The Felix Hernandez Hype Machine is reaching a fevered pitch (Fever Pitch? –ed At least the Sox are good for getting unemployed comics work!), with more puff pieces than a John Kerry press kit… P.S.: You think they might reconsider those Doc Gooden comparisons now? 12:46pm

Moneyboner: Will Michael Lewis suddenly cease to be the press darling now that the A’s streak — which generated something like 50 wins and at least five times as many “Billy wuz right!” articles — is done? What does Malcolm Gladwell think? Was that ill-fated sixth in Oakland on Saturday a tipping point? Remnick — you reading this? (You think David reads this drivel?? -ed He will now: RUSSIA BOXING RUSSIA BOXING RUSSIA BOXING RUSSIA BOXING I FEEL LUCKY) Says one blogger:

So, which team is this one? The error and the mistake-prone team that took the field over this last homestand that couldn’t score runs against a team that it recently score 27 runs against in two games? Or the team that scored more runs than any other team in the majors after the All-Star break until this last homestand? The answer is likely somewhere in the middle. If this A’s team wins, and wins this season, it will be because of its great young pitching, both in the starting rotation and in the pen. The offense just needs to find a way to score four runs a game. If it does, the A’s will win. Yesterday was more of an aberration than reality.

So let me get this straight. If they score more runs they win? Is this what Moneyball was about? (You didn’t read it? -ed Sure I read it, but sometimes my eyes were resting.)

P.S.: And the Braves keep winning. Hey Grey Lady, don’t you think that maybe Bill Shanks’ Scout’s Honor deserves some ink since, uh, his book actually seems to be right? And no, ed, I haven’t read that one.

P.S.S.: Okay so I stand corrected on the Scout’s Honor front. A kf reader writes:

Mickey, Scout’s Honor isn’t even worthy of a New York Sun profile. It’s the worst piece of [!%$#%] you’ll ever read. He doesn’t talk about baseball, he talks about player biographies. It’s like reading Bob Costas for 4,000 pages, and Shanks is even more sentimental, and dumber than Jane Fonda at boot camp.

Yikes! 3:21am

Mickey Kaus writes Slate’s kausfiles column and you don’t.