Thoughts on Al Leiter?

Well, all this talk of Mike Mussina and 1993, and seeing "Deja Blue" on ESPN Classic (Canada) this weekend (the network re-aired the '93 Fall Classic again), I can't help but talk about Al Leiter again.

Leiter won Game One in relief, a game in which Curt Schilling couldn't hold on to three leads the Phillies had given him.

But I'm curious as to how House, Rick, Cliff, and the Trouts think about Leiter.

After all, the Blue Jays carried him for years while he was battling his blister problems. The lefty earned two World Series rings. And when he became a free agent at the conclusion of the 1995 season, Leiter bolted for the Florida Marlins.

Yes, so did Devon White.

Yes, losing Robbie Alomar to division rival Baltimore was bad, too.

Leiter's case, however, was different.

There was no hard feelings in White's signing with Florida (he wanted to be closer to his father, who lived in Jamaica, and Miami would be a shorter trip), while Alomar left the Blue Jays on bad terms and was unhappy during the latter half of the '95 season.

With the relatively young Leiter (who was finally coming off a good season), the Jays were looking to rebuild, and looked at the lefty as the key in their rotation. They felt Leiter owed them, for not giving up on him throughout his injuries.

Leiter, however, had other ideas, and left.

There was certainly a lot of bitterness from the Blue Jays. Paul Beeston, President and CEO of the Jays, wanted Leiter to lose every game in a Marlins uniform.

Leiter did win another World Series ring with the '97 Marlins, and pitched in the postseason for the Mets in 1999 and 2000.

Leiter, however, would never win a postseason start in his career, and wouldn't win a game in playoff action again (aside from his aforementioned '93 relief win) until his final appearance, in the 2005 ALDS vs. the Angels while a member of the New York Yankees.

So, House, Rick, Cliff, and the others: how does Al Leiter rank in your books? Traitor? Winner? Legend? Please comment.

Stop the Moose

The Blue Jays were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention thanks to Sunday's 3-0 loss to Boston.

(How about that Scott Richmond, now 0-3 in four starts, with the Jays losing all of them?)

Now, the attention turns to stopping Mike Mussina from getting 20 wins. The Moose has 18 so far, and will look for No. 19 on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.

If you remember what happened in the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore and how Cito Gaston was booed, you'd probably not want to see Mussina get his first ever 20-win campaign.

Read more...

More Pictures for Rick... (re the baseball post for today)

More pics for Rick! These are pictures for the "history" post from earlier today...

What History?

Yes, yes, the Yankees are not going to the playoffs, and they still want to make news this week.

Even resident Zonker John House :-) is on the bandwagon, appearing at Yankee Stadium this past week to soak in on the "final homestand ever" at the House that Ruth Built.

The Yankees celebrated Derek Jeter breaking Lou Gehrig's all-time record for career hits in that very ballpark. Mariano Rivera moved into second place on baseball's all-time saves list, surpassing (ex-Yankee, albeit it for just a month in 1993) Lee Smith. Even A-Rod joined in Wednesday, becoming the first ever with 35 HRs and 100 RBIs in 12 seasons, surpassing the Babe himself. (And that "historic" home run was another meaningless blast, a solo shot in the 8th with New York up 4-1.)

Never mind the Yankees' "historic" week.

Here's some real history, courtesy Nationalpastime.com.

September 16th:

-Joe DiMaggio hits home run No. 300 in 1948, becoming only the eighth player ever to achieve the mark.

-The 30-30 club (30 HRs, 30 SBs) has a new member in Cleveland's Joe Carter, the ninth player to do so, in 1987.

-In 1988, Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds pitches a perfect game against the Dodgers, winning 1-0. (The Dodgers still won the NL West. Ironically, they were victims of Dennis Martinez's perfecto in 1991 but lost the West in the final week of the season.)

-A pair of Twins, Dave Winfield (1993) and Paul Molitor (1996), join the 3,000-hit club. Molitor is the first ever to get No. 3,000 on a triple.

-Curt Schilling joins the 300-K club, twice, doing so in 1997 and again in 2002.

September 17th:

-Casey Stengel (1912), Stan "The Man" Musial (1941), and Ernie Banks (1953) make their ML debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cardinals, and Cubs, respectively. Stengel gets four hits, drives home two runs, and steals two bases. Musial collects two safeties with two runs batted in. Banks goes hitless in three at-bats.

-In 1983, Johnny Bench hit a two-run home run on Johnny Bench Night at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Alas, the Reds lose 4-3 to Houston.

-In 1996, Hideo Nomo does the unthinkable, tossing a no-no at Coors Field, as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-0.

-In 2004, Barry Bonds hits home run No. 700 off the Padres' Jake Peavy.

September 18th:

-In 1960, Milwaukee Braves pitcher Lew Burdette (the MVP of the 1957 World Series) no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies, winning 1-0. It is one of the 203 lifetime wins he picks up over his 18-year big-league career.

-In 1963, the final game ever is played in the Polo Grounds, which is best known for being the home of the New York Giants (1911-57) but is the Mets' home ballpark during their first two ML seasons (1962-63). The Polo Grounds is also the site of the most famous catch in World Series history, "The Catch" made by Willie Mays in the 1954 Classic.

-In 1976, Cleveland Indians skipper Frank Robinson hits a pinch-single versus one of his ex-teams, the Baltimore Orioles, in his final ML at-bat.

-In 1999, Sammy Sosa becomes the first man in ML history to slug 60 dingers twice, doing so in back-to-back seasons.

Now, all that is history!

Pictures for Rick... (re the baseball post for today)

Pictures... for Rick!

House Bashing II: Person, Woody, Rocket, Morris, Candy...

Robert Person made his ML debut September 18, 1995, for the woeful New York Mets.

A year later (December 20, 1996), he was traded to the Blue Jays for John Olerud, whom Toronto thought was on the decline.

Person made three straight solid starts in the opening month of the 1997 season, but was just 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings. He had 15 K's and allowed just 5 walks.

By the end of the year, Person was 5-10 in 22 starts with a 5.61 ERA.

Teammate Woody Williams went 9-14 with a 4.35 ERA in 31 starts, his first ML season as a full-time starter (after spending his first few years pitching out of the pen).

Roger Clemens, in his first season with the Blue Jays, went 21-7 wioth a 2.05 ERA, capturing the Cy Young over Seattle's Randy Johnson (20-4, 2.28). (Oddly, Clemens didn't win the award unanimously despite achieving the pitching "Triple Crown", as Johnson and future teammate Randy Myers got three of those votes.)

The reason I'm bringing this up is I remember seeing a Globe & Mail article (I used to read that paper every day because its baseball coverage was great) in which Person was suggesting the Jays were scoring more runs when Clemens was pitching. Thus, Person and Williams had losing records while the Rocket was unbeatable. Williams brushed it off and said he didn't pay attention to such things.

Person's point was perhaps the batters felt more pumped up to see the Rocket on the mound, and added he himself would be too, were he a hitter.

Maybe resident Zonker John House subscribes to Person's theory.

Haha! Perhaps House thinks a pitcher like Clemens would make guys like Joe Carter and Ed Sprague get more hits and bash more home runs. (Better than PEDs!!)

The reason I bring up House is the fact he thinks Jack Morris ('92-93) was great, and Tom Candiotti ('91) was brutal.

Consider these stats from the ALCS:
(GS= games started)
Pitcher A: 2 GS, 7 2/3 IP, 17 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's, 8.22 ERA
Pitcher B: 2 GS, 12 1/3 IP, 11 H, 9 ER, 9 BB, 6 K's, 6.57 ERA

So, both pitchers sucked. You can make a case that Pitcher B was marginally better, but not by much, other than eating a few more innings.

Yes, A is Candiotti, and B is Morris, in the 1991 and '92 ALCS, respectively.

The big difference is the Jays lost the ALCS with Candiotti being the Game One starter one year, and won the ALCS with Morris holding that role the year after.

Or how about this?

1992
Pitcher X: 34 GS, 240 2/3 IP, 222 H, 18 HR, 80 BB, 132 K's, 4.04 ERA
Pitcher Y: 30 GS, 203 2/3 IP, 177 H, 13 HR, 63 BB, 152 K's, 3.00 ERA

Of course, X was Morris, who went 21-6 with the Blue Jays. Y was Candiotti, who was just 11-15 with the NL's worst team, the Dodgers. (Imagine a knuckleball pitcher getting more K's, and more K's per 9 innings, than Morris!!)

