Nine More Outs Polishes Off Yawkey Way

By now you're at least vaguely familiar with one of our favorite baseball-related comedy troupes, Nine More Outs. These guys travel to different ballparks as impostor fans and of course, hilarity ensues. They've brought you such gems as A Game of Centimeters, Make it Stop: Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball and most recently, the Stadium Shmadium Tour of Boston, Part I.

Please enjoy the rest of their ridiculous tour of Beantown as they go undercover at Fenway Park.

[Nine More Outs]

Stephen Strasburg Returns September 6

We know you're pumped, and we're super excited too. Stephen Strasburg is making his 2011 season debut on Tuesday, September 6. Can you wait that long, Nationals fans? And can you afford to go to the game now since ticket prices have absolutely sky rocketed upon the news of his return?

Strasburg will start for AA Harrisburg on Thursday in his final rehab appearance on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery. If all goes as planned, the 23-year-old right-hander will climb the hill at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers next Tuesday.

It's Been a Phillies Kind of Summertime

We were recently approached via email by a die-hard Phillies fan. Yeah, we know. All you good folks of Philly think you're die-hards. But this guy? He went the extra mile. And so did his buddy in the Phanatic get-up.

Check out Brian Kullman on Twitter @SillyPhilly13 and subscribe to his videos on Youtube. Then we dare you to attempt to be as big of a Phillies extremist.

Will Tim Lincecum and the Giants Make the Playoffs?

Tim Lincecum and his San Francisco Giants are having a tough time these days.

Trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by five games in the National League West all of a sudden, the Giants were shut out by the Chicago Cubs on Monday by a score of 7-0. They're going to need a ridiculous September in order to avoid missing the postseason this year with just 27 games left to play.

Nelson Cruz Hurts Hamstring, Out Three Weeks

After injuring his hamstring once again, Nelson Cruz is expected to miss about three weeks of baseball.

The AL West-leading Texas Rangers confirmed a grade 1 strain Monday after reviewing his MRI. So now he gets to have an injection in his left hamstring. Ouch.

Make Up Facts About Joe Mauer, Win Cool Stuff

That picture is ridiculous. Who does this guy think he is, Tony La Russa?

Anytime Fitness is running a campaign involving one of their spokesmen, and one of our favorite guys in the whole world, Joe Mauer. The deal is, you make up a random "fact" about Joe Mauer, submit it in their comments section, and voilà. You're entered for a chance to win some sweet Mauer Memorabilia. Not a bad deal at all.

Some of our favorites include:

David Price is a Strikeout Machine

David Price enjoyed a career high in strikeouts Sunday during his Tampa Bay Rays 12-0 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Not only were his 14 K's over seven innings a career-best for the left-hander, it marked a franchise record for the Rays. Tampa Bay pitchers as a whole set a team mark by fanning 18 batters overall, with reliever Brandon Gomes adding two over 1.3 innings and Cesar Ramos fanning two more to end it.

Bowling For Chairty

It's that time of year again! Remember last year when we told you about the Twins and Pins charity bowling event that was hosted by Denard Span and Orlando Hudson? Well, O-Dog left Minnesota and did his own thing out in San Diego this year, but Denard Span is hosting again this year for his charity of choice, The Jeremiah Program, and for Friends of St. Paul Baseball/The RBI Program. If you'll recall, we spoke with Denard last year at Twins and Pins briefly about his charity work:

It Was a Matter of Time Before Jim Hendry Got Canned

Tom Ricketts has seen enough. Jim Hendry has finally been fired after extending his team's World Series drought to 103 years.

The Chicago Cubs general manager has certainly had his ups and downs over the last nine seasons... mostly downs. Another disappointing end to another miserable season was the last straw for new owner Ricketts, who said it was time for a "fresh approach in our baseball leadership."

Kevin Youkillis Lands on the DL with a Bad Back

The Boston Red Sox placed Kevin Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a sore back, calling up catcher Ryan Lavarnway from AAA to take his spot on the roster and act as designated hitter against the Kansas City Royals.

