In the daily drama that is my computer, I’ve managed to access my hard drive. I still can’t boot to it but after several hours of research and just plain messing around with things, I discovered I could boot to the CD drive. Not really a long-term solution but it’ll have to do until I figure out what is wrong. Meantime, I just won’t ever turn off my machine.

Just wanted to mention the passing of Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn. My wife doesn’t understand my fascination with the Lakers. She likens them to the Yankees, and I can’t really argue that point. But I grew up a few miles from the Fabulous Forum, and Hearn introduced me to basketball the way Vin Scully did baseball. There aren’t many broadcasters out there who are worth listening to regardless of the game. Hearn was one of them. He’ll be missed.

I’ve added a few sites to the list of Hot Links. Futility Infielder and Twins Geek I mentioned last week. PDX Beavers is an unofficial site of the Portland Beavers and is very nicely done. I’ve made these three sites a part of my morning reading. Check ‘em out when have a moment.

Baseball America has released its "Best Tools" for Double-A. Bernie Castro was named best baserunner, fastest baserunner, and most exciting player in the Southern League. Mike Bynum was cited as having the best breaking pitch, and J.J. Trujillo was named best reliever.

Brad Baker pitched a heckuva game last night against WestTenn. Allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over 7 1/3 innings. Struck out eight. Good to see him throwing strikes.

A call to readers: I don’t have a box score for the August 3 Ft. Wayne/Wisconsin game. I’ve managed to piece together most of Geoff Jones’ pitching line but I don’t know whether he allowed any home runs. If you have this information, could you drop me a line? Thanks.