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sports:
The sports nutshell
remains unbroken
By Mike Haubrich
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Dennis Springer.
Jeff Reboulet. McKay Christensen.
Meet your Los Angeles
Dodgers.
Make that your
red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers, whose recent run actually has
people thinking about a subject that was off-limits only a
month ago ? the playoffs. Just think, the Dodgers trailed
the Arizona Diamondbacks by 7 1/2 games on June 26, but have
since won 20 of their last 26 games, including 14 of 17 on
the road, to draw within 1/2-game of Arizona and lead the
wild-card race by 2 games.
Sure, it helps
that Shawn Green has finally figured out how to hit National
League pitching, Gary Sheffield has played solid after his
contract demands in spring training (remember?) and Chan Ho
Park is pitching like Scott Boras knows he can.
But with injuries
to pitchers Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Darren Driefort, and
time lost due to injury by Sheffield and Eric Karros, it looked
like a lost season for the Blue Crew.
However, the patchwork
pitching staff has kept the team in games, Paul Lo Duca continues
to amaze the baseball world and journeymen like Reboulet and
Springer keep making huge contributions off the bench.
Maybe the Dodgers
can't catch the D-Backs, but they do have a realistic shot
at the wild-card. And if they can make it, I don't envision
this team doing the typical three-and-out of the mid-90s Dodgers.
The Angels are
also hot, winning eight of their last nine games, and now
trail the first-place Seattle Mariners by only...22 games?
All right, so they're
not going to catch the Mariners, but the Angels have gotten
back in the wild-card race. So, do you think Disney will ante
up and go after a front-line pitcher or a big bat to solidify
the Halos' chances to make the postseason? Yeah, right.
But Disney will
make a change to the Angels' look, literally ? the team's
uniform design is scheduled to change once again next season.
What is that, like the fifth time in the last ten years?
Bottom line: Disney
is more concerned with merchandising than winning and are
happy to have the team stay competitive so they can fill the
seats in the Big Ed.
Actually, the uniform
change is a good thing ? the Angels' uniforms, with that wing
thing, are close to being the ugliest in baseball.
What were the San
Francisco Giants thinking when they acquired first baseman
Andres Galarraga from the Texas Rangers Tuesday? The floundering
Giants gave up three young prospects to get Galarraga, who
is 40 years old and will probably retire at season's end.
Last time I checked, the Giants already have a first baseman
in J.T. Snow.
Think the D-Backs'
Randy Johnson likes facing the Padres? In his last two outings
against the Friars, the Arizona left-hander has recorded 30
strikeouts, given up only two hits and improved his lifetime
record to 7-0 against San Diego.
Job opportunity:
Ian Woosnam is looking for a new caddie. Ability to count
past ten required.
Hey Patrick Ewing:
Just because you don't have to pay doesn't mean it isn't prostitution.
This just in: Lance
Armstrong is the man.
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