The Loneliness of the Game:the Manager

In 1989, shortly before being suspended from duties as manager, Pete Rose stated: “managing is much harder than playing, sitting there, observing everything, responsible for everything and alone, helpless…” It is true, because in baseball, when a club wins it is the players, but when they lose, 98 % of the time it is the […]

Predicting Where the Top Free Agents Will Land

Now that the 2011 World Series finished its exciting conclusion, baseball fans everywhere turn to the hot stove league to give them their fix of baseball until spring training begins in February. As with every year, there are many interesting free agents who could change the fortunes of any number of teams. Before the actual […]

His Game to Win

Tony LaRussa retires and Davey Johnson returns. It might seem that the trade off leaves the managerial ranks about the same, but there is a changing of the guard occurring in the leadership of Major League Baseball. LaRussa’s 33 years as manager is unequalled except by Connie Mack–whose 53 years in the dugout is one […]

Clearing The Bases

    Well the 2011 season has successfully come to an end with an unlikely champion, the St. Louis Cardinals.  Who saw that coming?  Manager Tony LaRussa goes out on top as he retired a champion, have to wonder if his retirement will push free agent Albert Pujols towards another team.  That is a perfect […]

“Twilight Zone” At The World Series

I was going to write about Tony LaRussa’s “Twilight Zone” experience in Game 5 (“I keep calling for Motte. Where’s Motte? When I tell Derek Lilliquist he’s fired, will he think I said ‘your fly is open’?”) and decided to wait until the World Series ended, but after last night’s bizarre Game 6 I’d like […]

Clearing The Bases

The 2011 World Series has certainly been memorable.  Whether it’s Albert Pujols hitting three HRs in a single game or phone gate when Tony LaRussa couldn’t get Jason Motte warmed up in the bullpen during Game 5, not like we’re going to forget this series anytime soon.  Let’s see what else is going on throughout […]

Robin White Sox Redux

On Thursday afternoon I received a text message from my cousin and fellow die-hard White Sox fan, Owen, and it contained just one word: Robin? Naturally, I replied with the first word that came to my mind: Batman? Just kidding.  The word I actually replied with was Ventura?  As I honestly wondered whether Owen’s single-word […]

Trying to Focus on the Positives

At his best Nyjer Morgan is a scrappy, prototypical lead off guy.  Diminutive in size, he plays with grit and determination. He hurt himself sliding head-first into second base one too many times a season ago. But in 2010 he committed a multitude of sins, not the greatest of which was running into the Cardinal […]

Stumbling Out of the Gate

Well, that wasn’t the way Cardinal fans wanted to see things get started. OK, let’s put in the usual disclaimers.  It was a spring training game.  Most of the regulars weren’t in there, and you can’t take a lot away from one game, especially the first of the year.  So I’m not drawing any conclusions […]

Let’s Play Some Ball

I check the weather forecast and it’s supposed to be in the sixties this weekend.  I can see the sun coming up earlier and earlier and staying up later and later.  Those might be signs, but the real indicator that spring is returning comes today, as the Cardinals take on another MLB team.  Baseball games […]

Starting the Routine

Things are starting to get established down in Jupiter. Yesterday, it was Tony LaRussa’s time in front of the media.  You can hear some of his remarks here.  A lot of what you’d expect out of TLR, a lot of working hard, have a chance to compete, etc.  Tony’s not likely to tip his hand […]

One Day Away

Pitchers and catchers “officially” report tomorrow.  In actuality, almost the entire team is already in Jupiter or doing prep work before getting there.  Still, sitting here with 19 degree temperatures outside this morning, waking up to read about spring training is just about glorious.  There’s magic in “pitchers and catchers report.” I believe that Brad […]

The Week We’ve Been Waiting For

As people continue to deal with snow, ice, and arctic temperatures, a nation’s eyes turn to the states of Florida and Arizona, desperate for relief and for the magical words of “Play ball!” It is that time of year again, thankfully, when the baseball news starts flowing and the excitement starts building.  The scribes are […]