Lou Piniella throws a birthday base

Lou Piniella turns 65 today. He was the World Series-winning manager for the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. One of my favorite teams of all time was the 1990 Cincinnati Reds ... I may have mentioned this before. I am not sure what became of Lou after, I don't know, about 1992. (Actually, I am going to Wrigley Field tonight, as it happens, to see Sweet Lou.) Happy Birthday, Lou ... throw a base for me.

Eric Davis Another Year Older

Eric Davis for about five years in the late 1980s was what I thought Willie Mays was. Sorry. I know that you are not supposed to compare anyone to Willie Mays. But Davis was the best package, the most complete centerfielder, I had ever seen. At age 24, he had 27 homers and 80 stolen bases. At age 25, he had 37 homers and 50 stolen bases. Of course, then Junior came along, and E kept getting hurt, and so on. But, E was the guy. He was the one who led the Reds out of the dark times, all the way to a wire-to-wire World Series with one of my favorite teams of all time. In 2007, Davis received three out of 545 ballots for the Hall of Fame, or 0.6 percent. He tied Dante Bichette. Dante Bichette, for cryin' out loud. Jose Canseco doubled that vote total, getting six votes. Goes to show that Hall of Fame voters can be moronic just like the rest of us. Davis is 46 years old today. The somewhat disturbing image of Eric Davis and Marge Schott is from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Glenn Hartong.