Schadenfreude is the pleasure we feel at someone else’s misfortune. So says Mr. Webster.

And I must say that I feel an excessive amount of freude because of the recent Buck Showalter schaden.

Showalter was fired this week as manager of the Texas Rangers. I don’t know why, but old Buck has always annoyed me. I’ve never met the man, but I have a feeling he’d be the cranky traitor in your first-grade classroom, rushing to tell the teacher you were eating pasta. Or that he would be the one to start the rumor that you masturbated in the coat closet. Or that he had come second in the Science Prize and then accidentally sabotaged the winner’s baking soda volcano.

In three stops in the major leagues, with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers, Showalter has made professional athletes (who, despite the occasional anti-establishment player, tend to be pups looking for a guide dog) hate him. The year after Showalter’s last Yankees team got a playoff series against Seattle, Joe Torre came in and won the World Series. The year after Showalter’s last D-Backs team went 85-77, Bob Brenly came along and won the World Series. God, do you think the Texas Rangers expect history to repeat itself? Ditch Buck, win a title?

Showalter has alienated most veterans in every clubhouse he’s managed by going up against them for all the wrong things. His dress codes are legendary, his behavioral policies anachronistic and his willingness to throw his players under the rugged bus. He’s known as the ultimate clubhouse politician, badmouthing one guy to ingratiate himself with another. He complains about the players to the front office. When he decides that he can’t get along with someone, that’s it, there’s no way to win. Guys like Alfonso Soriano and Kevin Mench are prime examples of players who should still be stars in Texas but got the Showalter taunt wrong. Even Alex Rodriguez, who is not a public relations genius, said that when he came to the Yankees, he was like a breath of fresh air. Man. the yankees? A breath of fresh air? That franchise is more restricted than Brooks Brothers. But everything smells good after Buck.

Listen, the Texas GM kid has made a ton of mistakes (hello Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young!). But Showalter’s politicking and micromanaging had to go, and who cares if the door hits his butt on the way out. He mishandled an absolute plethora of offensive talent and left the closet emptier than he did when he arrived. If someone else gives him a major league manager job again, well, they deserve the fate of him. In the meantime, he can be sure Showalter and his “insider” views on the game will be back on ESPN, perhaps as soon as this month. O Joy.

And the best 4-0 team in soccer is…? baltimore? Indianapolis?

Chicago? Because?

BoDog Bookmakers, BoDog.ws: Making this type of decision is incredibly difficult, as everyone

ask will have a different opinion, and it’s very easy to make a case for

each of the three teams is “the best 4-0 team”. Both Baltimore and

Chicago has very similar defensive styles, although, as was evident in

Chicago’s last game, Rex Grossman turned the Bears offense into a

Force to take into account. Indianapolis, of course, has Peyton Manning

and a very strong offense, but there is no comparison between the

defense of the Colts and the Bears. Chicago and Indianapolis are both

best teams on this list for one main reason: Steve McNair just doesn’t

they have the ability to control the pace of a game like Peyton Manning and

the Bears defense does.

Do you think Kurt Warner deserves to be benched by the Cardinals? Willpower

Would the team be better off with Matt Leinart? What other NFL quarterbacks are in the

hot seat, and could or should it be replaced?

BDB, BoDog.ws: Kurt Warner absolutely deserves to be benched by the Cardinals. Like us

You know, Leinart resisted signing a contract at the start of training.

camp until he got exactly what he wanted, and now it’s time for him to

win him over and take his bundles along the way. The incorporation of Leinart does not

will likely have an immediate effect on the Cardinals, as the learning curve

for rookie QBs, coming into the NFL is definitely a steep decision. Is

quite evident that Warner is on the negative side of his career and the

The Cardinals would be better off putting Leinart behind the wheel to leave

learn and improve your game, instead of trying to resurrect

Warner’s declining career. If Leinart can sustain the pressure on the

defensive line and calling the right plays, his confidence and game

will improve quickly, and the fact that he has Edgerrin James in the

The backfield is sure to take some of the pressure off of Leinart. The other two top candidates I see as struggling quarterbacks are Mark Brunell and Vince Young/Kerry Collins. Picking up an overtime win against the Jacksonville Jags on Sunday certainly earned Brunell at least another

week at the helm, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington retires the old

Switcheroo about him on the line. Keep an eye on Brunell, he definitely is

a candidate to be moved. Meanwhile, after the Titans were destroyed by the

Cowboys, questions like “Did they bring Vince in too early?” they are obliged to

emerge. It wouldn’t be a surprise if there was a bit of flip-flopping

for a few weeks in Nashville, but usually once a rookie like Young is

Given a chance, it is likely to last at least a few weeks, unless of course

they feel that he is completely overtaken. The Titans could choose to go

However, with the more experienced Collins this weekend, as they face

with the Indianapolis Colts. Keep an eye on these two, the results could

be interesting.

Which visiting team has the best chance of defeating which home team in the

First round of the MLB playoffs? Detroit over the Yankees? oakland over

Minnesota? Dodgers over Mets? St. Louis over San Diego? As

as?

BDB, BoDog.ws: Realistically, every road team has the potential to do something

special in October, and the matches are very interesting. Can the

Do the Mets without Pedro handle the deep Dodgers pitching staff? Can the

Injury-plagued Yankees pitching staff survives to see second

round? Will St. Louis come out of his funk and start playing like the real thing?

contenders? Can the Twins’ rookies (Bonser, Garza and Baker) shine behind?

Johan Santana or the Oakland Athletics will win the series after meeting

Santana? The team with the best potential to pull off the upset is the

Oakland Athletics. Santana is an exceptional pitcher, but the result of

the series will depend on whether or not the Twins rookies can step on it

get up and go to the end. The bullpens and beats are pretty even.

evenly matched across the board, with the Twins having a slight edge in the

bullpen and with the bats, but the experience

it’s what wins the ballgames in October. Either way, it should turn out to be

an exciting season finale.

What is your reaction to the latest news that the names of Roger Clemens,

Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons were

mentioned by confirmed steroid user Jason Grimsley as also using illegal

Performance-enhancing drugs?

BDB, BoDog.ws: The only surprise on this list is Andy Pettitte. grimsley played

along with Clemens and Pettitte in New York (99-00), but it is difficult

I think something like this would beat Joe Torre. Tejada, Roberts

and Gibbons were all in Baltimore with Grimsley in 2004-2005, when Brian

Roberts truly came into his prime as an All-Star second baseman. This

is great news for everyone in the MLB community and should be

interesting to see how it all unfolds. Could just be Grimsley

turn heads as his playing days are over; he never

he earned the big paycheck and wants additional exposure. Most of the interviews

you do, the more money you get. You never know.