Japanese Schoolgirl Drafted By Professional Baseball Team.

This week in Japan, the pro team Kobe 9 Crusier added a young pitching prospect to the fold.

Her name is Eri Yoshida. She idolizes Tim Wakefield and throws a decent knuckleball.

She only weighs 110 pounds and is 5 feet tall.

Oh yeah, and she’s 16.

Yoshida will be the first woman to ever pitch in the Japanese professional leagues. Some people are already talking about her playing Major League Baseball. This is premature for a lot of reasons:

• She is still 16 and even if she has amazing stuff, she won’t be developed for a few years at least.
• She is only 5 feet tall. Most pitchers in the majors are at least 6 feet tall.
• She throws a knuckleball, which is essentially the least desired pitch in baseball. There are only a handful of guys in the majors who throw it, because, frankly, it is hard to control and does not usually provide teams with much consistency day in and day out.
• Even though it may seem like playing in Japan is a fast track to the Majors, in reality, only a handful of Japanese players play in the Majors and for every one that succeeds beyond expectations, there are several that fail like you wouldn’t believe.

Still, I truly believe that professional sports are “professional” because they contain all of the greatest available athletes. For this reason, if Yoshida develops and is a stellar talent, I would be thrilled to see her pitching in Major League Baseball.

The odds of that happening are slim. For now at least.

What I don’t want this to turn into is the ongoing Michelle Wie saga. I hate reading about her and hope she falls down a well. She hasn’t done shit, still can’t win on the LPGA and is only kept around as a sideshow. Which should be apparent and embarrassing to her.

That is a waste of everyone’s time.

Can you even imagine if a team like the Pirates drafted Yoshida and instantly brought her up to the bigs just to fill seats and to get national press coverage? That would be humiliating for everyone involved. Which is exactly what the Michelle Wie saga is.

But if you want to talk about Danica Patrick, by all means, go ahead.

Albert Pujols Wins NL MVP.

Like many people around this part of the country (some call it ‘Red Sox Nation’…I just call it New England), I really don’t get to see too much National League baseball over the course of the season.

Sure, I watch the Red Sox play inter-league games and towards the end of the season, I watch just about every baseball game on TV, but this season, I don’t think I watched a single minute of St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

It’s not my fault. I can’t afford a baseball package that would give me every game and the Cardinals weren’t competing for a playoff spot down the stretch so I just didn’t see them.

And come to think of it, World Series appearances aside, I really haven’t watched much St. Louis Cardinals baseball over the course of the Pujols’ career.

I know his numbers were out of this world. His On base Percentage was absurd (.462) he put up typical Pujols power numbers (37 HR, 116 RBI) and had a .357 batting average.

This is his second MVP and he has finished in the top 3 in voting in 6 of his 8 years in the Majors.

But to me, all of those numbers are just numbers. I haven’t seen him play enough to know that he gets on base almost half the time he gets up to bat. I don’t even know what his batting stance looks like (off the top of my head).

I know things about Pujols. I knew he still wasn’t 30. I knew he had around 300 career home runs. I know what I’ve read about him.

I’d have to say, baseball is probably the absolute worst sport at showcasing talent.

Part of it is the ridiculous 162 game schedule where one game never means much in reality. It makes the idea of watching a mid-season Sunday Night Baseball game between the Cardinals and the Reds seem like less fun than watching grass grow.

Hell, unless I’m AT a Red Sox game or it is during the playoffs or I am watching it surrounded by friends while discussing other things or playing poker, I have a tendency to get bored then as well (and they are my home team!).

I’ve always felt that way. Baseball is so incredibly slow and so little actually happens. I could watch any Hockey or Basketball game because, the seasons are half as long as the baseball season and you get the sense that every game means something. Plus, even if it is early in the year (like right now), there is constant action. It isn’t like watching paint dry.

The NFL has the perfect sport though. 16 games. Every one of them matters. Constant action. Always something at stake. I would watch every NFL game every season if I could.

