Signing off from TTFB

When I started writing this blog in the summer of 2011, I did it because I had things I wanted to say, and no outlet for saying them. I sent a couple of things I wrote to other blogs, but in the end I wanted my words to go someplace that I got to direct.

What I do for fun

Now that baseball season is finally here, I find myself directing much of my attention to writing about the Cubs. I don’t get all the sleep I want, but that’s all right because this is fun for me. Sportswriters get paid to tell me–and everyone else–what they think about the game and my team, and

Two baseball pieces as the offseason winds down

I’ve been doing some thinking about why baseball matters so much to me. It’s one of the few constants in my life, dating all the way back to when I saw my first live baseball game in 1975. Things change–for better and for worse–but baseball is always there. The game changes, too, but it’s always

Some writings from this month

Yesterday was the first time that I’ve had a piece published on ChicagoSideSports this year, but I’ve also been active on ThroughTheFenceBaseball and on FiveWideSports. I haven’t promoted them the  way that I would like to here, but I’m grateful to have a chance to share some of my thoughts with those in the online

All this could be such a dream

Nothing like quoting from an old Night Ranger song to start a post, is there? I actually like their song “Goodbye” because it has a wistful, reminiscent air about it. Which is just how I feel about Mark Prior and the Chicago Cubs. It’s now been a decade since he pitched the Cubs to the

Thoughts on Papi and Alou

Today was quite a day. Not only did I spend the day on a field trip with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop (more on that later, some day), but I had a variety of pieces running in different places. The I-still-can’t-quite-believe-it-happened comeback by the Red Sox in the ALDS–keyed by a grand slam by David

Baseball’s hold on me

Over the past 24 hours, three baseball-themed pieces that I wrote have appeared online. The deal between Pearl Jam and Fox Sports for the upcoming World Series was discussed in a piece on ThroughTheFenceBaseball, a memory from the 2003 Cubs season appeared on FiveWideSports, and a vision of how 2003 might have ended differently appeared

An apt metaphor

I’ve not been writing much in this space lately, as I’m sending off pieces to other websites instead. But I can always link to them here, so here’s a Five Wide piece I wrote, and here’s a TTFB piece. Another piece should run on FiveWide soon, but the Cubs stuff has pretty much come to

The season’s winding down

On Sunday the baseball season officially comes to an end. It’s been over for the Cubs since sometime in May, probably, but at least come Sunday the lights will go out on yet another losing season. I plan to watch the playoffs, and I’ve adopted the Dodgers as my team after they angered John McCain

A new outlet

I’m happy that FiveWideSports will be carrying some of my thoughts and writings, beginning with this piece that appeared on their site today. I’m still writing for ThroughTheFenceBaseball, and I have a piece appearing there today, as well. The writing is all Cubs and baseball-related, and a week from now their season will be done.

Another lost season

I wish that I had more productive creative muses than the Chicago Cubs. It’s such a draining and aggravating experience following this team. But baseball is my game and Chicago is my home and I  would rather eat my keyboard than become a White Sox fan. So here I am. I ruminated again about how

I’m bringing 50 back

When I was a kid–from 1975 until about 1981– I was into baseball. I still am, really, but it mattered to me then like nothing else did. I played it on the field in Khoury League, and I thought about it when I was wasn’t playing. I read Baseball Digest, which came out once a

Baseball as horse racing

A piece that I wrote for ThroughTheFenceBaseball likened the NL Central division to a horse race. THere are three teams in the running, and one will Win, one will Place, and one will Show. I took my best guess at figuring out which order will be the right one. We’ll see how I do soon

The meaning of Commitment

The piece that I wrote today was months in the making, even if I didn’t know it until early this morning. It tells the tale of a word and a team that chose to use it, without really thinking through what it means. Or at least that’s the way I interpreted it.

Writings about Sandberg and Monday

It’s been hard to find some time to write lately, but there are a few baseball things happening. And to feed my new column (I do like the way that sounds), I sent them in to ThroughTheFenceBaseball. The first was a piece about a Rick Monday bobblehead that was given away at Dodger Stadium the