Angels Interested In George Sherrill?

The Los Angeles Angels have to be loving what's going on up in Oakland. For the first half of the season, the upstart Athletics had the Angels looking over their shoulders a bit more than they would have liked, but with the recent trades that have sent Rich Harden and Joe Blanton to the National League, the Angels have just about clinched the AL West.

They've got an eight game lead on the A's now, and a 9.5 game lead on the Rangers, and at this point it doesn't look like either of those two teams is going to pose a real threat. So the Angels GM Tony Reagins is at that point where he knows he doesn't have to make any moves, as he told ESPN's Buster Olney yesterday...

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On Deck: Joba's Getting Comfortable

When Hank Steinbrenner came out earlier this season and basically demanded that Joba Chamberlain stopped being used out of the bullpen, and placed into the starting rotation, his general manager and manager kind of just ignored him. Hank was just doing anything in his power to try to be like his dad, and after dealing with George for all those years, Brian Cashman had become pretty adept at tuning his boss out.

Besides, the Yankees starters were just off to a rough start to the 2008 season, and things would turn around soon enough. Only they never did, as Phil Hughes struggled, Ian Kennedy got sent down, and Mike Mussina looked like a shell of a shell of his former self. So eventually Cashman and Joe Girardi had to cave, and move Joba into the starting rotation (and now that Chien-Ming Wang is out they're lucky they did).

His first start didn't go very well, but in the two starts since, Joba has improved each time out. This afternoon he'll be making his fourth start of the season, but will he finally pick up his first victory as a starter?

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On Deck: Florida's Last Stand?

The Florida Marlins have been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, as the team that has a payroll that's smaller than some player's individual salaries, and traded away it's two cornerstone players in the offseason, has somehow managed to finish the first third of the season on top of the NL East.

It's a position that was supposed to be held by the Phillies, Mets, or the Braves, but to this point, the Marlins just haven't been willing to relinquish their spot. Unfortunately for the fighting fish, today could be the day where it all comes to an end...

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On Deck: Oakland Won't Go Away

After a stretch of games in which the Athletics lost 9 of 11 and had fallen to only a game over .500, I thought that their surprising early season success was coming to an end. Given the fact that the average age of players on the team not named Frank Thomas is 15 years and 7 months, I felt it was only a matter of time before reality set in on Oakland, and that they'd regress to the mean.

Apparently, as happens pretty often, I was wrong. The A's followed that stretch with a sweep of the Red Sox, and they put an end to Toronto's five-game win streak on Tuesday night for their fifth win in a row....

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On Deck: Colon Cleansing

Let's take a look at how the first two games of this series have gone for the Kansas City Royals. On Monday they were no-hit by Jon Lester, and on Tuesday they were beaten by rookie Justin Masterson as he picked up the first win of his Major League career.

Today things get no better as the Royals are preparing to uncomfortably bend over an examining table, and get their colon's checked by the Round Mound of...um...Pounds? That's right! Bartolo Colon is back, and he's ready to make his very first start as a member of Red Sox Nation....

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 2 Baltimore Orioles 2 Suspended

Wanna know how to piss me off? Here's a good way! Well, have a White Sox game scheduled to start at 1PM, but then give it a nice two hour rain delay so that by the time the game starts, I have to leave to go to work. Then let me go work my eight hour shift to come home and watch the game I recorded when I get home. Then let me sit there for two hours watching the game ONLY TO SUSPEND THE FUCKING THING IN THE 12TH INNING. That will usually do the trick. Another way to piss me off? Have Brian Anderson try to lay down a suicide squeeze with Carlos Quentin on third and only one out in the 10th inning. Real smart there Oz. Got the infield drawn in, and all you need is a fly ball, but you want Brian to execute a suicide squeeze. Whereas if you just let him swing away, the game is probably over. Have you not paid attention to your team the last two years? What makes you think anybody not named Pablo Ozuna can lay down a bunt?

