Today's Birthday Team has a pretty darn good outfield.

C: Dixie Howell
1B: Jim Field
2B: Joe Wagner
3B: Mike Blowers
SS: Omar Vizquel
LF: Chipper Jones
CF: Carlos Beltran
RF: Red Worthington

SP: Howard Ehmke
SP: Bob Ewing
SP: Bill Singer
SP: Harry Harper
SP: Pat Zachry
RP: Todd Jones

Manager/Randle Nemesis: Frank Lucchesi
Negro Leagues Great: Andy Cooper

I couldn't find the Cobb picture, but the panoramic shot of Addie Joss day had this:
A fun fact: Cleveland Naps outfielder Jack Graney appears in the photograph twice, third from the left and again at far right. Quite a few playful photographic subjects have pulled this trick, running around behind the camera after it had passed in its slow sweep and jumping back into a spot at the far end where the camera had not yet reached.

http://sports.ha.com/common/newsletter.php?id=1636

Jair Jurrjens was optioned to Triple-A after another bad start last night. Last year he was a decent candidate to start the All-Star Game.

ToddZolecki: Shane Victorino hits a three-run homer in the 9th. That's the first home run the Phillies have hit this season with runners on base.
from Todd Zolecki (ToddZolecki) on Twitter

Speaking of the Phillies, I have a ticket to see them play the Cubs Friday night in Philly. Any Primates want to suggest anything I must do or see or eat or drink at the new (to me) Philadelphia ballpark? Other than just shut up and watch the game, which will be my main goal.

I'm talking strictly the ballpark – I know the city itself well enough, and have little time to see it aside from the ballgame this weekend. It will be the third Philadelphia baseball stadium I've seen a game in: I've actually seen the Cubs play in both Connie Mack and the Vet over the years. In fact I saw Ferguson Jenkins pitch in Philadelphia in 1968 and again in 1983. One imagines he won't be pitching there on Friday ...

BDC, you should go to Bull's BBQ, at the end of Ashburn Alley. It's pretty good (maybe not KC good, but good enough) and you might see the Bull roaming around in an apron, glad-handing.

Speaking of the Phillies, I have a ticket to see them play the Cubs Friday night in Philly. Any Primates want to suggest anything I must do or see or eat or drink at the new (to me) Philadelphia ballpark? Other than just shut up and watch the game, which will be my main goal.

I'll be there on Monday, so, ditto.

Edit: I have to be at the park 3 hours early to get onto the field for batting practice, so we'll have a lot of time to kill after, before the game starts.

Jason Bay to the DL.

I have to be at the park 3 hours early to get onto the field for batting practice,

Damn, the Cubs have sunk lower than even McCoy thought possible.

Heh. I didn't think of it that way.

I will go looking for the Bull, Edmundo – always one of my favorites.

Apparently Cobb did this more than once

This fantastic 1914 panoramic photograph features the all-time great, Ty Cobb, not once, but twice! In the old days when this photo was taken, it was necessary for the players to stand still for several seconds. This allowed for some tomfoolery. In this case, Cobb was at one end of the picture when the photo was snapped and sprinted to the other end before the exposure was completed. Thus, he is in the photo twice. Players names are penned below their images and also include greats such as Heilman, Bush, Vitt, Gibson, Burns, Coveleski, Veach, Crawford and Jennings. The contrast and clarity of the photo is near perfect. It is in its original frame and appears EX with some mild toning and soiling at spots. The photo measures 36 inches across and eight inches high, the frame is worn from age and has holes at either end for hanging, but is in overall very good condition. A classic keepsake from nearly a century ago.

http://www.lelands.com/Auction/AuctionDetail/67751/December-2011-Catalog/Sports/Baseball-Memorabilia/Lot67~1914-Detroit-Tigers-Panoramic-Photograph-with-Ty-Cobb-Twice-

So when do we start up the ginormous Diamond Mind league with all of the birthday teams?

I've got the Strat-O-Matic career disks and intend to do just that at some point. Haven't had time though.

Hey, did you guys know that when teams play a doubleheader, they're allowed to add a 26th man to the roster? Nobody told me, but apparently the Rockies just added Zach Putnam to the team for the DH against the Pirates tomorrow.

Game of the day (yesterday): Red Sox 6, Twins 5. You mean they're not going to lose every game the rest of the season? Boston started out ahead on a sac fly from Adrian Gonzalez, and extended the lead in the second on Saltalamacchia's 2-run homer. The Twins stormed back with four runs in the 4th, highlighted by Ryan Doumit's 2-run double and Danny Valencia's subsequent 2-run homer. They padded the lead to 5-3 on a walk-single-GDP sequence in the fifth. The Sox put the tying runs on in the sixth before David Ortiz ended the inning with a GDP. And from there, Cody Ross decided to party like it was the 2010 NLCS. He tied the game with a 2-run homer in the seventh, and after the Twins wasted a runner on third with nobody out in the eighth, Ross struck again with a go-ahead shot in the ninth. .650 WPA in the game for Ross, which is nifty.

Game of the day (last year): Astros 9, Brewers 6 (10). Houston started things off with a bang, posting 3 runs in the first, highlighted by a home run from Carlos Lee. The Brewers scraped together a single run in the second on a sac fly from Yuniesky Betancourt, but Hunter Pence promptly countered with a solo homer in the top of the third. Milwaukee continued its uncharacteristically light-hitting ways in the bottom half of the inning, sandwiching three singles around a wild pitch, a steal, and an RBI groudout to close the margin to one. Both teams were hitless for the next two innings, and both put two runners on in the sixth without scoring. The Astros struck again in the seventh, with a single from Michael Bourn, a double from Angel Sanchez, and a single from Pence; the Brewers responded in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run homer from Ryan Braun, and put the tying run in scoring position before being retired. Both teams threatened again in the eighth, Houston putting runners at first and second with no outs, Milwaukee with runners on the corners and none away before a rather devastating home-to-third double play defused the threat. (Really, Jonathan Lucroy, what catcher tries to go first-to-third on a groundout?) The Brewers finally pulled even for the first time all day in the ninth, as Braun singled and Prince Fielder doubled him home; they then proceeded to load the bases (with the help of, wonder of wonders, a walk from Yuniesky) before Lucroy grounded out to send the game into extras.

The tie didn't last long. Brett Wallace doubled with one out in the tenth; an IBB and a groundout put runners at second and third with two away, and both of them scored on Humberto Quintero's ground-rule double. Quintero stole third, and reliever Brandon Lyon, in his second (and so far, last) career plate appearance, doubled him home. Sufficiently embarassed by the catcher SB/pitcher 2B sequence, the Brewers went down in order to end the game.

Footnote to 4/23/11 as a whole: Both leagues played a full slate of games that day. The NL produced the worst contest of the day, a perfunctory 7-2 win by the Pirates over Washington. The next six games going up the list in excitement were all in the AL; contrariwise, the 5 best games of the day were all NL affairs. The average NL game from this day was almost twice as exciting as the average AL game.

Re: #15:

1. What??
2. Who??

Kidding. Though I saw "Putnam for the DH" and thought of Pat Putnam.

Dylan Bundy threw four more perfect innings tonight. I don't think he's being adequately challenged.