The Chicago Cubs had a small problem. It was called scheduling. It seemed that they had this friendly confines called Wrigley Field nestled on the other side of the Red Line "L" from the city's primary GLBT neighborhood. When Cubs fans and gay folks meet at the Addison Street "L" station, one wonders how "pretty" it becomes.

Now, imagine when a Cubs game is played on the same day of the GLBT Pride parade in Boystown (the neighborhood on the other side of Wrigleyville), scheduled the last Sunday of June. Let's see, 37,000 Cubs fans and 250,000-plus GLBT folks and their supporters...you do the math and factor in the intangibles.

It seems that the last several years, the Cubs became much savvier in their scheduling. They also gave the GLBT community a day of their own at Wrigley Field. You'd think that there is harmony on the North Side after all.

This year, the Cubs scheduled themselves away from Wrigleyville, Boystown and the city's GLBT Pride festivities for a road game on South Side with the White Sox.

Instead, a similar situation will be played out this weekend right here in Minneapolis. While the Twins are entertaining the Milwaukee Brewers, it is also Twin Cities GLBT Pride weekend.

On Sunday morning, if you happen to be on the light rail line that stops by the Metrodome, you would be among visiting Brewers fans from neighboring Wisconsin, along with Twins fans, riding along with GLBT folks heading downtown. Though the baseball fans would depart at the Dome, the GLBT revelers would continue three more stops downtown.

Have you ridden the Hiawatha light rail line before and/or after an event at the Metrodome? Yes, the trains do get packed full of fans. A projected attendance of 35,000 may pale in comparison with the expected 200,000-plus for the Ashley Rukes parade on Hennepin Avenue and the festival at Loring Park, but, still, that's a lot of people cramming the trains on a Sunday afternoon. Sounds like Chicago, eh?

It's interesting existance being gay and a baseball fan. When I write about this subject, I try to put myself in the shoes of being a baseball writer first, concurrently, a gay man who just happens to be, among many things, a lifelong baseball fan. The collision of Pride and baseball on a single day is perhaps the most curious witnessing of society's test of their own fragile tolerance of each other's differences.

However, the game sometimes operate using a forked tongue to speak with when it comes to its relationship with the GLBT community. I remember years ago when Major League Baseball's annual pre-season publication had a two-page ad from the Promise Keepers. When you opened up that publication and found this ad from a group that wants to help send GLBT folks back into the closet, you had to wonder if the league would never welcome its GLBT fans at the turnstiles.

Since the San Francisco Giants introduced a special fundraising event for HIV/AIDS called "Until There's a Cure," several major and minor league ball clubs welcomed a "GLBT Community Day" at the ballpark. From San Francisco to Toronto to Boston, hundreds of gay fans get together and enjoy an evening out at the ballpark. You can find these dates on a website called gaybaseballdays.com.

Not every "gay day" was successful. In Philadelphia, a 2004 event was marred with homophobia by other fans in attendance. When two anti-gay protesters unfurled a poster denouncing homosexuality, 8-10 gay fans came up to block the sign's view, causing a major incident at the ballpark. The backlash still continues in Philly, despite an upcoming community night in August at Citizens Bank Park.

Recently, it seems there has been some progress. A few years ago, former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Valentine honored his mother and her partner for raising him on his way to a major league career. Unfortunately, he had a 0-7 record with a 5.70 ERA and the Reds did not pick up his contract for this season.

Amazing so, the Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. once told Sports Illustrated that it would not bother him at all if a gay man played on the same ball club...as long as he can play. Marge Schott must be rolling in her grave.

Then, there's always those who feed into the machismo of the realm of sports. Two years ago, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called a Sun-Times reporter an anti-gay expletive. Reportedly, a "supporter" of the GLBT community, this is not the first time Mr. Inappropriate had to apologize for an anti-gay slur. He forgot to "push" that week.

Let's also not forget about John Rocker.

