Albert Pujols(notes) won his second straight NL MVP award and the third of his career on Tuesday afternoon. He was an unanimous first-place choice on all 32 ballots and the distance he put on a talented group of followers — Hanley Ramirez(notes), Ryan Howard(notes), Prince Fielder(notes) and Troy Tulowitzki(notes) rounded out the top five — was impressive. In the ninth season of his career, Pujols led the league in home runs (47), runs (124), OBP (.443) and slugging (.658). He was third in batting (.327) and third in RBIs (135). He has not yet celebrated his 30th birthday. 

At this point, we've almost written everything there is to be written about Phat Albert. It's quite clear that he's on a historical tear and even the most casual baseball follower knows that the Pujols name will eventually end up at the top of statistical leader lists that include names like Aaron and Ruth, Williams and DiMaggio, Mays and Bonds.

But that widespread acknowledgement of Pujols' greatness also means that a lot of the hard-earned paeans  have become simple white noise. Fawning over his seasons like the one just past means that we run the risk of taking him for granted.

That's why I want to get a little bit personal with my take in hopes of producing something different.

As many of you know, I am a Chicagoan. I once spent a summer sitting in Wrigley Field and I think the only worthwhile things to ever come out of St. Louis are Jon Hamm, Joe Sports Fan and Wilco's Heavy Metal Drummer. Jim Edmonds(notes) is still my least favorite athlete of all time.   

And yet despite all that, I still love Albert Pujols.

OK, so a large part of that admiration can be attributed to the facy he's been the one mainstay on my fantasy keeper team for the past decade. As a senior at the University of Wisconsin in 2001, I searched the waiver wire and picked up a 21-year-old prospect who had four homers and 12 RBIs after his first 11 games as a Cardinal. Every number he's compiled since has gone toward my greater good (even though I've never been able to surround him with a championship-caliber staff). Each of the 40 home runs he's hit against the Cubs has been partially softened by my "ownership" of him and I feel invested in his success in a way that only a rotohead could fully understand. 

But to say that my tribute is only fueled by any benefit I may have derived from his first nine seasons of superior statistics would be dishonest and inaccurate.

And that's because Pujols has entered that territory where he's such an amazing performer that it's impossible to completely *hate* him because of the jersey he's wearing. Even though I may wretch at the sight of those two pigeons sitting on a stick across his chest, my status as a baseball fan allows me to step back and appreciate exactly what Pujols is doing with a baseball bat, even if it's for a rival. (That he works hard, just does his thing and stays above the two-way I-55 bickering certainly helps his cause in this city.)

You might feel this way about a player from a rival. I know that Chicagoans used to bregrudgingly feel this way about Brett Favre until he embarked on a path of indecision that eventually turned his own fans in Green Bay against him and I've heard many Dodgers fans say the same type of thing about San Francisco's Tim Lincecum(notes).

Being fully appreciated and admired in another universe is a strange and difficult strata for an athlete to reach, but Pujols has undeniably earned entry into that territory. There might be some of you who maintain a hardline Robert E. Lee-like "state over country" stance on this issue, but if you like watching great hitters work at the plate, it's impossible not be a Pujols fan — even if you hail from places like Houston, Milwaukee or the Windy City.

In my mind, there's no bigger validation than a tribute from a foreign country.

And there's no doubt that Pujols deserves every one of them. Not only today, but every day.

As the decade winds down to its final days, Big League Stew is reflecting on the biggest baseball moments of the 2000s. First up are our top steroid-free controversies from 2000-09 (because a list of controversies that allows for steroids would be terribly redundant and not very interesting). In compiling these choices, we not only weighed the story's tabloid and "talker" qualities, but also its ongoing impact on the sport of baseball. Read on.

1. The 2002 All-Star Game Tie — July 9, 2002

What to do, what to do? On a warm July night in the Midwest, all commissioner Bud Selig could do was throw up his hands. All-Star skippers Bob Brenly and Joe Torre had managed their respective teams into a corner and one of the more entertaining All-Star Games of recent memory — remember Torii Hunter's(notes) over-the-wall robbery of Barry Bonds(notes)? — was tied 7-7 after 11 innings.

What to do, what to do? Both star-studded clubs were practically out of players, specifically pitchers, and boos were raining down at  Miller Park, the Commish's de facto home stadium. The booing broke and chants of "let them play" began, recalling a "Bad News Bears" movie or an old episode of "The Wonder Years." Major League Baseball looked like Little League.

What to do, what to do? On that night, nothing. The score ended in a tie, the second in 70 seasons of All-Star Game history. There was talk of expanding the rosters, or tweaking the rules, or sitting down with future managers, to ensure that it never would happen again.

What to do, what to do? Commissioner Selig had a different solution germinating in his brain. In an effort to improve TV ratings and to ensure that the tie of 2002 never happened again, Selig decided to make the All-Star Game count for home-field advantage in the World Series. To this day, that silly provision remains one of the sport's hottest flashpoints and makes an impact on the game's biggest stage every season.

2. Cubs Fans Run Interference During World Series Bid — Oct. 14, 2003

With the biggest losers in baseball just five outs away from a berth in the 2003 World Series, something remarkable — yet perfectly believable — happened at Wrigley Field when Moises Alou(notes) tried to catch a fly ball near the left field wall in Game 6. Several true believers reached for the fly and one fan in particular — you might know his name — bobbled it, ensuring Alou could not make a play on what might have been the second out of the eighth inning.

The Cubs outfielder arguably wouldn't have caught the ball, but no matter. The iconic play became Bill Buckner for a new segment of fans, provided Alex Gonzalez, Mark Prior(notes) and Dusty Baker with a nice smoke screen and completely changed the life of one Cubs fan who redefined being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

3. Grady Little Leaves Pedro Martinez In Too Long — Oct. 16, 2003

Like the Red Sox needed another reason to think they were cursed, Boston manager Grady Little rode his ace a little too hard against the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Pedro Martinez(notes) couldn't hold down his Daddy and gave up two tying runs, which then set up Aaron Boone(notes) for a series-clinching home run in the 11th. The whole episode wrote a great prologue for 2004, when the Red Sox finally got past the Yankees and won the World Series.

With owners crying poor, Bud Selig brings up the idea of contracting two unnamed teams and everyone quickly figures out he's talking about the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos. Neither team, however, is eliminated when an array of legal difficulties slow the owners' dastardly plan. The financially floundering Expos eventually move to Washington, D.C. (only to discover another brand of irrelevance), while the Twins win five division titles in the decade and break ground on a new ballpark that will open in the spring of 2010.

5. World Baseball Classic Wreaks Havoc With Spring Training — 2006 and 2009

Depending on which hemisphere you're from, the World Baseball Classic is either a lot of fun and does a lot to promote the great game of baseball ... or it's a colossal waste of time that interferes with the regular season's preparation and puts ballplayers at greater risk of injury during the regular season. The 2006 and 2009 tournaments provided a lot of fun baseball moments, but the jury is still out on whether the experiment is ultimately worth it.

6. Umpiring Meltdowns, Even With Instant Replay — 2008-2009

The game's biggest change since adding the designated hitter can't prevent a series of mind-blowingly bad calls in the 2009 playoffs. Following in the NFL's footsteps, baseball introduces video replay in 2008 to help umpires make the right call on close home runs. Though many bemoan the lost human element, others call for expanded use, especially after the men in blue make some shocking calls that replay could have fixed.

7. Sammy Sosa's Bat Explodes In Cork Shower — June 3, 2003

With an even bigger scandal simmering under the surface for the entire sport, Sammy Sosa(notes) takes a swing against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Wrigley Field and instantly loses credibility after cork is found among the remains of his exploded bat. His career already in decline, Sosa soon went from a smiling inheritor of Ernie Banks' legacy to an egotistical outcast.

8. Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza Feud in World Series — Oct. 22, 2000

On the bloated stage that was the 2000 Subway World Series, Mike Piazza(notes) breaks his bat against Roger Clemens(notes) in Game 2 and Clemens fires the barrel back at Piazza — as if the Mets catcher had any control over where the shard was going. Benches cleared. Screaming occurred. People recalled an incident earlier in the summer when Rocket beaned Piazza.  The Yankees went on to win the game and the series, but Clemens' outrageous temper is noted and the stage is set for a decade's worth of future New York tabloid controversies. 

9. A.J. Pierzynski Steals First Base in 2005 ALCS — Oct. 12, 2005

With the Angels in good position to take the first two games of the 2005 ALCS, A.J. Pierzynski(notes) appears to strike out on a low pitch against Kelvim Escobar(notes). Pierzynski acts like the pitch hits the dirt and hustles to first after catcher Josh Paul(notes) flips the ball back to the mound rather than tagging the runner or throwing him out. Confusion reigns for a bit, but Pierzynski — the guy everyone loves to hate — gets his way, especially when it leads to a White Sox rally and a series-changing victory. Umpire Doug Eddings becomes persona non grata in Anaheim.

10. Ken Griffey Brings Back No. 42 — April 15, 2007

It started with a phone call to the commissioner in 2007. Ken Griffey Jr.(notes) wanted to honor Jackie Robinson by wearing his number 42 — which had been retired in 1997. Other players joined in and the tribute sparked a debate: Should the number stay retired? Who should get to wear it? By 2009, everyone was wearing 42 on their backs on Robinson's day.

* * *

Best of the Rest Bats start breaking at a record pace; Ted Williams' frozen head gets some play; A-Rod steals show at '07 World Series without even playing by opting out of $252 million contract; A-Rod slaps away the ball during Yankees 2004 ALCS meltdown; Joe Torre divorces Yankees with some malice; Kenny Rogers(notes) hunts down every TV camera in his way, possibly in search of pine tar; John Rocker gets suspended for being an extreme jerk; MLB averts work stoppage for once; Red Sox bid $51.1 million just to negotiate with Dice-K; Barry Zito(notes) gets $126 million contract, the highest for a pitcher at the time; MLB coaches get batting helmets after minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh killed by line drive; Curt Schilling's(notes) famous bloody sock; Matt Holliday(notes) touches the plate — or does he?; Seats at new Yankee Stadium priced for the obscenely wealthy; Ozzie Guillen calls Jay Marriotti an offensive name

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.   

1. It's admittedly a very loose comparison, but Joe Mauer(notes) and Mark Prior(notes) have become the Michael Jordan and Sam Bowie of the 2001 MLB draft. Star Tribune
2. Why baseball needs Mauer and Albert Pujols(notes) to stay put in their "small markets." Newsday
3. A Twins fan writes condolence letters to those who didn't win the AL MVP. Twinkie Town
4. Mauer beats out Brett Favre when it comes to Turkey Day guests in the Twin Cities. Star Tribune
5. In advance of today's NL MVP coronation, the Dodgers website provides a nice chuckle. MSTI
6. Hey, how would Dan Uggla(notes) look in a Giants uniform next season? Bay City Ball
7. The terms of Ken Griffey's new deal can again be described as "incentive-laden." Seattle Times
8. Jermaine Dye(notes) is open to playing first if it means getting another contract. Circling The Bases
9. I love that John Halama(notes) is still plugging away and trying to get back to the bigs. MLBTR
10. Weighing the possibility of replacing Mike Lowell(notes) with Adrian Beltre(notes) in Boston. Fire Brand
11. That was fast. MLB has already released the Yanks World Series film. Scott Proctor's Arm
12. In case you missed the Derek-Minka pics from St. Bart's last week. Bronx Baseball Daily

Great success! After a few months of the intangibles crowd being threatened with severe online mockery by the rest of us, Minnesota's Joe Mauer(notes) was rightly awarded with the first American League MVP of his career on Monday afternoon.

The stud Twin Cities catcher received 27 of 28 first-place votes and it isn't hard to see why. Despite missing the beginning of the season with a back injury, Mauer won the AL batting title (.365) for the third time in the last four years while also leading the league in OBP (.444) and slugging (.587). That's a slash-line Triple Crown that hasn't been achieved in the AL since George Brett took it for the Royals in 1980.

Throw in some Gold Glove defense behind the plate, career-best totals for homers and RBIs and the Twins' late surge to take the AL Central from the Tigers and Mauer easily earned enough support to outpace the Yankees' tandem of Mark Teixeira(notes) and Derek Jeter(notes) that finished behind him. He's the first AL catcher to win the award since Ivan Rodriguez(notes) in 1999 and Thurman Munson in 1976.

The MVP award always seemed inevitable for Mauer, but it's not as if he needed this to validate his ascension into the league's elite. The 26-year-old has long been part of that top group and the rest of the league is already salivating over the sweet-swinging backstop possibly becoming a free agent after 2010.

Which is exactly why Minnesota should make plans for an escort of no less than 12 Brinks trucks when Mauer makes his way to the MVP's press conference.

Talk of a possible contract extension is certainly nothing new — whispers surfaced earlier this month — but Minnesota needs to follow Colorado's actions in the wake of Jim Tracy's NL manager of the year win and sweeten Mauer's win with a few more years, commas and zeroes.

Look, if terror-filled columns like this one continue to be published in the Twin Cities newspapers past Christmas, there's a huge problem. Mauer is a hometown boy who's on his way to becoming the greatest player in franchise history. He has said his personality doesn't fit New York and he doesn't seem like a guy motivated solely by dollar signs.

The Twins, meanwhile, are on the verge of opening up a new ballpark that will presumably generate more revenue and they'll have plenty of seats to sell. If there's a better time for the team to sit down with Mauer, ask him what would make him happy and then give it to him (so long as he's not requiring the lost city of Atlantis), I don't know about it. 

On a day when Mauer beat out the Yankees to create a bright day in Minnesota, the Twins need to respond in kind. Get it done and get it over with.

Pay that man his money. 

You can't call CC Sabathia(notes) a fair weather NFL fan. The Yankees ace has always shown his love for the silver-and-black and he was rewarded on Sunday when he showed up in Oakland to watch the Raiders steal a game from the Bengals. Today he'll hand out 500 Thanksgiving turkeys in Vallejo, Calif., as his busy offseason as a World Series champion continues.

