-
Recent Posts
Archives
Baseball
Cricket
Author Archives: rightoffthebatbook
Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding
Frank Loesser said it best. “Ask me how do I feel,” chimes the ostentatiously virtuous Sarah Brown (rhetorically) to the covertly virtuous Sky Masterson in Loesser’s musical-without-equal Guys and Dolls, “Well sir, all I can say, is if I were … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, One-Day Cricket
Tagged Frank Loesser, Guys and Dolls, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Steven Finn
Leave a comment
The Calling
Tatenda Taibu, the captain and wicketkeeper for the semi-resurgent Zimbabwean cricket team, has announced that he will no longer be stumping batsmen but will be stumping for the Lord instead. He’s retiring from cricket (in his prime, we may … Continue reading
The Cruelty of Cricket
A couple of days ago, Mark Boucher, the South African wicketkeeper, was injured when a ball ricocheted after hitting the stumps behind which he was standing and caromed into his left eye. Boucher was taken to hospital and the wound … Continue reading
Right Off the Bat at One
This Thursday, July 12, Right Off the Bat celebrates its first birthday as a regular book as well as an e-book. We thank all our readers of the book: in either format as well as via this blog. But there … Continue reading
Just What Is Wrong with Mitchell Johnson?
When Mitchell Johnson, the Australian left-arm fast bowler, is good, he is very, very good. Unplayably good. Fiersomely, multiple-wicket-takingly good. He can also hit clean and hard and score runs very quickly. When he is bad, though, which is (to … Continue reading
The Pittsburgh Pirate and James Dean
Their fans were accustomed to losing, and the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t disappoint: They had one of the worst seasons in Major League Baseball history. The Buccaneers finished with 42 wins and 112 losses—an execrable 54.5 games behind the National … Continue reading
The Contest before the Contest Is a Contest
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
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, One-Day Cricket, South Africa
Leave a comment
Who Are You Calling Bird-Brained?
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
Florida: Future Home of Cricket?
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 Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard
1 Comment
NYC Subway Series Round 2
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
Right Off the Bat 