At least Garret Anderson says the right things:

"If we had two left and were where we were at, I could say, yeah. But I've seen too many crazy things happen. It's not over by any means. There's a lot of baseball left."

I'd prefer Orlando keep such comments private and just let the Angels play on the field do the talking.

Considering they have back to back series coming up with Detroit and New York, in a way, Cabrera's right. Still, he should probably have kept his mouth shut. The Angels are quite capable of being very crappy over their next ten games.

Not familiar with 95 huh OC?

(1) Don't rile up the team chasing you.
(2) That said, O-Cab is right.

How does a team's approach change if it's focusing on the wild card rather than on the division title?

Eff the wild card - the Mariners should focus more on not giving Jose Guillen an extension!

I wish he hadn't said it, because that type of comment always seems to come back and kick your a$$, but ... it's over. I'm already calling scalper buddies to let them know to call me when they get playoff tickets in hand.

Eff the wild card - the Mariners should focus more on not giving Jose Guillen an extension!

It's almost September, which means it's time for Jose Guillen to shrivel up and die, or throw a tantrum and get suspended. Cabrera's comments should enrage him, though. Raaawwwrrr!

Slpendid advice that means what? To win the division you try and win games. To win the wild card, you do what differently? If the race is over, it's the Angels that adjust. Cabrera and Vlad take time off. Pitchers skip starts. Then we'll know the race is over.

& who won the NL West?

How does a team's approach change if it's focusing on the wild card rather than on the division title?

The only thing I can think of is to set the rotation to get your best guys starting games against the Yankees rather than the Angels.

Slpendid advice that means what? To win the division you try and win games. To win the wild card, you do what differently?

Come on, "advice" isn't supposed to be taken literally here. OC is certainly not trying to give the Mariners information that they can benefit from. He's removing their dirty diapers and rubbing their noses in it. He's ripping their still beating hearts from their chests just to show it to them.

& who won the NL West?

I'd like to say the Angels will be recognized as the AL West and NL West champions, but thanks to the way they set up interleague play, the only NL west team they beat is the Dodgers.

This is a good thing. The Mariners could use some bulletin board material to motivate them.

It's almost September, which means it's time for Jose Guillen to shrivel up and die, or throw a tantrum and get suspended.

Not until he gets that three-year extension. Resigning him is a controversial subject within the M's community, at least to the guys at USS Mariner, where the two most prominent authors have taken opposite sides. Edit: Now it looks like one of the two has had second thoughts

For me, it isn't so much a question of Guillen's value as it is how he fits into the team picture. If I knew that they'd ditch Richie Sexson and free up his salary, then it all works our well, but otherwise they should look to spend these payroll dollars on starting pitching and give Adam Jones a regular position.

If I knew that they'd ditch Richie Sexson and free up his salary, then it all works our well, but otherwise they should look to spend these payroll dollars on starting pitching and give Adam Jones a regular position.

yes yes yes yes yes yes

Someone book Bavasi a room @ a Holiday Inn ASAP.

For me, it isn't so much a question of Guillen's value as it is how he fits into the team picture. If I knew that they'd ditch Richie Sexson and free up his salary, then it all works our well, but otherwise they should look to spend these payroll dollars on starting pitching and give Adam Jones a regular position.

Which reminds me to ask: What the hell happened to Richie Sexson? He still has one year left on his contract, right, and it's for ... checking ... $14 million. Gah. I'm sure there's some bounce-back in him, but I have to imagine Sexson's trade value is not gonna be high. The real choice should be between Guillen and Ibanez, and I know who I'd go with there.

I've gathered--from USS Mariner--that Sexson was actually put on waivers and claimed by the Tigers but Seattle took him back. That was probably smart but if they're really signing Guillen to the three-year deal, they need to deal one of Ibanez or Sexson and Richie seems the logical candidate, even though whoever takes him will probably end up with 2006 Sexson and Seattle paying half the cash.

All day long I've been reading this as "Cabrera says Marlins should focus on wild card," which seemed a bit Quixotic but sensible enough.

I heard that Sexson was claimed and piulled back as well, which is why they think they can trade him. I also heard that the Giants were interested. I think he'd do better back in the NL.

Ibanez had one realtively cheap year left on his contract, something like $6 milion.

Kids, here's what OCab actually said:

"I think," Cabrera said, "this series probably put in their head they need to be worried about the wild card and not the division."

Cabrera's no Jose Guillen. He's not saying the Angels have won the division and that the Mariners should concede defeat. He's saying that it's likely the players are thinking Wild Card. Big difference.

Ibanez had one realtively cheap year left on his contract, something like $6 milion.

Yeah, but that's about $5.5 million more than what Adam Jones is going to make. I'm more confident that Sexson has a +120 OPS next season than Ibanez putting up even a +100.

Maybe the guy who needs to go is Jose Vidro?

Maybe the guy who needs to go is Jose Vidro?

If he finishes the season hitting over .300, they should trade him. Sell high. You know he's going to drop back down to a 95-ish OPS+ hitter next year.

The N.L. West race is officially over!

Good indicator of how closely Jim follows baseball on the left side of the country.