Pitcher Z: 34 GS, 238 IP, 202 H, 12 HR, 73 BB, 167 K's, 2.65 ERA

Pitcher Z was Candiotti's 1991 regular season, which he split between Toronto and Cleveland. Very comparable to Morris' '92 campaign with the Blue Birds (other than the ERA, where Candiotti owned him!!). But Candiotti was 13-13 with those numbers, 6-7 with the Jays.

Supposedly Morris made Robbie Alomar, Carter, Pat Borders, et al. get more clutch hits and homers. Candiotti? Makes everyone go in a slump.

Consider how the Jays batters fared in the AL playoffs each year.

1991 ALCS (vs. Minnesota): Blue Jays hit 1 HR, batted .249, scored 19 runs in 5 games, and won just once.
1992 ALCS (vs. Oakland): Blue Jays hit 10 HR, batted .281, scored 31 runs in 6 games.

Toronto won games 7-5, 7-6, and 9-2 against the A's, while never scored more than 5 in any single game versus the Twins a year earlier.

Hmm. Hard to argue that the Twins' pitching was that much better than the A's. Minnesota had Morris (gasp!), Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, closer Rick Aguilera, and a bunch of no-name relievers. Oakland had Dave Stewart (future Jay), Mike Moore, Ron Darling (who almost no-hit Toronto at SkyDome earlier in '92, a game in which Cliff attended!), Bob Welch, Jeff Russell, and AL MVP and Cy Young winner Dennis Eckersley.

(Well, as it turned out, Moore, Darling, Russell, and Eck were ineffective in the series. When all of them struggled, the A's just didn't have a chance.)

Anyway, Carter was the only Jay to homer in 1991. In the '92 ALCS, Alomar, Dave Winfield, and Candy Maldonado each hit 2, while Carter, Olerud, Kelly Gruber, and Borders each hit 1.

Other than newcomer Winfield, each of those Blue Jays had played in the 1991 ALCS.

Winfield was clearly a big addition, as he drove in 100 runs during the regular season as the full-time DH, taking over from the ineffective trio of Mookie Wilson (whom I think Cliff doesn't like), Pat Tabler (who's a career .300 hitter with the bases loaded but not a legit DH), and Rance Mulliniks.

Still, getting to my original question: did Jack Morris make guys like Gruber, Maldonado, Borders, Olerud, et al. get more of those clutch hits?

I wonder what House has to say about that.

After all, his contention is that Morris was gold. Candiotti a bum.

And I don't even want to mention '93... Morris 7-12, 6.19. Candiotti 8-10, 3.12.

Serves the Candy Man right, perhaps. For signing with the Dodgers. And not the Jays. Or even the Bronx Bombers.

On a different topic now, the Yankees wanted to sign Candiotti after the '91 season. He declined. (Greg Maddux and Barry Bonds turned down the Yanks after the '92 season too...)

Jimmy Key, who played with both Candiotti and Morris, wisely signed with the Yankees after '92 (New York's consolation prize after Maddux and Bonds got away), and became a LEGEND in pinstripes, being hailed as a World Series hero (1996) and being a perennial Cy Young contender (18-6 in 1993, 17-4 in 1994).

Well, too bad to Candiotti and Bonds for never winning a World Series. Maddux for winning just one (and losing to the Yanks in 1996 and 1999--ha!!).

They all shouldn't have snubbed New York.

(There, House. I snickered at Bonds. Happy now?)

BJs: Trip down memory lane

ESPN Classic (Canada) re-aired "Where were you in '92?" this past weekend, showing back-to-back-to-back-to-back broadcasts of the 1992 World Series between the Blue Jays and Braves.

This coming weekend, the network will replay "De ja Blue", showing the 1993 Fall Classic featuring the Jays and Phillies.

Now, ESPN Classic (Canada) has shown every postseason game involving the Jays in 1993, but only the World Series in 1992.

What happened to the A's-Jays ALCS in Toronto's first championship season?

Last year, I'd corresponded with someone at the network about the possibility of airing the Oakland-Toronto championship series. The reply I received stated that they were looking into getting those games and might air them later in the year.

Unfortunately, the network still hasn't shown any of the 1992 ALCS games to date.

I still say the A's should have beaten the Blue Jays in that series.

Oakland was up 6-1 in Game Four and on the verge of tying the series, with ace Dave Stewart, who'd never lost in LCS play, scheduled to start Game Five. Yet AL MVP Dennis Eckersley couldn't protect a 6-2 lead upon entering the 8th inning, giving up a couple of RBI-hits to make the score 6-4, before Roberto Alomar ultimately tied things up in the 9th.

Still, a great run by the Toronto team that found ways to rally against league MVPs (Eckersley), all-time saves leaders (Jeff Reardon in the '92 WS), and mediocre closers (Mitch Wild Thing Williams, twice, in '93 WS), and beat up on Cy Young Award winners (Jack McDowell, twice, in '93 ALCS) and future postseason heroes (Curt Schilling, Game One, '93 WS).

Had Eck shut the door in Game Four though, the run would never have happened... The Athletics had Henderson, McGwire, Stewart, Eckersley, Baines, and even added Sierra and Russell late in the year. Tony LaRussa was supposed to be a genius, while Cito Gaston not.

Too bad.

Of course, resident friend John House would undoubtedly say if Candiotti had pitched well in 1991, the Jays might well have won 3 WS in a row.

But I say if Timlin wasn't brought in to pitch the 10th inning in Game Three, he wouldn't have given up the back-breaking home run to the Twins. Where was Duane Ward in that situation? Why wasn't Ward brought in?

Why didn't Pat Borders hit homers and drive in runs against the Twins the way he would in his WS MVP performance the following fall vs. the Braves?

Why didn't Borders tag Shane Mack with the ball on a critical play in Game Five with Toronto up 5-2? That was the play where Kelly Gruber threw home to try and cut down Mack, but Borders tagged him with his EMPTY bare hand!! (Mack scored on the play and the next batter hit a double to drive home two more runs and tie the score.)

Why didn't Joe Carter homer off David West in the 7th inning of a tie game with Alomar on first base? Why did West pitch so effectively against Toronto? (The Jays would batter West, later a Phillie, in the '93 WS.) Why didn't Alomar steal second and third (like how he swiped third vs. the Angels in the division-clinching game) a la Henderson and Lofton?

(The Jays left Alomar stranded on first base, despite Robbie getting on base to lead off that inning. Alas, Greg Gagne got on base to lead off the next half-inning off Ward, and the Twins tallied three runs to win the ballgame, 8-5.)

Why did Toronto hit ONE homer--that by Carter--in the entire series (unlike the '92 and '93 postseasons)?

Why did Toronto let Minnesota win THREE games at SkyDome to clinch the series? (First time in LCS history that the feat was achieved.) Why didn't the Jays score an earned run against the Twins bullpen? (First time in LCS history it happened.)

Why did all those bloopers off Candiotti drop in for hits? Why didn't White or Maldonado dive or make sliding catches on those bloop hits (the way Dave Winfield did in Atlanta in Game Six of the '92 WS off Ron Gant)?

I wonder what House has to say to all that.

What I can say is the Candiotti thing just depends on who's scoring at home. In their books, Stephen Brunt and former politician Larry Grossman both slammed Candiotti. The CBS announcers though, praised Candiotti for coming through with a clutch performance, as he handed the ball to the bullpen with a three-run lead upon departing in the finale.

(Haha - I do remember reading a Toronto article in the aftermath, where Candiotti himself was quoted as saying he "redeemed" himself in Game Five! LOL)

I mean, we can all sit here all day and say "what-if" a hundred times, but I suppose the facts are, the Jays won back-to-back titles. Boo.

Transit complaints

(above picture courtsey Wikipedia)

Haha! Someone wrote in to the local paper and ripped the local transit system... Here I quote an extract from the writer:

...try riding the sardine-packed morning SkyTrain. Or perhaps minor items like buses which never show up... drivers who act like they got their licence from a Cracker Jack box [ie. there are drivers who do the following:] slamming brakes, snarling replies to questions, talking on cellphones, showing complete indifference when you ask why a previous bus never shows up... Top marks [for our transit system]? I'd hate to see a badly run urban transit system!

What I'd heard from an acquaintance recently too, is that Translink has decided to send their SkyTrain cops to busy Broadway Station to make sure people line up when boarding the train, check on fares, and basically to ensure no chaos during the morning commute. This supposedly happened last Monday, as the fall/school season has started.

Good on them, for finally doing something like this! Translink has never really checked fares during the rush hour, and I'll bet perhaps more than 15% of the commuters don't bother buying a ticket to get on. And people just push each other when attempting to get aboard as well. Well, hope this cop system continues for a while.

