CARE TO JOIN ME IN A SIX-PACK?

... but it's 11 o'clock in the morning.... Yeah, but I haven't slept in DAYS.

• Reports suggest the Leafs are interested in signing free agent Mike Peca. Again, if they're getting the playoff Peca, fine; otherwise, it would mean paying $3 million for a declining player and being forced to rely on some newcomers.
• Another Leafs note: James Mirtle says the Andrew Raycroft signing is an "uncalculated risk." There's not total disagreement here, but the original sentiment here two weeks ago was that it was a praiseworthy move since, if nothing else -- and that could be the case -- it wasn't the standard posterior-covering the Leafs engage in. There's always a lot of risk. Of course, as James himself points out, you can separate the risk of acquiring Raycroft from the risk of signing him; those are two entirely different things.
• Girlfriend-Friendly Sports Movies. Learn it, live it, love it.
• Batter's Box makes a case that the Blue Jays might be more productive if, once Alex Rios is cleared to play, having lefty-hitting Eric Hinske and righty Shea Hillenbrand share the DH duties. The feeling here has always been is that either of these two players would have to be sacrificed in a trade for another pitcher -- assuming the Jays still have a shot at the playoffs at the end of his month -- and that Hinske might be the more attractive option due to his versatility, youth and lower salary. Hillenbrand's a decent player and I can't summon anything to back this up, but he just seems like someone who can improve a bad team to mediocre, but won't help a good team become very good. Perhaps the Jays should champion Hinske — although you wonder if they really have enough prospects down in the minors to make a deal after all the cutbacks the organization has made in its scouting department.
• More proof that the way baseball picks its All-Star teams is flawed came when Chicago's A.J. Pierzynski and L.A.'s Nomar Garciaparra were added in the Final Man balloting. Pierzynski's having a decent season, but how can Twins rookie Francisco Liriano, who's 9-1 with a 1.99 ERA, not be selected? In the National League, few will see anything wrong with Nomah being added since he is fourth in the league in OPS (1.008) and second in batting average (.358), but did fans select him more because of his play or because they recognized his name? It seems the whole purpose of the Final Man is to recognize an unknown player, someone whom the casual fans and the players themselves tend to overlook.
• Not that it's a knock on Garciaparra, who's already sewn up Comeback Player of the Year, so long as he can stay healthy. He's vying to become the first player to win a batting title in both the American and National leagues (a couple 19th-century sluggers led multiple leagues in batting). He's also trying to become the first L.A. player -- either team -- in more than 40 years to lead the league in hitting.
• Of the top of my head, there's only one player I can think of who's come close to the batting crown double: John Olerud. He led the AL with the '93 Blue Jays, and five years later with the Mets, was runner-up to Larry Walker. Eddie Murray finished second once in the National League -- the year that Willie McGee was the absentee batting champ after being traded in August -- and had two top-5 finishes in the American League.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca. Enjoy the World Cup final.