Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye

A requirement of living in Chicago is choosing one baseball team or the other. Every other sport in this town offers one team, and thus everyone who’s a football fan lives and dies with da Bears. The same is true of basketball and the Bulls, and hockey and the Blackhawks. But baseball is a whole

Hats off to Josh Hamilton

I wrote a piece for ThroughTheFenceBaseball last night, and I’m cross posting it here. It’s not very often that one batter hits four homers in the same game, as Josh Hamilton did last night against the Orioles. And three of the four went to straightaway center, which makes it all the more impressive. And each

But nothing on jersey night

I’m back after a weekend in Cleveland, which was loaded with family, baseball, and rock n’ roll. In other words, all of my favorite things. I could, and probably will, tell lots of stories about the Rock Hall, but those will wait until I have some time. But for now, a baseball tale will have

Pitchers and catchers reported today

It’s officially spring training, now that the pitchers and catchers have reported to the Cubs’ facilities in Arizona. Position players are coming in next week. Burt Hooton was a Cubs pitcher who seemed destined for greatness. He made his big league debut in 1971, without spending a single day in the minor leagues. No Cubs

Hanu-Cubs, Night 4

As with the previous nights of this festival of Jewish Cubs players, we begin with the music of Steve Goodman. For more about this song, and Steve Goodman generally, click here. The profile of Dave Roberts is here. Sam Fuld is here, and Ken Holtzman is here. Tonight’s post will focus on the winningest active

A card unlike any other

I was going through an stack of old baseball cards today, when something caught my eye. And I have to admit that it’s a fairly exciting find, too. But first a few words about the intended subject of this card, Jamie Moyer. Moyer began his long professional career (24 seasons, and possibly still counting) with

Re-learning the lesson of 1986

As exciting and incredible as this year’s World Series was, there was a lesson to be taken from it by anyone who was paying attention. In a nutshell, it’s that the game isn’t over until the final out is made. In football, you can take a knee to run out the clock. In basketball, you

Who says baseball is in trouble?

The World Series that just concluded last night has demonstrated that baseball is alive and well. And if anybody wants to point to television ratings as an indication of anything, I’ll simply say this: Baseball was around before anyone knew what television was, and it will still be around after nobody can remember what television

This one just had to go seven games

Tonight’s baseball game–more than any other I’ve seen in my lifetime–was a transcendent affair. If you weren’t riveted by this game–or by this World Series–you just can’t like baseball. Come to think of it, you may not even have a pulse. Go back to obsessing over the Kardashians or something. What can you say about

I could never root for the Rangers

Game six of the World Series is tonight and, if all goes as I hope it will, there will be a Game seven, winner-take-all, ultimate baseball showdown in St. Louis tomorrow night. The series to this point–and this year’s postseason in general–demands nothing less. I’ve already gone on the record as being a Cardinals supporter, for

Advantage, Rangers (maybe)

I haven’t missed writing a wrap-up during the Series, and I’m not starting now. Texas had to win tonight if they were going to take the title, and they did it. But stealing a game in St. Louis is not a given on their part. They can probably smell it now, but they can’t taste

I can hear their sighs of relief

The St. Louis economy received a significant jolt tonight. The Rangers’ win in Game four means that there will be a Game six next week, and so parking revenue, concession sales, sales tax from ticket prices, hotel bookings, bar receipts, and a whole bunch of other monies will be changing hands in St. Louis next

The pendulum swings toward Texas

When the FOX announcers began talking about how the Cardinals had never been involved in a 1-0 game in their previous 100+ games of World Series play, I knew the final score wouldn’t be 1-0. I’m going to suggest that jinxes do exist, and talking about a 1-0 game is the quickest way to make

Sometimes you gotta work the count

Hindsight is always 20/20. Without the benefit of hindsight, I’m not able to write this. But with that in mind, the turning point of today’s ALCS game in Detroit happened because a Rangers’ batter failed to employ just a little bit of baseball strategy. And as a result, his team missed a chance to get

Process of elimination

On the last night of the regular season, which seems like much longer than eight days ago, we were treated to a sensational night of memorable moments. Perhaps I’m being greedy, but the next thirty-six hours could give us even more moments like this, because three teams will see their seasons end, one way or

Countdown to #Cubs #DoubleTriple at 38 losses

Now that the Cubs have gone back to playing decent teams after the sweep of Houston, the losses have begun piling up again. And here’s a fun fact: Seattle just lost 17 games in a row  and they are still two games better than the Cubs right now. But the tour of baseball in the

Countdown to #Cubs #DoubleTriple at 39 losses

The Cubs finally put together a three game win streak by sweeping the Astros at home last weekend. The conditions were right, and the Cubs took advantage. But all good things come to an end, and tonight’s loss brings us to the epic 1972 season, where only one team in the majors made it to