Ballgames to be Won, and Defended

Speaking of turning over in your freezer, if I would've known Alex Gonzalez was going to have the game of his life against Kip Wells tonight I wouldn't have traveled through hours of rain to watch it. Somebody call the governor and have him issue a formal letter of apology from Brad Thompson, who came in and promptly had his typically pathetic performance tonight. Wisconsin might not apologize for its cheese, but Missouri must apologize for Thompson. His babyface needs to go back to preschool and learn how to get a 6 year old out before he pitches again. Terrible. Just terrible.

It seems everybody is blaming the bats right now. The pitching is worse than the bats. Bottom line. Wells, Wainwright, and Reyes are pitching terrible. Looper is holding this thing together, but somebody is going to have to step up. And it's not going to be Randy Keisler. And, despite his "long-toss" session Tuesday afternoon, I'm starting to think Carpenter is done for the year. The silence from the coaching staff just isn't right. Don't be surprised when Carp's elbow flares up again on Saturday after his session, and he's shelved for 60. Then we'll talk trades, because Looper, Wainwright, Reyes, Wells, and Keisler is not going to cut it. I'm pulling for Carp, hardcore, and I have faith in the rest of the rotation but it needs an anchor and a two-man. It's not time to panic yet, but every game matters. And if Carp is shelved, it's time to get a move on. I hope I'm wrong about Carp, but I got a bad feeling.

Ted Williams was an awesome baseball player, a true hard-nosed grinder at the plate that just straight hit. From everything I've heard about him, he played the game right. Fundamentally sound and full speed. He hustled..always. Simply a prime example of how the game should be played. Scott Rolen plays the same way, all-out hustle, hard-nosed, and fundamentally sound. He homers and hustles around the bases. He makes plays at third, puts his head down, and gets ready for the next pitch.

I think Ted Williams would be proud, and I don't think he'd mind one bit if we used "Ballgame" to refer to Scott Rolen. And if he's going to turn in his freezer, then it's simply to get a better view of Scott Rolen hustling out a ground ball. And I'm the one writing the blog, so I'm going to do it anyway and I'm going to take the angle that Teddy Ballgame is down with it.

And if anybody's turning over in their graves it's Hank Aaron and Roger Maris...pissed off about all these fake baseball players breaking their REAL homerun records.