Democrats Plan to Put Money on the Ground

Claire McCaskill was among the Democrats who helped solidify that party's majority in the Senate in 2006. (By T. Rob Brown -- Associated Press)

Rep. Mike Doyle (Pa.), the Democratic manager, removed Baca in favor of Rep. Bart Stupak (Mich.) to try to close out the game. But Stupak proved wild, and soon the bases were filled with Republicans. Using the game's liberal multiple-substitution rules, Doyle sent Baca back out to the mound. (The Fix would have to consult official baseball scoring manuals to determine if this would have given Baca the chance for both the win and the save.)

After a wild pitch made the score 10-9, the Democrats chose to load the bases, looking for a game-ending double play. Sure enough, Baca cleanly fielded a one-hopper hit straight to him, pivoted and threw to home, where Rep. Chris Murphy (Conn.), the freshman Democratic catcher, fielded the ball and tagged home plate. Two outs. Murphy looked down the first base line and had a clear shot to throw out the GOP runner, Rep. Connie Mack (Fla.), for the double play.

Then, disaster struck for the long-suffering Democrats. Murphy's throw sailed high above the first baseman and deep down the right field line. One Republican runner scored, and then Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.), who started the play on first, scurried home with the winning run. Republicans prevailed, 11-10.

"The Democrats deserved to win the game," Rep. Zach Wamp (Tenn.), the Republican shortstop who had two hits, told the Roll Call newspaper, the sponsor of the game. "I've played for 12 years, and this was the best baseball game I've played in."

PLAYERS

The inner circle of advisers who formed the strategy team for former North Carolina senator John Edwards's presidential bids in 2004 and 2008 is (finally) splitting up. Several have signed on to the Obama cause in one role or another. Jonathan Prince, one of Edwards's most senior advisers, agreed late last week to run the independent expenditure arm of the Democratic National Committee; Christina Reynolds, who served as Edwards's research director in both of his presidential races, is now the director of rapid response for Obama. Eric Schultz, the national spokesman for Edwards's bid earlier this year, is headed to Minnesota to help steady Al Franken's Senate bid. And Chris Chafe, an Edwards labor adviser during the primary, is returning back to the organized labor fold -- as executive director of the Change to Win coalition.

1 day: Sen. John McCain travels to Kennebunkport, Maine, to raise cash with the former first couple: president George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush.

19 days: The Beijing Summer Olympics begin. And, for two weeks, politics takes a back seat.