(AP)We've seen a fairly high number of security problems at sporting events in recent weeks.

That includes the incident from earlier in the week that ultimately led to a PNC Park security guard losing a finger. Not to mention the fan that ran on the field in Baltimore last month that umpire Jeff Kellogg dealt with himself, or the woman who stumbled onto the court in Denver right in the middle of an NBA playoff game.

Perhaps it was with these episodes fresh in his mind that a Yankee Stadium security guard went above and beyond to deny access to a highly suspicous character wandering around the front gates while chewing on a toothpick on Friday afternoon.

That's one possibility. Another is that this particular security guard hasn't seen a whole lot of baseball over the years, because the person he held in question was one of the more recognizable personalities in the game. That being Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker.

Here's how Baker described the confusing confrontation just prior to the Reds 4-0 loss to the Yankees on Friday night.

(AP)The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday (and now on Saturdays) for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

Andy is dandy: Andy Pettitte felt he was a little too "uptight" while taking the loss in his return start last Sunday afternoon. On Friday night, the 39-year-old left-hander looked nothing of the sort, allowing the Cincinnati Reds only four hits and striking out nine over eight scoreless innings in the Yankees 4-0 victory.

It was the first time Pettitte had tossed eight scoreless innings since July 8, 2008, and the victory attached to this marvelous outing was his first since July 8, 2010. Love that symmetry.

''I felt like I could do this, and now it's just like I feel like the mind's getting back there,'' a beaming Pettitte said after his 241st win. ''I'm just hoping and praying the body holds up.''

I'm sure Yankees fans are doing the same, all the while wondering what might have been had Pettitte returned in 2011.

Just another save: Or at least that's how Jonathan Papelbon played it off after his scoreless ninth preserved a 6-4 victory for Cole Hamels and Phillies over his former employer, the Boston Red Sox.

His real motivation? Simple.

Empire State Building lit up in honor of Gary Carter. (Tom Kaminski)The state of New York paid tribute to the late Gary Carter on Friday evening with a special blue and orange lighting display at the very top of the Empire State Building,

The tribute was announced on the Empire State Building Observatory's twitter page late this afternoon, and when darkness fell over Manhattan, the Mets' blue and orange lit up the sky as a symbol of recognition not only for the Hall of Fame catcher's contributions to the New York Mets organization over his five year stint — which included a World Series Championship in 1986 — but his even bigger and more meaningful contributions to the surrounding area off the field.

Indeed a very special and fitting tribute to a very special and inspirational human being.

Well done, New York.

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Logan Morrison wore the No. 20 in his first two seasons with the Marlins. (AP)You might be thinking what I was thinking when I first saw Logan Morrison's tweets on Saturday afternoon announcing his switch to his team's retired No. 5: The Miami Marlins retired a number other than Jackie Robinson's No. 42? How did I miss that?

Well, the Marlins actually retired the No. 5 prior to their inaugural season when the team's first president, Carl Barger, passed away unexpectedly during the 1992 Winter Meetings in Louisville.

Barger had grown up a big fan of the Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, so the decision was made almost immediately to retire DiMaggio's number in his honor. That ceremony took place before their first game on April 5, 1993.

Now, 19 years later, the number will officially come out of retirement in the Marlins home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 4. A plaque honoring Barger will take its place in the new Marlins Ballpark.

"I understand what an honor it is to have a number unretired," Morrison said via Twitter. "I want to thank Mr. Loria and the Marlins for making it happen."

"I also promise to wear the number with great pride and continue to honor Mr. Barger and his family."

As it turns out, Morrison also had a tribute in mind when he requested the number change. His father, Tom, who passed away after a battle with lung cancer in the December 2010, was a big supporter of George Brett, and often encouraged Logan to emulate the Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer. Now Morrison is one step closer to doing just that, while also honoring the memory of his dad.

Angels GM Jerry Dipoto responds to fans' trade suggestion. (Halos Heaven)Every sports fan has something they would like to personally express to a person in power representing their favorite team(s).

Whether it be a trade suggestion, concern over player salaries, frustrations over loyalty to the manager or coach, ticket prices, or any number of on and off the field issues, they would simply relish the opportunity to be heard, and maybe even acknowledged.

Truth is, most of those thoughts end up being yelled at the television and/or vented to disinterested beat writers on Twitter.

But there's one Los Angeles Angels fan out there — a man named Aaron, who also writes under the moniker of Of Maicer of Men on the Angels blog Halos Heaven — who took the time and put forth the effort to write his well thought out trade suggestion on a piece of paper, placed it in an envelope, licked a stamp, and mailed it to their new general manager Jerry Dipoto.

Like I said, it's something we've all considered at least once or twice in our sports loving lives, but I don't think any of us would anticipate what Aaron would receive: An actual direct response from Dipoto, handwritten on a postcard.

Sam Miller of the Orange County Register transcribes Dipoto's response for us:

Commissioner Bud Selig expects expanded playoffs to begin in 2012. (AP) Those of us hoping for at least one more year of the current playoff structure — and preferably decades more — seem unlikely to get our wish based on comments commissioner Bud Selig made to the assembled media at SoxFest Friday night in Chicago.

From the Chicago Tribune:

"I really believe we'll have the (extra) wild card for this year," Selig said Friday at SoxFest. "Clubs really want it. I don't think I've ever seen an issue that the clubs want more than to have the extra wild card."

"We're working on dates right now," Selig said. "It looks to me like we'll have it, because I've told everybody we have to have it. It will be exciting. A one-game playoff and it will start the playoffs off in a very exciting manner."

In case you haven't heard all of the details, the expanded playoffs will give us five playoff teams in each league — three division winners and two wild cards. The two wild cards will then face-off in a one-game elimination, followed by the usual playoff format. There will also be one-game playoffs to break divisional ties.

The new structure is easy to understand, so it has that going for it. I don't think there's any question the one-game wild card playoff will give us memorable games and moments as Bud suggests. That's also a plus. Unfortunately, as we've documented here on Big League Stew in the past, many times that will come at the expense of truly exciting September pennant races, and it will always make sure the regular season is good and watered down.

I don't like the thought of that. In fact, I hate it. Passionately.

Tony La Russa retired third on the all-time wins list with 2,728. (Presswire)Here's an interesting piece of news that flew under a lot of radars amid Tuesday's flurry of impact signings.

From the office of commissioner Bud Selig came word that despite Tony La Russa's retirement as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, the future Hall of Fame skipper would be allowed the opportunity to fulfill his pennant-winning duties as manager of the National All-Star squad this summer in Kansas City.

Admittedly, the announcement caught me a bit off-guard. I was already locked in to the assumption that the runnerup to the pennant— Milwaukee's Ron Roenicke— would be given the nod after La Russa stepped down on Oct 31. Under normal circumstances — which I believed included retirement — that would be the case. However, Selig declared La Russa's circumstances to be unusual, and thus he will join John McGraw — who returned to manage the National League in the first ever All-Star game back in 1933 — as the only retired managers to stand on the top step of a Midsummer Classic.

It's an interesting, historic, and perhaps even controversial decision depending on your viewpoint. But it's one that Selig had no trouble defending: