MLB Predictions

So I was actually up and watching the game live when Carlos Guillen hit a game winning three run homer the other night to lift the Tigers over the Yanks at Comerica last night. I was in a room with two others and all I could do was look down at the clock on my cell phone in amazement because it was 3:30 in the morning or actually 3:29 to be exact.

For me, it sort of served as the beginning point of the stretch run here in the Major Leagues. This year has been so unique in that so many different teams in both the AL and the NL can legitimately still claim to be in the running for a playoff spot. Because of this, there are going to be some very disappointed teams come September 30 since the races are so close. So without further adieu, here are my predictions for how it will all shake out at the end of the year.

AL EAST: Boston Red Sox

If you haven't checked the standings in a week, you wouldn't know that the Sox lead over the Yanks has ballooned back up to 7.5 games. And now that Big Papi is playing more like himself, there's nothing that will prevent a division title for them.

AL Central: Cleveland Indians

The Tigers just picked up a crucial series win over the Yankees this past weekend, and as of today trail the Tribe by 2.5 games...but I just don't see them catching Cleveland for some reason. Detroit's starting pitching has gone in the shitter as of late with Bonderman reverting back to his 20-loss form from a few seasons back. Not to mention Justin Verlander hasn't been the same since he tossed that no-hitter and Kenny Rogers is on the shelf. Also the Tribe and Tigers only have one more series remaining against each other and it is in Cleveland. The White Sox, Royals, and Twins will have huge say in the outcome of this race since most games in September are within one's division.


Welcome to the postseason, Grady.

AL West: Los Angeles Angels

The Halos are 2 games up on the Mariners right now, and I think we all know there is no match talent wise in this division. The Angles are a great team, and I just can't envision the Mariners kepping up the torrid pace they've sustained the past couple months (all under the radar too). And seriously, how can anyone ever root against Vlad?

AL Wild Card: New York Yankees

It's really not the playoffs if the Bombers aren't involved and the way they've played since June has been incredible. They still sit two games back of the Mariners, but like I said... just don't believe in this Mariners team. Anybody who relies on Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro as pillars of their lineup should not be a playoff team. Maybe this will come back to bite me in the ass, but I'm going with the East Coast bias on this one.

NL East: New York Mets

Hey remember when I said the Braves were set to just steamroll through the National League after they picked up Mark Texiera? Well Texeira hhas held up his end of the bargain with all the homers, but did you know the Braves still sit 7 games back of Mets. And the Mets have already gone through their rough patch this season, so a total collapse is highly unlikely.


I'm not sure I want the Mets to make it if they dress like this.

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

I'm doing this more because I just don't want to see the Cards make the playoffs this year. They were a terrible team last year and made it and they are a terrible team this season and as of today they sit just two games back of the Cubbies. BUT...when it comes down the stretch and you get closer to October these types of close races usually come down to pitching. And no AL Central team (Brewers included) has as good a 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation as Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly.

NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks

I really don't get how this DBacks team is good. They have some great young talent, but none of them are really performing all that well besides Chris Young and Justin Upton. I mean I saw them play the Mets in June and Orlando Hudson (O Dawg) was their No. 3 hitter. But not only have they led the NL West for awhile now, but they are 3 games up on the Padres, and 6 games up on the next closest wild card competitor. Who would have thought it a couple months ago...NL West Champion DBacks. Some things just boggle my mind.

NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres

They sit 3 games up on the Phils right now and I can't see them relinquishing that. They have the pitching to make a deep run in the playoffs as well. The Phils do have a shot now that Cole Hamels isn't as hurt as once expected and Chase Utley back from injury (hehe John Lannan).

The posts will probably be a little sporadic just because of the nature of the beast that is welcome week. I'll see what I can do though. I'm going to Cedar Point tomorrow so I'll leave you with a shot of the Millenium Force, which is a money in the bank roller coaster.

