Elster88

Variety is the spice of life.

="Edgy DC"]And I'm not in love. I am.

Bud is full of shit. ]He's even said that waiting until mid-season to decide which cities could possibly host games 1, 2, 6 & 7 as opposed to 3, 4 & 5 is "cutting it close". Last I checked, they still don't know which cities will be featured in the WS until the LCSs are over.

]Selig claims that MLB needs more notice (for hotel/media reservations, etc.) than just the last minute timing that 'best-record' would provide them. Amazing that they can get everything set up for the league playoffs, and that other sports can handle it. Edit

You're not helping.

]Glavine, voted onto the staff by players, was replaced because his Sunday start rendered him unavailable for the Tuesday night game. (Martinez, also chosen by players, recently went on the disabled list with a sore hip.) Just saw this snippet in an article. Are players voting for reserves now, and not just the All-Star team manager? I can't remember.

Fun and posterity: PITTSBURGH -- In the world of the Mets and their fans, it's still all good and all Wright. David Wright, dismissed as a Home Run Derby lightweight whose inclusion in the field of eight was a nod to the Mets' dominant showing and their huge fan base, continued Flushing's magical season with a charmed evening. An eye-popping first round carried Wright into the finals of Monday night's CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby, where he was finally cut down to size by Ryan Howard of the Phillies, 5-4, in an all-NL East showdown. "It's all right. It's a little disappointing, but Ryan Howard can have the Home Run Derby if the Mets can have the National League East," Wright, sweat still glistening on his forehead, said a few minutes after the night's final swing. Spotting his adversary four inches and 55 pounds, Wright rebounded from a weary second round but couldn't hold off Howard, who seemed to be just hitting his stride and clinched the Derby with half of his 10 outs remaining. That culminated a comeback affair for Howard, who had finished the opening round with half of the homers hit by Wright, who was spent by that early display. "I was unconscious in the beginning," Wright said. "Then we had the break, and I cooled off. I was brought back down to earth. I wish I would've had all my 30 outs in that first round. I might still be hitting." Wright electrified what had been a sluggish first round. With teammate Paul Lo Duca pitching to him, the Mets' cover-boy third baseman jacked 16 balls into faraway PNC Park seats. That was the third-best opening round in the 21-year history of the Home Run Derby, ranking behind only the two monster exhibitions in last year's edition -- Bobby Abreu's 24 and David Ortiz's 17. The opening show also set up Wright nicely for the second round, considering the new rule of carrying over first-round totals. With Ortiz's 10 the runner-up total, Wright took a sizable edge into a second round that also included Miguel Cabrera (nine) and Howard (eight). Admittedly worn down by his 26-cut first round, Wright muscled only two more balls out of the park in the second round. But Ortiz, considered the Derby favorite, similarly declined to three, while Cabrera passed him with six, before Howard eliminated both of them with a second round of 10 to match Wright's cumulative total of 18. Wright's basic approach clearly worked, at least until he came out of the chute so strong that he emptied his tank. "In regular batting practice, we usually take six to eight swings a turn," Wright said. "I was pretty tired with all the swings in that round." Wright lost the Derby, but there was no doubt in his mind he had won over the doubters. He was sent off by the razzing of his teammates, including Cliff Floyd, who had essentially predicted he would go deep only twice and go home. "Cliff owes me," Wright said with a broad smile. "I'm very happy. I can go back to my teammates and hold my head high. "The guys had been giving me a hard time ... 'You'll be lucky to hit one,' stuff like that. I can definitely walk back in there with a little swagger. "It was a lot of fun, definitely a blast," he added, no pun intended. "It's all right. It's a little disappointing, but Ryan Howard can have the Home Run Derby if the Mets can have the National League East." -- David Wright, on his second-place finish on Monday night Wright's plan had been simple, and he carried it out to perfection. "I'll swing hard, try to keep the same swing I've been using," Wright had said before the competition began. "I'll try to elevate the ball a bit, try to get a good backspin on it." Taking an acerbic approach to their eccentric teaming, Lo Duca had told him, "Just hit a couple. Don't get embarrassed." The Mets catcher had also predicted good-naturedly that if his teammate flopped, "I'm sure he'll blame me. He blames me for everything." Neither happened, to say the least. Lo Duca kept throwing pitches into Wright's wheelhouse, as they made beautiful noise together. This wasn't the first time Lo Duca pitched gopher balls. But it was the first time he did it in front of 38,000 in the seats -- or in front of even seats. "I pitch batting practice to my junior college when I go back home," Lo Duca said. "This is just something I wanted to do." Lo Duca's simple plan was to "throw straight fastballs, over the top. He told me to pitch him down and in, and that's what I'll try to do." As has most everything else the Mets have tried to do this season, the plan worked to perfection. After Wright's first four swings produced three outs, the tandem found a groove. Twice, Wright struck five straight homers, most of his drives digging an aerial tunnel to left-center -- including his longest shot of 476 feet. Afterwards, Wright wasn't sure who was more worn out, swinger or thrower. "I guarantee you I'm gonna go in there," he said, nodding toward the clubhouse, "and Lo Duca's gonna have ice on his shoulder. And he's going to complain. Tom Glavine is already concerned about Paul's rotator cuff." Ahh, the sweet sound of winners chirping.

