What is a World Series? LOL.

I was sorta rooting for the Giants because of all the very old NY Giant baseball fans who have waited almost fifty years for a championship. But I can appreciate the excitement of the Angel fans for winning it all for the first time.

An It was an entertaining series kind of guy,

Out-of-Towner

There are STILL NY Giant baseball fans? That's very interesting (and a bit sad).

Are there still any die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fans? I remember once when jurassic Bob Dole was running for president, he made a comment about the Brooklyn Dodgers, forgetting that they had, umm, moved to L.A. several decades earlier.

Now wait a minute.

Picking on old men is bad Karma.

As far as I am concerned the Dodgers can go back to Brooklyn and take Kevin Brown's $100,000,000 contract with them. HA HA!!

As far as Bod Dole is concerned(a true American hero) he has risen, sorta speak, as a spokesman for Viagra. Wife currently running as a conservative Republican I think in North Carolina. I say Dole is a better running back than than that Fritz Mondale any day, although Dole does have a hard time holding on the the ball.

Once we kick out the Dems fom the senate majority, we are going to get rid of all teachers and college profesors, except for football coaches.

Uh, what were we talking about??

Kind've a shame that Bonds couldn't get the MVP or something, even though his team lost...

How many of you Tuff guys are surprised that Glavine signed with the Metties ?
Again I am a big Mets fan and am thrilled that he is Joining a staff that has some great pitchers but no number 1 starter
Glavine will be that number one starter and should give them a few good years.
This deal is gonna kill the Braves and hurt the Phillies big time. He was the key piece missing to the Phillies for this years run to the pennant.

He will get about 2.2 runs a game support with the Mets and would have got between 4 to 5 a game with the Braves and Fillies.
Can the Mets get one more batter or better yet how bout Maddux or Byrd

My wish list.
Get Jose Hernandez for SS
Send Rey back to Cuba
Cliff Floyd(Likely)or Hideki Matsui(wet dreaming)

What do you think I know they will resign Alfonzo so no worries there. But they need at least one of the above mentioned players to compete this year.

Milky

Milky,

I don't think anyone was more surprised than Glavine...he had let it be known that he would stay in Atlanta for a deal equal to the one offered Smoltz last year, 30million over 3 years. The Braves were not interested....said he was too old...too much of a risk at his age (37)...nevermind that Smoltz was coming off TommyJohn surgery when they signed him....or that Randy Johnson is several years older than Glavine, has pitched as many innings, and is still pretty effective....but this is what you get when AOL management (new Braves owners) sets salary constraints.....pinch a few pennies and sink to mediocrity.....Glavine is gone..Hampton is in. If Maddux leaves, Millwood will be the Ace...pathetic....

I'm ready to move to South America and give up on the Braves (not that I needed an excuse).....

I think Glavine has at least 2 good years left.
Look at his Era last year it was one of his better years.
i think the Braves had plenty of chances to get great players and failed.
We are only talking a mill or 2 but the ATL fans are sick of this team chocking every year come Oct.
Mets first place with a 90 victory season
Phillies very close with a 88 victory season
Braves will be right behind them with 86 victories.

The Jones brothers are highly overrated.
Andrew is amazing in the field but kneeds to work on his bat control.

How Bout those D rays ?

take care
Milky

Jones brothers???? lol....

I think you are wrong about Chipper....He was the Hooters Studmuffin of the year in 2000, 2001 20012, an award given annually to the player who sires the most children by Hooters waitresses....

Andrew needs to learn to exercize a little discipline at the plate....but he sure can play the outfield....

I was surprised to see him go to the Mets... I thought for sure he'd wind up back in Atlanta. I thought he was just using the Mets and Phils to up the ante.

This Phillies fan wanted him to see him come to Philly, but it's not the end of the world.

I think Glavine has a couple of years left, but you have to wonder why the Braves weren't willing to at least match the other offers. Maybe they know something.

The Phils will probably have to settle for Jamie Moyer. I don't think the Braves will let Maddux get away now. It's also rumored that the Phils will bundle a couple of prospects and try to pry Bartolo Colon away from Montreal... but the Yankees might be interested as well.

It's still been a good offseason for the Phillies, and they aren't done yet. NL East will be the most interesting division in baseball next year.

Pharcider rights "Maybe they know something"

Yea they knew he had a Thing for Piazza

Lol
Milky

The only team in New York that matters the Yankees ... whoever they get will be better than whoever the Mets got ... it looks like Bartolo Colon and that Japanese slugger. Ho hum.

-Superman-

the Yanks pitching is very subject right now.
I tink the Mets got a betta staff
Where is tuff guy Erip on this ???
Let's go Mets !!!

If/when the Yanks get Colon, they will have a likely rotation of

1. Bartolo Colon
2. Mike Mussina
3. Andy Pettite
4. Jeff Weaver
5. Roger Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, or David Wells

And out of the bullpen, a once-again healthy Mariano Rivera, Ramiro Mendoza and Mike Stanton. They still have Sterling Hitchcock even. The Mets are, as usual, not in the Yankees league.

Clemens & Hernandez are likely candidates to leave, but even without them it will be a great staff. I kind of wish they'd go get Greg Maddux just for kicks.

-Superman-

Could you imagine if the Yankees signed Maddux, then the Braves signed Clemens to replace him?

You might see Clemens pitching at Shea three times a year.

Milky, I don't have my baseball head on yet and really have no idea what is being forecast as the Met's roster this season. They totally disgusted me last year...all that talent and the only evident chemistry was THC. However, I am thrilled with the Glavine signing. He will give them a solid anchor on the mound and in the clubhouse. One of the major class acts in baseball and he's never been on the disabled list. A good investment.

BTW, I do think Hampton will re-emerge when he gets out of that wacky Colorado fun house and pitches for the Braves. The Braves may be hampered by new corporate management, but their front office guys have been wizards for SO many years now and I've heard their high minor leagues are bursting with pitching prospects. I wouldn't count them out at all.

Yankees are my 3rd favorite team (#2 - whoever is playing the Dodgers). Clemens is done, Hernandez is done, Rivera is questionable, Weaver with all of his great stuff got knocked around like a 42 year old knuckleballer with a 3-0 count when he put on the pinstripes last year, Wells is old, and even Mussina is up and down at this stage of his career. So I have to agree that the Yanks staff is a gigantic question mark (they certainly can't hold down the Angels). They will have to import some new young talent. Colon is a start.

Erip,

Hampton's ERA was just as bad away from Coors field as it was at home...so the "thin air" argument only goes so far...but I am hopeful Leo Mazzone can work with him....Leo is perhaps the best pitching coach in Bball....RE: The Braves minor league....I don't think there are any ready-for-prime-time prospects waiting around to burst on the scene....front office guys can't do anything without money to spend, but maybe they have a deal in the works with, say, Montreal for some of their pitching staff....rumor has it Montreal is drying to dump salary. Vasquez would be a good addition, particularly if the Braves re-sign Maddux.....time will tell.

Ezy, Hampton is kind of a mental case...a real streak pitcher who gets in good and bad grooves. I think Coors worked his head over real good and he couldn't pitch anywhere. He was great in Houston, had a very good season and postseason for the Mets after a Rocky start (no pun intended). No reason for him not to get back on track in a great organization like the Braves. As a Mets fan, I certainly hope I'm wrong.

Ahhh here come the Yankee haters again ... the crosstown inferiority complex runs deep.

Team that will be in first place next season: The Yankees. Teams that won't: Red Sox, Mets, Angels.

Hernandez is probably done. It's doubtful Clemens is ... Still, it looks like both could be gone, although I hope Clemens will stay just cuz the Red Sox fans hate it so much. Anyway, the old beat up staff led the team to 103-58 last year ... the Mets have won 103 or more once. Ever.

Weaver is the only real question mark on the staff ... as in "can he handle The City or not." His stuff is not in question. His head might be ... lots of great pitchers have not been able to handle playing in NY ... time will tell.

The Mets have question marks scattered all over the field. Anaheim was a one-hit wonder. The Red Sox are, ummm, jinxed.

-Superman-

although i am a huge sports fan, i am "out of the loop" presently. i'm really surprised their isn't more talk about pete rose on this thread.
i think we all agree that his on field accomplishments would get him a first ballot induction.

i don't want to defend pete. i don't know what he did or didn't do. i am so tired of hearing people in the media say that there is proof that pete bet on baseball, and on his team, and now i heard that they have proof he bet against his team. i say bullfucking shit. he very well may have bet on/against the reds and if he did then shame on him.

now with what i have heard and read over the years is that pete was betting with a bookmaker while managing for the reds. i even saw a log of bets in the U S Today newspaper several years ago. strangely enough the lines quoted in the paper were not the lines on the games he supposively bet. so i guess his bookmaker could have been cheating him. but the craziest thing i hear is a signed betting slip. i just wonder how many of you folks that bet with bookies have ever seen a "betting slip". personally i have placed bets with bookies in all parts of the country and have never seen or heard of such a thing. i do know that book makers tend to destroy there records quite frequently, because those records are evidence if they are busted.

