Jerk Store: Pete Rose

Why he is a jerk:
As far as I’m concerned this is the only Hall of Fame he should get into.  I know that Max Power basically made a half-assed argument for his eventual induction because “the Hall of Fame is not complete without him.”  But that is complete bullshit.  The Hall is complete because it is without him.  Pete Rose might have done more to injure the integrity of the game than all the PED users put together.  But Bearcat, they cheated and Pete Rose only bet on games for his team to win.  That is right and Max Power said “If that wasn’t true, baseball would have released that fact years ago to lay stake to the high ground in the court of public opinion.” in reference to his wagering only on his team to win. But even if you believe that Rose only bet on his own team when he was Cincinnati manager, wouldn’t he be motivated to manage more precisely in games he bet on? Wouldn’t he be likely to exhaust his resources in games he bet on, thus leaving his team dead tired or burned out for games he didn’t? If you use your entire pitching staff trying desperately to win a game you wagered on, what’s left for tomorrow?  More importantly if you did not bet on certain games are you less likely to care about winning those games?  Rose has always acted like saying he only bet on his team to win was some magic salve that would cool the hate against his obvious misdeeds but it makes not freaking sense.  If he got in deep, and what degenerate gambler hasn’t, is it not much more likely that he would bet against his team than to double down for a win.  Max Power talked about the integrity of the game and listed Gaylord Perry as proof that cheaters get in to the Hall but the difference between an emery board/some Vaseline and a betting form and ‘roids is so wide that I can’t even discuss them in the same breath.  Rose did more to damage the game then anyone else prior to the PED era and the idea of letting him in prior to his death (if ever) is just too much.  Rose is a Hall of Fame Jerk not a Hall of Fame baseball player.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Jerk Store: Daniel Suelo

This is what I think of your monetary system! By the way, can I bum a couple bucks to get a pack of smokes and a bottle of Thunderbird?

Why he is a jerk:
You probably don’t know Daniel Suelo unless you are one of those homo metrosexual guys that reads Details magazine.  Details wrote up about Mr. Suelo in a cover piece that you can read here or you can just finish this paragraph and I can boil it down for you.  Mr. Suelo has decided to live without money.  Normally this would be called being a bum, homeless or a hobo but he has made a conscience decision to live without money.  He blogs about this (for free from the local library) so that makes him something other than your typical vagrant.  He even lives in a cave and if you don’t think he is a jerk after reading this quote from the article then I don’t know what to tell you… “UNLIKE THE average American—wallowing in credit-card debt, clinging to a mortgage, terrified of the next downsizing at the office—he isn’t worried about the economic crisis. That’s because he figured out that the best way to stay solvent is to never be solvent in the first place. Nine years ago, in the autumn of 2000, Suelo decided to stop using money. He just quit it, like a bad drug habit.  His dwelling, hidden high in a canyon lined with waterfalls, is an hour by foot from the desert town of Moab, Utah, where people who know him are of two minds: He’s either a latter-day prophet or an irredeemable hobo. Suelo’s blog, which he maintains free at the Moab Public Library, suggests that he’s both. “When I lived with money, I was always lacking,” he writes. “Money represents lack. Money represents things in the past (debt) and things in the future (credit), but money never represents what is present.”   Fuck this guy… Money is part having a civil society.  It is people like him that make soft headed hippies try to live off trading clean socks and pot brownies at Phish concerts.  “We are breaking the hold of the corporate machine with our drum circle, man.” Lucky for us Jerk Store membership does not require any cash.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Jerk Store: Ben Silverman

My mommy makes me wear this so that I don’t get a booboo on my head.

Why he is a jerk:
Ben Silverman was the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios until he quit this week.  Silverman was the man who created MTV’s Parental Control and Date My Mom (at least we know who to blame), brought The Office stateside, and was responsible for Ugly Betty (who watches that crap) and The Biggest Loser.  Silverman was supposed to be the man to save TV.  How did that work out? Oh yeah, I remember NBC is still in last place amongst the big broadcasters (CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC). This is the guy that gave Jimmy Fallon a late night gig… that would be reason enough to get him into the Jerk Store but there are other reasons. Examples: To celebrate his production company’s 24 Emmy nominations in 2007 he threw a huge house party in Hollywood Hills, replete with bikini babes dancing on pool rafts and a rented, caged white tiger. Of the party, Silverman defended himself like a true gentleman: “You looked around and saw so many beautiful women. But then you looked closer and it’s like, Hey, that’s Molly Sims. See what I mean? Just a totally sick party.”  I would do the same thing if I was worth nine figures but if I was the head of NBC I doubt I would be as public as he was about it.  He pissed off the competition with gems like this one from an Esquire interview “The industry hasn’t seen an executive like me in a long time. Traditionally, development executives rise through a specific subsection of the TV business—prime time, network, scripted programming. They’re basically D-girls,” he says, using the derogatory industry slang for cute young development execs with little power. “That’s what [ABC Entertainment president] Steve McPherson is, that’s what [Fox Entertainment president] Kevin Reilly is. That’s bad vernacular, but they’re all D-girls.”  Nice one.  But his real down fall was pushing absolute garbage onto the airways time and time again…Such stinkers as a remake of Australia’s Kath and Kim, a reboot of American Gladiator, the one hour Ford commercial that was Knight Rider… the strange and painful drama Kings was pushed to no end but excellent shows like Friday Night Lights were left to flounder in crappy time slots that had either no viewers or crushing competition that it would never gain traction against.  What I never understood was how could the dog-chasing-its-tail Hollywood “news” media keep calling a 40 year old man a “wunderkind.”  Being a middle-aged wunderkind is reason enough to justify Jerk Store admission.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Hustling into the Hall of Fame?

This past weekend saw the continuation of an ongoing tradition in a quaint upstate New York community. No, I’m not talking about the pomp and circumstance of the Baseball Hall of Fame inductions. I am referring to Pete Rose leaving the comfort of the Las Vegas sports books and racetracks for his circus sideshow in a Cooperstown memorabilia store. Inevitably, this also leads to another annual tradition of everyone weighing in on his Hall of Fame eligibility. Not to be left out of the fray, DSB jumps headfirst into the deep end of the discussion.

It was reported yesterday that Commissioner Bud Selig was considering reinstating Rose’s place in baseball which would leave him eligible for the Hall of Fame. However at this point, the Veterans’ Committee would need to vote him in and they typically have trouble coming to a consensus. Even though a few vocal HOF members approached Selig, I don’t believe you could get 75% of them to agree on what to order for lunch, let alone to induct the man who has been painted as baseball’s Public Enemy #1 for years.

Rose’s detractors regularly bring up the following three points against his reinstatement.  I dispute (or at least ask some pointed questions) after each one.

Character – Character plays a part in how an athlete is perceived by the public and the sportswriters, but should it contribute or deter from a player’s on-field accomplishments? The Hall of Fame already has plaques of substance abusers (Fergie Jenkins), racists (Ty Cobb), domestic abusers (Kirby Puckett), and philanderers (Mickey Mantle) hanging on their walls. Rose is not made of high moral fiber, but other players’ shortcomings and fallibilities have also been ignored throughout the years.

Integrity of the Game – Where’s the integrity for those players using banned PEDs…aren’t they changing their performance and the outcome of games and seasons? Gaylord Perry was a master of deception as he relied on the (illegal) spitball for a lengthy and prosperous career that saw him end up in Cooperstown. How about Hall of Famer Bob Feller who famously took his World War II telescope to the bullpen to pick up the other team’s signals…how is that not an affront to the integrity of the game?

Gambling – Rule #1 in every clubhouse is “No Gambling on Baseball” and Rose absolutely broke this rule. MLB (and eventually Rose) revealed that whenever he bet on a game involving his team, the Cincinnati Reds, he always wagered on them to win. If that wasn’t true, baseball would have released that fact years ago to lay stake to the high ground in the court of public opinion. I’m not condoning Rose’s actions, but at no time did he sabotage a game to change the outcome (I’m looking at you, Tim Donaghy).

No one else is to blame for the stain on Rose’s legacy except himself. He bet on baseball, he refused to admit it, and he declined to ask for forgiveness. For that, Rose deserves to be banished to the baseball equivalent of Siberia…but the Hall of Fame is not complete without him.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Max Power

Popping our Cherry – Episode 1

Do you remember your first time?  Perhaps there was alcohol involved…it was probably awkward and maybe even painful…but in the end, ultimately satisfying and from that point on it kept getting better and better.  You just hope those you shared it with didn’t think it was a trainwreck.

The editors here at Daddy’s Sugar Ball popped our podcast cherry over the weekend and we’re now proud to let our loyal readers in on the magic that was created.  Bearcat, ZJ, Max Power and special guest Spintrick had a lively beer-fueled discussion regarding the current sports and pop culture landscape.

The topics included for our inaugural podcast were:

Beer
Favorite Things in Central Pennsylvania (5:00 min mark)
Girl of the Moment  (8:15 min mark)
Baseball (10:10 min mark)
Sports Leftovers (15:23 min mark)
Movie we are Looking Forward To (21:52 min mark)
Daisy of Love (25:00 min mark)

And just like our typical posts here on a daily basis, we want to remind you our loyal readers (and hopefully now listeners) that at times we may use some profanity, so please be responsible when and where you listen.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…

Mini-Rant: Why we will never go to Mars

Forty years ago yesterday we put a man on the moon… On July 20, 1969 the United States of America put a man on the moon and on December 14, 1972 we left with these words:

“As I take man’s last step from the surface, back home for some time to come— but we believe not too long into the future — I’d like to just[say] what I believe history will record — that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17.” – Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander (the last man to walk on the moon)

He could not have been more wrong… we won’t return.  I was born almost exactly six years after Apollo Mission number 17 began.  I am now 30 years old and I am certain that during my life we will fail to reach for the stars as we did 40 years ago.  I figure I am good for at the very least 40 more years but there will certainly not be a return trip to the moon before calendars read 2049.  We are not going to the moon and we are not going to Mars.  We aren’t going anywhere.  A human being hasn’t left low Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 crew returned from the moon’s orbit and we aren’t going to venture any further out cause we don’t have the balls to do so.

The only exploration of Martian dust, rocks, dormant volcanoes and possible fossick records of life will be done by robots orchestrated from a 170+ million miles away by a guy with a joystick.

We will never truly conquer other worlds in my lifetime and frankly I think the human race has flunked the next great test.  We did worse then flunked…we failed to show up.  We failed because we lack the intestinal fortitude to take the necessary risk to leave our planet for real;  to venture into the unknown.

I have been to the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. more times than I would like to count and besides the astronaut ice cream the only reason I wanted to be there was to see the NASA exhibits.  The Apollo exhibit is disturbing to look at in person.  The Apollo space craft appears to be a cone shaped outhouse constructed of basal wood, bubble gum, duct tape and Reynolds’ aluminum foil built by the lowest bidding government contractor.  The courage it must have taken to get into that machine as it was launched into space doesn’t appear to exist today.  The fragility of their transportation would be unacceptable for a Hover-Round let alone an outer space voyage.

It should be regarded as the crowning achievement of humanity thus far…to put a person on the surface of a heavenly body that has been the source of wonder since the dawn of time.  After four decades we can see it as the confluence of several influences… Nazi rocket scientist… the Cold War forcing the space race following Sputnik… and fighter pilots, turned test pilots, turned astronauts that had the right stuff… an American people who were ginned up by the success of World War II and the economic prosperity that followed.
An exuberance within the people of this country that pushed the process forward where today it would stall out at a moments notice.

Scientists used slide-rules and paper to navigate space, the whole process was being flown by the seat of their pants (literally).  How is this not discussed every single freaking day over the past 40 years?!?

The risk assessments on this stuff would cause an actuary to eat his calculator in 2009.  Forget about the fatalities that resulted from just trying to get the damn things off the launch pad.  Watch 20 minutes of any documentary about the early days of NASA and it becomes pretty obvious why the entire room in Mission Control smoked three packs a day… they were freaking scared.  Like shit your pants scared.  All the time!  But they had balls.  The kind of balls necessary to get shit done… even if you are scared out of your mind.

Instead of encouraging the world to face fear we make Nerf footballs, we hold Boy Scout meetings in suburban back yards, and we outlaw everything that is bad for us as we lawyer up.

If Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin wanted to help this country the first thing they should do is tell us to man up.  We will not fail to explore Mars due to a lack of technology, smarts or money but simply because we are scared.  Western society  has bailed on taking the next great leap for mankind because we are a bunch of girls in skirts that don’t want to get our knees scraped or get our hands dirty.

Until this country proves that it has the optimism, the willingness to accept great risk in a cause worthy of it, and the courage to be great then the moon will only drift farther away and Mars will simply be a dot in the sky.

Thanks for coming and suckling on Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Jerk Store: Stacey Anvarinia

These are actually both the same thing…

Why she is a jerk:
Meet Stacey Anvarinia… before today you probably did not know the 26 year old North Dakota woman. Stacy is facing a child neglect charge for allegedly breast-feeding while drunk, according to court records. Anvarinia pleaded not guilty to the criminal count, which stemmed from a police visit to her home in February. While responding to a domestic disturbance call, Grand Forks Police Department officers watched as an “extremely intoxicated” Anvarinia “began breast feeding her infant in front of us,” according to an incident report.  The police figured that with the mother as trashed as she was, she was obviously delivering the baby a White Russian via mammary for dinner that night and arrested her for child neglect.  Given the story and the nature of the incident it seems pretty clear that Ms. Anvarinia is unfit to be a mother and would rather be downing Colt 45s than caring for her infant.  Clearly Jerk Store admission worthy.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Jerk Store: Dallas Cowboys fans

Why they are jerks:
These fanatic followers of America’s Team have been Jerk Store members for years but only this week are getting official admission.  Why now you ask?  While listening to AM sports radio on the afternoon drive at least three Big D fans called in to say that Romo dumping Jessica Simpson meant you could punch their card for the NFL playoffs.  With Romo dumping Jessica, the curse on his short career was now over and he was free to throw 40+ TDs this season and sling the ball for at least 6,000 yards.  They truly believe this.  It was not Romo’s knack for December meltdowns or his yips during big games…it was Jessica’s fault that the locker room was in full revolt.  It was not that Jerry Jones bringing the circus to the sidelines ever fourth quarter because he can’t stay in the owners box.  It was Jessica and her pink Romo jersey.  If you listen to them, then I’m sorry to tell you this way but the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins can pack it in now and start preparing for the 2010 season.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

Jerk Store: Morgan Freeman

He picked this up for his step-grand-daughter… as a wedding present.

Why he is a jerk:
It came out this week that the preeminent cinematic father figure has made plans to marry his 27 year old step-granddaughter.  Freeman is 72.  I am going to ask you to reread the last two sentences.  *waiting for you to reread*  Thank you.  I really don’t even know where to start on this one.  My opinion of Freeman has been basically shattered by this Woody Allen-like move.  The age disparity is one thing… he is not only old enough to be her grandfather, he actually is.  His fatherly sounding voice and calming demeanor will now look like just an act after this strange move.  His roles as Red in Shawshank Redemption, Sgt. Rawlins in Glory and especially his role in Gone Baby Gone will never look the same to me.  He has taken his image and trashed it.  Nice move, dumb ass.  Can he even get it up any more to actually enjoy this 27 year old grandchild he is about to take to the wedding bed? I am totally freaked out by that last sentence…  After doing close to 150 movies his reputation in my eyes will first and foremost be the fact that he is just a Jerk that decided to marry his step-granddaughter.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
Bearcat

The Derby to (Hopefully) End All Derbies

LIVE FROM ENOLA, PA, Daddy’s Sugar Ball proudly presents the 2009 Home Run Derby Running Diary, or 2HRDRD! Thank you for joining us for what will undoubtedly be the most hyped Home Run Derby of the season! I’m ZJ and I’m joined by The Girlfriend and the bulldog, Moe Diggity. Let’s get right to it because I use exclamation points!

8:04    Behind a backdrop of shots of St. Louis (my old stomping grounds), Chris Berman introduces tonight’s batsmen over quintessential ‘80s movie music. I think I first heard this particular riff in the 1986 cult-classic, American Anthem. The crowd could not be more lukewarm.

8:08    Joe Morgan is introduced by Berman. It is time for large quantities of alcohol. Batting leadoff in the 2009 Liquor All-Star Game is a 22-ounce India Pale Ale, Racer 5 by Bear Republic Brewing Co. This seems as good a time as any to note that I have to wake up for work in nine hours.

