Starting pitcher may be the toughest position to make sense of when it comes to the BBWAA's baseball Hall of Fame standards. Are the writers overvaluing pre-World War II pitchers? What does it all mean for Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Jack Morris? More»

Our look at the BBWAA's Hall of Fame standards moves to right field, where the gap between the various Veteran's Committees and the writers may be the most pronounced of any position. What does that say about the Hall chances of Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa? More»

We continue our series looking at the BBWAA's Hall of Fame standards with third base, a position that has very high standards and has had the Veterans Committee go all over the map. When judged against third basemen, how does Edgar Martinez compare? More»

Jason Lezak is retiring. And, for those who may not be familiar with the name, allow us to remind you: When Michael Phelps was going for his eight gold medals in Beijing, Lezak was the swimmer anchoring his 4X100 freestyle relay. The rest you have to see (again and again) to believe. More»

The position-by-position look at the BBWAA's Hall of Fame standards continues with shortstop, where clouded gut memories of Alan Trammell have obscured the fact that his career numbers compare favorably to shortstops voted into Cooperstown. More»

As we continue to examine the BBWAA's Hall of Fame standards -- as opposed to those of the various Veterans Committees -- we look at second base, where the writers have set an almost ridiculously high bar. How Craig Biggio compares might surprise you. More»

If you're watching the NFL playoffs, you've seen many of the same ads over and over again. Herewith, some surprisingly and perhaps alarmingly in-depth thoughts about the Aaron Rodgers State Farm spot, the Bud Light 'Visitor,' and bumping phones. More»

We're looking at the the players voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA, position by position, to figure out what the Baseball Writers' standard has been through the years. Today, we look at the BBWAA's chosen first basemen and how this year's candidates stack up. More»

I've written before that I wished the Hall of Fame had an "inner circle," to separate the Willie Mayses and Babe Ruths from the Jesse Haines and High Pockets Kellys. Then I realized: It's already true. There are two Halls: the BBWAA's, and the other one. More»

If you take a quick spin around the Internet today, you can read a bit about an amazing man and writer named Richard Ben Cramer, who died Monday. I knew Richard, and I will remember his kindness for the rest of my life. But right now I want to talk about his writing. More»

What can we learn from the percentage of Hall of Fame votes that eligible players have gotten over the years? And what if anything can those numbers, and the journeys of players like Ralph Kiner, tell us about Hall voters and the chances of players on the current ballot? More»

From now until Wednesday at 2 p.m., I'm going to write lots and lots of Hall of Fame things. I've got a whole bunch of smaller Hall of Fame thoughts, observations, questions, suggestions... beginning with Topps Numbering System. More»

Pitchers are hitters, at least in the NL, and their strikeouts count like any other. But it did get me to do a little research on great pitchers and how many of their strikeouts were of pitchers. Does it affect the Hall cases of Curt Schilling and Jack Morris? More»

There are only two options for Baseball Hall of Fame voters right now: Yes and No. If this was a one-time election, that would make sense, but it's not. There needs to be a way to give players like Rafael Palmeiro more time to be considered. More»

In 1976 I started to collect baseball cards in earnest. My mother didn't know anything about baseball, but she knew plenty about hobbies. She helped me with my collection until all I needed to complete my set was one perfect Boog Powell card. More»

I have all the Baseball America Prospect Handbooks going back to 2003. So I picked a year at random, 2006, and decided to look at the top prospects for each team, who in retrospect was the team's best prospect, and what eventually happened. More»

In my new office, I reserved a top shelf for really excellent sports books. I figure this shelf can be a living museum of terrific sports books that I thoroughly enjoyed. Since people are always asking me to recommend great sports books … here you go. More»

Jack Morris was a very good pitcher who doesn't quite reach my Hall of Fame standard. I think he will get elected and inducted into the Hall of Fame this year anyway, and that's fine -- the Hall is full of quirks. But here's why, to me, he falls just short. More»

Player 1 hit .303/.344/.451 over his career. Player 2 hit .294/.329/.446. Player 1 was clearly better, but no one argues that he should be in the Hall of Fame, while many argue for Player 2. Why does he stand out more in their memories? More»

