Overbay and Jays Finalize 4yr $24M Deal

Associated Press

TORONTO — Lyle Overbay decided to make a long-term commitment to the Blue Jays after Vernon Wells chose to stay with Toronto.

“I knew we had a good thing, a great clubhouse. We signed Vernon Wells. That was a big part of it,” Overbay said Monday after finalizing a $24 million, four-year contract.

Wells, Toronto’s Gold Glove center fielder, agreed last month to a $126 million, seven-year extension through 2014.

Overbay had been eligible to become a free agent after the 2008 but accepted a deal that calls for a $3.8 million signing bonus, $400,000 this year, $5.8 million in 2008 and $7 million in each of the following two seasons.

General manager J.P. Ricciardi also has signed Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Troy Glaus and Frank Thomas to multiyear contracts

“We think there is a core nucleus here that is built really for ’07 to ’10,” Ricciardi said. “We’re just trying to keep as good a group together as we can.”

Overbay set career highs with a .312 average, 22 homers and 92 RBIs last season after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers. His 46 doubles were fourth in the AL.

Toronto’s lineup includes right-handed power hitters Wells, Glaus and Thomas. Overbay, a left-handed batter, hit fifth for most of last season, but could hit cleanup if manager John Gibbons wants to break up the righties.

Overbay said it doesn’t matter where he hits, he’s just excited to have the newly signed Thomas in it.

Ricciardi thinks an improved offense will help make up for the loss of left-hander Ted Lilly, but said he doesn’t think the team will slug its way to the top of the AL East.

“We’ll have a very good offensive team. Most nights, we’ll have a chance to pitch well,” Ricciardi said.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

This signing, possibly unnoticed by a lot of casual fans, is a freat signing. That’s right, great signing. Overbay may only be known to Blue Jay fans, or Brewer fans, and avid baseball fans. He does everything right though. He hits for average, fields his position well, has decent power and hits a ton of doubles, while showing incredible plate discipline.

His left handed bat slots nicely somewhere in the crowd of right handed hitters (Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus, Frank Thomas, and Alex Rios. He strikes out very little for a firstbaseman and draws a good number of walks, usually working the pitcher deep into counts.

Toronto’s GM J.P. Ricciardi has done what every GM wishes to do, have complete control of your 10 best players. He is going to put a team out that can compete in the beast known as the AL East.

Blue Jays fans should celebrate this signing and look forward to a very competetive future.

Cal Ripken – a Diamond in Rough Times

Today’s not a day to feel bad for Cal Ripken, but there’s an aspect to his career that must bug him to this day. He peaked in his second year.

I don’t mean that he never was better than he was in 1983. In 1991 he won the MVP again. But in 1991 he won that MVP for a losing team. In 1983 not only did he win the MVP but his team won the World Series. He achieved the highest personal and team accomplishments in his second year. While he continued to play well, he had little to enjoy about his team.

From 1968 to 1985 the Orioles were one of the best teams (if not the best) in baseball. They were well managed both on and off the field. But 1985 was the last of 18 consecutive years in which they would finish with a winning record. 1986 marked the first time the team finished in last place. The team’s collapse was quick and brutal.

Yet when Cal came up it must have seemed that throughout his career he’d be playing for a well run club. In 1982 the Orioles lost the AL East crown on the final day of the season to the Milwaukee Brewers. (In 1982 there was no wild card and the Brewers were in the AL East.) The Brewers, with a 3 game lead, came to Baltimore for a four game series. The Orioles won the first 3, setting up the critical final game of the year. (1982 was the final year of Earl Weaver’s first stint as manager.)

The next year the Orioles won the world series against Philadelphia.

Cal must have thought that he’s always be playing on winning teams. But Cal got to see the worst in Baltimore. He was with the team that in 1988 started off with a record 21 consecutive losses. In the remaining eighteen years of his career, following 1983, the Orioles made the playoffs twice, in 1996 and 1997, but most years weren’t even close. (They had winning records in 1984, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997.) In 1989 they had the wonderful (quirky) “Why not?” season in which they followed up the disastrous 1988 campaign with pennant chase that lasted until the final weekend of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1994, the Orioles likely would have been the first wild card team but the season was cut short by the strike.

But after winning the World Series in 1983, most of Cal Ripken’s career was played with teams that had no chance. He watched his brother come up to the big league club with a lot of fanfare. But Billy wasn’t his brother’s equal and was eventually released. His late father, Cal Sr. finally achieved his dream of becoming manager in 1987 only to be fired six games into the disastrous 1988 season. Cal Sr. returned as third base coach for a few more years and was fired again in the early 90′s by then-manager Johnny Oates.

Given the lack of winning and the hard knocks taken by his brother and father it would have been easy for Cal to become bitter and disgruntled. But he never did. He kept on playing and kept on producing. He became one of the most popular figures in Baltimore sports history. And he did it with flair despite the many negatives going on around him. At a time that the team he spents his career with was collapsing he remained a ray of light in an otherwise bleak environment.

I guess that’s one of the “intangibles” that Cal brought to the Baltimore Orioles.

UPDATE: Fellow OTB Sports contributor Jason Beck and OTB boss James Joyner add their thoughts on the HOF election.

Throughout his career, Cal was dogged by criticism that he was stubborn or, worse, selfish, by putting the streak ahead of the team’s good. Very respectfully, Baseball Musings wonders the same thing

And looking at all this again makes me wonder if the streak should have stopped in 1984. When Ripken put up consecutive .370+ OBA, .510+ Slugging at ages 22 and 23, he should have had serious upside in front of him. Maybe a .420 OBA, 40 home season when he peaked in his mid to late 20s. I really wonder how many injuries he played through that took a toll on his batting stats.

