Kuzul

In the coming weeks, one of the most impactful and controversial classes for the Hall of Fame will have judgment passed on them—at least for their first year of eligibility. One of those on the list is all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, whose career, despite being acquitted of any wrongdoing in a court of law, will forever be tied to the steroid era.Bonds is certainly a huge part of the San Francisco Giants history and although not being part of the teams' two recent (and only) World Series titles, his name and his actions still set off widespread debate amongst Bay Area faithful.Should he get in, should he not.An election to the Hall would also benefit the Giants' brand, who could use that justification for even more business gains in an area where baseball is really rivaled only by the success of the 49ers in popularity. Will the Giants ...

One of the opening weekend highlights of the ongoing TriBeCa Film Festival in New York was Saturday's outdoor screening of the new documentary Knuckleball!, which tells the stories of (to date) the last two professional pitchers to use the dancing, dazzling knuckleball as their primary weapon, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey. What made the evening special was a clinic that the two hurlers, along with famed practitioners Charlie Hough and Jim Bouton, conducted for kids just steps from the film seating at the World Financial Center. The knuckleball is a "pitch born of desperation," or so said all four of the pitchers prior to the screening, though not in so many words.  That may be true, but the long careers enjoyed by Wakefield, Dickey, Hough, Phil Niekro, Wilbur Wood, Hoyt Wilhelm and other knuckleballers attest to the value of harnessing this tantalizing pitch, even when it can't really be harnessed. "No ...

While the A’s and Mariners got things going last week in Japan, for most fans, next Thursday and Friday will mark Opening Day. This weekend is also mega-fantasy baseball draft time, with thousands hunched over laptops and around tables trying to slide the next great move onto their teams. The end of 2011 was certainly the time when technology and analytics arrived in baseball. From tablets players were using to a new level of Moneyball, along with all the trimmings of social media, baseball 3.0 is probably here for good. So with all that in mind, here are some choices for engaging in baseball in the stands, on the beach, or on the laptop. MLB.com At Bat (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad: Free, with subscription, Android: Free/$14.99)MLB.com At Bat is the king of all fan engagement tools. It is also probably the most expensive, but you get everything for live audio ...

Last year at this time, Rick Peterson was getting ready to take a trip to Italy, not the place where one of pitching’s most innovative minds usually spend March. It was just the second time in more than 35 years that Peterson had been away from a baseball diamond for any substantial stretch of time. This year, although not back in a major league clubhouse full-time, the New Jersey resident is back in the game, with one of the most challenging and intriguing roles he has ever had, as director of pitching operations for the Baltimore Orioles under new General Manager Dan Duquette. “It’s a great challenge to help Dan and Buck sculpt this vision of pitching form and analytics from the ground up, and I’m loving what is going to be a very interesting challenge for me at this stage of my career,” he recently said from spring training, ...