It was an ugly series this weekend against the Sox. We had friends in from out of town, so I missed Saturday and Sunday’s game, but six runs in four games usually isn’t going to do the trick. The Tigers followed that up by being shutout by the Indians today. And if you’re counting, that’s a five game losing streak and pretty much no chance at .500.

On a much nicer note, the Toledo Mud Hens had the best record in the International League and wrapped up their regular season today. With all four playoff spots locked up, the finals against Indianapolis gave the Hens a chance to have some fun. Kevin Hooper played all nine positions, drove in two runs in the eighth to give the Hens the lead, and then pitched a perfect ninth to preserve a win. If you haven’t checked out the site in a while, Minorleaguebaseball.com has a ton of minor league stuff, including live radio feeds. I’ll be sure to listen in as their playoffs start as they face the Norfolk Tides (Mets affiliate) in the first round.

Barry Bonds had a nice workout today in Los Angeles and there’s some speculation that he might play this week. While I know everyone will be locked onto his quest for the homerun record (and others will be locked in on the steroid controversy), I think coming back from three knee surgery’s is a milestone in and of itself. I for one am looking forward to again seeing one of the best players to ever lace up a pair of cleets and I wish Barry Bonds the best of luck.

There’s a ton of great playoff races this year. The Yankees are fighting for their playoff lives as are the Red Sox (in a manner of speaking). Both wildcard races are very tight, so it should make September an interesting month. This baseball fan could pretty much care less that NFL football is starting on Thursday.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, we had friends in from out of town. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m a board game nut. I got to play my first ever game of Advanced Squad Leader, and that in and of itself made the weekend a blast. I also got in a few games of Memoir ’44, Tigris and Euphrates and Through the Desert. While most of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, the ones who do will know what I’m talking about when I said I had a fun filled weekend.

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