baseball and the Simpsons.

Subject should actually read baseball while waiting for new simpsons episodes.

A month or so ago I sent something to the ng about The homer at the bat episode. There is now only one remaining player from that group that is still in the playoffs, and that is in a managerial role. Scioscia's managerial skills were able to overcome Mr. Chicken himself (that being Roger Clemens).

So, since we are stuck with baseball, we should cheer for him and the rally monkeys. Also, since Bart is a fan of Atlanta Braves baseball (Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment), we should cheer for them also. Of course that has nothing to do with my personal interests. :-)

Was Homer at the bat one of the best uses for guests on the show? Can someone think of a better one?

Here were the guests: Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey, Jr., Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry

Homer At The Bat was one of the few occasions when the guests weren't completely patronised by the script - a la REM, Nsync, Red Hot Chili Peppers - and when they were actually an important part of the story rather than just thrown in for name value alone. And Homer At The Bat was a hilarious and charming episode with wonderful performances both in voiceovers by and writing for the guests. So yeah, it was probably the best occurence of a guest playing themselves, although Dustin Hoffman and Danny Devito have made virtuoso appearances as other characters.

he never said he was a fan, maybe just wanted to indulge in some light schadenfreude