Smoking

I know a few Chicago Cubs fans whose affection for the wobegon club has turned into something of a bad habit. Like smoking.

Negro League Statistics

If you follow me on Twitter (scottsimkus1) or facebook or subscribe to the Outsider Baseball Bulletin or you read Joe Sheehan’s newsletter, or Tom Tango’s web site or look at David Pinto’s work, then you already know by now: Detailed Negro League statistics are now available at seamheads.com. Today. For free. For everybody to see, use, analyze and enjoy.

For baseball nerds, this is sort of like Christmas and Hannukah and the Fourth of July and Game Seven all wrapped into one. Been a long time coming. For those who don’t subscribe to my weekly ezine (The Outsider Baseball Bulletin), this week’s edition has the “inside” scoop on the new database, with all sorts of juicy gossip, back-stabbling and lover’s triangles. I’ll send you a FREE copy if you email me at outsiderbb (at) gmail.com. Hope to hear from you!

Chicago Cubs Thoughts…

To improve their pennant chances in 2012, the Chicago Cubs might want to consider relocating their franchise to the Pacific Coast League.

Chicago Cubs Thoughts…

If I was the Cubs GM, I’d secure the rights to Ted Williams’ DNA, then plunk all my developmental dollars into cloning….

Field of Dreams for Ants

Still Life with Ichiro and Virgin Mary

For more art, stats, baseball weirdness and history, subscribe to the Outsider Baseball Bulletin!

 

@scottsimkus1

I’ve joined the twitter-sphere. Mostly baseball thoughts and drunken pop-cultural references. Also: Check out the Outsider Baseball Bulletin. For lord’s sake, check it out…especially baseball history buffs.

Brooklyn Bushwicks

The Brooklyn Bushwicks, perhaps the greatest semipro baseball team of all time, are still an enigma. They beat major, minor and Negro league teams in head-to-head competition, but how good were they really? In this week’s Outsider Baseball Bulletin, we present a simple method for answering this question. Go to the Outsider Baseball Bulletin to subscribe…it’s only 49 cents per week for our weekly baseball publication.

One Year Anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of the Outsider Baseball Bulletin, my weekly subscription ezine. We continue to explore the dusty, overlooked corners of baseball history, debunking old myths and discovering new legends. If you haven’t subscribed yet, go to our web site and check it out.

Fair Weather Bids Farewell

Although I gave it my best effort, mustering up the energy and courage to follow my once beloved Chicago Cubs – let alone write about them on a regular basis – has proven to be too big a challenge. Should they ever return to playoff contention, I’m sure my fires will be restoked, but until then— I’m done. I’m done with what is really a one-sided, dysfunctional relationship. We’re breaking up.

To be anything other than a fair weather fan at my age would be to embrace lunacy. I’ll step aside and allow the wide-eyed youngsters to blog about Chicago’s northside nine. This is their time, their team.

I’m more Kingman, Buckner, Sandberg, and Dunston; than Castro, Fukudome or Zambrano. And a note to the Ricketts family: Stop buying the slop Hendry’s selling over steaks and cocktails – As of late, he’s done a horrible, horrible job of spending your company’s money.

I haven’t given up on baseball yet. I still enjoy the time machine, travelling to the hidden corners of the game’s past, and writing about my discoveries. To find that material, go to the Outsider Baseball Bulletin web site and subscribe. Join the growing cult of followers who receive the weekly ezine. Each week provides surprises, as I do my best to look at the game’s past through a different window.

Hope to see you there. It’s a happy place.