Seventy years ago today. Lou Gehrig considered himself the "luckiest man on the face of the Earth." For good reason: He exemplified everything this American game stood for.

Gehrig was the son of immigrants. His parents couldn't understand why he chose baseball as a profession. In the "old country," sport was non-existent to the point that it was not a way a life, but recreation if possible. Yet, Gehrig stood for a lot of first generation Americans that came from families new to this country. As the country went from prosperity to the Depression, Gehrig stood out as one who still gave light to those in the darkest of hours in this country's history.

As the country recovered and war loomed on the horizon, Gehrig's health was challenged with the disease now named after him. Still, he rose to the occasion on this day in 1939 giving us a fitting farewell from a class gentleman. Little did he know that after his passing, the game that gave him the American life would become a point of societal evolution for this country and the world.

Last month's Civil Rights Game weekend in Cincinnati was a celebration of the game and its impact on American culture. The weekend was not just about the struggle of Jackie Robinson to diversify the game. It was a different face that challenged the notion that the game's ultimate arena needed a jolt to bring in some of the best athletes of the post-war era into the game.

Because of baseball, the struggles of Robinson became the struggles of a nation. Through the 1960's, Spring Training in Florida and the minor leagues in the South continued to be hostile places for African American ballplayers. However, a new face, joined by a different language, joined the fray. As Tony Perez stated at the roundtable discussion in Cincinnati for the Civil Rights Game, he was also thrown in with African American ballplayers in segregated lodging, food services and transportation. Caribbean ballplayers, speaking Spanish, had the barrier of the language to overcome as they added to the game in this country.

Through it all, Major League Baseball became a diverse and global stage for the game. The American game welcomed more diversity through language, nationality and background. For the reasons we see every day is the reason why we celebrate this day, America's birthday.

Yet, this game still has some issues to address. From 23% in the 1970s and 1980s, African American ballplayers now make up 8% of all Major League rosters. At the same time, the league continues to cultivate talent around the globe while trying to reach out to our disadvantaged youth in encouraging participation in the game again.

However, I do believe that this game needs another jolt in its challenge to diversify the game. As the push to fully equalize all citizens continues, the game is ripe for another event equal to Jackie Robinson's debut in the Major Leagues. I can definitely see this happening in the next decade.

It is a truly American notion that our diverse opinions will challenge the status quo, whether it is controversial or not. However, this game evolves, as does the country where it is born. We continue to embrace our heroes, the luckiest men on the face of the Earth. It is our duty for the love of the game itself.

Happy 4th of July.

Manny Ramirez came off of his suspension by playing volleyball - with the press.

A brief stint with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes prepared Ramirez for the awaiting press at PETCO Park in San Diego. He rejoined the Los Angeles Dodgers claiming he's "ready to play." Chewing gum, wearing shades and being three-quarters "Manny Being Manny," he had standard sound bites about not being to control what people say against him. All he could say that he was "ready to play" - repeatedly.

Dodgers Manager Joe Torre chimed in stating that Ramirez apologized to the team and has focused on being back with the ballclub. In other words, Torre hoped that Ramirez made amends with his team to get back to work and stay out of any further controversy and trouble. There's no question that many eyes are watching Ramirez after the 50-game suspension under the policy against Performance Enhancing Drugs.

He went 0-3 at bat last night. To an unusually rousing welcome, the first pitch he faced at PETCO from the Padres' Chad Gaudin was a bit inside. "Ready to play?" After that pitch, he was indeed ready - for a walk after seven pitches.

If you scan the blogs and the press, everyone has some sort of speculation about Ramirez's impact on the National League West-leading Dodgers. This team is holding a seven-and-a-half game lead over the San Francisco Giants and owns the best record in the Major Leagues. The question is not whether Ramirez will come back after the suspension or how he will come back to fulfill the wants of the fans of Mannywood. It is how the Dodgers can get back to the business of playing the game, as Ramirez never encountered this episode at all.

Distractions can either be dealt with two ways: You say your peace and move forward or you never recover from the controversy and succumb to it. It appears that the Dodgers chose the former option. Whether it is in their best interest or how it will play out through the All-Star break remains to be seen.

The one thing that still bothers me about the Ramirez affair has been a slight arrogance on the part of the Dodgers on making a public face about the incident. It appears that they've taken the approach that the suspension simply never happened. That shield went up ever so slightly in the past week running up to yesterday's return to the lineup. Everyone else made a big deal out of it, as they should, but not the Dodgers.

No mea culpa at Chavez Ravine I'm afraid. You certainly didn't hear any at PETCO Park yesterday, either.

Milton Bradley was never known to play the game quietly. The Chicago Cubs outfielder wore his heart on his sleeve and showed that he lived and died by each pitch. An out meant frustration, sometimes peppered with helmet and/or bat tossing along with abusing the beverage machine inside the Cubs' dugout.

Manager Lou Piniella had enough of Bradley's tantrums last Friday at US Cellular Field. During the top of the sixth against the cross-town rival White Sox, after Bradley flew out, tossed his helmet to the ground and attacked the beverage machine, Piniella asked Bradley to take off his uniform and leave the game. Bradley left the dugout and began to exchange words with Piniella well into the tunnel to the clubhouse.

Until last Friday, Piniella "looked the other way" when Bradley blew up after a bad at-bat. The next day, both Piniella and Bradley cleared the air of the incident after Cubs' General manager Jim Hendry discussed the matter with Bradley.

Bradley is not the only burning soul in the Cubs' clubhouse. A month ago, ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano came off the mound from a tough inning and took to the same beverage machine the same way Bradley did last Friday. No one tried to stop Zambrano as he almost destroyed the machine. Both Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol also took to showing fits of frustration in front of the Cubs' manager as well.

Do the Cubs appear to be the only team with these types of issues? We've seen enough video of similar tantrums by players across baseball, so this is not isolated. It is the frequency and volume of these issues and Piniella's reaction last Friday to it that is being noticed.

Is Piniella not doing a good job in keeping his team focused and professional on the field? It should really be the opposite as Piniella's one of the toughest managers in the Major Leagues. Players play for him, learn from him and will perform well for him. Love him or hate him, you have to respect what he has done for over two decades behind the helm of the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays and the Cubs for being uncompromised in his quest to win.

There is a saying that goes "the coolest heads will prevail." Perhaps they will with just several days before the All-Star Break.

"Baseball is my refuge"

This was an honest response from Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. If the game was his refuge, then why did the first baseman and Toronto native step away from the game on May 30 and place himself on the disabled list?

Though Votto mentioned to the press that it was a "personal matter," in truth, he dealt with some issues involving anxiety attacks and depression. This is not exactly a pulled muscle or a bone breakage, but something more complex that would prevent one from playing the game in top form. Today's baseball player not only needs to be in top physical form, but his mind and self must be in good health as well.

Votto is not the first to deal with this kin the Major Leagues. Khalil Greene of the St. Louis Cardinals, Dontrelle Willis of the Detroit Tigers and Zach Greinke of the Kansas City Royals all had similar bouts of emotional issues. What triggered Votto's problems was dealing with the death of his father last August. From there, Votto reported to experience some "panicky moments," where he was pulled in the middle of the game, along with two trips to the hospital.

Votto returned Tuesday night to the Reds after a short minor league rehab assignment. After a brief meeting with the press and a talk with his team, Votto went back on the field to face his former hometown team, the Blue Jays.

When I was a child, any discussion of emotional and mental health was considered taboo. Issues of anxiety and depression were kept quiet and treatment required a hospital stay in a ward separate from the rest of the population. Today's care now includes some form of medication. It just seems so easy to deal with today's issues at a pop of a pill.

Yet, there is a lot more than just a pharmacy script. Votto deals with the rigors of the 162-game regular season along Spring Training and year-round conditioning. Top-notch athletes know this pressure well. When expectations of excellence become overwhelming, compounded with outside forces, such as family and environment, the athlete's emotional health is indeed affected.