Oakland Athletics 14 Los Angeles Angels 2

The Athletics just continue to surprise. The team that was supposed to be one of the worst in baseball as they begin a total overhaul of the club is now the proud owner of the best record in the American League after beating down division rival Los Angeles on Monday. Frank Thomas had three hits off of his former teammate Jon Garland, including his first triple in six years. That's right, Frank Thomas tripled, and they still finished the game in under six hours. "That was priceless," winning pitcher Chad Gaudin said of Thomas' 12th career triple. "I played with the guy in '06, and I don't think I saw him beat out a ball -- much less go from home to third on a triple. It's uplifting. He told me a couple of days ago, 'I can run now.' And I said, 'Really.' And I'm thinking to myself, in 15 years, all of a sudden you can run now? And sure enough, he can run."

Arizona Diamondbacks 5 Houston Astros 3

While the Athletics have the best record in the American League, the team with the best record in baseball added another victory to their total on Monday, as the DBacks and Dan Haren took care of the Astros. Haren went 7.2 innings and allowed only five hits, while knocking in a run with a double to help his own cause. And all this coming off of a flu. "The flu's been going around the whole team and I had it early in the year," he said. "It was really bad. I lost weight and everything, but I'm finally getting back into my normal routine."

AL

• Yankees 5 Indians 2

NL

• Reds 4 Cardinals 3
• Giants 4 Rockies 0

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 6 Baltimore Orioles 1

As is normally the case, Paul Konerko is having a pretty craptastic April. So far in the first month of the season he only has 17 hits, but thankfully, he makes those hits count as he's gotten 18 RBI with them. Paulie homered twice on Sunday and provided Jose Contreras with all the runs he'd need, as the 95-year old Cuban had another strong outing on Sunday. "I've been feeling pretty good going back a few games," Konerko said. "But sometimes the results don't come out. ... I'm not concentrating on hitting home runs. Those will come in the summer months. But any ones you pick up early are good."

Washington Nationals 2 Chicago Cubs 0

Do you see what happens when you start talking about winning the World Series in April? You lose two of three to the Nationals. Some guy I never heard of named John Lannan dominated the Cubs all afternoon, as he allowed only 4 hits during 7 innings. It actually extended Lannan's scoreless streak to 19 innings, so maybe he's actually kinda good. As is normally the case, Lou Piniella shared his infinite wisdom after the game. "We didn't score many runs," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "When you don't score many runs, it really increases the other team's chances of winning -- and that's exactly what happened here." So that's how baseball works. I had no idea!

AL

• Yankees 1 Indians 0
• Rays 3 Red Sox 0
• Rangers 10 Twins 0
• Jays 5 Royals 2
• A's 4 Mariners 2
• Angels 6 Tigers 2

NL

• Mets 6 Braves 3
• Pirates 5 Phillies 1
• Marlins 3 Brewers 2 10 inn
• Cardinals 5 Astros 1
• DBacks 2 Padres 1
• Reds 10 Giants 1
• Dodgers 3 Rockies 2 10 inn

Morning Wood

Baltimore Orioles 6 Chicago White Sox 5 10 inn.

Oh, now I remember what 2007 felt like. After Gavin Floyd pitched another solid game, allowing two runs in six innings, he left with what was a 5-2 White Sox lead. Then the bullpen came in and promptly allowed Baltimore to score a run in the 8th, two more in the 9th, and the game-winner in the 10th. Really though, while I'm not exactly happy about it, I'm not that upset either. Our bullpen had been pitching extremely well so far this season, so I kind of figured they were due for a crap performance at some point, and it was on Thursday night. On the bright side, Carlos Quentin went deep two more times for the Sox, as did Joe Crede. "The best thing we have had so far is our bullpen, and they didn't get it done tonight," Ozzie Guillen said, which was a lot more than Bobby Jenks said, as Bobby didn't want to talk to the media after blowing his first save of the season. Or maybe he was just touching up his beard, who knows?

Cincinnati Reds 9 Chicago Cubs 2

So what's wrong with Ted Lilly? The Cubs lefthander got knocked around again on Thursday afternoon, but at least he got through a whole six innings this time! Lilly gave up five runs on six hits, and the three walks didn't help matters much either. For the Reds, youngster Edinson Volquez battled through control problems to allow only one run in five innings, and Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 596th home run of his career. Though he says he couldn't care less when and where he hits number 600. "Why is that such a big deal? Do you think I will?" he said. "100 was at home, 200 was in Boston, 300 was in Cleveland, 400 was in Colorado and 500 was St. Louis. What do you think the odds are going to be?" Nope, not a big deal at all, which is probably why he remembers exactly where he was when he hit all those previous ones.

