By Thomas Chambers

It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Really.
The cessation of Thoroughbred horse racing in my life would certainly be a void, but I can report is hasn’t happened – yet.
But after a confrontation with that very possibility in the past two weeks, I can say for sure the game will never be the same to me again.
It’s an abusive relationship, that of the racing industry toward its lifeblood, the horseplayer. Rather than get its house in order, the oldest sport in America relentlessly inflicts pain upon its customers, sometimes sharp and cutting, sometimes dull and fatiguing. Whatever, they’re pushing the perceptive fans away.

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Posted on August 6, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

It was looking pretty quiet leading up to the MLB trading deadline until a flurry of deals occurred in the final hours. There was nothing huge, which means Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn, American League home run leader Jose Bautista, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Lee all stayed where they were. Lee’s Houston mates Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman probably were the biggest newsmakers.
So, how will all the moves play in the fantasy baseball world? Here’s a look at several players with fantasy value who changed addresses, and which direction their value is headed:

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Posted on August 4, 2010

By Jim Coffman

I wonder if the White Sox and their fans were starting to worry when they couldn’t even draw 30,000 for Friday’s game with the A’s.
Fortunately, 35,000-plus and 32,000-plus showed up for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, or Jerry Reinsdorf may have started slashing payroll, given his history of such threats.
Still, people, get your butts to the park. Not only is this a good team with a chance at greatness but it is a good team with a chance at greatness that needs you and your energy to beat the Minnesotans. Did you notice what happened this last week? That was when the White Sox won six of seven and lost ground in the standings to the Twinkies (winners of eight in a row).

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Posted on August 2, 2010

By Andrew Reilly

So this is the way trading season ends; not with a bang, but with a reclamation project pitcher no one believes the Sox ever really wanted in the first place.
Not that anyone’s saying the team has finished all its wheeling and dealing (last year’s waiver acquisition of Alex Rios should have proven once and for all that July acquisitions aren’t the only acquisitions) but it’s hard to see how a team which had pinned its hopes on its starting pitching can consider itself improved when the back end of the rotation just fell from an inexpensive rookie with high upside to an overpaid veteran with terrible numbers to his name.
There may be things we can’t see here, but with any luck this is more a case of there being things we don’t know.

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Posted on August 2, 2010

By Marty Gangler

Doesn’t it feel good to come clean?
To finally admit it?
To stop the charade?
The Cubs finally admitted it to themselves, to their fans and, well, to anyone else who is paying attention: They suck.
They aren’t lighting candles in church or rubbing their “lucky bat” to go on a big winning streak; they have finally told you “Look, we aren’t going to win this year. We tried to pretend for a long time but even we couldn’t keep up this level of pretending – and as you may know, that is saying something because we have been pretending to you for your entire life. We pretend to have a chance every season, we pretend that this next prospect is going to be the savior, we pretend to care about you, but most of all we pretend that we know what we are doing. We are done pretending this season, we f’d up and really have to look at ourselves in the mirror.”
Yep, they finally told you that they are out of it. And I couldn’t be happier.

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Posted on August 2, 2010