On Deck: All Ur Baseball R Belong 2 Chicago

It's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks to be a sports fan in Chicago, what with Cedric Benson's never-ending quest to drive every type of vehicle ever created while drunk (next week: Cedric attempts to ride a unicycle while drinking an entire bottle of Grey Goose!), and of course, the fiasco that has been the Bulls off-season (no wonder Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley are spending so much time talking about how much better a player the other one is).

Thankfully for Chicagoans, there's baseball. It's not often in June that Chicago can call itself the home of two first place teams, but that's exactly what's happening right now as the Cubs have the best record in baseball and the White Sox are currently riding a seven-game win streak to move 6.5 games in front of the Twins in the AL Central.

Will anything be able to stop the runaway train that is Chicago baseball right now, or are we destined for an all-Chicago World Series?

Continue reading at FanHouse

On Deck: The Rays Are Sick With Rage

It's pretty much a consensus that Tropicana Field is far and away the worst "baseball stadium" in the big leagues, but don't tell that to the Rays. They love the place, as they've gone 24-10 there this season. The road, on the other hand, has not been so kind.

Outside of the Trop, the Rays are only 13-16 and they find themselves in the midst of a nine-game road trip that has not been kind. After being swept by the Red Sox to start it off, they won two in Texas before losing yesterday. To make matters worse, the frustration is starting to show. The Rays are just an angry team.

After getting into a brawl with the Red Sox on Thursday, they were fighting themselves yesterday as Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro had a disagreement about, hell, I don't know, the best Doritos flavor?


Continue reading at FanHouse

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...

Continue reading at FanHouse

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

On Deck:Glavine to Face New Old Friends

When Tom Glavine first joined the New York Mets and had to face the Atlanta Braves, it probably felt a little odd for him. I mean, it has to be weird for anybody to pitch against the team that they just spent the last 16 years with. Today, Tommy has to go through it all over again, as he faces the Mets for the first time since rejoining the Braves this season.

"I'm just trying to treat it like any other game, to be honest with you," Glavine told the Braves' official Web site. "I think there's the tendency to make more out of it than it probably is, like I did at times when I came back here and pitched against the Braves."

More important for both teams than this little reunion is that it's about time they started to get things going and catch those pesky Florida Marlins in the NL East....

Continue reading at FanHouse

On Deck: Round Two in Arlington

Let's start today's On Deck by taking a trip in the FanHouse Time Machine. We're going to go all the way back to May 8th, 2008. The world was a different place back then. Ok, so the world was really any different as all, as it was just five days ago, but it was sort of exciting!

That was the day when Richie Sexson threw his helmet and charged Kason Gabbard after taking exception to a pitch. Sexson thought that Gabbard's eye-high fastball was meant for his face even though it was over the heart of the plate, and he took umbrage...

Continue reading at FanHouse

On Deck: The Marlins!?

Quick, without looking it up, who has the best record in baseball right now? Did you say the Diamondbacks? Close, you were right up until yesterday, but getting swept by the Cubs knocked them off the top of the mountain. The Red Sox? Good choice, they are the defending champs after all, but even though they have the best record in the American League, they aren't the best in baseball.

No, that honor somehow belongs to the Florida Marlins, who have managed to win their last 7 games and are currently an MLB-best 23-14.

Just what the hell is going on here?

Continue reading at FanHouse

On Deck: Webb's Gems

If I were a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, I'd probably just skip the trip to Chase Field and go straight to the airport to catch my flight to San Francisco. I mean, Brandon Webb is starting for the Diamondbacks this afternoon, so you already know you're going to lose, why waste your time?

Webb has won his first seven starts of the season, which makes him 7-0, and has an ERA of 2.49 while doing so. Now he's looking to get off to the fastest start ever by an Arizona pitcher, as he's already tied Randy Johnson's mark with his first seven starts. The Big Unit accomplished his feat in 2000, and then went on to win the second of the four straight Cy Youngs he won for the DBacks.

