Get Well Soon Delmon Young

Just when the Minnesota Twins thought they were getting back on track and had shaken that nasty injury bug, another one bites the dust.

Delmon Young was carted off the field at Miller Park Saturday evening after clobbering the outfield fence in the fifth inning and spraining his ankle. X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative, but he's expected to have an MRI when the Twins return to Minnesota on Monday.

James Shields is a Complete Animal

James Shields is on fire this season.

The Tampa Bay Rays righty became the first pitcher in franchise history to throw three straight complete games after their 5-1 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Shields, now 8-4 with a 2.29 ERA, allowed three hits and struck out nine with one walk. He leads the big leagues with six complete games this season, and hadn't thrown more than five in his entire career with his last coming in 2008.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said there was "no superlative that is adequate" for Shields performance this season. So he went with this:

"That’s really good stuff."

Shields became the fourth pitcher over the last five years to win three complete games, after Brandon Webb did it in 2007, CC Sabathia in 2008 and Cliff Lee in 2010. And the season isn't even half over yet.

[ESPN]

Jim Riggleman Resigns as Nationals Manager

Jim Riggleman is a quitter.

The former Washington Nationals manager resigned out of the blue on Thursday, just as his team hit the .500 mark upon winning their 11th game in 12 opportunities.

According to general manager Mike Rizzo, Riggleman called it quits after he asked the team pick up the $600,000 option on his contract for 2012 and the club declined to do so. He had this to say about his management skills:

"I know I’m not Casey Stengel but I do feel like I know what I’m doing."

The Nationals will likely name an interim manager this Friday before they face the Chicago White Sox. Happy trails, Jim!

[Daily Pitch]

Top Ten Reasons Why Baseball is Better than Men

I'm going through an awesome break-up right now. Literally, the only thing keeping me in a decent enough mood not to trash all of his shit and burn the house down is my undying love for baseball. And my girlfriends.

I could sit all day and think up reasons why baseball is better than my ex-boyfriend, and for all you men out there, why it's a million times more enjoyable than your stupid ex-girlfriend. Lizzy did one of these lists back in 2007, and of course, it still applies. So here we go.

10. Baseball's only excuse for being late is the rain.

Don't Look Now but the Nationals are Playing .500

This may not seem like a cause worth celebrating to many teams, but when you're the Washington Nationals, it's a pretty big deal.

After their 10th win in 11 games in which they beat the (also-.500) Seattle Mariners 2-1 Wednesday, the Nationals have found themselves at a nice even .500 record on the season.

Marlins Get Jack McKeon First Victory

Jack McKeon still has his work cut out work him, but he was able to celebrate for a moment Tuesday night.

The Florida Marlins spankin' new 80-year-old manager earned his first victory since coming out of retirement when his team finally snapped their 11-game losing streak by topping the Los Angeles Angels 5-2.

McKeon, who replaced the quitter Edwin Rodriguez, had this to say about his one win:

"We’re a summer team. Today is the first day of the summer. We like to play much better baseball in the summer than we do in the spring. So watch out from now on because summer’s here, and we’re here."

Okay... good luck Jack!

[Baseball Nation]

Derek Jeter Hits DL Six Hits Shy of 3,000

Derek Jeter will have to wait just a little while longer to join the 3,000-hit club.

The New York Yankees placed their All-Star shortstop on the 15-day disabled list due to a mildly strained right calf before Tuesday night's 12-4 win over the American League champion Texas Rangers.

Jeter limped off the field Monday night against the Cleveland Indians, four innings after nailing his 2,994th hit. Of course, he is much more concerned with helping his team win ballgames than his illustrious career milestone:

"I don’t like not to play. Whether it’s going for 3,000 hits or 100 hits, I’d rather be out there playing."

Watch Out Pirates, Here Comes Hunter Pence

The Houston Astros suck a lot right now, but Hunter Pence is on fire.

The 28-year-old outfielder extended his hitting streak to 23 games after going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in his team's 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

Pence, who missed his first game of the season on Sunday with tightness in his back, went yard off Derek Lowe in the third inning for his ninth homer of the year and drove in two more with a base hit in Houston's five-run sixth.

His hit streak is the longest in the big leagues currently, while batting .325 with 50 RBI on the season. He's now tied up with Art Howe, Moises Alou and Luis Gonzalez for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history. Good company. If he wants to be the best, he'll need to hit in eight more games consecutively to beat Willy Taveras' 30-game hitting streak from back in 2006.

