Rocky

It does look like the Cubs have clinched the NL Central! congrats.

A lot more detail on that baseball prospectus site than I can process... HOWEVER, tonight some of the uncertainty has begun to fall away concerning NL playoff teams... and the ALeast. It does appear that the BoSox win and the Yankers loss (to BALTIMORE) clinches the division for the Sox and the WCard for NY. In the NL, the Dbacks snapped the Rockies winning streak, and in so doing, eliminated the Rockies from playoff contention AND clinched a playoff spot for themselves! To win the NLWest, they still need one more win OR a Padre loss. My preference would be a Dbacks win. Then WHO CARES what the danged Padres do.... however, it also appears that the Pads assisted the Cubs and perhaps the Brewers are out and Cubs (did they actually clinch the NL Central tonight?). AND, it looks like the Mets continued their freefall from the rarified air on top of the NLeast... with the Phillies looking good to clinch that division... but that game assisted the Dbacks in clinching a playoff spot tonight. Overall, I'm pleased with the results tonight. I'm sure more will become clear tomorrow.

Well, THAT question hasn't come up before... so, I'd only be guessing... but IF such a situation presents itself, I would think it could be a 50-50 call. There are plenty of regular position players batting under .240 with Owings avg now somewhere around .330. BUT, in a playoff situation, you're not going to be facing a team like the Pirates. I'd figure Owings for some PH duty, but to keep his focus on his pitching, it may not be a sure thing to sit .... or catcher. Chris Young plays CF and bats around .230. However, he's hit 30 HR and when he gets on base, he's fast... so, I'm reluctant to get any more specific than that. btw, Owings finishes his rookie season 8-8. That is very respectable and the kid's got a great deal of promise for a bright pitching career.

Micah Owings pitching this morning in Pittsburgh. Top of the 7th inning, Owings has thrown 6 shut out innings and so far is 4-4 at the plate with 3 doubles and a single... and some rbi's.

George hit the nail on the head. Genuine commerce (and thereby entrepreneurship) ADDS value to the exchange or trade of goods/services. And the promise of insight on how to make your personal fortune (or "income for life" in this instance), is not necessarily added value.

It's about time, eh? Just to clarify, Allen Steed would be the COUSIN who was 19 when Jeffs married he and his then 14 year old cousin. It's also my understanding, from reading a couple of sources on this situation, that in Utah, a 14 year old CAN consent to having sex legally (which precludes statutory rape)... except if the rapist is more than 3 years older than the victim. And this guy is 5 years older than his cousin and now former wife. Good for her, for having the courage to see this thing through.

Bradley's apparently got plenty of baseball talent... but having a guy like that in the clubhouse has got to take a real toll on team "chemistry." Local newspaper articles on the Dbacks lately have repeatly hit on the fact that the guys on the team are "unselfish" and "don't complain" even though there's plenty of opportunity... since there's regular platooning going on at first base and right field, and several guys that can fill in for Orlando "O-Dog" Hudson at second base... and plenty of times when they all seem to have left their bats at the last place they played (instead of bringing them, this time, to Pittsburgh). That "chemistry" may be largely responsible for this group overachieving, but it's starting to look pretty bleak for the playoffs, having lost their last three games... now having only four left... three of them in Denver... and as rhino pointed out, the Rockies are looking pretty strong these days.

To my knowledge, no team in the NL has yet clinched... so, there's still plenty of hoping (but not yet much hopping) going on... During the Dbacks games, the broadcasters are now paying close attention to how the Phillies are doing. I see THAT as a BAD sign. The ONLY reason Phillies games could mean anything to the Dbacks is if the Dbacks don't take care of their own business and end up trying to salvage the wild card. BUT, if it comes to THAT, then the Dbacks would be sinking, rather than peaking at this time. And if they get in by a nose hair, while playing badly, how could they expect to make it past the first round? So, it troubles me for them to be watching the scoreboard for Phillies games. On a different note, I can't imagine too many people being surprised about Milton Bradley. He's had anger management problems quite visibly for a couple of years... so much for effective counseling.

With the kids today in their teens and 20s, I get the impression that many do have something like you described... with this thing they call "Friends with Benefits." :blink: And WE thought WE were pioneers!

NO... Hu plays SS for the Dodgers... at least he did on Sunday! btw, I hope Hiway29 enjoyed that game more than we did!

Simon was grieving today. Though the Dbacks still look good for the playoffs, he and I had excellent seats for today's final regular season home game against the avoiders... er, Dodgers. Four games, he and I attended at Chase Field this season. The Dbacks LOST all four of them. So, in the event anyone wonders whether he or I plan to take in any playoff games in Phoenix, I can speak for myself in saying that I'd rather watch them WIN in HD than lose with me in attendance... hopefully, next year will bring a different experience during the regular season. In the (currently remote) possibility that the Dbacks make it to the WS, I may change my mind, but for now, I'm not inclined to do so.

