AltWeeklies Wire
Can Cole Hamels Save the Phillies?new
It's a cliche, but with great power comes great responsibility. As Hamels -- mild-mannered, injury-prone, 24 and playing for a contract on a veteran team -- emerges as the Phillies' clear ace, the time for him to assume that responsibility has come.
Philadelphia City Paper |
E. James Beale |
08-26-2008 |
Sports
The Grand Prarie AirHogs Go All Out in Their First Yearnew
The minor league baseball team is willing to do whatever it takes to make you a fan. And that includes win.
Dallas Observer |
Sam Merten |
08-25-2008 |
Sports
What's So Funny About Baseball Cartoons?new
Cartoon of catchers talking to pitchers are a New Yorker tradition -- but why?
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
08-14-2008 |
Media
The Last Sports Writer: Manny Upnew
The night before, in his first game as a Dodger, Manny had faced Randy Johnson, who will one day be his neighbor in the Hall of Fame. But poor Yusmierio Petit never had a chance.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Neal Pollack |
08-08-2008 |
Sports
The Case of the Golden Thong, and Other Baseball Superstitionsnew
According to George Gmelch, cultural anthropologist and author of the article "Baseball Magic," superstitious behaviors among ballplayers fall into two major categories -- rituals and taboos. Nomar Garciaparra's famed batting gyrations, that's a ritual. When he jumps over the base line to take his position in the infield, that is a taboo.
Charleston City Paper |
John Strubel |
08-06-2008 |
Sports
The Phillies' So Taguchi has Lost His Waynew
But the slumping outfielder remains determined to find it.
Philadelphia Weekly |
G.W. Miller III |
07-14-2008 |
Sports
Brian Barton Chooses Baseball Over Aerospace Engineering ... For Nownew
Baseball ain't rocket science. But if it were, that wouldn't stop rookie St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Brian Barton. He's pretty good at both.
Riverfront Times |
Keegan Hamilton |
06-27-2008 |
Sports
Could Cubs Catcher Geovany Soto be the Key to a World Championship?new
Manager Lou Piniella, trying to end the Cubs' century-long title drought, is relying on a rookie catcher who happens to be a key reason why, for the first time since 1908, the Cubs entered June of a season with the best record in baseball.
Chicago Reader |
Ted Cox |
06-24-2008 |
Sports
Baseball: Where Have All the Black Guys Gone?new
Consider it fallout from the epidemic of black dads abandoning their families. Today, about 50 percent of black kids are raised in female single-parent homes, versus 16 percent of white kids. That trend wreaks unique havoc on baseball. As Indians ace C.C. Sabathia puts it: "It's a sport you play with your daddy."
Cleveland Scene |
Gus Garcia-Roberts |
06-13-2008 |
Sports
'The Greatest Game' is Filled with Buckner-esque Errorsnew
It's the 30th anniversary of the '78 season and the Yankees are in the cellar again, so comparisons are inevitable. But Richard Bradley's recent book on the '78 Sox season finale, lacks ... well almost everything.
Boston Phoenix |
George Kimball |
05-29-2008 |
Nonfiction
Fifty Years of Dodger Bluenew
All professional baseball is built on a multi-billion-dollar foundation of half-remembered childhood memories, but even given that reality, the Dodgers have crafted a silly, if not repulsive, carnival of gauzy manufactured nostalgia. The Dodgers' 50th anniversary in Los Angeles celebration is irretrievably lame.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Neal Pollack |
05-12-2008 |
Sports
Everyday People Are Being Priced Out of Baseball Fandomnew
The Mets and Yankees will open their swanky new ballparks next season. It's just too bad nobody I know will be able to afford to see them from the inside.
New York Press |
Emma Span |
04-17-2008 |
Sports
Mets AAA Team Hopes for Another Winning Seasonnew
It's no surprise that last year, in their first season as a New York Mets affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs had their finest campaign since 2001. Expectations haven't changed this season.
Barry Bonds* Hires Yet Another Lawyernew
New lawyer John Burris has a well-known rivalry with Mike Rains, Barry's* longtime criminal attorney.
Juicing Barry Bondsnew
To asterisk or not to asterisk? That is the question.
San Diego CityBeat |
Edwin Decker |
08-22-2007 |
Sports
