E.K. NATION

Seems to me our problem all along was that Giants rightfielders had trouble catching fly balls.

Now, the problem is catching them when you absolutely should not catch them!

If Dustan Mohr doesn't catch the foul fly ball last night, it simply becomes strike two, the Padres have no chance to tag up and score, Mohr can still play, and the Giants can still stay in the game.

As it was, he caught the ball in foul ground near the bullpen pitcher's mound, tripped and fell, tweaked his knee, and as he lay there moaning and wailing, forget Kerry Robinson, a turtle could have scored from third base.

I was wondering to myself in a moments after the game why the Giants sitting in the bullpen weren't screaming at Mohr to not catch the ball, but apparently they were. So there were two physical errors (ones actually recorded as E's in the scorebook), one giant mental error, and precisely zero hits in the Padres' tenth-inning, game-winning rally this ballgame, sending San Francisco a half-game behind Houston in the wild-card race.

Unacceptable stuff.

What does this mean? Our blog is worth money? What the hell is going on here? BlogShares? We're a commodity?

The once proud coverage of baseball has been turning into a nightmare. John Kruk, Joe Moragn, and Harold Reynolds are either getting stupider or they've just been stupid for a long time and I haven't been paying enough attention. Here's H.R. on whether the Giants can win the N.L. West, in a Fact-Or-Fiction segment:

I'd say that's fiction. I think last weekend the way the Dodgers played really hurt them, and they've got a couple teams to leapfrog over now to win that West, I don't think it's going to happen.

First of all, forget the softball nature of the question. Five games left, three games back, yeah, it's probably unlikely, you think?

Second, a "couple teams to leapfrog"? Who's the other team besides the Dodgers that the Giants have to leapfrog to win the West? Is there anyone on this staff who has done some research? Next, we'll probably hear some "analyst" say, oh, I dunno, that wins are the most important statistic to consider when judging a pitcher's performance or something. Wouldn't that be silly??!! Oh, wait...

Later, Harold tells us Woody Williams has been a great postseason pitcher with the Cardinals and the Padres. After reviewing the play, we find that Williams has two postseason games under his belt in his career, with one good game and one bad one. But he took the loss in both of them. According to ESPN anaylsts, he should be saying he sucks in the postseason, because as we know, the win-loss record is indeed the most important stat for judging pitchers' performances. But the silliness didn't stop there: Williams has never actually pitched for the Padres in the playoffs.

Maybe this is why they're doing Dream Job: They figure kids can't do any worse at this sportscasting profession.

Didn't see last night's Giants game, as it was not offered by the MLB Extra Innings package. Didn't see what would have been an excruciating game to watch, and was an excruciating game to hear about second-hand from Vin Scully.

Did, however, see an excruciating, ridiculous, enraging Rockies' surrender last night. With the Rockies leading 4-0 with one out in the ninth and nobody on base, Shawn Chacon proceeded to walk four batters in a row, on approximately 17 pitches, 16 of which were nowhere near the vicinty of a white five-sided slab of rubber. Two quick hits later, and the game was improbably, ridiculously, put into the W column by the Dodgers. It was interesting to hear how quickly Scully blasted Chacon for the loss, even though he'd been out of the game for two batters. ("He...scores! Dodgers win. And Shawn Chacon gives it away.")

An inning earlier, we were treated to the sight of Milton Bradley apparently losing a fly ball in the lights with two outs and the bases loaded. What could have been the final out of the inning, preserving a 1-0 Rockies lead, turned into a 3-0 lead, which, after yet another ridiculous fan-related controversy (more in a sec), was then parlayed into a 4-0 lead, and I, for one, was very happy about that. It was great to see the Rockies come into Dodger Stadium and try to make L.A.'s lead one game smaller.

Not so fast. Suddenly, we saw Bradley pick up a bottle, which had apparently been thrown at him by a fan after the second and third runs scored, and walk over to the rightfield stands near the foul pole, where he tried to inquire which fan threw it. Not getting an answer, he then angrily slammed the bottle (a plastic one, not glass) to the ground right on the other side of the short wall. He was thrown out by the umpire there and then proceeded to pull off his jersey and razz the crowd over their booing, although it wasn't clear from the broadcast what the boos were for, the error, the bottle, or the ejection. Bradley's outburst, shown here on ESPN.com, has at least one L.A. writer calling for his outright release right now.

