BERIGAN

Yep! Don't forget, Eckstein missed a fair number of games as well. Don't get me wrong the Tigers should sweep the Cards, but IF Weaver and Suppan pitch anywhere near as well in the W.S., they might just give the Tigers a challenge. I just hope so after reading Bill Simmons B.S. diary of game 7(Acting like it was going to be the worst game 7 ever) I hope that he talks some shit before the Series(Like how they should have a mercy rule in Baseball and end the series after 3 games) only to look like a fool. Don't get me wrong, he can be hysterically funny at times, but the AAAA thing is getting old. What's up with bitter Red Sox fans like him anyway? They won it all already! Don't have to get bitchy about every former Red Sox player on every team in the playoffs. They are as bad as Yankee fans these days(And White Sox fans would have become just as bad had they gotten in the playoffs this year) There are other teams in the league ya know!

With a starting pitching like that, you wonder why the team was barely above .500 that year unless they couldn't score much and relief was blowing games left and right. 2nd best pitching giving up just 3.65 R a game. But the offense was the 2nd worst, scoring just 3.78. They had a pretty sad offense! '73 Mets link. The Braves that year had the best offense (4.93) and the worst pitching (4.78 R/G) and finished 83-78 but were in the NL West back then. The Braves became the 1st team to have 3 40 HR guys with Darrell Evans (41), Davey Johnson (43) and 39 year old Hank Aaron getting 40 in just 120 games. A 24 year old Dusty Baker hit 21 for them too. I ended up with a full set of baseball cards from this year (had to buy the dozen cards I didn't get later in the late '80s), so I remember it well! Quincy, thanks for bringing up the Mets of 73, and those 73 braves. Even though the 1988 Dodgers won 94 games, they had to have had the WORST offense ever put forth by a team going into the W.S.(at least in "modern" times) Look at all that suckiness! http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/1988.shtml But we all know who won the series in 5 games that year. So don't count the Cards out this year,(Yeah, I know Dan, there pitching ain't what the Dodgers was, or what the Tigers is!) And how the @#%! did Hank Aaron not get in 42 games that year? Does anyone recall if he was injured? 392 AB's?? I mean I sorta understand pulling him late, and in game they were being blown out in, but you have a guy hitting a home run every 9.8 A.B.s if I'm doing the math right, and you don't even use him as a pinch hitter??? Man, he had better have been hurt....

Freebird!

Switched at birth????

And doing these simple, painful exercises for 50 minutes each morning, you can look 1 year younger than you actually are.

Just checked, looks like Chris hasn't posted since the 2nd of this month. Hope all is well, perhaps he is on an overseas trip??? Have a good one Chris! Remember what a (sometimes) wise man said on this board a few years ago, God loves you!

Duke Rape Suspects Speak Out on 60 minutes

Well good luck with that. The fact that today the two teams are starting pitchers whose records are 3-13 (Mets), the other 5-8 and neither ERA is below 5 tells you all you need to know about the likelihood the NL winner can compete with Detroit. It will take a miracle for the AAAA champion to win it all. Updated: Oct. 2, 2006 ESPN experts: Who's going to win? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006...tory?id=2610409

Found this on another board.... BALTIMORE (Oct. 5) - Tamara Dobson, the tall, stunning model-turned-actress who portrayed a strong female role as Cleopatra Jones in two "blaxploitation" films, has died. Dobson, 59, died Monday of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at the Keswick Multi-Care Center, where she had lived for the past two years, her publicist said. At 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Dobson was striking as the kung-fu fighting government agent Cleopatra Jones in 1973. She reprised the role in 1975's "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold." "She was not afraid to start a trend," said her brother, Peter Dobson, of Houston. "She designed a lot of the clothing that so many women emulated." Dobson also appeared in "Come Back, Charleston Blue," "Norman, Is That You?" "Murder at the World Series" and "Chained Heat." She had TV roles in the early 1980s in "Jason of Star Command" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." Dobson lived most of her adult life in New York, her family said. She was diagnosed six years ago with multiple sclerosis.

