I'm so sick of A-Rod being the "default hero" in the Barry Bonds home run chase. Multiple people have talked about how Bonds breaking the record won't matter, because A-Rod will soon break that record. You know, as if that makes everything okay. What the hog? Gee, if only we could fast forward to the days where A-Rod is our king, then and only then will we as a country live in peace and harmony....

First of all, I hate how people think it's a guarantee that A-Rod will hit more homers than Bonds. That part is said as if it's already been decided. (Keep in mind we don't even know how high Bonds will go.) I do tend to think Bonds' record (assuming he hits two more) will be surpassed by someone from the current era, but to act like it's a given for someone who's over 250 homers away from what's still a moving target is going a little too far. Remember when we all thought Griffey would hit 756 on "batting righty as a joke" at bats alone?

But let's say A-Rod was guaranteed to eventually become the all-time leader. Why is this any better than than having someone who supposedly took steroids at the top? Are dads really thinking "I don't want my kid to think drugs are the way to go. I want him to be more of a sneaky ballplayer who no one likes. Oh, except for his mistress"? Gimme a break.

I actually heard a guy--on NPR of all places--say that he hopes A-Rod hits his 500th homer on the day Bonds hits his 756th, to steal Barry's thunder. You know what I hope? That A-Rod never gets another hit of any kind for the rest of his career. The only way A-Rod breaking the all-time HR record will put a smile on my face is if he's on some other team at the time, and that homer knocks the Yanks out of playoff contention. (But I'd still hope he trips rounding third.)

I'd also like to point out, as a general fact, that Manny's career numbers are as good, if not better than A-Rod's. BA: Manny--.314, A-Rod--.305. OBP: Manny--.410, A-Rod .387. SLG: Manny--.596, A-Rod--.576. A-Rod has 12 more homers--in nearly 200 more at bats. So for Manny to keep up with A-Rod homer-wise, Manny would have to play until he's an age three years older than A-Rod is when he stops, as A-Rod is three years younger. So, chances are, A-Rod will put up a bunch of numbers beyond Manny's, but as of now, remember, A-Rod's still no Manny. (I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's too bad Manny wasn't the one who broke into the bigs at an extremely young age.)

We're 8 games up, though 10 would've looked pretty sweet. We've got Baltimore coming in, and the Yanks have the White Sox. Before we go to New York at the end of August, we play Balty, the Angels, and TB at home, and the Angels, Seattle, Balty, TB, and the White Sox on the road. The Yanks have the White Sox, KC, Balty, and Detroit at home, and Tor, Cleve, the Angels, and Detroit away. That's four series (three on the road) against the top three A.L. teams who aren't the Red Sox. Meanwhile, two of our series are against the D-Rays, who they don't play. I think we should gain over that stretch. I want double digits going into that Yanks series. We'll see.

A reader sent me some pics from Tampa! I'll get those up at some point on Monday, so check back. She had sweet seats and got some great shots.