In 1889, future Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, one of the premier players of early professional baseball, helped form the Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs in retaliation to discontent with how players in the National League and American Association were being paid. The league's eight teams were populated largely by defectors…
In baseball’s labor negotiations, one side is giving you what you want
When John Spano purchased the National Hockey League's New York Islanders in 1996, the franchise's future was hanging in the balance--the once-dynastic team was a decade and a half removed from its glory years, and with teams occupying the same metropolitan area, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, having won a Stanley Cup…
Bill James and the realm where sabermetrics falls short
Even among those who ostensibly support the Major League Baseball Players Association in the current owner-instituted Major League Baseball lockout, it can be difficult to facilitate real, honest-to-God empathy. I get it--while the union is not incorrect in stating that the majority of its membership are not extraordinarily wealthy multi-millionaires, the league's current minimum salary…
Tom Brady and the joy of arbitrary hate
You don't have to have a good reason to hate your favorite athletes. It's way more fun when you don't.
What would Adam Wainwright need to do in 2022 to deserve Hall of Fame induction?
Adam Wainwright is the greatest St. Louis Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson, and arguably the greatest St. Louis Cardinals pitcher in history other than Bob Gibson. The minute Adam Wainwright is eligible, he will easily cruise into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, with the only possible road block being if he gets caught…
Curt Flood, Ted Simmons, and the labor heroes of the St. Louis Cardinals
Curt Flood and Ted Simmons are among the greatest St. Louis Cardinals of all-time and were among the sport's leaders in player empowerment.
The pending Nolan Arenado conundrum
Nolan Arenado filled a major hole for the 2021 Cardinals, but a pair of third base prospects may give the team an abundance going forward
Let’s take a deep breath and build a Hall of Fame ballot
There are thirty candidates. Only ten can make the ballot. Let's fake-vote.
Constructing a dream 26-man roster for the last 26 years for every team in Major League Baseball
In which we dig up a years-old thought exercise, modernize it slightly, and do it thirty times
Take Ozzie Smith’s name out of your mouth when making a Omar Vizquel Hall of Fame case
It is impossible for me to conceive of a semi-credible argument for Omar Vizquel, who is presently on his fifth ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, without mentioning the name of Ozzie Smith. Smith, who was elected to Cooperstown on his first ballot, is the embodiment of a specific type of shortstop--one renowned…
St. Louis Bullpen 