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We hear a lot 'round these parts about just how underrated Albert Pujols is. We hear how he should have half a dozen MVP awards by now, how he's putting up numbers that almost no one in the history of the game has, and how no other player in the game of baseball right now even begins to intimidate opposing managers to the same level that Pujols does.
Of course, most of that stuff comes from Cardinal fans. As for the rest of the country, well, let's just say there's a reason that Albert only has one MVP award so far.
Once again this year, Albert is making a strong case for himself as the Most Valuable Player in the National League. Early in the year, Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros was having an absolutely unreal year, and would have had to be the choice. Berkman fell off, though. In the second half, Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets made a big charge and began to generate some buzz. That's mostly died down again, though, as Delgado has cooled back off and so have the Mets.
Really, there's only one player right now that stands between Albert and his second MVP award. And that just happens to be the same man that stood between Albert and his second MVP back in 2006. I'm talking, of course, about the local boy (the pride of Lafayette High School), Ryan Howard.

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I worked from home today, meaning that I got to work using my laptop on my couch with my cat sitting next to me. Days like today are much better than going into the office. When I work from home, Ill occasionally flip on the TV if I need a mental break. If a good baseball game happens to be on, then it might be an extended break.
Anyway, for some reason I didnt realize that the Rays were playing an afternoon game today until a little bit after 3:00. As soon as I realized it, I turned the game on, and I was discouraged to see the Rays down 6-4 in the 8th inning to the Indians. It got worse in the 9th when the Indians scored another run on a Troy Percival wild pitch to make it 7-4. Being a Rays fan, its my natural tendency to quickly give up on my team in these situations. How the heck are the Rays going to be able to beat the Red Sox and Yankees in September if they cant even beat the freakin Indians, I muttered to myself. The Indians are one of the worst teams in the American League this year, but they were 5-1 against the Rays, and it looked like they were about to go 6-1 against them.
Then, the greatest inning ever happened
Jason Bartlett, one of my personal favorites, led off the bottom of the 9th with a double to left-center field. The next batter was Eric Hinske and he doubled to right field, scoring Bartlett. OK, I thought, now its 7-5, which is at least a little more respectable. With Hinske on second, Gabe Gross came to the plate and crushed the ball, hitting a towering home run to right field. This caused me to jump off the couch and run around the living room cheering. My celebration scared my cat and she ran upstairs. What a way to come back! I thought the game would be headed to extra innings
But there were still no outs. Akinori Iwamura was up next and hit an infield single. Then Ben Zobrist walked. Then Carlos Pena hits another home run, this one to right-center field. Tropicana Field is absolutely electric at this point as the addictive Rays Feel the Heat song plays, and Pena runs around the bases. He flips off his helmet before reaching home plate, and then he jumps into a huge group of his teammates who are there waiting for him. Evan Longoria later comes out and douses him with a water bucket as he is interviewed. It was a spectacular moment!
This is just the latest of an incredibly high number of comeback wins by the Rays. There have been so many that Ive lost track. The last one was on Sunday when Carlos Pena walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Tigers. It is amazing that a team that was so accustomed to losing before this year can have the belief and faith in themselves that they can win every game, no matter what the scoreboard shows. As a fan, the comeback wins tend to be the most memorable games, and this one was probably the most dramatic comeback that Ive ever seen from the Rays. It very well could be the best Rays game ever. Im very glad that I remembered to turn on the TV this afternoons win was the 68th of the season for the Rays. They won 66 all of last year. They are only two wins away from 70, which was their all-time high during the magic and memorable 70-91 season of 2004.
I cant wait to see the Rays in person for the first time this year on my birthday, September 8, at Fenway Park in Boston. Itll be my first game at Fenway Park, and I plan to loudly and proudly support my Rays.

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I have a zip binder that has 3 pockets (one for my policies, one for my reciepts and one for my oversized Q's) a calculator, CC slots (for my GC's and discount cards) and another pocket where I keep my shopping list. (Purchased at Walmart)

I divide everything by type, Beauty, Cleaning, Pet etc. and then I divide Grocery into Dairy, Frozen etc. I bought the stick on tab dividers and I can see where everything is. It was my first system and the only system I can see working for me.

For Q's I am keeping just in case but wouldnt normally use unless it were free or a REALLY good deal.. and Q's for exchanges/trains etc.. I use sterilite drawers and organize them by weekly circular so I can dig through them by date if I need to. I also PRINT each weeks coupon list, so when I am at the store and find something for a good price that I MIGHT have a coupon for in my drawers at home, I just check the list.

I take my binder EVERYWHERE. Even if I dont plan on shopping, because... you never know.

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