Fans should not dismiss a player if our expectations fall short due to emotional issues. If you scan the stands, I'm certain there are plenty of fans who are dealing with what Votto has gone through.

I have. I'm sure you have, too. We work through these issues and do what we can to maintain our equilibrium through our home, work and social lives. It's a delicate balance, but we persevere every day, just as the Cincinnati Reds first baseman does.

Joey Votto is indeed fallible, just like the rest of us.

After coming down off of the euphoria of my Yankee Stadium visit two weeks ago, it appears that a few things occurred that needed to be weighed in. My apologies - I got real busy with a literary arts performance at the Guthrie Theater here in Minneapolis. Even baseball was put on hold until that evening was over.

First of all, do you think it's strange that Major League Baseball had the list of 104 players that tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs sealed by a court only to have it leaked to the press? What was the prize for this intrepid reporter and the source that leaked the sealed document to the press?

Sammy Sosa.

In 2003, it appeared that a lot of Major League players were also randomly tested. Even as Alex Rodriguez's name was confirmed as someone that tested positive for PEDs, no one dared to release any other names prior to Spring Training from the 2003 list.

This brings up a lot of questions on the ethics of this report. Was this list part of what was supposed to be on the Mitchell Report? If these were court-sealed documents, then how come someone had the gumption to release at least one of 104 names to the press? Would it be advantageous, if not outright scandalous to release all of the names?

Frankly, no one is that stupid. The actions made by the lawyer that leaked the information to the press crossed various ethical lines. Now, the word's out. Bad move? I certainly say so!

What about Sammy Sosa?

The Baseball Hall of Fame denied entry to Mark McGwire on the first ballot this winter. Though the voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America was transparent, there was no specific reason communicated as to why McGwire received so few votes during this year's vote. One would assume when Sosa's name appears on the Hall's ballot to the BBWAA he will get the same cold shoulder on the first ballot.

Still, if you recall that Sosa testified to Congress stating he did not use any PEDs. His testimony occurred two years after the tests were made which his name appeared on that court-sealed document. Now, Sosa is at risk of further action by Congress based on his testimony.

Is Sosa screwed? One would assume so.

Enough of the bad press, a couple of good things happened this week.

How about Ivan Rodriguez's mark for most games played behind the plate? As the veteran Houston Astros' catcher strapped on his protective gear and mask, Pudge passed Carlton Fisk in one of the most unsung achievements in baseball. Through the years with the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and the Astros, Pudge was a natural leader by action and motivation. There was no ego behind the plate; only hard work to push his pitchers towards achieving their best on the mound. Sounds like Fisk, Johnny Bench and a few other catchers past and present to me!

Lastly, the Boston Red Sox not only achieved the longest streak of home sellouts. They reached their 500th home sellout. Fenway is indeed a special place that invites fans and players alike to its quirky field, sharing the moment where legendary baseball is played. No one goes to a Red Sox game just to watch it. You go for the atmosphere inside the ballpark and out. You take in the history and the sightlines. You admire the Green Monster.

Besides, where else can you squeeze a few more seats into the old yard?

To mark the occasion of the 500th sellout, Jason Bay of the Red Sox got to meet a national hero of his: One of hockey's greatest players, Bobby Orr. Oh yeah, the Sox won, too. How cool would being there be?

Photo by Randy Stern

On the subway en route to Yankee Stadium, I was reminded by a podcast of a radio show from Australia. The episode of "Street Stories" (on ABC Radio National) featured a group of international students trying to adjust to life in the Melbourne area. One such university student, a technology major from Indian-controlled Kashmir, remarked about how he always seen the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on television. For Cricketers, the 100,000-plus seat MCG is considered one of the great arenas for the sport. The student said that when he was able to see it up close and in person, he was in great awe.

This is how a lot of us around the game of baseball feel about Yankee Stadium, whether it is the old Cathedral or the new one. It's one thing to watch a game on television or to look at old clips of past triumphs of the Bombers at this hallowed ballpark. Being there is a completely different feeling.

What transpired today was perhaps the best game experience I ever had. All misconceptions I had of Yankees fans and the stadium staff was thrown out the window. Was the new Cathedral a kindler, gentler Yankee Stadium? If it was, then the efforts made by the Yankees to ensure that the new Cathedral is a place cherished by the club and its fans for a long time was truly achieved.

What makes the new Cathedral very special was the integration of the lore of the Yankees within the building. To visit Monument Park was to experience a true "garden of the Gods." No matter what generation you come from, there is a reminder of Yankees lore either at Monument Park or the team's museum on the 200 Level that will bring back memories of your younger years. For me, that was Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin and Thurman Munson.

As I wandered the ballpark eating potato knishes and Hebrew National hot dogs - a distant reminder of my growing up on the West Coast in a casual Kosher household - I was even amazed how fantastic the fans were. The stories of belligerence, violence and just plain insanity were moot. I only saw a couple of upset fans, but nothing to the extent of the stories I heard from the old ballpark across the street in the past 25 years.

On the field, we were treated to a good matchup between Joba Chamberlain and Matt Garza. This is the kind of pitching matchup I'd pay more money for, since there are so many stories behind these two arms that whet the appetite of any baseball fan. Both starters expended their 100 pitches within six innings, but Joba threw the best set with a few strikeouts accomplished for good measure.

Overall, I have to give Joe Girardi's club a lot of credit. After being thrown back by the Tampa Bay Rays to the tune of 3-1, an eighth inning rally set by walks from Grant Balfour and J.R. Howell enabled the home Yanks to grab the win. Hideki Matsui's key hit sealed the deal, setting up Mariano Rivera to gain the save. Yet, Mark Teixeira completely impressed me. Despite one mishap due to Jorge Posada's bad throw, Teixeira showed his fielding muscle again to continue ensuring his value of his current contract with the Yanks. He earned his money today!

If you are an open-minded person, you can set aside your allegiances for one day. For just one day, you can admire the history of the Yankees and the Cathedral's celebration of it - and not scoff at it. You wander around the ballpark and just feel the awe in a building looking for a person to call its own.

Today, I celebrated the Yankees and their new Cathedral. Tomorrow, all allegiances return to normal. In the end, I gained a new respect for the Yankees. Hopefully, it is something my fellow Red Sox Nationals and Twins Territory denizens can forgive me for one day.

It wasn't your usual Big Unit game. His heat was on a lower flame, but he accomplished his feat in just 78 pitches. After his 78th delivery, he felt it. It was a result of a day plus 36 minute delay from immortality.

The Nation's Capitol was the stage for the 24th pitcher to accomplish 300 wins. Steps from the Anacostia River, underneath the ghosts of lost souls that trolled in an old warehouse district which the ballpark sits upon, Randy Johnson sat down after 78 pitches to punch his ticket to be considered for enshrinement at Cooperstown.

For Johnson, it was a long, hard climb. He was considered too tall to play baseball. His arm was considered too lanky for the toil of the starting rotation. He didn't score his first Major League win until the age of 25, which was abnormal back then. Now, at age 45, he recorded his 300th, down the street from the Capitol.

In a San Francisco Giants uniform, he joins Christy Mathewson, Tim Keefe, Mickey Welch and Gaylord Perry to represent this storied franchise among the 300-win club. You may never have heard of the first three names since they played when the Giants were in New York many decades ago. Still, the long history of this ball club welcomes yet another great name to their record book.

This is no ordinary Giant. He was never an ordinary Mariner, Diamondback or Yankee. He didn't intimidate pitchers with the death stare of Dave Stewart or a simmering anger of Bob Gibson. Batters dared to look at the tower on the mound as the left arm sets for possible heat to be released towards the batter's box.