Sabathia, of course, isn't the only baseballer enjoying his time off after a longer-than-long season. Check out what a few others did over the weekend we just closed.  

* * *

No that wasn't a dream that included you chloroforming Pau Gasol before goosing Khloe Kardashian and throwing an alley-oop to Kobe Bryant: Will. I. Am., Fergie and A-Rod really did take in a Thunder-Lakers game together on Sunday.  Then they all went to the AMAs. 

* * *

"I don't know if you've heard, Mr. Benedict, but I won my first World Series this year and would like to be comped the finest suite in your casino." 

* * *

Chien-Ming Wang(notes) was back in Taiwan, doing what he did best in 2009 (ie: getting paid a lot of money to do some rehab exercises).

* * *

Johan Santana(notes), Pedro Martinez(notes) and Carlos Beltran(notes) show Marc Anthony how to raise his OPS.

* * *

Kurt Warner tells Albert Pujols(notes) that choosing to wear a St. Louis Cardinals jersey would have worked on more than one level Sunday afternoon. 

* * *

Finally, this baseball blogger traveled South for a weekend of Ole Miss football, City Grocery shrimp and grits and some Pappy Van Winkle.  NL ROY winner (and Rebel grad) Chris Coghlan(notes) had a similar plan and was honored during his alma mater's big win.

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.  

1. Chicago closer Bobby Jenks(notes) thinks he's being scapegoated after a season of injuries. Ozzie Guillen, meanwhile, thinks his portly pitcher "has to stay in shape if he wants to play for the White Sox." Remember when these two were baseball's odd couple? Sun-Times
2. Andrew Reilly thinks being mad at Bobby Jenks for being fat is like being mad at a dog for leaving hair on the couch. It all goes with the territory. 35th Street Review
3. Jenks may not be with the White Sox in 2010, but Omar Vizquel(notes) may be. FanGraphs
4. An Angels fan makes an emotional plea for the return of John Lackey(notes). Halos Heaven
5. Where does Elvis Andrus'(notes) rookie season rank among young shortstops? Lone Star Ball
6. The Red Sox are trying to pawn Mike Lowell(notes) off on someone else. Surviving Grady
7. Some think Jon Garland(notes) would be a good innings-eater for the Yankees. Pinstripe Alley
8. A closer look at Manny Acta's wish list for the Cleveland Indians The DiaTribe
9. The wait for the Nationals to complete their "ballpark district" will likely continue. Nats320
10. The Mariners are going to give Dustin Ackley a whirl at second base. Circling The Bases
11. The Cubs are back in the business of battling certain rooftop owners. Chicago Tribune
12. Oprah did not show Kate Hudson our A-Rod as a centaur photo. Subway Squawkers

Is San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum(notes) on a haircut strike until he's no longer the reigning Cy Young? I hope his mane, which appears to be as long as the line of guys headed back to the dugout after strike three, goes down to his belt by July.

The downside is, there can be consequences for how you wear your hair, or what it's alleged you have in your car. For one, people think it gives them the right to make fun of you. The nerve!

This link, for example — which is not safe for work and contains adult language, my little pretties.

Hat tip: Walkoff Walk.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man), a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your e-mail submissions or tips via Twitter.

1. Stephen "The Future of the Franchise" Strasburg injures his knee shagging flies, causing momentary panic and sympanthy pains. Nationals Enquirer
2. The Nats don't think the injury is serious, but they canceled Strasburg's upcoming start and are having him fly to Los Angeles to see Dr. Lewis Yocum. Oy. MLBlogs
3. Y! private eye Jeff Passan tracks 131 free-agent baseball players. Yahoo! Sports
4. Paul LoDuca hopes he's remembered this Christmas free-agent season. NY Daily News
5. Why it took until 1959 for the Red Sox to have a black player. Verb Plow (via ESPN's Rob Neyer) 
6. Former Rays owner Vince Naimoli gets his revenge, in book form. TampaBay.com
7. Professional baseball back in Montreal? Eric Gagne(notes) says he could help make it happen. Walkoff Walk
8. Up next after "Paranormal State" on A&E, "Stadium Secrets" with your host, Curtis Granderson(notes). MLive
9. Baltimore wants to boost its economy by starting a Negro League baseball museum. Baltimore Sun
10. Hey. Isn't there already a Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City?  Kansas City Star
11. At least KC will always have the 2012 All-Star Game. MLB.com
12. Ring the bell for commish Selig, who says some MLB teams lost money this past season. Yahoo! News

But that still doesn't mean that we should feel left out when it comes to another way of understanding and appreciating the game we all love. With that in mind, BLS stat doctor Alex Remington will explore a new advanced statistic each week during the offseason, providing a simple primer for the uninitiated.

Today's statistic: BABIP

What it stands for: Batting Average on Balls In Play

How you calculate BABIP:

What BABIP is good for: You often hear BABIP being brought up by stats-minded folks, but what does it actually mean? Simply put, BABIP tells us how many hits a player is getting — or a pitcher is giving up — when the ball is put in play. (In this case, "put in play" means the ball stays fair and in the ballpark, rather than the play resulting in a strikeout, walk, home run, hit  by pitch or error.)

If the batter's line drive rate remains constant, BABIP can be a good indictator of "luck" or random chance, which tends to even out over the course of a long season. If a lot of hits are falling when put into play, a hitter is usually due for a dry spell or a pitcher is usuall due for a break. If very few hits are falling, a hitter may be nearing a hot streak, while a hot pitcher may be due for an upcoming reality check.

Why BABIP works: A well-known sabermetrician named Voros McCracken has demonstrated that pitchers have relatively high control over strikeouts, homers, and walks, but have relatively little control over balls in play. If a ball stays in play, the only things determining whether it will fall for a hit or turn into an out are the defense and random chance. This implies that the "pitching to contact" approach is either a myth or a byproduct of a stellar defense.

How BABIP works for pitchers: For pitchers, BABIP tends to converge around .290 or .300. A pitcher whose BABIP is significantly higher than .300 will either wash out of the league or see it come down. Meanwhile, a pitcher whose BABIP is significantly lower than .300 will see it rise. There's generally not that much variance: Greg Maddux's(notes) career BABIP against was .286 while Jose Lima's(notes) was .301.

A strikeout/flyout pitcher will generally have a higher BABIP than a groundball pitcher (Curt Schilling(notes), .297; Kevin Brown, .293), but the differences tend to be extremely minor.

Knuckleballers tend to have an abnormally low BABIP: Tim Wakefield's(notes) is .275, and Phil Niekro's was .273. Nolan Ryan's career BABIP is an absurdly low .269, but he is an extreme case because he was both so dominating and wild that he didn't put the ball in play very often. Ryan is the all-time leader in both strikeouts and walks, eighth all-time in beanballs, and 35th all-time in home runs allowed.

There is actually an ongoing dispute in the stat community as to whether a pitcher is capable of consciously affecting his BABIP. Brian Bannister(notes) of the Royals, perhaps the most stat-savvy player in the majors, gave an interview last year in which he revealed his efforts to improve his BABIP by throwing more strikes and getting into pitchers' counts.

How BABIP works for hitters: For hitters there is more variance in BABIP, though the mean is obviously the same. Extremely speedy hitters tend to have a higher BABIP, because they are capable of beating out infield hits, like Ichiro Suzuki(notes) and his career BABIP of .357. Hitters less fleet of foot tend to have lower BABIPs. Free swingers like Vladimir Guerrero(notes) and Matt Diaz(notes), who manage to sustain high batting averages despite a cheerful disregard for the strike zone, have sustained accordingly high BABIPs — .319 for Guerrero and .362 for Diaz.

Jimmy Rollins'(notes) awful 2009 was accompanied by a .245 BABIP, far off of his career .295 mark and the .303 BABIP he enjoyed during his 2007 MVP campaign.

What accounted for the decline?

For one thing, Rollins had fewer infield hits than ever before, just 10 in 2009 compared to 15 the previous year.

For another, he had the fewest walks in any full season in his career — and tied for the second-fewest HBP — which meant that most every time he strode to the plate, he was putting himself into a position to make more outs. Had Rollins drawn more walks, leaned into a few more pitches and dragged a few more infield singles, he would have had more hits in fewer at-bats and his average would have been closer to the .277 he hit in 2006 and 2008.

Rollins was unlucky in 2009, but he was also lucky in 2007, when he set personal bests in PA, AB, runs, hits, triples, homers, RBI, batting average, slugging, and OPS, en route to winning the MVP. Luck breaks both ways. BABIP isn't the reason he did poorly; it's just merely a measure of how poorly he did.

When BABIP doesn't work: As I just said, BABIP is not a determinant of success, it's only a measure of what's going on. It's only a byproduct of all the things that batters and pitchers have no control over — the little bounces and breaks and streaks that sometimes even out over the course of a season and sometimes can carry a guy to a career high or a career low.

Random chance isn't the only reason a player might fail. Persistently low hitter BABIPs or high pitcher BABIPs might be an indication of poor mechanics, injury, or insufficient skill or talent. There's wild BABIP variance in the minor leagues, where the talent spread is a lot wider.

Why we care about BABIP: Once you know how it works, it's very easy to eyeball and predict whether someone is likely to do better or worse. BABIP-based predictions certainly aren't perfect — and one should guard against attributing all the variation in a player's BABIP to "luck" — but it is quick and easy and it is very useful if you keep that warning in mind. I use it constantly when writing my Slumpbot and Streaking columns, because I know that BABIP should be around .300, and if a player's BABIP is too high or too low, then I can make a prediction for whether his streak or slump is likely to end in the near future.

Next week's lesson: OPS+

That said, he's never been particularly fond of how the Royals choose to remember the days of Dick Howser, Frank White and Willie Wilson. Instead of going all the way with true throwbacks, the kings of Kauffman have gone with modern and inferior jerseys and haven't shown enough courage to match them with powder blue pants.

Now the Royals are going to wear this powder blue hat with the powder blue jerseys during home day games in 2010 and ol' Fashion Ump can't say he's excited as some. 

After all, the whole point to wearing throwbacks is to summon our warm and fuzzy memories of the past. When the Blue Jays go with their historically-accurate getups, it's easy to squint and think we're watching the glory days of Lloyd Moseby and Rance Mulliniks at Exhibition Stadium instead of the somewhat-depressing bunch that currently inhabits the Rogers Centre. It works.

Contrast that to the Royals, a team that will still only remind us of mail carriers while donning caps that never sat upon George Brett's dome. When they adopted the adapted powder blue jersey in 2008, we told the Royals it wasn't so much the color as it was the memory.

They apparently haven't been listening.   

Fashion Ump ruling: Foul ball

It has not, however, been good for baseball, a sport that values the rhythm of everyday play and the benefits of a deep pitching staff. Last month, the Yankees and Angels finished their division series on a Monday, but didn't face off until the following Friday. That led Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia to publicly gripe the league and television networks were threatening the integrity of the game by dragging their feet.

At any rate, Scioscia's words must carry some weight at MLB HQ because Bud Selig spoke on the issue and admitted a problem at the owner's meetings in Chicago on Wednesday. 

Here's what the commissioner told reporters:  

"We're going to change it. I don't disagree with Mike Scioscia. I think he was right, so we're going to try and tighten that up. When you plan the playoff schedule, you don't know how many games the first round would go. So it's difficult. There were clubs that sat around. Some were necessary, but some were not."

Here's a big BLS head nod to Selig for finally recognizing a big fault, but I'm going to reserve full praise until we actually see a plan in place. While it wouldn't seem that hard to be flexible after division series end in sweeps, television is still calling the shots and it would seem that good ratings would mean that Fox is quite happy with the World Series start coming on a Wednesday. (The quickest and easiest fix would be to eradicate that silly off-day between Games 4 and 5 in the LCS. Without travel, there's no need for it.)

Does Bud actually have the authority to tell Fox to move the World Series up a few days after both the ALCS and NLCS end in four or five games? Past experience would say no, but we'll see what schedule magic the commish has up his sleeve before passing judgment.  

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter. 

1. Jim Tracy, manager of the year? That's news to folks in Pittsburgh and L.A. Bugs & Cranks
2. Tyler Kepner speaks for us all when he says manager of the year is an "odd award." NYT
3. It can also be a valuable one, as evidenced by Tracy's contract extension. Denver Post
4. Bud Selig isn't worried about the fighting between Mommy and Daddy Dodger. LA Times
5. "We signed our free agent already. His name is Jake Peavy(notes)." South Side Sox
6. Sandy Alomar Jr.(notes) is back with the Indians as a first base coach. Waiting For Next Year
7. Have J.J. Hardy(notes) and NKOTB shared parallel careers? MPD thinks so. Miller Park Drunk
8. How much does Zack Greinke(notes) really understand about FIP? Fack Youk
9. Tom Hicks is making a last-ditch effort to keep owning the Rangers. Lone Star Ball
10. Loyal Stewie Brandon Cohen predicts the landing spot of each free agent. Pinstriper
11. Pete Rose's girlfriend talks about wanting to appear in Playboy. Sports Radio Interviews
12. Mickey Mouse had better things to do when A-Rod showed up to Disney World. The Onion

It is also reporting he is "JUST AN IDIOT" for spelling his first name that way.

Wait, whaaa?

In an online version of this story — "Phillies' hot stove is heating up" — the third paragraph suggests Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro could have a plan that entails making prospects Brown, Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek part of a new core group for the club.

The assumption seems reasonable enough, but the paragraph also contains a note the writer presumably left for copy editors regarding the unusual spelling of Brown's first name — Domonic.

(*NFP: DOMONIC IS SPELLED RIGHT, HE'S JUST AN IDIOT*).

Hoo, boy. 

NFP means "not for publication." Yeah, no kidding this wasn't for publication. As anyone who has worked for a newspaper can tell you, employees are reminded to not make "dummy" headlines or write notes within stories that, if actually published, would prove embarrassing.

But people do it anyway.

The note was removed in another version of what otherwise appeared to be the same post, which was bylined by Matthew Fleishman. The "IDIOT" version linked above remained online concurrently as of 11:30 p.m. EST.  (UPDATE: The story has been updated with an apology from Fleisman. "The only idiot in this case is me," he writes.)

