So Long, Jeremy

Well that was quick. The Marlins figure to have a busy offseason and they wasted no time making their first move. They have cut the cord on the Jeremy Hermida balloon and are letting him float up to Boston (unless he's hiding in the 400 level of Landshark Stadium). In return the Red Sox are sending us a couple of average pitching prospects, both lefties I think.

We've had a good time ribbing Jeremy for his lofty LOB numbers and then being elated by his few clutch homers. The truth is, he has never lived up to expectations. He was a first round pick, and was often reffered to as our best prospect. He also hit a grand slam in his first major league plate appearance, which hadn't been done in 100 years. That probably set the fans' bar pretty high. But, he was often injured and underperformed. A good second half in 2007 gave new hope that he would put it together and be a let's say Jayson Werth-like player. Wrong. He was reduced to a platoon role this year in the outfield and struggled. Did I mention he isn't the best of fielders?

So now the question is who will be the next to go? Dan Uggla is probably the biggest candidate and safest bet. We'll keep you posted.

Playoff Bracket Results

Your 2009 Playoff Bracket Contest Winner is Adam Smoot, with a whopping 15 points after correctly picking the Yankees to defeat the Phillies. Congrats Adam, drop me an e-mail and we will sort out your prize selection and delivery.

I am confused...

So, should I be happy the Phillies lost the World Series, or mad that the Yankees won?

World Series TV Guide: Game 6

Pedro faces Pettite, and PLEASE GOD END THIS SERIES ALREADY! Your other television options are below.

• 7 EST Heat at Wizards (ESPN). The Heat attempt to bounce back from last night's loss to the Suns.
  
• 8 EST Bill Cosby receives The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor 2009 (PBS - encore presentation at 9:30). Featuring classic Cosby clips and tributes from Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Sinbad, and jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath(!). I saw Bill Cosby at the University of Florida in 2002. He killed.
  
• 9 EST Modern Family (ABC). It's the best new comedy on TV this year (with apologies to Community).
• 9:30 EST Income Property (HGTV). Featuring, for the ladies, the deliciously Canadian Scott McGillivray.
• 10 EST Top Chef All Stars Dinner (Bravo). Food porn at its finest.

Tonight's book recommendation is 1959: The Year Everything Changed, by Fred Kaplan. Kaplan looks at a number of touchstone events from 1959 which set the stage for the major cultural, political, and technological shifts of the 1960s. He examines the worlds of computer science, jazz, literature, and geopolitics, among others, in a concise, quick read.

World Series TV Guide: Game 5

Cliff Lee faces AJ Burnett tonight. Perhaps the Yankees will clinch tonight and get this series over with. Here's what's on tv.

• 8 EST Idiocracy (Comedy Central). Mike Judge (of Beavis and Butthead and Office Space fame) wonders aloud what would happen if stupid people continued to outbreed smart people over the next few centuries. Spoiler Alert: Bad things happen. This movie has developed a nice afterlife on DVD after flaming out in theaters, and rightfully so.
  
• 8 EST Man vs. Wild (Discovery). Bear Grylls is in Belize, where he encounters a 9 foot boa constrictor. I bet he turns it into a shelter.
• 8:30 EST Monday Night Football (ESPN). The Saints take on the Falcons. It's Drew Brees against Matt Ryan in a classic matchup of bland quarterbacks with little personality.
  
• 9 EST Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern (Travel). Andrew is on the Gulf Coast this week. You know what that means: nutria!
• 10 EST Mad Men (AMC). In case you missed last night's episode. Apparently, something happened to President Kennedy.
• 10:30 EST For Rent (HGTV). I'm still trying to understand why HGTV would target the notoriously cheap renter demographic.

Tonight's book recommendation is William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic, by Alan Taylor. Taylor masterfully chronicles the life of William Cooper (founder of Cooperstown, NY and father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper), using his life as a vehicle to examine the radical social and economic changes taking place during the early years of the American republic. His writing is quite accessible, and this book won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1996.