It's freaking Brett Myers Mania.

Phillies 8, Dodgers 5 (Philadelphia leads series, 2-0)

As Good Ol' JR might say, Brett Myers batting or running is bowling shoe ugly. (Hey, it's Red River Rivalry day. And for kicks -- Texas, Oklahoma.)

Yeah, Myers went 4-for-58 with 3 RBI in the entire regular season, and he's 4-for-5 with 3 RBI this postseason, including 3-for-3 with all those RBI yesterday. The most amazing thing, though, is he almost fell over between second and third base at one point, and later conked himself in the back of the head on his backswing. Pretty hilarious, really. What can you do? The dude's in the zone.

At the plate, anyway. His pitching was not as impressive, as he went five innings with five earned on six hits, four walks and six strikeouts. The Phillies win either way, and Myers' 3 RBI wind up being the difference.

Manny Ramirez went deep again, and a long fly to center from Casey Blake threatened to rally the Dodgers back into a tie game late, but Shane Victorino went back to the wall and grabbed it out of the sky with a mildly leaping catch.

With the Dodgers burning through six pitchers in the game, their rotation is now set only so far as Hiroki Kuroda will start game three on Sunday.

This is a good photo:

Red Sox 2, Rays 0 (Boston leads series, 1-0)

Earlier on SportsCenter, Buster Olney said that Daisuke Matsuzaka was the biggest question mark for Boston in this postseason.

...really?

Mike Lowell being out, forcing Mark Kotsay into first base and Youkilis over to third, and Beckett being iffy, and hoping that J.D. Drew doesn't come up lame again -- but Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90 ERA) was the biggest question?

For reals, Buster?

(Note: Re-watching, Buster said "going into the ALCS" -- still, really? Matsuzaka and not Beckett?)

No matter, Daisuke threw a no-hitter into the seventh inning and put in a performance you might count as "brilliant" if you're someone that goes bananas over David Lynch films. He made no sense and he took forever, but in the end, pretty good.

Home field advantage is now gone, which is made too big a deal, probably. There are still three games left at Tampa Bay should it go seven, and three games in Boston. Big whoop. I don't go in for home field advantage so much at this stage, which might seem like the exact time to go in for it, but it just doesn't make or break anything, I don't think. These are all really good teams still playing.

The scoring came on a Jed Lowrie sac fly in the fifth and a Youkilis double in the eighth, securing the win. Jonathan Papelbon extended his postseason scoreless innings streak to 20 2/3.

Tough loss for the Rays, too. James Shields pitched a hell of a game and the bullpen shut it down as they have been doing, but they just didn't score. Can't win without a run.

Yup, Linda Cohn is breathlessly reporting on ESPNews that Manny has indeed been shipped to the Dodgers. From the BP chat: 

• Manny Ramirez + $7 mil to LA
  
• Jason Bay to Boston
  
• Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris (LA #1 in '06), Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss (both BOS) to PIT

So there you go. Manny, go be Manny on the Left Coast. And wear sunscreen.

With Gilligan...

The Mark Teixeira deal is by far the most important that has actually happened so far, and even if you know who gets you know what to you know where, it'll be the deal that has the most impact on the potential World Series winner.

I straight up hate the Angels. I don't know why. I really respect Mike Scioscia as I feel he's one of the few managers who deserves any substantial credit for his team's success, and I like their starting pitching a lot, and Vladimir Guerrero is cool because he used to be sort of like a comic book character that had weird super powers.

But Vlad Guerrero (.285/.347/.480) is aging rapidly. He needs to DH full-time, honestly -- he's posted a .781 OPS as a right fielder (267 AB) versus a .939 mark as the DH (108 AB) this season. Small sample size, yes, but any fool can see Guerrero is not the physical marvel he used to be. He's big, awkward, and not aging well.

So the Angels, as good as they are, just didn't seem like a real threat to me. Yeah, they can pitch, but who was going to hit for them when the chips were down? Garret Anderson (.735 OPS)? Gary Matthews (.649)? Casey Kotchman (.774 before the trade)?

Teixeira's big bat gives them a genuine masher in the middle of the lineup, a guy that can bust one open. With Teixeira (.283/.390/.512) in the lineup, the Angels probably have to be considered the legit front-runner in the American League. If you can trade a player like Casey Kotchman for a player like Mark Teixeira, you do it every day and twice on Sunday, no matter what. If you don't re-sign Teixeira, then that stinks, but this is a chance to win the World Series. If he leaves at the end of the season, you can find a Kotchman-level guy fairly easily. Not saying they're dime a dozen, but they're not that rare.

...the Skipper, too...

Pudge Rodriguez is a New York Yankee.

I'm going to guess he'll have to change his number.

It's a deal that makes plenty of sense for New York, as accepting someone as bad offensively as Jose Molina in a starting role is just not going to jibe with aspirations of making a playoff run.

Pudge isn't the best player anymore, but he's far better than Molina, who hasn't even cracked a .600 OPS this season. Rodriguez has raised his OBP back up to his career average after that dreadful .294 number he posted in 2007.

Plus, let's face it, all they gave up was Kyle Farnsworth, who will return not-so-triumphantly to the team he once left behind.

The Yankees are very much in the race. Boston is playing like crap, the wild card race is wide open, and through all the ups and downs they have managed to stay in the thick of the AL East. Upgrading Molina with Pudge is a pretty healthy step. Even good Pudge nowadays is no healthy Jorge Posada, but that's not even the question.

Look out, everyone, the stupid Yankees are on the move.

I'm a bit surprised that the Tigers are so willing to make a move like this, though. Their season has been a monumental disappointment, no doubt, but they're only five and a half out in the Central. Brandon Inge will take over as the everyday catcher, and it seems strange after all the spring talk of moving Inge that they've actually gone ahead and made room for him while he hits .227. Well, maybe they were kind of forced into it.

As for Farnsworth, you can count me out of any bullpen that features him and Todd Jones. If those two don't get into a fistfight (which Farnsworth would win handily) I'll be really disappointed.

...the Millionaire, and his Wife...

Will they? Won't they? Will he make them? Won't he?

Will the fans boo? Will they cheer? When nothing happens, will they somehow find it in their gracious hearts to accept and respect this man who must be absolutely f-ing tired of hearing his name bandied about in trade talks every single g-d m-f-ing year?!

There is an old saying about doing something or getting off the pot. The proposed deal makes some amount of sense, I suppose, with Jason Bay headed to Boston and Manny to Florida and Hermida to Pittsburgh and prospects all around, hooray, beer, but I just can't bring myself to actually care about this, because there are so many factors in play.

First of all, they won't trade him. He'll be gone after this season. They will not trade him. They never have before. Secondly, even if they wanted to, we're talking about a Jeff Loria-controlled franchise ADDING a big name instead of letting one go in hopes for the ever-changing future. That's not going to happen. Third, the Pirates are stupid.

Nothing's happening. Avert your gaze, onlooking citizens, and go about your business. Care about the major things that are happening and don't buy into this Boston soap opera bull puckey.

...a Movie Star...

OK, so like I was saying in that quick blurb below this post, I don't get this deal for the White Sox.

Like Rosenthal said, Griffey can't really play center anymore, both OF corners and DH are covered, he's old and not that good (serviceable OBP, some power left, no legs and doesn't hit for average), and this would, I suppose, signify the start of the Paul Konerko: Sunflower Seed Chewer era. Not that Konerko doesn't deserve to be taken out back and Old Yeller'd for his play, but man, what about grinders and grit and blue collar lunch bucketry? Will the White Sox sell out their image??? Maaan??

Griffey is atrociously bad in the field, and we're talking corner outfield duty. Sticking him in center would be suicide. It's not like Swisher's some Gold Glover, but he's a better glove than Griffey, and it's not even close. Dye and Quentin have the other two OF spots locked up, Thome still hits enough, and Konerko is really bad.

It's a shame -- and kind of dumb -- that Griffey never learned first base. He should have five years ago, probably.

To be honest, this seems like another dumb Kenny Williams move designed to grab attention. Should the deal go through, Ozzie Guillen will probably jump for joy until he realizes it's not 1995 anymore.

Just based purely on offense, let's look at it this way: Griffey has a 9.5 VORP this year. Swisher is at 7.3, and then you have Thome (28.3), Quentin (35.4) and Dye (36.2). And THEN you have Konerko, at negative-6.6. So if you kick Konerko to the curb for Griffey, then you do win offensively. And there's always defensive subs late in the ballgame.

What I'd worry about as a Sox fan is nostalgia and hope winning and some sort of Swish/Konerko platoon installed while Griffey bumbles around in center field waiting to hurt himself before things return to where they were.

...and The Rest!

The Astros are assuring Miguel Tejada they won't trade him, which assures me that the Astros have no idea what they're doing. The Red Sox had expressed interest according to the Houston Chronicle, in the event that they traded Manny Ramirez. The Astros also traded for LaTroy Hawkins.

