Sports fans, it's that time again to call out those idiots, miscreants, and all around dumbasses that so #### you off. I KNOW you have several that you want to throw under the Bus! Call them out for their idiocy. This is your forum to throw these idiots under the Bus. Remember, you can call out a player, coach, team, owner, a team's fans, or any sports personality and throw them under the Bus. I know I have my share!

NFL

Brett Favre: ENOUGH about coming back already! You made your decision to retire, stick with it!! Brett, I loved watching you play, you were one of my all-time favorite players, but when you made the decision to retire, it was time to move on. Aaron Rodgers is ready to helm the Packers' ship. Just by HINTING at a comeback, you threw Rodgers under the bus. Now it's Rodgers' turn to throw YOU under the Bus.

Reagan Mauia: this will most likely be the only time in the history of the world that Mauia and Favre will show up on the same blog. For those who don't know who Mauia is, he is the Miami Dolphins' starting FB. This bozo punched a man in the face without provocation and fled the scene. A witness took a picture of Mauia's license plate with his phone. Mauia was tracked down and arrested. I don't have to wait for more information to throw Mauia under the Bus.

NBA

Detroit Pistons: losing to the New York Knicks is bad enough, but at HOME? You lost to the Knicks when you ABSOLUTELY had to WIN in order to stay alive for home court advantage? AND on a night where the all-time greats of the Pistons franchise was honored? For all that, you get thrown under the Bus not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR times! Hopefully we won't hear the worst chant in the history of the world, "Detroit Basketball!" in the Finals when the Celtics work you. 

New York Knicks: they have begun the annual Save Isiah campaign. Donations are accepted. They are playing their BEST basketball of the season in order to Save Isiah. I imagine there are buildings all over New York that say, "Save Isiah." (Much like in the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, there were signs painted all over Chicago that said, "Save Ferris.") The Knicks get thrown under the Bus.

Miami Heat: just quit already. D-Wade has. Oh wait, he's out for the year with injuries. Pat Riley has. He spent the NCAA Tournament scouting Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. He hearts D-Rose. He hearts him MUCH more than coaching the band of misfits known as the Heat. Mercifully, the season will end this week for the Heat. Until then, the Heat get thrown under the Bus yet again.

MLB

Tampa Bay Rays: for all the hype that went into the Rays this year, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Rays are looking up at the FREAKING Orioles this year. For that matter, they're looking up at everyone else in the division. This was supposed to be their breakout year. It also doesn't help when a veteran pitcher like Al Reyes gets into a fight in a bar. On his birthday, no less. Some veteran leadership there, Al. He not only got into a fight, he got his #### kicked. Then he got Tasered TWICE. Reyes gets his #### kicked, gets Tasered, AND gets thrown Under The Bus all in the same week. The Rays get thrown under for letting us down. 

Fox Sports: for treating the NASCAR fans of this nation to a slap in the face. Yes, it wasn't your fault that the Yankees-Red Sox was delayed by rain. But you could have switched the game to FX and kept the NASCAR fans and the baseball fans somewhat happy. But NOOOOOOOOO, you had to milk the Yankees-Red Sox for every moment AND you had the game SIMULCAST on FX!! AND you pre-empted the NASCAR pre-race show! Because it was Yankees-Red Sox, you cut into the ACTUAL RACE. Ryan Newman was going into Turn 3 of the first lap of the race when Fox switched from the game to the race. For poor planning and for pissing a LOT of race fans off, Fox Sports goes under the Bus. 

Yankees-Red Sox rivalry: yes, I get that it's a historically bitter rivalry. Yes I get that both teams are good. But they're not the only two teams in baseball!! It's an endless and breathless hype machine! For my money, the NL West rivalry is just as good, if not better, than Yankees-Red Sox. Yankees-Sox rivalry goes under the Bus.

NCAA

#### Vitale haters: been drinking the anti-Dickie V grape-flavored Haterade again? There was one guy (Fox Sports' own Mark Kriegel) that got drunk on it. Love or hate #### Vitale, his contributions to college basketball as a commentator and ambassador to the game cannot be denied. I admire Vitale's enthusiasm and passion for the game of college basketball (even though he's too much of a Duke homer). All the Dickie V haters (Kriegel included) are to be thrown under the Bus of Dickie V's choice. 

