A month ago I was sad to see the MLB Network cave in to the perceived need for perceived gravitas and give Bob Costas a feature spot on its debut broadcast. At the time, however, I was comforted by the fact that it seemed to be a one-off. Apparently it’s now a forever-off: Bob Costas, […]

Just before a critical vote on their taxpayer-funded playground, the Marlins are making promises: With final voting on the Florida Marlins’ long-sought ballpark less than two weeks away, club president David Samson says he expects near-capacity crowds nightly the first year in the team’s new home, with annual attendance above 2 million for at least […]

Needham despairs at the state of the Nats’ farm system: Last season, just about anything that could go wrong, did. Ross Detwiler, the top pitching prospect, threw batting practice at single-A. Chris Marrero, the top hitting prospect, didn’t excel, and his season ended halfway through thanks to a bone-shredding slide into home plate. Many other […]

This is so good it has to be phony, but via Sullivan, here is Edgar Allen Poe explaining why I decided to scratch the sports writing itch I’ve long had via blogging instead of going to journalism school and busting my hump on the beat for the past 20 years: ” . . . authors […]

It could be closer than you think: Citigroup Inc., eager to quell the controversy over how lenders are using government bailout money, is exploring the possibility of backing out of a nearly $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets, say people familiar with the matter. Officials at Citigroup have made no final decision […]

Further evidence that last week’s flurry of press releases from the Bonds prosecutors was more flash than substance: Jason Giambi told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he didn’t know whether Barry Bonds was taking banned substances and that he never gained any information about the home run king’s alleged drug regimen from his […]

Baseball is doing right by Lou Gehrig and everyone else with the disease that bears his name: On July 4, the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s immortal “luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech, Major League Baseball will help fight the disease that bears the name of its doomed hero. In 15 home […]

First he has a two-year, $40 million option, but he doesn’t want it picked up. Then he gets a two-year $45 million offer, and doesn’t answer the phone. Then he gets a one-year, $25 million offer, and rejects it: Manny Ramirez wasted no time rejecting the Dodgers’ latest offer, a one-year, $25-million proposal that was […]

Baseball Toaster — home to many a fine blog such as Cardboard Gods, Dodger Thoughts, and the Griddle — has ceased to be: If you’ve been paying attention lately, you’ve noticed that Baseball Toaster has had a bunch of its knobs and switches and dials and wires fall off in recent months. Today, with the […]

Bud Selig: “Very well, if that is the way the winds are blowing, let no one say I don’t also blow:“ Last year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays was interrupted by torrential rain and cold weather in Philadelphia. Would Selig consider shifting the World Series to a neutral warm-weather city […]