Author Archives: Jeff J. Snider

Chase Visa made good!

Check out this email I just received from Chase Visa. It is nice to see that once you get past the bureaucracy, Chase really does care about their customers. I don’t know if they really understand my point, but I don’t really care, because they made good on their original promise.

Richard Justice for All

Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice seems to think that Frank Robinson’s legacy matters, but it doesn’t. There’s no such thing as “the integrity of the record book” when we are talking about fourth place. Justice thinks it’s a travesty that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire are mentioned in the same sentence as Robinson. Here’s what… Read More »

The Barry Bonds Solution

It’s amazing, really, how simple the solution to this whole Barry Bonds problem is. And there are over 300 guys in Major League Baseball with the power to fix this. Look, the guy already has bad knees. He missed months last year after bumping his knee on a table. How many 90-MPH fastballs do you… Read More »

The Accidental Wisdom of Joe Morgan

It’s no secret that while I respect Joe Morgan’s abilities as a Hall of Fame second baseman, I find his analytical skills as color commentator for ESPN’s baseball broadcasts a bit lacking, to put it mildly. When I see him lined up for a chat on ESPN.com, I generally check it out — mostly for… Read More »

Mouse/Keyboard Sharing with Synergy

A few months ago, my father-in-law emailed me about a cool little utility called Synergy. I looked at it briefly, thought, “I bet I would like that a lot,” and then forgot about it. Then Jonathan Snook blogged about it, and I downloaded and installed it, and wow. Absolutely amazing. I sit at my desk… Read More »

Random Steroid Thought

Here’s a (non-comprehensive) list of guys whose huge offensive numbers began declining in 2004, the same time baseball started testing for steroids. No conclusions are drawn, but it is interesting to think about: Sammy Sosa Brett Boone Rafael Palmeiro Jeff Bagwell Jim Thome Javy Lopez Preston Wilson Frank Thomas Jason Giambi Garrett Anderson

My Own Private Hypocrisy

The steroid era has made me a hypocrite, I think. Or maybe I am just as confused as everyone else. Last week, the day the latest Barry Bonds story broke, ESPN.com had a poll that asked the following question: Which players from the era of steroids deserve a spot in Cooperstown? Here’s how I voted… Read More »

Managers Lie to Motivate

I’m reading Peter Gammons’ blog right now, and he has the following anecdote about Jim Leyland: Leyland approached Brandon Inge to discuss his AL-high 23 errors at third base last year. “See that guy?” Leyland asked, pointing to infield coach Rafael Belliard. “He made 10 errors in five years. You’d better listen to him.” Well,… Read More »