Jeff Ehrhardt, QB, Murray State: this genius was charged with second-degree robbery for "a prank gone bad." So now that's what we call pushing and assaulting a campus police officer and taking his book away, a "prank gone bad"? If it were up to me, dude would be in the clink for a MINIMUM of five years. He won a $20 bet for the "prank gone bad". Sure hope that $20 was worth it, E. My bet is that he skates like Dorothy Hamill. He'll probably be suspended for the first play of the season. For such a #### prank, Ehrhardt gets thrown under the Bus.      

This is a place for fans to vent (and rant) about who they would like to call out for bad play, bad decisions, or just plain sucking. You can name a player, coach, owner, fans, team executives, agents, or schools. I am expanding this to include NCAA teams, coaches, and/or players. Do any of you have anyone (within reason) to throw under the Bus? Here's your forum!! I have a few nominees:

NFL

Pittsburgh Steelers: losing to a one-win team is totally inexcusable! This is a team the Steelers should beat IN THEIR SLEEP. I have a healthy respect for the Men of Steel, but to go into the Meadowlands and lay a big, fat egg?? I could see losing to the Giants in OT, but the JETS? Under the Bus you go!!

New Orleans Saints: you've GOT to be kidding me!! This is a team that fought back from an 0-4 start to 4-4. Now they've lost their last two games. Stick a fork in 'em, they're DONE. Under the Bus you go, not to be heard from again this season!

Atlanta Falcons: for rolling over and playing dead against Tampa Bay. At home, no less. This was a game they could have used to build some momentum to finish strong. To quote a former Arizona Cardinals coach, "THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!" We thought you sucked. We still do.

Cincinnati Bengals: are you becoming the Bungles again? Or are you auditioning for The Longest Yard 3, as the prison team again? Four picks, including TWO Pick Six Specials TO THE SAME GUY will get you thrown under the Bus every single time.

MLB

Scott Boras: he gets thrown under the Bus for being a greedy ####, and having Pay-Rod opt out DURING the World Series, and overestimating the market for P-Rod.

Bud Selig: for presiding over the Steroid Era in MLB, and trashing the integrity of the game. Bud, this Bus is for you! (sound of Bus running over Bud Selig and keeping going)  

NASCAR

ESPN/ABC: THANK GOD it was the LAST telecast for this bunch of yahoos. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) it was also the last race of the season.

Those are my nominees. Feel free to come on in with yours!

According to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News, Joe Torre has been offered the manager's job with the Los Angeles Dodgers. If this is true, it is a GREAT move by the Dodgers! With Don Mattingly not returning to the Yankees, and his son Preston a highly regarded Dodgers' infield prospect, it is very possible that Mattingly will be reunited with Torre and be the bench coach or hitting coach.

More to come tomorrow....

UPDATE

Grady Little has resigned as Dodgers manager, paving the way for Torre to sign on the dotted line as Dodgers' manager. An announcement is expected in the next several days. Torre is expected to bring Mattingly with him as part of the new Dodgers' staff.

Wow! Happy Rocktober!! We are in the midst of a hot streak of epic proportions, one that I have not seen in my lifetime. We have to go back to the 1920 New York Giants' 26-game winning streak to find a team that's been this hot at any point in the season. What makes this significant is that this streak started in mid-September with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers at home. They have only lost ONCE in that time. ONCE! The streak is now 21 of their last 22 games the Rockies have won. To sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS is utterly amazing.

A little insurance Matt Holliday is greeted in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the Philadelphia Phillies as the Rockies won Game 1 of their playoff series. (Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)

Anything but Rocky Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis pitches in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the NL Division Series in Philadelphia.
(Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)

  What a sight Colorado Rockies fans cheer on their team during Game 3 of a National League Division Series playoff baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007, at Coors Field in Denver.
(Bill Ross/Associated Press)

I can fly

Rockies' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki fires to first over the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz to complete a double play during Game 3 of its NLDS.
(Will Powers/Associated Press)

The big hit Yorvit Torrealba #8 of the Colorado Rockies hits a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Fundamentally sound Colorado Rockies' Kazuo Matsui makes a sacrifice bunt in the third inning in Game 2 of the NLCS on Friday.
(Eric ####/Associated Press)  

On the board

Willy Taveras scores from third on a sacrifice fly by Todd Helton during the fifth inning in Game 2 of the NLCS.
(David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

Celebration

Matt Holliday and Kazuo Matsui celebrate after Holliday's three-run HR in Game 4 of the NLCS. The Rockies will play either Cleveland or Boston. For those who think the NL is the Junior Varsity of the MLB, think again. As a Dodgers fan, I have seen the Rockies PLENTY of times and know that they are worthy of being in the World Series. I will go on the record as saying that the Rockies will finish and beat Cleveland in five games.

ABOVE: Henry Winkler as Fonzie on "Happy Days" jumps over a shark while water skiing.

Every fall, TV show commentators comment on which new shows will break out and become great, which shows won't last, and of the returning shows, which shows will stay strong and which shows have "jumped the shark." I'm going to add a sports twist to this.

In the sports twist, the term, "jump the shark" means that a team has reached its peak and is beginning its downhill slide. Or it can refer to an individual athlete whose performance begins to decline, eventually leading to his retirement.

Here are some of my teams that I think have "jumped the shark":

NFL

Seattle Seahawks: while this team is still formidable, they clearly are not the powerhouse team of a few years ago. They lost twice to the San Francisco 49ers last season and tomorrow face a better Niners team than a year ago. Shaun Alexander is approaching the wrong side of 30, which is OLD for a RB.

Carolina Panthers: this is still a decent team, but its door to win a Super Bowl is slamming shut. The defense is getting old, John Kasay's not getting any younger, and Jake Delhomme is injured.

Cincinnati Bengals: had they focused on building a quality defense a few years ago, I wouldn't include them in this blog.

Baltimore Ravens:  the window of opportunity to win a Super Bowl is shutting rapidly. Steve McNair will probably retire after this season due to all the injuries he has accumulated. Had the Ravens had the McNair of eight years ago, they would be one of the favorites for a Super Bowl title. Ray Lewis, the heart and soul of that stout defense, is slowing down. See you in Canton, Ray. You'll take your place among the all-time greats at LB.

MLB

St. Louis Cardinals: this team is one year removed from winning the World Series. Usually a team that wins the World Series one season automatically jumps the shark the next season.

New York Yankees: they have had vast success from 1996 to the present, winning four World Series in a five year span, including three straight from 1998-2000. Since 1995, they have made the playoffs EVERY SEASON. In an era where a three to five year run is considered excellent, it is a 13 year run and counting. However, their window of opportunity is closing. Their young studs at the beginning of the run are older, aging veterans now.

Chicago White Sox: went from world champs to world chumps in two seasons.

Houston Astros: see above.

NBA

Miami Heat: Shaq is getting old, the cast of characters are constantly changing, with the exception of D-Wade.

Dallas Mavericks: with the emergence of younger, hungrier teams, the window is closing FAST. They may have one, maybe two, years left.

These are a few examples of teams from each league that I think have "jumped the shark." For further references to this term, go to www.jumptheshark.com.

Which teams do you think have "jumped the shark?"

This is PURELY hypothetical.

This is a question that has been rummaging around my dome for some time. Currently there are 30 teams in Major League Baseball, 16 teams in the National League and 14 teams in the American League. Because there are so many teams, the schedule has often been cumbersome and unwieldy. Contracting two teams to create two 14-team leagues would be both logical and logistical. The two teams that would be contracted would both be in the National League. The teams I propose for contraction: the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals. AGAIN, this is hypothetical.

