Anyone notice how Hinske has more hits than Barry Bonds?

Crozier gets the start at 1B, and the only RH batters for the Jays are Wells, Rios and Quiroz, who's filling in for Zaun. Guillermo's fluently bilingual, in case anyone was wondering. They just had a nice dual interview of the Venezuelan battery.

Tomorrow's cancellation means Chacin's going to get skipped. Doc and Lilly are already getting one extra day of rest, so the soonest we may see Gus is Wednesday in Baltimore, which means no start at home next weekend.

Brazelton has been inconsistent, but he's handled the Jays very well twice before this season. Bush is trying to erase the memory of his only previous visit to the Trop. Could be an interesting duel.

Adams just missed another leadoff HR. I love this kid.

Hinske has more hits than Barry Bonds?

True, but we all know why.

Bonds came up in the bottom of the 1st today. 1 out, Feliz on 1st base, Giants down 2-1.

Intentional Walk

He batted next in the 3rd. 2 out, no one on base, game tied 2-2

Intentional Walk

He batted in the fifth, after Feliz hit a leadoff single, game tied 4-4

Walk

Granted, the first two were with Jose Lima pitching. Barry sees Jose on the mound and yells "Lima Time!!" He's 10-21 (.476) with 5 HRs.

Last night in a 3-2, with the tying run on first and Eric Gagne pitching, Tracy gave him an IBB.

Its possible that if you gave Tom Glavine in 650 plate appearances might end up with more hits than Bonds.

Oh, and how about those Cubs? Tee-hee.

Is Gabe Gross sitting out for Yom Kippur as well?

I'm relly starting to dislike this Aubrey Huff fellow.

Bottom of the seventh, one out, Feliz on first, game tied 5-5. IBB for Bonds, from Mike Venafro?.

They must be howling in San Fran. The chickens are screaming on the scoreboard.

Oh, and how about those Cubs? Tee-hee.

I'm gleefully joining in the laughter, Magpie. Despite the Cubbies' soft schedule down the stretch, I'm hoping both the Dodgers and Giants get in. It will make for two very enjoyable NL series, as I root for the Cards against anyone and anyone vs. the Braves. If there's an Atlanta-Chicago matchup, I simply won't watch.

Two great games on the west coast are more interesting than this one, after Bush "hung" a changeup to Cummings. It's 3-3 in Anaheim, top eight, K-Rod still on the hill.

Bonds has scored 123 runs this year, second in the NL. Of course, he had to drive himself in 44 times...

Which leaves 79 runs scored. By a man who has reached base 313 times (without the HRs), and hit or run himself into scoring position 36 times.

79 runs.

The Giants really suck, don't they.

Nice one, Eric!

Bush served up another meatball, a curve in the middle of the plate that Geoff Blum crushed to make it 4-zip. I'm questioning the pitch selection on both homers -- change speeds on the good hitters, spot your heater against the likes of Cummings and Blum. Q called them, but Dave didn't shake them off, and he left them in hittable spots.

Boom! Nice to see that kind of power from Crozier; too bad somebody wasn't on base.

That was Cummings' first HR since 2000.

I wonder what the longest stretch is between homeruns by any position player...

I'm trying to follow the above-mentioned games on MLB.com Gameday, but it's not quite as exciting. I wish I could get Extra Innings with Shaw.

I'm with you, Ryan -- I'd change channels if I could. Garret Anderson just doubled off Rincon to give the Angels the lead.

Its always fun watching the Cubs fall on their faces. It used to be a lot more fun before this year, because Greg Maddux is one of my all-time favourites, and we had a nice time on the Roundup the other day swapping Greg Maddux stories (Curt Schilling started it!). Plkus I love Marc Prior the same way that one loves a brand new Ferrari... rapt admiration of state-of-the-art whatever...

Prior, from the first time I saw him, has always made me think that if God were to design a pitcher, this is what she would come up with... I get a little demented about Prior.... I admit it.

Garret Anderson, RBI double. Angels go ahead 4-3, bottom of 8.

Garret Anderson doubles in Amezaga. 4-3 Angels in the bottom of the eigth.

