The best news so far this offseason: Tim Wakefield will be back in 2010.
The hot stove league is heating up.
The Red Sox are making moves. The Yankees are planning theirs.
There's a hole at third in Philly.
And, because we can: Yo, Adrian.
One bad inning kept the Phillies from going home with a 2-0 lead.
Don't blame the bullpen, blame the bad defense.
However, the World Champs still have Cliff Lee waiting and home field advantage.
But you have to give a very talented Dodgers team some much deserved credit.
There have been three players in Major League history with four straight seasons of 40 homers and 120 runs batted in.
Who are they?
The Dodgers make some moves.
The Braves make a move.
Ryan Howard's in a groove.
The Building Block, Andrew McCutchen, is flying high.
Brad Lidge has angered the Gods.
Two area teams suffer stinging losses. The Pirates, however, had their best win of the season.
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Jay Marshall throws from way down low.
Why baseball shouldn't even come close to contracting.
We admit we were wrong.
And a late-summer reading list.
Colby Rasmus tosses his helmet as he races home after walking off a win for the St. Louis Cardinals.
We've got a more believable story about Brett Myers' black eye.
Ryan Howard's heating up.
We hope David Wright is healing.
Sure, Ryan Howard is exciting, and Mark McGwire held our attention, but no player made our jaws drop with the regularity of Ken Griffey Jr.
Some players change you.
You stop what your doing - even halting your breath - when they're on the field.
The way they move, be it the uncanny precision and frightening velocity with which they hurl a baseball, the way they scamper about the basepaths, making the outfielders irrelevant, or they way they can pummel a baseball into the farthest reaches of reality, grips your soul.
And when their careers pass on you sort through your collection of memories and find that their exploits make you smile. Maybe even bring a tear to your eye.
They are the most exciting players you ever saw.
Albert the great started things off. He hit some bullets, but the distance just wasn't there until the end. Tony La Russa has to be happy for that because that means he didn't change his stroke.
Pujols finished with six bombs but didn't qualify.
Ryan Howard qualified, finishing with 15.
Then Cruz hit some memorable shots deep into the St. Louis night.
Then Prince Fielder hit some moon shots, getting a standing ovation for his 503-foot tater.
However, the highlight of the round came from Mr. Gingivitis himself, Chris Berman. Boomer said the Commissioner's Office should have named Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson should have been named to the team like Mickey Mantle and other idols were in the 60s.
I couldn't agree more with this sentiment.
After all it is an all-star game. Sure, they might not be the premiereremi players in the game anymore, but they're still stars.
It almost looks like Ryan Howard is pacing himself. It doesn't look like he's taking all-out, send-it-to-the upper deck efforts.
He never seemed to get in a groove, either.
But as a Phillies fan, that's OK. There's no need for him to screw up his swing and loose his grove.
That happened to Bobby Abreu and David Wright.
Even in the Home Run Derby, pitching is the key. Carlos Pena and his hurler don't look in sync. During recent years, two Phillies contestants, Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard, were really in tune with their hurler.
He didn't just throw strikes he put the ball right where they wanted it. It's kind of like hitting off of Adam Eaton.
Pena looked like he could use an Eaton on the mound.
He drove most of his balls the other way, and that's not because he was late. It was because many of the balls were on the outer half of the plate.
The Southpaw is sick and tired of King Felix. He's barely a duke. Barely.
The Phillies opened up a can Monday.
And yes, we actually defend Derek Jeter.
Earlier this week, we gave you our selections for the American League.
Now, without further delay, is our NL squad.
1B Albert Pujols. We admit our bias. We really want to pick Ryan Howard, but just can't justify it over Pujols. We don't have to tell you Pujols is the best hitter in the game. If you didn't know that, you don't know that you probably think a warning track is "Stop in the name of love." Another tough person not to vote for was Adrian Gonzalez
2BChase Utley. How could we pick anyone else? Only Freddie Sanchez and Orlando Hudson have higher batting averages. No one has more home runs or runs driven in.
3BDavid Wright. This is surprisingly a deep position. Mark Reynolds has 21 home runs. That's insane. But Wright is batting .359 with 19 stolen bases. It was also hard not to vote for Ryan Zimmerman
SSHanley Ramirez. This was another tough call. We wanted to go with Christian Guzman, but Ramirez' numbers are just too impressive. He has a .339 average and 12 home runs.
C Benji Molina. It's hard to call him a star, but he belongs on this team. He's got 10 home runs and he's so good behind the plate.
OFRaul Ibanez - He carried the Phillies. Until his injury he was a big-time MVP candidate.
OFRyan Braun - He's quickly becoming one of the premier players in the game. He's got 16 big flys and a .321 average.
OF Justin Upton - He's the only outfielder with at least a .300 average, 10 home runs and 10 runs driven in.
So many players have missed significant amounts of time, however several players are coming back tonight.
1. Grady Sizemore - The Indians are dead last in the American League Central, but Sizemore could have a huge impact. In the last three seasons, the center fielder has finished 11th, 12th and 10th in MVP voting. He averages 27 homers and 27 stolen bases a season. That should provide Cleveland with a major boost.
2. Ryan Howard - While the Big Fella hasn't been on the disabled list, he ended his consecutive games streak while being hospitalized. We all know how big he's been for the Phillies during the past four seasons.
3. Joey Votto is a young thumper for the Reds. Votto is batting .357 this season and bashed 24 homers last year. He's missed time to deal with the death of his father.
The Orioles completed a sweep of the Phillies.
John Gonzalez takes on The Herd.
And CC says Seeya in the second.
The World Champs are in The Bronx.
All is right with the world. There's going to be a Gwynn in San Diego.
And a Peavy too. For now.
No, this packed house isn't because of the Orioles' play thus far this season. It's because of a torrential downpour.
Right now, Johan Santana could do anything he wants with a baseball. We're serious. He could split an atom, knock a fly off a dime, throw it through Fort Knox without it being seen.
The Orioles played a Little League game.
Raul Ibanez parks the Phillies' second of two grand slams Monday night. The World Champs have won four straight. Boston, however, has 11 consecutive wins.
Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Pena and Albert Pujols are doing something that hasn't been accomplished since Babe Ruth patrolled the outfield in the first Yankee Stadium.
Oh and, the Phillies had a grand night.
We left early. We left early. Will we ever forgive ourselves.
Raul Ibanez blasted a come-from-behind, walk-off home run to cap a 4-run rally.
But we didn't see it. We left early from the Phillies 5-4 win over the Padres. And for what? Pizza and a Cheesesteak at the other end of town.
Well, we had a good time anyway. We did see Jimmy Rollins' pinch hit home run. And we also saw Ryan Howard play some spectacular defense.
With the rest of the first pitch, we revamp our daily updates.
Houston Astros' Jeff Keppinger gets a broken-bat, game-winning single as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 in 10 innings in a baseball game Tuesday.
Jim Thome homered and the Red Sox won. Of course, that's happened a lot this decade.
No booze in Toronto.
Happy anniversary, Hank.
Oh, and we have some words from Joba the Drunk.
