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Saturday's bonus baseball, weather permitting (September 2)
2006-09-02 05:00
by Bob Timmermann

If the weather holds up, there will be 18 games in the majors today. There will be two doubleheaders instances where two teams happen to be playing two games on the same day. Arizona and Washington will try to get in their first two meetings of the year and Atlanta will try to get in two at Philadelphia as well trying to figure out how to get in two more games Sunday.

The Phillies are scheduled to play their first game against the Braves at 10:05 am PT at Citizens Bank Park, Oscar Villareal should face Jon Lieber. The second game is scheduled at 4:05 pm PT (Kyle Davies vs. Scott Mathieson). The Phillies trail the Mets by 16 games in the East and the Padres by 1/2 game in the wild card. The Mets have a magic number of 14. The Mets will be at Houston at 4:05 pm PT (John Maine vs. Jason Hirsh).

The Yankees lead Boston in the AL East by eight games and play Minnesota at 10:05 am PT (Scott Baker vs. Jeff Karstens). The Twins trail Chicago by 1/2 game for the wild card. Since taking a 1 1/2 game lead over the White Sox in the wild card last Saturday, the Twins have lost four of five games and have scored just eight runs. The Yankees have a magic number of 21.

AL West leading Oakland, with a magic number of 20 and an 8 1/2 game lead over the Angels, plays at 1:05 pm PT at home against Baltimore (Adam Loewen vs. Dan Haren).

Detroit leads Chicago now by 5 1/2 games in the Central. The Tigers, with a magic number of 21, host the Angels at 4:05 pm PT (Joe Saunders vs. Justin Verlander). The White Sox are at Kansas City at 4:10 pm PT (Mark Buehrle vs. Odalis Perez).

NL Central leaders St. Louis, leading Cincinnati by five games, hosts Pittsburgh at 4:15 pm PT in a game matching Shawn Chacon and Jeff Weaver. Look for lots of relievers.

The Reds, who trail the Padres by a 1/2 game in the wild card (with Philadelphia in between them by a margin of .00005 over the Reds), are at San Diego at 7:05 pm PT (Kyle Lohse vs. Jake Peavy). The Dodgers, leading the Padres by four in the West, host Colorado at 7:10 pm PT (Aaron Cook vs. Brad Penny).

Florida sits two games out of the wild card although they are two games below .500 (66-68). Florida will be at Milwaukee, losers of eight straight, at 4:05 pm PT (Josh Johnson vs. Ben Sheets).

If the Padres win and the Phillies win both games, they would be tied for the wild card lead. If the Padres lose and the Phillies win both games, Philadelphia takes over the wild card. The Reds could move back into the wild card lead with a win over the Padres and if the Phillies lose a game to Atlanta. There have been 12 players who have played for San Diego, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia in their careers, including the irrepressible Benito Santiago.

They will also play:
Arizona at Washington (twice!) - Livan Hernandez makes a triumphal return to RFK?
Toronto at Boston - The Red Sox are without Manny Ramirez (knee), David Ortiz (precautionary heart tests), Jonathan Papelbon (shoulder strain), and Curt Schilling (strain in his side). Kevin Jarvis starts for the Sox.
San Francisco at Chicago - Giants pretend to be relevant in 2006 wild card race
Seattle at Tampa Bay - The DRays will be eliminated from the AL East race with a loss and a win by the Yankees. And possibly from the playoffs overall, if my math is right as well as these guys.
Cleveland at Texas - The Indians are making a late run at the .500 mark.

With the first Saturday of college football starting, please ensure that your couch is in the proper condition for a day of sloth and that you have learned the most efficient way to flip between channels.

Comments (64)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2006-09-02 08:52:33
1.   Greg Brock
Thankfully, DirectTV allows you to set up your channel lists. It shall be sports today!

Ich bin ein Razorback. Sooooeey!

2006-09-02 09:38:24
2.   Sam DC
Still raining here near DC, though lite.

Could tomorrow be a day in which they happen to play three games?

2006-09-02 09:40:32
3.   Sam DC
rather, in DC, near RFK.
2006-09-02 09:42:01
4.   Greg Brock
Yes, but Sam, how will the affect the presidential races? Will they use special shoes? I'm pretty sure Teddy is a wet-weather specialist.
2006-09-02 09:43:26
5.   Sam DC
Of the four, he does seem like the mudder.
2006-09-02 10:09:38
6.   Bob Timmermann
For the record, the Devil Rays cannot be eliminated from the wild card today.
2006-09-02 10:09:48
7.   Sam DC
Well, they're playing.
2006-09-02 10:16:18
8.   Sam DC
Whoa -- my wife is off with friends today, I have the kids, but lo and behold, one is asleep and a friend of the other just called and came and got him for play.

And the Nationals are officially on tv.
Is Aggasi on somewhere you think?

2006-09-02 10:21:11
9.   Greg Brock
It's a happy day for Sam!

Agassi was scheduled for 2:00pm Eastern on Ashe Court, but I don't know how the weather has affected the times.

2006-09-02 10:22:58
10.   Greg Brock
And Bob Dylan has an iPod commercial.

I don't know how to feel about that.

