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He walked the bases loaded. Technically true, but it doesn't paint the exact picture. He gave up a hit in the 6th, then walked 2 guys to load the bases. Walking the bases loaded implies that he walked all 3 runners, which he didn't do. He then got a sac fly, then another hit. Then he was pulled (having given up 2 runs and 2 runners on) and Cotts let both inherited runners score.

Huh? They lost one player on offense. Yes it was a big player they lost but besides Rodgers how is it a unknown? Grant? I could see. They have one of if not the best WR group in the NFL. A improving line, and Donald Lee is starting to come into his own as a TE. I'm not sure I'd lavish that high of praise on them. They're one of the better WR cores, but they still are really 2nd tier. I can think of several teams off the top of my head that have better. Like who? Colts Pats Arizona Cinci After that there are a couple of teams that can be argued either way (Detriot, New Orleans, maybe one other that I can't think of right now). Indy? Probably Pats? No Arizona? haha no Cinci? No Arizona? Seriously? Yes they have Boldin and Fitz but after that? Come on now New England has Moss and Welker but Gaffney and co. would be battling it out with Ruvell Martin for the 5th WR spot on the Packers rosters. Cinci? Johnson and TJ are both elite but Chris Henry is.. well blah. He has talent but he cant stay on the field to prove that. And Chatman wouldnt make the Packers roster. The Packers 1-5 have the arguably most talent and depth in the NFL at the WR position. The Colts are probably the closest however. Gonzalez would probably start over Jones but after that... And Wayne and Harrison are obviously elite but after that it would be Nelson and Martin over Hall and whoever else they have. So I would probably give you the Colts. I think a WR core has to be weighted according to projected playing time. You're right IMO on one thing: the Packers fifth wide receiver has proved more than pretty much any other team's 5th wide receiver. However, that isn't much benefit. Your 5th wide receiver only gets a small amount of playing time. So when looking at receiving cores, having a better 1st and 2nd wideouts are the most important thing. Then, having a good 3rd becomes important as they are on the field a lot. 4th and 5th are really not all that necessary most of the time (many teams don't even use a lot of 4 WR sets). So I would agree with the Colts, Pats, Arizona, and Cincy. They all have 2 receivers who are gamechangers. Those are a lot more dangerous than 5 good receivers who are interchangable like the Packers have (2 of the receivers probably being classified as very good). If you look deeper into those teams, most of them have 3rd and 4th string guys who have enough talent to beat 1 on 1 coverage, which is all you need when having those top 2 guys. I know the Colts and Pats do. I would then put the Packers on the next tier. Good WR cores that can burn you, but aren't the entire focus of a defense. Other teams on this tier include the Steelers (Ward/Homes/Washington/Sweed), Browns (Edwards/Stallworth/Jurevicius), Cowboys (Owens/Crayton), Saints (Colston/Henderson/Patten), and Lions (Williams/Johnson/Furrey). I considered teams like the Giants, Rams, and Seahawks for the 2nd tier, but ultimately decided they were all 3rd tier.

Huh? They lost one player on offense. Yes it was a big player they lost but besides Rodgers how is it a unknown? Grant? I could see. They have one of if not the best WR group in the NFL. A improving line, and Donald Lee is starting to come into his own as a TE. I'm not sure I'd lavish that high of praise on them. They're one of the better WR cores, but they still are really 2nd tier. I can think of several teams off the top of my head that have better.

Lineups: Nationals E Bonifacio 2B C Guzman SS R Zimmerman 3B L Milledge CF R Belliard 1B R Langerhans RF W Harris LF W Nieves C J Lannan P Cubs A Soriano LF R Theriot SS D Lee 1B A Ramirez 3B R Johnson CF G Soto C M DeRosa RF R Cedeno 2B J Marquis P

The U.S. won 101-81.

That's pretty much what it is. He's played catcher a little bit, but mostly they're DH'ing him and working on his catching in workouts since it's been so long since he played there. The plan for him is definitely still as a catcher down the road.

There's no real way that Colvin can salvage this into a good season. But he is certainly interesting because of all the different flashes he's shown this year. Looking over the post-All Star Break numbers, I'm struck by one thing. Colvin's walk totals have gone back to just a little higher than what they were last year. At the same time though, his strikeout rate has stayed down lower than it was last year, and has stayed relatively consistent since the last 10 days of May. Even if he always is a highly aggressive hitter, if he can maintain that ISOP with that acceptable strikeout rate he'll be a decent player. The question is-was the work they did with him the reason for this strikeout rate change? It certainly seems so, since it appeared with the increased walks and didn't decrease when the walks went away. As is almost everything with Colvin right now though, it will take a year or two to sort out all the mixed signals that his splits suggest.

I personally think the Cubs will exercise Blanco's option if he decides to come back. He's a "veteran" who is having a good year heading into his option/buyout. I think the Cubs will see it as the safe option to bring him back for one more year.

