ASTROS, RANGERS FIGHT FOR AL WEST ON EVE OF ALL-STAR GAME

 (Ed.'s Note: Like the great old game? We do. What's more, with the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers fighting for the top spot in the American League Western Division this year, it pits two Texan teams as we head into the All-Star break July 11 in Seattle. We also like the creative wit that many who have played the sport have brought to the game. We took the liberty of looking up the book "Covering the Bases," edited by Paul E. Gangi and published in 2003 by Barnes and Nobles. Here are a few of the gems in the book. Enjoy. We did.)

"It is an old baseball joke that big-inning baseball is affirmed in the Bible, in Genesis. 'In the big inning, God created ...'" – George Will, writer.

"It is designed to break your heart, The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." – A. Bartlett Giamatti, educator, writer and former commissioner of baseball

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." – Satchel Paige, Hall of Fame pitcher and Negro League great

"Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever saw. He always pitches when the other team doesn't score runs." – Tim McCarver, all-star catcher, on his Cardinals' teammate

"When I began playing the game, baseball was about as gentlemanly as a kick in the crotch." – Ty Cobb, Hall of Fame outfielder

"Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what it most truly is, is distinguished combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps." – Willie Mays, Hall of Fame outfielder

"Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." – Warren Spahn, Hall of Fame pitcher

"I never realized that batting a little ball around could cause so much commotion." – Stan Musial, Hall of Fame outfielder/first baseman

"It ain't over 'till it's over." – Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame catcher

"Nice guys finish last." – Leo Durocher, Hall of Fame manager

"I never did say that you can't be a nice guy and win. I said that if I was playing third base and my mother rounded third with the winning run, I'd trip her." – Leo Durocher, Hall of Fame manager

"Winning isn't the only thing. But wanting to is." – Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Hall of Fame pitcher

"If I had known I was gonna pitch a no-hitter today, I would have gotten a haircut." Robert "Bo" Belinsky, journeyman pitcher

"When we lose, I can't sleep at night. When we win, I can't sleep at night. But when we win, I wake up feeling better." – Joe Torre, player and manager

"If we lost, I'd be eating my heart out. But since we won, I'll only eat one ventricle." – Rob Swoboda, outfielder from 1969 World Champion New York Mets

"Yeah, I'm pretty good on 670 days of rest." – Joe Magrane, pitcher who was unable to post a win in two years

"It only took me 21 runs and five years to get a win here." – Andy Pettite, pitcher commenting on his first win against the Texas Rangers in his home state of Texas

"Slumps are like a soft bed – they're easy to get into and hard to get out of." – Johnny Bench, Hall of Fame catcher

"The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose." – Ernie Banks, Hall of Fame shortstop