• Home
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop
  • Articles of Interest

MillersTime

MillersTime

Tag Archives: Thomas Boswell

Announcing the 2020 Millerstime Baseball Contests

28 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

"The 25 Best Baseball Books of All Time", "Why Time Begins on Opening Day", All Star Game, Baseball Contests, MillersTime Baseball Contests, MillersTime Winner T-Shirt, Prizes, Thomas Boswell, World Series

UPDATE – March 2020: CANCELLED. New 2020 Contest HERE.

“The crowd and its team had finally understood that in games, as in many things, the ending, the final score, is only part of what matters. The process, the pleasure, the grain of the game count too.”

Thomas Boswell: Why Time Begins on Opening Day

2020 MillersTime Baseball Contests

CONTEST #1:

Pick your favorite MLB team (or the team you know the best) and answer the following questions to prove whether you’re just a homer (“Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have”) or whether you really know something about your team and can honestly evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Please answer all three parts of the question.

a. What will your team’s regular season 162 game record be in 2020?

b. Will they make the playoffs, and if so, how far will they go?

c. What will be the most important SINGLE factor (hitting, starting pitching, bullpen, an individual’s performance, the manager, injuries, etc.) in determining their season?

Prize: Two tickets to a regular season game with your favorite team (details to be negotiated with moi.)

Contest #2:

Please answer all of these questions.

  1. Name the two teams who will play in the World Series in 2020?
  2. Which team will win it all?
  3. Tie-Breaker:

a. What will be the total number of games played in the 2020 World Series – 4, 5, 6, or 7?

b. What will be the most important SINGLE factor in determining the WS winner?

Prize: One ticket to either the 2021 World Series or the All Star Game.

Contest #3: Questions submitted by MillersTime readers

  1. Which of these three ‘replacement managers will have the best won-loss record for 2020: Dusty Baker for AJ Hinch, Ron Roenicke for Alex Cora, or Luis Rojas for Carlos Beltan? (Submitted by Tim Malieckal)
  • Which division in each league will be the closest race by the end of the season? (Submitted by Justin Stoyer. Ron Davis had a somewhat similar question)
  • Which team will improve the most? Which team will deteriorate the most? (Submitted by Ed Scholl)

Prize: Your choice of one of these books: The 25 Best Baseball Books of All Time.

Contest #4: True or False:

  1. Pete Rose will finally be allowed to compete for the Hall of Fame.(Submitted by Mary Lincer)
  2. Either the Dodgers or the Yankees will NOT be in the 2020 World Series.
  3. At least one pitcher in each League will win 20 games. (Didn’t happen in 2019)
  4. At least four teams will win MORE than 100 games in 2020. (Two did in 2018 & four did in 2019)
  5. At least four teams will lose 100 games or more in 2020. (Four did in 2019)
  6. Mookie Betts will sign for over $400 million for 2021 and beyond. (Suggestion, sort of, by Nick Nyhart)
  7. No player will hit MORE than 53 home runs in 2020. (Alonso hit the most in 2019 – 53)
  8. There will be at LEAST six Triple Plays in the MLB this year? (Since 1876 the average has been approximately five per season.)
  9. The Washington Nationals will NOT win their Division in 2020.
  10. At least one of Grand Papa’s (c’est moi) grandchildren or someone who attends a MLB game with me in 2020 will witness a grand slam, a triple play, a no hitter, Teddy winning a President’s race at the Nats’ stadium, will go home with a foul ball, or will be seen on the TV screen at an MLB stadium.

Prize: Bring a friend and join me for a Nats’ game next year, or if you’re not able to make it to DC, perhaps I can make it to where you live, and we’ll see a game together.

Additional Details:

  1. All winners and those whose questions were chosen for this contest get the ‘one-of-a kind,’ specially designed and updated MillersTime Baseball Winner T-Shirt.
  2. Enter as many or as few of the contests as you want.
  3. If you get a friend (or foe) to participate in these contests, and he or she wins and mentions your name in the submission, you’ll get a prize too.
  4. Any two-generation submission that wins will get a special prize.
  5. GET YOUR PREDICTIONS IN EARLY. In case of a tie, the individual who submitted his/her prediction first will be the winner.
  6. Submissions should be sent to me by email: Samesty84@gmail.com

  Deadline for Submissions: Opening Day, noon (EST) March 26

Share

Nats’ New Park, Sox’s Fenway South, & When to Get Your Kid Hooked on Baseball

16 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests, Astros, Baseball Contests, Boston Red Sox, Fenway South, Green Monster, Houston Astros, Jet Blue Park, Joe Posnanski, Nats, Orioles, Pesky Pole, Rays, Sox, Spring Training, The BallPark of the Palm Beaches, Thomas Boswell, USA, Washington Nationals, World Baseball Classic

We had heard a good deal about the new Nationals/Astros spring training facility — The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Thus, when I saw that the Sox would be playing the Nats there, I of course got tickets and met my cousin and some other friends there Mar. 7th.

We had tickets behind the Sox dugout, and, for some reason, the Sox brought most of their starting players. The weather was perfect, and we got to see both first string Sox & Nats players as well as those trying to make the teams. The Sox won, of course, and even if it doesn’t matter who wins Spring Training games, if you’re a Sox fan, you never want them to lose.

Indeed it’s a good park. I don’t think there’s a bad seat in the place. It has 6,500 seats and another 1500 spectators can sit on a grass berm beyond left and right field. The stadium seats are largely in the shade, thanks to good planning and to some over hanging shade structures. There’s an open air concourse that goes from the left field fence all around to the one in right, and you can walk along it without missing a pitch. The only fault I could find with the park was the small scoreboard in the outfield which made it hard to see the names of the players, etc. (But that could also be a factor of my aging eyesight.)

The facility is on 160 acres of what use to be a landfill, trash dump. There are 12 practice fields, six for each team. The Astros have one which is the exact dimensions of their home field, and the Nats have two that are similar to their park in DC. The facility was built quickly, in 15 months, and cost about $150 million, $50 from the state and $100 million from a new county hotel tax. We had heard horror stories about the traffic getting into the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, but thanks to advance word and advice from my cousin, we approached it from the north (?) and had no trouble parking.

There are now four teams that have their Spring Training facilities in the area – Nats, Astros, Cards, and Marlins – so if you have the time and interest, spending a week or so in the Palm Beach area in the month of March will allow you to see those teams as well as ones that come across the state from the West Coast.

 

Then it was on to the West Coast to see other friends and three Sox games, one against the USA World Baseball Classic team, one against the Os, and one against the Rays. Of course, the Sox won all three, and even if the games don’t count for much, if you’re a Sox fan, you always want to see them win.

But the real reason to go was to see Fenway South, i.e.,Jet Blue Park, where the stadium is said to be a replica of Fenway Park in Boston. Built five years ago, after much negotiation with the ‘powers’ in Ft. Myers, the Sox got a new $77.9 million stadium outside of the city on 126 acres, including six practice fields (one with the same dimensions as Fenway) and a rehabilitation center. The funding came, in part, I think, because Lee County was afraid the Sox would move away, and involved some kind of public-private partnership, where much of the public outlay came from a “bed tax” on hotel rooms in the area.

While the main ball park itself has the same dimensions as the one in the north, it didn’t feel so much like Fenway in Boston. Yes. It has a Green Monster, with seats and a net in the middle of the wall, a former Fenway scoreboard that has to be manually updated with the use of a ladder (there’s no room behind the scoreboard to change the score between innings, etc.), a Pesky Pole, a triangle in center field, and a lone red seat (longest HR in Fenway).

