EVIL~! alkeiper

Milwaukee's a tough team to get a handle on. You can root for them to get that first title, but then you remember the Milwaukee Braves already brought a championship to the city. Win one for Bob Uecker? Nice thought, but he got his ring with the '64 Cardinals.

The pure number of situations. Exactly for that reason. Most teams as good as the Angels have fewer opportunities, since they have greater leads.

I think it's a remarkable achievement in general. I hope teams recognize though that it is largely the product of an unusual number of opportunities.

Apparently it's not working the other way. Marathon games seem to be in fashion tonight. The Scranton/Durham game went 13 innings as well, a 1-0 victory.

Brown is 26, having a fluke year at AAA. It's over even anything he established at lower levels. Cash is a defensive backstop. Ross was a nice pickup for a backup, but is he any sort of long term solution? Obviously the Reds did not think so. I just don't see anyone else in the system beyond Kottaras.

They are tied with the Phillies in the wild card race. Goddamn.

He's better than Drew I think. I'll concede that one. Rick Sutcliffe is now saying that George Kottaras could be the starting catcher for the Sox next year. No he won't. I'd consider it an absolute long shot for him to even be the back-up. I know these guys have to fill three hours with talk, but at least do a little research. This is a guy who once ranked on top prospect lists. While he has flaws, he's still young, has power and discipline, and the IL league OPS is 20 points lower. The catching market is extremely thin, so I could see a cheap internal option ranking better than an expensive "proven" catcher of similar quality. Kevin Cash is clearly inferior and he's started 36 games.

He's better than Drew I think.

The Heenan backstage stuff is on the first Ric Flair dvd as well.

I agree with this. The Phillies are slipping, the Mets need to step on their throats.

I'm assuming this is stemming from Mr. Perfect's challenge at Wrestlemania V? It's just a house show match.

Right now I say. 1. Red Sox 2. Angels 3. Rays 4. White Sox 5. Twins When things are close, I tend to go on multi-year records. The Red Sox and Angels, coming off of multiple postseason appearances, have proven they can maintain this level of play. The Rays are very good but they are new. For the White Sox and Twins, I'm looking at very poor records against the AL East (13-22 and 9-19 respectively).

Dumb fan play of the night in Boston, as fan interference gives the Rays an out on a ball Dan Johnson had no prayer of catching.

Angels won today, they are a Rangers' loss away from officially clinching the division.

Looks like we're going for option #2 of Phillies seasons. Fall behind, make futile late charge. Usually seasons fall into these three categories. 1. Jump ahead, falter late in the season. This happened in 1964, a lesser extent in 2001. It almost happened in 1950, but they held on. 2. Fall behind, make futile charge. Every season this decade seemingly. They overcame it last season. 3. Complete Sucktitude. For example, 1918-48. When they don't fall into this pattern, it's an exceptional playoff charge. Note it's uncommonness. 125+ years of existence and this team has had one truly dominant season. And when they did, the Reds were even better in the West.

Good day of baseball upcoming this afternoon. Marlins/Phillies starting now, Red Sox/Rays at 7pm (ESPN2). The LA Angels have an opportunity to clinch the West with a win and Rangers loss. Plus of local interest, game two of the Governor's Cup final today in Scranton. The Brewers may actually beat CC Sabathia, up 3-1 in the 7th.

And nice outfits for the Road Warriors. Jeez guys, were you aware you were going to appear on television?

Prime Time from Sept. '91, featuring Ric Flair's debut! Man what a reaction for Sean Mooney from the audience plants.

I'm saving the snides remarks about Jim Rice this time. If Barry Bonds isn't elected to the Hall of Fame upon eligibility, it will cease to become a useful institution. At that point, ability no longer becomes a factor of election and it is just a matter of who got caught using PEDs and who didn't.

Clark was intentionally walked twice as often as Jim Rice, but you already knew that. Clark gets little support because he was a first baseman who hit 284 home runs. In a better era his statistics look better, but as it is he's not deserving anyway.

Fielder would be a panic move. Honestly, there is about a decade's worth of evidence to suggest that Prince Fielder is a better hitter than Mike Lamb. Using Mat Gamel at third might be an interesting move. This weekend is make or break time for the Brewers. Three out of four from the Phillies and they can start printing playoff tickets.

Honestly, I was disappointed in the documentary myself. Nothing controversial, I just didn't think most of the subject matter was interesting.

If the Phillies are serious about a playoff run, they can not let Kyle Kendrick make another start. After tonight's disaster, his ERA for the season is now 5.43, and there is really nothing about his peripherals to suggest it should be otherwise.

I'm headed to Scranton for Game One of the Governor's Cup playoffs tonight. Durham has top pitching prospect David Price on the mound.