half the crowd [of 11,962] was gone

Was this number inflated by no-shows or were there actually about 12,000 people at the park?

Within 15 minutes, only the janitors remained, and the decibel level of their cleaning machines topped that of the game.

That's killer material.

"Was this number inflated by no-shows or were there actually about 12,000 people at the park?"

I think that's probably an honest 12k.

As the anticipation of whether or not the Bucs manage to pull off a 15th straight losing season is killing me, I'd like for them to prolong my enjoyment of the chase until Friday.

Not wanting to hijack this too badly (I mean, it deals with the Brewers, who're the Pirates opponent tonight)...love Friday's Brewers/Reds matchup. Ben Sheets versus The Worst Pitcher in the History of the Universe.™ Phil Dumatrait is a total joke even by Red standards.

Wow, Dumatrit's line is amazing. 2.89 base runners an inning, a .75 K/BB ratio, a home run allowed every 3 innings, an average of 3 innings per start, the opposition hitting 448/510/782 against him...

BTW, Nate Mclouth is having an absolute monster couple of months. I've been a huge fan of his for a number of years and I'm psyched that he's getting an opportunity to shine.

I suppose we can be grateful that McLouth wasn't the one traded for Matt Morris.

Who knows what would have happened without Duffy's injury.

Who knows what would have happened without Duffy's injury.

No kidding. The Morris trade is a real disaster at this point... it's a deal that made very little sense at the time and has worked out as badly for DL as it possibly could have.

"BTW, Nate Mclouth is having an absolute monster couple of months. I've been a huge fan of his for a number of years and I'm psyched that he's getting an opportunity to shine."

I never stopped liking Nate on a personal level, but I jumped off the bandwagon analytically at exactly the wrong time. Good for him.

Vancouver Canucks of 1976-91 each went 15.

That second stretch of 1996-2001 was awesome too. Capped by a playoff appearence ended by a 60 footer. YEAAGGHHHH!!!

I was at a Bucs game in mid July--McLouth hit what was (I think) his second homer of the year. I was amazed to turn on the GameDay the other day and see he was at 11.

Aside from the unbelieveable horrificness of Dumatrait's stat line, he also holds the distinction of being the only pitcher in history to allow back-to-back-to-back homers to begin a home start.

the opposition hitting 448/510/782 against him...

So basically, you can't even say "The average player hits like Great Player X against him," because no hitter in history has ever hit that well. Well, OK, Bonds has exceeded that OPS, but not with anything close to that batting average.

The Flames 90s, early 2000s drought was pretty bad too

Although they had a happier ending to theirs

Was that one of the funnest series ever or what?
Game 6 in 2004 was ridiculous
I literally felt sick to my stomach when Brendan Morrisson scored and I'm not even a Flames fan!

The Brewers had a fourteen season streak of no winning seasons from 1993 to 2006, although they did have one 81-81 season in there. So basically, they were one win away from having fourteen straight losing seasons.

And its not too late for them to have a losing season this year.

Game 6 in 2004

I still remember Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final that OT goal by St. Louis. You think Grapes has gone senile about 25 years ago, but then he makes a great pickup on the St. Louis goal - Cullimore makes a GREAT pick (totally illegal but awesome) on the Flames Forward, they can't get the puck out of the zone, and St. Louis scores.

retro:

What I find astonishing is that the Reds are sending him out there even though he gave up 3 straight homers to begin Sunday's game AGAINST MILWAUKEE and the Brewers KILL lefties.

Slugging percentages by some Brewer regulars against left-handed pitchers:

Corey Hart .623

Fielder .517

Hardy .574

Braun .949(!!!!)

And Rickie Weeks is hitting over .300 since getting recalled. He SMOKED this kid's pitch into the left-centerfield seats about 420 feet.

This is crazy................

I'm pretty excited...
Is there a better time than the Fall?

Baseball playoffs start
And the Leafs still have a chance at the playoffs!

Actually I never get to look forward to hockey starting. I'm so focused on baseball until the World Series ends I don't even notice until November

I take it you're a Canucks fan by the way

Who do you hate more? Edmonton or Calgary?