The 11,000 seat stadium is quite open and shady, but it didn’t feel anything like Boston’s Fenway to me. I couldn’t tell exactly, but the right field configuration didn’t feel like the Fenway I know and sitting on/in the Green Monster (game vs. the Rays) only faintly resembled the one in Boston. In the game vs the USA team, we sat just to the left of home plate and had an enormous amount of room in which to stretch out. Against the Os, we sat beyond first base and by the end of the game our necks were sore from looking to the left.

Still, it’s the spring home of my heroes, and, like most spring training facilities these days (15 in Florida and 15 in Arizona), you feel close to the players, the weather is delightful (away from the cold and snow of the north), and you get the opportunity to see both starting players and those who are trying to be starters, or will be in several years.

I’ll definitely return. Anyone want to plan next year’s trip with me?

**          **          **          **          **          **          **          **

Readers of this site probably already know of my interest in different generations enjoying baseball together. That’s how I got hooked on baseball, and I’ve carried that on with my own kids and now grand kids.

You may also know of my two favorite current sports’ writers, Joe Posnanski and Thomas Boswell, from whom I learn something every time I read one of their columns.

And so, check out Posnanski’s latest column, wherein he writes about the best age to get your kids/grandkid involved. While the article does focus on Theo Epstein, I post a link to it primarily for the discussion about getting the next generation involved.

And finally, I have not heard from most of you with your predictions for the 2017 MillersTime Baseball Contests. And in case you missed the post, Connecting Generations, there are special prizes this year for submissions that involve cooperation between two generations.

Deadline for submissions is just about two weeks away. Remember, in case of a tie, the predictions submitted earlier wins.

Share

Why Some of Us Love Baseball

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Go Sox

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cubbies, Cubs, Indians, Nats, Sox, Thomas Boswell, Washington "Post", World Series

Grind: Extra Fine (Small Circles & Effect: High Contrast), Brew: Color Gels (1/2 Pic & Full Blended Circles), Serve: Stirred (Flash Burn Tone & Brown Bag Texture)

Photo by Ellen Miller

Great playoffs already.

Starting with two thrilling Wild Card games, moving on thru the losses of my beloved Sox and adopted Nats in their Division series, and to Indians and the Cubs deserved wins in the Championship series, we’ve already seen wonderful playoff baseball.

And tonight to the World Series, where along with the rest of the baseball world — except those who live in Cleveland and those who are related to the players and staff of the Indians — I too hope the Cubs win it all and give relief to all those who have suffered for the past 108 years.

Continue reading »

Share

Where Do You Stand on Pete Rose?

28 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Bart Giamatti, baseball, Hall of Fame, MLB, Permanent Ineligibility, Pete Rose, Rule 21(d), Thomas Boswell, Tyler Kepner

sorry-white-baseball-2nd1-300x300

Baseball’s Rule 21(d):  “Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

Pete Rose: Player 1963-86 and Manager 1984-89 broke this rule, betting on baseball games, including games he managed. After lying about his betting on baseball for 15 years, he signed a deal in 1989 with MLB Commissioner of Baseball Bart Giamatti that banished him from the sport forever.

Hall of Fame: A permanently ineligible player cannot be considered for the Hall of Fame. Had Rose not bet on baseball and not been banned, he would have easily been elected to the HOF. See His Accomplishments if you doubt that.

Rose has sought ‘parole’ in the past (5 times?), but neither Commissioners Fay Vincent nor Bud Selig ever considered rescinding the banishment. Now, 25 years later, there is a new Commissioner of Baseball, Rob Manifred, and it is likely he will have to decide if Rose should be reinstated. (Reinstatement would not mean automatic entrance into the HOF as Rose would still have to be voted into the HOF in the usual manner by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America.)

The Debate:

1. Rose has served his time and should be reinstated.

2. Rose broke a cardinal rule and should not be allowed back in baseball.

3. Rose should remain out of baseball but be voted in or out of HOF by the BBWAA just as any other rule breaker (PEDs, etc.).

Two articles that address these issues that are worth your time:

Tyler Kepner, NYT: Pete Rose’s Statistics: 4,256 Hits and a Big Error, where in Mike Schmidt says Rose has served his time and should return to baseball. Paul Molitor disagrees.

Thomas Boswell, WaPo: Consider Pete Rose for HOF, but don’t let him back in baseball, where in Boswell says ‘No Way’ Rose should be let back in, but he could/should be considered for the HOF.

My thinking on this ‘debate’ has changed, particularly after reading the Boswell article. I agree with his reasoning and conclusion that Rose should not be reinstated. Not so sure about the HOF issue, however.

Where do you stand? Please so state in the Comment section of this post.

———————————————————————————————–

Reminder:  If you haven’t submitted you picks for the 2015 MillersTime Baseball Contests, tempus fugit.

 

Share

Some Answers

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ashley Merryman, The Washington Nationals, Thomas Boswell, Winning and Losing

Two recent newspaper articles seem to give some answers to questions raised in several of my recent posts.

A couple of months ago I wondered about how to respond to my 4 1/2 year old grandson when he asked me if it was OK to lose at a game. A number of you wrote thoughtfully, either in the Comment section of the post, A Question From a 4 1/2 Year Old, or in an email to me.

Thanks to tips from readers HS and BT, I draw your attention to this article, Losing Is Good for You by Ashely Merryman. While the article focuses on the ‘folly’ of giving trophies to every one who participates in a game, a sport, it also speaks to the larger issue of praise, over praise, and what that does to kids. This issue has deservedly received a good deal of attention recently, and I find I am guilty of erring in this regard too.

The second article, A Season of Tough Lessons for the Nats, by Thomas Boswell, addresses not only the Nats but also all those of you (90+%) who predicted last year’s National League darlings would continue and perhaps do even better this year.

As is often the case in a Boswell article, he seems to nail not only the specific issue he is addressing, in this case, why the Nats failed to live up to expectations, but also has some good advice that goes beyond just the Nats and baseball in general.

Share

Nats: Magic Number: 4. Games Remaining: 7

27 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Magic Number, Playoff Picture, Thomas Boswell, Washington Nationals

If you live in Washington, you know that there is a drama playing out over the Nats’ playoff picture. Even though they will be in the playoffs, it is not sufficient to get there as a Wild Card team as that would mean they’d be in a one game playoff.

So for the young Turks, along with a few older hands, the Magic Number is Four. That, of course, means that any combination of Nats’ wins and/or Braves losses that add up to four in 14 games the two teams have remaining means they will be a full playoff team. And also important, they want to be the top seed in the NL playoff picture to gain home field advantages.

So why are lots of folks in Washington nervous? How hard should it be to get four of 14? The Braves are four games out of first place.

Well, the Nats’ aren’t doing quite so well in this last, meaningful stretch. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Braves are 8-2 over that same stretch and have won (their last) four games in a row.

Looking a little closer at the remaining games, the Nats play four games against the Phillies (including the final three games of the season). Those Phillies are no longer the whimpy team they were for much of the season. And the other three games the Nats have remaining are against the Cards, who are on an 8-2 streak and are also playing for a playoff spot.

The Braves last seven games are all against teams with records under .500. They have one game with the Marlins (2-8 in their last 10 games), three with the Mets (5-5) and three with the Pirates (3-7).

So the Nats have a harder schedule. Their present four game lead, however, is a big advantage.

Still, it is the final week of a very long season, they are without Strasburg, and even though their winning record is .606 (the only team with a record over .600), they have not yet been able to win their Division. Times are tense in this Capital City.

My sports’ writing guru Thomas Boswell has another good column this morning in the Washington Post in which he says the Final Week Isn’t for the Weak of Heart. See what he has to say.

Share

The Nats: How Good Are They?

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Thomas Boswell, Washington Nationals. MLB Playoffs

WUSA9 photo

If you listen to my friend who is a Yankee fan and recently moved from DC to NY (what’s that all about?), the Washington Nationals are playing above themselves, in a weak league, and once they meet some really good opposition, they’ll be found wanting.

