Originally posted on Grubby Glove:
A Heartbreaking Anniversary Is Approaching. On Thursday, March 31, 2011, after the season-opening game in which the Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants 2 to 1 in Los Angeles, Bryan Stow, a father, husband, paramedic and Giants fan wearing his orange and black colors, was viciously beaten by two men…

Not to blaspheme against spring training, but I’m still waiting for the real baseball season

The sun was shining and baseball was on the radio again this weekend, and that’s marvelous. But it’s not the real thing. I listened to bits of a couple of games, and I enjoyed hearing the sounds of the ballpark again: the crack of the bat (yes, the Giants got some hits!), the banter of […]

Ready for the season with the MLB At Bat app

With the first exhibition games about to start this afternoon, I downloaded the MLB At Bat app last night onto to my smartphone. I had Sirius satellite radio for a couple of seasons, which enabled me to listen to the home broadcasts of all the major league games. But I only had access in my car. Last […]

The stars (of baseball) in the sky

One of the pleasures of winter is a crystal clear sky revealing the sparkling stars in all their glory. On a walk this evening, I got to thinking how cool it would be to reconfigure the sky with baseball constellations. Citing their heroes and legends, the ancient Greeks affixed names to the many patterns in […]

Manny Ramirez signs with the Athletics, and mlb.com takes no notice

This is telling. I just logged on to MLB.com to see what news they might have of Manny Ramirez signing a minor-league contract with the Oakland Atheltics. While the blog entry about Ramirez is the top link on ESPN.com’s story stack, there’s not a word on Ramirez out front on the Major League Baseball site. […]

On Presidents’ Day, a tip of the cap to William Howard Taft for starting the ‘first pitch’ tradition

For most Americans, William Howard Taft is not the first chief executive to leap to mind as we celebrate Presidents’ Day. But we baseball fans owe him homage for starting one of our country’s most enduring traditions: the president throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the season. From a specially built box at National […]

In praise of Pebble Beach and Phil Mickelson

Pebble Beach is one of those special places that all Americans, at least anyone who has ever picked up a golf club, should visit. I’ve had the good fortune to stop by the course a couple of times, and my wife and I were in the galleries during the third round of the tournament in […]

Missing the Washington Senators

A national touring production of “Damn Yankees” is swinging by the Modesto area, and the news dredged up some unexpected pleasant memories. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Senators, and I think I know why. Growing up an Indians fan in the 60s, I knew that if I went to a game at […]

New York vs. Boston again – but I’m OK with that

On these posts I’ve complained, whined and kvetched about how America’s major television networks and the media overall are obsessed with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Super Bowl XLVI is upon us, and we have another Boston-New York matchup with the Patriots and Giants. The network executives must be mighty pleased that those two big northeastern […]

My TV is too lame, so I can’t host a Super Bowl party

At a measly 36 inches on the diagonal, the low-def television set in our family room is simply too pathetic for me even to begin thinking about inviting people over to watch the Super Bowl. Our Toshiba is a hand-me-down from my brother. He gave it to us when he moved overseas back in 2001, […]