On Deck: The Battle for Texas

Generally when baseball has their "rivalry" matchups during interleague play, they schedule them for the weekend. That's not the case in Texas, as the Astros and Rangers prepare to begin a three-game set tonight at Minute Maid Park. I'm not sure the reasoning behind this, but I'm just going to guess that there's probably a big high school football scrimmage on Friday night, and the Astros are worried that it will hurt attendance numbers.

Of course, it could also just be that neither the Astros or Rangers have done much the last few seasons. The Astros haven't come anywhere near the success they achieved in 2005 when they won the National League, and the Rangers have only had one winning season (89-73 in 2004, which was good enough for third place!) since we entered the new millenium.

Yet tonight the Rangers are poised to go a whopping two games over .500 for the first time since September 22, 2006. Will history be made tonight in Houston?

Continue reading at FanHouse

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?

Continue reading at FanHouse

On Deck: How About Those Royals?

Generally when looking for the lead game in the On Deck, I try to look for teams that are playing well, or for games that feature a great pitching matchup, or just for a game with a good backstory. It's very rare that I reward a team that's been struggling with such an honor, unless that team has taken losing to an extreme level.

Today is one of those rare days.

While some teams choose to spend their time trying to achieve success, the Royals have spent the last week and a half perfecting the art of losing, and they've been doing a very good job of it...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 7 Cleveland Indians 2

Kaboom, bitch. The White Sox did their own little Kobe impression on Wednesday night, falling behind the Indians 2-0, and laying in the weeds. Then in the sixth inning they attacked.

With Orlando Cabrera and Carlos Quentin on base, Jermaine Dye sent a Paul Byrd fastball about 600 feet in the air and 380 feet down the line to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. The Sox then went on to score two more times in the inning.

Of course, Jermaine wasn't done there, as he hit his second homer of the game in the next inning to make it 6-2, and Jim Thome thought it looked like so much fun, he went and hit one of his own.

I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but in the last two games the trio of Dye, Thome, and Paul Konerko have gone 9-for-20 with four homers and six runs driven in. If they start hitting, well, we could have something here.

Houston Astros 5 Chicago Cubs 3

The Cubs got off to a very good start off of Astros starter Shawn Chacon, scoring three runs in the first inning, thanks in large part to a two-run homer by Derrek Lee. Unfortunately for the Cubs, there are nine innings in a game, not just one.

After that first inning, Chacon settled in and the Cubs couldn't get anything going. The Astros would score four runs to take the lead in the third, thanks to a three-run homer by Cubs-killer Carlos Lee, and Houston never looked back.

Sean Gallagher only lasted 4.2 innings and allowed all five Houston runs on eight hits.

"Gallagher's got a nice arm," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "He's got a better arm than I thought he had. Today he got ahead of hitters a lot, but he couldn't put them away. Of course that breaking ball to Lee is not so bad. Lee makes $100 million doing those sorts of things."

The road continues to be a struggle for the Cubs, as last night's loss drops them to 9-11 away from Wrigley this season. Compared to 19-8 at home.

AL

• A's 9 Rays 1
• Red Sox 6 Royals 3
• Tigers 9 Mariners 4
• Yankees 8 Orioles 0
• Angels 4 Jays 3
• Rangers 10 Twins 1

NL

• Giants 3 Rockies 2
• Braves 11 Mets 4
• Brewers 4 Pirates 1
• Phillies 12 Nats 2
• Marlins 3 DBacks 1
• Cardinals 11 Padres 3
• Dodgers 5 Reds 2

Morning Wood

Chicago White Sox 4 Cleveland Indians 1

And the White Sox just keep on rolling. The Sox won their sixth straight last night, a perfect record since the lineup shuffle, and did it against a man that had never lost at The Cell. Carlos Quentin got things started in the first with his American League leading 12th home run off of C.C. Sabathia, and Jim Thome followed him up with another solo shot in the 2nd inning. It's the third time Thome has gone deep off of C.C. this year, his only three hits off of him in his career.

That was all the runs the Sox would need, but Carlos Quentin got things going in the 8th with some smart base-running. On first with nobody out, Jermaine Dye singled to center, but after noticing Sizemore take his time getting to the ball, CQ never broke stride and got into third. Dye moved up to second, and after an intentional walk to Jim Thome, Pablo Ozuna singled home the next two runs.