Got Internet again

So I realize I haven't posted jack the past two weeks, but I have legitimate excuses. First there was the already documented Colorado excursion and then my return to school saw me go without internet....until about 6 pm on Friday night. And as I type this the metro Detroit area is getting absolutely pounded by a crucially awesome thunderstorm and there are apparently multiple tornadoes in the area as well.

Also wanted to let Matt know how extremely jealous I am of him seeing as he got the invite to a Wizards workout courtesy of Jerome Dyson. And this came a day after, Matt got to encounter Kevin Durant and Jerome at Maryland's campus.

Now that I got that out of the way, I wanted to take a moment to comment on David Beckham. I realize he has done next to nothing on the field for the Galaxy so far, but you have to admit...this guy is an absolute baller. From watching interviews of him I'm not really sure it's possible to hate him. What self-respecting soccer fan can't respect the fact that the man played an entire game for the English national team and then hopped on a jet to get to LA for a game against the Galaxy's rival, Chivas USA? And that near brawl that he started last night put him up another level in my book. That Chivas dude came awfully close to the gonads that touch Posh Spice every night.


How can you not like this guy? He's awesome.

The man has decided to put American soccer on his shoulders for the time being, and I love him for trying. Will he be successful? That remains to be seen. He needs to be the Michael Jordan of MLS and I don't think he's quite talented enough to do that. But in the long run we will look back on The Beckham's do America Tour as historic in the realm of sports. For the time being, Beckham has put soccer on the map in America. I would argue it's getting more attention now than the NHL is.

And I know there are those cynics who think he's doing all of this for the money. They are right, but wouldn't you do the same thing if you were David Beckham. This whole situation is a win-win for everyone. If Becks can't propel soccer to new heights, then he still made an assload of money and can walk away knowing he gave it the ol' college try.

But if he succeeds, he has the chance to go down as legendary. Not to mention, if he succeeds, he will walk away with a major collosal assload of cash courtesy of endorsements and what not. And I'm not talking about a normal assload...I'm talking about an assload comparable to one of those 500-pound behemoths who can't get out of bed and are regulars on Maury or Montel Williams.


My favorite Maury episodes are the ones with the 100-pound three year olds whose mothers feed them with a pitchfork. And they all waddle too.

Been on a little vacation

I made it all the way to Colorado. And I did it three days ago. I've been relaxing here in Fort Collins the past few days and tomorrow I make my way back to Ann Arbor. I'll post more when I get settled back in on Tuesday or Wednesday. For now I leave you with this:


The beautiful Poudre River here in Fort Collins. It goes through some of the Rockies and you can actually tube down the thing in a good portion of it.

Scruff Mcguffageddan

Ummm...so apparently Sam McGuffie made a visit up to Texas A&M this past weekend. If you don't remember his final two choices were between Big Blue and the Aggies. And all McGuffie has done is verbally commit to Michigan, so he could very easily pull a fast one and end up signing a letter of intent at Texas A&M for all we know. I'm kind of worried, but I'm trying to convince myself he was just going up there to get wasted or something...you know kind of like me going to College Park and hitting up Maryland bars. Lord knows I wouldn't actually go to a dump like College Park (it's not the school, just the town), but it's always funs to go somewhere new and get drunk.

In Scruff McGuff's case, maybe he was just checking out some high quality bars or something. But if it's more than that and he ends up goign with the Aggies or even pulling out of his verbal commit...I will launch my foot so far up his ass that when he plays in front of the 12th man at A&M, he won't be able to hear because the shoe I was wearing when I kicked him will be lodged all the way in his eardrum.

It was fun...actually...

Actually New York was just okay. A little too fast paced for me, but it was definitely a good experience and I got to see a lot of cool things. I'm back in Maryland now for about five days. I will commence my journey Colorado on Wednesday, where I probably won't be able to post all that much. But before I leave Maryland I will be coming out with some college football and pro football predictions of some sort.