Is that the Indians' magic number? I hope they do well in the playoffs.

that's what I voted also. I read an article today (don't remember the link) about how steroids MIGHT have influenced how many HRs any given player hits or has hit. The basic point was that increased muscle mass (by 10 percent) can cause significant enough increase in strength to cause a player to hit fly balls farther. How the increase in muscle mass is obtained (with or without steroids) is not significant, just that the muscle mass of the player was increased. It apparently works also for pitchers and their ability to throw harder/faster, but increased muscle mass had/has a smaller impact on pitch speed than on fly ball distance. If I remember, I'll try to find the article again... I suppose one can do a google news search for steroids+homeruns. This also came up when Green was on the Dbacks... he skips all Jewish holidays, I believe. steroids and home runs This is the same article, but not the same place I read it this morning. PORTLAND, Ore. -- A professor in solid-state physics, who ordinarily studies subjects such as thin-film deposition on semiconductors, took some time off to study home run hitters who take steroids. The Tufts University (Medford, Mass.) professor's surprising finding was that the use of steroids that add just 10 percent to muscle mass would increase bat speed by only 5 percent, enough to raise a slugger's home run production by a surprising 50 percent. "I wanted to know why steroid use seems to affect home run hitters disproportionately," said physicist Roger Tobin. "What I found is that statistically, it only takes a small change in bat speed to result in a dramatic change in the number of home runs hit." (continued)

If they DID, I'd be doing more than just writing some HARMLESS criticism of a pointless poll. And I disagree on whether there's harm in asking. But that's where I'll leave that one.

And the Brewers (probably) will have to go through Arizona and perhaps San Diego to get there... There'll only be one team I'll root for (can you guess which one?)... but I'm still having a hard time figuring them to be strong enough to bowl over every other NL team to get to the WS. But given the way the 2001 WS was won, I can't count this year's Dbacks out until the last out of the last game they play... and those Mets I thought would be hard to get past...? they're not looking so strong these days either.

At best, Jonni, this seems like a (very) lame attempt at humor. on your part, that is.

Why would ANYone here even care what ANYone else receives (earned or unearned) annually? AND... Why would ANYone here even tell the truth about what they receive (earned or unearned)? The most truthful answer I care to give it that it's nobody's damned business. But Tom Strange's answer's good too... :)

Then I read the name on the door.... regnaD kciN.

I was pretty amazed by that too! The Dbacks broadcast guys have been talking about Bonafacio's speed, but THAT was the first time he's really showed what it can mean. And Upton's pretty fast too. Upton has shown how easily he can turn a double into a triple (offensively, not defensively ;) ) As to today's game (Saturday day game on FOX, not just Fox Sports Net), the Dbacks have had their way with Lowe this season... and Livo has pitched pretty well the last several times he's started... but CBS Sportsline.com STILL has the Dodgers as heavy favorites to win today. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. You FINALLY noticed!? Yes, the Dbacks got them started on that streak last weekend. I even posted some "encouragement" for you! Rhino, see post number 2261 above for that note of encouragement! :)

At first, I thought maybe, Mr. Hammy, you might be taking some newfangled college class, perhaps on existentialism... then I read SirGuess's post... and I thought, do I need to take a class on PsychoCalculus? I never could understand regular calculus... but some people have told me that there will only ever be ONE of ME! But now I'm not so sure.

That's pretty much what I figured... And let's hope this guy can cope with the break up in a way that doesn't put ANYone at risk. In the SHORT TERM, that's probably not an unreasonable assessment... Indeed.

It must be a tremendous relief to know your daughter is actually listening to mom and dad on something important like this! That is, regardless of whether you heard some nut job say it numerous times before.

Yeah, I think Dooj hit the nail on the head, actually. To say that the first and most important thing men want from or in a woman is sex is FAR from thoughtful. I doubt that any adult that's been awake at all since they first hit puberty would know THAT without having to state it explicitly. Therefore, you having posted it as a starter to this thread kinda sets the tone as NOT being a genuinely thoughtful or reflective thread or expecting any one to post thoughtful, reflective responses. As an attempt to RE-direct (which others probably did before me) this TO being genuinely reflective, I would have to ask you if you genuinely believe that the bottom line (NO pun intended) is that men (or any particular man) wants hot sex more than, or at the expense of, having a genuinely compatible, deep and soulful friend/companion. My understanding is that even if a man had a wife with a voracious desire for sex, if there is conflict around other major aspects of the relationship, the sex WILL suffer. However, given my experience (too little, not very satisfying), I'm not so sure I would be able to make a sufficiently succinct or concise statement of what qualities, skills, personality or whatever in a woman as a wife or significant other.

Well, I can honestly say I'm glad the Dodgers won tonight! That, coupled with Dback's win in SFran again ups Arizona's lead to 3.5 games over the SDs.... Obviously, Dbacks are done with the Padres for the regular season. IF the Dbacks take care of business and continue on the same pace as their current winning percentage of .565, they'll make it to 92 or 93 wins. Of course, that's a big IF. For the Padres to get to 92 games, they have to win, I think, all but one game they have remaining.... I'd hope that the Dodgers don't take the division, but it'd be great for them to get the WC spot. But that won't be easy either... With the Pads, the Phillies and the Rockies all still in it... and the Phillies made a triple play tonight at home against the Rockies... which was probably the only bright spot/highlight for the home team. Rockies over the Phillies, 12-0. Also, on Sunday, Sept 23, the Dbacks host the Dodgers for Arizona's last home game of the regular season... and SimonZelotes and I have tickets to that game...

Speaking of whose laundry one prefers, I wonder if RHINO has yet realized that HIS (defending WS champion) Cardinales got SWEPT in the desert this weekend? That is, IN SPITE OF the exploits of perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols.