A Salute to Vin Scully
A lawyer friend called me the other day to discuss a deal. But before we got down to business, we had to deal with important matters. He wanted my thoughts on the trade deadline and the passing of Vin Scully. I offered a few bromides about the Dodgers’ failure to land Juan Soto and then jumped…
“Free” “Agency”
Each offseason, this past one included, my son laments the players that the Boston Red Sox did not sign. During Spring Training, he railed that Eduardo Rodriguez should have remained in Boston (Rodriguez’s current disappearing act in Detroit seems to have proven him wrong), and that Anthony Rizzo should have come home to his original…
The Dangers of Leading With Your Head
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine whose son plays Division I baseball told me a story. She was watching her son’s game on television when a player (not her son) dove headfirst into second base on an attempted steal. The runner’s head smashed into the shortstop’s knee, whereupon the runner collapsed on the…
Tropican’t
We all create bucket lists; things we want to do or see before we leave this mortal coil. For me, I have run with the bulls and climbed Machu Picchu. I have run a marathon and climbed the Eiffel Tower. But still on my to do list is visit every major league park. Having crisscrossed…
Doing a 180 on Bryce Harper
It’s mea culpa time. For years, and for reasons that I cannot fully articulate, I have disliked Bryce Harper. It didn’t go so far as hate, and I didn’t have any anger towards him, but I certainly didn’t root for him. Now, if I was a psychologist, I might opine that Harper had been engaged…
Inside Baseball…Gear
For years I thought I was alone. No one else, I could imagine, spent as much time as I did analyzing players’ uniforms and gear. From double-flap helmets giving way to single flaps only once they reach the majors, to Starter jackets for pitchers on the base paths, to the mock turtleneck undershirts that were…
Fenway Park: A Family Affair
A few months ago, my wife, who is a master at planning vacations, hit me with this idea: How about we meet up for Spring Break in Boston? Because she knows the animal, she had already checked the schedule and confirmed that the Red Sox would be in town. And, because the kids are growing…
Pick a Lane
Much has been written about organizations not caring enough to field a competitive team. In an effort to combat this scourge, the players tried to impose a salary floor in the latest CBA negotiations to thwart the concept of “tanking.” Shortly after the new CBA was signed, the Oakland A’s, doing their best Major League impression, went…
MLB Labor Negotiations: Moving Mountains
From the moment word came down that the owners and players had reached an agreement and the MLB lockout would be lifted, baseball writers all over the country took to their keyboards to bang out stories about the new CBA. Jeff Passan, weary and exhausted, the victim of a Twitter hack, was able to hash…
The Silver Age of First Basemen
There is a belief that your baseball fandom hits its stride between the ages of 12 and 14. That certainly holds true for me. And luckily for me, as a bats-left/throws-left first baseman, I hit my fandom stride in what I would call the “Silver Age” of first basemen. Why not the Golden Age? Because…