...Got My Learn On

The weekend is just about here, but it's not feeling great so far. My college hoops team lost, and my mail included a huge image of Mets star David Wright on the cover of The Sporting News. "All Wright"? Um, I don't really believe it is. Aside from the non-appealing cover, it's the MLB preview issue, so allow me to share some things I learned from this week's magazine.

1- Former Phillie, and regular Sporting News columnist, Todd Jones has gone insane. Jones predicts that Jamie Moyer will win the NL Cy Young Award, and that Manny Ramirez will run for governor of California after the Dodgers win the 2009 World Series.

2- Ichiro Suzuki rocks the party that rocks the body. Metropolitans reliever Francisco Rodriguez compares Jose Reyes to Ichiro, saying they do many of the same things. I must have missed Ichiro performing rehearsed celebratory hand jives after getting a hit or scoring a run in a losing effort. And I know I missed Ichiro getting caught cheating on his wife.

3- Brad Lidge thinks you can't win without scrubs. Sporting News asked Lidge what might stop the Yankees, and Lidge thinks it's "too much talent". Luckily Mr. Lights Out can only speculate about individuals not thinking of team first.

4- My Magic Number for vomiting violently is 16. The two NYC third basemen (A-Rod and Wright) combine for 16 total pages of coverage. Sporting News was kind enough to ask Wright three questions about the Phillies though and additional questions about how the Mets came up short in recent seasons, which that choke artist had coming.

5- The loony Todd Jones must be on drugs too, as he predicts that the Phillies will acquire Jake Peavy in a deadline trade, mid-season. Hey, wait...can I get a puff of that? Come on, Todd, share!

6- The Sporting News is 5 months behind on fashion trends. "Pinstripes are Back in Style". That's their headline in the portion of the magazine where they predict a Cubs/Yankees World Series. Cough-World Champion Phillies-eh-hem-cough...!