Blue Jays... if you blow this game I will be REALLY mad

Seriously... you had an 8-0 lead in the first inning...

Now it is 9-7in the 6th with nobody out?

A Yankee loss will take another number off the Red Sox magic number

A Yankee win will piss me off.

You don't want me to be pissed off.

Maybe I should have been a lawyer

Look, most of what I know about being a lawyer I know from watching Jack McCoy in Law and Order.

But I do know one thing... if something has been declared inadmissible as evidence, you don't bring it up at trial.

The judge in the Clemens case said a First Year Law Student would know that.
Screw that. I'm a Film School graduate and I know that!

Between the Casey Anthony trial and the Roger Clemens trial WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH PROSECUTORS?

Seriously, you think you are going to go after a high profile client in a public case, you'd make sure you'd cross all your T's and dot all your I's before you go in there.

This was over so fast that the sketch artist could barely finish one picture.

What does this mean?

It can't be double jeopardy, can it?

We didn't even get to hear how Clemens was going to blame everyone but himself for the use of steroids and HGH... including blaming his wife!

Nice job prosecutors. You think a slick guy like Rusty Hardin was going to be taking a nap when you played that tape?

Now, I have no idea how this trial will resume or if there will be a new one.
But we all know what happened.... and like when I talked about Barry Bonds at a barbecue, the burden of proof is obviously very low here.

Roger Clemens wanted to prove to the world (and by "the world" I mean "Dan Duquette") that he wasn't done when his Red Sox career ended.

And while he had one year that he basically willed himself to greatness, reality and physics trumped willpower and 35 year old pitchers tend to slip.

Enter old teammate Jose Canseco and trainer Brian McNamee and suddenly willpower could be injected.

Seriously, why would McNamee be telling the truth about Pettitte and Knoblauch (both who confirmed it) but not Clemens who was the big Alpha Dog?

Sure McNamee saved the needles. He was a former cop and he knew something like this could help him if he were in trouble.

Sure he lied early on. These trainer/'roids distributors are hangers on who look to be taken care of by their rich clients for their loyalty.
Don't believe me? How long does Greg Anderson have to sit in jail before you realize how much loyalty means to these guys.

McNamee even took the bullet in that sketchy "was it a sexual assault? Was it not?" night in Florida in 2001 that is being brought up. Why? To protect the Yankees player or coach who had relations with the woman earlier that night.

It's all consistent.
And he lied right up until the point where he realized he might go to jail for lying.

Anderson did. McNamee didn't.

And that's why the Bonds thing ended and the Clemens case is going on. (That and the fact that Bonds knew when to keep his mouth shut and Clemens is too bull headed to do so.)

Clemens side doesn't make any sense.

A trainer gave him B12 shots... and that caused an abscess that B12 doesn't cause but steroids do?

He works out and trains with a guy who is on his payroll who gave Pettitte, Knoblauch AND Clemens' wife juice but NOT Clemens?

Clemens body just HAPPENS to balloon up and he just HAPPENS to increase velocity in his late 30s around the time that he is in Toronto with a steroid distributing trainer who he swears by and Jose Canseco who has injected everything except Windex into his ass?

None of it makes sense.

All I know is everything I read in the book American Icon makes 100% sense to me.

Then again, the burden of proof at Barnes and Nobles is pretty low as well.

I can't prove it in a court of law.
That's not my job.
Maybe it should have been.

ROCKIES! Trade Ubaldo Jimenez!

At one point last year, Ubaldo Jimenez looked like he could win 30 games. 25 was a lock.
He was the 26 year old home grown ace of the Rockies and things were just going to get better.

He was 15-1 at the All Star break.
His ERA was sub 1.00 into June.

The second half? He went 4-7 with a decent (especially for pitching 1/2 his games in Denver) 3.80 ERA.

His numbers were solid and Cy Young worthy. But there was something mildly disturbing.

His whole career he's been a decent pitcher who put up decent numbers. And for one half of a year, he was a Cy Young candidate.

What if that one half of a season was a fluke?
What if it was an anomaly?

What if this is... *GASP*... Javier Vazquez all over again?
As I wrote before, Vazquez had a terrific 2001 with Montreal and coasted on the reputation of that season until 2009 when he had another great year for Atlanta.

The Yankees were of course burned when they brought him back... but my point is this:

Jimenez might not be an ace. But teams might THINK he is!
He started the 2010 All Star Game. That was almost exactly a year ago.

When exactly will his value be higher than RIGHT NOW?

The Rockies are sub .500 now and don't have the arms to catch up with San Francisco for the West nor for Atlanta for the Wild Card.

So take a look at Jimenez as a chip. A young good starting pitcher who everyone thinks is an ace!

Why hold on to him until people figure out he's NOT an ace?

If the Yankees want to give up some of their top prospects (and supposedly Jesus Montero is being offered) take it.