Milwaukee Brewers 5 St. Louis Cardinals 3 10 inn

Some good news for the Cubs, as the Brewers were able to stop the Cardinals from distancing themselves any further. Prince Fielder his first home run since he gave up meat, and along with being a victory for pussies vegetarians everywhere, it also gave the Brewers the lead in the top of the 10th inning and a victory. "You've always got to promise yourself you're going to be as positive as you can, no matter what," Fielder said. "It was actually getting easier, to tell you the truth, the worse I was doing. I just kind of realized that whatever's going to happen is going to happen." Prince then snuck off to the showers where he totally ate like 6 cheeseburgers, 2 porterhouse steaks, and an entire pig.

AL

• Indians 11 Tigers 1


• Red Sox 7 Yankees 5


• Rangers 4 Blue Jays 1


• Rays 7 Twins 3


• Angels 5 Royals 3


• Mariners 8 A's 1

NL

• Phillies 10 Astros 2


• Mets 3 Nats 2 14 inn


• Braves 8 Marlins 0


• Rockies 2 Padres 1 22 inn
  

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 3 Baltimore Orioles 1

Jim Thome should get suspended more often, because that day off on Tuesday really seemed to pay off. Jimmy hit a three-run homer in the 1st inning, and Jose Contreras did all the work from there. Yes, that Jose Contreras. Contreras pitched 7 innings and allowed only 1 run and 4 hits while striking out 5. More importantly, he didn't walk anybody, and when Jose actually gets ahead of pitchers, he's tough to beat. "I'm very happy, being able to have a very strong outing in which I threw all my pitches for strikes," Contreras said.

Chicago Cubs 12 Cincinnati Reds 3

Anybody who lives in Chicago knows how windy it was on Wednesday. Considering that the wind was gusting to 30 or 35MPH all day yesterday, and straight out of Wrigley Field, I knew there was going to be a high scoring affair on the north side last night. I just figured it would be both teams, and there would be a lot more home runs. As it turns out, Derrek Lee's solo shot in the 3rd inning was the only homer the Cubs had, but they didn't have much trouble scoring runs. They had a 10-1 lead after three innings, and generally when you spot Carlos Zambrano a 9-run lead, you're going to win more often than not.

Detroit Tigers 13 Cleveland Indians 2

Forget about the Tigers slow start, they've obviously awoken from their winter slumber, the new What The Hell Is Going On!? in the AL Central is C. C. Sabathia. Sabathia was rocked again for the 4th time this season in four starts, and he's now 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA. The Tigers knocked him around for nine runs in only four innings, and now both the Tigers and Indians are tied at the bottom of the division with 5-10 records.

AL

• Yankees 15 Red Sox 9
• Rangers 7 Jays 5 14inn
• Twins 6 Rays 5
• Royals 3 Angels 2
• Mariners 4 A's 2

NL

• DBacks 4 Giants 1
• Astros 2 Phillies 1
• Mets 5 Nats 2
• Marlins 6 Braves 5
• Cardinals 5 Braves 4
• Rockies 10 Padres 2
• Dodgers 8 Pirates 1

Morning Wood

Boston Red Sox 5 Detroit Tigers 0

You know, at FanHouse, while I'm not specifically told by anyone that I can't rip on the Tigers anytime I choose, I generally try to remain as objective about any team I cover not named the White Sox as I can be. Here? Well I give myself no restrictions. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (breath) HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD THEY SUCK! The Tigers are now 0-7 on the season, and obviously, I'm loving every second of it. Dice-K pitched 6.2 scoreless innings, though he wasn't anywhere near perfect, walking three Tigers, and Kevin Youkilis drove in two runs to propel Boston to the victory. The Tigers offense only managed 5 hits, and were shutout for the second time in this young season. After 7 games Detroit is hitting only .234 and have scored 15 runs. In other words, this year's Tigers are last year's White Sox.

