NOOOOOO! RT @jackcurryyes: Interviewed Youkilis on Tues. He will revamp stance in 2013. Hands will be lower, legs will be wider apart..

— Batting Stance Guy (@BattingStanceG) January 16, 2013

When you have an awesome ability that is nonetheless "the least marketable skill in America" (using his own words), news that the most unusual batting stance in Major League baseball is changing has to feel like a punch to the belly. Some have tried to comfort Gar Ryness, better known as Batting Stance Guy:

(juncha.net)

If any doubt lingered about tattoo artists being, well, artists, then the work done on the chest of Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp by 23-year-old Jun Cha should erase it. Cha inked Kemp's grandparents on the left side of Kemp's pec. The details — from face wrinkles, to hair strands, to the 3-D effect of the clothing ripples — are haunting. My only qualm might be the nipple coming out of grandma Doris Mukes' left arm. She's a dressmaker, though, so she probably appreciates Cha's artistry. Vernon Mukes, who was an electrician, died in November at age 73. This has to be one of the neatest tributes I've ever seen.

Kemp tweeted about the tat, adding some context:

As a commenter at the Washington Post points out, Gio Gonzalez might have been the more perfect Washington Nationals choice to be a guest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Tuesday night. He would have killed (figuratively). But Bryce Harper did just fine. Besides, he's more famous, and he's from Las Vegas as Kimmel is, and that's really all their interview was: Two guys from Vegas having a chat.

[Related: Jason Terry reveals Rajon Rondo's really intricate pregame routine]

But that doesn't mean Harper didn't get in a couple of good answers to Kimmel's clown questions. Sarah Kogod of the Post collected them:

On his superstitions:
“I get to the field at 12:00 for a 7:05 game, and it starts from there. I shower seven times while I’m at the field and I don’t even need too. Yeah, it’s bad. As long as … I’m doing good or my team’s winning, I’m gonna keep doing the same thing. Wearing the same undershirt, I mean, I eat Eggo waffles. It has to be Eggo before the game. I mean, it’s really weird. PB and

(The Agency)

Maybe where you come from isn't all that great. But you can change that, and all you need to do is purchase the mansion in Beverly Hills that Barry Bonds has put on the market for $25 million. Close the deal, and you'll be rollin' like a celebrity.

In the wake of what must have been deep disappointment at missing election for the Hall of Fame a week ago (right, Barry?), the all-time home run king in Major League Baseball is selling his 17,100-square foot Tuscan villa in the coveted Beverly Park hood. Fully furnished, too. Bonds bought it in 2002 for $8.7 million. Real estate bubble my Uncle Victor Conte!

How to describe this place? Opulence. It has it.

Described on the official listing as serving "equally to entertain heads of state, host charitable events or just be at home with family," this must have been the property's most relevant feature to Bonds:

A hand-painted wall mural depicting the rolling hills of Tuscany, along with the surrounding limestone columns and Venetian plaster/specialty glazed faux-finished walls, truly lend to the feeling of being sequestered in an Italian Mansion.

Sequestered, eh? When you're under the threat of house arrest, this is the only way to go about your life. It includes seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms (for ease of drug testing), a gym, game room, 12-seat home theater, music room, wine room, pool cabana, sports court, steam/sauna, hydrotherapy jacuzzi tub room, Swedish full-body shower therapy room, a trophy and awards display room, along with an elevator to get you to the second floor. And it has a maid's quarters.

Well, at $25 million — for the guy who wore uniform No. 25 — he might have to be patient. No problem there. Bonds also is the all-time leader in bases on balls.

And now ... a photo barrage:

(Milwaukee Brewers)A couple months ago we told you about the cool 'Design A Youniform Contest' the Milwaukee Brewers were running that allows baseball fans to show their creative and design a new alternate uniform for them to wear for their March 22 Catcus League game against the Chicago Cubs. As a part of the contest, the winner will receive a trip to see the selected game, including airfare for two, tickets to the game to see the uniform "come to life," and a cash prize for hotel and transportation.

On Tuesday, the names of the three finalists and uniform designs were revealed by the Brewers, and I must say the designs and combinations they selected are interesting, That said, I can't help but look through the complete gallery of entries to see if they left something better on the drawing board.

You can head over to the Brewers official website to check the finalists out for yourself and vote for your favorite, but of the three, I think I'd have cast my vote for the design created by Ron Verrecchio of Catonsville, Md.

Former major leaguer Mark Grace sounds genuinely contrite in this video from Arizona Diamondbacks offseason headquarters, where he is helping the team run its annual fantasy camp. Such a conversation seemed unlikely not long ago, given that the D-backs had fired Grace from the TV broadcast booth in the wake of a DUI arrest in August— his second in the past 15 months.

Grace pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of DUI, and his trial is coming up in March, so he couldn't say too much or be too specific regarding what he was being contrite about:

"Up until, probably, less than two weeks ago, I didn't think I was going to be here. Fortunately the Diamondbacks — just selfishly saying — showed a lot of class in giving me the opportunity. Obviously, circumstances made me think I probably wasn't going to be here. And rightfully so. But they were kind enough and classy enough, in my opinion, to ask me out here and I jumped at the opportunity."

D-backs president Derrick Hall, who must be the

(AP)The Washington Nationals obviously feel like there's more than one way to build a pitching staff. Unable to make a huge splash with Zack Greinke and unwilling to meet the demands of several left-handed relievers on the free-agent market, the Nats made a big commitment to Rafael Soriano on Tuesday, signing him for two years and $28 million. The contract also calls for a vesting option for 2015 — all reported first by Yahoo! Sports' own Jeff Passan — meaning if Soriano is healthy and pitches effectively, it's practically a three-year deal.

Soriano in 2012 finished with 2.26 ERA and 69 strikeouts and 42 saves in 69 appearances, filling in flawlessly for Mariano Rivera. His addition to Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen gives the Nats one of the more talented bullpen back ends in the league. Storen was great for the Nats until Game 5 of the NLDS when the St. Louis Cardinals made the king of comebacks and stole the series.

As beat reporter Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post concluded in his Nostradamus-like post earlier this month, having Soriano and Storen gives Nats manager Davey Johnson "A" and "B" closers. Think Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco from the Mets, from back in the day. Clippard, another right-handed pitcher who actually is better against lefties, might be better suited for the "Orosco" role but ... the Nats will cross (or burn) that bridge when they get to it.

When they lost Greinke to the Dodgers, the Nats made a smaller splash with Dan Haren in order to fill out their starting rotation. But having the likes of Clippard, Storen and Soriano in any combination seriously shortens the opportunities opponents would have to mount a comeback. Assuming that Storen's meltdown in the playoffs was just a hiccup.

So, else does this deal mean?

500 lb Goliath Grouper! I'd say it was a good day fishing! @trouty20 @jeffreytrout @tylertrout @debbietrout27 twitter.com/JessTara/statu…

— Jessica Tara Cox (@JessTara) January 13, 2013

There's an old baseball saying about great defense that fans with banners and color commentators will invoke sometimes. It goes something like, "Three-quarters of the world is covered by water, the other fourth is covered by [INSERT GREAT OUTFIELDER'S NAME HERE]."

Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (or should it be "Anglers"?) has taken it to the full four-fourths by helping to catch a 550-lb goliath grouper (sadly, not a trout) while on vacation with his family in Key West. His girlfriend, Jessica Cox, tweeted the photo above.

Tyler Trout, Mike's older brother, said the behemoth was 5 1/2 feet long. He got an up-close shot of the fishy: