I used to pretend to be Gene Garber when I played little league, figuring that if I couldn’t throw the ball very fast, the least I could do was to be deceptive. Unfortunately, my coaches were less impressed with my deception than they were with my velocity, so I continued to catch a little and […]

Sorry it’s been dead today, but work and other stuff has taken much of the wind out of my sails. In the meantime, for your edification and enjoyment, here are the five NBC posts I did this morning: My first impressions of Citi Field. Given that I saw it from the same perspective most of […]

Should you buy or sell the hot start?

A discussion on why we shouldn’t worry too much about April numbers.

Padres 6, Mets 5: I watched this one, as did many of you I’m sure. Allowing the winning run on a three-base error followed by a balk ain’t exactly starting things off in the new park with a bang, is it? I gotta say, though, I love the fact that those guys in the restaurant […]

Onto the fourth year of his five-year rebuilding plan, was Mr. Rickey ready to show any progress? Any?

The Cleveland Indians, no doubt devoted ShysterBall readers all of them, are starting to ratchet back Chief Wahoo’s profile: Observant visitors to spring training this year to see the Indians in their new complex in Goodyear, Ariz., may have noticed something missing. Outside of the Indians’ uniforms, caps and the bustling gift shop at Goodyear […]

The Pirates have benched Andy LaRoche following an 0-14. Neyer opines: The Pirates, a week into LaRoche’s first full (maybe) season with the club, are benching him. Maybe he’s just not right, physically. That would be my guess, because I think the player who can thrive in Triple-A but can’t emotionally cope with the majors […]

This has been a truly crappy couple of weeks for baseball: Longtime Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas has died at age 73. Team president David Montgomery announced the death Monday a short time after Kalas passed out in the broadcast booth before a game in Washington against the Nationals. Montogomery’s voice was cracking as he […]

In December 2007 I wrote a couple of posts about the 1973 Topps set my brother got me for Christmas. There was some talk in those posts about the look and feel of the set itself, but today Cardboard Gods’ Josh Wilker lays some serious analytical lumber on it: The action photos in these 1973 […]