metirish

He has more power than you'd think by looking at him....Pierzynski � He runs well for a big guy....Cliff Floyd � 500 career games pitched, 20 saves ......no idea � First pitch fastball hitter ....Ray Ordonez � He's a battler ...Art Howe � He's either on or off... there is no in between. ....Jim Edmonds � It's too bad he'd peaked by the time he turned 25. ..George Best � Just because he's a closer doesn't mean he's particularly good. ..Looper � I didn't think he was capable of having a season that good. .....Bert Hermandez � When the season started, I'd never heard of him. .....BJ Ryan

Taken from Buster Olney's article from today... ]The bins of champagne rested in the middle of the Astros' clubhouse, cresting with bottles, right between the big screen television and the couches. Plastic blanketed the lockers, to protect them from the celebration that was to come. Just one more out and half of Texas would come through those doors and celebrate the first World Series appearance for a 44-year-old franchise. I'd not thought about that, had to be even tougher to walk into the club house with all that there. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2005/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=2194717

from the above IGT...and no I didn't read all 19 pages, just the last few after Pujols homered.. ]guys, i dont know what happened. we were only 1 out away.. why didnt they just walk pujols... Do you tell your stud closer to walk Pujols and go git Saunders?

The makeup people will have it all to do, Sly will be 60 for Christ's sake, what's he thinking,I guess a sequel to Cobra wouldn't be as appealing.

nah not me....here's the plot... BY BILL HUTCHINSON DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER He was thought to be down for the count, but Rocky Balboa is ready to rise from the mat one more time for a big-screen comeback. Sylvester Stallone, who created and starred as the street-smart brawler with the eye of the tiger, confirmed reports yesterday that he's raring to get back in the ring. The sixth installment in the boxing saga will be simply titled "Rocky Balboa" and Stallone will play the aging pugilist yearning to recapture his glory days. "'Rocky Balboa' is about everybody who feels they want to participate in the race of life, rather than be a bystander," Stallone said. "You're never too old to climb a mountain, if that's your desire." Shooting is scheduled to begin in December in Las Vegas and Philadelphia, where Rocky got his start. The movie, which is backed by MGM, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios, is scheduled to be released on Thanksgiving 2006. Stallone, 59, who will also write and direct the film, has already revealed one of the biggest twists in the upcoming movie: Adrian is dead! In the earlier films, Rocky always leaned on his wife, Adrian, for support, crying out "Yo, ADRIAN!" in the famous scene from the first film after a bloody battle with then-reigning champ Apollo Creed. And while Adrian is dead, it is yet to be determined whether Talia Shire, the actress who played her, "might appear in a flashback" scene, said Stuart Herriot, a spokesman with Revolution Studios. But, he said, Burt Young will return as Adrian's brother, Paulie. In the new film, Rocky, now a lonely 60-year-old widower, gets a chance to prove himself again when he is offered a bout with fictional reigning heavyweight champ Mason (The Line) Dixon. "The champion's management says let's do this for real, for charity. Rocky says no but decides to be true to himself even though he's going to be berated by everyone. Just to compete, not to win," Stallone told Daily Variety. The actor revealed that he's trying to get the real former heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. to play Dixon. "I am drawing on a lot of my feelings that are in synch with many people's feelings about facing the last chapter of their lives and how they want it to be written," Stallone said. "Rocky goes through the skepticism of trying to go against the tide, to go against common sense." The "Rocky" franchise has grossed $495 million in the U.S. alone and the first movie, released in 1976, won three Oscars - including Best Picture. he's doing it for Charity...figures

My bad, I forgot that Paulie is Adrians brother....Yo Adrian

Stallone wants Roy Jones Jr to play the current World Title holder that Rocky fights, in a twist Adrian is dead , Burt young will be back to play his brother, he must be 80.

]I'm always up for seeing Roger Clemens blow a game 7. I had a dream about that..game seven Rajah gives up a grand slam and the ChiSox win the WS..

Frayed Knot a question, out of the three who would you want at the plate tonight in that situation?...

Eckstein is the last hitter you want to see up , he just never seems to get himself out, he's just annoying and pesky and it seems every AB is foul ball after foul ball with him....he does the job.

Cards win, wow, this is why I love this game....Lidge must feel like crap, the job of closer is the pitts.