I give Bradley a tad bit of the benefit of the doubt here. It wasn't like he was merely being taunted with The-Idiot-Craig-Bueno-like invectives. Somebody actually tried to hurt him with a beer bottle. My philosophy is that is any situation, not just sports, verbal abuse doesn't cross the line into physical-retaliation territory, but assault certainly does. However, Bradley, a gas can as it is, wasn't about to think this through calmly. He should have left the field on his own immediately until the fan in question could be identified and thrown out. (Later, I would see more highlights, which showed Bradley breaking his bat and then throwing the broken pieces and his helmet fater striking out. Anger management?--E.K.)

Did I mention this game was ridiculous?

Meanwhile, Portland never had a chance to land the Expos and in frustration I hurled a plastic beer bottle at the TV.

Standings With, Without Wild Card: Haven't done a whole lot of ranting about how dumb the wild-card system is this year, mostly because I really don't care anymore how the Giants get into the playoffs, as long as they get in. They've been sucked out by the wild card team the last four times they have made the playoffs, and I want revenge and I'll take it any way I can get it. But here we go anyway. See which scenario you would prefer:

AS IT STANDS:

N.L. WEST: Dodgers lead Giants by 3 games.

N.L. CENTRAL: Cardinals clinched.

N.L. EAST: Braves clinched.

N.L. WILD CARD: Giants, Cubs tied, Astros .5 game back, Padres 3 back.

WITHOUT THE WILD CARD*:

N.L. EAST: Cardinals clinched.

N.L. WEST: Braves lead Dodgers by 1.5 games.

AS IT STANDS:

A.L. WEST: Angels, A's tied, Rangers 3 back.

A.L. CENTRAL: Twins clinched.

A.L. EAST: Yankees clinched.

A.L. WILD CARD: Red Sox clinched.

WITHOUT THE WILD CARD:

A.L. EAST: Yankees lead Red Sox by 2.5 games.

A.L. WEST: Twins lead Angels and A's by 1.5 games.

*Pre-1994 divisional alignment used

So in the N.L., two races of four are over, one is almost over, and the last one, for second-place, is silly close among three teams. Again, though, it's for second place. Without the wild card, one race is a blowout and the other one is very close. And in the A.L., instead of two thrilling races out of two possible, we have one thrilling race out of four possible.

By the way: Anyone telling you the two Red Sox-Yankees series were exciting and pivotal in this, the age when the two best teams can't have a pennant race, well...let's put it this way: They don't deserve a smack in the face, because violence is wrong, but it's like Chris Rock said, "I'm not saying he shoulda killed her...but I understand." Is home-field advantage a better prize than first place? If we did not have the wild card system would anyone be thinking, hey wouldn't it be great if both the Red Sox and Yankees could make it to the playoffs? Nope. Noody said that in 1978 either, because their race that year was incredible. One team would make it, the other would go home. Now, the Sox and Yanks both get to go. Where's the drama?

Yeah, I've stated this already, and it's a lost cause, but I will not stop.

Sometimes, Umpires Just Suck: He was falling asleep, so he didn't see it, and an out call would get him into bed earlier than he would with a safe call anyway, so umpire Brian O'Nora called him out.

The picture shows him safe, the broadcast and the replay showed him safe, we all saw him safe. Except for the umpire, who had the best view. What the hell is going on with umpires?

So according to an ESPN.com poll, 57% of people responding say that a steroid test that showed Barry Bonds did not have any steroids in his system would NOT convince them he was clean.

I can only stress this: No proof that he is using steroids at all is enough to convince them he IS using steroids, but an actual test, with verifiable results and all, would NOT be enough to convince them he is NOT using?

Idiots. Idiots, all.

Am back from a whirlwind tour in the Midwest that included a game played by two teams not based in the city it was played in, a walk-off home run, back-to-back-to-back home runs, a grand slam by Sammy Sosa, and even a quick stop in Milwaukee for Thursday afternoon's Bonds-Did-Not-Hit-700 Giants game against the Brewers. We have some pictures and want to include them in our wrap-up, but we'll wait to see if we can figure out how to upload them to this site. We'll get to all this as soon as possible.

As for the Giants and the latest in baseball offerings, we can hardly believe it ourselves, that the Giants are still in the wild-card lead, and that Chicagoans are actually happy to have Neifi Perez, and frankly, he didn't disappoint when we saw him.

We also can't believe (well, maybe we can) that so much was made of the Red Sox-Yankees series that was just played over the weekend. Folks, news flash, and I don't know if you've realized this or not: The series meant little, certainly not nearly as much as everyone made it out to.