And all though I’m familiar with the sight of Pujols hitting a home run, I have SEEN and remember Adrian Peterson ripping through defenses.

I don’t watch the Pittsburgh Penguins regularly at all, put I know what Sidney Crosby can do.

I hate the Lakers, but I am very very familiar with how great Kobe Bryant is.

Yet with Albert Pujols, it’s hard for me to even remember a highlight from a home run he hit this season (off the top of my head…I can’t).

That’s not a knock on Pujols. Mostly, I blame Bud Selig.

Oh, and the purists who think that 4 hour and 37 minute games are what baseball is all about can go to hell.

American League MVP 2008. Josh Hamilton? Cliff Lee? Dustin Pedroia? Ian Kinsler? Carlos Quentin? Aubrey Huff? A-Rod?

Poor Ian Kinsler.

I really do think Kinsler would have won the MVP had he not been injured.

But shit happens.

And Texas sucks. As a team. As a group of hitters, they are exciting and enchanting gentlemen. As a team? Call me when you get a rotation and/or bullpen.

The thing is, this is one MVP Race that isn’t very cut and dry.

You’ve got ARod who sucked for a while, has been terrible in the clutch (more-so than usual even) and who won it last year with numbers far better than the ones he is currently putting up.

You’ve got Josh Hamilton who was on fire for a while but sort of fell to Earth a little bit.

You’ve got Carlos Quentin who has great power numbers…but that’s about it.

And you’ve got Aubrey Huff who one would never figure to be in the MVP race.

Then there’s Dustin Pedroia.

Before I get into how Pedroia is statistically amazing or how much he has carried the Red Sox since the Manny trade, let me state what the term MVP means to me.

Most Valuable Player means the player who has contributed the most to his team thoughout the season. A player who has been statistically amazing, carried his team through tough times and led them to the promised land.

The Most Valuable Player should never be a guy who is on a non-playoff team unless he is having a record setting season.

For example, if Josh Hamilton had 179 RBI right now with the same batting average and home run stats, I would say he should definitely be in the running. After all, he would have a legitimate shot at Hack Wilson’s record, he would clearly appear to be carrying his team by himself and statistics like that are hard to ignore.

But Hamilton only has 121 RBI right now. That’s not groundbreaking. That’s just a great season. He hasn’t carried the Rangers through their pitching struggles. His offense alone has not compensated for his team’s lack of pitching. The Rangers are nowhere near the playoffs. They might be a fun team to watch, but they aren’t going anywhere and would certainly be worse without Hamilton, but they aren’t necessarily better just for having him (if that makes sense).

I don’t see how you could consider Hamilton.

ARod, same thing. Unless ARod were to lead the Yankees back from the dead to a divisional championship or Wild Card playoff spot, against all odds. In which case I would say, yes, he is very very valuable.

Aubrey Huff is on the Orioles who apparently the Playoffs have filed a restraining order against, because it seems like the O’s are not allowed within 500 feet of the Playoffs.

That leaves Carlos Quentin. He might help carry the White Sox to a division championship. But let’s look at his stats:

Quentin has 138 hits. 96 Runs, 26 Doubles, 36 Home Runs, 100 RBI, 7 Steals and 80 Strikeouts. He is batting .287. .394 On Base Percentage. 274 Total Bases.

Certainly Quentin’s 36 Home Runs and 100 RBI are impressive. But I don’t think a guy should ever win MVP if he has a sub-.300 batting average. I’m sure Quentin will pick it up in September (the White Sox will need him to).

But Pedroia?

Dustin Pedroia has 191 hits (MLB Leader), 110 Runs (MLB Leader), 44 Doubles (Tied for 2nd), 17 Home Runs, 76 RBI, 17 Steals and only 47 Strikeouts. He is batting .333 (leads the AL), .378 On base Percentage. 290 Total Bases.

