Pitching is such a vital part of the game, as far as winning is concerned.

On most teams the set up man has become more valuable, on others not so valuable.

Something to keep in mind — it’s raining lightly. The infield could be very wet on ground balls.

What is a drop and drive pitcher? He is a guy who drops and drives. Very simple.

So by guessing right you might have guessed wrong.

Giambi walks too much. He’s always clogging up the bases with all that walking.

As a new day begins in New York, the sun sets in Hawaii.

If football is a game of inches then baseball is a game of inch.

If that ball had more elevation, it would have been a home run.

If the double play is a pitcher’s best friend, what is a fielder’s choice? An acquaintance?

It’s better to have a fast runner on base than a slow one.

One thing about ground balls. They don’t go out of the ball park.

The reason we call that pitch up and in is because the arms are attached to the shoulder.

He wears his hat like a left hander!

Any ball that goes down is much heavier than any ball that stays on the same plane.

The blood on his sock looks exactly like Oklahoma!

You don't want to use too many statistics. The ones that apply to a July or August game won't be relevant on Saturday.

American McCarver

DFW & Fed

By Michael Sippey, June 8, 2011

As if slowly making my way through The Pale King wasn't enough, watching Federer this weekend was a reminder that David Foster Wallace is, indeed, dead.

Starting Friday morning I went into a mini-media blackout in order to have time to really enjoy my DVR'd French Open men's semis and final (not that avoiding news about professional tennis is all that hard). I love watching the men play on clay -- it slows the game down enough to have it appear to be played by actual people, instead of genetically improbable super humans. 

Friday's semi-final against Djokovic occasionally reminded me of Federer at his peak. He wasn't perfect, but there were flashes of perfection...points that simply took your breath away. At one point I tweeted DFW's description of Federer --  "kinetic beauty" -- with a link to his classic essay in the New York Times about Federer.

Because of DFW's obsession with Federer (set against his deep love of tennis) the two are inextricably linked in my mind: DFW's prose is to contemporary american literature as Federer's peak game is (or, more accurately, was) to men's tennis.

Which is what made Sunday's final so disappointing. Fed was obviously a long shot: Nadal is unstoppable on clay (and barely stoppable on any other surface), and had only dropped two sets the entire tournament. But watching Federer go up 5-2 in the first set, and then lose five games straight -- and the next set -- reminded me that Federer is, indeed, human. His best tennis is behind him.

In an alternate universe, DFW is still alive, and is still writing about Federer, chronicling this phase of his career, and comparing him to Nadal and Djokovic and Murray. Instead, we're left wishing Pale King were more like Infinite Jest, that Federer today were more like Federer yesterday. And knowing that it's only a matter of time before there won't be any more Wallace to read or kinetic beauty to watch.

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