Cubs players in 1908 gather at West Side Park behind their ferocious mascot. (Chuckman Chicago Nostalgia)

This photograph proves why the Chicago Cubs had a mascot in 1908 but don't anymore. Because such a beast could easily be mistaken for a giant squirrel, or Frank from "Donnie Darko."

What's great about this shot of the most recent World Series winner in Cubs history (aside from the taxidermy project gone wrong in the foreground) are the looks on the faces of a couple of players. Notably (I believe) outfielder Del Howard, the only person in the photo actually acknowledging the mascot's presence. He's standing fifth from the right, with his hands crossed, looking amused.

The other funny face is that of Hall of Famer Johnny Evers, who is behind the bear cub and just to the left of its head. He's obviously very excited to pose for the photo. And if you're wondering where Joe Tinker and Frank Chance are (as in "Tinker to Evers to Chance"), look out below:

Brookens, Bergman, Whitaker and Trammell weighed a combined 675. Fielder and Cabrera: 545. (AP, Getty)

When the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder to a hefty $214 million contract Tuesday and added him to a lineup that already featured Miguel Cabrera, they also drew attention to the girth of those two players.

Multiple sources list Fielder at 275 pounds, and we'll take them at their word. Cabrera, who at 6-foot-4 stands about five inches taller than Fielder, estimated in spring training that he weighed 270. Math tells us that's 545 pounds between the two Tigers who will comprise manager Jim Leyland's infield corners (on occasion) in 2012.

That's heavy stuff.

Not counting the pitcher and catcher, all of the Tigers infielders on the field for the last out of the 1984 World Series collectively weigh only 130 pounds more than Fielder and Cabrera combined. Let's look at the numbers, as obtained at Baseball-Reference:

1B — Dave Bergman: 185.
2B — Lou Whitaker: 160.
SS — Alan Trammell: 165.
3B — Tom Brookens: 165.
Total: ........... 675 pounds.

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star pointed this out first, sort of, on Twitter.

But what does it mean?

Former White Sox slugger Bill Melton (left) and manager Robin Ventura model the team's new/old red pinstripes. (@mlb)

The Chicago White Sox have a notorious uniform history. They've worn tuxedos. They've worn pajamas. They've even worn shorts. Shudder.

Amid a virtual minefield of fashion, the team has announced it is reaching into history to pull a retro look forward. And it's not horrifyingly ugly.

The White Sox will wear red pinstripes for home Sunday games in 2012, replicas of uniforms they sported in the early 1970s when franchise icons Dick Allen, Wilbur Wood and Bill Melton ruled the South Side of Chicago. From 1971-1975, the White Sox hit on a sharp look that combined their iconic "Sox" logo and a red pinstripe color scheme, rarely used at that time in Major League Baseball. So what if it looked like something the Boston Red Sox might wear at Fenway Park?! It was better than what came next.

It will also provide a nice weekly break from the regular uniforms they wear.

Aside from the aesthetic, fans old enough or just familiar with Sox history also associate these uniforms with sluggers Allen and Melton, two of the best players the team has ever had. (That's Melton on the left with new manager Robin Ventura in the photo.) Under manager Chuck Tanner, the Sox won in these uniforms. Or, at least they lost less.

[Related: Nine former college hoops champs will don gray uniforms]

It's impossible to say for sure based on the photo, but the only way the retro look will be complete is if the Sox wear GIANT numbers on the backs. How giant?

Jonah Hill gave an understated performance playing Peter Brand in 'Moneyball' and it resulted in an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor."Moneyball" the movie continues to surprise and excel. It received six Academy Award nominations on Tuesday, including four biggies: best picture, lead actor (Brad Pitt), supporting actor (Jonah Hill) and adapted screenplay. It was also nominated for film editing and sound mixing.

It's a shame that Bennett Miller wasn't nominated for directing, and the real snub was Wally Pfister missing for cinematography, yet it's still amazing that Hollywood even produced a nonfiction project about a baseball team that doesn't win the World Series. Not only has "Moneyball" been a box office hit, but it's also on the verge of being an Oscar winner in one or more categories. But what are its actual chances of winning?

The Bovada sports book in Las Vegas is taking bets on the elite categories and they give "Moneyball" 30-to-1 odds to win best picture. It could shock the world — as there isn't a crystal-clear frontrunner — but the only longer shot among the nine nominees is "Tree of Life" at 50-1. Pitt, at 10-to-1 for lead actor, is the third choice after George Clooney and Jean Dujardin. It seems like Clooney's moment.

Bovada is not taking bets on supporting actor or the writing categories, but that's where "Moneyball" has the best chance to win.

