Joe Posnanski

This began as a little side note to discuss Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon’s rather odd and unfortunate choice to let lefty reliever J.P. Howell hit for himself in the seventh inning just so he could face righty Pat Burrell the next inning. Then I got a few emails about a second-guess column written on the Kansas City Chiefs site ... anyway it turned into this mess: There is something dramatically unfair about the second guess. The second guess is unfair even when, ... Read More

No, not everyone loves the Lovable Cubbies. Meet Bart Goatman. * * * You know, I hear that TNT is going to have some sort of Frank TV show coming up or something where Frank Caliendo does, you know, like impressions. I mean, shouldn’t they publicize this or something? I mean if you’re already going to invest in a show like that, it seems to me that you should let people know it’s coming. * * * Interesting stat on TV: Apparently American League teams that ... Read More

I love the Brewers because I love Milwaukee. I love Milwaukee because it reminds me of Cleveland. So it is with that in mind that I watched with horror and yet more than a pang of understanding while watching Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels retire the first 14 Brewers. It had been, what, 26 years since the Brewers had been in the playoffs, and their first game they have to throw a 22-year-old kid who had started four games all year and they did ... Read More

Is there an easier word in the English language to lip-read than the F-word? I suspect not. I suspect the F-word is like the speed of light when it comes to lip-reading, nothing can ever surpass it so you can only measure other words against it. Like, “Dadgum” would be a fairly easy word to lip-read -- I’d rate it about a .4 F. This of course is brought up again as the cameras closed in on Calfiornia Angels pitcher John Lackey after ... Read More

So we’ll try something new here based on a few brilliant reader suggestions. We’ll put up open-ended posts for the four playoff series and try to add little tidbits throughout the weekend. * * * You can’t get any better than this: The brilliant Marty Fennelly interviews Tampa skipper Joe Maddon about, among other things, his favorite Godfather character and how to propose to your girl in a liquor store parking lot. Maddon seems like pretty much the most awesome guy in the world ... Read More