>>But enough about the Phillies (ducking).
>
> We were there the last two nights. Need I say more?
>
>Actually, I do have to mention Cole Hamels. Pitched 5 brilliant innings on Monday-12 strikeouts out of 18 batters faced, with 2 home runs and a walk. Sadly, with nearly 100 pitches, they let him start the 6th. Charlie Manuel (our idiot of a manager) should have pulled him as soon as he walked the lead-off batter, but instead left him in long enough to give up 5 more runs.
>
>As Hamels matures, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Charlie Manuel seems a popular choice in the next-manager-to-be-fired parlor game. There is also a lot of talk about the Phillies dumping a boatload of players before the trading deadline Sunday. What is the local talk about that?
Here most of the talk is about the recent swoon of the White Sox. (What is there to say about the Cubs other than express shock that they have one of the worst records in baseball?) You would not believe how smug Sox fans have been since October. After years -- decades -- of smoldering resentment at being the second team in the second city, they have been laying it on thick since the World Series victory. Take into account that the Sox are, by and large, the team of the blue collar fans and the Cubs are, by and large, the team of the yuppie/corporate fans. Of course there are many exceptions but that's the general profile. IAC the chest thumping of Sox fans has diminished markedly since the All Star break, with the Sox slumping badly. At this point they are no longer in a pennant race, they are in a wild card race. The Tigers are now 7 1/2 games ahead of the Sox, a big gap to overcome at this point in the season against a team with good pitching. Meanwhile the Yankees have closed to 1/2 game behind in the wild card race and the torrid Twins are only a game back after beating the Sox the past two nights at the Cell.
You know what team I kinda like? The Mets. I will never forgive them for 1986 [g] but of course this is an entirely different group of players. They have a lot of talent, a lot of spirit, and they're fun to watch.
We should really go to a ballgame sometime. Purely platonic, just two FoxHeads afflicted by a lifelong passion for baseball. I don't know of anything that would bring me to Philly any time soon but the White Sox, Cubs, and Brewers are all do-able if you find yourself passing through Chicago during baseball season. The Brewers are the sleeper in that bunch -- Miller Park is a terrific place to go to a ballgame. Who knows, we might even lure Whil from his insane exercise regimen [g].
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