Baseball Tonight 7-25-06

Cuz Harold Reynolds would want you to.

• New York Mets (59-40 1st NL East Tom Glavine 11-3 3.52) vs. Chicago Cubs (38-60 5th NL Central Carlos Zambrano 10-3 3.11)-Two teams going in two very different directions sending out two very good pitchers at different points of their careers. I look for my "Zambrano for the Cy Young campaign" to carry on tonight. He's won his last 7 decisions, and has a 2.73 ERA doing it. On the road Zambrano is 6-0 with a 2.24 ERA. Glavine, meanwhile, has found his old form this season for the Mets, and is one of the big reasons they have such a large lead in the NL East. Still when the Glavine faced the Cubs last week, he lost 9-2. The Cubs won last nights game 8-7, and though I wouldn't expect as many runs tonight, I do expect the Cubs to win again thanks to Carlos Zambrano. (TV-WGN 7:10PM Est)
• Chicago White Sox (59-39 2nd AL Central Jose Contreras 9-2 3.43) vs. Minnesota Twins (57-41 3rd AL Central Johan Santana 11-5 3.00)-I know, "Stop with all the Chicago games, you homer!" Cut me some slack though, this series could be huge when it comes to who makes the playoffs this season and it has a somewhat decent pitching matchup. It doesn't get much better than Santana vs. Contreras in the American League. The White Sox got a rare victory against Santana earlier this season, winning 7-1, but Santana has dominated the Sox throughout his career. With the way the Sox are playing right now, I wouldn't expect that to change. The Twins are within two games of the AL Wild Card thanks to their 7-4 win last night. They'll win again tonight but through no fault of Jose Contreras. Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm still being a homer. Everytime I pick the Sox, they lose. Maybe if I pick them to lose, they'll win. (TV-Local 8:05PM Est.)
• Houston Astros (47-52 4th NL Central Roger Clemens 2-3 2.43) vs. Cincinnati Reds (52-47 2nd NL Central Aaron Harang 10-6 3.72)-Still waiting on the Astros to make their annual second half run. They trail the Reds by 5 games in the NL Wild Card, and this three-game series seems as good a time as any. They're hoping the Rocket can help get them started. He faces Aaron Harang who has been a nice surprise for the Reds this season. He's 2-0 against the Astros already this season, and the Reds are 5-1 against them overall. I don't expect that to change much tonight. Look for Clemens to shut down the Reds for 6 innings, leave the game then watch the bullpen give up the lead and the Astros' impotent offense fail to score any runs. Reds 4, Astros 1. (TV-Local 8:05PM Est.)

Last Night:1-2 (W-Yankees, L-A's, White Sox)

Season: 12-9

What Else Is On?

• World Series of Poker (8PM Est-ESPN)-Two more circuit events tonight before coverage shifts to the actual WSOP in a few weeks. One from Atlantic City, the other from Vegas. As far as I know, I don't know either of the people who win tonight.
• Real World Key West (10PM Est-MTV)-Jannelle's ex-boyfriend visits and is quickly thrown out of the house! Also Svetlana is still stupid but totally hot, and Tyler is still flamingly gay.
• Jaws (8PM Est.-AMC)-This movie made sure that I was absolutely terrified to go into the ocean until I was about 15. Don't get me wrong, I'm still petrified, I just hide it better. "I'm not crying!! I just have salt in my eyes!"