The Show can’t go on

In its tone-deafness to this emergent moment in history, Major League Baseball has not only signaled its foolhardy and quixiotic intent to complete this season, it is also forfeiting its remaining sociocultural cache.

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Wait ’til next year: Why I can’t watch baseball in 2020

With the world in the midst of numerous crises, I can’t do this.

Let’s call it what it is: Lockout

With the acrimony between Major League Baseball ownership and the Players Association reaching hull-crushing depths, and hopes for a 2020 season being eroded more and more by the leaked memo or letter, it’s time to stop seeing this as anything other than what it is: an owner-induced labor stoppage. A lockout.

Ryan Braun: Tragic Hero, Cult Icon

If there is baseball to be played in 2020, it will likely be the last for elder Milwaukee Brewers statesman Ryan Braun. With several career milestones in reach—and slipping away due to extenuating circumstances—Braun’s closing chapter could redefine his legacy.

Spring Commencement: Stearns, Yelich and the Brewers

David Stearns spent the first four and a half years cleaning up an organization in disarray. Now, with a franchise cornerstone in Christian Yelich reportedly locked up for the long-term, Stearns can build both a championship-grade club and his own legacy.

Parchment is nothing more than fancy paper

I spent over six hours viewing, reviewing and re-reviewing Rob Manfred’s interview with ESPN’s Karl Ravech. He’s not just bad for baseball; he’s bad for business. Thoughts on Manfred, baseball and stewardship, all unrelated.

Hot Stove Book Club: Are We Winning?

Wherein the reader recognizes more of himself in a writer and Cardinals fan than he might care to admit.

What’s old is new again: Revisiting 1981 in the wake of trading Mookie

Tuesday night’s Mookie Betts trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers left the block decidedly busted. But this wasn’t the first time the Boston Red Sox shipped out a star over supposed fiscal concerns. In fact, none of this is new for Boston; this might be the rule rather than the exception.

Elegy for Jeremy Jeffress, Milwaukee Brewer

Some players just mean more to you than others. Jeremy Jeffress was that kind of player.

More than thin air: Ellis Burks and lazy typecasting

OG Colorado Rockies fans certainly remember Ellis Burks, an integral part of the Blake Street Bombers. Casual baseball fans think of Burks as a thin air wonder, like Larry Walker. Also like Walker, such an approach doesn’t do him justice.