I'd asked my acquaintance to report back on Tuesday to let me know how it went... but alas, she said one of the coppers had a few words with her (haha! she got yelled at! * yes, I laughed in her face too!) on Monday and ended up more than 20 minutes late for work, so she decided to take a different route the rest of the week. Boo!

Boo hoo Seattle!

To say it's been a dreadful sports year in Seattle is a big understatement.

The NBA Sonics are no longer in town, having relocated to Oklahoma City. And oh, the Sonics didn't exactly have a banner final season in the Emerald City, going a woeful 20-62, the worst record in the entire Western Conference.

Okay. The Sonics are gone, so there's no point in talking about them. But what about the Mariners? After all, this was a team expected to challenge the L.A. Angels for supremacy in the AL West.

Things, however, hasn't worked out.

The Mariners, the worst team in the American League this season--by far, are still on pace to become the first team ever to lose 100 games despite having a $100-million-plus payroll. Getting swept in Anaheim in a four-game series over the weekend certainly didn't help Seattle (57-91) in its attempt to avoid the century-mark in losses.

Well, at least there's still the Seahawks, right? After all, the 'Hawks have won four straight NFC West titles, and given the mediocrity of the entire division, look to make it five in a row.

Okay, a Week One rout in Buffalo was a write-off. In Week Two, the Seahawks would be playing the San Francisco 49ers at Quest Field, where Seattle has gone a remarkable 18-4 in divisional games.

The 'Hawks, however, turned the ball over three times, blew 14-0 and 30-27 leads, ultimately losing in overtime to the 'Niners, in their home opener.

Ouch. 0-2 for the 'Hawks.

Thankfully, Seattle gets to play the pathetic St. Louis Rams, a team that has yet to enter the red zone in eight quarters this season, at Quest Field this coming Sunday.

So, Kevin Cacabelos, Mosang Miles, and other Seattle fans on Bleacher, what should the Mariners do this off-season to at least get back to respectability in 2009? Is it too early to panic about the Seahawks after just two games? What should the 'Hawks do to get on the winning track?

Would love to hear you guys' two cents on these...

Warner Rules!

I found it amusing that a fan wrote online that we really shouldn't be too excited about Kurt Warner's 3-TD performance yesterday, because it came against the Miami Dolphins, a team that went 1-15 last year.

Really? Seriously?

Geez... Brett Favre didn't throw 3 TDs in Week One vs. the same Dolphins (granted, Favre's Jets played in Miami last week, while the Fish played in Arizona yesterday, but still...)

I say vindication; I wrote this last January, and I will repost it here for my own enjoyment. Haha!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/8062-kurt-warner-mr-underappreciated

And I'm loving the fact that despite all the comebacks in Week Two, not one of them involved Favre and the Jets! Hahah!

I've even included a photo of Favre getting sacked in the New England game! (from Bleacher Report)

Today's Link:

Kurt Warner: Under-appreciated! (I wrote this eight months ago)

Great action Sunday...

I love it every time the experts get it wrong.

Sunday, the New England Patriots were supposed to be dead in New York facing Brett Favre and the Jets. After all, reigning MVP Tom Brady was gone for the season. The Pats had no running game, the media (such as ESPN) would have you believe, and backup Matt Cassel hadn't started a game since high school. Blah blah blah.

And yet, it was the Pats who came up with a 19-10 victory at the Meadowlands.

Injured Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who ripped New York fans earlier this week, basically guaranteed the Pats would beat the Jets. And Schilling proved to be right: New England head coach Bill Belichick does know what he's doing in handing Cassel the starting job.

An article on FOX Sports which tried to discredit Schilling's comments stated the New York Mets are in fact, in first place, even if the Yankees, in the pitcher's words, "suck this year."

Well, as you saw this weekend, the Mets couldn't even close out a pair of late-inning leads against the Atlanta Braves.

And no, these are not the 1999 Braves. These Braves are not that good.

Perhaps sadly though, the Mets' bullpen are that bad.

Much has been made this season that the Mets' relievers have a tendency to implode, and it happened for the 26th and 27th times (or however many it is) this weekend.

Saturday, in a doubleheader opener, Johan Santana departed in the eighth with a 2-0 lead after allowing back-to-back singles to begin the frame. The Braves put together a three-spot, and New York fell, 3-2.

Sunday, the Mets had a 4-2 lead entering the ninth and handed the ball over to Luis Ayala. Greg Norton(!), however, hit a three-run, pinch-homer, and the Mets gave up two more in the inning, ultimately falling 7-4.

Ouch. What could have been a sweep ended up being a series loss. Disheartening, especially when starters Santana (well, he didn't exactly dominate but still...) and Oliver Perez pitched well enough to win.

Meanwhile, for those bashing Green Bay Packers management and Aaron Rodgers, they're doing just fine, thank you.

The Pack, led by Rodgers' three first-half TD passes, jumped out in front 21-0, only to see the Detroit Lions stunt Green Bay with the go-ahead score with under 8 minutes left.

Down 25-24, the Packers rallied for 24 unanswered points for a 48-25 win for a 2-0 start.

More Random Thoughts: Love, Jays, etc...

Earlier this week, I was giving my class examples of "win-lose negotiations", and tried using students' names in my illustrations. I started by saying "Blah" and "Blah-blah" are married, and... Right when I said that, everyone started laughing. Reason? "Blah-blah" and "Mwah", who are both in the class, have been a couple for six years, something I didn't know. Thus, the class was laughing at "Mwah", who probably felt weird hearing his girlfriend, "Blah-blah", was married to someone else in my little example. Oops.

Last night, I had drinks with two female acquaintances, who talked about past relationships. I just don't get it. Why do men, who are already married, try to pick women up? They would say they're "taking a break from (their) relationship", but act as though they're not married. And this has happened to both of these women, on multiple times. Yikes. I ask, why? Why do men do that? Fun times, hearing their wild, entertaining stories. However, I've already promised not to use these tales in any upcoming books...

What happens early on doesn't necessarily tell you how things will end.

For example, look at the doubleheader between the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Fenway:

Game One
In the 4th inning, the Blue Jays had two runners (Vernon Wells on a blooper to left, Adam Lind on his own drive off the Green Monster) thrown out at third base within moments of each other. Toronto scored just a run to go up 2-0, even though it could have had more.

Jays won, 8-1.

Game Two
The Jays scored five runs to take a 5-2 lead in the second inning.

Red Sox rallied and won, 7-5.

Today's Random Links:
"Love in marriage can never die..."
Can passion every night improve a marriage?
Roy will finally have number retired
Wild one in Edmonton as Eskies rally past Ti-Cats
Landline vs. Cell Phone?

Today's KP Links:
KP's Recap for Blue Jays-Red Sox, on Bleacher
Same as above, on MVN

More Random Thoughts...

I don't like Patrick Roy, but there's one thing about him that's similar to me: When I get challenged, I'm at my best.

Just like when Steve was co-teaching Business with me, I was motivated to be as great or better than him.

So, when Rick started bashing me for not posting, I've taken it upon myself to do so on a regular basis--even if it's crap (that's subjective, though).

Thus, here's yet another post.

I've talked to my editor at the publisher. She's been very supportive and says she'll surely mention "Replacement Pitcher" at their editorial meetings, which has neither been accepted or rejected as of today. However, if it were accepted, the earliest it could be released would be next April, as they're booked up through March for releases.

In the meantime, life goes on, and I've done with "Fess up Jessup" and will likely submit it soon, seeing future titles might get pushed further back.

Tonight, I've been thinking about why I've been on Overanything.com. I just clicked on a logo one day last year and got onto OA by accident. It's just a simple site run by the aforementioned Rick, and there's a lot of discussion and in-jokes on there that I enjoy going on there. And I've been on there regularly. Guys like House and Cliff and Rick, and Trout, BBJ, and others, are all very funny and entertaining. Glad to get the chance to rap with these guys.

Today's (well, yesterday's) Sports Links:
*Curt Schilling trashes New Yorkers (yes, I know this came at the heels of the Brady injury, but odd about the timing since it came a couple days before 9/11--in fact, didn't Brady make his debut that week in 2001?)
*Same topic, on FOXSports
*Sully Baseball's take on whether or not WS-winning managers should make the HoF

What if the Jays...

Someone wrote in with the subject line If Jays finish 17- 2 they make the playoffs 9 out of 10 times. The writer provided me with this link here (which is updated daily) stating the Blue Jays' case.