There's no way a paper from Bucks County, outside of Philly, wants to insult one of the Phillies' finest prospects. Or even one it its lesser prospects.

OK, even saying something like that about Eric Bruntlett(notes) would have been wrong.

Letting out the insult was unintentional — but it still got out:

(That deserves another "hoo, boy," doesn't it?)

Another thing or two:

• After years of being polite and letting people misspell his name, Brown actually told the press last season they've been getting it wrong. So, he's aware of the ... issue. The Fightins reported this last August. His MLB.com bio is correct, but Brown's Baseball-Reference page still spells his name "Dominic." Or, like a non-idiot might, the Bucks Local News would report.

• Also, unless you go to court as an adult to change it (see Chad Johnson), nobody ever names him- or herself. It's the parents, obviously. Don't hate on Domonic because his mom and dad went for a different spelling.

• I'm not even sure there's grounds to call the parents "idiots." If you sound "Domonic" out, even though it kind of looks like "Demonic" (which might bother me) it actually makes some sense to spell it alternatively like he does.

• Nothing ever is worth saying in ALL CAPS — unless it's "UCLA," or "BOOM!" And even then.

The real lesson for young journalists: Leave a Post-It note next time.

Back in Oct. 1994, the BBWAA handed out its annual awards as usual — no matter if ballparks had been empty for over two months, the World Series had been canceled or the league's players were striking and  alienating fans across the country.

Frank Thomas(notes) and Jeff Bagwell(notes) took home MVP honors.

Bob Hamelin and Raul Mondesi, both future Hall of Famers, were named the top rookies in baseball. 

Greg Maddux(notes) and David Cone won the Cy Young, while Buck Showalter and Felipe Alou won manager of the year in their respective leagues.

All for an uncompleted season that effectively ended when the strike began on Aug. 12.

The Sports Illustrated Vault contains an excellent Steve Wulf article from that season and it covers most of the questions we'd ask of the writers 15 years later.

A quick summary:

• The BBWAA had a debate during its All-Star break meetings — an event that many vacationing members did not attend — and decided that the awards should be handed out even if there were a strike and the regular season were shortened.

• Some writers like Joel Sherman of the New York Post were against the awards and submitted incomplete ballots. The BBWAA recruited other voters to fill their spots. 

• With his introduction to the Internet still 14 years away, Murray Chass said the organization had "no mechanism" for re-polling voters on the issue after the season was officially canceled in September.

• Wulf believed the writers went ahead with the vote in order to reassert their position as the awards of record. The BBWAA, he wrote, should asserted their authority in a different way, declaring 1994 as a "non-season."

• Not a bad temp job: Maddux received a $750,000 bonus for winning the Cy Young, while Thomas took home $100,000 for his second straight AL MVP.  

When I revisited this issue on Twitter last night, @RaysIndex was quick to point out that awards were handed out after the strike-shortened 1981 season. I responded by saying that at least the World Series was held that year, but @RI maintained his stance that since they are awards for the regular season, the distribution made sense. It's not as if the stats from the first four months of the season were expunged from the record books.

That may be (and there have been far greater injustices in baseball that year) but the '94 awards will always strike me as one of the most curious decisions in the sport's history.

There were so many more reasons not to hand them out than the other way around.   

We would usually be totally steamed if an outlet like MTV News completely ripped off one of our trademark Big League Stew photo illustrations — painstakingly crafted with the precision moves of our own mice! — and then another blog incorrectly credited it to the network. 

But when an outlet like MTV News takes Dave Brown's classic photoshop job of Alex Rodriguez(notes) as a centaur, whips it out in front of a clearly peeved Kate Hudson and then asks if the Yankees slugger has something similar hanging above his bed?

Well, then it's almost enough to make us overlook the fact that the entertainment reporter nimbot tells Goldie Hawn Jr. he found it in a "reputable magazine" like US Weekly and not on a "reputable baseball blog" like Big League Stew.

Almost. 

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.

1. Zack Greinke(notes) stays mindful of FIP during games, wins a Cy Young. NYT
2. He also delights and validates stats-minded folks everywhere. USS Mariner
3. Kansas Citians pause to savor a rare professional sports highlight. KC Star
4. For an additional fee, teams can get a negotiating window with Roy Halladay(notes). Drunk Jays Fans
5. Joba Chamberlain(notes) says he wants Andy Pettitte(notes) to return in 2010. NYDN
6. Ernie Harwell sat down with Bob Costas for a memorable interview. True Blue LA
7. Could today's Cy Young slight be tomorrow's Hall of Fame snub?  Amazin' Avenue
8. Jim Riggleman returns the favor, hires John McLaren as coach in Washington. Nats Enquirer
9. The Nats have decided John Lackey(notes) will be the token free agent they won't sign. MLB
10. Cards already crying poor when it comes to resigning Matt Holliday(notes). Post Dispatch
11. Alex Ramirez and Yu Darvish have been named the MVPs in Japan. Associated Press
12. Emma Span ranks the Yankees roster by best dog name. Nothing against Melky, Joba or Wang but I'd simply go classic and choose either Mickey, Yogi or Joe D. Bugs & Cranks

Worry no longer, Kansas City.

After a few months of local fretting that Cy Young voters wouldn't be able to see past a relatively low victory total  or would simply be blinded by the glare from a bigger market ace, the brilliance of Zack Greinke's(notes) 2009 season prevailed in dominating fashion.

The Kansas City ace received 25 of 28 first-place votes on Tuesday afternoon to win his first Cy Young award and provide a downtrodden baseball market with something to crow about. Seattle's Felix Hernandez(notes) received two first place votes to finish second and was followed by Detroit's Justin Verlander(notes) (one first place vote), New York's CC Sabathia(notes) and Toronto's Roy Halladay(notes). No previous AL winner had won less than 18 games in a full season (KC's David Cone had 16 in the 1994 strike season) and five of the last six recipients have come from the AL Central.

That Greinke would win in a landslide shouldn't have come as a surprise. Despite playing on a 97-loss team, The Grinch posted eye-popping numbers from the start to finish of a 16-8 season, leading the league in ERA (2.16) and WHIP (1.07) and finishing second in strikeouts (242) and complete games (six). Picked with the sixth selection of the 2002 draft, Greinke finally made the jump into the league's upper echelon of aces in 2009 and that he did it after battling depression and social anxiety disorder makes it all the more impressive.

In recognition of a fantastic campaign, here's a look at five of his more memorable starts:  

1. Royals 3, Mariners 0 — Aug. 30 One-hit complete game shutout? Um, yes please. Greinke allows a walk to Bill Hall(notes) and single to Kenji Johjima(notes) in the second inning, but responds by retiring the last 22 batters on a Sunday getaway day in Seattle, earning his highest game score of the season (89) and the first one-hitter of his career. 

2. Royals 6, Indians 2 — Aug. 25 Zack Attack set a Royals record by striking out 15 Cleveland batters over eight innings, abandoning an early plan to pitch to contact once he recognizes that unwise Indians batters are looking to take pitches.  

3. Royals 6, Tigers 1 — April 24 One start after blanking the Rangers with a complete-game shutout, Greinke doesn't allow a earned run and strikes out 10 Tigers over nine innings against Detroit. The effort keeps his early season ERA at 0.00 (after four starts) and gives us our first real indication that it will be a special season. It also earns him a spot on the front of this nifty Sports Illustrated cover. 

4. Angels 1, Royals 0 — May 9 In what would become a recurring theme that eventually forces us to take this stand, Greinke gives up one run over eight innings in a losing effort. Even more incredibly, his one-run effort actually forces his ERA to rise to 0.51. 

5. Royals 5, Red Sox 1 — Sept. 22 Six scoreless innings in a win against the Red Sox was far from one of Greinke's best outings. But if it swayed a few East Coast-based writers who were once waving the "he doesn't pitch against the AL East" flag, it was as important an outing as any in terms of bringing home the hardware.

Moviegoers at multiplexes everywhere will soon find out if Derek Jeter(notes) can still act to his left.

In case you didn't recognize the vagrant with the stringy hair and ratty coat in the photograph above, it's the Yankees captain engaging Mark Wahlberg on the set of "The Other Guys." It's the latest epic from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay — the duo that also made "Anchorman," Talladega Nights" and "Step Brothers."

Fresh off the Yankees' World Series victory, Jeter and company shot the scene last week at Nathan's Famous hot dog stand at Coney Island. Jeter plays an aging version of himself years after Wahlberg's character, a police officer named Brock Landers, shoots him in the leg and forces him into a life on the streets. That's what the stories on MLB.com and the New York Post say, anyway, so let's go with it. (The Post also has an extensive album of photos from Jeter's shoot, in case you want more ... and you probably do.)

The role should be perfect for Jeter, who has been pretending to be a great shortstop for years.

Oh, I'm totally kidding.

Seriously, Jeter has many acting credits under his belt; he's hosted Saturday Night Live (and will do so again on Dec. 19), he appeared in "Anger Management" with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler, he has read top 10 lists on "Late Night with David Letterman" at least five times and he made a guest appearance on "Seinfeld" that was quite memorable.

And in Jeter's classic Visa commercial with George Steinbrenner — well, The Boss stole the show — but Jeter acted capably.

This time, Jeter is going to have to carry his scene with Wahlberg, who has struggled to act his way out of conversations with farm animals.

But if anyone is up to making his teammates better, it's the Captain.

Coming soon to a theater near you!

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter. 

1. First the Chicago Tribune gives some legs to a SoxNet report that the White Sox, Angels and Padres have discussed a three-way deal that would send Adrian Gonzalez(notes) to Chicago and Paul Konerko(notes) to Anaheim ... Chicago Tribune
2. ... then Sun-Times beat writer Joe Cowley blasts the Tribune on Twitter for advancing the possibility, which he reported had already been shot down in early October. Who said the Windy City newspaper war was lifeless? Twitter
3. Now baseball's owners are taking over the O'Hare Hilton for a few meetings. MLB
4. Is there any doubt Derek Jeter(notes) will be named SI's Sportsman of the Year? Bugs & Cranks
5. CC Sabathia(notes) has achieved a lot, but he's still waiting to join the Black Aces. Bronx Baseball Daily
6. The Mets are intrigued by the possibility of overpaying Joel Pineiro(notes). MLBTR
7. Why Tim Lincecum(notes) should be announced as the NL Cy Young on Thursday. McCovey Chronicles
8. Anyone want a guaranteed World Series berth? Eric Hinske(notes) is a free agent again. FanGraphs
9. At what price should the Cubs consider trading for Curtis Granderson(notes)? Desipio
10. Pondering the possibilities of the Tigers moving Miguel Cabrera(notes). Bless You Boys
11. The 10 best Baseball-Reference sponsorships. Baseball Junk Drawer
12. Shane Victorino(notes) wore shorts to his wedding? Of course he did. It was in Hawaii. The 700 Level

You've heard the personal testimony, you've seen the Oscar-worthy short animated movie.

Maybe you've even read the Bantam Book.

Now, sign the online petition so everyone can watch video of Pirates right-hander Dock Ellis throwing a no-hitter while, legend has it, he was tripping on psychedelic drugs.

The enterprising fellas at The Slanch Report have started an online petition urging the MLB Network to raid its archives in search of Dock's no-no, which originally came at San Diego on June 12, 1970.

It's an inspired request, wanting to watch Ellis work his, ahem, "magic" against the Friars. That day, he walked eight and hit another guy but still managed to pitch one of the 263 no-no's in major league history — all while "as high as a Georgia Pine," as he put it.

But before MLB Network starts rummaging through its files, there are some questions that need answers.

• Was the game even broadcast on TV? It was 1970, not 1990, and the TV contract wasn't as comprehensive in those days. There is hope, in that the Pirates were one of the best teams in the league at the time and the game didn't happen on a Saturday afternoon, when it might have been blacked out because of the national game on NBC.

• Does a copy still exist?/Can one be found? We're video pack rats compared with folks from 35 years ago. They erased Johnny Carson shows routinely in those days, so what's one more baseball game? Even a no-hitter.

• Does Major League Baseball want to "celebrate" a so-called drug-induced event? No matter its historical context or importance to popular baseball culture, what Ellis said he did, it wasn't legal. It wasn't right. An argument can be made that, no matter how entertaining some of us find it, Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter on acid is embarrassing and shameful. Baseball certainly might feel that way. Not to be a party pooper.

This generation has seen Dock pitch before, but usually it's video of Reggie Jackson famously taking him high and deep in the 1971 All-Star Game, and there's Word Series film of him in '71 and 76. I want to see the no-hitter, but I also wonder if MLB would feel likewise.

The Twins received such good feedback on their 1982 throwbacks for the final season in the Metrodome, they are busting out a new set of retro uniforms for 2010, when they head outdoors at Target Field.

Above, we have outfielder Denard Span(notes) looking quite dapper, just like Bob Allison back in the day, in modeling the 1961 home pinstripes. The new duds honor the 50th season of Major League Baseball in the Twin Cities.

Span seems pumped about the new/old look, which will be worn opening day and every home Saturday at Target.

From MLB.com:

"These are sweet," Span said. "I kind of feel like Harmon Killebrew or Rod Carew. These are the same uniforms they wore. I'm just glad that we'll get the opportunity to wear these and go out to the new stadium with these uniforms on." 

That's not the only fashion bump in Minnesota. Below, feast your eyes on the new road Twinkie wrappers:

Check out right-hander Scott Baker(notes) rocking the mic, along with the road grays — without pinstripes, finally, thank Gawd — for the first time since 1987 (I think). The other large improvement is the cap, which replaces this guy as the primary road lid.

"I think it's appropriate," Baker said. "Any time you move into a new place, you want ... a new look. I think they did a really nice job with them. I actually got a chance to see some preliminaries. They turned out really nice." 

• If you can't wait to order your road Nick Punto(notes) No. 8 and can't get to the local Twins team shop, you can always skip the mall and buy online.

• For you baseball fashion nerds, here's a list of all the uniform and logo changes the Twins are making.

• For more looks at the changing of the jerseys, check out the Star Tribune.

