betterREDthandead

I updated the probables....it was mentioned during the game that Harden will start Game 3 for the A's and Haren Game 4. Nice effort to get things started tonight. How 'bout Robertson working out of a jam in the 4th by striking out the side?? Nice work. Reminded me of the game he pitched against Houston and the Rocket earlier this year. Blak: nice sig. I'm hereby ripping it off. Not that quote, I'll find another one. One of the all-time greatest movies ever.

Oh, I ain't worried. Notice that Michigan's strength has been the running game on both sides of the ball. They still have that dominant run defense. In fact losing a wide receiver, even Manningham, has the least impact on the team of any position they could lose. Besides, even without Manningham, the top three of Arrington, Breaston, and Tabb are three that any team in the Big Ten, outside of Ohio State with Gonzalez and Ginn, would kill for. And 2-4 weeks would mean he comes back in the middle of the cakewalk portion of the schedule at the latest - plenty of time for him to get back into game speed for the one that matters most.

I think this passage I ripped off just about perfectly sums up my opinion on the subject of the Toyota Prius. Achewood fans might recognize it.

What about Jeff Backus? He's done alright. I'd rather have Michigan players coming to the Lions than Michigan State. Charles Rogers would have been a bust in any uniform.

Tigers announced they'll use the same rotation they used against the Yankees. A's haven't announced anything past Game 2, but the waves that have been coming from their clubhouse indicate that they too will use the same rotation as in the ALDS.

It will anyways. If both teams are undefeated, Michigan will be ranked no lower than #4, OSU still #1, and there's no way that Michigan beating OSU wouldn't jump them to #1. And of course OSU would be in with a win, out with a loss. Here's the real twist: If Michigan and Ohio State are undefeated, clearly the winner plays for the national championship. But it could easily be the first time in history where the loser of Michigan-Ohio State goes to the Rose Bowl. How's that for a consolation prize?

Four shortstops? Oh, no no no. Two shortstops (Jeter, A-Rod), plus one guy whose fielding would never cut it at short (Cano) and one guy who hasn't played in the infield since the early '90s (Sheffield). And even then he was more of a third baseman, playing short only because the Brewers had a Hall-of-Famer at third. But your point pretty much remains. The Yankees were kind of a joke in the infield, and it showed at some of the most crucial times. They need to remake the team by trading A-Rod for an actual third baseman and some pitching, and acquiring a first baseman by trade also, someone who can actually field the position. But that's not what they'll do. They'll fire the manager and go assemble another fantasy team.

Not much different than awarding the third seed to a division winner regardless of position in the standings. But the World Series home-field advantage rule is definitely silly. Baseball claims it would be too hard to schedule the fields if they had to wait until both LCS's were complete. Somehow, basketball and hockey manage. Besides, this gives Detroit a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series at home, which is awesome for the city. Not only that, but assuming there's no sweep (highly unlikely) Game 5 will be at 4:30 on Sunday, right as 65,000 happy Lions fans stream out of the stadium after witnessing the Lions defeat the Bills (HA HA HA). Seriously though: that's 185,000 people coming downtown during the weekend. Big-time boost to the city. Especially if the Tigers clinch a World Series trip that weekend. It's gonna be huge.

I don't want to ever draft a first round quarterback ever again. Ever. Especially not Brady Quinn, who I think is overrated and made to look a lot better by his receivers. How about Leon Hall instead? Or Paul Posluszny. We need defense.

Haven't heard about Manningham. Probably good to go. Hart said he would have gone back in the game, but it was already under control so there was no point. No doubt Hart will be playing against Penn State, and probably Manningham too.

I can't decide which of the three remaining NL teams I'd prefer in the Series (although the Padres are on the brink). If it were the Mets, we'd have the chance to beat both New York teams in one year, and that would be all kinds of fun. Cardinals and Padres, however, would be rematches and among other things, it'd result in even more flashbacks to '68 and '84. Bonus: the Tigers also faced the Cardinals in the '34 Series, so Tigers-Cardinals has plenty of history. No fair looking past the A's, though. Gotta take revenge for '72.

