Friday Quick Hitters

-Brett Favre is "grasping at straws" in Minnesota? You mean with all that work he put in during OTAs and training camp, he has no chemistry with his current set of receivers? Please Brett, give us a break.

I know the injury to Sidney Rice, the loss of Chester Taylor and a banged-up Percy Harvin have deprived him of some of your most prolific offensive weapons, but this is why training camp is important. Like last year, Favre eschewed training camp to throw to high school receivers in Mississippi, who he presumably now has great chemistry with.

And while Favre admits he's part of the problem, he will likely never admit he should've participated in the preseason. I know he's throwing to two guys (Greg Camarillo and Hask Baskett) who also didn't go through camp with Minnesota, but when you're "not really sure who [you're] throwing to on particular plays," that's not just an indictment on the receivers.

As much as I'd love to see the Vikings crash and burn a year after Favre's magic brought them within an interception of the Super Bowl, I think eventually the man will turn it around. I'm just not sure if it will be in time to save Minnesota's season.

-Jose Bautista hit his 50th home run of the season last night against none other than Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. Hernandez threw a complete game and allowed just 2 hits in a 1-0 loss. That's right, Bautista's homer was the only run of the game.

It's a shame that any time a baseball player has a big spike in production the steroid clouds start to circle. But I don't think that it's ever going to change.

The steroid era cast a black cloud around the game and honestly, that cloud will likely never be lifted. Any milestones like the one Bautista reached or the one A-Rod is chasing will forever be tainted; A-Rod's rightfully so but Bautista's? Maybe, maybe not.

I look at Brady Anderson hitting 50 home runs 14 years ago a year after hitting 21; he never hit more than 21 again. I'm 99.9% sure he was on steroids, but he's never tested positive (there wasn't testing) so how will anybody ever know?

Add in the fact that players can still take human growth hormone, which isn't tested for, and the black cloud will continue to loom over the once-proud game. Sorry Jose, but nobody will ever truly give your season the respect it deserves if you're actually clean. It's just the nature of the beast. Now take your next multi-million dollar contract as a result and be happy.

-Why would the Yankees pull C.C. Sabathia in the sixth inning of last night's game? I know he had 110 pitches and had allowed five straight batters to reach base, but he is still your horse. And to pull him with the bases loaded and bring in Joba Chamberlain, who is far from a shutdown relief option, was a big mistake.

When Joe Girardi made the move I questioned it even before the commercial break began. Sabathia was laboring, but he still inspires more confidence in me in that situation than anybody out of the bullpen not named Rivera. Sure he walked in a run, but the 3-2 pitch to Sean Rodriguez was closer than the 3-1 pitch that was called a strike (it was a ball, outside and maybe even high).

Sabathia wasn't getting shelled and Chamberlain proceeded to allow a two-run double to B.J. Upton to open the floodgates to a seven-run inning. Girardi may have been looking towards saving Sabathia for the postseason but this was an important game for playoff positioning and honestly, he blew this decision badly.

Even with the impending return of Josh Hamilton, I'd rather play the Rangers at home than the Twins on the road. And that's the difference between winning the AL East (which the Yanks lead by just a half-game now) and getting in through the Wild Card. And the decision to pull Sabathia for Chamberlain could be the one that haunts the Yankees come playoff time, especially if they end up on the road because of it (at Minnesota and potentially at Tampa)

-Everybody is talking about Michael Vick starting over Kevin Kolb, but is anybody really surprised? I am, only because I believed Andy Reid was 100% behind a healthy Kolb. I think starting Vick is the right move, at least for the time being. He almost brought the Eagles back against Green Bay and he led a 35-point offensive showing in Week 2, albeit against the Lions.

I find it funny that people are talking about this like it's the end-all-be-all of quarterback decisions. If Vick struggles in the near future, we could very well see Kolb back under center before we know it. That's the advantage of having two starting-caliber quarterbacks and Reid knows it; there are some teams that don't have any (hey Cleveland and Arizona, how are your seasons going so far?)

All the trade talks regarding Kolb are premature; I doubt Philadelphia is trying to hitch their wagon to Vick just yet. But Kolb looked terrible before his concussion and Vick has looked great, so he deserves to start until he loses the job. Not to mention the chance he runs with this opportunity, like he always has when he's been on the field.