Monthly Archives: August 2011

Cry Havoc and Play Cricket

Posted on August 10, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

When the West Indies cricket team toured England in 1976, there was tension on the pitch and riots in the streets. When the Australians visited England for the Ashes series of 1981, England came back from the brink of humiliation … Continue reading →

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Pushing Forty

Posted on August 9, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Ichiro Suzuki has been in a season-long slump. Certainly so by his Olympian standards. His current .269 batting average is something like 60 points below his career in North America. He is somewhere around 38. I (Evander) have little doubt, … Continue reading →

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Zimbabwe Returns!

Posted on August 8, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

At the turn of the century one of the most formidable cricket teams in the world was from Zimbabwe. The team regularly punched above its weight. Then political turmoil and retirements brought the team low. So low, in fact, that … Continue reading →

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Juan Nicasio and the Dangers of Professional Baseball

Posted on August 6, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

This frightening photo from AP shows pitcher Juan Nicasio of the Colorado Rockies after he was beaned by accident versus the Washington Nationals. A line drive off a bat comes at the pitcher probably at 120 miles per hour. The … Continue reading →

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Five Fun Facts about the India versus England Test Cricket Series

Posted on August 5, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

1. At one point in the recently concluded second Test match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham the two greatest run-scorers in cricket history were batting together: Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Between them they have accumulated 27,386 runs, over 16 … Continue reading →

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More on the National Baseball Hall of Fame Selections

Posted on August 4, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

Dave Parker belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame as much as Jim Rice does. But Parker has never received more than 24 percent of the vote, and is no longer eligible. He and Rice had Most Valuable Player seasons … Continue reading →

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Alex Rodriguez, “You Done It Again!”

Posted on August 3, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

The Los Angeles Times and other sources report that Yankees superstar-slugger Alex Rodriguez is implicated in high-stakes poker games. In other words: Gamblers. Gambling is the one unforgivable sin in Major League Baseball. Pete Rose has been banned for life … Continue reading →

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The Spirit of Cricket

Posted on August 3, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

A game of Test cricket can last up to five days. Each of those days is made up of three sessions of two hours each, split by two breaks—the lunch and the tea intervals. On the third day of the … Continue reading →

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The Man

Posted on August 2, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

I want to thank my writing partner Martin for his dispatch from Finland. I was wondering if he’d give us a Wilsonian allusion: Edmund that is. And he did! . . . Although Martin is The Man, I want to … Continue reading →

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From the Finland Station

Posted on August 2, 2011 by rightoffthebatbook

I (Martin) am in Helsinki at the moment—a place not noted for great interest in either cricket or baseball—but I’m nonetheless well aware that faithful readers will be expecting thoughtful comments on England’s trouncing of India in the Second Test … Continue reading →

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