Well This Is Interesting

What a difference a week makes.

The once written off Oakland A's are now holding a 2 game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of the city Arte Moreno is ashamed to be a part of. I still say Arte can go **** himself.

This is why I take some satisfaction in watching this happen.

And what is the best part of this whole thing?


The Yankees are at the top of the Wildcard standings. And the second best part is that the Arte's Angels are third in the Wildcard standings.

That man is a devil to Orange County Sports, and now he has cursed the Angels.

Fu2rman Speaks Again

I know I like to vent on many subjects, The Red Sox, Brian Cashman, and The French just to name a few.

But let it be known, when there are props to be given, I'm there.

Let's take the French, for example.

My friend at CUANAS just posted this.

It seems the French have a 'set' on them afterall.

Aug. 29, 2005 - As the going gets tougher for the U.S. military in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region, one ally has stepped up despite a recent straining of ties: France......

....."It's France's wish to show that we are cooperating in the fight against terror and in support of you in Afghanistan," said French Air Force Col. Gilles Michel, who oversees his country's air force role in the theater. "We told the Americans, 'If you need some assets, we will provide them.'"

So France is interested in fighting terror.

Good to know.

CUANAS adds....

Something has snapped with France, it seems. Not only are they helping us out like this, but they are actually far tougher on domestic terrorists than we are.

Read that link, it may surprise you, it did me.



While I'm on a SPEAKS roll, let me ask 2 questions.

1. Will anyone in the world come through and help us out with the devastation that hurricane Katrina caused?

and

2. If they do, will it be widely reported?

I ask these two questions for these reasons.

The US is usually the first to jump in and help when another country has a catastrophe, whether they need our help or not. We are always there for anyone. But it seems the world loves to talk shit on us whenever they get the slightest opportunity. So now that we have one of our great cities virtually under water, are they going to be there to help?

My second question comes because of this. With the twisted main-stream media, will they squash reports of help we get from the world, and claim the lack of support is due to our lack of popularity due to our involvement in Iraq?

We'll soon see...

I Love David Wells

Not like something unnatural or anything, I just love the insane.

Wells was hoping to play for the Yankees, again, but he pissed of The Boss last time he was in New York. So, he is a Red Sock this year. He has had two, 2 year stops in New York already in his illustrious career. He won a World Series once in each of those stops.

Our boy Wells is going to have a nice vacation, being suspended for 6 games.

His suspension was the result of a confrontation with umpires, where he made contact, and spit at them. Of course he denies this.

Wells lost his appeal, and alleges he lost because Commissioner Bud Selig is retaliating against him for his criticism of the Commish.

Wells has said that Selig has drug his feet on the steroid issue, especially in the Raphael Palmeiro issue. Wells asserts that Selig waited until after the Hall of Fame induction to make it public.

I have to admit, it wouldn't surprise me.

As a businessman, and a baseball fan, I agree with David Wells on one thing.

It's time for Bud Selig to resign.

Selig may be doing everything right, but he has a perception problem.

It's time for him to go.

If Selig loves the game, he will resign, and let someone take over that can come in with the perception that he is tough on steroids, and will clean up baseball.

Even if the new guy sticks to the status quo, a new face would do wonders for baseball.

Go ahead David, keep talking shit, even if you don't always have a strong relationship with facts.

OK, Just One More...

Here's another 'ova' for you to ponder.

This is Ekaterina Bychkova the 97th ranked 20 year old Russian that upended 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the US Open.

Just a side note, Kuznetsova, not that cute.

See why I'm going on the Russian Woman's Tour?

This was actually one of the few pictures of Bychkova, as this is her first Grand Slam Tournament.

But I imagine, if she can go on winning in the Open, we'll be able to see a lot more of her.

I know who I'm rooting for.

I wonder if she does that woman's tennis porn-starlett OHHH! UHHH! with every shot?

Fu2rman Speaks

As many of you know, I started this sports site after I was writing on political topics on Fu2rman Speaks.

