dlk9s

As it turns out, he has shingles. Take it from me: it's HORRIBLE. I had the same thing starting around Halloween. Most people get it on their torso or back, but I, along with La Russa, had it start in my eye. I actually can't believe he felt well enough, even for a little while, to manage games. It was the worst I have ever felt in my 35 years. For me, it started in my right eye. The first day I had symptoms, I felt like someone had punched me in the eye. It wasn't too bad, more annoying than anything. The second day, the pain got intense. Every so often - could be every few seconds or every few minutes - it felt like someone was poking me in the back of the eye with a ballpoint pen. It was an intense surge of pain that made me stop in my tracks. It was debilitating. So I went to the doctor on a Friday, who diagnosed an infection. He was wrong. After a day or two, the sharp pain gradually decreased in my eye, but started moving to the right side of my head. I developed gigantic, throbbing headaches that I couldn't alleviate. On a Monday (the symptoms started on Thursday), my wife took me back to the eye doctor because I couldn't drive myself. That was when shingles was diagnosed. The thing that made him sure were the sores that had appeared on my nose and around my eye, similar to La Russa's. I got medication and what-not, but it took a long time to get better. For four days straight, the intense, throbbing headaches continued without interruption. It was so bad, I couldn't sleep. So, I was in severe pain and sleep deprived for four days. The crazy, please-put-me-in-a-coma pain subsided about a week after my symptoms first started, but I still had constant headaches, just not of the completely debilitating variety. In the meantime, the right side of my face looked like I had stuck it in a hornet's nest. My eye was almost swollen shut. One odd and terrible part of the pain was that my scalp was extremely sensitive. It literally hurt to touch my hair. After two weeks, I could finally start to try to get back into a normal routine, though I was still limited. I was well enough to fly home for Thanksgiving, though I still had some sores on my face. I still have a few scars on my nose and above my eye. So, while I hate the Cards, I have nothing but empathy for Mr. La Russa.

JJ Hardy returned from the DL in style tonight: 4-5 with his first homer of the year.

Seemed like Fielder kept his foot on the bag on Rickie's throw. Fortunately, while it extended the game, it didn't really hurt in the end.

Just pretend it was 2-2 and we scored one run in the 5th and two in the 6th so it's now 5-2. Feels better that way.

I don't doubt it at all. I probably should have said "at least" or "at worst" .270.

I liked what I saw last year, though. While he didn't walk much, he seemed to have a pretty good sense of the strike zone and he had a nice, compact swing. Lucroy seems like a guy who could consistently hit .270 with around 10 homers. It's nice to have a catcher who isn't a lump of meat at the plate (and who can run a bit, too, despite his base running gaffes this season). I do like Nieves behind the plate, though.

At first, I read this as "I am looking forward to seeing Marcum in prison."

Braun hit the ball well, but right to defenders (also drew a walk). Fielder had a nice double to the left field corner in his final AB, but didn't do anything in his first three (K and popup, don't remember the other AB).

Yes. It wasn't great, but it was good enough. I know he got Cantu to miss one by a foot in the last AB.

The more I watch MLB Network, the more I realize that the "analysts" on it are terrible. Everybody likes it better than ESPN, but those guys on MLBN really are the pits, especially Harold Reynolds.

Sweet baby Jesus that was great. And really, Loe pitched fine. It's not like that first single was well hit.

DFA?

Well hellllooo LaTroy Hawkins!

Unless SD knew for sure that Grienke wasn't going to pitch the 7th, I'm not sure why they didn't IBB Lucroy. If they did that they get one of two immediate results: 1) Brewers PH, so Grienke is out of the game, or b) Brewers don't PH and Latos can stay in and face a pitcher.

Zack Greinke is a quality Major League pitcher.

I'm sad that I'm getting the Padres' broadcast. Dick Enberg is so bad. While Gomez' triple was in progress, he first said it was a homer, then said it was a ground rule double, then called Gomez "Weeks."

I am every much looking forward to seeing a base hit in at least one of the bottom halves of an inning tonight.

World Series, here we come!

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6048/c2066983e8.jpg

It might work if the Brewers took on Bobby Bonilla's contract and the Mets took Brent Fullwood.

I agree with this. Plus, from what I've heard, the players really like Sveum. It would not be good for morale if he was fired at this point. I suppose that maybe, possibly, his firing could be a kick in the butt to the offense in the "Oh my god, Dale was fired...nobody is safe so we'd better start playing better" sense, but I doubt it.

Nice strike call on the 1-0 to Weeks. Nice. EDIT: Even the person who controls the count display on Fox assumed it was a ball.

Pretty classy starting down that double.

So glad that 0-2 to Rasmus was called a ball. Nothing like extending the inning via poor umping.

DFA Pujols.