EVIL~! alkeiper

I'll bite. The Astros Run differential is much better than the Cubs, and they've got a 1 1/2 game lead. Braves-Astros in the playoffs. WHO CHOKES?!

How exactly does one concentrate on winning the Wild Car and not the division? Do the parameters change? Either way, the object is to win games. 3 1/2 should be enough to win. The Cardinals are effectively finished at this point. The Yankees are just effectively in as well.

Tomorrow's the last off day for the season for the Marlins, while the Phils have one last day off next Monday. The Phils schedule looks favorable. Six games against our direct competition, and three against the Reds. 9 of 12 are home games. The Phillies are 45-27 at home this year.

Tomorrow is the big fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley. Its a big fight for both fighters, as both have suffered a few high profile losses, and a win here could boost their careers. Personally, I think Mosley will take the fight via decision. I think he ran into a bad matchup against Vernon Forrest. He beat De La Hoya before, and I have no doubt he can do it again.

I've had it. If the Phillies lose the Wild Card, I'm sending in my resume, and applying for the manager's job MYSELF.

I didn't see the fight, but it doesn't sound that bad. Alot of the media, including the Associated Press, thought Mosley won the fight.

Hmm. Marlins are 1-5 against the Giants this year. And if that doesn't mean anything, than the Phillies 4-9 against the Marlins doesn't mean anything either.

Fuck Jeff Loria. I say that not as a Phillies fan, but as a baseball fan. Loria's sale of the Expos was a bigger discrace upon baseball than the Chicago Black Sox.

Those of you familiar with my thoughts in this forum know that I'm fairly lenient when evaluating players. I give the benefit of a doubt when a player is in a slump, and I don't always criticize poor behavior. With that in mind, Jose Mesa must go, NOW. Its not enough that he leaves the team after the season. The Phillies should release him immediately after tonight's game. Mesa has shown a complete inability to survive an appearance without allowing runs. He's posted a post all-star game 9.77 ERA. So far this month, he's posted an abysmal 27.00 ERA. And that doesn't even include tonight's 3 run home run to Reggie Sanders. Mesa can't show his face in the Vet these days without seeing a massive wall of boos. The Philly fans won't accept him at this point, and he's not good enough to keep around. I say cut him loose.

I remember a vendor at a Red Barons game in April. A chilly night, and he got sick of trying to shill cold beverages, so he resorted to "piping hot Coca-Cola here!"

Probably. I've look over and over for the reason, but I've never found it. Even baseballprimer.com didn't have an answer.

At the Vet, one fan has turned "everybody hits....woohoo!" into a catchphrase and a few appearances on Comcast.

To clear up a mistake I've seen a few times on this thread, the White Sox last World Series win was in 1917, not 1912.

It seems like a convienient way to give Javy scheduled off days.

I can take a little pride in knowing that the Vet avoided last place. 29th baby!!

77 years. You can't count the years before, because you can't make the World Series when it doesn't exist. If its '97 again, then call me next year. I've got about $5 and change, and I want to buy Lowell.

As much as the Cubs-Red Sox has the drought vibe going, people forget that the White Sox have gone LONGER without winning the World Series. I would say so, considering its the last game and it may very well determine the playoff future of the team. 60,000+ fans will make for a fun atmosphere as well.

Well, the Phillies laid down a beatdown of epic proportion against the Braves. The Marlins won as well, so the wild card is still tied.

I wouldn't pay for them personally, but it seems like a good way to portion tickets. High risk = good seats.

MLB can not be like the NFL, and it would suck if they were. The NFL needs a different system in place, because they don't have the farm systems like MLB does. The farm system is why MLB doesn't need a salary cap. A team with low resources can build their farm system and remain competitive. In any case, the system the NFL has is grossly unfair to the players. The MLB's union won't allow anything close to the NFL's system, and with good reason.

That's not a competitive balance problem, that's a poor business problem. Baseball is a pure free-market system. Your team can make as much money as it wants, and spend as much money as it wants. Or as little as it wants. Too many owners run poor teams and cry foul when they don't win. The system has its problems, but it is absolutley fair. Its then up to the owners to make something out of it.

I want to start a fan group called "Placido's Polancos." My bro ask me what a Polanco was. I told him a Polanco is a slick middle infielder. I think it works.

He wanted to sign a player they had no use for just so another team couldn't have him? I wish I could be that careless with MY money. This is why MLB fans are screaming for an NFL-style salary cap. Fuck the salary cap. The Yankees haven't won the last two years. There's no competitive balance problem in baseball. All the salary cap does is rob teams of any kind of identity.

The Phillies and Marlins just keep winning. The Phillies are 10-1 in their last 11 games. Tonight the Phillies face a tough test in the Braves. As for fan groups, the Padilla Floatilla owns all. Except for those four guys who painted W-A-L-K on their chests, took off their shirts for each ball, and danced in the aisle after Jeremy Giambi drew a walk.

Correct. He threw 1 inning in a game in 1987, struck out one, and gave up no hits or runs.