(BLS Illustration)

In sticking up for one of his struggling players over the weekend, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost introduced a neoclassical term to the world. Coming into play Tuesday, third baseman Mike Moustakas was batting .240/.294/.384 with 29 home runs in 1,130 career plate appearances. This season alone, his numbers are much, much worse.

It appears Royals brass has overreached in expecting Moustakas and first baseman Eric Hosmer to develop into reliable corners this season. But it's too soon to give up on Moustakas — even for a while, by demoting him to the minors — Yost said to Kansas City Star reporter Bob Dutton:

“You know what?” Yost said. “Maybe when we get home, I can go to the third base tree and pick another third baseman. … Obviously, third basemen who can hit and hit with power, they must grow on trees."

There it is. "The Third Base Tree." Soak it in, in all of its grandeur. If he contributes nothing else in his managerial career, either on the field or in a press conference, Yost has borne fruit by conjuring a mystical tree from which any major league team can pluck a ripe stud for the hot corner.

• Miguel Cabrera would be the trunk.

• David Wright, Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria and (UPDATE) Manny Machado (who someday will cross-pollinate over to the Shortstop Tree) would be the biggest branches.

• Kyle Seager would be a blossoming bud.

• George Brett would still be attached, double-tapered and tan.

• Moustakas would be a fallen leaf.

• (UPDATE) Jeff Keppinger is poison oak.

Later in the interview, in case you weren't sure that Yost's quote didn't drip with sarcasm, he broke it to everybody:

(Getty Images)After a horrific tornado ripped apart Oklahoma City on Monday, killing 24 people and injuring 233 at last count, Los Angeles Dodgers star Matt Kemp proclaimed that he'd help relief efforts in Oklahoma with his bat and checkbook.

I'm giving $1000 for tonight's HR and every HR until the All-Star break for the victims of my hometown in OKC. #PrayforOklahoma

— Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) May 21, 2013

But here's the thing: Kemp, who is from nearby Midwest City, hit only his second home run of of the season on Monday. That's in 165 at-bats. Kemp makes $20 million this year from the Dodgers, as part of a $160 million contract he signed in 2011. It's easy to look at this all this and say Matt Kemp is being "cheap" — oh, and people have.

It didn't help matters when NBA star Kevin Durant, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, donated a flat $1 million dollars on Tuesday.

(San Francisco Giants)

Can you "jump the shark" while dressed as a "Killer" pea? Fans of the San Francisco Giants might have found out Monday night at AT&T Park when four folks in the bleachers tried to nickname a segment of the team's roster.

Did you know that Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval (head obscured by child) form the "Killer P's"? It's a riff on what the Houston Astros used to call the "B" part of their lineup, which included at times in the late 1990s and early 2000s: Craig Biggio, Derek Bell, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Sean Berry, Carlos Beltran, Chris Burke, Eric Bruntlett, Michael Bourn, Geoff Blum, Tim Bogar, Doug Brocail and Brandon Backe.

This "P" phenomenon is not as phenomenal.

The pod costumes are great. But, as noted curmudgeon Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in April, stuff like "Killer P's" has been done. It's time to eat your peas, grab a giant Bruce Bochy head and do something with that.

Ozzie and Jose Canseco in 1990. (Getty Images)

For a guy who hasn't played in the majors in a dozen years, Jose Canseco sure does find ways to hang around the game. This week, he's in Texas, serving as a player-coach for the independent Fort Worth Cats for a homestand. And if that wasn't enough to interest you, his first opponents are the Edinburg Roadrunners, coached by none other than Canseco's brother Ozzie.

“I am excited to come to Fort Worth and mentor the young ballplayers,” Jose said in a statement. “I love Dallas/Fort Worth and I can’t wait to go up against Ozzie.”

The player/coach is a noble profession, but one that's fallen into disfavor in these days of specialization. The last player/manager in the majors was Pete Rose back in the late 1980s. As recently as 2011, the White Sox toyed with the idea of making Paul Konerko a player/manager, but ended up hiring former player Robin Ventura instead. Jose Canseco was, apparently, not considered for the position.

While it hasn't been confirmed yet by Major League Baseball, Paul Lukas of Uni-watch reports that every team will wear camouflage jerseys and caps come Memorial Day on Monday. Lukas notes that replicas of the uniforms, which are on sale at MLB.com, appear to be similar to the camo colors the White Sox and Angels recently wore on Armed Forces Day.

How does Lukas know MLB's plans for May 27? The league gave them away on its website:

In each case, the team’s online shop only shows a home camo jersey or a road camo jersey — not both — depending on whether the team is playing at home or on the road next Monday. Tucked away in the fine print is the following line: “As worn on-field Memorial Day May 27th, 2013.”

Yes, they did:

(Getty)It remains to be seen what Major League Baseball will do, if anything, to right-hander Alex Sanabia of the Miami Marlins for spitting on the ball Monday night. Umpires didn't seem to notice. The Philadelphia Phillies didn't seem to notice. Broadcasters didn't either. But fans did.

While Sanabia awaits his fate, if he's waiting, let's give him a nickname. Any one of these 10 would do:

10. Alex Salivia: Sanabia's name lends itself perfectly to our game.

9. Oscar Spitorius: It's not baseball, but it's too good to go unused.

8. Rob Dribble: Can strike the grandstand with a mouth projectile from 400 feet away.

7. Hakan Loogey: Or go with "Hawk Harrelson" to keep hockey out of it.

6. Spew Burdette: Spahn and Sain and you don't want to pray for this kind of rain.

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It's almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more.

Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was having perhaps his best start of the season for the San Francisco Giants on Monday. But this is the National League, where pitchers bat and accidents happen, and now Vogelsong is slated to have surgery Tuesday to fix a broken pitching hand. He had pitched five innings of three-hit ball against the Washington Nationals in an 8-0 victory at AT&T Park, but that's the extent of the good news. (And Brandon Belt had four hits and scored four runs — that's also good.)

Swinging in self-defense during his at-bat against Craig Stammen in the fifth inning, Vogelsong didn't get enough wood on the ball. The Associated Press reports:

Vogelsong broke two bones along the right pinkie and dislocated a knuckle the area that the medical staff couldn't get popped back into place. He was scheduled for surgery Tuesday morning at Stanford and said he likely would have pins inserted to stabilize the hand and help speed the healing process.

''We're not talking about Tommy John or anything here,'' Vogelsong said, his eyes misty. ''Basically as fast as we can get it to heal so I can start throwing again.''

Someone lend a hand: Remarkably, we have another broken hand to announce regarding a pitcher named Ryan on one of these teams.

A funny thing happened after Alex Sanabia of the Miami Marlins allowed a home run to Domonic Brown of the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning Monday night: He didn't allow any more runs over his 6 1/3 innings of work and picked up his first victory since April 16.

Was it in part because Sanabia was aided by putting a foreign substance on the baseball? The question arises naturally because the Phillies broadcast clearly shows Sanabia spitting on a new ball as Brown circled the bases in Miami's 5-1 victory at Marlins Park.

[Jeff Passan: Cheating has become a lost art form]

The Phillies might be looking at a case of highway slobbery right here. It doesn't appear that any reporters covering the game asked Sanabia about his spit take. They probably will Tuesday, if he's around the clubhouse. Heck, Major League Baseball might even try to get him to spit into a beaker.

In the meantime, let's take a look, frame by frame, to see what Sanabia might have been up to: