So, if the Padres didn’t use Rod Beck in the ninth last night, then why exactly did they sign him? One of the things a big-league bullpen should be capable of doing is holding a lead. These aren’t guys you bring in only after the damage has been done. I feel horribly for Brian Lawrence [...]

My friend Dan and I were rummaging through a used bookstore in North Hollywood the other day, and I stumbled onto an amazing book called Very Bad Poetry. As the editors note, to write truly horrible poetry requires, among other things, "an enviable confidence that allows one to write despite absolutely appalling incompetence." I was [...]