papsrus

Just ordered the Direct TV MLB package in high def ... Took me about a half hour to do it though, including having to reset the receiver and getting past the first customer service rep who A) yawned into the phone when I told her the MLB channels weren't showing up as available in high def, and B) refused to do anything beyond telling me that the MLB package apparently wasn't available in high def. When I asked to speak to someone else (because she obviously didn't know wtf she was talking about) she just put me on perma-hold and I had to call back. ... 2 demerits for DTV customer service. ... The second woman was real sweet and straightened things out. Even tried to help me find the Angels-Rays game today, which is on one of those Fox Sports Net channels, and so I'd need yet another sports package to get it. But since I already get 95% of Rays games without it -- no thanks. Nonetheless, tonight will be a high def feast of baseball. I'm thinking of running out to get some strawberries and whipped cream ... :excited: (well, at the very least, I'll fire up some popcorn and have myself a seltzer or two)

Angels score 4 in bottom of first --

Hop on! ... and yeah, go A's. And ... a belated congrats to Junior. One of the best. Saw him hit a bomb in spring training and it was a thing of beauty.

I know it has to look bad, but if you have watched this team day in and day out for years, you would know that they haven't had a chance in hell come playoff time for years. The team really has been weak ever since Time/Warner started to cry poor. We knew the good old days of at least getting past the first round were over when Maddux accepted arbitration for the 2002 season, when they thought he'd walk. And because he did, we had to trade 18 game winner Kevin Millwood a few days later(No, they really didn't need to do that, that's just what the GM John Schuerholz was told to do) for a catcher that had never succeeded at the major league level(Johnny Estrada) Apparently, no team was willing to take on a 10 million dollar a year pitcher who had just won 18 games....ah collusion It was just dumb luck that Estrada hit, and we still made it to the playoffs for a few more years...dumb luck, and the fact the Mets and Phillies(Larry Bowa had no business being a manager, and he couldn't hit worth a crap either!) kept screwing up every year. No more. We will be lucky to finish 3rd this year, and that's sad, because on paper, it looked to be the best team they had put on the field in many a year. Smoltz and Hampton being injured isn't even close to being the biggest problems this team has. No left fielder, a center fielder that was doing pretty well, but unfortunately, he was playing for a really stupid manager that must have forgotten he has a bad back, and was running him out there every day(Or, in true Booby Cox fashion, giving a guy a day "off" then having him pinch hit in the 7th, and play in the field the next 2 innings-does that all the time with the catcher McCann as well) And our right fielder Jeff Francoeur, is hitting about .250 for the year(OBP around .300), with zero power. He seems to be getting batting tips from Andruw Jones...yeah, swing at the first pitch every time, and try to pull that low outside pitch, it's the best way to ground into double plays! I can't even tell you how many runners he left on base when the Phillies swept us over the weekend, 12-14??? A ton. Teixeira is finally hitting like a guy wanting a big contract, but just like last year when he was driving in a run a game, we still are a .500 club. Now we face the team with the best record in the NL(Cubs) then the first place Angels, no off day, a make up game in Colorado, and a series against the Rangers, who will no doubt pound the ball off of our pitchers. They are 6 1/2 games out now, if we continue with the worst record in baseball on the road, we will be out of the race in 10 days.... Pap, I really wish we had half the talent, and even more importantly, the enthusiasm your team has....it's so much fun when a team is just starting to win, and has no ceiling..... Nice rundown on the Bravos. I guess they do have a few fatal flaws. The Mets have been up and down. The Phillies look strong and have a great road record. Rays busted out the bats last night in Anaheim. Back-to-back-to-back dingers in the second inning. Longoria with a couple of home runs in the game. Navarro had four hits, including a homer. And who's the first to congratulate him in the dugout? Garza. All's well. (Speaking of which, I saw some Arizona State players got into a fracas amongst themselves before their Super Regional game last night. Must be something in the air). Edwin Jackson still has a penchant for leaving pitches out over the middle of the plate. Worrisome. But he was throwing extreme heat late -- one registering 99 mph in the 7th, I think.

Yankees lose and Rivera looks suddenly vulnerable his last couple of outings. With the Yankees, it may be a case of -- fix something here and something breaks over there. Not enough parts to go around. And in NL news, Arizona falls to the Pirates, who are actually doing a lot better than I thought they would coming out of spring training. The D-Backs are now 4-6 in their last 10 and almost flirting with .500.

Oh ... I thought it was ...

Time for a survey on where the cheapest real estate is.

Just finished watching Sports Final on WBZ here in Boston and they had Sean McAdam from the Providence journal on. He said that some of the Red Sox veterans are upset with Youk for throwing things around the dugout and complaining about balls and strikes. I guess Youk flied out to the warning track and when he came back he started to throw stuff around the dugout and Manny told him to cut that crap out . So thats why they went at it. Youkilis does have something of a reputation that way. Manny, the voice of reason ....

