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That would really suck. It was cool seeing us take on JoePa, but not anymore.

I already found out about the girl I was covering - she finished 31st. 1.59 better would have put her in the finals.

pujols was back today, and even while being "very hurt" he has managed to put up a modest 1.121 OPS. yeah this one doesn't make a lot of sense. yeah but there are no players on his list who are playing terribly. giles has a .306 EqA; roberts might be the best 2B in the AL when you factor in that he's significantly better than kinsler when it comes to defense, and giambi has been better than every other 1B in the AL, at least offensively. also, ludwick is at .229/.296/.417/.713 over the last 28 days, so even though his overall numbers are very good, it's pretty likely that his hot streak is over and the rest of the league has figured him out to a large extent. All good points. I still like to see guys like Nate McLouth, Geovany Soto and Ryan Ludwick get starts if they're truly having the better year than guys like Beltran and McCann. I figure if a guy's hitting well leading up to the game, there's a good chance he'll hit well in the game, though you're point on Ludwick is well taken.

RC Cola is simply awesome. And I'm 25 by the way.

It's a one-calorie cola from Pepsi that's sweetened with Splenda rather than NutriSweet. Hmmm, interesting, thanks.

It's an interesting article, but there are a few logical fallacies in it. First, he stresses strongly the focus on winning the one game - and then he chooses Albert Pujols. Pujols who has been very hurt this year and Perry even admits will be out for a while longer. There are no better options with star power? Second, he complains about a few players' durability. If it's a full season I agree, but we're talking about one game - durability, especially for a position player, should not be an issue at all. Finally, if one player is playing great this year and another is playing terribly, there's no guarantee the first player will be horrible in the All-Star game and the latter player will be just like the old days. Ludwick may be living off a fluke right now, but because of that he still has a much better chance of being good in the All-Star game than an old, washed up vet who used to be good back in the day.

Pepsi . . . though my tastes change fairly often. I usually rotate between Pepsi, Dr. Pepper and RC Cola. What is One by the way?

A girl I covered last year is competing next Sunday in the 100-meter Butterfly at the Trials. I think she might be the only person ever from my county to compete for a spot, so it's a pretty huge deal for us. If, by some very outside shot, she makes it, I doubt I'll get to go over there in person, though. yeah, it's not especially hard to make olympic trials (relatively speaking, of course) but it's extremely hard to make the olympic team. i know a girl who made OTs in 200 backstroke, but she finished like 40th or something, and only the top two (i believe) make the olympic squad. in reality, only a very small handful of the competitors at swimming/diving OTs have a legitimate chance of making the u.s. team. Oh, I - and she and her parents - fully realize she has next to no chance. Her mom told me while she's certainly trying to win this year, this is moreso experience for another run in 2012. And you're right, only the top two make it.

A girl I covered last year is competing next Sunday in the 100-meter Butterfly at the Trials. I think she might be the only person ever from my county to compete for a spot, so it's a pretty huge deal for us. If, by some very outside shot, she makes it, I doubt I'll get to go over there in person, though.

Just out of curiosity, does anybody have any idea how many pitches Marmol has thrown this season as compared to other relievers with similar workloads?

