devo

Reds win. The NL Central will probably be as follows... Cardinals - Astros .5 Reds 2.5 It's strange to think about it, but the Cardinals might not even enter into the equation at this point. A tiebreaker between the Astros and Reds would be crazy, but it's possible.

Beltran's hit his 41st home run, tying a Mets club record. Ah, Todd Hundley. I miss you.

Sounds crazy, but I'm happy that's the case. Martinez is pretty obviously not one hundred percent, and if months of rest and rehabilitation have brought him to this point, I seriously doubt another week or two is going to do the trick. A healthy Steve Trachsel or John Maine is better than a patched together Pedro Martinez. Edit: God I love that 60 MPH curve Orlando Hernandez throws.

I'm not saying it's fair. I'm just saying that 60 is a big round number, the kind that strikes voters right between the eyes and distracts them from anything else.

Even if Pujols is more deserving (which I believe he is), I think it's fair to say that if Howard hits two more home runs, he's going to win the award hands down.

I have no idea why lefties don't just throw continous sliders out of the zone to Adam Dunn. He's embarassed himself twice tonight flailing at such offerings.

The official line was that Pedro would start Game One if he was healthy, and that Glavine would start said game otherwise. I'm guessing Glavine will get the job at this point.

Final line for Martinez... 2.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR Christ.

Pedro Martinez should not get a spot on the playoff roster. There. I said it.

Ramon Castro hits a double on his first at-bat back from the disabled list. Thank God the days of Mike DiFelice and Kelly Stinnett are (probably) over.

I hope you're right. I honestly don't care if they lost every game after clinching the division; they just look completely lethargic out there and I'm praying that they'll shake if off when Oct. 3rd rolls around. Anyway...Reds pull it out, Astros win, and, as said, San Diego just leapt ahead of St. Louis. It's looking pretty likely that, by the end of the night, it'll be Cardinals - , Astros 1.5, Reds 2.5. I love baseball.

Reds in the midst of losing a five-run lead to the Marlins. It's 5-3 now in the bottom of the eighth; Cincy could have gotten out of the inning 5-2 if Weathers hadn't misplayed a weak grounder hit right at him. And the Mets are just being destroyed. I'm getting a bit concerned.

David Ross has hit two home runs in two at bats, both to Pro Player's left field upper deck. Willis does not look good out there tonight. Edit: That it is.

Do Mets fans want to face Oswalt, Clemens and Pettitte in the first round? I don't wanna face 'em at all. That's one of the reasons I'm pulling for the Reds (the main one being that I'd go to whatever NLCS/NLDS games occured in Cincinnati).

With all the hubbub over the Astros, I neglected to realize that the Reds were only a game behind Houston in the Central. Of course, their odds of winning the division are even slimmer (3.5 is a signifcantly more difficult gap to overcome with six games left to play), but hey, with the way the Cardinals have been playing, it's not impossible.

"Four hours here, and then back to your FEMA trailer." Nice.

Yeesh. Vick had three great passes on that drive and they could only make use of one of 'em.

No one cares how much you appreciate your teammates, Warrick Dunn. The players introducing their team is arguably the most annoying thing about the entire production.

Hey, there's Allan Touissaint!

Man, it'd be nice if the Falcons just destroyed the Saints tonight. Not that I have anything against New Orleans; it'd just be really funny, is all.

And now they're going to play a football game? Wow!

I didn't hypothesize very accurately about the last episode, but I think I've got a pretty good guess at what the next new episode's twist is. With last season's designers (with the exception of Santino) all playing it safe on the final show before Fashion Week for fear of elimination, I'm guessing that "This year, we're not committed to a final three." means that only those who impress on the final runway show move on to Fashion Week. So, anywhere from two to four designers could make it to the finale. If that's the case, I think it's a great idea. The Evening Gown episode from last year that decided the final three was one of the least exciting of season two mainly thanks to the blandness of the competitor's entries (again, with the exception of Santino's "Explosion in a Sequin Factory" gown). This change in the rules virtually guarantees that the designers will be going all out to try and impress the judges.

CBS, mainly because I appreciate how low-key and sharp their presentation is. NBC in second because I really dislike the opening and the whole "Rock Star" thing. FOX's graphics are stupid and their announcers are annoying. ESPN doesn't do anything right.

Yeesh. I've never seen anyone just up and vomit on the field like that. Also, that Broncos receiver sold the offensive interference like an Italian soccer star.

Way to go, Broncos. I didn't expect this game to be this one-sided (score-wise, at least) at all.