Conversely, GLBT folks have avoided any contact with sports in general. That seems to be changing as many GLBT folks are coming to the ballparks with significant others, friends and children in tow. Yet, you do have a line of resistance with every anti-gay message from the sport's figures and self-affirming stereotype to keep even the most athletic of gay person away from an evening at the ballpark.

Take for example the brouhaha with the two women kissing in the stands at Safeco Field earlier this season. A lot of ballparks pan their fan cameras on couples encourging them to kiss in front of thousands of fans through their video screen on the scoreboard. If someone has a problem with public displays of affection regardless of sexual orientation, then perhaps we should examine how we present a fan's experience at the ballpark.

Come to think of it, some of my best dates were at the ballpark.

If anything that Bravo TV's Fab Five had done with the Red Sox...or for baseball in general...GLBT fans will always provide a curious quandary for the sport. However, if you really love the sport, take yourself and someone else...or, several others...to the ball game!

Besides, that Twins or Cubs cap isn't just a fashion statement.

For those of you who actually read this blog, you may have thought that I have forgotten about the third manager firing of the week: John Gibbons of the Toronto Blue Jays.

I didn't forget. I was waiting for Cito Gaston to get back to Toronto and get some love from the club.

Gibbons was a firing waiting to happen. Two years ago, I thought he was going to get it when he had his altercation with Shea Hillenbrand. It was up to J.P. Ricciardi and Paul Godfrey to decide which head case to part with. Hillenbrand eventually made his way to the San Francisco Giants in a matter of days.

Even after the blowup with Frank Thomas I thought that Gibbons was a goner. It was the win-loss record that did him in. Not to mention that he has a temper, gets into scraps with his players, criticizes the team publicly when things aren't going well...and so forth.

Why bring back Gaston? Two reasons: The utmost respect Canadian baseball fans have of the man and those two rings on his finger. He is a darn good manager. Never mind the trailblazing bit, Gaston knows how to get the best of out of roster. Just play back some of his seasons in Toronto and see how Gaston took a highly talented ball club and made them national heroes.

The Jays are a highly talented ball club these days. Yet, it was a team looking for a leader where Gibbons and his staff failed to capture during their time together. Can Gaston's staff right this ship? If they can throw the Baltimore Orioles to the side and chart their course towards The Bronx and St. Petersburg, they have a legitimate shot at the post-season.

Speaking of Canada, what's up with the uproar over maple bats? Let me get Emily Litella for a moment, but does this have to do with pine tar? Nevermind...

This is something I admit I was unaware of...the construction of wood bats used in play. You'd think that after the cork incident with Sammy Sosa years ago that someone had to make some sort of decision of what standard bats should be made of. Now that we've seen a proliferation of injuries from broken maple bats, the league and the player's union will hopefully take in consideration a change in standard for bats used in a game. Frankly, I would like to know what other choices are out there other than maple and ash. Is it also a cost consideration in which a standard has to be determined? 'Splain it to us, please?

One more thing: In case everyone was asleep last night, the Minnesota Twins has the longest active winning streak going right now. Seven games with their victory over the San Diego Padres in the Gaslamp Quarter. They are now one-and-a-half games behind Ozzie Guillen's ball club. Sorry, Oz, but some little piranhas are a bit hungry. Maybe it's time to "push" before you get eaten, eh?

In organized crime, there is usually a "kiss of death." It is a symbol where the discussion revolves around sparing a life and honoring the person why thought they were in trouble. Then, someone kisses said person only to find that they are no longer there.

In baseball, the "kiss of death" is replaced with the phrase "vote of confidence." Remember Willie Randolph? Omar Minaya gave him a "vote of confidence twice...then fired him. His explanation: This wasn't personal, this was about business. It's about winning, which the New York Mets found themselves on the short end of doing.

Now, we have the matter of the firing of John McLaren as Manager of the Seattle Mariners.

