Early Afternoon Strum

I hate the middle of the summer away games in Texas. Always have, always will. They're always long, interminable and painful to watch. I always think of the disastrous games there in years past, be they the days when Texas's lineup had Pudge, Palmeiro and Juan-Gone, or a couple of years ago when Torre decided it would be a good idea to have Wayne "Who?" Franklin pitching with the game on the line. I was reminded of that game last night when Girardi left in Marte with the bases loaded, even though he was clearly done. It was hot, he had thrown a lot of pitches, didn't have good control, but Girardi didn't want to bring in the new kid since he's a rookie. That logic was insane, it's Texas not Fenway, and it ended up biting us in the balls. Not good times.

Even worse times, Joba came out of the game with a shoulder injury. Post game, Girardi and Joba didn't think it was a big deal, but he's still taking some tests today. Obviously if there's anything wrong we're gonna have a problem.

Of course he shouldn't have had to throw the pitch that led to his removal. I don't know what the umpiring crew was thinking, reversing the double play call. Even after seeing 20 replays it was still hard to tell, so for them to reverse it without seeing anything is simply retarded.

The only good thing to come out of this game was the continued emergence of the Gangsta as a beast.

Yet another game Tampa and Boston lose, and we can't get the job done to get closer. Of course tonight we'll win, but so will they.

In other news, what's the deal with all the dying celebrities? First comes the news Bernie Mac is in the hospital with a very severe case of pneumonia and is in critical condition. Then Christina Applegate, who has a legitimate JCHOF case for her portrayal of Kelly Bundy, reveals she has breast cancer. Then Morgan Freeman is in a serious car accident. Craziness. What's next? Whoopi Goldberg gets a severe case of gonorrhea, Al Bundy has prostate cancer, and Michael Caine gets in a train crash?

And finally, this thought is a couple of days old, but as it stands, I would just like to point out that "why so serious" has been replaced for the time being by "I'll kiss you on the mouth Kenny Rogers" as line of the summer. Of course, that could all change tomorrow.