What you should be reading
Or, more accurately, some things I’ve been reading. Did I miss something? Leave me a link in the comments. Five of the 13 most overrated players in baseball are Yankees/Red Sox. Try telling that to the gushers over at ESPN (i.e., every one there aside from this author). Is Cliff Lee back on Earth with … Read more
The perfect pleasure of Rod Allen
Texieria is a good defensive third basemen. He has won a gold glove. . . mainly because of his offense. —Rod Allen, Tigers color commentator You know how I feel about sub-par broadcasters like Joe Buck. But perhaps my harsh review of Buck’s lack-of-excitement cliché-ridden brand of sport-calling is partly due to having had a … Read more
In which I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE
It started when Joel Zumaya faced another setback. Which would seem to be just a very Zumaya-esque form of horrible, gut-wrenchingly unfair luck for a kid who just seems so deserving of success—until I remembered reading this wonderful Sports Illustrated piece about Zoom Zoom’s mechanics. What? What? You mean to tell me that in the … Read more
A night without #winning
Angela Vasquez-Giroux live-tweeted the Tigers’ second game of the season in New York. Which, sadly, was carried on Fox with the painfully inept Joe Buck behind the mic. Read all about it in “A night without #winning” on Storify
In which I cannot contain myself any longer
Sure, it’s still barely above freezing in Michigan. And, yes, were I still in high school (and not just the same height I was in high school) we’d be taking grounders off the basketball court because no one practices outside in this bullshit weather. But it’s sunny. Clete Thomas has been sent back to the … Read more
Why I watch baseball, or, falling in love with Jim Leyland
(spoken in Boyz II Men mid-song-”talking-to-you-girl”-voice) Baby, there’s something I need to tell you. I cheated. This column idea wasn’t mine—it was actually equal parts suggestion from Joshua Pugh and Brett McDonald. I know, I know, baby, it is worse that I mashed them together. But hear me out. I don’t remember watching my first … Read more
For Tim
FOR TIM suggesting I name ten things I truly believe, which is really fucking impossible I believe in Bobby Higginson the working class hero my father who rises every morning before it is morning to hurl watt after watt like lightning bolts from the open blisters of his palms. I believe in being five my … Read more
Miguel & Miguel-ela?
Well, it finally happened: I went down—hard—with the flu. Not the “oh-that’s-what-Coco-Puffs-look-like-in-reverse” flu, but the achy, heavy chest, head pounding, feel-modestly-normal-until-I-stand-up-and-am-dizzy kind of flu. The only upside to being home sick is finally having the uninterrupted access to the television and general home silence required to do something I almost never do, which today has … Read more
In which Miguel Cabrera breaks my motherfucking heart
“There’s no anger or animosity from us, your first reaction is for the person,” Avila said. “Millions of people have problems with alcohol and drugs. It’s something that can be overcome, but you need a lot of help.” —The Detroit News, February 18 Miguel Cabrera. Of all the strange ways life foreshadows itself, there’s this: … Read more
Love Letter Postmarked Michigan and Trumball
It’s time. Pitchers and catchers have reported to Lakeland. I saw five birds on my run yesterday. The snow is melting. We’re (allegedly) going to have an early spring. It’s a day after Valentine’s, and all I can think about is how much I love the Tigers. LOVE LETTER POSTMARKED MICHIGAN AND TRUMBALL It’s the … Read more