Unlike the situation in Flushing, Queens, the latest manager sacking was to be expected. The M's are losing...badly. From Bill Bavasi's "vote of confidence" a week or so ago, it was a matter of days before McLaren and his temper had to be escorted out of Safeco Field onto Royal Brougham Boulevard.

Ah, there's more to this story! A few days ago, Bavasi was let go as General Manager. One speculation came by management's disappointment in his vote of confidence in McLaren after yet another tirade by the manager in the clubhouse for the media. Another speculation was the signing to underachieving pitcher Carlos Silva to a long-term contract by Bavasi.

Frankly, the mess in SoDo had a greater impact on club operations than the issues that transpired at Shea Stadium. It is unfair to compare the Mets with the Mariners, but having two managerial terminations in one week does provide a lot of perspective at this point of this season.

In short, Howard Lincoln wants a reversal of fortune, not a replay of the 1969 Seattle Pilots. The M's have the worst record in baseball with a winning percentage of .347. They are also 17.5 games behind the division leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I had to laugh at the naming of Jim Riggelman as Mariner's skipper. Wasn't he chased out of Wrigleyville by the ghost of Harry Caray because he couldn't do anything with his 1998 Wild Card club? He managed Sammy Sosa during the home run record chase, for Pete's sake! Then, what?

Perhaps, in Seattle, it's "now what?"

So, Willie Randolph got the axe several months later than anticipated. This was after both Omar Minaya and the Wilpon ownership gave their vote of confidence twice since last October on the New York Mets' skipper.

How did they do it? The Wilpons probably called Donald and Ivanka Trump in from Manhattan to do the dirty deed in Flushing, Queens. They probably also called Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto into the boardroom as well. Omar was sitting right next to The Donald. A nod from the General Manager and three successive calls of "you, you're fired!" from the Donald and all three packed their bags out of Gotham. Cut back to the boardroom...

Donald: "Omar, why didn't you do this a few weeks ago?"
Minaya: "We thought we had confidence in him, Mr. Trump."
Donald: (Shrugs) "OK. Ivanka?"
Ivanka: "It was the right thing to do."
Donald: (Quizzical look) "Fair enough..."

Now, the Yankees wouldn't need The Donald to take care of their business. Hank Steinbrenner will have to bring an equally bigger gun to the pull the trigger: The Boss. George is still in the (old) building and can fire a guy without flinching. Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi may have to take note.

Before "The Apprentice," television made light of George Steinbrenner's way of handling human resources issues. Miller Brewing Company had a commercial where the elder Steinbrenner and his former manager, the late Billy Martin were having a Lite beer. In the commercial, The Boss fired Martin. In turn, the infamous manager responded "Oh, not again!"

Back to the Randolph termination, was it the right thing to do? Who became impatient in the front office with the club since they are just two games under .500? No one's offering any explanation at this time except there's a press conference later this afternoon. Was there something in the Mets' offices at Shea Stadium that transpired feeding into the speculations thrown around New York for the past few weeks? We would like to know.

We would also like to know if Jerry Manuel can right the Mets' ship. Or, how long Girardi and Cashman have left to work in The Bronx? Or, will there be any other surprise firings of managers and general managers before the end of the regular season?

We would like to know.

When I was little, I wanted to be a broadcaster. It was Vin Scully and the late Curt Gowdy that sparked that idea. I couldn't imagine any two voices that could induce such a career path.

Just as ESPN's Jon Miller admitted to Curt Smith on XM Radio's "Baseball Confidential: Voices of the Game," I, too, played a baseball simulation game and filled it in with crowd noises and the voice of broadcasters. Most of the time, it was my own childhood voice altered a bit to sound "older." Sometimes, the voice of the late Don Drysdale would come out. Though I'll admit that I couldn't nail those voices like Miller did when he was younger, but it was definitely part of the love I had for the game.

For many of us, broadcasters definitely helped shape the game for me. Growing up in Southern California, I was privileged to have several at my disposal through the magic of radio and television.

