The Daily Grind

I am slowly recovering mentally from the LSATs. You don't want my complaints. I have got a job to do and I don't intend to let you guys down.

-I was pretty humbled by Pratt's rebuttal of my bit in my last "Grind." I'll leave it at that. I hate being corrected. Especially when I'm wrong.

-I am currently watching the Mariners-Marlins game (along with five other people). The Mariners are selling Ken Griffey Jr. HR #600 commemorative bats. This is beyond sad. The bat contains all of Griffey's myriad accomplishments printed along with the Mariners logo. Also, the bat makes a point of mentioning that Griffey has not played for the team since 1999. Its sad. Almost as sad as Griffey thinking Tampa Bay really wants anything to do with him. Yes, I have partially contradicted myself after learning Griffey is 1-21 since hitting his 600th home run. He would help the Rays sell tickets, but he would make them a qualified worse baseball team.

-Staying on the subject of the Mariners. Bill Bavasi was finally let go as GM of the team. The team went 322-395 during his tenure. They currently have the worst record in baseball despite a 100-million-plus payroll that is in the top ten in all of baseball. Rotoworld.com had a great rip, as they often do: "We'd list Bavasi's poor decisions, but it'd probably overload the Rotoworld servers." Rob Neyer also had some pretty damning stuff to say: "Bavasi took over after 2003, in which the M's won 93 games and fell two games short of the wild card. In 2004, they lost 99 games, then 93 more in 2005. In '06, they were respectable but still finished last. And last year, they somehow lucked into 88 wins despite being outscored. In fact, here's the most damning fact about Bavasi's five seasons at the helm: The Mariners were outscored in each of those five seasons." Just an awful job all-around, he won't get another personnel job for a while.

-I am going to the Celtics game tomorrow night, at great personal expense. As I have written in this space, I cannot write objectively about the Celtics. Furthermore, I don't to write about what I cannot write about objectively. We'll see what I churn out when the Finals are over.


-Bill Bavasi being ousted at Seattle GM. Chien-Ming Wang spending the majority of the remainder of the regular season on the DL. These two developments may expediate trade talks in the MLB. Seattle probably wont be able to move Sexson's gargantuan contract, but Beltre's looks movable. Also, Erik Bedard is only signed through the 2009 season, don't be surprised to see him moved, even though they traded for him just this offseason. Jose Vidro can be had for nothing...
Also, as mentioned above, look for the Yankees to make a move with Wang out for such a long time. Maybe Pratt can enlighten me, do they have the pieces to go and get C.C. Sabathia? With Wang out, I wouldn't be least bit surprised to see Cashman make a serious push for Sabathia. The team is totally without a top-shelve starter.

-The AP just confirmed a report out of Las Vegas, that I read on rotoworld.com: "Raiders WR Javon Walker was found unconscious with an 'orbital fracture' on Flamingo Boulevard just off the Las Vegas strip early Monday morning. He was the victim of an apparent robbery.
The AP has confirmed a Fox 5 report. Walker was listed in fair condition at an area hospital Monday with 'significant" injuries.' The Raiders were 'gathering information' Monday. The Las Vegas Review Journal spotted Walker Saturday night at the Wynn spraying Dom Perignon champagne he ordered."
Edit: AP is investigating it as a possible robbery.

-A classic "Don't Look Now" scenario. The Detroit Tigers enter tonights game against the San Francisco Giants 8-2 in their last ten, on a six game winning streak. Fernando Rodney is back with the club, and Joel Zumaya is due back for the club's weekend series against Sand Diego. Marcus Thames last seven hits, including tonight have been home runs. The team currently sits six games behind the first-place White Sox, with a win tonight they would move into a third-place tie (5.5 GB) with idle Cleveland.

Miscellaneous Video of the Day:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=M2phGzJUwmo&feature=user
Lyle the Intern, if you haven't seen him yet. One of the best Letterman characters in some time. Played by Jimmi Simpsons of the Carnivale and Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame.

Old-School Rap Video of the Day:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c-IJ9vbdNfA
The DOC- "The Formula"
A car accident ended his rap career far too soon. Nonetheless, another Dr. Dre disciple. Does anyone have a more impressive list of discoveries than Dr. Dre?