This and every weekday a.m. during baseball season, let's rise and shine together to recap the most recent diamond doings. Roll Call starts at Shea Citi where Raul Ibanez ended a somewhat controversial week with a blast everyone but a Mets fan can agree on.  

Please note: The role of the main Juice squeezer is being played today by Rob Iracane of Walkoff Walk. We praise him greatly for his efforts. 

Game Of The Day: Phillies 6, Mets 3 (10 innings)

It's Okay, He's Legit: Raul Ibanez, who has perhaps the cleanest blood, urine and stool of any major leaguer, won the game with a 10 inning three-run blast off Ken Takahashi. It's safe to say that Ibanez should be free of the slings and arrows, so maybe I should stop implying that Raul is really "juicing" the ball out of the park. Pity the poor Mets fan who wonders why their own team didn't snatch up a decent hitting corner outfielder in the offseason.

They Like Mints on Pillows: With the series win, the Phils improve to a MLB-best 23-9 on the road. Some folks just sleep better in a hotel bed, what with the fresh and bleachy-clean smelling sheets and the fun you get from figuring out what channel NBC is on in this strange and new town. Heck, the Phillies might be better off shipping the upcoming Red Sox series up to Boston instead of at Citizens Bank Park.

No Exit: Handed a tie game after Tim Redding went seven strong, the Mets bullpen allowed five baserunners in three innings, none more devastating than Ibanez. For the second night in a row Bobby Parnell took the loss. Recall that Parnell was supposed to be the new eighth inning 'guy' after J.J. Putz went on the disabled list.

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Feelin' Rundown (Thursday's other games):

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This and every weekday a.m. during baseball season, let's rise and shine together to recap the most recent diamond doings. Roll Call starts on the South Side, where a Tigers ace shook off the jinx of Evening Shade and threw another gem for his first-place squad.

Please note: The role of the main Juice squeezer is being played today by Rob Iracane of Walkoff Walk. We thank him graciously for his efforts.

Game Of The Day

Tigers 2, White Sox 1

Serving Notice: Justin Verlander is demanding that you pay attention to his fine work. Enough of the Zack Greinkes and the Roy Halladays of the world, people. Justin Verlander is on a streak hot enough to melt your favorite collectible bobbleheads. Big V pitched a six-hit complete game in his first-ever win at U.S. Cellular Field, striking out nine and allowing just one teensy mistake, a solo home run to Jim Thome.

All For Naught: The Pale Hose got their own tidy performance for the night, as John Danks took the hard-luck loss despite pitching into the eighth inning and allowing but two runs. But Danks just needed to peer into the Tigers dugout at the resting Verlander to realize why his fate was so depressing. Verlander's curveball was simply breaking in almost unnatural ways.

Old Friends: The current White Sox weren't the only South Siders on hand to watch the Tigers take the third victory in four games against Chicago this week. Former White Sox stars Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura were at the ballpark, but not together promoting their retro "Batman and Robin" poster. Clever marketing, 1990s-era White Sox organization! Thomas works as an analyst for Comcast SportsNet while Ventura was promoting good prostate health. Well, not like that.

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Feelin' Rundown (Wednesday's other games):

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Rob Iracane is a lifelong Yankee fan and an occasional Stew contributor. In this piece about Yankee Stadium, he says that a lifetime of his baseball memories were created in a renovated place he now feels conflicted about. To read some other and infinitely more sentimental  memories of Yankee Stadium, check out what readers of Big League Stew had to say.

Tear it down already, the dump. Have enough cliches been written about Yankee Stadium to make even the sappiest of baseball fans cringe? Yankee Stadium was not built by Babe Ruth. Yankee Stadium is not the greatest sporting arena in the history of humankind. Yankee Stadium is not a cathedral.

No, it's a colossal concrete corporate castle, and if it were really a historic cathedral, we wouldn't be talking about tearing it down for something bigger and better. Take a cue from the architectural relics of Europe and Asia: those things were built to last and some of them are still standing after thousands of years. Yankee Stadium has been around in its modern incarnation for just thirty-three years, having been gutted and renovated between 1973 and 1974.

