I am writing this at 10:30pm PST which, if you can do simple math, you know is 1:30am EST. The Yankees and Orioles are still playing and it is not, as you might think, the 28th inning. It is, in fact, the bottom of the sixth. The reason: they are playing in a monsoon. They are playing in a monsoon because it's the end of the season and it's supposed to rain all along the east coast for the next [checks weather report] eight years. The conditions are ripe for baseball in the same way that an ice storm is perfect tennis weather. And yet they play on. Suckers.
Link time!
I wouldn't call it great news so much as not-bad news but, when it comes to the Red Sox and injuries, the fact that nobodies balls fell off mid pitch is something worthy of celebration. The news, by the way, is that Josh Beckett's ankle is both attached to the rest of his leg in the proper place, and it isn't shredded like cheese on the floor when I make nachos at two in the morning. Beckett has a sprained ankle and will be evaluated later this week. He will miss his next start and will be replaced on the mound if not in our hearts by Kyle Weiland. Yay?
In other injury news, Clay Buchholz's head fell off. OK, no, but it kinda feels like that. Actually, Buchholz made about fifty throws from 90 feet. And nothing happened. No meteor fell on his head, he wasn't eaten by tigers, or run over by Soviet tanks. Happy day! No mention of when he might return to the mound, but just the fact that he can throw a baseball without feeling pain is a good sign for next season if nothing else.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com has a great piece on the divergent and odd paths prospects can take. He uses Oscar Tejada, Stolmey Pimentel, and Will Middlebrooks to illustrate the point.
The only two time OTM Podcast guest Jason Wojciechowski has a very thoughtful meta-type piece on Bill Simmons and his article on the MVP over at Grantland.com. It doubles as a critique of Grantland as well. Certainly worth reading no matter what your opinion on Simmons and Grantland may be.
Finally, if you're a beer guy girl person and you might be catching a ball game in the San Francisco area you might be interested in Eno Sarris' critique of the beer menu at AT&T Park. I'm not talking about Bud American Ale or Blue Moon either. This is real beer, son.
And yes, they're still playing and it's still raining in New York. I guess after a certain point it's hard to get much wetter.