The hits and runs are absurd. Obviously Pedroia’s home run and RBI totals do not appear to be MVP worthy, but when you look deeper at his other stats, it is abundantly clear that his offensive output has been ridiculous.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Pedroia was batting 2nd most of the season and did not have nearly as many RBI opportunities as say Josh Hamilton or Carols Quentin have had. I think Pedroia could still finish with 100 RBI and 20+ Home Runs. But I do feel like those are thresholds he might need to cross in order to win over some voters.

Pedroia has been a monster for the Red Sox since Manny was traded. He has found a way to get them runs without Mike Lowell, without Kevin Youkilis and without a healthy rotation. This Red Sox team has been eviscerated by injuries all season and I doubted their toughness and grit before and after the All Star break.

But something changed after Manny was traded.

The Red Sox seemed to get more injured and when most teams would have folded after losing an icon, this Red Sox team buckled down and played hard.

This is why I was so happy to get Jason Bay. Why Mark Kotsay was a great pick up. Why Jed Lowrie will be the starting shortstop for the Red Sox next season and why Jacoby Ellsbury is not done yet (don’t give up on him).

And to be honest, I really do feel like it all goes back to 5′ 6″ Dustin Pedroia (there is no way in hell he is 5′ 9″).

I say this not just as a Red Sox fan.

I really do think if Pedroia continues to rip the leather off the ball the way he has the last several weeks, there is no one in the AL more valuable to their team than Pedroia.

When you factor in his defense versus ARod or his versus Quentin or Hamilton, it seems like it would be hard to not give him the MVP.

And when you look at Josh Hamilton or Milton Bradley or Ian Kinsler, you have to wonder how anyone could vote for any of the three of them over any of the others. They would probably split votes (Ross Perot Effect).

It is also worth mentioning, that if a team has 3 guys who are putting up offensive numbers that look to be of MVP caliber, how could that team be sub .500? Oh, right, because they have committed over 100 errors (that’s an average of more than 10 a starter people!) and can’t pitch worth a damn. 

Not all that valuable.

Let’s see if Pedroia has enough gas left to take advantage of a vulnerable inexperienced Rays team and lead the Sox to a division title.

If he can, I see no way he could lose.

Kobe Bryant Will Go To Europe for $100 Million. Decides He Too Enjoys Money, Makes Claims of Having Friends…

 

The Boston Globe got Kobe to try to not be outdone by LeBron this morning:

In lieu of a report that Cleveland star LeBron James would strongly consider playing in Europe for $50 million for one season when he becomes a free agent in two years, when asked by The Boston Globe about the report Bryant said he would take a similar deal by a pro team in Italy if offered when he becomes a free agent next summer.

 

Such would be a devestating loss for the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers star is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player last season and considered its most popular player. The Associated Press originally reported that Bryant could have interest in playing professionally in Europe.

 
“I’d go. I’d probably go,” said Bryant, during a USA Basketball press conference on Friday morning. “Like Milan or something like that, where I grew up or something like that… Peace out.”

 
Bryant continued: “Do you know any reasonable person that would turn down 50 (million dollars)?”

 
Bryant spent a large part of his childhood growing up in Italy while his father, Joe, played professional basketball there and speaks fluent Italian. In 1999, the 10-time NBA All-Star also acquired a 50 percent ownership of the Olimpia Milano of the Italian Professional Basketball League.

 

“Because I grew up in Italy it has more significance to me because I’m more familiar with it, I’ve been there and I still have friends there,” said Bryant, a three-time NBA champion. “I’m thinking about buying a house out there. It would be nothing to me to be able to do that.”

 

The thing about it is, with LeBron it seems like its just a lot of talk. He’ll end up somewhere else in the NBA in two years. A team with teammates who can play, a team that can contend. It is a non-story.

Kobe Bryant has already established himself as elite in the NBA. He has won NBA titles (even though he CANNOT get it done without Shaq). He’s won his MVP. He loves money and a relaxed attitude towards sexual consent.

He can find both of those things in Italy.

If you were the GM of the Milan Soprasetta, wouldn’t you be on the phone with Kobe’s agent RIGHT NOW? Hell, $50 million a year? Throw $75 million a year at him. He’s not getting any younger!!!

