EVIL~! alkeiper

Rollins is getting hot at just the right time. He's reached base in ten consecutive plate appearances.

Jerry Manuel pops out of the dugout, tying run at the plate, leaves Pedro in at 104 pitches. This can't possibly backfire, right?

Joe Posnanski on the White Sox/Pierzynski call. http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/08/25/he-long-gone/ Video of the play, complete with unbiased White Sox commentary. http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808243362907 Looking now at a video of the play, yikes that's a bad call. Not the worst ever though, to cross that boundary you have to blow something in the rulebook.

My computer says it's August. Should've drafted Dave Winfield.

Sold.

None of the above. The editing of Jesse Ventura off of matches probably bugs me the most. This.

Fry's a right fielder. For kicks, the Scranton/WB Yankees have a pitcher named Phil Coke.

Too late, they already have him.

The Pirates picked up minor league catcher Robinzon Diaz to complete the Jose Castillo trade. That's a surprisingly nice little move. Diaz had a bad year but he's still 24 and a career .303 hitter in the minor leagues. I'll make a bold prediction. IF the Pirates can find some way to upgrade their middle infield next season, they could finally beat .500.

Yankees 5 Highlanders 2 WP: Raschi, LP: Lopat, Sv: Rivera Don Mattingly hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and the Yankees added three more in the third.

They're not exactly playing gimmies here. The Phillies are a tough team.

The big issue might be the steroid whispers, but I think so many players were involved that it will eventually become a dead issue. He at least has huge RBI numbers to hang his hat on.

Umbright died as an active player with the club, so certainly it was a legitmate thing to honor his memory. Don Wilson is pretty shaky. The rest I have no issue with. Jose Cruz was the f'n man for the Astros in the 1980s. Dierker was both a good pitcher and manager for the club. Bagwell and Biggio will go to the Hall soon enough (they better).

If Pierzynski had to run onto the grass to avoid Aybar when Aybar doesn't have the ball, that's obstruction. Doesn't matter how Pierzynski sells it. If someone has video of it though, I'd like to see it.

Santo doesn't even have heels.

Beating Reyes (or practically any player's GCL stats) isn't particularly impressive. GCL stats aren't really indicative of future success. A 16 year old that can handle a professional league though is impressive. He's almost certainly now among the Mets' top five prospects. One caveat, he's likely to move off shortstop in the future. Comparing him to Jose Reyes is disingenuous, they are not similar players.

It was also the first MSG Raw.

The Yankees released Jason Lane from Scranton (understandable, since they now have a glut of outfielders in the minors). The Red Sox snapped him up. Coincidently, he'll likely play for Pawtucket, who will play Scranton in the first round of the IL playoffs.

Yeah, wish NBC had a live feed of that but oh well. Bolt is insane.

USA/Japan baseball is a half-inning away from that ridiculous tiebreaker "start with runners on first/second" rule. Yet I'm strangely intrigued.

Bash '91. Then you start struggling. Though given enough inspired Russo booking, they might make a run at things.

Dodgers 6 Giants 1 WP: Key, LP: Reynolds Bill Dickey hit two doubles and drove in two runs. The Dodgers finish first in the pool and receive a playoff bye. The Giants finish second and will have home field advantage in the first round. Next up, Highlanders vs. Yankees for the final playoff berth.

Highlanders 3 Dodgers 6 WP: Pettitte, LP: Ruffing, Sv: Gossage Babe Ruth's two run home run in the seventh made the difference.

Apparently umpire Joe West got in the way of the play behind home plate. I wouldn't sweat it, a high school pitcher is a longshot, and they will get a similarly placed compensation pick next draft.

Japan/USA Baseball going. Japanese phenom Yu Darvish is on the mound.