Drive up the price as the Yankees, Tigers, Reds and almost every other contender is looking for an arm.

With Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki locked up for long term deals, the Rockies can't really afford many expensive mistakes. And expecting Jimenez to be the pitcher that he was for 1 half of a season as opposed to the pitcher he was for 3 seasons is a risky prospect.

Get two quality players and let him become a decent but not great player for another team!

And don't wait too long.
Did someone say "Brandon Webb?"

The Mets have thrown in the towel

Wow. I had a feeling the Mets fire sale would start soon. But I didn't think it would happen while players were still lingering around Chase Field in Phoenix for post All Star Game festivities.

Beltran and Reyes better get back to Queens fast before they are shipped out!

Francisco Rodriguez is now a Milwaukee Brewer. And while I don't trust him in post season play any further than I can throw him, but he does pile up saves in the regular season and now those late inning leads will go to someone else.

And the domino effect is going to happen in that bullpen and it won't be pretty.
Beltran is next. If they can get a package for Reyes, why not?

When I talked about my lousy predictions for the season, one of my readers pointed out that I didn't mention my prediction that the Mets would lose 90 games.

I'm standing by the prediction. I think this team is about to be dismantled. And they will be essentially fielding an expansion team for August and September... and the mood will get from bad to worse.

Yes I know they are a game over .500 now after their first 91 games.
And to reach 90 losses they'll have to double their loss total in just 71 games.

I've seen teams unravel fast.
They could go 26-45 the rest of the way. 6 of their next 7 games are against the Phillies and Cardinals.

The Mets have series involving the Reds, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Braves and Brewers in August. They also have a bunch of games with the Marlins and Nationals who are playing better.

In other words, losses could pile up fast, especially if morale is bad.

Now keep in mind one thing:
I think the Mets are doing the right thing.
They are dumping bodies off the sinking ship and will have some growing pains with the new crew.

They SHOULD deal Beltran. And if anyone can take Bay do that too.

Read this carefully Mets fans:
I think the Mets will be a major contender in a couple of seasons. I trust Sandy Alderson and sometimes it is a good thing to hit rock bottom.

And Met fans, go to a game at CitiField this year. Nobody will ever question your loyalty to your team after this season.

So Games 3 and 4 will be at Fenway

The National League won the All Star Game.
So that means the National League gets the Homefield Advantage.

Good! Let me tell you why.

When the Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series, I kept hearing from Red Sox fans "Wouldn't it be better if the Red Sox won at Fenway?"

Of which I would ask in response "If I am rooting for the Red Sox to win in 6, which two games am I rooting for them to lose?"

Well if the Red Sox make the World Series THIS year, then I won't have to hear such nonsense.
Then we will ALL be rooting for a sweep.

So for those of you keeping score...

Games 1 and 2 will be at AT&T in San Francisco.
Then Games 3 and 4 will be at Fenway.

The Sox will clinch Game 4.

Hope this was helpful.

Man I made some TERRIBLE predictions

So it is the All Star Break now and it is time to take a look at my predictions for the year.
And some of the things that I foresaw... well... they were pretty easy to predict.

Wow! The Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies and Giants would all be good? What a soothsayer!

I also picked the White Sox, the Marlins and the Reds to be playing in the post season.

And I said Josh Johnson would be the Cy Young Award winner.

In my "Fearless Predictions" post, I predicted a bunch of stuff.

Care to hear some of worst predictions?

- Angel Vernon Wells was going to have a great season.

- The Astros would shock everyone and be near .500 for most of the year.

- The A's would contend all year.

- Jose Bautista's home run total would drop. 22 tops.

- The Brewers and Cardinals would flop and not be factors.

- The Diamondbacks and Indians would finish in the cellar.

- The Marlins would be the most exciting team to watch in all of baseball.

- Reid Brignac would be a solid shortstop for the Rays.

- Edinson Volquez would win 18 games.

- Josh Beckett would be awful all season.

- The Rockies would trade for Prince Fielder.

- The Royals would finally give up on Alex Gordon.

- The Tigers would be such a disaster that Jim Leyland would quit or be fired.

- The White Sox would win the Division and Adam Dunn would be a great fit.

- Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon would both flop with the Yankees.

That's a lot of lousy predictions for one blog post.
Ah well...
I was right when I said the Angels would be big contenders.

If the World Series is Phillies and Angels, I'll look brilliant!

Then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Rest up and let's get the second half of the season started!

Paul Sorrento and the Fortune Teller - My latest for The Hardball Times

My latest article for The Hardball Times speculates what would have happened if Paul Sorrento, former Twins first baseman, visited a fortune teller before the start of the 1991 season.

How could ANYONE have a question after that?
I am sure you ALL thought "I wonder what would have happened if former Twins first baseman Paul Sorrento had visited a fortune teller before the start of the 1991 season."

Well this is MY take on that time honored scenario.

Read the whole article HERE.