Follow me to Newsvine...

With regret, I must announce that I will no longer be posting to this blog.  Over the brief time I've started this it's been fun, but it's also become quite clear that I cannot put in the necessary time to develop and maintain a blog of the quality level I want.  There are a lot of (to put it mildly) half-ass blogs out there, with writers who post only when they feel the desire, who don't do their research, and who fail to take the time to write well.  I don't want to be one of them.

Luckily, I'm not leaving the net.  I'm hoping that you'll follow me to Newsvine, where I've maintained a page for several months.  Newsvine is a general interest news discussion site that combines the best of social networking with some excellent writing - including sportswriting.  I'll be writing a column there bi-weekly on a wide range of topics, including baseball.  The link to my column is:

thebeanfield.newsvine.com

The link for a general introduction to Newsvine is here.  There's even a group for Battlestar Galactica fans.

It's been been fun to run two pages, but I simply don't have the time.  Thanks to those of you who have let me know you enjoyed the pieces -- especially those of you from the Sultan of Swat Classic and the Royals fans who checked out my page during my one "wide world" exposure.  Hope to see you at Newsvine!

Changing of the guard

Neat article in today's New York Times about new Yankees manager Joe Girardi's preparations for opening day. The game was rained out, so the article, and the material it covers, was perhaps a bit anti-climactic.  The game's been pushed back to 7:05 tonight, with Chien-Ming Wang and Roy Halladay still expected to make the starts.

Riddle me this...

I have to admit a great deal of confusion when reading this article, which for some reason the New York Times has decided to resurrect to celebrate the opening of the 2008 season.  Theoretically, Russell Baker was making some sort of self-mocking comment apologizing for writing yet another metaphor and cliche-laden homage to the start of the baseball season.  Still, as the dandelions sprout over the freshly mowed grass of our nation's field of dreams, it is nice to step back from yet another debate over Clinton - Obama - Wright...

Baseball in the Coliseum

The flip side of my strange tendency to get up early in the morning is that I tend to fall asleep pretty early -- even on a weekend night.  Nevertheless, I'm going to try and keep it together long enough to catch at least some of the exhibition game between the Dodgers and the Red Sox at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which for those of us on the east coast won't be starting until about 10 PM.  Granted the left field won't be as short as it was when Wally Moon was whacking his "moon shots" over the 40-foot screen -- though I think 200 feet is short enough.  I have mixed feelings about the situation surrounding this game -- specifically the appropriateness of having the Sox get back in spring training mode -- but it's not going to keep me from enjoying the spectacle.

Morning juice

"Canseco, in New Book, Says He Introduced Rodriguez to Steroids Supplier."  So reads the headline in today's New York Times.  It goes on to state...

Although Canseco said that he did not see Rodriguez “do the deed,” he said that he hooked Rodriguez up with Max and “did everything but inject the guy myself.” Canseco has acknowledged that he despises Rodriguez, and he said he did not include Rodriguez in his first book because he worried that people would question his motives.

Right.  So here we go again.  I find it fascinating to note Canseco has the chutzpah to title his new book "Vindicated."