I got many questions about sports on that site, so I started this one, and signed off on that site.

Especially since there were 1000's of blogs to read about politics, but not many with my take on sports, so here we are.

However, from time to time, I find something that is not sports related that must be stated.

Today is one of those days.

I have an employee that is very liberal, she graduated from Berkley and everything, (let me note, she is waiting tables for me, and miss tax and spend, doesn't claim all her tips).

But I digress.

She also thinks we are in the wrong war, at the wrong time, or whatever BS John Kerry tried to pull on us in his unsuccessful, (Thank God) bid for the Presidency.

So tonight after I got home from work, I was reading my friend over at CUANAS, and I ran across a post of his. He referenced a post from The Astute Blogger.

It was about the most profound thing I have read in a long time.

This is the link, click on this, and read it!

If you support our efforts in Iraq, it will be preaching to the chior, and you will love it.

But if you are an anti-Iraq-war-type, I really want you to click on that and read.

If that doesn't expose anti-war-types, that are supposedly about human rights, I don't know what will.

Think about this.

If you are about human rights, how can you ask your country, the most powerful country in the world to turn their backs on genocide and poverty?

If we bail on Iraq, like we did on Viet Nam, that is what you are advocating.

There is a big media push to Get Out Of Iraq.

But think about this. And thank you CUANAS, these are his words,

South Korea is free, so it is LIT UP. Same people - north and south. The south had poorer resources in 1952 - and was poorer in GDP, too. But now it is richer. One of the richest ecomnonies in the world. WHY!? Freedom. The south of Korea is FREE. Freedom creates prosperity.

The difference betweem Vietnam today and what South Vietnam MIGHT have been - if the Lefties in the Democrat Party hadn't pulled the plug - is just as stark. If the Left hadn't pulled the plug on the South Vietnamese government in 1975, then the South of Vietnam would be as rich and as free as the South Korea. We might be driving SOUTH VIETNAMESE cars instead of South Korean cars!


Now that is a pretty good lookin' KIA, (a subsid. of Hyundai) they stole the classic Bentley lines, which is pretty smart. You can't afford $300K for a car? Fine, we'll turn one out for less than 10% of that sticker price!

None-the-less, I'll stick with my Mercedes.

Oh, but wait, if you did your homework along the way, we occupied Germany for 50 years, as well as Japan.

Any of you drive Japanese cars?

Any problem with that occupation?

I'll just leave it at that...

Just So We're Clear

I am not a dog when it comes to women's tennis, seriously.

And I'll prove it.



In this shot of Hantuchova, if I were a dog, I would say something like, "Hey, what's going on with that racket, man I wish I was your racket right now!"

But that isn't right, I wouldn't say that.







Or this.














Maria Sharapova was the number 1 ranked player in the world, for about 5 minutes, but still, that is an amazing feat for a woman that has only been a woman (18 years old) for 4 months.

If I were a dog I would make some comment about her grip, and how her mouth is open looking like she is doing her 'seal' immitation.

But I would never say that.

I would ask, 'Have you ever seen Sharapova play, or rather HEARD her play?'

It's all, OHHHH! UHHHH! OHHHHH!

Even the best porn starletts could take a lesson!

But that is something a dog would say, but not me, I would never make such a comment.



That brings me to Anna Kournikova.

If I were a dog, I would make some comment about how 'I love a woman that doesn't wear panties, ever, even during a match!'

But again, I am not a dog.

I hope this clears the air.

I am just a guy that respects the talent of great women tennis players who's names end in 'ova.'

I'm Gonna Be A Women's Tennis Groupie

Oh yeah, I'm serious!

However, I'm going on the Eastern European/Russian circuit.

Did you see Daniela Hantuchova lose to Lindsey Davenport yesterday?

It looked like Davenport was going to roll right over Hantuchova, but she came back to give Davenport a run for her money.

But who cares?

That's not why we watch women's tennis.

Have you seen the talent that the Russian's and Eastern European's are crankin' out?

Plus, some of them can actually play a pretty good game of tennis, but again, who cares?

Look how hot they are!

Another Opportunity To Hate The French

I hate to state the obvious about these people, but they make it so easy.

The French still can't, and won't, swallow the fact that an American came to their country and schooled them at their own game.

The French paper L'Equipe is saying that they have proof that Lance Armstrong cheated.

They have analyzed a frozen urine sample from 1999, the first year Armstrong won the Tour de France.

They claim they found EPO, a drug that stimulates red blood cells to allow them to release more oxygen.

There are a couple issues here.

First, they didn't test for this enhancer in 1999. That doesn't make it right, if, and I say if, Armstrong used it.

But second, since they weren't testing for it, they better retest everybody.

If one person knew it wasn't being tested and tried to get away with it, so did a whole lot of others.

Are the Tour officials going to test everybody's frozen pee?

I doubt it.

While we're at it, they better test the '98 winners urine, and '97, and so on.

But they won't.

It was won in '98 by an Italian, and in '97 by a German. I bet the French are OK with that.

The French should be a little embarrassed, having not won The Tour since 1985.

Maybe that's why they are so bitter.

Let me give you an example in reverse and show how an American handles it.

1988-89

A young French Motorcross rider named Jean-Michel Bayle, not only won the 125cc and 250cc motorcross World Championship, but also won the French Supercross series, while adding a couple US event wins to his resume.

1990

One year later he entered the far more competitive US Supercross series and took second overall.

1991

The following year he not only took first overall in the US Supercross series, becoming the first European rider to ever win an American Supercross series, but also picked up the overall win in the 500cc outdoor series.

That alone would make for an impressive career, but he didn't stop there.

At the height of his motocross career, he quit the off-road sports to begin a new career on the road.

1993

Bayle entered the 250cc World Championship, a road racing series.











If you know anything about motorcycle sports, you know that the only thing that off-road and on-road have in common is the fact that they are both done on two wheels, beyond that, they are two different worlds.

It took Bayle a few years to fully make the transition, but....

1997-98-99

Bayle won three 500cc World Championships in a row.

Even today, American journalist, and Americans that follow motorsports will tell you, Jean-Michel Bayle is bar none, the most versatile and talented rider the sport, as a whole, has ever seen.

A far cry from those bitter French.

Things Are All Wright In New York

Yankee starter Jaret Wright had another quality start tonight against the Blue Jays.

As I said before, I was not very excited about his last win, it was against the Devil Rays.

But here's the deal, the D-Rays had just come off a sweep of the Cleveland Indians when they lost to Wright. They came back to beat the Yanks in the next two.

After the Yankee series they completed a 3 game sweep of Texas.

In the last 10 games, Wright is only one of two pitchers to hand them a loss. While the D-Rays are still a last place team, they seem to be playing quite the spoiler.

Cleveland is at the top of the stack of wild-card hopefuls, as are The Yankees, and Texas may have held onto wild-card aspirations, had they not been swept by the Rays.

So I have a little more faith in Jaret today, and The Yankees in general.

The Blue Jays were blanked tonight, partially due to an infield in grounder that resulted in Shea Hillenbrand being thrown out at the plate by 2nd baseman Robinson Cano. The following double play got Wright out of the forth with a shutout intact.

With tonights win his return from injury has amounted to 13 1/3 innings with 2 earned runs, giving him a 1.35 ERA, and two wins.

It looks like The Yankees actually have a starting rotation that you could call respectable, with Mike Mussina, Randy Johnson, Jaret Wright, Al Lieter, and Shawn Chacon.

I'd love to ask Brian Cashman and The Boss if Randy Johnson is all they hoped he would be.

Of course I'm kidding, that would surely get me whacked.

I am surprised myself, he simply got old in the off-season. He is nothing like he was last year.


