Today at The Fanhouse

One good thing about being stuck at home and sick on a Friday night is that I get a head start on today's posts. What? You think I'm here right now? I'm in bed, son. I'm not even watching the Sox and Cubs at the moment. I've thrown up enough as it is lately.

• Random YouTube Magic: Ken Griffey Jr Causes Depression-I was scouring the YouTube in hopes of finding a nice Ken Griffey Jr highlight reel from his days in Seattle to post before tonight's game, and well, this is all I could come up with. I've heard that all the rain in Seattle has been known to cause depression amongst it's residents, but I never new that Junior was just as much to blame. Seriously, this dude needs some mental help. I hope he's not at the game tonight, because who knows what he's capable of doing. That said, if some guy jumps out of the upper deck to his death below tonight, I think it's safe to say we'll know who it was.
• Kenny Rogers Picks Up Where He Left Off-Last we saw Kenny Rogers pitch in a game that mattered, he was having one of the best postseasons ever for a pitcher. He made three starts, and didn't give up a run in 23 innings while leading the Tigers to their first World Series in twenty-two years. Then in the spring before going down with a blood clot in the spring, Rogers was 2-0 with a 2.85 ERA in the Grapefruit League. Well nearly three months off didn't leave any rust on the 42-year olds arm. Rogers returned to the mound on Friday night in Atlanta and pitched 6 innings, allowing only two hits, and no runs.
• Darin Erstad's Return Was A Short One-There was a glimmer of hope for the White Sox going into this weekend. They were hoping that with the return of Darin Erstad on Friday, and Scott Podsednik on Monday, maybe their offense would get a spark against the Cubs that could get something going. Well, Erstad didn't take very long to make an impact, or an exit.
• Random YouTube Magic: Do Not Doubt The Johan-Your friend and mine, PostmanR, informed us all of a bet made between Johan Santana and Bert Blyleven before Santana's last start against the Mets on Tuesday. In case you forgot, Blyleven told Santana that if he threw a shutout against the Mets, he'd let Johan shave his head. Well, 92 pitches and one pair of soiled Mike Greenberg underpants later, Santana had shut out the Mets. He then went to the clubhouse afterwards where Blyleven kept his end of the bargain. Thanks to the miracle of this wonderful set of tubes we call the internet, now we can all share in Bert's shame. (Not the Sesame Street Bert. His shame has never been confirmed)
• On Deck: Texas Is On The Line-People of the great state of Texas, I feel your pain. I too know what it's like to have a series between two state rivals that means nothing to anybody else, mean everything to you. The Rangers and the Astros meet again this afternoon as they fight over which Texas team sucks the least. It's not really a prize worth going for, but as baseball fans we all need something to cling to. It's a long season, and if we didn't have such insignificant victories, none of us would make it through. This series is just something to hold you over until the Dillon Panthers prepare to defend their state title this fall. Roy Oswalt starts for the Astros, and at least he's still as awesome as ever. He'll be facing Jamey Wright who is just about the opposite of Oswalt.
• Does Anybody Want Milton Bradley?-I hope that Milton Bradley has friends and family around him right now, because he could possibly be contemplating suicide. It's been a really rough season for him. First he kept getting injured, then he couldn't get any playing time before being DFA'd, and finally he was shipped off to die in Kansas City. Just one problem, the Royals don't want him either. So they cancelled the trade.