Posted: August 18th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 97 Comments »
On Twitter yesterday, I said I really didn’t want to get started on Josh Hamilton. But, of course, I did get started.
I’m going to try to pull off a little magic trick here, and I have absolutely no reason to believe that I can pull it off. I’m going to try, in one post, to both celebrate Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton (one of my favorite players in the game) AND point out the absurdity of calling him baseball’s best player. I’m going to try, in one post, to strongly disagree with Tom Verducci’s contention while making it very clear that I think Tom is a great baseball writer.
No, I don’t expect to pull it off. We deal with this stuff a lot in today’s world and in today’s sports. There’s less and less room for gray. Take the Baseball Hall of Fame. I think that Andre Dawson, for instance, was a fabulous player and a class act and I have tremendous admiration for the man as a player and as a person. I also think his .323 lifetime on-base percentage leaves him just below my Hall of Fame bar. I didn’t think the two opinions are inconsistent. But somehow, in certain circles, I became known as the guy who hated Andre Dawson. I heard from quite a few people who thought I would be enraged or depressed somehow when he got elected and inducted. And when I said that, no, quite the opposite, I was thrilled for the guy … you could tell they didn’t believe me.
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Posted: July 27th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 30 Comments »
It’s unbecoming to just re-run an old blog post … but really I cannot add much to this. You may have heard (but probably not) that Kansas City Royals starter Gil Meche will have shoulder surgery and is out for the season.
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Posted: June 29th, 2010 | Filed under: Other Sports | 59 Comments »
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — I don’t speak Portuguese, unfortunately.* I’m told it is a difficult language to learn … quite different from Spanish or English.
*If I could have have any the superpowers, I think I would want, in order:
1. Power of flight.
2. Teleportation.
3. Super strength.
4. The ability to speak all languages.
5. The power to stop time.
6. Being invulnerable.
7. Super speed.
And so on. You would have to go way, way, way down to the list to find, “The ability to communicate with fish.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted: June 10th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 123 Comments »
Awesome little poll in SI this week … the magazine interviewed 347 players and asked: Who is the nicest player in the game?
I’ll show you the Top 5 and you tell me what stands out:
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Posted: June 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 49 Comments »
The story, at heart, is about Christmas morning. Isn’t everything in sports these days about Christmas morning? Think about it: When you hear someone reminiscing about their happiest moments of childhood, you never really hear them talk about Christmas AFTERNOON, when the presents are out of their boxes and wrapping paper is scattered on the living room floor and already the toys have lost just a little bit of their wonder and school, dreaded school, feels ever closer. No, in beautiful memory, it’s always Christmas morning, with the presents still wrapped, tied by bows, each box infused with thrilling potential, and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that are too far off in the distance to even think about.
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Posted: June 1st, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 84 Comments »
This will eventually be about Bryce Harper. Eventually.
Five years ago, the Kansas City Royals found themselves in an odd position. They had the second pick in the amateur draft — this, in and of itself, is not that odd for the Royals. What was odd: The choice was basically made for them before the draft came along. There was a player who was gift-wrapped, a player they simply could not pass up. That player was Alex Gordon.
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Posted: May 24th, 2010 | Filed under: Other Sports, Pop Culture | 114 Comments »
I got a letter once from a football fan in Baltimore who wanted me to know he hated — HATED — the fact that his city had stolen away the Cleveland Browns. He hated it because he remembered what it felt like to lose the Baltimore Colts. He hated it because he knew how much the Browns meant to Cleveland. He hated it because it was wrong, and he knew it was wrong, and if he could have somehow voted against it he would have voted against it.
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Posted: May 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 72 Comments »
Baseball speaks to the old person grumbling inside us. Seems to me that no sport in America — maybe no sport in the world — inspires so many “In my day,” grouses, so many “It ain’t like it used to be” charges, so many “The game has lost its magic,” laments.
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Posted: April 28th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 99 Comments »
On August 16, 2008, the Kansas City Royals were out of things, of course … it being August. But that day they went to Yankee Stadium. And that day a 24-year-old pitcher named Zack Greinke pitched 6 2/3 innings against a lineup that had three certain Hall of Famers (Jeter, A-Rod, Pudge v 2.0) and three more who, at the very least, will get some votes (Damon, Abreu, Giambi) and one who might win a batting title this year (Robinson Cano). Greinke did not give up an earned run.
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Posted: March 22nd, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball | 63 Comments »
March 22, 2010
Players of the Day:
Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
Michael Stanton, Florida Marlins
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