Ryne Sandberg, pretty boy Cub second baseman with middling numbers compared to his second baseman Hall of Fame peers, makes the Hall, while Goose Gossage -- a dominating closer who usually pitched 2 or 3 innings -- does not? While I have an abiding antipathy toward the Cubs, it is even greater toward the Yankees, so this cannot be just sour grapes. The Goose should be in -- and may the baseball gods curse the Cubs for another century for this injustice.

As for Boggs, well, he is deserving, and not only for the hitting.

Over to you, Lynne Kiesling, who probably thinks Ryno is just dreamy.

Update: The Ryno-philia is just getting started over at Lynne's blog. Though these arguments can be interminable because they are largely emotive and can be approached under a variety of defensible criteria, I will briefly rise to the bait to assert that Sandberg is on the periphery of this fraternity in terms of excellence and impact. Furthermore, based on this year's class, I will stubbornly maintain that Gossage belongs in the Hall before Sandberg. Sandberg was a very good, reliable player on a consistently bad team (excepting 1989).