In any case, Toronto lost, and the 10-game streak is over. Boston also lost, despite loading the bases with none out in the last of the 14th in a game that lasted just over five hours.

The Jays are faced with the same scenario as the 2007 Phillies: now 7 games out with 17 left.


Today's Random Links:
Credit Card Tips
Top Young Entrepreneurs
Teacher Runs into Bear!

Speaking of teachers, yup - once again there was this bullcrap moment in the staff room. I stepped in there to use the computer for five minutes, and there was Catherine in her "I'm-more-superior-than-Asians" rant, and she and Claxton then were criticizing a Korean for not knowing how to pronounce "Jorge." I was there for only five minutes and those people were talking that kind of nonsense. Wonder how much of that crap actually gets said when I'm not around.

No Charles, no House, no NY-Bashing...

Sorry to disappoint you, Rick.

There's been no sign of Charles in the last 24 hours. I think he'll show up only if I start bashing A-Rod, and maybe even the Yankees.

But, as you know, both you (ie. Rick) and House have banned me from the New York-bashing. Thus, I had to resort to praising the Bombers just to please House. (See one of Tuesday's posts.)

Today's KP links:
I say Blue Jays have no chance on Bleacher
I say BJs have no chance on MVN

Bell cares about the environment? Give me a break!

Not sure how many of you readers out there are Bell customers, but I was just going through my bills and found this idiotic comment on the back of the telecommunications company envelope.

Trying to explain why it still had the old Bell logo, it read:
" 'Hey, didn't Bell change its logo?' You're right, we did. But since part of making today better means not wasting paper, we're using up the old stationery first. (Help save even more trees: sign up for paperless billing at bell.ca/mybell) "

That's laughable. Hogwash. Are you kidding me? The reason I say this? Just as I suspected, in the envelope with my statement, was a junk newsletter--which I have no issue with even though I never read that stuff; companies want to advertise their products; fine, no prob. However, also included in the envelope was a return envelope.

Now, I've been a customer for years, and I've never used the return envelope since I've always paid by telephone or online banking. Yet every single month, I receive this return envelope without fail. Why Bell does not keep track of how customers pay bills is beyond me. Why keep sending me these envelopes when my past history shows I've never had to use one?

In fact, why not be the leader of the pack by not sending this stuff to customers, period? Granted, there are still many who prefer snail mail, but in this day and age, if those people still want to do that, make them sign up for paper billing. After all, since they are in a way not helping to "save even more trees", make it inconvenient for them. Just assume everyone will go the paperless route instead, and don't send it anymore! Isn't that going to encourage more people not to use paper?

Geez--even Bell can't get it right. Whenever you hear companies say they care about the environment and stuff, I just say 'hogwash.'

Today's random links:
Soccer team offers cemetery to devotees!
Despite Cliff Lee's 21-2 record, Cleveland's still cursed

This one's for House!

Well, House has requested I write something positive about the Yankees. I don't normally take requests, but this time I will. This site is called "KP's HOUSE", after all.

So, New York lost 12-1 to the LA Angels last night, but there were some positives.
* Carl Pavano pitched into the 6th, and at least kept things close for a while
* Pudge Rodriguez showed a lot of fight and emotion in being involved in a scuffle with good friend Torii Hunter -- it meant he cared (and on a side note, Hunter did NOT score despite stealing both second and third off I-Rod)

Though the Angels are great, there won't be another 11-run defeat for the Bombers.
*****
On another note, Rick owned me in last spring's playoff pool, and beat me in the new BBP last night. Hey, at least I'm #2!

And when I last checked, #83,000-something in Amazon.ca's sales ranking... not bad for a hobby!

Charles Strikes Again!

Holy cow. Charles just wrote a long passage criticizing me on grammar, and ripped me about my A-Rod comments. I have no comeback to his rants on grammar. None at all. I'm having a headache just looking at it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/54119-a-rod-continues-homer-binge-in-meaningless-situations
by charles
Uh, yeah, I haven't a doubt you teach grammar DO. I know the "rules" and was actually poking fun at myself for offering corrections in my initial post, by citing a more traditionally correct yet less often employed grammatical construction.
Below is what some "expert" wrote:
Than I versus Than Me.
Than, as used in comparatives, has traditionally been considered a conjunction; as such, if you're comparing subjects, the pronouns after than should take the "subjective case." In other words, "He's taller than I," not "He's taller than me"; "She's smarter than he," not "She's smarter than him." If, on the other hand, you're comparing direct or indirect objects, the pronouns should be objective: "I've never worked with a more difficult client than him."
There are some advantages to this traditional state of affairs. If you observe this distinction, you can be more precise in some comparisons. Consider these two sentences:
* He has more friends than I. (His total number of friends is higher than my total number of friends.) * He has more friends than me. (I'm not his only friend; he has others.)
The problem, though, is that in all but the most formal contexts, "than I" sounds stuffy, even unidiomatic. Most people, in most contexts, treat than as a preposition, and put all following pronouns in the objective case, whether the things being compared are subjects or objects. "He's taller than me" sounds more natural to most native English speakers.
This isn't a recent development: people have been treating than as a preposition for centuries. Consider the following from big-name English and American writers:
* Matthew Prior, Better Answer: "For thou art a girl as much brighter than her,/ As he was a poet sublimer than me." * Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, 1.10.58, "I am fitter for this world than you, you for the next than me." * Lord Byron's letter of 2 November 1804, "Lord Delawarr is considerably younger than me." * Robert Southey, Well of St. Keyne, 51: "She had been wiser than me,/ For she took a bottle to Church." * William Faulkner's Reivers, 4.82: "Let Lucius get out . . . He's younger than me and stouter too for his size."
So what should you do? I don't have a good answer, other than the most general advice possible: try to size up your audience, and figure out whether they're likely to be happier with the traditional or the familiar usage. [Entry added 3 Jan. 2005.]



Today's KP links:
Tim Wakefield's career
A-Rod 0 for 10 (with bashing from "Charles")

A-Rod 0-for-10 in Seattle...

Alright! Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees has juuuuust grounded out to end the top of the 8th inning at Safeco Field, and with New York down 4-2 to the Mariners, A-Rod might not get another AB the rest of the game.

A-Rod is now 0-for-10 in the three-game series in Seattle. Nice!

Hitless in Seattle.... and if the Mariners do hang on (stopper J.J. Putz will be sent out to close things out in the 9th), the Yanks will have dropped two of three versus the last-place M's!

Check that - Seattle second baseman Jose Lopez just homered for the second time in the game, and New York is now down 5-2.

Another bonus is Mike Mussina won't be getting his 18th win today. Beautiful!

I wonder what "Charles" will have to say now... (See post below)

Today's random thoughts

I've just realized I've been quite the hypocrite on blogspot here.

A few days ago, I was ranting about how TSN2's lineup was weak, and thought both TSN and TSN2 could probably show the same events, programming, whatever.

But that's exactly what I was doing here, on this blog and on my "author blog." There were times I've posted the same material on both. Shame on me.

I'm not going to say "Tomorrow I'll be Perfect" a la Dave Stieb, but I'll "try."

Speaking of book titles, "Fess up, Jessup" is coming along very well. I'm up to 18,000 words, and it's almost finished. However, I am going to try and add a few more scenes and run up the word count. Reason? I want "Fess up, Jessup" to be a print book on its own rather than just an e-book, and it'll need to be longer than that. (See "Sweet Voice of Innocence", "False Ex-Pectations", and "Rainbow Trout", which were all just e-books.)

In regards to the A-Rod link below... you know, I appreciated "Charles'" feedback the first time, but if this dude is just picking on every word I'm saying, I'm not going to be kind in my responses. Not when it appears he's trying to be a smart-ass.

Today's KP links:
Marcum's gem vs. Rays
Tim Lincecum vs. Brandon Webb
A-Rod's "meaningless" jacks (with a reader correcting me on my grammar!)
Blue Jays win 9-0 and go 9-0 vs. Twins

Ryan ruins Marcum's gem...

Shaun Marcum did his job on Saturday afternoon. B.J. Ryan didn't. And because of that, Marcum had nothing to show for his fine efforts.

Marcum, making his first start since being recalled from Triple-A, pitched shutout ball against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, displaying the form he'd exhibited last summer and earlier this season, when he was among the AL's ERA leaders.

Lyle Overbay hit two homers (!!) and Alex Rios added an RBI double (after homering twice himself on Friday night), and the Jays carried that 3-0 lead into the ninth inning.

The ninth turned out to be disastrous, as Ryan hit a batter before giving up a home run. A walk followed, as well as a stolen base, before pinch-runner Fernando Perez, appearing in only his second big-league game, scored on second baseman Joe Inglett's error.

