Matthew

Lincecum needs to take a hard look at what he's doing, and get his act together, he continues to pitch like he's baked.

How sweet would it be if the Mariners took all three from the Yankees?

The difference in quality between Blackpool and Arsenal is amazing, not even close. I'm giving soccer a chance this year as a replacement to American football, which I do not like in the least.

Yeah, it sure is. If it wasn't for Burrell (finally! a left fielder, after all those other fools out there), they might be way out. Lincecum needs to get his stuff together, his last three starts have been disasters.

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. For the longest time, I just didn't like Chandler's later work, but it seems as I get older, I'm beginning to understand and enjoy them more.

Hernandez shuts down the Yankees -- I think I can handle that....

Early morning flights stink! Honestly, does anyone like to fly anymore? It's such a pain in the rear end now, believe me, there are plenty of times when I wish I could drop the emergency slide in a plane, and just leave.

Lincecum looked terrible, 3.2 innings, 6 earned runs -- yikes! The Giants cannot win without an effective Lincecum, and he just looks lost on the mound right now.

Happy Birthday!

Congratulations Dan, I hope it works out well for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2CYjcQSUXg&feature=related

Okay, I'm outing myself as a huge Friends fan, but some of their bloopers are flat-out hilarious.

Did you see Willie McCovey play as both a Giant and a Padre? (He was with San Diego for what, two seasons or so in the early/mid 1970s?) Yeah, it feels like I've seen McCovey hit about 5,000 home runs over his career -- they were beautiful shots though, had this nice arc to them that made his home runs something to see. I can't tell you how many games I went to in the 70s, but it was a lot.

Interesting series this weekend between the Giants / Padres. Both teams are playing well right now, with the Padre pitching staff continuing to be amazing. It might be a small exaggeration, but the Lincecum start on Sunday might be one of the most important starts of his young career. TL is not having a great year, looks very vulnerable against good teams, and it seems like he just doesn't have his usual stuff this year. Mike Krukow, the Giants announcer, thinks that Lincecum has lost control of his fastball location, and is just getting buy on his curve and change-up. Whatever you think about it, the Giants need Lincecum to come on strong in these last two months of the season. The weekend is like reliving my past, I cannot tell you how many Padre / Gaints games I watched at the 'Murph growing up in San Diego.

I've been in the Bay Area this week, so I watched all the Giants games, and they were able to take 3 of 4 from the Cubs. Giants look good, however, Tim Lincecum does not look good, not at all. People calling in to KNBR were having meltdowns all the next day. Probably not as bad as they think, but it is a cause concern if you're a Giants fan. Pat Burrell and the Panda are hitting a ton right now, so the offense is looking a lot better. I'm still sticking with the Giants making the World Series.

Completely agree. For me, he comes off as a holier-than-thou-I'm-the-smartest-person-in-the-room-blow-hard. Everyone knows that the Enron guys were the smartest people in the room! LaRussa completely lost me with his "I never knew McGwire was on steroids in Oakland" bs over the winter. Tell me another fairy tale....

Completely agree. For me, he comes off as a holier-than-thou-I'm-the-smartest-person-in-the-room-blow-hard.

What a joke, the Mariners fire their manager, Don Wakamatsu, and the entire coaching staff. Yeah, that was the problem. Zduriencik needs to look in the mirror, he's the one who put this team together with no offense; he's the one who kissed Griffey's ass all year; he's the one who kissed Figgins ass all year, and never backed Wak up in the least; he's the one who brought in that worthless player Bradley. It was probably the dust-up Wakamatsu had with Figgy that sealed his fate as manager of this team. With all the money the ownership has, and they are one of the wealthiest clubs in MLB, this is the best they can do? And please Lord, do not let Zduriencik even think about bringing back Lou Piniella, he is the most useless manager in baseball. I think Z's "genius" tag has been tarnished, just a bit! edit: For spelling

...and I still think that Beckett is not as effective as he was, I can never figure him out.

Joe West is right about these Yankee / Red Sox games: If you're not a fan of either team, they're boring and way too long.

Baseball is a sickness, I'm actually watching the Kansas City Royal / Seattle Mariner game....

Now I've seen everything.....

Waiting For The Sun: A Rock And Roll History Of Los Angeles by Barney Hoskyns. Spent a lot of time on planes this week, so I read this LA history. I found that this was not a very insightful book, and Hoskyns does not even understand the culture he is critiquing. A glaring example of this is his treatment of "Surf Music," which he cannot mention with adding adjectives like Aryan, Nazi, or racist. I have yet to read a good treatment of Los Angeles or the whole surf music phenomenon from someone who did not grow up in SoCal.

Well, praise to the heavens, our long national nightmare is over: Not only did ARod hit 600, but Al Haynesworth passed his fitness test! Yikes, are the Mariners ever awful to watch now -- pathetic.

See where ARod isn't in the starting lineup today. Hmmmmmmmmm.....