I'd rather be sitting in a ballpark.

After checking out schedules and weather forecasts for ten days, I decided to make the 95-mile trek to Beloit for Sunday afternoon’s tilt with Cedar Rapids (Minnesota). Honestly, since the Marlins moved to Beloit, I can’t remember really enjoying any Sky Carp performances or games. The new ballpark, ABC Supply has all the amenities that…

Ahead of the Cubs second game in Philly with the Phillies, management invoked the rarely used Spring Training B Game exception. Jed Hoyer petitioned the league for the right to bat Carson Kelly in all 9 lineup positions (with his teammates serving as invisible runners) because he’s the only Cub to have any success against…

Before I get to yesterday’s game between the Beloit Sky Carp and Cedar Rapids Kernels, I’m going to establish new ground rules for how I cover minor league games. I’ll admit to spending too many words on rated prospects even though I’ve always known that system was rigged. I don’t mean to imply there is…

After another disappointing0offensive showing despite 110% of their batted balls being “hard hit”, I don’t want to read that any position player on the Cubs 26-man roster has a positive WAR (any goofy iteration) or that Ian Happ is a sure thing gold glover. My one question, is whether Caleb Thielbar’s magic has evaporated or…

If you think 13 ML games are a small sample size, consider that a couple Midwest League (MWL) teams have only played three games to date and the rest have only played five or six. As I’m not a pro scout, I’m not worried about the lack of a Single A resume right now. I…

We’re hours away from the first of two Final Four games at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy. While I won’t bore anyone with my brackets (not submitted, thus meaningless), I suggest the Final Four was a major sporting event worth attending. The Final Four is like the Super Bowl in that thousands of fans consider…

Before I woke up this morning, I had a definite plan for what I’d be posting about today. There’s lots going on that I need to talk about. Yet, when I heard the news that the White Sox are retiring Ozzie Guillen’s #13, my plans changed. While I’m neither a Sox fan or Ozzie guy,…

Without scanning the current standings, I know that everybody has played between five and seven games to date. Even though it’s a small sample size, that hasn’t stopped the media from blasting fans for overreacting. They know that’s what we do, regardless of the sport. The media loves an emotional audience the same way the…

Editor’s note: I wrote this before the Sox and Cubs took the field yesterday, but had to wait until Friday morning (today) to publish. Forget what you may have heard or read about re: those two games. One of our local, suburban papers chose to focus on “five things” fans of each team can look…

We’re hours away from winnowing a field of 68 to a very capable 8, and I’m late to the game. Five or ten years ago, I would have been all over this tournament as three different rounds were being played in Chicago, St. Louis and Indy. I would have jumped at that opportunity to drive…