The High Heat

Romney has the Bush's, and he's made it a mission to pretend they never existed.

Holliday's got something coming in early April 2013. He'd better practice not digging in during spring training.

When I was 14 we lived adjacent to an Air Force base in Ohio. In the summer of 1985 a family friend used his credentials to get us on base to get a view of the Challenger Space Shuttle, which was being transported on the back of jet. Of course, we all know what happened a few short months later in January of 1986. I like your story better, Donna. Plus, you got a whole lot closer than we were allowed!

Yeah, his left ankle is cracked, fortunately with no catastrophic damage. I've never seen Jeter lose his balance before (which has always impressed me), so the weakness in left foot for the last few weeks most likely contributed to the break. Same thing with Ryan Howard last year when his lingering foot issue led to a snapped Achilles. One thing is for sure, I'm not looking forward to the offseason debate of moving Jeter off SS. It's gonna be a long winter.

Both. It's been my position that the Nats aren't quite fundamentaly sound enough for the trophy. Ironically, I thought the bullpen was the least of their worries. And the Cardinals are relentless opportunists.

I'd guess Baltimore will be in on the Hamilton bidding. Despite their abrupt turn-around, they're still trying to replenish their farm system. However, since they've won over 90 games this season, they'll be near the bottom of the draft; so giving up basically a couple of 2nd rounders for a talent like Hamilton could be worth a gamble. They certainly could use a potent 3 or 4 hitter, which would make Adam Jones even better if he was right before or after Hamilton.

56 feet at my feet. 61 feet, 10 inches at my scalp.

See Kris Medlen on how to handle a recovering TJ surgery pitcher. There's too many variables on having a string of postseason runs. Strasburg could be great for the next 7 years, but Gonzalez could blow out, the bullpen could blow up, Ryan Zimmerman could blow a knee, and guys like Werth, LaRoche or Desmond could just blow. When you get the opportunity to win right now, you go for it.

I've seen the IFR called in the grass just beyond the infield dirt, but never that far out; and never with the infielder still moving away from the infield. I think Chipper Jones summed up the play and the game in the simplest of words. He said he understands the IFR as the fielder has to be able to catch the pop up while being able to camp under it. This particular pop up would have had to be caught by an outgoing infielder or incoming outfielder - it was not a gimmie. Chipper also said the Braves lost because they made three errors, none bigger than his own.

It helps to mix it up. I go on binges, from Wilco to Dylan to Elliott Smith to Wilco to... Currently I'm on a three month long Springsteen bender and it's been marvelous!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121006&content_id=39538688&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb Terry Francona will be the new manager in Cleveland. Going low key will probably be good for Tito.

Is that Ricky Ricardo?

Well, apparently the Red Sox are being run by Beavis and Butthead.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121004&content_id=39484104&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb The Red Sox have broken up with their Valentine.

The Rangers end up as a wild card? Criminey, how does that happen?

Read Mystic River twice and have seen the movie more times than I can count! Favorite movie and second favorite novel behind To Kill A Mockingbird! Part two of The Given Day came out yesterday:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121002&content_id=39363856&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb Remember Adam Greenberg? He's that guy who played for the Cubs seven years ago and got hit in the head by a Marlins pitcher with the one and only pitch he saw in his MLB career. He's back in the bigs on a one day contract with the Marlins and will be used as a pinch hitter tonight. This is being done as a fund raiser after a campaign to get Greenberg an official at bat rather than a plate appearance. Greenberg, who has been playing independent ball in recent years, would also like to catch

Condolences, Crow.

Cars Can't Escape (2nd half would likely have been altered if it had gotten into Jim Rourke's hands, I suspect.)

What about the other Jay? At least there was a lawsuit involved there. What ever happened with that litigation anyway?

Although I favor Trout, I'll concede that if the Tigers make the playoffs and the Angels don't, Cabrera should win the MVP. We all thought Detroit would walk away with the division, but they're struggling to compete for the wild card. The Tigers most likely are. 500 or worse without Miggy. They have holes in their lineup and they're slow defensively. The Angels are finishing third mostly because the A's have played well beyond anyone's expectations. To me the A's success does not lessen the impact Trout has had on the Angels and the American League. He's been tremendous.

If Cabrera wins the triple crown, he'll probably win on that alone. That's a rare feat and carries a lot of weight. Both the Tigers and Angels, despite winning, haven't done as well as they could have, so team performance may not matter in the vote - except that the Angels' season turned around with Trout's callup and performance. I'm in favor of Trout, but Cabrera has become the Eddie Murray of this generation - always in the top five in MVP voting, but never winning the trophy.

Depending on circumstances, $200K salary can make you "well-off" or "comfortable." In monetary terms, "rich" is having everything paid-off and not ever needing any salary to live decently.

Ichiro 7-for-8 with 4 steals in Wednesday's doubleheader. Flashback of 2001! Mr. Suzuki is hitting .317 with the Yanks. Good to see him make a bit of return to form.