O=Dog opens the 4th with a triple, if the Jays cant bring him home, I'm turning off the TV for the night.

Giants have runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out bottom of 8. Top of the order (Durham) at bat.

And Andres Galarraga just struck out pinch-hitting in Anaheim.

There was an ESPN article the other day noting that when Bonds goes into the Hall of Fame, he will be the other guy there whop never had a Hall of Famer as a teammate. The best candidates will be Jeff Kent and Galarraga. (ESPN forgot about the Cat, but he's got a better chance than Bonilla or Williams, I would think)

Giants threatening in the 8th as well. Two on with Ray Durham at the plate and one out. Full count too.

Magpie keeps stealing my thunder.

How long is Ray Durham going to string out this AB?

Right then, thats my que to turn off the TV. I'll talk to you chaps later tonight. Don't touch any of my stuff while I'm gone.

Nine pitches.

Pitch 9 - In play, out(s) recorded

Pop-up to Choi for the second out.

The Giants pretty much have to get Snow here...Feliz has had a big night, and Bonds is...Bonds.

'night, Jobu. Some of us are gluttons for punishment.

Jobu... come back... come back...

Oh ye of little faith.

Rios has to be the worst RISP hitter in the world today, this guy is horrible, why would a moneyball GM like Riccardi fall in love with a free swinger?

Err, obviously I meant the Dodgers.

Ouch. Leadoff Triple for Hudson, and the Jays fail to score a run with the meat of their order.

Ouch. Delgado looks to be pressing in his quest to reach 100 RBI. He seems to have a serious hitch in his swing tonight.

And Rios is just a GIDP waiting to happen given his GB/FB ratio. He needs to talk to whoever got Hideku Matsui to start hitting the ball in the air again.

Snow walks and the Giants have the bases loaded.

Question: With the bases juiced for Pedro Feliz, and 4 outs left in the game, why doesn't Jim Tracy go to Gagne? He's sticking with Brazoban according to GameDay.

I still think L.A. made a good trade, but Dodger fans must be beside themselves. Penny's done for the year, and they really miss Mota -- even if Brazoban wiggles off the bases-loaded hook, this was an extremely tough assignment for any rookie.

Ohhhh, that wasn't hindsight, folks. eliz hits a Grand F'n Slam

Well, Yancey didn't exactly escape unscathed.

So much for wriggling:

Bottom 8th B:0 S:1 O:2
Pedro Feliz hits a grand slam (21) to left field. Michael Tucker scores. Ricky Ledee scores. J. Snow scores.

why doesn't Jim Tracy go to Gagne?

Duh. It's not a save situation. ;)

why would a moneyball GM like Riccardi fall in love with a free swinger

Well, 1) Gord Ash drafted him, and Rios played his way up through the system to where he is clearly the second best outfielder in the organization. That's why he's in the lineup.

And 2) a "moneyball GM" has nothing to do with anybody being a free-swinger, or high on-base percentages or any of that.

The whole Moneyball approach is: "Look for items that have more true value than other people believe they have."

In other words, LOOK FOR BARGAINS. How controversial is that, anyway?

When Michael Lewis wrote his book, the bargains were players with high on-base percentages, and that's what the Oakland people were looking for at that time. The rest of the baseball world has caught on, and smart GMs are looking for other under-valued resources. Beane, for example, has focused on defensive players lately....

Jesus. And they STILL won't pitch to Bonds.

Well, I guess they sort of did. He ended up walking for the fifth time, though.

It's not a save situation.

True. The game wasn't on the line. Just the friggin' season.

But that's why Yhenzy Brazoban was pitching instead of Eric Gagne.

And after Bonds gets his fifth walk of the game, here comes our old pal Giovanni Carrera.

I was in the Dome for Giovanni's debut, and did he ever suck. But he picked up of the cheapest W's I've ever seen....

Awesome West races in both leagues. Giants, barring a nightmare ninth, are back to within 1.5 games with four left head-to-head. Depending on what the Rangers do later, three teams may be within two games in the AL.

Magpie, well stated. Your comments should live in the FAQ under definitions.

Moneyball = business model. Moneyball <> OBP, necessarily.

