WHO’S THE BOSS
WHO’S THE BOSS You agree to guarantee an employee nearly 10% of your company’s valuation. You – and your industry – put that employee on a pedestal, and for good reason, as by all verifiable measures, that employee is the best in the world at what he does. Some fear that that employee verges on…
NO HITTER NO MORE
NO HITTER NO MORE A little over a year ago I wrote about what I truly love about baseball, the two strike pitch. Nothing can really top that. However, last night at Dodger Stadium, I witnessed a close second. In July of 1991, on a hot Sunday afternoon, I was lucky enough to watch “El…
A-ROD NOT THE VILLAIN
A-ROD NOT THE VILLAIN The rain cleared, the game ended, the chanting stopped, and the door closed. Last Friday night, A-Rod said goodbye to the Bronx; and the Bronx said goodbye to one of the most polarizing athletes in the history of the sport. Love him or hate him, A-Rod had a storied (steroid?) career. …
MOUND BALL
MOUND BALL Before he took some flak for assaulting/accosting a fan the other night, Joey Votto took some flak for denying batting gloves to a kid sitting behind the dugout at AT&T Park. Votto’s told the kid that he was sitting in the front row, he is elite, and didn’t need the swag. We can debate the…
MORALITY vs. IMMORTALITY
MORALITY vs. IMMORTALITY The Mets won their first pennant in 15 years last season. They had high hopes for this year. And then the cornerstone of their franchise – and their infield – went down with a season-ending injury. What is a contender to do? The Cubs haven’t won a playoff game since 2003 (cue,…
KEEPING SCORE
KEEPING SCORE We all know the old adage: The difference between a .250 hitter and a .300 hitter is a hit a week. One minor duck fart, quark, Baltimore Chop, Texas Leaguer, or frozen rope per week, and a guy is on his way to All-Star games and the possibility of mega-riches; one less and…
EXORCISING DEMONS
EXORCISING DEMONS On October 16, 2003, Aaron “F*&^%ng” Boone added to the Boston lore by hitting a walk-off, game-winning, series-ending homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning, sending the Yankees to the World Series and the Red Sox home without a championship for the 85th consecutive year. The Boston faithful had reason for hope…
EATING CASH
EATING CASH Eating cash is the new eating crow. I am not sure when the tide turned and teams decided it was better to eat cash and release or trade a player rather than rolling him out day after day (or start after start) and suffer the indignity of a deal gone bad. But it…
UNDERVALUED ASSETS
Last week we set out to determine which team was carrying the worst contracts for the 2016 season. As we saw, there were many contenders. We ended by making reference to the great value in Noah Syndergaard’s $535K deal. The great news for baseball owners and GMs is that there are many more Thor-like contracts…
DUDGER STADIUM
DUDGER STADIUM Hot Take: The Dodgers hate their fans? More than three million people have flowed through the gates at Chavez Ravine in 18 of the past 20 seasons, so the fans obviously don’t hate the Dodgers, but the feeling certainly doesn’t seem mutual. The only explanation I can come up with is that with…