Mik

Take your vendetta out of the sports folder and back to HD. It's making you look bad.

So I made a typo, get over it. But if there were I would hate them all equally.

Very nice that they were able to comeback. This was a game they could not afford to lose.

I hate Max Kellermen. It might have a great format, but I won't watch it just because of him. He's so obnoxious. I like Around the Horn with Statboy, call me crazy. PTI is still my favorite, but only with Tony and Wilbon.

Well, no shutout for Beckett. After the first inning, yes. Overall, no. Expos, however, are shutting out the Marlins 2-0 heading into the 8th. Marlins have squandered a ton of opportunities.

The game being played in Montreal is wrong for many reasons. The Marlins are in the thick of the wild card hunt and already lost one home game to the Chicago Cubs, one of the teams they are chasing. It's not their fault Miami is in the path of multiple hurricanes, and they are still entitled to home games. This isn't a natural home game, per se, but at least they get to bat last and it's in a neutral site. If the game were in Montreal, the Expos would have to bat last and the Marlins would, in effect, lose two more home games. The fact that they are playing in chicago is suboptimal, but it's better than nothing. Also, did anyone see the play that happened in the second inning of Cubs/Marlins yesterday? I was flipping back to football, so I missed it. Apparently, this is what happened: Moises Alou hit a foul ball into the stands...Cabrera chased it down, fake jumped into the stands and then mocked Alou's temper tantrum when Bartman interfered with the ball. Even though the ball was about 30 rows deep. All the Marlins think it's the funniest thing ever. Coincidentally or not, Miguel got plunked in his next at bat. Maybe a little unprofessional, but he said it was just meant to be funny and none of the Cubs were that offended. So I give it a thumbs up. I'd like to find a clip of it somewhere though.

One interesting point: Josh Beckett will be going for his 3rd consecutive shutout. Two starts ago 9 IP, 0 ER and last start 8 IP, 0 ER.

Isn't that the Amazing Rando?

That's a real poor comparison. Burnett got rocked when he came back from his 18 month layoff, either at home or on the road. The Cubs announcers kept conveniently forgetting to mention that fact, especially when they kept saying that he hadn't won in the road in over two years. They didn't add that he really hasn't pitched for the last two years, making it appear worse than it really is. He's now been on a winning streak, it's just that all of his starts lately have come at home. Now he had a start on the road and he won that one too. Very deceptive statistic.

Yeah, that and the complete dominance of the Marlins over the Phillies for the past two years. I'm thrilled that they meet 7 more times this year.

You're joking right? You're talking about the Phillies...playing the Marlins.

4-0 Marlins.

That long Portis run was his first carry as a Redskin. Joe Buck said it best...Welcome to Washington Clinton Portis. 60+ yard TD on your first carry is amazing.

Hey, Al. Where does Carl Pavano rank in Win Shares, and what do you think his realistic chance is at the Cy Young award?

I'm pretty excited. I actually will get to watch the Giants/Eagles game on Fox. I thought the days of seeing the Giants on TV were over when I moved to North Carolina, but they are on today. My favorite against my least favorite. Hopefully the Giants can pull the major upset, but I'm not too confident about that.

To defend, there is one great thing about collecting baseball cards now. The chance to get an autographed card or a relic card (game used bat/jersey/shoe/batting glove/hat/jacket or any combination of the above) in a pack is way increased. It's fun to open a pack of cards and pull out an autograph, no matter who it is. I still get excited to pull an auto. And 2004 Upper Deck SP Authentic has a price retail of 5.99 per pack and 2 guaranteed autos in a box. So there are still some cheaper options to get some great cards.

I would be very happy to see Gary Sheffield become the first plaque in the Hall of Fame to sport a Marlins logo. As I briefly mentioned earlier, he was always my favorite player when I was in my early teens and younger and that would make me very happy.

Yeah, well Benitez is almost assuredly gone, but he honestly priced himself out of South Florida. He is arguably the best closer in MLB this year. But, the Marlins are doing their best to keep payroll at a manageable level. I believe they are going to go after Carl Pavano very aggressively to keep him in South Florida (especially if he is Cy Young). Mike Lowell is eligbile for free agency now that the stadium won't be in place by November 1, but he has a player option and is likely to take it to stay with the team at least one more year. The stadium is only $30 million away from reality, which is likely to come by Jan 1, which means the Marlins will have a new stadium by 2007, and will actually be able to turn a profit when they escape Wayne Huizenga's stranglehold on Pro Player stadium. I am hopeful for the team's future.

I don't even remember Tony Saunders, or who he was. And he was a postseason starter. Very strange.

Yeah, it was terrible. But it produced the 2003 world championship and at least + .500 team for at least the next 4-5 years. They got a boatload of prospects, lots of them turned into complete winners.

Came within a hit batter away from a perfect game that year against the SF Giants. Not sure if he still faced the minimum 27 or if it was 28.

Let's take a trip down memory lane. Al Leiter Kevin Brown Livan Hernandez Alex Fernandez (17 wins, whose team record Carl Pavano just tied) Robb Nen Charles Johnson Luis Castillo as a young backup Craig Counsell Edgar Renteria Bobby Bonilla Moises Alou Gary Sheffield (my boyhood idol and the reason I wore 10 from Little League through High School) Jeff Conine Cliff Floyd off the bench Darren Daulton off the bench I can't think of the CF. (Thanks Anglesault ... Devon White)

I did. I won over $300 as a High School junior by betting all my classmates the Marlins all the way through. One kid bet me $50 that the Marlins would get swept by the Braves in the NLCS. I got paid after Game 1. I just remember watching the Jim Leyland press conference before the season thinking that this year was going to be special.

Don't look now, but the Phillies are 4.5 games out of the wild card. ESPN.com is already calling the race a "six pack". Keep in mind, they have 7 games remaining with the Marlins, which should account for 6-7 losses, so maybe we shouldn't consider them just yet.

For comparison purposes, 03/04 Upper Deck Exquisite Basketball was selling for upwards of $800 a pack earlier this year. Of course, this same set yielded a LeBron/Kobe dual NBA logo card 1/1 that sold on eBay for $65,000. And no, that is not a typo.