Since June 1st

Smoltz has been injured/operated on since my last post.  It would be too bad if he doesn't just retire, but I'd probably keep trying to play until I couldn't as well.  A lot of people were mentioning Smoltz in the same breath as Eckersley...they shouldn't, Smolts is far superior.  Eckersley career as a starting pitcher was average at best, obviously the alcoholism affected things. Smoltz was outstanding, period.

My PEDs don't actually help performance on the field arguement got a boost from Mike Schmidt.  I've been saying forever that smaller ballparks, bat technology, weaker pitching from two rounds of expansion too close together (greedy owners) are far more important to the late 90s power surge.  Here's the link to Nick Cafardo's article in the Boston Globe today, about half way down through are the Mike Schmidt comments. I'm thinking it's not the answer Cafardo thought he was going to get.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2008/06/15/players_should_talk_the_talk?mode=PF

Copy & Paste of the question & answer:

Ever get mad that the steroid era maybe enhanced so many stats?

MS: "No. It would be nice if 548 [career home runs] was a stronger number than it's become. It's lesser of a feat. Everyone knows - including the players who play the game right now, you can ask them - they know that a home run is a lot easier to come by these days. They didn't take the game into the direction of technology, balls, bats, small stadiums, strike zones, less pitching inside, umpires that police the game now, not the players, and the game is a lot more friendly now. There are a lot of reasons other than steroid and performance enhancers that have created this offensive monster that we have in baseball now. I might put performance-enhancing drugs way down the list."

I'm kinda sick of umpires ripping masks off and continuing confrontations, or in today's Astros/Yankees game starting one.  So what if the home plate umpire didn't like Oswalt's reaction? Stay behind the plate and keep quiet.  BJ Upton was walking back to the dugout, complaining, when an umpire took off his mask and started to follow him.  Upton turns around (which I assume he wouldn't have done if he wasn't followed), kept talking and got thrown out.  Upton could've kept walking, but the umpire raised the level of the arguement by following him.  Anytime that happens they should be suspended, like the ump in the Milton Bradley situation was. 

Hard to believe the Royals took a high school first baseman instead of Buster Posey.  He'll be ready by the All-Star break next year, the Royals (and Rays) could've used him.

Hopefully the Rays/Red Sox "fighting" is over.  There's nothing more pathetic than a baseball fight. There were real punches thrown in this battle, but none actually landed.  Karl Ravich had the best analysis on Baseball Tonight earlier this year (and probably other times): Baseball fights are like a Jr. High dance - lotsa moving around and noooo touching.