This weekend, like Americans from one end of the country to the other, I sat in front of the television and watched the unimaginable scene in Newtown, Conn. I spent the weekend looking for that same thing I needed to find in Tucson, Ariz. almost two years ago. More»

I've been lucky enough to be around the next American Ryder Cup captain, Tom Watson, a whole lot in my life. But I can't say that I really know Watson. All I really know for sure is he wants to win more than anyone I've ever been around. More»

A friend of mine is a Yankees fan, and he told me Wednesday morning that he's finished. Done. Through. Why? Because the Yankees signed Kevin Youkilis, the most hated of all Red Sox players in Boston's recent run of success. More»

This year, Dale Murphy will become the 35th player to age off the Hall of Fame ballot after 15 years, joining an excellent collection of players -- some who were voted in by the Veterans Committee, and some who voters determined had something missing. More»

There can be a large gap between the experience of watching a sport live and watching it on TV -- let's call it the "Exhilaration Gap." Here, then, are the Top 10 sports by Exhilaration Gap, including highly sophisticated EG score calculations. More»

After my daughters watched 'Who's on First?' I explained to them again that I was going to the winter meetings where players might be traded. So, they asked me to write a blog post about what would happen if someone traded for Who and What and other players. More»

Wow, do we love to argue in sports -- all the time, on every subject. An instant sports controversy bubbled up over Gregg Popovich sitting his stars, and I wondered: Is there a way in today's culture to just say "I can see both sides there? More»

There will plenty to say about this year's Baseball Hall of Fame. Predictions. Laments. Debates. Challenges. But before getting into specifics, we should try to simplify the PED discussion. It always seems to come down to one of three arguments. More»

Late in the game between USC and Notre Dame on Saturday, the Trojans were in position to score trailing by nine. What followed was an astonishing display of Lane Kiffin's ineptitude. Even if you didn't care who won, you were yelling at the TV. More»

Urban Meyer has been successful at Bowling Green and Utah and won two national championships at Florida. But while his 2012 debut with Ohio State may not be his most widely celebrated, it may just be his version of 'Exile on Main St.' More»

Royals fans have been through a lot in the last 25 years. Now the team has a core of talented young hitters, good strong arms in the bullpen... and their starting pitching is a nightmare. Jeremy Guthrie and Ervin Santana are, to put it mildly, not the answer. More»

When I worked for The Kansas City Star, I would write an annual Thanksgiving column, and I was always surprised by the reaction it would get. I've thought a lot about this since we moved to Charlotte, and it's time to revisit it. More»

How would you like to be Ken Griffey Jr. and be the second-best left-handed hitter born on Nov. 21 in Donora, Pa.? In honor of their birthdays, I'm reprinting the Stan Musial blog post I wrote a few years ago … with a couple of updates and an added interlude. More»

How about a little thought experiment? The Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout MVP balloting exposed a deep divide in how people look at awards. I went back to 1995 and picked each year's league MVP and HOW -- Hero of WAR, the player with the highest Wins Over Replacement. Which do you as a baseball fan like better? More»

If there's one thing about pro sports today that drives me nuts it's this: Few people try new things. I mean try REALLY new things. Crazy things. If I owned a terrible NFL team, I would get Tim Tebow and invent a whole new pro offense around him. More»

We all know that the BCS college football system is incredibly stupid and illogical. We'll all be happy to see it go. But can we at least acknowledge what we might be losing? Because Saturday night was amazing, heartbreaking and awe-inspiring More»

I had this great podcast with my good friend, 'Parks and Recreation' Executive Producer Michael Schur. But because one wire was not plugged all the way in, his voice did not record. It was my favorite ever podcast, so I'm going to write about it instead. More»

Many people thought the AL MVP award voting between Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout would be close. It wasn't. Here's why -- and why each of the four main arguments BBWAA writers made to justify their votes for Cabrera were, well, wrong. More»

When I was a kid, managers were managers. Period. But when the Colorado Rockies hired Walt Weiss to be their manager, something in my mind kind of clicked when that happened. Like other recent hires, I saw his whole career as a player. More»

