All Too Rare

The Cardinals rallied from 4 runs down to win last night. That shouldn't be newsworthy, but it is. That was only the fourth time they have done so this year. The last few years, they seemed to come back from similar deficits with great regularity. Just another sign that the '06 version doesn't quite match up with its predecessors, but we knew that already, didn't we? Viva El Birdos has some interesting numbers regarding blowouts, both wins and losses. I started working on some similar info for the past few years, but never got very far.

Mark Mulder is gone for the year, most likely. With the way he's been pitching even after his return from the DL, the rotation is better without him, honestly. I know that the trade for him back in '04 was debated then and has been ever since, so hopefully once he leaves the Cards (he's a free agent, and if he has surgery or other health issues, the Cards aren't likely to re-sign him) that debate will cool down some. It'll flare every time Dan Haren has a good game or if Daric Barton goes on to be a star (which was almost a guarantee at the time of the trade, but has a little doubt in it now), but at least it won't be a constant drumbeat as an indictment of Walt Jocketty's tenure.

Not much going on around here. We've got an open house at TLC tonight. That's the Mother's Day Out program that my parents' church has. Benjamin is going on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year, starting next week. He enjoyed it last year, and Meron really can use the time off to get a few other things done around the house as well as getting in some scrapbooking.

Nice to have the three-day weekend coming up, even as it signals the end of summer. I mean, where the heck did the time go? Now kids are back to school, football starts up this weekend (as we root for the Hogs to pull the upset against Southern Cal) and the weather is cooling off, (hey, we'll take high-80s any day at this time of year, and that's the forecast for the next 10 days.) Before you know it, it'll be time for Christmas shopping and long sleeves.

And, as the seasons begin to change, a warning to my high school friends--I'm starting to plan for Thanksgiving. You know what that means.