for a player.  And it's comforting to know that no
squirrels or chimps have been harmed in the manufacture of this
metaphor.

larry