I would not have cared if the Sox had traded Beckett for crap value in return. I think he’s a turd. As it turns out, it looks like they’re not making any moves. I’m OK with that, too. No sense dealing away young talent for a slim shot at a playoff run this year. Maybe Beckett can show some like today against Detroit.
I have had an automated “Fuck you, Shane Victorino” reaction to the man every time he was on my TV screen. For years and years, now. I don’t even remember why, any longer. Doesn’t matter. He’s a Dodger, now.
As stated in “1984,” I have always loved Shane Victorino.
Reds’ streak ends at 10.
And as a result, the Nats have the best record in MLB right now.
Not saying that’ll survive tonight’s games, but I’m enjoying the moment nonetheless.
And you don’t. There’s no arguing with that either. 
You’ve got a point, although I don’t think the Bullets/Wizards example is a good one to prove it.
Recall that in the years leading up to the change, the ‘Bullets’ moniker wasn’t exactly popular either, so it wasn’t like a lot of people had a strong preference for the old crappy name over the new crappy name. Most people who gave a shit to begin with simply wished the new name hadn’t been as crappy as the old one, albeit in a different way.
Now if the Redskins changed their name, people would still be calling them the Redskins for decades afterwards, regardless of what name The Danny came up with instead.
A better example would be the Utah Jazz, which had been the New Orleans Jazz a couple of stops previously. Utah has about as much to do with jazz as a fish has to do with a bicycle, but I haven’t heard rumors of any mass movement among Utahns to demand a name change.
Awful pitching night. The Reds had the lead then Mike Leake gave up 5 runs, then Simon and Bill Bray combined to give up 6 more. There was something like 9 walks issued by Reds pitchers.
11 runs is the most the Padres have scored since MAY 24th!!!
Ugh. Ah well. Homer Bailey should right the ship tonight. He’s 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA in 5 starts in July.
On the name question: I looked on Wikipedia and I read that the Rangers still own the rights to the Senators name, so they may have wanted money in return for giving that up. For that matter since Washington lost the Senators twice, they may have seen the name as bad luck.
Of course there is something kind of avant garde jazz about that, which is why I like it. If it bugs you that much, there’s this solution: the Jazz could trade their name to New Orleans and become the Hornets (Utah is the beehive state) and both names would make sense. The Lakers could maybe trade their name to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lakers fans don’t seem to care that there aren’t many lakes in southern California either.
I like both ideas.
Perhaps the images in this blog post will refresh your memory. I’d totally forgotten about him; now, the fact that he’s on the Dodgers is just perfect. 
Oh, please. I’ve had to cheer for Jeff Fucking Kent and Gary Sheffield in my day. Victorino’s antics barely register.
I will say, though, that the video of Victorino getting nailed in the side of the head by the return throw made me laugh out loud the day it happened, made me laugh again just now, and I will probably continue to cherish it long after he’s out of a Dodger uniform.
In other news, the Reds just picked up Jonathan Broxton, essentially handing the NL Central to the Pirates! 
And after all the Dodger-Cub talks, the Rangers end up walking away with Ryan Dempster.
What a weird move. The Reds already have a strong bullpen and a dominant closer. What, no left-handed bat could be had? That’s what we needed.
In addition to his behavior on the basepaths, Victorino is (or was) a very good defensive CF with a tendency toward the remarkably dumb play. My favorite is from 2009 at Citi Field, when he let Angel Pagan circle the bases on a ball that was playable but slightly wedged under the outfield wall’s padding, deciding it was a better play to gesture toward the umpire over and over (who stood stonefaced, as I recall) than pick the damn thing up.
Hopefully he can fill 2 subscriptions to his newsletter.
Anyone watching the Pirates/Cubs game? A.J. Burnett has a no-hitter through 7.
Well, he lost the no-hitter in the 8th, but not before plunking Darwin Barney right on the helmet.
The Orioles had a wild one in New York today. The Yankees jumped out to a 5-run lead in the bottom of the first, but the Birds came right back with 7, including a Chris Davis grand slam, in the top of the second. The Yankees didn’t score another run, while Baltimore added 4 more, to win 11-5.
Former Twin Lew Ford, called up by the Orioles a few days ago, got his first major league hit since 2007.
Cue Twilight Zone theme The Mariners have won six games in a row! I can’t remember the last time they did this.
whew
Reds win a close one. Not enamored with the pitching lately…