I’m working my way through Jane Leavy’s memoir/biography of slugger Mickey Mantle, tilted “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the end of America’s childhood.” I enjoyed her book on pitcher Sandy Koufax, so I thought I would give this a try, although Koufax as a person is much more to my liking than Mantle ever... Continue Reading »

It used to be that when a starting pitcher really began to struggle the options looked like this: move him to the bullpen, skip a start, find a reason to use the injured list or send the pitcher down to the minor leagues. Or, in the current postmodern version of our game, there’s always the... Continue Reading »

Bailey Ober made one mistake on Monday, but he settled down from there to give the Twins seven strong innings, the offense backed him with efficient hitting and the bullpen was perfect to take Game 1 against the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the best teams in baseball. The mistake was serving up an early two-run... Continue Reading »

The Twins came close to beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of their three-game series. On Wednesday, they made sure of it. Minnesota pounded out 14 hits, including seven doubles, and ran away from the Snakes for an easy 8-3 win. Carlos Correa, Carlos Santana and Jose Miranda had nine of the team’s 14... Continue Reading »

How many major league players have parlayed a .244 batting average with limited power into a career that stands at 11 seasons and counting? Not many, I suspect, but that is precisely what Texas Rangers outfielder Robbie Grossman has accomplished, perhaps prompting many to lift their caps, scratch their heads and ask: What’s so special... Continue Reading »