No sweeps allowed. NONE. Especially on the national stage. I can already hear Joe-fucking-Morgan and his lickspittle Miller salivating at the effin’ Cubs playng in the effin’ Cathedral with the best record in baseball. And I am loaded for bear because in Orlando, FL at effin’ 7:30 in the morning I encounter an effin’ Scrub fan and have to deal with this intra-city rivalry that many of you pooh-pooh..

See, after a nice 10 mile run I’m driving to my favorite greasy spoon. I pull a U-turn to park in front of the diner and see a van just pulling into the same spot. He gestures to me, asking if I want him to move up. I shake him off and park in front of him. Now, I have a Sox shatterball on my drivers side rear window, a Sox championship license plate holder on the back of the car, and a Sox license plate on the front (in FL you only have a real license plate, or “tag”, as effin’ Sotherners call it, on the back). So I’m a Sox marketer’s dream.

I get out of the car, go into the diner, and the same guy looks at me and says “I would’ve pulled up if you were a Cubs fan”. (OK, he’s smiling, but I don’t need to be provoked by a stranger in a strange land on a Sunday morning.) Then another guy already there with his woman says “Oh, the Cubs own that town”. I retorted “Well, we own a championship within the last 100 years, so we got that going for us.” Shut them the eff up.

In Orlando, FL. On a Sunday at 7:30. Over breakfast. Yeah, I guess rivalries aren’t important any more.

Kill the motherfuckers tonight. I promise I will have my wine on and loins girded. I suggest you do the same. Or SSH is right.

i made a wager with a buddy of mine from chitown whose a cubs fan. had the sox won this series, he fedex’s me some lou malnati’s pizza. the sox lost, now i have to ship him a case of harpoon’s. maybe i should propose double or nothing…

The Sox are clearly winning today. But, I’ll take a hit from Joe Crede as solace as well.

Javy’s last few starts have been lackluster, so there is fear there, plus fucking Morgan and his insights on the game, and now he has a fancy pants degree and shit so I bet he’s gonna even be worse.

I just dont want to be hurt and annoyed. I started drinking to dull the pain.

EVER listen to Joe Morgan? MUTE MUTE MUTE MUTE, I’d rather listen to crying babies.

I got to play in the British Open and won some celebrity tournaments. But when I was out there trying to make it in the PGA, I had such a bad temper, I had no chance. I’d go out with 14 clubs in my bag and come back with three or four. You can’t beat those guys with three or four clubs. ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3455593

... Baltimore has recalled RHP Ryan Bukvich in his place. Bukvich, 30, was 4-1 at AAA Norfolk with a 3.89 ERA in 34.2 IP. Oscar Salazar will take over Bynum’s role of backing up Alex Cintron at shortstop.

David send us this article about the insanely powerful, record-setting-pace Florida Marlins’ infield, in which Clark Spencer poses the question:

But are all the home runs a good thing?

Click through, if you must, just to verify that someone would actually wonder whether it’s a good thing that your four infielders have hit 67 HR on June 21, or deny Mr. Spencer and his employer The Miami Herald the satisfaction of additional web traffic by reading Dan Uggla’s response: ...

OAKLAND, Calif. — You know him as MC Hammer, the U Can’t Touch This rapper who brought Hammer Time to MTV.

But to Marlins special assistant Jack McKeon, Hammer always will be “little Stanley Burrell,” the Oakland Athletics fan who just might or might not have gotten McKeon fired in 1978.

Back in the mid-1970s, when McKeon worked in the Athletics’ front office, Burrell was the youngest member of maverick owner Charlie Finley’s staff.

“He was a shoeshine boy down at the (Oakland Coliseum),” McKeon said. “Charlie took a liking to him. He looked like a little Hank Aaron, so he called him ‘The Hammer.’ ’’

Hammer was 12 when Finley – putting the final touches on his string of three consecutive World Series championships – first anointed Hammer as “my vice president.’‘

Hammer wore a green-and-gold cap with “VP” and made $7 a game serving as, according to players at the time, Finley’s “pipeline.’’ ...

hat-tip BDD

Lee, Ramirez, and Edmonds own a combined OPS > 1.000 against Vazquez with 18 XBH in just 85 ABs, but have also K’d at a rate of 37%

and put Alexei in at 2? Swisher is batting better now non? and that Ramirez, ok he does not walk a lot but he can be a real pain in the arse to the pitcher fouling off all the time and making him tired, and he will often bat one onto the field.