TIME IS RUNNING SHORT

## We knew the Yanks couldn't win EVERY game, but to lose two in a row is very painful and devastating to the Bombers chances of making the playoffs. In the ups and downs, of the sport, Kuroda, who has been outstanding all year, has hit a slump. Everyone has them, it's just the timing of this one that hurts. Sabathia and Pettitte are showing signs of being effective and Nova looks unhittable now. Phil Hughes, well he's about worn out his life in New York. He can look over-powering until he turns into a batting practice pitcher.
The lineup looks a lot better now, but it's probably too late. Next year might be more of the same iF the team can't get younger and hold on to Cano.

## In a not-so-startling announcement, the Minnesota Twins have said they will not increase ticket prices next year, the third year in a row they have done that. Raising prices would have been a tough sell in any case because of their record over that span.
2013  57-74  on a pace to lose 92 games
2012  66-96
2011  63-99

Of course, a losing record has never been a deterrent for a price increase in Yankee Stadium.

## Johnny Manziel has been suspended by that illustrious body - The NCAA. Since they couldn't find evidence that Manziel accepted payment for autographing paraphernalia, even after 5 hours of grilling him, they suspended him - are you ready? - for the FIRST HALF of Texas A & M's first game. How silly is that? I can't confirm that they also limited him to passes of no more than 20 yards or bootlegs, longer than 5 yards.
When advised of the penalty, Joe Torre was quoted as saying, "Half a game? Yeah, that seems right."

## A couple of articles on ESPN about score-keeping this morning. Most kids that have an interest in baseball learn to keep score. Probably like most kids, I learned how to score from my Dad. Everybody has their own little tweaks, but my Dad's was great because it was simple. He simply recorded the plays and left the rhetoric to the newspapers.
One of the articles dealt with the headaches of being an Official Scorer for MLB. Since the players contracts are affected by the statistics, hits and errors have a major impact on them. As one scorer pointed out, it doesn't matter if you choose a Hit or an Error, somebody is going to be unhappy with you.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Honda has created a new lawnmower that can travel up to 130 mph. That's when you know you take lawn care too seriously -- your mower could finish fourth at Talladega."  -- Brad Dickson
"There’s already criticism of today’s “semi-suspension” of Johnny Manziel. But in the NCAA’s defense, they say if Johnny misbehaves again they’re going to slap his other hand REALLY hard,"  -- Janice Hough
"As the Blue Jays manager John Gibbons joked with  reporters after getting swept by the Yankees: “I’m wondering if, maybe, on our way to Houston, we should stop over in Williamsport. We might be able to at least get a split there. - At least we think he was kidding."  -- Dwight Perry
"It's hot all around the country. It's so hot, NFL players are getting arrested just so they're thrown in the cooler."  -- Brad Dickson
"In NFL preseason action, Detroit routed New England 40-9. Lions haven't looked so confident since they faced the Christians."  -- RJ Currie
"Germany will reportedly allow a third gender (neither male nor female) on birth certificates. Did anyone just think of those East German Olympic women's teams?"  -- RJ Currie

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