I finally make it to Kauffman Stadium, and the Kansas City Royals still stink

When Kauffman (nee Royals) Stadium opened years ago, I remember the announcers cooing about how cool the fountains were. Presumably they concentrated their gaze beyond the grass because the grass was plastic. Kansas City prides itself as the city of fountains, and through the many times I’d visited over the years I’d never managed to […]

What’s the best time zone for baseball fans?

Road trips are rough on major league teams, particularly when making the big leap from Eastern time to Pacific time or vice versa. It’s also an issue for us baseball fans, who have to show nimble ingenuity to catch the broadcasts of our favorite teams. This week it’s been a trade-off for me: the San […]

The Granderson trade: Grist for the Yankee-haters’ mill

[picapp align=”right” wrap=”true” link=”term=curtis+granderson&iid=4994621″ src=”0/9/d/f/Detroit_Tigers_vs_a152.JPG?adImageId=8153941&imageId=4994621″ width=”234″ height=”159″ /] The floats that rolled down the Canyon of Heroes in the World Series victory parade have barely cooled their engines and the New York Yankees are already bolstering their formidable roster. The details aren’t final, but at the winter meetings in Indianapolis the Yanks have engineered a […]

What exit? Yes, It’s the Jersey Turnpike World Series!

1985: The Cardinals and the Royals meet in an all-Missouri matchup, and it’s the I-70 World Series. 1989: The Giants and Athletics endure an earthquake to play in the Bay Bridge Series. 2000: The Bronx Bombers rumble with the Metropolitans of Queens in an all-NYC Subway Series. This is 2009, Yankees versus Phillies, and there’s only one possible […]

For most of us, it’s ‘Wait Until Next Year’

Playoffs notwithstanding, for most baseball fans today is the first day of the long winter. The season is over, the concession stands are empty, the lockerrooms bare as the players have packed up to go fishing or hunting or whatever they do in the off-season. For followers of the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Indians, the […]

Caps off to The Captain, Derek Jeter, on tying Lou Gehrig’s hit mark

It took me a while to appreciate the greatness of Derek Jeter, who tonight in New York tied Lou Gehrig for a record 2,721 hits in a Yankees’ uniform. He’ll undoubtedly break the record in the next few games, and I hope he keeps on swinging until he reaches 3,000 hits. For most of my […]

Love those throwback uniforms!

I always get a charge out of the games in which major league ball clubs wear “throwback” uniforms, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates did last night. The Pirates wore the uniforms of the Homestead Grays in defeating the Kansas City Royals, who were wearing Kansas City Monarchs uniforms. Virgil Vasquez (in photo) sports a Grays […]

The Yankees as Evil Empire

For days I’ve been putting off this post, but with news of the Tigers trading Pudge Rodriguez to the New York Yankees, I can hold out no longer. The Yankees are the Evil Empire of baseball, an eternal force against which all others must contend. The Yanks are the archetype of the invincible. If they […]