vivalaultra

It is in Philly. That's why the fans come to the games these days. And the Lidge in middle relief thing had to be done. It lowered his presumed trade value, but he just wasn't gonna work blowing games left and right for a team that's trying to be competitive. I don't think they have any intentions of trading him right now anyway; if he's not closing or setting-up Wheeler by the deadline, though, I imagine he'll be going somewhere.

He's a strikeout reliever who might benefit from a change of scenery, and, if not, he gives the fans somebody else to boo constantly.

Ya know...there's a very easy way to solve the Phillie's pitching/3B problem. Brad Lidge and Morgan Ensberg for Brett Myers and Francisco Rosario. Make it happen, yo.

The Reds also have a pretty good hitter named Josh Hamilton, but he's still a small sample size, so meh. They're a pretty exciting team, I think. They have some thump (left-handed thump especially) and they've got some speedy guys like Freel and Brandon Phillips. Their starting pitching has been quite good so far from what I hear. Last nite and tonite, their two 'aces' (Aaron Harang and Brandon Arroyo) pitched, so I don't know how the back end of the rotation will look for the Phillies series. I know Kyle Lohse had a 12-strikeout game his last time out. From what I hear, a good left-handed pitcher can pretty much nullify their lineup, especially if Edwin Encarnacion slumps/doesn't play. Oh, and their closer is Dave Weathers. That's funny in and of itself, presuming you know who Dave Weathers is.

The Moz-Vauxhall and I First Line: "This is the soup that I believe in." Last line: "Sweet young thing."

Like anybody's going to guess Zombie Apocalypse This is a Spark for Life without looking it up somewhere... First line: When the lights go down in the city. Last line: Ya made my life once more.

I stand corrected. You amaze me, Richard McBeef, you Catholic priest child molester with a pet named Dick down on Neverland that you want me to go pet it.

...Probably not, no. You might want to check in the General Wrestling folder. Even though this is the Music folder, most of the people in here listen to snobby indie rock bands and don't watch wrestling.

I swear I did not cheat.

Oh, no doubt that Utley's been better in recent years and deserves to start. I didn't mean to make Biggio a starter in the game or anything, just a spot on the team. I imagine that if he doesn't get the fan vote, LaRussa will give him a shot.

So, you'd be in favor of Craig Biggio being an All-Star this year (not a starter) due to his approaching 3,000 hits and the many, many contributions he's made the Astros and to baseball over the last 21 years?

Fixed, that should've said Andruw Jones. The problem is that the guys with the best stats often are NOT the best players. The All-Star game is supposed to feature the best players in baseball. Are the best players the guys who performed best in April-June of that year? Or are they the guys who have compiled a body of work and ESTABLISHED themselves as stars of the game? As for voting, it works 90% of the time. The only real problem is when there is no elite player and a player gets selected by plurality. Well, I think that's why they have an All-Star game each year; it's the elite players from the season in which the ASG is held. I mean, where's the fairness in an established player getting an All-Star bid over a first or second season guy if the established player is stinkin' up the joint, hitting .180 with no homers or RBI and the rookie's hitting .380 with 10 HRs and 25 RBI, hypothetically speaking.

Guys that perfomed well in 2006 should've been selected to the 2006 All-Star team; guys that perform well this year, should make this year's All-Star team. I don't think the selection process is flawed. It's the fact that casual fans and homers stuff the ballot boxes (and AL managers stack the team w/ their own players) that mucks things up. Edit: Al, J-Bay's the shiznit, no doubt, but is he playing left AND right field on your ballot? I'd take off one of the Bays and stick in Carlos Lee and that would pretty much be my All-Star team.

Now that the topic of All-Stars comes up, I would like to point out that starting today, you can vote on-line for your representatives to the 2007 All-Star Game to be held in beautiful AT&T Field in picturesque San Francisco by the bay.

Yeah, I know. I was just making a crack to try and get Czech to feel better about the Cubs. Beurhle's an above average pitcher, but he totally shouldn't have been an All-Star last year.

Ok, so when Anibal Sanchez got his last year, we calculated that it was the first rookie no-hitter since Bud Smith. So, quick-when was the last no-hitter by an overweight, medicore left-hander that was undeservingly invited to an All-Star game the previous year?

Ah shit...not the jorts, dawg!

Nah, it's not THAT bad. Buerhle's got a no-no going.

Check that. 8-6 Atlanta. I agree with you on the second part, however.

I'm really loving the Astros' lineup and pitching right now. After starting out the season going 1-5, they've gone 6-1 their last 7 games to get a game over .500. Carlos Lee's the best offseason signing in baseball so far, knocking in 17 runs in the first 13 games. The bench is playing good; especially Mike Lamb and Mark Loretta (who I still think is a good hitter). The pitching staff is great, too, with 9 quality starts in 13 games (should be 10 quality start; Chris Sampson went 5 shutout innings against the Cubs). With Carpenter going down, the Cubs being the Cubs, and Ben Sheets gettin' knocked around in his last two starts, I think the 'Stros might have the best team in the NL Central over the first two weeks.

Has ESPN mentioned John Maine throwing a no-no through 6 innings yet?

.517 BA in 29 ABs in 1929. Played one more mediocre year and was never heard from again. ...so, if Hamilton rips it up for more than 29 ABs, we can start penciling him in for ROTY?

Josh Hamilton hit another homerun tonite against my Astros. How much longer till it stops being a 'small sample size'?

I wonder when the interview's actually going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if it just fades into oblivion and never actually takes place. I think the Coen brother's are going to do well by McCarthy. They've directed some of my most favorite movies of the last several years; just as long as they get the subtleties right and don't try to make the whole thing just some violent 'drug deal gone wrong' action cliche, which I don't see them doing. I'm also interested to see what's going to come of the movie version of 'The Road'. Nick Cave's good buddy John Hillcoat's directing; the only movie I've seen by him is "The Proposition" and that was really good, so I'm hopeful.

Everyone should quit whatever it is that they're doing and go read The Road. I've taken shit for my hyperbole, so I won't go too overboard, but, seriously, just...quit your job or school or having sex or whackin' off or whatever you're doing and go read it. It's exceptional. I think I can call it the best work of fiction in the last many years without getting too much shit since it's by Cormac McCarthy and not Stephen King, so I'll call it that. And just yesterday, it won the Pulitzer, so you know it's good.