Bruiser Chong

That god damn Billy Wagner.

I don't like the separation of the wall and profile. But like all cosmetic changes on the INTERNETS, I'm sure I'll learn to accept it.

No more lead in the NL Central. Brew Crew capitalizes on the Cub loss with a win and Czech finally hangs himself. This is taking on some eerie similarities to the NL Central race last year with the roles reversed. The Cubs finally caught up to the Brewers on Aug. 1 after a very sluggish starter. The Brewers, after a similarly shaky start, have caught the Cubbies a few days short of that date. Gonna be a back-and-forth battle the rest of the way.

The Cards have rid of Anthony Reyes, who goes to the Tribe in exchange for an AA player. Maybe Reyes can become something close to the pitcher he was pegged to be before Duncan got a hold of him.

FWIW, the ump who tossed Lou after that play is the same jackass who tossed him in that game against the White Sox. The Cubs, meanwhile, have resorted to the offensive approach that scoring is not possible without the solo home run.

I wouldn't call Wedge a great manager or even a particularly good one, but it's hard to blame him for the team's futility this year. Two of their best hitters (Hafner and Martinez) have missed almost the entire season and had injuries sapping their power when they weren't on the DL. And they've been without their second best starter, although I guess Carmona is by default their best starter now that CC is gone. Todd Jones sucks by the way. It's not picnic being a Cubs fan, but to see Jones put on his tightrope walking act each time he appears is probably the causing more than a few gray hairs in the Motor City.

Something like losing a very close loved one. I know I battled some depression a couple years back when my mom almost, to borrow a medical phrase, kicked the bucket and it looked like she would spend the rest of her life under some sort of medical supervision. I never wanted to die, but I remember getting the point where the bad kept piling up and I just became sort of numb to everything around me for a while. I know most of this girl's whining has to do with being unable to find a job post-college and not having a trove of friends by her side going, "Poor you!"

I think the fact that they were a sub-.500 team before this alleged implosion means you probably shouldn't take it too hard.

I'm surprised PTW cut out the actual guitar shot. That, not Honky tossing Liz aside or the Mega-Powers handshake, is the first thing I picture when thinking about the whole angle. - Kim Chee wrestling? That's either Danny Davis or Lombardi. Muraco is looking disgustingly juiced, too. - They were really pushing for the Stallions to be that next hot tag team. Along with the gradual push they've been getting on TV the last few months, they and the Bees are the survivors in that big tag match at Survivor Series. - I didn't realize JYD was slated to be on Savage's team. That means he was originally scheduled to participate in the first two Survivor Series, but got replaced on both shows. - That "Girls in Cars" video, like everything else related to that album, is uber cheesy. But it's a catchy little diddy. - That Tito/Haku match is the opener on Coliseum's Best of the WWF Vol. 15.

I'm generally hesitant to revive this thread, but then I see nonsense like "I'd rather be dead than live this bullshit life." I don't know if this broad's in therapy. If not, she needs to be. Or to just off herself, because really, there are only a handful of scenarios that can justify disliking your life enough to even be referencing the desire to be dead.

Bob Howry is fucking dead to me. Dead, you hear me? Oh, baseball.

I think I would've rather seen four decisive Brewer wins if they had to sweep the series. The Cards should have conceivably won at least two, if not three, of the games in that series. But these things will happen when Ryan Franklin is closing down games for your team.

You honestly believe the team with the best home record in baseball is going to drop four straight home games? Even I'm not that negative. I'd be surprised with anything less than a split.

I don't like the idea of any big name taking on a villain role in the next movie. The source material and direction of the original movie franchise obviously contributed to the sour taste left by most of the villains. But even the first two movies are affected by the big name star in the villain role. As much as I like Batman and Batman Returns, there's never any doubt that you're watching Jack Nicholson play the Joker or Danny DeVito play the Penguin. I'd rather get someone who can embody the character. I don't care if he or she is a big name. Depp and DDL would likely do the character justice, but it doesn't strike me as the role either guy would take. Moreover, I really don't think the Joker needs to be brought back. He's my favorite comic book villain, but I think his point was made in TDK. Were Ledger still alive, I wouldn't mind seeing the Joker resurface as a supporting villain, but he doesn't need to be the lead in another movie.

Czech is probably stringing himself up right now. Me? I prefer good old fashioned throwing/hitting shit.

Derrek Lee is pushing hard to become my Billy Wagner.

Billy Wagner is so awful. Wait, what? Oh.

That was quite the unnecessary dive by Utley.

I love how Viva is always somehow able to justify any deal the Astros make. Remember when Woody was allegedly not a bad signing? It's admirable in a way. Honestly, the Astros will be the most difficult team to remain loyal to in the NL over the next several years. They're poised to be unbelievably bad.

Is that free Extra Innings preview still going or was that just last week?

No touching the dummy. No touching!

They aren't finished, but they're going to struggle incredibly if they don't start utilizing a patient approach like they were in the first half. As for Lee, his overall numbers are fine, but if you take out his scorching April, it's pretty pedestrian. He's hitting for average this month, but his actual production is almost non-existent. He hasn't homered since June 20. He has five homers since May 11. More concerning, though, is his approach at the plate. Even when the power wasn't there, he could still detect bad pitches and draw walks. He's swinging at a lot of crap now and I've never seen him ground into so many double-plays.

Czech, you can move a little closer to the ledge. Derrek Lee's 2005 season was definitely flukey, but I'd take anything close to that over the double-play grounding-into fuckhead manning first for Chicago these days.

More frustrating about the offensive impotence is that they're not having patient at-bats, anymore. And they're wasting an absolute gem by Rich Harden, who's only given up one hit so far. Unfortunately, that hit was a homer to Alex Romero (WHO?!).