If you read and listen to my columnist guru Thomas Boswell, “they are already an exceptional team.”

Could both of these views be correct?*

Continue reading »

Share

Thomas Boswell: “The Season Is a Shark”

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

baseball, The Nats, The Washington Post, Thomas Boswell

In baseball time, the next day quickly swallows the previous night, leaving a few memories, but little residue. The season is a shark, constantly moving forward, devouring the next game.

What a pleasure to open the morning newspaper and be able to read Thomas Boswell.

In his latest, his column this morning, In Nats’ World, No Lucky Charms Needed, he writes about the world the baseball players live in, which, he writes, “is a different realm -the real one. They aren’t a collection of fantasy players or a stack of baseball cards…”

I always learn something from his columns, which I did again today.

 

Share

Feinstein: “Not Pitching Strasburg IS a Betrayal”

27 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

John Feinstein, Shutting Down Strasburg, Thomas Boswell

John Feinstein in today’s Washington Post*:

Pitching Strasburg in October is not a betrayal. It’s simply recognizing that circumstances have changed…Not pitching him is a betrayal: to the pitcher, to the team, to the fans and to the city.

If you haven’t read Tom Boswell’s piece on this issue, also in the Post, read it, and then let folks know what you think.

(*Hat Tip to JC for pointing out this article.)

Sox ‘Trade’ ?

PS – For those of you who are no doubt awaiting my great insights on the recent Sox trade (firesale?), I’ll spare you. I suspect we haven’t seen the end of the Sox moves to repair their (our) broken team. Plus, there’s enough already written about what they did last weekend. Basically, no one really knows or will know for some time whether it was brilliant, stupid, etc. Father time will so determine.

Share

Boswell: On the Nats’ Decision to Shut Down Strasburg

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Stephen Strasburg, Thomas Boswell, Washingtono Nationals

Readers of this MillersTime/GoSox blog know that I hold Thomas Boswell in the highest esteem. For me, he’s one of the best sports writers working today. I always learn something from his columns and feel lucky that he writes in my morning newspaper.

Today Boswell looks at the Nats’ decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg before the season ends, no matter what Strasburg, his father, the fans, the know-it-alls, etc. say.  If you live in the DC area, then you know this is a controversial issue, largely because the Nats are currently headed for post season play. But without Strasburg, some argue, the Nats put their good season and playoff potential at risk.*

But Boswell’s column goes further, identifying what he believes is “one key ingredient of franchises that build wisely, behave consistently and foster loyalty.”

Read the column, Stephen Strasburg Shutdown Debate Masks the Washington Nationals’ True Story, if you’re a Nats’ fan or if you just want to learn a bit more about baseball and what Boswell thinks makes for good management.

(*I don’t know where I read it, but somewhere I saw that even if Strasburg’s ERA is subtracted from those of the other Nats’ pitchers, they still would have the lowest ERA in the NL, or maybe in the Majors.)

 

Share

♣ Search



♣ Featured Posts

  • The List: “MillersTime” Readers’ 2024 Favorite Books
  • Returning to Sedona, AZ
  • Looking for Good Films to See?
  • And the Winners Are…
  • The Book List: 2023
  • The Lake Country: Thru Ellen’s Lens
  • I Did It Again
  • Readers’ 2023 Mid-Year Favorite Books
  • By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…
  • Yes, It’s True…I Biked from Bruges to Amsterdam!
  • Carrie Trauth Made the World a Better Place
  • “I Used to Be a Human Being” – Andrew Sullivan
  • Sam Miller: “There Is Never Enough.”
  • When I Was 22…
  • The Best $50 I’ve Spent All Year…Even Though It’s Free

♣ Recent Comments

  • David Price on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Andrew Cate on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • chris eacho on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Ed Scholl on 2025 MillersTime Baseball Contests
  • Anthony leon on “The Secret History of Tiger Woods”

♣ Archives

  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • March 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • April 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011

♣ Sections

  • Articles & Books of Interest
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.