Hours after Towson University in Maryland announced it was cutting the baseball program, the players cut "Towson" from their uniforms. Well, the players blotted it out with black duct tape, to be precise. Catcher Zach Fisher explains here:

"We don't support Towson, so we don't want to wear something that says 'Towson.' "

And that's because, as of Friday, Towson no longer supports baseball. It is following through on threats reported by the Baltimore Sun in October that the baseball program would cease at the end of the season. The men's soccer team is getting cut, too, for a total of roughly 65 roster spots. Scholarships will continue to be honored, but baseball coach Mike Gottlieb will be busy trying to place elsewhere players with eligibility who want to keep playing.

As for the Towson players finishing out the season with strips of tape on their uniforms, good for them. In the grand scheme, it might not be a Berkeley sit-in, or James Meredith defying mobs and needing the National Guard's help to attend Ole Miss Alabama, but it's pretty strong as civil disobedience goes. And to think, as Deadspin reported, Towson officials were so worried about a violent response that they called the police before making the announcement.

Athletic director Mike Waddell, who says the moves will save the school about $800,000, has blamed Title IX compliance, but might it really be so more resources are funneled to football and men's basketball? Gottlieb isn't confident in the school's stated motives, either:

(Via Jose de Jesus Ortiz on Twitter)

On Monday, The Stew reported on Jordany Valdespin of the New York Mets getting hit in the sensitive male area with a 94-mph fastball by Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. After experiencing some obvious discomfort, Valdespin appeared to be OK, saying later that "Everything is good, working good, normally, everything is great.”

Well, that was before a New York tabloid, — not to mention Mets manager Terry Collins — got hold of Valdespin by the short and curlies. So to speak.

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The New York Post, always amusing if not classy, went with "Numbnuts!" for a headline. The phrase "plunked in the junk" appears in the web page's URL, if you notice. And that wasn't the only kick to the crotch that Valdespin got in the press.

Collins ripped Valdespin for not wearing a protective cup. Not all players do (a lot of players don't — it's not like Little League where they frequently check) but infielders are strongly advised protect themselves. Quoted by the Post, Collins said:

Derrek Lee and the Florida Marlins won the 2003 World Series on Yankee Stadium turf. (AP)The New York Yankees obviously have a sense of humor about fortifying their banged-up roster, because they're calling retired guys to see if they want to play again. GM Brian Cashman confirmed the team has contacted Derrek Lee, Scott Rolen and Chipper Jones — all of whom previously have said they won't play in 2013 — to see if any would change their mind. The Yankees are, relatively speaking, pretty desperate for players to fill in for the injured likes of Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson.

The possibility of New York adding Lee, who has 331 career homers but hasn't played since 2011 with the Pirates and is 37 years old, seems to be gaining "some traction," Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports:

"I reached out to him. I expressed an interest," Cashman said. "He's the type of player that is Yankee-like in terms of capabilities when he was playing and makeup for the clubhouse and stuff like that. I just planted the seed, if you have an interest in thinking of playing, let me know. That was it."

Cashman said that he received a positive endorsement of Lee from Jim Hendry, the former Cubs general manager and Cashman's current assistant, and said that his understanding is that Lee could be in physical condition to play quickly.

"If he still was game, I bet you he still has game," Cashman said. "I think he's intrigued and probably has his mind thinking right now. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Rolen, Cashman says, appears to be retired for good after finishing 2012 with the Reds. Jones would give the biggest reward of all, but also is the biggest longshot. And he's nothing more than flattered at the offer, if his Twitter account is any indication:

Enough with the rumors! While I am flattered about the speculation of being enticed out of retirement, I'm happy with life as a bad golfer!

— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) March 11, 2013

(AP)

The visit by Zack Greinke to Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal El Attrache on Monday went fine, True Blue L.A. reports. The wealthy right-hander was diagnosed with inflammation in the back of his pitching elbow. The doctor with the unbeatable name injected platelet-rich plasma into Greinke's elbow, he prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and he told Greinke to rest 2-3 days before resuming his throwing program.

The Dodgers had sent Greinke back to Los Angeles citing an "abundance of caution" after he was scratched from his most recent scheduled start in the Cactus League. Well, better safe than sorry. Of course, having to send Greinke from greater Phoenix to Los Angeles is kind of scary, considering the money (up to $159 million), they'll be paying him over the next six seasons.