Youkilis had already missed a bunch games over the last week due to the injury, and looked like a crippled elderly woman during Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Manager Terry Francona said after watching that fiasco, the team finally decided to shut him down.

Blah Blah Steroids: Mike Jacobs

Mike Jacobs is not the sharpest tackle in the box.

The minor league first baseman, who may have just screwed up his chance at ever returning to the big leagues, is the first player suspended by Major League Baseball for a positive HGH test under its minor league drug testing program. What a moron.

The 30-year-old Jacobs played in the majors from 2005-10, collecting 100 homers and 310 RBI with a career .254 batting average between the New York Mets, Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals. He received a 50-game suspension Thursday for choosing to take the banned performance-enhancing drug rather than heal naturally, and was subsequently released by the Colorado Rockies. His excuse? He needed to overcome knee and back problems.

Night Of The Walk-Offs

Is it just me, or has Major League Baseball been using this week to try to be a bigger attention whore than a Kardashian? First, you get Jim Thome crushing back to back homeruns to become the 8th player in history to hit 600 homeruns (and just the 5th to do so without being a cheater cheater pumpkin eater). Then, we see not one but TWO triple plays (one of which was totally lame but still not something you see every day). And now? FIVE walk-off wins in one night - one of which was achieved with a grand slam. Seriously.

The Braves beat the Giants with a second walk-off in as many games with a two-out, 11th inning single by Martin Prado. The White Sox did it with a 14th inning single by Juan Pierre to top the Indians - and to gain a game on them in the AL Central. The Brewers had Mark Kotsay as their hero, knocking in the game winner with a single in the bottom of the 9th. But the two most dramatic wins were in Pittsburgh and Houston.

Red Sox Turn a Triple Play, No One Notices

When the Milwaukee Brewers turned a triple play on Monday, it was pretty exciting stuff. Unfortunately, when the Boston Red Sox turned in three outs in a single play the following day, it was one of the most boring triple plays of all time.

It was the fourth inning with runners on first and second, and here's how it all went down: With Erik Bedard on the hill, Sean Rodriguez dribbled one up the third baseline. Jed Lowrie then stepped on the bag to start a 5-4-3 triple play right around the horn. Just like that, the inning was over and Bedard got out of all sorts of trouble.

Not quite as awesome as the Brewers' triple play from the day before, huh.


Hat tip to Baseball Nation for the animated gif, which I found after googling "Lame Red Sox triple play"

Delmon Young Hits Homer in First Tigers At Bat

Former Minnesota Twins left fielder Delmon Young, who was traded to the Detroit Tigers Monday afternoon for a couple minor leaguers, had a pretty nice start to the career with his new team.

Hitting in the no. 3 spot, he jacked a first-inning solo shot off former teammate and friend Francisco Liriano. This, after going yard just four times with the Twins all season.

A.J. Pierzynski Finally Hurts Himself, Lands on DL

If you're not living on the south side of Chicago, you may be surprised to know that A.J. Pierzynski has never landed on the disabled list during his entire 14-year career... up until now.

The Chicago White Sox placed their catcher on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a fractured left wrist after he was nailed by a Bruce Chen pitch in the third inning of Friday night's 5-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals. He removed himself from the game after the fourth, and the first set of X-rays were negative, but apparently he's still pretty sore. The move is retroactive to August 13.

Pierzynski, batting .296 with 39 RBI, leads American League catchers in batting average, games played and innings behind the plate. Also, he and Jason Kendall are the only active backstops with at least 1,000 innings caught in each of the last nine seasons. He's kind of a workhorse. Not our favorite player by a long shot... and his mustache is creepy as hell... but he's definitely reliable.

[ESPN Chicago]

Brew Crew Turns Three (!)

Man, what a huge night for us baseball geeks! We got two super-rare things to cheer about in one night.

Aside from Jim Thome crushing homers 599 AND 600, the Brewers had a little awesomeness up their sleeves as well. In their 3-0 win over the Dodgers, they turned their sixth triple play in team history. With two on and no outs, James Loney grounded up the middle, which Josh Wilson tossed to Yuniesky Betancourt to get the force at second, who then flipped it to Prince Fielder to get Loney at first. Fielder then managed to get Matt Kemp out at home. Just your typical, everyday 4-6-3-2 triple play.

