Just for Sport

I started doing a power ranking on July 1 at the other blog I told you about.  It was meant to be a collaborative effort, but while we’ve talked about working together, it hasn’t happened yet.  To avoid monopolizing the space over there, I will be posting my personal power ranking here on a weekly basis.  Look for a preview of the second half sometime later this week.  Last week’s rankings are in parentheses.

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2)
2. Chicago Cubs (6)
3. Boston Red Sox (4)
4. New York Mets (20)
5. Minnesota Twins (5)
6. Chicago White Sox (3)
7. Tampa Bay Rays (1)
8. St. Louis Cardinals (7)
9. Florida Marlins (12)
10. Texas Rangers (14)
11. Milwaukee Brewers (11)
12. Philadelphia Phillies (13)
13. New York Yankees (10)
14. Oakland Athletics (8)
15. Toronto Blue Jays (15)
16. Detroit Tigers (9)
17. Cincinnati Reds (22)
18. Atlanta Braves (21)
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (16)
20. Los Angeles Dodgers (24)
21. Houston Astros (18)
22. Pittsburgh Pirates (23)
23. Cleveland Indians (25)
24. Kansas City Royals (19)
25. San Francisco Giants (26)
26. Baltimore Orioles (17)
27. Colorado Rockies (30)
28. San Diego Padres (28)
29. Seattle Mariners (29)
30. Washington Nationals (27)

A lot has been made over the last couple of days about the blockbuster trades that the Cubs and the Brewers made.  In case you haven’t been near a television in the last 24 hours, the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia, and the Cubs got Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.  It seems only natural to compare the two trades since they happened so close together and since both teams are in the NL Central.  So let’s do that, starting with the Brewers.  Stats listed are career stats.

The Brewers got:

CC Sabathia
107-71(.601), 3.82 ERA, 1.266 WHIP, 7.45 K/9
Postseason: 1-2, 7.17 ERA
2007 Cy Young Award Winner
27 years old (turns 28 this month)
Free Agent in 2008 offseason

The Brewers gave up:

Matt LaPorta
AA - 82 Games, .291 BA, .404 OBP, 20 HR, 66 RBI
23 years old
Former #7 overall pick 

Robert Bryson
A - 3-2 (.600), 5 SV, 4.25 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 11.95 K/9
20 years old 

Taylor Green
A+ - 78 Games, .297 BA, .381 OBP, 10 HR, 50 RBI
21 years old 

Player to be named later (likely Zach Jackson)

The Cubs got:

Rich Harden
36-19(.655), 3.42 ERA, 1.244 WHIP, 8.69 K/9
Postseason: 0-2, 6.43 ERA
26 years old 

Chad Gaudin
24-23(.511), 2 SV, 4.33 ERA, 1.525 WHIP, 6.38 K/9
Postseason: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
25 years old 

The Cubs gave up:

Sean Gallagher
3-4(.429), 5.28 ERA, 1.514 WHIP,  6.63 K/9
22 years old 

Matt Murton
308 Games, .294 BA, .362 OBP, 28 HR, 104 RBI
26 years old (turns 27 in October) 

Eric Patterson
20 Games, .239 BA, .308 OBP, 1 HR, 7 RBI
25 years old 

Josh Donaldson
A - 61 Games, .223 BA, .282 OBP, 6 HR, 23 RBI
22 years old 

It seems as if the Brewers have mortgaged their future to make this one playoff run.  Manny LaPorta is considered one of the best prospects in the minors right now, and judging by the statistics, it looks as though Bryson (look at the K rate) and Green have tremendous upside.  Both Sabathia and Ben Sheets will be gone next year, and there will be little help coming from their farm system.  They had better make the playoffs this year if this trade is to be deemed a success.  If they do happen to make it, they will be formidable in a short series.  