Phil Jackson lamented in his tell all book a few years back about how he thought that Kobe was resentful of Shaq because Shaq’s huge contract and new salary standards were what would make it impossible for Kobe to ever make BIG money ($40 million a year) in the NBA.

Though I do think that the salary-cap-less system in Major League Baseball is flawed, it sort of makes sense. It allows the market to dictate value. It allows owners to decide how they want to run their businesses (and it has been proven, by the Marlins again and again that there are ways to be successful with alternative business plans). Most importantly, should this “star players going to Europe” thing grow any legs, it would be an easy way to keep top tier players in the NBA.

Unfortunately, I would have to say that should Kobe Bryant leave the NBA, it wouldn’t be a bad decision on his part. Whereas LeBron leaving for Europe would be like the whole stupid Michelle Wie (I hate hearing about Michelle Wie by the way).

LeBron needs to prove he’s worth a damn against the best players in the World in the NBA before he takes off for cash. Just like Michelle Wie should prove she is the best woman on the LPGA before she tries to play against men.

But everybody loves the money.

AL Playoff Predictions

In my original mid-season article I wanted to make some serious 2008 season predictions. For whatever reason it didn’t happen so much.

So now that the season is approaching 3/4 of the way over, its time to make some bold statements about who has a shot, who is in another rebuilding year and who is flat out dead where they stand.

I predict that the Tampa Bay Rays are in fact a legit competitor. Really, they are probably more serious a challenge to both the Red Sox and Yankees than either team will be to the other from here on out.

People still say things like “it’s not gonna last” or whatever. There is no way this team completely folds unless they 1) get cocky like the 2007 Mets…Because they are young and have never tasted victory before, I doubt this happens. 2) have several severe injuries to key players…All though injuries can happen at any time, the worst part of the season for them (just before the half way mark) has come and gone.

Does that mean that I think they are definitely winning the AL East? No. Not definitely. But I do think they will be in the race all through September.

And the other two teams that have a chance to win the AL East?

The Yankees are one.

Even though I was programmed to hate everything they stand for, to detest everything about the organization and all of their players, far be it from me to assume that just because they are 3.5 games back right now that their season is over. That’s just stupid.

The Red Sox fans that I hear that from are either 1) new to being Red Sox fans (2004 to present), 2) drunk, 3) HOPING and PRAYING that it is true or 4) Not paying attention to the 2008 Red Sox and 2008 Rays.

This Yankees team has a few issues that are a little more obvious than ones they have had in previous seasons. For one, they are really having trouble staying healthy. They are seeing some of their quality offensive players get old and regress. The pitching is not really there.  It isn’t Texas Rangers bad, they still have a few good guys getting decent starts in their rotation, but they have been scrambling all season with everyone outside of Mussina and Pettitte. Some of the young guys look good, sure, but they won’t look good for long if their confidence gets shot. If I were a Yankee fan, that would worry me.

But this Yankees team is far from done. They are only 3.5 games out of first. 3 games behind the Red Sox. They can still score runs (thanks in large part to ARod). Hell, they have a +50 run differential. Even if the pitching is somewhat inconsistent (which is the word I would use…its not bad…bad would imply consistency. The Rangers pitching is BAD) they still have an offense that can score 5 runs a night, 10 on any given night and it would never surprise me to see them win a game 22-5.

But offense won’t win any Championships. It comes and goes. There one night, gone the next. You can’t rely on it.

I wouldn’t say I think the Red Sox are done or not going to make the playoffs.

I could easily see a situation where the Red Sox drop a few too many games, have trouble with the Rays and Yankees in September and end up a couple games out of the Playoffs. I could easily see that happening…But I don’t think it will.

The Red Sox have not exactly been the most healthy team either this season. What they do have going for them is the youth movement, JD Drew being great again and a fairly solid rotation. But Manny is taking his 4 week vacation early this season. Hopefully Ortiz is fine. Hopefully things work out. But as you’ve seen in the past, I’m not all that optimistic. 