Jose Contreras also continued to pitch like the Jose of old, going six innings and allowing only one run while striking out four and allowing only four hits. He finally looks confident again.

"You know what, I wouldn't be here if I doubted myself," Contreras said through an interpreter. "The most important thing was that I was healthy when I was going through those struggles. I wasn't worried about being able to pitch. If you doubt yourself, in life you're not going to get anywhere."

Houston Astros 4 Chicago Cubs 2

If you only saw the fourth inning of this game, you saw everything that actually mattered. After Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run blast in the top of the inning to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead, Hunter Pence followed in the bottom half with a grand slam.

Advantage Pence, game Astros.

Aside from those two swings, not much else happened in this game. Ryan Dempster had a decent night for the Cubs, outside of that fourth inning, and lasted six innings while striking out five.

"It was everything leading up to the home run that bothered me. It was just bad inning management," Dempster said of the fourth inning. "I had [Carlos] Lee at 0-2 and I had an opportunity to make a pitch and I didn't do it. One big hit killed me. I felt so good and I felt better as I went along. This was a game I felt I could have won."

AL

• Red Sox 2 Royals 1
• Tigers 12 Mariners 8
• Orioles 12 Yankees 2
• Angels 3 Blue Jays 1
• Twins 11 Rangers 4
• Rays 3 A's 2

NL

• Braves 6 Mets 1 Gm1
  
• Brewers 7 Pirates 2
• Braves 6 Mets 2 Gm2
• Phillies 1 Nats 0
• Marlins 3 DBacks 2
• Giants 6 Rockies 5
• Padres 3 Cardinals 2
• Dodgers 4 Reds 1

Morning Wood

Boston Red Sox 7 Kansas City Royals 0

Usually the White Sox start off Morning Wood because I'm a Sox fan, and then I follow them up with the Cubs. Well, when the Sox have the day off, the Cubs generally get the lead. That is, unless somebody throws a no-hitter or something.

Jon Lester did just that on Monday night. Lester struck out nine, walked two, and obviously, gave up no hits. It's been quite the life for Lester, and he's only 24.

Think about it. Not only did he win the deciding game of the World Series last year, but now he gets a no-hitter to his credit as well. Oh, and there's that whole beating cancer thing he pulled off last season as well.

"I can't tell you which one means more to me than the other," Lester said. "The World Series is, obviously, the World Series. How many people get to say they've won that? And a no-hitter is a no-hitter. How many people can say they've done that?"

Still, something tells me that leading off the Morning Wood outshines it all.

Another interesting fact from yesterday's no-hitter, it's the fourth time Jason Varitek has caught one in his career, as he was around for Derek Lowe's, Hideo Nomo's, and Clay Bucholz's as well.

Chicago Cubs 7 Houston Astros 2

The Cubs left the friendly confines of Wrigley Field for the first time in a while on Monday, but Minute Maid Park turned out to be pretty friendly for them as well. Especially Geovany Soto, who had a three-run inside the park home run. Though, technically, the thing should have been ruled an actual home run, but it's not a big deal. The umpire's shortcomings were our gain.

"Never in my whole life had I had an inside-the-park home run," Soto said. "I didn't think it was out. It's so big that left-center area I didn't think I hit it over it. I thought double, maybe triple if they misplayed it."

Aramis Ramirez helped out as well, racking up three hits and driving in two runs. Though the two hottest hitters on Earth coming into the game, Lance Berkman and Alfonso Soriano, combined to go 0-for-8. Obviously, that ends Berkman's 17-game hit streak.

The other good news for the Cubs was that Ted Lilly picked up his fourth straight win, though it wasn't exactly pretty. Lilly only lasted 5.1 innings, allowing both Houston runs, and striking out six.

AL

• Twins 7 Rangers 6 12 inn
• Rays 7 A's 6 13 inn

NL

• Nats 4 Phillies 0
• Rockies 4 Giants 3
• Cardinals 8 Padres 2
• Dodgers 6 Reds 5

On Deck: Lance Berkman Is a Machine

While some people are busy spending their time pondering whether or not Chipper Jones is going to be able to maintain that .400 batting average of his (here's a hint: he's not), Lance Berkman is looking to join Larry in the discussion.

Lance is currently in the midst of a 17-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .565--Can he hit .500 for the rest of the season? I say yes--with 8 home runs and 27 runs driven in. He's used that streak to raise his average on the season up to .399. In other words, he hit ball good. Make ball go far.

