On today's Birthday Team: Buck, Fats, Baby Doll, Puddin' Head, Tiny, and Rube. Terry Shumpert seems like the sort of guy who should have had a cool nickname, but didn't.

Also of note, probably only because it's my neck of the woods: Woodling (Akron) and Fothergill (Massillon) grew up about 15 miles apart in Northeast Ohio, both about 12 miles from Canton, where Damian Jackson spent two years booting grounders in AA ball (54 errors in '94!) and I spent two summers cringing while watching Jackson attempt to play short.

It boggles my mind that Damian Jackson became a passable MLB shortstop; watching him play defense in the Eastern League was like watching...man, I don't know. It was turrible. Credit where credit is due, though: He spent 11 years playing Major League Baseball and wasn't half bad for a utility guy.

C/Manager: Buck Rodgers
1B: Mike Jorgensen
2B: Terry Shumpert
3B: Puddin' Head Jones
SS: Damian Jackson
LF: Gene Woodling
CF: Baby Doll Jacobson
RF: Fats Fothergill

SP: Tiny Bonham
SP: Rick Reed
SP: Hank Robinson
SP: Gene Brabender
SP: Don Rudolph
RP: Al Holland

College Coach: Amos Alonzo Stagg
Top Prospect: Yu Darvish

[Syracuse infielder Billy] Nattress made a remark about loaning $12 to a person named Latham 10 years ago and having never heard of the loan returned…“Cut that out or I’ll fine you $10,” said [umpire Arlie] Latham.

“Pay me the $12 that you’ve been owing me for the last 10 years and I’ll pay you on the spot,” replied Nattress.

“Off the field with you,” yelled Latham.

Never realized Arlie later became "the freshest ump on earth" (which is saying something).

mfranknba: [roy] Halladay on giving up HR to [greg] Dobbs on changeup: "It was kind of in his bat speed." Ouch.

I'm in a hurry, but someone should post this as an article: Duquette/O's don't like cutters.

Jeez, the Freshest Man on Earth could dish it out, but he sure couldn’t take it.


They never can. The biggest mouths are always wrapped in the thinnest of skins.

fun with numbers:

bryce harper:
418 PA, .245/.321/.396, 94 OPS+
juan pierre
325 PA: .306/.347/.374, 94 OPS+

fun with numbers:

bryce harper: 19 years old
juan pierre: 73 years old

Game of the day (yesterday): Mariners 1, Rays 0. Sometimes, there's not much point in my recapping the game. This is one of those times.

King Felix. Perfect Game. That Is All.

Game of the day (last year): Rockies 7, Marlins 4. Florida started fast against Kevin Millwood, as Bryan Petersen tripled with one out in the first and Giancarlo/Mike Stanton homered to put them ahead by two. Clay Hensley threw a perfect first for the Fish, but couldn't duplicate the effort in the second; Troy Tulowitzki and Jason Giambi started the inning with singles, and Chris Nelson added a hit one out later to load the bases. Jonathan Herrera hit into a force at second to bring Tulowitzki home with Colorado's first run of the day.

Emilio Bonifacio and Petersen both singled with one out in the third, but Millwood recovered to leave them both on base. Eric Young, Jr. started the bottom of the third with a bunt single and stole second with two out, then trotted the rest of the way around on Tulowitzki's go-ahead two-run homer. But the newfound lead was quickly lost again, as Gaby Sanchez doubled and John Buck homered at the beginning of the fourth, putting Florida in front once more.

Colorado's hitters proceeded to put the tying run in scoring position on a regular basis. Nelson doubled with one out in the fourth, and Dexter Fowler did him one base better with a one-out triple in the fifth. Hensley didn't allow any extra-base hits in the sixth, but did hit Eliezer Alfonzo with a pitch and give up a single to Nelson. Herrera's groundout moved the runners to second and third, but Michael Dunn came on and struck out Seth Smith to leave the go-ahead runs on base.

Meanwhile, Millwood had given up only a walk over his last two innings. Rex Brothers threw a perfect seventh, as did Edward Mujica. Brothers and Matt Belisle set the Marlins down in order in the eighth; Florida's pitchers were a bit more daring. Mujica walked Tulowitzki, who then stole second. Giambi popped up, and new pitcher Burke Badenhop retired Alfonzo on a line drive. Nelson walked, prompting the entry of the reliever formerly known as Leo Nunez, who whiffed Ty Wigginton with the tying run on second.

Belisle gave up hits to Sanchez and Dewayne Wise in the ninth, but left them on the corners. "Nunez" retired the first two Colorado hitters in the bottom of the inning. Fowler worked a full count and then doubled; Carlos Gonzalez didn't wait for a full count, matching Fowler's double on the first pitch and driving in the heretofore elusive tying run. The Marlins then intentionally walked Tulowitzki and put in lefty Randy Choate to face Giambi. The platoon advantage failed to hold, as Giambi took Choate's fourth pitch over the right field fence for a walkoff 3-run homer.

The Rockies had 16 AB with runners in scoring position. 11 of those were with the team behind by a run. That's a game that never quite lets the fans get comfortable moving away from the edge of their seats, even if the lead wasn't changing hands half a dozen times. Also, you know, there was a walkoff homer, and both a home run and a blown save by players whose names have changed in the 12 months between the game and this recap.