The Man in Blak

If they didn't steal their offensive line from the Arena League, that'd probably solve a lot of their problems, as Bledsoe wouldn't get killed and Henry might actually have some holes to run through.

Barber breaks out on a blitz and takes it to the house to tie it up, 7-7. Whoever's calling the defensive schemes needs to tear down the shrine to Jim Johnson, because the Packers obviously don't have the personnel to make it worthwhile to blitz on nearly every damn down. They've got quality secondary players (when they're healthy) - keep 'em back there and let them do their job.

Oh, man - Favre running around in circles in the backfield before throwing that first down strike just made my day. HA-larious.

Actually, you could say that Alou's already managed them out of today's game as well, with his bullpen use - Brower has a tight elbow from 89 appearances this year, which means that almost everybody that's "available" in the Giants bullpen (I don't think Eyre was used) is going to be tired from throwing yesterday.

I hate to say it, but I think Felipe Alou managed them right out of the division, with the moves in the ninth inning.

Defensive replacement Cody Random duffs a ball, giving the Dodgers a run. And, inexplicably, Alou pulls the plug on Christiansen and brings in Matt Herges, to ensure that the Giants will at least go out in a blaze of glory.

You can't walk across home plate, you know.

Stumbled onto a quote from Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus that I like very much: Right now, I'm looking for the Daily Herald article from earlier this year that has the Cubs brass, specifically Dusty Baker, talking about how OBP is overrated. It's been the franchise's approach, not just the coaching staff.

And the Cubs get off to a great start against Atlanta with Eli Marrero gunning down Jose Macias in cold blood at home plate in the first. J.D. Drew is the guy that all of the Atlanta press fawns over in the St. Louis deal, but Eli Marrero was a steal of a pickup. He'll be the best "sixth man" in the league for years to come.

Fox Sports Midwest here. As mentioned above, I think it was the smartest thing that they could do, as they didn't have the guns to compete with ESPN on a national level. Ironically, that didn't stop them from influencing ESPN with their loud and "extreme" approach to sports reporting, which sent ESPN spiraling down The Great Decline that they're still currently in. The only reason I watch FSN at all is because of the regional baseball coverage.

Look closer. I think you shit-can Baker for ruining the arms of the players and allowing his team to attempt to shift the blame for their losses onto just about anybody but themselves. I think you tip your cap to Moises Alou and then you shove him out of the door as quickly as possible. His subtle hints at retirement should not be taken seriously - I'm sure he knows that some dumb team will pay a pretty penny for his 30+ HRs, even though the year screams "peak year." Oh, and make sure that his little sidecar, Kent Mercker, carries his bags for him when they both get shoved out the door. Mercker's taunted referees, called the broadcaster's booth in the middle of games, while being a mediocre left handed reliever. There will be better out there.

Amezaga with a grand slam to make it 8-0 Angels. Not only are they going to rip out the heart of the A's, but they're going to do that cute little mexican hat dance all over it.

Yeah, I've got to agree. They've got Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, Juan Rivera, Chad Cordero, Brendan Harris, Zach Day...a whole nucleus of young talent, along with other veterans like Vidro and Livan Hernandez. Kazmir will be great, no question, and they'll have a stacked OF for years to come, but there's still something missing. They're still missing one huge outrageous masher, like a Jim Thome or a Manny Ramirez, to intimidate; maybe Aubrey Huff will eventually become that, but I doubt it.

Thank you, Joe Kennedy, for hastily disposing of that shutout bid soon after I checked the game on MLB.com. My fantasy team salutes you.

Good GAWD, Ankiel has the stuff working tonight. That curveball that he sent Johnson's way was just retarded. It's great to see him making headway towards his 2000 regular season form.

It was more of a complement to my fellow Yankee fans for not blowing this totally out of proportion like some fans of other teams did. The fact that, lately, you've been overreacting to every single word that's even remotely in the same context as the Minnesota Twins tells me that you must be a lot more worried about the postseason than you're letting on.

I'll play devil's advocate for Al - the announcers are the face that the organization presents to their customers in the public and, if the announcers are doing nothing but criticizing the product - for legitimate reasons or not - then they're convincing potential customers (fans) that their product sucks and, thus, they shouldn't buy into it. That aside, I think Kent Mercker and Moises Alou are the real expendable ones here.

Poor Derek Jeter. Look at him sitting in the locker room, crying because there's not a congratulatory thread for the Yankees at thesmartmarks.com.

Prior - 4 baserunners in nine innings, 16 K, no win Juan Padilla - 5 baserunners in two innings, win

And Derrek Lee walks in the bottom of the 11th to load the bases with two outs for Michael Barrett. ...and Barrett strikes out swinging on three pitches. Juan Padilla (8.10 ERA) escapes unscathed.

I'm in as the Eek! Destructo-Frogs.

Prior's 16 Ks equals awesome news for my SNKT fantasy baseball team, as UV is making up that 24 strikeout gap on KingPK (who's 1st in the league, but out of innings) in a hurry.