Which team would be better, a team with the best right-handed hitters in baseball history or a team with the best left-handed hitters in baseball history? And, really, what better time to do an election between right and left than right now? More»

The clip of Chuck Pagano's speech to the Colts is one minute, forty seconds and it is everything that matters in sports. 'I’ve got circumstances,' he said. 'You guys understand it. I understand it. It’s hard to beat.' This is when the cheering in the locker room started. More»

So many people have through the years judged defense aesthetically, like art. We let our eyes tell us. The trouble is, the eyes fall hard for optical illusions. One stat that can help is runs saved, and it's one reason the Fielding Bible Awards can differ from the Gold Gloves. More»

It used to be that you wanted to build the best team. Now, though, you want to build the best October team. I tend to agree with Billy Beane that the postseason is pretty much like life in a casino. But this is the game now, ladies and gentlemen. You will want to start counting cards. More»

I've poked fun at this concept of 'intangibles' for a long time. How can you measure intangibles? It's like weighing fairy dust or counting unicorn hairs. But, I have to say: Lately, I've been reconsidering. I find myself missing the Jimmy The Greek 'intangible' check box. More»

Alex Rodriguez is not as awesome now. He's older, his bat's slower, his body's more beaten up and his mental health probably isn't great now. Everyone just nods when Joe Girardi benches him, but seriously: Who's going to stand up for A-Rod? More»

Of the many stories to come out of Game 1 of the ALCS, Derek Jeter garnered the most talk. And the talk was a eulogy. I tried to imagine how a Yankees team would look without their captain, but it's been so long that I can't remember. More»

There really isn't any conventional way to describe the Cardinals' 9-7 victory Friday night or the absurdity of their now two-year fate train or the agony in Washington after losing a six-run lead … it's all so outsized and cartoonish and staggering. More»

A lot of people believe the walk is simply about standing around. But this patently isn't true. Which brings us to the Cardinals' amazing four-run comeback in the ninth inning against Washington on Friday ... More»

The Yankees and A-Rod could spend the last few years in an extended version of this playoffs, with every step of his decline being documented by slights and pinch-hitting affronts and small humiliations. Or everyone could just admit that A-Rod will probably never again be more than pretty good. More»

There are a number pitchers who, on any given day, show up with great stuff and great location and can dominate hitters. But with Justin Verlander, it's something different, it's something almost preordained. It's superhuman. More»

Many people have asked for my take on the scene last Sunday, when fans at Arrowhead Stadium cheered quarterback Matt Cassel's concussion, and when offensive lineman Eric Winston offered a passionate rebuke for those people. I haven't offered my take for a couple of reasons. More»

There was a time when Davey “Dum Dum” Johnson would try to dazzle everyone with his mathematical knowledge and baseball intelligence. That time is long gone. "My job is just not to screw 'em up," says the Washington Nationals’ manager. More»

It's tempting to say the Orioles are done now. And maybe they are done. How could THIS TEAM possibly beat the Yankees three out of four? But you can't expect logic to suddenly dictate the O's path -- not now, not at the end of this crazy season. More»

This couldn't be how baseball envisioned the first set of wild card playoff games, with one terrible call in the NL matchup, and a stadium full of boos for a player undeserving of boos in the AL matchup. Yes, Friday night was … something. More»

No Yankees team has collapsed down the stretch of pennant race. None. This year's team came close to being the first, but they didn't fail. I underestimated their power and I underestimated their glory. After all these years, I should have known better. More»

Lauding Mike Trout for his extraordinary year with the Angels shouldn't take away from Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown. Both had historically amazing seasons, but both can't win the MVP award. And numbers show one is clearly more worthy. More»

Miguel Cabrera is a virtual lock to win the MVP if he wins the Triple Crown, and he probably will win the MVP even if he doesn’t win the Triple Crown. But the question is not 'will he' but 'should he.' Should he be selected as MVP over Mike Trout? More»

Now, I've always said to my daughters that the only things that matter to me about playing sports is that they play fair and have fun. And I mean that. But there are certain times when it gets, you know, kinda tricky. More»