Category Archives: Baseball

STEROIDS AND THE PLAYERS UNION.

STEROIDS AND THE PLAYERS UNION. I said a year ago about the baseball players union in this post that: “The union has harmed the majority of their players by fighting to prevent drug testing, not only because the players were … Continue reading

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THE COMMITTEE SPEAKS: WE’VE BEEN IN A RECESSION ALL YEAR.

THE COMMITTEE SPEAKS: WE’VE BEEN IN A RECESSION ALL YEAR. I posted in August about the fact that a committee decides whether the United States is in a recession and what the beginning and ending dates of the recession are—just … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Economics, Sports | 4 Comments

MONEYBALL AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS.

MONEYBALL AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. What does MONEYBALL have to do with the financial crisis? The connection is that Michael Lewis, the author of MONEYBALL (which describes how sabermatricians brought statistical analysis to baseball) has written a long, amusing, and … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Economics, Shakespeare, Sports | 3 Comments

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT (COMMENT).

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT (COMMENT). Molly in a comment refers to the FiveThirtyEight website which is bringing in the insights from sabermetrics to political statistics. Nate Silver, who is one of the two authors of the site, is a major figure in Baseball … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Politics, Sports | 1 Comment

THE EXCITING GAME WITHOUT ANY RULES.

THE EXCITING GAME WITHOUT ANY RULES. Baseball nearly had a disaster last night. Mark Harris wrote a baseball novel in which the players passed the time in hotel lobbies playing TEGWAR (“The Exciting Game Without Any Rules”). The joke was … Continue reading

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ARE TWINS BETTER IN SOME SPORTS THAN IN OTHERS?

ARE TWINS BETTER IN SOME SPORTS THAN IN OTHERS? The NBA season is starting and the Lopez twins are joining the Collins twins, also identical twins, as NBA players. One of my correspondents suggested to me that twins seem to … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports | 1 Comment

SCOTT FITZGERALD, CRITIC.

SCOTT FITZGERALD, CRITIC. I have been reading Bryant Mangum’s edition of THE BEST EARLY STORIES OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD. Fitzgerald had remarkable range very early. It’s startling to find such wisdom in a young man who went on to lead … Continue reading

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BENJAMIN BUTTON–THE IMPOSSIBLE PLOT.

BENJAMIN BUTTON—THE IMPOSSIBLE PLOT. Scott Fitzgerald’s story, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, has been announced as a Christmas movie with Brad Pitt starring as the man who is born as a 70 year old man and lives his life … Continue reading

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BREW ANOTHER POT OF COFFEE.

BREW ANOTHER POT OF COFFEE. One of the advantages of watching a baseball game is that you don’t have to pay attention at every moment. There are 162 games in a season, and most fans select what they watch. There … Continue reading

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“DO YOU WANT TO GO BOWLING?”

“DO YOU WANT TO GO BOWLING?” An indicator of medical progress is this upbeat story about how catcher Koyie Hill has come back to the majors after a home workshop accident in which the thumb and three of the fingers … Continue reading

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