Well news is far and in between in recent days, so how about a round of ESPN bitching?*

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=schoenfield/090224_al&sportCat=mlb

*(Yes, I know it's practically a dead meme, but in all seriousness this is just good discussion material.)

Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Dave Niehaus
Rationale: Niehaus is the team's beloved announcer since its inaugural season in 1977. During the many lean years, he was often the only thing that kept Mariners fans going. Also considered: Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, Jamie Moyer and Lou Piniella. Not considered: Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Silva or George Argyros.

I really don't get why Alex is left off. He did so much this organization that you really have to look through rose-colored glasses to leave off arguably the best player to ever put on a Mariners uniform, and he wore it for several seasons as well. However, it really is tough to leave Dave off the list. 

My other "Let's Switch 'Em!"s:

Baltimore: Wouldn't change a thing.

Boston: Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, Jimmie Foxx, Wade Boggs > David Ortiz.

NY Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra > Derek Jeter, although it's kinda close.

Tampa Bay: Really, like the article says, let's revisit this in a few years.

Toronto: I think they got it right.

Chicago: Dunno if they got it right, but it's hard to argue.

Cleveland: Ditto Chicago.

Detroit: With a 100+ year history, I don't know why they went the broadcaster route here. Why not make room for Sparky Anderson or Harry Heilmann?

Kansas City: No argument on this end.

California/Anaheim/LAAA: No Frank Tanana?

Oakland: Nailed it.

Texas: Nailed it.

What's yours?

Edit: NL found here.

Linky

A urine sample that Barry Bonds submitted as part of Major League Baseball's anonymous testing program in 2003 has come back positive for PEDs, according to a New York Times report... Bonds provided samples that did not test positive under that program, but the samples were re-examined by federal authorities after they were seized in a 2004 raid, The Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

So, it was a urine sample from 2003 --  back when the results were kept annonymous and offending players supposedly only got a slap on the wrist -- that MLB tested and turned out negative. Just a couple weeks ago the feds retested the sample and found it was positive. Now, everyone knows in 2003 Bonds was in the midst of his string of the best offensive seasons in baseball history, and everyone knows that it was only a small handful of seasons before then that MLB knew steroids were rampant in the sport and did absolutely nothing about it to rake in the money. So... is anyone else here speculating what I'm speculating?

Fuck it. I still want him.

I sit here typing on my laptop in front of my TV with the Colbert Report on TV, waiting for Nate Silver to come on while I enjoy my first Jubelale of the season. And it's more delicious than I remember. I wasn't going to post about a political comedy show, so I'm going to tread carefully and focus on anything baseball that is discussed. Colbert's intro: "My guest Nate Silver is a baseball statistician who thinks he can predict the election. My prediction? Cubs lose!" (Silver picked the Cubs to win)

Silver looks nerdier with glasses off than glasses on. And he almost said DEVIL when talking about the Rays. Draw from this what you will.

Talks about 534...talks about 534... Baseball metephors for politics... Oooh, he just compared the candidates to teams, and one of them was from Seattle. It was amusing. Colbet laughed, the audience laughed, I laughed. That is all I am permitted to say.

Silver goes on to use statistical analysis to predict jetpacks will be available for commercial purchase in 2036.

Wow, that was short and I'm disappointed I stayed up to watch that. My diary is looking rather stupid now that I have nothing left to write about it. Good thing these fine people did the rest of the writing for me...

Topics to discuss:

~ Your politics-filtered take on Nate Silver on the Colbert Report if you watched it.

~ Spielberg and Paramount call it splitsville. Your favorite Spielburg flick?

~ Who is Lewis Hamilton and why is this 4-year-old being paid $30 grand to be the next him? Anyways, that's freaking amazing.

~ Which will end the world first: The man-made black hole, the ring of fire, this, a genocide from an unknown blogger when the Sens lose to the Ducks in a Stanley Cup Game 7 this year, or [insert clusterfuck here]?

~ Fuck the Altima, build your own coupe, SB. It's faster, it's cooler, it's cheaper, it's street legal, and people will think you spent a cool $60 grand for a car nobody has ever seen before.

~ ^ And make sure to make it angry-faced or people will think you're a wussy and paid less for it.

~ I have spent way, way too much time playing this game. Your favorite SFW timewasters?

~ Your company going under? Follow the new trend in sales: humorous honesty.

~ Eight extremely underrated South Park songs. Although I would argue it's 7. And the new season starts tomorrow!

