Bits and bobs as the trade deadline passes

I’ve posted mighty infrequently of late. I attribute that to most of my energy being sponged up by a couple of major project at work. Nonetheless, here are a few thoughts that have been passing through my brain in recent days: – It sucks to get swept. The San Francisco Giants dropped three straight to […]

Iconic baseball stadiums: Wrigley Field, Chicago

I’ve been away from posting the last two weeks, but I have an excellent baseball-related reason. I spent part of the time in Chicago on vacation, and that included an afternoon at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Rather I should say the frigid confines, as we found them toward the back of Section 222 on […]

Taking the specialty relief pitcher to extremes

One of the aspects of baseball that must bore casual and haphazard fans is the game’s increasing reliance on short term relief pitching. Such maneuvers even test the patience of diehard fans like me. It happened again tonight as I watched the late innings of the Giants-Pirates game. In the top of the eighth, the […]

After the first full week of play, some startling names atop the baseball standings

As I write this post, the Yankees and Red Sox (again!) are playing on the Sunday night telecast. If the Yankees win, they’ll manage a tie in first place of the American League East not with the Sox but with the Baltimore Orioles. Whoa. And check the AL Central standings. The Indians, who (be honest) […]

In baseball broadcasts, there’s comfort in the home team

Major League Baseball is again offering a free preview of its TV package during April. While I never have the time to watch so much TV that I’d spring for the season-long package, I take advantage of the preview to sample games and see teams from around the American and National leagues. Last night I […]

A great matchup for Super Bowl XLV

The best teams in football advanced to the Super Bowl today – Green Bay and Pittsburgh. On paper this appears to be an epic matchup between franchises with great legacies, and it’s likely to draw a huge TV audience in the U.S. and around the world. The pairing of the Packers and Steelers also underscores […]

Thanks to television, the NFL is truly the national sport

Baseball may traditionally be America’s national pastime, but as a spectator sport football is king. That’s a tribute to television broadcasting. In a continent spanning four time zones (and I’m excluding Alaska and Hawaii), football has an enormous advantage in capturing the attention of the public. Even in an era of Monday night and occasional […]

Does the term ‘pennant race’ mean anything any more?

“Pennant race” conjures images of clutch hits, great catches, overpowering pitching and long shadows slanting across the diamond. But with baseball’s division structure, there isn’t a true pennant race left. Right now, the team I follow — the San Francisco Giants — has a slim lead over San Diego and Colorado in the National League […]

Musings on new ballparks and competitiveness

Back in the 1970s, I figured the surest way to assure your major league ballclub a pennant and victory in the World Series was to build a new stadium. I watched it happen in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh with Riverfront Stadium and Three Rivers Stadium, respectively. But baseball is more complex than that, as any number […]

A tip of the cap to Paul Waner, in memory of my father

Paul Waner Originally uploaded by doug.goodman Had cancer not claimed him years ago, my father would have celebrated his 90th birthday today. Dad handed down to me many values, not the least of which was his lifelong love of baseball. Dad was born in western Pennsylvania in 1920, which meant he grew up a Pittsburgh […]