On the other hand, the Cubs got a slightly better pitcher.  Sabathia has the better name recognition as a Cy Young winner (plus he’s been around longer), but Harden has the better statistics.  He is an injury risk, but if he stays healthy, this trade is a steal.  The Cubs not only got Harden to strengthen their rotation, which now includes Harden, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill/Jason Marquis.  In addition, they got a solid reliever that will be able to contribute on a daily basis.  In exchange the only real prospect of value they gave up is Sean Gallagher, who has a bright future and has shown flashes of brilliance this year.  Despite lots of hand-wringing by columnists and talking heads, Murton in fact did get his chance in the majors, and largely failed to produce.  Billy Beane was surely attracted to his OBP, but his run production numbers are sub-par.  He will likely contribute to a nominal degree in Oakland, but he will not be missed in Chicago.  Jim Hendry was probably happy to get rid of Patterson, who is overrated because of his brother.  Only once have I ever seen a player tag at first and take second on a routine fly ball to left field, and that one time Patterson was the left fielder.  Josh Donaldson may make a serviceable catcher, but was unlikely to see time in the foreseeable future with Geovany Soto at the dish for the big club.

In short, the Cubs win.  They got the better of the two deals, though I will be afraid of the Brewers if they manage to nab a Wild Card spot.  As for the other two aces on the respective clubs, Zambrano was dominant today, while Sheets was average.  Chalk another win up to the Cubbies. 

There is no real connection between Mark Teixeira and Texas, besides the fact that he played 4 1/2 years in Arlington.  In fact, there is probably a greater connection between Tex (I guess that’s where the familiarity comes from) and the good people of Georgia, given that he played at Georgia Tech.

But now, Atlanta fans are getting a taste of what we here in North Texas experienced before we traded him.  Malcontent, hints of wanting to play with another team, and clubhouse dissension all seem to follow this guy.  This blog wants to bring Tex to Baltimore.  Be careful what you wish for.

Rangers fans are surely planning on welcoming Tex "home" tonight when the Braves come in to play.  Before you cheer for him, remember that he undermined Ron Washington, causing clubhouse problems that still linger today.  Remember that the notorious slow starter declined to play just 2 extra minor league games before the season last year because of travel.  Remember that the Scott Boras client turned down an 8-year, $140 million contract before we traded him.

Sound a little like A-Rod?  Think about giving him the A-Rod treatment on his "homecoming."

Hank Steinbrenner, or, as he will be henceforth known on this blog, The One Who Vomits Words, apparently doesn’t understand that baseball is a game of tradition.  Concerning the Designated Hitter, or, as it will henceforth be known on this blog, Bud Selig’s First Abomination, he said the following on Monday:

"…it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Are you kidding me?  The Designated Hitter has bastardized the game for 8/15 of Major League clubs since 1972, and now TOWVW wants to ruin it for the rest of us.  I am out of town for the week and am not even supposed to be using a computer, but look for a post coming soon concerning the DH.

Interleague play starts tomorrow, which means at least one thing: Baseball records and statistics start to mean something.  Up until now, it’s all about positioning.  Sometimes the Pirates or the Royals stay close to the top of the division a couple of weeks in, but unless they make it to the quarterpole with a respectable record, it doesn’t matter.  Obviously, things can always change, but at this time of the year you can put some stock into trends and statistics.  Here are some observations about the state of the Majors:

American League 

East - As of today, the Rays are in first place in the AL East.  Who knew?  We did.  Will they keep it up?  A strong pitching staff, a surprise closer, and some young upstart players say they will probably stay in the race longer than most think.

Central - Our chosen AL representative, the Detroit Tigers, sit in last place in the Central, 6 games back of first.  Can they turn it around?  Only if their starting pitching delivers.   Minnesota and Chicago hover around .500, and both teams could go either way.  This will likely be a competitive division deep into September.

West - The Mariners do not look good at all.  The loss of Erik Bedard coupled with the offense acting their age is a recipe for last place in the league’s smallest division.  The A’s are off to a surprising start and the Rangers can’t decide if they’re a basement team or a contender - the end result will likely be a record around .500, which will be an accomplishment for this team.

Statistics and Trends to Note: 

• The Rays own the best home record at 16-8 as well as the best overall record.  Their 24-17 record puts them on pace for 95 wins.
• Only two teams have a winning record away from home: California and Oakland.  Could it be because they both get to play the Rangers and Mariners more than anybody else?
• The team with the worst record is Seattle, at 16-26.   They are on pace for a 62-100 season.
• The Tigers are 5-1 vs. LHPs and 11-24 vs RHPs.  Too many right-handed bats in the lineup?
• The Red Sox have scored by far the most runs: 216.  The next highest total is owned by Texas, with 200.  However, the Rangers have also given up an AL-high 229.  Puts the Edinson Volquez for Josh Hamilton trade in perspective, huh?