Of course, Lance won't be the only player in Minute Maid Park tonight who's swinging the magic wand...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Morning Wood

Chicago Cubs 19 Milwaukee Brewers 5

The Cubs played some video game baseball on Wednesday night, as just about everybody wearing the home whites had a strong day at the plate. Geovany Soto had the strongest, as he hit two three-run blasts and drove in 6 runs (though you probably could have done that math on your own, couldn't you?), but he wasn't alone. Aramis Ramirez and Ronny Cedeno both drove in three runs apiece as well. It's the highest amount of runs the Cubs have scored since they beat the Dodgers 20-1 back in 2001, and it also give them 17 wins in the month of April, which is a club record. So you Cubs fans should just start ordering those World Series tickets now.

Minnesota Twins 4 Chicago White Sox 3

So what's the over/under on how many days the White Sox have left in first place? I know it's nice that we're finishing April on top of the division, but I really don't think that we're going to be there much longer. Our offense has gone stagnant, and once again we've become entirely too dependent on the home run. There's just no way I should be as bored as I am watching a first place team, yet as I'm watching Sox games over the last week, I just keep waiting for the game to end. I'm not really sure what that means, but it's the truth.

Arizona Diamondbacks 8 Houston Astros 7

Why don't the Diamondbacks just figure out a way to put Micah Owings in the lineup everyday? I mean, I don't care if he's one of their starting pitchers, he's also one of the best hitters on the team. Owings hit a solo shot while pinch hitting in the 6th inning to tie the game and complete Arizona's comeback from an early four-run deficit, as they then went on to take the lead and become the first team in baseball to 20 wins this season. "I've been blessed to be able to swing it," Owings said, "so every time I get in the box I do my best to help this team." Seriously, in the history of baseball, there are only four players who have a higher career OPS than Owings' 1.044 (minimum of 75 at bats): Barry Bonds, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth. I know they all sucked, but that 1.044 is still pretty damn impressive.

AL

• Rays 8 Orioles 1
• Red Sox 2 Jays 1
• Indians 8 Mariners 3
• Tigers 6 Yankees 2
• Rangers 11 Royals 9
• Angels 6 A's 1

NL

• Pirates 13 Mets 1
• Cardinals 5 Reds 2
• Giants 3 Rockies 2
• Nats 3 Braves 2
• Padres 4 Phillies 2
• Dodgers 13 Marlins 1

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 13 Detroit Tigers 2

So as I've been saying all off-season, the White Sox are easily the best team in the AL Central, and they're going to roll through the Tigers and Indians this season. Okay, so that's a lie, but whatever. The Sox won their 4th game in a row on Sunday night, sending the Greatest Team Ever Assembled to it's 6th straight loss to start the season. Nick Swisher started the night off with a lead-off home run, and the Sox just kept on piling on from there as Mark Buehrle left his horrible opening day performance in Cleveland. Swisher had 2RBI, Orlando Cabrera and Joe Crede had 3, while Carlos Quentin had 4. Also, in only four games, Carlos Quentin has had 7RBI and the Sox have won all four of those games. Maybe I owe Kenny Williams an apology about that one.

Chicago Cubs 3 Houston Astros 2

Quick, somebody tell Carlos Zambrano it's April lest he try and make an NL Cy Young bid. Zambrano had his second fantastic start of the season, and his bullpen didn't screw him this time, as the Cubs got to .500 on the season. Zambrano lasted 7 innings, scattered 7 hits, and stuck out 7 others. And to toot my own horn for a second here, I've long said that Derrek Lee's lack of power last season was nothing to worry about as he was still recovering from his broken wrist in 2006. It takes over a year to get full strength back after an injury like that, and on Sunday Lee hit his third home run of the young season. You thought this offense was dangerous last season, now imagine this offense with DLee hitting 35+ homers again.

AL

• Yankees 2 Rays 0
• Blue Jays 7 Red Sox 4
• Orioles 3 Mariners 2
• Royals 3 Twins 1
• Rangers 10 Angels 4
• Indians 2 A's 1

NL

• Pirates 9 Marlins 2
• Reds 8 Phillies 2
• Braves 3 Mets 1
• Brewers 7 Giants 0
• Cardinals 3 Nationals 0
• DBacks 5 Rockies 2 10 inn
• Dodgers 3 Padres 2

Foul Balls MLB Preview: NL Central

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 red headed stepchild of baseball's divisions, the National League Central.