• The Twins president is named David St. Peter, which is funny because one of the Twin Cities is St. Paul.

Well, neither probably does. But it's understandable how baseball writers reached those conclusions today.

Coghlan hit .372 in the second half, when everyone pays attention a little closer, and that stat was just too good to pass up. Three-seventy-two? Wow! And, presto, you have the NL Rookie of the Year.

Bailey had 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Great numbers, flashy. But also decisive-looking. How can you vote against them? Voila!

If voters took a closer look at Coghlan's stats and Bailey's stats, they might have seen some flaws and changed their votes. But, they didn't. The awards have been sent out and there's no going back; Coghlan and Bailey are winners, and we can't take it away.

And, why would we want to? It's just an award. There are worse, actual injustices in the world.

The best rookies of 2009 will get a chance to prove how good they are over the long haul of their careers.

Players such as Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen(notes) (right). Give all of the ROY awards to Chris Coghlan, because McCutchen's future is brighter. His combination of hitting, hitting for power, speed and defense leave Coghlan in the dust.

• Baseball America pegged McCutchen as its top rookie at the end of the season.

• Walkoff Walk rails against Coghlan's bloated batting average.

• Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports touts McCutchen here.

On the other side, folks are wondering how Elvis Andrus(notes) failed to take home the hardware in the AL. Really, Elvis fans should be happy that Andrus finished second; that means the voters were taking his defense into account.

In 10 years, the bigger question will be how Brett Anderson(notes) lost the AL ROY to his teammate.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man), a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your e-mail submissions or tips via Twitter.

1. MLB names its Rookie of the Year in the AL and NL at 2 p.m. EST. Nobody, not even the Rangers' Elvis Andrus(notes) (above left) or the Marlins' Chris Coghlan(notes) is a clear favorite in either league. MLB.com
2. White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham(notes) won the AL ROY from the Sporting News and from the Major League Baseball Players Association, but isn't guaranteed of a triple crown. WhiteSox.com
3. One view in Oakland is that Andrus, the best-fielding shortstop in the majors according to many defensive metrics, is "the clear favorite." OaklandAthletics.com
4. One view in Texas is, if anybody can spring a surprise on Andrus, it's A's closer Andrew Bailey(notes), who had 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. TexasRangers.com
5. Elsewhere deep in the heart of Texas, fatalism reigns for Andrus' chances — even if he's the best candidate in the AL. Dallas Morning News
6. Porcello is the clear front-runner, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. MLive.com
7. Andrus and Braves' right-hander Tommy Hanson(notes) won in a vote of blogs. SB Nation
8. Hanson led NL rookies in ERA, K's per nine innings, WHIP and opponents batting average. MLB.com
9. Coghlan could become the Marlins' third ROY already. FloridaMarlins.com
10. But Coghlan doesn't deserve the honor as much as others. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
11. Nah, Coghlan's the favorite — but J.A. Happ(notes) did lead rookies in victories and, like Beckham in the AL, has rookie awards from the Sporting News and the Players' Association. Phillies.com
12. Brewers infielder Casey McGehee(notes) would be proud to finish second or third. Brewers.com

We had such fun (I did, anyway) yesterday with the short film about Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter while tripping on LSD, we've returned with another baseball-related animated short.

This one's a little more kid-friendly. It's about a bear named Berni who goes to the batting cages and manages to perform some breakdancing between hacks. The episode is from a 54-part Spanish-language series promoting "the values of fair play" to children. The series covers many sports and was actually produced in Spain, which has no beisbol tradition that I know of other than this bear.

The message at the end translated is: "When training, learn to control your impulses. With concentration and effort, you will get it."

That's some Jedi stuff right there.

Plus, Berni the Bear is quite amusing and the Ice Age-ish animation is highly watchable.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man), a streamlined-ish selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your e-mail submissions or tips via Twitter.

1. Units from two police departments responded to a 911 call Thursday from a woman inside the Argyle, Tex. home of John Wetteland, the Mariners bullpen coach and a former closer with the Expos, Yankees and Rangers in the 1990s. "She said [Wetteland] was complaining of being depressed and contemplating suicide," Denton County Sheriff Sgt. Roger Griggs said. N.Y. Daily News

2. Sgt. Griggs also said the 43-year-old Wetteland, who is married with four children, "was depressed. That was the story, that he might harm himself. That was law enforcement's concern." Newsday

3. When police arrived, Wetteland emerged from his home with hands in the air, saying he "needed help." Officials said Wetteland was hospitalized for "a mental health issue." CBS11TV.com

4. In a story buried on the Mariners' Web site, Wetteland reportedly returned home Thursday night. He also released a statement through the team, saying all of the fuss was due to high blood pressure: "Thank you for your concerns. My wife and I are very appreciative of the over-and-above care of our local officers and paramedics. The circumstances leading to my elevated blood pressure and heart rate have been addressed. I am currently resting safely at home." MLB.com

5. Unnamed sources within the Mariners organization say Wetteland never considered suicide; it was just a misunderstanding. Tacoma News-Tribune

6. Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik denied Wetteland's mental health ever was the issue. Said Zduriencik: "... Contrary to earlier news reports, the reason John was hospitalized was because of an extremely high heart rate. ... " Dallas Morning News

7. A three-time All-Star, Wetteland saved 330 games over his 12-year career, including a league-leading 43 in 1996. That season, he also got the last out in the clinching game of the World Series for the Yankees, who had gone 18 years without a championship. Baseball-Reference

8. Wetteland was a deeply spiritual person as a player, saying his relationship with Jesus Christ was more important than the one with his wife. As a younger man, he was a drinker and a drug user. His parents divorced when he was 16. Wetteland's attitude changed, he said, when he became a born-again Christian in 1990. His off-the-field demeanor also changed once he was in the stretch: "I'm nuts when I'm on the mound," he said in 1995. New York Times

9. He also showed some strange — if funny — behavior when he pitched for the Rangers in the late 1990s, manager Johnny Oates explained. Sporting News via Findarticles.com

10. Hardly a straight arrow later on, Wetteland was fired as Nationals bullpen coach in 2006. Manager Frank Robinson tired of waiting for Wetteland to curb the pranksters in the Nats pen who would rather set off firecrackers and horse around than act "professional" about their jobs. Sporting News

11. Done with the majors for the moment, Wetteland became a coach and Bible teacher at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle in 2007. Pegasus News

12. Helping her husband realize a childhood dream, Wetteland's wife, Michelle, bought him a black Lamborghini Murciélago. Now with the M's, Wetteland talked about what the car means. MLB.com

Put your money on Kung Fu Panda being even better next season than he was in 2009.

Sandoval, you see, already started spring training 2010 at the Giants' complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Nov. 1. He was roughly 3 1/2 months early. Why?

Sandoval put up those gaudy numbers despite carrying way too much weight for a person listed at 5-foot-11 and (generously) 245 pounds. So, Panda wants to slim down into a leaner, not-so-mean hitting machine.

In a tremendous post by Giants' blogger Joan Ryan (also the author of "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes"), she goes into fine detail about Sandoval's recent lifestyle changes, a diet and exercise regimen that Giants trainer Dave Groeschner calls unprecedented for the club.

It's called: "Operation Panda." Of course it is.

"There are no guys who show up in November to get ready for the season,'' Groeschner said. "But this is something Pablo wanted to do."

Sandoval is being helped by his brother Michael, who is taking the same steps right alongside.

From MLBlogs.com:

With the five pounds he lost during the past week, Sandoval has lost 10 pounds so far, on his way toward his goal of slimming down and building muscle for the 2010 season. (Michael is participating in every workout, working right alongside his brother, and he has lost 10 pounds, too.)

"I love this team and the way they treat me,'' Sandoval says later in the afternoon, after he finishes about 10 minutes of alternating between warm and cold tubs to minimize muscle soreness.

"The fans, I love them and want them to know I'll always be the guy who's working hard. I know I have to lose weight so I can play this game for a long time.''

Sandoval's vows must excite Giants fans, but they ought to be inspirational for anybody trying — or ready to try — to lose weight. Or just make the most of his or her life. There's something all of us could take from Sandoval's effort.

Who else can't wait for spring training to start? Hey, it already has! Thanks, Venezuela Panda!

That might have been the only thing to go right all year for the Kings of Queens, and now the ultimate Mets fan can buy the season-from-hell's most salient piece of memorabilia.

Among the bling and the furs and the whatnot up for auction Saturday from the property assets of Bernie and Ruth Madoff is this exquisite New York Mets jacket.

It's personally embroidered with his last name and No. 25 — as if Madoff pitched out of the bullpen or coached on Jerry Manuel's staff.

Bidding, already at $110, is expected to finish between $500-$725, though it's your best guess as to how anyone could know that. 

The jacket looks old-school, but it does not come with a certificate of authenticity in the form of Wally Backman (or Tim Teufel, if you prefer right-handed hitters).

Thanks, Business Insider, for spotting this.

The next time someone compiles a list of the greatest baseball films ever, the work won't be complete until it includes this 4-1/2 minute animated short by artist James Blagden. It's a moment-by-moment imagining of the time in 1970 when Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Dock Ellis, so he famously claimed, pitched a no-hitter while tripping on acid.

Brought to light by the sports and culture site No Mas, the film is a surreal trip in itself. And no psychedelic drugs are needed to enjoy it to the fullest.

It uses audio — which is precious to begin with — of Ellis telling the story himself on an NPR program broadcast in March of 2008. It reveals some interesting details, such as Ellis getting his stimulants (which he claimed were used by "90 percent of the major leagues") from a female dealer in the stands at Jack Murphy Stadium before the game at San Diego.

Blagden isn't short on complementary touches, either, such as putting curlers in Ellis' hair — as the flamboyant pitcher was known to do. Details like that indicate how much Blagden loved making this movie.

Following the spoken word and the music, the film completes a Dock Ellis trilogy, of sorts. Earlier this season, we told you about a song based on Ellis' infamous trip by Todd Snider called "America's Favorite Pastime." Snider's album got great reviews; the film is no less worthy. Let's get some Oscar buzz going right now.

Sadly, Ellis died last year after long-ago turning his life around, becoming a drug counselor. How much he would have tripped, in a good way this time, seeing this movie.

Thanks to @OntheDLpodcast for the heads up and to With Leather for the redirect.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man), a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your e-mail submissions or tips via Twitter.

1. The captain's career will never die. It just fades away ... but with the Red Sox. Extra Bases
2. Thanks for interviewing, but no thanks, Bobby Valentine (again). The Nationals name Jim Riggleman their non-interim manager. MLB.com
3. Mr. Selig dislikes having World Series games in November. Pennlive
4. Not only is Detroit's Edwin Jackson(notes) available, but so is Curtis Granderson(notes). N.Y. Post
5. Brandon Inge(notes), too. Is Ernie Harwell's statue headed to eBay next? Bless You Boys
6. Granderson? Granderson? Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Phil Rogers is on the scent! Chicago Tribune
7. Joey Votto's(notes) not part of the Reds' pending garage sale, is he? Cincinnati.com
8. Everything you wanted to know about what happened, or didn't, at the GM meetings. Fox Sports
9. C'mon, don't clown. Despite a lack of action in Chicago and conservative financial forecasts for major league teams, you know Scott Boras will be getting paid. USA Today
10. Ever wanted to put Curt Flood's driver's license in your wallet? Big memorabilia auction coming up at the Louisville Slugger Museum on Saturday. Louisville Courier-Journal
11. Bringing back Milton Bradley(notes) might not work so well for the Rangers. Dallas Morning News
12. Did Deadspin libel Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy? Well... Sports Journalism Today

As happened yesterday in the AL, the Gold Glove Award winners in the NL were announced today. There seems to be someone missing from the list. Our guest blogger, the Leprechaun, will explain.

Just who is it that's been stealin' Chase Utley's(notes) Glove o' Gold? Was it you, Brandon FitzPhillips, who turned 100 double plays and stole the Glove o' Gold last year from ol' Chase? Those look like blue diamonds in your pocket! No? Quit your thievin' ways, have ya'?

How about you, wee Davie McEckstein, who led NL second basemen in fielding percentage, making only two errors all season? You're short enough to be devious — you little green clover-picker — but not that short.

It was you, O'rlando Hudson! You stole Chase Utley's Glove o' Gold! It's the end of the rainbow for you, my purple horseshoe-wearing friend.

It might not have looked like it during the World Series when he got a case of the yips, but Chase Utley has been and still is the best defensive second baseman in the majors for a number of seasons.

The geniuses over at Fangraphs, with their UZR and their uzis, not only call Utley the best second baseman in baseball but its best player at any position on defense over the past three seasons. Yet, willfully ignorant voters are always stealin' Chase's Glove o' Gold! Do they not judge my boyo by the light of the yellow moon? His mates Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino won awards, so it's not some kind of anti-Phanaticism.

Next season, if Utley is good enough — again — the electorate ought to find it in their pink hearts to vote properly. So far, it's just not in the orange stars.

After reaching 40 homers in the regular season for the first time since 2000, Griffey hit a memorable two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 ...

Oh, wait. That was for the Yahoo! Sports Blog in an alternate universe; !Oohay, that one's called.

As baseball fans in this realm know, the Mariners won a respectable 85 games in Griffey's return after losing 101 times in the nightmare season before. Much of the credit went to Griffey being back in the Pacific Northwest for the first time since being traded to the Reds after the '99 season.

Of course, any reasonable checking of the numbers will reveal that Griffey had the worst season of his 21-season career. A slugging percentage barely above .400, along with a .735 OPS, does not a good DH make.

So, why is it a good thing the M's re-signed Griff Jr. for 2010?

Because, sometimes goodwill is worth about $3.5 million, approximately what Griffey made after reaching half of his performance incentives in '09. If media reports and player quotes are to believed, Griffey made a difference in the social situation in the Seattle clubhouse. In '08, it was poisonous. In '09, it was a happy place. The difference seemed to be him.

Griffey's effect on Ichiro, specifically, was cited as a reason for Suzuki's rebound season. There's no way to accurately measure how much Ichiro's(notes) better mood affected his hitting. But it seemed to, and Griffey seemed to be a big reason why.

Mariners attendance dipped about 130,000 last season, but considering the U.S. economy and how embarrassing the M's were in '08, credit probably goes to Griffey for putting butts in the seats.

Sure, folks probably figured they were watching a farewell tour — remember how Junior was carried off the field after the last home game? Well, carry him back. And then maybe around the bases. He's getting old.

From MLB.com:

"While 2009 was an awesome experience for me, my ultimate goal is for the Mariners to get to and win the World Series," Griffey said. "To that end, I look forward to contributing in any role that [manager] Don [Wakamatsu] sees fit on the field, and any manner I possibly can off the field." 

Hopefully, Griffey is just a part-time DH and pinch hitter. It's OK that he's around, it's great, actually, just as long as he doesn't get 450 plate appearances again.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik is busy trying to rebuild. The M's aren't going to be World Series contenders with Griffey as their DH. But he's the franchise face, its link to tradition, and having him around as the M's go from awful to acceptable can mean just as much as points on someone's OPS.

The funniest exchange between agent and reporter at baseball's General Manager meetings probably was published this morning in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Scott Boras scoffed upon hearing the Cardinals characterized as a "mid-market" franchise, one that would be incapable of paying client Matt Holliday(notes) whatever the agent thinks he's worth.

"I don't know what a mid-market franchise is. That's like a midsize aircraft carrier," Boras said.

Capitalizing on the nautical analogy, Joe Strauss wrote that Boras had "commissioned the franchise the 'USS Moneybags.' "

Yuks aside, Boras has a point about the Cardinals being solvent:

"If you're drawing 3.3 million fans [third in the NL] and you're averaging $50 a fan coming in, I just don't know that mid-market term," Boras said. "I'm trying to think if that's part of the laissez-faire system. I don't know."

Laissez-faire! I love it when you speak French, Boras! He does omit how STL is the No. 21 TV market in the United States. Forbes lists the Cards as the eighth-richest team in the league overall.

Boras has been touting Holliday as a franchise player, someone like another client of his, Mark Teixeira(notes) — who got an eight-year, $180-million deal from the Yankees last off-season.

Where will Holliday go? Where the money is. Teammate Adam Wainwright(notes), via Rotoworld and Team 1380 in St. Louis says it will be at Busch Stadium, along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi.

Welcome to Dave's Dozen (because Kaduk's not here, man) a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter.

1. Ruben Amaro says the Phillies tomorrows will include the 2008 World Series MVP. Philly Inquirer
2. It appears the no-longer bleeping champions are hot for Chone Figgins(notes). S.I.'s Jon Heyman
3. C'mon, are the Tigers considering dealing Edwin Jackson(notes)? He just got there. Bless You Boys
4. The Cardinals continue shielding new batting coach Mark McGwire from the media. He's not here to talk about the past. He's not here, period. Awkward! St. Louis Post-Dispatch
5. Brewers prospect Jonathan Lucroy(notes) just might be the starting catcher at Miller Park. BrewCrew Ball
6. Poor finances might force the Reds to get rid of Brandon Phillips(notes), Aaron Harang(notes), Bronson Arroyo(notes), the massage table, the team bus ... AOL Fanhouse
7. The Mets kick the tires on Matt Holliday(notes); Scott Boras says he comes fully loaded. NY Post
8. The Yanks tell everyone from Joba Chamberlain(notes) to Phil Hughes(notes): Be ready to start. NY Post
9. John Lackey(notes) might not have pitched his last game for the Los Anaheim Angels, after all. Fox Sports
10. Who's up for consideration by the Veterans Committe for the Hall of Fame? Seattle Times
11. Awesome, baby! Rays fan Dick Vitale hopes for a new baseball stadium in Tampa Bay. The Big Lead
12. The Dodgers might go to Mark Cuban in the McCourt divorce. Dallas Morning News

Instead, the stubborn general managers symbolically lined up behind commissioner Bud Selig in a stance that sees no use for making sure the game is called fairly and accurately.

I mean, it's enough to make a baseball fan run toward the nearest cement wall with his or her head lowered.   

Jimmie Lee Solomon, one of Selig's guys, said the GMs were briefed by an umpiring official on training, evaluation and structure. I would guess that means that MLB is looking to make umpires more accountable for their calls.

And after the disasters of the just-passed postseason, I suppose that's good news.

But it's not nearly good enough. Though hell hath no fury like the baseball blogosphere piling on an umpire's blown call, I still believe that no one feels worse in the aftermath than the man in blue himself. Umpires aren't going to get more calls right because they're subject to a harsher penalty; they're already putting enough pressure on themselves as it is.

And since we live in a world of 78 camera angles per game and frame-by-frame replay, there's no way for an umpire to be 100 percent accurate and escape public ridicule.

Look, the technology could easily be there to provide a safety net for the human element on the field. It came through without much lost time during A-Rod's camera home run during Game 3 of the World Series and has been streamlined in almost every other sport.

Why not let it come through in other spots that are just as crucial?

Why must this be so difficult?

So I'm going to make this quick.

The American League Gold Glove winners were announced today. You can find all the details here, but here is a quick summary:

Ichiro(notes) and Torii Hunter(notes) were each honored by the league's managers and coaches for the ninth time.

Evan Longoria(notes), Adam Jones(notes) and Mark Buehrle(notes) won their first gilded mitts.

For the second time, Joe Mauer(notes) and Placido Polanco(notes) were ruled the standards at catcher and second while Mark Teixeira(notes) was tops at first for the third occasion. 

Oh, and Derek Jeter(notes) won his first shortstop Gold Glove since 2006 and fourth award overall.

Considering Jeter's defense has been such a divisive topic that it even made its way into last weekend's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode, his win is sure to attract the most attention.

But while Elvis Andrus(notes) fans down in the Metroplex have a good argument, it's not as if Jeter won on the past numbers that earned him the title of baseball's most overrated shortstop. His numbers improved this season and his performance was regarded as above average. Throw in the fact he did all of this at 35 years old and it was an impressive effort.

I'm still sure those facts won't prevent those who now accept "Jeter sucks at defense" as gospel from harping on the honor, just as many close-minded people could never accept that he wasn't the gold standard for defensive shortstops in years past.

Also, it certainly won't prevent me from being annoyed at all of the goofy bickering that will ensue. Measuring fielding is such an inexact science and the Gold Glove award seems to be baseball's equivalent of Pro Bowl offensive linemen (ie: once you've got a rep, you've got a rep). Once someone tells me how you separate all the pitchers who can actually get over to cover first while not resembling a refrigerator with wheels, perhaps I might come around.

BTW, the NL winners will be announced on Wednesday. 

It started with accusations of PEDs down in Florida. It ended with a parade up in New York.

Yes, the 2009 season of Alex Rodriguez(notes) was one of the weirdest years ever staged by a Major League Baseball player. Containing both the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, every headline that A-Rod managed to make always ended up being interesting. 

Big League Stew was there the whole way, chronicling the surreal twists and turns of the country's most scrutinized athlete. From his awkward press conferences and photo shoot to his championship celebrations, here's a look at some of the best Stew posts involving A-Rod.

* * *

Jilted by Joe! (Jan. 25) When compared to the upcoming steroid storm, the controversy that started A-Rod's year was as tame as a grade school musical. As Joe Torre's Yankee memoirs prepared to go to press, it was reported that the former New York skipper was revealing that his former charge was known as "A-Fraud" around the Yankees clubhouse. Every New York media member clapped and rubbed their hands together over the prospect of asking A-Rod about this revelation when he reported to spring training. Of course, they never got the chance because ... 

Steroids! says Sports Illustrated (Feb. 7) The baseball world ground to a halt on what should have been a sleepy Saturday morning in February as SI.com broke the news that A-Rod had testified positive for two anabolic steroids in 2003 and his name placed on a not-so-secret list of 104 offenders that we'd soon all get tired of talking about.  

A-Rod confides in a sympathetic Peter Gammons (Feb. 10) Two days after the news broke, the Boras camp got its act together and an orange-faced A-Rod sat down with Gammons on the evening SportsCenter to confirm that he had indeed taken a banned substance. Our own Dave Brown followed with a thorough and brilliant breakdown of the transcript, including the number of times he referred to Selena Roberts as "lady" (eight).  

Facing the music with a Tampa press conference (Feb. 17) Ah, springtime in Florida. The smell of the grass. The crack of a bat. Another Yankee holding a mea culpa press conference for past steroid use. With the eyes of the world watching, a nervous A-Rod sat in front of the press and answered everything without really answering anything.

Who's your cousin? (Feb. 17) However, A-Rod say that he took the PEDs with the help of his cousin, who he refused to identify at the time. So we took a few guesses of our own and these were the familial suspects we came up with: 

A fourth row view of A-Rod's homer (Feb. 26) Our own Dave Brown was sitting in the fourth row when Rodriguez went yard against the Blue Jays with a bomb in his first spring training game. Somewhat stunningly, he — A-Rod, not DB — would later leave the Dunedin ballpark in a car with his aforementioned cousin Yuri.

Here's a view of his first spring training AB, complete with his first jeers of the season:

A-Rod tears his labrum (March 5) Writers everywhere were sent scurrying for their online medical dictionaries when it was announced that A-Rod had torn his labrum and would need surgery that would sideline him for 10 weeks. In less upsetting news (at least for the Dutch), the injury kept him from playing for the Dominican Republic WBC team. 

Will the Yankees actually miss A-Rod? (March 9) Yes, A-Rod vs. Cody Ransom(notes) at third was actually a debate being had by some (read: not me) in early March.

A-Rod makes out with someone he loves (March 17) Yes, this also really happened. The "dating Madonna" and Details photo shoot segment is going to be awesome when ESPN shoots its A-Rod "50 for 50" movie 20 years from now. 

The A-Road not taken (April 24) With the Rod-less Yankees set to face the Red Sox, Gordon Edes ruminated on what might have happened if A-Rod had gone to Boston way back in the day.

One pitch, one swing, one home run (May 8) A-Rod made his 2009 debut on a random night in Baltimore, taking the first pitch he saw into the seats for a three-run homer.

Return of The Rod (May 21) After a long road trip, A-Rod made his debut at new Yankee Stadium and was greeted by a majority of cheers from the Bronx Zoo. 

Hanging with HOVA (June 3) Months before they'd split a float up the Canyon of Heroes, Jay-Z and A-Rod hung out in the most unlikely of places — Cleveland. 

Redbeard rankles (June 11) An angry A-Rod and teammate Mark Teixeira(notes) confront Rick Sutcliffe after the ESPN broadcaster alleges the third baseman is signaling the catcher's setup location to Tex from the on-deck circle. 

Miami malaise (June 20) In the midst of a slump, A-Rod is benched for "fatigue" by manager Joe Girardi. He — A-Rod, not Girardi —  is later spotted in the back of a Maybach with Kate Hudson on South Beach. 

A-Rod's nephew (July 7) Thirteen-year-old Joe Dunand Jr. briefly makes headlines with his uncanny resemblance to his uncle in the batting cage and on the diamond.

A-Rod and Kate: Evolution of a relationship (July 27) After a month of speculation, hazy Page 6 reports and paparazzi photos, A-Rod and Kate Hudson make their relationship official with a very public smooch at Yankee Stadium. From this point, he posts a line of .316/.409/.554 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 80 regular season games. 

15th inning savior (Aug. 7) In what was arguably the best game not involving Mark Buehrle of the regular season, A-Rod hits a 15th-inning home run to lift the Yankees over the Red Sox on a Friday night. The dinger helped New York during a four-game sweep that put the team in a strong position to cruise to the AL East title.

Model citizen (Sept. 2) After a summer that was noticeably devoid of A-Rod tabloid controversy, we saluted him for his newfound ability to resemble wallpaper.

A-Rod tackles a lady mountie (Sept. 3) Then this happened.

Regular season rally (Oct. 4) In extreme danger of ending his 30-homer 100-RBI streak, A-Rod hits two homers and seven RBIs on the final day of the regular season to reach the marks for the 12th straight year.

October onslaught begins (Oct. 9) Any talk of A-Rod's struggles during the late fall were ended in the ninth inning of ALDS Game 2 when he launched a tying homer off Minnesota closer Joe Nathan(notes), setting up a big extra inning win for the Yankees.

Heeeeeeere's A-Rod! (Oct. 12) You just won the ALDS, but look out Derek!

An MVP-worthy ALCS performance (Oct. 25) A deserving CC Sabathia(notes) took home the hardware, but A-Rod made a strong argument for co-MVPs with three homers, six RBIs and a 1.519 OPS over six games against the Angels.

Centaurs among us! (Oct. 30) Six strikeouts in the first two World Series games plus a centaur-related revelation makes it look like his great postseason is coming to an end.

Slow-motion superhero  (Oct. 31) But neigh-neigh! A-Rod hits a key home run off Cole Hamels(notes) in Game 3, making history when the ball bounces off a Fox camera and the would-have-been double is overturned for a homer in the first replay review in World Series history. 

Mr. Reliable (Nov. 1) A-Rod delivers again the next night, providing the game-winning RBI after Johnny Damon's double dash puts the Phillies on the ropes. The hits helps the Yankees take a 3-1 World Series lead and puts A-Rod on the doorstep of his first title.

Celebrate A-Rod will (Nov. 4) It took 16 seasons and over 2,000 regular season games, but A-Rod finally erased his name from the list of best players to never win a championship. To mark the occasion, he did a shooter with catcher Jose Molina(notes).

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter. 