For Marcum, it was another fine outing versus the AL East-leading Rays. Prior to Saturday, he'd gone 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA in two starts and one relief outing against T-Bay.

Words of wisdom from the four-letter network

In my area, they used to air Fox Sports Radio programming on the All-Sports Radio some years back, and there was this guy (not sure if he's still on now, since I don't get FSR anymore) from Cleveland -- a host -- who referred to ESPN as "the four-letter network" with disdain.

Well, I guess I will refer to this station as the four-letter network too, since a lot of the things they've said on air recently I just can't agree with at all.

For instance, a few nights ago, this host (let's call her A.L., since I won't name drop this time) made some ridiculous comments.

1. She wondered out loud when Matt Leinhart will finally get the starting QB job in Arizona, as he's supposed to be the quarterback of the future, but the Cards had announced veteran Kurt Warner would be the starter. Odd - especially since she's a Brett Favre lover and crucified the Packers for going with Aaron Rodgers. Huh? So it's "right" for Green Bay to start Favre and delay the progress of A-Rod, but "wrong" in Arizona?

It's a moot point now anyway since Favre is a Jet, and A-Rod will start in Green Bay. But c'mon, she's contradicting herself in a big way. Warner is a two-time MVP and former Super Bowl MVP. Why no love for Kurt? Naturally, in the same segment, she went on to express her excitement over being able to watch Favre play for the J-E-T-S this season.

2. She said now that Manny Ramirez is heating up and hitting well, the rest of the Dodgers are doing the same--this happening in the midst of L.A.'s recent winning streak. WRONG. During their eight-game losing streak, Ramirez was hitting home runs and getting multi-hit games too, but the Dodgers still couldn't score enough runs, or their pitching let them down. Do your homework first before speaking, A.L.!

Amazon.ca Link

I promised some of you to update you on the Amazon.ca link regarding my first print novel when it becomes available.

Click here for the link; thanks for the support!

Go "Showing Their Scales"! P.S. "Scales" here was used because that's on fish. Those of you who frequent the "Zonk on OA" will know what that's about.

Excerpt: Replacement Pitcher

I'm obviously putting the cart in front of the horse, but here's a preview of "Replacement Pitcher." Ooooh, John House is famous!

Replacement Pitcher by KP Wee
Chapter 20

Henderson didn’t speak to the media following his epic performance, and chose not to deal with them again in the subsequent days. He didn’t even bother to do any interviews with FAN 590, despite the fact his newfound fan, John House, called in to apologize about his earlier comments. Henderson just didn’t care; he needed a few days off for himself. His cell phone rang often but he never bothered to pick it up; messages piled up in his voicemail until it became full, but again he never once checked them. He simply needed some days off, away from everybody.

The Blue Jays bats took a day off too in Game Five, losing 4-0, before rebounding to win the sixth contest. The city of Toronto was abuzz as the Blue Jays and Red Sox prepared to play Game Seven at the Rogers Centre. Torontonians had the series won. Everyone was talking about the World Series already, and with the American League assured of home-field advantage, nobody in Toronto thought the Red Sox or the Los Angeles Dodgers—the National League champion—was going to claim baseball’s championship trophy in 2008.

It was certainly a sharp contrast to the afternoon of the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, when no one in Toronto had given the Blue Jays a shot as Henderson was scheduled to pitch at Fenway Park. But in baseball, as in life, things could change in a short amount of time. Now every Torontonian was back on the bandwagon. Everywhere in downtown Toronto, everyone was talking about the Blue Jays. Cars proudly displayed Blue Jays mini pennants throughout the city.

Game Seven. It was the first such contest in Blue Jays history. Never before had the franchise, since its inception in 1977, played a seventh game. Thus, it was going to be a historic night in Toronto regardless of the outcome.

Again it was up to Henderson to be the savior. There was no other choice. Rich Ambrozic, the starting pitcher who was bumped from the rotation in the postseason, was no longer on the team. Upset he was bypassed time after time, Ambrozic had left the Blue Jays while the they were still in Boston, to go back home to Mississippi. The generally happy team had fallen apart, and there was tension in the clubhouse for the first time all year long.

Even the normally upbeat Tony Johnson didn’t know what to do.

"Well, guys," Johnson addressed the reporters and journalists gathered around the Blue Jays clubhouse. "You know the Blue Jays are a close bunch. We all pull for each other. But you know, every team has to deal with adversity at one time or another. So, we’ll have to believe in ourselves and get the job done. I have a lot of faith in Shawn Henderson—"

"If you guys don’t make it to the World Series, in your estimation, will this season be a failure, given how well you guys started?" a reporter from TSN asked.

"Well, we’re going to try our best to make sure we don’t use, but I won’t say this season will be a failure—"

"Damn right we won’t lose," interrupted a familiar voice which hadn’t spoken much for days.

Everyone turned to look at the door. Henderson had emerged, and his voice was full of conviction. "Yeah, we’ll win tonight," he promised.

It was the first time since Monday that Henderson had so much as acknowledged a teammate or the media, and Johnson was ecstatic.

"Well, you all heard the man. We’re going to win tonight!" Johnson echoed.

Meanwhile, the players in the Red Sox clubhouse somehow seemed to have the series won for the Blue Jays also. Several Boston players were bummed out and thought they blew their opportunity already. Of course, Aaron Buckley would have none of it.

"Mark my words. We’re going to destroy the building tonight," he told the reporters gathered around his locker. "We’re going to hit so many balls to the outfield that the walls are all going to dented."

Projects on the go & random thoughts

* Darn, Manny Ramirez homered twice and collected 4 hits for the second straight game (4-for-5 after going 4-for-4 a night earlier) and the Dodgers ended their 8-game losing streak, beating Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks. Ramirez is hitting a cool .419 in the NL after being acquired one month ago. I was hoping the Dodgers would never win another game this year, however unlikely that would be. (I recall a quote from Paul Beeston in one of Stephen Brunt's book where the former Blue Jays executive hoped Al Leiter lost every game he pitched for the Marlins in 1996. So, one could hope... And of course, this stemmed from the fact the Jays basically carried Leiter during his injury-plagued seasons, gave him a couple of WS rings and cheques, and he bolted after becoming a free agent.)

* Seeing the Tampa Bay Rays' success and the New York Yankees' collapse this year just reminds us all that the AL East is not just about Boston and New York. It could have been Toronto, couldn't it? Had they kept Frank Thomas, if Scott Rolen knew how to hit, if they didn't blow all those bases-loaded opportunities, the Jays might well be a wild card contender this year. Great pitching in the first half this year, but no offense. Completely the opposite in 2000, when the Jays had a shot with all that offense like Delgardo, Batista, Cruz, Mondesi, Fullmer, and Fletcher, but future Cy Young winners Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter faltered. In fact, Halladay was sent to the minors and had the worst ever ERA by a starter over a whole season (over 10.00). What if Halladay and Carpenter pitched well then? What if the Jays had sluggers like those in 2008?

* TSN finally launched TSN2 yesterday, which surprised me, because they are a decade behind ESPN2. I was just looking at the TSN2 schedule over the next week, and it's just tennis, golf, SportsCentre, Off The Record, and other programming similar to TSN. Yawn. Yes, I know the purpose is so they could show different live events simultaneously, but still, the opening week lineup looked weak.

* "Showing Their Scales" by KP Wee is finally on Amazon.com, so what's next for me? Well, I don't intend to retire, which no doubt irritates Trout ( :P ) and others, but anyway, life goes on, and writing goes on. And I'm doing all this without ever taking a break from my busy work schedule. Next on the agenda:
-Wait for the status of "Replacement Pitcher", a sports novel about a Canadian pitcher trying to make it to the big league. (Yes, I know, odd that it took me my fourth novel before I finally penned a fiction on sports.) In this novel, I have the Toronto Blue Jays winning the AL East. Not sure if the story will be accepted, but I'd give it a 70-30 chance.
-Continue working on "Fess Up, Jessup", a story on Jesse Jessup (a fictional character) who is obsessed with a girl who only says "Oh my God." If you've seen my previous work, well, it's a series I'm working on, with 'lies, lust, and deception' as the theme. This time, no mention of Trout. And I even included a fictional pub called "House & Wings" as one of the secondary settings (no, not "House of Wings"--never been there).
-Start working on a book outline for a children's novel. Idea so far: Trout.

Haha to Dodgers, Torre, and ex-Sox

In the off-season, I mentioned when the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Joe Torre, they would lose 90 games. Well, it looks like they won't, but I doubt they'll make the playoffs.

