Game 3 - An Obstruction of Justice?

Boston's Jake Peavy struggled in the first inning. Everything he threw seemed to be over the plate. He may have been fortunate to get out of the inning only giving up two runs. Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina grabbed the two RBIs that inning.

In the fourth, Peavy had loaded the bases with no one out. Pete Kozma, who has been having a nightmarish World Series came to the plate in hope of redeeming himself. Instead, he struck out looking. The pitcher Joe Kelly popped out next and then so did Matt Carpenter.

After Xander Bogaerts tripled off of Kelly in the fifth, he scored on a ground out. In the top of the sixth, Daniel Nava knocked in Shane Victorino to tie the game at two.

Craig Breslow let two men on in the seventh, even though one reached on a dribbler and the other reached on a dubious hit by pitch. Junichi Tazawa gave up the go-ahead single to Matt Holliday which plated two Cards.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell can be questioned for pinch hitting for Felix Doubrant in the seventh with none on and two out. Doubrant had pitched two dominating innings and the Sox didn't have much going offensively in the inning. The top of the order was due up in the top of the eighth and perhaps it would have made more sense to save Gomes for later. That became especially true when relief pitcher Brandon Workman made his major league debut at the plate in the ninth.

Carlos Martinez gave up two runs in the eighth when Nava hit into a ground out and when Bogaerts singled. The game was tied at four heading into the ninth.

With runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, Workman faced John Jay. Jay grounded to second when Dustin Pedroia snatched the ball and fired home. Yadier Molina was out. Then, catcher Jared Saltalamacchia fired down to the third. Will Middlebrooks couldn't get the ball. He was positioned about a foot away from third place in fair territory. When the runner, Allen Craig tried to scamper home, Middlebrooks lifted his legs. Though Craig was gunned out at home, obstruction was called.

The Cardinals won 5-4 in walk off fashion in one of the most bizarre endings to a World Series game. St. Louis is now up 2-1 in the series.

Game 2 - Cards Tie it Up

After a pitchers' duel between Michael Wacha of St. Louis and Jon Lackey of Boston through the first three innings, Matt Holliday tripled to lead off the fourth and later scored. A David Ortiz two-run homer int he sixth gave the Sox the lead.

Only Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia have been hitting well for the Sox thus far in the World Series, despite the eight run outburst in Game 1. As it would turn out, the two runs off of Ortiz's bat weren't enough for Boston to win.

An errant throw the next half inning by Boston's Craig Breslow began a chain that would allow three Cardinal runners to cross the plate in the top of the 7th. Carlos Beltran, playing in spite of aching ribs, went 2 for 4 with an RBI. After two strong innings by Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal got the save. The Cardnials won 4-2 to tie the series at one.

Game 1 - Sox Blowout Cards

In the first inning, Pete Kozma wasn't able to grab a throw headed towards him, but umpire Dana DeMuth incorrectly called the Dustin Pedroia out. Manager John Farrell raced out to argue and asked DeMuth to get help from his fellow umpire. DeMuth demurred and the call was reversed. That gave the Sox the bases loaded. Mike Napoli cleared the bases with a three-run double.

Things got worse for the Cardinals in the second. Pitcher Adam Wainwright spaced on a little pop up right to him. Kozma committed another error. And though Carlos Beltran saved a David Ortiz grand slam with a catch near the wall in right, he hurt his ribs crashing into the padding and left the game.

Up 5-0 in the second, Jon Lester pitched into the eighth giving up no runs, five hits, and striking out 8. Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the seventh and the Sox added one more in eighth to win 8-1.

2013 MLB Playoff Precitions

NL
Reds over Pirates

Dodgers over Braves
Reds over Cardinals

Dodgers over Reds

AL
Tampa Bay over Cleveland

Detroit over Oakland
Boston over Tampa Bay

Detroit over Boston

World Series
Detroit over Dodgers

The 2013 Nats

Many believe this season was disappointing for the Nats. But the Nats finished ten games over .500. Only ten teams make the playoffs, including the bizarre play-in game in each league. The problem for the Nats this season was inconsistent hitting. It wasn't until August that the Nats' bats woke up. The pitching was great all season long.