The Brewers have managed to win 17 of their last 19 games, and are now 20 games over 500. The last time they had 20 games over 500 this early in the season was 1982 when they made it to (and subsequently lost) the World Series.

Jim Thome Crushes Career Homers No. 599 and 600

To celebrate our buddy Jimmers' 600th career longball, which he mashed into tater salad Monday night in the seventh inning of his Minnesota Twins' 9-6 win over the Tigers in Detroit, we decided to be lazy as hell and just link to some of our favorite WordUpThome-related Dugouts. Mainly because we already detailed what an amazing accomplishment it is like two homers ago. Enjoy.

AL Central Folklore

The Upper Deck

A-Rod's Violent Gambling Parties

Rangers to Erect Statue of Fallen Fan

The Texas Rangers fan who died last month after falling from the stands at Rangers Ballpark will be honored with a bronze statue at the stadium.

The statue of Brownwood firefighter Shannon Stone and his 6-year-old son Cooper will be erected in time for next season, just outside the stadium’s home plate entrance. Nolan Ryan, Rangers CEO and President, called it "a fitting tribute" to honor Stone, who fell over the railing as he reached for a foul ball tossed by Josh Hamilton.

Stone’s wife, Jenny, said her family was "touched and grateful" and hoped the sculpture would be a reminder of "the importance of a family’s love -- love of each other, love of spending time together, and love of the game."

[Eye on Baseball]

Carlos Zambrano Talks Retirement, Changes his Mind

Carlos Zambrano wants the Cubs to take him back, claiming he'd still like to pitch for the team, even though he said he was done with them a couple days ago.

Apparently, he was just "frustrated" when he told club personnel that he wanted to retire after his most recent start. Zambrano cleaned out his locker and said that he wanted to retire after giving up five home runs and being ejected from Friday night's 10-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves following two brushbacks to Chipper Jones.

What's Your Free $100 Fantasy [Baseball]

It's not too late to sign up for our FREE $100 Freeroll Fantasy Baseball game on Draft Street this evening for a chance to win some cold hard cash... and bragging rights, of course. There is no commitment necessary, so it's perfect for all you men out there. Plus, it's free.

Click here for more details or follow this link to sign up right away!

Dan Uggla Looking for Hit No. 32 on the Streak

After collecting a hit in 31 consecutive games, Dan Uggla is tied for the 25th longest hitting streak in baseball history.

A big deal? Yes, considering this is something only 34 other players have ever done.

He officially has the longest streak in the majors this season after surpassing Andre Ethier's 30-game marathon with a first-inning single as the Braves polished off their sweep of the Marlins on Wednesday.

With an off day Thursday, Uggla will get a shot at no 32. when the Braves take on Carlos Zambrano and the Chicago Cubs at 7:37pm ET Friday night. The right-handed hitter is 1-for-9 lifetime against Big Z with four walks and five strikeouts.

Whether he breaks Joe DiMaggio's elusive record of reaching base safely in 56 straight games or not, 31 is still a pretty big number. It's an impressive number. More impressive still when you look at his .173 batting average when the streak began. Before setting his sights on Joltin' Joe, Uggla will have to surpass the longest hitting streak in Braves history: Tommy Holmes at 37 games. Anything is possible.

[Atlanta Journal Constitution]

Play FREE $100 Fantasy Baseball with us on Draft Street!

Babes Love Baseball has teamed up with DraftStreet.com to offer an exclusive freeroll fantasy baseball contest to our readers this Friday, August 12, 2011.

First and foremost, it's FREE to sign up, and FREE to play. You have absolutely nothing to lose! Here's how it works: you play fantasy baseball for one day -- rather than six long months -- and have a chance to win some cold hard cash from the $100 prize pool.

Draft Street gives you a $100,000 budget to work with, so you can put together a pretty sweet team, but some players cost more than others based on their fantasy production. Say, for example, you'd like to draft Roy Halladay. He's pretty awesome, so you'll have to fork over $16,000 for him. We know you're smart enough to figure this out.

