Peter Gammons -- C or D?

All that hyperbole he spewed regarding "phenom" Toe Nash epitomizes Gammons' strengths (his passion for the game) & weaknesses (passion & stature getting in the way of being a good reporter). And he is given to ragging on "statheads" that don't "understand the game" - at least, he was for a while. That irks/ed me. Regardless of that, knowning he digs Letters to Cleo & Buffalo Tom (or Kay H. & Bill J., at the very least) makes me smile. And, when I was a wee lad, I LIVED for his Diamond Notes segments on Sportscenter. (Diamond Notes theme music = UBERCLASSIX!)

I loved the one about three years or so ago where there is some college age girl in her bedroom going on and on about how great he is. She's sitting at her desk which has a picture of Gammons on it and meanwhile in the background there's a screen-saver of Gammons' face bouncing around her monitor! Awesome.

But ... the guy himself? Too much of a Boston homer. I love seeing Boston get bounced out every year just for his benefit.

Too much of a Boston homer. I love seeing Boston get bounced out every year just for his benefit.

"That there is a flaw in John Schuerholz's brilliant team, it is in not quite being able to truly ladn a Juan Cruz (who is to Chicago sportswriters what lead singer Mike Aybar was to The Cheese Spreads, except that he, like Orlando Rodriguez with his new vaseline hiding place, has a better chance of a post-career career, in his case becoming a landscape architect) to anchor a staff that would otherwise rival only that of the Astros with Tim Redding, and though sources tell us that Bobby Cox is working harder than anyone anywhere (including the entire city of Toledo) with Blaine Boyer to stop being so cautious, the Braves still hold out hope for Trey Hodges to mature, and Andy Pratt."

"Casey Blake was a born failure, and nearly everybody said it was a good thing he became a hitter, because failure is expected, instead of being a highfalootin psychiatrist, or starting a candy bar farm (where failure really means starting a worm farm), but nobody loses all the time."

i need to read this guy more often!

(in hindsight i guess the second one doesn't seem quite as great after the epic that is the shuerholz--pratt sentence, but it's got a distinctive candyworm smack.)