Stephen Strasburg was victimized by bad luck. His record was 8-9, but his ERA was 3.00, the best of any Nat who started ten or more games. He also led the starters in WHIP. Jordan Zimmermann went 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA. Gio Gonzalez didn't have as good of a year as 2012, but with a 11-8 record and a 3.36 ERA.

After the big three, the Nats didn't have a consistent starter. Dan Haren shook off a bad start and was very effective in spurts, but his final numbers were less than stellar at 10-14 with a 4.67 ERA. Ross Detwiler, who pitched masterfully int he playoffs last season, struggled. He was 2-7 with 4.04 ERA in 13 starts. Taylor Jordan, Tanner Roark, and Ross Ohlendorf were the other notable starters. Jordan's ERA was an impressive 3.66 nine starts when he was shut down. Roark showed he knows how to pitch. Vulturing a few wins when he was first called up as a reliever. He had only one bad game in posting a 7-1 record and a 1.51 record.

The bullpen was mostly strong, but was not as good as lack year. The Nats missed left-hander Sean Burnett. Washington hoped Rafael Soriano would add depth to the pen. He had 43 saves and 3.11 ERA. But he blew a couple of important games in August by allowing three-run homers. Tyler Clippard was good, but not as dominant as last season. He was 6-3 with a 2.41 ERA. Crag Stammen was effective, which was needed because Drew Storen had some trouble coming back from his heartbreaking loss in Game 5 in 2012.

Offensively, Jayson Werth led the way with .318 average and .931 OPS. Injured for much of the first half, he played in only 129 games. He nailed 25 homers and 82 RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman had his usual year, although he had fewer RBIs than normal with only 79. He went on a power surge out of the number 2 spot int he order in August and finished with 26. All Star Bryce Harper didn't put up eye popping numbers, but he cleared the 20 homer mark and his OPS was .854. Ian Desmond cooled off late, but had another 20-20 year.

New acquisition Denard Span struggled to hit early, but became more aggressive late. A 29-game hitting streak helped raise his average to .279. Wilson Ramos was given a vote of confidence when Kurt Suzuki was traded. Ramos, who is great at calling a game, in 78 games, he hit 16 homer with 59 RBIs. He hit .272, impressive for a catcher. Danny Espinosa was ineffective and sent down tot he minors where he struggled. In his place, rookie Anthony Rendon thrives for much fo the season, but he didn't hit as well later int he season. Steve Lombardozzi, who played in more games but had fewer at bats than Rendon. had the opposite season.

Adam LaRoche struggled hitting at first, but was his usual strong defensive first baseman. He likely won't win a second Gold Glove award, but Span, a centerfielder, should. He rarely took a false step and read balls off the bat excellently. he also added a few amazing catches.

While the starting hitters were inconsistent, but the bench was subpar.Chad Tracy, Tyler Moore, and Scott Hairston barely cracked the Mendoza line. Roger Bernadina didn't and he was shipped to Philadelphia.

The Nats got hot in mid August and made a valiant run at the second Wild Card. But with a seven days to go int he season, a loss to St. Louis sealed their fate. Still, the Nats had only their second winning season in team history. Outgoing manager Davey Johnson was at the helm for both of them.

Bills are 2-2

The Bills beat the defending champion Baltimore Ravens today. E.J. Manuel has shown a lot of promise in his four games in the NFL.

Manuel is a very accurate passer with a good arm. One issue he has is a mild case of Rob Johnson's disease. For those who don;t know, that means Manuel holds the ball too long and gets sacked too often. He also needs to learn to vary the speed on his passed. Twice in recent weeks, he gunned a fastball at a receiver who was too close to him. One resulted in an interception.

But Manuel does his best to take care of the ball and isn't too antsy to flee the pocket when a receiver isn't open right away. He doesn't try to force things either. So far, I like Manuel's progression. It helps that he has a good, albeit injured, defense and a strong running game.

Another Obnoxious Pound-for-Pound List

Here is the updated version of my obnoxiously unnecessary and utterly superfluous list of the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers. The previous list was posted on June 24.

