Since we know this is Bonds' final year as a Giant, he has three more games to hit one final ball into McCovey Cove. But those games are against the Padres, and those guys have good pitchers, so by default it won't happen.
9. SP Fausto Carmona — Now, Chien-Ming Wang and Josh Beckett are excellent choices for the AL Cy Young, if the Cy Young was only to be awarded to wither a Yankees or Red Sox pitcher. Trouble is, there are 12 other teams in that league.
I suppose John Lackey is also deserving, but Carmona not only leads the league with a 3.03 ERA, you have to realize where Carmona was at least year and factor in his mental 180.
When we last saw him in 2006, he was giving up walk-off hits to David Ortiz once he became the Indians' de facto closer, and we all thought a talented pitcher was going to get rattled in his rookie season as he was sent back down to the minors. But Carmona kept the demons stashed away in his performance as a reliever. Cleveland moved him into the rotation, and without missing a beat started 7-1 in his first 11 games. He's finishing quite well too, going 4-0 in September with a 1.27 ERA.
And in one game against the Red Sox, Carmona struck out David Ortiz twice — once with a runner in scoring position — as he shutout the Red Sox through eight innings in a 1-0 win.
Manager: Lou Piniella — There are six more games for the Cubs as they battle down to the wire for the NL Central. And with six games comes the potential of upwards of six more Piniella-trademarked shit-fits.
The promise of Lou Piniella getting thrown out of a game. You need no other reason, beyond that, to watch the Cubs. Well, that, and to see what mythical intervention prevents them from the World Series this time.
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1 - REMF
And what about Michael Young, who became only the third person since 1940 to collect 200 for five straight seasons.