When Mike Piazza announced his retirement from baseball on Tuesday, there were no tears shed on camera. There were no reporters or exploding flash bulbs. There was no backdrop featuring a Mets logo, nor a general manager offering a heartfelt introduction.
Covering the White House is a thrill for a political junkie like me, but nothing prepared me for the euphoria of reporting on Pope Benedict XVI's Mass at Nationals Park for about 46,000 worshippers here on Thursday.
Also in this column: • Glavine won't be last to 300 • Work ethic gives A-Rod shot • Oakland's promise to Piazza • More news and notes
There are many significant fantasy performers rumored to be moving in major deals, and with the trade deadline on July 31, expect some major movement in the next couple of weeks. The Rangers, A's, White Sox, Reds and Royals are all confirmed sellers. (Half the Texas roster can be had in a deal.) After a trade, you will see a lot of postmortem analysis of whether a move was good or bad for a particular player. By that time, however, it may be too late to pick him up off waivers if it's a good move. Conversely, it may be too late to unload him in a deal if the move is damaging.
For the first time in the 11 years since interleague play began, the New York Mets head into the first of two annual Subway Series meetings as clearly the better team. Both teams are old -- the average age for the Mets is 31.3 to the Yankees 30.2, but the Mets have pitched better, fielded better and shown more life and cohesiveness than their counterparts in the Bronx, who bring a losing record into the series for the first time.
When injuries and ineffectiveness disintegrated their starting rotation, the Yankees implemented the mother of all Plan B's by allowing Roger Clemens to resume his summer job as major-league ace.
Isn't it great when the biggest news of the week was the signing of minor league free agent contract to a last-place team? The Yankees and Roger Clemens stole the baseball spotlight but others have been quietly been making news and for at least another month likely will have a bigger impact on the major leagues than The Rocket. Here are this week's relative unknowns and whether or not you should know them for your fantasy team.
Does it occur to you, too, that baseball has an '80s fixation? That the coverage of the sport seems skewed toward guys who were playing when cool guys wore Members Only jackets and grooved to A Flock of Seagulls on their Walkman?
When Mike Piazza announced his retirement from baseball on Tuesday, there were no tears shed on camera. There were no reporters or exploding flash bulbs. There was no backdrop featuring a Mets logo, nor a general manager offering a heartfelt introduction.
Covering the White House is a thrill for a political junkie like me, but nothing prepared me for the euphoria of reporting on Pope Benedict XVI's Mass at Nationals Park for about 46,000 worshippers here on Thursday.
Also in this column: • Glavine won't be last to 300 • Work ethic gives A-Rod shot • Oakland's promise to Piazza • More news and notes
There are many significant fantasy performers rumored to be moving in major deals, and with the trade deadline on July 31, expect some major movement in the next couple of weeks. The Rangers, A's, White Sox, Reds and Royals are all confirmed sellers. (Half the Texas roster can be had in a deal.) After a trade, you will see a lot of postmortem analysis of whether a move was good or bad for a particular player. By that time, however, it may be too late to pick him up off waivers if it's a good move. Conversely, it may be too late to unload him in a deal if the move is damaging.
For the first time in the 11 years since interleague play began, the New York Mets head into the first of two annual Subway Series meetings as clearly the better team. Both teams are old -- the average age for the Mets is 31.3 to the Yankees 30.2, but the Mets have pitched better, fielded better and shown more life and cohesiveness than their counterparts in the Bronx, who bring a losing record into the series for the first time.
When injuries and ineffectiveness disintegrated their starting rotation, the Yankees implemented the mother of all Plan B's by allowing Roger Clemens to resume his summer job as major-league ace.
Isn't it great when the biggest news of the week was the signing of minor league free agent contract to a last-place team? The Yankees and Roger Clemens stole the baseball spotlight but others have been quietly been making news and for at least another month likely will have a bigger impact on the major leagues than The Rocket. Here are this week's relative unknowns and whether or not you should know them for your fantasy team.
Does it occur to you, too, that baseball has an '80s fixation? That the coverage of the sport seems skewed toward guys who were playing when cool guys wore Members Only jackets and grooved to A Flock of Seagulls on their Walkman?
With its diligence and reverence for record keeping, baseball is often held up as an exact science. Ted Williams chose to play on the last day of the 1941 season because .39955 -- his batting average that morning -- was not actually .400. The discovery in 1977 of an overlooked RBI for Hack Wilson in his record 1930 season was akin to scientists finding a new element, and thus made sacred the number 191.
When it comes to the Athletics, success like winning the 2006 AL West title is more as a result of stellar starting pitching than impressive offensive numbers. Led by the new Big Three of Rich Harden, Dan Haren and Joe Blanton, Oakland's pitching adds a lot to your fantasy rotation. The hitting is, pardon the pun, more hit and miss.
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