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The Vine

The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!

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Articles in Baseball

Squared Up: Not The Same As The Old Boss
July 13, 2010 – 11:12 AM | 20 Comments
Squared Up: Not The Same As The Old Boss

Roberto Kelly was up in the bottom of the fourth against Detroit when a murmur began circling through Yankee Stadium. The scoreboard read: July 30, 1990, 8:26 P.M. The murmur built steadily, and suddenly a …

Squared Up: Card Games
July 2, 2010 – 12:28 AM | 16 Comments
Squared Up: Card Games

I snagged a pack of Topps the other day for the hell of it, and something isn't quite right about it. Maybe it's a special promotional kind of pack that contains a higher proportion of …

Squared Up: Remember the Maine (…wait: don't)
June 24, 2010 – 8:10 AM | 5 Comments
Squared Up: Remember the Maine (…wait: don't)

On May 17, Hanley Ramirez boots a ball, loafs after it, and gets benched. He reacts by snarking on his manager, Fredi Gonzalez, for never having played in the major leagues; he also refuses to …

Squared Up: Pitchers "hitting," Perez "ailing"
June 12, 2010 – 9:09 AM | 9 Comments
Squared Up: Pitchers "hitting," Perez "ailing"

Welcome to Squared Up, a new featurette in which I address various baseball questions and debates of the week. I don't know yet how often I'll do it or what day it will usually run, …

28 Up: Jim, Armando, and the state of the umpires' union
June 5, 2010 – 11:14 AM | 19 Comments
28 Up: Jim, Armando, and the state of the umpires' union

In the Griffey comments thread, reader Suzanne asked what I thought of Jim Joyce's perfect-game-ruining call against Armando Galarraga and the Tigers the other night.
I feel for everyone involved. It's a shame Galarraga lost the …

What Might Have Been; What Was
June 3, 2010 – 12:37 PM | 21 Comments
What Might Have Been; What Was

It's not that Matthew Pouliot didn't let the body cool before deeming Ken Griffey, Jr. "overrated." It's not even that the word "overrated" is the very first word in the headline — that that adjective, …

Bye-Bye, Bombers
May 18, 2010 – 10:09 PM | 46 Comments
Bye-Bye, Bombers

I'll tell you exactly what did it.
I'd bought Bean tickets to a Mets game for her birthday, and she kindly invited me to go with her. We arranged to meet up at our seats, and …

The Vine, Anniversary Edition: April 29, 2010
April 29, 2010 – 3:41 PM | 80 Comments
The Vine, Anniversary Edition: April 29, 2010

Dear Sars,
Would love a little help figuring out what the heck I am remembering here.
It's something I saw as a kid in the mid-to-late eighties on a children's program. I'm pretty sure it was a …

The Vine, Anniversary Edition: April 24, 2010
April 24, 2010 – 1:22 PM | 40 Comments
The Vine, Anniversary Edition: April 24, 2010

Dear Sars,
I have been looking and looking and looking for a reproduction of the "Thinker of Hamangia." I have scoured the nets for this thing, hoping a museum shop or art gallery would have …

Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 12
April 6, 2010 – 11:43 PM | 26 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 12

Leaving KC, I spotted another Smart. It took some maneuvering to get alongside it, not to mention steering in weekend traffic while taking Compulsive Waving Family to deranged new levels, but I managed it. The …