A few more chapters to be written in these MLB races...

The stories of this baseball season continue to endure. Nobody wants the NL wild card, whenever the Astros, Marlins, or Phils look ready to take charge, they falter, and when one or more look out on their feet, they rally, as the Phils have done the last week. The Padres simply cannot put the NL West pretenders completely away. If this team was just 75-68 right now, instead of a pathetic 71-72, it would be a comfy 9 games up, and Bochy could start planning his playoff rotation. Instead, they simply can't throw the dirt over the Dodgers, Giants, and even D-backs, and I am a bit worried, because the Dodgers still have a couple with the fading Rocks at home the next few nights, and an upcoming home weekend set with the Pirates, a team they absolutely dominate (29-6 the last 35, I think), plus 3 more in SD, and the Dodgers haven't lost a series yet this season vs. the Padres (10-5 against them). Sadly, the Dodgers are still twitching. The Giants could have buried LA once and for all last week, too, had Benitez not blown that game last Wednesday, but with Barry back (there was a real buzz at SBC again last night, and he nearly hit two balls out), and five or six more vs. the Padres, maybe the Gints still have something to say about this race.

Kevin Towers should be fired for making the Chan Ho Park trade, Nevin (veto clause or not) had to be worth more than the useless Chan Ho, who has only served to deplete Bochy's bullpen in his starts. Park has done more harm than good, and Towers would have been better to get even struggling vets like Eric Milton or Mark Redman, neither having a good year but each surely welcoming a chance to pitch in big Petco instead of the bandboxes they play in right now. Even if Nevin wouldn't go to Cincy or Pitt, Towers must have had some minor leaguer he could have traded instead. The Reds and Bucs would have surely listened. Anybody except Chan Ho Park, who has been a huge liability.

Meanwhile, the AL West continues to be a teeter-totter, these two are going to go down to the last weekend, as will the AL wild card.

Glad at least that ABC took a moment to honor Chris Schenkel at halftime last night. Al Michaels paid him a nice tribute. Too many of the voices of our youth are disappearing...