National League

East - The Marlins are the surprise team of the NL.  Has anybody mentioned that the have the league’s lowest payroll?  Meanwhile, the Mets are stuck around .500 and reportedly have chemistry issues.  The Braves play inconsistently, so it looks like the Phillies stand poised to benefit from a Marlins collapse - if it happens.

Central - It would be easy to say "I told you so."  So I’m going to do it.  The Cubs looks like they’re in control (for now), Houston is playing better than everybody thought, and the Brewers are tied for fourth with…Pittsburgh.  The only surprise in our mind is that St. Louis is playing so well, and they don’t even have key pieces of their rotation pitching at the moment.  If Carpenter and Mulder come in and pitch well, they could run away with the division.  On the other hand, they could struggle to find their mid-season form and create all kinds of chemistry issues.  The top three teams are separated by 2 games, so anything could happen, but it seems clear that by the All-Star break there will be only 3 serious contenders in this six-team division.

West - It looked like four teams would contend for the West division title, but only two appear to have a shot.  The Diamondbacks are red-hot as expected, and the Dodgers look good as well.  Only three teams in the entire league are 9 or more games back of first place, and they all call the NL West home.  

Statistics and Trends to Note:

• The Diamondbacks boast the best record in either league at 26-15, which puts them on pace for 103 wins.
• Three teams have home records over .700: The Braves (14-4), the Cubs(17-7), and the Diamondbacks (17-7).  The Braves are 6-16 on the road, however, making them and even .500 overall.
• San Diego has the worst record in either league at 15-27, which gives them an expected loss total of 104.
• All three teams at the bottom of the NL West have given up 200 or more runs.  The Rockies share the league "lead" with the Pirates.  The Padres have an already dismal run differential of -60.
• The best run differential belongs to the Cubs, at +68.  They also boast the most runs total at 238, while the Braves have given up the least runs: 154. 
• Atlanta, which sports a .500 record, is 1-11 in 1-run games.  Amazingly, the Reds are 8-3 despite sole possession of last place in the NL Central.

I always hoped that by 2008, the Cubs would have won the World Series.  Alas, they haven’t, and now I have to endure insufferable Cardinals fans and Cubs haters of all stripes (hey Brewers fans, bandwagon much?) chanting "100 years" and coming up with other creative, original, and relevant things to say about the situation all year long.  So in the year 2008 will I pick the Cubbies to win it all?  No way.  I may not subscribe to all the curses and jinxes, but I am still a Cubs fan, and I know better than that.  Not this year.

AL East

On some level, the AL East is the easiest division to pick year in and year out.  You can pencil in either the Yankees or the Red Sox as the division winner and walk away feeling okay about it.  I’m not sure that it’s that simple anymore.  In any other division, I like the Rays to challenge for the title.  I would love it if they did so this year, but I don’t think they have the pitching staff for it yet.  They will play spoiler, and that’s why I’m picking New York: The Red Sox play the Rays more down the stretch.  I like the Blue Jays as well, but it’s hard for me to see them breaking through.  This division boasts 4 good teams, but I think the Yanks and Sox will stay on top for at least one more year.

New York
Boston
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore

AL Central

This division could easily become a two horse race early.  In my opinion, it is the weakest division in baseball.  I will drink the Kool-Aid on Detroit mainly because of the division.  In fact, I believe they will capture the highest record in the American League.  While all of the East teams beat up on each other, the Tigers get to play Chicago, Minnesota, and Kansas City over and over.  Detroit will clinch early and be well rested for the playoffs. 

Detroit
Cleveland
Chicago
Minnesota
Kansas City 

AL West

The major storylines in the AL West will be the battle for the division title between the Angels and the Mariners and the battle to stay out of the cellar between the A’s and the Rangers.  You could pick any combination of four teams in the entire league and the gap between the top two teams and the bottom two teams would not be as big as it is here.  The Angels are among the elite teams and have only gotten better with their free agent acquisitions.  The only suspect area is their starting pitching, especially with John Lackey injured.  The Mariners are young and eager.  This will be an exciting race, and I think the Angels win because of their experience.  The Mariners capture the Wild Card, beating out Boston and Cleveland with their incredibly weak September schedule. 