Fox fires Lyons for racially insensitive commentAssociated Press DETROIT -- Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella's Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The network confirmed Saturday that Lyons was dismissed after Friday's game. He has been replaced for the remainder of the series by Los Angeles Angels announcer Jose Mota. Piniella had made an analogy involving the luck of finding a wallet, then briefly used a couple of Spanish phrases during Friday's broadcast. Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet." "I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued. Lyons claimed he was kidding. "If I offended anybody, I'm truly sorry," Lyons said in a phone interview. "But my comment about Lou taking my wallet was a joke and in no way racially motivated." Lyons flew Saturday to Los Angeles, where he hoped to meet with Fox chairman David Hill. Lyons had been working in the booth for the ALCS alongside Thom Brennaman and Piniella, the No. 2 broadcast team for Fox this postseason. "Steve Lyons has been relieved of his Fox Sports duties for making comments on air that the company found inappropriate," network spokesman Dan Bell said. In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week. Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently "frio" -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up. Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired. Piniella, approached before Saturday's Game 4, declined to comment on the situation except to say: "No, he's not here today." This was not a first-time offense for Lyons, nicknamed "Psycho" during his nine-year big league career as a utilityman that ended in 1993 with the Boston Red Sox. Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday. The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time. Earlier in the playoffs, while working the Mets-Dodgers NLDS, Lyons unwittingly made fun of a nearly blind fan who was wearing special glasses to see the game. "He's got a digital camera stuck to his face," Lyons said. He also once pulled down his pants on the field during his playing days. Lyons, 46, was a career .252 hitter with 19 home runs and 196 RBI for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta and Montreal. He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox, 19th overall, in 1981. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2006...tory?id=2625500

Hey Big Al, henceforth, you and I can only referr to Kenny Rogers as "Clutch" Rogers..... Of course, Tom Glavine, another 40+ soft tossing lefty that almost never could win the big game, and always gave up a run or two in the first inning of every playoff game for the Braves, hasn't given up a run in the playoffs either. Go figure. You can't. Which is one reason why I love this game.

Funny, my late Mother was born in Oregon, and she worked for Delta, but we never made it back there. Will have to get there someday. Been north, south, east, west, but haven't ever been in the North West, or the Dakotas, Colorado. Would like to go to Alaska before I shuffle off!(In the fall of 2050!) Have missed about 15 of the 50 states.

Damn that RDK! I was thinking I was going to be so funny, till I saw his post...dammit!

95% off everything tomorrow, but you have to be there at 6 am.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp

It is truly stupefying that Buck O'Neil, who was alive, wasn't allowed to be a Hall of Famer, so others that were long dead could get in before him. They said on ESPN that not only did he scout and sign Lou Brock, but Ernie Banks as well! Don't know if they got their facts wrong, but I'd like to think he did. He was beyond classy, a saint really...as mad as we all feel, remember what Buck said earlier this year...."God's been good to me," he said that day. "If I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful."

Hey big Al, how about Kenny Rogers??? I have hated him as well(perhaps not to your level) but to do this to this year's murderer's row is something else. What's the deal with soft tossing lefties shutting out teams in their 40's anyway?

How do not one, but 2 umps miss a ball hitting the chalk from what, 20-30 feet from them???? Yet I have seen umps make good calls from 3rd on line drives a few feet from the wall....

Hope you had a great one! If anyone can come back against Oakland, it's the Twins. Oakland seemingly gets out to a 2-0, 2-1 start only to lose the 5 game series............

Hope it was a great one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some early Megadeth titles.... Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good! Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? So Far, So Good...So What! Rust in Peace

Ramierez? Pretty darn good for a rookie but, not amazing - yet. Good bat but, a so-so fielder. He just committed his 25th error of the season last night. Lots of potential though, he's only 22. How about them Phils?? Hanley should be a lock for ROY honors. About the only problem are rookie errors in the field, though he still makes plenty of spectacular plays, too. But he's got 50+ SB and 40+ doubles, and the sky is the limit. I'm sure he'll settle down defensively and make all the routine plays, too. I was going to argue about Uggla having a great year, setting records for home runs for a rookie 2nd baseman, etc...somehow missed how many RBI's Zimmerman had for the Nationals. 287 batting average, 20 homers and 110 RBIs!!!!! Only highlights I saw from National games were Soriano.....

Well, the big three won't be able to compete with these trucks for many reasons, the main one being that Toyota will have a young workforce. They won't have to worry about paying retirement benefits(They will leave Texas for Mexico, or China before then) and of course a younger work force will be healthier. No unions to deal with I imagine, so they will pay them much less as well. Wait til the Chinese work their way into western auto markets, no one can touch the price of cars and trucks built by slave labor. Actually, Trucks are built much better than cars today because at one time, believe it or not, trucks were used as work vehicles.

Yup. Along with the Mets, methinks. I know it's unlikely, but I'm still pulling for another Subway Series. Yeah, wouldn't that be great? Two scrappy NY teams with small budgets somehow making it to the WS?