'Of course he did it against the Nationals'

At least that's what one Peter Krauss wrote on my facebook wall tonight after Barry Bonds hit his 756th homerun against the Natties tonight. BUT the Nationals did win the game 8-6 which was awesome, but I'm pretty sure in the long run nobody will ever care what the score actually was.

Personally, I was absolutely dreading all this homerun record business. I really did not want this record broken against my Nationals. But deep down inside I had a feeling. Washington sports writers began hinting at the possibility of Barry breaking the record against the Nats about a week ago. Since the Nats rarely get on national television and I rarely get to see them regularly, I was bent on watching most of these game. I have to admit that it felt pretty cool seeing all this unfold. I will probably lock this memory in my brain for the rest of my life. Think about how many times you've seen that Hank Aaron homerun over the years and you'll realize how many times this homerun will be replayed. And Aaron's homer happened before the days of ESPN. In 100 years this homerun will be relived to generations in the future.


I couldn't resist going with the old school Pirates Bonds.

And it should properly be remembered for some really weird and awkward moments. Don't get me wrong, it was historic. But it just didn't feel right at times. For instance, what was with Barry coming out to play left field after hitting the homer, but then turning around and going back to the bench. I mean I guess it was nice that he got another ovation. To me, it felt like Barry going, "Fuck it. I'm done. Record is broken." And I wish he would walk away giving the press box the finger. Oh man I would love if that was true. That would be awesomely badass and would totally make Bonds so much more epic as time wears on. At first, people would kill him, but in the grand scheme of things it would go down as the greatest exit ever. Only in my dreams I guess.

The night was mainly about Bonds, but I still can't ignore the out of the blue Hank Aaron appearance on the jumbotron. Why would you be so non-commital in interviews about your feelings concerning the record? ANd then have this dramatic jumbotron re-appearance after being silent for so long. This is going to sound strange but I'm going to explain this in pro wrestling terms. Hank Aaron was like that wrestler who would dramatically come back after being out from being "buried alive" 8 months earlier (In reality the guy probably just got surgery or something). And this pro wrestler would come interfere in some big title match at a huge pay per view or something. Hank Aaron was on hiatus from the public and then came back for the big pay perview.

The very fact I just compared Hammerin Hank to pro wrestling just shows how overly dramatic and just plain strange that appearance was. It almost felt like Hank was God because he was just showering praise from up above in the sky, on the holy jumbotron. Weird.


On the left is Chris Jericho, may favorite wrestler back in the day. If you've ever seen his band Fozzy, you'd understand. I'm not sure if they are still together anymore though.

Scott Van Pelt is Jon Favreau

This is actually a pretty old link, but I stumbled upon it courtesy of Deadspin. Scott Van Pelt, the Sportscenter anchor, apparently was either really desperate or he really wants to be Vince Vaughn's sidekick. This is a voice message he left on some girls' answering machine after a wild weekend at Dewey Beach. I will warn you, it takes a few minutes to download, but I think it's well worth it to see a semi-celebrity make a fool of himself.

And if you didn't know, Van Pelt is actually a graduate of the University of Maryland and was a member of Pike there. The message really makes sense when you think about it, seeing as he is a Pike at heart. (This statement is how I'll be able to determine if Pedro reads this blog or not) It's really funny how little confidence Van Pelt has in the message. After listening to it a few times, I think he's a mixture of Favreau in Swingers and Zach Braff in Scrubs.

Michigan football at NFL Training Camps

If you want to get a quick read on what each NFL team is going to look like this season, I highly recommend heading over to SI.com where their training camp postcards are money in the bank. I stumbled upon a couple interesting notes since I've been reading them the past few days:

First off, it sounds like Jason Avant could actually get some legitimate playing time this year:

"Eagles fans last year fell hard for rookie receiver Hank Baskett, who turned into a legitimate big-play threat as the season wore on. But this year's fantasy sleeper could be second-year receiver Jason Avant, a fourth-round pick in 2006. Avant injured a knee during mini-camp last year and saw action in just eight games during the regular season, catching seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

"Avant is a slot receiver, and he's in competition with Baskett for playing time in the No. 3 receiver role. But he took a big step in his development this offseason, and the Eagles are high on the former Michigan standout. He has great hands, and while not a burner, could make himself a valuable possession-type receiver in the Eagles offense."