1. Tim Wakefield's(notes) new two-year deal remind Red of Charlton Heston. Surviving Grady
2. Jack Zduriencik currently says King Felix's throne will stay at Safeco Field. Seattle P-I
3. Brian Cashman won't be letting big World Series efforts affect his offseason spending. NYT
4. Let the Roy Halladay(notes) speculation begin anew. Toronto Star
5. The cash-strapped White Sox are again crying poor in the Chone sweepstakes. Sun-Times
6. Kenny Williams is also crying poor when it comes to the topic of Hideki Matsui(notes). LoHud
7. Is it possible for Florida's tiny payroll to somehow shrink further? FishStripes
8. Four teams spent over $1 billion in contracts in the '00s. Who are they? Twinkie Town
9. A Carlos Delgado(notes) farewell set to my all-time favorite scene from The Wire. Amazin' Avenue
10. Mini Fashion Ump: Johnny Damon(notes) + loud paisley shirt = FTW! TMZ
11. Did burying that Ortiz jersey in the Bronx start a new curse for the Red Sox? Pinstripe Alley
12. More Sammy Sosa(notes) Vegas pics have surfaced. It wasn't just the lighting. Busted Coverage

Carl Crawford(notes) is a "Type B" free agent. So is Vladimir Guerrero(notes) and Adrian Beltre(notes).

Meanwhile, Octavio Dotel(notes) is a Type A free agent, as are John Grabow(notes), Billy Wagner(notes), Darren Oliver(notes), Melvin Mora(notes) and Rafael Betancourt(notes).

Here's a place to check the whole list. Here's another.

Seeing as the Rays already picked up Crawford's option for 2010, the biggest revelation from the Elias rankings release is that Chone Figgins(notes) turned out to be a Type A free agent. Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts (via MLB Trade Rumors) figured he had cracked the Elias Code and pegged Figgins as a probable Type B.

But no. Figgins' services at third base will now cost his new team a high draft pick — which might scare off a few suitors in the direction of "B" Adrian Beltre and raise his future salary. With Guerrero a "B" who requires no draft compensation from the White Sox, perhaps general manager Ken Williams pursues him to hit cleanup next season.

OK, let's back up a second and go over what "Type A" and "Type B" means:

Elias figures statistics from the past two seasons and applies them to a given free-agent class. Major League Baseball uses these rankings to determine compensation.

• Type A free agents are of the highest quality, the top 20 percent; signing one will cost the team the player's high salary, plus forfeiture of its first-round draft pick to whichever team lost the free agent. Unless that pick is in the top 15; then it loses its second-rounder.

• A team losing a Type B free agent will be awarded a "sandwich pick" in the draft, a pick that comes after the first round but before the second. The team signing a "Type B" loses no pick. Mmm, sandwich.

Any players not Type A or Type B — the bottom 60 percent — are free to move without any compensation to the losing team whatsoever. Sorry, Scott Podsednik's(notes) ego.

I would hammer Elias' formula for putting too much value on quantity of playing time instead of quality, but then what to make of Wagner? He appeared in a combined 62 games the past two seasons. So it's not volume that makes him a Type A. It just makes no sense.

Right, Jeff Passan?  Rage against the machine!

CC Sabathia(notes) continued the Yankees' late night TV domination with a spot on Jay Leno's awkward 10@10 segment on Friday night. The appearance was a cringeworthy one — not Sabathia's fault, of course — but I did enjoy the pitcher's inner video game nerd coming out and revealing how he's spending a little of that $160 million in contract cash. 

You can watch the entire satellite-crippled bit here, but since I've included the clip's other highlight — Jay referring to recent guarantee-giving guest Jimmy Rollins(notes) as Jimmy "Role-ins" — there's really no need. (There's also no need to thank me, I'm paid to suffer through bad pop culture moments as they pertain to baseball.)

A big BLS head nod to Walkoff Walk after Iracane watched Leno for us.

Baseball's general manager meetings are getting underway in Chicago today and it would appear the team leaders have adjusted their accomodations in accordance with the economy.

Last year, MLB's 30 heads of state all met at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, Calif., a resort so posh that we detailed all of its luxuries, down to the "surfing butlers."

This year, they're convening at the O'Hare Airport Hilton, a nice hotel but one more suited for a pharm rep than baseball's deal-hungry masters of the universe.

Thing is, I just checked the rates on both websites and a room at the St. Regis is only slightly more expensive ($295 a night) than one at the Hilton ($245). Why the owners can't spring a little more for the sunshine of California is beyond me, though the Chicago weather is rather nice right now and every dollar counts when you're trying to shore up a rotation.

Also, when you consider that the more consequential Winter Meetings will be held in Indianapolis at the start of December, it was nice of baseball to let the all of the writers get a head start on their bellyaching. Nappytown may have the nice steak dinners at St. Elmo's, but it definitely isn't last year's Vegas.

It looks like we finally have an explanation behind that widely-circulated picture in which Sammy Sosa(notes) appears as a combination of a Twilight extra, a big Charlie Chaplin fan and someone who is taking the death of Michael Jackson just a little bit too hard. 

According to a friend of Sosa's, the former Cubs slugger is (thankfully) not suffering from Vitiligo or another type of disease. Sosa's appearance, rather, is a result of an elective "rejuvenation process" for his skin and he was apparently "surprised" when he came out looking whiter than his old home run buddy, Mark McGwire.

The Chicago Tribune has more:

"He's not trying to be Michael Jackson," said former Cubs employee Rebecca Polihronis, who talks frequently with Sosa.

"He is going through a rejuvenation process for his skin. Women have it all of the time. He was surprised he came out looking so white. I thought it was a body double. Part of (the photo appearance) is just the lighting.

"He is in the middle of doing a cleansing process to his skin. The picture is deceiving. He said, 'If you saw me in person, you would be surprised. When you see me in person, it is not going to seem like the picture ... People who saw him in person did not react the same way. He can't believe it is such a big deal."

Sosa may say he's not as white as he appears or that it's not a big deal, but that doesn't change the fact the whole process is creepier than "Mad Men's" Pete Campbell.

As our own Dave Brown points out, Sosa has started wearing green contact lenses and it's possible that all his money and ego are conspiring to turn him into a Dominican version of Jerry Jones, Wayne Newton or Joan Rivers. That's a pretty scary thought.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time Sosa has tried to achieve better living through chemistry, so should it really shock us that he's trying to rejuvenate an already-resilient organ with a process normally reserved for vain women? What a strange dude.

Fashion Ump ruling: Down on strikes

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Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
• NFL player gets into scuffle with opposing coach
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• Notre Dame coach under fire after big upset

Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your baseball day. It welcomes your email submissions and tips here or via Twitter. 

1. Joe Torre and the Dodgers are "talking about" a contract extension past 2010. LA Times
2. Eric Stephen likes the stability a longer Torre tenure would bring. True Blue LA
3. Rick Morrissey has a lot of hate in his heart for the New York Yankees. Chicago Tribune
4. So long, Pete Happy? The Phillies have declined their option on 3B Pedro Feliz(notes). Inquirer
5. The Phils could be eyeing Chone Figgins(notes), one of the Angels 83 free agents. MLB
6. Tim Dierkes ranks the top 50 free agents so we don't have to. MLB Trade Rumors
7. Here's a great picture of the Afghan Little League. BBTF
8. R.J. isn't kidding. This really is the definitive what-to-do-with-Carl-Crawford post. DRaysBay
9. Ian C. considers the possibility of J.J. Putz(notes) in a Tigers uniform. Bless You Boys
10. Mets fan sees available Brett Myers(notes), says thanks but no thanks. Amazin' Avenue
11. Match made in heaven #1: Jon Gosselin will be attending Shane Victorino's(notes) wedding. The 700 Level
12. Match made in heaven #2: I talk World Series with Dan Levy. On The DL Podcast

And the tradition continues. With another postseason in the history books, I run down the 10 moments I'll remember most. Have a few of your own? Leave 'em in the comments below.

10. Vladimir Guerrero bests Jonathan Papelbon — ALDS Game 3
Guerrero's postseason record will most likely always be defined by failure, but the declining slugger did his best to provide at least one highlight when he hit a two-out, two-run single off Jonathan Papelbon(notes) in the top of the ninth inning at Fenway Park. The hit gave the Angels a 7-6 lead in ALDS Game 3 and helped complete a sweep over a Red Sox team that previously owned the Halos in October. Though Vladdy had a rough start in the ALCS against the Yankees, he picked it up once the series went to Anaheim, finishing his postseason with a line of .378/.425/.541 and one homer, three doubles and seven RBIs. If that was his last stand with the Angels, it wasn't a bad final act.

* * * 

9. Ryan Howard's RBI double stuns Rockies — NLDS Game 4
One day after Guerrero crushed Boston's hopes, Ryan Howard(notes) did the same to the Rockies in Colorado. His two-out, two-RBI double off Huston Street(notes) didn't give the Phillies the lead — it'd take Big Brown scoring on a Jayson Werth(notes) single to do that — but it did ensure that the series wouldn't return to Philadelphia for Game 5 (and that Cliff Lee(notes) Cole Hamels(notes) would be available for Game 1 of the NLCS against Los Angeles, which seemed like a big coup at the time). The double was part of Howard's streak of eight straight postseason games with an RBI that would enable him to win NLCS MVP (before, of course, breaking the World Series record for strikeouts with 13 Ks.)

* * *

8. Jeff Mathis (who?) downs Yankees in 11th — ALCS Game 3
Jeff Mathis(notes) is why we actually bother playing the games. The Angels catcher only hit .211 with eight doubles in the regular season and ranked as the biggest hole in the Los Angeles lineup. Against the Yankees, however, he entered some sort of zone, hitting five doubles over five games, including two in the extra innings of Game 3. His double off Alfredo Aceves(notes) in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Angels their first win of the series and momentarily put Mathis' name alongside the biggest stars in the sport.  

* * *

7. Matt Holliday's error in Los Angeles — NLDS Game 2
Matt Holliday's(notes) failure to grab a liner from James Loney(notes) — the Cardinals outfielder said he lost it in the lights — snatched defeat from the jaws of certain victory and gave the Dodgers a new life they'd use to take a 2-0 NLDS lead. It was easily the biggest error of the '09 postseason and possibly the only one to inspire the Green Day parody above. 

* * *

6. Chase Utley joins Reggie Jackson — World Series Game 5
Chase Utley(notes) was the one who crowned the Phillies "WFCs" last October and he did his best this November to make sure his title could still apply. That didn't happen, but Utley's World Series performance was something to behold. The second baseman hit two homers apiece in each of Philadelphia's wins and his five total dingers were enough to tie Reggie Jackson for most in a Fall Classic stand. Utley was so impressive that we even momentarily considered his chances of being named World Series MVP while playing for a losing cause.

* * *

5. Umpire Tim McClelland makes the worst call of all time — ALCS Game 4
It's now three weeks later and I still can't fathom how umpire Tim McClelland missed what was clearly a double tagging of Robinson Cano(notes) and Jorge Posada(notes) right in front of him. It was the worst call in a postseason full of bad calls that included an earlier McClelland misstep on a tagup that wasn't early, Phil Cuzzi's royal foul line hosing of Joe Mauer's(notes) Twins and some poor umpiring to start the Phillies-Rockies series.

* * *

4. Cliff Lee shuts down the Yankees — World Series Game 1
It ultimately mattered as much as winning your first 10 hands of blackjack on a losing Vegas trip, but what Phillies fan will ever be able to forget the euphoria of Cliff Lee's Game 1 start at Yankee Stadium? The lefty's complete game was a complete masterpiece — 10 strikeouts, no walks and only one unearned run — and extended what was one of the most amazing runs by a pitcher in postseason history. (The midseason acquisition finished his October and November with a 4-0 record, a 1.56 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP.)

* * *

3. Hideki Matsui owns clincher, wins World Series MVP — World Series Game 6
Did Hideki Matsui(notes) save his best for what could have been his last game as a Yankee? Perhas, but it was a great effort no matter when it occurred. After not starting a game in Philadelphia because of the DH absence, Matsui's performance in Game 6 — 3-for-4, a homer, a double and a record-tying six RBIs — helped the Yankees grab their 27th title. Combine that line with two big homers in Games 2 and 3 and Matsui did more than enough to become the first Japanese player to be named World Series MVP.  

* * *

2. Alex Rodriguez takes home his first title — World Series Game 6
There were no shortage of Alex Rodriguez(notes) moments to consider when it came to creating this list. His game-tying homer against Joe Nathan(notes) in ALDS Game 2. His instant replay homer in World Series Game 3. The revelation he may have a picture of him as a centaur above his bed. In the end, we'll go with the encapsulating moment of A-Rod grabbing the hardware and removing his name from the list of great players to never win a championship. After a relatively quiet regular season, A-Rod was the posteason's biggest story and his numbers — .365/.500/.808 with six homers, five doubles and 18 RBIs — were absolutely phenomenal.

* * *

1. Johnny Damon's double dash — World Series Game 4
Every World Series needs an iconic play and it's usually a big home run or a closer falling to his knees after recording the final out. This year, Johnny Damon(notes) contributed one of the most unique memories when he stole two bases in the ninth inning of Game 4. The heads-up play was the first time a runner had ever stolen two bases on one pitch in a World Series game and it spurred Brad Lidge's(notes) three-run meltdown, which gave the Yankees a 3-1 series lead instead of an anything-can-happen 2-2 tie. When we talk about this World Series in the future, Damon's double steal will be the one play we remember most.

To relive all the postseason coverage on Big League Stew, click here

UPDATE: And because I'm always guaranteed to forget one big moment whe compiling these lists, there's Jimmy Rollins' Goodfellas moment in NLCS Game 4. Place it where you will.

(A big BLS head nod to @fotodave for the gentle reminder.) 

Retirement, or something, appears to be changing Sammy Sosa(notes). He and wife, Sonia, were recently in Las Vegas for the Latin Grammys, which included a tribute on Wednesday to singer Juan Gabriel. Photogs caught the Sosas on the red carpet and Sonia looks fabulous as always. As for Sammy ... well, there's no getting around it, but Sammy looked kind of pale.

His skin is undeniably lighter than at any time since he broke into the majors in 1989. Is it an illness, or a condition such as Vitiligo, in which depigmentation occurs? Is Sammy just bleaching his skin for fashion's sake? (Heh, "just.")

I wonder if he is changing his look, simply because his eyes are a different color. Sammy was born with brown eyes. He's taken to wearing green contact lenses and, quite frankly, they are extremely creepy. Is he co-starring in the upcoming "Twilight" sequel? The plastic suit also bothers me, just because it does.