Last night, that tower felt humbled by his feat. He is still the Big Unit, but at the end of game one of a doubleheader, with more rain threatening to pour onto the District of Columbia, he hugged his wife and his children. The pockmarks on his face, framed by a longish mane, his signature moustache and a grey soul path on his chin, spoke volumes of his long, hard climb to 300. Four Cy Young Awards and a slew of strikeouts meant nothing last night. His eyes wanted to pour before the rain stopped play in the nightcap as he saluted the fans at Nationals Park as they witnessed a different kind of history in their town.

After last night, it will be a long time before we celebrate another 300-game winner. This one is worth celebrating into eternity.

Years ago, I marveled at the tall, thin man on the mound. His long locks were from a mullet unlike a rock-n-roller from the country. His face was pockmarked, which might not strike fear into opposing batters. What came from this tall, lanky left-hander was stunning. He had no qualms striking out the best of the best at the plate. He was feared amongst batters who dared to connect from him.

The career of Randy Johnson was a curious one. His first major league appearance was in 1988 with the Montreal Expos. He arrived with the Seattle Mariners a year later. In Seattle, he helped overtake the New York Yankees in their first postseason series ever in 1995. Then, the Cleveland Indians stopped the M's in their tracks en route to a World Series date with the Atlanta Braves.

The Big Unit never gave up on the ring. His came six years later in the Valley of the Sun. The upstart Arizona Diamondbacks delivered as Johnson became a veteran arm to be relied upon. Coupled with Curt Schilling, the D-backs delivered on a surprise win over the Yankees to gain their only Commissioner's Trophy ever.

On the brink of immortality, the San Francisco Giants' veteran right hander only needs one victory to join an elite group of pitchers to achieve 300 wins. This threshold may guarantee a spot in Cooperstown, but there will always be a form of scrutiny that will come with election. In the case of Randy Johnson, you will find a hard working pitcher that has never been satisfied with even the best of performances. Nor does he compromise on what transpires on the mound. His pitches, assisted by some of the best catchers around, were designed for one outcome: A "K."

With one ring, The Big Unit accomplished stunning numbers. With 4,843 strikeouts under his belt, Johnson led his league in K's for nine seasons. In the World Championship year, he pitched 372 knockouts with the D-Backs. For a pitcher known for pitch strength and speed, Johnson has finally mastered durability. Still, he is fragile from years of injuries, both minor and major, and age is slowly becoming a cruel partner. This is not just noticing the grey in his goatee of late.

As was in 1995, Johnson still embodied greatness. The Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones seemed to forget how potent the Big Unit can be. Chipper walked away without a hit, striking out twice. Those two strikeouts helped Johnson's cause in the win.

After the Giants-Braves game last night, broadcaster and former pitching great Don Sutton related to Johnson one word of sage advice: "Just get 300." Johnson acknowledged that it is the only thing in his way to cap his 22nd season in the bigs.

If there is one lasting result to Johnson's historic run, it would be to help groom Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum towards a similar career. In a sense, Lincecum reminds me of The Big Unit: A different player with a different approach to pitching - yielding strong results. As Lincecum is becoming a solid strikeout pitcher, he can turn to Johnson and pitching coach Jim Righetti to learn about the durability part of the pitching equation.

What can Johnson do for an encore after winning number 300? With 54 strikeouts already in 2009, what would be a great testament to the career of this 6-foot-10-inch flamethrower if The Big Unit pitched his 5,000th K by season's end? He has 157 knockouts to go...but, first, to get win 300 out of the way.

Photo by Randy Stern

For one, I'm not a White Sox fan. I live in Minnesota. I'm a Twins fan before any other team in the American League Central. The Southsiders are the enemy. I'm only just visiting here for the weekend.

So, why did I enjoy myself at my first ever game at US Cellular Field? Did I set aside all of the Twins Territory stuff for this brief piece of Southside mania? Was it the Interleague Play that made it intriguing enough to give the White Sox a second try after rescheduling this particular trip? Would be that I'm compensating for never being able to see a game on the other side of town at Wrigley Field?