I would never show a picture of Avant in an Eagles' jersey. NEVER! I hope he has a breakthrough season, but if he does anything in their two games against the Skins, he will be on my shitlist...no question about it.


And Peter King seems to think Leon Hall's transition to the NFL is going well:

"I think if you are looking for an impact rookie who will be ready to play opening day on the Bengals, you're looking at smooth-as-silk cornerback Leon Hall, the top pick from Michigan. Watching him cover on the practice field this morning, I thought I was looking at a fifth-year pro, not a rookie in his fifth pro practice. He looks confident and will compete with Deltha O'Neal for the starting job, opposite last year's first-round pick, Johnathan Joseph. Joseph is out with a foot injury right now, but the Bengals expect him to be ready to start the season."

I'm supposed to be at Hofstra this week to get a look at the Jets in training camp. If I make it out there, I'll definitely get some interesting stuff and I'm going to make sure to talk to David Harris and Victor Hobson, both former Wolverines. My goal, though, is to have some wildly hilarious conversation with some bench warmer who doesn't usually talk with the media. We'll see how that works out.

Mike Gravel for President

I couldn't help but write another pro-pot post after the previous one. I haven't really talked much with people about my thoughts concerning the 2008 Presidential election. Going in, I wasn't sure whether to go Republican or go Democrat. Those who know me from high school think I lean to the right and those who know me from college probably think I lean to the left. I'm actually right smack dab in the middle (atleast that's what I think).

But if you know me at all, you know that if a candidate comes out and says he will legalize marijuana he will have my vote. Well, there is a man by the name of Mike Gravel, who is running for the Democratic nomination. He's definitely a minor candidate and obviously won't get the numbers Hilary or Barrack will get, but he officially has my vote.

Check out this interview on CNN to get a sense of what Mike Gravel is all about. For the record, Gravel is a former senator from Alaska, and even though I'm from nowhere near there, the man makes a lot of sense to me as it concerns a wide spectrum of issues, not only the unjust War on Drugs. My vote may be meaningless according to some, but it's time marijuana became legal.


A man on a mission.

It's awesome that I know how to make links now

I mean seriously, it is the greatest thing to happen to this blog since I figured out how to put pictures up. But since I don't talk about Gilbert enough, he has a response to the fact that he essentially stole some comic's joke and put it on his own blog.

My question is why use Ashanti as an example of someone who stole beats? When was the last time Ashanti had anything worthwhile on the music scene. Hell, even when she was popular there wasn't anything to write home about as it concerned her musical career. I guess i have a thing against the record company formally known as Murder Inc., but you can't ignore that her and Ja Rule are essentially like those Corey guys from the '80s that were apparently really popular and now star in shows like The Surreal Life.


When I was at Rucker a few weeks back, I talked to some random dude in the crowd about Ja Rule and he agreed with me that once you mess with DMX, your career will never be the same.

And speaking of the Wiz kids, supposed star-in-waiting, Andray Blatche, got caught trying to get him some hooker action. I would include the actual story with all the gory details (basically Andray and a buddy tried to pick up a female officer), but the insider info that Ivan Carter of the Washington Post has in that post is just too good to not read...especially if you have any interest in the future of the Wizards.

And by the time you read this post, you will have realized that my prediction to Rudy Gay at Rucker last week was correct. Juan Carlos Navarro is going to the Grizz for a future first round pick.

Oh yeah. I have a new favorite softball team.