David Eckstein and Edmonds should get great credit for their AB's...somehwere in Texas Annie is crying, I feel bad for her.

This is why baseball is the greatest game...I love it.

Pujols is freaking money...wow

Yep a huge rally from the Astros, the Cards have not hit a lick this series,MMP went crazy when Berkman hit that one out...

Thanks sharpie, my info was wrong.

Not sure he'd even want to come back east, isn't he a "west coast guy"?.Konerko is having a career year,I'd be weary of that again.

Yeah those numbers are nice, hos power numbers are way down though...from 99 through 02 he hit over 35 HR and well over 100 RBI, tis a concern no?

I would stay away from Giles, his numbers have decreased since moving to spacious Petco Park, playing at Shea would hardly help that.

I thought Jacobs was done as a catcher, I'm not hot for Bengie Molina anymore,not for the money expected and the years.....Castro is the man.

Edgy that's freaking brilliant...I'm laughing my arse off after reading that...

I had the same expectations as Vic and was pleasently surprised, it was on HBO Saturday night.I enjoyed it a lot.

I just want to say I thought Peterson did a fine job this year with the pitchers, especially Glavine, Heilman, Bert Hernandez and the young guys out of the pen, oh and Seo, can't forget him.

Chiba Lotte won and are going to the Japan series... ]Valentine's Lotte Marines reach Japan Series Tomoya Satozaki doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning at Yahoo Dome on Monday as the Marines defeated the Softbank Hawks 3-2 in Game 5 of the Pacific League's second stage playoffs to advance to the Japan Series, where they will face the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers. "I don't think either team should have lost," said Valentine. "The Hawks are a great team and the Marines are a great team, and I congratulate everyone in the organization." The Marines, who last played in the Japan Series in 1974 when they were known as the Lotte Orions, will open the best-of-seven championship on Saturday at Chiba Marine Stadium. Satozaki came through with the big hit in Monday's deciding game. Pinch-hitter Kiyoshi Hatsushiba reached first on an infield single to third that was misplayed by Tony Batista, Kazuya Fukuura singled to right and Satozaki doubled off the wall in left to score both runners. "We won it with a lot of guts," said Valentine. "We were behind in this game and came back. Hatsushiba led it off with a hit and Satozaki had a huge hit for us." Kazuya Fukuura drove in Lotte's first run of the game in the top of the sixth with a double to left-center that scored Tsuyoshi Nishioka from second to make it 2-1. Soichi Fujita recorded an out in the seventh for the win and Masahide Kobayashi, who blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning of Saturday's 5-4 loss, worked the ninth inning for the save despite giving up a leadoff walk to Naoyuki Omura. "The third game was a heartbreaker for us," said Valentine. "And the guy whose heart was broke the most _ Kobayashi _ was out there tonight for the save." Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who had a league-leading 46 homers in the regular season, picked up his first hit of the series with an opposite field single to left in the third inning that gave Softbank a 2-0 lead. The Hawks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Julio Zuleta walked and then advanced to third on a double to left by Jolbert Cabrera before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Yusuke Torigoe. The Marines, once a perennial Pacific League doormat, have made rapid progress since Valentine returned for his second stint with the club. They just missed the playoffs last season and challenged the Hawks this year for first place in the standings, finishing just 4-1/2 games back of Softbank. Valentine, who is in the second year of a three-year contract, is a fan favorite at Chiba Marine Stadium. He was mobbed by his players after Monday's win and tossed in the air. The Marines cruised past the defending Japan Series champion Seibu Lions in the first-stage playoffs and won the first two games of this series. Valentine, meanwhile, becomes the first foreign manager of a Japanese team to reach the Japan Series since Hawaiian Wally Yonamine did so in 1974 with the Chunichi Dragons, who lost to the Orions in six games. The Marines finished first in interleague play in May and June when they also held first place in the Pacific League standings. They got solid pitching performances from submariner Shunsuke Watanabe (15-4), rookie Yasutomo Kubo (10-3) and Hiroyuki Kobayashi (12-6). South Korean slugger Lee Seung Yeop led the team with 30 homers. (AP) October 17, 2005 Bobby V gets tossed in the air...congrats to Bobby and Chiba Lotte.

Congratulations to the ChiSox, and did I hear right form Joe Buck, the last winning pennent manager for the Sox Al Lopez is alive at age 97?..if so he should join that new thread.