Here's why these two teams should be contracted:

1. Lack of fan support. Every time one sees highlights of Marlins home games on ESPN SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight, there are THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of empty seats masquerading as fans. The Marlins players deserve better. Yes, they won a World Series as recently as 2003, but they went on a fire sale immediately after the victory parade. The Nationals WERE the Montreal Expos; they left Montreal because of lack of fan support, plus Montreal had the worst stadium in MLB history. Even in Washington, they still lack fan support.
2. Ownership issues. It's more of an issue in Florida than in Washington. Jeffrey Loria ran off the National League Manager of the Year in Joe Girardi because of his oversized ego and the fact Girardi stood up to him (LA Dodgers, give Girardi a call if you decide to fire Grady Little.). Under Girardi, the Marlins were at least competitive and overachieved. While Washington's ownership is fairly stable, they don't have a competitive team.

In the American League, there would be a rearrangement of divisional alignment. The Central division would be eliminated and the league would go back to the old East and West divisions.

AL EAST

Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, New York Yankees, Toronto, Tampa Bay.

AL WEST

Anaheim, Oakland, Seattle, Texas, Kansas City, Minnesota, Chicago White Sox. (the old AL West before the formation of the current three division format)

The National League would be drastically affected. Like the American League, there would be two seven-team divisions. The Central division would be eliminated, and the old East and West divisions would return.

NL EAST

Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis.

NL WEST

Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Arizona, Colorado, Houston, Milwaukee. (Poor Milwaukee, this would be their third division move in less than a decade, including a change of leagues!)

Under this proposal, there would be a little more talent dispersed among the 28 clubs. In the dispersal draft, the team with the worst record in the majors would select first, and so on, until all the players have been selected.

• Congratulations to Natalie Gulbis (she was in France, hence the French spelling of her name) for winning her first LPGA Tournament, the Evian Masters in France. It's good to see her shed the "Anna Kournikova of the LPGA Tour" label.
•  Congratulations to Tony Stewart for winning the Brickyard 400. He had the dominant car and earned that win.  
• Don't look now, but the races in the NL Central and West have tightened up considerably. In the wild wild West, there are three teams within a half game of first (Los Angeles, Arizona, and San Diego) and another within 3 1/2 games (Colorado). In the NL Central, the Cubs have closed to within hal####ame of the Brewers.
  
• NFL training camps have opened, and that means REAL football is coming soon. It can't come soon enough!!

Some things that I have observed recently:

• Don't look now, but the Chicago Cubs are looming larger and larger in the Brewers' rear view mirror. With Ben Sheets out for a significant amount of time, the Brewers are starting to leak oil at a faster rate.
• Michael Vick's federal indictment is not only for dog fighting, but for conspiracy and transporting pit bulls across state lines. Don't be surprised if Roger "The Hammer" Goodell lays down the law and suspends Vick for a significant amount of time. Atlanta, can you say "First pick of the 2008 NFL Draft?" (Hint: draft Brian Brohm)
• There is an INORDINATE amount of NBA talk on the sports talk shows. At playoff time I can see that but since it's the NBA's off season, why?
• The hype surrounding David Beckham arriving in L.A. to play for the Galaxy is both endless and breathless. Geez, stop the world, I want to get off!!
• Daunte Culpepper was released by the Fins. A lot of people are throwing dirt on his NFL grave. I'm not one of them. He'd be a great fit in Atlanta, if only for one year. And this year is his second year back from major knee surgery. He came back too soon last year. He should have been placed on the PUP list. This is why the Dolphins suck--poor personnel management.
• Now that Dwight Freeney has been signed to a long-term extension by the Colts, Julius Peppers is next. Peppers WILL get paid, perhaps by the beginning of the regular season. His current contract doesn't end until the end of next season, but Peppers' agent and the Panthers are already negotiating about an extension.
• Regan Smith replaced Sterling Marlin in the 14 car for the balance of the season. Did Bobby Ginn bite off more than he could chew by going with three teams to start the year? From all appearances, yes. Aric Almirola will step into the 01 car part-time replacing Smith.
• The NL West is still the most competitive division in baseball. It won't surprise me to see a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season.

