Looking Back on Kevin Youkilis’ Career with the Boston Red Sox

Baseball trades often leave fans feeling reflective; in the way one may have felt after having a good friend move away during grade school. Sunday’s announcement that the Red Sox had sent corner infielder Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox in a glorified roster purge to get full time at bats for rookie phenom Will […]

The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach

After finishing Chad Harbach’s fine baseball novel, The Art of Fielding, on Friday night, I could not help seeing Joe Maddon astride the bow of his whaler, with Evan Longoria and the lads manning the oars behind him as their captain sinks his harpoon into the great white, pin-striped leviathan. The book stews its baseball slowly […]

Childhood and Wally Bunker

The year 1964 when I was 7 years old, was a landmark for me.  In February of that year, I saw the Beatles for the first time on my grandmother’s 13″ black and white television; a set so full of vacuum tubes and other hardware that it weighed as much as our big screen TV […]

Baby Birds Show Early Signs of Life

This afternoon, in their home opener, the Orioles won again. Wow, 4-0; who would have thought it? Now, I know the season just started and the Os still have 158 more games to go, but at least allow me to savor this moment. After all, as a long-suffering Orioles fan, their start is a like […]

Bryce Harper Is Lucky He Doesn’t Play Basketball

What’s the difference between Bryce Harper and Eric Bledsoe? Money. Lots of money. Harper is the 17-year-old phenom taken first in Monday night’s baseball draft.  A latter day Mickey Mantle, Harper skipped the last two years of high school, was home schooled, got his GED and spent the past year at a junior college where […]

Cuban Relaxation

Cuba and Puerto Rico are never as close as when Pudge and Livan Hernandez are Nationals battery mates.  Rockies’ manager Jim Tracy said watching the two seasoned pros, “It’s like they are playing catch in the park.”  They are two of the most senior players in the game and still two of the most fun […]

Goldstein Sounds Alarm in Harper’s House of Charm

Kevin Goldstein took aim at Bryce Harper’s imposing rep this week in an article at Baseball Prospectus.com about his “makeup.”   The amateur draft is counting down and Harper is more and more the only viable first choice. Will the alarm bells spook the Nationals?  Is character as defining a factor for the rebuilding Washington […]

Jackie Jensen: The Golden Boy

There wasn’t much Jackie Jensen COULDN’T do. He hit the longest home run in the history of Cal-Berkeley baseball–over 525 feet. In his first college football game, he ran back a punt 56 yards for a touchdown while breaking numerous tackles. He could shoot a basketball superbly, out-jump his college’s high jumpers, and even beat […]

A Proper Frame for Stephen Strasburg

Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson left southern California in 1907 a shy young man who was uncertain why the Washington Senators thought he was going to be a star. Manager Cantillon had heard from scouts the kid was a unique talent-77 straight scoreless innings, 166 strikeouts in eleven games. Now, a century later, another […]