A draft of MLB's new health and safety protocols for baseball during the coronavirus pandemic includes enough details to make even the most meticulous of contract lawyers swoon. Social distancing is the watchword of the day. Gone are the dugouts; instead, players not on the field will be sitting in the stands--six feet apart, of... Continue Reading →
Some baseball players are stars, burning bright in our night sky year after year, dazzling us with their effervescence and majesty. Others are nebulous gases -- full of potential, capable of becoming stars, but never quite taking that step to stardom. Even rarer are the comets: players that flash across the sky in a blaze... Continue Reading →
Five years ago today, a baseball game was played in Baltimore. There's nothing odd about that -- the Orioles have been playing baseball in Baltimore since 1954. The box score doesn't look out of place with any other game from that season. Chris Davis hit a mammoth home run in the first inning; Jeff Samardzija... Continue Reading →
It was sometime around the bottom of the fifth inning when things really started to go wrong for Brett's squad. Randy Johnson had already given up two home runs when he took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning against my eight-hole hitter, Ichiro Suzuki. He delivered a first pitch fastball, down the... Continue Reading →
I realize that my content of late has fallen somewhere between "a bit of a downer" and "soul-crushingly depressing." Back in early March, I wrote about the surreality of watching leagues close one after the other, like elements of a sadistic Rube Goldberg machine. Two weeks ago I detailed the challenges facing Major League Baseball... Continue Reading →
The past has an irresistable allure. Perhaps there's something safe in the known, particularly as we face such uncertain times in the coming weeks and months. There's a comfort in returning to the sanctity of our memories, rose-colored though they may be, to relive moments of bliss, contentment, and peace. It's a powerful drug, nostalgia.... Continue Reading →
Standing Room Only 