Follow this link to sign up. We'll be playing too... and you don't want to get beat by a couple of girls.

Dan Uggla Tries to Keep the Streak Alive

Dan Uggla is on fire.

The Atlanta Braves' second baseman delivered an infield single off Clay Hensley in the fifth inning of his team's 4-3, extra-inning victory over the Florida Marlins Tuesday night, advancing his hitting streak to 30 games.

Uggla finished 1-for-6 against his former club and is batting .220 on the season with 24 home runs and 56 RBI. He was batting .173 when the streak began, which marks the lowest average for any hitter with more than 10 at-bats at the start of a 30-game streak since at least 1918. So.... he sucks but he doesn't.

Michael Young Nails 2,000 Career Hits Over a Decade

Congratulations to Michael Young for accumulating 2,000 hits over his major league career during his Texas Rangers' 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

The All-Star third baseman entered the game with 1,998 career hits and nailed two infield singles down the third-base line in the fifth and seventh innings off Indians starter Josh Tomlin. Fun fact: His first big league hit came on May 27, 2001, off Baltimore Orioles' right-hander Sidney Ponson, who eventually got too fat to play baseball.

Only two right-handed hitters, and 10 overall in the last century, have reached the 2,000-hit mark faster than Young, who accomplished the feat in his 1,621st career game.

He's also pretty awesome in general, batting .336 with 10 homers and 76 RBI on the season. Rangers manager Ron Washington had some pretty nice things to say about his milestone-reacher:

What's that Sucking Sound? Oh, it's Just the Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on quite a roll.

After their 7-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, they've lost ten games in a row. And it's only going to get better as the week goes on when they head to San Francisco to take on the reigning World Series Champion Giants on Monday for a three-game series. Oh, the humanity.

Speaking of suckery, Sunday's failure completed an 0-7 homestand at PNC Park against the last-place Padres and Chicago Cubs, two teams that were a combined 39 games under .500 when the week began. Those guys out-scored the Bucs 59-25 after they were swept in Philadelphia to kick off the week.

This marks the first time ever in the history of their franchise -- that's 125 years -- that they've ever gone winless on a homestand of at least seven games. In fact, no team in the big leagues has had a homestand that long without a win since Kansas City sucked ass back in May 2006.

Just terrible.

The odd thing is, the Pirates were leading their division as recently as July 26. Bizarro! Just goes to show you anything can happen in the game of baseball.

[The Associated Press]

The Boston Red Sox Own CC Sabathia

Yep, the Boston Red Sox are CC Sabathia's daddy. This season, at least.

The New York Yankees lefty, who leads the majors with 16 wins, fell to 0-4 with a miserable 7.20 ERA against Boston so far this year. Against every other team, he's 16-2 with a 2.11 ERA. Night and day. Here's what he had to say about the shitshow:

"It’s a good ballclub. They have a good lineup. Like today, they wear on you. I’ve faced all of those guys a lot. When I’m right, I can beat anybody."

Yadier Molina Argues Balls and Strikes, Gets Suspended

You'd think after spending over seven seasons in the big leagues and having two brothers in the game, Yadier Molina would know better than to ump bump.

The St. Louis Cardinals catcher has been suspended for five games after making contact with plate umpire Rob Drake several times during the 10th inning of his team's 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night. Also, he was freaking out so bad after being called out on strikes, that he sprayed the poor guy (who was just doing his job) with spit while he yelled. Gross.

As if Alex Rodriguez Has a Poker Face

Richard Rubenstein, the publicist for the amazing life story that is Alex Rodriguez, claims the New York Yankees’ third baseman is looking forward to cooperating with MLB in its investigation of his "alleged" involvement in illegal gambling, specifically underground poker games.

Star Magazine apparently reported last month that Rodriguez was seen playing back door poker at the Beverly Hills mansion of record executive Cody Leibel, where a fight nearly busted out and cocaine was being used openly.

The All-Star slugger was questioned about the issue at the team's minor league training facility down in Florida on Thursday following his first on-field action since undergoing surgery on his right knee on July 14, but he refused to comment on the matter.