Sammy, who hasn't played since 2007, has been accused of using modern chemistry to help him attain 609 career homers — including three seasons of 60-plus. Perhaps he's turning to science to give him a different veneer as he approaches his 41st birthday. Below, check out a few comparison shots to judge for yourself.

Shiny suit: check. Shiny hair: check. New fake eyes: check. Skin: as you were.

There's our brown-eyed handsome man. He generally resembles the skinny kid from San Pedro De Macoris. He also married well.

Sammy liked to do stuff to his hair back in the day. Has it lead to some kind of total obsession about his look?

The King of Pop underwent a similar kind of transformation.

• Due credit: 'Duk checked his e-mail and found this link from Jerod at Midwest Sports Fans. They discovered, to the best of my knowledge, the Sammy Sosa lightening. If you will.

• Sports By Brooks also puts its own slant on the Sammy-turning-white saga, so check them out too.

Yes, feel the heat, folks.One day after the White Sox and Royals swapped Chris Getz(notes) and Josh Fields(notes) for Mark Teahen(notes), the Brewers have sent shortstop J.J. Hardy(notes) up I-94 for Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez(notes). 

Though he was once part of the franchise's foundation, Hardy struggled with the Brewers in 2009 and even earned a trip to the minor leagues in August. With young Alcides Escobar(notes) already tabbed as the Brewers' shortstop of the future, Hardy became expendable and he'll have a shot at becoming the productive shortstop the Twins are seemingly always searching for.

As for Gomez, he struggled at the plate in 2009, posting a dismal .623 OPS over 137 games. His promise comes in the fact that he plays great defense and will still only be 24 years old on Opening Day. He was the key prospect in the Johan Santana(notes) deal, but a crowded Twins outfield means that he'll have to try to realize that potential at Miller Park.

Initial edge: Minnesota gets the early win here as it adds a solid piece for 2010 and possibly eliminates the need of paying Orlando Cabrera(notes) to return. Meanwhile, the Brewers are still dealing with a raw commodity and the only currently visible benefit is that they could save money by not bringing back Mike Cameron(notes) to play center field.   

Yahoo! Sports MLB editor Steve Henson is checking in with periodic updates from today's Yankees victory parade in Manhattan.

11:22 a.m. ET Commerce has pretty much shut down in Lower Manhattan today. Thousands of members of the work force are showering ticker tape and toilet paper from their high-rise office windows all over the Yankees as the World Series champions and their families inch up Broadway from the U.S. Customs House on Battery Place to City Hall Park.

Kids all over the city who stayed up too late Wednesday night to watch their Yankees win the World Series skipped school Friday to catch a glimpse of their heroes riding in cars and pinstriped-themed floats that mostly New Jersey-based fans began assembling after the Yankees took a 3-games-to-1 lead over the Phillies.

Good thing, though, that Dept. of Sanitation workers aren't playing hooky. Hundreds of workers with brooms are already cleaning up mounds of toilet paper piled cut loose from office windows along Broadway long before the parade even began.

It's 44 degrees with a slight, sharp wind blowing, and parade veterans know to grab a spot in the sun because stretches of sidewalk shaded by buildings are a good 15 degrees colder.

Yogi Berra, 84 years old and winner of 10 World Series as a Yankee, was the first to emerge from the Customs House where the team convened this morning, a scene described by a Yankees official as "a cocktail party without cocktails." Yogi might say, "This parade gets so crowded nobody goes there anymore," but the assembled fans appear to total in the hundreds of thousands, and the mayor's office undoubtedly will estimate it in the millions by day's end. Berra was also in the lead float during the Yankees' last parade, in 2000.

A.J. Burnett(notes) was the first current player to jump into a vehicle, but Series MVP Hideki Matsui(notes) eventually cut in front of him and will be the first player to ride. One of the last floats in line looks like a huge sailboat, with the sail a huge Yankees jersey.

New York knows the drill. More than 200 ticker-tape parades have been held in the ``Canyon of Heroes'' since 1886, when folks tossed ticker tape out of windows during a parade to dedication the Statue of Liberty. The most recent parade honored the football Giants for their 2008 Super Bowl victory.

TV reporters grabbed players as they walked to their floats. Not much controversial, as you'd imagine: "Thank you New York, we love you and we hope you are out here celebrating," pitcher Joba Chamberlain(notes) said, his hands tucked into his pockets as he braced for warm reception along the long, cold ride up Broadway.

* * *

12:08 update: Talk about moving the needle. Alex Rodriguez(notes) began the season in shame, admitting to steroid use years ago with the Texas Rangers. Today he's basking in the adulation of fans lined up 20 deep along Broadway, waving, smiling and casually chomping on gum from the railing of Float No. 4.

Rodriguez is sharing his float by hip-hop rapper Jay-Z, whose song with Alicia Keyes, "Empire State of Mind" has become something of a Big Apple anthem despite being panned by Rolling Stone as "a pallid New York shout-out."

As the ride progressed A-Rod's face went from bemused yet stoic behind dark sunglasses to smiling broadly and waving his hands above his head. The thaw between Rodriguez and Yankees fans has been a long time coming, and today it seems complete.

Amazing what batting .365 with six home runs and 18 RBIs during a single postseason can do to change perception.

Not far behind A-Rod and Jay-Z's ride came the $340 million float as Mark Teixeira(notes) ($180M) and CC Sabathia(notes) ($160M) rode together. After them, Derek Jeter(notes) and Jorge Posada(notes) shared a a long, comfortable flatbed with plenty of room aboard for friends and family, including Jeter's parents and Posada's wife and two children.

Once the parade ends, the Yankees will duck into City Hall for lunch, then emerge for a ceremony, speeches and assorted whooping and fist-pumping.

* * *

1:12 p.m. ET: A subtle difference between this celebration and the Yankees' most recent one in 2000: Players riding the floats no longer hold video cameras and tape the fans taping them. Nick Swisher(notes) was spotted filming a short from his phone, but, well, that's Nick Swisher.

Maybe the absurdity of filming a parade from the inside struck players after they dropped in a tape at home one night and realizing how incredibly boring it was to watch hordes of people cheering.

Or maybe video cameras are just passé, so 2000. To the current Yankees' credit, I never saw a single one talking on a cell phone or typing into a Blackberry during the parade. This was a day to honor tradition, and gadgetry didn't belong.

The supposed 1 p.m. ceremony at City Hall won't start on time. Yankees highlights were shown on a huge video screen while the crowd waited for the players to emerge from the City Hall building and take their seats on stage.

* * *

2:15 p.m.: Keys to New York City were handed out to everybody on the Yankees roster and to everyone in the front office, from GM Brian Cashman all the way down to the assistant trainer and Hideki Matsui's interpreter. Hal Steinbrenner and his sisters received keys. The ceremony ended with Hal returning to the podium to accept a key for his father, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Conspicuously missing, however, was George's other son, Hank, who until sticking his foot in his mouth several times had been the family's most visible member the last two years. No key for Hank and no clue to his whereabouts.

Enduring images from the ceremony included A-Rod's dapper chapeau and the war whoop he let out as he snatched his key from Mayor Bloomberg; Derek Jeter sitting next to manager Joe Girardi in the front row, two close friends coolly enjoying another euphoric moment; and CC Sabathia towering over Jay-Z after the rapper concluded the ceremony with another rendition of his Sinatra wanna-be anthem, "Empire State of Mind."

One big complaint is that players either had nothing to say or they weren't allowed to say anything. Derek Jeter took the microphone at the beginning and said, "It's been too long, hasn't it? I'm a spokesperson for the team. . . . You really forget how great it feels." Then he said the Yankees fans were the greatest in the world, and that was it. Nobody else said a thing. I wasn't exactly expecting Sabathia to reprise Shaq and bellow, "Can you dig it?" but he at least should have had a chance to say something.

So everyone dispersed to the five boroughs, presumably without incident. It was a happy day, a city on the same page, a parade ritual without a hitch. New York might be the city that never sleeps, but after this ceremony nobody can again call it the city that never sweeps: Hundreds of workers wielding push-brooms flooded Broadway to clean up the shredded recyclable paper that had been handed out to numerous businesses as a facsimile of ticker tape. The authentic stuff hasn't rained from the windows in over 40 years.

A lot of wind was blown by politicians and Yankees broadcasters about a dynasty. Even Girardi referenced a conversation he had with George Steinbrenner earlier in the day in which the overriding topic was winning another World Series title next year. There was the sense that a November Yankees procession down Broadway could again become as regular as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Yet even given the Yankees' enormous edge in revenue and payroll, repeating won't be easy. No team has done it since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.

The five winningest Yankee teams — 1927, 1932, 1939, 1961, and 1998 — all won between 106 and 114 games in the regular season and went a combined 27-3 in the postseason en route to five of the most famous championships in history. Their shadows loom large over all other Yankee teams, just as the Yankees themselves loom large over the rest of the league. Each had a run differential over 200 runs. The 1939 Yankees, behind Joe DiMaggio's first MVP campaign, had a mind-boggling run differential of 411 runs over 154 games, which translates to 2.7 runs per game and the top spot on ESPN's ranking of all the Yankee title teams. (The '09 squad is ranked 10th on that list.)

By contrast, the 2009 Yanks lost four playoff games in this postseason (which included two more rounds than the first four teams mentioned had to play). The '09 Yankee squad also finished second in baseball with a run differential of 162, exactly one run a game.

Good, of course, but not historic — it's only the 40th-best differential in Yankee history.

In other words, 2009 may be the most expensive Yankee championship in history, but it's far from the best — more 1999 than '98. The offense was terrific, leading the majors with 915 runs and a club-record 244 homers.

But the pitching was merely pedestrian, as the team allowed slightly more than the major league average of runs. By the time the World Series rolled around Joe Girardi could trust only three starters and one reliever. They were far from the halcyon days a decade ago of Mendoza-Stanton-Nelson-Rivera, despite my expectations to the contrary.

The best Yankee teams have had both dominant pitching and dominant hitting, but when push comes to shove the Yankees have always made their name — and their nickname — on their offense. The 1920s Yankees basically invented the modern offense, centered around sluggers in the No. 3 and No. 4 holes and supplemented by mashers throughout the lineup with few weak hitters anywhere on the diamond. The template hasn't changed much in the four score and several years since then.

These Yankees arguably have the best infield in franchise history, even compared to the highest-scoring offense in Yankee history, the '31 Yanks, with Hall of Fame C Bill Dickey, 1B Lou Gehrig, 2B Tony Lazzeri, and 3B Joe Sewell. In 1931, Lazzeri, Sewell, and light-hitting shortstop Lyn Lary all put up an OPS under .800, and Dickey's was only .820. The five combined for 76 homers and 46 of those were from Gehrig.

By contrast, every 2009 infielder had an OPS over .871, and though no one had more than Mark Teixeira's(notes) 39 homers, the five combined for 134 round trips.

No, they weren't quite as balanced top to bottom as they were in 1998, or 1927. But they were still the best team in baseball. And when you've reached the point where you start inspiring comparisons to the best Yankee squads of all time, you're a pretty good team.

With the World Series win in the bag, New York's late night television shows wasted no time in appropriating some of the Yankees stars for a ratings boost like the one Fox received. 

A couple of the clips from Thursday night are below and if you're a Yankees fan who can't get enough (or a non-Yankee fan who's already cringing) don't worry: This is only the start.  

* * *

Here's a highlight reel of Derek Jeter(notes), Andy Pettitte(notes), Jorge Posada(notes) and Hideki Matsui(notes) stopping by Letterman on Thursday night. Extra points to Jeter for being the only guy cool enough  to make fun of Dave's love life (besides Dave himself, of course) and also for the band's rendition of Blue Oyster Cult's Godzilla. For the full version, see parts 1, 2 and 3

* * *

Daily Show host Jon Stewart is a big Mets fan, but that didn't stop him from opening Thursday night's show by offering his heartfelt congratulations to the Yankees. 

Joba Chamberlain(notes) hugging his dad may have been one of the best World Series moments, but Joba Chamberlain appearing on Jimmy Fallon's show is definitely one of the worst. On an awkward scale of 1 to Michael Scott, this one is a nine. The show's writers are aware they're expected to provide jokes for their guests to tell, aren't they?

* * *

Something had to break us out of our intense World Series focus, so it might as well be a report that Tim Lincecum(notes) was cited for marijuana possession in Washington state on Oct. 30.

Tim Lincecum was busted for pot? Of course Tim Lincecum was busted for pot. I mean, you hate to stereotype here, but we're talking about the guy who dresses like this, fantasizes about stockpiling Dinty Moore beef stew and is often compared to the kid in Dazed and Confused who Wooderson thinks would be a lot cooler if he did. 

Here are the details from the AP:

"Washington State Patrol spokesman Steve Schatzel said Thursday that the 2008 Cy Young Award winner and former star at the University of Washington was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 about four miles north of the Oregon border on Oct. 30.

"An officer approached Lincecum's 2006 Mercedes and smelled marijuana. Schatzel says Lincecum immediately complied with a request to hand over the drug and a marijuana pipe.

"The amount measured was 3.3 grams. Schatzel says police consider that a small amount for personal use."

It doesn't sound like this will affect Lincecum's drive for a big contract too much — if anything, it'll only boost his status in most San Francisco neighborhoods — but you hate to hear that he had it so readily accessible while driving around.

You also hate to hear he's let down the parents of children who hang his poster on their walls. Timmy may be the Stew's favorite ballplayer for being such a counterculture force on the mound, but he's also a big role model for Little Leaguers out there, too.

For those of you who might be wondering, I've taken the liberty of doing some research and the answer is no — pitching 225 innings last season and trying to cope while watching San Francisco's woeful offense  are not on the list of qualifying conditions for medicinal marijuana use in Washington.

Over his seven seasons with the New York Yankees, Hideki Matsui(notes) seemingly blended into the background of the Yankees universe, his talent drowned out by the star power of those in the lineup around him. In Japan, he has always played second banana to Ichiro(notes), the face of all things Major League Baseball to the Japanese population.

But after Wednesday's big performance against the Phillies, Matsui turned into the king of both spheres, making the World Series a bit more true to its name by becoming the first Japanese player to be named World Series MVP.