It did live up to its reputation as being a crazy park for fans, if just a little bit. Security dealt with a family of four for some odd reason to reseat them several rows down from their current location. It is unsure why, but I thought one of them got ejected from the game. I did see an ejection and a chase of another patron as I was leaving the ballpark. Obviously, this is no reflection on the fans that attend games at US Cellular Field, but it certainly makes you wonder if it can get any worse elsewhere.

Come to think of it, they did a nice job with the upper deck from five years ago. I had feared that I would be uncomfortable, but I had a nice seat in the process. At least 32,389 people agreed with me.

As for the game, the score didn't tell the story. Certainly, Clayton Richard owned the Pirates with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings. The issue with Richard was the pitch count as he climbed past 100 pitches against the visiting Bucs. In contrast, Ross Ohlendorf pitched a more compact game against the White Sox. He may 5-4 with the loss, but that is a deceiving record in terms of pitch control. The flip side of Ohlendorf is his ERA, which he took in all four earned runs in his outing spanning seven-and-a-third innings.

Perhaps the defining shot was Alexei Ramirez's two-run home run in the fifth inning. His .224 batting average was a concern for the Southside faithful, but give him an opportunity and he'll take it. So he did. Not all is lost on the young shortstop.

This was my punched ticket for baseball in Chicago - unless the moon and the stars align for another short weekend down there when the Cubs are in town and affordable seats can be had. This may be quite a while, I'm afraid...

Two pitches. That was the return of John Lackey for you.

Saturday afternoon's game in Arlington, Texas was supposed to be a battle for early supremacy in the American League West between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels. Throughout the weekend, it became a showcase on how the Rangers have turned things around in the Metropolex.

It also became a nightmare for the visiting Angels.

On the second game of a three-game series, Lackey arrived on the mound for his first start after six weeks of nursing a strained right forearm. His first batter was the Rangers' Ian Kinsler, one of the heroes of Friday night's game. On his first pitch from injury recovery, Lackey threw behind Kinsler. That usually spells trouble. You had to think why Lackey would choose Kinsler to do this on his first pitch back from being away for six weeks.

Lackey's second pitch was a hit - on Kinsler's left side.

After the ejection, Lackey claimed that his pitches weren't intentional. How so? If you made those pitches in rehabilitation or in warm-ups, then a decision would have to be made by Angels' Manager Mike Scioscia to switch starters. Pitching Coach Mike Butcher seemed like he signed off on Lackey for the start. What was the problem?

Consider all of this would probably bring up some sort of conspiracy theory. Back to the night before as Kinsler hit two homers as part of a 10-8 victory over the Angels, the Rangers' fifth straight win. One may forget that the biggest hurt in that game was Josh Hamilton's skyrocket into the nether reaches of the ballpark. However, Hamilton does not bat lead-off. Kinsler did.

Am I implying that the Angels asked Lackey to go after Kinsler to retaliate for taking control of the AL West in this early part of the season? I hope it's not the case. If it was, whether by a strategy of the Angels, or if Lackey acted alone, it would be very stupid to consider it before the pennant races heat up.

Luckily, this was the only thing that happened at Rangers Ballpark. It could've added more spark if Hamilton would redux Johnny Damon's "line in the sand" at home plate after a disputed series of strike calls. Or, rather, see Scioscia get into a shouting match with his counterpart Ron Washington as the Minnesota Twins' Ron Gardenhire and the New York Yankees' Joe Girardi did on "Freaky Friday." Besides, neither Washington nor Scioscia were tossed out from their games as four of their counterparts that Friday evening. Luckily, the Atlanta Braves' Bobby Cox was on his best behavior that night.

But, Arlington is such a mellow place for baseball: A laid back North Texas paean to old-time ballparks next to an amusement park and near the path of jets flying in-and-out of DFW. Nothing crazy would happen at that ballpark as it would at the new Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

That was until John Lackey took the mound on Saturday afternoon.