Baseball In The Daytime: 5-24-07

The last weekday baseball of this go-round takes place today. The pitching matchups aren't the greatest, but it sure as fuck beats tape-delayed soccer.

Leading off, at 11:05 Mountain time, are the Angels and the Tigers. Ervin Santana takes the ball for Los Anaheim, while Detroit sends Jeremy Bonderman against the anemic Halo offense. Bonderman is fresh of the disabled list, and in his stead the Tigers called up rookie phenom Andrew Miller, exciting many a pitching-desperate fantasy owner. Alas, Miller's big league career was put on hold for another day, as Leyland seems to favor steady (if uninspiring) Chad Durbin over the tantalizing potential of the ex-Tar Heel.

Speaking of fantasy ownership, is anyone else beginning to sour on Santana, the erstwhile Magic Man? His home/road splits are brutal: 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA in the O.C., 0-4 and 7.86 elsewhere. In my main league I'm giving him one more chance in a road start today (no choice, I've got four starters on the DL and a Rocket in the minors) but then that is it, you bastard. Broadcasts are on DirecTV Extra Innings channel 734 and XM 180.

At 11:10, Tom Gorzelanny leads the Pittsburgh Pirates into St. Louis to face Braden Looper and the Cards. St. Louis' season, it's enough to drive a guy to drink (or make a guy drink and drive, one of the two). Catch this one on 735 (DTV) and 187 (XM).

Finally, Seattle (Ramirez) invades the empty dome in St. Petersburg to take on the D-Rays (Seo). There is nothing I could possibly say that would make this game interesting. Thankfully there is no television information, but diehards can tune in to XM 181 to listen to the sounds of silence.

UPDATE: Gadget disaster. I forgot my XM receiver today, so I'll have to rely on MLB.TV in the office and suffer through dead air in the car. I picked a Thursday, of all days, to pull a boner like this.

SECOND UPDATE: Ervin Santana yields 8 ER in 3 2/3 innings of work, and can burn in everlasting hell.