Thanks to yet another loss on Friday night, 9-3 in Arizona, the Dodgers have lost eight straight and now trail the NL West-leading Diamondbacks 4 1/2 games in the division.

So, now Torre isn't a genius anymore, is he?

After all, the Dodgers were picked to run away with the division one month ago. They supposedly had better pitching than the D-Backs. They'd just added slugger Manny Ramirez and third baseman Casey Blake. Greg Maddux was added in August.

And yet they've now lost eight in a row.

Okay, losing four straight in Philadelphia was bad. After all, they were blown out in two of those losses, gave away another one with a one-run lead in the ninth, and were shut out in the finale.

But getting swept in Washington? The Nationals (49-85) are the worst team in baseball, for crying out loud. Two one-run losses followed by an 11-2 defeat to complete the sweep.

And Friday night, the Dodgers had to win. They were facing the D-Backs, the team they're chasing.

Ahead 2-1 in the fifth, the Diamondbacks capitalized when Nomar Garciaparra, back at shortstop, committed an error, an inning in which Arizona scored three times.

When Los Angeles rallied in two innings later to close the deficit to within 4-3, their bullpen--led by Chan Ho Park and Joe Beimel--imploded by immediately surrendering five runs to blow the game wide open.

Not that Ramirez isn't doing his job. In fact, he went 4-for-4 on Friday night after homering in Washington the day before to give the Dodgers an early lead.

Still, it's a tough road for the Dodgers, as they'll have to face the D-Backs' top two hurlers, Dan Haren (14-6, 3.10) and Brandon Webb (19-5, 2.96), in the next two games.

It's certainly great to see L.A. struggle, especially when you look at the Dodgers and you see Torre, Maddux, and ex-Sox like Ramirez, Garciaparra, and Derek Lowe.

The Week is over!

Well, a long week has finally ended.

There were some of you asking about the status of "Showing Their Scales", which is scheduled to come out this month. However, thanks to the fact I'd had an extremely busy week, I didn't get a chance to have any correspondence with the publisher. Bad timing.

What happened was,
a) a teacher (let's call him G.R.) went on vacation--thankfully only for a week,
b) I was asked to sub for his classes--why? I'm not even going to bother to get into it, but suffice it to say, it was not my decision and it made very little sense--but the lesson plans he left behind were, let's just say, crappy.
c) and, I was also responsible for my normal market research duties.

So, I didn't even have time to do much of my own stuff, and didn't even post on the OA zonk board for the bulk of the week. Just no time.

And, at this point, I'd like to add that I was able to do my writing the last few months despite the fact I was:
a) employed full-time as a teacher without any vacations, breaks, and what-not other than the statutory holidays,
b) and doing my market research stuff.
So, I didn't pull any of this Catherine nonsense--she's a fellow co-worker who likes to brag she's a writer, and she takes a lot of time off work and only worked part-time for quite a while. So, I didn't pull any of this crap.

And what's with people who strive to be late? Someone responded to my ad about teaching me Chinese, and the first session, he was late 20 minutes. Okay, fine, no problem, he called at EXACTLY the meeting time to notify me.

The second meeting, he didn't even show up, and I had to call him to find out where he was, only to hear he wasn't coming.

Three hours before the third meeting the very next day, he called to cancel. I didn't pick up because I was still at work, but I didn't call him back either, since it wasn't really a priority for me by then.

But I didn't expect him to call me EIGHT TIMES starting at the scheduled meeting time. 4:31, 4:41, 4:44, 4:57, 5:07, 5:47, 6:12, 6:18. He left several messages wanting to know if I'd received the previous ones. And if that wasn't bad enough, he texted me once in between all those calls.

Enough is enough. You know what, he's fired. And I don't really need to learn it anyway; not life or death.

And today, I was supposed to meet up another person for lunch. 40 minutes late. And that person acted nonchalently as though nothing was amiss. Yikes.

For the last three weeks, I'd been meeting up with a writing buddy as well so we can both sit down and type away, hoping our presence could inspire each other and not cause the other to slack off. All three times, the buddy was late. The last two times, I had to make a call to find out if the person was even going to show up. (Well, let's cut the writing buddy some slack; this is all very informal, so I don't even sweat it... but it's just another example about lateness...)

But like I said, I don't need a writing buddy. I'd just started this this month. Before that, I was doing just fine--and without that Catherine nonsense either.

Two companies change their logos - but why?

In the last couple weeks, Bell Canada and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) changed their logos.

But is this for the better? On the left side, you see the original logos, and on the right the new and improved (?!) ones.

As you can see, the new Bell logo is very simple.

As for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, they have gone the KFC route by shortening their name to simply "BCLC." That's fine. Shorter brand names are supposed to be cooler and appealing to the youth.

But the lottery corporation isn't for kids; it's for adults. And looking at the new logo (which will be implemented in September), it looks like even a child could have done it. Isn't that the serif font with some circles?

Geez.

Pathetic NL West...

The Minnesota Twins did their job on Saturday. The Los Angeles Dodgers didn't.

Minnesota, thanks to Delmon Young's two-run homer and Francisco Liriano's second win since being recalled from the minors, beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 for their third straight victory.

The Twins' victory, couple with the Chicago White Sox's 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, moved Minnesota back into first place. The Twins (65-51) are a half game up on the White Sox (64-51).

Meanwhile, the Dodgers could have moved past the Arizona Diamondbacks had they hung on to their lead against the lowly San Francisco Giants.

Of course, these were their long-time arch-rival Giants, who'd hurt them so many times in seasons past. (Yes, it is only August, but still...)

In fact, the Dodgers had two one-run leads, but couldn't hang on.

Manny Ramirez was in the middle of the action again, going 3-for-5 to up his NL batting average to .485 (16-for-33 with the Dodgers), and scored the first run of the night on pitcher Hiroki Kuroda's single.

Jeff Kent added a home run to lead off the 10th, leaving Los Angeles just three outs away from victory.

But the Giants put together a two-run rally, capped by Aaron Rowan's game-winning single, denying the Dodgers first place.

The first-place Diamondbacks have lost four straight, and have allowed 11 runs to the mediocre Atlanta Braves in back-to-back contests.

In Saturday's loss, Arizona also lost second baseman Orlando Hudson, who broke his left wrist trying to Brian McCann in the sixth inning.

Word is Hudson could be gone for the rest of the season, though he will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

And so much for Arizona starter Dan Haren (12-6), who was raked for 10 hits and six runs before being knocked out in Atlanta's 7-run sixth.

This came immediately after the D-Backs had given Haren a 3-2 lead in the last of the fifth, as the starter wasn't able to have a shut-down inning.

So much for the so-called "jungle karma", as Haren was a guest on The Jim Rome Show (aka "The Jungle") a couple days earlier, with Rome proclaiming the fact Haren and Brandon Webb would battle for the NL Cy Young Award.

The NL West surely is the biggest joke in baseball, as neither the D-Backs (59-58) nor Dodgers (58-58) want to take charge.

Either one of these teams will make the postseason, which would be a shame, if both continue to hover around the .500 mark.

But again, no sympathy here for the Dodgers' lack of run production (despite Ramirez). No sympathy for the D-Backs in losing Hudson, possibly for a while.

Either one of these teams could have gone out and picked up Barry Bonds, who is still unemployed and was, by the way, at the Dodgers-Giants game in San Francisco as part of the Jints' 50th anniversary celebration in the Bay Area.

In fact, Bonds, who signed autographs and was cheered on with a standing ovation by the crowd at AT&T Park, acknowledged first-year Dodger manager Joe Torre during his speech in the pre-game ceremony.

"I want to thank the Giants for inviting all these great guys," Bonds said during the ceremony, pointing to the Los Angeles dugout. "It's weird for me not to be in uniform with the Dodgers right there. You heard me Torre, I beat you before and I can beat you again. I haven't retired. Thank you."

Torre was seen tipping his cap at Bonds' comment.

Bonds later appeared in the broadcast booth for a couple innings and referred to Rowand as "Scott Rowand."

By the end of the game though, Rowand had the last laugh, thanks to his walk-off hit.

The Dodgers and D-Backs though, did not, as both suffered crushing defeats.

But no sympathy here.

(Source of Bonds' quote: The Associated Press - "Barry Bonds Joins Giants' Outfield Reunion")

Why must he wear 99?

This is NOT good at all - Manny Ramirez has decided to wear No. 99 in Los Angeles.

Well, I'd already sent in my manuscript for my latest book, and in the story, the antagonist wears No. 99 for the Seattle Mariners.

