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I'm not wild about Manny...............



Am I the only one that is getting tired of hearing about Manny Ramirez?
I just don’t get what the big deal is. The Red Sox have the edge in the trade that landed them outfielder Jason Bay. Jason Bay is eight years younger than Ramirez, so that will give the Sox some piece of mind in the outfield for a while. Plus, Manny’s presence in the clubhouse was wearing his teammates down; even David Ortiz said it was time for Manny to leave.

Speaking of getting worn down, it was getting painful to hear the phrase “Manny is just being Manny”. It sounds like the title of a sitcom on one of those syndicated networks, you know, shows like “Smallville”, “Gossip girl“, and “Reba“, just to name a few. Then again, those shows would provide more excitement than watching the Dodgers. They are in the weakest division in baseball, one game over .500, and they are still a game behind the Arizona Diamond backs. I am sure that Manny will fit in real well with guys like Jeff Kent, and Andruw Jones, two great players that have gone to the Dodgers to “retire”. I am sure Sox fans remember Nomar Garciaparra, because he has been in la-la-land for quite a few years now.


That’s what happens to players who are past their prime; they go to the west coast. Manny can hit all the homeruns he wants out there in Tinsel Town. I am sure it will make the headlines, right next to the breaking news story of Mary Kate Olsen and Nicole Ritchie. Because that’s all Dodger fans are going to have to get excited about. They were all hopped up about Joe Torre taking over as manager, but they are still the same team they were last year.
Hopefully all the hype will die down by the end of next month when the Dodgers have dropped in the standings and fall short of making the playoffs, while the Red Sox continue on in pursuit of their third world championship in four years.
I am sure there have been all sorts of analytical reports on the stats between Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez. The sports pages are loaded with articles and the sports networks have all kinds of special reports on the trade. I won’t even get into the stats on Jason Bay. All that I know is he is going to put up the numbers the Sox are expecting from him, and those are the type of headlines you’ll be reading about, not about all the hype and BS that Ramirez has provided the past few years. The trade was a no-brainer. Ding Dong the witch is dead!
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Delgado's hot-hot-hot


Carlos Delgado loves the month of July. He has been an integral part in the New York Mets resurgence in the NL East. After last nights win against the Marlins, Delgado has 9 homeruns and 24 RBI’s for the month. The Metropolitans are still in first place with a ½ game lead over the Phillies.
Earlier in the season, there were those that thought Delgado’s best years were behind him. I was one of those that subscribed to the theory that the Mets should have held on to the young first baseman Mike Jacobs. Based on Delgado’s lethargic attitude at the plate and his sloppy fielding, he would better serve the team by selling yearbooks and scorecards on the first base side. But he seems to be redeeming himself. The rest of the team seems to be fired up. They have a lot of heart after all they have been through the past year. Maybe that’s what is giving them the fire they need to caoture the divsion and move on to the playoffs this year. Manager Jerry Manuel is 24-14 since taking over for Willie Randolph and the players are responding very well to his leadership. The National League East is a tough division these days. The Marlins and the Phillies are right there in the race. This is going to be very interesting as the season heads into the final two months. Mister Met has a lot to cheer about lately.


The Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be cleaning house. They gave up outfielder Xavier Nady to the Yankees for a bunch of prospects. At press time, they are considering Trading away Jason Bay. That would really shore up the D-Rays outfield. They are already holding their lead in the AL East by 2 games over the Red Sox.

The Angels just got stronger by acquiring first baseman Mark Teixiera From the Atlanta Braves for INF Casey Kotchman and RHP Steve Marek .

Today is the trade deadline and there should be more transactions before the day is done. Stay tuned folks! Gotta go.
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The Break



The 2008 baseball season is half way through as the All-Star break is upon us. The trade deadline is just a couple weeks away and when play resumes later on this week, the dog days will begin to set in. Those dog days always reveal the teams that are for real, and the teams that aren’t quite there yet. That’s when the division races get very interesting.
So far, the Anaheim Angels and the Chicago Cubs are tied with the best record in baseball. They are both 57-38 on the year as they lead their divisions. The Boston Red Sox are 57-40, with a half game lead over the surprising Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The D-rays are perhaps the best story going so far this year, setting all kinds of franchise records with wins and attendance. It would be interesting to see what the odds in Vegas were at the start of the season. You could probably afford to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I have already written about the Rays success this year, I would like to turn my attention to the Mets. They arrive at the break with a nine game winning streak. I know, I know, it is hard to get excited about Fernando Tatis and 2nd baseman Castillo. And first baseman Carlos Delgado hit all of his homeruns this year in one game against the Yankees and Met fans are now thinking that he should be in the homerun derby. It almost feels as though this is the team’s longest winning streak since 1986.
But there they are ½ games behind the Phillies in the East.
As the second half of the season unfolds, there will be many mysteries that we will be able to gain closure:


tampa bay dog days real
Will the D-rays get eaten up by the dog days?


yankess third baseman
Yankees new back up at third?


come back player
Comeback player of the year?


lou pinella cubs world champs
Can Lou lead the Cubs to a championship?




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The Bronz zoo all over again

The bronx zoo madonna a-rod


Way back in the 70’s, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner was always close and up front with his team, getting involved in things that he shouldn’t. At one point, the Yankees offense wasn’t producing so he promptly fired the pitching coach.

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How 'bout that?


