bukie

I think the Phillies will win this series easily, but for that to be true, they have to win Game 1. This game is much more important to the Phillies than it is to the Brewers.

What do you mean? Gordon's probably the only guard in the NBA that can beat himself off the dribble.

Actually, I wear the jersey shirt underneath my work shirt. Today it's a sweater, though, so it's not quite so visible.

Because it makes too much sense not to happen.

I'll probably break out the Santo home jersey T-shirt tonight with the new home cap and jeans. The boy will be decked in his avatar gear.

You have 11 fridges?

I think the Cub players were spraying champagne on the fans when they clinched too.

I'm going to guess they go with Buehrle on 3 days rest again.

Yes, a 1-0 result on the road shows they didn't belong on the same field.

Yay, things at home will be interesting this week.

Source

Cubs in 4 Phillies in 3 Rays in 3 Red Sox in 4 Cubs in 6 Rays in 5 Rays in 4

This should be interesting... NL MVP: 1. Lance Berkman 2. Albert Pujols 3. Carlos Beltran 4. Hanley Ramirez 5. Chase Utley 6. Jose Reyes 7. Nate McLouth 8. Ryan Braun 9. Tim Lincecum 10. David Wright AL MVP: 1. Justin Morneau 2. Grady Sizemore 3. Ian Kinsler 4. Josh Hamilton 5. Joe Mauer 6. Cliff Lee 7. Carlos Quentin 8. Kevin Youkilis 9. Raul Ibanez 10. Curtis Granderson NL CY: 1. Tim Lincecum 2. Johan Santana 3. Cole Hamels AL CY: 1. Roy Halladay 2. Cliff Lee 3. Jon Lester NL Rookies: 1. Geovany Soto 2. Joey Votto 3. Jair Jurrjens AL Rookies: 1. Mike Aviles 2. Evan Longoria 3. Joba Chamberlain NL Managers: 1. Cecil Cooper (still a dick) 2. Fredi Gonzales 3. Tony LaRussa AL Managers: 1. Ron Gardenhire 2. Mike Scioscia 3. Ozzie Guillen (also still a dick) All choices made through some kind of statistical measure. :)

So what, just let them be happy for their team that won the World Series 3 years ago. The stupid part of the argument is the assumption that anyone who lives in Chicago has to hate one or the other, which is just juvenile crap.

Really, it would make most sense if the teams were simply seeded 1-4 by record. If that gives a wild-card team home field advantage in a round, so be it.

The Brewers strike me as a prime example of a "just happy to be here" playoff team. But, you never know until the games are actually played.

If the Cubs beat the Dodgers, I immediately expect the Cubs to win the World Series. In fact, if the Cubs win the first game against the Dodgers, that will do a lot to get the monkey off their backs and make me feel a lot more confident. So, your two options are get swept or win world series?

Please tell me someone didn't try the "You don't know how it is if you don't live in Chicago" argument.

Stats: Team Efficiency Ratings: - Bears 11th overall in efficiency. They won last week despite being clearly outplayed. - 21st offensively, 9th defensively, 5th ST. Same as ever, really. Although the defense is better than it was last year. Team Offense Ratings: - 21st overall offensively, but 25th in passing and 10th in rushing. They were actually projected to be worse offensively at this point, which is promising, but the passing game was much worse this week than it was overall after last week. Team Defense Ratings: - 9th overall, 12th passing, 9th rushing, above average efficiency in both. Slightly worse than projected, but still adequate. Team Special Teams Ratings: - 5th overall, which is lower than projected. The Bears have traditionally dominated special teams efficiency (as in, first by a long ways), so there's been a dropoff here to this point. - They're slightly above average in point-kicking (FG/XP) efficiency, second in the NFL in kickoff efficiency, upper third in kickoff returns, upper third in punting, 5th worst in the NFL in punt returns. Hopefully will improve with a healthy Hester actually running forward. As for individuals, Orton has been....bad. 28th among QBs in overall value, 30th in value per play. Forte is middle of the pack, 20th in overall value, 18th in value per play. His success rate (rate of successful running plays to overall running plays) is near the bottom of the league, though. As Wide Receivers go, Lloyd has actually been very good, 16th in the league in overall efficiency, 15th per play. He'd certainly be missed if he's out for an extended time. Rashied Davis is right about at the bottom of the list of qualified receivers (12 catches). Hester has been slightly above average to this point, with hopes that he can pick up the slack if Lloyd is down. Booker has been more useless than Davis. Tight Ends have been a huge disappointment thus far, as both Olsen and Clark are right at the bottom of the qualified TE list in efficiency, both far below average. The Offensive Line is pretty poor, 24th in the NFL in run blocking efficiency, 22nd in pass blocking efficiency. Run blocking is much better on later downs, but abysmal on first downs. The Defensive Line is very good at run stopping (9th), not so good in pass rushing (20th, an NFL average 8 sacks overall).

Actually, Buffalo doesn't play a division game until week 8. Then, 2/3 of their remaining games are divisional.

I thought Braun was a better comparison, since it's fresh from yesterday in the minds of fans. :P

Yeah, Howry basically turns the entire NL into Ryan Braun when he pitches. In contrast, Michael Wuertz basically turns the entire NL into Kosuke Fukudome when he pitches.

Let's go White Sox, since my wife is going to be home tonight and it's better for everyone involved when the Sox win.

Yes, at the end of August, also encompassing the last time they played a good team (swept in 4 @Philly). Also included a sweep at Washington. To be fair, they also swept the Phillies in 4 games earlier in August. They're not pathetic, they're better than they were in June, still the worst team in the playoffs.

Ethier was playing before the Manny trade. It's not as if Andruw Jones was walking out there every day. Also, Furcal is just coming off the DL and played 4 games prior to the end of the season, going 2 for 9 with no XBHs. The Dodgers finished the year 14th in the NL in scoring, going 8th in the NL over the last month+.