8:15    Albert Pujols is chosen to represent some guy in some contest before the Home Run Derby. I’ll be honest – I wasn’t paying attention to what the contest is about, but apparently Pujols is supposed to hit a HR to where the guy points. Pujols proceeds to take about 36 pitches before slapping a liner to left, thus increasing the viewing time of tonight’s contest by about 20 extra minutes.

8:17    First look at Erin Andrews tonight. She’s wearing some sort of tie-dyed, blouse-y thing. She says words.

8:18    Berman is intent on throwing a complete game tonight. He will not even take a breath for fear one of the other announcers—Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips—will make a comment. Neither Morgan nor Phillips can get a word in edgewise. For now, Berman is keeping them off balance with a repertoire of guttural sounds and sentence fragments. The best they can do is foul a few off with fake laughter. Boomer is on his game tonight!

8:20    Nelson Cruz leads off for the American League …uh “sluggers.” The two favorites tonight, though, are National Leaguers (and Missouri-rooted) Pujols and Ryan Howard, who won this event in 2006. F#@& it – I’m going with Prince Fielder, who collected a mighty three HRs in last year’s derby.

8:26    Berman can’t wait any longer … he’s practically bursting to let us all know his shiny new nickname for Nelson “Suri” Cruz. Okay, it wasn’t “Suri,” but it was something terrible like Nelson “Out of the Blue” Cruz. No, I don’t get it either. You’re not alone. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.

8:29    Suri Cruz finishes his round with 11 bombs.

8:33    Fielder is not wearing a baseball cap as he hits his 6^th HR with 4 outs. Blasphemous, I say! You’re a ballplayer, you wear a cap. End of discussion.

8:38    Here’s Berman’s call on Fielder’s 11^th HR: “THIS ONE’S OUTTA here.” Writing can’t do it justice, but trust me when I say it was just an odd emphasis and another reason why I can’t stand listening to this bozo. To top it off, I find out that Steve Phillips also picked Fielder to win tonight. Glad I didn’t put any money on it.

8:43    The most inappropriate Home Run Derby participant ever, Brandon Inge steps to the plate wearing what appears to be a California Angels cap, circa 2003. Upon further research, it’s the American League All-Star cap, proving once and for all that MLB is environmentally-friendly – they recycle logos!

8:48    Inge’s 15 minutes of fame ends 10 minutes too soon as he finishes with a robust zero home run total. Poor guy didn’t even get the graphic that showed the average distance of his jacks.

8:52    Adrian Gonzalez’ round is already over with 2 HRs. Ugh. On the bright side, I may get to bed before 2am.

8:59    With the difficult job of following those two lumberjacks, Carlos Pena steps into the box. Hey, here’s a thought: why doesn’t ESPN show the speed of the BP pitches? Wouldn’t you love to know how fast the BP pitcher is grooving them? What do you think – 65 – 70 mph?

9:04    The Girlfriend and I have the following exchange as I feverishly type the previous paragraph:

The Girlfriend: “What are you saying?”

ZJ: “You can read it when I’m done.”

The Girlfriend: “Nah.”

9:06    Five home runs for Pena. At tonight’s pace, that’s gonna medal.

9:12    Native son Ryan Howard steps up to the plate without a ballcap on. What’s with these guys!? But MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT THE HELL IS WITH ESPN’S “BALL TRACK“?!? Did they not learn anything from Fox’s glowing hockey puck experiment that ended in colossal failure!?! I honestly can’t follow the ball and am focused on that freakin’ fire trail. DAMN YOU, ESPN! DAMN YOU TO HELL! YOU ARE THIS CLOSE TO BEING BLACKLISTED!

9:19    Howard ends his round with 7 HRs. Did you know that Howard and Joe Mauer have brought their own pitchers for tonight? In what was a nice story last year when Josh Hamilton brought his 71-year-old amateur coach to pitch to him, Howard and Mauer have exploited it and oversaturated that particular market.

9:25    After a 133-pitch effort, Cretin-Derham Hall High School’s Jim O’Neill (52-years-old) holds Joe Mauer to 5 HRs. I think O’Neill has a chance to move on to Round 2.

