Category: Uncategorized
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Appleton Trip Part Deux
Sometimes it’s worth it to just got to a game with few expectations. The South Bend Cubs and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (T-Rats) complied and I had a most enjoyable afternoon as a result. Each organization placed five of their top 30 prospects on their Hi-A rosters. Based on their current stats, I’d say they are…
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Appleton Part I
Yesterday I made my first minor league roadtrip and experienced the new rules first hand as they are being applied at the minor league level. I had read about several of the changes at the ballpark, but the pictures didn’t do them justice. One can appreciate the improvements even if you have never been to…
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Sports and travel
The other day the NFL released the schedule for the upcoming season and fans started making plans. The NFL hasn’t been my thing in decades, but I completely understand why fans travel to see their team play. For some division games, it can be as simple as a day trip and for fans living in…
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And now for something completely different
With all due respect to Monty Python, change and different isn’t necessarily good. We all know change for change sake doesn’t always work and the process itself can be awfully messy. For the better part of the last couple of weeks, the increasingly testy Jed Hoyer has grown tired of talking about or having to…
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An unpopular position
Before Sox fans get mad at me, I’m not posting about the Cubs current shortcomings because I’m unhappier than usual with Jed Hoyer’s explanations for their offensive shortcomings and Rossi’s poor decision making. I’ve hit my breaking point with the Tim Anderson narrative. For most of Mark Prior’s Cubs career, we had to endure “When…
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Nobody’s perfect…
No team is immune to major injury. If you believe that your favorite team has secret knowledge to keeping pitchers off the injured list, you’re naive at best. In fact, the most brilliant baseball minds are not any smarter than you or I. Case in point, the Rays Drew Rasmussen just went on the 60-game-Il…
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What Yogi said about the game being mental.
As I’ve discussed with several friends on multiple occasions everyone that reaches the ML has supreme talent and I’ll never diminish what it takes to get there. There are numerous reasons (excuses) as to why some guys achieve greater success than others. What often separates players is their mental toughness and their ability to adjust,…
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Weathermen and baseball
I have no idea what role the new rules play in the craziness surrounding MLB this year. Predicting the weather correctly is like predicting which teams will go on a winning streak. Someone is always offering explanations for the mistakes. As a diehard Cub fan, I’d love to say the Cubs are going to annihilate…
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Don’t throw away that Cubs ticket just yet
When I first thought about this post, I wasn’t going to talk about today’s weather, but it is reminiscent of the weather 25 years ago today. I’m going to continue riffing on the 1998 season especially as how it pertained to the Cubs. In case you missed it, yesterday Matt Mervis made his long-awaited ML…
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Shakespeare and baseball
Most people wouldn’t think to compare the spark professional sports teams seek with Shakespearean love, but I love the analogy. It burns brightly at first but is extinguished equally as quickly. Think Romeo and Juliet. Every sports team is looking for that Willis Reed moment when his mere appearance on the court saved the Knicks.…
I'd rather be sitting in a ballpark. 