New owner Jim Crane is considering calling the Houston Astros something else. (AP)When the Houston Astros switch to the American League in 2013, they also might undergo a makeover that includes new uniforms (whatever) and a new name (gasp!). The franchise has a history of fiddling with both.

New owner Jim Crane, at a Monday event to announce several fan-inspired initiatives, said the team was "highly considering" altering its uniforms — which hopefully means a return to the polarizing rainbow jerseys once favored by presidential candidate Ron Paul. Hey, if they were good enough for him and J.R. Richard...

Crane seemed less certain that the Astros would be renamed, but he definitely was floating a trial balloon when reminiscing about the Colt .45s, the name of the franchise from its inaugural season in 1962 until 1965. The likes of Rusty Staub, Joe Morgan and Jim Wynn played for the franchise when it was called the Colts, so there's some history there. And the space program isn't what it once was so...

As quoted by the Associated Press:

"We had the Colt .45s and everybody liked that one," Crane said. "So you can imagine how upset they were when we switched that. What you get when you look at the fan base is the older we get and I'm old, you don't like to change. But the younger fans are very receptive to change and the older ones aren't, so that's what we saw with the American League."

I'm not sure how true any of what Crane said is, but if they're going to rename the franchise of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Nolan Ryan and Jose Cruz, they won't do it without a few of our suggestions.

Here are 10 possible new names for the Houston Astros:

1. Bush: Before you say "Not gonna do it," hear me out. The team's most visible season ticket holders are former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush. They appear at a freakish number of games and seem to actually love baseball. George I played ball at Yale, just like Lou Gehrig did at Columbia. Well, not JUST like him. The logo could be Bar's hairdo. Or a thousand points of light.

Hey, is that Cesar Cedeño or Ron Paul?

Almost nobody likes Congress. The polls say so. But I'll say this for the federal legislature: Republicans and Democrats play each other in a baseball game every year, and that partly makes up for whatever it is they do the rest of the time.

Back in December, Summer Anne Burton of NotGraphs published a wonderful post called "GOP Presidential Candidates and Baseball" that explored how each of the hopefuls has been affiliated with the national pastime. The runaway winner was Ron Paul, simply because he happened to be photographed wearing a customized Houston Astros uniform while playing for the Republicans in the 1976 game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Many of the politicos who play today still wear the uniform of their local club. What a wonderfully silly excuse to dress up.

But Paul really did it right: Rainbow, star, stirrups. The only thing missing is white cleats. (I'm not sure what I think of putting his entire name on the back of the jersey. That's a violation.) Still, he'd fit right in with Jose Cruz, Enos Cabell and J.R. Richard. And check out those forearms. Nice to meet you, Mr. Garvey, err, Dr. Paul. With guns like those, it might not surprise you to realize that Paul reportedly hit the only home run over the fence in the history of the Congressional series — so says his son Sen. Rand Paul.

Ryan Braun (in velvet) made only vague references to his positive drug test Saturday night.

For anyone expecting Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun to make big news at the baseball writers banquet Saturday night, well, he didn't.

Unless you count the awesome velvet tuxedo he wore to accept his 2011 NL MVP Award.

In a brief speech spent mostly thanking his supporters, Braun only alluded to the positive drug test that will lead to a 50-game suspension if his appeal is denied. He didn't dramatically decline the MVP award, as some fantasized he might, and he didn't emotionally defend his reputation from revelations that could taint it forever in the eyes of many.

Here's what he said, as quoted by MLB.com:

Sergio Romo/Luis Tiant bobblead day is May 5 at AT&T Park. (Getty, AP)

Bobbleheads can be tricky. There's a science and an art to getting the doll to look like the player. Sometimes, the bobblehead engineers succeed. Sometimes they fail. Sometimes ...

Take the bobblehead issued by the San Francisco Giants for popular relief pitcher Sergio Romo, scheduled to be given away at AT&T Park on May 5. The overall likeness isn't bad. Designers obviously paid attention to Romo's beard, the key component. Hair covers his jowls perfectly. The eyes and shape of the nose are close enough. The ears (the one we can see) ... seem OK. It sticks out enough.

But the skin tone, eh ... how can this be put delicately? Romo just isn't that dark. Now, there's nothing wrong with black skin. It's beautiful, as the saying goes.

But doll and reality don't match, and Romo's bobblehead comes out looking like former major-league star Luis Tiant. Not that there's anything wrong with looking like Tiant, either. If I were a 71-year-old balding Cuban ace, I'd want to look like El Tiante. But the Giants aren't having a Luis Tiant bobblehead day, are they?

At least Romo showed a sense of humor about it on Twitter: