From the category archives:

“Ripped from today’s headlines…”

Surprise, surprise: The Yankees. NOT. Although Tom Verducci did write the story about the Yankees’ latest championship, as well as this sidebar on the upcoming hot stove league. And in a case of raining on the Yankees’ parade, this week’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”: New York City office workers who ran out of confetti during […]

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* The other post-season awards

November 11, 2009

As chosen by the members of the The Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (of which I am one). IBWAA ANNOUNCES 2009 CY YOUNG AND MVP AWARDS Los Angeles – The Internet Baseball Writers Association (IBWAA) announces its third set of postseason votes, naming the 2009 Cy Young (CY) and Most Valuable Player (MVP) award […]

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Dropped by the local Barnes and Noble at lunch today. Almost shocked to see only one “quicky” publication about the Yankees’ latest championship. The New York Post published The Best, a paperback volume. I never liked this type of publication. It seems like a money grab since the stuff for the most part is just […]

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* "I can see clearly now…"

October 29, 2009

Umpires have beengetting a lot of bad press lately, and deservedly so. Sports pundits are calling for wider use of instant replay in an effort to make the right calls, primarily on fair and foul balls and other on-base issues. One area they pretty much agree should not be touched is balls and strikes. Sure, […]

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The Newark Star-Ledger published a small supplement in preview of the Yankees-Angels ALCS which may or may not  begin tonight. Headline: “Angels and Demons.” Ha ha. Don’t you just know that if a erayin Yankees’ outfielder does anything heroic, this will change to “Angels and Damon”? Can’t wait to see how the folks at Fox […]

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Are the only professions in which you can be so wring and still hold onto your job. Case in point.

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How the mighty — and not so mighty — have fallen: According to this story on the Sports Collector’s Daily website Dykstra’s 1986 World Series Ring Brings $56,762 I wonder if Baseball Americana had time to include it.

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* Gut yom tov

September 27, 2009

Jewish for “Happy Holiday,” As Jews around the world gather tonight to mark the holiest day on the calendar, George Vecsey offered this column in today’s Sunday Times. Instead of putting the game at 8 p.m. — prime time, as the networks call it — ESPN and Major League Baseball are accommodating thousands of fans […]

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* Is it over yet?

September 23, 2009

You know the season is over for your team when the newspapers publish a feature article…and conclude with a brief graph of two about the game. Like today. The New York Times printed this piece on Daniel Murphy approaching a club record for doubles (stop the presses!) and winding up with a “and, oh, by […]

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Unless, of course, your toddler tosses it back. From Big League Stew, a Yahoo sports blog: Since being featured on the front page of Yahoo! on Wednesday afternoon, the Big League Stew post containing the highlight has been one of the most clicked in this blog’s history and I don’t think it’s hard to figure […]

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* Lest we forget: Mary Travers

September 17, 2009

Peter, Paul, and Mary performed one of the sweetest renditions of “Playing Right Field,” a classic baseball song that reveals the joys and fears of being a kid at play. Travers died yesterday at the age of 72. [vodpod id=Groupvideo.3438248&w=425&h=350&fv=] RIGHT FIELD Willy Welch– © 1986 Playing Right Music Saturday summers, when I was a […]

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* Keeping up with the Times

September 13, 2009

A few germane baseball items over the week that I overlooked: In today’s edition, John Klima, author of the recently relased Willie’s Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, the Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend (Wiley), published this item on how the Yankees blew their chance to sign Willie […]

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These are the only professions where you can be wrong a good portion of the time and still keep your job. Phil Taylor writes about this phenomenon in the Sept. 7 issue of Sports Illustrated. Even though he’s writing about football, it’s still germane. How many baseball genius picked the Mets to at least get […]

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* Beer, here

September 11, 2009

Because you can keep the souvenir cups on your bookshelf. And at some of these prices, you better. Today’s Wall Street Journal ran this little item about the cost of beer at the ballpark as a factor of the team’s success. I see that several of the venues mention sell 20-21 oz. cups, which is […]

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*The ethics of sportswriting

September 10, 2009

Former NY Times baseball writer Murray Chass takes on the subject of anonymous sources in his most recent column. This issue came up in baseball books a few times this year, most notably Serena Roberts’ biography on Alex Rodriguez. Critics took her to task for using A.S. and dubious testimonials about the ballplayer’s use of […]

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The host of A Prairie Home Companion is recovering from a minor stroke suffered this past weekend. (Of course “minor” is when it happens to someone else.) Keillor wrote one of the more amusing “Casey at the Bat” parodies.

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Yeah, I remember my first beer… Baltimore police say four young men stole an aluminum No. 8 that commemorates Orioles great Cal Ripken outside the Camden Yards ballpark. The four were arrested early Wednesday, about two hours after the theft, and the monument was recovered. The Orioles have a series of 4-foot aluminum monuments depicting […]

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How would one explain how he came across this little item, either when trying to hock it or getting away with actually wearing it? From the Associated Press: PHILADELPHIA(AP) — Something about the janitor’s story didn’t ring true when he led police to a diamond-laden World Series keepsake that had gone missing. The $15,000 ring […]

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* Gray Lady Down

August 28, 2009

(to borrow a film title). We all know the difficulties the newspaper industry are going through. I look at the sports section for the Star-Ledger and find stories take from the NY Daily News. Reporters and columnists are being bought out. So I guess it should come as no surprise to learn that the “Sport […]

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