Hell Hath No Fury
Like a broadcaster scorned. Longtime Astros announcer Milo Hamilton ripped into former Houston favorite Lance Berkman, who is off to a hot start with the Cardinals, during a radio interview this week. "Why did you think it wasn't necessary to get in shape your last couple years as an Astro?" the 83-year-old Hall of Famer asked rhetorically. "And now a team you didn't even know, a manager you didn't play for, you felt it was your responsibility to get in great shape?"
Berkman, who was traded to the Yankees last year and signed with St. Louis during the offseason, has reportedly lost 20 pounds, but he said that to suggest that he wasn't in shape in 2010 is a "misrepresentation."
By The Numbers
4: Bases-loaded walks for Mariners DH Jack Cust already this season.
7: Blown saves for the Cardinals' bullpen in the first 24 games.
15: Rainouts in Major League Baseball. Last April there were only three.
17: Size shoe worn by A's reliever David Purcey, largest in team history.
19: Waiver claims made by Pirates GM Neal Huntington in his 3-plus years.
628: Straight Tampa Bay Rays games started by a pitcher who hasn't reached his 30th birthday. That's just 18 short of the record set by the 1970-74 Montreal Expos.
Quote Of The Week
Twins catcher Joe Mauer, to the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, on what it's like to open a check for $1.92 million every 2 weeks during the season: "I don't know, they're direct deposit."