On Sunday, our television set alternated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels road games. On Channel 11, Vin Scully would welcome us from somewhere in the National League. After three innings, Jerry Doggett or Ross Porter would join in to keep it going before Scully came back in the seventh. You had a professionally produced broadcast with the Dodgers in grey and a long view of the road ballpark. That was when you saw Steve Garvey or Dusty Baker hit a long one.

When the Dodgers are home, the Angels would fill in on Gene Autry's Channel 5 from elsewhere in the American League. Don Drysdale was the play-by-play during my formidable years. His is the voice I remember the most...and love to hear. It was a polished Southern California voice, a tinge of Hollywood from a perfect surfer dude look that drew me to the Angels broadcasts.

However, it's been said that the true medium for the game is through radio. I strongly believe this even today with satellite radio giving us all of the games at our disposal. Back then, we only had terrestrial radio and amplified modulation. That meant the errant, yet faded voices from afar were captured into a clock radio as if I lived at those places.

Aside from the Dodgers (on KABC) and Angels (on KMPC) radio broadcasts, my childhood obsession with baseball included the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. Respectively, KFMB and KNBR had more than enough power to extend its signal up and down the Pacific coast. Because of the miracle of amplified modulation and clear channels, the voices of Jerry Coleman, Lon Simmons and Lindsey Nelson arrived at my San Fernando Valley home fighting for radio signal space by my bedside.

After leaving my hometown, I began to wander endlessly to various spots on the Earth. Cable television took over from good ol' radio for my electronic fix on the game. I was lucky to welcome TBS and WGN into my Bay Home area in late 1980's and early 1990's. Two generations of Carays fought for time on my television set. On the home front, Hank Greenwald and Ron Fairly kept me apprised with the Giants during the region's short-lived baseball renaissance. On the other side of the bay, legends such as Bill King and Lon Simmons spoke of the greatness of the Bash Brothers somewhere on the dial. Sad part about the A's was you used to not find them for a while on the radio. They also chose a TV station out of San Jose for their TV coverage. Not that it was a bad thing unless you come form an old school North Bay family that pledge allegiance to The City.

Somewhere along the way, I lost interest in the broadcasting of the game. I could not quite lock into the reasons why. Maybe it was because the game was changing as was the national broadcasting contracts. Jack Buck helmed CBS television's coverage of the game and TBS was a semi-regular mainstay with Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren and Don Sutton celebrating the most successful ball club of the 1990's. Even moving to the Washington, DC didn't help to bridge the game back through the medium of radio and television. I hate to say it, but FOX killed it for me.

Coming to the Midwest changed all of that. Here is where I discovered the mystique of Bob Uecker and the following he has throughout Wisconsin. It was looking down to Chicago where Ron Santo and Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson represent their side of town on the airwaves for the cheers of their team's faithful. Then, there's Bert Blyleven and his telestrator, circling everyone in the Metrodome with an acknowledgement of their love for the game.

Brief runs with XM satellite radio also help in bringing back the love for the baseball broadcast. Not to mention the lull moments when I am on travel. On my last trip tom Los Angeles, I had an instinctive feeling about something at a restaurant. I looked up and the Dodgers were on the air on several televisions throughout the joint. It wasn't the video from the screen that captured me. It was Vin Scully's voice. An unforgettable voice that can only mean one thing to a child of Southern California: Dodger baseball.

In all, the most memorable broadcasters are those with the most distinctive home run calls. It is the way Vin Scully inflexed the term "it's gone" when a Dodger takes one a country mile. It is this year's Ford Frick Award winner Dave Niehaus with his "My Oh My!" that rings out throughout the Pacific Northwest. Love him or dislike him, you have to cheer when John Gordon calls out his renown "Touch 'em all" for a Twins round tripper.

