Goodman Firm Blawg

How Not to Coach Little League Baseball

This AP story outlines how one youth baseball coach paid one of his 8 yr. old players to intentionally injure a teammate who was mentally challenged. This occurred before an important game and the coach wanted to remove a weaker player from his team. I know several low-down coaches, but I know this is even beneath them!

Kids Can't Hit Slower Pitches

So says this article....and apparently a bunch of major league baseball players have difficulty with slow pitches as well; just take a look at knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, and the success he has had late in his career!

Close-Knit Baseball Teams Are Weaker Than a Team of Misfits?

This article from the NY Times, indicates that social scientists feel a baseball team comprised of a tight group may not fare as well when compared to a team of "loners." Of course the article uses the NY Yankees as the example of a team comprised of "individuals" rather than a tight group working as a team. Social scientists believe the makeup of the Yankees makes them better suited to handle tough times. I don't know that I believe this argument since, in my opinion, the Boston Red Sox won last year's World Series by playing as a group and showing the weaknesses of the individual Yankees. The same argument could be made for the California Angels and their season fueled by the Rally Monkey....