I have to admit that I giggled like a school girl when I saw Olivo nail AJ on the head. I'm surprised that Olivo didn't just turn around at the mound and floor him right there because he was the true target in this situation.

Royals are playing really well right now. It's nice to see them playing with a lot of fire and taking it out on the White Sox and Red Sox.

Wow, that's bullshit.

Are you kidding me? Delay the game in the 5th, bring the players back on the field when it's still raining to finish the inning, let the Cardinals score a run, and then delay the game again before the Dodgers come up to bat?

I will be seriously pissed off if this game gets called after five innings.

I mean, god damn.

Two batters. That's all the play they got through before the delay resumed.

You have got to think an experienced umpire crew has got better judgment than to resume play when the rain is falling hard enough that the game is going to get delayed again after those two batters.

Hi, I'm Chris Waters, and I'm going to Disneyland! :)

There are a few certainties in baseball, and here are a few of them:

1. Vin Scully. (Nothing else to add)
2. Tim McCarver is an ass.
3. Tony Gwynn can hit (yes, even now)
4. Never count the Yankees out in June.
5. Pete Rose will make some sort of news at least once in any given calendar year


and...








...wait for it...







...wait for it...






6. The Angels will make a star out of your rookie soft tosser (usually the night before or after blowing out your ace).

It's to the point where whenever I see a pitcher making his first start against the Angels, I run to my fantasy leagues to pick that pitcher up.

Reminds me of one of my favorite baseball stories.
Also, Joba takes his first of presumably many trips to see Dr. James Andrews. Yankee to visit specialist - The Boston Globe

Pretty sure the Cobb story is apocryphal. There's a similar exchange that's supposed to have taken place between two individuals after he died.

Jeff karstens flirts with a perfect game today. Hopefully he can keep it up or at least not suck as bad as the rest of the staff has.

Bizarro inning in Arizona, as the Braves score 7 in the top of the sixth to take an 9-3 lead. Brian McCann singles & tries to take second when the throw comes through to the plate, Juan Cruz throws wildly to second & Orlando Hudson jams his hand into the runner's side while trying to make a diving catch. Hudson leaves the game in obvious pain holding his wrist (or thumb, hard to tell what they were trying to keep from moving).

Next pitch McCann steals third & thanks to a wild throw Mark Reynolds is put in harm's way but stays in after getting his ankle banged up by the sliding McCann (who scored on the play).

That had to be a nightmare to watch for D-Backs fans.

edit to add: Braves telecast says that the D-Backs are saying that Hudson has either a dislocated wrist or a broken wrist.

So I heard the DBacks were close to signing Bonds, but then some season ticket holders decided to band together in an idiotic moral front to keep the front office from inking the deal.

If I was a Dbacks fan, I would be LIVID with those season ticket holders. Do these people really believe none of their players have done steroids? Are they that foolish? You're 1/2 game up on LA for a division title, and you're trying to stop your team from signing the best hitter of the past 40 years to a contract? I know he's 44. I know he's useless in the field. He's willing to play for NOTHING...literally! His agent has said he's willing to sign for the minimum, and donate his ENTIRE salary. Have him pinch hit for chrissakes. He could be the difference between a World Series and not making the playoffs at all. Just insane levels of hypocrisy and poor judgement by those season ticket holders.

I wouldn't want the Angels to sign Bonds. That said, I love your question about believeing no D'Backs players did steroids. Jason Grimsley anyone? :)

Ok, CR..and I'm sorry for being an ass in the other thread..I really do like you and think you're a very intelligent person....but..if it came down to it..would you rather have the Angels sign Bonds, or have Bonds sign with, say, Bonds?

This is a question to make my head explode, right?

As for the other thread, naw, you're fine. I don't mind the assassin comments because, really, you're on the money with your critique. I did pick and choose my target. Not with any planning, of course--JPhillips said something I thought wasn't fair or right and I responded, and I admit he is one that gets my goat, and with whom I will not just ignore. It's not fair to JPhillips because others deserve (in fact probably deserve far more) that treatment than JPhillips does, who is also very intelligent and well-spoken. If I wanted to, I could find the same sort of argumentation flaws or questionable stances with any number of posters, so why pick on JPhillips? That's because of the history.

If I could serve as a post police force with respect to debates, I suppose I could go around dinging everyone, but I don't have time for that of course. So I have to pick my spots, and those tend to happen with more emotional issues with me--and that includes posters that elicit a stronger response from me, like JPhillips.

So, you're on the dot there. No worries.

dont blame the fans, blame the front office.

Once you start making personel descions based on public scrutiny that is your first step out the door.

Braves down 6-1, but have the bases loaded and one out. Francoeur grounds into a double play. Predictable.

Send him to the minors for 3 days again! ;)

On the threat of jinxing him, I just have to say WOW about Cliff Lee! Who could have predicted this? 16-2 and a 2.45 ERA for a team that is 52-64, and especially with Lee's recent history. This is just absolutely amazing.

Triple Dola,

Congrats to the Tampa Rays for their franchise record 71st win:

ESPN - Rays vs. Mariners - Recap - August 10, 2008

And Rocco Baldelli came back, in a great story, and even got an RBI!

Just to toot my own horn I drafted Hamilton in the 14th round and picked up Lee on waivers in my fantasy money league.

I picked up both Milton Bradley and Cliff Lee on waivers ;).

It's tough to be a Red Sox fan and also route for the D-rays, but I'm doing it (especially for Baldelli).

It is awesome that he made it back! The first AB was special. I only hope that we didn't lose Crawford for the season.

