baseball

Two games in, four baseball teams are already on the verge of having their playoff runs ended. But while each of the four Division Series stands at 2-0, they haven't been without some surprises. While it's not much of a surprise (even to an admittedly biased observer such as myself) that the Philadelphia Phillies are […]

There is no North American pro sports franchise that has gagged more than the Chicago Cubs, who will now have gone 101 years without winning a World Series. The Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1, and were swept in the first round of the National League (3-0). The Cubs were only the second […]

Baseball's regular season is over … almost. Seven playoff spots are set, with only the American League Central race between Chicago and Minnesota unresolved. Minnesota leads Chicago by one-half game, and the White Sox have a makeup game set Monday against Detroit. If Chicago wins, they play Minnesota Tuesday for the Central crown. A loss […]

Once upon a time, I played in the local gay softball league (over 20 years ago), but dropped out after two years for reasons I won't go into now. This year, in part because I lost some weight, I decided to play again. When I was assigned to my team, they asked me what number […]

A year after being dumped as manager of the New York Yankees, manager Joe Torre has the Los Angeles Dodgers on the verge of winning the National League West while his old team will miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. Torre no longer has to deal with an erratic owner or […]

There are three baseball playoff spots still up for grabs, and three excellent games tonight only made things more interesting going into the final weekend of the season. In the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins finished off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox at the Metrodome in thrilling fashion. The Twins clawed their […]

Recovery from the effects of Hurricane Ike continue, not just in Texas and Louisiana but in other states as the remnants of the storm raced north. The death toll has risen past 50, with two-thirds of the deaths occurring outside of Texas. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and western […]

With two weeks left in the regular season there's a lot of excitement still to be found in major league baseball. Sunday night, Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs no-hit the Houston Astros, 5-0. Zambrano hadn't pitched September 2 due to a sore rotator cuff, making the feat even more amazing. It's the first Cubs […]

Yesterday's Braves-Marlins game started at a little after 1 pm. The announced attendance — which is based on tickets sold — was 11,211. However, at the start of the game only about 600 people were in the seats at Dolphin Stadium. Before the game, reports the Associated Press, Marlins players were guessing as to how […]

In August 1988 the Phillies and Cubs nearly made history by playing the first night game at Wrigley in major league baseball history. However, after 3 1/2 innings the game was rained out, and the Cubs' game against the Mets the next night became the first official night game at Wrigley. Twenty years later, the […]

Mike “I’m not gay” Piazza wants out of South Beach. His condo is on the block for $4.9 million, quite a nice uptick for the 3,300-square-foot place he picked up in 2002 for $1.75 million. The three-bedroom unit has terraces and panoramic views and is designed with contemporary styling and limestone floors. Piazza and his, […]

Here's some fan video from the outfield bleachers at Wrigley Field during last night's Cubs-Astros game. The Chicago region was rocked by severe thundestorms, which stopped the game for over 2 1/2 hours in the 6th inning. Tornado warnings were issued and fans were ordered out of the bleachers and into the concourses. Wind gusts […]

Organizers at the 29th Annual National Sports Collector’s Convention say they are offering a record $25,000 if disgraced Chicago Cubs fans Steve Bartman shows up and signs an autograph at the event in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont. Bartman entered baseball lore and earned the ire of Cub fans everywhere on Oct. 14, 2003, when […]

The headline sums up basically what was accomplished in the American League’s 4-3, 15-inning, 4-hour-50-minute marathon win over the National League in baseball’s All-Star game. The happiest man in Yankee Stadium seemed to be Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who knows that if his team can make a repeat appearance in the World Series, […]

So tonight is the Showcase of the 2009 Yankees, whoops, I mean, the 2008 State Farm Home Run Derby. Eight of the biggest, meanest batters you’ll see will try to smash white balls as far as humanly possible. (Hey, mind out of the gutter you!) Representing the American League we have Josh Hamilton, Evan Longoria, […]

On Yahoo Sports there's an AP article headlined "A-Rod loses $200,000 in All-Star bonuses." It's a little misleading. When Alex Rodriguez signed his old megadeal with Texas it included clauses that would pay him $100,000 for making the All-Star team and another $100,000 if he led his league in fan voting. He opted out of […]

Somehow I missed this news: in January Major League Baseball announced that this year's Hall of Fame Game would be the last. The annual exhibition was held each year at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. The first one was held in 1940. Of course, the tradition started fading years ago. The game used to be played […]

The New York Daily News brings us this delightful tale of a tourism brochure printed up by the Queens borough president's office. In the brochure there's an item on Shea Stadium that says it was built in 1962. The paper notes that groundbreaking for Shea began in October 1961 and the stadium didn't open until […]

There is a first time for everything. John Odom was traded to the Laredo Broncos or the United League from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball league. For the stiff price of 10 baseball bats, a first in modern baseball. “They just wanted some bats, good bats – maple bats,” Broncos general manager Jose […]

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester threw a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals at Boston. What makes it more inspiring is that Lester came back after battling testicular cancer analaplastic large cell lymphoma two seasons ago. “Really, words can’t describe it right now,” Lester said. A diving catch by Jacoby […]