ESPN Search

STRIKE ONE -- MONEY TALKS DEPT. As Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford, Troy Tulowitzki and (very soon) Cliff Lee could gladly attest, it's suddenly snowing dollar bills in this sport. One minute, everybody in baseball was crying poverty. The n...

Blog | Conversation | December 10, 2010

If you're one of those people out there in the baseball hinterlands, still in mourning that you're stuck watching a World Series without the Yankees or the Red Sox, or the Cubs or the Phillies, I'm warning you right now: This blog is not for you. ...

Blog | Conversation | October 29, 2010

We've got 2.5 weeks left in this baseball season, and it's crazy how much has yet to be decided. Some of it doesn't even meet the naked eye. Such as ... Strike One -- Sweep Dreams Dept. All the Rays did against the Yankees this week was win...

Blog | Conversation | September 16, 2010

I once had a memorable debate with my friend Lee Sinins, inventor of the amazing Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, over this seemingly non-controversial subject: Is a no-hitter actually a meaningful event? You think I'm kidding, right? Ohhhh, no. Thi...

Blog | Conversation | August 09, 2010

STRIKE ONE -- IT'S ALL CYCLICAL DEPT. The moment Bengie Molina pulled into third base Friday night, I started getting tweets. And e-mails. And texts. They went kind of like this: Greatest cycle in baseball history. Well, I don't know about that. B...

Blog | Conversation | July 19, 2010

Time to look back on an astounding baseball weekend, starting with You Know Who: STRIKE ONE -- TRIPLE DIGITALISM Stephen Strasburg gave us an almost unimaginable spectacle Sunday, but he was only responsible for half of it. He threw Travis Hafner...

Blog | Conversation | June 14, 2010

It never takes long to flip that calendar. We're only a few days into Baseball 2010. But already, the season has reminded us it isn't 2009 anymore. Let's count the ways ... • No double-figure strikeout games last year -- Mr. Dallas Braden, ...

Blog | Conversation | April 09, 2010

One of the great baseball books of modern times hits North America's book stores this week. Shockingly, it was written by a guy who was more interested in growing up to be Trevor Hoffman, not Peter Gammons. The book is called The Bullpen Gospels, pu...

Blog | Conversation | March 30, 2010

Strike One -- Take Your Pick Dept. Stephen Strasburg will head for the mound Tuesday in scenic Viera, Fla. Let's just say the rest of the baseball world will be watching. Unfortunately for Strasburg, there's no 1-800-HOT-LINE for the No. 1 pick in t...

Blog | Conversation | March 08, 2010

True fact: Twice as many Americans watched a hockey game Sunday as those who watched the last game of the 2009 ALCS, between two small-market teams known as the Yankees and Angels. Another true fact: Eight million more Americans watched that Olympic...

Blog | Conversation | March 02, 2010

Has there ever been a greater, more rewarding or more productive 10-year contract in baseball history than Derek Jeter's?

Blog | Conversation | February 27, 2010

Wondering what the most volatile position in baseball is nowadays? Hands down, it's the performance of middle relievers from year to year.

Story | Conversation | February 12, 2010

Since there's apparently some kind of football game this week to distract you from the really important business known as "Two Weeks to Pitchers and Catchers," let's super-size this edition of Three Strikes: Strike One -- No Baseball Allowed Dept. ...

Blog | Conversation | February 01, 2010

Strike One -- MLB vs. NFL Dept. In case you missed my blog last week "proving" that the baseball postseason was more dramatic than the NFL postseason -- and still was, even if you factor in Sunday's fabulous Saints-Vikings game -- you can either rev...

Blog | Conversation | January 25, 2010

DENVER -- Charlie Manuel may not be a big fan of leftovers, the Left Bank or the Left Coast. But the Phillies' manager is obviously a man who thinks left-handers are baseball's greatest invention since the fungo bat. Once the temperatures started si...

Blog | Conversation | October 10, 2009

When history is made in baseball, half the planet is there to chronicle it. But when history is unmade, well, apparently that's Three Strikes' niche. So on with this blog ... STRIKE ONE -- TAKE THE OVER DEPT. Little did Pedro Martinez know that ...

Blog | Conversation | October 01, 2009