True Blue L.A. writes:

"Is it your stomach?" (AP)

It's a good thing Jordany Valdespin of the New York Mets has a sense of humor, and it's also a good thing he was born with strong genitalia. Because he got hit in a very vulnerable place on a fastball by Detroit's Justin Verlander during Grapefruit League play:

Valdespin says he is OK ... Asked where he got hit: "My d**k," Valdespin said.

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets)

Verlander was just as blunt in describing what he saw:

Justin Verlander: "Right out of the hand, it's like, 'Oh, (shoot). That is right at his ba**s."

— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott)

Hey, if these guys can be so cavalier about franks and beans, we can too. But make no mistake: There's a BIG difference between getting hit in the frank and getting hit in the beans. An injury to the frank can hurt, but a whack to the beans can be debilitating. It feels like death. Another thing that makes a difference: Wearing a cup. A lot of players don't — and Puma says he was told Valdespin was not wearing one. He's lucky.

[Also: Your worst fantasy baseball trades confessed]

Valdespin, who is developing a knack for doing amazing things and saying sillier things, actually led off the game with a home run against Verlander. Puma speculated that Valdespin did a little bit too much hot-dogging on the homer, because it was during his next plate appearance when Verlander's hard stuff found Valdespin's sensitive stuff.

[Baseball 2013 from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports: Join a league today!]

Asked later how he was doing, Valdespin responded with some good news:

(AP)Citing an "abundance of caution," the Los Angeles Dodgers are sending right-hander Zack Greinke back to Los Angeles to have his tender right elbow undergo a "precautionary exam" by team physician Dr. Neal El Attrache.

Is that enough caution for you? Still worried, Dodgers fans?

No matter what happens, Greinke at least can say the guy with the coolest doctor name in Major League Baseball has checked him out. All joking aside, this is going to make Dodgers fans uneasy until Greinke is completely cleared with a clean bill of health.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted that Greinke complained of irritation in his elbow Sunday. Greinke's never had elbow problems in his career before. Shaikin also points out that the Dodgers have tons of starting pitching depth, but that was supposed to be used for trading, not covering for Greinke while he is injured.

Greinke in the offseason signed a free-agent contract for what could be as much as $159 million. That also buys a lot of caution. Greinke is the centerpiece in the attempt of new team ownership, including Magic Johnson, to restore the Dodgers to past glory. Don't be a Norm Nixon, Zack, with this injury stuff.

Kalian Sams (center) grabbed by teammate Xander Bogaerts with coach Wirn Martinus. Cuba's pitcher is Diosdany Castillo. (AP)

A 7-6 victory for the Netherlands on Monday was its second in four days against Cuba at the World Baseball Classic. This one allowed the Dutch to advance to the WBC finals in San Francisco, while sending the Cubans — and their talkative manager, Victor Mesa — home.

Longtime major leaguer Andruw Jones scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, and as his teammates mobbed him near home plate, Jones looked toward Cuba's dugout — probably for Mesa — and started screaming. It might have seemed like poor sportsmanship, but all Jones did was speak so that Mesa could understand. It's unclear if Mesa — who appeared to scream back — actually got the message.

On Friday, after the Dutch had stunned Cuba 6-2 in the opening of second-round play at Tokyo, Mesa was bluntly uncomplimentary in defeat, saying of the Netherlands:

"I don't think they are a very good team to be honest. We could have scored more. I think we should have scored more than five runs."

Open mouth, insert feet.

(Getty, Miami Redhawks)

That's a real headline. Now wait a second, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum says. Simply because his team's video assistant, and not another actual player, reached the final of the Cubs' 64-person bunting tournament Sunday, it doesn't mean the team should be embarrassed. I mean, a guy in the Cubs front office named Nate Halm should be just as skilled of a bunter as anyone invited to play at spring training!

That was how Sveum tried to spin it for Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune:

“Oh, c’mon,” Sveum protested. “Oh, we’re really worried about that ... He’s a professional player. He played overseas, and in college.”

Do you buy it? It's true about Halm, who played at Miami of Ohio and in 2008 was a teammate of Adam Eaton, the young outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And he played professionally in Munich, the Cubs say. (Apparently in Germany, there exists a hunger for baseball— a "hunger für baseball," it's called.)

To reach the final, Halm beat pitcher Edwin Jackson before