Aug. 24

Lawyers in love
Here's an epistle from an unattached observer of baseball:

"Interesting piece on Donald Fehr in the Times this morning. I realized a lot about what is wrong with our society when I read that. He is a virtuous guy, doing his job very well, and yet he is probably the single most destructive force in baseball today. What is missing is a value system that rewards not the absolute pursuit of individual or partisan objectives, but the compassionate pursuit of those objectives while remaining respectful of the greater good.

Fehr has no compunctions about gutting the game of baseball as long as he does the best job he can for his clients. And he is right in doing that, according to our current system of rewards, punishments and market-driven Darwinism. But if Fehr was rewarded both for his work on behalf of his clients and on behalf of the game itself, wouldn't it be a better system overall?

Can you picture a judiciary that rewarded attorneys for serving both their clients and the greater good of society? Or a business marketplace that rewarded each company's contribution to the GNP? Idealistic, yes, but baseball may provide us with a path to that ideal. Who knows? ..."

Crossing muddy river
How players who were traded to pennant-contending teams have performed for their new teams heading into this weekend:

Cincinnati
Brian Moehler 2-3, 6.25
Ryan Dempster 2-4, 8.78
Shawn Estes 0-0, 1.17
Russell Branyan .260-9-22

Montreal
Bartolo Colon 6-2, 2.76

St. Louis
Chuck Finley 4-3, 3.92
Scott Rolen .268-2-16

Arizona
Mike Fetters 2-0, 1.92

Los Angeles
Paul Shuey 2-2, 6.94, one save
Tyler Houston .232-1-19

San Francisco
Kenny Lofton .217-1-2

New York Yankees
Raul Mondesi .232-8-24
Jeff Weaver 1-3, 6.08

Boston
Bob Howry 1-1, 1.86
Alan Embree 0-1, 2.55
Cliff Floyd .333-4-4

Seattle
Ismael Valdes 1-0, 2.70

Anaheim
Alex Ochoa .242-0-2

Oakland
Ted Lilly 1-0, 3.27
Ricardo Rincon 0-0, 1.13
Ray Durham .241-1-6
John Mabry .300-6-26

The Bells of Rhymey
From Friday night's "Late Night With David Letterman"
Top 10 complaints of the average baseball player

10. Medical plan does not cover cryogenics
9. It's the grueling three-hour work day
8. Beer vendor seldom makes it to the dugout
7. Being called "out" is a crippling blow to one's self esteem
6. A certain percentage of us have to play for the Devil Rays
5. Mitt hand doesn't get any sun
4. It's 2002 and we still have to endure tiresome "We Will Rock You"
3. When a beach ball comes on the field, we want to keep it
2. People think strike is about money, when it's actually about a boatload of money
1. I think Mike Piazza's checking me out

Sheltering sky
Best new music suggestion: Kay Hanley's "Cherry Marmalade," which should prove to a broader audience what her loyalists ardently believe, that she is a giant. Click here to check out Hanley's web site.

World's apart
Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux are a combined 413-214 as members of the Braves. Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were a combined 374-253 as members of the Dodgers.

Panic
White Sox starters other than Mark Buehrle entered the weekend a combined 27-45, 5.84.

The dark side of the moon
Amidst criticism, some veiled and some public, of Larry Bowa, several players loyal to the Phillies manager have taken to wearing black t-shirts underneath their uniforms and call themselves, "The Dark Side."

Missed again
Russell Branyan hit three home runs on Aug. 4 against San Diego. Since then, he's 0-for-22 with 13 strikeouts.