"Only baseball has an immune system that works so quickly, or provides a sudden fresh-painted view of itself that feels so youthful and elegant. Games like this make you smile to yourself as you recapture your anxiety over six and a half scoreless innings yesterday, and then move along to Cardinals pinch-hitter Allen Craig delivering a single and go-ahead run on a slider away thrown by the Aztec-visaged Texas reliever Alexi Ogando, exactly as he did—same pitcher, same pitch, same result—the previous night. Before too many more innings come along we should also tuck away our vision of Cards starter Chris Carpenter lying full length across the inner side of first base with the relayed ball in his glove, while one foot of the flying, just retired base runner, shortstop Elvis Andrus, comes down on the bag an inch or so away from his pitching arm."

I just hope this game won't be a 21-18, 8 hours long, like last night's game. (Better question is, which reliever from the bullpens <DID NOT> pitch last night?)

How about some Fooooooootball!? SD-NYJ is interesting, will DET bounce back against ATL at home, the new Houston Oilers are playing the old Houston Oilers, KC-OAK is an old AFL rivalry game.

C'mon Rangers, don't make your boss look bad! (Not good, in any business. Plus your boss might get mad and then get you in a head-lock and give you noogies!)

Now, really, how many athletes have come out and made promises and how many have actually delivered? (This came up, because <JB>'s mentioning of Broadway Joe.)

But it's encouraging that the Cubs are making a real effort to improve. Baseball will be a lot better off with a contending Cubs team. They have such latent support all over the country that it would improve the interest in baseball everywhere.

Seattle 3, Cleveland 6:

Seattle:
G. Perry 6 2/3 IP 9H 5R 4ER 3BB 7K 1HR
Gossage 1 1/2 IP 3H 1R 1ER 1BB 3K 1HR

That Amos Otis trivia is on the verge of being ridiculous. I'm surprised that Pete Rose didn't did it.

By the way, I was reading up on the Athletics' elephant symbol today. Turns out it dates back to 1905, when John McGraw of the Giants ridiculed the Philadelphia AL franchise as a "white elephant". When the two teams met in the World Series that year, Connie Mack presented McGraw with a toy elephant. Fortunately, the two were friends and McGraw took it for the joke it was.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...