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This and every weekday morning let's rise and shine together with the latest happenings in the Roll Call major league world of baseball. Today's starts in the Valley of the Sun where Jeff Karstens shows that dominating a NL West team is so easy that even a Pirate can do it.

As they did on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, substitute squeezers Rob Iracane and Camp Tiger Claw of Walkoff Walk fame have the call. This is their last appearance on the Juice (for now), so we'd like to thank them  for their efforts by granting their departing wish and posting the picture of the rocker on the left.

Whatever strums your guitar, gentlemen.   

Game Of The Day: Pirates 2, Diamondbacks 0

Practically Perfect: Pirates starter Jeff Karstens faced 23 Diamondback batters in the first seven and two-thirds innings and sent them all back to the dugout without a fruit cup. This left him just four outs shy of the vaunted perfect game. Of course, it wasn't to be as outfielder Chris Young lined a double to left, a double that killed both a perfect game and a no-hitter. Karstens got Alex Romero to ground out to end the eighth, then worked around a single and walk in the ninth to finish his first career shutout.

Return to Sender (Please?): Karstens went two-for-three in the game and scored on a Doug Mientkiewicz double in the eighth; he's batting .500 in his short NL career. Karstens began his career in the Yankees system but suffered several setbacks, including a broken leg incurred by a Julio Lugo comeback liner in April 2007. With a seeming abundance of starters, Karstens was traded by the Yankees in the Damaso Marte/Xavier Nady trade to the Pirates last month. He's now thrown 15 straight scoreless innings for the Pirates. Wanna bet that Brian Cashman wish he'd gotten rid of Darrell Rasner instead?

Cold War Kids: Lost in the quest for a perfect game was the heated rivalry between veteran infielder Mientkiewicz and super-tall, super-awkward pitcher Randy Johnson. In a June 9 game at PNC Park, Randy and Doug had a little staring contest that escalated into a bench-clearing square dance. Seems that Mientkiewicz called time and stepped out of the batter's box just as Johnson was starting his pitching motion. Doug won the battle today as his eighth inning RBI double sent Randy to the showers.

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Feelin' Rundown (Wednesday's other games):

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This and every weekday morning let's rise and shine together with the latest happenings in the major league world of baseball. Today's Roll Call starts in Kanye's Chi City, where Nick Swisher snatched victory from the proverbial jaws of defeat in the 14th inning, reinstalling the Pale Hose atop the AL Central standings.

As they did on Monday and Tuesday ( and will through Thursday), substitute squeezers Rob Iracane and Camp Tiger Claw of Walkoff Walk fame have the call.  

Game Of The Day: White Sox 10, Tigers 8 (14 inn.)

Guitar Zero: Knotted at six after the nine regulation innings, Detroit and Chicago threw up zeroes for the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th. After being handed a tidy two-run lead when Placido Polanco's ding-dong drove in Edgar Renteria, reliever Joel Zumaya simply crumbled in the bottom of the 14th. Kids, those video games will kill ya'.

Edgar's Extending Error: Still, Zumaya gave up just one earned run; it was shortstop Renteria's misplay of a Jermaine Dye grounder that allowed Orlando Cabrera to score. Earlier, former Yankee Kyle Farnsworth blew the game for the Tigers in the eighth when he gave up a solo shot to Alexei Ramirez.

I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today: Renteria's error (and to a lesser extent, Jim Thome's strikeout) set up Nick Swisher to come on in and hit the game-winning three run moon shot. Swisher came into the game as a defensive replacement in the 11th. The slumping slugger has been splitting time with fellow slumping slugger Paul Konerko (who also homered in this game) since Ken Griffey Jr. ambled into town to play center field. Said Swisher, "I didn't even really anticipate playing." Hope he still brought his cup to the ballpark!

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Feelin' Rundown (Tuesday's other games):

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This and every weekday morning let's rise and shine together with the latest happenings in the major league world of baseball. Today's Roll Call starts in the Lone Star State, where Marlon Byrd ended the WoW hopes and dreams of our substitute squeezers by not trying to draw a walk and bashing the ball over the center field wall for a grand slam instead.  

As they did on Monday ( and will through Thursday), Rob Iracane and Camp Tiger Claw of Walkoff Walk have the call. 