it is quite common to use codes when gambling anyway. quite often the better identifies himself to the bookmaker with a number. ie. "hello this is 959, what is the line on the reds/dodger game today". i'm just wondering how these signed betting slips worked when the reds were on road trips. do you suppose he just filled them out and presented them to his bookie when he returned. the conversation probably went something like this. oh man did i get hot while we were gone, here are my bets, i think i won about a million dollars this week. and then the bookmaker reached into his pocket and gave pete the money with a smile.

i'm reasonably sure that pete did gamble on baseball. i mean why would he accept the lifetime ban,if he wasn't guilty.

as a youngster i idolized pete rose. he played the game to win with the same intensity as a bobby knight or larry bird. i don't really know if his off field antics should keep him out of the hall of fame or not, but i really don't agree with the way the press comment on the evidence.

Yanks finally get busy, signing Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras and Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui this week.

Contreras was considered the top free agent pitcher available ... all the better that he said the Red Sox offered him more money but he would rather play for the Yanks. LOL.

Yanks actually have too many starting pitchers now ... Clemens expected to re-sign any day now.

-Superman-

While I'm on this track, I am thinking that the 1977-81 Los Angeles Dodgers were the greatest collection of players ever put on one team, EVER.

Starting Pitchers:

Don Sutton (Hall of Fame)
Bob Welch (Cy Young)
Rick Rhoden
Tommy John
Fernando Valenzuela
Burt Hooten

Relievers:

Steve Howe
Charlie Hough

Catchers:

Steve Yeager
Mike Scoscia

Infield:

Steve Garvey
Davey Lopes
Steve Sax
Bill Russell
Ron Cey

Outfield:

Reggie Smith
Rick Monday
Dusty Baker
Pedro Guerrero


Most of these guys played on the Dodgers at the same time, there wasn't much of a revolving door for the good players at the time, so it is a statement about how strong baseball was that the Dodgers didn't win every year with that team. This collection won only one World Series (1981), although a couple of these guys hung on until 1988, when the Dodgers won the World Series with the WORST team ever to play in the championship.

I'm not sure that I agree with the assertion that those Dodgers had the greatest collection of talent in the history of baseball, but one thing that WAS remarkable about that team was the length of time they were able to keep it together. How many years was the Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey infield together? I'll have to go look it up, but I'll bet they were teammates for almost a decade.

In today's economic environment in baseball, you'll never see something like that happen.

I concur wholeheartedly that the '88 Dodgers were the worst world championship team ever.

Yanks sign Clemens to a one-year deal ... who said it was not the best staff in baseball??

Yanks staff rated #1

I missed the Mets on that list ...

Even though it makes no sense that they need another starter after getting Contreras last week, word is the Boss is courting Bartolo Colon just to spite the Red Sox. Now that would be funny. Spite rules.

-Superman-

Milkies Predictions for 3002

American League East
Team W L
NY Yankees 99 63
Boston 89 73
Toronto 75 87
Baltimore 62 100
Tampa Bay 61 101

American League Central
Team W L
Minnesota 90 72
Chi. White Sox 84 78
Cleveland 70 92
Detroit 60 102
Kansas City 54 108


American League West
Team W L
Oakland 100 62
Anaheim 95 77
Seattle 89 73
Texas 80 82

National League East
Team W L
N.Y. Mets 94 68
Atlanta 90 72
Florida 85 77
Philadelphia 83 79
Montreal 75 87

National League Central
Team W L
St. Louis 103 59
Houston 91 71
Cincinnati 88 74
Chi. Cubs 75 87
Pittsburgh 75 87
Milwaukee 55 107


National League West
Team W L
San Francisco 99 63
Arizona 97 65
Los Angeles 91 71
Colorado 78 84
San Diego 60 102

World Series St Louis and Oakland -Winner??????
--------------------------------------------

Biggest surprise - Philly all that talk but they will walk

Not Again - Yankees will take their Bill Gates pocket money payroll and struggle to look like a 150 million dollar team. Their Pitching staff has been around since the beginning of area codes.

Boston - Pedro will whine all year and Manny will let his hair grow like he is a 70's basketball player. They over-achive every year

Baltimore and Tampa Bay will battle for the basement

Win Twins ? That is the dumbest logo and phrase good team with no money behind them

White Sox will be an average team unless Frank comes out swinging

Cleveland rocks right into 3rd place !

