Latest Robothal…including some horning around.

• Francona loves the willingness of veterans such as Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Mike Aviles to move between multiple positions without complaint. He says of the effervescent Swisher, “Just when it seems you need a little encouragement, he’s standing right there.”

• Designated hitter Adam Dunn on the White Sox, who entered Tuesday ranked last in the AL in runs per game (3.47), last in on-base percentage (.283) and next-to-last in ...

For a second there, I thought he had his Wood’s confused and was going to call in Arthur Koehler.

Even Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood was stunned when he heard what manager Dale Sveum said about him after Wood threw another gem in helping to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, on Tuesday night.

“He’s the best starter in baseball pretty much,” Sveum said bluntly.

That might be overstating the case, but with a 2.33 ERA for the season and 6⅔ innings of one-run ball Tuesday, Sveum might not ...

Toledo News Bee, May 8, 1913:

Although several members of the Naps and Red Sox bore slightly bruised and chipped faces as a confirmation of the report that a free-for-all fight had taken place between both teams following Wednesday’s game, not a player could be found Thursday who would directly admit that a scrap had taken place.
...
It waged for at least 10 minutes. Tris Speaker emerged with three spike marks on his head.
...
Both Manager Birmingham and acting Manager Wagner professed to know ...

IN A WORLD where it’s Wednesday, 15 games give us hope, dreams and entertainment. King Felix goes against Pittsburgh, Jordan Zimmermann tries to steal the Astros’ lunch money from the Tigers and Clayton Kershaw takes the mound in the lone 10 PM game.

Also, the Angels try to stop the bleeding against the Astros, because, wow, that is a lot of bleeding.

Tough watch.

A simply horrifying turn of events in Tuesday night’s Toronto-Tampa Bay game: Jays starter J.A. Happ was wheeled off on a stretcher after being struck flush on the side of the head by Desmond Jennings’s line drive. The play occurred in the second inning. Please be warned that the following footage will be disturbing for some:

Moments after impact, Happ appeared to be bleeding profusely from his ear or the area around his ear. He was attended to on the field for several minutes ...

I’ll get to this fun…as soon as I’m done playing this round of Pin the Duragesic Time-Release Patch on an Unsuspecting Ass!

That intangibles notion is murky, of course, and complicated. Jeter played in an era when everyone was suspected of PED use. For those choosing to believe the shortstop that he was, is and always has been a clean ballplayer, the monument to his fidelity and greatness lies in his old-school bona fides. Jeter, along with possibly Ken Griffey Jr., is the only player in the ...

“Don Baylor (Yanks) type body” YIKES!

It seems that more and more of these old scouting reports are beginning to surface on the Internet, and I’m all for that. It’s rather cool to see what scouts thought of future big-leaguers when they saw them play for the first time.

And here is the report on a 22-year-old player for Auburn by the name of Vincent Edward Jackson. We know him as Bo Jackson:

Anyone who commits to the Cubs should be committed.

Stewart just finished a rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs for a left quad injury that has plagued him since early in spring training. The maximum time a player can spend in the minors in that situation is 20 days, making last Friday his final day of rehabbing.

But because he was hitting .091 the Cubs decided to keep him there by officially sending him down after his rehab stint was complete. He didn’t need to clear waivers, so Stewart ...

You Think You Know About A-Rod’s Dreams… You Know Nothing!

In fact, there are people who think A-Rod has been breaking the rules since his rookie year – even as far back as high school – and has never stopped. That’s why Rodriguez’s detractors in the game think he’s doomed: not because his hips may or may not function efficiently any more, but because of his psychological dependence on PEDs.

If Rodriguez returns to 24-7 scrutiny, and if he knows can’t use PEDs any longer, what ...

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 7, 1913:

The Philadelphia National League team…protested [the May 5] game with St. Louis, claiming that Umpire Klem “took undue advantage of the rule which provides that the ball must be thrown by the pitcher within 20 seconds after it has been called for by the umpire.
...
Pitcher Seaton had two strikes and one ball on Wingo in the seventh inning and was waiting to receive his signal from the catcher when Klem called the second ball, which later forced Seaton to ...

Joe Mauer’s take…

Take it from Joe Mauer, as studious and selective as they come.

It’s different out there.

“The game has evolved,” Mauer said. “This is my 10th year. My first couple years in the league, if you were a sinkerball pitcher, you were a sinkerball pitcher. Now, they throw a sinker, a cutter, a four-seamer. So you’re looking for three fastballs instead of one or two.”

It’s working, and Mauer is the perfect example of how well it’s working.

Entering Monday, Mauer had struck out ...

So enough with the Manager Schettino jokes!

With the Angels tying their worst start in franchise history—an 11-20 record matching the futility of their 1961 inaugural season—manager Mike Scioscia’s future with the club has come into question.

A fired-up Scioscia wants to make it clear—he’s not interested in bailing out.

“I’ve never quit, given up or anything else like that in my career,” the Halos’ manager said after an 8-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. “I’m certainly not going to ...

