Morning Extras: Whose Density Destiny Will It Be?

Three games left. The Phillies are up by one game. They had their chances to put this away during the week. They didn't. They looked to be in great shape last night when the Mets took out Pedro Martinez to let Ricardo Rincon do the honors of imploding.

But the Mets did the inexplicable. They came back. Those bastards fought back and won. In dramatic fashion. So did the Brewers, with of all things, a walk-off grand slam.

But really, none of that matters, Phillies. You are in first place. You have three games left and an unimpeded view of the Division title. It's your density destiny. Now order up a milk..."chocolate"...and finish what you came here to do...win these games.

BASEBALL LINKS:

• We've already linked to the Mets and Brewers dramatic victories. Rich Hofmann suggests that Sweet Lou gave that game to the Mets last night. Integrity, inschmegrity.

• My man John Gonzalez says that nothing is ever easy for the Fightin' Phils.

Back in the early '80s, we traded Easy to the West Coast in exchange for Insecurity and some Anxiety to be named later. Easy? Here, our weekend forecast unfortunately calls for thunderstorms, and our bomb squads moonlight as concessionaires.

• The Dodgers can rest now. Grampy Joe got them in the playoffs with a few games to spare. And they didn't even have to play.

FOOTBALL LINKS:

• Peter King has his picks out for the weekend. Birds fans will not like this. Oh, and 0-3 Browns at 0-3 Bengals? How do more people in Ohio not commit suicide? Oh yeah, they're all Ohio State fans...or and on meth.

• My entire life, people have called me Dave. I'm happy to see I'm not the only one. Oh, and while you're here, Steinz has the Vegas Power Rankings for the week.

• Each week, Emilio Garcia Ruiz redrafts the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft based on the year's performance and needs for each team. Interesting idea. Right now, he has DeSean Jackson going seventh to New Orleans. Looks like one hell of a steal, Eagles fans.

• The Mighty MJD has a new podcast, talking NFL. It's called On the Corner, you know, as a play on the name of his blog, Shutdown Corner. If they shorten 'corner' to anything involving two letters (like for example a D and an L), I'm going after them. For now, enjoy. For now.... (MOTTRAMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!)

• USC lost to Oregon State. I'll spare you the Beavers overpower Trojans joke, basically because I can't think of a good one. Mark Schlabach says this opens the door for the other major conferences. Or a playoff, right? One loss on the road and their done? Stupid college football.

• I don't like Penn State, but this headline made me giggle.

BASKETBALL LINKS:

• HHR has a link to an LA Times article about Sun Yue. Obviously the original headline said "Sue Yue" which was the genesis of their joke. But the beauty of the internet is that mistakes can be corrected without a trace. The reason for linking...the best Jerky Boys clip of all time.

"Is it possible in any way then to sue you people?"

• Cavs owner Dan Gilbert says that media speculation that LeBron James may leave Cleveland is an insult...to corn-fed yokels everywhere.

"It's kind of an insult to the city of Cleveland in my opinion -- an insult to the Midwest."

RANDOM LINKS:

• Michael Phelps is a dick. Dan LeBatard knows that, and tried to get it out of him. Michael Phelps is also very dumb, and didn't understand what LeBatard was asking, making the awkwardness of his interview hilarious.

• Anthony Kim is a good young golfer. And after last week, he's an American hero around the greens.

• I'm toggling tonight between the Phils and the debate. Wait, they STILL don't know if there's a debate? Shouldn't Obama just show up for a two-hour informercial? Doesn't McCain have to show up? This is crazy.

• Speaking of crazy....we have no money, and the people in charge of saving us sit around a giant table in suits with media and photographers watching. Here's a suggestion....put on a comfortable pair of slacks, some sensible shoes, a causal top and GET TO FUCKING WORK. How the hell this turned into a photo-op is beyond me. Fix our finances, not your legacies.

• On a lighter note...these guys are just funny.

Comments

[millertime]

on a lighter note, 'sunny' was great last night. charlie day is my idol.

[Gerry]

Did anyone see how the Mets scored the tieing run last night? The throw at home beat him by 3 strides!

[river327]

Why don't the Mets make like a tree, and get out of here?

[GreggyD]

I'm glad that Michael Phelps called him an idiot, because I think that everytime I see his face on PTI. He's worse than Jay Mariotti and Tony Kornheiser combined.

[Loqiel]

A couple things:

1. If you want something done right, like clinching the NL East, you have to do it yourself.

2. Penn State smoked Oregon State. Oregon State beat USC. I'm just sayin'.

3. Sweet Lou sat Lee, Soriano and Ramirez, along with using a couple groundskeepers and a parking lot attendant for his bullpen, so yes, he handed that game to the Mets very much.

4. Going along with number 3, there was an interesting article on CNNSI yesterday which included interviews with multiple NL scouts who said they would ADORE facing the Mets in the playoffs due to their bullpen. Take that for what you will. Again, I'm just sayin'.

[Bud]

How was Church not out of the baseline last night? He was on the grass at one point and he ran around the batter's box!
I feel like every Mets series the umps make some insane call that directly results in Mets runs.

[Peter Andre]

i like this blog as it is very informative and straight forward.

[Scott B]

@Gerry and @ bud.

im not going to complain about church running out of teh base path but how the fuck do you not tag him. catcher practically could have got the ball, stood up, walked to him and tagged. i knew the fucking mets were going to win after that. fuckers!

its only 9:37am. lets speed up this day and get to baseball.

[Not a fan of five]

I think we're actually 1.21 Games ahead.

[John]

don't j on your b's

[Kulp]

USC is not done. The chances of two BCS teams standing undefeated at the end of the season are still slim. If they finish 11-1, there's a good chance USC plays for the "National Championship."

But yeah, it's pretty much bullshit.

[Chris]

While I love the political analysis from DL, I gotta say the Phils are the most pressing thing on TV tonight. Phuck the debate!

We need a strong showing from gramps tonight and a little help from Mother Nature.

Go Phils!

[chez bippy]

I blame this on all you assholes jinxing the phillies by saying the phillies would win the division and they have their tickets to the nlds yadi yadi yada. SHUT THE FUCK UP UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY WIN.

[johndewar]

GREENMAN!

[will]

phils take the east like a bolt of lighting.

a bolt of lightning

[D27]

Mr. Levy, I too suffer from the Dave/Dan affliction. When I was interning for SportsNet I always saw this guy but didn't know his name so finally introduce myself (after MONTHS). Next day at the office, -"How's it going, Bob?"
-"Hey Dave."

[jd]

who would you rather be right now?
philly-up by one game, heading into a 3 game series with the nats. in two of the games, philly is starting hamels and moyer. philly clinched against this team last year.

the mets: one game behind with an exhausted bullpenn. the fish erased their playoff hopes last year, and would love to ruin it again.

i'd rather be in philly's shoes. let's relax and see what happens tonight.

[gerry]

@ Scott B

Tonight would be the most painful rain delay ever.

[river327]

All I know is that I'd love to see a rerun of that celebration on the field at CBP last year, like tomorrow instead of Sunday.

What's a rerun?

[will]

Phils better buckle down and take all three as if they want to earn their road to the playoffs. Clay Condrey will hit Lastings Millege in the throat.

parents are probably morons too.

[Scott B]

@gerry

How is the weather down there?

been raining in nyc all day. not hard, just the annoying light stuff. i can see the mets game happening as of 2:44.

mets fans are fucking annoying. wish i could wear a phils hat in the office all day.

[Gary]

Referring to the Mets as "those bastards" is quite inappropriate. As a Philadelphia fan you embarass me. Bashing is never needed, how about we just let the play on the field do the talking?