Hello, and welcome to Tuesday. Did you have an enjoyable Labor Day weekend? I hope you were able to keep cool. It’s been very hot here (by our standards) this past week. But nobody wants to hear some yahoo in San Diego complain about the weather, right? Let’s get to the games:
American League

Blue Jays at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — Blue and red, birds and items of clothing, two really good pitchers. This game has it all. Roy Halladay’s been kicking butt for several years now, ever since he reinvented himself in 2001, but what’s gotten into Josh Beckett? …read more

Ack, more games! Why wasn’t I informed…
American League

Red Sox at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — This series doesn’t need any more hype. Either you love it or you don’t care. Watch (or don’t) accordingly.
Mariners at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Playoff implications in this one, plus a potentially volatile pitching matchup. Two finesse lefties — the execrable Horacio Ramirez and the too-unknown-to-have-an-unflattering-adjective-attached-to-the-front-of-his-name Aaron Laffey — hook up in this one. Philosophical question for the day: When does batting practice end and game begin?

National League

Mets at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT — We’re all anxious to know whether Philadelphia can reach the …read more

I hope you had an excellent baseball weekend. I’ve got no complaints. Well, that’s not entirely true, but you didn’t come here for those.
Some great games on Monday’s schedule, including four big playoff contender showdowns:
American League

Yankees at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Mike Mussina and Justin Verlander hook up at Comerica Park. Mussina has given up seven runs in each of his last two starts and now sports a 5.22 ERA on the season. It might not be time to stick a fork in him just yet, but maybe someone should poke around a little. Yikes, and now …read more

I hope y’all had a good weekend. Mine would have been better if the Padres hadn’t been so busy losing a series at home to Houston, but oh well. Here are your games for Monday…
American League

Mariners at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT — How in the world can Horacio Ramirez have a 7-4 record despite a 7.38 ERA? If his performance doesn’t convince you that won-loss record is a terrible way to evaluate starting pitchers, then nothing will. Opponents are batting .341/.407/.518 against the southpaw; that’s roughly what Joe Mauer did last year. Right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 2.05 ERA) starts for …read more