nudes and goats

If you know whom this is a picture of, you're a loser.

Ryan Howard is an excellent baseball player, and more specifically, he's an excellent hitter.

What happened to Cliff Lee? Has there ever been a starting pitcher that went from average to brilliant the way Mr. Lee has? Pitchers have had fluke years like Esteban Loaiza, but Lee's success last year clearly wasn't a fluke. He is officially one of the best pitchers in baseball, and that's not changing. Guys have figured things out later than most like Jamie Moyer, but Jamie Moyer never dominated the way Lee is dominating. Maybe he's an alien.

I wonder how many people were as jazzed up as I was about the Aaron Crow/Yonder Alonso confrontation I just followed on Gameday. I'm guessing not that many people.

Grant Desme just went yard for the 9th time in 46 A.F.L. abs. What does this mean? I can't figure out these stats. Could I hit home runs in the desert off an above-average Double-A pitcher? I feel like I'd succeed in the California League, and I couldn't hit a curveball off of a Manhattan Jew in high school.

Aaron Crow has just retired Heisey, Alonso, and Freeman in order. He's throwing strikes. Watch out world!

A Little Anniversary Music

A Little Klezmer Music

I would like to thank the whole community in the Bay Area. My father used to tell me, "that to make one's living as an entertainer was a noble pursuit," and the audiences' response to our work has been so generous that I've been made to think, repeatedly, of my father's words of wisdom.

When I've flown back to New York City, back to my beautiful wife and my hilarious cats, back to the painful rejection that accompanies trying to secure the next acting gig, I hope Asher's passion rubs off on me. I think most of us tend to choose comfort over sacrifice and immersion. The strength of Asher's convictions, his artistic integrity and sense of truth have been fascinating to portray each night. I will miss him.

Pedro in Game 3?

DENVER -- Pedro Martinez is getting the ball and the call in another big game.

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel chose the aging right-hander over J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton, who made cameo appearances out of the bullpen Thursday, to face the Colorado Rockies in Game 3 of their NL playoff series Saturday night.

The best-of-five series is tied at one game each.

Martinez is 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA in the postseason, and Manuel said he likes his history in cold weather, too.

The forecast for Game 3 calls for temperatures dipping into the 20s with snow flurries.

The 37-year-old Martinez sat out most of the year before signing with the Phillies as a free agent last in the season. He went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Not sure I go with the older, physically brittle option in 30 degree weather. Is Manuel actually referencing Pedro pitching on October Boston nights circa 2000? That's a completely different player. Seems to me that couldn't be less relevant. Favre used to play well in cold weather, too. Then he got old. Also, Joe Blanton looks like the love child of a rhinoceros and an SUV. I'm guessing he'd be ready for the elements.

Tulo for MVP?

Alright, so Albert Pujols is the MVP. And Hanley Ramirez and Ryan Howard will likely be filled out second and third on most ballots. And those guys are very deserving. However, I wonder if people are really seeing what Troy Tulowitzki has done over the last 4 months. He's a shortstop who's slugged over .600 for 4 straight months. How many times in the history of the sport has that been done?

Remember the MVP races that were all about who had a huge September and carried their team into the playoffs? I think Vlad won one like that. Well, Pujols being the MVP has been a foregone conclusion seemingly forever, and all three division races have been anticlimactic, so I can't help but wonder how writers would feel if races were a little closer, and late season production was more heavily weighted.

On June 6th, Tulo was hitting .216/.306/.377, and the Rockies were 9 games under .500 and in last place. Since then, he's hit .337/.418/.633, and the Rockies are 32 games over .500 and have, as of today, punched their ticket to the postseason.

Not convinced? Tulo's numbers are better than Ryan Howard's. After today's Rockies game, and before today's Phillies game (which is when I'm writing this), Tulo sits at .299/.380/.553, and Howard's line is .276/.357/.564. Yes, Howard has driven in a ridiculous number of runs, but he has three great players batting in front of him, he has 70 more abs than Tulo and Tulo has as many runs scored, and my people in the National League West tell me that Tulo doesn't play good or great defense at the game's most demanding defensive position, he plays spectacular defense at the game's most demanding defensive position.

Hanley has had a better offensive season than Tulo, but his defense is nowhere near as good, and Hanley has had his worst month when his team needed him the most.

If Hanley's Marlins wind up 6 or 7 games back, or even 8 or 9 games back, does he get credit for being the best player on a contender? What is a contender? Meaningful games in September? Meaningful games the second half of September? I'm assuming that Prince Fielder won't get much love from the writers, but maybe he will. If Hanley's Marlins were basically done 5 days ago, and Derrek Lee's Cubs were done two or three weeks ago, and Prince's Brew Crew were done a really long time ago, where do you draw the line? They're not on bad teams.

My guess is that Tulo comes in 5th. That Hanley is perceived as having played for a contender, and that he and Howard finish 2nd and 3rd in the voting. Prince edges Tulo for 4th.

I forgot about Pablo Sandoval. How do you quantify his value? He's the only guy in that lineup that's good. That lineup is ridiculous. Molina hits big homers, but he's hitting .265. Plus, the Giants didn't make the playoffs. This MVP thing is very subjective, that's all I'm saying.