Although it's mostly my friends who read this blog, I've never publicly stated on the web my support for the cause that is the legalization of marijuana. I started hinting at it when I talked about my new favorite non-Wizard, Chris Paul. But now I'm going full throttle for the cause. Let's just hope my father doesn't know about this website because then we all know I'm going to get one of those angry phone calls again (If you were there, you know exactly what I'm talking about).

A man once told me to just be happy

I'm warning you now...there are going to be a whole bunch of posts over this weekend. I just moved out of NYC and into my aunt/uncle's guest room in Westfield, New Jersey (I know. Gross. They ski in their jeans here.) for a week because this Metro thing is going one more week. And to say there isn't much to do would be an understatement. So without further adieu...a little Redskins talk (and if you don't like it feel free to leave).

So about the title of this post...I've been constantly trying to nitpick about Jason Campbell and how for some reason I'm just not totally sold on him. Well, I've made a decision. I'm just going to stop. There's just no point. I mean I think we all know no matter how skeptical I am of him, I'm still predicting a division title this season.

And everything I read about him tells me he's just the guy to lead a Gibbs offense. I realize he was just 2-5 as a starter last season, but he kept the Skins in every single game he played in. The most the team lost by in his five losses was 10 points. He apparently can throw the deep ball and he's got a great safety net in Chris Cooley to throw to in the flat. And quite frankly, if the Redskins are to do anything this season, Campbell won't be throwing more than 20 times per game. Seriously I really think Clinton Portis should get 25 carries a game and Ladell should get 15. That's Hogs football and it's what made Gibbs a legend in the 80s. I know there are people out there that say times have changed, but in my heart I have a belief that the ultimate goal in the game of football is to ram the ball down the opponent's throat.

Don Banks of SI.com has a training camp postcard of the Skins and I think he makes me all warm and tingly when it comes to JC:

"The Redskins, to a man, feel like they're in a pretty low-risk situation with Campbell as their starting quarterback. In talking to Gibbs, Saunders, Moss, Brunell and offensive tackle Jon Jansen, I heard every one of them say that Campbell has done everything in his power to give himself the best possible shot at success as a No. 1. He's dedicated, intelligent, shuns the off-field distractions that can trip up a young player, and his progress in terms of his grasp of the playbook and his mechanics are described as dramatic compared to last year at this time.

"But with a young quarterback's development, nothing can substitute for experience, and Campbell only has seven starts under his belt (he was 2-5 to end last season, but with 10 touchdown passes, six picks, and a 76.5 QB rating). So we don't know everything we will know in time. But nobody in Washington believes Campbell can fail on the level of a Heath Shuler, or even prove as average as a Patrick Ramsey. Saunders told me the kid has way too much going for him from both a character and a talent standpoint for a flameout to occur.

"He won't fail, because of the type of young man he is, and the way he works and approaches the game,'' Saunders said. "Great quarterbacks have three things: Great composure. Great courage. And great temperament. He has all those intangibles. He just needs to develop his physical technique and his understanding of the offense, and how that part of the game works. But that will come with experience. I actually feel great to be working in the NFL with a kid like this. They're rare.''


Just make me happy on Sundays. Please reward my undying faith, JC. Amen. (Yes, I will be continuing my comparisons of Jason Campbell with the guy the rappers call their Lord and savior.

Darn!

Bad news everyone. And by everyone I actually just mean me probably. Apparently the comments Gilbert made about sharks were completely and utterly stolen from a comedian. See here on the link thing that I finally figured out how to make.

Back on the DC sports train

I just couldn't let myself write such a depressing post for the prospect of DC basketball and baseball and not bounce back with some DC sports positives. And luckily I stumbled upon two gems. Remember the LeBron full court shot that he did before one of the playoff games this year? Well Jason Campbell has a sweet gem of a trick right here on the link thing that I finally figured out how to make.

