This World Series isn’t engaging me in any sense of the word. I’ll be grateful when it’s over and we can commit ourselves to looking toward next season. Some people are moved by the spirit of the game even when their team isn’t playing. I wish I were one of them, but I’m not.
With that awkward admission out of the way, I’d like to turn your attention to a piece by Joe Posnanski on the late, great Buck O’Neil. If you haven’t read Joe’s stuff, you should do yourself a favor and start now — dude knows how to tell …read more

Barry Bonds hit two home runs Thursday in a loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It’s a good thing, too, because Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron’s record is about the only thing going for the Giants right now.
San Francisco is now 39-54 on the season and has slipped “ahead” of the Astros and Nationals in the battle for worst team in the league. The Giants’ lineup is ancient and, with the exception of Bonds and Ryan Klesko, they’re playing like it. The bullpen has been shaky, and the rotation hasn’t been much better (with the weakest link being $126 …read more

Joe Posnanski at Soul of Baseball discusses which current National League players he expects one day to see in the Hall of Fame. The entire piece is worth reading, but one incidental riff on the pettiness of some in his profession (Joe is a professional sportswriter) stood out to me:
Now I was really confused. Baseball Writers Association? What was that? I had a credential that seemed to allow me to sit there (I still have it). Nobody else was around. I was entirely baffled. And then I had an odd thought: Maybe I was already a Baseball Writers Association member …read more