Los Angeles at Anaheim (Can we just go back to calling them the California Angels?)
Seattle - Wild Card
Texas
Oakland 

NL East

Last year, Jimmy Rollins predicted a division title for the Phillies, and they delivered.  It took an amazing stretch run coupled with a historic Mets collapse, but it happened.  There was one major difference between what happened last year and what will happen this year: the Mets didn’t have Johan Santana last year.  I like the Mets to win easily this year.  I also like the Braves to surprise some people and beat out the Phillies for second place.  As for the other teams, I don’t see much movement from the cellar.

New York
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Florida
Washington 

NL Central

The six-team division is really only a four-team race.  A couple of years ago, I thought the Pirates would be an up-and-comer, but they haven’t done anything to improve themselves.  I also don’t believe in the Cardinals this year.  Last year, they looked out of it, and made a late push, and I don’t like to pick against Tony LaRussa, but look at their roster.  Their outfield is terrible, they have no middle infield, and the rotation is sub-par.  They just don’t have the personnel to compete.  Of the four other teams, I think the Cubs and the Reds look the strongest.  The Cubs’ lineup is formidable and they are solid in the rotation and in the bullpen.  The Reds look good as well, but you must consider the Dusty Baker factor, especially considering the state of their bullpen (save for Cordero).  The other two teams have glaring weaknesses.  The Astros have no rotation after Roy Oswalt, although I believe they will surprise a lot of people and beat some good teams.  The Brewers’ bullpen is the definition of suspect, and they must rely on Ben Sheets to be healthy, which is no small task.  This isn’t relevant, but they also have loudmouth fans that overrate their young players.

Chicago
Houston
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
St. Louis
Pittsburgh 

NL West

Like the AL East, the NL West boasts four very strong teams - in this case, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, and San Diego.  I think a lot of people believe that Colorado’s run last year was a fluke, but I’m not one of them.  I think they are legit, and they will challenge for the division.  I would feel good about choosing any of these four to win the division or the Wild Card, but I’m choosing Arizona and Colorado, in that order, for their mix of veteran leadership and youthful enthusiasm.

Arizona
Colorado - Wild Card
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco 

Playoffs 

American League Divisional Series

Detroit over Seattle (Wild Card) in 4 games

Seattle’s youthfulness works against them, especially against such a seasoned team. 

New York over California in 5 games 

You can point to Anaheim’s win over New York in 2002 as a turning point in the Yankee dynasty, and since then, the Angels have had a mental edge over the Yankees.  However, I believe in Joe Girardi, and I think he’s going to turn the Yankees around.

National League Divisional Series

New York over Colorado (Wild Card) in 3 games

The Mets, with Santana, have a significant advantage in a short series.  If Pedro Martinez can regain his form or John Maine can live up to expectations, they will be almost unbeatable.

Arizona over Chicago in 5 games

A rematch of last year’s series will end up the same way.  Arizona has all kinds of weapons that most casual fans don’t even know about: Connor Jackson and Chris Young are just two of them.

ALCS

Detroit over New York in 6 games

This sets up all kinds of interesting storylines: Gary Sheffield versus the Yankees, Joe Girardi versus Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, and the rematch of two teams who brawled during the regular season.  That would probably be the case no matter who the Yankees end up playing, I guess, but still interesting nonetheless.  These two teams are represented by a ton of playoff experience, and I think it will be hard-fought.  In the end, I think the pitching for the Tigers wins out.

NLCS

Arizona over New York in 7 games

The media will be abuzz about a Subway Series, but neither New York team will make it there.  If you haven’t figured it out by now, I really like Arizona this year.  I think the addition of Dan Haren puts them over the top, but they need a lot of things to go right.  Their young players must perform up to expectations, Randy Johnson must have a resurgence, and above all, they must find a closer they can rely on.

World Series

Arizona over Detroit in 6 games

Ok, so you can see why I’d be tempted to take the Cubs to go to the Series, right?  Arizona has to have all these things happen just right, New York has a history of collapsing and they have one solid pitcher (granted, he’s more than solid), and everybody else has their flaws, too.  But, um, I’m not picking them.  Not this year.  Arizona will win the World Series, NOT the Cubs.  It’s in writing.  I am NOT jinxing the Cubs this year, the 100 year anniversary of their last championship.  It’s Arizona all the way.

Convincing enough?  I sure hope so… 

Last night we were all graced with one of the great football games in recent memory.  It surely goes down as one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen.  If I had to choose the five greatest games in all sports in the last ten years without spending a bunch of time thinking about it or researching, they would go as follows:

5 - 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State over Oklahoma, 43-42 (OT).  This makes the list for me because (A) I hate Oklahoma - see sidebar, (B) Nobody thought Boise State would stick it to OU for three and half quarters, much less pull the upset, and (C) Those last couple of plays - The Hook and Lateral and The Statue of Liberty.  Instant classic.

4 - Super Bowl XLII, New York Giants over New England, 17-14.  Not many people predicted a low-scoring game, much less a close one.  The three lead changes in the 4th quarter plus Eli Manning’s escape/David Tyree’s catch (Do we have a name for that yet?) made it a great game anyway.  The storyline behind the game (destroying the perfect season, etc.) put it on the list.

3 - 2004 AL Championship Series, Games 4 & 5, Boston over New York.  Game 4: 6-4 (12 innings).  Game 5: 5-4 (14 innings).  I think it’s fair to lump these two together because it was really the series that was impressive.  Also, Game 5 started 16 hours after Game 4 ended.  These games were great not only because nobody had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit before, but because the Yankees had so thoroughly dominated the series up until that point.  The way they won those games was just fantastic.

2 - 2006 Rose Bowl, Texas over USC, 41-38.  This one was just like last night’s game, except with 4 times the scoring.  USC were the overwhelming favorites, and Texas overcame the odds in the Championship Game, with Vince Young scoring the winning touchdown on 4th down.

1 - 1998 NBA Finals, Game 6, Chicago over Utah, 87-86. Michael Jordan hits "The Shot" (Does that play have a name?  What is it?) in his last game in a Bulls uniform to cap off a 45-point performance and the Bulls 6th Championship.

There are some others that perhaps mean more to me than the greater sports world:

1999 Stanley Cup Finals, Game 6, Dallas over Buffalo, 2-1 (Triple OT).  Creasegate.  Modano plays 55 minutes with a cast on his arm.

June 29, 2007, Chicago Cubs over Milwaukee, 6-5.  The Cubs rally from a 5-0 deficit to win on Aramis’ walkoff home run.  This game also turned the tide in the division race.

2007 NL Wild Card Tiebreaker Game, Colorado over San Diego, 9-8 (13 innings).  This was a great game even before the 13th inning.  Plenty of offense early, followed by dominant pitching and stellar defense.  There was a grand slam and a killer error that allowed the game to go into extras in the first place.  The Padres got 2 in the 13th, and the game was thought over.  But the Cinderella Rockies beat the odds and killed Trevor Hoffman.  The play at the plate, which is consistently the best play in sports, capped it all off. 

2006 NL Championship, Game 6, Florida over Chicago Cubs, 8-3.  I hate this game, but for the Marlins, this was a GREAT game.  Cubs fans, please don’t blame Bartman.  Blame Baker.

2007 AFC Championship Game, Indianapolis over New England, 38-34.  If this game was the Super Bowl, it might have made the list.  The Colts looked dead in the water, behind 21-3, then rallied to beat the team that had been keeping them down in dramatic fashion.

Feel free to disagree or suggest some other games. 

I’m too dumb to embed YouTube videos, so here’s a couple of links:

Great Play

Best Commercial 

11:40 AM CST: I haven’t posted here in quite a while, and probably won’t be able to regularly until I’m done with this MSW, but what better time than the day the Mitchell Report comes out?  As information comes out, I will write about my reactions, updating this site periodically.  This should be a huge day for baseball. 

 
So far, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte have been leaked as names that will appear in the report.  I have a draft on this site that I never posted about how media and the fans are hypocritical because of their hatred of Barry Bonds and their apathy toward Roger Clemens.  I wonder if that will change at all.  As for Andy Pettitte…he’s always been attached to Roger at the hip, so should we really be surprised? 

An interesting storyline to watch will be the reactions of Hall of Fame voters.  If several big names are brought to light through this report, we may be finally forced to admit that the Steroid Era is just that, an era.  Does the fact that both big-name hitters and big-name pitchers are named mean that the playing field is more or less even?  Will voters shun an entire generation of players, or will they relent and vote in the best players from this era?  If that’s the case, will players like Mark McGwire see a surge in their voting percentages?

