Dan Gould

Only once; and I think I had a damn good reason. It happened immediately after Posada hit the double off of Pedro that tied the score in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. With the sole of my foot (I was wearing sneakers), I kicked the plaster that was underneath the bar/island section of our kitchen (it was an apartment). After the second or third kick, it separated out a bit from the stud. When we left, my wife had to apply some filler material and re-paint it.

Except that almost every gas station now is pre-pay only. So basically we're screwed. Go in, give them a dollar figure to charge. That's a specific amount - no fee (I think its technically called a "hold"). Most people have a good idea how many gallons/how much money it will take to fill up, or increasingly people are putting in a fixed amount whenever they have to fill up. Either way, they can't charge a fee if you tell them how much you are buying.

But its not an official no-hitter because the Dodgers didn't bat in the ninth. so its more of a curiosity than a real feat.

Hey Paps, the Rays didn't want to play Boston without Kaz so they swapped him with Jackson. And for what its worth, after the Sox and the Yankees, the Rays get KC, who have started to play significantly better of late. We'll see if they carry it over from interleague or not but I at least feel a little better about their chances to win one or two than I would have a few weeks ago. The Indians after?

I can handle blowouts. What I can't stand is fucking away games against utterly crappy teams. Two separate 3+ run leads? And there is no explanation for leaving a righty to face Berkman with the winning run at second base. It was like FranCOMA had money running on this game - and I haven't had cause to call him Francoma in a long time. Still pisses me off just thinking about it. But at least the Pirates somehow got a walk-off win to keep the Rays out of first place for one more day.

MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST THEY SUCK DONKEY DICKS. First Lester blows a four run lead, and all on two out hits. They battle back. And they blow a fucking three run lead. And if you fucking need proof they have no faith in Okajima, they left Delcarmen in to face to face Lance Berkman, who is only hitting .384 against righties. The result? A MOTHERFUCKING TWO RUN DOUBLE. SEVEN RUNS in leads given back. MOTHERFUCKING NAUSEATING. And now all that the Rays need to do is to finish off the Pirates and its sayonara to first place.

I hate that candy bar - but I knew what it looked like.

:party:

13. Missed some obvious ones but made up for it with some guess-work.

Whats wrong with Dice-K ??????......this is NOT good news , 7 earned runs ? Well, I'm relieved to report that Dice-K was much closer to his normal self in his second start - five shutout innings, only a couple of hits and three walks. And I saw on the Astros broadcast that he was popping the glove at 94-95, much better than the 89 he was laboring to attain in that disastrous start. I guess his shoulder really wasn't still hurting, and that's excellent news going forward. Oh yeah, and the Sox are the first team to 50 wins. If they'd only get Okajima straightened out (or get some more bullpen help) I'd feel like they'd have an excellent shot at repeating.

That whole Spoon So Easy album kills.

I think he's a potential #2 starter though some say he is more of a highly effective setup man. He's got a Wang-like sinker that he throws at different speeds, which I think makes it potentially an even better pitch. He also strikes out people at a much higher rate than Wang, another important difference. Strong deception in his delivery to righties, because he's so big and comes in at a sort of 3/4 version of the Eckersley delivery. But lefties seem to get a better look at his pitches from that angle. I like Masterson's stuff and I really like his poise. If he makes a bad pitch or gets into trouble, he never looks fazed or scared. He just goes on to the next batter.

I would like everyone to know that I am no longer upset with Tim, or Alex over this thread. However, I am seriously pissed at van basten. You see, the Paul Simon tune "Mother & Child Reunion" has been stuck in my head for most of the last eight days, and only now have I realized that its his fault. A pox on your house, sir.

Since its 100 kb per upload, how about making several 100 kb uploads, in order? I agree it sounds like pfrancing but not quite.

Well, in somewhat of a surprise, Bob Watson reduced Crisp's suspension to 5 games from 7. But usually when that decision comes down, the suspension is served immediately thereafter. But instead, they are starting the suspension on Saturday, meaning that he misses all three games of the Rays series. And that I think is the rub - Watson said OK, you convinced me to knock a couple of games off the suspension but I'm not going to take the chance that something happens in Tampa. You can play tonight, and you miss the Tampa series. I guess that is helpful actually because it means that for one game in Houston, they've got a full roster for making double switches. Because Manny is supposed to start in LF since he can't DH. So Coco can come off the bench later in the game and go in for Manny when they'd want to take him out anyway.

If that's what happens, its good enough for me too. But I won't cry if anything happens to him in prison. That's the bottom line.

I'd really like to know what labels the license covers, and how long they intend to do this.

Or one he'd belt out of the park (that's an Americanism for "ace the test").

Lynch mobs kill people who only stand accused of something. Had this man done what he did in almost any other state, including CA, he'd be sentenced to death. In fact, I'll go a step further and really infuriate the bleeding hearts: bloody, painful death through the multiple stab wounds by a jagged shank is more appropriate for this guy than the no muss, no fuss three drug cocktail he'd have enjoyed otherwise. He shot his wife through the skull. He shot his 9 month old daughter through the back.

I can't speak for Thom, who used the word "admirable" but I tell you sincerely that this man deserved a death sentence and I wouldn't do anything but smile inwardly if in the future it is reported that a fellow inmate ensured that he not live out the rest of his life at taxpayer's expense.

If you collected baseball cards way back when, then you'll enjoy this piece by the aformentioned Red Sox blogger, Chad Finn.

Interesting point raised on a Red Sox blog today - where would Minnesota be if they had pulled the trigger on a Santana for Ellsbury, Lester, Masterson and Lowrie trade? Let's see: Ellsbury - on pace for 68 steals, has given the Sox a previously unimaginable speed component to go with their usual slugging Lester - ERA+ of 138, threw a no-hitter Masterson - ERA+ of 126 Lowrie - OPS+ of 113 in his first major league cameo (if you don't know, "+" signifies that the statistic has been normalized against the rest of the league - 100 is league average, above 100 is better than league average, on a percentage basis. So Lester's ERA is 38% better than the average pitcher.)

:party:

Just read in the Herald that his first stop during his life sentence will be at the very same High-Security prison where Gauguin met his end. They'll have to catch him out of his cell though - its a single-occupancy prison.

I could do nothing but laugh at Djokovic for getting bounced after running his mouth about Federer "running scared". I always root for Blake but he's never done well on grass; I'm not sure why you think his game should allow him to play better. He doesn't serve and volley, and the consistent bounce of a hard court is where he's done best, especially in the Slams. Sharapova getting beat is a crushing loss for leering males everywhere. Who are these other supposedly great looking female players?