Urrgh! It will look like I am portraying Ramirez but I'm NOT! And besides, I'd prepared that manuscript months ago.

Another thing that upset me was this Richmond kid--that's his name, and oh, he's from Vancouver--who debuted for the Blue Jays about a week ago.

Again, in my story, I have a Canadian pitcher trying to get on the Blue Jays. Damn!

If only I'd had this published a year ago... I'd look like a prophet! Urrghh!!!

Regardless, if all goes well, then the plot includes minor characters like:

-John House (Blue Jays fair-weathered fan) LOL
-Rick Coleclough (washed-up Mariners pitcher)
-John Jessup (injured Mariners pitcher)
-Cliff Houser (injured Mariners pitcher)
-Rich Ambrozic (upset Blue Jays pitcher)
-Kip Wee (Saints coach)

I will call it "The Replacement Pitcher: Independence, Rookie, Savior."

Hahah - if House sees this, he might hunt me down. ;-)

Cliff, how did you like today's game...?

Cliff supposedly went to this game; I'll be expecting some picture evidence soon!

Anyway, here's the game recap. Runners on third in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, and Toronto couldn't score? Wow...

http://mvn.com/mlb-bluejays/2008/07/31/blue-jays-lose-two-of-three-to-rays/

This week's featured book on Cacoethes

Alright, Young Chasing Rainbow Trout has been featured on the main page of Cacoethes Publishing House as the book of the week!

Please check it out!

http://www.cacoethespublishing.net/

Also, I will be hosting an author chat on the Cacoethes Publishing website in the upcoming weeks! This session is for readers and fans alike, so hope to see some of you out there! Should be an interesting session with me leading the discussion.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to participate or if you have any questions!

Curse, Jinx, Reversal in fortunes?

Wow. I checked and discovered that since I bashed the Yankees' Jason Giambi, he went on a tear in his next fifty games: .317, 15 HRs - which meant he was on pace for a 47-home run season had he kept that up.

And ever since I criticized Randy Johnson on July 1st, he has gone 4-0 in four starts. A 1.71 ERA. Back-to-back scoreless gems.

Yes, Jesse Litsch went 1-6 with an ERA over 6.00 after I praised him. Yes, I know. And he got sent down to the minors.

I think House now wants me to bash the Leafs and Blue Jays for luck.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/42582-mlb-talk-johnson-owings-litsch-giambi-and-maddux

I've been proven wrong. Again.

Nothing new, but I do acknowledge it when I get it wrong.

Ever since I bashed Arizona's Randy Johnson, he has gone undefeated. In fact, since his July 1st defeat against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Big Unit has gone a perfect 4-0 in his four starts.

His stats during the streak: 1.71 ERA, 19 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched.

Not a high number of K's, but Johnson does have a 10-strikeout game mixed in there. And he hasn't allowed a run in back-to-back starts.

I will say it's mind-boggling though; at the time I criticized Johnson, he was 4-7 with a 5.46 ERA and had just lost his sixth straight start. I argued he should have been taken out of the rotation because he was costing the Diamondbacks victories as the Los Angeles Dodgers were making a huge dent into Arizona's once-insurmountable lead in the NL West.

Meanwhile, Micah Owings has lost his job in the D-Backs' rotation. In fact, he'd been relegated to the bullpen since losing his fifth straight decision in late June.

At that time, Owings was 6-7 with a 5.18 ERA. Keep in mind he'd started the year 4-0. Thus, Owings' 2-7 mark in a dozen starts since then (with a 6.27 ERA) was a huge cause for concern.

My question is: at that time, why wouldn't you put Johnson in the pen and keep Owings in the rotation?

After all, Johnson is a lefty, and I'd think opposing batters would still fear the Big Unit. Imagine Johnson coming out of the pen for an inning or two and intimidating the other hitters. It would have given the D-Backs another option with an extra lefty in the pen. (Owings is right-handed.)

Also, Owings is only 25 and in his sophomore year. Johnson is 44. Wouldn't you want to keep sending a youngster out there every fifth day so he could build on his confidence? What good would sending out a forty-plus year-old pitcher every time out when (at the time) it looked like he was done?

And, Owings is a good hitter too. He smacked four dingers and batted .333 in his rookie year in 2007. This season Owings has already homered once and has 15 hits in 52 at-bats (.288 average). The righty can certainly help his own cause at the plate, meaning the D-Backs wouldn't have an automatic out in the ninth spot of the lineup.

Anyway, the D-Backs sure look brilliant now; Johnson is thriving again and Arizona is still in first place.

I guess the difference was Johnson's multiple Cy Young Awards and proven track record. Having a future Hall-of-Famer starting was surely a safer bet.

Speaking of Cy Young, I sure look dumb now when I suggested the Blue Jays' Jesse Litsch, Toronto's fifth starter at the time, was a sure All-Star and a potential Cy Young candidate when he started out 7-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

I also applauded Litsch for being a team guy by offering to pitch in relief in a blowout game in Philadelphia in May.

Since then, the wheels have fallen off. Litsch went 1-6 with a 6.12 ERA before earning a trip to the minors.

Ouch.

And I bashed Jason Giambi when he started out hitting .109.

In the 50 games since my criticisms, Giambi went on a tear, bashing out 15 homers in 161 at-bats and hitting .317. Wow. (If you do the math, that works out to be 47 home runs in 500 at-bats.)

Some in the media were writing that Giambi deserved a shot in the All-Star Game (which I totally disagreed with).

Well, from June 24th up to today, the Giambino has slumped again, hitting .215 in the last 26 games. But oh, more importantly, his New York Yankees (59-48) are back in the race, just four out in the AL East and 1 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race.

Oh yeah, New York has added I-Rod too, to play with A-Rod. The Yankees, who have lost catcher Jorge Posada for the rest of the season, picked up Ivan Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers earlier today.

And back to Johnson and the D-Backs before I wrap up: Steve Henson from Yahoo! Sports has written that Arizona probably isn't going to acquire 351-game winner Greg Maddux. The Mad Dog reportedly has included the D-Backs and the L.A. teams as among the clubs he'd be willing to be traded to.

Arizona, however, apparently isn't interested in Maddux, which would be a shame. If Maddux does head to the desert, the D-Backs could have two 300-game winners--Johnson is eight wins away from the 300 club--in the same rotation.

Misadventure at Superstore

So, Monday morning was the school's field trip/business project, and two classes were supposed to meet at Superstore at 9:30 to get started.

Of course, Sunday night I got this email from the other teacher saying he had an emergency and couldn't make it; would I be able to handle both classes on my own?

Well, honestly, what was I going to say in that situation?

Actually, no problem, I could do it anyways. I'm not one who wimps out to begin with.

My class arrived at the meeting place at 9:30, while only half his class was there. Not wanting to waste time, I got started and explained the rules and objectives to my class and asked them to enter the store and begin.

After 10 minutes and the rest of his class still hadn't arrived, I assigned teams and team captains to the students who were there and re-explained everything, and told them to wait for their mates to arrive.

Not a big deal... until later.

Since I divided each class into two groups, there were four groups in total I had to shadow and monitor--double my normal workload.

Actually, it was all fine at the beginning. I was with one group at the toothpaste aisle, and a very friendly stocker chitchatted with some of my students and helped them out by pointing out a sale item. Very pleasant. Genuine.

I took the first group to the cashier's to pay. One problem--well, actually a few.

The cashier was not friendly; no smile, no enthusiasm, and it was only 10:20!!! It's not like it's the end of the shift; the store just opened not too long ago! I mean, c'mon, if you're in customer service and you don't like it, why are you there in the first place?

No, the cashier, who was certainly the anti-toothpaste-aisle-man, wasn't the big problem. The equipment was. I tried to use the pin pad, and the green "OK" button was missing--like a key missing on a keyboard. Whatever, I just pushed that vacated spot and moved on. But when I was to press the "Chequing" button, there were lots of problems.

I kept pressing it and nothing happened. The cashier was impatient, so I explained it didn't work. Thus, I was asked to re-do it. And to no avail. I finally showed the cashier what I was talking about, and was told to wait while the supervisor came to fix their problem.

Yes, yes, I was told that pad was working earlier today. Really though, I was fine with it; I didn't need any excuses.

The next thing I knew, a woman started yelling at my students because they were in the way. Yes, it was their fault they were crowding around and blocking people, but was it necessary to shout like that?