Baltimore Orioles 8 Texas Rangers 1

While the Tigers are surprising everyone with their horrible start to the season, the Orioles are surprising everyone for the right reasons. They won their sixth straight game on Tuesday night to improve to 6-1 on the season, and still sit atop the AL East. Aubrey Huff had four hits and drove in four runs to lead the O's offense, and Brian Burress pitched 6+ innings of seven hit ball to shut down the Rangers lineup. "We've already had more fun than at any time last year," Huff said.

Philadelphia Phillies 5 New York Mets 2

Tell me if this story sounds familiar to you at all. The Mets had a late lead on the Phillies, but then collapsed down the stretch and let the Phillies pass them by. It's how the 2007 season ended for the Mets last season, and it's exactly how their last home opener in Shea Stadium went on Tuesday afternoon. The Phillies scored 5 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to notch their 9th straight victory over the Mets and get to 4-4 on the season. "There's none of us in here going, geez, the Phillies are coming to town, we're probably going to lose," Mets closer Billy Wagner said. "I think all of us are tired of hearing the Phils have our number. The Phils don't have our number. We shoot ourselves in the foot every time we go out there." So what you're saying is, the Phils have your number? Got it.

AL

• Royals 5 Yankees 2
• A's 9 Blue Jays 8
• Mariners 6 Rays 5
• Indians 4 Angels 3

NL

• Brewers 3 Reds 2 10 Inn.
• Cardinals 5 Astros 3
• Rockies 4 Braves 3
• DBacks 10 Dodgers 5

Foul Balls MLB Preview: AL East

As the end of spring training draws near, I figure it's about time I got off my ass and started with the Foul Balls 2008 season previews. Each day I'll preview a separate division followed by individual previews for the White Sox and Cubs. Expect expert analysis bad jokes.

Today we look at the American League East, which is a special division in that it's the only division in baseball that consists of only two teams.

2007 Finish

1. Boston Red Sox 96-66
2. New York Yankees 94-68 (Wild Card)
3. Toronto Blue Jays 83-79
4. Baltimore Orioles 69-93
5. Tampa Bay Rays 66-96

2008 Predictions

1. Boston Red Sox - Things aren't off to a great start this spring with Curt Schilling already out until summer, and Josh Beckett faking a back injury to get out of eating sushi for a few days, but I wouldn't worry too much about the Red Sox this season. They still have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, one of the best offenses, and one of the best bullpens. There's a reason they've won the World Series twice in the last four years people. INTERESTING FACT: Though Red Sox fans will be quick to tell you what douchebags Yankees fans are, they seem to neglect the fact that they themselves are twice as arrogant and only half as smart.
   
2. New York Yankees - Joe Torre is gone, and George Steinbrenner's been dead for months, but the Yankees just keep on keepin on. For some reason Alex Rodriguez didn't give Yankees fans the big "Fuck You" they deserved, and actually came back to the Bronx with a brand new contract. There's also Derek Jeter, whose striking good looks have somehow managed to keep Yankees fans from realizing how horrible a shortstop he is. Don't get me wrong, he can hit, but defensively he has as much range as Steven Seagal does as an actor. Also, their starting rotation could be troublesome, but they'll still finish in 2nd thanks to their offense. INTERESTING FACT: The Yankees think they're God's gift to baseball, yet the following teams have all won a championship since the Bombers last brought one home: Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox (twice), White Sox, and the Cardinals.
   
3. Toronto Blue Jays - There are some people who consider the Blue Jays a sleeper this season, but I don't get it. I think there's enough talent on the team to possibly win 90 games, but even then they'll still be stuck in 3rd place. How does that make them a sleeper? Roy Halladay is still one of the best pitchers in baseball, but nobody cares cuz he plays in Canada and has a weak slapshot. INTERESTING FACT: Given both of their histories, Scott Rolen and manager John Gibbons will kill each other before the season is over.
4. Tampa Bay Rays - This will be the best year in the history of the Rays. Of course, that's not really saying much since the most games they've won in a season since joining the league is 70. Still, at least there's some hope going into this season thanks to a lot of young talent, and they've also managed to get rid of two clubhouse cancers in the bat flinging Delmon Young, and wife beating/murderous texter Elijah Dukes, dawg. INTERESTING FACT: Manager Joe Maddon is stuck in a time warp and thinks it's still 1955.
5. Baltimore Orioles - As if things weren't bad enough for the people of Baltimore now that The Wire has ended, they get stuck with what could easily be the worst team in baseball this season. The Orioles traded away both Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard this winter, and they're still trying to get rid of Brian Roberts as well. If there's any silver lining, it's that Nick Markakis and Adam Jones make up 2/3 of what could be a very good outfield in a few years. INTERESTING FACT: Orioles owner Peter Angelos likes to spend his free time yachting, kicking old ladies, and drinking the blood of small children.