2007 Finish

1. Chicago Cubs 85-77
2. Milwaukee Brewers 83-79
3. St. Louis Cardinals 78-84
4. Houston Astros 73-89
5. Cincinnati Reds 72-90
6. Pittsburgh Pirates 68-94

2008 Predictions

1. Chicago Cubs - Honestly, if the Cubs don't win this division this year, forget just selling the team, they should disband them. The Cubs were already the best in baseball's most mediocre division last season, and the teams around them generally seem to have gotten worse this season. They have the best starting rotation in the division, the best bullpen in the division, and they have what should be the best lineup in the division. So common sense says that they'll win the division. Of course, we should never forget that these are the Cubs, and you don't go 100 years without a World Series by accident. So while they should win this division running away, I won't be surprised if they finish in third or fourth place either. INTERESTING FACT: The Cubs suck.
2. Cincinnati Reds - This may be a surprising pick to you, as most people have the Brewers tabbed to be the 2nd best team in this division again this season. Well, I don't agree. I've noticed that in the NL Central, things tend to change on a yearly basis, and I think the Reds are going to surprise some people this season. I know Dusty Baker is managing there now, but his "mojo" always gets at least one good season out of his team before he destroys them. I like the Reds offense, I like their pitching staff better than most other do, and I like the youth they have waiting in the wings. This team could cause a lot of sleepless nights for Cubs fans this season. INTERESTING FACT: Ken Griffey Jr. had a very nice season last year, and did so with his body being held together by industrial grade rubberbands and his hamstring super glued to his leg.
3. Milwaukee Brewers - Last year the Brewers finally started to show some of the promise I've seen in the team the last few seasons, but they faded down the stretch and relinquished the division to the Cubs. Not much has changed going into this season, though there are a few key losses to their bullpen that I think will catch up to the Brew Crew before the season ends. Their offense is still going to be potent with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and J.J. Hardy and they'll be able to outscore a few teams. Unfortunately I'm not a big believer in their pitching staff this season as Chris Capuano is already on the disabled list, and it's only a matter of time before he's joined there by Ben Sheets. INTERESTING FACT: The fans who run the sausage race at Miller Park at every home game are specifically instructed to stay away from Prince Fielder for fear that he may try and eat them.
4. Houston Astros - With Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence, Ty Wiggington and now Miguel Tejada in the lineup this season, I don't think the Astros will have the same kind of trouble scoring runs that's plagued them the last few years, but it won't be enough. Aside from Roy Oswalt there isn't much on the pitching staff to brag about, and in the end, that's what's going to keep the Astros under .500 this year. INTERESTING FACT: Now that Craig Biggio has finally retired, the atmosphere in the clubhouse should actually be better since there will be no resentment for being forced to watch Matlock and The Price is Right all day.
5. St. Louis Cardinals - How the mighty have fallen. The Cardinals followed up their World Series title with an injury plagued season that saw them finish below .500 last year. I don't see things being much different this year, only worse. Chris Carpenter is still out, and Albert Pujols' elbow is going to detonate at some point. I don't know why the Cardinals don't just tell Albert to undergo the surgery he's going to have to have eventually right now. This team isn't going anywhere this season anyway, so why delay Albert's health for nothing? If there's a worse starting rotation in baseball right now than the one the Cardinals call their own, I haven't seen it yet. INTERESTING FACT: The only area of life this Cardinals team can compete with anybody in is most appearances on a police blotter. They're quickly becoming the Cincinnati Bengals of baseball.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates - Over the past year working at FanHouse alongside Pat Lackey, I've become a lot more familiar with what life is like for a Pirates fan. In short, it sucks. The team hasn't had a winning season since 1896, and their not going to have one this season either. There is some reason for hope though, as some of the young pitchers the Pirates have like Ian Snell at least give the impression that this team may one day be decent again. For Lackey's sake, I hope it's soon. INTERESTING FACT: There's nothing interesting about the Pirates.