The broadcast and the broadcaster are definitely part of the fabric of this game. It ties into one's loyalty to their team. The broadcast team represents the image of the ball club and its fans. These are facts that still tie us together to the game. It is an old familiar voice telling the story of the game beyond just the strike count and the action on the field. Even if it our own pretending to be Don Drysdale while playing on an old simulation game.

Dear Ken/Junior/Old Buddy,

Thank you for fulfilling my request to have you hit number 600 last night at Dolphins Stadium in Miami. We, as baseball fans, are forever grateful for your efforts to get to this point.

Twenty years you toiled in this game through injuries and under .500 ball clubs. It all paid off on one swing. You are the sixth player to reach this benchmark (though some would argue the fifth legitimate player to do so...possibly the fourth). Doesn't it feel good?

We followed your enthusiasm for the game and your leadership as a conscious member of the community. The game lacks free-thinking and forthright players with your credibility. To accomplish this feat is something that can never deny your entry into Cooperstown and other levels of immortality.

As for the guys fighting over your ball in the stands, maybe it would be a good thing to invite both guys to get the promised meetings replete with autographs, bats and other paraphernalia related to your illustrious career. Just don't invite that guy's lawyer who's been on the news since last night. Isn't that typical of South Florida for a lawyer for some guy fighting for a ball?

I raise a bottled water to you, Junior! Congrats and good luck for the rest of your great career!

Your Pal,
Randy

PS: I'll make sure to stop by a Reds game sometime in the future before you retire, OK?
PPS: Can you hit another 160-plus homers before you actually retire, please?

Dear Ken...or, shall I call you "Junior?" For a couple of months, the talk around here is that you will your 600th career home run very soon. I reported that you accomplished your 599th at home. Awesome! We are very proud of what you have throughout the career and the manner in which made you one of the most respected ballplayers in the game.

So, could you tell us when you're going to hit your 600th home run?

Junior, the suspense is killing us! Don't get us wrong, but we really want you to do this. We just want it over with sooner than later!

Now that I got that off my chest, let's go to the fights!

Round 1 - Kent-v-Torrealba: It started innocently enough. The Los Angeles Dodgers' Jeff Kent was at bat, minding his own business, when he swung on strike three as the ball went into the dirt. The Colorado Rockies' catcher Yorvit Torrealba was trying to retrieve the ball in the dirt. They both collided, started shoving each other and...ding, ding, ding...we're off! The Dodgers and Rockies bullpens emptied and order was soon restored.

MLB's Vice President of On-Field Operations, Bob Watson, doled out a four game suspension for Kent. Kent promptly appealed it, keeping him active until a hearing is set. This is not out of pride except for the fact that the Dodgers are short of outfielders on the active roster.

Round 2 - Crisp-v-The Tampa Bay Rays: A day after the Dodgers-Rockies title fight, a series of events led to a bigger explosion on Fenway Park's infield. In the sixth inning of Wednesday game, the Boston Red Sox' Coco Crisp went to steal second where Jason Bartlett was there waiting for him. The ball was not on time, nor was the tag. However, it appeared that Bartlett was blocking the base that torqued Crisp off, despite that he was safe at second. In the eighth, Crisp was sent running again. This time, he ran right into Rays' Akinori Iwamura who tagged him out. Upset, Crisp walked off to the tune of Rays' manager Joe Maddon's voice in the process of switching relievers.

Nothing was resolved through the night. Thursday was when everything exploded as a James Shields pitch went inside on Crisp. Sure enough...ding, ding, ding...all heck broke loose! Crisp is in the middle of a seven game suspension doled out by Watson. MLB's chief disciplinarian also doled out suspensions to five Rays and two other Red Sox. Joe Maddon was not suspended by the league...I wonder why...

Round 3 - Chuck Armstrong-v-John McLaren-v-His Own Team: You can thank John Kruk of ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" for bringing this one up. Otherwise, no one would ever know that the Chicago White Sox's Ozzie Guillen has company in the angriest, most expletive-spewing manager in baseball category. Last Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners manager took his frustrations out on his team at a media conference an hour after the team's president, Chuck Armstrong, lashed out on his manager and coaching staff. McLaren's response was full of stuff you can't broadcast anywhere. McLaren was called out by Armstrong after the president gave him his support two weeks prior. Ding, ding, ding!