Morning Wood

Los Angeles Angels 9 Minnesota Twins 1

If there's any chance that I'll someday stop being bitter about the trade that sent Jon Garland to Los Angeles for Orlando Cabrera, it sure as hell isn't going to be this day. I watched this game last night, and I got to see Jon Garland make his first start as an Angel, and now I miss him more than ever. Garland lasted 8 innings and allowed only six hits and no runs as he routinely induced the Twins into double play after double play. It was the same kind of performance we've all grown used to seeing Garland give in a Sox jersey the last few years. Sigh.

Florida Marlins 5 New York Mets 4 10 Inn.

Robert Ardino hit his first career Major League home run on Tuesday night, and it was a big one for the Marlins, as it came in the bottom of the 10th inning and gave Florida a win. Though to be fair, the loss of the game probably isn't the Mets main concern right now. That would probably be the loss of Pedro Martinez who shockingly had to leave the game in the 4th inning with some kind of leg injury. The Mets have no idea how serious the injury is yet, but considering it's Pedro Martinez, I'm guessing he'll be out for 3 years or so.

Boston Red Sox 2 Oakland Athletics 1

The Red Sox and Athletics finally resumed their series that started last week in Japan, and Dice-K probably wishes he could have pitched in Japan like he did in Oakland on Tuesday night. Matsuzaka struck out nine and allowed only two hits and one run in 6.2 innings of work. "It's only something I can say in hindsight, but it would have been nice to pitch like this back in Tokyo," Matsuzaka said through a translator, noting he's more comfortable starting his second season in the United States. "I guess you could say I'm getting more and more used to it, but I haven't really thought about it. A lot of it is how people perceive me, and that might be one of the results." Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 for Boston, and scored both of the team's runs.

AL

• Yankees 3 Blue Jays 2
• Rangers 5 Mariners 4

NL

• Rockies 2 Cardinals 1
• Padres 2 Astros 1
• Dodgers 3 Giants 2

Foul Balls MLB Preview: NL 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 National League East, which is actually one of the more competitive divisions in baseball.

2007 Finish

1. Philadelphia Phillies 89-73
2. New York Mets 88-74
3. Atlanta Braves 84-78
4. Washington Nationals 73-89
5. Florida Marlins 71-91

2008 Predictions

1. New York Mets - It was pretty fun watching the Mets monumental collapse at the end of last season, as they choked their division lead away over the final month. This year, I think they hold on, but it's a risky pick. I mean, this team is old. It's already showing this spring as they've had to deal with injuries to Carlos Delgado and Moises Alou. The big reason I'm picking the Mets though is Johan Santana who I feel is going to be the second coming of Sandy Koufax in the National League. Speaking of Koufax, if he were pitching for the Mets this season, he'd only be the 3rd oldest guy in the rotation. INTERESTING FACT: Ironically, right fielder Ryan Church is an atheist.
2. Philadelphia Phillies - In 2006, Ryan Howard won the NL MVP. In 2007, it was Jimmy Rollins' turn. You have to figure that means Chase Utley will be winning it this year, but it's still not going to be good enough for the Phillies to win the division this season. You see, the Phillies are about to fall victim to the curse of Aaron Rowand. From everything I've been told, teams can only win their division when they have Rowand on the team thanks to his hustle and reckless play. I don't care how many So Taguchis you sign. INTERESTING FACT: Phillies pitcher Brett Myers only beats his wife because she deserves it.
3. Atlanta Braves - After 14 straight division titles, the Braves have come up short to the Phillies and Mets the past two seasons. I don't see things being much different this year, even with the return of Tom Glavine. The trio of Glavine, John Smoltz, and Tim Hudson is a nice one, but it's only a matter of time before Mike Hampton gets run over by a bus while he's on the pitcher's mound. There's also the annual trip to the disabled list for Chipper Jones to look forward to. INTERESTING FACT: The Braves are the only team in baseball history to be managed by a man that's been dead for 5 years.
4. Florida Marlins - I know the Marlins traded their two best players to the Tigers during the offseason, but that probably just means they're going to win the World Series this season. That's usually the way things have worked down in Miami. The Marlins are very young and therefore, they're probably going to be pretty exciting to watch. They might draw 7,000 a game this season! INTERESTING FACT: The real reason 40-year old Luis Gonzalez signed with the Marlins? He's a pedophile.
5. Washington Nationals - The Nats are probably going to be one of the more interesting teams to follow this season, but it won't be for anything that's happening on the field. How many underage girls will Paul Lo Duca seduce now that he's in the Beltway? Can Dmitri Young become the first 300-pound baseball player? Will Elijah Dukes finally subscribe to a cellular service that allows unlimited texting? How many albums will Lastings Milledge's latest rap opus sell? Does anybody have a clue who the hell these starting pitchers are? Oh, and there's the new stadium too. INTERESTING FACT: Nationals manager Manny Acta has a shrine to Barry Manilow in his home.