I expect the following names to be named: Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, Gary Matthews, Jr., Jason Grimsley, and of course Clemens and Pettitte.  I’m worried, like most fans, that prominent members of my favorite teams will be named.  As a Rangers fan, that’s even more of a possibility.  Surely Canseco and Palmeiro will come up, but what about Juan Gonzalez, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, or even local heroes like Rusty Greer?  I do know this: there are certain names that would be absolutely devastating for baseball.  I think the most devastating one would be Albert Pujols.  He plays in the Midwest, which most people assume is purer than the rest of the country, and he’s been held up as an example of a player who hits for power without artificial enhancement.  He’s also a community leader and gives credit to God for everything he does.  I cannot imagine a bigger shock than to find Pujols’ name on the list, and that’s pretty telling, because it wouldn’t be all that surprising.

More to come as more is revealed. 

12:14 PM: This whole thing is going to look really fishy if no Red Sox players are named, given Mitchell’s association with the team.  Colin Cowherd insinuated this morning that "one Red Sock" will be named, but I wonder how much he and other members of the media actually know.  Who could that Red Sock be?  David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Josh Beckett?  Certainly not Curt Schilling…right?  The more I think about this, the more I realize that we don’t know anything. 

12:21 PM: Just found this link - I’m sure this list will grow exponentially in the next few hours. 

12:29 PM: Be watching this page as well. 

12:45 PM: Apparently, Jose Canseco is present at the press conference.  He’s not a very shy guy, is he? 

12:55 PM: Paul Lo Duca, Fernando Vina, David Segui, Miguel Tejada, and Rondell White have been implicated.  Isn’t Lo Duca a free agent?  That’s going to hurt the bottom line a little.  I wonder how the Astros feel about Tejada, having just given up 5 players for him. 

12:58 PM: Mitchell just announced that the Report will be made available shortly on mlb.com.  I will post a link when I find it. 

1:00 PM: And here it is.  I will probably be doing more reading of this than listening to George Mitchell, although I will be keeping my ear open. 

1:03 PM: Mitchell just said that each of the 30 clubs have had players that have used steroids.  He also estimated that 5-7% of players have used.  If that’s true, and the Mitchell Report does indeed name 80 people, he’s at least 170 people short (give or take).

1:12 PM: Apparently, Giambi did not name names, and says he hasn’t used PED’s since the All Star Break. 

1:18 PM: Mitchell: "I urge the commissioner to foregoe imposing discipline on players for past violations of baseball’s rules on performance enhancing substances." 

1:22 PM: From the report: "I did not include in this report the names of three players to whom Radomski said
he sold performance enhancing substances: two of them because the players had retired from
Major League Baseball by the time of the alleged sales; and one of them because the player
admitted that he had purchased and possessed the substances but denied that he had used them
and his version of events was corroborated by other credible evidence."

1:23 PM: A very telling paragraph: "The players for whom evidence has been gathered of possession or use, or both, of illegal performance enhancing substances defy categorization. They include winners of Most
Valuable Player and Cy Young awards, members of All-Star teams and World Series rosters,
players whose tenures in the major leagues were long, and others whose tenures were brief. We
heard often about the pressure on marginal players to use performance enhancing substances
because they believed they needed to do so to keep up with the competition or because the
money was so much greater for those who could make the jump to the major leagues."

1:27 PM: Brian Roberts and Chuch Knoblauch: I did not really see those coming, although Roberts played with Miguel Tejada and Knoblauch on the Yankees.  It seems that a lot of these allegations are connected to five teams: the Giants, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Rangers.

1:33 PM: More big names: David Justice, Mo Vaughn, and Eric Gagne.   

1:36 PM: Page 232 implicates two 1999 Chicago Cubs, but does not name them.  Sosa, anybody?

1:47 PM: Here is a list of players named in the report.  What this page doesn’t show is that there are several references, like the one listed above, to unnamed players, including a mysterious Player X.  I wonder if anybody has any theories about who this Player X might be.

2:02 PM: I’m going to stop until Bud Selig’s conference in an hour and a half.  I hope this wakes some people up.  The Player’s Association has been exposed for the evil organization that it is, and maybe they will be compelled to cooperate for a secondary report. 