Detroit and Kanas City will battle Tampa and San Diego for the worst record in Baseball

Oakland and Anaheim will be fun to watch Oak is a much better team and it will show at the end of the year.

Seattle is getting old will struggle all year

Texas might hit .500 this year and it won't be because of their pitching staff

The National League East will be the tighest race. So my Bias falls into this category sorry

Mets will finally get into the swing of things and will average better than last years .6 runs per game.

How long can Atlanta last ? Will Maddux fall apart ? How bout the Jones brothers ??

Florida will surprise a lot of people even themselves

Houston will have a good year but will fall short in the wild card race

Philly will be a disaster and media circus all year

St. Louis will be on of the teams competing for the best record in baseball along with the Yanks ,Oakland and Tampa bay

Griffy will come back have a good year and will tell everyone to fuck themselves

Sosa will hit a million home runs and will tell the owners to go fuck themselves then will go off to the Metties Next year

Name one player on the Brewers

San Fran will have a great offensive year barry will walk 180 times and hit 50something homeruns in 370 at bats

Arizona will be depending on 2 very old aging pitchers if just one of them hits the DL their season is over. Is Randy really Nolan Ryan ????

LA will have a good year but not good enuff and Colorado will be Colorado and San Diego will have one of its worst years ever.

Thank you for reading my post
Milkman

Superman's 2003 prediction:

The Yankees will have a better record than the Red Sox and Mets.

The Red Sox will not win the World Series, again.

The Mets will smoke lots of dope.

Byron will grow his hair even longer to compensate for the receding front portion.

Dogster will make numerous comments about another sport he loathes.

Superman will not pay attention to baseball until the end of August or so.

-Superman-

Great piss on the Mets all you want pal

you will be eating those words cum October I hope

Red Sox suck we agwee on that
By the way where was your fast typing ass last week ???
ben was ready to kick your ass

Milky

I was accosted on the bridge by a knife-wielding girl. I pissed myself, started running, and never looked back. Tijuana frightens me.

Nah, I'm kidding. Perhaps I was there in stealth mode ...

-Superman-

Are you serial ?

Did you see some loser in a disco duck outfit ?

If you were there thanks for nothing besides Exploder you are number 1 on the milky gotta see this guy list

take care
Milk

Sorry, can't see me, I will be taking a chica to the Padres home opener. Or not.

At any rate, when I'm in the ZN, I generally hide in the hotel, for fear of the chicas.

Next time you're at VZ and the chica you're with points out an AB customer it's probably me. Feel free to come up and say hi.

I think the odds are 5:1 for the Red Sox to win the AL(no, not the AL East). I'll double check the future odds again.

Superman's 2003 prediction:

The Yankees will have a better record than the Red Sox and Mets.

The Red Sox will not win the World Series, again.

The Mets will smoke lots of dope.

Byron will grow his hair even longer to compensate for the receding front portion.

Dogster will make numerous comments about another sport he loathes.

Superman will not pay attention to baseball until the end of August or so.

Ben will be a Superstud by the end of baseball season

-Superman-

Okay, here's some more fearless predictions for the upcoming season:


AL EAST (listed in predicted order of finish)

NY Yankees: By the end of the season, Jeff Weaver will be their ace.
Boston: Like they do every year, they'll hang close for awhile, then settle for the wild card.
Toronto: Up-and-coming team, but not yet.
Baltimore: They'll never contend with the current management in place.
Tampa Bay: Only a diehard baseball fan could name more than three players on this team.


AL CENTRAL

White Sox: Colon was a huge pickup for them.
Minnesota: Trendy pick to make the World Series, but I disagree. Just too many question marks.
Cleveland: I barely recognize this team any more, but they're doing the right thing in picking up prospects.
Detroit: A long way from being good.
Kansas City: A few good players, but they might be almost as bad as last year.


AL WEST

Seattle: Just a hunch... I think these guys might have one more big year in them.
Anaheim: Last year was not a fluke, but they'll be hard-pressed to repeat it just the same.
Oakland: The Tejada situation will be a distraction all year.
Texas: Improved, but still not good enough to get out of the basement.


NL EAST

Atlanta: One more division title, but this is the last one for awhile.
Philadelphia: I agree with Milky here...and I'm a Phils fan. Too much hype will hurt them this year. Next year, with less pressure and a new park, they'll kick butt.
NY Mets: Better than last year, but chemistry issues will doom them once again.
Florida: No power equals no improvement.
Montreal: They'll contend once they get out of Montreal. Until then, nope.


