Attaboy Rook!

In both a celebration of a loss by the Hated Ones (on a day when the Boys in Blue grind out a 1-0 nailbiter), and as a shout out to our St. Louis readership, I present to you walk-off boy Colby Rasmus. Way to get those Giants in extra innings, Colby!

On a side note, I though the DeRosa trade was a great move for the Cardinals. That guy is unbelievably underrated. A solid producer who can play multiple positions, he is going to be a perfect fit for the perennial lineup changer Tinkering Tony LaRussa.

Ouch

I watched every pitch of the 2 hour, 16 minute dismantling of my favorite team last night, by none other than Jason Marquis. It was a sobering, infuriating experience, strangely combined with awe over the sheer artistry displayed by Marquis. The experience left me thoroughly frustrated and angry that the Dodgers didn't make any attempts to break up Marquis' rhythm; no stepping out of the box, not near enough bunt attempts, no 10 pitch at-bats. It was one of the more lackadasical offensive efforts from the Boys in Blue I have seen this year, and it makes me think they are already looking forward to the end of the Manny-less stint.

Marquis' gem also got me thinking about how different baseball is than other sports. Is there any other game where a great performance is so much like art as opposed to athletics? Notwithstanding the adjectives thrown around about Kobe's 81 point game, or an 18 of 20 passing performance, or a hat trick on the ice, I really think only baseball has the combination of athletic skill with artistic panache. (And yes, I did just use the word "panache" in a sports blog).

But back to the practicalities of the games. Don't look now, but thanks to the Cardinals inability to win at home (what the hell Chris Carpenter, you pick NOW to finally have a bad start?!), the Hated Ones are just 6 games back, and the red-hot Rockies (led by ex-Dodger manager Jim Tracy) are only 7 1/2. If I am right and some of these guys are looking ahead to Manny's return, then Manny sure has hell better hit like he is still on the juice because our offense is going south fast.

Some random thoughts...

We are officially in the sports dead period from now until some pre-season football games and two-a-day practice reports begin. Until then, we are left with some MLB games and some spare time to ponder the meaning of life. Along those lines, I had some random thoughts over the weekend:

1. Admittedly, I am no soccer fan. But I do follow the USMNT and find myself getting caught up in World Cup qualifying and the major international events. The 2-0 victory of Spain was tremendous on its own. However, the two goals scored by the US vs. Spain could hardly be classified as beautiful or technical. They count just the same, but they were more hustle plays than anything else. Still, a tremendous victory over the world's #1 team.

However, that first half yesterday vs. Brazil was something entirely different. Dempsey's first goal was something a Brazilian or Italian would be proud of. And the entire counter attack leading to Donovan's goal was gorgeous. I'm hardly a United States soccer historian, but that was the best goal I've ever seen scored by the USMNT.

It's unfortunate that Brazil scored so quickly to start the 2nd half and things just snowballed from there (i.e., reality set in). Regardless, it was a fun couple of matches. It only enhances my interest in the rest of World Cup qualifying and 2010 in South Africa.

2. Welcome back, Mr. Halladay. Doc toes the rubber tonight vs. Tampa Bay. Please say a quick prayer for Doc's groin to hold up. (You may want to say a silent prayer because it's generally frowned upon to say verbal prayers about another man's groin.)

3. Just about two months until football season. I've been going through some of my 2008 game recordings (for about the millionth time since the Fiesta Bowl). I've come to the following general conclusions heading into 2009:

We are going to miss Quan's consistency on 3rd down and his ability to pick up 5-7 yards every time.
But Malcolm Williams will provide some welcomed big play ability.
Our DT depth really scares me. Roy Miller was such a complete stud last year.
But overall, I am very excited about this defense. I expect Muschamp and Co. to take it to the next level in 2009.
Our RB's will be fine. Fairly surprisingly, I am taking Vondrell as my sleeper to shine in 2009.
Blaine Irby's injury sucks. That kid was on the way to being a star for us last year. Ugh.
I really like Kirkendoll and Collins. Guys who will never play in the NFL, but will end up putting together a heck of a career for us.
I still think we go undefeated through the regular season.

