I have been negligent in my fantasy duties, so here we go:

3b-  Kevin Youkilis.  The Greek God of walks.  His fantasy numbers don’t jump at you, but if your stuck with Adrian Beltre, Aramis Ramirez, or Brandon Inge, he’s your guy.  Ryan Zimmerman, another nice option.  He’s stepped it up lately

1b- Kendry Morales.  He’s going to be a monster.  If you have room, grab him and stash him.  You won’t be disappointed.

RP-  Although Jose Valverde hasn’t officially lost his job, he’s not available tonight.  Start looking at Brandon Medders or Luis Vizcaino.  Kenny Ray?  Keep watching the Braves situation

2b/ss-  Ian Kinsler-  Get him now!  I may cut Bobby Crosby to do so myself.  Damn that Peter Gammons.  Gammons assured us Crosby would win the MVP this year.  I believed.

SP- Chris Carpenter is heading to the DL.  Anthony Reyes should get some starts.  Nothing rash here, but worth a look see.  Casey Janssen.  3-0 in last 4 starts.  Looks pretty good.  if you’re hurting for pitching, worth a flyer.  El Duque, if you need wins.  His ERA can be shakey but Shea is somewhat safer than Chase.  Jeff Francis, could be the sleeper of the year.

OF-  If you have Joey Gathright, you might want to look at Kenny Lofton,  Gathright’s about to lose his job.  Randy Winn.  Solid.  Better than Granderson.

Well that’s it.  Don’t say i never gave you nothn’

Josh Q. Public:  Louder than a bomb! -Public Enemy

Public Service Announcement:  OK, here we go!  Ted Williams.  You know the numbers.  521 dings.  Lifetime .344.  1,839 RBI’s.  Two Triple Crowns.  All time leader .483 on base percentage.  .634 slugging.  Last player to hit .400.  Unbelievable, right?  Greatest hitter ever, right?  The question remains.  How great would those numbers be if Teddy Ballgame did not sacrifice himself.  Did not sacrifice his baseball legacy.   Did not sacrifice any of that for this country of ours?  What if he did not give up the prime of his baseball life to enlist into the US Navy?  To join World War II?  To reenlist into the Marine Corps?  Semper Fi Do or Die style.  To fly combat missions in Korea?  What if?  I am not here to talk about the what ifs.  I’m here to honor the soldier, the Marine, the bomber pilot.  While men like Barry Bonds squirm over the steroid issue, a man like the Thumper risked his life so men like Barry Bonds can squirm over the steroid issue.  1942.  36 homeruns.  137 RBI’s.  .356 batting average.  Led the league in on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, total bases, walks.  All-Star.  Triple Crown.  The best hitter in baseball.  1943.  WWII.  Enlists in the US Navy to fight the Nazi’s.  Holy smokes!  Who does that?  He could have taken a cushy assignment.  Could have played baseball for the Navy team in Hawaii somewhere.  Nope.  Flight school.  It was discovered Ted had 20/10 vision.  Incredible.  Teddy received his wings and commission in 1944.  Rose to the rank of Captain. 1945.  Williams went through the Corsair Operational Training Unit.  He was awaiting orders when the war ended.  Back to baseball.  MVP after batting crown after All-Star appearance after MVP.  The best hitter in baseball.  Korea.  The Splendid Splinter is recalled into active service.  The Splendid Splinter flew F-9 Panther jets.  The Splendid Splinter flew 37 combat missions.  The Splendid Splinter took enemy fire 3 times.  The Splendid Splinter crash landed his plane and saved his crew.  The Splendid Splinter flew with John Glenn.  John Glenn:  ‘’There was no one more dedicated to this country and more proud to serve his country than Ted Williams.’’   The Splendid Splinter received an Air Medal and two Gold Stars for his service.   The Splendid Splinter:  ‘’I was no hero. There were nearly 75 pilots in our squadrons, and 99 percent of them did a better job than I did.’’ The Kid went back to baseball at 35.  Played 7 more seasons.  1957 at age 38 may have been his best.  Williams led the league with a .388 batting average. He hit 38 dings.  It has been estimated that Ted lost 561 hits, 103 bombs, and 382 RBI during his first stint in the service.  So today, Memorial Day, with all this talk about steroids and asterisks,  I ask, what about war heroes and asterisks? 

