From the Archives: Remembering Denny Galehouse

The following was originally published on October 18, 2007. Tuesday night’s game reminded me of another tough decision a Red Sox manager had to make about who to pitch in a crucial game. Terry Francona chose rested, but still not completely healthy veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to face the Indians in Game 4 of the […]

Astros Show Some Improvement in June

The Astros entered the final weekend of the month of June with a 12-12 record and a chance to have their first winning month in years.  However, they were swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels and finished 12-15 for the month. The month started on a positive note as the Astros won their […]

Giving Away Outs to the Braves

It wasn’t the newly arrived Upton brothers that crushed the spirits of 120,000 fans that flocked to Nationals Park this weekend. No, it was a team effort. The Atlanta Braves beat the Nationals in every aspect of the game. They outscored Washington 18-5 for the three game series. After Friday night it never really seemed […]

The Kid from Santa Barbara

Hey baseball fans! I’m sure you know who has the most career home runs (Barry Bonds with 762), who has the most career wins (Cy Young with 511), and who has the longest consecutive hitting streak in baseball history (Joe DiMaggio with 56). However, do you know who holds the record for most games played in as a […]

Early Look at Possible NL Pennant Match Up in Cincy

The baseball season is the sum of a million small parts, “millions and millions of stars” as Carl Sagan used to say. As with the cosmos, the magic of baseball is both the enchanted aggregate and its many component parts. And that is why even at this early juncture there is no shortage of excitement […]

The Broken Thumb of Fate, the Collapse of the ’64 Phillies

Frank Thomas and I have been faithful friends for nearly twenty years.  I am referring to the “Original” Frank Thomas who was a rookie for the Pirates in 1951 and an original New York Met in 1962; not to confuse him with the White Sox slugger of the nineties. I met Frank at a Pirates’ […]

It’s Always ‘Springtime’ in DC

The flowers remain in full bloom; the weather as gorgeous as a quad full of coeds; and the Nationals took three of four from a good Cincinnati team to move their record to 7-3. There was a billboard near the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta for many years that read, “It’s Always Springtime at Bulldog […]

Just Another Gated Community

We arrived back from Spring Training last night, three games in three delightful mad dash days that left us wishing there was time for one more. When I got home there was a wonderful surprise: a copy of the new biography of Bill Veeck by Paul Dickson. I went to sleep reading it. Yes I […]

Crosstown Crisis?

Not A Crowded House Normally the annual “Crosstown Classic” series between Chicago’s Cubs and White Sox are an automatic sellout at U.S. Cellular Field as Sox fans love nothing more than to see their team whip up on the Cubs and also impugn the testosterone of all Cubs fans who dare to wander down to […]

‘Extra Outfielder’ Now a Hitting Star

     In forging their way to the best record in the Atlantic League, the Long Island (NY) Ducks have relied on the talents of such established players at this level of play as John Rodriguez, Lew Ford, J. R. House, Ray Navarrete and Javier Colina.  It is a substantial group.         And they have Kraig […]

Clearing The Bases: Designated Hitters

Most players who are playing full-time at designated hitter this season we have discussed at other positions, so for this column, we will make it short and sweet, and only discuss the DHs that we haven’t gone over at any other point in this series of columns.  The problem with selecting someone who is a […]

Change We Can Believe In

Turn back your clocks a little over a year to the 2009 American League Divisional Series between the Yankees and the Twins. The Yankees had home field advantage, and were heavily favored. They swept the series three games to none, but largely thanks to a disturbing phenomenon down the left field line at Yankee Stadium. […]

The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Six

In part one of my Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic series, I featured Game One of the 1988 World Series between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers, won by the latter on Kirk Gibson’s walk-off two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley, ironic because it was Eck who coined the phrase “walk-off piece.” Part two featured an […]

The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Four

In part one of my Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic series, I featured Game One of the 1988 World Series between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers, won by the latter on Kirk Gibson’s walk-off two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley, ironic because it was Eck who coined the phrase “walk-off piece.”  Part two featured an […]

Take Me Back to Texas, Please!

Josh Hamilton said he could smell the early voting on Proposition 19 wafting in from the San Francisco bleachers all night long. What was I thinking? Juan Uribe hasn’t played like this in years. Edgar Renteria looks like he is 19 again and Cody Ross is playing like he is on something.  The explanation was […]

Cliff Lee Builds Drama With Every Pitch

When Cliff Lee poured three fastballs past Brett Gardner to end the eighth inning, it marked 122 of the best post-season pitches since Roy Halladay threw his no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. Lee did not have to finish this most recent of his numerous post-season gems. The Rangers busted the game open in the ninth […]

Cardinals Keep Destroying Hope

I wonder if any of his old friends in Cincinnati have called Adam Dunn and said thanks for the help. Since his home run on Saturday, the Cards have scored a total of two runs in 31 innings.  Since that moment, this team his hitting .152 against staffs that are on second-division teams.  Since that […]

Lancaster Loses League Home Run Leader Jason Perry

Lancaster took it on the chin four times in five meetings with the Atlantic League’s hottest team, Bridgeport, this week, but that is only the start of the potential problems facing the Barnstormers, who cling to a two-game lead in the Freedom Division race. They have to figure out a way to replace league home […]

Gibbons Makes Another Statement for Indy Leagues

Jay Gibbons has struck another harmonious chord for Independent Baseball with his splashy re-entrance into the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  A longtime Baltimore Orioles outfielder (2001-2007), the left-handed Gibbons erged from a brush with being named in the infamous Mitchell Report to start cleansing his reputation with the Long Island (NY) Ducks […]

Can Dan Haren be the game-changer the Angels need?

The Angels swooped in to acquire one of MLB’s best in Dan Haren. Seamheads writer Jess K. Coleman wonders if he can he the season-changer that the Angels need.

It Is Easy to Tell How Much Sparky Lyle Loves Managing and the Atlantic League

It only takes a few minutes with Sparky Lyle to understand how much the Somerset manager thinks of the Atlantic League.  It is equally impressive that the 65-year-old, who was a major league star as early as the late 1960s, still has fire in his belly for his job, which has to be part of […]

Pitchin’ On The Dock Of The Bay

You knew, just looking at the matchups, two things about this weekend’s series.  One, it was going to be darn tough for the Cardinals to keep their streak of not losing a series alive.  The second was that if anyone scored, it was going to be a fairly impressive accomplishment. Sometimes when you think you […]

Home Cooking

Chemical additives have played havoc with athletics and our food.  Cooking at home is a good place to start to combat both concerns.  Some teams, notably the Braves, emphasize drafting amateurs from close to home in Georgia, then slow cook them into quality professionals in their minor leagues.  The Nationals could use a little of […]