Welcome to Big D’s personal hell. After the inauspicious exits of my two playoff teams (thanks again Trey for being so gracious in victory…), I hopped on and started reading up on what I missed in the majors this week.  And… the Yankees did what?  Three straight walk-offs, climbing to only 1 game behind Boston and 4.5 behind Toronto?  Well, at least Boston is playing weak teams out West like Seattle…  And David Ortiz must’ve hit a couple of homeruns by now… Or, maybe the red sox (that’s not a typo, they don’t deserve capital letters) just suck right now.  That seems more accurate.

Instant replay has worked? For the first time since implementing it last fall, Andy LaRoche was the first victim of the new system, which was designed to do exactly what it did… Ask Brian Bruney how he feels about the replay system.  (D Note: No other athlete is more pampered than a major league pitcher.  That might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard – replay injured my arm.  You don’t want your arm to get cold?  Keep throwing warm up tosses.  Jackass.)

Remember that Ryan Zimmerman hit streak? Thought so.

In 2023 when A-Rod is not voted in the Hall of Fame, who will have his back? Pete Rose…word.  (D Note: Here’s where I go off on a tangent… Bonds, McGwire, Clemens – they’re all Hall of Famers.  Manny, A-Rod and others are not not.  They’re the only one to legitimately get caught and confess to it.  They failed the test when it was illegal.  If you want to vote the ones who were caught into the Hall, then fine – discount their stats for the years they admits to using or tested positive, and any subsequent years if they test positive again.  It’s a simple solution – A-Rod needs an extra three monster seasons to pass Bonds on the All Time Home Run list.  In turn, if we discount Bonds’ stats from when he admitted – to a Grand Jury – to using The Cream & Clear, then he is still behind Aaron.  See, everyone wins.  Let me give Miz his soapbox back now…)

This might go down as the greatest story in MLB history…Seriously though. John Lackey’s two pitch start has to be some sort of record. No injury. No rain delay. Just a grumpy umpire.  (D Note: Clearly Trey is discounting every Mike Hampton “start” from the past six seasons, when he was usually injured during the bullpen session or warmups)

The DH is UnAmerican…and Joe Maddon agreed. At least for one game. An American League team losing it’s DH is like seeing the Field Goal Kicker going down in a NFL game. Especially when they have to hit in the 3 hole. The sad thing is he drove in a run.  (D Note: This story just made me laugh.  I pitched for a very long time.  I used to love to hit – still do.  And I’m 100% for dumping the DH and making pitchers get in the box.  Not only would it be hysterical, it would speed up games.)

Trey - Overrated: Winning at home. Ask the Phillies, they’re 8-12 at home…and 12-4 on the road. I’ll take that come October. Underrated: David Ortiz’s effect on the Boston lineup, regardless of how he’s hitting. You think any manager would pitch to him regardless of how bad he’s been going. No.

Big D – Overrated: Oakland, in general.  Billy Beane always manages to turn it around in the summer, but they’re the worst team in the AL and ahead of only the Nats in the NL.  Not good for a team expected to compete for a division crown.  Underrated: Let it be known that after almost 1/4 of the season, the Rangers & Brewers are division leaders.  Between them, they have maybe one legitimate “ace” starter.  And it’s not Jeff Suppan.  Just goes to show that when you can mash, you don’t need pitching.  At least until August.

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