March 15, 2007 [LINK / comment]
Gambling by Pete Rose? On a daily basis?? Well, I'm shocked -- shocked! The latest installment of Pete Rose's agonizingly drawn-out incremental confession has given his die-hard fans another opportunity to plead that he be let into the Hall of Fame. He told ESPN Radio that he bet on the Reds every night during the 1980s when he was manager, a statement that is somewhat at variance with his earlier declarations. He explained,
I bet on my team to win every night because I love my team, I believed in my team. I did everything in my power every night to win that game.
See MLB.com. When you listen to the rationalizations, it makes you wonder what a tormented conscience that guy must have. Meanwhile, he is still selling those "I'm sorry I bet" autographed baseballs; he just doesn't get it. I doubt that he will ever really "come clean," which is tragic for Rose and for all of baseball. I agree with David Pinto: "Some kudos should go out to the late Bart Giamatti for doing the right thing."
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has begun writing his own blog: 38 Pitches. It will be interesting to get his perspective on Matzowhatsizname Daisuke and the apocryphal "gyroball." Hat tip to Volokh Conspiracy.
Some more new photos of the New Yankee Stadium construction site can be seen at: baseball-fever.com; to my surprise, it's going up very quickly. Hat tip to Bruce Orser.
The new Heritage Park at Jacobs Field is expected to be completed by Opening Day. It is a sort of a Hall of Fame for the Indians, similar to the historic gallery behind the center field wall at Citizens Bank Park, but with shrubbery and vines. See MLB.com. Diagram update pending; hat tip to Mike Zurawski.