And then there's my favorite basketball player, Gilbert Arenas. He updated his blog and had a little something to say about shark attacks. Read this most random of randomness statement courtesy of Agent Zero:

"I know this is random, but I just want to clear this up for people out there. There are these things called shark attacks, but there is no such thing as a shark attack. I have never seen a real shark attack. I know you’re making a weird face as you’re reading this. OK people, a shark attack is not what we see on TV and what people portray it as. We’re humans. We live on land. Sharks live in water.

"So if you’re swimming in the water and a shark bites you, that’s called trespassing. That is called trespassing. That is not a shark attack. A shark attack is if you’re chilling at home, sitting on your couch, and a shark comes in and bites you; now that’s a shark attack. Now, if you’re chilling in the water, that is called invasion of space. So I have never heard of a shark attack. When I see on the news where it’s like, “There have been 10 shark attacks,” I’m like, “Hey, for real?! They’re just running around? Sharks are walking now, huh! We live on the land, we don’t live underwater.”


BTW, he played at Berry Farm (the DC equivalent to Rucker Park in SE) this past week.

I Miss Pogs

The past few days have felt like third grade all over again. Remember when Pogs were just monstrously popular? And you would go over to a friend's house and play with your Pogs, and then instead of actually playing, you would just trade a certain sweet pog for a couple not-as sweet pogs. Well that is exactly what has been going on in the NBA and the MLB the past few days. Just trades galore as if these players are Pogs.

Let's just go over a list of trades that have gone down the past few days:

NBA
Celtics get Kevin Garnett; Timberwolves get Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and two first-round draft picks (one of which orginally belonged to the TWolves anyways).

This trade is a big deal for me. Whenever I defended the Wizards to anyone who thought they had no shot at winning the Eastern Conference, I could always point to the fact that no team had three players that were as dynamic as Gil, Caron, and Antawn. No so anymore. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and KG are THE best threesome in the NBA. And to make matters worse, the biggest weakness for the Wiz kids is defending the interior. Luckily up until this coming season nobody in the East had that formidable of an interior that could really capitalize fully on the Wiz kid's weakness. Not so anymore with KG in Beantown. Last season in two games against the Wizards, KG had 26 pointsand averaged 15 boards. There's a reason that the one team I always fear in the East used to be the Heat. Shaq could dominate Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas on one leg if he wanted to. And now they're going to have to deal with an in his prime still and coming out with a vengeance Kevin Garnett. Oh yeah, they have Ray Allen and Paul Pierce too. Couple that with Zach Randolph possibly rejuvenating the Knicks and Rashard Lewis teaming up with Dwight Howard and you guessed it. I'm depressed. This sucks.


I have to admit it: The NEW Big Three. I hate that smiling bastard...and Kevin McHale for pulling the trigger on this deal.

Think about all the teams that you could reasonably predict to make the playoffs given what's happened this offseason (this is in no particular order):

Cavs: Defending Eastern champs. Nuff said.
Bulls: They were good and added Joakim Noah
Celtics: I think I might start hating Simmons because he's gonna talk about his team like crazy next year.
Heat: DWade and Shaq
Nets: Jason Kidd, Vinsanity, RJeff and a healthy Nenad Kristic
Wiz Kids: Nervous laugh because I will not hear the end of it if there is no playoffs this season.
Magic: Worst contract ever, but no denying Lewis can get 20 points whenever he wants to.
Bobcats: New coach, added Jason Richardson, resigned Gerald Wallace and there's this guy Emeka too.
Pistons: I hate them, but they've got the same team that they always do.
Knicks: I'm betting Isiah screws it up though
Pacers: They still have a guy by the name of Jermaine O'Neal

That's 11 teams, and I bet people in Philly, Milwaukee, and Atlanta have reasonable arguments why they can make it too. There's only eight friggin' playoff spots to begin with. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I'm certain this season is going to be the most fun/most worrisome NBA season to be a Wizards fan...ever!