1) Floyd Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs), [Previous Rank: 1]
2) Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs), [PR: 2]
3) Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KOs), [PR: 6]
4) Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KOs), [PR: 3]
5) Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs), [PR: 4]
6) Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs), [PR: 5]
7) Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), [PR: 7]
8) Danny Garcia (27-0, 16 KOs), [PR: NR]
9) Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KOs), [PR: 9]
10) Timothy Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs), [PR: 10]

Exiting the list::
Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs), [PR: 8]

Twelve years ago, ruthless men used airplanes as killing devices to extinguish the lives of thousands of people. In Syria this year, ruthless men reportedly used chemical weapons to murder hundreds of people.

And yet, some of us seem to have learned very little in the past twelve years. We seek a violent vengeance that continues the cycle of horrific killing. There are few who can rightfully claim that Iraq and Afghanistan are better places than before the U.S. invasion. And how many can claim that U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia have made them safer?

We seek peace with war, but war isn't linear, it's Newtonian. For every violent action, there is a violent reaction. Only a great power such as the United States can break this heinous cycle. And it must begin with Syria.

The deaths of countless Syrians is depressing. We must keep those alive and those dead in our hearts and in our thoughts. But adding to the violence won't ease their lives. Recently a proposal accidentally fell on the table. If Syria gives up their chemical weapons, they assert, then the U.S. strike should be called off. It's win-win. We avoid joining the killing of more Syrians and those still fighting will have less potent weapons at their disposal. it doesn't achieve the goal of peace, but it doesn't had to the hell of war.

The goal must be to avoid the pain the loved ones of those who perished felt when they learned they would never again see their mother or their father or their spouse or their child or their friend again. We can not achieve that goal by creating that pain for a new group of loved ones.

The Trip to San Francisco

When people tell you that San Francisco is hilly, they're not lying. When they tell you it's nice, they're leaving out the garbage and graffiti in the downtown area. We walked to Golden Gate Park, which was no stroll in the park. We passed something called Japantown and many churches. The park was filled with attractions, but we only saw the flower conservatory. I sat next to a couple that was in their 50s or 60s that had an insult for nearly everyone who walked by them. Except, the woman, who looked like a typical Midwestern housewife said as two 20-something girls passed by, "Hi girls. Who are those pretty girls? Let's chase them."

Then we tried to walk up to the Golden Gate Bridge which turned out to be a difficult proposition. From there we were, the highway was the most direct way to the bridge, but since we were walking, that wouldn't work.

We walked through a windy trail. A friendly construction worker helped us out and told where to go. But my girlfriend's electric wheelchair began to ran out of power. So we found ashed by a gold course and spent a half hour charging the chair. After some arguing about which direction to go and a policeman who stopped and tried to help us find the bridge, we made it... just as the fog rolled in.

The height of the bridge still scared the hell out of me. The fog was so thick, you couldn't even see the structure above the bridge. We finally got off and then made our way back to we had no idea where. On the way, we walked in between a heated argument between two bicyclists. One muscular man kept cussing out the other bearded man. The muscular man had a lot of bluster, but a small woman easily held him back from engaging in fisticuffs.

"I Have A Dream" Speech 50 Years On

It has been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his vision of America's promise. The speech attempted to convince a nation that its treatment of a large segment of its population dishonored the country's stated creed.

But in the five subsequent decades, one line has taken prominence over any other enunciated on that day. King explained, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." That line has constantly been taken out of context to claim that King favored a colorblind society.

And perhaps he did.

But he only advocated for a colorblind nation after the grievances, accumulated over hundreds of years, of black folks have been addressed. As a result of historical prejudice, black Americans face socio-economic inequalities, enjoy fewer chances for advancement, and their lives are deemed less valuable. Black men are treated with mistrust and fear, while black women suffer from the duel hardship of racism and feminism.

Dr. King's dream has not been realized because a black boy can be murdered and his assailant can go free. Dr. King's dream has not been realized because black people are disproportionately more likely to go to prison than any other group. Dr. King's dream has not been realized because race is an important factor in how long we live, how much money we'll make, and what opportunities we'll have.

In the next 50 years, I hope we focus on the work that must be done that has kept King's dream from becoming a reality.