Johnson hasn't won any of his last four starts, and his last start against the White Sox was just ugly, he gave up 4 homeruns in one inning.

He has already given up 29 homeruns, he has only given up 30 homeruns once in his career.

With 39 games left in the season, and 7 or 8 of them his games, he's going to destroy that record.

Geez, the only pitcher that has given up more homeruns this year is Cincinnati's Eric Milton with 35, add in Johnson's bad back, and he could lead the MLB in homeruns allowed.

Not bad for winning 5 Cy Young Awards.

But I digress.

The Yankees are looking good going forward, they have their pitching staff getting healthy, you couldn't ask for a scarier offense, and they have one of the best closers in the game.

Any concerns?

Uhh, how about some middle relief?

Yankees Are On The Right Track

Since my last post, The Yankees have beaten the AL Central leading White Sox, twice. The Angels have played the Red Sox 3 times, beating them twice.

This puts the Yanks 3 games out of first, and only a 1/2 game out of the Wildcard.

This is playoff preview weekend.

The Red Sox are in Anahiem, likely their opponent in the ALDS, and The Yanks are in Chicago, likely their opponent in the ALDS.

So how's that working out so far?

Score it like the Yanks 2, White Sox 0. And Angels 2, Red Sox 1.

My big concren was that the White Sox were going to give The Yanks problems. I feel much better now.

And with the Yanks only 3 games from taking 1st place away from the Red Sox, what if they over take them?

Well then the playoff picture I painted changes to Sox vs. Sox, and Angels vs. Yankees.

That would benefit the Red Sox. The Angels always play the Yanks tough. The Yanks are 4-6 against the Angels.

The best thing the Yankees could do is let the Red Sox win the division, let the Sox play Anaheim (sorry, living 10 minutes from Angel Stadium, I will NEVER call them Los Angeles, Artie Moreno can bite me), the Angels and Sox are 3-3 against eachother this year.

Have you ever hoped for 2nd place?

Me either, but this a strange year.

The Yanks And The Wildcard

It appears with only 44 games remaining, the Yankees are going to have to hope for a miricle, or a wildcard spot in the playoffs.

They are 4.5 games behind the Red Sox, and they don't appear to be able to gain any ground.

Not a problem, they are only 1.5 game out of the wildcard spot behind the Oakland A's.

The A's caught fire after the All-Star break, but like a married couples sex life after the honeymoon, they have cooled off, big time.

In the last 10 games the A's are 5-5, the Yanks are 7-3.

So if a wildcard spot is their fu2r, in as the playoffs are concerned, what does that mean?

It means they are going to have to play the Chicago White Sox in the AL Division Series.

That is probably the best matchup the Yanks could hope for.

The Angels should win the AL West, unless they choke like they always do, except that one time in 2002.

If the Yanks have to play the Angels, they are in trouble. The Angels, even when they sucked, have been able to hang wins on the Yanks. And now that they are good, forget it, the Angels would probably win.

So this would make the matchups go like this.

Angels vs. Red Sox
Yankees vs. White Sox

I would predict the outcome to be similar to last year, Yanks and Red Sox win their series'.

And then what?

Yanks vs. Red Sox in the ALCS?

Great, but I don't think either team has what it takes to win the World Series.

If the AL wins the Series this year, I'll be surprised.

If the Yanks do end up in the wildcard against the White Sox, that is going to make the next few days interesting.

The Yanks play a 3 game series against the White Sox starting Friday.

So far the Yanks are 1-2 against them this year.

But they have all been 1 run games, and the most either team has scored is 3 runs. And that was the Yanks, and Mariano Rivera saved that game. The other 2 games were 2-1 White Sox, and Rivera blew a save in one of those games.

What is the '05 fu2r for the Yanks?

That depends on how Jaret Wright looks against a real team, how Randy Johnson holds up down the stretch, and who they can pick up off waivers.

The White Sox will probably nab Ken Griffey Jr., hey doesn't he play Center Field?!

The Yanks need a Center Fielder, and to keep Griffey out of the oppenents lineup would be right out of the Yankee playbook.

The Yankees are playing catch-up, which we haven't seen in many years.

It seems the wheels are falling off, and The Fu2rman is ready to step in for Brian Cashman.

Boss, please, let me take this over, I'll have The Bronx Bombers in the Series next year!

Barry Bonds Back?

Barry Bonds says he may be back in September.

I'll believe it when I see it.

The most concerning thing in this article is...

Giants manager Felipe Alou was cautiously optimistic as he looked at a printout from Bonds' Web site before Tuesday night's game at Cincinnati.

Alou had to read this from a printout from Bonds' website?

Would this make Barry Bonds the worst teamplayer/teammate in the history of sports?


I have to think about that, Terrrell Owens is pretty bad.

I'm seeing another post coming on here.

Who would you rather go into battle with, TO or Bonds?

Watch The NY Headlines Go Nuts.

Ok, Jaret Wright made his return to the starting rotation of the Yanks today.

How'd he do?

He won.

He pitched a solid 6 1/3 innings, he gave up 4 hits and walked 1, while striking out 2. He gave up 2 runs.

Not bad, and with this win, and Schilling and the Sox losing, The Yanks are only 3.5 behind the Sox.

Like I was saying, watch the headlines in New York tomorrow, Wright Is Back! Yankees Season Saved!

Oh, by the way, did I mention they beat the Devil Rays?

Let's not get too excited yet. You just beat the team with the worst record in the entire American League.

This Isn't Pretty

Boston's Curt Schilling gave up 3 runs, on 4 hits, and 2 walks in the ninth inning tonight to blow his second save, and pick up his 4th loss of the season.

"He's not the Curt Schilling that finished last season,'' teammate Johnny Damon said. "He needs some work, he knows it. He'll find it. Hopefully, he'll get another opportunity (Tuesday) and he'll close it out for us.''

That doesn't sound very supportive to me, Johnny, I wouldn't want you as my teammate.

Consider, Johnny, Schilling is not a closer, he's a starter.

Starters can have a rough start, like giving up 3 runs in the first inning they pitch, only to settle in and pitch 5 or 6 more solid innings.

It has happened to Schilling, it happens to all pitchers once in awhile.

As a closer, Schilling has 9 saves....

Wait, does it sound like I am defending a Red Sock?

I almost forgot, I hate the Red Sox!

Sorry, I lost my head for a second.

OK, here we go---

In Schillings last 5 appearances...

He's pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs, mixed in there he gave up 3 homeruns.

His record in those games,
1 Win,
1 Blown Save (that equaled)-
1 Loss, and
1 Save.

That is beautiful to this Yankee fan.

Didn't I say a week before the trade deadline that the Sox need a closer?

I think it went something like this.

July 20th, 2005
...they have Curt Schilling as their closer right now. I don't know what to think about that. He should really be in the starting rotation, so they would be wise to go after either Eddie Guardado of Seattle, or Brian Fuentes of Colorado. Fuentes has been hot lately, and he pitches in Denver where balls fly out of the park like, well I don't know what, but I could probably hit one out there. Guardado has 21 saves on the year and he is pitching for about the worst team out there. To put that in perspective, Joe Nathan of the possible Wild Card Twins, leads the AL with 26...The Fu2rman

Just like I could run the Yankees better than Brian Cashman,
the Lakers better than Mitch Kupchak,
I could also run the Sox better than Theo Epstein.

But I would never do that, have you seen the chicks in Boston?

YUK!

Once Again...

Well, as I said on the 12th, Phil Mickelson would win the PGA Championship.

And when I say someone's going to win, what happens?

They Win!

And, as usual, I was right, Phil won his second major of his career.

Let me say congradulations...

To ME, for being right again.

Did you think I was talking to Phil? What in the hell does he care what I say?