Baseball commentary is an art, especially when the play by play is done over the radio. Mel Allen was perhaps the most memorable baseball announcer . His unforgettable voice and infamous quips have been etched into the memories of baseball fans for years. He certaintly is missed doing the weekly "This week in baseball" show.

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Let's play two

ernie banks baseball is good


Hey there baseball fans. What a beautiful summer day eh? In the Infamous words of Ernie Banks, Let’s play two. There’s nothing like working around the yard on a nice day and listening to a ballgame on the radio. I always enjoyed hearing the sound of hedge clippers coming from the neighbor’s yard with the sound of a baseball game echoing off our fence that divided our yards. The game was a great way to get a conversation going with the neighbors by simply asking what the score was. That sometimes caused a long pause in the yard work as the conversation would usually go further than the score; to what players were bums and which ones were our favorites. Then it would continue with a story of the last time we were at the ballpark, or better yet, if our kindly neighbor was offered tickets to a game but couldn’t go, he just might offer them to a good, deserving neighbor. Maybe offer to watch their house and bring in the mail when they go on vacation, cuz hey, what are neighbors for?
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Twinkies on the rise

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are on a tear. After having a sluggish start this year, they have managed to put together a nine game winning streak that puts them ½ games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. This isn’t the first time the club has turned red hot in the month of June. Back in the 2006 campaign, the Twins went on an 11 game winning streak that proved to be a key in their division title that year. One June 12 of this year, they found themselves 6 ½ games behind the White Sox. That could be a dangerous position to be in, especially if the team you are chasing goes on any kind of winning streak and you get cold, the next thing you know you are 10 games behind. That could be a devastating set back in which you may never recover.
The Twins just completed a three game sweep of the Padres, led by Justin Morneau and Brian Buscher, with a little help from starting pitcher Scott Baker who got his first major league hit. Minnesota has been getting lots of help from their bullpen. Jesse Crain, Craig Breslow and Matt Guerrier have been getting the job done and Joe Nathan earned his 21st save of the season. Twin’s manager Ron Garden hire said;” its fun to come to the park right now, When you're playing well, everybody is into it. We've had a good trip out here and won a lot of games in a row. Now, we have a really tough home stand ahead of us. We'll just have to see how that goes and if we can continue this."

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Steve Somers and the Mets (LINK)

Steve somers mets loss

On the drive home late last night, I tuned into WFAN sports radio. For those of you outside of the tri-state area that aren’t familiar with WFAN, it is the biggest sports radio station around. Maybe you might have heard of Mike and the mad dog, or the late night “schmooze” with the infamous Steve Somers. A die-hard Rangers and Mets fan.
If you never had the opportunity to listen to Steve Somers, you are in for a treat. Somers has a great way of talking about New York teams that gets the fans involved with the chance to call in and give their gripes about their favorite teams. After the Mets 2nd loss to the last place Mariners, Somers was all over the Mets and the players. It is one heck of an experience to hear New York fans call in when their team is stinking up the town, such as the Mets have been doing. Some of the labels the faithful fans have given their beloved team were: “Those bunch of over paid under achieving bums”. “That’s it! I’ve had it Steve! I am ashamed to be a Mets fan; I am going to root for another team”. Somers fielded the calls perfectly, agreeing with the fans, (all except the caller that wanted to change teams) and added his own perspective on the team. He talked about Carlos Delgado and his lackadaisical effort at first base and at the plate. He mentioned in his classic late night schmooze voice how second baseman Louis Castillo, signed by GM Omar Minaya at the rate of $ 4 million dollars, and all the hype about pitcher Oliver Perez and exclaimed, “Enough already”! Steve Somers refers to the Mets as The New York Metropolitans. That is in fact their full name. His commentary and monologues have a way of luring you in as he flawlessly describes the latest scoop on the hottest stories with the New York teams.

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More trade talks

adam dunn griffey trade


There are some pretty big trade talks going on. The Reds are thinking of unloading Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. As far as I know, there hasn't been any mention of who they might be traded to or who the Reds are looking to get. There have been reports that Griffey is willing to give up his no trade clause and go to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but his agent said that is not true. Griffey is in the final season of a nine-year, $116.5 million contract. If the trade did go down, it would put him close to his home in Orlando Florida. Griffey is batting .248 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs this season. He hit homerun number 600 Monday against the Marlins, moving him to sixth on the all-time homerun list.
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Cubs sweep

chicago cubs


While watching the Cubs and White Sox last night on ESPN's Sunday Night baseball, it really dawned on me how good the Cubs are this year. They are clearly a better team than last year. Probablly the main reason is manager Lou Pinella's attitude toward his team. Even though his team got swept in the first round of the playoffs last year, Pinella didn't tighten the screws and demand a better season this year from his squad. He just said that this is a different team, in a different season, that last year doesn't mean anything anymore. With that laid back attitude, it seems to take the pressure off the players to improve upon last years results. That could be a big reason why the Cubbies have the best record in baseball. Too bad that couldn't happen in New York, where the Mets had made it to game 7 in the NLCS in 2006, only to collapse and not even make it to the playoffs last year. The expectations were high, and the Mets didn't deliver. Maybe that is the difference between the Cubs management and the Mets management. Baseball fever is at an all-time high in Chicago, with the Cubs cross-town White Sox enjoying a great season thus far. They are in first place in the AL Central with a game and a half lead over the Twins. It was refreshing to see baseball fever in Chicago. The last time the Cubs won the series was 1908, yet watching the fans at Wrigley these days, you would think they are coming off a world championship season.
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