Baseball Page 1254 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Nixon's Nightmare Was Brought To Life At The White House Today
The world champion San Francisco Giants, accompanied by Willie Mays, visited the White House today, in all their scraggly, bearded glory. President Obama made jokes about Brian Wilson's beard ("I do fear it"), his attire ("Now underneath Brian's beard, and the spandex tuxedo, and the sea captain cos...

Bartolo Colon-O-Meter: Wonders Are Still Unceasing
Yesterday, the New York Yankees' veteran salvage-heap starter — and barometer of existential significance — took the mound against the Oakland Athletics. How did he (and by extension, all humankind) fare? 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 4 K. Joy reigns once more, till the next time....

Eric Wedge's Mustache Tweets From The Dead
From an iPhone, no less. When the Mariners' losing streak reached 14 games Saturday night, manager Eric Wedge made the "drastic" decision to shave his 'stache, thinking it might help with karma or whatever. It didn't, as Seattle lost again to Boston yesterday. The People Against Eric Wedge's Mustac...

Breaking: Oddibe McDowell's Water Bill Is $171.45, But That's Because He Didn't Pay Last Month's Bill
Via Broward County Water and Wastewater Services....

You Know, Baseball Really Needs To Do More To Protect Its Umpires
Your morning roundup for July 25, the day we learned of the Russians' plans to invade a beach in Brooklyn. H/T to Dave Littlefield for the video, though we kinda wish it had been from the real Dave Littlefield. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

The Strange Daily Commute Of Kei Igawa, Minor League Superstar
Bill Pennington has a splendid New York Times piece today about Kei Igawa, the other Japanese pitcher who came over to the US in the winter of 2006. The Red Sox splurged on the posting fee for Daisuke Matsuzaka—who, let's not forget, had two nice seasons before becoming the biggest Boston blight sin...

Watch A Cop Take A Baseball To The Head At Last Night's Indians/White Sox Game
Tipster Andrew D. was kind enough to share this video of a foul ball deflecting from the stands at Progressive Field in Cleveland onto the dome of a sideline cop. At first, he's on the edge of seething, but then he sees the whimsy of the moment and just goes back to his responsibilities to God, Co...

Here's A Picture Of A Baseball Commentator Sweating Profusely While Flanked By Ladies In Eighties Gear
Last night was Retro Night at the Phillies/Padres game. This is the type of thing a team does to keep a sell-out streak alive when a) the Padres are in town, b) on a Friday night in summer, c) when the temperature at first pitch is 98 °F....

Everybody Feared The Worst When Old Man Brent Musburger Went Rogue In Vegas For A Spell
Your morning roundup for July 23, the day after we learned that high-school tennis coaches really might want to stay away from strip-club ownership....

Well, You Were Warned To Stay Out Of The Sun, But You Just Wouldn't Listen
From this afternoon's Astros-Cubs game at Wrigley, where shade was surely in short supply....

Why Some Writers Won't Vote Derek Jeter To The Hall Of Fame
Sam Borden's got a column on SI.com today, idly wondering if Jeter will become the first player in history to be unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It's a question that shouldn't matter because HOF voting is so flaky — Tom Seaver has the highest percentage of any electee — but it does...

If This Doesn't Warm Your Heart, You're Awful
We've learned a lot about fan psychology when it comes to foul balls. We've seen adults snatch them away from children; we've seen kids sulk until they're rewarded; we've seen grown men devote their sad lives to catching baseballs. There's something about that little sphere made of cork, yarn and ...

Stephen Drew's Ankle Did A Thing Human Ankles Shouldn't Do
Oof. That ankle's at the wrong o'clock. But perhaps even worse is when he snaps it back into place. (If you're squeamish, you may not want to watch the super slo-mo at 0:51, right after the announcer "hopes it's not a possible break.") It is, and Drew's obviously done for the season....

Watch A "One-Punch Fight" In The Stands At Today's Pirates Game
With Pittsburgh's 3-1 loss to the Reds today, a Milwaukee win over Arizona tonight would put the Brewers in first place. The fear of dreams being dashed was probably what started all this static near Bob and Eileen who just wanted to talk some Ozzy and cheer the Pirates onto a victory that would n...

What Does Bartolo Colon Mean Today?
Life is a small sample. So what are the metaphysical implications of the most recent game pitched by the Yankees' 38-year-old fourth starter? After July 14 (0.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 0 K), "Defeat had simply taken wonder's place." Last night? 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 9 K. Wonder is back!...

Hey, Kids: If You Sulk On TV, The Giants PR Team Will Reward You
In San Francisco, they make sure the kids develop a sense of entitlement at an early age....

Texas Rangers Will Raise All Ballpark Rails To 42 Inches
"The Rangers will raise the height of the front row rails at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to 42 inches, an increase of as much as 12 inches in certain areas of the park, as part of new safety initiatives at the facility following the death of fan Shannon Stone... The rail that Stone fell over was 3...

Former Phillies Reliever Ricky Bottalico Is Worried About Roy Oswalt's Bulging Dick
Crossing Broad brings us another highlight to add to the already lengthy reel of sports broadcasters talking about bulging dicks....

Then And Now With The Pirates In First Place In July
Yesterday morning, while boarding the R train at Union Square, I was surprised to find myself standing next to a young woman wearing a gray Pirates T-shirt that bore Pedro Alvarez's name and number on the back. This being New York City, it's almost never unusual to encounter sports fans from all ove...

Zubazpalooza > MC Hammer Bobblehead Night
The long-awaited MC Hammer bobblehead night finally arrived in Oakland yesterday, and it was rather exciting for everyone involved....