My Amerian League picks for the 2014 baseball season

These picks and $4.50 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks: East 1. Boston — Sizemore, win more 2. New York — A close second 3. Tampa Bay — Another “so close” season 4. Baltimore — One of these years, but not 2014 5. Toronto — Still the best team in Canada Central […]

Agreed: The Tribe should retire Chief Wahoo

The Plain Dealer came out forcefully in an editorial Friday recommending that the Cleveland Indians drop their long-serving, cartoonish mascot, Chief Wahoo. I agree. Years ago, I didn’t. I made the usual arguments: Chief Wahoo is part of our Cleveland heritage, a rallying point for the whole community — black and white — that unites […]

Baseball: The Winter Game

Yes, baseball is the summer game. But that is precisely why it resonates so warmly in the dead of winter for those of us in cold climes. As I write this post on a Sunday morning from my home in New Jersey, a good deal of snow still dominates the view through the picture window […]

Phillies fans are a passionate lot

As I put my purchase onto the checkout counter at the sporting goods store, the clerk looked me in the eye and said bluntly, “Why did you take Hunter Pence from us?” In a split second, I realized that this young man was a Phillies fan and had noticed my San Francisco Giants cap. “I […]

Marking the Baseball Solstice with a list of Top 10 moments

To mark the Baseball Solstice, I’ve been contemplating the greatest moments in baseball history. A number of these came to mind instantly, a few of them took a bit more prodding of the memory banks. This list is strictly my own reckoning on this date. Ask me in a few weeks or a few months, […]

It’s nearly time to celebrate the 2013 Baseball Solstice

The Baseball Solstice draws nigh. This Sunday, Dec. 29, marks the midpoint between the end of the World Series and the beginning of Spring Training games in Arizona and Florida. Just as Rocky Balboa “invented” the names “Cuff” and “Link” for his turtles, I invented the baseball solstice in 2011 as I contemplated disconsolately the […]

Fond memories of Candlestick Park

As the final curtain of fog is about to go down on Candlestick Park, I’m grateful for my memories of the place. I went to a smattering of Giants games at the ‘Stick in the mid- to late 90s, the first of which as I recall was against the Montreal Expos. That was the second […]

Who’s worth more? A baseball player or the doctor keeping your wife or child alive?

I opened the papers this morning to read about the Seattle Mariners giving Robinson Cano a 10-year contract for $240 million. The New York Mets apparently have agreed to give Curtis Granderson $60 million over four years. And there was the Jacoby Ellsbury deal with the New York Yankees earlier in the week: 7 years, […]

The best Black Friday deal? The Baseball Solstice is one month away!

The Baseball Solstice is just one month away. On Dec. 29, we baseball fans in the know will mark the midpoint in the long, barren gap between the end of the World Series and the opening of spring exhibition games. If you’ve been up early shopping today, it might help you get through the packed […]

A visit to Shibe Park (sort of)

I live not far from Philadelphia, and yesterday I finally decided to seek out the site of old Shibe Park, a.k.a. Connie Mack Stadium, where the Phillies and Athletics played for the better part of the 20th century. I drove through north Philadelphia and expected to walk around the site a bit, anticipating that I’d be […]