2006-09-02 10:27:02
11.   Sam DC
Now where's that pizza and beer?

The little drying cars at the US Open are hilarious.

It's nice having the games on tv because I can hear Tom Paciorek say things like "That's vintage Zimmerman right there."

Zimmerman being a 21 year old rookie, of course.

2006-09-02 10:28:29
12.   Sam DC
10 Greg, The Juice blog will give you space to explore your feelings on this subject should you wish to do so.
2006-09-02 10:30:02
13.   Bob Timmermann
But they still haven't started playing in Philadelphia. And they need to get in four games over the next two days.
2006-09-02 10:37:08
14.   Sam DC
The Diamondbacks have ground rule doubles in each of the first two innings.
2006-09-02 10:41:37
15.   Sam DC
I know it's quite bad taste, but Nook Logan is so skinny, there is a movement afoot among Nationals chatters to nickname him Nook Lohan.

Funny.

I mean, that's not funny!

2006-09-02 10:55:33
16.   Bob Timmermann
Since there are no Fox games, I can watch Extra Innings?

I think I may be heading off to the Bronx instead of DC.

2006-09-02 11:00:37
17.   Sam DC
No ground rule double for AZ in the third.

Or is it supposed to be "automatic double" or something when the ball just bounces over the fence? Would be quixotic battlers want to know.

2006-09-02 11:01:19
18.   Linkmeister
No Fox games? Egad!

I got up, turned on the coffee and the tube, and there was -- Vanderbilt-Michigan!

I propose the Griddle host a contest to determine which college team has the most instantly recognizable helmets. My vote goes to the Maize & Blue.

2006-09-02 11:06:39
19.   Greg Brock
The Michigan helmets were brought to Ann Arbor by Fritz Crisler, who invented the wings while the head coach at Princeton.

Michigan fans do not like to be reminded of this.

2006-09-02 11:07:54
20.   Greg Brock
Sorry, I meant to say ears, not wings.
2006-09-02 11:12:18
21.   Bob Timmermann
Michigan's helmets are instantly recognizable because they were designed for the sole purpose of being instantly recognizable.

The worst logo on a helmet is the green and orange U on the Miami helmets. It's really bad.

2006-09-02 11:13:39
22.   Linkmeister
Hmm. Learn something every day. I won't ask you why you keep that knowledge in your head, because I have equally trivial info floating around in my own.
2006-09-02 11:14:57
23.   Bob Timmermann
I don't get worked up over "ground-rule" double like others. It's really not a quixotic battle since people like Jon Miller are fighting it.
2006-09-02 11:17:46
24.   Sam DC
Well, 26 was out front, but stopped to open an umbrella and 16 took it.
2006-09-02 11:19:44
25.   Greg Brock
I'm partial to the simplicity of the Penn St. helmet. Pure white with the navy stripe.

Penn St.
Notre Dame/Navy
Clemson
Texas

2006-09-02 11:20:54
26.   Greg Brock
22 I tend to not forget stuff. It makes for a very cluttered brain, and much difficulty getting to sleep.
2006-09-02 11:21:05
27.   Bob Timmermann
Sounds like someone likes minimalism with his helmets.

And animals.

2006-09-02 11:25:39
28.   Greg Brock
Though I absolutely adore the UCLA uniforms (especially the new road uniforms, no more navy blue!) I don't like the cursive Ucla on the helmet. I want the bruin on the helmet.

I don't like busy helmets. And animals are a plus.

2006-09-02 11:26:24
29.   Linkmeister
27 Now there's an idea. Find the helmet which most represents a particular artist's work. The Pollock school, the Calder school, the Picasso (Cubist or Blue??), etc.
2006-09-02 11:28:07
30.   Greg Brock
And don't get me started on achievement stickers. Ugh.
2006-09-02 11:34:02
31.   Linkmeister
I don't think UH has the stickers. The helmet has a very stylized "H" as seen here:
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu/photo_sport.html?p=3
2006-09-02 11:35:21
32.   Bob Timmermann
I wonder if it's possible with a "two games being played in the same stadium on the same day" situation can the first game be stopped early by rain and then the second be started at its regular time if it clears up.

Don't they pretty much just have to wait forever to get the first game to 9 innings?

They still haven't started in Philadelphia.

2006-09-02 11:35:55
33.   Bob Timmermann
31
The UH helmet was ruined when the rainbow was taken off.
2006-09-02 11:37:18
34.   Bob Timmermann
I also bemoan the fact that the local Fox sports affiliate doesn't carry the home UH games anymore. Those were fun to watch. You'd stay up late and listen to the dulcet tones of Jim Leahey. And you'd wonder "Just how many penalties can they call in one game?"
2006-09-02 11:37:37
35.   Greg Brock
33 Beat me to it. Those old uniforms/helmets were the bee's knees.

I like watching the Hawai'i games late night, though the announcers are about as excited and enthusiastic as Ben Stein on lithium.

2006-09-02 11:38:14
36.   Greg Brock
34 Damn you and your fast fingers.
2006-09-02 11:38:37
37.   Bob Timmermann
Game on in Philly!
2006-09-02 11:41:48
38.   Bob Timmermann
One of my favorite Jim Leahey moments came when UH was playing a late November game in Fresno.

"It's strange here. It's 4:30 when you head to the press box, then you get to the pressbox and it's dark outside! Dark!"

When I was on the Big Island for a vacation, I heard Leahey rhapsodizing about how much he enjoyed calling a baseball game at Texas A&M because he could see a train go by the stadium.

Sometimes I wonder if Leahey is the second coming of Rube Waddell.

2006-09-02 11:50:49
39.   Linkmeister
Bob, you'd really enjoy the new show he and his son do on the local PBS station. They good-naturedly rant and rave at one another for half-an-hour. Kanoa (the son) is sports guy for the local Fox station. Three generations of sports-announcing Leaheys!
2006-09-02 11:56:04
40.   Bob Timmermann
Jim Leahey is the best announcer in the US for pronouncing Polynesian surnames. Nothing bothers him. He can rattle off a seven syllable last name like he was saying the ABCs.
2006-09-02 12:00:06
41.   Linkmeister
40 True, but then look at all the practice he's had.
2006-09-02 12:06:28
42.   Bob Timmermann
The weather looks very gloomy in Philadelphia. It doesn't seem to be raining. But it just looks unpleasant.
2006-09-02 12:19:28
43.   Greg Brock
According to the FX network, it's always sunny in Philadelphia.
2006-09-02 12:25:47
44.   Bob Timmermann
43

That's Oliver Cromwell's favorite show!

2006-09-02 12:30:38
45.   Greg Brock
44 Lord Palmerston prefers Rescue Me.

Bob Roberts in on TV right now. No matter one's political persuasion, it is one funny mockumentary.

2006-09-02 12:33:48
46.   popup
38 Bob, Leahey would no doubt like Safeco Field. I must say one of the best features of that ballpark is being able to hear the train whistles, though where I usually sit, I can not actually see the trains going by. Hope you got to hear the trains during that 2 hour game at Safeco that you saw earlier this year.

Stan from Tacoma

2006-09-02 12:34:34
47.   Bob Timmermann
I heard a train at Safeco sometime I think because I was there about 90 minutes before the game started.
2006-09-02 12:39:23
48.   Greg Brock
Oregon is wearing the home uniforms with diamond plate on the shoulders.

Because every uniform is nicer when it looks like an automotive garage.

2006-09-02 12:40:09
49.   Bob Timmermann
Wow, a replay challenge 18 seconds into the season!
2006-09-02 12:41:05
50.   Bob Timmermann
Who's this guy working with Dan Fouts? Please tell me it's not Tim Brant! Please!
Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2006-09-02 12:41:42
51.   Greg Brock
Go Indians...er Cardinals...er Cardinal.
2006-09-02 12:44:11
52.   Bob Timmermann
So Fouts is the play by play guy now? And Brant is the analyst. But they both sound like they're doing both jobs.
2006-09-02 12:46:06
53.   Greg Brock
Fouts has said he wanted to do play by play, but did color commentary for Keith. Now that Keith is gone, Foutsy gets his chance.
2006-09-02 12:48:30
54.   Bob Timmermann
Oregon's uniforms have to be, without a doubt, the dumbest idea for a uniform ever created.
2006-09-02 12:50:01
55.   Greg Brock
The unholy Phil Knight/Oregon alliance has led to many a jersey debacle.
2006-09-02 13:17:55
56.   Bob Timmermann
If the Nats were to lose both games to Arizona today and the Mets win, they would eliminated from NL East contention.

But not the wild card!

2006-09-02 13:27:38
57.   Bob Timmermann
Twins move to temporarily tie Chicago for the AL checkered jersey.

Phillies trying to get a share of the NL checkered jersey if they can hold in Game 1 against the Braves.

2006-09-02 13:33:44
58.   Bluebleeder87
Hmm. Learn something every day. I won't ask you why you keep that knowledge in your head, because I have equally trivial info floating around in my own.

yeah my dome works that way as well.

2006-09-02 13:36:10
59.   Greg Brock
Penn St. leads Akron 17-0.

Quick, somebody wake JoePa up and tell him! He'll be thrilled!

I love Paterno. Just a joke.

2006-09-02 13:38:53
60.   Bob Timmermann
What's the over/under on the length of the UCLA/Utah game?

3 1/2 hours?

They are winding the clock a bit more in college football this year.

2006-09-02 13:43:07
61.   Greg Brock
Instead of waiting for the snap, officials are running the clock when the ball is set and they are in position (after a change of posession). It should shave some time off the games.
2006-09-02 13:58:33
62.   Bob Timmermann
And the Phillies refuse to take over a playoff spot as Arthur Rhodes has coughed up a 2-run homer to LaRoche in the 9th and the Braves lead 4-3.
2006-09-02 14:01:48
63.   Greg Brock
Dear Mr. Timmermann

With all the new Griddle updates, where are we chatting about college football?

I'm so confused.

Signed,
Confused in America

2006-09-02 14:03:43
64.   popup
I am sure all those polite fans in Philadelphia would never boo Arthur Rhodes for doing that.

Stan from Tacoma

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