sfaJack

And...? And...? Come on, you can say it! There were (and are) two great teams fighting out for the AL East crown. The Twins had to outlast Cleveland. And...nothing. I was just noting that the AL East isn't exactly overflowing with powerhouse teams, so to argue that the Twins somehow get a break becuase of their division is fairly weak if you're a Yankee fan. BTW, I'll give you a nickel if you can tell me who which AL Central team has a winning record against both the Sox (4-2) and Yanks (albeit only 2-1) this season. Give up? It's the Twins.

If you really want to pick nits with the 'weak division' argument, I'd like to point out that the AL East includes the Orioles, Devil Rays, and Blue Jays. How can you bitch about the Twins playing in a 'weak' division when the Yankees play 1/3 of their schedule against those teams? The Twins are a good ball team and have been good for several seasons now. Just accept it already.

Maybe it's a warning to Florida not to fuck up the election again this year.

Gonzalez isn't eligible for the Pads' postseason roster if they make it, right? So what good does this move do? Might as well play the fill-in for the rest of the year since you'd have to rely on him in the playoffs anyway.

Not if you're Jose Hernandez.

Bah, my mistake. My point is still the same, despite my inability to get names straight.

I agree. As Mad Dog said, where the hell was stadium security during all of this? Why did it continue on to the point it did? Yeah, I know. That's why I said Cordero wasn't right to do wthat he did. I suppose my point is that the fan should be shouldering a lot of blame here, too. Cordero was very wrong to toss a chair into the stands, but the fan was wrong for starting shit and continuing on and on until it boiled over. The whole thing is very ugly, but it isn't going to smear the game any more than squabbles over the collective bargaining agreement do.

I disagree with this. Yes, as a ticket-buying fan, you have the right to cheer, boo, celebrate, trash talk, etc. during the game. Do that all you want. However, your ticket is not a license to be a total asshole. Heckling is fine, but when you become a nuisance to those all of those around you in the stands, start cursing past the point of being obscene, and/or threaten other fans or players, you deserve to have your ass kicked out of the stadium. What we don't know is exactly what was being said between the players and the fans. Who's to say the fan didn't cross the line with a threat or something similar? Was Cordero right? No, of course not. He should be suspended for the rest of the season and fined a hefty amount. I feel especially bad for the (innocent) lady who had her nose broken. But this isn't going to smear the game anymore than, say, Robbie Alomar spitting on an umpire did. You probably think William Ligue did no wrong in the attack on Tom Gamboa, huh? After all, he did buy a ticket so he could soak up the baseball experience, right? How dare those players "interact" with him by kicking his ass.

Because individual states run elections in the U.S. It's not a power of the federal government.

Rant is correct with his logic. A $2 tip on a $12 meal is really very fair. I generally start the server at a $2 tip; they can earn more or less, depending on how good they are. I've left as much as $5, and as little as $0.07.

I was actually at Best Buy last night looking at iPods. The girl working there told me that they only work with iTunes and you can't load mp3's into the iPod without it. That can't be right, can it? I don't have iTunes and am not all that interested in getting it.

Yeah, there was. I believe a drunken fan swiped the cap off of one of the Dodgers bullpen pitchers head and took off with it so they chased after the fan. It's been 4-5 years since it happened, so those details might not be totally correct. Bah, it's not a big deal. Quite frankly, the Marlins earned the right to rub it in a little after coming back from a 3-1 hole to win the LCS last year so let them have it. I don't have a problem with it. As for Bartman, well, that guy's just cursed now.

I catch a lot of shit for being a die-hard Cubs fan living in Houston, but it doesn't bother me. Same thing with the Cowboys, too. I think rooting for "non-home" team is fine, so long as you aren't one of those losers that changes affiliation every year just because and then claims to have been a fan of the "new" team all along or something. Root for whoever you want, but at least stay consistent for Christ's sake.

The thing I have never understood is what does the price of a meal have to do with how much you tip? Why are the two tied together? How much a meal costs has nothing to do with whether your server sucks.

Obviously 4 turnovers don't help. But the Texans' biggest problem today was their inability to get a defensive stop when they needed it. Every time San Diego needed a key first down, they got it. Regardless, good teams don't lose to San Diego, at home, on opening day.

I guess all those "experts" who picked the Texans as some kind of surprise team will be rethinking that nonsense today. Losing at home to San Diego...HA HA HA HA!

Two unearned runs for Woody already? Shit. I feel like I need to take a break from baseball this weekend. The Cubs getting off to such an inglorious start against the Marlins is a sure sign of a high stress weekend for me, so I think I should probably just say fuck it and watch a whole lot of football instead. I won't do it, of course, but I feel I should.

Tim Redding makes his electric return to the Astros tonight, so I see a decent chance of the streak coming to a screeching halt.

What happened to Bobby Phills? I must have missed that one.

Oh, good one. That one's particularly sad when you realize how it sent him tumbling from being a monster on the mound to homeless and living under a bridge in Houston. I think they're doing a movie about him sometime soon.

Why the hell would anyone sign David Weathers? He's total garbage.

Jesus Christ. The Astros hit FOUR home runs out of their first six batters against Acevedo today and Beltran's not even in the lineup. This power surge is unreal. 5-1, Astros with Clemens on the hill. Cubs better win today if they want to hold onto that wild card lead. Reds' pitchers have now allowed 200 home runs on the season.

The problem I see for the Astros is that they're unlikely to remain as white-hot offensively over the next three and a half weeks as they are right now. They're 19-3 over their last 22 games, and have scored 169 runs during that span, or 7.6 per game. To make a simple point using only one stat, their team ERA during those 22 games is 4.80, so the pitching has hardly been outstanding. The question instantly becomes, if the offense cools off and they go back to scoring only 4 runs a game, will they still win enough to beat out, say, the Marlins who've been on a pretty good roll as of late? I'll give the Astros credit for taking advantage of a light schedule and slaughtering the lambs...something a certain team 1,200 miles north of them can't seem to do.

Maybe that explains why Clement has been decidedly mediocre for the past 5 weeks. Cubs need a win tonight because the Astros are continuing to pound the ball, 5-2, in the 4th over Cincy with Oswalt on the mound tonight and Clemens tomorrow.

If Matt Clement continues to pitch like he has for the past month, he can take his chin and leave town.