Check out the First-Place Milwaukee Brewers

After sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, the Milwaukee Brewers have snatched first place in the National League Central.

Prince Fielder smoked his 19th longball of the season, the go-ahead homer in the sixth inning of his team's 4-3 win on Sunday to give the Brewers a 38-28 record and a half-game advantage over the Cards.

Fielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI to give him 58 on the year. Also, he's batting .305 so that's pretty neat. The National League Player of the Week's eighth bomb in the last 10 games helped Milwaukee improve its big-league best home record to 25-9, setting a franchise record for the best home start ever.

The Brew Crew's manager, Ron Roenicke, is trying not to get too pumped up about his team's recent play:

"It’s way too early, but I like how we’re playing."

The 38-29 Cardinals had held down first place since May 19, so it's not like they don't have a shot at reclaiming the top slot in their division. They'll end their road trip this week with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals Tuesday while the Brewers visit the Chicago Cubs for four games at Wrigley Field Monday. I can hardly stand the excitement.

[Josh Q. Public ]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Tommy Hanson

Tommy Hanson is an animal.

The Atlanta Braves righty struck out a career-high 14 Houston Astros Sunday afternoon in his team's 4-1 win at Minute Maid Park. Hanson surrendered just one run on three hits, improving to 3-0 with a ridiculous 0.97 ERA in five career starts against the Astros. Pretty awesome.

Dan Uggla hit a two-run shot in the first inning off Brett Myers and Brian McCann went yard for another two runs in the sixth to give their starter all the run support he needed for the Braves sixth straight victory.

Hanson -- now 7-4 with a 2.59 ERA -- fanned five in a row early in the game before striking out last three batters he faced. Exclamation point! His 14 K's were the most by a Braves pitcher since the legendary John Smoltz had 15 back in 2005 against the New York Mets. He's now tied with Bud Norris for the most strikeouts ever in a game at Minute Maid Park.

Oh, and Tommy, lose the beard. You look 20 years older than you are, and chicks do not dig that. Besides, how many guys do you know that go by "Tommy" who have face muff? You're not Brian Wilson, man.

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Joe Mauer May Finally Return to the Twins Thursday

Joe Mauer has played in just nine games this season since landing on the disabled list with what the Minnesota Twins called "bilateral leg weakness" in mid-April. It's no coincidence the team has sucked ass the majority of the year either, excluding their recent 8-of-10 streak, of course.

With guys like Mauer, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Denard Span, Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, and Joe Nathan currently on the disabled list, the 25-39 Twins have resembled a AAA team in big league uniforms. Even after their current surge, they're still 10 games behind the AL Central division-leading Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers.

Man Muscles plans on catching for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle on Sunday and Monday, and maybe even Tuesday before getting some batting practice off Joe Nathan on Wednesday. Manager Ron Gardenhire claims the All-Star catcher should be back in Minneapolis by Thursday.

In other Twins injury news, Nishioka will be playing with the AAA Rochester Red Wings Sunday afternoon, after rehabbing his broken leg that's kept the second baseman out of the action since April 7. Get well soon, Twins.

[Eye on Baseball]

Alex Rodriguez Gets Plunked, Joe Girardi Cries About it

The Cleveland Indians, as good as they were to kick off this season, are attempting to spark a rivalry with the New York Yankees... who have beat them 12 of the last 15 meetings.

The two teams will move right along with their four-game series Sunday afternoon in New York, with the Yankees leading 2-0. The first two contests featured a couple hit batsmen, including Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Controversial! Tex, who was hit by Jon Lester earlier in the week, was nailed in the right shoulder on Friday by Fausto Carmona. He got super pissed and the benches cleared, with Joe Girardi and Manny Acta enjoying a little face-to-face confrontation.

Giants Sign Bill Hall, Freddy Sanchez Lands on DL

The San Francisco Giants have signed on Bill Hall for the remainder of the season after putting Freddy Sanchez on the disabled list with a dislocated shoulder.

According to the Associated Press, Hall was chilling at home in Arizona playing video games with his cousin when his agent called to tell him the Giants may need an infielder.

Just a week after being released by the last-place Houston Astros upon batting just .224 with two homers and 13 RBI, one team's trash became another team's treasure:

"I felt like this was a good option. I know a lot of guys on the team. I’m in first place now. That helps. From what I’ve heard this is a great clubhouse, a good organization."