Thanks for the explanation magpie, I just cannot wait until we're rid of everything from the Ash-era so Riccardi can finally put his "plan" into work.

P.S Sorry about your Dodgers but their not going to make the postseason.

I just cannot wait until we're rid of everything from the Ash-era

Needn't be too hasty. That list would include guys like Hudson, Wells, Halladay... And Rios is not exactly chopped liver as a prospect.

OK, Oakland-Anaheim is a final. LA-SF is all over but the shouting. The Cubs have already coughed up a ballgame with a 3-0 lead, 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning (Tee-hee.)

But for those of us who would like another game to follow, they've got it started in Fenway. 0-0 after the first.

The problem with there being great races in AL West, NL West, and NL Wildcard is that I can't follow them all! Especially since most of the games are too late for me to watch live, and I can't flip backwards and forwards between the archives. Also, I have to avoid all baseball news sources until I've caught up with the previous evening's action.

Perhaps I'll pick a single race to watch. AL West probably, since I'm much more familiar with AL players.

Like most people, I usully enjoy watching Red Sox/Yankees, but this game is pretty much meaningless. I'll watch the Blue Jays and hope to see more good plays from rookies.

This Yanks-Sox series is tremendously overrated, it's not a race and hasn't been since June in my opinion where the team flip flopped for a couple of weeks. The AL West, NL West and NL Wildcard, those are races, the AL East has been finished for months. The Yankees are up by 5.5 and most likely will be up by 6.5 by the end of the night. Hopefully that can quiet Red Sox Nation so they can realize that they've practically clinched the AL Wildcard and will be opening up against the Twins in the first round of the postseason. I don't know why the Sox would want to win the division, you just have to get in, doesn't matter how you do it.

Just to add to the last message, Sheffield might be the MVP of the AL but Matsui has to be the MVP of the Yankees. He doesn't need cortisone shots like Sheffield and doesn't slump like A-Rod, he juts hits, hits and hits.

I don't know why the Sox would want to win the division, you just have to get in, doesn't matter how you do it.

Home field advantage?

Guillermo's fluently bilingual, in case anyone was wondering. They just had a nice dual interview of the Venezuelan battery.

Lost me... ESPN doesn't have the Live Update running... Who's the Venezuelan battery??

Sorry about your Dodgers but their not going to make the postseason.

Aw, they're still in good shape. Even if they go on to lose, they're 1.5 ahead of the Giants, and they'd still be ahead of the Cubs if they have to fight for the Wild Card.

And the Cubs... Marc Prior pitches a fabulous ball game (and that's two in a row - he's BACK, people), and they blow a 3-0 lead in the 9th. To the Mets.

On homers by Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell. Who now have 3 career HRs between them. After today's hi-jinks.

Only the Cubs....

By the way, you won't believe what Tim McCarver said during the extra innings.

Something to the effect that "There's way too much talk about character at this time of year. If the Cubs should manage to win this game after that 9th inning, you'll hear them all talk about their team's character..."

Tim? Is it really you?

Chacin-Quiroz

Who's the Venezuelan battery??

Chacin and Quiroz, only not tomorrow.

I'm out of here, people. Visitors have arrived and Thai food is on the way.

I'm out of here, people.

First, Jobu... now Coach... who's next?

Well, I guess it will be me. You're right Urooj - even if it is Yankees- Red Sox, it's only meaningful to the fanatics of Red Sox Nation and the Bronx Hordes.

I'm off to play some Nintendo... they didn't have these things when I was young, I'm making up for it now.

Later, gang!

Chacin and Quiroz, only not tomorrow.

Ah, ok... cause Bush...well, never mind...

By the way, you won't believe what Tim McCarver said during the extra innings.

Something to the effect that "There's way too much talk about character at this time of year. If the Cubs should manage to win this game after that 9th inning, you'll hear them all talk about their team's character..."

Tim? Is it really you?

Earlier, he said the Cubs were said to be in good shape, finishing with a soft schedule. "Guess what folks. There is no soft schedule."

Yeah, it really is Tim.

Come on not crappy Adams.

Another nice inning from Batista, throwing strikes and working relatively quickly.

Well, the tying run is up to bat.