NL CENTRAL

St. Louis: If this team gets any pitching at all, they'll be scary.
Houston: Potential for great offense, underrated pitching equals wild card.
Cubs: I wouldn't be surprised if they win 90 games this year.
Cincinnati: Griffey Jr. will be back in a big way.
Pittsburgh: This team is improved, but so is the division.
Milwaukee: This team sucks more than Piazza in the Mets' locker room.


NL WEST

Los Angeles: If their starting pitching comes through, that is.
Arizona: Beyond the two big horses in the rotation, this is a very thin team.
San Francisco: Barry is Barry, and the offseason moves (except the loss of Baker) should be productive. But I still see them falling back to third.
Colorado: Too many holes in too tough a division.
San Diego: This is a lost year, but I've already pencilled them in as 2004's surprise team.


AL DIVISION SERIES: Yankees over White Sox, Mariners over Red Sox
AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Yankees over Mariners
NL DIVISION SERIES: Cardinals over Dodgers, Braves over Astros
NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Cardinals over Braves

WORLD SERIES: Cardinals over Yankees



(Message edited by Farsider on March 31, 2003)

(Message edited by Farsider on March 31, 2003)

I always wondered why I liked Piazza
"This team sucks more than Piazza in the Mets' locker room."


Milktuff

Cripes, that Yankee starting pitching sucks. Starters are only 11-0 so far. Ahhhh, I'm sure they will wear down as the season progresses. They are a bunch of geezers after all.

-Superman-

(Message edited by Superman on April 18, 2003)

Ben will be a Superstud by the end of baseball season

Odds of Ben being a Superstud at anytime during his remaining years are approximately equal to the odds of Ben sucking a dick at Kinkle before the year is out. I'd graph the odds, but ah'm tu dum to undatand odds, thtats an numbas an tings.

-Superman-

To no one in particular (certainly not for Erip) ...

Mike Mussina				4-0				1.86
Roger Clemens				3-0				2.08
David Wells				2-0				2.45
Jeff Weaver				1-0				2.95
Andy Pettitte				3-0				3.70

Leave it to fucking Pettitte to ruin the average.

Errr, best start for a staff since 1900. To put that in perspective, Ben was not even born yet!

-Superman-

I love Roger Clemens. He and Nolan Ryan are two old tough Texas motherfuckers My idols other than Superman.

Why pick on Ben?

You remind me of the bully in the seventh grade who was always twisting my tits.

Super, I have lost 17 lbs and have increased my weights by at least 30% over the past four months. About another 15 lbs to go before I will be an AARPsuperstud. Another one of your predictions gone awry.

Even my little teenager(going to see her today)has noticed..

Ben, I am the best motivation you ever had.

I liked Ryan too, even though he was never a Yank. The greatest fight I've ever seen in baseball was when Robin Ventura charged the mound and the old man just stood there, put him in a headlock with one move and then pounded his face with his free hand. Sweet. Luckily Ventura was not scarred emotionally and currently belts homers for the Yanks every other day or so.

Does anyone know if "done" David Wells won today? Did his ERA go down? I had to work and missed the game...

-Superman-

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 3 4 4 0 1 0 3 15 14 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 2
W: Wells (3-0), L: Reed (1-3)
Minnesota

Yo tambien remember the "fight between the old man and Robin Ventura. It was really funny, with RV trying to get losse and Nolan Ryan not letting him go.

I don't think anyone ever fucked with Ryan again after that fight.

by the way NL owns a couple of banks and a big cattle ranch over in west Texas, not to far from where I grew up. I bet he is still riding his bike everyday.

Lost in the rush to crown the Yanquis as the 2003 World Series Champ and "Best team of all-time" (cough-cough), is the hardly obscure fact that the Bronx Bombers padded their 19-4 record to begin the season with a healthy dosing of Tampa Bay and Toronto...

Let's see the Yanks go round-robin against the powerful AL West (which is how the Rangers, Angels, A's and Mariners spent their April) and then see what their record looks like...

And who stands in First-Place out West after the season-opening tournament?...Why, none other than the overlooked and incredibly underrated Seattle Mariners...

I know, I know, gee, they're old and 2001 is a distant memory...116 wins in a season doesn't mean anything, does it...

YoungBrig

116 wins in a season doesn't mean anything, does it

Obviously not. The 2001 Mariners went out with a whimper to the (cough-cough) Yankees in 5 games.

