Now THAT"s the way to start a roadtrip

Get 2 damn runs against Chan Ho -freaking -Park and lose to the Phillies. I am telling you, we will be lucky to go 20-30 without Manny.

Prediction Time

Some people see sports as a beacon of opportunity. Win or leose, there is almost always a next game, a next season, a next chance to prove you are good enough. I am not one of those people (at least, not this week). I see tonight as another chance for the Lakers to break my heart, kick me in the stomach, and stomp on the remnants of my Fandom. But that's just me.

Prediction:

Rockets 98

Lakers 104

Worlds Colliding

Ripping off other blogs is not a good way for SLAE to make a name for itself, but when the world of Longhorns and the world of Dodger blue collide, a blog post must be created. It is mandatory. See the following:

Kyle Russell is now just toying with the Midwest League. Over the past week he's moved to the top of the leaderboard in slug(.679), OPS(1.087), and wOBA (.451). Six home runs so far in May suggest he's ready for the next step up. He was already old for this league so let us see what he can do at the next level.

Light the Tower Orange

Something that should never go unacknowledged on SLAE! Way to fight back, Horns! Let's carry the momentum to Omaha!

Did I Actually Say Something About Ships Righting?

Happy Mothers Day! A sports day only a mother could love...at least for my teams (though nice sweep from the 'Stros, who again appear determined to embark on their annual "give hope to Houston fans without really any chance at winning the division" campaign).

What a shocking, embarrassing performance from the Lakers. My old rec league team Hebrew National could have beaten the Lakers yesterday. I am even more disturbed by the quotes I read in the L.A. Times this morning. The Lakers didn't seem embarrassed, distraught, shocked. I am astonished. Its like "we got beat by the Rockets JV team. Ho hum. Bring on the Cavs." What in the name of Pat Reilly is going on over there Phil?

And then...AND THEN!!...the Dodgers blow a 2 run lead in the 8th, and lose in extra innings to the Hated Ones. They fall to 1-3 post-Manny and embark on a road trip to the Phillies and Marlins. Ugh. At least Juan Pierre is producing for David in the Georgetown league.

On second thought, is there room on that Astros bandwagon?

Back on the bandwagon!

No McGrady? No Yao? No problem!

I'm not quite sure how the Rockets blew out L.A. in Game 4. I'm sure there was some emotional letdown for the Lakers after taking back homecourt advantage in Game 3 and finding out that Yao was out for the rest of the series. But geez, I sure didn't see that total beatdown coming. This Rockets team just continues to give you reasons to love and respect them. Makes me kinda wish I was really emotionally invested in these playoffs.

Game 5 should be interesting. You'd think the Lakers would have the clear, clear advantage. But if that game is close in the 4th quarter, the pressure is ALL on Phil's boys. There's just no way the Lakers lose to the pesky Houston Rockets without their two all-stars. Right?

Saturday Night is for the Ladies

Not like that...as this is an all ages blog (for now), but activities Saturday night did defer to Mrs. Matt (who has decided her cool blog name will be Laker Girl). The requested fare was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a rambling romance dressed up in medical mystery that basically was about Brad Pitt and the women who love him. It pretty much sums up the high points of the movie when Cate Blanchett (who is no slouch in the looks department) wakes up in a hospital bed and looks at Pitt -- much younger since the last time she glimpsed him -- and says: "You're perfect," followed by me glancing at Laker Girl who nods, yes, he is. Ho hum.

All in all, cool artistry in the movie, and they did a great job recreating the years in which Pitt's through-the-looking-glass journey takes place, but there was something lacking. Not sure...maybe...oh yeah, a frickin' story! Even a scintila of conflict would have helped. But no, we are just left to stare longingly at Mr. Pitt, something that is not considered a pasttime here at SLAE.

Amazingly Zach Greinke v. Joe Saunders (1-0 Halos) was actually shorter than the movie! Greinke was not as sharp as he has been but not everyone can be Pitt-perfect. The Royals lineup is truly mediocre, and it speaks volumes about my fantasy team that I nonetheless picked up Billy Butler in a lame attempt at filling the hole left by Manny's (sniffle) departure.