Skip to content

“This season?” “Last season?” “Next season?” What season is it?

Dec 7, 2012, 2:30 PM EDT

schedule planner

A tweet from my friend Cee Angi a few minutes ago once again raised the question of how we should refer to the 2012 season and the 2013 season. Specifically, when does the former cease being “this season and become “last season” and when does the latter cease being “next season” and become “this season.” And, for that matter, what in the hell do we call where we are right now?

I tackled this two years ago. But to review my stance on it, with the proviso that I am not in favor of us ever having a time when there is no “this season” because that is truly sad:

  •  I will not be subject to the tyranny of the calendar. January 1st is a non-starter for switching from “this season” to “last season” as far as I’m concerned, as it has no organic relationship to baseball, which has its own calendar that can be easily navigated without reference to the names of the months (“October” being the only possible exception).
  • Opening Day is far too late for me for the change. We are way, way too invested in actual on-the-field activity before then.
  • Pitchers and catchers reporting is too late too, because everyone is well into thinking about the upcoming season for that.

So figure it out, everyone. I’m probably just gonna make it up each time I write something anyway.

Latest Posts
  1. Rangers release Derek Lowe, sign Mark Teahen

    May 23, 2013, 1:50 PM EDT

    Derek Lowe AP

    Derek Lowe, who was designated for assignment by the Rangers earlier this week, has been released after passing through waivers unclaimed. This could be the end for Lowe, who hasn’t posted an ERA under 5.00 since 2010 and allowed 13 runs in 13 innings in a low-leverage relief role for the Rangers at age 40.…

  2. What if baseball had five bases

    May 23, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT

    Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 1.21.58 PM

    Craig Robinson lives in Mexico. And based on when he tweets, I get the sense that he stays up late nights after going to Mexican baseball games and stuff. And I’m guessing he also has a lot of conversations with friends that start with “so, like, what if — seriously, now, listen — what if…

  3. MRI on Adam Eaton’s elbow shows no structural damage

    May 23, 2013, 1:18 PM EDT

    PNI0310-spt Diamondbacks 0225130655cwp

    Earlier this week Adam Eaton suffered a setback in his recovery from a sprained elbow ligament, but Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that an MRI exam revealed no structural damage. That’s obviously good news for the 24-year-old outfielder, although according to Piecoro he’ll still take 2-3 weeks off before resuming his rehab. Eaton…

  4. HBT Daily: Talking Cy Young candidates

    May 23, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT

    HBT Daily Logo

    Not a ton going on today, so Kay and I talk about the pitchers in the mix.

  5. Red Sox won’t try to keep Jacoby Ellsbury from free agency

    May 23, 2013, 12:16 PM EDT

    Jacoby Ellsbury AP

    As you might expect considering he hasn’t played well for two years and is an impending free agent the Red Sox won’t try to negotiate a long-term deal with center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury before he hits the open market. General manager Ben Cherington revealed that on WEEI radio in Boston, saying: “We agreed before the…

  6. Marlins release Jon Rauch

    May 23, 2013, 11:51 AM EDT

    Jon Rauch Getty Getty Images

    Jon Rauch passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week and the Marlins released the veteran reliever two months into a one-year, $1 million contract. Rauch was terrible for Miami, allowing 14 runs in 16.2 innings, but he had a 3.59 ERA with good secondary numbers for the Mets last season and…

  7. Jesus Montero is going to be sent down to Triple-A

    May 23, 2013, 11:31 AM EDT

    Jesus Montero Getty Getty Images

    So, if Michael Pineda makes an appearance in New York in the second half, do all the folks who said the Mariners won that trade have to eat crow? From the Tacoma News-Tribune: On the heels of a six-game losing streak and a 2-7 road trip, the Seattle Mariners will make an expected and needed…

  8. John Danks to rejoin White Sox’s rotation Friday

    May 23, 2013, 11:19 AM EDT

    John Danks AP

    Despite being less than impressive in four minor-league rehab starts John Danks will come off the disabled list and rejoin the White Sox’s rotation Friday. Danks had a terrible 15/13 K/BB ratio in 22.2 innings while rehabbing from August shoulder surgery and failed to make it out of the fifth inning in his final start…

  9. Yankee Stadium: still having issues with beer

    May 23, 2013, 11:03 AM EDT

    generic beer

    Last month Amanda Rykoff noted that the Yankees’ “craft beer” section at Yankee Stadium was anything but.  They’re continuing to have problems with basic beer identification, however, as now Patrick Wall of DNAInfoNY spied Goose Island listed as an “import.” Which, no, it’s not. It’s a Chicago beer. Wait, no it’s not. It’s actually brewed in…

  10. Ryan Madson had another setback

    May 23, 2013, 10:47 AM EDT

    madson angels getty Getty Images

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Angels reliever Ryan Madson was finally making some progress in his rehab from last season’s elbow surgery, but he’s suffered yet another setback. Madson felt soreness in his elbow after a one-inning rehab appearance at Single-A last week and hasn’t pitched since. As you’d expect Madson sounds…

