Bronx, N.Y., Feb. 9, 2002 — I had it coming. “Baseball, gods, hear me clearly. Guilty as charged. I got soft; I got happy; despite my (not very good) best efforts the spanking was deserved, and I thank you for setting me straight.” Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2002 — Stats, stats, stats. I know. They are a valuable tool. They are a means of measuring performance. They are quantifiable. They are easy. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2001 — The hard two-hopper rocketed down the third base line, and the 12-year-old playing third made the only dive he could to stop it from rolling forever once it got to the long, low-grassed, unfenced outfield. Flagging the screamer deftly with his gloved left hand, he scurried to his knees and then his feet, rushed at setting himself, and let the throw fly…
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Bronx, N.Y., Nov. 25, 2001 — It’s never a good day for a baseball fan when there’s no baseball news really, and you have to go searching for peripheral mentions. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Nov. 23, 2001 — I fully realize that the title is part of a cliche (think “…and some are rained out.”), but the musings may not be as predictable as the title would indicate. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, 19 days since the events of November 4, and I’ve interacted with many people since then. They run the gamut from people who watched the Emmy’s November 4 all the way to fellow fanatics whose hearts stopped briefly that evening as Luis Gonzalez’s bloop floated over Derek’s head. Continue reading →

NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2001 — I thought about June 10, 1978 upon reading a little sidebar box toward the back of the Times Sports pages, a filler really. One of the combatants that made that day so special, and one I’ll never forget, had passed away back in January. I called my brother then and commiserated, remembering the colossal contest we had witnessed 23 years ago. June 10 of a Yankee championship season seems a promising date for a Yankee fan to want to commemorate, but this column is not about baseball. Continue reading →

Bronx, N.Y., Nov. 11, 2001 — I can’t get the image out of my head. Hungering for baseball news already, tucked somewhere into the sports page among the pro and college football, pro and college basketball, NHL hockey, even early Olympics mentions, I came across an article articulating the difficulties facing the front office of the New York Mets. As anyone who has ever taken a course that was graded on a curve well knows, the worse things get for the competition, the better they are for you. And really all New York baseball fans have a love/hate thing going with the local teams anyway: I love the Yankees — the reader can fill in the blanks on my feelings about the Mets.
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NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 8 — “The Scout proves to be an unsatisfying single that should have been a home run.” Thus read one of the many less than enthusiastic reviews of the 1994 baseball movie that featured, aside from stars Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser (with a cameo by George Steinbrenner himself), the building I have lovingly come to refer to as The Cathedral: Yankee Stadium. Continue reading →