Nightcap

Tonight's nightcap is brought to you by Jack Daniels on the rocks. Because that's what Frank drank. And Frank had lots o' threeways...

-I know you aren't going to believe this, but I saw this with my own two eyes, so I know it's true. Last night, Grady Little's Dodgers held a one run lead in the 8th inning with starter Derek Lowe on the mound. With Lowe giving up a few walks and hits, and clearly laboring- and with both a righty and lefty ready in the pen- Little elected to stick with his starter with the bases loaded and two outs rather than go to a fresh arm. Lowe responded by giving up a two run double to surrender the lead in a game the Dodgers would eventually lose. Later, Pedro Martinez called to offer Lowe his condolences...and a lucky midget.

-In a one run game, Frank Robinson ordered his reliever to intentionally walk Jason Giambi in the 8th inning in order to face Alex Rodriguez in a clutch situation. ARod responded by flying out meekly to right field. While Rodriguez may have failed his team, he can at least take comfort in knowing he provided additional fodder for a Bill Simmons article...if he decides to write again.

-Great moments in Tim McCarver. "Sushi lovers know that Toro is a delicacy. It comes from the underbelly of the tuna. In baseball, the underbelly is middle relief and it's anything but a delicacy. That's Toro, not Torre." (Note: I'm paraphrasing, so I might be off on a couple of words. I was pretty stunned after hearing that.) Play-by-play announcer Thom Brenneman responded by saying, "What the f*ck are you talking about, you senile old man?!?!" Ok, maybe he didn't say it, but the rest of the listening audience did.

-Speaking of fish, the Marlins have won 7 games in a row to climb into a virtual tie with Atlanta for fourth place in the NL East. Owner Jeffrey Loria has demanded to know which players are responsible for this winning streak so he can immediately trade them.

-I know I'm a few weeks late, but can everyone please make a little room aboard the Matt Kemp bandwagon for me? I got a chance to see him play in person, and that kid can flat-out rake the ball. (I'm not sure I know what "flat-out rake" means, but if it means hit the ball hard; then yeah, that's what Matt Kemp does.)

-Finally in basketball news, Arron Afflalo decided to return to UCLA for his junior season after his research showed him that the average NBDL salary is $35,000.