Cubs and Diamondbacks fans really endured hell on earth having to listen to Stockton for three straight games and have suffered in a way that nobody should ever have to. Some of his nuggets of wisdom:

1) Michael Weurtz, appeared in 73 games for the DALLAS COWBOYS, just second behind Bob Howry.

2) He called Aramis Ramirez, by the name Rodrigo Ramirez.

3) He referred to a one time Arizona bullpen arm as Julio Jorge.

4) Alfonso Soriano will now be known as Adolpho Soriano.

5) He claimed that Derrek Lee had great numbers this season while toiling for the Houston Astros.

6) Angel Pagan has transformed into a peanut, now known as Angel Pec`an.

This is just a small sample size of the endless blunders and mispronunciations made by #### Stockton. I firmly believe that he is losing his mind and needs to get into a hospital, probably the Alzheimers ward, ASAP. This guys hould never be given a microphon ever again. 

With just a week left in the baseball season, unlike in the AL where three teams have already clinched, the NL playoff picture is still very cloudy. The largest division lead can be found in the Central, where the Cubs are 3 1/2 games ahead of the floundering Milwaukee Brewers. In the East, the Phillies are just 2 1/2 games behind the Mets and in the West the Diamondbacks are also just 2 1/2 games ahead of the Padres, who have just lost Milton Bradley to injury in one of the most bizarre series of events i have ever seen on a playoff diamond. Yet, with six or seven games left for most teams, an awful lot can happen between now and season's end. Well, here we go. Here is a look at any teams within either four games of their division leader or two games of the wild card leader.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have been as hot as any team in baseball over the last ten games and have exorcised some of their demons over that span. The last few seasons for the Cubs were marked with late season collapses at the hands of the Central's bottom feeders, the Reds and the Pirates. The Cubs have also been heavily hit this season by a massive power outage, somewhat surprising with a lineup littered with power hitters up and down the lineup. Lastly, the Cubs, primarily a right handed hitting team, has struggled mightily against lefties for the most part. In the last ten games, the Cubs faced the Reds and Pirates and not only beat the Reds, but they swept the PIrates, who marched out three straight lefties, highlighted by young stud Tom Gorzelanny. The Cubs totaled thirty runs in the three games aginst Pittsburgh and most importantly, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez found their powerstroke, combining for eight homeruns, three apiece for Soriano and Ramirez and two for Lee.

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers look defeated. If the Brewers fail to make the playoffs, which looks quite probable at this point, the season will be looked back at as a season of missed oppurtunities. Throughout the first 4-5 months of the season, no team stepped up to take a firm grasp of the division, rather settling to win on nights that the other teams won and losing on nights that the other teams lost. The Brewers biggest issues this season were the inability to win on the road and the collapse of a bullpen which was unhittable for the first half of the season. To get an idea of how bad the pen has been, here are some before and after numbers for the three main cogs in the Brewer pen, Fransisco Cordero, Derrick Turnbow and Scott Linebrink. Turnbow, after pitching forth a solid 3.49 in the first half, has had an ERA of 5.28 since the break, an increase of nearly two full runs. Linebrink, although in the midst of a very good september, had an awful July and August(He only spent the latter part of July with the Brewers). His July ERA was 7.59 and his August ERA was 5.40, which for any of you non-baseball folk, is absolutely dreadful. Cordero has really only had two bad months this season, June and July, but those coincided with the Cubs two month stretch of playing the best baseball in the majors. He faltered when needed most and it cost his team. The Brewers have three left against the Cardinals and four against San Diego. Needless to say, the remaining games will be tough.

New York Mets: Despite winning their third consecutive game yesterday, the Mets have only won four of their last ten games durnig a stretch when every win or less are hugely magnified. Since their sweep at the hands of the Phillies, the Mets' starting pitchers have been terrible. They have allowed less than four runs only once over that span, but not to worry, relief is in sight. Like i said, not only have they won three straight games, but they finish the season with two more games against Washington, one against St. Louis, and three more against Florida. Still, if Jose Reyes, the catalyst for the offense and the team's greatest source of energy, doesnt rebound quickly from a well below average second half, the Mets will struggle in the playoffs. On the bright side, David Wright is having an MVP-type season, Carlos Delgado has heated up as of late and Carlos beltran has been slugging .600 in the second half. All that being said, the Mets have not been as hot as they were in the first half because their pitching, bullpen and starters included, have not been as good since the break. John Manie and El Duque have regressed as of late and Oliver Perez, while still pitching well, has also taken a step back. Pelfrey and Glavine have done whats expected, but when playoff time comes, do they have a lockdown guy on their staff?

Philadelphia Phillies: Is this the year the Phillies actually do more than just come close to a playoff birth? The Phillies, an all offense-no pitching team, easily have the best lineup in the national league. Their numbers are a bit skewed thanks to playing in a pocket sized ballpark, but make no mistake about it, they can mash with the best of 'em. The pitching staff is dreadful. The Phillies only have one starter(qualifying) with an ERA UNDER 5.00. That is ridiculous. When your #2 picther is twenty one years older than your #1 starter, you know your staff stinks. The Phillies will probably have to finish with a worst-case-scenario 5-1 record if they hope to either take the division or get the wild card. With three games against Washington and another three against Atlanta, the Phillies will have to be on top of their game.

