seawolf17

It's always okay to bitch, especially when you keep loading the bases and you can't do anything and you hit a freaking popup in fair territory but you don't freaking run like you're in tee ball and nobody ever taught you what you're supposed to do when you hit the ball dammit and Delgado makes you look stupid which apparently isn't very hard to do because you're hitting .260 and whooo you hit two doubles later but that doesn't count and your only offense comes from your freaking pitcher and finally the club's over .500 and you're not in last place anymore and you've got a guy on the hill who you give like fifteen runs a game every time out there but nooooooo can't do it on a beautiful holiday weekend to maybe get some freaking momentum dammit dammit dammit.Games like this suck.

No, that's not a typo.And no, not our Ramon Castro.[url=http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050701&content_id=1111422&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]story[/url]Nationals Minor Leaguers suspendedRamon Castro, an infielder in the Washington Nationals organization, became the first Major League Baseball-affiliated player to be suspended for trafficking as well as using performance-enhancing drugs on Friday. Castro, who plays for the Nationals' Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg, Pa., has been suspended for 105 games under the terms of baseball's Minor League drug policy -- 15 games after testing positive for amphetamine use and 90 for trafficking performance-enhancing drugs. He will thus effectively miss the rest of this season and about half of next season. Josh Labandeira, also a Nationals-affiliated infielder now in Triple-A New Orleans, was at the same time suspended for amphetamine use for 15 games after failing his drug test. Labandeira played at Harrisburg with Castro until June 10. "The Nationals support the Commissioner's Minor League drug program," Washington general manager Jim Bowden said in Chicago on Friday after the Nationals defeated the Cubs. "We are disappointed two of our players caused these violations. We support the system 100 percent. Hopefully, this will be a good learning experience for the players involved and it won't happen again in the future." Without going into detail, Bowden said he was made aware of the situation last week when the team was in Pittsburgh. "We immediately turned it over to the Commissioner's office and let them handle it from there," he said. "The players were honest and up front in the entire investigation. Hopefully, the issue will be behind us." Castro was hitting .283 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 34 games, while Labandeira was limited to 13 games for Harrisburg because of a strained oblique muscle in his left side. He had batted .400 (8-for-20) in the six games he played since joining New Orleans. The Minor League testing program is much wider in scope than its Major League counterpart. In the Majors, players on the 40-man roster of each team are tested for steroids and steroid-based drugs only. In the Minors, players are tested for steroids and a variety of drugs, including amphetamines and recreational drugs like marijuana, cocaine and alcohol. Even under the auspices of the Major League drug policy, a player can be suspended for "participation in the sale or distribution of a prohibited substance." In the policy established during collective bargaining in 2002, a player involved in those activities can be suspended for from 60 to 90 days and fined up to $100,000 for a first offense, and suspended for two years after a second offense. Under the most recent Major League program, which was implemented on March 3, a player is automatically suspended for 10 days after a first positive test, 30 days for the second, 60 days for the third, and one year for the fourth. All are without pay. In the Minor Leagues, a first offense nets a player a 15-game suspension; a second offense is a 30-game suspension; a third offense is a 60-game suspension; a fourth offense is worth one year, and a fifth offense gets a player banned from professional baseball for life. "The Nationals organization is behind cleaning up drugs in the entire game -- at the Major League level all the way down to the Minor League level," Bowden said. "We think that this strong program that is in place will eradicate it from the game completely."

Good. Let him beat up AAA pitching (as opposed to GIDPing up here) so we can get some value for him.

I wanted Crossworld by Marc Romano -- a sort-of history of crossword puzzles and the National Crossword Puzzle Championships -- to be better than it appears to be, because I really, really enjoyed Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis, the Scrabble book. But it's pretty rambling (and I'm only about 60 pages in), and I'm not too impressed. But we'll see how the rest of it goes.

"I can't believe they didn't give this guy a chance! He's the best reliever in the system!"Sucks for him, and I'm sorry in retrospect that I abused Omar for not calling him up. I hope this isn't the end of the road for him; perhaps he could get healthy and be a Duck.

Floyd 1Wright 2Anderson 2Glavine 1Cameron 2Reyes 1Woodward 1

Aren't knuckleballers awesome up close? We saw one (I don't remember his name) in Rochester a few years ago. My friend and I realized in the first inning that he was throwing knucklers, so we moved down right behind home plate to check it out. It's awesome to see; the ball really does move all over the place, and you can really see the seams. Very cool.

Too bad Mike Bishop never got the chance to read this article.

