Submitted by Greg Hanlon, May 29, 2007 13:49

I love the openning paragraph -- it reminds me of Roger Angell's description of Bob Gibson in his classic "Distance" piece.

I'm disagree with your assertion, however, that "the lasting myths of other sports have to do... with team discipline and subordination to order." Crusty basketball purists go on and on bemoaning the emphasis on individuality in today's game, and I agree with them. Our understanding of basketball would be much richer if we embraced team play and didn't fixate so much on the individual, which our culture does.

But I hear your overall point: Baseball IS a series of one-on-one matchups, and tonight, we can look forward to such one-on-one matchups as Lincecum vs. Reyes/Beltran/Wright, and Perez vs. Bonds. It's gonna be fun.

Keep cranking out these thoughtful and thought-provoking pieces, man. You're the only baseball writer in the New York daily papers worth reading.

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