I actually hate covering the little leagues. I realize this sounds a bit harsh, but the LL in this area is pretty poor. There's no real competition at any level, none of the coaches (that I've seen) teach fundamentals well and there are 12-13 year olds still hitting off pitching machines. There's also no possible way I could keep track of scores because the women doing the scoring don't even pay attention to what the score is. I've asked them in the past what the score is and none have had any idea. It's extremely frustrating for the coaches in the area, because not only do they have to prepare kids for high school sports, but they also have to teach them fundamentals and continuously explain why every kid on the team doesn't get into every game. Summer is quite easily the least enjoyable period of time for me in my job.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. Most small, non-daily newspapers actually work this way. Obviously there are others in the newsroom, but I am indeed it when it comes to sports (save for one stringer who sends me stuff off and on). Summer's the toughest part of the year when there are very few organized sports going on. Football, basketball and baseball seasons are much easier. Do you end up writing about the local softball leagues or something to fill space? Yep, exactly. My publisher loves seeing the little league baseball coverage in the paper, so I'll spend the first month or two of summer filling nearly my first page with shots of little kids. It's very tedious not actually covering competitive sports, but it sells papers, I guess. I didn't realize you weren't a daily. Summers suck, we've had to come up with all kinds of creative s to fill space since baseball ended. Man, I can only imagine how difficult my job would be if we were a daily. There's no way I could do it all myself. As for summers, they are pretty much terrible. After little league games end after this month, I'm down to writing only features and praying I get some photos sent in from camps and what not. Counting the days til football season now, that's for sure. This might just be me but when are you not doing that. It starts the day after the Superbowl for me. This is very true, but it's even moreso now that summertime is so difficult for me.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. Most small, non-daily newspapers actually work this way. Obviously there are others in the newsroom, but I am indeed it when it comes to sports (save for one stringer who sends me stuff off and on). Summer's the toughest part of the year when there are very few organized sports going on. Football, basketball and baseball seasons are much easier. Do you end up writing about the local softball leagues or something to fill space? Yep, exactly. My publisher loves seeing the little league baseball coverage in the paper, so I'll spend the first month or two of summer filling nearly my first page with shots of little kids. It's very tedious not actually covering competitive sports, but it sells papers, I guess. I didn't realize you weren't a daily. Summers suck, we've had to come up with all kinds of creative s to fill space since baseball ended. Man, I can only imagine how difficult my job would be if we were a daily. There's no way I could do it all myself. As for summers, they are pretty much terrible. After little league games end after this month, I'm down to writing only features and praying I get some photos sent in from camps and what not. Counting the days til football season now, that's for sure. I don't know how many high schools are in your area, but during that slow time why not preview each of the high school football teams each week. Recap last season, returning starters, etc. We've got three county high schools (my paper covers only Loudon County). That actually may be an option later on in the summer, but I do a special section covering last year for each team and previewing the upcoming year. With as big as high school football is in the area, though, it's a good idea to do more about the football teams in the summer.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. Most small, non-daily newspapers actually work this way. Obviously there are others in the newsroom, but I am indeed it when it comes to sports (save for one stringer who sends me stuff off and on). Summer's the toughest part of the year when there are very few organized sports going on. Football, basketball and baseball seasons are much easier. Do you end up writing about the local softball leagues or something to fill space? Yep, exactly. My publisher loves seeing the little league baseball coverage in the paper, so I'll spend the first month or two of summer filling nearly my first page with shots of little kids. It's very tedious not actually covering competitive sports, but it sells papers, I guess. I didn't realize you weren't a daily. Summers suck, we've had to come up with all kinds of creative s to fill space since baseball ended. Man, I can only imagine how difficult my job would be if we were a daily. There's no way I could do it all myself. As for summers, they are pretty much terrible. After little league games end after this month, I'm down to writing only features and praying I get some photos sent in from camps and what not. Counting the days til football season now, that's for sure.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. Most small, non-daily newspapers actually work this way. Obviously there are others in the newsroom, but I am indeed it when it comes to sports (save for one stringer who sends me stuff off and on). Summer's the toughest part of the year when there are very few organized sports going on. Football, basketball and baseball seasons are much easier. Do you end up writing about the local softball leagues or something to fill space? Yep, exactly. My publisher loves seeing the little league baseball coverage in the paper, so I'll spend the first month or two of summer filling nearly my first page with shots of little kids. It's very tedious not actually covering competitive sports, but it sells papers, I guess.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. Most small, non-daily newspapers actually work this way. Obviously there are others in the newsroom, but I am indeed it when it comes to sports (save for one stringer who sends me stuff off and on). Summer's the toughest part of the year when there are very few organized sports going on. Football, basketball and baseball seasons are much easier.

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia. When healthy, Mark Priors better than both. Is Mark Prior healthy? How long will Rich Harden stay healthy? Harden might be better than Sabathia when healthy, but if I'm giving up valuable chips to acquire a deadline starter, I want to make sure as much as possible that starter will be able to pitch the final three months of the year - that overrides a slight differential in talent. I'm not denying that Harden is a huge health risk, but his situation is not even close to the same as Prior's. I also believe that Harden would be much much cheaper (if Sabathia is even avilable in the first place). If Harden is healthy, there is no doubt that Beane is going to deal him for the best offer. I agree that Harden is much different than Prior, but I'm not convinced he'd be significantly cheaper than CC. He'll be cheaper, but Beane's a great GM. He'll see the need (and desire) the Cubs have and exploit it.

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia. When healthy, Mark Priors better than both. Is Mark Prior healthy? How long will Rich Harden stay healthy? Harden might be better than Sabathia when healthy, but if I'm giving up valuable chips to acquire a deadline starter, I want to make sure as much as possible that starter will be able to pitch the final three months of the year - that overrides a slight differential in talent.

All you ever write about is the Vols! Fulmer stinks and can't win with all that talent! Another Vol was arrested last night! How many Vols can fit into a VW bug? I don't just talk about the Vols! Sometimes I talk about how much the Big East owns college football. :D Well that certainly is nice of you! Darn you and your magical editing skills... [-( I love the line of work I'm in...not necessarily this particular job. This is far better than most jobs I could be doing, but this level of journalism is the lowest paying with probably the most (or close to it) work. Most sports writers only have to research and write their stories. I have to not only do that, but also paginate all my pages - I'm the only sports guy at the paper and I routinely have to fill and put together three pages without the use of a wire service - plus whenever we do any special sections, I'm involved - whether they're sports related or not. My future is definitely in sports writing/broadcasting/etc., though.

Ultimately, I want to end up in sports on TV or radio... but for now I'm sticking to print journalism.

All you ever write about is the Vols! Fulmer stinks and can't win with all that talent! Another Vol was arrested last night! How many Vols can fit into a VW bug? I don't just talk about the Vols! Sometimes I talk about how much the Big East sucks in football. :D well that's just the truth right there Somebody's gotta say it. :wink:

All you ever write about is the Vols! Fulmer stinks and can't win with all that talent! Another Vol was arrested last night! How many Vols can fit into a VW bug? I don't just talk about the Vols! Sometimes I talk about how much the Big East sucks in football. :D

Definitely if there's not a kid around, I'm keeping the ball. If there's one right beside me, though, I'll tend to turn it over to him.

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia. That's a pretty huge caveat, though.

I'm firmly in the "there's no price too high for C.C." camp. Sabathia would be exactly the pitcher we need and a duo of Z and CC in the playoffs would be almost as nasty as they come. I would hate to lose most of the players we would likely lose (Ceda, Hill, Veal, Colvin, Samardzija, etc), but it'd be worth it for a stud like Sabathia.