Foul Balls All-Division Team

• Jorge Posada-NYY-C
• Carlos Pena-TB-1B
• Aaron Hill-TOR-2B
• Alex Rodriguez-NYY-3B
• Derek Jeter-NYY-SS
• Manny Ramirez-BOS-LF
• B.J. Upton-TB-CF
• Nick Markakis-BAL-RF
• David Ortiz-BOS-DH
• Josh Beckett-BOS-SP
• Jonathan Papelbon-BOS-CP

Youngsters to Watch

• Adam Jones-BAL-OF
• Jacoby Ellsbury-BOS-OF
• Phil Hughes-NYY-SP
• Joba Chamberlain-NYY-RP
• Evan Longoria-TB-3B
• Matt Garza-TB-SP

Guys Who Will Disappoint

• Jason Varitek-BOS-C
• Mike Mussina-NYY-SP
• Johnny Damon-NYY-OF
• Troy Percival-TB-CP
• A.J. Burnett-TOR-SP
• Frank Thomas-TOR-DH (sorry, Frank)

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the National League East.

Morning Wood - Clay's No-No

Boston Red Sox 10 Baltimore Orioles 0

Well, I guess we now know why the Red Sox didn't want to give up Clay Bucholz for Jermaine Dye. In just the second start of his career, Bucholz no-hit the Orioles on Friday night in Boston. Way to set the bar low, kid. Playing in Boston, there will be no pressure on you for the rest of your career. Have fun!!

Chicago Cubs 4 Houston Astros 3

Aramis Ramirez's two-run homer in the 6th inning not only broke a 1-1 tie, it was also the Cubs first home run since August 18th that actually came with a runner on base. Luckily Derrek Lee added a solo shot later, because without it Carlos Lee's home run in the 9th would have tied the game.

Cleveland Indians 7 Chicago White Sox 0

The arrival of football season is my salvation. Finally I have something to distract me from the White Sox. If they quit on the season, why the hell shouldn't I? They're 9-21 since August 1st. Oh, and that includes this nice little 3-18 run we're on right now. 3-and fucking-18.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Twins 6 Royals 4
• Yankees 9 DRays 6
• Blue Jays 2 Mariners 1
• Rangers 7 Angels 6
• Tigers 6 A's 1

NL

• Mets 5 Braves 1
• Brewers 12 Pirates 3
• Nationals 4 Giants 1
• Marlins 12 Phillies 6
• Cardinals 11 Reds 3
• DBacks 13 Rockies 7
• Padres 7 Dodgers 0

The Day the Cubs Became a Dynasty

The Cubs made a minor move today. After getting Craig Monroe from Detroit last week, they've acquired Steve Trachsel from the Baltimore Orioles for Scott Moore and Rocky Cherry.

The Human Rain Delay, Trachsel started his career with the Cubs, and went 60-69 from 1993-1999.

He's not expected to take over a spot in the rotation, but instead will be a long man out of the bullpen who can make a spot start if need be.

So far this season in Baltimore, Trachsel is 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA.

I'm really gonna miss Rocky Cherry.

(Thanks to Silvio for the tip!)

Morning Wood - 30?!

