Bored

I always thought they were angling to make the Raw title the #1 belt in the company over the Real WWE World Title and this would pretty much make it official, if the match happens. Oh well maybe they can turn Jindrak into a mega over heel by then where it won't seem so out of whack for him to be wrestling for the Real World Title. Yes that was sarcasm.

The better pick would be Tim Salmon simply since Abreu will eventually be picked where Salmon is past his prime and thus it's highly unlikely he'll ever play in an All-Star game.

Which poses the question (that I've tried to figure out before) why the hell are the Pirates in the Central? When the Brewers moved to the N.L. why didn't the Pirates move to the East? It just makes no sense at all that the Pirates and Phillies aren't in the same division.

From Al's column: Just to add to that, Gibson was injured at the All-Star break in '88 or otherwise he would have been chosen to the team. My suggestion next week is to put a list together of the worst players ever to make the All-Star team.

First voting updates for the A.L. are out tommorrow and then the N.L. on Wednesday.

Scott Boras has to be pissed. Oh and I can't see any team bailing out the Red Sox by trading for Lowe at the deadline. Maybe if they trade for another starter they can stick him in the bullpen.

Okay time for Billy Beane to swallow his pride and admit Arthur Rhodes as a closer was a terrible move. A's get swept by the Indians all in late inning fashion, today being the worst with Rhodes blowing the save then losing the game on a wild pitch. Just terrible.

If they were in any other division the Giants wouldn't have much of a shot. The N.L. West is just terrible and 85 wins might win that division.

The little shit was doing it against the Angels so it helped the A's out. Trust me it won't last.

A's lose 8-6. Crosby's defense, Ken Macha, and the bullpen continue to cost this team games on a regular basis. Getting swept by the Indians wouldn't be pretty.

Looks like Bobby Crosby has just cost the A's a game for the 3rd time this year with a late inning error. A's down 7-6 in the 8th.

Really just a bizarre and unecessary move by the Angels. It almost makes me think they are worried about Vlad's back.

From the "holy shit" department, in Mark Buehrle's last four starts the White Sox have out scored their opponents 43-2.

Talking about the Orioles pitching, right? Hey A's broke even against the Red Sox...sorta. Final total score for the series: 23-23. Not bad when your out scored 21-8 the first two games.

Bench warmer. As for a real position he was an outfielder. Beane fun fact: He bunted in his final MLB at bat on October 1st, 1989 in the 10th inning of an A's 4-3 win over the Royals. I was that game to boot.

November of 1988, the A's sign Billy Beane and win the World Series in '89.

But I picked up the Greek God of Walks. Bow down! Not that BillBavasiOverdrive has any chance in the league after the shocking first month of being in first place.

So when are the A's going to fire Ken Macha already? Leaving Redman in there for 127 pitches and to let the Red Sox blow it open in the 6th.

I'd say the recylicng episode changed my views a little. I mean I'm not a big recylcer but if you asked me if I thought recylcing was actually a good thing I would have said yes. Turns out beyond recycling aluminum cans that it's a big waste of time and money.

Penn is an athiest and very outspoken about religion. Anyways loved the episodes this season on PETA, recycling, and drugs. I did think the last episode of the season on plastic surgery and diets was kinda weak. Wish they had focused more on the guy who only ate salads thus because of it had developed osteoprosis and lost all of his sex drive yet was still only eating salads as he thought it was good for his body. Anyone have any guesses as to what topics they might cover in the new episodes in August?

Cleveland is the obvious #1. They haven't had a World Champion since the '64 Browns.

I'm already calling the Reds as this year's Royals, in the race all the year but will eventually fade at the end. Tons of offense but not enough pitching (just like last year's Royals) to make it to the postseason no matter what the Reds fanboys say.

Nine hits, four walks, in four innings? Yikes that is a disturbingly bad performance by Hudson and really out of no where. I can't actually see the game because of those lame blackout rules even though I don't live in the Bay Area and can't see the game on a local channel. Oh well good night to be blacked out.

Players pick the pitchers and reserves as of last year.

New picks for this week. AMERICAN LEAGUE C: JORGE POSADA, New York; Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit 1B: TINO MARTINEZ, Tampa Bay; Jason Giambi, New York; Frank Thomas*, Chicago 2B: JUAN URIBE*, Chicago; Alfonso Soriano, Texas 3B: MELVIN MORA, Baltimore; Hank Blalock, Texas SS: MICHAEL YOUNG, Texas; Carlos Guillen*, Detroit OF: MANNY RAMRIEZ, Boston; VLADIMIR GUERRERO, Anaheim; JOSE GUILLEN, Anaheim; Magglio Ordonez, Chicago; Carlos Beltran, Kansas City; Rondell White, Detroit; Frank Catalanotto*, Toronto Pitchers: CURT SCHILLING, Boston; Cliff Lee, Cleveland; Tim Hudson, Oakland; Mark Mulder*, Oakland; Kevin Brown, New York; Kenny Rogers, Texas; C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland; Freddy Garcia, Seattle; Brad Radke*, Minnesota; Mariano Rivera, New York; Joe Nathan, Minnesota; Keith Foulke, Boston NATIONAL LEAGUE C: MIKE PIAZZA, New York; Johnny Estrada, Atlanta 1B: CRAIG WILSON, Pittsburgh; Jim Thome, Philadelphia; Lyle Overbay, Milwaukee; Sean Casey*, Cincinnati 2B: JEFF KENT, Houston; Mark Loretta*, San Diego 3B: MIKE LOWELL, Florida; Scott Rolen, St. Louis SS: JACK WILSON, Pittsburgh; Royce Clayton, Colorado OF: LANCE BERKMAN, Houston; BARRY BONDS, San Francisco; JEROMY BURNITZ, Colorado; Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia; Adam Dunn, Cincinnati; Pat Burrell*, Philadelphia Pitchers: ROGER CLEMENS, Houston; Brad Penny, Florida; Carlos Zambrano, Chicago; Tom Glavine, New York; Randy Johnson*, Arizona; Jake Peavy, San Diego; Matt Clement, Chicago; Ben Sheets, Milwaukee; Livan Hernandez, Montreal; Armando Benitez, Florida; Jose Mesa*, Pittsburgh; Eric Gagne, Los Angeles