To me, for the thinking Red Sox fan, you have to consider a few things. The lack of a trustworthy bullpen. The injuries racking up. The fact that players stepping up and filling in holes is nice while it lasts, but it will NEVER last forever. Last season’s Red Sox just seemed to me like they were easily going to win the World Series all year. You could feel it. They had everything clicking the right way. They weren’t hampered by injuries to key guys all year. They could hold a lead, they could come from behind. They could win big games. They did it all. These Red Sox seem more like the 2005 Red Sox to me. Unless they get their act together over the next 50 games, I don’t think they will get very far even if they make the playoffs.

So to make a prediction…

I predict the Rays win the AL East by about 2 games. The Red Sox get the Wild Card by about 2 or 3 games with the Yankees right on their heels.

You know what team IS breathing fire right now? The Angels of whatever city in California.

The Angels are the only team in the AL that seems like they could easily win a World Series without any issues if the season ended today.

And the funny thing is, I think they’re UNDER PERFORMING.

They only have a +34 run differential, a few of their key bats have had rough seasons, its been weird. Take a look at their player stats. Torii Hunter hasn’t exactly rocked the Earth with his offensive output this season. Vlad looks like he’s getting older. Chone Figgins isn’t nearly as effective as he has been in years past. But they still find a way to score runs. They have an undeniable rotation (Saunders, Santana, Lackey, Weaver and Garland…the worst ERA in the rotation is Garland’s 4.12), they strike people out, and have you seen their bullpen? Scot Shields might be the most underrated pitcher in the AL. The guy has 21 holds. an ERA under 3.0, 1.18 WHIP, a K/9 average of 9.76, add in an unstoppable closer in Francisco Rodriguez (more than 40 saves) and then look at the stats Jose Arredondo, Darren Oliver and Darren O’Day are putting up.

That is 5 quality starters and 5 reliable relievers. Name another team in baseball with a pitching staff that good.

I could easily see the Angels steamrolling through the playoffs. They are easily taking the West (ahead by 10 games now, probably by 21 by year’s end).

In the Central, I can’t really say what is going to happen. It is still a 3 team race. The Tigers, though better than at the start of the season, are still not as good as advertised. I think I made my feelings about this Tigers team known in my mid-season review article.

But I don’t think they’re out.

The Twins don’t have the pitching to stay ahead of anyone other than the Royals for long. Even if the Twins prove me wrong here and somehow win the Central, they are out in the first round to the Angels or Rays (based on my above predictions).

The White Sox just don’t excite me at all. They have a few guys playing inspired baseball, a lunatic manager and even though they’re in first in their division, most casual sports fans in Chicago are probably far more interested and invested in the Cubs right now. The White Sox have a good rotation, but it isn’t great. Vasquez and Contreras give up too many runs, I question Gavin Floyd’s durability (can he last through September?) and Buehrle gives up 7 hits a start (average). This isn’t to say that I would not gladly accept a few starters from the White Sox for the Red Sox. I would take any of the top 3 with open arms.

The bullpen is good. Not Angels good. But good.

As far as their offense goes, its like a team of power hits that don’t hit all that well (Jermaine Dye aside). They generate a lot of runs but remind me a hell of a lot of the Yankees….but with the pitching to back it up.

I’m going to say the White Sox take the Central by about 4 games. The Twins drop down to third. The Tigers’ insanely slow start will just be too much to overcome. Its a hole that is too deep in my opinion.

So for the AL my playoff predictions are:

1. Angels 103-59

2. Rays 96-66

3. White Sox 95-67

4. Red Sox (WC) 94-68

Everybody Loves The WNBA When There Are Brawls…not so much when it is women playing basketball..

I don’t need a picture.

There was a brawl in the WBNA last night between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks.

It happened at the Palace at Auburn Hills aka home of the Detroit Pistons.

There was some shoving, things got out of hand, the same as any NBA altercation. Nothing really spectacular, unusual or amazing happened. Tempers flare when people are competing and teams are rivals.

