The Phillies' bullpen is frustrating the hell out of me. In the last eight games, they had leads of multiple runs late in the game, only to have the relief corps blow 5 of the games wide open, usually as soon as they enter.

The two they won was because Blanton went the distance and Hamels left after the Phillies were leading 9-1 in the ninth. Contreras, Schwimmer, Qualls and Bastardo (who is really living up to his name) don't belong on the roster.

A sweep is a sweep. So eat shit, Klyd!

Has the whole steroid thing made you baseball fans feel uneasy about watching and following it? I guess its all over every sport now though.

I'd say the same to the Mets, but I want to avoid a tragedy. I know how prone to choking they are.

Nope.

Now that was clever, Counselor .

I don't have much.

But my son has been getting some nice publicity with his high school team in the Harrisburg paper. He recently was called "lights out" for pitching a couple of scoreless innings to pick up the win against our conference champion, and on his birthday yesterday he delivered a two out rbi single to tie the game in the last inning, and they went on to win.

The Jays bullpen is also frustrating the hell out of me. They signed Cordero and Santos to stabilize the 8th and 9th innings respectively, but Santos is on the DL and Cordero can't buy an out. Farrell finally decided to put Janssen in as closer after Cordero gave up a walk-off grand slam to Brandon Inge. It's too bad because Romero, Morrow, Drabek and Alvarez have all been solid starters for the Blue Jays.

Nice, Klyd.

Henderson Alvarez continues to impress for the Blue Jays who defeated the Twins 6-2 at Target Field. Sweeping the Twins, who are a bad team, would go a long way for the Blue Jays especially considering they have a series against Tampa Bay next week.

It was quite a day in baseball 101 years ago today.

Ty Cobb of Detroit smacked his first major league grand slam as the Tigers took a 10-1 lead against Boston, which rallied to beat the Tigers.

Meanwhile the New York Giants, led by Fred "Bonehead" Merkle scored 10 runs in the first inning before St. Louis recorded an out. That's not the only record the Giants set that day. Reliever Rube Marquard entered the game in the second inning for NY and struck out 14 Cardinals in 8 innings, which is still a major league record for strikeouts by a reliever.

Chicago vs. Chicago, Round 2:



And the extended clip: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/23a7cb416e/chicago-vs-chicago-round-2

"Bonehead," huh? I'd love a baseball nickname, but not sure if I'd want that one.

The nickname, Bonehead, is better than his last name, Merkle.

The Cubs might get all the attention of the national media--but the White Sox have something this century that the Cubs do not--a World Championship!

Bonehead Merkle sounds very Dickensian.

But, gina, there's a very interesting baseball story behind his nickname that I'm sure SC knows (as he may have been a bright-eyed, dirty-faced rapscallion, selling hot roasted peanuts to the throngs that filled the Polo Grounds on that sunny, late Sepyember afternoon in 1908).

The Pirates, Cubs and Giants were in a virtual dead heat for the NL crown with a week or so left in the season. The Cubs and Giants were locked in a 1-1 game in the bottom of the ninth with 2 out. Moose McCormick was on the third and Merkle on first for the Giants when the batter singled to center, allowing Moose to gallop triumphantly home with the apparent winning run. Celebrating the victory, Merkle bypassed second base and joined hgis teammates in the dugout. Cubs' secondbaseman, Johnny Evers (of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance fame) noticed Merkle missing second, called for the ball, and stepped on second, which resulted in a force out, and as a run may not be credited on a play where the final out of the inning is a force, Moose McCormick's run was nullified.

Under protest the Cubs won the game in extra innings. I believe the League ruled that the game would be replayed if it mattered in the standings at the end of the season. It did as the two teams had tied at the end of the year. In the play-off Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown beat the Giants, sending the Cubs to the World Series...with the help of Merkle's "bonehead" play.

As a footnote Merkle's nickname was especially curious as he was actually regarded as one of the most intelligent and scholarly men in professional sports at the time.

This golden age of the game has always fascinated me. I'd take a few years off my life just to sit in the Polo Grounds and watch that game, beginning to end, buying a bag of peanuts from SC.

Thanks to the NY Mets coming into play in 1962, I went to see many games at the Polo Grounds. The former home of the NY Giants (Willie Mays in center), it sat empty for five years. It was a cavernous park (I think it was 500 feet to straightaway center at one point, and they shrunk that down to 475 feet). Sadly, it was torn down after the Mets opened their own ballpark (Shea Stadium) in 1964.

Oh, by the way.... it was beer that I sold, not nuts. "Beah, heah"

BTW - I vote for klydon as the Board's official baseball historian and story-teller.

Beat 'em Bucs!

Absolutely agreed on that (you need to start a blog of classic baseball stories, KL!), and you'll be our official peanut boy rapscallion. You might be promoted to beer sales, later on.

Damn.... stuck with the nuts again!

No offense, gina. (said in my best Rodney Dangerfield voice)

Ah, we oughta give you a little respect, huh?

It sounds like you've got the advertising down pat, so maybe we'll force someone else into doing the nut sales.

Great game played last night by the Blue Jays. It's good to see Jose Bautista is getting his game going again, it was only a matter of time. Hopefully Albert Pujols will get on track as well, they're both too good to be hitting so poorly this season.

Would have loved to have seen the Polo Grounds...and Willie Mays too. I have an autographed Willie Mays ball. The signature is kind of shaky as he signed it in the last twenty years when his hands were no longer steady.

And was the beer Ballantine?

I think Pittsburgh is more interested in baseball now than any time since 1992. They're fun to watch.

There are few enterprises more noble than hawking peanuts or selling beers through the aisles of a ball game.

They'll both be fine. Pujols' start is especially surprising, but when he gets going, he hits homers in clusters.

I'm watching Justin Verlander three outs away from a no-hitter against olivant's Buccos. His command is as good as it gets as he struck out the side in the eighth.

He lost his no-hitter in the ninth. He can thank Blue Jays announce team Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler for that because they kept talking and talking about it throughout yesterday's game.

The Blue Jays got a clutch performance from J.P Arencibia in beating the Mets 14-5. With Brett Lawrie suspended the Jays needed someone to step up a little and the catcher did that! Rajai Davis also got 2 home runs.

dontommasino what are your thoughts on Blue Jays catcher Yan Gomez, the first brazilian to ever play in the MLB.

there were two brazilian pitchers I remember reading about who were prone to do it but Gomez leapfrogged everybody and has 3 H on 5 AB so far with a HR against the Mets yesterday.