I've always wanted to make one of these but never had the creativity when sober to come up with any sort of tags at all. So now I'm not and have time until I wake up so we'll see how much creativity spawns from it all. have 24 minutes remaining my my power plan so I better do this quick.

I just got home from a bunch of coworkers driving me home because all my friends aren't 21 yet and I am so my bunch of coworkers drove me home after my first 21st bday. In case you didn't catch it on the last OTDOTD, I just updated that my parents ditched me on my 21st and will get back to me tomorrow because it fits their schedule better even though it doesn't fit my turning 21 better (it's a weekday so give me a fucking break, I'm going to a bar and a club on the weekend). So my coworkers filled my time at a bar/bowling alley/casino/chinese restuarant in some ghetto ass neighborhood in West Seattle. My first drink was Manny's on tap, which I'm sure was better than the Bud Light someone tried to order me and was successful later that night. Somebody spun the mystery wheel and well drinks was a buck, which I later found out what well drinks was was. A stranger bought me a Whisky7 for my bday which I imagine was roughly 8 dollars I personally wouldn't spend on a stranger. On a side note, Whisky7s suck; I wish I had a shot of straight SoCo like a manly an. I wish I had my General Tso's before or during my first three drinks and not after. My main man gave me $40 to gamble away as a present. I went ahead and lost it all on Spanish 21 in seemingly 15 minutes except for two $5 chips I found in my pocket and forgot about until now.

All things considered, I would have otherwise spent my 21st with my not 21 friends drinking MY beer that I bought on my 21st at 9 am that I started drinking at 930 that they didn't until god knows when I'll do an inventory tomorrow or if I'll even remember to. Good thing I'm writing this down. Anyway, I better wrap this up before I spend even more frickin time finding typos because it's sobering me up.

Topics that may or may not be included in discussion (hey, I just found out what the "D" is for in OTDOTD):

- Free alchohol is the best alcohol until what age?

- Better Chinese dishes than General Tso's when drunk and at a bowling alley

- Over/under on me actually taking 24 minutes before I got off my lazy ass and found my power cord?

- What's so Spanish about Spanish 21? The way the casino still fucked me I couldn't tell the god damn difference.

Topics that may or may not be included in this discussion that people are more likely to actually have comments on:

- ? > Mirror Pond > Manny's > Full Sale Pail Ale > Whisky7

- I've honestly lost a lot of interest in baseball until the postseason. What have you been doing in your baseball time?

- Reviews of the new Gong Show

- Tips on watching TV at work

- How Europe is catching on to American Football and why it's not gaining more popularity already somwhere that isn't France

- Will we even take Strasburg if we get #1 overall?

- Cooler animals than Kangaroos

- Without looking, how many times did I type the numbers 21?

- Name as many synonyms for drunk without a thesaurus like I did. Winner gets a $5 dollar chip from a mystery establishment.

Edit: Hopefully it's fixed enough.

this really puts this into prospective. Good times down memory lane.

BTW, has anyone figured out how to embed videos in fan posts yet?

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 24 words long.Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 24 words long.Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 24 words long.

For some reason halfway through the game on Felix Day, every time I tried to access LL the page stops loading before it starts. All day yesterday and today, it just wouldn't let me in. Thinking it was just a problem with SBN, I tried accessing other SBN blogs -- it worked. I tried deleting cookies and all other private information, and still no avail.

Thinking I was banned, I tried accessing LL on my roommate's computer through FF. That also worked, and I could even log in.

Finally, I tried getting here using IE. Success! But I hate IE and love FF, so I was wondering if anyone else here has had a similar problem. I've never had a problem like this before and I want to fix it immediately.

I want to try something new. I'm visiting my parents who live in a rural town, so unfortunately it can't be anything too rare or exotic because it has to likely be available at an Albertsons. I've taken suggestions like Jubelale and Dead Guy, and I've loved them both, so with all the different beers I've seen on the site, I figure you guys can go 3-for-3.

Here's another twist: I'm taking it home, my roommate pitched in, and he's an amateur. His favorite beer is Coors Light and even thinks Corona is too bitter without a slice of lime in it. He doesn't like many darker beers like scotch ales, so the oatmeal and chocolate stouts are out (which were delicious, by the way). A pilsener would be a good choice because he's tried and likes St. Pauli Girl and Pilsner Urquell.

I now leave my taste buds for the week in your hands.

So I don't have cable anymore and I'm probably gonna give MLB.tv a shot. I'm under the assumption that MLB.tv covers all the games of all the teams. But does it cover all the ST games too? I was looking over the Mariners ST schedule on the main site and some of the games listed say MLB.tv on them and some don't. Furthermore, when I look at the regular season schedule, very few or none actually say MLB.tv on them. Now I'm sure that MLB.tv covers the unmarked games on the regular season schedule I'm reading, so will it cover all the ST games it doesn't say it's covering too?

Also, is the premium service worth the extra few bucks?

Thanks guys.

Coming this summer, Hancock.

Probably Will Smith's funniest, most action packed movie ever.

Link

Well it's about damn time.                      

I just moved into the city, just got a job at a hotel, and part of my duty is concierge. And so far I've been bad at it. I'd love to know all your favorite places to eat in the city for both my job and just as general knowledge, as I like to think of myself as somewhat a food critic. And nobody knows enough good places to eat.

So, not limited to in the city limits for the fun of it, list your favorite kitchens, grills, eateries, bakeries, delis, bars and whatnot.

So here are some of my favorites:

Tamarind Tree -- Now I'm not a huge fan of Vietnamese food in general, I've never tried anything here that I didn't like and this is the best Vietnamese restaurant I've ever been to. Spring rolls, which I'm also not usually a fan of, are perfected here. They're by far the best I've ever had. Also don't leave without desert. You can choose homemade ice cream with flavors like ginger, black sesame and pandan leaf; or there are other things like ginger mousse; my personal favorite is the cognac red banana cake. This place is one of the very best deals you can find in Seattle, entrees usually around 7 or 8 dollars even though they should be charging like the Wild Ginger. This place has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years so make reservations during the dinner rush. If you think there could be a wait, there probably is.

Malay Satay Hut (their site is screwy, no link) -- My personal favorite. I took a family member here once and she said it was the best meal she ever had. While the roots of the dishes are obviously from Malaysia, the place houses influences from the Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, and the Pacific Islands and fuse multiple innovative flavors into their dishes. I always order the Roti Canai for an appetizer, a flat, pancake-like bread  similar to naan from Indian cuisine that goes with a potato curry dip. First timers should always try the Mango Shrimp.

Salumi -- A small deli a stone's throw away from Qwest Field, Salumi's is the best Italian deli you'll find outside Chicago. Pricey for a deli, with sandwiches around 15 bucks, but the meat is the cream of the crop. You can have something common at most delis, or you can be adventurous and go with an ox tail sandwich (delicious, by the way). I haven't been in years, but it's the best in the city and awesome bang for your buck, especially if you're on your way to a game and willing to shell out the cash for stadium food.

...?

Via Rotoworld: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&hl=226988&id=3449
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WFAN radio in New York reports that "there's news floating around that the Mets are close on Erik Bedard." The Bedard rumors have picked up steam since he reportedly told the Orioles that he's not interested in working out a long-term contract extension. There's some speculation that the Orioles could ask the Mets to take Miguel Tejada and his contract back in a Bedard trade, but it's unclear where Tejada would play in New York. It remains to be seen if the Mets have the pieces to pull off a trade for Bedard even after dealing Lastings Milledge."
_____________

Welp, so much for that pipedream.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/sports/baseball/14mets.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

Well, it's safe to say the Posada contract is no longer the worst for a New York catcher this offseason.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txyankeesrodriguez&prov=st&type=lgns

I'm only surprised by how many years, but I think we all knew he'd get 30 mil a year if he opted out. Of course, this source comes from a New York media outlet and we all know how the credibility of sports news that comes out of there.

As said in the piece, it would be very illegal to be talking figures about a future deal when he's already under contract. But can you imagine the kind of numbers A-Rod can put up in the NL? He could threaten 60 homers on an annual basis.

Unless someone would like to point me to an existing thread being sued as the game thread, I thought I'd start one myself. It's on ESPN2 right now, Halos up 3-1, Top 3rd.

GO YANKEES!!!!

Check it out.

That might be the craziest thing I've ever seen on a pitcher's mound. Did you check the size of that "curve ball"? (hehehe)

That takes some serious talent right there... Or lack of pitching talent?... You decide.        

I've always wanted an autograph from Junior, and after hearing about the 1,000 balls with the special "Griffey Returns" emblem, I've decided I'm gonna buy one. But now I'm thinking about buying two, and turning around and selling one of them on ebay for profit. Now I've collected baseball memorabilia since I was a kid, but I've never actually sold anything before.

Does anybody who has experience in trading memorabilia think that they'll fetch a higher price online for those who missed out on it since these are limited edition? Or do you think they'll just be seen by buyers as an ordinary autographed baseball and I won't get anybody to buy it for more than face price?

Thanks for any feedback, guys.