Perfect game

Mark Buehrle of the White Sox blanked the Rays today, 5 to 0, with nary a Tampa runner reaching first base, and the ovation is still going on after a half hour or so. Dewayne Wise made a phenomenal catch to save it in the ninth, robbing Gabe Kapler of a home run. That's Buehrle's second no-hitter.

All of which reminds me that I have still never seen a no-hitter. My next game will be on Saturday...

Bring them back

With the NY Times reporting that shorts are now acceptable in the workplace (as I can happily attest) I think it's time for baseball to revisit 1976:


Bring back the shorts! They must be a hell of a lot more comfortable in mid July, for a start. To you, the average baseball fan, the 1976 White Sox are probably an embarrassment. To me, they are heroes.

Bring. Them. Back.

Eliot Asinof, RIP

Eliot Asinof, one time minor leaguer in the Phillies organization, and author of many books, including the classic Eight Men Out, died yesterday, aged 88. A badge of honor not often associated with his achievements is that he was among many writers blacklisted in the 1950s. In his case, this was after he signed a petition outside Yankee Stadium imploring the Yankees to hire black ballplayers.

Black ballplayers are mentioned ever so briefly in the movie of Eight Men Out, written by Asinof and John Sayles. "Best team I ever saw," says the man cleaning the seats after the game, "best team of white folks, that is." It's a subtle acknowledgment that the 1919 Black Sox scandal did not rock the entire baseball world. As ever, Asinof said a lot with very little effort. He will be greatly missed.