The unofficial Second Half of the season will start on Thursday. A highly anticipated conclusion to the regular season and the crowning of a World Series Champion awaits in late October. At this point in the season, fans can generally separate the contenders from the pretenders. What are we going to see? Here are a few things that I think we'll see:

• The Boston Red Sox will run and hide from the AL East.
• It's going to be a dogfight in the AL Central between Detroit, Cleveland, and Minnesota. Minnesota wins the division, with Detroit getting the wild card.
• Seattle is not going away. Having said that, they will make a run at the Angels, but come up short.
• Atlanta will find a way to win the NL East (again!) Earlier I did say that the Mets would win, but as the grind of the season wears on, their pitching will come up short while the Braves' pitching will prevail. Philadelphia will make a run but come up short. The future is bright in Philly, though.
• The NL Central is the most putrid division in baseball. When all is said and done, the winner will barely be above .500.
• If either the Padres or the Dodgers get a big bat by the trade deadline, the team that does will run and hide. If the Dodgers get another starter without having to give up too much, they will hold off the Padres. Either way, runner up in the NL West wins the wild card.
• Ken Griffey, Jr. will not be traded by the Reds and hit his 600th HR in a Reds' uniform. He's a lock for Cooperstown. If not for injuries, he'd be chasing 700 HR's.
• There will be more managerial changes, including Tony La Russa leaving St. Louis. The Cardinals are (or should be) in a major rebuilding mode. My prediction: he'll end up where he started his managerial career: with the Chicago White Sox.
• The NL West will end up tied and a one-game playoff will determine the division winner.

Like many fans, I'm looking forward to the second half of the season. I'm especially looking forward to the NL West race. GO DODGERS!!!!

We are at the unofficial halfway point of the MLB season. For fans of some teams, it's another season of "let's play our young players and see how they do in the second half" which is code for OUR TEAM SUCKS. Fans of other teams are taking a "wait and see" approach to the second half of the season. That's code for "Our team had a nice run the first half, but they'll fade like they always do in the second half." And for fans of a select few teams, they are amped up for their team to make the postseason and perhaps a World Series appearance.

Let's get the bad out of the way first:

• The Pittsburgh Pirates are on their way to a 15th consecutive losing season. That won't change anytime soon, unless the current ownership has a sudden dose of clarity or has an epiphany and sells the team to someone like Mark Cuban. No wonder Barry Bonds wanted to leave Pittsburgh. He probably saw that far ahead and decided to bail early. That or the fact he'll forever be remembered for throwing a 15-hopper to the plate that Sid "Wheels" Bream beat out in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS to win the pennant for the Atlanta Braves.
• As I write this , the Pirates are actually in FOURTH place. The Cincinnati Reds are dwelling in the NL Central cellar with the worst record in the bigs at 30-50. It's a mess in the Natti. Trade Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle and get some prospects.
• Speaking of Bonds, the San Francisco Giants need to cut ties with him after this season, regardless of whether or not he breaks Hank Aaron's record. (As an aside, Hank Aaron used to be the very first name listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia. Do you know who is the first player listed now?)
• The Texas Rangers are in a mess. While I like Ron Washington, and he's a good baseball man, he's not a good fit there. He's bringing an Oakland A's style of baseball to the Rangers. The Rangers have free swingers. Not a good fit for a manager that demands his hitters be patient.

Now for the good:

• I'll start with the most competitive division in baseball: the NL West. The lead changes hands amongst the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks about every three days or so. The Rockies are fading fast. It's going to be a three team race until the very end of the season. Runner up in the division will get the wild card. I'm calling my shot: Dodgers win the division, with the Padres getting the wild card. Dodgers beat the Padres in a one game playoff at the end of the regular season.
• While the NL East is fairly close (the Mets hold a four game lead currently) I think the Mets will have enough to hold off both the Phillies and Braves.
• The Chicago Cubs could make a run in the second half. Maybe they overtake the Brewers. IF the Cubs are within three games of the Brew Crew by Labor Day, they will overtake the Brewers.
• Boston is running away with the AL East. The NY Yankees are finished. Done. Kaput. Over. All the Red Sox have to do is play .500 ball the rest of the way and they still win 91 games. I can see them win around 102 games.
• Before it's all said and done, the AL Central will be almost as competitive as the NL West. The Tigers and Indians, along with the Twins, will slug it out. I'm calling my shot: Minnesota wins the division, with the Tigers getting the wild card.
• In the AL West, it's all about the Angels. Seattle will hang in there until the last week of the season, when the Angels clinch the division. I'd put Mariners fan under the "wait and see" label.