Tim Hudson is going to join John Smoltz on the ATL's season-over DL squadron. Their injured rotation is a lot better than the one they have to use. Mike Hampton's back, though. Oh, wait, nope. I think I just heard him get hurt again.

Rocco Baldelli will be returning to the first-place Rays, which is a nice feel good story, but if he doesn't hit you kind of have to, um, get rid of him, don't you? I'm not hating because I like Rocco and am really glad to see he'll be back on the field, but that team's too good to mess up.

The Marlins might send Mike Jacobs to San Francisco for Bengie Molina.

The deadline isn't until 4pm today, so we'll see what shakes out. The O's have no plans to do anything until August, apparently, and I guess that's OK by me.

8:05 on FOX, y'all. Let's take this stupid, pointless day as a chance to talk a lot of B.S. about players that have no real bearing on our team. Rock and roll, hoochie koo.

	Today's Starting Pitchers	GS	IP	ERA	WHIP	BAA	HR	BB	K	W-L
	Ben Sheets - RH - Brewers	18	123.0	2.85	1.11	.235	13	28	108	10-3
	Cliff Lee - LH - Indians	18	124.2	2.31	1.03	.234	5	20	106	12-2

	National League	AB	AVG	OBP	HR	RBI
1	Hanley Ramirez - SS - Marlins	373	.311	.391	23	45
2	Chase Utley - 2B - Phillies	364	.291	.372	25	69
3	Lance Berkman - 1B - Astros	334	.347	.443	22	73
4	Albert Pujols - DH - Cardinals	286	.350	.466	18	50
5	Chipper Jones - 3B - Braves	298	.376	.472	18	51
6	Matt Holliday - RF - Rockies	309	.337	.421	14	51
7	Ryan Braun - LF - Brewers	377	.286	.324	23	66
8	Kosuke Fukudome - CF - Cubs	326	.279	.383	7	36
9	Geovany Soto - C - Cubs	316	.288	.369	16	56

	American League	AB	AVG	OBP	HR	RBI
1	Ichiro - RF - Mariners	391	.304	.366	3	21
2	Derek Jeter - SS - Yankees	352	.284	.345	5	42
3	Josh Hamilton - CF - Rangers	377	.310	.367	21	95
4	Alex Rodriguez - 3B - Yankees	279	.312	.392	19	53
5	Manny Ramirez - LF - Red Sox	328	.293	.389	18	60
6	Milton Bradley - DH - Rangers	269	.316	.440	19	57
7	Kevin Youkilis - 1B - Red Sox	328	.314	.381	15	63
8	Joe Mauer - C - Twins	301	.322	.418	5	41
9	Dustin Pedroia - 2B - Red Sox	395	.314	.357	9	47

I thought it'd be peachy keen and a whole lot of good ol' fashioned fun to look back on the first two weeks of the 2008 season, so let's do it!

via d.yimg.com

The biggest surprise of the young season isn't the 8-6 Orioles, 8-6 Royals, or 10-4 Cardinals. No, those things happen. Poor teams, or at least teams that aren't expected by many to contend, get off to good starts for one reason or another all the time. Sometimes, they sustain it. Most times, they do not.

The biggest surprise is the 4-10 Detroit Tigers. I'll admit it -- I bought into the hype. While I wasn't overly impressed with their pitching (in particular the awful Dontrelle Willis), that lineup looked scary. I was talking with a friend during their Opening Day game, a loss to the Royals, and we were going on and on about how deadly that lineup really was. They were dangerous 1-through-9, even without Curtis Granderson. Brandon Inge is not a special hitter by any means, but that guy hit 27 homers a couple years ago. And he was hitting ninth that day.

Edgar Renteria went 1-for-5, Placido Polanco went 0-for-6, Miguel Cabrera was 1-for-5...and they lost. And then they kept losing. Only a couple of consecutive wins over the Twins (11-9 and 6-5) have them at 4-10.

All those 1,000 run season predictions are looking awful. And kind of foolish, the more you think about it. Gary Sheffield is 39 years old. 34-year old Magglio Ordonez is coming off of a total career season, and the same probably goes for the 32-year old Placido Polanco. 36-year old Pudge Rodriguez is an offensive zero at this point; not that Jim Leyland has noticed. And Edgar Renteria's only other year in the American League was a flop.

And that pitching staff? Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. Look at the ERA/WHIPs on their starters: Bonderman 4.58/1.64, Verlander 6.52/1.19, Rogers 6.75/1.91, Willis 7.20/2.00, Robertson 7.84/1.84.