  11. Why hasn’t Ike Davis been sent down yet?

    May 23, 2013, 10:33 AM EDT

    ike davis getty Getty Images

    The Mets first baseman is having a train wreck of a season thus far. He’s hitting .147/.236/.245, which is horrible even on a horrible Mets offense. And his poor hitting seems to be infecting his fielding too. See, yesterday’s non-play on a ball he though was foul but which he turned into a game-killing double.…

  12. Francisco Liriano is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA for the Pirates

    May 23, 2013, 10:15 AM EDT

    Pittsburgh Pirates v New York Mets Getty Images

    Francisco Liriano was terrible for the Twins and White Sox last season and then lost out on a ton of guaranteed money with the Pirates when he broke his right arm trying to prank his kids on Christmas morning. That all led to a whole lot of jokes at his expense and caused Liriano to…

  13. Giancarlo Stanton takes batting practice

    May 23, 2013, 9:45 AM EDT

    Giancarlo Stanton AP AP

    Good news, Miami! Pretty soon all of those Marlins shutout losses are going to turn into losses in which the Marlins score one on Giancarlo Stanton home runs: On Wednesday, slugger Giancarlo Stanton took live batting practice at Marlins Park for the first time since straining his right hamstring on April 30. Redmond tossed the BP session…

  14. Bryce Harper has a better day

    May 23, 2013, 9:15 AM EDT

    Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 9.03.51 AM

    A day after fearing the right field wall in AT&T Park, Bryce Harper went back on a drive much closer to the bricks and made a nice catch. He also had an opposite field home run. You can see both of those plays here. Funny what happens when Davey Johnson doesn’t make his best hitter bunt.…

  15. The Evan Gattis mythmaking continues

    May 23, 2013, 8:55 AM EDT

    Minnesota Twins v Atlanta Braves Getty Images

    So torn here. I love what Evan Gattis has done with the Braves so far. Highlight reel moments, power when it has been needed and he is a great story. But I almost wonder if he’s too great a story. We cant’ seem to go a day without hearing some new Gattis-is-Kane-from-Kung-Fu tale. Stuff about…

  16. Michael Bourn gets an assist on Miguel Cabrera’s latest homer

    May 23, 2013, 8:23 AM EDT

    Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 7.52.34 AM

    Like the guy needs any help. UPDATE: Sorry about the video glitch. MLB.com has this as embeddable, but for some reason it won’t embed as it’s supposed to. So here’s the link. God, this day is not starting out well.

  17. And That Happened: Wednesday’s scores and highlights

    May 23, 2013, 6:57 AM EDT

    Star Trek into Darkness

    Phillies 3, Marlins 0: Cliff Lee shuts out the Marlins on three hits. Granted, it doesn’t take anyone as good as Lee to shut out the Marlins, but that’s nothing that Lee could help. He was dominant. Just like Benedict Cumberbatch in that scene when he killed all those [alien race redacted to avoid spoilers]…

  18. Astros vendor brings snow cones into bathroom stall, gets fired

    May 23, 2013, 12:17 AM EDT

    astros logo new

    This is on the short list of the most horrifying stories ever posted at HardballTalk. An Aramark vendor at Monday’s Royals-Astros game at Minute Maid was caught bringing his tray of snow cones into a bathroom stall with him. Click2Houston.com has the video taken by a concerned onlooker. Remarkably, this happened in the first game…

  19. The NL All-Star starting lineup will outshine the AL’s

    May 22, 2013, 11:42 PM EDT

    Justin Upton AP

    OK, so there hasn’t been any actual All-Star ballot results released yet. That doesn’t mean I can’t do my fun little exercise here. What follows is my best guess at the All-Star Game starting lineups. National League CF Andrew McCutchen 2B Brandon Phillips 1B Joey Votto LF Justin Upton RF Bryce Harper 3B David Wright…

  20. Don Mattingly will still be the Dodgers’ manager on Friday

    May 22, 2013, 11:09 PM EDT

    mattingly tall getty Getty Images

    Don Mattingly had some harsh things to say about the club he manages on Wednesday afternoon, leaving many to guess that he might be officially canned at some point during Thursday’s scheduled team off day. But that apparently will not happen. Via the Los Angeles Times: Don Mattingly will be managing the Dodgers on Friday when they open a…

Top 10 MLB Player Searches
  1. J. Odorizzi (4326)
  2. J. Profar (3897)
  3. M. Garza (3793)
  4. J. Garcia (3752)
  5. B. Harper (3507)
  1. A. Eaton (3421)
  2. B. Beachy (3300)
  3. I. Kinsler (2830)
  4. A. Bailey (2728)
  5. M. Cabrera (2662)