I like most baseball unis these days, though some are still better than others...

1. Giants…classic off-white unis.

2. Cardinals…timeless, great stirrups.

3. Red Sox…whatever happened to the striped stirrups?

4. Tigers…love the huge names on the back.

5. Yankees…timeless.

6. Braves…could be better with a few traditional tweaks: striped stirrups, off-white uni, number on front, big red names, dark tomahawk.

7. Pirates…classic look, except for the red vests.

8. Athletics…simple & traditional, but the team looks sloppy.

9. Phillies…simple and sweet.

10. Dodgers…several tweaks have downgraded a classic look. “LA” patch, etc.

11. Cubs…good, but see the Dodgers. Bring back the cubbie bear.

12. Orioles…great look, but it could be better.  “Baltimore” for starters.

13. Royals…simple.  Great to get rid of the black trim.

14. Mets…need to ditch all the black.

15. Astros…nice shade of red.

16. Mariners…they’ve kept a consistent look over the years.

17. Rangers…simple and clean.  I like the flag patch on the sleeve.

18. Reds…hate the new number font.  They did get rid of most of the black trim.

19. Padres…I like those sand road unis, and the blue is sweet.

20. White Sox…time for a change!  Bring back a past classic: blue or red.

21. Angels…simple but bland.  Red numbers on red jersey doesn’t work.

22. Indians…doesn’t stand out.  Nice caps don’t match the navy jerseys.

23. Blue Jays…nice colors.  Unis keep changing, but none stand out.

24. Devil Rays…I like the colors and logos, but the dark sleeves are weird.

25. Brewers…simple but bland.  Great throwbacks should be worn all the time.

26. Marlins…Ok uni, but leave the pinstripes to the Yanks.

27. Twins…same ugly unis for 20 years!

28. Rockies…too much black, weird “vests.”

29. Diamondbacks…nice shade of red, but the team name in front doesn’t look good.

30. Nationals…nice caps, ugly logo and numbers.

CPA: Leftover comments about last weeks Braves road trip:

Neither the Dodger or Padres were that impressive – part of the reason their pitchers have such low ERA’s is they are playing so many games against teams in their division with lousy offenses (Dodgers – Padres – Giants)…

Having the Giles brothers at the top of the Padres order is killing them… the West coast teams blame their ballparks for the poor hitting – I think it is more a factor of loading your lineup with guys who made their reputation in the pre-steroid testing era (M. Giles, B. Giles, Garciapara, Luis Gonzalez, Furcal, Klesko)…

Mike Cameron is batting in the middle of the Padres lineup – next year when he is here, he will probably be batting 8th…

I think Willie Harris is starting to come back down to earth – I saw a lot of weak AB’s from  him last week… Do you believe in Buddy Carlyse now?

I ended up watching most every game from the road trip last week… I thought Reyes looked good through 3 innings on Saturday… I was concerned when the Wells ejection happened on Sat. that the long inning would throw him off and apparently it did…

Davies pitched a good game to get the series win…I don’t know what Wickman’s issue is – it seems he has his velocity, but he is leaving too many hittable balls up…

I did not catch the HR contest last night, or the Bronx is Burning movie (I did read the book last year and it was really good)… I like the concept of the HR concept – I think it is very fan-friendly and great PR for the game, but personally it does not interest me to watch BP HR’s…

Greg Maddux won 15 games again...one off the NL lead.  Stole a base, his second of the year, and 8th of his career.  Got a great jump when the pitcher wasn't paying attention.  Do you think Roger Clemens decision to come back has a little to do with Maddux behind him on the all time list?  Smoltz won 15, plus how many times did he leave the game with the lead, only to have the bullpen lose it for him...eight or nine.  Third in the NL in strikeouts.  Last year Clemens won the Cy Young with a comparable year, right?  Or is the sentiment to give the award to Trevor Hoffman?

Can the Twins knock off the Yanks?  LA could topple the Mets and continue on to the Series.  That after the Cards top the Padres.  See Adam Wainwright closing out today's game?

Clemson lost to Boston College but beat FSU, Florida Atlantic, UNC, and La Tech.  They have yet to play Wake, Temple, Tech, Va Tech on the road, Maryland, NC State, and South Carolina.  GT still has Maryland, Clemson, Miami, NC State, UNC, Duke, and UGA.  Shall be an interesting season.

Interesting Sagarin ratings this week... 1. USC 2. Ohio State 3. Michigan 4. Florida 5. Texas 6. Oregon 7. Louisville 11. Notre Dame 12. Clemson 14. Boise State 15. West Virginia 16. Tennessee 18. UGA 19. FSU 23. Virginia Tech 28. Boston College 30. Miami 31. Georgia Tech

Will turned his second career unassisted triple play last night, providing a bright spot in an otherwise humdrum loss in Powder Springs.  The unassisted triple play is the rarest play in baseball, even more rare than a perfect game...hundreds of times less frequent than a hole in one in golf.

With little John Fulton pitching, the leadoff hitter in the fifth inning reached on an error, and hit the lineup's cleanup hitter, putting Powder Spring’s two best players on base.  This brought up third-baseman Danny, who had singled home a run in the third.

On a one ball - one strike pitch, Danny lined the ball up the middle, high and to the left-field side of second base.  Will moved to his left and reached high to snag the liner for the first out.  Both runners had taken large leads before the pitch, and were well off the bags when Will made the catch...but they weren't stealing on the pitch.

