Killing Kardinals

"We have to go out there," Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano said after Game 1, "and kill the Cardinals."

Looks like the biggest news of the day is how the umpire killed the Cubs instead.

Down 2-0 with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Moises Alou hit a screaming liner down the third base line that the obviously myopic umpire Justin Klemm Klemm ruled foul. "That's a big play," Cubs manager Dusty Baker explained. "That's a play where the guy has to get the call right. That's what these series are all about. It's a game of inches, and according to everyone who saw it, it was fair."

According to the nitwit, the ball was foul and the game was blown. Alou then popped out to end the threat.

Between innings Antonio Alfonseca, with a 1-1 record and a 5.19 ERA for the season, burst out of the bullpen and ran into Klemm on a dead run, knocking him backwards, earning an ejection and probably a suspension before fans started throwing beer cups onto the field and a frothing Moises Alous joined the rant and also was restrained.

Cubs manager Dusty Baker defended his players, saying it was obvious on the TV replay the ball was fair.

But the doubleheader wasn't all for naught. Sammy Sosa hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 15th inning to defeat the Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader. The Cubs remained 1½ games behind St. Louis and they trailed Houston by a game.

Man, history is definately repeating itself in the 2003 AL West. Not only have the Mariners blown a big lead over the A's in their division, just like they did in 2002, but now the A's are off on a ten game winning streak reminiscent of their 20-game winning streak in 2002. Well, half of it anyway.

With both the Red Sox and the Mariners winning, the Sox are still a game behind Seattle for the AL Wildcard. The Red Sox beat the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox 2-1 despite Cy Young candidate Esteban Loiaza's two-hit beauty. The loss cost the White Sox half of their lead in the American League Central, which is down to one game over Minnesota and two over Kansas City.

Nice memory lane article in the Trib by John Mullins recalling the 1983 White Sox led by Tony La Russa: Winning Ugly.

In Case You Missed It: Manny Ramirez Is A Yankee-Lover

Red Sox manager Grady Little benched slugger Manny Ramirez for last night's important interdivisional game against the Chicago White Sox, even though Ramirez, whose absence from the previous four games because of an "acutely sore throat" (ie: Dominican Flu for Quitters) has become shrouded in controversy, told him he felt well enough to serve as designated hitter.

On Monday, Ramirez turned down several requests by Little and his coaches to pinch hit as the Red Sox rallied from behind to beat the Philadelphia Phillies with six runs in the ninth inning. When asked if that factored into his decision, Little said, "That was part of it."

Blogger Eric Wilbur has a nice assessment of the Manny Ramirez Sick-Out:

"Ramirez called in sick for the fourth straight game yesterday in Philadelphia, after missing the entire weekend series against New York, despite reports that he was out mixing with Enrique Wilson Saturday night at the Ritz bar. The next morning, he reportedly missed his scheduled doctor’s appointment at Fenway Park. All this a week after he admitted to ESPN’s Joe Morgan that it was his dream to play for the Yankees.

Good God, enough already.

No more excuses. No more, “That’s Manny being Manny” gibberish. It’s time for Ramirez to grow up. This latest episode is inexcusable, and has the team’s owners, fans, and teammates up in arms. There aren’t many running to Manny’s defense in case you haven’t noticed."

ANATOMY OF A YANKEE-LOVING QUITTER

1. Admits to ESPN's Joe Morgan that it was his dream to play for the Yankees, not the Red Sox.
2. Due to a sudden and mysterious outbreak of the Dominican Flu For Quitters, he is OUT SICK for the ENTIRE Yankees series.
3. Instead of being rumored to be at home SICK, he is instead rumored to be in a bar, throwing down with Yankee Enrique Wilson instead of home in bed on Saturday night after the Red Sox horrific loss to the Yankees.
4. Misses scheduled doctor's appointment Sunday morning in order to avoid being discovered as a fraud.
5. Declines to pinch hit in big game against Phillies that the Red Sox win anyway.
6. Benched by his manager, Grady Little.

Hey, to hell with whining about Manny. It's time for the Red Sox fans to Burn Him In Effigy!

If not, then Burn the Witch! instead.

Maybe it's time to try some maggots and leeches to cure Manny of his Red Sox-itis.


Rookie of The Year Not Yet Derailed

In the NL Wildcard, the Marlins lost while the Phillies rebounded from that demoralizing defeat to the Red Sox on Labor Day and pulled even with the Marlins again.

The D-Train took it on the chin once again, losing his fourth straight game. This time however, he wasn't slammed, he was just outpitched. Willis struck out 8 in 6 2/3 innings and allowed only two earned runs but it was still too much as his teammates were only able to muster 2 runs and the Marlins lost their NL Wildcard lead after having it only a day, 3-2.

This does not mean Dontrelle Willis doesn't deserve the NL Rookie of the Year award.

I don't want to hear about Brandon Webb, or Scott Podsednik (.316, 34 steals), who recently helped the lowly Brewers to 10 straight wins. These guys are good rookies having good rookie seasons but neither has had the impact on his team nor the impact on MLB this season that Dontrelle has had, even if Dontrelle doesn't win another game this season. How many fans bought tickets just to see Brandon Webb pitch or just to see Scott Podsednik steal a base, hmmm?

Triple Crown Update

Albert Pujols went 0-for-5 with two walks and two strikeouts in the opener against the Cubs last night and then 1-for-4 with a strikeout in the nightcap. This leaves him still leading the NL in hitting, with a healthy .361 batting average over Todd Helton's .352 average. With 37 homers, he is still three shy of Barry Bonds at 40 and with 114 RBIs is still shy of Colorado's Preston Wilson's Coors Field-inflated 126 RBIs. Pujols is 1-for-12 with no homers and no RBIs so far during September.

Mets Infield Battle

Yeah, par for the season, the Mets lost their super shortstop Jose Reyes to a season-ending ankle injury but now they can look forward to seeing second baseman Danny Garcia in action instead. In his major-league debut, Garcia had two singles in four at-bats and made a couple of fine defensive plays as the Mets won, 3-1, on a chilly, wet night at Shea. Garcia raced through the minors this season, playing only 33 games for Binghamton before being promoted to Norfolk, where he hit .266 with 23 doubles, 4 homers and 54 RBIs in 100 games.

On the other hand, Victor Diaz, the "other" Mets second baseman, whom they acquired from the Dodgers this year as part of the Jeremy Burnitz trade, has hit .354 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 45 games at Double-A Binghamton this year.

Recommended site:Illustrated History of Baseball Cards