Don't worry, Watson didn't act upon McLaren or Armstrong. He figured that he'll let the club handle this internally. Sounds familiar? "You've got to push," right, Ozzie?

Stern...Stealing home. Photo attribution not available

What does title of this blog mean? An heirloom is something meaningful and special that is passed from one generation to another. This blog tries to combine the personal history of the game with the current season. There are occasions where this blog will capture moments when game touches close to home.

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that my brother and I were handed the game of baseball down from our mother. There is another generation of this family in the process of receiving the heirloom from my generation.

My brother lives a comfortable life in South Orange County, California with his wife of almost 18 years. They have two wonderful children: A daughter in high school and their youngest son. These are the only two children between both my brother and I.

It is now my nephew...my brother's son...that is the recipient of Barbara Stern's heirloom. He has not only taken to the game of baseball; he has gone a step further. In fact, this is a boy who is living the dreams of his ancestors.

My brother and I dabbled in the game when we were in Cub Scouts. Granted our athleticism wasn't close to average, but we had fun. I went as far as to be a scorekeeper/manager of my high school's junior varsity baseball team. Did I mention that I met Bret Saberhagen when he played varsity baseball for a rival school prior to being drafted by the Kansas City Royals?

No one had any inkling that either my brother or I would play Little League baseball. His son did exactly that as a member of the Class AA championship team of the local Little League. In fact, he made an important contribution to the victory by hitting a double, then scoring on a steal at home.

My brother talks about how much his son has improved from earlier iterations of his Little League career. The boy played under a fantastic coach who cultivated his and his other teammate's talents instead of drilling it out of them. It just seems as they were indeed playing the game as it was truly intended: For the fun of it!

This story is not just about a proud parent or relative of their Little League participant. From my understanding, the idea of a family is to help facilitate interests while maintaining traditions. Baseball's long history of generational support for the game, whether it is in the stands or on the field, fits into this concept.

Perhaps it is time for your family to hand down this heirloom that the game represents. It is a simple thing to do. This summer, share the game with your family. Your local ballpark is a good start. Whether it is the excitement of Major League Baseball, the witnessing of the future down in the farm system or your local semi-pro club, there is a game out for the whole family to enjoy together.

There are many stories to tell from this wonderful tradition of the game. My brother and his son is one of them. My close friends and I are another. Families all...no matter how your definition fits.

This is still a game worth sharing and passing down to the next generation.

Talk about all the walk-offs you want, June 3, 2008 will go down as a pitcher's night.

In one evening, four significant pitching performances occurred to entertain us. If not, this would serve to entertain our thoughts as to the state of the pitching game in 2008.

How did tonight go down on the mound? Let's recap, shall we?

By Decree of Hank Steinbrenner...: The New York Yankees' Joba Chamberlain took the mound as a starting pitcher as The Boss' son planned. He last 2-1/3 innings, throwing 62 pitches with 32 of them as strikes. He struck out three batters, but not before a shaky first innings where he allowed Shannon Stewart of the Toronto Blue Jays to cross home. In all, the first start for Joba wasn't bad. The larger question still remains whether he was ready to start now as opposed to later in the season. The Steinbrenners may never know unless they allowed Joe Girardi to try.

A Couple of Happy Returns: Dontrelle Willis of the Detroit Tigers and Pedro Martinez of the New York Mets staged their latest comebacks tonight on the mound. Willis was out since April 11 due to a hyperextended right knee. Instead of finding some relief innings for the D-Train, manager Jim Leyland went for broke and made him the sixth starter tonight in Oakland. As for Pedro, it's been since April 1 since being sidelined with a strained hamstring. He makes his first start since that time in San Francisco with a nice start to boot. Pedro has always been stubborn when it came to his health. When Pedro knows he's OK, we should never second-guess it.

