News, Mostly Good Off the Field; Mostly Bad On

Jon Lester's lymphoma is described as "treatable" and there are comments from Red Sox brass about expecting him at Spring Training for the 2007 season. Given that he has cancer, this is about as encouraging as things could be. Continue to hold this good kid in your prayers.
Papi didn't play today, and won't for a few more days. He's continuing to wear a heart monitor, just to make sure. There would be no excuse acceptable for doing anything else. If the big man never hits another home run, his wife and children deserve to have him around with them. Props to the Sox for dealing with his situation correctly--especially when Ortiz wants to play. Would they be as thorough if the division and wild card deficits were one game instead of closer to ten? We'll never know (not this year), but I'd like to think that they would.
On to the games themselves! Yuck! The Sox continue to fall apart, with Schilling now going to miss his Monday start, and Papelbon out for what's expected to be a week with a fatigued shoulder. Kevin Jarvis (Kevin Jarvis?) set a team record today, becoming the 27th pitcher to throw for the Bostons this season. 27. The active roster April through August is, of course, only 25. That says it all.
Theo decided to be competitive for the next 5 years rather than to make a stupid trade to get a leg up this year. That's ok, as long as the next 5 years ARE competitive. An '07 result resembling '06, and John Henry may have trouble remembering just why he wanted young Mr. Epstein back.
The Cardinals have benefited from the Reds finally playing at their level of talent. And mid-America should be grateful that the Redbirds' level is just slightly above the Reds'. Remember the old saw of the 1948 Braves, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain?" What must be LaRussa's line: "Carpenter and.....well, Carpenter?" Cardinals' fans need to look no further than their own playoff history to know how precarious it is to have one good starter heading into postseason. When the 1982 Braves suffered a rainout in St. Louis just far enough into NLCS Game 1 for Phil Niekro to be unavailable until Game 4, well, there was no Game 4. Beware, red people!
The Braves' unprecedented run is probably over. Having split with the Phillies today, there are still too many teams ahead of them in the Wild Card chase to reasonably expect them to make it. If Mike Hampton, John Thomson and Kyle Davies return healthy next year with Smoltz and Hudson, things should brighten considerably. That's if Braves' management sobers up and picks up the relatively modest $8 million option they hold on Smoltz. They have already dispensed with Glavine and Maddux. But this goes far deeper than the current administration. Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy hit their final home runs in jerseys that did not say Atlanta. Phil Niekro's 300th win was pitched for the Yankees! For crying out loud, express some gratitude for once (not to mention, do good business) and pick up John's option now! This year can just be a lull; don't make it anything bigger, please.
Most of the Braves' position players are young enough to expect improvement (Francoeur-learn to take a dadgummed pitch once in a while), and the Jones boys are still reliable when healthy. Adam LaRoche's OPS is really close to .950, and Renteria's return to the NL reminded him how to play. Don't go nuts with the starting 8 or the starting pitchers, but for once, actually work on the bullpen.
Giants, let go of Bonds, Alou, Finley, Durham and anyone else eligible to draw Social Security before the decade is over, and spend that fortune on a few players in their 20s. It's a strategy that actually works for several other teams (see the other side of the Bay).
Cubs...oh, like anything will make a difference. You're still the Cubs.
It's 10 pm on September 2, and I'm already sick of football.
Here's to an exciting last month of the real game!