From the Associated Press:

"Japanese workers crammed into downtown electronics stores to watch the final few innings on giant TVs. The game ended just before 2 p.m. local time Thursday, giving workers an excuse to take an extended lunch break.

"'All the news recently has been about Ichiro Suzuki,' said office worker Hiroyuki Takeuchi, who took the morning off to watch the game. 'But Matsui's presence is huge. He overcame injuries and came through with the performance of a lifetime. As a Japanese, I'm very proud today.'"

The AP speculates that the 35-year-old Matsui could return to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers — the fierce rival of his former team, the Yomiuri Giants – if he doesn't sign a new deal with the Yankees. Whether or not a few hot days against the Phillies will talk the Yankees into bringing back Matsui's bad knees remains to be seen, but the outcome will never take away from the one day he was the brightest star in the baseball world.   

Especially when the feat is compared to what Girardi did after the party at Yankee Stadium ended.

Police say Girardi stopped in the wee hours Thursday to help a motorist who crashed her car into a wall after losing control on the Cross Country Parkway in suburban Westchester County.

The crash happened at a particularly dangerous section of roadway, so it not only surprised police to see Girardi on the scene jumping up and down and waving his arms to flag them down, but it also worried them.

From Lohud.com: 

The area is notorious for its blind spots and Girardi, who parked his car along the right side of the parkway, and then ran across the traffic to get to the injured motorist, put his life at risk, police said.

"He could have gotten killed," county Sgt. Thomas McGurn said, adding that responding police units take extra precaution in that area because of the blind curve and speeding cars. "Traffic goes by at 80 mph."

The driver was stunned from the accident and otherwise unhurt, but Girardi probably didn't know that as he became a human Frogger, rushing into traffic to reach the accident scene. The motorist didn't realize who was helping until police told her afterward.

Shortly after the cops arrived, Girardi said he "had to get going." And then he darted across traffic again, got into his car, and presumably drove home.

"The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help," said Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano, who was among the first to arrive at the accident scene. "It was totally surreal."

And revealing about what kind of person Girardi is. Baseball fans can forever debate about Girardi's managerial decisions — and sometimes, he makes rather curious ones.

But when it comes to real life, he's going to do the right thing.

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NEW YORK — My time in the Big Apple is drawing to a close — there's a plane at LaGuardi to catch — but this whole World Series bender on the East Coast has certainly had its share of moments. Here are a few candid shots I took on my clunky point-and-shoot during Wednesday's celebration at Yankee Stadium. From paparazzo shots of Spike Lee and Jason Sudeikis to pictures of the crowded clubhouse scene, I'm amazed at how they turned out.

We'll have plenty of more World Series goodness once Stew Force One touches back down in the Windy City, but I want to thank everyone for coming along on the ride for both the regular season and all of our postseason coverage. It's always an honor and a pleasure and I already can't wait to do it again next season. Go baseball.   

NEW YORK — The throng of media members around the makeshift stage seemed impenetrable, but Harlan Chamberlain motored his way through all of the cameras and notepads anyway. Reaching a blue barrier, he stopped his scooter, strained to look over a crowd of world champion Yankee ballplayers and tried to get a glimpse of his son. When that proved useless, he simply resorted to his considerable vocal chords.

"Jaaaaaaahba!" he yelled. "Jaaaaaaaaaahba!"

Harlan said his son's name a few more times, then spied A.J. Burnett(notes) in the crowd.

"Burnett!" he said. "Can you get my son!"  

Burnett could and a few moments later, Joba Chamberlain(notes) put down the giant blue Yankee flag he had been waving up on stage. The big Yankees pitcher hopped off the stage, disappeared from the view of the Fox cameras and quickly made a beeline for his father. When they came together, they wrapped each other in a huge rocking bearhug.

It wasn't long before both were crying.

They said the same thing over and over. 

"We did it, dad," Joba said.

"We did it," Harlan said.

"We did it," Joba said.

"We did it," Harlan said.

And on and on. They held tight for almost a minute. Their eyes were red when they let go.

You see the Yankees' $200+ million payroll and it's easy to get cynical. Same goes for their $1.5 billion new stadium, the seats that cost more than the average mortgage payment, the steroid controversies involving some of their team members and all the endless hype and hooey about mystique, aura and all the Yankee legends and ghosts. 

But then you see this very simple and very real scene of a 24-year-old pitcher sharing the hug of a lifetime with his dad and you remember that those father-son relationships — one of the only things that really matter — are at the very heart of this great game that we love. 

The same dynamic was on display everywhere at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. Way up in the upper deck, a dad tossed his little son into the air whenever Hideki Matsui(notes) came through (which was often). A mid-20s hipster sitting next to them made sure to ask one of my co-workers to snap a photo of him and his pops with his grainy cell phone camera. CC Sabathia(notes) did his postgame interviews with his little son on his shoulders the whole time.

And while all of those tiny little snapshots meant the world to those pictured in them, none of them seemed quite as remarkable to outsiders as the one taken by the Chamberlains.

Their story has been told often since Joba became a pitcher with the Yankees. Harlan was stricken with polio as a child and his health problems have confined him to the trademark scooter that gets him recognized by Yankee fans everywhere. Despite his limitations, he raised both Joba and his sister in Nebraska and provided for them while working in a prison. The sad story of Joba's mother is sadly well-known — she's facing 20 years in jail for a drug charge — but he's always had the love and support from an extraordinary father. They call each other their best friends. It's impossible for them to be any closer. 

I caught up with Harlan later on Wednesday night and asked him what it was like to see his son pitch a scoreless inning in a World Series clincher. Then I asked him what it was like to have the hug on the field with him afterward. His eyes were still teary as he talked. 

"I told my son for years that he would do this, we would talk about getting to the World Series all the time" said Harlan while stopped near home plate of Yankee Stadium. "We just shared that moment while realizing that he did it. I pinched myself a few times. It's pretty awesome.

"We love each very much. This whole adventure in life is about family and in our case, it's about father and son."

In the days ahead, we're sure to see a lot of scenes from the Yankees 27th championship. Some we'll be bound to remember. Some we'll be bound to forget.

It's not hard to tell which category the Chamberlains' special moment will fall under, because it rarely gets much better than that 

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This isn't the last we'll see of his Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

"I'm gonna tell you something. We will be back," Manuel said. "As MacArthur said, I guess, we will be back."

MacArthur might have been talking about retaking the Philippines from Japan, but Gen. Manuel probably means it just as much as ol' corn cob pipe (right) did. These have been two amazing seasons put together by the Phillies, who have proven just by getting back to the World Series that success doesn't have to be fleeting.

General manager Ruben Amaro has some issues to address, because if the World Series against the Yankees showed anything, it's how flawed two teams playing for a championship can be. But the Phillies can visit the World Series again next season, and win, if they follow through on these three simple steps:

1. Sign John Lackey(notes). This is pretty straightforward. He doesn't have all that many miles on him. Has postseason experience. Doesn't lack colefidence, um, confidence. Lackey and Cliff Lee(notes) give you guys you can count on. Joe Blanton(notes), too, if you're not going to count on him too much. The rest of the rotation — J.A. Happ(notes), Jamie Moyer(notes), Marty Bystrom — will sort itself out.

2. Sign Mark DeRosa(notes) to play third base and buy out Pedro Feliz(notes). Actually, Chone Figgins(notes) would be better (Jimmy Rollins(notes) isn't a leadoff hitter) but where's all the cash going to come from? What, are the Phills made of money, or something? Anyway, DeRosa has a habit of making the playoffs (six times in 10 seasons) and, if his hand injury is healed, he will fit like a Lego in a Legoland.

3. Take your best guess with Brad Lidge(notes). Relief pitchers are like the content of a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. The Phillies bullpen was pretty much a disaster in the World Series, but relievers are so flighty, it's hard to say what Amaro should do. If he leaves them all alone, maybe they come back like 2008. Maybe he changes them around and none of them work out. He just needs to make sure the closer is sound, no matter who it is. It all flows from there, as Mariano Rivera(notes) demonstrated.

NEW YORK — It only took six seasons with the Yankees and 16 years overall, but Alex Rodriguez(notes) can finally call himself a World Series champion. The controversial third baseman is no longer among the greatest players to never win a title — sorry Ernie Banks, Dan Marino and Patrick Ewing! — and the relief on A-Rod's face was visible in the champagne celebration that followed the Yankees' 7-3 victory in Wednesday's Game 6 of the World Series.

After hitting .365 with six homers and 18 RBIs this postseason, A-Rod eagerly grabbed the Commissioner's Trophy and paraded it into the Yankees clubhouse. He appeared emotional when talking with reporters and cried while hugging teammates. He seemed more at ease with everything around him, the stress of playing under the Big Apple pressure relieved by bringing the first title to New York in almost 10 years.

A-Rod also even took time to cut loose in front of everyone, sharing a shot of an unidentified brown liquid with backup catcher Jose Molina(notes) and the ensuing scene with Kim Jones of the YES Network made every onlooker laugh. The Stew was right there and we noww present you with a shot-by-shot account, complete with captions the participants really didn't say!

"This commercial break is taking way too long. Don't they know we just won No. 27?"

* * *

A-Rod: "Oh! Oh! It's Jose Molina and he's carrying a large jug. Time to quench my thirst."

Kim Jones: "You sure that's a good idea, A-Rod? We're about to go live."

* * *

"That tasted terrible!  Take it back ... take it back!" 

* * *

A-Rod: "That iced tea you just handed me must've gone bad, Jose!" 

Molina: "What's with you and always ingesting things without asking what they are first?" 

* * *

"Woo! Whoa! Hoo boy!  My head, it feels light ..." 

* * *

" ... the back of my throat, it burns ..." 

* * *

" ... and I think I left my credit card at that last bar!" 

* * *

A-Rod: "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." 

Jones: "He just threw up in his mouth a bit!"

* * *

"I just had a brilliant idea: We'll get slices of pizza on the way home!" 

* * *

"Just let me close my eyes for a rest first." 

Score and situation: Yankees 7, Phillies 3  Yankees win Series 4-2

Leading lads: Stone-faced Hideki Matsui(notes) went 3-for-4 with a homer and six RBIs to almost single-handledly (or double-handedly, since we're talking swinging) make the Yankees offense go in Game 6. He made the most of his limited plate appearances, clubbing three homers and driving in eight runs in just 13 at-bats to win Series MVP. He also might have played in his final game with the Yankees; he will be a free agent.

Mariano Rivera(notes) was the Yankees' rock at the end of the game as usual, going the final 1 2/3 innings to close it out for a save — in spirit.

Head hangers: The Phillies went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and most of it hangs around the neck of Pedro Feliz(notes), who left five runners stranded.

Key play: The Phillies' best threat of the night came with them down four runs in the seventh, but left-hander Damaso Marte(notes) struck out Chase Utley(notes) with two men aboard to sink the rally. Marte had an awful, injury plagued regular season, but he was unscored-upon in eight playoff appearances.

Key stat: Pedro Martinez(notes) threw 77 pitches but 31 were outside of the strike zone. His inability to command, plus a lack of zip made it amazing the Yankees didn't score more.

What they're talking about: The Yankees won their first title since 2000, which seems like a couple of lifetimes for the Bronx Bombers.

What they're saying: "You never know where you're going to get back here." — Jorge Posada(notes).

What's next: A parade for the Yankees. Then spring training in about 3 1/2 months.

NEW YORK — Hideki Matsui(notes) sure picked a good time to have his finest game as a Yankee.

With free agency (and a possible departure from New York) looming in the offseason, Matsui went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and six RBIs in New York's 7-3 title-clinching victory against the Phillies in Game 6.

For his efforts, Matsui was named World Series MVP and is the first Japanese player to receive the honor.

"It's awesome, it's just unbelievable," Mastui said through a translator. "I mean, I'm surprised myself."

His six RBIs tied a Fall Classic record for most in a game (set by the Yankees' Bobby Richardson in 1960) and gave New York more than enough offense to win their 27th World Series title.

For a man nicknamed Godzilla, Matsui went straight monster mash against Philadelphia. His killer night started in the second inning with a two-run home run that ended an eight-pitch battle with Phillies starter Pedro Martinez(notes), continued with a two-run single in the third and extended itself with a two-run double in the fifth. Only a RBI single by Mark Teixeira(notes)  prevented announcers from calling the score as "Matsui 6, Philadelphia 3."

The absence of the DH in National League parks kept Matsui on the bench for the start of all three games against  Philadelphia. He only had 13 total at-bats in the series, finishing with a .615 batting average and a 2.027 OPS.

NEW YORK — There are now just under two hours left until the first pitch of World Series Game 6 and it can't come fast enough.* While it was fun to talk about storylines like Chase Utley's MVP status, the possibility of Pedro Martinez's last turn on the big stage and factors that may or may not affect Andy Pettitte's effort, it's time to play ball.

*Because there are only so many chuckles you can get out of a NY post cover.

Are we headed for another high-scoring affair like Game 5? A duel between the two old horses, Pedro and Pettitte, like in Game 2? I think we're headed for the latter and it'll turn into a classic on what's a very chilly November night in the Bronx. For fans as baseball, it doesn't get much better than two familiar opponents facing off with the World Series on the line. (Well, unless it's a Game 7 that features CC Sabathia(notes) vs. Cliff Lee(notes), but first things first.) 

More to come later, but feel free to discuss the game in the space below.   

I can't say for certain what Yankees catcher Jorge Posada(notes) is saying to Joe Girardi's son Dante here, but I'm willing to bet a large Ray's pizza it has something to do with pops letting Jose Molina(notes) start two games in the World Series. 

So have at it, amateur Intenet copy editors of the world. How should this caption read?

Follow the jump for winners from the last World Series C-a-C:

No one told Tommy about the Dodgers?

1st — NorCalJon: "Are you saying there's no hard feelings?" ...  "Son, at my age, there's no hard anything."

2nd — Peter D. "Judo chop!"

3rd — Brandon. "I get that you just had a garlic knot but I still don't wanna smell your hand!"