Here are my predictions for postseason:

ALDS: Detroit over Boston, Anaheim (they're NOT the Los Angeles Angels, and I REFUSE to acknowledge them as such) over Minnesota.

NLDS: Los Angeles over Milwaukee, San Diego over New York.

ALCS: Detroit over Anaheim, 4 games to 2. (a little sweet revenge from the Ducks' series win over the Red Wings)

NLCS: Los Angeles over San Diego, 4 games to 3.

World Series: Detroit over Los Angeles, 4 games to 2.

As I sit on the patio, my lapper fired up, I just thought I'd muse randomly about things in sports and culture.

• The subhumans that burglarized Marquise Hill's mother's house as she was burying her son are the worst people on the planet. Satan is preparing a room for each of them.
• Is Michelle Wie becoming the Paris Hilton of the LPGA? Or the Anna Kournikova of the LPGA?
• We have another sports soap opera, this one NOT involving the Los Angeles Lakers for once. (The Lakers have their own SERIES)
• We are roughly six weeks away from NFL training camps. WOOHOO!
• Has anyone noticed that every year in the MLB draft the same three teams draft 1-2-3 (the order varies from year to year): Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh? Get the GMs from those NFL teams to run the MLB teams and see how quickly they improve!
• If you suffer from insomnia, just tape a few soccer games and watch them and time yourself nightly on how quickly you'll fall asleep.
• USC will play in the BCS national championship game. Unofficially, they are the NFL's 33rd team. They are LOADED this year.
• Prediction for the NBA Finals: Spurs in 6, Tony Parker wins Series MVP. A perfect wedding gift for him.
• If not for Kobe Bryant, the Lakers would be a lottery team for years to come. Maybe it's time for Jerry Buss to relinquish control of the team and retire with a 23-year-old (or younger) hottie of his choice. Hmmmm, is Buss the Hugh Hefner of the NBA? I've got to know.
• The Philadelphia Flyers are stuck in a time warp. They're slow, stodgy, and can't put the biscuit in the basket. That style worked in 1975, the last time they won the Stanley Cup. Today's NHL is free-flowing, with a lot more scoring. Gooning it up no longer works. Buffalo exposed them big-time in last year's playoffs.
• MMA is for real. It's not a fad that will go away. At UFC 71 there were plenty of good action-packed fights. I was surprised how quickly Quentin "Rampage" Jackson KO'd Chuck "Iceman" Liddell.
• Boxing is on the ropes. (Pun intended)
• Last but not least, congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks for winning the Stanley Cup. They earned it. Ottawa has nothing to be ashamed of. The Sens simply ran into a better team. They'll be back.

500 and counting...

He did it. Trevor Hoffman nailed down his 500th career save, his 499th as a Padre. (His first save came as a Florida Marlin early in the 1993 season, then he was traded to the Padres shortly thereafter) And he did it against my Dodgers no less. Amazing. Trevor, see you in Cooperstown.

N.L. West update

What hurts worse is that the Dodgers lost their second straight to a division rival. And both Arizona and San Diego are going very well right now. Randy Johnson is pitching like the Big Unit of 10 years ago. If he keeps pitching that way the rest of the year, Arizona will run and hide from the rest of the division. However, the NL West has its ebbs and flows, so Arizona could fall back to the pack before it's over. The Padres caught a HUGE break in not having to face both Derek Lowe and Brad Penny. The Dodgers caught a break in not having to face Jake Peavy, a notorious Dodger killer from Day One in the bigs.

I've said before and I'll say it again: the NL West will come down to the last day of the season, if not a one-game playoff. It won't be unlike 1982 when it was a three team race down to the last day of the season between Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Dodgers squeak it out with the runner-up getting the wild card.