Orton's not a good option for you guys for the full season. But he has a decent chance of being a good option against the Colts. The Colts are typically stubborn enough to play the same defense against all types of QB's. They take away the deep ball and allow you to make accurate, short passes that they then tackle you on. If the opposing QB can throw an accurate short ball though, the other team can move down the field and churn up clock. Grossman is the absolute worst type of QB to start against the Colts. He would try to force things, and his strength does not do well against what the Colts are willing to give you. Orton is a better option for the Bears for that game. If he can get 2 good drives in playing a ball control offense, and the Bears add some great special teams in, they could win the game. I would hope the Colts would change their strategy to stop that (play press coverage and force Orton to throw it over them), but after seeing them play against other QB's with weak arms, I doubt they will. BTW, everything I've heard about Manning still says he's on schedule, but he won't return to the practice field until at least next week.

There's no maybe about it. Howry's spot is Gooz's to steal with a good September. That's who exactly I had in mind in terms of Guzman making into the playoff roster with Howry being left out. For some reason, Lou still believes in Howry. You don't need 5 starters in the playoffs, and Lou has never liked Marquis. I could see Gooz making the team at Marquis expense instead of Howry. I hate to say it, but I'd rather have Marquis than Howry on the playoff roster at this point. It might not be the competition betweenthem. The Cubs will likely use only 11 pitchers in the playoffs. The pitchers who seem to be locks: Zambrano, Harden, Dempster, Lilly as starters Wood, Marmol, Cotts, Samardzija, Gaudin That leaves 2 spots for Marshall, Howry, Marquis, Guzman, etc. So it's certainly possible that both Marquis and Howry will get left off the roster. I don't see that happening, but if Howry continues to go the way he's been going it could.

An exception is made when Texas has home games in the heat of the summer. Since conditions can be so horrible in Arlington, they allow them to play night games even on Sunday.

I'm not sure if it's possible in MLB. The club already has so much control over the player (the club can control the player for his first 9-10 years with an organization, while in like the NBA they can only hold them for 3-4). It would be utterly unfair to the players to give them no power over salaries for most of their career.

Nunez threw 53 pitches yesterday for the Braves, and he's right back out there today.

The Cardinals will never make the playoffs if that equation is true. Edit: Sorry SSR. Didn't notice your post.

I'm copying my post and changing a couple guesses (including the Cedeno one which was revealed as wrong): Positive: Reed Johnson Alfonso Soriano Jim Edmonds Aramis Ramirez Mark DeRosa Negative Ryan Theriot

I'll give a try, even though I know I'll probably be completely wrong. Positive: Reed Johnson Alfonso Soriano Ronny Cedeno Aramis Ramirez Kosuke Fukudome Negative Ryan Theriot

Uhh yeah, it was hilarious enough when people were following the Astros earlier in the year. Following them now when they're about 28 games behind us is just nonsensical. Although so is following the Cards. (4%) I wonder if the Mets fans were following the Phillies this time last year. I'm sure they were. The Phillies were 3 games out last year on this date. I keep following the Cardinals because they are pretty much the only viable way the Cubs could possibly miss the playoffs (and even that's slim). I'm not worried about them though...I follow them more for curiosity sake than anything.

Samardzija won't be able to get his first major league start on Sunday. Lou named Marshall the starter, although both Marquis and Samardzija were both very willing to coming back and getting the start.

We're not going to see them again for another year. There's no reason to risk playing with 24 players for 3-4 games just to get vengeance.

http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1946/june_9_1946_106996.html In fact, he got ejected from the 2nd game because he went down to the umpire's room in between games still complaining about what got him ejected in the first game.

The Braves should only have 5 relievers tonight and tomorrow. I can't see Nunez or Bueno pitching again in this series after throwing 50+ pitches each earlier. Plus Carlyle is going to have a tough time going tonight throwing 26 pitches earlier (although I think he could give an inning if needed tonight, or potentially 2 tomorrow). So if the Cubs can keep Campillo from going deep into the ballgame, the Braves could have some trouble for tonight/tomorrow. That's going to be tough to do though because Campillo does a great job of throwing strikes.

I think they would have removed Soto quite a while before that if they were going to start him.

It's a big enough deal that Brenly is more than justified in criticizing Soriano. Not big enough to carry on all week. And as a side note, it was big enough to get Atlanta to throw at his head, I mentioned this earlier, but Dave said he thought it was because Soriano stole second with a huge lead, not because of the hustle thing. I think that's a better explanation. On what pitch was Soriano running..the one that Kosuke walked on? Because Soriano didn't actually steal 2nd base today.

With his control if he does he'll be suspended. I would say the odds are low.

Cox was ejected several innings ago before all this Soriano mess started. I really didn't think Theriot was out at first there, but oh well.