Paul Sorrento and the Fortune Teller - My latest for The Hardball Times

My latest article for The Hardball Times speculates what would have happened if Paul Sorrento, former Twins first baseman, visited a fortune teller before the start of the 1991 season.

How could ANYONE have a question after that?
I am sure you ALL thought "I wonder what would have happened if former Twins first baseman Paul Sorrento had visited a fortune teller before the start of the 1991 season."

Well this is MY take on that time honored scenario.

Read the whole article HERE.

Vizquel’s unlikely quest for 3,000 hits - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at Omar Vizquel and how he is closing in on the magic number of 3,000 hits.

He is lacking a 200 hit season, but you would be surprised to see which other members of the 3,000 hit club also never got 200.

Read the whole article BY CLICKING HERE.

The franchise moves that almost happened - My latest for The Hardball Times

Can you imagine the Senators moving not to Minnesota but to Los Angeles?
What about the Milwaukee White Sox?
Or the Tampa Bay Giants?
Or the North Carolina Twins?
Or the A's playing in just about any American city save for Walla Walla Washington?

Well they almost happened, and I wrote about them in my latest for The Hardball Times.

These are the franchise moves that ALMOST happened. And some were real close to being finalized. The Padres move from San Diego to Washington looked like such a done deal in the mid 1970s that Topps actually printed cards with the Padres players but the team name was "Washington National League."

You want to read more of these strange "What if?" scenarios?

Check out the article HERE.

Draft day parallel universes - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I got to combine three of my passions...

Baseball
"What if?" alternate scenarios
And lame 1980s sci fi concepts like alternate universes.

If teams made slightly different choices on draft day, how would baseball history had turned out?

Would Reggie Jackson rule New York... as a Met?
Would Roger Clemens help make the strangest 1-2-3 starting pitcher combination in baseball history for the Twins?
Would Alex Rodriguez become a Dodger legend?

I spin a few alternate realities... and trust me, every single detail has been well thought out. So hard core Sci Fi fans can relax. Nobody understands the space/time continuum better than me!

To read the article CLICK HERE.

The young owner who may have saved the Phillies - My latest for The Hardball Times

I often wondered why the historically superior Athletics left the city of Philadelphia to the hapless Phillies. Why did the team that gave us Jimmie Foxx and Rube Waddell and Connie Mack leave while the dreadful Phils stuck around.

My research on that question lead me to my latest for The Hardball Times. I stumbled across the beginning of the Phillies rise. For one strange season a young man named William D. Cox owned the Phillies. By the end of the year he was suspended for life, but set in motion the chain of events that kept the Phillies in town.

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

The MLB Trade Deadline TV Spectacular - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest article for The Hardball Times, I continue my reimagining of the baseball reason. To go along with my suggestion to START the season with the All Star Game, now I say the trading deadline should be presented as a big spectacular on TV.

Baseball can't pull off the TV draft or lottery... but the trading deadline could be compelling TV. If only someone would listen to me.

Read the whole article HERE.

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 saying "Remember when the Rangers were going to TRADE Young?"

You can read the article HERE.

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 played along side Hall of Famers, Cy Young winners, MVPs and for some of the greatest managers of all time... all the while bouncing from team to team between 1978 and 2002.

It was a wonderfully nutty career worth celebrating.

And I do so on The Hardball Times.

Read the article HERE.

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 mean for their legacy.

You can read the article HERE.

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 HERE.

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 a fluke? Or are Leyland, Scioscia and Guillen putting together Cooperstown resumes?

You can read the article here.

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 crazy folks” to “I don’t believe what I just saw.”

Read the article HERE.

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 to reach a few milestones to pad an already glamorous resume.

Read the article here.