After the first quarter of the MLB season, here are a few things that I've seen so far and will comment on:

• Trevor Hoffman is closing in on 500 saves. I would love for him to achieve this amazing mark in San Diego, but the way the Pads are going, he'll achieve it on this road trip. After a slow start, Hoffman is back to his usual dominating self. And his buds in the pen are much better than they were last year (not that they were bad; they were stellar to begin with). Hoffman has plenty left in the tank, at least 2-3 years left at this level. Five HUNDRED saves. This means he has been a GREAT closer for the better part of a decade and a half. IF he goes another three years, at this pace he'll finish with over 600 saves! Trevor, welcome to Cooperstown. Here's your bust.
• Is the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry overrated AND overhyped, or what? The Yankees are finished as a premier AL power; they suddenly got old and there is not enough talent at the AAA level to step in right away. The Yanks do have minor league talent, but at the lower levels, which means it's 2-3 years away before they become a legit contender again (that is, if they don't trade it away by then). The Red Sox are too deep in their starting staff and have big enough (and clutch enough) bats to keep everyone else in the AL East at bay.
• Will the Milwaukee Brewers win the NL Central? I think so. They're the best team in the WORST division in MLB.
• Are the Cleveland Indians for real? Yes. Fausto Carmona is pitching like Cy Young incarnate. The Indians are a gritty team with a very potent offense and just enough pitching to possibly win the AL Central (a wild card awaits them if they don't win the division). Could Carmona steal the AL Cy Young Award? If he keeps up this pace, he'll have earned it. And to think he was garbage as a closer last year!! If Eric Wedge keeps his job beyond this year, he owes Carmona a steak dinner.
• The Mets and Braves are in a slugfest for the NL East. The loser will get the wild card. Philadelphia has to be considered among the most disappointing teams in MLB. So much was expected of them but they have underachieved. Having injuries to your key players doesn't help matters any.
• The NL West is going to come down to the final day of the season, if not a one-game playoff. Three teams will vie for the division: Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres. By a nose, the Dodgers win, but any one of those three teams could win the division.
• Back to the Yankees for a minute. Joe Torre will not manage this team next year, and Brian Cashman will not return either. I foresee wholesale changes (code for blowing up the roster and starting over). They will struggle to finish at .500.
• I foresee the same fate for the St. Louis Cardinals. IMHO, Tony La Russa will resign before he blows up the team's roster. He clearly favors veteran players, but most of the Cardinals' veterans have seen their better days. Jim Edmonds is a gamer, but he's clearly on his last legs. Scott Rolen has clearly slowed down. Preston Wilson has an arthritic knee. Juan Encarnacion isn't the player he once was. And on and on. They could learn from the Dodgers: go with young talent, stockpile a veteran that can still contribute (and is willing to be a mentor), and mesh them together.    

Are the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians playing their series in Cleveland or the North Pole? Every game this series has been postponed due to snow. IF they are fortunate they will play a ONE game series tomorrow. The forecast is for morning snow showers and a high of 37 degrees.

This brings me to a larger problem: scheduling. While I realize that the schedule won't be reduced from 162 to 154 games anytime soon, baseball CAN and SHOULD do something. Here are some common sense solutions:

• Every team should have four doubleheaders per season scheduled, two home and two away doubleheaders. The length of the season would be shortened by a week.
• Start the regular season on the second Monday in April at noon EDT in Cincinnati.
• Have the cold weather teams that play outdoors start a six or nine game road trip to start the season and have the warm weather and dome teams start at home. That way the cold weather teams would have their home openers in mid to late April, when the weather begins to warm up in cold weather cities.
• By having the cold weather teams start on the road, they most likely will be playing either in domes or in warm weather cities, and that means fewer injuries and/or better quality of baseball as a whole. Baseball was meant to be played in warm weather; the weather in Cleveland this weekend was made for football.

Major League Baseball needs to examine this issue of scheduling in light of the Mariners-Indians series. What if the Indians are in a pennant race at the end of the season? Considering the depth of the AL Central, they may or may not be. Hopefully they will get one game in tomorrow.