Foul Balls All-Division Team

• Brian McCann-ATL-C
• Ryan Howard-PHI-1B
• Chase Utley-PHI-2B
• David Wright-NYM-3B
• Jose Reyes-NYM-SS
• Pat Burrell-PHI-LF
• Carlos Beltran-NYM-CF
• Jeff Francouer-ATL-RF
• Johan Santana-NYM-SP
• Chad Cordero-WAS-CP

Youngsters to Watch

• Yunel Escobar-ATL-SS
• Elijah Dukes-WAS-OF
• Lastings Milledge-WAS-OF
• Kyle Kendrick-PHI-SP
• Cameron Maybin-FLA-OF
• Andrew Miller-FLA-SP

Guys Who Will Disappoint

• Tom Glavine-ATL-SP
• Paul Lo Duca-WAS-C
• Carlos Delgado-NYM-1B
• Geoff Jenkins-PHI-OF
• Brad Lidge-PHI-CP

Tomorrow we'll look at the AL West.

Morning Wood - The Mets Choke

Florida Marlins 8 New York Mets 1

Things seemed to be in the Mets favor. After blowing their lead in the NL East, the Phillies lost on Saturday to let the Mets back into a tie, and it all came down to Sunday. The Mets had a future Hall of Famer going to the mound in their biggest game of the year, surely he'd answer the challenge!!! Tom Glavine answered, all right. He lasted a third of an inning and gave up seven runs. "It's something that's going to take a while for us to get over," said Glavine, pitching for maybe the last time in his major league career. Somewhere, Panger is laughing hysterically.

Philadelphia Phillies 6 Washington Nationals 1

The Phillies on the other hand, went out and did exactly what they were supposed to do, and they are your NL East champions. Jamie Moyer allowed only one run in 5.1 innings, and the Philly bullpen held it down from there as the Phillies became the first team in MLB history to overcome a 7.5 game deficit in 17 games. "There's only one more celebration to try and go for now and that's the whole thing," Ryan Howard said.

Cincinnati Reds 8 Chicago Cubs 4

Don't know anything about the game because I didn't watch it.

Detroit Tigers 13 Chicago White Sox 3

The White Sox went out in style, but hey, they finished in fourth place. So really, they're all winners.

Elsewhere...

AL

• DRays 8 Blue Jays 5
• Yankees 10 Orioles 4
• Twins 3 Red Sox 2
• Indians 4 Royals 2
• A's 3 Angels 2
• Mariners 4 Angels 2

NL

• Cardinals 6 Pirates 5
• Brewers 11 Padres 6
• Astros 3 Braves 0
• Rockies 4 DBacks 3
• Giants 11 Dodgers 2

Morning Wood - Losing Your Way To The Top

Florida Marlins 6 Chicago Cubs 4

Some things never change. The Marlins own the Cubs, and Steve Trachsel sucks. Put the two together, and what do you get? Another Cubs loss, and a Marlins sweep. Trachsel lasted only 4.1 innings and allowed five runs in his first start in two weeks. The way he's pitched since coming to the Cubs, let's up it's his last. So the Cubs were swept by the Marlins, but luckily...

