My son and I traipsed around our property and several adjacent woodlots before settling on our "recession tree." This Christmas the pickings were slim. A man just up the road was selling the fuller-figured, domesticated variety for $25, and he probably would have given us the neighborhood discount. But I lost my day job early in the fall. ...more

December 25, 2008

During his five years managing in Japan's Pacific League, Trey Hillman didn't get many chances to watch Akinori Iwamura play for Yakult of the Central League. But the Royals' first-year skipper liked what he saw in limited viewings. ...more

July 27, 2008

Bandbox or not, this was no day for hitters. Jeff Francis held the league's highest-scoring team in check, and the Colorado Rockies took advantage of one shaky inning by Cole Hamels to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game 1 of their NL playoff series Wednesday. ...more

October 4, 2007