O-o-T-S -- Week of Aug 20 - ??

[Frayed Knot]

If you don't count what's going on at Citifield this week, it should be a fun week in baseball in general.


* Braves @ Nats in the most important series the Nats have ever played during their brief life-span and maybe the most important series the city of Washington has seen since the great depression. Although, in reality, the Nats come in with a 5 game lead and as long as they don't get swept they'll finish with a lead of at least 4 games.
Game 1 began with another rain delay, and now they're tied at 4-4 and are headed for the 11th


* the Yanx are visiting the Chicago Venturas. Yanx jumped to a 4-0 lead but then Freddie Garcia remembered that he's Freddie Garcia and the Sox put up a 5-spot in the 5th against 4 pitchers that Girardi trotted out in that inning.
Currently 8-6 Sox in the 7th. The first six innings alone took just short of 3 hours so the results of this one may not make your morning papers.



* Tampa won their 5th straight and 12th of their last 14 since the return of Longoria to keep the pressure on the Yanx.
If the results from Chicago hold up (and if someone named Daley is counting them they certainly will) the MFY lead slips to 4 games



* Giants at Dodgers on the left coast. LA with a half-game lead entering tonight.
1-0 Giants in the 5th on an Angel Pagan HR
Kershaw vs Bumgarner

[Frayed Knot]

So the Nats won in the 13th on three consecutive infield singles with a little defensive help from the Braves thrown in (what is this, a Yanquis opponent?).
Chipper & Janish collided with kicking the second one which allowed the first runner to go 1st-to-3rd on a ball behind the mound. And the winning "blow" was somehow ruled a hit even though bobbled by Dan Uggla at least three times as the run crossed the plate.
Now a 6-game lead for Washington. Strasburd & Maholm today.



Giants held on for a 2-1 win to flop the 1st place standings in the west.
Lincecum vs Blanton tonight.

[Frayed Knot]

So Dickey is prevented from wearing a, what, 1/4 inch thick?, brown leather strap around his wrist and yet Kris Medlen, pitching for Atlanta tonight in Washington, is wearing a shiny chain around his neck, and outside his shirt to boot, that's thicker than ones I've used to lock up expensive bicycles.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Put Orioles-Rangers on, if you have access. It's gripping!

Also KC@Rays is a good old fashioned pitchers duel. 0-0 going into the bottom of 8th.

edit: top of the 9th now!

[Frayed Knot]

A Youkilis Grand Slam in the 5th puts the ChiSox up 6-2
The Yanx jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st which included a Jeter HR on the 1st pitch of the game.
He passes Eddie Murray and gets to Rose-minus-1,000 and counting.

[bmfc1]

Gordon Edes ?@GordonEdes
Blockbuster: red Sox, Dodgers working on deal that would send AGon, Crawford, Beckett and Punto to LA. Hurdles remain, but closing in