Texas Rangers 30 Baltimore Orioles 3

How in the hell do you score 30 runs in a game? The Baltimore Ravens give up 30 points every three games, the Orioles are doing it in one?! Jared Saltalamacchia was 4-for-6 with two homers, five runs, and seven RBI. That's a week's worth of numbers. Ramon Vazquez had two homers of his own, while Marlon Byrd and Travis Metcalf chipped in with grand slams. Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera was responsible for 6 of the runs, and he had the best night of any Orioles pitcher. The greatest stat of all from this game though, belongs to Wes Littleton. Wes came out of the bullpen and pitched three solid innings of two hit baseball. Oh, and he also got a save in a game his team won by 27 runs. Way to protect the lead, Wes!!

Chicago Cubs 4 San Francisco Giants 2 10inn.

What's crazier? A team scoring 30 runs in a game, or the Cubs being in first place in August? A two-run double by Aramis Ramirez, a suicide squeeze by the just activated Henry Blanco, and seven solid innings from Rich Hill have put the Cubs a game up on the Brewers in the NL Central. For the second straight night, Cliff Floyd came through with the big hit. He sparked the two run rally in the 10th inning with a lead-off double.

Kansas City Royals 7 Chicago White Sox 6

And we're back in a tie for last place in the AL Central. It's truly been a season to cherish! Bears kickoff in 16 days!

Elsewhere...

AL

• A's 4 Blue Jays 1
• Twins 8 Mariners 4
• Indians 11 Tigers 8
• Devil Rays 2 Red Sox 1
• Rangers 9 Orioles 7
• Yankees 8 Angels 2

NL

• Dodgers 15 Phillies 3
• Padres 7 Mets 5
• Reds 4 Braves 2
• Astros 3 Nationals 2
• Cardinals 6 Marlins 4
• Pirates 11 Rockies 2
• DBacks 3 Brewers 2

Morning Wood - Wild Card Walk-Offs

New York Yankees 7 Baltimore Orioles 6

Derek Jeter's walk-off fielder's choice brought Melky Cabrera in with the winning run in the 9th inning to give the Yankees their ninth win in their last ten games. Of course, Jeter's hit wouldn't have been needed had Mariano Rivera not blown his first save in his last twenty chances. Frankly, I am concerned. I enjoy the Yankees a lot more when they're losing, and I was looking forward to a postseason without them. It seems that with every game, that becomes more and more unlikely.

Seattle Mariners 4 Minnesota Twins 3

While walk-off fielders choices are nice, Richie Sexson feels that the walk-off home run is the manlier choice, so that's why he took the second pitch he saw from Matt Guerrier in the bottom of the ninth and crushed it to left field. On the night Sexson had three runs driven in to help keep the Mariners tied with the Yankees for the American League wild card. Obviously, I'll be rooting for Seattle.

Houston Astros 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 1

The Dodgers continue to ruin my prediction of an all Los Angeles World Series. They've now lost nine of their last eleven games, and have fallen to fourth place in the NL West. The Astros meanwhile keep winning, and thanks to the horrible play of the Cubs and Brewers lately, somehow remain in the hunt for the NL Central division lead despite the fact that they are 12 games under .500. Are there any good teams left in baseball? Seriously, I don't think I ever remember a season in which so many division leading teams were so mediocre.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Red Sox 3 DRays 0
• A's 7 Tigers 2
• Royals 6 Blue Jays 2

NL

• Pirates 3 Giants 1
• Giants 10 Pirates 3

In Praise of Ernie Tyler

It's been a rough week for sports fans. Most of the news has occurred off the field and none of it good.

But in the midst of all this tsuris, a story that reminds me why I love sports.

You see, Baltimore Orioles' umpires attendant Ernie Tyler is taking the day off today.

"So what," you say. "Everybody takes a day off."

Not Ernie. The 83-year-old hasn't missed a single home game since 1960, the year he got the job.

That's 47 years and 3,770 regular-season games.

But Ernie's streak ends by choice, because he's travelling to Cooperstown to attend Cal Ripken's induction into the Hall of Fame.

Tyler is going as Ripken's guest, an honor he said was more important than his simply coming to work every day. He said the streak is not something that enters his mind, except when other people talk to him about it.

"I really am [more] interested and overwhelmed with going up with Cal Ripken. This is just another bump in the road for me, to leave here these two days."The Forest Hill resident has known Ripken since he was a teenager taking ground balls at Memorial Stadium with his dad, Cal Sr. Tyler became close with the Ripken family over the years and said if there was ever a reason to miss a day of work, this would be it.

