Ron Karkovice will represent the White Sox at the draft on June 4. (Getty)The date has really snuck up on us, but the first round of Major League Baseball's amateur draft is set for June 4. The league will again try to make this a television spectacle on MLB Network with all 30 teams being represented in the league's Secaucus, N.J., studios by one or two notable players, coaches or front-office personnel.

You can find the full list here, but we've taken the liberty at listing 10 of our favorite men who've been enlisted to stand around for the cameras while the actual picks hide under their agents' desks until 10 minutes before the signing deadline on July 13. (Thank the good heavens that it's moved up this year.)

1. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees: He's the only active player enlisted for duty that night and you have to wonder how he drew the short straw from the Yankees, who have an off-day. Shouldn't Mark Teixeira be the one coming in for makeup work these days?

2. Ron Karkovice, Chicago White Sox: Some of you may suspect this post is just a poor excuse to get a picture of Ron Karkovice out on Big League Stew. Some of you are 100 percent right.

3. Roberto Hernandez, Tampa Bay Rays: One of Andrew Friedman's famed value bullpen pickups? Perhaps. But until then, he's just another member of the 1993 AL West-winning Chicago White Sox, who is apparently staying busy. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when the Gene Lamont stories start flying in that green room!

(via Rays Index)

Usually one of the more forward-thinking organizations in Major League Baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays broke out some next-generation headgear Monday night. Not satisfied with the "Great Gazoo" helmets Rawlings recently developed that greatly increase player safety (along with yuk factor), Rays slugger Carlos Peña put in an order for these sleek, hip and fearsome domes for his team. Very 21st-centurian.

OK, they're just gladiator helmets, worn for fun (or whatever). But Peña did order them, the Tampa Bay Times reports. That's closer Fernando "Maximus" Rodney on the left and Joel "Juba" Peralta chilling/unleashing hell in the home dugout.

And there's video:

Lest we believe that forgetting the number of outs in an inning is the sole territory of daydreaming outfielders who toss the ball into the stands, Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks proved during Monday's 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants that infielders can brain cramp too.

Watch what happens when Weeks lines up at double play depth, only to decide that a force out at second is enough after shortstop Cesar Izturis relays a Brandon Crawford grounder his way:

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It appears as though Weeks didn't speak with any reporters after the game, so we can't really be sure the exact reason why he retired in the second inning early. But perhaps it doesn't really matter as the next batter, Melky Cabrera, grounded out to third.

(AP)After a good Monday night, you might think all would be well in Red Sox Nation on Tuesday morning. Boston just scored an 8-6 comeback win in Baltimore, has won nine of its last 11 games and is no longer the sole occupant of last place in the AL East, thanks to the slumping New York Yankees.

Alas, not even the team finally climbing back to the .500 mark at 21-21 can calm the stormy waters. After Monday's win, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz teed off on fans, media and front office types like they were the Tommy Hunter pitch he parked on Eutaw Street earlier in the night.

The issue: After 10 seasons of stellar play in Boston, Ortiz is irked that more people don't see him as a leader of the Red Sox.

So irked in fact, that he even took the time to mock the fact that two players — Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek — have traditionally been held up as "leaders" in The Hub.

From ESPN Boston:

Reds fan Caleb Lloyd visits with the team's broadcasters on Monday. (MLB.TV)

There's  no doubt about it: Caleb Lloyd is the man.

The 20-year-old Cincinnati Reds fan made hundreds of headlines on Monday night after catching home run balls from pitcher Mike Leake and shortstop Zack Cozart. Lloyd's dueling grabs occurred not only in the same game, but in consecutive at-bats during the Reds' 4-1 win over Atlanta Braves at Great American Ballpark. Not bad for someone who had just planned on playing the MLB 2K12 video game all night before his friend called him up with a last-minute offer of tickets in the left-field bleachers.

[Related: Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman arrested for driving 93 mph on suspended license]

Watch the unreal sequence play out here:

(Grove City, Ohio Police)As his lawyers no doubt will argue at trial next month, the speed at which police clocked Aroldis Chapman traveling in his Mercedes early Monday is not what matters. Any Major League Baseball player can drive 93 mph. It's all about control.

At least that's the story his defense (attorneys Franklin and Bash?) ought to be preparing after the Cincinnati Reds' would-be closer was arrested in Grove City, Ohio, for driving on a suspended license with a citation for speeding. WLTW reports that:

Chapman, 24, was pulled over after he was recorded speeding in a black 2010 Mercedes S63 on Interstate 71 North near Interstate 270 about 12:42 a.m. Monday.

Chapman was arrested after the officer discovered he had a suspended Kentucky driver's license, according to a police report.

Our client must have been confused, your honor.

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

Round 1 to the King: Felix Hernandez dominated the first of what we hope will be many matchups against Yu Darvish, freezing the mighty Texas Rangers lineup during a 6-1 victory Monday night at Safeco Field. .

After giving up a combined 10 runs in his previous two starts, King Felix looked like his old self. He struck out seven batters while allowing six hits and walking two. Combined with a weekend sweep at Colorado, the Mariners have now won four straight games.

Hernandez's lone blemish of the night came when he surrendered a homer to Mitch Moreland in the eighth inning, but the Mariners offense had provided more than enough insurance by then (and we know that's not always the case). Darvish was far from sharp, lasting only four innings while giving up four runs and walking a season-high six batters. It was the first time in his MLB career that he did not pitch into the sixth and he was denied a chance to become the majors' first seven-game winner.

''I was apologetic. I wasn't able to go deep in the game as a starter should,'' Darvish said through an interpreter. ''Giving up those runs with only four hits; overall the approach and substance wasn't that good.''

Dashing Dodgers: Don Mattingly says his Los Angeles squad owns simple momentum, a fact that's hard to argue. Chris Capuano won his sixth game of the season in a 6-1 victory over Arizona at Chase Field. Despite a recent rash of injuries, the Dodgers have won five straight and have put a good amount of distance between themselves and the rest of the NL West. The D-backs are now 10 1/2 games out of first place after winning the division in 2011. Meanwhile, only the Giants trail the Dodgers by single digits and they're still seven games back.  

Giancarlo Stanton's home run knocked out part of the scoreboard on Monday. (MLB.com/US Presswire)

Earlier this month, we expressed concern for the poor souls who found themselves on the receiving end of a blast by Giancarlo Stanton. But on Monday night, the young Miami Marlins slugger proved that neither man nor machine are safe from the consequences of his prodigious tape-measure homers.

Watch as Stanton sends Marlins Park up for grabs as he turns a 72 mph pitch from Colorado's Jamie Moyer into a fourth-inning grand slam and a busted left-field scoreboard during Miami's 7-4 victory: