By Thom Henninger If you were asked whose ongoing free-agent status was a surprise this late in the offseason, Orlando Hudson or Johnny Damon may come to mind first. Or maybe lefty Erik Bedard, though all three of these free agents will require draft compensation when they are signed and Bedard is coming off another [...]
From the monthly archives:
January 2010
By James Bailey Now that the Mariners have locked up young ace Felix Hernandez for the next five years we can speculate where he might rank in franchise history by the time his $78 million contract expires after the 2014 season. The club has seen its share of pitchers come and go over its 33-year [...]
By Thom Henninger The opening of spring camps is just a month away and most of the top talent is picked over, but a number of productive major leaguers are still searching for jobs.
To All My Fans … from Norm Who?, by Norm Miller Double Play Productions, 2009 By James Bailey Baseball readers first met Norm Miller when Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four” shook up both the game and the literary scene in 1970. Miller was something of a cutup–and slightly disgruntled by a lack of playing time–which made [...]
By James Bailey Paul Richards bridged a baseball generation gap, working for managers like Wilbert Robinson and Connie Mack as a young player and passing the torch to current skipper Tony La Russa in his twilight years. His resume included stints as player, manager, general manager, scout and special assistant. He helped several Hall of [...]
By Thom Henninger Featuring arguably the best curveball of his era, and an equally refined wit as one of the game’s best pranksters, Bert Blyleven belongs in the Hall of Fame. He inched within five votes of the Hall this week, a sign that he may finally get the call a year from now, in [...]
By James Bailey Why is Jay Mariotti allowed a say in who gets in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Mariotti, the annoying loudmouth who writes for MLB Fanhouse, proclaimed Tuesday on ESPN’s Around the Horn that he wouldn’t vote for any of this year’s first-ballot players, and he’s also reluctant to vote for players who [...]
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By Thom Henninger Games are played on grass and not on paper, but the numbers suggest Cliff Lee will find Seattle to his liking.