Yet it’s the first time I can ever remember ANY news story related to the WBNA being front page news on ESPN.com, or a lead story on Sportscenter.

And the way ESPN covers these types of events?

Well…its akin to the way Fox News covers a Michael Moore film premiere. 

I don’t know when it happened, but sometime in the last decade, sports news has transmogrified from in depth coverage of players and personalities, highlights, scores and statistical analysis into TMZ for jocks. The Brett Favre soap opera? Is there anything less interesting? Oh yeah, the whole ongoing “Barrack Obama’s Minister said bad bad things” soap opera. Right. Similar? Yes. Long lasting? Yes. Does any of it matter? No.

Do I care what Chad Johnson had for breakfast? Not that much. Oh, he’s at training camp today? GREAT! Thanks.

Have you ever noticed you spend more time reading about player contracts, transactions and legal issues than you do reading about anything that ACTUALLY HAPPENS DURING A GAME? 

I’ll be the first to admit that I certainly pump out a lot of gossip sports stories. And why? Because they can be interesting. 

But unlike ESPN, I don’t feel I have or should have any obligation to write about anything other than what I feel like writing about. ESPN should be about providing insight and great analysis and sports coverage and THEN about gossip. Lately its all gossip with a couple John Hollinger articles mixed in.

Is it because athletes don’t want to talk to the media? Is it because the media can find a way to turn ANYTHING into a story? Is it because America runs on gossip?

Mostly, yes and yes.

Let me know the next time you see a WBNA game story or score or anything unrelated to this incident on the front page of ESPN.com. Please. Let me know. Maybe at their Championship? Maybe.

I mean this in the kindest way possible; the vast majority of sports fans do not care at all about the WBNA. In fact, I bet if you did a poll and asked any sports fan how many WBNA teams they could name off the top of their head, they would maybe be able to name one. Maybe.

Here is my list, this is completely off the top of my head:

Detroit Shock, Los Angeles Sparks, Houston something space travel related, New York Liberty, Seattle not Sonics…uhhh…that’s it. See. Bad. And I bet most people couldn’t even name more than a few cities teams are in.

And that’s OK. I think that the WNBA has an opportunity as a future league. As in, if it hangs around for 20 years and women/young women are interested in the league, it could easily become a part of common sports culture. For a few reasons 1) people are fickle, they fall in and out of love with leagues, players, etc. The NBA is back in vogue, or coming back in vogue in a big way. Might not last forever. Shit, ask the average sports fan to name 20 NHL teams and I doubt they could do that these days. 2) trends come and go. People said soccer would never catch on in America, well it sort of is catching on. It might be slow, but it is coming. I swear. I mean it this time. Look at Tennis. People who didn’t give a shit about tennis in June are shitting their pants in excitement now. 3) Any league needs time. Be it SLAMBALL, the XFL, Arena Football, the WNBA or MLS. A league needs to build its history, gain a reputation, and stay with it through the tough years. Things change. People change. If you get some kids into it, who knows what might happen down the line.

But right now, the WNBA will continue to be exploited for the two times this season where something newsworthy has happened (A WOMAN DUNKED AGAIN! OH MY GOD! 3 ARTICLES NOW!!!/DID YOU SEE THAT BRAWL! THAT WAS AWFUL! THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!).

Stupid.

Red Sox Back In First, Rays Revert To Devil Rays Ways

This isn’t much of a story, but the Boston Red Sox have climbed back into first. I really didn’t think they would be back on top at the All Star break. In fact, I assumed they might be 5 or 6 games out of first by the All Star break.

The fact is, the Sox are outrageously good at home, they’ve played 97 games already (more than they had previously ever played before the All Star break), they have already had an insane number of extended road trips and in spite of all of that (and injuries) they are still playing quality baseball (fairly regularly).

The (Devil) Rays? I’m not stupid. I don’t think they’re done. The AL East race is far from over and I would not be shocked to see it become a 4 team race (if Baltimore can make some crazy trades/signings…Barry Bonds? Kenny Lofton?  A new rotation?).