My kind of stadium, Wrigley ain’t
My kind of freeloaders, too
Toothless ushers who smile at you

There is something ghastly about watching the St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field akin to watching the prom queen dance with Quasimodo in a fetid alley.

Busch Stadium is a modern, clean facility with excellent views of the playing field, wide inner corridors, easy access to vendors, large restrooms, plentiful parking and compelling views of a vibrant downtown.

The Busch ...

The Houston Astros have designated outfielders Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez for assignment and reinstated outfielder J.D. Martinez from the disabled list.

Houston also selected the contract of outfielder Trevor Crowe from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday and recalled infielder-outfielder Jimmy Paredes from their top minor league team. Infielder Brandon Laird was also optioned to Oklahoma City.

Not every day you see a team get rid of their leader in slugging percentage.

PREVIOUSLY ON MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Matt Harvey took the world by storm, Jordan Zimmermann stepped took a step up to ace status, and the Astros had their lunch money stolen by the Tigers. Oh, and Big Papi has been hitting a lot.

TODAY: Harvey pitches against the Red, Zimmermann tries to steal the Astros’ lunch money from the Tigers, Ortiz goes for 27 and the Astros try to cure the Angels of what ails them because, honestly, if a series against the Astros can’t, what can?

Maury adds…“And when I’m talking “plunge” I’m not talking Loria’s neckline.”

As of today, the decline would be 31 percent below what the club ended with last season. But, they are currently averaging 18,864. As of May 5 of last season, they were averaging 30,681, down 11,817 from the previous year, or a decline of 39 percent.

So, it’s very possible the Marlins could end worse than the Rays. It’s early, and anything could happen, but odds are good the Marlins aren’t going to get any ...

Well…it is K8 and not K/9.

I began thinking of this often this week as I was watching local high school teams play the game. Specifically, Michigan City and La Porte.

I became frustrated watching these players, particularly at the plate. In my opinion, too much first-pitch swinging is going on, which flies directly in the face of stats like on-base percentage, who many people - myself included - feel is a greater indicator of batting success than the more popular batting average.

If the ...

Using Richard Goodwin-Shares…this rates very highly as a political speech.

Johnson is a proven leader, and I’m not referring to his career wins and losses or three World Series championships.

I’m talking about a man who was bold enough at 19 years old to challenge former Texas A&M baseball coach Tom Chandler for telling him he’d get a full four-year ride when the scholarship contract only promised him one guaranteed year at the school.

I’m talking about a man who was savvy enough to create a ...

If your crack’s from Otis Nixon, then your pipe could use some fixin’.

Nixon, 54, had a crack pipe in his pocket and a crack rock in his vehicle when he was stopped on I-575 early Saturday, according to a Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reported obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A 911 caller reported a red Dodge Ram pickup truck driving erratically on I-575 north shortly after midnight and a deputy was dispatched and pulled the truck over, the report states. A state trooper ...

Wish you were here…..

Chicago White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd could be sidelined through the 2014 season after the team announced Monday he will undergo surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor muscle in his right arm.

Floyd will undergo surgery Tuesday by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The expected time of recovery for Floyd, 30, is from 14 to 19 months.

Floyd suffered the injury while delivering a pitch April 27 against Tampa. ...

Formerly titled Mattingly delusional syndrome.

I am all for positive thinking, but sometimes sports figures divorce themselves from reality.

Is this the suckiest bunch of sucks who ever did suck?

The Houston Astros have five pseudo regulars in thelr lineup — FIVE — who are striking out more than once per game. This is a rather astounding achievement, possibly historic, and it leads to my prediction that this team will get no-hit before the year’s out, maybe twice. They have already flirted with no-nos — Yu Darvish took a perfect game into the ninth against them and Justin Verlander had them no-hit for six innings on Sunday. ...

“It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing Milkbone underwear.” ~ Norm

Yesterday was the annual “Bark in the Park” day in Atlanta, the only time—other than when the Reds are in town—when ticketholders must show proof they’ve been vaccinated against Parvo and Bordetella.

Josh Hamilton’s first month as a Los Angeles Angel was a well-documented disaster. The slugger, who signed a five-year, $125 million deal with LAA in the off-season, finished April with a .204/.252/.296 slash line, two homers, nine RBIs, six walks and 32 strikeouts.

Sure, Hamilton has long been known as a streaky hitter, but just how bad has this start been? Let’s break down the numbers a little further.

Hamilton’s .548 OPS for April was the second-lowest OPS he’s ever posted in a month ...

Ax: Leave a hero. Come back a man.

Axford does have Minor League options remaining, but Roenicke indicated that was not a consideration at the moment.

“No, it’s not [under discussion],” Roenicke said. “We feel he can get it back together. We saw him do it last year, and still feel that he can do it. … It’s the same thing that he was in [last season], whether it’s confidence, whether it’s mechanical. If it’s mechanical, Rick [Kranitz, the pitching coach] and Lee [Tunnell, the bullpen coach] ...