sfaJack

Glad to see she doesn't play in one of those stupid "we don't keep score/everybody's a winner!" leagues.

My wife's cat is only allowed to get on the beds and on the one white chair in my office. Sitting on any other furniture gets her a swift kick in the ass.

The same Uncle D who always talks about doing everything possible to be a champion...? EDIT: I guess you can add Brian Moehler's continued employment to the list of 'questionable decisions adversly affecting the Astros' hopes for being a champion'.

Yep, he's their hottest hitter and they chose to sit him out for 2 of the 3 games of the season-deciding series in Milwaukee they just finished.

If you take away the Yankees' recent 11-1 stretch, they have a worse winning percentage than the Royals.

viva, what do you think about the vast conspiracy hatched by the Astros to ensure that Biggio gets #3,000 at MMP--the right thing to do, or is Uncle D just trying to sell a few more tickets and t-shirts?

True. I'm sick of him writing about nothing but the NBA or Vegas trips with his college buddies to begin with, but can you imagine how bad he would be with the Durant stuff if the Celtics had gotten the #1 or 2 pick? Frightening.

With the addition of an actual pitcher to their rotation, the Cardinals might have a shot in the Central now.

If that is the case, then the solution is to take the TV rights away from Fox. Then the fans REALLY win big! On the ASG, the only substantive change I would make like to see is that the voted starters must play at least five full innings or make 3 plate appearances. Those are the guys that the fans want to see and since the ASG is entirely for the fans, they should get to see those guys. As an addendum to that, if you're voted to start the game, you MUST play. Injury replacements on the roster are only allowed for guys that are on the DL going into the Break.

You know, I came really close to taking the day off work and driving up to Arlington this morning to catch the game. I am really glad that I thought it over again. EDIT: At least the Rocket had a tough day.

It's been 99 years for a reason.

Cubs have apparently traded Michael Barrett to the Padres.

I probably am lame, but that actually has nothing to do with it--we just weren't a good match as roommates. He (Kevin) was a fine guy to have as a buddy, but terrible for me to live with. The biggest problems were: - I was a morning person with classes that started before 1:00; Kevin was not. - I was actually interested in studying and improving my life; Kevin was not. - I can't stand for my house/room to be in shambles; Kevin didn't care and left his shit all over the place. - Despite having a few hundred CD's with him, he blared only Skeletons In The Closet or Phish records at all hours of the day and night, repeatedly, and I don't really care for either band. We actually got along really well, but when your roommate is pretty much the complete opposite of you in many ways, it's rough, not funny.

Ah, wedded bliss: My wife has a friend that is getting married this Friday, the 22nd. The couple has stated that they prefer cash for gifts since that's "what they need", but my wife ordered some whirlpool spa thing online a couple of weeks ago instead because she remembers her friend saying that she really wanted one. The spa thing cost, after 2-day shipping, $100. Whatever. Long story short: over a week later, the spa thing still hadn't arrived. We contacted the shipper; they admit they fucked up and didn't actually have anymore in stock; they issued us a full refund. That left Mrs. SFA without a gift. So Saturday night, we're watching TV in the bedroom and this goes down. Take a guess as to who is who: "You know we still don't have a gift for Cassandra's wedding." "Yeah, I know." "What do you want to get them now?" "I don't care. Why not go to Bed Bath (and Beyond) and get them a different spa or something." "Because they don't have any there." "Are you sure?" "Yes! I've looked for one for me before!" "Ok...so what else do they want?" "Cash. They've asked for cash, remember." "Ok, give them cash then. Simple. Done." "That's what I was thinking." "Ok." (turns attention back to TV) "You think $200 is enough?" "WHAT?? $200?? Why are you wanting to give them $200?" "That's a good amount to give, right?" "No." "What's wrong with it?" "It's too much. 200 fucking dollars? Really?" "But they don't have any money." "How is that YOUR problem? Besides, you were happy spending $100 on that spa thing. Where did this extra 100 bucks suddenly come from?" "Well....why not?" "Because you gave your cousin a $40 blender for a wedding gift last year. Now you want to give $200 to someone you used to work with?" "We can afford it." "Not if you keep giving away $200 at a time we can't." And it went back and forth a few minutes more. I told her I'd chip in $25--whatever else she wanted to give would come out of her share of the "extra" discretionary money that's set aside for each of us every month to spend/save as we please. Four days until the wedding now and she's still trying to figure out what to give...

My first semester at college, I was in almost the exact same situation as Kal would be here. Believe me, there isn't anything funny about it.

I am continually amazed at how dumb many people are when it comes to money. It never fails to both astound and amuse me.

If all it takes is Lidge and a minor league hitter, Purpura should be fired if he doesn't do that deal.

Heh. I should be a little more fair to Purpura, in that he has one of the most overbearing owners in the league watching him. But still...wouldn't you make a call to Atlanta?

I wouldn't worry about the Astros being that team. Purpura never does anything that could be classified as either super aggressive or imaginative.

I think I'm going through that myself, Bruiser. I got EI for the first time this year and have found myself needing to turn off Cub games quite often because I get into such a pissy mood over them. Maybe less is more.

That's why you either call the Braves and see what they want for Saltalamacchia or bite the bullet and put Towels on the roster out of spring training next year and see what happens. Just the thought of doing that probably gives Timmy P. chest pains, though.

I'm convinced that Brad Ausmus will actually have to die on the field for the Astros to get rid of him. To put up those numbers and still be an every day player is mind boggling. Oh sorry I forgot he was the "clubhouse leader". Don't forget his "veteran presence" You forgot he's a "defensive specialist" and "really knows the hitters." Roger and Andy loved pitching to him, yessir! Oh, and the ladies in town think he's hot.

It'll have to be Loretta unless they call up Eric Bruntlett. The Astros have repeatedly said that Chris Burke doesn't have the arm to play short (yet he can play CF at MMP?), and, beyond him, there's nobody.

Adam Everett just got killed by Carlos Lee or something.

Lushus knows. There was another wedding reception at the place where we got hitched (in the other hall across the parking lot) and the groom, or one of his tuxedo'ed groomsmen, from that party made the mistake of cutting through our reception hall as a shortcut or something. Big mistake. Upon seeing him, my wife completely flipped out and starting walking towards him, screaming like a crazed bitch from hell about how I was the only groom allowed inside our hall and she wanted his ass kicked out and on and on. He stopped, turned around, and poked his head in like "WTF?" before my father-in-law stepped in and told her that she was acting ridiculous and needed to calm down. I've rarely seen her THAT pissed. She still gets a little mad thinking about it now, more than two months later.