Beginnings...

- Baseball season is in full swing at this point, but most of the players are not. I could be wrong here, but I feel like the number of home runs is down this year. I know it's very early, and it has been freezing cold for half of the games played thus far, but even big time HR hitters are doing nothing right now. I'm talking about guys in their primes - Howard, Ortiz, Manny, Hafner, Teixeira, Pujols, Berkman, etc. etc. - doing next to nothing in the power department. I could go into a rant about steroids here, but I'll spare you...

Instead, I'll move on to the one slugger who is hitting the shit out of the ball right now - Mr. Alex Rodriguez. Anyone see the Post earlier this week when A Rod K'd with the sacks jacked? The headline was something to the effect of "A Rod Sucks in Key Spot," with a small side note about Jeter's two costly errors. I'm to the point that I legitimately feel bad for him. The guy is playing lights out and still can't catch a break with the fans/media. I'd love him to win an MVP and then follow it up with a 2-14 performance in a heartbreaking ALDS loss to the Rangers. The Yanks may have to resort to bringin' back "Bern" to save the day...

- Contrary to what most critics (and regular fans) said about it, I was disappointed with the Sopranos premier Sunday. I understand they were setting up the story, and there are some intriguing questions to be answered (clearly Bobby Boccala left behind DNA and forgot to remove those bullets, which may or may not lead to his murder or Tony's arrest). But I watched every episode in the previous season (I refuse to accept this as the second half of the season - it has been too long in between) and felt the exact same way... pissed off that the writers were setting the plot with nothing really happening in the episodes individually. You didn't have to watch the last season. All you need is to watch the 2-3 minute montage that opened up this season, and you'd be all set. It's especially disheartening when I randomly see a clip from season 1 on A&E and remember how awesome it was back then. My patience is running out with the show. Shit better go down soon...

- Entourage - very good, I thought. Drama had a couple of incredible one-liners, and the plot thickened with lots of interim action... the perfect remedy for another Sopranos let-down.

- Nice W for the Mets after blowing two consecutive leads in a row. The Great White Hype, David Wright, needs to stop reading his press clippings and step the hell up.

That's all I got for now. TROUT WHERE YOU BEEN, KID???

Type Slow is not dead

I understand that quite some time has gone by without a post. I think I can speak for Trout when I say that we are disappointed in how busy we have been. Nonetheless, Type Slow is not dead. We had been blogging at a pretty quick pace, especially for people who work full time. I do expect to pick up posting a few times a week (between myself and Trout) once again... Hang in there.

- Trout and I entered an NCAA pool with about 60 others. 140 units per team, payouts each round. Up until the Final Four, we have consistently been about average each round, which unfortunately has net us zero dollars thus far. However, if Florida wins tonight, we stand to make a couple hundred (no thanks to me because Trout made the picks for this round). So, as much as I hate Noah and co dancing like MTV's Compton set for "The Grind," I'm praying for a Florida win and some cash in my pocket.

- Tonight completes a real good sports weekend. I will not go into it because every sports writer worth a damn has already commented on it, several of whom notably predicted their impending divorces after tonight is over. But, one thing I cannot let go is the start of baseball season. It was kicked off just right, with a Mets demolition of the weakest defending champ since Buster Douglas. This said, I'm legitimately concerned about the Mets. Sure, the National League sucks, and the Mets are at worst an 85-88 win team. But unless Tom Glavine is in Cy Young contention come September and no less than one of their wildcard young pitchers (Maine, Perez, Pelfrey), this rotation is in serious trouble. Of course, the Mets can slug with anyone in the league, but that joke of a rotation is going to cost them come summer time. Here's to Carlos Zambrano's fall out in Chicago and a bigtime trade or two in July. I could see Omar trading Milledge and Humber for Rich Harden, assuming Harden is only on the DL once or twice before the deadline.

- One thing I really don't get is the seemingly unanimous prediction of the Angels winning the AL West. Not that any other team is a real powerhouse in that division, but the Angels have a real suspect lineup. I'd walk Vlad every time. Garrett Anderson can't protect him, Gary Matthews blows, and I really can't see their young players maturing enough to keep the offense afloat. So, my pick for the West is actually Texas. It's been a long time since they've been a contender there, but I think this year could be it. Their pitching has improved from where it was a few years ago, though definitely is not great. But that shouldn't matter with the A's, Angels, and Mariners sporting NL Central lineups. Other than Vlad, who I'm walking every AB, nobody scares me offensively. Ichiro is good, but Sexson and Beltre strike out far too many times for that lineup to produce serious runs. Does anyone really think Nick Swisher is a force to be reckoned with? As for the Rangers O, I can see Teixeira putting up MVP numbers... wish I had him on either of my fantasy teams. Michael Young, while having a disappointing year last season, is a prime bounce back candidate, as well. The Rangers are absolutely a risky pick, but my point here is that the division is up for grabs and even a sub-standard American League club like Texas can take it with 90 wins.

- Hate to say it, but the Yankees and Red Sox are far and away the best two teams in the MLB. If either were in the NL, they'd win 110 games. Hell, they might be pushing 110 in the AL. The White Sox, Twins, Blue Jays, and Indians are all nice little ball clubs. They can't compare to either the Yanks or the Sox.

- 24 needs to pick up immediately. Wouldn't mind seeing Bauer rail Chloe, even though she's about a 3 out of 10. Since the death of Edgar, no one has repulsed me more on that show. Jack could really give her what she has comin' to her.

- I forget if we have already discussed this on the blog, but what nationality is Joakim Noah? Aren't his parents white (and good looking). Was he adopted?

- If Oden loses tonight, does he stick around at Ohio State? He's alluded to not wanting to jump to the NBA until he thinks he can dominate on that level. Could he be more than a 10ppg, 8 reb, 2 blk -type Center in the NBA next season? I'm really not convinced that he's going to be anything other than a great defender and a big body (I'm thinking a taller Ben Wallace as of this moment), at least in the immediate future. The guy doesn't put up 20 a game against 6'8'', 230 lb defenders in college. Why should I expect him to be a top-flight producer in the NBA next saeson? Stay in school, Greg. You don't want to play for the Celtics anyway. Their fans prefer white guys. If Noah turns out to be white, the Celts might be gearing up to draft him. Thoughts, Trout?

- Joe Theisman out of MNF. YESSSS. Ron Jaworski replaces him. NOOOO. Boomer Esaison was the pick there.

Plenty of food for thought for the hungry Typeset...