The 35th Street Review

What’s the opposite of greener pastures? One fan searches for the answer. Chris T. reports from beyond the Thunderdome.

Five incorrect statements likely to be declared as fact during today’s A’s/Sox broadcast on Fox:

1. The Sox are in trouble without Jose Contreras on hand for the stretch run. Self-explanatory.
   
2. Ken Griffey, Jr.’s veteran presence be the difference between the Sox making the playoffs and the Sox not making the playoffs. This may actually be partially correct, but less in the sense that Griffey’s teaching the kids a thing or two and more in the sense that he’ll be playing center even though the Sox have a superior hitter and fielder wasting away on the bench.
   
3. The White Sox pitching staff as a whole, despite being awful at worst and shaky at best, is one of the best in baseball. Also self-explanatory.
   
4. The Oakland A’s are one of the best-run franchises in baseball, which is only true if you also also define colleges who are continually trounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament or NFL teams who squeak into the playoffs with 8-8 records only to be brutalized by superior teams as the most successful in their respective leagues. So really, this is the national media’s way of saying the A’s are the Southern Illinois of Major League Baseball. . . which is not exactly a compliment.
5. That Greg Smith, man, he is a good pitcher. And perhaps he will be today, but we all know that has less to do with Smith and more to do with the Sox’ collective inability to play well in Oakland. Maybe it’s the stadium, but the more likely explanation is the Good Guys’ collective fear of being shanked by a stray chain mail-clad Raiders fan.

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Elsewhere, in a bit of useful news for anyone who plans their road trips well in advance, Mark Gonzales reports the Good Guys are visiting Cincinnati and Milwaukee next year during interleague play. [Chicago Tribune]

Examining the trade for Nick Swisher. You might want to wear a hard hat.

The real tragedy of the Mitchell Report is not what you think it is, nor is it who you think it is.

Chain mail? Check. Shiv? Check. Skull? Check. Baseball? Did anyone remember to bring the baseball?