Look Who's Number Two?: Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks finally achieved immortality by moving into second place in career strikeouts. Mike Cameron of the Milwaukee Brewers became the 4,673rd victim of the Big Unit, giving the D-Back veteran one more than the maligned Roger Clemens. Johnson is only 1,041 shy of tying the all-time strikeout leader Nolan Ryan. Only? But, first, the Big Unit needs to win 12 more games to join the 300-win club. Just don't ask about retirement, OK?

Yep, He's OK: On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins' Nick Blackburn took a Bobby Abreu comebacker in the face. Today, he's reported to being OK. Blackburn still has some headaches and some swelling around the area of impact, but he's improving and feeling positive about his recovery. Blackburn expects to pitch against the Chicago White Sox this Friday, though I wonder if manager Ron Gardenhire might let him do so. You can be cautious, but if the guy's fitness is fine, he'll pitch. It's not like he's Pedro Martinez who declares himself fit while everyone around him disagrees...then pitches six good innings of work and tells everyone in the clubhouse "I told you so!" Hopefully, Nick will be back soon enough to pitch, but not flinch all the time as Mike Mussina revealed hours after Blackburn was carried off the field in the Metrodome.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs currently have the best record in the Major Leagues. The New York Yankees are in last place in the American League East. The Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates were hot at the start of the season, now simmered into the bottom rung of their respective divisions. And, the Detroit Tigers are still struggling.

So, now what?

500 for Manny! In the top of the seventh inning of the Boston Red Sox-Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards Saturday, Manny went solo off of Chad Bradford to become the 24th player in baseball history to accomplish 500 home runs in a career. About time, don't you think?

What About 600? Ken Griffey, Jr. finally got his 599th on Saturday in Cincinnati against the Atlanta Braves. There's nothing wrong with Junior. He's just due to close out this benchmark soon enough. Just be patient.

Just a Game Apart: I'd like to skip the Rays as a subject matter, but you have to witness this to believe it. The Rays are a game ahead of the Boston Red Sox with the best record in the American League. You can't make this stuff up.

Be Careful What I Write: After lauding the National League Central, the race has broken out a bit. The Houston Astros fell into a four game losing streak with the Milwaukee Brewers making their move. Right behind the Brewers is the Reds while the Bucs are back down at the bottom. The Cubs are currently owners of the best record in baseball right now. This pennant race is far from settling any month soon.

Chipper's Batting What?!? Batting .400 is a feat that is rarely done these days. Not in today's ballgame. However, the Braves' Chipper Jones is showing that long time veterans can season into remarkable hitters. By the end of May, he is batting .413. One would hope he would hold on to stay .400, but this game can change that soon enough.

Who Are These Guys? Check any statistics this season and scratch your head a few times. Honestly, where did these guys come from? The Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton leads everyone in RBIs. Who? How about the Reds' Edinson Volquez, baseball's current leader in Strikeouts and ERA? Again...who? The San Francisco Giants has another surprise pitcher keeping pace with Volquez in these same statistics: Tim Lincecum. I mean...who? Lastly, the Reds called up Jay Bruce who all of the sudden has taken over the ball club. Seriously, who are these guys and where did they come from? Soon, they will become household names or making an appearance at Yankee Stadium for the All-Star Game.

What About My Hometown Team? In a dramatic 10-inning tilt in Kansas City, the Twins pulled off a victory with an amazing comeback. Earlier in the game, Delmon Young frustrated manager Ron Gardenhire with a game-changing error. However, Craig Monroe's bat saved the error and Gardy's blood pressure. His three-run shot got the Twins back in the game. In the end, the Twins left KC ready for the visiting New York Yankees. The good news is that the Twins are in second place behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central. The bad news is that the Yanks are making life uneasy for the home team, taking the first two of the series so far. That's the Twins for ya!