Good Pitching Getting Better

I like the Braves top-ranked Quality Starts and Innings Pitched per Start stats. No matter how long the starter stays in, for some fans it's either too long or too short. Fans in the South have such a football mentality: win this game at all costs, regardless of the wear on the pitching staff. If a starter is going good fans want to leave them in the game. They forget that the manager and pitching coach are fully aware of the starter's limitations, fitness level, etc. They have their mind on the full season. Over-pitching a starter an inning or two too much every game will cause a fall-off in production in August and September…just when you need a pitcher to be effective.

One hundred win pace. Two game lead in the division, over the "best team in baseball." Still, fans aren't satisfied. They focus more on the 62 loss pace, forgetting that all teams lose that many.

Nice article in this week's Sports Illustrated about Justin Upton, how the Diamondbacks were focused on contact rather than power. Would they have changed Babe Ruth's approach as well? Perhaps Justin can play second base.

Before Thursday night's game I finally watched the Fox Sports special on Kris Medlin. The wife watched as well. She likes to watch the games, but with all the turnover isn't familiar with all the players. I only stuck with the game for a couple of innings. Got up early and read all the DOB tweets. poor Carroll Rogers. She covers the series and Cincinnati, and DOB returns for the difficult San Francisco assignment. Speaking of the Giants, Lincecum looks even funnier with short hair.

Funny how Chipper went off on Angel Hernandez, tweeting how the League Office must be saying "there goes Angel again". Saw photos of Chipper's $3.5M house for sale in Roswell. Nice, and not tremendously overstated. Nick Saban's Lake Burton house was great, but Ceil wouldn't like all the wood paneling . When I look at houses like these all I can think about is the landscaping upkeep and neighborhood fee. Evander's was just too much.

Last night I happened to call the NikeStore.com 800 number at 7 pm EDT…right when a certain Air Jordan was being re-released. According to the message, they were expecting a flood of calls. I love Lang's new pair of blue Kevin Durant low tops.