Foul Balls All-Division Team

• Geovany Soto-CHI-C
• Prince Fielder-MIL-1B
• Brandon Phillips-CIN-2B
• Aramis Ramirez-CHI-3B
• J.J. Hardy-MIL-SS
• Carlos Lee-HOU-LF
• Mike Cameron-MIL-CF
• Hunter Pence-HOU-RF
• Carlos Zambrano-CHI-SP
• Francisco Cordero-CIN-CP

Youngsters to Watch

• Yovani Gallardo-MIL-SP
• Manny Parra-MIL-SP
• Geovany Soto-CHI-C
• Felix Pie-CHI-OF (if they let him play...)
• Joey Votto-CIN-1B
• Jay Bruce-CIN-OF
• Jonny Cueto-CIN-SP
• J.R. Towles-HOU-C

Guys Who Will Disappoint

• Ben Sheets-MIL-SP
• Eric Gagne-MIL-CP
• Bob Howry-CHI-RP
• Miguel Tejada-HOU-SS
• Troy Glaus-STL-3B
• Albert Pujols-STL-1B

Tomorrow we finish the divisional previews with the AL Central.

Morning Wood - Power Surge

Chicago Cubs 6 Houston Astros 2

It's amazing what Minute Maid Park can do for a team. Alfonso Soriano led the game off with a home run, and he was joined by Aramis Ramirez, Cliff Floyd, and Daryl Ward, as the Cubs regained sole possession of first place. It was also Steve Trachsel's first win for the Cubs in 8 years. "It doesn't matter if you hit 10 home runs every day," Ramirez said. "If you don't pitch and if you don't play defense, you're not going to win games. You've got to do everything right. Everybody has got to do their job for us to be able to win games."

Cincinnati Reds 5 St. Louis Cardinals 4

The Cubs start a series with the Cardinals today, and they're getting them at the right time. St. Louis has now lost seven in a row and the Cardinals are falling out of the NL Central race. "It's just been -- I don't even know how to word it," said Kip Wells (6-17), who lost his fourth straight start. "It's just been tough. We haven't caught any breaks." That's bullshit. This team has been under .500 most of the season, and up until now they had a legitimate chance to win the division. How many more breaks could the Cubs and Brewers have given these guys?

Elsewhere...

AL

• Orioles 3 Angels 0
• Blue Jays 2 Yankees 1
• A's 6 Rangers 5
• Mariners 8 DRays 7

NL

• Phillies 12 Rockies 4
• Dodgers 6 Padres 3

Morning Wood - Missed Chances

Houston Astros 5 Chicago Cubs 4

After the Cubs blew an early 4-1 lead, they had about 55 chances to take the lead back in the final innings, but couldn't come up with a hit in the clutch. The leadoff hitter would get on base, he'd get moved over to second, and then whoever came up next would just swing and miss at the first pitch he saw. The Cubs lineup this season has never been the most patient, and it's really starting to catch up to them now. The Brewers won in Pittsburgh, so once again, the Cubs are back in second place.

Cleveland Indians 8 Chicago White Sox 3

The Indians won for the 15th time in their last 18 games, and I feel safe saying that they're going to win the division. The only news for the White Sox was that Jim Thome didn't homer, and Ozzie Guillen got a contract extension through 2012. Something I'm pretty sure I told you about a week ago. I can see the future!

Elsewhere...

AL

• Rangers 13 Tigers 6
• Tigers 4 Rangers 1
• Angels 10 Orioles 5
• Red Sox 16 DRays 10
• Yankees 9 Blue Jays 2
• Twins 6 Royals 3
• A's 7 Mariners 4

NL

• Rockies 8 Phillies 2
• Brewers 6 Pirates 1
• Marlins 13 Nationals 8
• Reds 7 Cardinals 2
• Braves 13 Mets 5
• Padres 9 Dodgers 4
• Giants 2 DBacks 1

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

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

Morning Wood - Happy Happy Joy Joy

Chicago White Sox 6 Cleveland Indians 4

You know, after a long, hard day, it's nice to unwind and have someone find your happy zone. And who better than A.J. Pierzynski to do it? "I got it right into the happy zone for a lefty and he took advantage of it," Indians closer Joe Borowski said about A.J, who homered off him to tie the game in the 12th. Then Juan Uribe finished it off with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning. Oh yeah, and if you thought you were having a flashback when you saw who was relieving for the Sox, no need for an ER visit: it was Jose Contreras, making his first regular-season relief appearance since 2003.

