There once was a fictitious team created by novelist Philip Roth, the Ruppert Mundys, who played all their games on the road.

The rumors last night in Oakland were that the Expos may duplicate what the Mundys did, and play all their 2004 games away from Montreal. Some say the team will share home fields with San Juan, Charlotte, Portland, or any other locale with a stadium that is available during summer months.

Why are the owners slow in resolving this issue?

Probably because the franchise price tag is too high, the Baltimore ownership wants too much money to let them into the DC area, and that pesky lawsuit filed by the former minority share holders of the team is still unresolved.

Whatever the reason, it isn’t fair to the players involved to treat them in this fashion.

Ten hour plane flights from Puerto Rico to Seattle, three week road trips, and forcing the sale of key players is no way to run a major league franchise.

Through all of this manager Frank Robinson has his team leading the Wild Card chase in the National league. Nothing bothers this team, they swing the bat, rally when down in the game, bring new players up weekly, and have an amazing camaraderie.

They also have some of the best young talent in the league with Vlad Guerrero, Brad Wilkerson ( an A’s kind of player), Javier Vazquez, and Jose Vidro to name a few.

They also have a glazed look in their eyes as this incredible road trip continues today. Starting for the Expos Saturday “Johnny Wholestaff”, since they have run out of healthy starting pitchers, they are running the bullpen out to the mound (hey it worked for Houston the other night)

The A’s better win today because Vazquez goes Sunday and since the A’s couldn’t hit Shane Reynolds Thursday, they are in danger against this righthander.

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I just finished watching the Giants win their last game in

Chicago. An unbelievable ending. More and more one becomes enamored

watching Bonds. At the tail end of a career he simply exudes greatness.

One of the unique features of his performance, day in and day out, is

that he doesn’t have a supporting cast which many great players have

accompanying them. He is, literally, the engine that makes this team a

winner. Without him, this is an ordinary ball club.

Fans, this perspective on the game by Ed is one of his best, click below for a truly enjoyable read! [Read more →]

Welcome home, Marty. It couldn’t have been a very pleasant ride back, after the double header with the Phillies. The Giants didn’t have a very bad homestand, altho, once again, they didn’t do well against a good team with a winning record, Minnesota. They were fortunate to come away with one win. Detroit is simply one of the worst teams conceivable. The 8th inning of the last game can only be described as “bush”. The homestand, in general, highlighted everything that we’ve been saying about this club since the season began. You are dead on when you say that the best thing they have going for them is the division they’re in.

Click Below for more right on baseball from Ed Stern! [Read more →]

The peaches are on the trees and soon will be in the stores in California, this is the time that the baseball season starts to take on a more serious look.

With the NL teams coming into the AL parks, expect he American league teams to play better baseball since their favorite toy, the DH is back.

Each day I’m going to publish the wild card standings because the Angels showed last year that the goal for any team should be to just get into the playoffs and then anything can happen.

With many teams feeling insecure in the division races, the wild card absolutely is something to keep in mind.

Today here’s how it looks:

AL

New York…

A’s 1/2

Toronto 2

Angels 3 1/2

NL

Montreal….

Cubs 2

LA 2 1/2

St. Louis 3

Philadelphia 3

And more teams can still get close, so it is too early to panic,

Let’s look at more baseball now below! [Read more →]

The A’s released Thad Bosley yesterday. Perhaps the most intriguing comment was in today’s Chronicle when the reporter wrote that it was unclear if Bosley would be paid for the remainder of his two year contract.

I haven’t seen the contract, but if Bosley refused to be reassigned to another position in the organization, and if the contract allowed for such a reassignment, then the A’s could be off the hook for the balance. Otherwise, they have to pony up for the remaining two years salary.

Anyway, the entire affair was unnecessary and truly should have been avoided. Bosley is a former major leaguer who carried himself with confidence and wanted to be recognized by management as the man who coached two MVP’s and a silver slugger.

It wasn’t to be. Ken Macha and Bosley had a falling out and the manager prevailed. A failure on both men’s part which should have been avoided.

Thad Bosley is a pro and a good man who coached his hitters well enough to see them win 205 games in 2001 and 2002. I’ll miss his presence on the team.

Wasn’t his replacement Dave Hudgens released from the major league staff last time because the players wouldn’t listen to him?

Click below for more baseball news this Sunday morning!

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Two of the best pitchers in the American league pitched Tuesday night with varying results. Barry Zito had one of the best curve balls I have ever seen him have, but threw one too many inside fastballs to pinch hitter Bobby Kielty and the Twin pinch swinger hit a three run homer deep into the left field seats to win the game for Minnesota.

“Everyday” Eddie Guardado finsihed the game for the Twins who now are starting to put some ground between themselves and the rest of the AL Central.

Roy Halladay won his sixth in a row as Toronto closed to within 3 games of the lead in the AL East. The White Sox are no match for Toronto on the turf, in fact Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas sat this one out. As I thought he would, Bartolo Colon pitched his customary complete game, but to no avail as his mates could score only once against Halladay and that only helps if you can throw a shut out, which Colon did not.

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New Audio Interviews Added Including:

Tommy Lasorda

Bill King

Ed Montague

Bob Feller

Joe Rudi

and more…

Click here to listen [Read more →]

Just added new pictures to the Photo Gallery.

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It didn’t take long for the AL West teams to win on the road, they all won their first games on their current road trip in impressive fashion.

As I said earlier in the season, Gil Meche has top of the rotation stuff for the Mariners. Coming back from arm surgery is always iffy, and who knows how the season will play out, but Meche’s dominance of the Yankees in NY Tuesday night is a positive sign for the Mariners.

The two Japanese stars in the game excited the crowd by their presence, but did little else on the field to distinguish their night’s play.

Brett Boone, Edgar Martinez, and John Olerud continue to lead the way for Seattle. Similar to last year, they need one more legit bat in the line up, not getting one in 2002 eventually led Lou Piniella into a dispute with management and his banishment to baseball purgatory in Tampa.

The Angels crushed the Indians, the Rangers unloaded six homers on the Blue Jays and their minor league relievers, and the A’s played a solid game in beating Bartolo Colon and Chicago 3-2.

More baseball below:

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Marty talks with Rangers manger Buck Showalter about Buck’s days at ESPN, the Cape Cod League, and the prospects in the Ranger oraganization. [Read more →]