The Public at Large:

I’d like to take this opportunity to honor all those who fought so heroically to defend our country all over the world.  Here are just some of those brave men:  

1.  Pat Tillman:  Arizona Cardinals.  Relinquished a multi-million dollar contract to join the Army with the professed goal of making it as a Ranger.  In this era of pampered, million-dollar ballplayers, he was a throwback to an earlier age. 

2.  Bullet Bob Feller:  Became the first major leaguer to volunteer for active duty. Enlisted in the Navy two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Anti-aircraft gunner.  Battleship Alabama.  Fought at Tarawa, Iwo Jima.  Fought in the Marshall Islands.  For his service, he earned five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars.  Despite losing four years to the war, Bullet Bob won 266 games.  Struck out 2,581 batters.  Played 18-years.  Three no-hitters.  A dozen one-hitters. 

3.  Yogi Berra:  Navy. Stationed aboard a rocket launcher off the coast of Normandy Beach just after D-Day.

4.  Hoyt Wilhelm: Pitched his knuckle ball in more than a thousand games.  Became the first closer to enter the Hall.  Earned a Purple Heart in the Battle of the Bulge.

5.  Warren Spahn:  Braves.  Spahn and Sain and pray for rain. Came too close to making the ultimate sacrifice.  Injured during the Remagen Bridge collapse. WWII

6.  Others who served in WWII:  Enos Slaughter, Dizzy Dean, Larry Doby, who fought for America even while America didn’t fight for him.  Gil Hodges, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney

7.  Professional football players answered the call as well.  638 NFL players served in World War II.  355 were commissioned as officers.  66 were decorated.  21 lost their lives.  

8.  Al Blozis:  Offensive tackle for the New York Giants.  Selected by the UPI as one of three outstanding athletes of 1941.  On his first patrol. Less than two months after playing his last  football  game.  Killed in the Vosges Mountains in a skirmish during the Battle of the Bulge.  Lieutenant Alfred Blozis was 26

9.  Vietnam Reserves:  Boston Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg.  New York Mets Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and second baseman Ken Boswell.  New York Knicks stars Cazzie Russell and Bill Bradley. 

10.  Rocky Bleier:  Vietnam.  Helped the Steel Curtain win four Super Bowls.  Drafted into the Army.  Infantryman.  Suffered crippling wounds in both legs.  Hit by enemy rifle fire and shrapnel.  Could barely walk let alone run.  After two agonizing years recovering from his wounds, Rocky went on to a stellar 12-year career in the NFL.

11.  Roger Staubach:  Hall of Fame quarterback.  Dallas Cowboys.  US Naval Academy.  Served in the Vietnam theater of operations. 

12.  Willie Miller: Wide receiver. Played in the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.  Vietnam

13.  Charlie Johnson:  Defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Vietnam.

14.  Bob Kalsu:  He started eight games at guard in 1968.  Buffalo Bills’ top rookie.   Entered the Army to satisfy his ROTC obligation in November of 1969.  Vietnam.  Killed in action on 21 July 1970 at Fire Base Ripcord near the A Shau Valley. 

15.   Al Bumbry:  Baltimore Orioles outfielder.  Vietnam.  Led an infantry platoon.  All of his men made it home

16.  Ed Figueroa:  Pitcher, California Angels and New York Yankees.  Vietnam.

17.  Willie Mays:  The Say Hey Kid.  US Army.  Korean Conflict.

18.  Eddie Grant:  The only major league baseball player to have given his life for his country.  Died in the Argonne Forest on October 5, 1918, fighting in World War I.

19.  Moe Berg: Catcher.  One of America’s most effective spies in World War II.

20.  Lou Brissie:  Pitcher. Indiands and A’s.  Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in Europe.  Nearly lost a leg to a German artillery shell.  After 23 operations and an excruciating rehabilitation, Lou was back pitching in the bigs in 1947.

21.  Al Hrabowski:  The Mad Hungarian.  Relief pitcher.  Served in Vietnam.

22.  David Robinson:  San Antonio Spurs, center.   Attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served a two-year military commitment before joining the NBA. 