I talked back, and said there was no reason to be that rude, only to get more verbal trashing from her. So the two of us started arguing there on the spot. Was I out of line? Yes. So was she for yelling at my students, and I didn't see why she should get away with it. I do not stand for that kind of intimidation, and I let her know it.

The supervisor came, I got to pay for the bill using another pin pad, and then I had to go back in and check on the other three groups.

So, what lessons did I learn from this? (I take everything as a learning experience; what can I do better in the future?)

Time to get a Costco card... save more money and don't have to deal with all this attitude we were getting. Well, the stocker was great... but the rest of the trip was not.

Mental note to self: do not schedule two classes going at the same time. You never know when someone's going to pull the "emergency" stuff. Yes, I understand, sometimes things happen that you can't control. However, to avoid this from happening, I'm just going to schedule these trips separately.

-------------------
And this is the type of nonsense that goes on. Every week, if not every day, I see people do the following, and they don't get scolded:

* someone would get onto the SkyTrain and just stop inside the door/entrance... despite the fact he/she is the first one to get on at a busy station. There would be others behind waiting to get on too, and this person would just stop there suddenly even though there's room elsewhere on the train. Why not go all the way in and not block the others that are trying to get on?
* someone would press the button on the crosswalk repeatedly trying to get the light to change. (Uhm- note to all: contrary to what you all believe, the light does NOT change because you hit that button a million times!!) I wish the device would automatically reset every time someone hits that button just so he/she would stand there waiting forever. There is absolutely NO reason to continue pressing it... some people.
* someone would walk down the stairs and suddenly stop in the middle for no reason, even though there are people walking behind trying to get down too.
* someone would stand in the middle of the street and block everyone else just so he/she could check something on the phone or blackberry or whatever.
* someone would change lanes without signalling.

And on and on... go pick on them too!

Yankees praising

First posted on Bleacher Report a couple hours earlier...

House, I have once again praised the Yankees per your request; twice in two days... what's my prize ?



Perhaps the best thing for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night is rain.

The start of the Red Sox-Yankees game has been delayed by rain, with New York looking to sweep the Bosox in three straight at Fenway Park.

New York has won eight straight and was supposed to have Sidney Ponson start Sunday night against Jon Lester.

Another Boston loss would mean the Yanks and Red Sox would be tied for second in the division, with New York percentage points ahead by virtue of having played fewer games. (Looking at it the "glass half-full" way though, the first-place Tampa Bay Rays have already lost earlier in the day, meaning a Boston win moves the Sox within a game of top spot.)

Given the way things have gone since the All-Star break, the Red Sox should just pray for the game to be postponed.

Boston is only 3-5 since the mid-summer classic, while New York is 8-0.

While it hasn't exactly been the Boston Massacre in the first two games of the series, the Red Sox have shown again they can't seem to beat the Yankees, not coming up with clutch hits or getting big outs in losing 1-0 and 10-3 thus far.

Though Sunday's scheduled starter Ponson is only 3-11 with a 6.61 ERA lifetime against Boston, the right-hander has done all right this season after being picked up by the pinstripers--and the fact remains New York has been hot since the All-Star break while Boston has not.

The Yanks have gone 4-0 in Ponson's four starts.

Meanwhile, on ESPN Radio, the eighth inning of the seventh game of the 2003 ALCS--yes, the one in which Grady Little left a tiring Pedro Martinez in to allow New York to score three runs--is being replayed as the network is waiting out the rain delay.

Why the network has chosen to re-air this particular clip is beyond me--given the fact the 2004 Red Sox triumph over the Yanks was more significant and magical.

Nonetheless, another reminder the Red Sox had been owned by the Bombers.

Well, guess what? Boston has won two of the last four World Series, while New York hasn't had reason to celebrate since 2000.

And, the Associated Press has reported that Manny Ramirez was quoted as saying he didn't mind if he was traded.

The 2004 World Series MVP supposedly said on Sunday, "I'm tired of them (the Red Sox). They're tired of me."

Four more days to go before the July 31st trading deadline ... will the Red Sox deal Man-ram? You'd at least expect Boston to go out and make some moves to try and defend its AL East title.

Anyway, Boston should just pray for more rain. That way the Yanks can leave town--New York heads home to host Baltimore on Monday--without both teams being tied.

And oh... that would be the last-place Orioles the Yankees would be facing, while the Red Sox will entertain baseball's best team, the L.A. Angels, starting Monday.

In case you are wondering, yes, it was the Angels who swept the Bosox last weekend after the All-Star break.

Not fun times coming up for the Boston Red Sox.

Time to pray for more rain...

A post just for Trout

Well, Trout, I'd given up on my "50-posts-in-50-days" mission (a la "50-goals-in-50-games") a while back, but I think I'll definitely try to post a bit more often.

This is my second post in one day--aren't you proud of me or what?!

Anyway, here are this week's musings from the Net and other sources:

1) http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/oddity_bizarre_names
Personally, I like the part about "Number 16 Bus Shelter", especially since I'd joked about this particular name myself, years ago, about filling out a store membership card application form using that as a fake address, just so that we wouldn't get junk mail or have identities stolen.

2) These were from the Westender:
Someone wrote in saying that a hotdog vendor was peeing into the bushes at a local beach before going back to his stand selling dogs. The poster noted there were no public washrooms in the area. Lesson? Be careful where you buy your food! Heck, better yet, prepare it yourself...

Another person wrote in saying he was ridiculed by some people on the street because he was in a cast and on crutches. It is indeed sad to hear that in this day and age, insensitive jerks are still picking on those who are less fortunate. Heck, I even work with certain people (at my school) who are racists and make inappropriate comments publicly, so it's not a surprise. But you know what, I don't have time for those kinds of people, and perhaps if something unfortunate were to happen to them down the road, I'd say no sympathy here at all.

3) Apparently, some grad students at the U. of A. have designed some kind of a poker-playing robot who could learn from past mistakes and rally to win their matches. Those of you who play online poker or do online gambling better watch out! Experts have suggested that these kinds of robots will soon rule the world of online gambling, meaning people will almost never win...

4) In a report I read, 82% of all working Canadians--according to StatsCan--make an annual salary of $50,000 or less. Meanwhile, only 16% make $50-100K. The other 2% make over $100K.

Thus, it's logical to suggest that if you make in the $60K range and higher, you're in the top 10% of income earners in Canada.

Congratulations! You guys are rich! Yay!

New York beats Boston again

The New York Yankees have come all the way back, winners of eight straight, and are now just one game back of the Boston Red Sox.

Boston (60-45) is two games behind first-place Tampa Bay (61-42), which won 5-3 in Kansas City on Saturday night.

New York (58-45) has not lost since the All-Star break, and have won the first two of their weekend series against their long-time nemesis at Fenway Park.

On Friday night, it was Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera shutting down the Bosox 1-0.

Saturday afternoon, it was a 10-3 romp as Robinson Cano (3 hits, HR, 3 RBIs) and Andy Pettitte (6 IP, 1 ER, 7 K's) proved to be the difference.

Bobby Abreu added a key two-run double in a four-run sixth which broke open a tense 3-2 contest.

The Yankees suddenly find themselves one game behind Boston for second in the AL East and also for the wild card lead, continuing their tradition of being a second-half team.

Last season, New York was horrendous in the first half but rallied to take the AL wild card over Seattle and Detroit, and even gave Boston a scare by getting back into the divisional race.

The Yanks have already made a move this weekend, acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both saw action on Saturday afternoon; Nady was in the starting lineup and went 0-for-3 with a walk, while Marte struck out Red Sox slugger David Ortiz in relief.

Will the Red Sox make a move before the July 31st non-waiver trading deadline?

Is it time yet for Sean Crowe and the Red Sox nation to panic?

Despite the fact I dislike the Yankees, I have to applaud them for making it all the way back the way things went in the first half: The Chien-Ming Wang injury and the problems in the rotation, the controversy about how to best use Chamberlain, Giambi's slump early on, the losses of Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui, and on and on.

I'll say this: if one team finishes a game or two out, be it the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox, or the Yankees, I'll have no sympathy.

Any one of those teams could have picked up Barry Bonds, but have chosen not to. So, whoever doesn't make the postseason, that's their problem.

Boston, we have a problem !

So, suddenly Boston has lost two straight, while Tampa and New York have each gone 2-0. Should be panic time in Beantown for many die-hard Bosox fans... Wonder what Rick and Cliff think about it...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/39298-boston-we-have-a-problem

Googling one's own name

Well! I was googling my own name and I found out that one of my posts was featured on FOX Sports!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8297618

This was a piece I wrote at the start of July looking at the Rays-Red Sox series.

Yeehaw!