The wild-card system has denied us a great pennant race. Nobody thought the 1978 A.L. East race would have been as exciting as it was if both teams had been allowed to get into the playoffs, just like nobody thought the 1993 race between the Giants and Braves would have been improved if both teams were given a playoff spot. The Yankees and Red Sox are so far ahead in the divison and wild-card races that this past weekend's series, next weekend's series, and the rest of the season preclude any really good drama. They're both going to get in, from the looks of it. This isn't a great race. They're both in. A lot of people in Baseball World (and possibly Neverland) seem to think this series has the importance of an actual, bona fide pennat race. Where these people get these ideas is beyond me. (More quotes from Bob Costas on this matter here.)

Oh, sorry. Home-field advantage is at stake. Oops. My error. I stand corrected. What drama!!

So here I go, off to the Windy City for Tuesday and Wednesday's Cubs-Pirates games, and, by a random quirk, the Marlins-Expos game at U.S. Cellular Tuesday afternoon. Three games, two days, two Chicago parks. I'm guessing Wrigley will be the better one of the two, but hey. It's baseball, even if it is on the South Side with a lame duck French-Canadian team battling a team from Miami. Maybe I'll even have some photos, if I can figure out how to work the damn camera hook-up.

With that, I'll leave you with another picture, this one of Barry Bonds hitting home run #699. Yes, the Barry Home Run Tracker is back up. I think it was a four-game suspension. That's good enough for now.

ONE MORE FOR 700

Before taking a look at what the upcoming season, let's take a gander back at how E.K. Nation's predictions turned out last year:

In the NFC we picked St. Louis, Philadelphia and Green Bay correctly as division champions, and missed Carolina as South champion, picking Tampa Bay instead. We chose Atlanta and Minnesota as our wild-card picks, but it was Dallas and Seattle. And the Rams did not beat the Buccaneers in the NFC title game; it was Carolina over Philadelphia.

We got three division winners right in the AFC as well, getting Baltimore, Indianapolis and New England, while missing Kansas City, who beat out our pick, Denver. Neither the Chargers--our extreme pick--nor Dolphins were the wild-cards; Tennessee and Denver took the spots. The Colts didn't defeat the Broncos in the AFC title game as we predicted but rather in the first round, and the Colts lost the AFC title game to New England.

And our Super Bowl pick of Indianapolis over St. Louis was certainly not New England over Carolina.

I think this year we're going to go much more out on a limb, as you will see...

NATIONAL CONFERENCE:

THE DIVISION CHAMPIONS:

THE WILD CARDS:

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

def.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE:

THE DIVISION CHAMPIONS:

THE WILD CARDS:

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

def.

SUPER BOWL XXXIX:

34, 10.

I've seen Barry Bonds dog it before. No question about it; we all have. It's never acceptable.

But last night's display was absolutely the most disgusting lack of effort I have seen in a long time.

In the third inning with one out and Durham on second and Feliz on first, Bonds hit a grounder to first for an inning-ending double play. It wasn't particularly a bang-bang play; it was a tough turn. But the Rockies turned it.

But as it unfolded, I watched Barry as much as I could.

He fucking jogged.

And not only that, but once he got to within five feet of first base...

...unbelievably...

...he slowed down even more.

It was like somebody had paid him to hit into a double play.

Had he sprinted, like any fucking normal person would think to do, he would have been standing on first and Durham would have been on third, and Alfonzo would have been able to hit with two runners on.

Had he kept at his original, out-of-the-box, dog-jog pace the whole way, he might have created a tie-goes-to-the-runner situation.

I can't believe for one moment that a ballplayer would ever dog it like Barry did last night.

I can forgive people for not running all out on a pop up or a lazy catchable fly ball with a runner already standing at first base. There's no need to sprint for that; you can't go anywhere until you see where the ball and the runner go. This is pretty much the only situation where not sprinting down to first is not only forgiveable but completely reasonable.

But on a ground ball there is absolutely no excuse. Barry, get your fucking ass in gear, and run goddammit.

That's all I have to say to you right now, you lazy-ass. Screw you, man. No props for getting that late-inning double. Forget it.

Small sampling of taunts directed at Manny Ramirez by one fan in the left-field outfield stands at Monday's A's-Red Sox game:

• "Tuck in your pocket, Manny!"

• "Look at the scoreboard, Manny!" (It was 1-0 Oakland in the 2nd inning)

• (After Ramirez had homered and tucked his pocket back in) "Did that pocket go in when you hit that homer, Manny?!"

This last one is quite possibly the worst taunt ever, in the history of sport.