Rays looked a bit discombobulated today -- kicking the ball around defensively, Gross and Upton running into one another in the outfield (I seriously think Upton may have a hearing problem. Gross was clearly calling for the ball right up until they ran into one another. And this has happened a few times now). Then Navarro and Garza got in each other's grills on the mound, and in the dugout. Garza really had trouble finding the plate. ... Kruk was saying on BB Tonight that if it were him, he would have had a problem with Navarro coming to the mound to chew him out. Not me. Garza gets a little selfish out there sometimes. He kept shaking off Navarro because he wanted to throw the heat, then served up a fastball that went over the fence. ... Rangers' No. 8 and 9 hitters went deep today. Not real good.

Uh-huh ... frauds. The horse doesn't give a shit whether he won or lost. I'm happy that big-mouthed trainer got slapped down.

Yeah, I guess you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink ... :ph34r:

Something to chew on ... Any time these horse experts say they're absolutely sure of something, they're not. They're probably just trying to convince themselves.

A) Orlando? ... and B) In the summer? ...

I'll play. These the players are among those I've been listening to over the past year or so ... Piano: Duke Ellington Count Basie Myra Melford Alto: Johnny Hodges Art Pepper Matana Roberts Tenor: Paul Gonsalves Fred Anderson Hank Mobley Trumpet: Miles Davis Wadada Leo Smith Dave Douglas Bass: Scott LaFaro Henri Texier William Parker Drums: Tony Williams Brian Blade Hamid Drake Clarinet: Benny Goodman Michael Moore Barney Bigard

They're neck and neck, down the stretch they come ....

Oh yeah, and never bet on a sure thing.

So the track vet says it looked like the jockey pulled him up, although there appeared nothing wrong with the horse. .... Curious.

The Red Sox guy and the Braves guy bemoaning the baseball gods. Well, the Braves I can understand this year. But -- what -- 15-20 years of excellence ought to sustain you for a little while. And they're just a hot streak away from clawing back into the thick of things now. As a Rays fan, I've been stuck in baseball hell for 10 years. But I guess the suffering makes this year all that more enjoyable. I remember the big bet around the office before each season would always be, will they win 70 games? Taking the under was a popular thing. Nice win by the Rays last night at Texas. Kaz was locked in (Damn, I wish he'd gone in Boston). Bats were nice and lively, too, with four dingers. Longoria's was a second-decker to left. A thing of beauty, that swing. (And, nice to see the Yankees back in last place ... )

OK, penalize Crisp the worst - fine. But Gomes doesn't get as much as Shields? And Crawford did shit in the pile that was just as bad as Gomes. But what I cannot fathom is Lester's suspension. Did he do anything during the fight? Because otherwise a couple of harmless, you can't tell if it was intentional HBPs should not result in the second worst penalty on the team! At least there is an off day Monday which means that Colon can pitch on regular rest and Lester can get pushed back a day. They also got good news that Jacoby's wrist isn't seriously injured, with a negative MRI result, though he's out of the lineup tonight. Can't fathom why Gomes wasn't penalized more harshly. And I didn't notice Aki doing anything but standing around. Must have missed his involvement. Crisp is appealing, so will continue to play. Suspensions are staggered.

Crisp gets 7 games, Shields 6, Gomes just 5 ... Lester got 5 and Casey 3. Jackson got 5, Crawford 4 and Aki 3.

Facing. Nice. I'm sure it's a completely comfortable experience.

I never liked these brawls, particularly when they get this nasty. It even spilled over into the Red Sox dugout with Manny and Youk measuring one another's dicks, apparently. Bartlett simply should have been plunked his next at bat on Wednesday and it probably would have been over. I guess that wasn't going to be enough, though. .... Nothing like a good rivalry ... Dan, from what I can tell here, Kelly is (on the somewhat questionable advice of his father, an ex-big leaguer) using the Tennessee scholarship as some sort of bargaining chip to try to get better money. He sounds eager to sign with the Sox. He also sounds like he's being advised to negotiate hard. Keep in mind, if he signs with the Sox he would likely end up playing rookie league here near his home, another possible incentive for him. (And if the Sox move their spring training headquarters to Sarasota, further incentive in the long run.) ... I get the sense this kid wants to play baseball. Funny ... got a call at the paper yesterday after he was picked from a Red Sox PR guy wanting some up-to-date stats on Kelly. I'm thinking, "You picked him!" Turns out the guy had stats through June 2, which are as up-to-date as it gets.

btw, Red Sox picked up a local kid with the last pick in the first round of the draft today. Some background: Wants to play SS, apparently. And wants more money than a 30th pick is slotted for.

If you watch the tape, you'll see Shields initially looked like he didn't anticipate Coco charging the mound. He kind of does a little double-take, like, WTF?. Then, OK MF ... and it was Katy bar the door. And yeah, Gomes was way over the line, IMO.

It was a nasty brawl Dan. There's some bad blood going on there again. I see your point, and I didn't see Bartlett's play on Coco last night, but sliding head-first does carry some risk to the hands. If Bartlett was trying to injure Coco, OK. But I haven't heard that. ... In any case, getting plunked on the thigh is in no way an intent to injure. It is tit for tat, as you say. So take the base and plunk the next Rays batter (on the thigh) if you have to. Inciting a brawl over that pitch was pointless, IMO. ... Too bad it happened. ... Too bad also about Jacoby. He plays hard.