Baseball

It's over. It's done. Forget about it Braves fans. This team is the most dysfunctional, mentally deficient Braves team I have witnessed since 1989.

Sure, the record doesn't indicate that, but the stats surely do.

For that reason alone General Manager Frank Wren should wave the white flag on this season and sell off valuable, veteran pieces that could net the Braves a serious influx of young, talented players for 2010.

Now I know what some of you will say.

"You're an idiot! We're only four games out!?!" or "You aren't a true Braves fan!"

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Scott Podsednik lined a two-out single to center field to bring an end to a marathon 13-inning game on Thursday afternoon.

The Chicago White Sox (35-37) mounted threats more than once in the late innings, but Podsednik's single plated Gordon Beckham and finally gave them a 6-5 victory over the majors’ best team, the Los Angeles Dodgers (47-26).

For the past three nights, the Tampa Bay Rays brought back memories of the 2008 World Series—a series they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

On Tuesday night, the Phillies returned to Tropicana Field for a rematch and Rays management expected a filled house to greet them. There were plenty of factors to assume this. First, no World Series rematch had ever drawn less than 37,000 fans.

Second, the Phillies have long trained in Clearwater—a short distance away from Tropicana field, creating a huge following.

Cleveland Indians mascot Slider has done a lot for his favorite team over the years. 

He's boogied to the radio hits of the day on the roof of the team's bullpen while wearing crutches.

He's sent foil-wrapped hot-dogs from slingshots into the stands.

He's cheered through unbearable heat, torrential rain, and yes, in this Rustbelt town, even swirling snow.

But one thing he hasn't done for this proud franchise is bring home a winner. And some of the teams' players and management are starting to take notice.

On Thursday it was revealed that, during the World Baseball Classic, 2008 National League Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto failed a drug test with traces of marijuana in his system.

And as a Cubs fan I thought he didn't hit anything until June...

This piece of lazy news comes as Soto was finally finding the missing spark at the plate. Could it be that Derrek Lee was bogarting the good cage time during road trips? Or was he having trouble picking up the ball's rotation because of excessive exposure to a black light in his closet during the WBC?

When New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain hit a liner right at Atlanta Braves pitcher Kenshin Kawakami Wednesday night, everyone at Turner Field collectively held their breath.

While the primary concern was about Kawakami's safety (luckily, he only suffered a neck contusion and is day-to-day), the Braves also worried about losing their solid new starter.

The New York Times reported last week that former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was on a list of 103 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003.

Sosa, 40, a seven-time All-Star selection and six-time Silver Slugger Award winner, helped revitalize the game of baseball in 1998 when he and fellow juicehead Mark McGwire pursued Roger Maris’ home run record.

The New York Times reported last week that former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was on a list of 103 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003.