San Diego Padres 9 Milwaukee Brewers 5

...the Brewers suck just as bad as the Cubs, and they lost to the Brewers on Thursday night. That means the magic number now sits at two as the Cubs get ready to play the final three games of the regular season.

Chicago White Sox 10 Kansas City Royals 0

You don't take fourth place from the White Sox! The White Sox take fourth place away from you!

Elsewhere...

AL

• Orioles 8 Blue Jays 5
• Twins 5 Red Sox 4
• Yankees 3 DRays 1
• Mariners 4 Indians 2

NL

• DBacks 8 Pirates 0
• Phillies 6 Braves 4
• Astros 4 Reds 3
• Cardinals 3 Mets 0
• Rockies 10 Dodgers 4

Morning Wood - Standing Still

Florida Marlins 7 Chicago Cubs 4

The Marlins beat the Cubs for the 9th straight time as the Cubs failed to put more distance between them and the Brewers. Jason Marquis lasted only five innings and allowed five runs to lose for the first time since August 26th. "Maybe we're pressing a little bit," said Mark DeRosa, who committed a throwing error in the Marlins' three-run second inning. "I'd like to think we're not playing tight, but maybe there are some circumstances where we are. We have to realize we're still in first place."

St. Louis Cardinals 7 Milwaukee Brewers 3

As weird as it may sound to say that the Cubs were in the clubhouse after their loss and rooting for the Cardinals as they watched this game, it's exactly what happened. Luckily Albert Pujols and the Cardinals were able to avoid a three game sweep by the Brewers. With his home run, Pujols once again reached the 30 home run and 100 RBI mark. The seventh straight season he's done so, becoming the first player in baseball history to do so in his first seven seasons.

Chicago White Sox 3 Kansas City Royals 0

Fourth place is ours, bitches!

Elsewhere...

AL

• Rangers 16 Angels 2
• Red Sox 11 Athletics 6
• Blue Jays 8 Orioles 5
• Tigers 9 Twins 4
• Indians 12 Mariners 4
• Yankees 12 DRays 4
• Mariners 3 Indians 2

NL

• Phillies 5 Braves 2
• Pirates 5 DBacks 1
• Astros 7 Reds 6
• Nationals 9 Mets 6
• Rockies 2 Dodgers 0
• Padres 11 Giants 3

Morning Wood - Fish Fried

Florida Marlins 4 Chicago Cubs 2

You mean the Cubs can lose? Dontrelle Willis dominated the team that traded him to Florida for 8 innings, allowing only three hits, as the Marlins beat the Cubs 4-2 on Tuesday night. The Marlins used a couple of bloop hits, a sac fly, and a two-run double in the second inning to score all four of their runs off of Ted Lilly, and Willis took over from there. "That's why we had a three-game lead when we came," Piniella said. "Now we squandered a piece of it. You can't win every day. You want to, but it just doesn't happen."

Kansas City Royals 9 Chicago White Sox 5

The White Sox had been playing a lot better lately, but last night they gave us all a reminder of what this season has been like. They scored five runs in the 1st inning to take a 5-1 lead, and then sat on their ass the rest of the night as the Royals kept playing. Oh well. Only five games to go.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Blue Jays 11 Orioles 4
• Red Sox 7 A's 3
• Tigers 8 Twins 0
• DRays 7 Yankees 6
• Rangers 3 Angels 1
• Indians 4 Mariners 3

NL

• Braves 10 Phillies 6
• Pirates 6 DBacks 5
• Astros 8 Reds 5
• Nationals 10 Mets 9
• Brewers 9 Cardinals 1
• Rockies 9 Dodgers 7
• Padres 6 Giants 4

Morning Wood - Back In Last

Kansas City Royals 3 Chicago White Sox 0

So the White Sox had their chance to take 4th place away from the evil Royals, but failed to do so. Really, after watching this team all season, should we have expected anything else? There is good news though, because the season ends in only nine days.

