Pete Rose, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Need for Consistent MLB Ethics Policies →

There is, however, another reason. Pete Rose as a player and manager was gruff, a little sleazy and linked to disreputable characters from the gambling world. The St. Louis Cardinals, on the other hand, are the best organization in baseball. We know this because the media reminds us of this all the time and because their manager wrote a book called "The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life." I have not read the book but am looking forward to the chapter on how to successfully lose in the post-season to teams that you had been expected to beat.

Justin Verlander's Season in Context

If Verlander’s season is an aberration and high win totals continue to recede into the past, then his season will still stand out as a great season. It is also possible that Verlander’s season, specifically with regards to his win totals, will end up looking more like Fielder’s 1990 which, at the time seemed like a great home run year for Fielder, but was more of a harbinger of what was coming and quickly forgotten in the fifteen or so year offensive explosion that followed.

Randy Johnson-The Absolutely Last 300 Game Winner, Until the Next One

To believe that nobody will ever win 300 games again is to believe not only that the game will be stagnant with no future changes that will effect pitching statistics, but that no pitcher comparable to Rickey Henderson will emerge-a pitcher so unusual that older precedents will no longer apply. Baseball, however, has always changed and evolved and has always produced sui generis stars with unique skills and abilities. This latter point should be obvious in any discussion about Randy Johnson. After all, nobody, as Mel Brooks might have said, anticipates six foot ten inch skinny lefties who are able to pitch into their mid-40s.

Lincoln Mitchell