4. You hear the bad news about Yao? Apparently, his foot injury has gotten worse and it looks like he might miss the entire 2009-2010 season (if not the rest of his career). What a horrible blow to the Rockets. It's not going to ruin my day, but I hate to see things like that happen to a good guy/good organization.

5. Mannywood returns on Friday after the 50 game suspension. Take a look back at the May 9 blog entry. My prediction for the Dodgers' record during the Manny-less stretch was 27-23. As of today, the Dodgers are 27-20 with 3 games to play vs. Colorado. If the Rockies go into L.A. and sweep the Dodgers, I look like a f'ing genius. If the Dodgers win a game or two, then they have exceeded even my optimistic expectations. And to think there were SOME Dodger fans who thought anything better than a 20-30 record would be a gift from heaven. Ha!

Game 3

Game 2

Augie is fond of saying that baseball is a game of infinite possibilities. Well that may be correct, but when all is said and done, there is only one possibility for this team tonight: win. Win or go home. The Heart Attack Horns have thrived under pressure so far in this College World Series, which speaks volumes of their character. However, the same team choked last night, proving that LSU is a horrible matchup for our Horns.

How is this a horrible matchup? Texas's strength is starting pitching. However, LSU has a left hand-heavy lineup and all our starters are right handed. Further, we have a power-pitching right handed rotation that likes to pitch off the fastball and that is prone to giving up the home run. Only Dicharry (a non-starter) really relies on a change-of-pace pitch (his nasty change). Assuming Jungmann goes tonight, LSU is going to see more of the same approach as they saw last night -- though hopefully not the same from Jungmann, who was as bad as the diapers I can look forward to in 7 or so months.

Obviously, we are past the point of mere concern and into "all cliches are out the window" land. The Horns' best hope would seem to be playing loose and carefree, having fun, and seeing what happens. If we are close at the end, anything is possible. But we looked tight once the 8th inning rolled around last night, and that doesn't bode well for tonight. I hope I am wrong, and we will end up tomorrow night singing a totally different Queen song.

Better Late Than Never

The title of this entry applies both to my delay in getting up an appropriate posting honoring the purple and gold, as well as the one year delay in the championship parade that should have been held last year. See, that is how Laker fans thought of this trophy, as the natural progression of what started (and should have ended) against the Celtics. This was Kobe's trophy all along, and now he finally got it. I have no doubt, too, that it is exactly that attitude that makes so many people hate Kobe and the Lakers (and the Horns, and the Yankees, etc.).

Another interesting element of this championship to me is how different it feels from the G.M.E. (Greatest Moment Ever). The Lakers championship was not accompanied by the sheer elation of the GME. No raucous celebration, no leaping and hugging. While part of it was just the nature of the clinching game, part of it too was the sheer expectation of victory. There was more a sense of completion than there was a sense of the joy of victory. It makes me think that, no matter what we said going into the GME, I think most of us still didn't expect to win, and so the suprise was as compelling as the victory itself.

And that makes me wonder if that is not how the pro players feel. A sense of completion more than a sense of triumph.

Discuss amongst yourselves. I am feeling a bit veklempt.

The Worst of the Worst

Let me just note, I am not a particular connoisseur of Texas Rangers broadcasts. I am a National League guy in general and, frankly, the Rangers have not been worthy of watching before this year. But with my Dodgers in Arlington, I have been forced to watch Fox Sports Southwest broadcasts (damn you black out rules!).

Where am I going with all this, you ask? I'll tell you. I am just astonished that Fox Sports SW, that proprietor of so many Texas Longhorns games, has decided to take the worst part of Longhorns broadcasts (okay, maybe second worst behind that color commentator whose name I can't remember) and apply it in a venue in which it works even worse. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present the abomination that is Jim Knox! How on Earth does this tool still have a job? He brings nothing to the table, and in fact is both an annoyance and a distraction from the game. Please, PLEASE shut this guy up! His schtick is at least palatable when he is talking to hot looking co-eds on college campuses, but acting retarded with semi-literate fans at Rangers games is just too much.

Its sad too, because a good Member of the Tribe, Josh Lewin, does an admirable job broadcasting.