Atlanta Braves 3 Milwaukee Brewers 1

The Cubs had their first day off in nearly a month on Thursday, but that didn't mean they didn't get a small victory. The Braves beat Milwaukee last night to give the Cubs a 1.5 game lead in the NL Central. Jeff Bennett made his first of the season and lasted 5.2 innings allowing only a solo shot to Rickie Weeks in the third inning. Bennett's only previous Major League experience came back in 2004....as a Milwaukee Brewer. I was told by my dad as a child, "Don't fuck with Jeff Bennett." I had no idea at the time who the hell the old man was talking about, but as usual, he was right.

Florida Marlins 8 New York Mets 7

Seeing as how Foul Balls is a Chicago based sports blog, I haven't spent much time talking about other division races in baseball. I tend to save all my non-Chicago baseball thoughts for FanHouse, but I'll make an exception today. There's a race in the NL East, and apparently the Mets are trying to give it away. They blew two three-run leads in this game before Dan Uggla finished them off in the bottom of the 10th with an RBI double. "Things are not going our way," center fielder Carlos Beltran said. "It seems like every team comes back on us real easy." That's an understatement. With Philly's win the Mets lead in the East is back down to 1.5 games.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Orioles 6 Rangers 3
• Angels 9 Mariners 5

NL

• Rockies 9 Dodgers 4
• Padres 6 Pirates 3
• Phillies 7 Nationals 6
• Astros 18 Cardinals 1 <--Ass whooping
• Reds 4 Giants 2

Morning Wood - 420 Feet Closer to History

San Francisco Giants 12 Florida Marlins 10

Fifty years from now, who knows if anyone outside his family will remember rookie Marlin pitcher Rick Vanden Hurk. But thanks to last night, he'll always have a baseball story to tell his grandkids: "Your grandpa threw the pitch that Barry Bonds hit for 754." Then his grandkids will say, "Who's Barry Bonds?" and "Buy me an ice cream cone" and "You smell funny."

Chicago White Sox 4 Toronto Blue Jays 3

Nothing like a frisky front office and a looming trade deadline to awaken somnolent bats. Jermaine Dye tagged a solo homer and Juan Uribe hit a go-ahead two-run double to help Jon Garland post his eighth win of the season. Dye claimed he's not thinking trade. "I'm just going out, having fun and playing the game, trying to put everything out of my mind and go out there and do what I can to help this team. I can't worry about what I can't control." Feel good moment of the game: Beloved ex-Sox Frank Thomas, who made his first appearance in Chicago since hitting his 500th home run last month, received a standing ovation before his first at-bat.

Cincinnati Reds 5 Chicago Cubs 4

The Reds had a Cubbie kinda game. After giving up five hits and two runs to blow a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth, Cincinnati came back with an Edwin Encarnacion single that gave the red-hot team its third walk-off out of its last five games and eighth win out of its last nine home games. Meanwhile, the Cubs have lost consecutive games for the second time in less than a week. Is June happening in July?

Elsewhere...

AL

• New York 8 Baltimore 7, Baltimore 4 New York 2
• Kansas City 6 Texas 1
• Cleveland 10 Minnesota 4
• Los Angeles 11 Detroit 6
• Boston 7 Tampa 1
• Seattle 7 Oakland 1

NL

• Philadelphia 8 Pittsburgh 1
• Milwaukee 12 St. Louis 2
• Washington 6 New York 2
• Arizona 8 Atlanta 7
• San Diego 9 Houston 4
• San Francisco 12 Florida 10