23.  Jerry Coleman:  MVP.  2nd baseman.  Yankees.  Marine aviator.  Korea and WWII.

24.  Other ballplayers in the Korean Conflict: Whitey Ford, Don Newcomb, Don Larson, Bobby, Brown, Bob Kennedy, Curt Simmons and Whitey Herzog.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty -John F. Kennedy.  Inaugural Address Washington, D.C. January 20, 1961

These men believed.  Countless others not mentioned did as well.  Heroes all.

Public Spectacle:

Peace out homies. Six Two and Even!

Public Service Announcement:  Ok, here we go.  Let’s just say I was not a believer.  I was not a Dwayne Wade disciple.  Thought he was too much of a chucker.  I was wrong.  Now, count me in with the converted.  After last night, I BELIEVE.  I believe this kid can play.  I believe this kid can lead.  I believe this kid can win.  Last night, like most other nights, nobody could stop him.  The Pistons tried, but D-Wade closed them out,  Jon Papelbon style.  Flash scored 12 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.  1:26 left, Flash earns his nickname, busts free, one, two, dunkaroo.  Two foul shots later, and the game is over.  Dwayne has scored at least 10 points in every 4^th quarter of these Eastern Conference Finals.  Yowza!  And did you see that circus shot?  The Heat were looking tired.  Flash flies to the basket.  Gets smashed mid-air by McDyess.  On his was down to the ground, he flips the ball off the backboard, 2 points.   The beginning of the end.  And one.  When he wasn’t scoring, he was passing.  Dish to Posey, 3.  Dish to the Glove, 3.  There wasn’t anything the Pistons could do to stop him.  Posey:  “He does so much. He’s knocking down the jump shot, getting to the basket, going around, in and out. He’s just doing everything.”  Yes he is, yes he is.  It’s nice to have Shaq Daddy out there with you, but this is Dwayne’s team.  And there’s nothing the Pistons can do about it.

The Public at Large:

1.  Pujols hits #25.  He’s still behind Bond’s juiced 73 pace.  But not by much.  Keep watching this guy.  This is the beginning of something special.

2.  Jim Thome with 2 dings last night.  That makes 20.  Good thing Philly let him go, huh?  He’s all done, right?

3.  The Eunuch wins big.  Who the…. Oh ya, no F-bombs, who cares?

4. Not for nothing, but I’m a fantasy genius.  1^st place and no looking back.  Baldermen, give    up hope.  There’s no stopping this Pujols/Soriano juggernaut.

5.  David Wright.  The best clutch hitter in NYC.  Every time I look up, it seems he’s getting it done.

6. Suns/Mavs tonight.  Must win for the Suns.  When isn’t a play off game critical or must win?  Are the Suns tired?

7. Ironhead Heyward dead.  I always liked that guy.  How could you not?  MY first thought was that Zest commercial.  Hey Ironhead……What’s with this thingy?  Classic.  I couldn’t find the original, but I found this remake. 

8.  Sox lose.  Yanks win.  Don’t look now, but here come the Jays.

9. Rumor Mill:  Yanks look at Abreu and Burrell.  Phils looking for pitching.  I don’t see it happening.  Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, and Rangers lead Clemens race.  I say he goes to Houston.  Red Sox eye Kyle Lohse.  So what? 
Public Figures:

1.  Phat Albert’s  ding was his 25th this season.  It came in the Cardinals‘ 51st game. The only players to reach the 25-homer mark earlier in a season were Barry Bonds in 2001 (47 games) and Mark McGwire in 1998 (49 games). 

2.  The Mets‘ 8-7 victory over Arizona improved New York’s record to 10-0 this season in series openers at Shea Stadium.   The past six each coming in walkoff fashion! That’s a major league record for consecutive walkoff wins in home series openers, breaking a mark the Mets shared with the 1966 White Sox.

Winnie the Pujols increased his major league-leading totals of homers, runs (50) and RBI (64). No player has ended a year with a share of the major league lead in each of those categories since 1961, when Roger Maris topped the majors with 61 home runs and finished tied for the lead in both runs and RBI’s. The last player to lead the majors in each of those categories, outright, was Mickey Mantle in 1956 (52 HR, 132 runs, 130 RBI).

Public Spectacle:

Peace out homies. Six Two and Even!