Game Of The Day: Rangers 9, Yankees 5

What's Up, Creampuff?: Joba Chamberlain cruised through his first 3 innings against the hard hitting University of Washington Rangers. After giving up a 2-run homer to David Murphy in the fourth he then surrendered a 3-run job to Michael Young in the fifth. Later in that inning trainers ran out to check on Chamberlain. Apparently more than his feelings were hurt as he left the game with a stiff shoulder.

Rocket From The Crypt: The launching pad in Arlington was especially homery last evening. The game featured tots from 6 different players. None of whom were born in '69. Of course the most important belonged to Marlon Byrd. After Damaso Marte walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Byrd deprived you all of another shrimp video by jacking one into right. Oh well, can't WoW 'em all.

Any Of You Guys Pitch?: Let's assume the worst on Chamberlain. Not because I'm a sicko, but because it gives me something to write about. Wang is out for the year, and the trade deadline has come and gone. Help is ostensibly on the way with Carl Pavano (!) and Phil Hughes both on rehab assignments. I say ostensibly because who knows exactly what those guys will bring to the table, and also because I want you to have to look up the definition. If Chamberlain misses any time this rotation becomes a very iffy proposition.

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Feelin' Rundown (Monday's other games):

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This and every weekday morning let's rise and shine together with the latest happenings in the major league world of baseball. Today's Roll Call starts with evidence that there is a God and that He has a wicked sense of humor and irony. 

Yes, on the very day that Rob Iracane and Camp Tiger Claw of Walkoff Walk start their relief appearance on the Juice, the Rays take the opportunity to welcome them by winning a game via an actual walkoff walk.

Somewhere on the North American continent, David Brown tries to say the above headline five times fast and ends up wishing he had never gone on vacation. 

Game Of The Day: Rays 6, Tigers 5 (10 inn.)

The Preferred Nomenclature, Dude: I know how your regular morning guy feels about the phrase, but you can't just go around renaming stuff. It's not good for morale. It's called a walkoff. More specifically, a walkoff walk. It happened in the 10th inning and frankly, it was sublime.

Things Fall Apart: The Tigers had a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of ten. Unfortunately, Fernando Rodney was wilder than a 5-year-old speed freak. He walked Wee Willie Aybar to start the fateful inning. Jason Bartlett was next up, and when squaring to bunt, stuck his right finger (that's the one you use to point at items on the Wendy's menu) between bat and ball. Oopsie! He left the game, and Rodney promptly drilled his replacement, Shawn Riggans, right on the letters. Akinora Iwomura bunted everyone over, and then Rodney walked BJ Upton to load 'em up. Carl Crawford then tied the thing up with an RBI single and then Carlos Pena came to bat. In a marriage of excitement and anti-climax rarely seen anywhere else, Mr. Pena took a 3-2 ball to walk and force in the winning run.

Cue that beautiful shrimp! (A WoW tradition unlike any other.)

Whaa Happened?: Everything was going well for the Tigers early. Armando Gallaraga pitched seven strong innings. Sheffield, Granderson and Cabrera each hit a ding dong, with the last one putting Detroit ahead in the top of the tenth. But when the dust finally settled, Rodney had blown his fourth save in five opportunities. That's going to be a problem.

Still Not Cute, Even When He's Angry: The loss gave Jim Leyland (that meanie) occasion to lash out at his team and the media in what I believe is 27th "We Don't Care Enough" tirade. Look!

"You've got to step it up if you want to be in the hunt," Leyland said before the game. "You don't want to be in the hunt, go home. Take an early vacation. Come back for spring training. We'll bring some kids up to play. We should be embarrassed. I'm not sure enough people are."

Yes, and I'm sure this will finally be the time they listen and snap out of it, you master motivator.

On The Other Hand: The Rays have now won 7-of-10 and kept the Red Sox at bay despite their weekend sweep of the A's. Joe Maddon lived up to his emo glasses by calling the win both "emotional" and "inspiring." Was he watching the game or Dr. Phil? Both of Rodney's HBP victims are expected to be okay.

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Feelin' Rundown (Sunday's other games):

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