He just made $1.17 million, for a weekend of playing freakin' golf!

It's A Train Wreck, What Can I Do?

I can't look away!

As much as I don't want to pay attention to such a chucklehead like Terrell Owens, it's too big to not say anything about.

Let me start by making two points.

1. Owners ask players to take pay cuts, they can cut them and not pay them, there are plenty of ways owners renegotiate contracts.

2. Terrell/TO is an idiot, and so is his agent.

I was not against TO holding out for more money.

His return from a broken ankle to play in the Superbowl was more than impressive. He didn't do much for his team, but he had a couple big catches. He actually impressed me as someone that should be respected. I respected him.

And then he fires his old agent, hire Drew Rosenhaus, and here we are.

Here's my problems with this whole thing.

Rosenhaus is what is wrong with sports, and he's destroying TO in the process.

TO has been an idiot most of his career, he has been a bad teammate, and a distraction to his team.

With the 49er's he talked crap on his Quarterback, now with the Eagle's, he is talking crap on his Quarterback.

His endzone antics are really amuzing, but the number of high-fives he leaves hanging on the sidelines have to piss of his teammates. He clearly celebrates what he does as an individual and not for what it means to the team.

He was a distraction in San Fran, and now he is not just a distraction in Philly, he's a kick in their nuts!

Remember when TO got traded from the 49er's?

The '9er's got screwed. They were sending TO to Baltimore for a 2nd round draft pick. Then TO refused to play for Baltimore, he was only going to play for a good QB, and signed with Philly, the deal basically fell apart.

So the 49er's lost the draft pick and their receiver.

It is now safe to say, TO is going to screw you if you sign him, and add Rosenhaus, and you should not touch this guy.

The Eagles should just release him, period.

The Eagles made the NFC Championship without him.

Then they sign him, he get's hurt, and they make it through the playoffs to the Superbowl without him, he did not win them a Superbowl by playing in the Bowl, why do they want him?

Well here's why.

They let another big mouthed Wide Receiver, Freddie Mitchell go, (he's now in Kansas City), he is no TO, but he helped boost the Eagles to a Superbowl appearance in TO's absense.

And now Todd Pickston is out for the year with an injury.

Now what?

Crumble to TO and Rosenhaus bullshit?

I hope not, but the window of opportunity is closing on the Eagles, and TO and Rosenhaus don't care who's fingers they slam in the window.

It Is Still Early

This was an intersesting story, but it's still early so I'll be brief.

If you listened to all the 'experts' you'd have thought Tiger Woods was the only player playing in the PGA Championship.

Today, Tiger was fighting just to make the cut.

It would have been the first time he'd missed a cut in a major, ever.

He made the cut by making birdie on 18, talk about cutting it close with a +4, 144. If Tiger pars 18, his 145 sends him home early.

This was his 36th major of his career, still never missing a cut, ever.

So Phil Mickelson is the man to beat going into the weekend.

He holds a 3 stroke lead at -8, that would be 12 strokes ahead of the unbeatable Tiger.

I've always liked Phil, and Tiger, but I always wanted Phil to give Tiger a little more competition, instead of the one-sided-ass-kicking that went on for so many years. So I'm rooting for Phil here.

His biggest competition...

I say watch out for Vijay Singh, he's at -3, and there is something about him going into this weekend.

Maybe it's that Phil looks like a golfer, and Vijay looks like he keeps himself in shape.

That could come in handy, 'cause they're gonna sweat. The weather in Jersey is nasty, 90+ degrees, possible thunderstorms, humid as all hell.

Davis Love III is only 4 strokes off, and Retief Goosen is only 6 back.

Phil is my pick, but I still say...

Watch out for Vijay.

This Is Some Bull****

Arbitrators reduce Kenny Rogers suspension to 13 games.

I don't believe for one second that Rogers learned his lesson.

When he turned himself in to the Arlington Police on misdemeanor assault charges, he was talking more shit to a cameraman filming the arrest.

20 games would be a long suspension for an everyday player and I would agree, excessive.

But as a starting pitcher, Rogers only pitches every 5th game. So in essence, a 20 game suspension means he sits out only 4 games.

Now he will miss only 2 starts, hardly a just penalty for such bad behavior.

Here's the deal, if you choose to be a pro athlete, an actor, a politician, anything that has you in the public eye, you are going to have photographers, and media around you all the time. If they are not around you, you probably won't have a career.

Rogers has been in the majors since 1989, he knows better!

This was a travesty of justice, plain and simple.

Best Ad Campaign Ever!

How brilliant is this?

Hard rockin' bands that judge their success on the quality of the groupies they attract has been, for some time, called "Cock Rock."

My definition may not be perfect, but you get the idea.

There is no way in hell that any respectable company would ever put out an ad campaign called Cock Rock.

BUT!....

Burger frickin' King busts this out!

They call it Coq Roq, as in Coq, the French word for Rooster.
Burger King is advertising their new chicken fries, it's frickin' brilliant!

They address the question, why did the coq cross the road?

Because there is a hot chick with chicken fries on the other side!

Don't get me wrong, if I'm in the mood for drive-thru fast food, Burger King is the last place I'd pick.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't like them using my title to peddle crappy fast food, I AM THE KING!

But I gotta give them credit for making Coq Roq a household word.

Not since Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky got everyone talking about blowjobs have I seen such inappropriateness become acceptable conversation.

Go eat some chicken fries.

And Roq out with yer Coq out!

We can say that now...

Gene Mauch Dies At 79

Back in the day, when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were not yet even the Anaheim Angels, but still went by the California Angels, and before '95 when I gave up on them once-and-for-all, back when I still loved the team, a man named Gene Mauch ran the show.

Unfortunately, Ol' Gene will probably leave a legacy for his big chokes late in the season.

In 1964 he and his Philly's held a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games to go, and lost 10 straight, and in the process, the pennant.

In '82 he and the Angels were up 2-0 in the ALCS, only to lose 3 straight.

In '86, still with the Angels, he was one out away from the World Series when they blew a 3 run lead to Boston. Boston took the next 2 games, and went to the Series.

The pitcher in that game, Donnie Moore, ended up taking his own life in his garage in Anaheim Hills three years later.

That is an unfair legacy.

In his 26 years as Manager, Mauch was the NL Manager of the year 3 times, only 5 other managers in MLB history have managed more games than Mauch, and he is 11th all-time in wins. He leads managers like Joe Torre, Tommy Lasorta, Earl Weaver, and Whitey Herzog, some big names, to say the least!

"When you played against him he looked like a robot, but when you got to know him you learned how passionate he was about the game,'' Yankee manager Joe Torre said Monday. ``He was a very classy, very generous, very caring man.''

To emphasize this point, I will tell you the one little tidbit I remember about the man, I was pretty young when he was the skipper of the Angels...

Mauch was hired by the Angels, and was always #4. But, the Angels already had a #4, he was 2nd baseman Bobby Grich. Of course, Mauch took a different number, #44.

Then, the Angels signed one Reggie Jackson, and Mauch, being the good leader, gave up his #44, and gave it to his new superstar.

Some may be thinking how insignificant!

But in the superstitious world of sports, that was huge!

That was also in '82.

The year they tanked the ALCS!

Coincidence?

Maybe not.

After that the Angels tanked again in '86, and then again in '95.

See, Reggie Jackson was the curse!

Of course that curse was lifted from the Angels in 2002.

But I digress...

Gene Mauch showed great character, and I hope his legacy shows him as a great manager, not a manager that is linked to teams that crumble.

Gene Mauch, our prayers go out to you and your family.

Rafi, Rafi, Rafi......

Even the freakin' leader of the free world has Raphael Palmeiro's back!

Can George W. Bush bail out Raphael?

It doesn't matter, Bush merely said, "Raphael Palmeiro is a friend. He testified in public and I believe him."

Big deal...

Here's how it goes down, "W. you said you believed him, and now it is obvious that he lied, how do you respond?"

This is me as W, "He's a friend, ya always stand by a friend, right? Until, he is proven a li-er, wouldn't you do the same for one a yer friends?"
God Damn Right I Would!

Oh, yeah, that was me, sorry I got carried away.
(I'd kill to co-own a baseball team with W!)

But see what I mean?

G.W. didn't really go out on a limb, but I give him props for throwing Rafi any support he could.

I still want Rafi to be innocent.

Bahb and I were on the phone the other day, he is in the Seattle area visiting his son on the midget basketball tour. In case you don't remember, or this was before your time, check the link.

Anyway, I was saying to him, and in my last Rafi post, that I would wait for the facts.

I am still not calling this fact, but the steroid reportedly found in his test, was not one of those little, oops, I didn't know that was in my supplement/cream, it was the good stuff...

Stanozolol.

The you can play-year-after-year-after-year, to rack up 3,000 hits and 500 homeruns, kinda steroids.

The same steroid that got Ben Johnson stripped of his Gold Medal and World Record from the '88 Olympics!

Bahb and I were discussing Rafi's compelling statement, "...I'm not a crazy person, I'm not stupid..."

That makes a lot of sense....

Unless, MLB has turned it's back for so long, and only gave up little chuckleheads to appease the masses to make them believe they were strong on anti-steroid policy, only to turn their back on the big guys.

Rafi apparently thought of himself as a big guy, and may now have the treads of a Grey Hound Bus across his back.

Let me show you what I mean, I'll be Bud Selig for a moment...

"OK, check it out, we can totally save the league, by showing we are tough on the Steroids. Sure, our plans to ruin Bonds are busted, he's staying out for the season, but who else is expendable? Raphael freakin' Palmeiro! He's only been an All-Star a handful of times, he has an S-load of hits and HR's, but there are still questions about him deserving entrance to the Hall-Of-Fame, he's perfect! Take him down boys."

Let me go ahead and bring this all back around...

I could just tell you the answers here, and you'd all, of course, just believe me, but let me call on a new friend at Baltimore Orioles Sound Off.

BOSO, would have some great insight here. I don't know, if you clicked on his link, he may have already posted on the Rafi topic....

Steroids? Are You Serious?

I'm so glad I spent so much energy posting about Raphael Palmeiro being a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Now, as it turns out, he tested possitive for steroids and will be serving a 10 game suspension.

Well just-in-freakin'-time!

I have had tickets to the Angels/Orioles game this Wednesday since late May...

And why....?

At the time I wanted to see the first place Orioles, and breakout 2nd baseman Brian Roberts, and mega-stud, and All-Star MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada, and 2 fu2r Hall of Famers, Sammy Sosa, and Raphael freakin' Palmeiro, in person!

Well, the O's have tanked, and are sitting quietly in 4th place behind the freakin' Blue Jays, Roberts has cooled off big-time, he's hitting .230 over the last month, Tejada is still a stud, but Sosa is having a slow month, hitting a big .256 (it's hard to do well without the steroids and corked bats), and Palmeiro is going to be serving his 10 game suspension, and spending time with his family...

I can't wait for this game!

I gotta say, Raffy's statement was, well, interesting.

He holds strong to the fact that he never knowingly used steroids. I hope he is telling the truth. I was really pulling for the guy. I have never been a big fan of his, I have never followed his career, but I had a huge amount of respect for him.

Now, I'm not so sure.

I'll wait until more of the facts are in.

Bottom-line is this, how will this affect his induction to the Hall of Fame?

This could be the touchstone that Barry Bonds goes up against.

Seriously, steroided Barry would be back in the Giants lineup right now, crackin' homeruns. But, steroidless Barry announced that he is not likely to return this year.

Big surprise...