Warning!! It's Baaaaaack!! Off-topic Baseball Thread '08 !!

[ChuckElias]

Manny hit his 500th home run last night, and the Red Sox actually won the game, despite Papelbon pitching absolutely horribly. Sox turned a lucky double play in the 9th to save Papelbon. Hopefully, his control is better today if they need him.

The guy who ended up with Manny's #500 ball is going to give it back to Manny for nothing. Nice gesture. I hope Manny has enough class to give him a boatload of stuff for it.

Sox, in general, are playing very mediocre baseball on this road trip. DJ's Mariners gave them fits and the A's beat them up pretty badly. If they can win today or tomorrow, they'll take this series against the O's and look good heading back home to play the team with the best record in the American League. The league-leading Tampa Bay Rays? On June 1st? Unbelievable.

The best team in the bigs is the Cubbies, believe it or not. The last time the Cubs had the best record in the major leagues at the end of May was 1908. Anything special about that season?

The Reds are still 2 games below .500 and in 5th place in their division. But Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 599th home run yesterday and the Reds won the game with a walk-off home run from rookie Jay Bruce, who's been having an amazing first week in the bigs. Bruce has 11 hits, 1 home run, and 4 RBIs in his first 5 major league games, with an .895 slugging percentage. Not a bad start!