Frayed Knot

Twins because I think they have the best chance of knocking off the MFYs.

Quick 4 innings so far. A's lead 2-0 thanks to a Frank Thomas HR and ex-ers Payton & Scutaro (in for the injured Crosby) teaming up on a 1B-2B combo. Twins are hitless so far

]look I love the Mets and Rutgers Football..Mets since 65 Good lord, you're an adult? That was like my third guess. ]Dick Gallo wrote the cartoon Any relation to Bill Gallo?

The matchup of MLBs two best 2nd half teams; Minnesota: 96-66 (50-31 2nd half) Oakland: 93-69 (51-30) Game 1: Santana v Zito

It's official; Girardi's out in Florida.

Kuo also relieved twice early in the year against the Mets which, when added to his 6 inning start, brings his total record to 9 IPs, 4 H, 12 Ks, 3 BBs Still a small sample but an impressive one - plus it's not like they're starting him instead of Maddux. They'll both get 1 start most likely, just in reverse order.

]• Yankees / Tigers Kenny Rogers • Tigers / Twins Billy Martin (manager) Not sure Billy's pitch will reach the plate. Kenny's will but it'll be out of the strike zone

[u:0777b1e349]Offense Preview[/u:0777b1e349] Russell Martin -- Very nice rookie year for the catcher: .282/.356/.436 with 10 HRs & 26 2Bs in 415 ABs Toby Hall -- Like most backup catchers will probably see little action Nomar Garciaparra -- Likely 'Comeback Player of the Year' had 53 Xtra-base hits and (most importantly for them) over 500 trips to the plate. But not as good in the 2nd half and did strain a side muscle the other day. Jeff Kent -- Not as dangerous as he once was (15 HRs) but still a potent middle-infielder Wilson Betemit -- One-time BIG prospect was a Mid-season pickup from the Braves. .241/.306/.437 in 179 ABs as a Dodger Rafael Furcal -- Much better 2nd half than 1st. Plays everyday with Reyes-like stats James Loney -- Young player (102 ABs) will be a LH-PH off the bench. Half of his 18 RBIs came in one game last week Julio Lugo -- Mid-season pickup from the DRays has struggled in LA: .219/.278/.267 in 146 ABs while playing several positions (3B, 2B OF) Ramon Martinez -- A 2nd baseman, not Pedro's big brother. Got 174 ABs, mostly filling in while Kent was on the shelf: .278/.339/.364 Olmedo Saenz -- 1B/PH. 11 HRs & 15 2Bs in just 174 ABs Marlon Anderson -- Late August pickup who has RAKED since he got there: 24 for 64 with HALF those hits for xtra-bases: 3 2Bs, 2 3Bs, [u:0777b1e349]7!![/u:0777b1e349] HRs. Where'd THAT power come from? Kenny Lofton -- Sits often against LHPs these days. Can still run & field a bit. .301/.361/.403 JD Drew -- For all the grief this guy gets for always being hurt or being a tough-to-reach ass, you sometimes forget how good he can be when his head and body are right: .283/.393/.498 w/60 XBHs Andre Ethier -- Rookie OFer with a good season: .308/.365/.477 Jason Repko -- Got 130 ABs w/o a lot of power (.254/.345/.377). Likely 5th OFer for the playoffs

Oddly, I log onto 'Ali G' websites to ask what kind of car David Wright drives.

There have been several reports over the last few days of various Mets - Franco, El Ducky, Floyd, maybe others - shielding Lastings from prying media following note-gate. Not a huge deal really, except to show that the entire team hasn't banded together to hang him out to dry, meaning that this could either be the work of a select few, or it was much closer to a half-prank/half-wakeup call than a clubhouse version of hate mail.

The interesting job might be in Frisco. If you were interviewing there, wouldn't you kinda want to know in advance: a) whether or not they were planning on re-upping Bonds? and knowing how much authority you would have with him if he was around? I think a lot of folks - including most Giant players - are hoping that they'll just cut ties with him at this point. But his 2nd-half mini-resurgence gave him more HRs this season then he'll need next season to catch Aaron. That alone could give owner McGowen - prolly Bonds' biggest booster already - enough incentive to go one more year. It'll be one of the more interesting off-season questions.

Keep your votes in mind when you're asked to determine the order or your [u:ab5b840e0e]Top 30 2006 Mets[/u:ab5b840e0e] Hopefully we won't visit that project for another month yet.

Clemens on the juice? What's next ... dope on Willie Nelson's tour bus?

That was a nice tribute on Sunday, but I couldn't help thinking as the video montage was playing with rock music (Journey?) blasting over it that Frank was thinking to himself; 'what is this shit?' Frank was a tough SOB when he played ... and that's what his friends called him.

Airlines have been frequent sponsors of sports arenas during this naming-rights era. I wonder if this partnership is a potential sign of things to come for a certain stadium coming soon next door to an airport near you? Delta already has the basketball arena in SLC, Utah I believe.

Perez - 1.4 Wright - 1.1 Floyd - 0.8 Green - 1.1 Valentin - 1.2 Franco - 0.9 AHernandez - 1.1 RHernandez - 0.5 Mota - 0.6 Feliciano - 0.5 Heilman - 0.3 Bradford - 0.5

TBS isn't part of the post-season package until 2007, and I think their reg season (Sunday game) might not start til '08

TBS isn't part of the post-season package until 2007, and I think their reg season (Sunday game) might not start til '08

Glavine - 2.4 Franco - 2.7 Castro - 0.7 Chavez - 1.0 Wright - 1.3 Green - 1.6 Ring - 0.3

I just think it was nice of cleon to chime in and share his thoughts following the 2nd (or is it the 3rd) time he's sworn off this place and exited in a hail of snarling insults.

And, if nothing else, Trax is already in the part of the country (SoCal) where games 3 & 4 are to be played.

]That is late May by my calendar too, but he headlines are all screaming "after the AllStar break"... Typical media, or more realistic? Anything at this point is purely a guess-timate so neither is "correct". Late May (actually 2nd week in June by the time the cutting is done next week) is merely simple math. If that's just the time he starts throwing then post-AS break is more realistic. Throw in the fact that not every recovery is equal, nor is every rotator cuff surgery the same. (I had it on my shoulder but mine was relatively minor. In my case it's now 5 years later and I STILL can't hit 90 on the gun so I guess my recovery should still be considered ongoing.) If we start hearing terms like "full thickness tear" after the operation then we're probably looking at longer recovery times and a good chance that a full recovery might never be seen.

Times for game 1 & 2 confirmed: Game 1: Wednesday 4:00 (4:19 first pitch) Game 2: Thursday 8:00

Keep in mind also that the Sox offered Pedro a 3-year deal. It's not like they "knew something" and wisely backed out altogether. Nor, btw, have they gotten off scott-free from the (older) pitcher that they DID sign to an extension. Schilling missed virtually all of '05 plus a good chunk of '06. Then, just for good measure, he used the word 'IF' the other day when discussing his pitching plans for '07.

="SteveJRogers"] Franco wasn't supposed to BE here TODAY! Now THAT'S funny. I think you'll see a more-or-less reg lineup tomorrow. Just, like today, they'll start filing out in mid-game. Oliver Perez to start. Name chain: Mookie Wilson -- Wilson Delgado -- Carlos Delgado -- Carlos Beltran -- Beltran Perez -- Oliver Perez -- Darren Oliver