9:33    Albert Pujols steps into the box for his round. After two line drive outs, Berman goes batshit crazy (including three “back-back-back!”s on Albert’s third swing, which lands slightly in the second row over the left field fence. Unimpressed, Joe Morgan gently squeaks, “He barely got it.”

9:40    With 4 HRs and 9 outs, El Hombre needs one jack to advance to a three-way playoff for Round 2 against Mauer and Pena. Personally, I think he should call time and make a call to the bullpen for Brad Lidge.

9:41    Apparently just by visualizing Lidge on the mound, Pujols blasts a majestic drive over the fence in left to force the three-way playoff. Oh yeah, baby – forcing the three-way! Each of the three hitters gets five outs in the playoff. Whatever. I just know that this will add 30 minutes to the contest. Dammit.

9:51    Pena led off the playoff, but who knows how he did. ESPN doesn’t do frivolous things like “scores” or “totals” during competitions like this. And I completely missed Mauer’s round because I took a leak. Obviously though, O’Neill shut him down again. Rumor is the Pirates have scouts keeping tabs on O’Neill.

10:00    Apparently the home crowd willed Pujols into Round 2. I have no idea how many bombs he hit to make it to the next round, but here we are. And Max Power just called to make sure I caught the mohawked guy who wipes down El Hombre’s head after his round. Umm, no. I’m not expected to watch and type at the same time, am I? Really? I’m distracted by ESPN’s random-yet-fiery BALL TRACK! ZJ doesn’t do multi-tasking.

10:08    El Hombre kicks off Round 2 with 6 HRs. Conspiratorially, I’m guessing that will be enough for the hometown favorite to advance. In unrelated news, Moe Diggity loses interest and goes upstairs to bed.

10:13    Fifteen minutes since I finished my beer. Eschewing professionalism, I cave and go to the kitchen for a martini. I cheaped out and went with New Amsterdam gin. It’s no Bombay Sapphire, but it’s a solid low-level replacement. Kinda like Brandon Inge.

10:19    Ryan Howard struggles early, but sadly the kids in the field fail to put on the shift with the big man at the plate. Howard puts on a late charge and ends his round with 9 HRs. The pressure is now on Cruz and Fielder.

10:25    Nelson Cruz steps up to the plate after a two-hour layoff. Is this a great format to promote the national pastime or what?

10:29    Cruz hits five over the fence to advance to the finals with an aggregate score of 16 HRs. Don’t ask me what Pujols’ or Howard’s totals are. I don’t know. ESPN doesn’t exactly provide “updates.”

10:32    Having been burned by Howard, the kids learn to put the shift on Prince Fielder. There are approximately 73 kids in right field and zero in left and center.

10:37    With 6 bombs this round, Fielder eliminates co-favorite Ryan Howard from the competition. The finals will pit no-name Nelson Cruz (on my fantasy team!) against Prince Fielder.

10:45    Cruz kicks off the finals and quickly puts crooked numbers on the board. In unrelated news, The Girlfriend loses interest and goes to bed.

10:50    With 5 HRs in the Championship Round, Nelson Cruz acquiesces to Prince Fielder. Things are looking good for me and Steve Phillips! Also, the ESPN ticker at the bottom of the screen is announcing BREAKING NEWS … the Pirates have just signed Jim O’Neill to a three-year contract for $18 million.

10:53    With tons of commercials dragging this thing out, it now seems as good a time as any to announce the DSB Lexapro All-Star team. So far, we have 1B Joey Votto, SS Khalil Greene and SPs Dontrelle Willis, Zach Greinke and Ian Snell. Time is running out to fill out the squad, but we’re looking at you, Milton Bradley, Jeff Francouer, and Chien-Ming Wang!

11:00    Fielder crushes a 6^th homer to dead center to finish off Cruz and win the 2HRDRD! What an amazing story of power, perseverance and poetry! Okay, it wasn’t any of those things. It was simply an exhibition of, once again, forced camaraderie and frivolous marketing. I’m simply glad it’s over and I can go to bed at a reasonable hour, unlike World Series games. Oh, and it just re-affirms my conviction to bet heavily on the National League tomorrow night.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy’s Sugar Ball…
ZJ