Arizona Diamondbacks: The Seattle Mariners of the National League, the Snakes, are a statistical anomoly. Everybody knows about their poor run differential, poor team average and mediocre pitching staff. Everybody besides the D-Backs that is. They seem to have no idea that they aren't supposed to be good and their play is the play of a confident, experienced team, not of a young, inexperienced one. They will, barring a massive collapse, make the playoffs and will, if things work out, be able to trot out Brandon Webb for two games in the first series if necessary. The scary thing for the Diamondbacks is that they lack punch in the lineup and dont have much behind Webb. If they can get to their bullpen with the lead they will be fine, but if they find themselves behind the eight ball early in games, they will struggle to score enough to pick up some comeback victories. The Diamondbacks finish the season with six straight road games, three against Pittsburgh and three against Colorado. If they can take four of those games, they should ensure themselves of hime field advantage for at least the opening playoff series.

San Diego: The Padres are probably the scariest team in the NL in a playoff series. The possibility of facing Peavy twice in a series is downright intimidatig. Chris Young is no scrub either, although he has been just an average pitcher since the start of August, compiling a 4.32 ERA since the break. The problem is that they are only one loss and one Phillies victory from the second slot in the Wild Card Standings. The other issue for the Padres is that they finish the season with four games against Milwaukee in Milwaukee, where the Brewers simpply dont lose. If the Padres end up getting into the playoffs, they will be tough to beat, but getting there will be the tough part for the Friars.

Colorado Rockies: As of now the Rockies are four games behind the division leading Diamondbacks, but just 1.5 games out of the WIld Card lead, so clearly their best shot is to overtake the Phillies and Padres for the Wild Card crown. The Rockies, one of the hottest teams in all of baseball at the time of writing, will have their work cut out for them. The Rockies will face both the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, three games apiece. The nice thing is that the tougher series, against Arizona, will be at home, while the series against the Dodgers will be at Los Angeles. The Rockies will be playing the most important games in the franchise's short existence and will need to play lights out baseball ti reach the postseason.

All of the aforementioned teams are decent, but none of them really blow you away, unlike the playoff teams in the American League, who on paper, clearly have an advantage over any of the NL teams. But the NL is the NL and although the league isnt as top heavy as the AL is, there is more parity and every game will carry heavy playoff implications for all of the involved teams.

My Picks: Cubs, Mets, Diamondbacks and Phillies, with the Diamondbacks grabbing homefield throughout and the Mets getting the second seed.

The way things are shaping up, baseball looks to be exciting no matter what division/team you are a fan of. Of course there are the ususal bottom feeders that are out of contention, like the Royals, Rays, Orioles, Rangers, Pirates, Reds, Giants and Nats, but even some of them are playnig good baseball. THe Royals and Nats have played pretty well as of late and the Rays at least have an exciting offense thats worth watching.

NL East: A three team race. All three can hit but pitching is a concern for all of them as well.

- Currently the Mets occupy the top spot, but both the Phillies and the Braves have their eyes set on the division crown. The Mets are awaiting Pedro's return and they sorely need him. El Duque, Perez, Glavine and Maine are solid but they dont really scare anybody. Maine was knocked around last start against the Cubs and Perez was recently pummeled as well. El Duque has been good but will his health hold up? Glavine is steady but with an ERA north of 4 he is simply average.
- The Braves made the big deadline splash with the acquisition of Texiera and are in the midst of a big series with the Metropolitans. The Braves have beat up on the Mets all season long and look to continue doing so this week. The offense is there for the Braves but the pitching staff leaves much to be desired. Smoltzy is a stud and Tim Hudson is solid but Chuck James, Buddy Carlisle and JoJo Reyes/ Kyle Davies are not too strong and might be what holds the Braves back from reaching the playoffs. That, the inconsistency of Wickman as a closer and the recent struggles of Rafael Soriano will all be tough to vercome for the Braves
- The Phillies are the wild card. They have very inconsistent starting pitching and their bullpen is shoddy, but their offense is incredible. Everyone knows about Howard, Utley, Burrell and Howard, but guys like Rowand and Victorino have been huge for the Phills.If the Phillies are within striking distance when Utley and Victorino come off the DL they may be able to pull it off.


NL Central: The pre-season prediction for the Central was right on. THis is by far the worst division in baseball. It wont come down to who is going to win more games, but who is going to lose less. Theoretically those are the same thing, but you get the point.

- At the time of writing, the Brewers just completed a game in which the Rockies shellacked them to the tune of 19-4. What makes it worse for the Brewers is that their hot-shot rookie, Yovanni Gallardo, was beat up badly. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart continue to be the foundation for a high scoring offense, but the pitching staff is in bad shape right now. Claudio Vargas, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush and Chris Capuano have all recently looked like back of the rotation starters and have been killing the Brewers chances. The Bullpen, which was very strong up until the All Star break has faltered as of late and Fransisco Cordero has even blown a save at home.