The A's have announced that Barry Zito will take the mound in Game 1, followed by Esteban Loiaza in Game 2. Danny Haren is expected to be the Game 3 starter with Rich Harden, who didn't pitch in the ALDS, pitching Game 4. The Tigers haven't announced their rotation yet but it looks like they'll go with the same order they used against the Yankees.

Michigan jumped to 4th in the writers' poll, behind only OSU, Florida, and USC, though they only moved to 5th in the coaches poll. And for some reason, there are 2 insane writers (probably in Morgantown and Charleston) picking West Virginia #1. Looking forward to the BCS standings coming out, I think it's next week or the week after. The computers will put West Virginia where they belong.

BBTN reported that Georgie Porgie plans on firing Joe Torre. Good. I've always liked Torre and hated that he's been a Yankee. There are plenty of job openings already, but it's not hard to imagine another team firing their manager specifically so they can hire Torre. Of course, the BBTN crew did a lot of patting each other on the back for predictions they got right. No mention of the fact that they unanimously picked the Yankees to win tonight. But....they also unanimously picked the Tigers in the ALCS

Unfortunately people think West Virginia belongs too. Auburn lost, so the rankings will probably just bump everyone up one: 1. OSU; 2. USC; 3. WV; 4. UF; 5. UM. West Virginia is what annoys me. USC and Florida will eventually lose.

ALCS HERE WE COME!!! Bring on the A's!!! God I love beating the Yankees. Everyone talked about the Yankees lineup, but here's what it comes down to: Tigers = Pitching Yankees = Not So Much With The Pitching And look at this team come out of the locker room to celebrate out in the stands. Champagne showers for the fans! And the police I LOVE THIS TEAM.

Top of the 9th! Three more outs and we send the Yankees home! Let's go Bondo!!

Flipping between Michigan and the Tigers is keeping me busy. Pretty good outcomes for both so far :D

Huh. That's funny considering it's MSU that wears green. Ooooh, by the way, how bout this for a score: Arkansas 27, Auburn 10. Didn't see that one coming. Opens up a spot in the Top 5 if Michigan can keep winning.

Watching Rogers, you could really tell something was up with him. He was pitching very differently. He cranked his fastball up to 93, even 94 on occasion, when he's been quoted as saying he avoids going any higher than 89 or so, because he feels like he's gonna get knocked around because he loses the motion on it. He took a little extra time between certain pitches to cool off and focus in, especially after he'd just thrown a particularly good one. He'd do things like give a little fist pump and then pull it back like he didn't want to show up the Yankees. And he showed off the cojones that only a veteran pitcher has by refusing to come out of the game and then blowing Abreu away. That's one game I'm gonna remember for a long time. The numbers aren't extraordinary but it was one of those you had to see.

A little bit. For sure, the Yankees are the toughest team in the postseason. But with only 8 teams making the playoffs, they're all tough. Check out this Kenny Rogers press conference - you can really see what this game meant to him.

Unbelievable game. Who'd have thought the fearsome Yankee lineup could look so dominated? I thought the Tigers had a good shot at winning tonight; I didn't think they'd do it like that. Kenny flashed his Sunday best stuff. So Jaret Wright is slated for tomorrow's start. Jim Leyland's faced Wright in the playoffs before: Game 7 of the '97 WS. It's tough to remember individual ballgames, but I remember that one clear as glass. Worked out pretty well for Leyland.

Kenny's curve is just disgusting. Holy s*** is he mowing them down tonight. Curve, changeup, fastball, they're swinging through them all. But they can't even touch the curve.

GRANDERSON HOME RUN!!! ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodYES!!!!!! 6-0!!!!

Giambi strikes out looking, and you know what that means! "He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched it go by."