Houston Astros 8 Chicago Cubs 2

Carlos' hand may have been ready to sign a contract, but it wasn't ready to pitch. Members of the Astros took turns taking batting practice off of Zambrano while their starter, Roy Oswalt, turned in six shutout innings. The Cubs have lost four in a row and six of their last seven, averaging 2.7 runs in the losses. But they remain one game behind Milwaukee, who lost 19-4 (you're reading it right) to Colorado. "You know what has been amazing about chasing Milwaukee is when they were hot, we were hot, and when they're cold, we're cold," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "It has been rather odd. I mean, they've given us enough chances. Sooner or later, we better take advantage." I gotta say, this division is starting to remind me of last year's AL Central. More like Survivor than MLB.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Seattle 8 Baltimore 4
• Tampa 7 Detroit 1
• Oakland 6 Texas 3
• Toronto 15 New York 4
• Boston 9 Los Angeles 6
• Minnesota 11 Kansas 4

NL

• Colorado 19 Milwaukee 4
• Philadelphia 6 Florida 4
• St. Louis 2 San Diego 1
• New York 4 Atlanta 3
• Arizona 10 Pittsburgh 6
• Cincinnati 1 Los Angeles 0
• San Francisco 5 Washington 0

Morning Wood - 756

Washington Nationals 8 San Francisco Giants 6

Our long national nightmare is over. Barry Bonds has finally surpassed Hank Aaron, and is now the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the game. Congratulations, Barry. Now sit back and watch how everybody stops hating you as they realize the record is broken and the world did not actually implode.

Cleveland Indians 2 Chicago White Sox 1

Last night, Jake Westbrook looked like the Jake Westbrook I'm used to seeing, and the White Sox had no chance. He pitched 8 innings and allowed only 2 hits, as he retired 23 of 24 batters after the first inning. When Joe Borowski came in to finish it in the 9th inning, you could practically hear a sigh of relief come from the Sox dugout, but A.J. Pierzynski hit a soft liner to second with Jerry Owens on third to end the game. Also, Steve Stone in the booth? Awesome. Absolutely awesome.

Houston Astros 5 Chicago Cubs 2

The Cubs have now lost five of their last six games, but the Brewers keep losing as well so they're still only a game out of first place. The Astros used a four-run 6th inning to take the lead from the Cubs, and they never gave it back as the offense continued to struggle without Alfonso Soriano. "Any time you lose a guy like that, there's going to be some affect on your team," reliever Kerry Wood said. "Even if it doesn't affect you on the field, mindset-wise it's going to bother you. You hate to see a guy like that go out. Hopefully he'll be back real soon." Really, Kerry? Are you sure it's the effect of losing a guy like Soriano? You sure it's not from adding somebody to the roster?

Elsewhere...

AL

• Mariners 10 Orioles 3
• Tigers 9 DRays 6
• Yankees 9 Blue Jays 2
• Royals 5 Twins 1
• Rangers 8 Athletics 6
• Angels 10 Red Sox 4

NL

• Phillies 11 Marlins 1
• Reds 4 Dodgers 0
• Braves 7 Mets 3
• Padres 4 Cardinals 0
• Rockies 11 Brewers 4
• Pirates 8 DBacks 3

Morning Wood - Standing Still

Houston Astros 2 Chicago Cubs 1

The Cubs were used and abused by the great Wandy Rodriguez last night. Rodriguez struck out 9 Cubs during his eight innings, and allowed only one run as the Astros beat the Cubs in extra innings. Eric Munson only had one at bat for the Astros, but his RBI single in the bottom of the 10th gave the Astros the win and the Cubs their second straight loss. "It's tough to lose a game that way," Chicago reliever Michael Wuertz said. "I threw him a slider and he hit it. I threw the same pitch at 3-1. It just ended up being too fine. That's what happens when you fall behind in the count as well."

Colorado Rockies 6 Milwaukee Brewers 2

Luckily for the Cubs, the Brewers don't want to win the division either. The Rockies put up six runs on Claudio Vargas in the first two innings and just held the Brewers at bay the rest of the night. Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday both homered for Colorado. The Brewers have now lost 10 of their last 14 games. "Our attitude remains fine," said Geoff Jenkins, who went 2-for-3 for the Brewers. "We've lost some tough games the last couple of weeks, but we're still right there in the thick of things."

San Francisco Giants 3 Washington Nationals 2

Barry Bonds didn't homer and now the Nationals get to spend another night on national television. Nobody wins!

Elsewhere...

AL

• Yankees 5 Blue Jays 4
• Tigers 6 DRays 4
• Indians 4 Twins 0
• A's 9 Rangers 7
• Angels 4 Red Sox 2

NL

• Cardinals 10 Padres 5

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