MLB
Braves deal for Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel
Red Sox deal for Eric Gagne and deal Joel Pineiro to the Cards
Pirates get Matt Morris from Giants for top prospect Rajai Davis
Mets get Luis Castillo from Twins
Dodgers trade Wilson Betemit to Yankees in exchange for Scott Proctor
DRays pick up Dan Wheeler from Astros
Phillies pick up Kyle Lohse, Julio Mateo and Tadahito Iguchi
Padres get Scott Hairston, Rob Mackowiak, and Morgan Ensberg in various minor deals
Reds get Jorge Cantu from DRays
Indians get Kenny Lofton from Rangers

Wow, I'm guessing you didn't realize how many trades actually went down in the last week. And I realize that the only HUGE deals were for Gagne and Teixeira, but still that's a lot of pogs going to new places. Let's take a minute to analyze all that actually happened in the past week or so.

Everybody is proclaiming that the Braves should now be considered the favorite in the NL after dealing for Teixeira and Dotel. I'm not disagreeing with anyone about this, but I'm just not ready to proclaim them the favorites just yet. But if you look at them on paper, there's really nothing that should slow them down, especially in the weaker National League. They've got two front line starters in Smoltz and Hudson, in addition to solid Chuck James and Buddy Carlisle. Now, their order looks damn imposing with Renteria, the Jonessssss, and Teixeira (although Andruw better pick it up soon), and the bullpen has been solidified by the addition of Dotel. Now that I wrote all that out, maybe they are the favorites to come out of the NL.


Another trade deadline and another year of doing nothing for the Natties. Meanwhile Tex and the Braves are going to be awesome.

And the big winner in the AL has to be the Red Sox. Up until this weekend, I was resigned to the fact that the Tigers were going to make another deep run into the playoffs and although it pained me I was picking them to go all the way to the World Series. But my inner Lee Corso, says not so fast my friend. After getting torn a new asshole by the Angels last weekend, the Tigers are no longer the favorite and are now in one helluva dogfight to even make the playoffs. The Indians are just one game back in the central as I write this. The Red Sox have to be considered the clear favorite in the AL. They have Curt Schilling coming back in the next week or two, and now they have a bullpen that can pretty much hold down the 6-9th innings. All they need out of their starters is five innings. That's it. Think about it: Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, Eric Gagne, and Papelbon. And I haven't even mentioned Mike Timlin, who has shown he can handle pressure situations in the playoffs.

Then there's the Yankees. Does anyone else realize that this team sits just 3 games back of Cleveland in the wild card race right now? That's just scary. Let's be serious, even if they do make the playoffs it's likely a one-and-done situation assuming the Tigs, Angels and Sox hold on these last two months. But still, 3 GAMES! But they didn't really do anything to help themselves getting Betemit. Where are they going to play him. 1st base? Maybe. And in the process they gave up the one thing they actually needed more of: relievers.

All the other deals were relatively minor. I like Castillo filling the void at second base and he can definitely be a nice complement with Jose Reyes in hit-and-run situations. Can someone say 1st to third...and possibly home with a hit-and-run and Reyes running from 1st? I also liked Kenny Lofton going back to Cleveland because it just feels right for Kenny to be playing for the Tribe. And Dan Wheeler to the DRays, well, I was at the lakehouse during the weekend when the Yankees scored what seemed like a trillion runs against Drays pitching, so I guess Wheeler should help. And everyone and I mean everyone around baseball is just ripping the Pirates a new one for trading a top prospect for Matt Morris. The guy is over-the-hill and apparently the Giants were trying to give him away to Salvation Army when out of nowhere the brilliant minds at PNC Park decided to outbid themselves.

This is probably my last post while living in New York City. I move out tomorrow morning. I still have another week of work here, so I'm living with the aunt and uncle in Westfield, NJ. I'll be at Jets Training Camp at Hofstra on Monday, so hopefully I'll have some cool stuff from there. I figure it's about time I stopped talking about basketball and started getting into football mode. It's August already. Where did the summer go?


I'm predicting we'll be seeing some World Series games at Fenway this fall.