Remembering Pittsburgh from the “We Are Family” Era

Back when Fisher Bodies were made of steel that was cooked in blast furnaces in Pittsburgh, there was a great baseball team that played along the Allegheny River called the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite the fact that cars are made of plastic now and the city of Pittsburgh is a high-tech center supported by three top-of-the-line […]

Poetic Justice

Following the winter meetings is like watching grass grow. Washington baseball fans are waiting anxiously to see whether Santa wraps Mark Buerhle up and places him in the Nationals stocking and if so, what else might there be under the tree. There is the issue of center field with so many options there that even […]

Something Stirring Beneath the Surface

The younger set cannot remember one of the iconic pictures of my youth: Nikita Kruschev, Russian Premier and head of the original Axis of Evil in Moscow, angrily banging his shoe on the desk at the United Nations, screaming to the US envoy to the UN, “We Will Bury You!” It was the headline in […]

St. Louis vs. Cincinnati

How exactly did we get here?  How did we come from St. Louis and Cincinnati having just a passing thought in each other’s minds to a knockdown, dragout rivalry between the two squads and the two fan bases?  And, honestly, why is there such a rivalry, Johnny Cueto notwithstanding? The history of Cardinals and Reds […]

Fearless forecast for 2011 flag chases

The first rule in making baseball predictions is to expect the unexpected. Don’t go with last year’s winners, popular favorites, or big-money ballclubs. Unless they deserve it, of course. Now that we’ve gotten past the obvious rules, there are the string of unknowns that can pop up anywhere during the course of a 162-game schedule, […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Cincinnati Reds

Reigning NL MVP, Joey Votto  Cincinnati Reds (2010 record: 91-71) The Cincinnati Reds won the National League Central last year and, in the process, made the post-season for the first time since 1995, when they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS but were, in turn, swept by the Atlanta Braves in the Championship […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers all-star 1B Prince Fielder  Milwaukee Brewers (2010 record: 77-85) The Milwaukee Brewers front office entered the off-season with one primary task: improve the pitching staff. The club finished last season with the third-worst ERA in the National League – the primary reason the club finished with a sub-.500 record. General Manager Mark Attanasio immersed […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – St Louis Cardinals

Could 2011 be Albert Pujols’ last season in a Cardinals uniform? St. Louis Cardinals (2010 record: 86-76) As spring training got underway a few weeks ago, the Cardinals were a serious threat to win the NL Central division title. But with the Albert Pujols contract situation hanging like The Sword of Damocles above everyone’s head […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Chicago Cubs

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro Chicago Cubs (2010 record: 75-87) Notable additions: RHP Matt Garza, 1B Carlos Peña, RHP Kerry Wood Notable subtractions: 1B Xavier Nady The Cubs suffered through a disappointing 75-87 campaign and a fourth-place finish in the NL Central last season. They looked on as the other clubs in the division improved this […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central – Houston Astros

Astros RF Hunter Pence Houston Astros (2010 record: 76-86) Notable additions: SP Ryan Rowand-Smith, 2B Clint Barmes, INF Billy Hall Notable subtractions: SP Felipe Paulino, IF Geoff Blum, RHP Matt Lindstrom It doesn’t appear the 50th-anniversary season for the former Colt-45’s will be much of a celebration. The team played pretty well last year after […]

2011 Pre-Season Preview: NL Central –Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen Pittsburgh Pirates (2010 record: 57-105) Notable additions: SP Kevin Correia, LF Matt Diaz, SP Scott Olsen, 1B Lyle Overbay Notable subtractions: SP Zach Duke The Pittsburgh Pirates’ current streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons is the longest such streak in history for any North American professional sports franchise. The drought […]

“It Didn’t Look Like They Wanted To Come Out And Beat Us”

I think the title of this post says it all.  When a player on the opposing team questions the desire, there’s little else to say about the 2010 Cardinals. That was Geoff Blum’s quote to MLB.com after yesterday’s game.  “It didn’t look like they wanted to come out and beat us at all.”  We talked about […]