Peanuts or pretzels?

As I’ve been writing this column, I notice that while I am more apt to try new recipes and write about them, or think about food and cooking, I’m also realizing how often I don’t bother cooking at all. This week, I had one of my favorite easy recipes: I mash up a ripe avocado … Continue reading

In which Derek Jeter should wipe that self-satisfied grin off his face

Baseball is built on rules. Unlike football, soccer, basketball, or hockey, baseball is not a game of possession. It is a game of elaborate conventions designed to ensure that both team have equal opportunity — both defenses must record 27 outs. Both offenses must field the same number of players. And so on.

But it’s also a game full of cheaters, men who would try to steal an out away from the opposing team by faking being hit by a pitch – it’s the exact opposite of “giving outs away.”

This tendency has a long history within the game, as Bill James reminds us in a fabulous article in Slate.

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