Thomas Bevilacqua

The Cosmic All-Stars: The Hitters Putting together an All-Star team of my favorite

I decided to put together my own, personal All-Star team made up of my favorite players (not making arguments about the best, just the players I enjoy or particularly appreciate).

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/mlb-cosmic...

#MLB #Baseball #AllStar @ibwaa.bsky.social

The Cosmic All-Stars: The Hitters Putting together an All-Star team of my favorite

I decided to put together my own, personal All-Star team made up of my favorite players (not making arguments about the best, just the players I enjoy or particularly appreciate). We start here with the position players!

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/mlb-cosmic...

#MLB #Baseball #AllStar

2026 MLB Season Predictions I promise I did not use a Magic 8 Ball to make these predictions, though it might read that way.

Check out my latest post, which features my predictions for the 2026 MLB season!

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/2026-mlb-s...

#MLB #Baseball @ibwaa.bsky.social

The baseball section of my classroom library

Expanding and Contracting Could adding more teams to the MLB help pave the way for a salary cap?

Changing my mind and acknowledging the virtues of #MLB expansion

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/mlb-2026-l...

Top 50 Beatles Songs: We're on our way home Wrapping up my countdown of my Top 50 favorite Beatles songs with my picks from Abbey Road and Let It Be

I finished up my countdown of my Top 50 Beatles songs with my picks from Abbey Road and Let It Be. Please give it a read and enjoy!

recordsleeve.substack.com/p/beatles-so...

#TheBeatles #Music

The United States, Japan, and the New Stakes of the World Baseball Classic With Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, amongst the other bright stars of baseball, the stakes have never been higher

Check out my new post that looks ahead to the 2026 World Baseball Classic!

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/world-base...

#Baseball #WBC #MLB

Showing my film students The Dark Knight as part of our noir unit. Yeah, I’m pretty cool.

Moneyball: "But if we win, on our budget, with this team... we'll have changed the game. And that's what I want. I want it to mean something." Thinking about the difference between accuracy and authenticity as well as what happens when you know too much about a given subject that's turned into a film

Some thoughts on the 2011 adaptation of Moneyball and what it feels like to have lived through that season and know what happened

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/mlb-oaklan...

#MLB #Baseball #movies

The "Just Missed Out" Teams: NL West The best teams in NL West history that missed out on October baseball.

Wrapping up my series identifying the best MLB team in each franchise's history that missed out on the playoffs with the NL West

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/baseball-m...

#Baseball #MLB

Damn.

The "Just Missed Out" Teams: AL West Identifying the best teams in each AL West franchise's history that didn't make it into the postseason.

The next installment in my “Just Missed Out” teams countdown with the AL West

sporadicgames.substack.com/p/baseball-a...

#MLB #Baseball #ALWest

The "Just Missed Out" Teams: AL and NL Central The best teams in baseball's central divisions that fell short of the postseason.

The next entry in my series of the best teams to miss out on the playoffs. This time, we’re talking about teams from the AL and NL Central

theballgame.substack.com/p/al-nl-cent...

#mlb #baseball #ALCentral #NLCentral

The "Just Missed Out" Teams: AL and NL East Starting a series that identifies the best teams in a given franchise's history that came up short of a postseason berth.

A new series in which I identify the best team in every franchise’s history to not make the MLB postseason, starting with the AL and NL East!

theballgame.substack.com/p/missed-pla...

#MLB #Baseball #ALEast #NLEast

Instead of using a free period at school to work, I elected to watch early 2000s Oakland A's highlights.

Bright Lights, Big League City More frustration on the A's leaving Oakland

Two posts in one day! This one on Jon Gruden’s return visit to the Oakland Coliseum as part of covering the #SuperBowl , and some of my complicated feelings about Oakland sports, the A’s, and a little on Gruden too.

#MLB #Oakland #Gruden

theballgame.substack.com/p/mlb-oaklan...