Baseball Catchers Face Irreversible Hand Traumaby E.J. MundellHealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- In a typical pro baseball game, a minor or major league catcher stops about 150 pitches, many slamming into his glove at speeds well over 90 mph. Add in pre-game practice throws, and the total number of catches climbs as high as 300 a day, experts say.Now, a new study finds that despite recent improvements in glove design, that kind of repetitive pounding is causing long-term, irreversible damage to many catchers' hands -- especially their index fingers."We think that the repetitive impact over time causes scarring around the digital nerves and arteries, and some of the microvessels," said study co-author Dr. Andrew Koman, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.While these injuries may not be career-limiting, they will have an impact on hand function and sensation as the catcher ages, Koman said.In their study, published in the July issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Koman and his colleagues examined the hands of 36 pro baseball players currently active with A-level minor league teams in the Greensboro, N.C.- based Carolina League. The study included nine catchers, seven infielders, five outfielders and 15 pitchers.In the past, Koman said, the real threat for catchers was "clots in the big artery in the palm." But this study showed that newer, better-padded gloves "appear to be protecting that relatively well," he said.Signs of hand trauma were still common, however. Overall, 11 of the players (36 percent) reported hand symptoms such as pain, numbness, weakness or tingling, the researchers said. Catchers were by far the most likely to suffer symptoms, with 44 percent reporting weakness in the gloved hand vs. in the throwing hand. In contrast, just 7 percent of pitchers and 17 percent of infielders/outfielders reported hand weakness.Then the study threw the researchers a real curve ball."What we found were changes in the index finger, which [in catchers] was larger, and showed symptoms consistent with repetitive trauma," Koman said. The finding came as a surprise, he said, since the researchers had expected trauma would be focused in the palm, not the fingers.Many of the catchers complained of weakness, tingling or pain in the index finger, especially during games, although some "resting" symptoms were reported as well. Index fingers were also often found to be significantly enlarged, another sign of chronic damage to circulation and nerves."What's interesting -- and what we don't really have an answer to -- is that many baseball players will place their index finger outside the glove," Koman noted. "There's this strap where they put it -- is that causing the damage?" No one is sure why catchers adopt this 'index-outside' style, he said. "It may have evolved to protect the index finger, but it might actually put it at risk," he speculated.Koman stressed that none of these injuries seemed to hamper young ball players in terms of their ability to play the game. "They have symptoms, but it's not career-limiting," he said. "This type of injury will more likely show up as stiffness and cold sensitivity, arthritis in middle-age."Most pro players take these types of chronic injuries in stride, he said, seeing it as the price they pay for doing what they love. "The cost-benefit of this compared to what they want to do with their lives is pretty reasonable," Koman said.Dr. Terry Light, professor of orthopedic surgery at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill., agreed. "Anyone who's doing this professionally will tell you they'll keep on playing till their finger practically falls off," he said.But Light also stressed that most of the pro athletes he has worked with are smart when it comes to protecting themselves."I took care of the White Sox team here in Chicago -- specifically, their hand injuries -- for almost 20 years," he said. "Professional ball players are pretty good at avoiding the kinds of hand injuries that regular folk might get from just playing at a company picnic."That doesn't mean catchers couldn't use a little extra protection behind the plate, however."I would hope that this study will help provide some impetus to look at what's involved with the index finger and find ways to help catchers protect themselves -- while still letting them play baseball," Koman said.

How is this even a question? The Indians logo sucks.

I miss reading Rob Neyer. I enjoyed his stuff.

"Wait a minute! We can just release this guy? Thanks, boss! I hadn't even thought of that!"Phillips is a moron.

Oh yeah! I do remember this poster! I thought it sounded familliar. I didn't even look at the person posting it... I just assumed it was one of the regulars.

I'm tempted to think they'll last, but I guess I probably would have picked "I don't know." I feel like the whole team is playing over their heads, and I have to figure they'll fall back to earth. So I picked "melt."

Nice job, Doc.Rockin' Doc wrote:Antonio Alphonseca � 610 day DL � Right elbow.Tough break for Joey Six Fingers. That's a long DL stint.

That's the secret square!!! You could win a trip for two to sunny Acapulco!

It's Alice. She's always bringing the whole group down complaining about Sam.

!!!!!!!!!!Those bastards! Who can we call? Who can we e-mail? Bring back text files, dammit!

Welcome to the 21st century, USA Today.Martinez 2Floyd 1Woodward 2Reyes 2Cameron 1Hernandez 1Looper 1

Give that man a Schaefer point! 2 out of 3, 2 out of 3, 2 out of 3. Slowly coming together.

I completely misjudged the lineup above. Ignore that. Sorry.

Looper vs.Tomas Perez: 2-9, 2B, 2 KMike Lieberthal: 7-16, 2 2B, BB, 2 KDavid Bell: 3-11, 3 BB, 1 K (Bell is the only player left on the bench)I'll take my chances in the ninth. Plus, Lieberthal and Bell are both righties.

The double play... the pitcher's best friend.

(sigh)Mets Career GOICS1. Mike Piazza 827

Cliffy walks. First and third. Let's steal one more, Cliffy.