Agreed. Earlier today, I was looking around at some of the top pitchers in the AL to handicap the Cy Young race and see how much of a chance Saunders or Santana would have. Yup, race is already over, short of a catastrophic collapse from Lee in the final weeks.

All the good ones are. Doesn't make them any less fun to hear imo. My favorite recent one involving Lefty Grove.

Adam Dunn to the D-Backs

I hate the Reds so damn much. We get a an A ball pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery and two PTBNL? If they weren't going to sign him why not take the two picks he'd bring as compensation? Now we have Jay Bruce, a bunch of outs, and Dusty sacrificing every time someone gets on base. But at least we signed Bill Bavasi so I have that shit to look forward to when Jocketty retires.

Well, you don't know how the PTNBL's are, so its very hard to assess. Look, Dunn's a great talent, with the old fart radio guy in Cin (Brenneman) badmouthing him at every go and a bunch of self-proclaimed baseball guys who think "gamer" is more important than being a good player, I'm not surprised. Plus, Dusty can get his Corey Patterson fetish back in the game. My only doubt for the Reds is whether the return is greater than the 2 draft picks, but they may not have wanted to pay for those.

I just know that as it currently stands we've traded our outfield from last year, Griffey, Hamilton and Dunn for Volquez and shit. Great fucking work. Now I'll get to see more of Patterson's sub 200 BA and 40 OPS+ getting four ABs a game.

I'm not sure I've ever been more discouraged as a Reds fan. Not only do we have a serious talent deficit, but out management consists of Dusty Baker, Walt Jocketty and Bill Bavasi, only two of whom shouldn't even be allowed to work for the Cape Cod League. At least we have an owner willing to spend 3 mil on Patterson and 5 mil on Mike fucking Stanton, that's surely a plus.

You forgot $12 million on Francisco Cordero. :D Because clearly, that's a better usage of funds than on Dunn.

Dola,
our idiot GM spent a $126M on Barry FUCKING Zito. So we win the bitterness sweepstakes.

I'm with you, JP.

Well, the bases can't be clogged if no one ever reaches. Sounds like Dusty has finally accomplished his goal.

And one other thing. The fucking morons on Cincy sportstalk are trying to tell me that this trade might net us a Larry Bagwell or John Smoltz. Why the hell stop there? This trade might net us Babe Fucking Ruth and Bob Gibson and the next goddamn Pope.

It's great that they're thrilled we just got rid of a .380 OBP and 40 hrs a year player. The D-Backs will really be pissed to get the MLB HR leader. Especially since I've read that Cincy is going to pay half his salary!

Yeah, the hatred for Adam Dunn is absurd, but primarily the reflection of people who don't understand that scoring runs is good, "hustle" or not.

Well apparently Manny Ramirez isn't torpedoing LA and is actually helping the Dodgers, :eek: so they had to do something to keep up.

Reds fans can hope Jarrod Parker is one of the PTBNL's - he wasn't signed until August 15th last year iirc.

At least your front office had the sense to pick Lincecum rather than Drew Stubbs. :banghead:

Arizona has already said it isn't Parker.

Cheap management didn't want to pay for draft picks, that's a few million of revenue sharing they can pocket.

That's not it, though. Castellini is spending a ton of money compared to previous ownership and he's dropped several million on Latin prospects this year.

A Cincy Enquirer blog says that the PTBNL are agreed upon, but need to clear waivers. From Red Reporter:


Not much of a list.

Haha, shoulda taken the picks. In all seriousness, that means the lists for PTBNL's are probably dependent on if he's resigned by AZ, but I don't even see many good prospects left. Gerardo Parra is supposed to be a good hitter and Scherzer's there, but maybe it'll be one of the guys at the ML level if Dunn is resigned. Probably not.[/clogging the bases joke]

EDIT - NVM, wait 2 min and JPhillips posts the lists and proves me wrong.

Hmm, Arizona gives up nobodies, gets half Dunn's salary paid for the rest of the year and gets the first round picks when he leaves next offseason. Tough not to like this deal.

One guy on Phoenix radio says none of Arizona's top 10 prospects will be included in the deal. So, it's not Parra, Scherzer, Parker or any of their recent high picks.

Arles: I've never wanted you dead more than tonight!

The Reds dumping Dunn because of his average and strikeouts is like one of us dumping Cindy Crawford (circa 1992) because of her mole.

I'm still amazed Dusty hasn't signed his lovechild Neifi Perez.

Oh, give him time.

And now Longoria is on the DL and out at least 2 weeks with a broken hand.

I don't want any other teams to complain about injuries.

Dusty is such a dumbass.

I remember listening to a game earlier this summer where he actually had the nerve to send Joey Votto up there to bunt. Votto had at least an .850 ops at that point in time. May have been the game Junior hit a walkoff.

The awesome thing is that the Reds are in pittsburgh the next 3 days and I'll get to listen to all of the games. It should be an amazing battle of the brains between Dusty and John Russel.

Today's line so far for Scott Feldman, the starter for the Texas Rangers

1 IP, 7 H, 10 R (4 Earned) 2 BB, 2K, 2HR's allowed (both of them to Big Papi in two seperate three run homers).

Poor guy. Could someone please pick up his ego, from where it hit the ground and shatterred into millions of pieces?

YouTube - Wrigley Field Evacuated - Tornado Sirens at Cubs game!

Video from the Tornado Warning at Wrigley a week or so ago (where a Tornado had actually been sighted)

They had as many lightning strikes in four hours as they normally do in SIX MONTHS.

and he mat get a no descion...