"When I got the call, there was a 30-second delay where I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't get my mouth open," Tyler said. "They started telling me what was going to happen, and finally I said, 'Just tell me when to be there.'"

And Ernie's been true to more than the Orioles. Married 60 years to his wife Juliane, they have eleven kids, two of whom are also long-time Orioles employees. Says son Jim, 59, clubhouse manager:

He's a wonderful man and certainly a wonderful father. He's Ernie at the ballpark and Dad at home."

What you are, Ernie, is everything we all can hope to be.

Morning Wood - Cubs Remember How To Go Deep

Chicago Cubs 7 Houston Astros 6

After going for a while without hitting any home runs, the Cubs finally got on the board thanks to Alfonso Soriano on Saturday. Yesterday they picked up the pace. Angel Pagan, Ryan Theriot, and even Derrek Lee went deep as the Cubs overcame an early 5-0 deficit with a six-run 2nd inning. "We're playing with confidence, regardless. We never felt we were out of the game," Lee said. "We knew we had a good team, but now we have that confidence to go along with it. There was a time where we got down like that we might not of been sure that we could come back." I knew that Derrek would experience somewhat of a drop in power after breaking his arm last season, but I didn't think the effects would last this long into the season.

Baltimore Orioles 5 Chicago White Sox 3

Jermaine Dye should be bitter more often. He hit two home runs in yesterday's White Sox loss as Jose Contreras again struggled. "The problem is he didn't get ahead in the count. When he's ahead in the count he can use his split-finger fastball," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He got behind in the count almost every hitter. It's kind of tough seeing a guy with his stuff losing games." The Sox now get to start a series in Cleveland in which I'm sure the Indians will pound the point home that there's no chance. It'll also be the final thing Kenny Williams needs to see before he starts pulling the trigger on some deals.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Indians 5 Royals 3
• Yankees 7 DRays 6
• Blue Jays 2 Red Sox 1
• Twins 4 A's 3
• Rangers 5 Angels 4
• Tigers 11 Mariners 7

NL

• Braves 5 Pirates 1
• Marlins 5 Nationals 3
• Mets 5 Reds 2
• Brewers 4 Rockies 3
• Dodgers 5 Giants 3
• Padres 4 DBacks 0
• Cardinals 10 Phillies 2 (Congrats on your 10,000th loss Philadelphia!)

Morning Wood - The Cubs Are A Runaway Train

Chicago Cubs 9 Houston Astros 3

Another day, another Cubs victory. The only thing different this time around is that they actually hit a home run. Alfonso Soriano's three-run blast in the 6th inning put this game well out of Houston's reach. Ted Lilly pitched 8 innings and allowed only 1 run and 4 hits. "I respect that lineup, and for us to go out there and the guys to put those kind of at-bats against one of the top pitchers in the league[Roy Oswalt], I certainly wanted to take advantage of an opportunity like that," Lilly said after winning his fourth straight start. Aramis Ramirez also helped out by knocking in four runs of his own. Unfortunately for the Cubs, the Brewers edged out the Rockies to maintain their 3.5 game lead.

Baltimore Orioles 7 Chicago White Sox 6

You know, I really don't want to talk about the latest White Sox game in which they took an early 5-run lead and lost. If you want to know, check the Morning Wood tag. There are about 30 other ones where you can read this game's recap. What I will talk about is Paul Konerko. Lost in the fact that this team sucks is the fact that Paulie is now hitting .274. Yeah, not a big deal really, but on the White Sox .274 is like hitting .445 anywhere else. Then when you consider he was hitting .188 on May 17th and you realize how impressive it is. So far in July, Paulie is hitting .405.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Red Sox 9 Blue Jays 4
• Royals 6 Indians 5
• Twins 4 A's 3
• Yankees 6 DRays 4
• Angels 9 Rangers 5
• Mariners 6 Tigers 4

NL

• Phillies 10 Cardinals 4
• Dodgers 8 Giants 7
• Brewers 2 Rockies 1
• Braves 5 Pirates 4
• Marlins 5 Nationals 2
• Mets 2 Reds 1
• DBacks 5 Padres 4

