Miscellaneous

1. Adam Melhuse re-signed with the A's not too long ago after having been DFA'd by the Rangers.

2. Eric Chavez has been shut down for the season to get shoulder and possibly back surgery. He's had a torn labrum for 10 years and has a bulging disk in his back. His "tendinitis" problems this year with his forearms were fabricated -- he's had nerve problems.

3. Houston's magic number is down to 13. Wandy is still bad on the road. The Astros are still unable to hit and now Ransom is playing shortstop. Where is Mike Lamb?

4. Eliminated teams are the Orioles and the Devil Rays, with the CWS magic number at 1. Let's see if the Twins and Indians can get wins to make it official.

The DL, part two + #755

Here's a list of the players on my teams who have visited the DL:

Bobby Kielty
Mark Kotsay
Esteban Loaiza
Dan Johnson
Rich Harden (2)
Mike Piazza
Milton Bradley (4+)
Bobby Crosby
Eric Chavez
Justin Duchscherer
Huston Street
Hunter Pence
Chris Sampson
Adam Everett

To this I say, RIDICULOUS! The only impact injuries on this list are Piazza, Crosby, Pence and Everett.

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Although we had a party going on in my house last night, I managed to videotape #755 on my "Let's Watch History!" tape (Biggio's 3,000th, Federer's 5th Wimbeldon), and I hope to be able to tape #756. Screw the steroids, this is still history.

The Disabled List

As my Navy friend so eloquently put it yesterday, "I want to be able to take off from work if I'm tired."

Is it just me, or are there more DL stints across MLB this year than last year? Every time I turn around there's a new name followed by a body part in parentheses parading across the "Bottom Line" on Sportscenter.

Brad Lidge (oblique)
Rich Harden (shoulder)
Darin Erstad (ankle)
Vicente Padilla (triceps)
Jim Edmonds (back)
Curt Schilling (ego)

I mean, should it be this difficult to stay healthy? Milton Bradley, for instance. Three DL stints, I believe, and all of them muscle strains. The Yankees pitching staff during the early season? Muscle strains that led to the firing of the strength coach. The A's pitching staff has lost two starters (Harden and Loaiza) and four+ relievers over the season due to injury.

So here's to America's health care system. You don't need Michael Moore to tell you that the United States is unhealthy and hurting and not getting any help; you can just look at Major League Baseball.