I sent the following email to the Detroit Free Press' Khristi Zimmeth, in response to her 2/27/2009 "Trash or Treasure" column:

Players once played with the same team--and the same teammates--for years at a time. The long-running associations gave rise to nicknames, which are invariably a sign of affection.

Players no longer have nicknames because they don't stay with the same team long enough to forge lasting friendships. For this you can blame free agency. You might also blame the soulless, tax-subsidized, sentiment-destroying monstrosities we call ballparks today. I'm more than a little suprised neither David McCarron, Gail Chamberlain nor you made the connection.