Today, I walked into The Ballpark in Arlington and rooted against the Texas Rangers.  It was a strange feeling.  The reason?  My Chicago Cubs were in town, finishing up the first series played between the two teams since the Rangers moved from Washington.  My baseball bigamy is well documented, and when we first obtained tickets for this game in February, I worried about who I would cheer for.  Little did I know that by June 21st, the Rangers would have the worst record in baseball, leaving me with an easy decision to make: I would root for the Cubs, the only team in the game with a chance. 

When gametime came, I really was rooting for the Cubs to win.  In fact, when the Rangers won 6-5 on Frank Catalanotto’s walk-off single, I was pretty disappointed.  But, I did find myself rooting for the Rangers at times.  I jumped up and cheered when Hairston made an awesome running catch in left field.  Same thing when Michael Young came through with some clutch hits.  The people behind me must have thought I was crazy.  All in all, I’m just glad neither one of my teams got blown out and that there were no fights.

Here are some more observations from the game:

1 - Apparently, I’m not the only one with an affinity for both the Cubs and the Rangers.  I saw several people wearing merchandise for both teams. (I simply went with the Cubs hat I bought at Wrigley 4 years ago.)  One lady was wearing a Texas Soriano jersey with a Cubs hat.  By contrast, a man was wearing a Chicago Sosa jersey with a Rangers hat.  The funniest one I saw was a man wearing a "Don’t Mess With Texas" shirt under his unbuttoned Mark Prior jersey.  He completed the ensemble with a 1914 Cubs hat.

2 - We got to the game a little more than an hour early and took our seats just over the right field fence.  Both teams had already taken batting practice and there were no players on the field.  At about 12:10 (Gametime was 1:05) a very tall, scrawny man wearing athletic gear and an iPod started walking toward us on the field.  I was confused, because he carried himself like a player, but he didn’t really look like one.  He stopped right in front of us, saw me watching, gave a little nod, and took off jogging around the perimeter of the field.  After taking three laps, he stopped to stretch, then put his uniform and gear on.  It turns out that this very skinny man was Adam Melhuse, who was getting the start at catcher.  I guess the extra work must have jacked him up for the game, because he hit a home run and was solid behind the plate.  It was nice to see the backup catcher who is new to the team take such a serious approach to his preparation, and then watch it pay off for him.

3 - It seems that both teams had some pretty similar things going for them positionally.  Both had their new back-up catcher starting (Melhuse and Rob Bowen, though it remains to be seen what role he’ll have).  Neither gold-glove first basemen played in the field (Derrek Lee was the DH, and Teixeira is on the DL).  Both had rookie phenoms in center field (Felix Pie and Marlon Byrd).  Both had utility infielders playing for their injured third basemen (Travis Metcalf and Mark DeRosa). 

4 - Another similarity: both right fielders struggled with the glove.  Wilkerson was his same slow self, plodding along as if he has no knees.  I honestly felt as if any pop-up to right had a chance to fall in.  Pagan let one go over his head in the fifth that opened the floodgates.  I doubt it will show up in the highlights of the game, but that play looked really bad.  Finally, there was the final play.  Angel almost got to the ball with a dive, but I feel as if he could have gotten there if he had made the correct read.  Just my opinion.

5 - Apparently Vicente Padilla has been working on the Eephus pitch, and he brought it out four times, hitting below 60 on the radar each time.  Three out of the four times it happened, the Cubs hitters stood in the box looking dumbfounded.  The other time, Pagan hit a weak pop-up to center when it looked like he was trying to foul it off.  Padilla seems to mix it in well, either following it or preceding it with a fastball in the 92-95 range. 

All in all, a very good experience to have.  It was fun to see the Cubs.  I had only seen them two times previously.  The first was a four-inning unofficial game at Wrigley and the second was the fourth game of a four game sweep of the Astros at Minute Maid.  I don’t really like the feeling of rooting against the Rangers - I got some of the same looks I must have given people wearing Red Sox hats at the home opener.  Saturday I will be at Game 5 of the Lone Star Series, so it will be all Rangers, all the time.  I should have a report after that one as well.

Just thought I would pass this on to you, the loyal reader.  I found this during spring training while I was looking around preparing to write a baseball preview for this site, which you no doubt have noticed has still not appeared.  Patience, grasshopper.  The semester is almost over.

It turns out that the Cubs are not cursed by a goat after all…

 We’re sorry we blamed it on you, Mr. Sianis.