Ø

It’s not hard to see why Tricko’s Reds have vaulted to the lead in this thing the past couple of weeks.  The Who’s Hot list reads like Tricko’s starting lineup, and then some.  When you have that many players (Giles, Nomar, Polanco, Blalock, Andruw, etc.) that hot for that long (three weeks), the rest of your team doesn’t have to do much to help you post some big numbers.  The rest of us can only hope that the Commies have peaked a little too early.

Ø

On the other hand, it’s not hard to see why Shamu’s Baby Bears have fallen harder than Tricko on the mean streets of L.A. when one takes a glance at the Who’s Not list.  Poor Shamu* has had to watch in horror as Jim Edmonds (3 points in last three weeks) and Melvin Mora (4 points in last three weeks) have disintegrated before his very eyes, and starting third baseman Troy Glaus (—3, last three weeks), continues to stink it up for the Cubs* in what will likely be his worst-ever year in the major leagues.   Throw in Mike Sweeney’s continued troubles, Freddy (Krueger) Garcia’s continued Nightmare on Elm Street, and Sidney Ponson’s sudden hypothermia, and you can see why Shamu* is now considering switching over to Zen Buddhism for solace. 

Ø

I can’t believe that Kevin Appier pitched the Royals to an 11-0 win over the Yankees and Dream Weaver last night.  I thought that the Apeman was junk heap material.  Can Stretch’s Royals really hang on by their fingernails and get into the playoffs for the first time since the 1980s? 

I’m not sure what has me more alarmed, the fact that Tricko is going on the trip for the first time in a long time, or the fact that Possum claims that he is going to be in attendance.  Tricko will do well to watch for high curbs in the Queen City, and as to Possum, I plan on taking along plenty of antibacterial spray and some prophylactic antibiotics to try to stave off any deathly flu bug he might be inclined to share with the rest of us.  You may remember that on Possum’s last appearance on a Trip, way back in about 1987 or 1988 in the Krause Mobile Sewage-Treatment Plant, Possum sneezed his brains out for the entire three-hour ride home from Kansas City and put two-thirds of the league membership into sick bay for a week.

Ø

Next year we need to think about going to San Juan on The Trip if the ’Spos play all or most of their games in Puerto Rico.  Remember that we’ve already turned this into an international venture by virtue of our Detroit-Toronto-Cleveland swing many moons ago.