My most favoritist ballplayer ever is getting his number retired tonight, so today we get one of those “what made Maddux tick” stories, the likes of which have come once or twice every year since the mid 90s. I’m taken with this passage: Players and coaches always described Maddux’s baseball acumen as almost a sixth […]

At the risk of stirring up crap again, I link to Dave Zirin, who this week opines on relative dearth of blacks in baseball. After quoting some guys who have their opinions (e.g. basketball and football are more exciting, baseball isn’t hip, kids have more options), Zirin gets to the nut of why he thinks […]

Via Pinto, The Soxaholix gets all Thomas Stearns Eliot on us. This is he best juxtiposition of Modernism and baseball since Ferlinghetti sat in the stands at Candlestick Park reading Ezra Pound. And screw Eliot, by the way. “April is the cruellest month?” That’s when opening day is! Eliot was born in St. Louis! I […]

Those of you still pining for Mark Cuban to become a Major League owner will be happy to hear that the insider trading charges have been dismissed. The dismissal is based on a pleading deficiency. In very basic terms, the government alleged that Cuban did X wrong, but the law requires that he have done […]

Happy to be back today, I have to say. Court yesterday was kind of difficult in that both the judge and my opposing counsel kept asking me questions for which I didn’t have any answers. Well, good ones anyway. I hate it when that happens. I think I still have a pretty good chance of […]

Jason is looking for a co-blogger. Details here. Even if you’re not interested, you’ll definitely want to read the section in which he discusses the compensation structure.

Fourteen teams get a day off after they just had three days off. That’s like calling in sick the day after Memorial Day. Phillies 4, Marlins 0: Man, old people love Florida. Moyer: 7 IP, 1 H 0 ER; Ibanez: 2-4, 2 HR 3 RBI. Manuel: hit the early bird special before the game, found […]

Hey all — the day job is taking me out of town for most of the day today. Cincinnati if you must know, for an oral argument. I can’t tell you exactly what it’s about, but suffice it to say that no one will accept my idea of a benevolent dictatorship run by someone like […]

Pahk your Zahmboni in Hahvahd Yahd: It’s official: Boston’s storied Fenway Park will host the 2009 Winter Classic. The NHL made the announcement at the 97-year-old ballpark on Wednesday. The hometown Boston Bruins will face the Philadelphia Flyers for the annual event on Jan. 1, 2010. I wish Montreal or Ottawa was playing in it […]

In case anyone was wondering: Pete Rose’s application for reinstatement remains under review — 12 years after he submitted it . . . Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Tuesday he still is examining it and did not provide a timetable for a decision. As a guy who adheres to the “if I ignore it long […]