with or without manny, the dodgers were exposed for what they in fact are: a team with little offense that relies on defense and pitching -- basically indistinguishable from the other handful of mediocre teams in the NL west. when defense or pitching breaks down, they're in trouble because they rely on too few players to generate runs.

the phillies have a real shot because they're hitting well and seem to be getting good pitching up and down the rotation, though the dodgers may not be a good gauge of that. we'll see, when the world series starts next month.

as for manny -- dollars to donuts says boras is already on the phone with cashman trying to work something out in new york. he'll use hank's impetuous desire to make a splash and shove it in the red sox's face to drive the price up, and either the yanks or the dodgers will end up massively overpaying.

the difference between those previous sox comebacks and this year is that, as you mention, these red sox have simply been getting pummeled. yes, yes, i know -- they looked pretty bad in going down 0-3 to the yanks, getting blasted in game 3. but there's something missing this year.

everyone keeps talking about ramirez, but the real player they're missing is david ortiz. it's clear he has no plan at the plate and he looks totally off balance. beckett hasn't been right in a while. now you're counting on a guy who sox fans were reluctant to see pitch at all in last year's postseason, but is now their most consistent starter. i think they're toast.

then, too, you've got to tip your cap to the rays. they're just playing outstanding baseball right now. the sixth inning they put together last night was a total back-breaker, the kind of thing the sox used to do to teams on a regular basis.

it's a shame, because i was hoping for sox-phillies -- an all-northeast, old-timey series.

another direction for the mccain-palin campaign. interesting to see the shoe on the other foot now as far as one party trying to pass itself off as the other. for the past eight years, we've watched dems try to talk tough and masquerade as repubs in order to get elected -- and it seldom worked. "why not vote for the real thing" indeed.

again, though, i'm interested in how the contradictory promises emanating from mccain are going to be kept. you can't possibly expect to pay for all this mortgage help, gov't oversight, etc., while simultaneously further slashing taxes for the very rich. hopefully, indeed, people will see through this.

where's "readerx2" to throw some cold water on this with an outlier poll or two? wait, we're already doing that...

i agree it's far from over, and in fact i expect the stock surge to lead, albeit indirectly, to things tightening up. the incoherent and incompetent mccain campaign desperately needs for this not to be about the economy, and if people can breathe easier for even a day or two, some of mcpalin's "hate mary" passes may begin to connect with voters in states where the race is still within reach.

then there's the fact that the media needs for this thing to remain somewhat close as well, so they have something to write about. i've already noticed -- not only on salon, but time, the nyt -- articles beginning to creep in about how mccain is "finding himself" now that he's behind and "relishing his underdog role" etc. etc.

finally, i still believe that the country is essentially polarized along racial / ideological lines, and what we're seeing right now is not an accurate reflection of that. as the reality of casting a ballot nears, people will fall into party lines because of fear and uncertainty.

for all these reasons, yes, expect things to tighten up. trolls will gloat in letter threads, columnists will wring their metaphorical hands, and we'll all rant and whine. it'll be good times.

i am married, but... thanks.

as for readerreader, i think y'all need to realize by now that he's not interested in arguing with you on the "terrorist" thing. by his logic, palin is a secessionist and mccain is an extortionist / guilty of taking bribes.

he's interested in keeping the ayers / terrorist meme alive, and on that score, today, he's been remarkably successful. suck away his oxygen and he'll go away.