pagsz's Journal: Killing Time (And Hoping to Dodge the Murder Charge)

Hello and welcome back to the dumbest show on Earth!

As the title suggests, I'm just killing time right now. So if my ramblings seem less coherent than usual, please bear with me.

So, anyhow, I've been feeling pretty good this week. No particular reason (wait a minute, I thought my cereal's been tasting a little too much like Prozac). Like you care how I feel? You cold, unfeeling bastards!

Now, where was I? Ah, who cares (Not me, that's for sure). So anyway, on the pointless rambling!

• This situation in the Middle East just seems to keep getting worse and worse. Palestinians kill Israelis, Israelis retaliate. So then the Palestinians retaliate to the retaliation. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Now the Israelis are trying to hem Arafat in. Don't really see where this "You can't go out and play until you call off your terrorists, young man" thing is really going. Who knows. Certainly not me (didn't I just say that?) Seriously, though, I don't see an end to this insane cycle of violence. Extremists (both in Israel and the West Bank) are not going to allow this conflict to come to a peaceful resolution. They just hope to wipe the other out. If there's any hope, its in the moderates (again, on both sides) taking control of the situation. Fat chance, though.
• You know, I'm hungry. I could go for some pizza right about now.
• Baseball season started this Sunday (3/31/02). The Red Sox (my favorite team) started off their season the next day with a loss (12-11 to the Toronto Blue Jays). Pedro got roughed up. That's troubling. Pedro doesn't get hit like that, unless he's not one hundred percent (why didn't I just type %100? Wait, I just did!) To be perfectly honest, my expectations for this season aren't too high. I figure the Sox'll make a run at the wild card, only to be beaten out by a team like the Mariners or White Sox. Here are my predictions (so I can look back in September and realize I'm an idiot):
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  AL East: New York Yankees: Like anyone else is gonna beat them. Sucks, but true (unless you're a Yankee fan, in which case have a good season, ya bastard).
  
  AL Central: Minnesota Twins: I think the Indians won't have enough this year, and the White Sox pitching was suspect this spring. Stick it to Selig, boys!
  
  AL West: Oakland A's: I don't think the M's will be nearly as good this year, and Oakland won't get off to such a slow start.
  
  AL Wild Card: Seattle Mariners: I said they wouldn't be as good as last year, but they'll still be good.
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  ALDS 1: Yankees over Mariners: Yankees prove too much for M's third year in a row.
  ALDS 2: A's over Twins: The playoff experience and deeper talent of the A's power them past the Twins.
  
  ALCS: A's over Yankees: With a playoff series win under their belt, the A's are finally able to take the Yankees. Age proves pivotal, as young staff of Oakland outlasts aging Yankees.
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  NL East: New York Mets: Re-tooled and ready to win. Atlanta's aging, Florida's not ready, and my gut tells me Philly won't quite catch the Mets.
  
  NL Central: Houston Astros: Toughest call. There are three solid teams in this division, but I see the Astros outlasting the Cardinals and Cubs. Enron be damned!
  
  NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks: I think they'll hold off the Giants, and don't think the Dodgers will be a major player.
  
  NL Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals: Figure they'll edge out Philly for the final spot.
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  NLDS 1: Cardinals over Mets: Mets finish with the better record, but Cardinals have the better team.
  NLDS 2: Astros over Diamondbacks: Youthful pitching of Astros outlasts aging Schilling and Johnson. Also have superior offense.
  
  NLCS: Cardinals over Astros: Though the teams are evenly matched, playoff experience favors the Cardinals. They were in the NLCS last year, and the addition of playoff veteran Tino Martinez only helps.
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  World Series: A's over Cardinals: Young pitching staff of Oakland dominates series. A's offense provides enough offense to win games for their pitchers, and the A's win the World Series.
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  "Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong" - Dennis Miller, at the end of his rants on Dennis Miller Live (Friday, 11:30, HBO). Holy crap! I' m doing ads for HBO now! Damn it! Does on-line advertising know no bounds!
• Is it me, or is this journal entry a little long?

Well, that's it for now folks. I'm getting sick of doing this, and I need to get something to eat (the aforementioned pizza). See you later!

---Pagsz, World's Smartest Moron.

Update: 05:23 PM -- Wednesday April 17 2002

Just realized (after looking this over) that it wasn't the Cardinals in the NLCS. It was the Braves. Shows what I know. St. Louis lost to Arizona in the NLDS, not the NLCS.

---Pagsz, World's Smartest Moron.