They are sporting a 5.95 team ERA right now. Nobody can overcome that, I don't care if they DO score a thousand runs.

I've watched them play plenty. They look awful. They have been outscored 87 to 46. I don't think they can make the playoffs as they're currently built. This is a Titanic team.

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via d.yimg.com

The Chicago White Sox would scare the hell out of me if I were any of the AL big dogs.

Sure, Jim Thome looks like toast so far (.156/.240/.333 in 45 ABs). But a lot of these guys are killing the ball, and as bad as Jose Contreras is (6.17/1.97), they have a pitching staff that could cause trouble. Buehrle, Floyd and Vazquez are a fine front three, especially for a team that could hit like this one just might.

Nick Swisher was Kenny Williams' best move ever, probably. He's absolutely perfect for the Ozzie Guillen White Sox. Not only is he loud, noticeable, energetic and a real go-getter in every facet of the game, but he's also good. He is fast becoming the face of the White Sox. This was a guy that was born to be loved by modern day White Sox fans.

As for Joe Crede, just when you think he's out, he pulls you back in.

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via d.yimg.com

The Arizona Diamondbacks are good. While they made the playoffs in 2007 with a lot of young dudes and a whole truck load of luck, they made the very smart decision to not rest on their laurels. Sure, that team was bound to probably get a little bit legitimately better anyway, but they went out and got Dan Haren (2-0, 2.50/1.00) to add to Brandon Webb (3-0, 2.14/0.86), and now they have Randy Johnson back in the fold. Johnson is older than dirt and still uglier than boiled sin, but what if you get five-to-six innings a night out of him and then save him for the postseason? That could be a deadly front three.

What's more than that, they've got some hitters. Justin Upton is swinging at a .388/.429/.712 clip so far, and Mark Reynolds is crushing the ball (.612 SLG, 5 HR). When you add in Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew and Orlando Hudson, you could be looking at a pretty damn good lineup.

If you ask me, right now, at this moment, they are the best team in baseball.

 

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Quick Thoughts!

• The Chicago Cubs are not going to be a lot better than they were last year. Call it a hunch. Their rotation puts me off. I'd be way behind the Milwaukee Brewers to take that division in a surprising cakewalk, but I still recall the Brewers and Cubs locked in that deathmatch last summer to see who would decide to lose the division first. Kerry Wood -- oh, man. What you could have been.
• The Mariners are not contending for anything. Maybe it's because I watched us -- the ORIOLES, for God's sake -- sweep a four-game series against them, or maybe it's because I know Erik Bedard, and him being on the 15-day DL not only doesn't surprise me, but I have the sneaking suspicion it'll last a lot longer than 15 days. Maybe it's because their lineup lacks plenty. Maybe it's because I read Lookout Landing and those guys seem to have realistic expectations.
• If I were the rest of the AL Central, I reckon I'd keep my eye on the Kansas City Royals. Of the two legitimately midwest teams, they're the surprising above .500 club that I think has the much better shot at staying in that vicinity. Meche and Bannister are bona fide.
• The really notable thing about David Ortiz starting the season on a horrific schneid (.104/.246/.167) is that it makes Manny Ramirez worse, too. With Ortiz struggling so mightily, Ramirez has a 17-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is way out of wack for him. He's crushing the ball, to be sure, and JD Drew is helping to pick up the slack, but the Red Sox are no unstoppable force right now.
• On the topic of last year's World Series participants, I hate to say it, but Rockies fans might want to get used to what they're seeing. That team was a miracle.
• The Yankees are run by a loud-mouth moron who recalls the golden age of "Mr." Steinbrenner himself. How long before this jackass gets himself fined or suspended by Major League Baseball? If you were ever thinking that the Red Sox had overtaken the Yankees as baseball's most hateable team, Hank Steinbrenner has come to ensure that no one ever tops the Bronx Bombs.
• Miguel Tejada went from one crappy orange team to another. Hope he's having a blast. Wait until mid-June, when he starts complaining.
• The Pirates are at .500. Thought I'd make note of that now. They're trying to tie a record for consecutive ineptness, going for their 16th straight losing campaign. The record is held by the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies. Part of me identifies with modern day Pittsburgh baseball fans, but the majority of me wants to see them tie that record. Go, Pirates, go!
• One thing I have learned about the Oakland Athletics, despite every TV commentator in the land and their smug sense of superiority over the fact that they never won the World Series and appear unlikely to do it any time soon: Never count a Billy Beane team out. Never.
• Cristian Guzman leads the poor Washington Expos in almost everything. Welcome to the new park. Same crummy team.