Marz’s thoughts:  I am thoroughly impressed with the turn of events in the Bronx in the last two weeks. I understand that there is still a long way to go but they went from 14.5 back to 7.5 back in 14 days. I thought there was no chance to cut into that lead and certainly not this quick. On the other end, Boston’s weakness is starting to be exposed. Their offense is not always reliable especially with Drew and Lugo. To make matters worse, the Sox see Josh Becketts first loss of the year.
P.S. – Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!!

Cuch’s thoughts:  Quietly a judge in the BALCO case has rejected the idea that Troy Ellerman (who admitted to leaking Giambi’s comments to writers) spend only 15-24 months in jail. The judge wants more and the defense is trying to say he saved the government money by coming forward. The judge replied that "he got caught". Good work by the judge. Let’s make sure that he gets way more than that. If players are to cooperate with anyone, they need to know that it will not result in a firestorm against them regardess of what wrong they may have done beforehand!
P.S. – Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!!!

Hey Vinny and John,
How bad can the Orioles be?!?? I don’t think they were a playoff time but I think everyone predicted them as a 82-85 win team. They are about to get spent by the Triple-A Nationals and we are on pace for another 95 loss season. We aren’t doing anything right. Our starting pitching has been great actually – Bedard is great and even with Benson and Loewen and Wright (3/5 of our projected rotation) out for the season, Trachsel and Guthrie and even Brian Burres have been pleasant surprises. But our offense is terrible. I don’t care if Melvin Mora can hit a homerun if he is hitting .240! I thought Aubrey Huff was going to be the protectiob behind Tejada that he needed. Not when he hits .250! And our $42 million bullpen is terrible. Bradford, Williams, Williamson, Baez, and even Chris Ray take turns on any given night blowing the lead. Only the Orioles can have the lead, lose the lead, regain the lead, then lose the lead, then tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, then lose it in the 11th. Enough is enough. we should be playing better. Is firing Sam Perlozzo the answer?
Thanks – Jesse from New York

Marz’s thoughts:  The Baltimore Orioles are playing below expectations and it is a shame. However, it is NOT all Sam Perlozzo’s fault. However, he WILL be the fall guy in all of this. You can not fire an entire team and making drastic moves is financially difficult. You can fire the skipper and unfortunately, Perlozzo will be the 1st to go in 2007.
P.S. – Any and all 12 and under kids that want to get whooped in video games, let me know!

The Yankees are one game above .500 and yet everywhere you go it is all Yankees talk all the time. The Marines are 8 above .500, and they rarely get a mention. The Twins have the exact same record as the Yankees and are only 5.5 behind the leader and yet, you never seem to hear about them. The Yankees are the Paris Hilton of Baseball, no mater what they do, it is all anyone talks about.
Joe in Texas

Cuch’s thoughts:  You are right, they are the national story when they do not always deserve it. They have the largest fan base and more people visit the Yankee site than any other team in the league so you can not argue with that. HOWEVER, you can totally argue that several teams are a more impressive story at the moment with Seattle heading the list. The Mariners have done this all without great starts from King Felix every 5th day. Other honorable mentions go to: Milwaukee, Cleveland, Arizona and Colorado for playing baseball better than most critics expected!
P.S. – Stinky news of the Day: BJ Upton hits the 15 day DL and loses out on any chance that he could have received some last minute votes or increase his numbers so that he can make an All-Star appearance.

Marz’s thoughts:  The Houston Astros have been struggling all year and are looking to trade Brad Lidge and they give him an opportunity to save a game last night and he blows it. What i saw last night was a guy who has way too much anxiety when in pressure situations. After he blew the save, he was a much better pitcher. He had all his pitches working and kept them down in the zone. The Astros probably will trade him but won’t get the value that they want for him because he proved to me that he can’t close anymore.
P.S. – I don’t get my nails manicured or peticured but i know that Vinny does!

Cuch’s thoughts:  Jim Thome will get the start in Philadelphia today at 1B for the White Sox. It is nice to see the fans in Philly give a little love to their former star. He has certainly accomplished alot and although Philly fans are normally tough, it was nice to see them support a former player of theirs!
P.S. – I do NOT get manicures. Just because I can cut my nails in a straight line and when i shower i am sure to get the dirt out from under them does not make me Metrosexual! I think that Johnny is just jealous!

Marz’s thoughts:  It is amazing to me all the attention that Roger Clemens received for wanting to spend time with his family and be away from the team for only a couple of times a year. Randy Johnson won’t make the trip to Yankee Stadium this week and it is no big deal. Isn’t that a double standard? I have no problem with Randy Johnson not making this trip. He is 43…and has a bad back but Roger Clemens should not receive that same abuse when someone who is about to be 45 is not benefitting from sitting on a plane during a road trip where he will not pitch.
P.S. – I am gonna turn 45 soon to, so i plan to stop commuting!

Cuch’s thoughts:  The USA Today article referencing the top 25 stories of the past 25 years is unfair in my opinion. Determining the difference between a story and the 25 greatest games or moments is difficult. This list would be very different if they explained that.
P.S. – Webb v. Wang should be a great matchup tonight, the M’s will continue to play some great ball as they visit the Cubs and at 1 game below .500…the Rockies will get a nice test this week in Boston!

Marz’s thoughts:  I was very dissapointed in the finale of the Sopranos. Nothing was resolved. It was like going to game 7 of the World Series…the biggest event of the year with it all tied at 3 games apiece and just stopping the game. No winner was decided and it was anti-climatic.
P.S. – I didn’t get an ending to the Sopranos but I do know the ending to the Philadelphia Phillies season…they will not make the playoffs.

