Start the season with the All-Star Game - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times I tiptoe into the realm of changing baseball tradition. It's a dangerous thing to do, but hear me out. The All Star Game should START the season.Why?Well read the article by CLICKING HERE.

Mattingly and Dotel: Unbelievably bad bad luck - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take a look at Don Mattingly and Octavio Dotel's career. These two guys don't have a lot in common, except that their luck for participating in the World Series is staggeringly awful.To read the article, CLICK HERE.

Carlos Delgado and the missed chance to be a legend in New York - My Latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at the solid and dignified career of Carlos Delgado.But I also wonder what could have been. If the Mets won the 2006 NLCS, he would have been a post season immortal in New York, which means a special place in baseball history. Just ask career journeyman Don Larsen.You can read the article HERE.

The reawakening of Vernon Wells - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I speculate about Vernon Wells and the potentially joyful season he might be having for the Angels. My reasons are not based on stats but rather emotions, which means the commenters will probably hate my guts.Ahh well.You can read the whole article here.

Tom Henke was not a Hall of Famer… but he could have been - My Latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I wrote about the Toronto reliever known as The Terminator.Tom Henke was the top reliever in the National League in 1995 and then retired. If he stuck around and piled up some stats, we might be talking about him for the Hall of Fame.Read the whole article here.

The Rangers shouldn't trade Michael Young - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I talk about Michael Young. Yeah he seems mad and he should be. And sure it would appear to be the classy move for the Rangers to find him a new home.But they shouldn't. A spot in the infield will open up for him and there is no way Texas will get equal value. Everyone should just count to 10 and by the end of the season, everyone will be laughing and

Red State Strategy - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at the 2011 Cincinnati Reds' unique combination of talent, tradition and geography and wonder... could they create their own TV network and become a big market franchise?It's not as crazy an idea as you would think.Read the whole article HERE.

Degrees of Mike Morgan - My latest for The Hardball Times

Has there ever been a crazier career filled with more contradictions than the one Mike Morgan had? The answer is "no."What other player was a high school player brought up too soon... and a wily veteran playing longer than anyone could have thought?Who else looked like the poster child of unfulfilled talent... only to become an All Star, a millionaire many times over and a World Series champ?He

Managing to Cooperstown - My latest for The Hardball Times

A big league manager will win a World Series this year. But how will that title affect their Hall of Fame resume?For a few it would put them in the conversation. For others it would simply silence some critics. And still others would have a great first credit on their resume.In my latest for The Hardball Times, I look at each big league manager and consider what the 2011 World Championship would

One swing away from immortality - My latest for The Hardball Times

My latest article for The Hardball Times is more schadenfreude from your pal Sully. ach of these batters had the chance to clinch a post season series with one swing of the bat. And each of these teams would lose that post season series.I can't help but think that each of these players cringe when they think of the opportunity that came and went with each of these at bats.You can read the article

A Historic Fluke? My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take a look at a historic oddity regarding Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia and Ozzie Guillen.Each of them managed a World Series winner without a clear Hall of Famer on their playoff roster. And the only other teams to have won the World Series without a future Hall of Famer (the '81 and '88 Dodgers and the '84 Tigers) had Hall of Fame managers.So is this

Envisioning a bold new National League - My latest article for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I envision how competitive (and potentially profitable) the National League could be if the Cubs, Mets and Dodgers were all major contenders at the same time.Not that that is going to happen in 2011!You can read the article here.

Mid-1980s playoff baseball had no equal - My Latest For The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times I make the case that the 1980s had the greatest stretch of post season baseball ever.October baseball never was better than between 1985 and 1988 and year in and year out we not only had exciting games but also a few iconic moments that became legendary.The 1980s might have been a maligned decade for baseball, but the Octobers were sublime… from “Go

These guys have done the hard part for the Hall of Fame resume…now don’t get hurt: My Latest for the Hardball Times

Is it too early to be talking about Tim Lincecum, Dustin Pedroia or Adam Wainwright for the Hall of Fame? Of course it is. But they've all done the hard part of having great individual seasons and post season heroics already. If they can stay healthy and pile up some numbers, they should have quite a Hall of Fame argument.In my latest for The Hardball Times, I go through the players who just need

Tampa Bay—a place to move a team to, and from - My Latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take a look at the two different perceptions of Tampa Bay as a baseball location:An ideal untapped revenue producer that was destined to lure an existing franchise...And a misguided Major League location that just isn't going to work.There seems to be no middle ground on the Sun Coast.To read the article, click HERE.Tampa Bay fans fans can send hate

Instant replay for balls and strikes... my latest for The Hardball Times

Get ready for the hate mail from baseball purists. Not only am I in favor of Instant Replay in my latest for The Hardball Times but I say technology should be used to call balls and strikes more accurately.I just posted it and already the comments are piling up.Enjoy the article HERE.

The six identities of the post-1988 Dodgers - My latest for The Hardball Times

The Dodgers haven't won the National League Pennant since winning the 1988 World Series. And since then what was once the most stable organization in baseball keeps drastically changing their identity every few years... and 2011 will be the beginning of yet ANOTHER incarnation.I wrote about the six identity changes the Dodgers have gone through since the Kirk Gibson homer in The Hardball

TRADING THOSE UNTRADEABLE CONTRACTS - My latest for THE HARDBALL TIMES

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I take some more awful contracts and see if I can make a few garbage-for-garbage deals.Read the article HERE.

HARDBALL TIMES POST - The Major League Life of Cliff Dapper

My latest article for the Hardball Times chronicles the life of Cliff Dapper, the former Dodger catcher who was traded for Ernie Harwell.I had written about him before, but thanks to a reader's e mail, I see his life beyond baseball is worth a tribute.READ THE ARTICLE HERE.

Latest Post on THE HARDBALL TIMES - If Jamie Moyer had been average in his 20s

My latest article for The Hardball Times ponders the question "If Jamie Moyer had pitched better in his twenties, would he be a Hall of Fame candidate?"The debate over the value of wins in determining a pitcher's worth found an interesting case study with Felix Hernandez and the Cy Young Award this year.Imagine if Jamie Moyer was on the cusp of 300 wins?CLICK HERE to read the article.