Well, they aren't giving up at least. Showing some serious fire against this team at this time of year is somewhat encouraging.

Baez looks totally off his game at the moment.

Sweet.

Interestingly, this game could potentially end in a tie.

Wow, talk about getting lucky.

I'm calling it right now, Julio Lugo will single in Rocco Baldelli with the winning run winning the World Serie... I mean, you know what I mean...

Look at it this way, we improve our chances in the draft! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY, more rebuilding!

Jays claw back, but then blow it in the ninth.

How many times has that happened this year? Bleh.

I'm calling it right now, Julio Lugo will single in Rocco Baldelli with the winning run

I realize they lost, but why would you predict it? Do you enjoy pointing out how much this team sucks and how stupid we are for having any hope for them to beat the Devil Rays?

Look at it this way, we improve our chances in the draft!

I'm aware how the draft order works. Take a look at the intro to yesterday's game thread.

We know this is the Season From Hell, and we don't need someone with capital letters to tell us so. And calling Rios horrible? You're on your own there.

I just pointed out the fact that we have horrible luck.

If I was too harsh on you for your comments, I apologize. I lumped you in with the other fans who just say this team is terrible and there is no hope. Usually, I let it go because I love baseball so much, it doesn't matter if my favourite team is in last place and people say they suck and JP is a bad GM and they need to bring back Gillick and Cito. If you aren't one of these bad fans, then I shouldn't have jumped all over you.

You're right -- the Jays do have terrible luck. If that's all you were talking about, joking that Lugo will drive in the winning run because their luck is so terrible lately, then I agree with you.

I'm in a really bad mood right now and you were in my crosshairs at the wrong time, through no fault of your own. Sorry.

I just realized that I'm listening to ESPN Radio talk about college football. Off goes the radio. Why can't they keep Wilner (or Hayes) on until 9:30 or 10? Does it really matter if the FAN cuts into ESPN an hour later?

Wow, no one's posted anything since 9:30? Then let me share a story that will cheer you up:

After I was so upset by the finale of the Jays game, I went bowling with some people from work and you know what I bowled in the 2nd game?

22

Thats right, twenty freaking two.

I mean TWENTY TWO

How is that possible!?!? I dont think I could play that bad again if I tried! Today sucks!!!

has anyone noticed that eric crozier either strikes out, walks, or gets an XBH more othen than not

Sounds like a bowling season from hell.... or at least a bowling game from hell....

I was expecting a happy ending from your story Jobu... but instead, you gave me a funny ending. Either way, made me laugh. Thanks.

Rob, I'm with you... I don't mind SO so much if the Jays are in last because I love the game... its just I want others to love it too, and they won't while their local boys sit in the cellar.

Go Jays Go.

has anyone noticed that eric crozier either strikes out, walks, or gets an XBH more othen than not

since about the only other options left for him are

a) hit a single

or

b)have a malfunction turn on his entrance music in the middle of his at bat, causing the troupe of cirque du soeli to run out and perfrom in a joyus frenzy around Eric, sparking his inner fear of clowns and gymnists to make him snap and begin screaming and wildly striking clowns about the head and neck area until the trapeeze artists can hold him down long enough for doctors and Sakiw to administer a tranqulizer..... what else could he do at an at bat?

You know Rob, I don't mind people piling on the Jays at this point in the season, we are dead in the water and have been for a long time.

Now if it transalates to next season, then we have a problem, but in the mean time, scape goat anyone you like.

http://www.mathesond.mindsay.com
has anyone noticed that eric crozier either strikes out, walks, or gets an XBH more othen than not

what else could he do at an at bat?

Besides the aforementioned single, he could, oh, fly out, ground out, line out, pop out, hit into a fielder's choice, get hit by a pitch, reach on an error, and of course, sacrifice a cuttlefish in the hopes of reversing the Season From Hell

It's true.

In 24 plate appearances, Crozier has struck out 12 times, walked 4 times, and hit 4 extra base hits. He does not have a single and he only has 4 outs that aren't K's. Strange.

Does this indicate he's swining for the fences a little?

Damn.... I think we're setting a record for least posts in a two day stretch.