MLB

Since 2005, Billy Beane and his Oakland Athletics have been auctioning off their best pitchers each season in an attemp to stay young, competitive, and fiscally responsible while playing in the monstrosity that is McAfee Coliseum.

The Pittsburgh Pirates just finished a series against the Milwaukee Brewers, 0-3. Although they are unlikely to lose every season series, or suffer a sweep in every series loss, the story that was told was not a pretty one. Based on the grid that I posited the other day, the Pirates will not be even a .500 team this year. The series loss by itself drops them to 11-10.

One bright, sunny afternoon I was driving home from a miserable hockey practice and was furious at my iPod for running out of juice.

The failure of said trusted piece of technology was the catalyst for a life-changing discovery. I turned the radio dial to 104.7 FM, hoping to catch a weekend recap of The War Room With Quinn & Rose, or something mildly entertaining.

What's cookin', fellas? Shoot, the ball we playin' now just ain't cuttin' it.

Honestly, I'm fit to be tied. Personally, I'm playin' real well, still jackin' a ton of bombs and all that, but this damn team can’t stop losin'.

We're 4-15, geez, that’s even worse than when I was playin in Cinci!

Just a week ago, I discussed the fact that the White Sox rotation was in disarray. With Buehrle, Floyd, and Danks firing on all cylinders, Contreras and Colon were way behind, looking as if they had one more start, one more chance to prove themselves as starters.

A week ago, the break down of these five pitchers looked like this:

Buehrle/Floyd/Danks - 6-1, 2.89 ERA

Contreras/Colon - 1-4, 7.47 ERA

What a difference a week can make. For the last seven days, the same setup looks like this:

Buehrle/Floyd/Danks - 1-2, 6.56 ERA

Washington, jump on the bandwagon.

The Nationals acquired bonafide stud in Logan Kensing from the Florida Marlins on Wednesday, just three days after the Marlins designated him for assignment.

Washington shored up the worst bullpen in the National League by adding Kensing, who will go in and compete for the newly open closer position.

Kensing has dominated in his six games with Florida! In seven-and-a-third innings, he allowed eight runs on 14 hits and his control has been pinpoint accurate, walking five batters for a phenomenal 2.59 WHIP.

With all the talk of new stadiums and owners' greed in the New York area recently, a fast-growing problem is flying under the radar. I am talking about, of course, fans who can't catch.

When Fernando Tatis's home run went to the replay booth Wednesday afternoon, it marked the second time in a month that New York fans found themselves the victim of one of these butterfingered rooters.

For some reason, stadium designers love to give the fans the opportunity to reach out and possibly interfere with the ball.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I grew up as an aspiring broadcaster and a New York Mets enthusiast.  I suppose those two qualities went hand-in-hand given the Mets' radio crew in the '90s.

Gary Cohen was brought to WFAN as the heir apparent to Bob Murphy.  For comparison, think Vin Scully coming to the Dodgers to work with Red Barber or, more recently, Tom McCarthy coming to the Phillies to work with the late Harry Kalas.

But you don't fill a giant's shoes; you merely walk where he once ran.

It's too bad Jake Fox can't play third base, because it seems that Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez may be headed to the DL soon with a calf injury.

BleedCubbieBlue.com is reporting that Ramirez could be disabled by the end of this week. Here is what Lou Piniella said about A-Ram, courtesy of a link from that same Cubs blogsite:

The United States of America is the home to the greatest broadcasters in the sports world.  Since sports are universal, it is only fitting that a legend receives the publicity that is due. The person who will be the subject of this profile is Felo Ramirez.

Felo Ramirez was born in Bayamo, Oriente Province, Cubaand has the nickname of “El Orgullo de Bayamo” [The Pride of Bayamo].