Morning Wood - 600

Texas Rangers 7 Chicago White Sox 3

When Sammy Sosa played in Chicago he wore #21. Last night, Jason Marquis was on the mound for the Cubs wearing #21, so it was fitting that he was the pitcher that gave up the 600th home run of Sosa's career. Sosa did his trademark hop after driving a 1-2 pitch to right-center in the fifth inning before being mobbed at home plate by his teammates. "It was something that cannot be explained," Sosa said. "Getting my 600th against the Chicago Cubs, and my first team [was] the Texas Rangers. It's like everything clicked. My emotions, I don't know what they are." Sammy of course is only the fifth player to ever reach the 600 mark, joining Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

Florida Marlins 5 Chicago White Sox 4

Another game, another lead, another loss. An error by Juan Uribe in the 8th inning proved to be fatal as the Marlins scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead against the White Sox. The Marlins had a runner on first with no outs, trailing 2-1. Jon Garland then fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt and turned to fire to second base where Uribe shortarmed the catch and the ball rolled into center field. "I take full responsibility for it," said Garland, whose throw tailed away from Uribe but was very catchable. "I'm better than that." A classy thing for Jon to say, but it was Uribe's fault. Bobby Jenks then came in and gave up a three-run homer to pinch hitter Jason Wood. The Sox scored a run in the 8th, and again in the 9th thanks to a Paul Konerko solo shot, but it wasn't enough.

Elsewhere...

• A's 5 Reds 3
• Indians 10 Phillies 6
• Blue Jays 12 Dodgers 1
• Angels 8 Astros 4
• Mariners 7 Pirates 0
• Brewers 7 Giants 5
• DBacks 7 DRays 4
• Tigers 8 Nationals 4
• Twins 6 Mets 2
• Red Sox 11 Braves 0
• Cardinals 7 Royals 6
• Rockies 6 Yankees 1
• Orioles 7 Padres 1

Morning Wood - Ozzie's Had Enough

Florida Marlins 7 Chicago White Sox 5

So when the Marlins scored 3 runs in the first inning last night it was actually kind of enjoyable. It helped get rid of any bit of hope that may have crept into my moronic mind after Monday's victory. Then the Sox responded with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the first and damn if that hope didn't pop up in my brain. Turns out the White Sox just wanted to set me up for later. John Danks only lasted four innings, and threw 542 pitches. Of course, that was three innings longer than Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis who left after only one inning with a tight forearm. After Willis left, he took the White Sox offense with him. Dan Uggla's broken bat home run in the 9th broke a 5-5 tie, and then Aaron Boone hit a sac fly to make it 7-5 and finish off the Sox. Afterwards, Ozzie Guillen was less than pleased.

Chicago Cubs 5 Texas Rangers 4

Well, at least one bullpen in this city was able to do it's job on Tuesday night. The Cubs pen threw five innings without giving up a single hit, as the Cubs denied Sammy Sosa his 600th home run, and the Rangers a victory. Derrek Lee's RBI double in the 6th inning broke the 4-4 tie, and proved to be the winning run for the Cubs. "Our starter didn't pitch well, but our bullpen saved us," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Elsewhere...

• Phillies 9 Indians 6
• Dodgers 10 Blue Jays 1
• Astros 9 Angels 5
• Reds 5 A's 2
• Pirates 5 Mariners 3
• Tigers 15 Nationals 1
• Twins 9 Mets 0
• Red Sox 4 Braves 0
• Brewers 6 Giants 2
• Cardinals 5 Royals 1
• Rockies 3 Yankees 1
• DBacks 10 DRays 8
• Padres 12 Orioles 6

Morning Wood - Well, I'll Be

Chicago White Sox 10 Florida Marlins 6

I should quit on the White Sox more often, they seem to take it personally. The Sox had 13 hits, and scored 10 runs for only the third time this season to beat the Marlins. Things seemed to be different in the first inning when Jermaine Dye made a diving catch in right field. We've all seen him make those catches before, but not this season. This season he was always just a step short of making the play. Then three innings later, he did it again, but this time going the other way. Of course, he aggravated a quad injury and had to leave the game as a precautionary measure. He should be back in the lineup tonight. "Two great ones. That was the fuel of the game," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He saved a couple of runs. Maybe the game would have gone a different way."