As someone who grew up in Toronto and lives in Saskatchewan I have a pretty good handle on what all Canadian teams' fans usually cheer for
But Canucks fans are the one breed I've never really met

Who do you hate more? Edmonton or Calgary?

Colorado

That's what you call a correct answer!

What I find astonishing is that the Reds are sending him out there even though he gave up 3 straight homers to begin Sunday's game AGAINST MILWAUKEE and the Brewers KILL lefties.

Yeah, and it's in Miller Park, where the Brewers are really good. I'm sort of mentally pencilling in about a 13-1 Brewer win for that day.

Then again, do the Reds have a poor history against Sheets? If so, maybe they figure they'll throw Dumatrait out there in a game they don't have much chance to win anyway.

retro:

Ben has pitched 93 innings against the Reds with 99 strikeouts and an ERA around 2.50. So yes, he has pitched well against Cincy.

Still, throwing a lefty who gave up an .838 OPS in Triple A including a .505 slugging percentage to opposing right-handed hitters in the MINORS is just deciding before the game, "Scr*w it". Which if I find surprising. The Reds as an organization have something of a bug up their *ss about Milwaukee as they consider Milwaukee a "lesser city" or some such. The local radio does silly commercials to promote whatever opponent is coming to town but the ones about the Brewers are always highlighting "Fat Fielder" or "Hicks from up north" or "Beer guzzling Brewers" or some such. I wouldn't have believed my relatives if I hadn't heard it myself on the radio driving around town or to and from the airport.

And for those thinking that the radio station is separate from the Reds NOTHING about the Reds happens without the Reds knowing about it. That has always been the case.

That guys like Bill Hall just beat Cincy like a drum drives Marty NUTS. He almost froths at the mouth when discussing how the Reds pitchers can't this guy out when he's hitting (insert average) against the rest of the league followed by a "That's just ridiculous." Now that Milwaukee is in first the commentators are borderline loopy in going after the Reds for letting "those guys" beat them.

It would be funny if it weren't so, well, disturbing...................

Re: #23:

The Reds as an organization have something of a bug up their *ss about Milwaukee as they consider Milwaukee a "lesser city" or some such. The local radio does silly commercials to promote whatever opponent is coming to town but the ones about the Brewers are always highlighting "Fat Fielder" or "Hicks from up north" or "Beer guzzling Brewers" or some such. I wouldn't have believed my relatives if I hadn't heard it myself on the radio driving around town or to and from the airport.

I don't know, Harv, those are mighty tame insults given the kind of things Ratbird, Squealer, Bungle and Clown fans say about each other. The Reds may think those are compliments!

"Hicks from up north"

Boy, that's rich, coming from a city that borders Kentucky and once elected Jerry Springer mayor.

And they put cinnamon in their chili. That should really end the discussion right there.

Brewers fans are hijacking threads now? Wow...

Well, I suppose it was this Cub fan who started it, but, yeah.

retro:

By the way, Dave Bush is helping the Cubs cause giving up two runs and more in the offing.

I don't know, Harv, those are mighty tame insults given the kind of things Ratbird, Squealer, Bungle and Clown fans say about each other.

I was unaware that fans of those teams had evolved to the point of using language.

By the way, Dave Bush is helping the Cubs cause giving up two runs and more in the offing.

I'm heading over to the GameDay. Figure Gorzelanny should have some incentive to pitch well in this game, seeing's how he's a Chicago-area product and all.

And as NTNgod said--a Brewer loss today would be consistent with NL Central Leader Protocol.

Re: #29:

was unaware that fans of those teams had evolved to the point of using language.

Sure have. And for a long time too. It all started when they learned important individual words. For instance,

Steelers fan points to self:

"Beer. Nachos. Kielbasi."

Steelers fan points to a Browns fan:

"Suck."

Once they master the essentials, minimal competence is but a short distance away.

"Once they master the essentials, minimal competence is but a short distance away."

*throws feces*