Valdez, Skubal, and the Tigers Detroit's decision to sign the free-agent pitcher and put together one of the best pitching rotations in baseball.

Had to share my Framber Valdez/Tarik Skubal/Tigers thoughts!

theballgame.substack.com/p/2026-mlb-d...

#MLB #Baseball

So I went a different direction--gave my students some Taylor Swift lyrics to read and analyze as one would a poem. I figured it would be more relatable and exciting. I, sadly, was mistaken.

Questions for the 2026 Season With pitchers and catchers reporting oh so soon, here are the things I'm wondering about as we move into the 2026 MLB season

The questions on my mind as we get ready for the 2026 MLB season.

theballgame.substack.com/p/2026-mlb-p...

#MLB #Baseball

Anora: "I'm just gonna go chill in my mansion or whatever, you know, no big deal!" Thoughts on Sean Baker's film that dominated the 2025 Academy Awards.

Check out my new post, covering 2024’s critical hit film Anora!

www.newhollywoodcriterion.com/p/2024-anora...

#Film #Movies #Anora

Low cards are what I've got
But I'll play this hand whether I like it or not
I'm sworn to uphold the laws of God
You could put me out in front of a firing squad

So Many Roads A little reorganizing, a little restructuring, and a humble request.

As I mentioned earlier, all the different paths in the form of new, distinct newsletters I’ve set up. Please read and subscribe to some (all) of them!

#Substack #Writing

recordsleeve.substack.com/p/baseball-m...

The Close Reader | Thomas Bevilacqua | Substack Covering literature and books in general. Click to read The Close Reader, by Thomas Bevilacqua, a Substack publication. Launched an hour ago.

Books: theclosereader.substack.com

Baseball: theballgame.substack.com

Mad Men re-watch: carouselmadmen.substack.com

The Record Sleeve | Thomas Bevilacqua | Substack Writing about popular music. Click to read The Record Sleeve, by Thomas Bevilacqua, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

All right, I’ve broken down my interests into separate newsletters. Please subscribe to some (or all) of them! I’ll also be moving over posts/getting things properly sorted out in the coming days.

Popular Music: recordsleeve.substack.com

Film: www.newhollywoodcriterion.com

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Starting a new publication focused on baseball and doing my best Roger Angell impression

Calling my shot, as it were, and announcing a newsletter focused solely on that great and glorious game of baseball. Just an intro now, I’ll try to cook up some preliminary stuff in the lead-up to the regular season

#Baseball #MLB

theballgame.substack.com/p/mlb-baseba...

Top 50 Beatles Songs: Take a Sad Song and Make It Better Ten of my favorite tracks from some of the band's most turbulent years.

Keeping my Top 50 Beatles songs countdown going, covering songs from the Magical Mystery Tour and White Album years!

thomasbevilacqua.substack.com/p/beatles-to...

#Music #TheBeatles

"There is a road, no simple highway" Two bands, one name, and their shared representation of one of the twentieth century's major literary movements.

The sad news about Bobby Weir’s passing got me thinking about the Grateful Dead and how they (along with another important group in music history) continued the work of the Beat Generation (though in quite different ways).

thomasbevilacqua.substack.com/p/bobby-weir...

#BobbyWeir #GratefulDead

BlacKkKlansman: "Why are you acting like you don't got skin in the game?" Spike Lee's hit 2018 film starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.

My latest post on Spike Lee’s 2018 film, BlacKkKlansman.

#Film #Movies #SpikeLee

www.newhollywoodcriterion.com/p/blackkklan...

Bob Weir loved music and gave his entire life to it. 78's a good age, though from where I'm at now it doesn't sound like enough. But he left something behind that will never stop giving people pleasure and comfort. That's a legacy to cherish. You stayed 61 years on the road, Bob Weir. Rest now. 4/4

Bobby Weir, perched in a window

safe travels to bobby weir in the greater weirdness.