Sigh.....It seems these days where there's smoke, there's fire. Hopefully it was just a punk somehow trying to lighten his sentence by tossing out big names. Report: Clemens, Tejada named in Grimsley drug caseESPN.com news services LOS ANGELES -- Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Miguel Tejada were among the players that a former major league pitcher accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday on its Web site. Buster Olney's blog Baltimore teammates Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons and Tejada also were implicated in the sworn statement, the Times said. All three Baltimore players denied the accusations and the team stood by its players in a statement Sunday. Also Sunday, Clemens and Pettitte defended themselves in separate interviews. "I just think it's incredibly dangerous to sit out there and just throw names out there," Clemens said Sunday before the Astros played in Atlanta. "I haven't seen [the report], nor do I need to see it." "I've been tested plenty of times," he added. "My physicals I've taken, they have taken my blood work. I have passed every test. Again, I just find it amazing that you can throw anybody out there." Pettitte was "stunned" by the report. "I played with Grimsley for a couple of years in New York and had a great relationship with him," the pitcher said before the Astros' game. "I guess reports are saying I've used performance enhancing drugs," he added. "I've never used any drugs to enhance my performance in baseball. I don't know what else to say except to say it's embarrassing my name would be out there." In June, federal agents searched reliever Jason Grimsley's home in Arizona after the pitcher admitted using human growth hormone, steroids and amphetamines. Grimsley was later released by the Arizona Diamondbacks and suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball, and has not played since then. In a 20-page search warrant affidavit signed by IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, the Times reported, he said Grimsley identified other players who had used drugs. Those names were blacked out when the document was released. The Times said an anonymous source with access to the document -- minus the crossouts -- let the newspaper see it, but kept the copy. The Times said a second source who had identified the other players provided additional details about the document. According to the affidavit, the Times said, Grimsley told investigators Clemens and Pettitte "used athletic performance-enhancing drugs." The affidavit also alleged Grimsley told federal agents that Roberts, Gibbons and Tejada "took anabolic steroids." On Wednesday, Gibbons told ESPN The Magazine's Amy K. Nelson he had not seen a copy of the affidavit and was told by his agent and other journalists only that his name was on the document. He also said he thought he was named as part of the group Grimsley referred to when discussing amphetamines. "I barely knew [Grimsley]," Gibbons said. In June, the Orioles' front office held separate meetings with Tejada, Gibbons and Roberts, according to three sources. The context of the conversations was to inform the players that their names were rumored to be on the affidavit, and that they should all consult their lawyers. According to one source in the room, it was simply a forewarning, and no other intimate information related to the affidavit was shared. Gibbons said that all questions the media had would likely be referred to his lawyer. "I know it'll make me only look more guilty, but I have to protect myself," Gibbons said earlier this week. "I don't have to protect anybody else. This is my livelihood." Orioles vice president Jim Duquette, also reached at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, said he had seen only a redacted version of the document, but he was aware the three players were known to be on the list. Novitzky also was the lead investigator in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative probe. Two BALCO officials and Barry Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, served jail time after guilty pleas in that investigation. Grimsley has complained to friends, the Times said, that federal agents attributed statements to him that he did not make. "I'm told he has denied saying all of this," Randy Hendricks, who represents Clemens and Pettitte, told The Associated Press on Saturday night. "It's an agent's recollection about a conversation he had about conjecture." "I've grown weary of having to defend [Clemens] from innuendo and conjecture about every six months for the last several years when he's complied with all of the rules and regulations," Hendricks said. "Andy is just surprised and stunned, and has no knowledge of any such activity." Clemens and Pettitte pitch for Houston. The Astros won 5-4 at Atlanta on Saturday night. Tejada, Gibbons and Roberts had left the clubhouse in Boston after Baltimore's 5-4 victory Saturday night when an AP reporter sought comment. "I don't pay attention to what [Grimsley said]," Tejada told The (Baltimore) Sun. "I know that I've never had a problem with that. I know that I've never used that and I know I am clean. "I don't worry about anybody who puts me in that stuff. I'll get checked out for anybody, any time, any moment -- whenever they want." Gibbons told The Sun: "I have passed every test administered by Major League Baseball over all the years. And I am not going to dignify these claims and accusations with any further response." Roberts echoed his teammates' comments. "His accusations are ridiculous," Roberts told The Sun. "We've had steroid testing, and I've taken all the tests. There is no point in getting into verbal wars. That's really all there is to say." Orioles executive Mike Flanagan said the team supported Tejada, Gibbons and Roberts and wouldn't comment on the matter further. "Our players have addressed the accusations quite strongly and we support them," Orioles excutive vice president Mike Flanagan said in a statement. "We have not seen the affidavit and therefore will not comment on it further." Along with the federal probe, baseball hired former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate the use of steroids. All major league players are tested at least twice a year for banned drugs. There is no test for HGH, but it is banned by baseball. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2609002