In the dugout, my first thought was which runner should Will pick off base.  But Will didn't hesitate...his momentum was taking him toward second base, and he quickly stepped on the bag for the second out.  Facing first base, Will had a perfect view of the runner caught halfway between first and second.  Later Coach White said Will's eyes were open wide at this point.  Will accelerated and easily ran down the runner, tagging him out for the unassisted triple play, quite similar to the triple play turned by the Braves Rafael Furcal a few years ago.

Will then turned right and ran off the field to the third base dugout, tossing the ball on the mound as he passed.  It was a cool night, with dew starting to form, so the base umpire instinctively picked up the ball to keep it dry.  I walked out and retrieved the ball, to put on Will’s shelf next to his first triple play ball, turned almost six years ago on October 6, 2000.

The rest of the game was forgettable, as the young Longhorns were sloppy at the plate and in the field.  Both Bradford and John Fulton pitched admirably...with Bradford only allowing two earned runs in three innings, and JF tossing two shutout innings. 

Will caught another line drive playing shortstop, but saw his consecutive at-bats with a hit streak end at eleven straight, and his consecutive plate appearances reaching base streak ended at fourteen.  

What a good idea to comment on the MLB choices for each team’s most outstanding player.  I have been casting my votes…here they are, along with some comments.  I’ll rank all five for each team.  First my favorite, the senior circuit…

Arizona:  Randy Johnson’s perfect game and Series championship beats out Gonzalez’s steady career.  Williams also starred for the Giants, Bell for the Pirates.  Why not Greg Counsell or Curt Schilling?

Braves:  (1) Aaron, no question. (2) Spahn is the all-time winningest lefty. (3) Niekro won 300 pitching for horrible teams. (4) Tie!  Chipper’s run of 100+ RBI seasons and Smoltz’s 150 wins and saves put them at Cooperstown’s doorstep…but how do you pick them over Maddux or Glavine?  Dale Murphy’s back to back MVP seasons also take a back seat, because the selectors must’ve wanted young voters to bleed votes away from Aaron.

Cubs:  Five fine choices…Ernie, Billy, the underrated Jenkins, Ryno, and Santo.  And I wore Sandberg’s 23 at the fantasy camp.  Yes, Sammie got the shaft.

Reds:  I’ve been voting for Bench instead of the tainted hit king.  Robinson had a great career, but it was so split between the Reds and Orioles.  Bench, Rose, Robinson, Morgan, Perez.

Rockies: Not much to pick from here, though Larry Walker was a five tool players before being slowed by injuries.  Career Rockie Helton tops, Walker, Coor’s Field stud Vinny, El Cate Grande (loved by all Braves fans), and Bichette.

Marlins:  With the revolving door swinging after each title, nobody has taken a foothold.   Dontrell becomes the Marlins all-time wins leader this year.  Then Series hero Beckett, followed by Castillo, Conine, and Nen.

Astros:  Tough call…I’ll pick Nolan over Biggio and Bagwell, then the Toy Cannon, and Dierker, who has done everything in the organization.  How about Ceasar Cedeno?

Dodgers:  Even tougher.  Jackie is tops, for all he went through.  Koufax’s short, excellent career is second, then Campy, Pee Wee, and Duke.  Tough to leave off Drysdale, Orel, and Fernando.  A step below are Garvey, Dusty, and Kirk.

Brewers:  Yount was great at the plate, at short, and center…beating out Molitor and Fingers, both of whom also starred elsewhere.  Then the under-rated Cooper and Gantner.

Mets:  As a Braves fan, perhaps I should be voting for Strawberry.  Surely Tom Terrific is tops.  The other guys pale in comparison.  (2) Strawberry tore it up while he was a Met.  (3) Franco’s long career tops (4) Series hero Tug and (5) Piazza, whose best days were in Dodger blue.  What about Dwight Gooden?

Phillies:  I’m taking Lefty over Schmidt, then Roberts, Klein (who I don’t recall), and Ashburn.  They outrank Luzinski, Bowa, and that great centerfielder (Elliot Maddox?).

Pirates:  Being old school, Honus barely tops the excellent Clemente.  Feared power hitter Stargell then beats Series hero Maz and Kiner.  Didn’t Pittsburgh have a skinny outfielder win a few MVP’s in the 90’s?

Cardinals:  Again the old school Stan the Man beats out the tough as nails Gibson, whom I still dislike for his stint as the Bravos pitching coach…trying to make Rick Mahler a power pitcher!  The Wizard’s illustrious career tops Pujols, whom I love…he could be the player of this decade.  Brock is no slouch, but brings up the rear of these five.

Padres:  Gwynn spent his entire career in San Diego, and boy could he hit for average…most of the time in pain.  That beats the amazing Winfield, whom I’m telling my boys about.  Winfield spent many years with other teams.  Hoffman has been quietly piling up saves for a mostly average team.  Jones pitched a no-hitter, and maybe Giles is the current favorite…what about the shortstop Greene?  Or Garry Templeton…or Ozzie?

Giants:  Say Hey Willie tops this tough five.  Perhaps if Bonds wasn’t so tainted and self-absorbed I would pick him.  Third is Mel Ott, who hit his 500 homers in a tougher time than Stretch…who stuck around past his prime to pile up homers.  Marichal was quite the competitor.

Expos/Nationals:  Whether Tim Raines?  Wasn’t his number retired?  And Ellis Valentine, or even Warren Cromarte?  Carter was not my favorite, but he beats le Grande Orange.  Write in time!  Soriano’s performance for the Nats this year puts him third, then Raines and Valentine.  Don’t the Nats have an above average closer?