Cuch’s thoughts:  I agree with John. The Sopranos ending left me feeling empty. I loved the final 5 minutes but everything leading up gave no resolutions. I also do not like those that seemingly tell me that "you are supposed to come up with your own ending" and that if you don’t get it, you are apparently not smart enough to get it.
P.S. – Jim Thome visiting Philly will be great. I hope he gets an AB.

Chris the Producers thoughts: I feel like Cuch and Marz are like the middle infield of the Mariners – "watch them throw, watch them catch…watch just how Cuch and Marz match"

Marz’s thoughts:  I can’t wait to see how some of these kids drafted pan out. So many names are involved and so much hard work is put in by the players, scouts and more that when you see it all come together…it is very satisfying. In about 3 years time, we will have a great idea of what these players are capable of.
P.S. – I really wanted to whack our execs at the show for having me do another hour of the show and for showing me wearing "shorty shorts".

Cuch’s thoughts:  All of us have our teams and players that we root for and working for Major League Baseball has developed that even more. I have always rooted for the good guys. David Wright, Michael Cuddyer, Mike Gonzalez and Nick Swisher are just a handful of the guys that fall into that category. Now, I rarely talk about my allegiances because it NEVER effects how i cover the game but it will effect who i privately root for. Everyone covering the game has these rooting interests. That is why they got into the game to begin with. I say all of this because YES, i was rooting against Curt Schilling to get a no-hitter in Oakland. If you read between the lines there are several reasons as to why. How I break down the game on the show is one thing…what i root for during the game is another!
P.S. – We had a great time with the 3 hour show today. John and I are both still available and have yet to be drafted so all the scouts know.

TUNE in on Monday for reaction to Homer Bailey, Roger Clemens & The Sopranos finale!

Marz’s thoughts:  Jimmy Rollins put his money where his mouth was and hit a 3-run homer beating the Mets after his declaring this year that "the phillies were the team to beat in the NL East". If the Phillies win today, they will be 6 games out of first while inching closer to Atlanta in 2nd. I have seen this show before for the last 5 years. Hopefully this year they can play well the entire way through and finally make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
P.S. – Looking forward to wearing my "shorty shorts" on the show tomorrow while I hear everyone else is not.

Cuch’s thoughts:    How about that? Joe Torre did NOT leave the dugout and pull a pitcher during last nights win over the White Sox. Chien Ming-Wang pitched 9 beautiful innings to give the pen a rest and give the Yankees their 5th win in their last 7 games.
P.S. – Everyone enjoy the "Johan Santana Perfect Game Bowling" tourney in Minneapolis. Also, don’t forget the SHORTY SHORTS! There is still more from what i understand in the vault. Chris the producer is trying to get it out there!

Upcoming issues:
Friday – Special 3-hour edition of Leading Off
Next Friday – Announcement of the Starting Lineups and pitchers for the Stern/Marzano matchup
The Friday after Next – just the name of a movie!

Marz’s thoughts:  It was great having Ozzie Smith in studio today. I love talking baseball with a down to earth guy like the Wizard. He is just as passionate about his involvement with Prostate Cancer Awareness as he was about playing ball. Take Ozzie’s word and go get screened!
P.S. – We have been talking about the All-Star Voting the last two days, but i still give my vote to best actor alive to EJ the Engineer.

Cuch’s thoughts:  Name of the day in the baseball world is Rick Vanden Hurk. All he does is go out and take a no-hitter into the 6th in Atlanta and outduels John Smoltz for the win. He accomplished this after he arrived from AA Carolina.
P.S. – Homer Bailey will wear #34 and debut this Friday versus Cleveland. I think he gets a tad hit around in his first start against a tough lineup but improves in starts after that.

BE SURE TO TUNE IN TOMORROW – NOT ONLY IS IT DRAFT DAY COVERAGE BUT…
MAJOR COVERAGE OF JOHN MARZANO ON DRAFT DAY THAT YOU WILL NOT WANNA MISS….

Coverage tomorrow at 10 am ET!

Marz’s thoughts:  The Orioles went out this off-season and bolstered their bullpen. It was supposed to be a strength of their ballclub yet it has let them and their manager down tremendously. There are 10 losses at the backend of the bullpen and that is not going to help a team win. However, it is up to the skipper to understand when guys aren’t performing well. Sam Perlozzo caused the Orioles to lose a minimum of 4 games this year by taking the starter out and that may cost him his job this season.
P.S. – Since I am here in NY, according to Jim Leyritz, I might as well get my playoff tickets for the Yankees!

Cuch’s thoughts:  On a non-baseball note, Billy Donovan is ridiculous! I thought he should have stayed in Florida the whole time. When he turned down the Kentucky job, i figured – fine, he wants to create his legacy in Florida and build there forever and not try the NBA. I am not arguing that he can’t have his heart in Florida, but do not play with the Magic and sign a lucrative contract, fake your way through the media conferences and return a day later. What a joke! Now, i am against him and i am glad the Gators lost all of their starters. Here is hoping the Gators go 5-26 next season!
P.S. – Jake Peavy won the NL Pitcher of the Month for May. His numbers in the month were 4-0 with a 0.79 era, 3 ER in 34 IP. Plus he struck out 39. If he doesn’t win the Cy Young…I will eat my hat!

Marz’s thoughts: The big shot Vinny Mi-CUCH thinks that since he does play-by-play he gets a day off. So…NO BLOG FOR YOU.

Cuch’s thoughts: I am unavailable for comment. Marz has no clue what he is talking about!