And it probably pays a bit better than sitting on your ass trying to beat your cousin at Madden.

Meanwhile, Freddy Sanchez was leading the team in hitting with a .298 average when he dislocated his right shoulder Friday night while diving for a grounder up the middle. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday and is awaiting an MRI exam to see just how bad things are. In the meantime, Hall is a cheap replacement with reliable fielding skills.

Welcome back to the big leagues buddy!

[San Francisco Chronicle]

Cliff Lee is a Strikeout Machine

Cliff Lee and his devastating curveball reached double-digits in strikeouts for the sixth time this season in his Philadelphia Phillies' 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday night.

Lee dominated with 10 strikeouts over seven shutout innings, bouncing back from one of the crappiest starts of the year in which he surrendered seven runs and three walks in just over five innings against the Washington Nationals last week. He walked one and allowed seven hits overall Monday, accumulating 100 K's on the season, which is a National League best.

Lee is hot on the trail of the career-high 185 strikeouts he reached last season, and apparently, he doesn't even have to try:

"I'm not trying to strike guys out at all. I'm trying to get them out as quick as possible. For whatever reason, it’s kind of gone that way."

Although Lee's double-digit strikeout total of six is super impressive this early in the season, he still has a ways to go before matching Curt Schilling's total of 15 he enjoyed as a Phillies hurler back in 1998.

[Philly Sports Daily]

Carlos Zambrano Apologizes to Teammate Carlos Marmol

Carlos Zambrano is super sorry. Again.

The high-strung Chicago Cubs hurler bitched about Carlos Marmol giving up the tying RBI double on a slider to Ryan Theriot in the ninth inning of their team's 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Zambrano, who clearly never makes mistakes, said after the game that the closer should have gone with a fastball instead.

Though he apologized to Marmol in person, he had this to say while explaining himself to the media on Monday:

"What I said yesterday was in a moment of frustration. I apologized to Marmol. Let’s move on."

Frustration is understandable when your club is fifth in the National League Central -- 11 games out of first place -- and coming off the ass end of a sweep by the rival first-place Cardinals. However, you need to learn to control yourself man.

This, just a few days after he flipped the eff out while whiffing on a rookie curveball.

[Hardball Talk]

Albert Pujols Looks Hot in a Cubbies Uniform

Last year, we attempted to heat up the hot stove with this amazing video of Grady Sizemore, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, David Wright, and Evan Longoria doing a sexy dance for you. Obviously, that was a huge hit.

At long last, JibJab has teamed up with Major League Baseball to give you the ability to put yourself, your friends, your family, or whoever you wish in a big league uniform. The possibilities are literally endless.

Jim Joyce Banned from Armando Galarraga Games

Exactly a year after Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game by a Jim Joyce screwup, Major League Baseball has declared a new rule in which the umpire will not be allowed to officiate any of the pitcher's games ever again.

On June 2, 2010, the Detroit Tigers righty was just one out away from making history. However, instead of correctly calling Cleveland Indians' Jason Donald out at first base, Galarraga was forced to get the next out and settle for a complete game shutout. Definitely not as awesome as a perfect game.

After the game, Joyce apologized for getting it wrong and literally almost started bawling over the whole ordeal, tearing up as he handed the lineup card to the pitcher before the following day's contest. It's cool. We'd cry too if we fucked up that big in front of millions of people then had our mistake aired on MLB Network, Sportscenter, newspapers, and every sports blog on the entire internet for like a week straight.

Carlos Zambrano Snaps Bat After Jordan Lyles Strikeout

Carlos Zambrano was at it again Tuesday night, snapping his bat during a fit at the plate after whiffing on a Jordan Lyles curveball to end the fifth inning of his Chicago Cubs' 7-3 loss to the Houston Astros.

Maybe he was pissed because it was Lyles' first ever major league start in which he happened to dominate seven shutout innings? Perhaps.

This tantrum is the latest in a fairly long line of outbursts during Zambrano's decade-long career. Around this time last season, he was suspended indefinitely by general manager Jim Hendry after going batshit crazy on Derrek Lee in the dugout. Here's a nifty timeline of Big Z's Shenanigans over the years.

Despite being a pitcher by trade, he takes an amazing amount of pride in his hitting. As he should with a .346 average and .538 slugging percentage on the season.