Two For One

I returned from dinner in the suburbs and turned the Cubs game on in the 6th. I had a feeling it would be a long, three-up-three-down night after Murton tied it in the 9th, and I was right. By the 12th, I fiddled with all-star batting orders and pitching staffs to pass the time.

There are admittedly flaws here. These guys are not necessarily the best players at their listed positions--for example, Beltran is a better hitter than Taveras but Taveras has, in my estimation, a slightly more lethal arm and seems to cover a much larger outfield with more effectiveness. One or two might not play all that much at their listed position--the DH/1B thing aside, Young moved back to second after Soriano was traded but he's still currently the best healthy second baseman in the AL, in the way that Michael Jordan was the best basketball player in the world during his short-lived retirement. As far as the bullpen combos go, these are the pairs of teammates I would most love to call in with a really tight lead and the bases loaded late in the game. Also, I didn't include any players who are currently on the disabled list for a really big injury, but maybe I did if they are just pitchers who need to skip a couple starts for some rest.

So here are the two teams I would love to run out there as of this very moment--August 15th at 10:15 pm--for the purpose of destroying each other in a best-of-three series that starts tomorrow afternoon:


National League

SS: Jose Reyes, Mets, Switch
LF: Alfonso Soriano, Nats, Right
DH: Albert Pujols, Cards, Right
RF: Lance Berkman, Astros, Switch
3B: Scott Rolen, Cards, Right
1B: Ryan Howard, Phils, Right
C: Michael Barrett, Cubs, Right
2B: Chase Utley, Phillies, Left
CF: Wily Taveras, Astros, Right

SP: Carlos Zambrano, Cubs, Right
SP: Roy Oswalt, Astros, Right
SP: Brad Penny, Dodgers, Right
SP: Dontrelle Willis, Marlins, Left
SP: Brandon Webb, Dbacks, Right
SU: Cubs: Scott Eyre, Left & Bob Howry, Right
CP: Billy Wagner, Mets


American League

2B: Michael Young, Rangers, Right
SS: Derek Jeter, Yanks, Right
1B: David Ortiz, Red Sox, Left
LF: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, Right
DH: Jim Thome, White Sox, Left
3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yanks, Right
RF: Jermaine Dye, White Sox, Right
CF: Vernon Wells, Jays, Right
C: Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers, Right

SP: Curt Schilling, Red Sox, Right
SP: Johann Santana, Twins, Left
SP: Roy Halladay, Jays, Right
SP: Justin Verlander, Tigers, Left
SP: Jose Contreras, White Sox, Right
SU: Tigers: Ricky Ledezma, Left & Cesar Rodney, Right
CP: Mariano Rivera, Yanks, Right

In the bottom of the 15th, I decided that the American team would likely beat the National boys but that it would definitely be a great series. In the top of the 18th, Murton finally broke up the tie with a two-run single, and Rich Hill retired the Astros in order. By that point, the Cubs had used all players on their 25-man roster, and Houston used everybody except for their four other starters.

5 hours and 36 minutes. 542 pitches. It was the longest game ever at Minute Maid Park (nee Enron Field, lest we forget recent history). Two full games for the bounty of one. Free baseball is the best.

I clicked off the post-game show and scratched my head. Thought about packing for Dahlgren's wedding this weekend but decided to put it off until tomorrow. Read about the Roman Empire for a while and fell asleep on the couch with all the lights on.

Who doesn't love slow summer nights?