Bruiser Chong

*edited for accuracy* I got the feeling Soriano would hit it out for some reason. Wow.

OMG PIAZZA'S TRYING TO THROW THE GAME~!!! Seriously, they look to already be having problems getting on the same page. The NL's going to have a long night ahead of them at this rate.

I don't care for Williams, but that can't be easy to be there tonight in your home ballpark, already knowing you're probably out of job within the next 24 hours, and get heavily booed. And I think the NL will take it this year.

Oh, I think it's already reached the level of embarrassing. It's dynamite and all the George has deep pockets, but what's it say about the team with the best record in baseball, one of the biggest leads in any division in baseball and having eight All-Stars, yet feels they still need to add a future HOF pitcher to win it all? Don't give me that "they want to win" crap, because considering the guys they've got, that shouldn't be a problem. A lot of teams over the years have done it all with much fewer resources.

I heard Morgan mention that Tejada may be the best all around SS in the game once. This was wedged into the Jeter lovefest.

Good god, Tejada. At least O's fans finally have something to cheer for. As it is, looks like it's going to be the two last minute replacements in the finals.

I think it's safe to say that Thome and Sosa were the biggest busts in the first round. Sosa, especially.

At least he got in a bit of a groove at the end to keep his chances alive. I figured the cork jokes would surface after that, though.

The hill was apparently supposed to be a homefield advantage, despite the Astros centerfielders not being able to adjust to it, either. As for this thing, I think Sosa or an underdog is gonna take it.

In Bonds' defense, he's not scoring as many runs because once he gets on base, there's no one behind him to drive him home on a consistent basis. Rolen usually has the likes of Edmonds and the surprising Reggie Sanders backing him.

Yes, because there's nothing more romantic than tying that special guy or gal in your life down to the bed and hobbling them.

Honestly, what can he do right now? I watched most of the game today and their lack of offense would ensure a poor record for any team, good pitching or not. Beltran got them back into the game, but their pen is simply too thin now. If you can get quality starts and somehow make it to the 9th with Lidge, they'd be in a good situation. Unfortunately, their starters aren't known for going all that deep into games.

I'd much rather have post season meetings between the unstoppable force and the immovable object over two teams that were in third place (but three games back) going into September facing off. That's not how it usually works out, though. Honestly, being dominant during the regular season is great and all, but getting to the postseason first and foremost is really the important thing. It's not the most dominant team that always wins. In fact, it would seem that in baseball, the heavy favorites are often some of the earliest exits. Case in point, San Fransico and Atlanta, two of the best teams record-wise in baseball last season, didn't make it past the first round.

I enjoy pennant races for divisions that aren't the NL Central. I love these close pennant races, but if I had my way, the Cubs would have the sort of lead the Cards currently hold over them.

Word is that the Cubs may be trying to send Alex Gonzalez to Montreal for Orlando Cabrera, once Gonzo returns. I'm not crazy about Cabrera, but for the most part, he's an upgrade offensively and defensively. Best yet, if the deal were to go through, the Cubs would likely not have to give up any prospects. I'd say go for it, since Gonzalez' contract is up after this year and he's reportedly not part of the team's plans for 2005.

I picked Rolen simply because he's been the best in the NL the first half of the season. He leads the majors in RBIs, has hit well for average and power; draws walks; doesn't strike out too often. He's amazing with the glove, something that Barry Bonds no longer is. Plus, his team has a hefty lead in the most competitive division in baseball; something I don't think they could accomplish without his glove and bat. And I won't be sold on Takatsu until he goes through the league a second time. If you'll recall, Dontrelle Willis was basically unstoppable the first half of last season, but the second time around, teams hit him much better.

Urbina is shakey at times, but considering what we've got right now, I wouldn't mind getting him. Thing is, even the Tigers aren't completely out of the playoff race yet. One's gotta believe they'll begin to fade eventually, but with no one in that division really taking charge of things, they're hanging around. Actually, aside from the Yanks and Cards, no team has really pulled away in any of the divisions. It's making for some interesting possible playoff scenarios, but it may also mean this year's trading before the deadline could be more dull than in years past.

Perhaps Smoltz, but the way the Braves have turned it around and considering how weak the NL East is, I don't see the Braves being completely out of it until the deadline has passed. It's a shame the Dodgers are still in it, otherwise the Cubs could make a run at someone like Mota, who's definitely got great stuff and could be tried in the closer role.

Boy, you could really tell Hawkins hadn't pitched in a week. That aside, he's not closer material and I think they should go shopping for one before the deadline, since Borowski's not due back until sometime in August. The ninth inning aside, I thought the Cubs looked much better than they have in the last week and a half, as they made things happen and took advantage of most of their scoring opportunities. I was also impressed that until the ninth, Cubs pitching had held the Cards to just one run and a handful of hits. Cubs needed this one badly, since a loss wouldn't have just meant nine games back, but it would've also meant that they'd be unable to do anything about it for almost another week.

Even if Griffey hadn't gone down again, I don't know if I'd give him the award. He was showing shades of his former self at times, but he was also batting in the mid .200's and had been in a horrible slump since his final steps towards joining the 500 Club.

More importantly, he's already up to 60 pitches. Great to see the Cubs finally break out with a semi-big inning. I won't be completely satisfied until the game's over, though. They are in St. Louis, after all.

Once again, I wonder why Rey Ordonez and Mark Grudzielanek are in the lineup. I'd rather see the rookie in there than Ordonez.

Maybe it's because it's the only game left to play before the All-Star break or the fact that this game may be the deciding factor as to whether the Cubs can contend in the NL Central, but I'm getting a postseason vibe from this game. The Cubs are sending their best to the mound and I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull out the stops in order to avoid back-to-back sweeps and being nine out going into the break.

Looking at those numbers, some people would be quick to think that the Beltran trade was a bad one. And I still think it was, since it's clear that Lidge can't carry the pen on his own. Despite that, Beltran has been hitting and playing a great centerfield. It's just tough to win games when only one guy is doing anything, which in this case, is Beltran. Bagwell has completely fallen from grace; Berkman, after being one of the hottest hitters in May and early June, is in a big slump; Kent is a bit injury-prone; besides them, there's not a whole lot of offensive thunder in the lineup to begin with. Add in the mediocre bullpen and Pettitte injuries, and it's not tough to see why they've been sliding so badly.

Not if they keep dropping games like they have been. They're down 3-2 again today in the 8th, which means we're prepping for Gagne time. Actually, scratch that, since just as soon as I typed that, Paul LaDucha hit a grandslam, making it a five-run game.