David's 16 home runs in a round is the third most ever in a single round. The top 4 single-round scores were all set between 2004 and 2006.

Rotblatt wrote: ="metirish"]ESPN had to "bleep" out Wright at least twice after he made outs. I thought that was hilarious. I caught 2 shits and one fuck. Our little boy's got a potty mouth. I only heard dammits.

The back page of the Daily Noise advertises the Reyes-Jeter debates. What a rag.

Is Wilford Brimley still alive?

="SteveJRogers"]="Elster88"]="SteveJRogers"] LF Vladimir Guerrero Angels Still waiting for that back to go out. LOL me too. Tough call for me between this non-move and the Kazmir move for which one I hate more. BJ Ryan could be up there in a few years as well Not even close for me. We got a decent-to-above-average guy instead of Ryan (though I'd rather have a young Ryan approaching his prime instead of a Wagner who will be 39 when his contract runs out---and I'm not a 20/20 hindsighter, at least not on this one). The non-move for Guerrero netted us nothing that year, and of course we know what happened in the Kazmir deal. Wagner is more valuable then nothing and he who shall not be mentioned.

I'm thinking I was at a different game. Not sure. I don't have the stubs.

Gwreck wrote: ="Nymr83"]now thats a HUGE target but i doubt it gets hit more than once or twice a year because of its location and height Far less than that. Try once or twice every 5 years. I don't think anyone's hit it since Mo Vaughn in July 2002 vs. the Braves. I was at that game. But I'm remembering the Pepsi sign. Unless he did both in two different Brave games.

He was bleeped more than anyone else, by far. He was also the only player to refuse a Gatorade after his first round.

Thanks, I get it.

="SteveJRogers"] LF Vladimir Guerrero Angels Still waiting for that back to go out. LOL me too. Tough call for me between this non-move and the Kazmir move for which one I hate more.

Edgy DC wrote: Anybody want to talk about how crazy Kenny Rogers' career is? We're talking about 1999. Who would have taken a bet then that he'd be playing anything but Strat-O-Matic today, let alone starting the All Star Game? I'm trying to work in a steroid theory and blame the cameraman incident on roid rage. It's not working.

Nice KTE.

Zvon wrote: ="metirish"]That sign he hit apparently gave some lucky fan 500 free flights to somewhere. Yea-I read the sign earlier in the contest when they gave it a close up. On the last KaBoom of the night too. Thats a trip. Actually, 500 trips. Though I'm not sure who does all that flying. That's a lot of trips. I've never seen one of those "Hit it here and win" signs hit before.

And why shouldn't the Yankee fans boo the cleanup hitter on the All-Star team? None of the merits that put him in that spot were achieved in BIG spots.

Did Tony Pena play really good defense or something?

*hoping he's kidding*

Edgy DC wrote: Knightly would've been right to turn it down, I imagine, 50,000,000 Elvis fans be damned. Really, what's Disney's battting average for sequels, Pixar collaborations aside? I'm sure every teenager in Christendom (and half of Islamabad) went out to see it this weekend, so what do I know, but I'm pretty disinterested. All of that, too, but she was talking about turning down the original.

Who's got the AL team?