Baseball is Poop

Jekyll and Hide
The Detroit Tigers are supposed to have the best offense in baseball. And when they get hot, they can score a lot of runs. They have 6 games of 10 runs or more, plus another 2 times they scored 9 runs. But they've also scored 1 run 6 times, and been shutout 8 times. The dichotomy of their offense is puzzling and combined with their inconsistent pitching, explains why they are in last place.

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Kid
Upstaging the impressive major league debut of Mets outfielder Nick Evans (3 doubles), Cincinnati Reds rookie Jay Bruce, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, also delivered a 3 for 3 day in his major league debut. With two walks and three hits, Bruce became the first player to reach base five times in a big league debut since Kaz Matsui did so for the Mets on April 6, 2004.
Bruce joined Daryl Boston (1984) and Bert Campaneris (1964) as the only players in the last 70 years to have three hits, two RBIs and one stolen base in a debut.
In recognition of his efforts, David Ross hit him in the face with a shaving cream pie during his postgame interview.




The Phillies Are On Phire
The vaunted Phillies offense erupted with 42 runs in the last 3 games. The 20 runs they hung on the Rockies was their most in almost 10 years.

How Are They Doing It?
Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee are second and third in the majors in RBIs but they're doing it without good table setters batting in front of them. Of their 91 RBIs, 27 came as a result of driving themselves in on home runs. And since Berkman has 56 runs scored, compared to 26 by Lee, we can assume Berkman has come home on many of Lee's RBIs. And yes, I know they have Miguel Tejada (.361 OBP) batting in front of them but the two supposed tablesetters are Michael Bourn (.275 OBP, horrible) and Kaz Matsui (.362 OBP, not bad), which makes Lee and Berkman even more impressive.
Lee is batting .318 with runners in scoring position and Berkman is hitting .347.



Let's See That Again
Instant replay is definitely coming to baseball next season, but only for home run calls. There have been too many disputed home runs (or not home runs), and too many ballparks with strange features (like Houston's vertical yellow line) to risk getting a major call wrong. And the biggest drawback of replay, that it takes too long, is probably moot here because the discussions and ensuing arguments take longer than any replay review would.

Did Matt Holliday Back Up Cooper?
Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was a quarterback on the football team at the University of Tennessee, where he backed up Peyton Manning.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Seth Smith was a quarterback on the football team at the University of Mississippi, where he backed up Eli Manning.
Bonus fact: during Helton's (and Peyton's freshman year) the starting QB got injured and Helton replaced him. Manning didn't get into a game until Helton got hurt also.

Cool Picture of the Week
Umpire Jerry Crawford gets treatment from the Astros trainers after getting hit on the head by Carlos Lee's backswing.