But the Rays limped into the All Star break. Not the way you want to start the second half (or the 5th 7th I guess). The Rays are a young team still. They’ll probably be great for the next 5 years if they keep it going and don’t make any horrible decisions. I don’t think they finish first in the East. If the Yankees get things going I would say they have as good a chance as the Rays or Sox at this point.

It will certainly be an interesting pennant race.

SLAMBALL Domestic Violence Case

Sometimes I tend to think I might overstate the amount of horrific acts of violence committed by players in the major professional sports.

Of course the alarming and disgusting acts extend outside of the NFL and MLB.

Today is a terrible day in the long and illustrious history of SLAMBALL.

What’s that, you’ve never heard of SLAMBALL before? I find that hard to believe. Its like a combination of football and basketball and trampolining all rolled into one.

Please note that SLAMBALL can only be spelled in all caps.

Here is their official website. If you watch the video, you can see the man on trial, Lattimore, towards the end of the 1:30 minutes.

Totally fucked.

I see no reason why sports and domestic violence should go hand in hand…regardless of if they are actual sports or some stupid bullshit some dude made up in LA in 2002.

Well SLAMBALL, welcome to the fold. Once you get your first murder trial out of the way you will have completed what it takes to be considered a professional sport.

Long live the XFL SLAMBALL.

via Crowley

Javon Walker Gets Beat Up, JD Drew Is Good Again, Cole Hamels Needs A Haircut

Shitty.

Best wishes to Javon Walker. Hoping for a quick recovery.

You know who in the MLB looks most like Steve Malkmus from Pavement? Cole Hamels. Good for him.

Hamels was impressive last night in the way he buckled down after surrendering back to back home runs. This is something that a lot of good pitchers don’t even do well. Props to Cole Malkmus.

JD Drew is apparently back from the grave (thinks about the guy from the Denali commericals). Drew has already hit more home runs this season (not quite half way over) than he did all year in 2007.

Does it ever bother you that no other sport actually has a 1 year season? It annoys me. basketball is the 07-08 season, same for NHL and for Football barring that the teams you are talking about made the playoffs. Its just so much easier to say the 2007 season. And it looks better too.

I loved the game NHL 96. I liked it even better than NHL 94 (which critics think was the best one ever). But if there was one thing Sega Genesis did correctly, it was NHL games.

Speaking of Sega Genesis, i also absolutely adored “Sports Talk Baseball”. What a game that was. The Wikipedia article is riddles with typos (even though its only like 100 words…) but the game featured different batting stances for batters and different attributes for different players. That is the first game I ever played a season in. I was the Oakland A’s and had this killer lineup:
C   Terry Steinbach    
1B  Mark McGwire       
2B  Mike Gallego     
3B *Ernest Riles 

SS  Mike Bordick       
LF  Rickey Henderson   
CF  Dave Henderson     
RF  Jose Canseco       
DH *Harold Baines       
   *Jamie Quirk         
    Lance Blankenship    
   #Walt Weiss          
    Carney Lansford  
   *Doug Jennings      

For some reason Walt Weiss was a starter in the game. Which was HUGELY annoying. He could not hit at all. The rest of the team was like power city. I also remember using Blankenship and Lansford to pinch hit in a lot of situations.

It was a great game. The “sports talk” was a series of phrases that were ALWAYS used in situations that triggered them. So anytime you threw to second it would say “Throws to second” and so on. So if you ever got anyone in a pickle, it was the most redundant and annoying thing ever. I remember my parents telling me to lower the volume on many occasions during pickles.

Also, the game had an inexplicable (but brilliant) 10 run mercy rule. Which sometimes allowed me to win a game in one inning (that’s how good the A’s were and how much I exploited the glitches in the game). I kind of wish all games had a mercy rule like that.

OK. My stomach feels less like I’m going to throw up. Good. Only 5.5 hours until tip off.