- Things are only a shade better for the Cubs. Soriano has gone down with a torn quad and wont be bcak till Labor Day at the earliest. The offense has been terrible but their pitching has still been pretty strong. Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill have been very strong Sean Marshall and Jason Marquis have performed like fourth and fifth starters, which they are. The bullpen has been strong overall and the recent demotion of Will OHman will send a message to the remaining members of the 'pen: Perform or get on the bus to AAA. If the Cubs can start hitting for some power and manage to put up some runs for their pitchers they should be able to take the division from the faltering Brewers. A bit of hometown bias here, but the Cubs do look like the better team.


NL East: A very strong division. Arizona, Los Angeles, San Diego and Colorado are within 4 games of eachother. Arizona, San Diego and Los Angeles are all teams built on pitching while the Rockies are an offensive juggernaut that needs to compensate for it's pitching or lack thereof.

- The Diamondbacks have really impressed me. They have one stud pitcher in Brandon Webb and a bunch of other starters with decent stuff yet they continue to shut other teams down. They dont have any real studs on offense but they dont have many easy outs either. Their bullpen is strong and the team overall is really clicking. Arizona is a team that at first glance doesnt scare you but they seem to outperform their numbers. They do just enough to beat you and are a team you dont want to face.

- The Padres are all pitching and no offense. Their offense is really hit or miss and when it misses, its really ugly. Good news is that they have the two best pitchers in tha NL 1-2 in their rotation. Chris Young and Jake Peavy are downright scary. The prospects of facing Young and Peavy three out of five games in a five game is intimidating but the problem will be getting to the playoffs. Does their offense have enough punch to get them through to the playoffs? Can Adrian Gozalez, Mike Cameron and co. step up their game?

- The Dodgers are not looking good right now. The losers of eight of their last ten games really need to turn things around if they hope to be around come September. They failed to acquire the big bat at the deadline and that will cost them dearly. They still have a strong pitching staff and bullpen but their offense is on par with the Padres' but sadly their pitching staff hasnt. They really shouldnt have let Betemit leave. He could have provided them with some serious power. The team will really need to turn up theigame if they wantna be around come postseason.

- The Rockies. This team has some serious offensive firepower. With the other four teams in the division built on starting pitching, the Rockies sem like a weird fit in the West. However strong their offense is, their overall pitching, bullpen included, is not too good outside of Jeff Francis, Manny Corpas and the recently hot Aaron Cook. THeir lack of pitching and their inability to win on the road will cost them a playoff spot down the road. If they would have traded Helton for some pitching help and given either big Joe Koshansky or Ian Stewart a chance at first i think they would be better off.

All things considered, the NL looks to offer some very exciting baseball over the next two months. I cant wait to see how teams respond to the turbulence that comes with the end of summer.

With the recent rumore swirling around superstars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, i couldnt help but notice a large mistake that each franchise made while trying to "rebuld." The NBA is first and foremost a business and most owners are in the business of making money first and then winning later. ONe would think that both making money and winning are intertwined, but in certain situations thaye most certainly are not. That is where the Lakers and Timberwolves have made a large and costly mistake. Both farnchises have superstars that are good enough to bring fans to each game through their great play. Both the Lakers and the Wolves knew a few years ago that it was time to rebuild their respective franchise, but neither team was willing to suffer through the years of empty stadiums and lack of financial success that a rebuilding franchise must go through. So each team held onto their bic ticket player and tried, with litlle success, to rebuild their franchise successfully while alotting a large part of their funds to one player that would bring fans to the stadium for all 41 of his team's home games. THe idea of rebuilding AND filling the stadium is nice, but it is one that is very reality. Both teams succumbed to the temptations of having a star player and cashing in on ticket sales at the expense of having a good, young team a few years down the road. Not only has each team failed when it comes to rebuilding, but their star players also are starting to grumble and want to go to a team that can actually contend.

It would be unfair to only mention the teams that have failed to rebuild successfully. There are two teams in particular, one in baseball and one in basketball, that have gone through a few seasons of futility but now have a bright future ahead of them. The Arizona Diamondbacks, who have successfully rebuilt their franchise since tehir world series victory over the Yankees, have an extremely talented young core of players that figure to have the team in contention for the NL pennant for the next decade. In baseball, because there is no salary cap, it is very possible to rebuild and have success at the same time. Basketball, because of teh cap, presents a challenge. A superstar gobbles up a large chunk of a team's money and can really prevent a team from signing it's other players to large contracts and from going after the best free agents available.
The basketball team that has rebuilt well is my hometown Chicago Bulls. The Bulls, although it has taken a bit longer than it should have, have put together a great young core of players that looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the eastern conference for a very long time.

The main mistake that both teams' futility can be traced back to is the lack of oneness in the organization and lack of planning. A team has to be a team, meaning that one mission has to be carried out by the entire organization and any other idea that goes against that said goal is detrimental to the success of the organization. If a team wants to rebuild, it needs to rebuil all the way through. It can not afford to invest a large part of it's cap space in one player or it will jeapordize it's future. Other organizations would do well to learn from the Lakers and Timberwolves.