Bruiser Chong

Yeah, since when does Walrond not pitch within the Cubs' organization? Not that I'm mourning the loss of ol' Les. The Brewers would have to be the clear-cut favorites in the NL if Gallardo weren't done of the year. As it is, I expect this will make the NL Central race much tighter, but I think the Cubs can hold off the Brewers. Milwaukee should get the WC, though.

I think it's silly to be stressing out about a team when they play in the same division as clearly superior squads such as Boston and Tampa Bay. And you know, with the D-Backs doing all they can to make it a race in the NL West, the Giants are within striking distance. Their lineup is pathetic, but their starting pitching in a short series would be scary.

Given the Cubs' road woes, I'm all for putting the best players on the field to rep the NL, whether they play in Chicago or not.

Soriano isn't playing. He's only now getting around to any live batting practice.

I was at a BBQ, so I couldn't keep tabs on the Cards/Cubs game. We went inside for a bit during the ninth of the Yankees and Red Sox, however, so I was able to sit through the agonizing sequence of seeing the 4-2 Cubs ninth-inning lead in the top right corner slowly turn into a 5-4 Cards win.

What exactly prompts someone to drink three of those things within a short span of time? And Marvin is less attractive than Gilbert Gottfried.

We got that hot fish grease, ouch!

I'm more convinced the Dodgers would pull the trigger on that trade than the Brewers. The Dodgers, from what I understand, have the pieces to at least make a reasonable offer. Moreover, it sounds like C.C. would like to be West coast bound. Whatever. So long as the Cubs add a guy who can fill the number two slot, I won't complain about whether they get Sabathia or not.

At least we won, right?

Yeah, Furcal's undergoing back surgery. Jose Reyes and Keith Hernandez almost came to blows on the team plane. What a season for the amazing Metropolitans!

The O's want to trade for David Eckstein. Watch them get all 2004 Mets on us and try to accrue more overpriced talent for some unrealistic playoff run. There's absolutely no way the O's finish with a better record than the Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Tigers, Twins, Angels or A's. I'd be surprised if they finished with a better record than the Yankees and Rangers, for good measure.

I hate when someone lists The Bible as their favorite book.

I can't even fuck with Fiddy & Co. any more. I actually felt embarrassed for 50 after seeing the video for the album's first single (the one in the solider uniforms). And now he's messing with that T-Pain voice distorter, which is legitimately one of the worst things to ever plague rap music.

I'm going to make this the place where I say Be is overrated. "The Corner" is probably one of my favorite songs ever, but the rest of the album is real spotty. Not worthy of the classic status many have given it, anyway. Then again, I'm thinking I just don't like Common as much as I used to or felt I had to.

Carlos Marmol's having a rough go at it the last couple of weeks. First the Tampa Bay meltdown, then the Carlos Quentin go-ahead check-swing homer, and tonight a three-run shot from Ray Durham that tied things up. His ERA's shot up to like 3.50 up from the low ones.

This is a great way for new fans to see what one of WCW's few genuinely great ideas was all about. I doubt the majority of these matches will ever land on DVD and the videos with the earliest matches on them go for big bucks, so this is really the only way newer fans are going to see them.

Varitek looks pretty toasty right now. Is that a safe assessment, Red Sox fans?

Good old, Lewis Black. That line fits your avatar quite well, by the way. Were it not a paraphrased post, Marvin's post would be the dumbest thing he's ever said on here. As it is, he didn't ridicule the notion, which suggests he, somewhere in his warped reality where the O's stand a prayer of finishing higher than fourth, agrees with it.

Someone over at the OH parsed the numbers out on the effect the 12 sunday losing streak has had. Take out those 12 loses and the Os are 42-28 which is a .594 winning % which would equal a 49-33 record which would put them in 2nd place 1.5 games behind TB, not counting the fact that 2 of the 12 sunday loses were to TB which if converted to wins would put the Os in first place. I shudder to think what these threads will look like if the O's are ever actually good again. Polanco just got robbed of an RBI thanks to one of the most unorthodox putouts I've ever seen. Grounder up the middle stopped by the shortstop and rolled from the glove to the second baseman's glove for the out.

I'm apparently going to hear Crank dat Soulja Boy at least once a night all summer. Generally when I'm trying to sleep. Kids.

That's what bothered me most about the situation. It's not like he shoved a guy who is going to fight back, even if he's able to. The city of Boston would have a fit if their star player got hurt by anyone, regardless of how at fault Manny was. The incident reeks of hypocrisy on Manny's part, too, since he and Youkillis went at it less than a month ago after Manny took issue with Youkillis' pissy antics after bad at bats. Elsewhere, I would greatly appreciate the Mets resembling a good team for at least the next three days. They may resume being an expensive disaster Thursday if they so desire.

Apparently Manny being Manny includes shoving the team's travel secretary to the ground when he can't secure you 16 tickets on the day of the game.

The Cubs played some of their worst baseball of the year during that stretch and I was subjected to three games worth of idiotic White Sox fans.

Firecrackers and the like going off at all hours of the night in the weeks surrounding the 4th of July. Also, neighbors playing music loudly, especially at night. I'm blessed with experiencing both right now. Firecrackers and Three 6 Mafia ballads blasting at 11 on a Sunday night. How lucky?

Thank god interleague is over. What a nightmare.