On the other hand, 125 wins actually means something -- World Champs and the most wins in history.

Of course, another way to look at the Yankees dominance so far is the fact that they've done it without Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera ...

Yankee haters RULE!

-Superman-

(Message edited by Superman on April 25, 2003)

break up the tigers. undefeated this week 4-0. i have a feeling they won't finish the week undefeated. just a gut feeling....

Hey, Quick quiz for all fans of the *(cough-cough)* Greatest Team of all Time-- the 2003 New York Yanquis:

Question: Which team has the best record in the American League as of today (Tuesday, May 20 2003, 12:00 pm)?...

Answer: The Seattle Mariners...

I will at this point quote myself from a post dated April 25, 2003:

"Let's see the Yanks go round-robin against the powerful AL West...and then see what their record looks like"...

Over the weekend-- in case anyone missed it-- the Yanquis were swept-- en Nuevo York, of all places-- by the AL West's last-place squad, the Texas Rangers...

Asi es...

Also on the 25th, I believe I made a comment about the Mariners being "overlooked" and "underrated"...

Hmmm...

YoungBrig

Good call ... Yankees suffered with the West as you predicted. Of course, baseball is a 162 game grind ... just ask the Athletics last year who looked unbeatable during their 15 game win streak ... In the end it will be the Yanks.

-Superman-

Yes, YB, that murderer's row rotation of Moyer, Piniero and Ryan Franklin really scare Mussina, 299 and counting fat Rocket and Fat Wells. I'd include the 'ace' Freddy Garcia in that list, but I don't want to make you cry.

But y'all wouldn't have wanted to keep that Big Ugly guy or anything... NAAAAH!!!

Another innocent question: who, as of 8:00am on June 3 2003, has the best record in all of baseball, be it the American or National League?...

Answer: the Seattle Mariners, now 19 games over .500 and sporting a 20-7(!) road record...

Porker, while the Mariners rotation is admittedly not out-of-this-world (you left out their true 2003 ace, Gil Meche, by the way), it is very functional...With their bullpen they only need to get to the 6th or 7th and then Nelson, Rhodes, Hasegawa, et. al. typically bring the cows home...I would also argue that 2 thru 9 our everday lineup is stronger than any other save, perhaps, that of those dreaded Yanquis...

Superman, you are exactly correct: it is a 162 game season, but 60 games in certain patterns appear to be developing-- the most obvious to me being despite the fact that the best baseball is being played in the Pacific Northwest, the only five teams that the average baseball fan will have the opportunity to hear or read about will be the Giants, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, and Braves...

YoungBrig

New nickname for Sammy Sosa: Milli Vanilli.

The Decline and Fall of Sammy Sosa, baseball's most popular player, represents the decline of baseball and more. Unfortunately, the sport was already corrupt, unabashedly inflating its numbers in a desperate attempt to attract market share. That's been true for a numer of years, as major league baseball has been bleeding internally. Strikes, Steroids, Suped-up statistics, Selig, Salaries, and more. Fans have had plenty of reasons to lose interest in baseball, and to not trust its product.

It is entirely possible that damage control and spin will minimize somewhat the impact of Sosa's corked bat. The sport has had some (hypocritical) success banning players/coaches who supposedly bet off the field (Pete Rose), while downplaying the impact of players who cheat on the field (spitballs, corked bats a la Albert Bell.)

But the bottom line is that major league baseball is dead. It may remain viable as a business. But the rich tradition has faded.

And now, Sosa's home run record, one of the few magic moments in baseball to occur recently, has been tarnished forever.

Perhaps only one factor can keep major league baseball afloat: The ultimate gullability and stupidity of the average American sports fan.

Question: If you have cork implanted inside your johnson, does it make you shoot farther?

Issues that will probably get swept under the rug: Where did the dude get the corked bat? Who made it for him?

These issues are typically not investigated thoroughly or quickly by MLB, and the player is left alone to take the heat: witness Nettles, Belle, Sabo and others. The fact is that altered bats are part of the dysfunctional baseball family sysem, along with altered players, and other charming things. If you were surprised by the fact that Sosa corked his bat, baseball loves you. Like you, they are shocked... SHOCKED about this sad turn of events.

If MLB had any integrity or spine (hint: they don't), they would have forced the Cubs to forfeit the game and would have impounded all the team's bats. But cheating is organized business as usual for major league baseball--one of its time-honored traditions.

Ah, well. At least we can all agree and believe that our great and honest president is upholding democracy and freedom in the US and in the world. So smile. The US government loves you.