Morning Wood - The Astros Are Carlos' Bitch

Chicago Cubs 6 Houston Astros 0

Seriously, it has to have reached a point where the Astros wake up in the morning, see they're going against Carlos Zambrano, and quit right there. He owns them. Going into yesterday's game , Carlos was 4-0 with a 0.46 ERA against Houston in his last five starts, and he lowered that ERA on Friday. Zambrano lasted 6.2 innings allowing no runs and three hits. "We gave them a couple of runs and then we didn't get any offense going," Astros manager Phil Garner said. "That's what Zambrano has been doing to us. He sure enjoys himself when he pitches against us. He shows it on the mound and has been getting good results." Once again, the Cubs went homerless and still won.

Baltimore Orioles 2 Chicago White Sox 0

It's nice to know that the money hasn't changed Mark Buehrle. He still went out and pitched well, and he received absolutely no support from his offense. Erik Bedard picked up where he left off before the break, when he struck out 15 Rangers while facing the minimum in a complete game. He wasn't quite as good against the Sox, but did last seven innings and allow only three hits. "He's one of those guys that's not a mystery, just tough to hit," Paul Konerko said. All the offense in the game came from solo shots by Nick Markakis and Corey Patterson.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Blue Jays 6 Red Sox 5
• Indians 5 Royals 4
• DRays 6 Yankees 4
• Twins 5 A's 3
• Angels 2 Rangers 1
• Tigers 6 Mariners 3

NL

• Phillies 13 Cardinals 3
• Nationals 14 Marlins 10
• Reds 8 Mets 4
• Braves 9 Pirates 1
• Rockies 10 Brewers 6
• DBacks 8 Padres 3
• Dodgers 9 Giants 1

Morning Wood - Baseball Returns

Chicago White Sox 9 Baltimore Orioles 7

It's nice to see that not much changed for the White Sox over the break. Their offense continued to put runs on the board, Jon Garland pitched 7 innings giving up 2 runs, and the bullpen allowed five runs in the bottom of the 9th. Jermaine Dye had his best game in as long as I can remember, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI, and just in time to be traded! Jim Thome also homered again, leaving him only 13 shy of 500 in his career. For Garland it was a nice start after he debacle against the Twins last week. "That one stuck with me because of the break. Everybody who talked to me on the phone wanted to know why, why," he said. "You like those days off, but this one could not have come fast enough."

Seattle Mariners 3 Detroit Tigers 2

It was quite a weird play that resulted in the Mariners three runs. Adrian Beltre hit a bases loaded single to score two runs and he tried to take second on the throw home. Mike Rabelo, in for the recently ejected and soon to be suspended Ivan Rodriguez, threw to second and Beltre slid around Carlos Guillen's tag. Beltre then came off the bag, and Guillen swiped at him again. He missed. Beltre stood up and started towards third, Guillen again tried to tag him, and missed. Beltre took off for third, Guillen tried to tag him again. And missed. Beltre then made it to third as Richie Sexson scored the third run for the Mariners. Well, Carlos Guillen and Jim Leyland argued with Bruce Froemming that Guillen made the tag. The replays showed he never did. Yet, before the next pitch the Tigers appealed at second base and Beltre was called out. Froemming said he never touched second base, even though he signaled him safe at second originally. Also, the replay showed that Beltre did touch second base. "I'm still confused," Beltre said of his three-run play that left both sides dismayed. "It was kind of weird, but we'll take that."

Minnesota Twins 6 Oakland Athletics 2

Michael Cuddyer had four hits for the Twins, finishing just a home run shy of the cycle as the Twins started their second half the way they ended their first. A's starter Chad Gaudin allowed 5 runs in 4+ innings of work, as the A's fell below .500. "That's not the way I wanted to start the second half," Gaudin said. "They came out and had a good plan. They were patient at the plate and they worked the count on me, made me really buckle down." Both these teams are known to be slow starters and hot finishers, but right now the Twins seem to be the only team living up to it's own reputation.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Red Sox 7 Blue Jays 4
• Yankees 7 DRays 3

NL

• Mets 3 Reds 2