So I'm done at General Labels, which was very informative. I have many things to evaluate & reevaluate upon return tomorrow. I'll need to write up my report later... need some El Paso cuisine.

On a side note, the bigger the plane, the better the ride. I'm actually lookin forward to tomorrow's flights. I will say coming in to ELP at night was pretty spectacular, especially with Juarez out the other side of the plane.

Well, later all.

All packed for the work trip to El Paso, TX tomorrow. Two window seats on the way out there (that should help my fear of heights). I need to watch some quality issues and check some technical things with our material at General Labels.

First time on a plane... should be interesting. I hope I do everything right through security. Staying at the Doubletree, near UTEP.

I'm hoping that if I do a good enough job, I can get more opportunities to visit customers.

Watch for updates if you're interested. Otherwise, I'm just writing to myself and that's just sad.

The Crew announced they will name a new manager early next week.

My guess is it will be this guy, the favorite so far during this offseason of speculation.

SF draws first blood in the battle of the aces.

Their supposed Achilles heel was whether they could score enough to back up their rotation. So far, so good.

TEX hangs some more runs on Yankee pitching, this time not giving away the game late.

I'm slowly warming to an unlikely SF/TEX World Series. If nothing else, it's some new blood.

1 & Done

Victory formation... Varsity... Varsity... Varsity

Last word on Rodger's hit

Interesting analysis by Seifert on the 4-letter.

I'm not so ignorant that losing your best defensive player & being without a running back that could eat clock doesn't play into last week's Packer loss, but when Brady gets a roughing call when someone brushes his leg and Manning has an Enterprise-worthy shield around him, young QB's are often left without this protection.

Sunday's non-call wasn't nearly as bad as Berry leaving his feet & lowering his head last year in the playoffs, but if they're going to call catches in the end zone by the letter of the law, this needs to be consistent also.

Very encouraged by the commitment to the run tonight... though going up early certainly helps

That's how you answer... solid offensive drive to go back up by 10

Bucky playing a very inspired 1st half... they'll need to keep the intensity up for another 30, though. I like the running game right now. Hit the hole & go upfield.

Horrible pass by Tolzien in the middle of the field.

Good defensive stand on the turnover.

The last two strikes to Crawford just exemplifies the laziness of today's umpires. Any effort would be asking too much from these buffoons.

Is it too much to ask that along with these supposed "grades" they get, they also head back for some actual training? On the other hand, this proves my thoughts on unions: They exist only to protect the crappy workers.

Nice debut, Mr. Halladay. Welcome to the postseason.

Macha Out

That was quick, though not unexpected.

I've never wished to be shorter more than I do now...

Melvin on Gomez

First of all, thank goodness I wasn't playing the Doug Melvin "and that" drinking game tonight. I swear he hit 20 during that half inning.

Second, this is the third mention I've heard from Doug in the last week how Gomez was rushed to the majors and missed out on some needed development. Like I posted earlier, Carlos has taken what the braintrust is selling and, pun intended, run with it. His line drive rate has seemingly sky-rocketed lately.

Even the casuals that call for getting rid of him have to salivate at what 162 games of that speed can provide the Brewer's offense.

Wow... I don't think I can even blink in the time it takes Gomez to go 1st to 3rd.

If he can get on at a .350 clip, he's worth as much as Braun when you add in his defense.

Crew 3 - SF 0

If golf can help Wolf's pitching, I wonder what it could do for my bowling.

Al points out Wolf's ERA is 3.88, minus a mercy shellacking in Pittsburgh. Obviously there would be some regression moving from Dodger Stadium to Miller Park, but Wolf has been essentially what he needed to be this year.

If the Crew can somehow find a #2 or another solid #3 to slot in with Gallardo/Wolf, I think getting back to league-average pitching is possible. With the bullpen pretty much set for next year (and decidedly cheaper), there could be some room to spend. Of course, the Prince dilemma will be the talk of the off-season, but the pitching is absolutely critical.

Braunie's Last Two Months

Jim over at Bernie's Crew wonders if we should still worry about Braun going forward.

I go back to Hanson hitting him on the elbow earlier this year. Braun was tearing the cover off the ball all season up to that point. Young players rarely suffer an extended drought without an injury playing a part. I think it was at that point he decided to play through it, developed the attitude that some contact is better than no contact and changed accordingly.

I have no idea how calculated Ryan Braun can be, but is this the year he decided to consciously get the ball in play more, cut down on K's, up his walks & pitch selection, then tie his power game back into it in '11?

And in other news, the sky is blue...

Carlos Gomez

I must say, whatever the braintrust discussed with Gomez seems to have hit home. He's making attempts to utilize his most potent weapon, speed, and not leaving his shoes in the box on every swing like earlier in the season.

Sounds about right from the "global warming" meatheads...

Honestly, I'm not surprised by this... most of these so-called green politicians are so out of touch with the average American family, they couldn't remove their heads from their backsides with a crowbar.