Detroit Tigers 9 Washington Nationals 8

The Tigers almost pulled off a White Sox impression last night in Washington. They built a 9-1 lead after five innings, but the Nationals made a late charge. Four runs in the 6th inning made it 9-5, and then they scored three more runs in the bottom of the 9th off Todd Jones but couldn't complete the comeback. "My job is to get outs, and I got them," said Jones, who has 17 saves in 21 opportunities but a 5.86 ERA. "You guys can laugh and make fun of the ERA all you want. But when that rubber hits the road, it goes through me and that's the way I want it."

Cleveland Indians 10 Philadelphia Phillies 1

The difference between the Indians and White Sox? Where do I start? Anyway, last week Cole Hamels shut down the White Sox offense. Last night the Indians scored six runs against him, and had him out of the game after five innings. Cliff Lee on the other hand shut down the NL's most potent offense, and went seven innings allowing only one run. "I didn't do my job there for a while," said Lee, who missed all of April after getting hurt early in spring training. "But now I'm starting to get where I want to be. Hopefully, I can carry this over and keep it rolling." The only bad news for the Indians is that Casey Blake didn't get a hit, ending his 26-game hit streak.

Elsewhere...

• Angels 10 Astros 9
• A's 6 Reds 1
• Braves 9 Red Sox 4
• Mets 8 Twins 1
• Brewers 5 Giants 4
• Royals 5 Cardinals 3
• DRays 10 DBacks 2

Morning Wood - I Feel Like A Cubs Fan

Minnesota Twins 7 Chicago White Sox 6

Even when the White Sox jumped out to a 6-1 lead early in this game, I was never comfortable. I kept waiting for them to blow it, and the Twins were more than happy to oblige. It feels like pre-2005 again when this team couldn't beat Minnesota to save their lives, and now the Sox sit at .500. Jon Garland walked five in six innings, and I think 15 of them scored. It was all capped off in the bottom of the ninth when after Boone Logan got Justin Morneau to pop out with the bases loaded, David Aardsma came in and walked Torii Hunter on four straight pitches to lose the game. He couldn't throw a god damn strike on 3-0 when Torii Hunter wasn't even paying attention. Seriously, I think Hunter was back in the dugout talking to his teammates. Aardsma could have thrown the damn ball 40MPH, and nobody would have noticed. "Offense, defense, pitching, manager, coaches, we all stink," Ozzie Guillen said. No argument here.

Florida Marlins 9 Chicago Cubs 0

When's the Bears first preseason game? It's only like three months away right? Today is the only day in the history of the world in which Cubs fans and Sox fans want to all get together and just cry. There's no animosity between the two sides right now. Only a deep depression. The Marlins jumped on Ted Lilly early, and didn't stop. The Cubs meanwhile were only able to manage five hits, and couldn't help but be swept at home by the Marlins. It's terrible.

St. Louis Cardinals 8 Colorado Rockies 4

And of course the day I instruct all of us Chicagoans to become Rockies fans, the Rockies 7-game win streak is snapped. We're cursed!! Cursed, I tells ya! So with that in mind, I'm going to MLB.com today to buy all the Tigers, Twins, and Indians gear I can. I'm then going to roll around naked in it while professing my love for individual players on each team. You know, typical Thursday.

Elsewhere...

AL

• A's 6 Rangers 1
• Indians 8 Red Sox 4
• Yankees 10 Blue Jays 5
• DRays 5 Tigers 3
• Orioles 3 Royals 0
• Angels 8 Mariners 6

NL

• Braves 9 Brewers 3
• Dodgers 5 Nationals 0
• DBacks 4 Phillies 3
• Padres 9 Pirates 0
• Giants 3 Mets 0
• Reds 4 Astros 3