I’ve always kind of admired Lou Piniella. For all of his bluster, he seems like a sensible and innovative kind of guy. Which makes this rather surprising: Modern technology is a wonderful thing for 21st Century baseball managers, who have computerized scouting reports and stats at their fingertips at all times. But sometimes older is […]

Mr. T. Front row, just to the first base side of home plate. He pops on the screen and I yell “Mr. T! Wow, how does he rate such good tickets?!” Mrs. Shyster turns to me like I’m an idiot and says, “He’s Mr. T. Of course he has great tickets.” I had no argument.

I know I throw a lot of old references out there, but I’d like to think they read better than this one about the Cubs’ impotent offense from Gordon Wittennyer of the Chicago Sun-Times: Chumbawamba and Vanilla Ice have more hit singles than these guys had the last week.

Tom Boswell must be trying to spike Marty Brennaman’s blood pressure: Throughout his eight years with the Reds, five of them 40-homer seasons, Dunn was typecast as the easy-going lug who didn’t care enough — about the team, his defense, his conditioning. That image was part of the reason the Nats got him when the […]

Milton Bradley believes he’s under attack: Bradley believes his strike zone is being widened, forcing him to chase pitches he normally doesn’t swing at or risk being called out on strikes. Asked if there have been repercussions from Vanover’s fellow umpires since the incident, Bradley didn’t mince words . . . . . . “Unfortunately, […]

Remember that billowed-sail, retractable-roof waterfront ballpark the Rays proposed a couple of years ago? Not happening: There will not be a ballpark on the downtown waterfront. The Tampa Bay Rays say they have altogether abandoned thoughts of an open-air stadium at the site of Al Lang Field. “It’s pretty clear people did not want a […]

A scene from Yankee Stadium: The combination of food and security collided inside the Stadium Wednesday night. This had nothing to do with high-profile broadcasters or players’ wives. This was a rebellion of the rich. In that expensive area downstairs – the one with the empty seats – there are seemingly more waiters and waitresses, […]

On May 21, 1962, the Baltimore Orioles signed Robin Roberts. It seemed to be the marriage of a player on his last legs with a franchise in need of any body capable of taking the field. Instead, it would launch a second wind for the long-time Phillie.

TUCK! toons right here, every Thursday. Except this week.

Despite all of my Esaskyesque anxiety about Joey Votto’s dizziness, it turns out the problem was quite minor: And the Joey Votto diagnosis is: INNER EAR INFECTION. After two weeks of testing for everything imaginable it came down to the simplest of the simple. Inner ear infection. First, Votto had an upper respiratory infection that […]