BY J.A.SCHWARTZ The Tampa Bay Rays are the defending American League champions, and they pushed the Dodgers to six games in the World Series before being defeated. Despite their achievements in 2020, the Rays enter the 2021 season no better than the fourth choice to represent the AL in this …
Read More »Thriving Dodgers-Padres rivalry shaping up as best in baseball
BY J.A.SCHWARTZ Only in the feverish cogitations of San Diego Padres General Manager AJ Preller could a plan to transform his nondescript baseball team into a legitimate threat to win a championship in 2021 be imagined. To contemplate the plan is but the first step in the process. Preller has …
Read More »Warriors old nemesis Harden now reviled in Houston also
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ By any measure, James Harden has had a Hall of Fame career. He’s easily the best player the Rockets have employed this century, and the second best player in franchise history, behind only the iconic Hakeem Olajuwon. In the context of his place in NBA history, Harden …
Read More »MLB’s Hall of Fame selectors need to adapt to Changing Times
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is responsible for the election process that admits or denies retired players access to the Hall of Fame. The process is very straightforward. Once a player elects to retire, a period of five years must pass before that player can …
Read More »Bonds, Clemens approaching final shot at Hall of Fame election
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ From the moment a young man makes it his aspiration to become a professional baseball player, he dreams of two things: 1) Win the World Series, and 2) Earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. The vast majority of kids who are fortunate enough to make it …
Read More »Marlins break new ground with hiring of first female GM
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The New York Yankees are arguably the most storied franchise in all of sports. They have won 27 World Series championships, more than twice as many as any of their competitors. They have been led, at various points in their storied history, by some of the most …
Read More »NL playoffs shaping up as a race to topple the Dodgers
BY J.A SCHWARTZ The National League playoffs will kick off tomorrow and will do so without the reigning World Series Champion Washington Nationals, who will not have the opportunity to defend their title. Baseball has not seen a repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankee dynasty won three straight. …
Read More »AL playoffs to kick off with an extra round starting Tuesday
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The 2020 baseball season has arrived at a destination that many felt would never be reached: the successful end of the regular season. Due to the legitimate concerns of staging baseball games amid a pandemic, many skeptics predicted that it was no better than a coin flip …
Read More »Athletes rising to meet the challenges of historic opportunities
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ Slavery existed in the United States since before its formal inception in 1776. Despite the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 that legally ended the practice of indentured servitude, systemic racism has festered in the genetic material of this nation, passed on from generation to generation. …
Read More »Neutral court advantage could create surprises in NBA bubble
BY J.A. SCHWARTZ A wise collection of gentlemen once upbraided me about my powers of prognostication, suggesting, “Your crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear.” Be that as it may, and based on the most recent efforts made in that regard (my prediction of the Padres beating the Twins in the …
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