Dude, you have "NINE-teen EIGHT-teen! Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap!" at your disposal, and all you can think of is "Did that pocket go in when you hit that homer, Manny?!"??

Some friends of mine were watching the game from the comforts of The Stockpot Restaurant & Lounge, texting me to "throw some shit, man!" (a topic I covered yesterday) and, if I couldn't do that, to "throw somebody over the rail." The atmosphere was so electric it could even be felt on TV. Another text from a friend implored me to streak and cause a ruckus, but I replied that that would probably be the tamest thing to happen that night. I have attended nearly fifty major league baseball games in my life, and each one had pretty much the same electricity level. Except for probably two of them: the day Barry Bonds hit #69, and Monday night.

It is with shame and regret that I write this letter of apology.

Although I can honestly say that to this very moment I have never thrown anything onto a baseball field, I can no longer say that I have never tried.

Last night, while sitting in the very raucous outfield stands beyond the left field foul pole at Network Associates Coliseum during the A's-Red Sox game, I got caught up in the moment of frustration that many folks in the stands were feeling. (Not that the A's are my team of choice; rather it was Vegas-related interests that caused me to feel ripped off by the umpires. Nevertheless, the reason doesn't matter.)

All I know is, I've been known for years in my circle of friends for ripping into bush league fans who do bush league things like launch various projectiles onto baseball fields in a fit of protest. I've never had anything but contempt for jerks who do this sort of thing. And certainly on this website I have never taken the side of anyone who does anything like this. But for a brief moment, I shared frustration with A's fans last night, and thought, for the briefest of moments, that taking an empty cup and hurling it over the rows of people sitting in front of me and onto the field of play was a harmless, fun way of protesting a bad call by an umpire. This constituted a complete abandonment of my senses.

It is, of course, not harmless, and in retrospect it is not in the spirit of fun either. I picked up a cup and attempted to throw it onto the field--it seemed to be a more effective way for a person to express his displeasure than by doing it vocally; individual insults and "what-the-F's" get lost in the din of a maddened, spitting, shrieking crowd--however, the cup was quite light and didn't make it that far. In fact, I nearly hit an usher and another man whom I believe was a cameraman with it. That fact alone sent me into an immediate state of embarrassment and gave me a harsh dose of reality. As innocent as the act seemed on the surface, there's a lot more underneath it that can lead to actual harm.

It was an incredibly bush league thing to do and for that I must say that I am sorry for my reprehensible actions. I apologize to the staff of Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland A's management, the other fans who just wanted to watch a game peacefully, the players on both the Red Sox and A's teams, and the umpires.

Not only that, but to discover that one of the two calls I (and we) were protesting, the ruling that Kotsay's attempted catch of a sinking line drive as a trap and not a catch, was correct, only makes our actions seem ever more childish and idiotic, and let us know we were not so enlightened in seats much more removed from the action than an umpire fifty feet away from the play. We as fans think we know everything sometimes. This time, we knew only half of everything on the field and nothing of how to act appropriately.

In addition to the stadium staff's efficinecy in cleaning up the mess we louts created, the ushers were instrumental in preventing what I believe could have been actual deaths in situations unrelated to the aforementioned; more than a couple of vociferous, belligerent, drunk-ass Red Sox fans were escorted out of the stands for their taunting of A's fans, and I believe this was done as a favor to those fans rather as punishment: Those ushers entered the various situations and defused them before the fray turned violent, which I had sensed would have happened with just a few more moments of taunting, anger, and alcohol entering the bloodstream.

So for their work, I commend them. They have a job to do, and this is the extreme portion of their job, and they did it well.

Anyway, having been jolted into shame by my actions, I can say that the best way to learn never to do something churlish is to do it once to experience the shame of having actually done it, so that you know never to do it again. It is a lesson I indeed knew beforehand but for the briefest of moments let slip away. It will never happen again.

Sincerely,

E.K.

I was hoping Barry would hit a couple more home runs this week so that I would have a shot at seeing him hit #700 this weekend. I'll be at SBC Park for the games against Arizona on Saturday and Sunday, and here's to Barry hitting two on Saturday and two on Sunday! (Not too much to ask, is it?) Full report upon my return to Portland.

Having not seen last night's game and not knowing anything except the final score, I can't comment, other than to say, how are the Giants losing to the Rockies? Man, you gotta win these games. A sweep against Arizona would redeem them. But only a sweep. Can't let the Cubs get away. Or for that matter the DOdgers. Let's stay focused on the division title too.