A-Rod, sporting a light brace on his bad knee, was on the field for about a half hour for a little light running, soft toss, grounders and some batting cage time. Before his injury, the Yankees Super Star was batting .295 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI on the season. He had this to say regarding his return to baseball activity:

“I had an encouraging day today. I'll have a better idea of a timetable in four or five days... the most important thing is to go back healthy."

...Not whether or not he's involved with illegal gambling.

[Daily Pitch]

Tony La Russa is Being a Big Baby

Apparently, Tony La Russa has never been to Detroit.

The St. Louis Cardinals manager said Tuesday that the heckling he and his team experienced in Milwaukee during their 8-7, 11-inning victory that night was completely out of control. One fan went as far as to tell him he hoped he would get shingles, which he suffered from for a couple months at the beginning of the season. That's wasn't so nice I guess.

As a result, Miller Park security kicked out several fans near St. Louis’ dugout during the game. La Russa had this to say after the ordeal:

Mark Teixeira is a Switch-Hitting Animal

Mark Teixeira set a big league record Tuesday evening when he went yard from both sides of the plate in his team's rainy 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

The All-Star first baseman hit a two-run shot batting right-handed off John Danks in the third inning before adding his second longball of the night batting left-handed against Jason Frasor in the seventh. Well done.

1991 World Series DVD Giveaway!

"AND WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT!"

Jack Buck's immortal words above may just be the most memorable words ever if you are a Minnesota Twins fan. Kirby Puckett's game winning homerun in game six was one of the most dramatic moments in baseball history. The 1991 World Series has been called the best fall classic ever. And now, you can relive it over and over.

We're in a giving mood again these days. And because we love you so much, we are giving away a DVD set of all seven heart stopping games of the '91 World Series. With the 20th anniversary reunion of the greatest WS ever happening at Target Field this weekend, we thought it would be an appropriate time to give this unbelievable collection away.

Jered Weaver Suspended Six Games for Near Beheading

Jered Weaver has been reprimanded for throwing a pitch in the vicinity of Alex Avila's head during Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

The Los Angeles Angels righty was suspended six games for the brushback and fined an undisclosed amount while his manager, Mike Scioscia has to sit out one game for losing his temper. The two were ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning after home plate umpire Henry Wendelstedt had issued warnings to both teams.

It all started right after Carlos Guillen showboated his second home run of the season. Good job on those two bombs, by the way. The next pitch Weaver tossed sailed just over Avila’s noggin.

Top Ten Most Sticky Situations in MLB History

Mitchum is running a "Love Thy Pits" campaign for their new Advanced Control stick/solid antiperspirant and deodorant, which will help you keep your cool during any hot mess you find yourself in, with 48 hours of protection for both men and women. Hey, if you smell good, you feel good, right?

In fact, it would be pretty embarrassing to find your deodorant isn't working properly: hence the "sticky situation" title. This got us to thinking about the ten most embarrassing moments in the history of baseball. One thing just sort of leads to another with us... there's no real train of thought most of the time.

After enjoying this top ten list, we invite you to share your most embarrassing moment in the comments section. The commenter with the most humiliating, hilarious, and humbling sticky situation will be awarded two tickets to an MLB game of their choice, courtesy of Mitchum. The winner will be announced via Facebook this Friday, August 5, 2011, so be sure to like BLB's page.

Brewers Win Seventh Straight, Crush Chris Carpenter

The Milwaukee Brewers are on a roll.

With the best home record in the major leagues at 40-14, the club rolled over Chris Carpenter's stripey socks and the St. Louis Cardinals Monday with a 6-2 rally. And after going 40-41 at Miller Park all last year, this is a welcome change.

In a matchup of two former Cy Young winners, the Brewers managed only one hit off Carpenter before the fifth inning. Suddenly, the first six batters reached including Nyjer Morgan, who nailed a go-ahead three-run double.

Meanwhile, Zack Greinke allowed a first-inning, two-run homer to Matt Holliday, but his offense pulled it off to give the righty his ninth win.