Monthly Archives: June 2012

The Contest before the Contest Is a Contest

Posted on June 28, 2012 by

The Australian cricket team begins a series of five one-day internationals against England. It’s an anomalous series in many ways, since it doesn’t come on the back of a Test match series between the old rivals (called the Ashes), and it’s … Continue reading →

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Who Are You Calling Bird-Brained?

Posted on June 26, 2012 by

Because it’s a truth widely acknowledged that consequentialist thinking is not necessarily a strength of jocks, one doesn’t need to wonder just what Mets reliever Tim Byrdak thought might happen next when he bought a live chicken from a market in … Continue reading →

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Florida: Future Home of Cricket?

Posted on June 25, 2012 by

After hosting a couple of Twenty20 games (New Zealand versus Sri Lanka) in the aftermath of the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup, Florida will be hosting a couple more: this time between West Indies and New Zealand. The two teams contain … Continue reading →

Posted in Cricket, New Zealand, Sri Lanka | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

NYC Subway Series Round 2

Posted on June 21, 2012 by

The suddenly hot Mets, as hot as the weather this first day of summer (which is when I, Evander, always feel the season truly starts—in fact, the season doesn’t really take shape till mid-August), and the suddenly not-so-hot Yankees (unlike … Continue reading →

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Clemens: He’s Not the Pope but He’s Innocent

Posted on June 19, 2012 by

Ecclesiastical jokes aside, as if to prove our point that one of the greater glories of cricket and baseball is that they’re three parts purity to one part sleaze (or should that be three parts sleaze to one part purity?), … Continue reading →

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The Marks of Cain

Posted on June 15, 2012 by

The last couple of days have displayed—in extremis—why we at Right Off the Bat love cricket and baseball so much, and why they will never stop pitching us curveballs or bowling balls that rear up from a good length. On … Continue reading →

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IPL—Part Three

Posted on June 14, 2012 by

In Part I and Part II of this blog, I (Martin) painted a pretty picture of the recently concluded Indian Premier League 5 as a festival of entertainment, which it is. But the IPL is much more than that: it’s an event … Continue reading →

Posted in Cricket, IPL | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Judy Johnson and Ghost Marcelle

Posted on June 10, 2012 by

In Right Off the Bat, Martin and I delve into the thorny subjects of empire and race as related to cricket and baseball. Two perhaps lesser-written-about Negro Leagues players, with a couple of the most unforgettable monikers ever, are Judy … Continue reading →

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The Yankees-Mets Subway Series at 50

Posted on June 8, 2012 by

The Mets not only took the first regular-season Subway Series game from the Yankees in 1997 (I, Evander, was there), a 6-0 spanking, they won the very first meeting in a 1962 spring-training game. The event was fraught with tension. … Continue reading →

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IPL—Part Two

Posted on June 4, 2012 by

In Part One of this blog I (Martin) mentioned the skills that the Twenty20 form of the game of cricket had developed. Many of these skills involve new and daring shots that, although they may not have been necessarily invented … Continue reading →

Posted in Cricket, IPL, T20 Cricket | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment