.500!

OK Pirate fans... I did a reverse curse.I questioned the move of taking James McDonald out and lookie here! Doumit homers and the Pirates are a .500 team.Yeah it is early but this is the first time since 2004 that they were a .500 team this late. Can they play above .500 for 128 games?(I'll get blamed if they go on a losing streak won't I?)Enjoy the curtain calls, Ryan Doumit!

Did James McDonald get hurt?

Seriously, what the hell is going on in Pittsburgh? I don’t have the game on, but I saw that McDonald was simply dealing at PNC Park.Over 6 innings he let up 3 hits, no runs and 8 strikeouts on 96 pitches. Then he was lifted. He didn’t come out for the 7th. Out came Chris Resop who faced 3 batters, all got hits including a lead off homer by Angel Sanchez.As I write this, the Pirates 2-0 lead has

Barry Bonds, Steroids and the Burden of Proof at a Barbecue

In the summer 2007, I was at my parents house for a barbecue. My dad was grilling up salmon and a swordfish, and something you should know about my dad: He cooks a terrific swordfish.And while he was grilling, we did what we tend to do 365 days a year which is talk about baseball. My dad was, is and always will be a rabid San Francisco Giants fan and he was talking about Barry Bonds and his chase

The Giants start and fact checking

It is early... but it is also safe to say that if the Defending World Champion San Francisco Giants lose the Division by a game, these 2 one run losses in Chavez Ravine will hurt.My dad, the biggest fan of the champs that I know, waved his hand. "We started the season last year being swept by the Astros. It turned out all right."I didn't remember that being the case. "No, they started awfully"

Agony of the Astros

The past 10 seasons or so have put an end to a lot of World Series misery for suffering franchises. The Red Sox, White Sox, Angels and Giants all won historic titles for their teams. The Cardinals and Phillies gave a new generation a title of their own. And of course those poor suffering Yankee fans got their first title in 9 seasons.But one team that continues to torment their fans will begin

Sully Baseball honors... Pepe Mantilla's call of Albert Pujols Home Run off Brad Lidge, October 18 ,2005

Versatile broadcaster Pepe Mantilla calls Spanish language broadcasts for soccer games and Laker games here in Los Angeles.Fox Sports also has employed him to call Spanish broadcasts for baseball playoff games.He's damn good at his job, and I can say that as someone who doesn't speak a word of Spanish.How do I know that? Because so much of baseball is conveying emotion and the drama simply in HOW

Hey Astros… don’t wait too long. Retire J. R. Richard’s number!

The Houston Astros should avoid a mistake that the Detroit Tigers made in terms of honoring one of their greats.The Tigers are retiring the number 11 in honor of Sparky Anderson. It is a wonderful tribute by the team to immortalize the Hall of Fame manager along with the other Detroit legends.No doubt his entire family will be there, as will members of his colossal World Champion squad of 1984.

Sully Baseball Honors... The 1981 Houston Astros Future Stars

When I was a kid collecting Topps cards, I used to love the Future Stars card.I always trusted the Future Card. Why would Topps lie to me? The players on the card were ALL destined for stardom.Granted, they didn't look 100% reliable when they picked players like Mike O'Berry and Keith MacWorther for future Red Sox stardom... but hey! Everyone can make a bad pick from time to time.Now I stumbled

100 win teams bounced in the Division Series

100 wins is still a magical mark for a season. It means you are an elite team and chances are one of the great teams in your franchise’s history.And when a team wins 100 in the regular season, there is no doubt they are thinking beyond the Division Series. They are thinking they are a legit World Series contender… a pennant will have to be beaten from them.But there have been teams that have won

Hey Phillies... you call this a Pennant Defense?

Seriously... I thought you guys were ready for a 3rd straight World Series appearance going into this weeks series against the Astros, who aren't exactly world beaters.On Monday the Phillies were 2 1/2 games out of first place and were up 3 games in the loss column over the Giants.And the Braves were thrashed apart by the Rockies, including blowing a 10-1 lead yesterday. This should have been the

Bad Luck Hamels

There were many story lines to last night's wild Phillies/Astros opus.Jimmy Rollins game tying 9th inning homer? Clutch.Ryan Howard getting called out on a check swing in extra innings? Borderline.Some umpire named Scott Barry trying to prove to the world how tough he is by tossing Ryan Howard? Bush League.Roy Oswalt playing left field? Little league.Roy Oswalt coming to the plate as the

Astros fan Jeff Bahry is on to something

On March 8, I wrote about how I missed the Houston Astros. The team that CALLS themselves the Astros no longer has the identity of the funky team of the future.Instead it is a team of phony nostalgia, forced quirkiness and generic uniforms. In other words, a big pile of blah.Well if the Astros were smart, they would look at Jeff Bahry's work.On the amazing site Uni Watch, they are having a Design