Revenge is sweet: Brewers defeat Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS

Twenty-nine years I waited for today, when the Brewers defeated St. Louis in Game One of the National League Championship Series. I’ve rued the Brewers’ Game 7 loss to the Cardinals in the 1982 World Series all this time, and it was sweet for the Brew Crew to win on a glorious fall day in […]

Salary cap for baseball? It’s not the American way

FOX Sports ran a commercial today during the Cardinals-Phillies game on TBS that got under my skin in a bad, bad way. It was a misty-eyed paean to the Yankees, with lots of images of Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson implying that the Bronx Bombers own October. I hate that. Let me say that again: […]

What a night in baseball!

What a crazy night in baseball. Using the MLB app on my iPhone, I just listened to the last inning as the Braves fell to the Phillies in 13 innings to give the Cardinals the NL wild card. Then I switched over to the Yankees broadcast to hear the Rays win in the 12th moments […]

Requiem for the San Francisco Giants

The inevitable happened tonight as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the defending world champion San Francisco Giants to win the National League West title. It’s a bitter end to the season for us Giants fans, none of whom have the least glimmer of hope that San Francisco can finagle a wild card berth. Frankly, I don’t […]

My dad on the hot corner: Two errors and 0-3 at the plate

One of my growing hobbies is researching our family history, and I found a gem tonight while poking around in Ancestry.com: my father’s name in a box score. Dad never failed to mention that he loved playing “the hot corner,” something I never doubted. Now I have the box score to back it up, on […]

Baseball is better when the pitchers hit

A recent spate of inter-league play has gotten me thinking again about the designated hitter rule. It’s not that I’m anti-DH per se. It’s simply that I think baseball is more entertaining when the pitchers hit. When kids play the game of baseball, everybody hits. You’re supposed to hit. Baseball is a game that tests […]

Is this another “Year of the Pitcher” in Major League Baseball?

In the past few days we’ve had two no-hitters in baseball, and one has to wonder whether we’re in for another outbreak of no-no’s as we had last year. Pitchers seem to have gained the upper hand again as the Steroids Era that produced the astronomical power numbers of just a few years back fades […]

The Houston Astros go green, caps and all

Checking MLB.com this morning, I was puzzled to see green caps on a static image culled from a video of the ending of the Cardinals-Astros game last night. Turns out the Astros wore the green caps as part of the kickoff to the Houston club’s “Play Green” campaign. It’s an environmental promotion celebrated this week, […]

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 […]

Tim Lincecum wears Red Bull to the Giants’ World Series celebration

As I watched the Giants’ victory parade wind through the streets of San Francisco, I peered hard at the TV screen to see what kind of cap Tim Lincecum was wearing. Turns out it was a Red Bull cap, something I could only verify by checking the remarkable string of pictures rolling in over the […]