Which team is going to win the NL Central

the dreaded platoon in Wrigley ....

MLB.com "These guys want to stay in the lineup? Swing the bats," Piniella said. "The opportunity is there for a kid like Hoffpauir. Reed Johnson gave us a spark earlier, and we're going to give him a chance and see what he does. We'll mix and match. "We've got to start scoring some runs on a little more consistent basis than we have in the past week," he said. "Then we have to get our rotation set and get our bullpen set. Let me tell you, when it rains, it pours. Well, it's pouring right now."

"You look at [Micah Hoffpauir's] production at Triple-A, and he obviously deserves an opportunity," Piniella said. "We did the same thing with Soto last year. We came to the conclusion that he would be our No. 1 catcher this year, and it's worked quite well. Hoffpauir, we're giving him an opportunity now to get some at-bats and stay in the lineup and see what he can do. It's up to him. "We could use a lift offensively," Piniella continued. "I took Kosuke Fukudome out today and Jim Edmonds, but there are other people struggling, too.

I haven't been near Mexicali or Yuma lately, but it is right out my back door, a simple three or four hour drive, and next February the 2009 Caribbean Series, the “Serie del Caribe”, will be held in Mexicali.

Why Mexicali I have no idea. I always remember the area having nothing but a bunch of farm land, lots of factories, being insanely hot, and pretty much a dump. Thankfully this is the winter leagues, eh?

If you ever bought something that said made in Mexico, chances are, it came from Mexicali.

The Serie del Caribe teams are typically from Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and many Major League players are called on to fill the rosters, so the quality of play is high, with national pride often at stake.

Wikipedia - Mexicali Baseball

The Águilas de Mexicali is a Mexican baseball team playing for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico in Mexicali, Baja California.

The team was founded in October 14, 1976. They have won the championship three times, 1985-1986, 1988-1989, 1998-1999. The team also won the 1986 Caribbean Series, played in Venezuela. Their brightest moment came when they won the 1986 Caribbean Series, only becoming the second Mexican team to take the title

And I bet you thought the game of the day was going to be Boston vs. New York.

Not on my watch!

I own Chris Young on a couple of fantasy leagues, so I am of course happy to have him back.

On the other hand, I do not understand why the Padres themselves are rushing him back. They should give him at least one rehab game, maybe even let him sit another week. Heck just shut him down for the year. What do the friars benefit from bringing Chris Young back for 4 or 5 meaningless starts. Are those 30 innings from Young really that important? is it a bonus thing?

Physically, The guy has had a brutal year. Let him heal.

I didn't kick out a chatter yesterday. It was all drawn up, and I have a number of solid pieces in there, but it is all old news by now. Not only that, there is no chatter. No opinion, nothing. Just a bunch of links to day old news. So I didn't publish it.

So when I sat down this evening to pen out Wednesday's chatter, I figured why write two pieces, when I can just write one. Tomorrows.

I can just use yesterdays links out as a fake chatter. Just links mostly. Besides. I seriously doubt any of the guys i am linking to would be upset about being linked to. Know what I mean.