However at Hardball times Dan McLaughlin (the Baseball Crank) sees something else

Yes, from 1982 to 1991, he really was that good, his only weakness being the double-play ball. How much a guy plays is so underrated as a measure of value: When you consider the average offensive production of the average backup shortstop in the ’80s, Ripken’s refusal to come out of the lineup even for an inning in those years becomes all the more valuable.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

GM Doug Melvin interviewed, recap

From Doug Melvin’s interview on Milwaukee radio station WSSP, and my comments follow:

—Very happy to get Suppan, added depth, sold him on the city, park, and team. Created a comfort level with the meeting in LA, decided to give him a 4th year because of this, gave them a “soft” deadline, but needed to know an answer. Because of the Dave Roberts thing, told them the team needed to know. $2M buyout and option year sealed the deal.

I’m surprised the Crew was thinking of going with “just” a 3 year offer in this environment. I also fail to see how the $2M buyout is much of an incentive when you’re signing a contract worth $40M.

—”Stretched” on payroll to make this happen. OF’s will probably be reduced at some point, but not because of the payroll.

Doug walking the line beautifully, basically saying they can’t add much payroll, but that at some point, Mench or Jenkins will be gone, so they do have some wiggle room.

—Worked out very well to have meeting at Mark A’s house, showed him video of young players, even dug out a DVD of Suppan as a HS pitcher from scouting video that Jack Z found. Doug said it’s hard to believe that you have to recruit players with the money involved, but you do. Jeff wanted to call some teammates and others and let them know before the announcement was made.

It’s just like college football and basketball, sometimes decisions are made because of seemingly absurd reasons. You can either play the game, or you can lose.

Jeff said he learned more from Mike Maddux as a teammate than anyone else in his career.

If they knew this before, I think Maddux would have been in LA as well.

—Rickie Weeks will be the 2B. Looks like Billy Hall will be the CF, no CF’s left that will keep Hall from being the CF. Hart will be an everyday player for the most part, so the other guys will have to work themselves out. Will probably happen when someone gets hurt or isn’t looking good in spring training.

Between the lines, it is apparent Doug really liked Dave Roberts for his speed and defense.

—Feels Hall and Weeks will be above average at CF and 2B offensively, just hope to be average at each spot, and above that at a few spots.

By the sounds of it, Doug hopes to be 8th or 9th in offense, or maybe a tad higher.

—Trying to add another LH reliever and a long reliever, a Rick Helling veteran type, in case a starter goes down. Carlos V is probably the 6th starter, and it will be tough to keep him off the 25 man roster. Always looking for more pitching, to add a pitcher that’s a little better than a guy you have. Yo Gallardo may be up sometime in ’07, he’ll get a look in the Spring, but he won’t make the team in April. Huge talent, led all of minor league baseball in K’s last year.

Surprised to hear him mention Carlos V as a bullpen possibility, as I would think he’d go down to AAA and throw 90 pitches every 5th day. Inconsistent innings may keep Carlos from developing as much…but maybe all that is secondary. Yo, Carlos, and Zach Jackson is a fine trio to have at Nashville in reserve, that’s for sure. I would imagine a veteran or two will be signed to fill out the AAA rotation.

Suppan gives the rotation depth, keeps them from knocking on wood that everyone stays healthy.

That’s exactly what I’ve been saying.

Interview with Adam McCalvy, beat writer for the Brewers’ site on WSSP radio:

—Adam was in church Xmas Eve when he heard of the Suppan signing, missed the conference call, had to hurry up and put it together for the site.

Adam sounded rather unhappy with the timing.

—Feels the team looks at Suppan as that one missing piece, a durable SP that will take the ball every 5th day. Brewers look like the only team in division with 5 starters written in ink, most clubs are counting on prospects and the like.

Yep, the Crew and San Diego, and maybe LA.

—Carlos V and the others will be there if needed, but not counted on to win 10-12 games. Needed that depth last year, and this year, they look to have it. Stretched out the bullpen as well, they had to pitch more than usual, because the replacements for Ohka and Sheets were not only weak, but they didn’t go more than a few innings.

Over .500 in games started by the Opening Day rotation, 83-78 won the division for the Cardinals. A 6th starter in ’06 might have won the division for the Crew.

—Not many holes on team right now, need to get OF figured out, maybe who is the last reliever. Plenty of people will be picking the Brewers to win, and more will make them a “sleeper” pick.

As of this second, SL has 3 starting pitchers, and I think the Cubs have 2 SP’s that would make the Brewers’ top 5…I think many will pick the Brewers based on that rotation alone.

—Jenkins or Mench will probably be traded, as they look to have the most value, based on the winter meetings. Nix is intriguing, if he could stay healthy, and Gross is a nice reserve, hits some, plays all 3 spots. Gwynn looks to be back to AAA. Feels it would be difficult for Geoff to come back after last season ended.

With Gross as one reserve, I don’t see Nix making the 25 man. I think a platoon of Jenkins and Clark would be the best bet to begin the year in LF, with Hart settling into RF everyday.

Cross posted at Al’s Ramblings

Haudricourt’s Idea of Character Is Bunk

Tom Haudricourt’s December 25th article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is both biased and naîve on the topic of character.

In discussing both the contract details and the motivation on the Brewers’ end, Haudricourt mentions, as a point in favor of Suppan’s character, that he will donate $100,000 annually to Brewers Charities Inc. That’s a good thing, yes — though many of the big contracts signed in this off-season and in seasons past have included such agreements. I’m assuming this money is at least tax-deductible, and considering that’s it’s less than one one-hundredth of his salary, we could really say, “Big deal.” This is really more of a contract detail, and perhaps a bit of wooing the public on Suppan’s part.

Still, my real issue here is not with this but rather that Haudricourt lauds Suppan for appearing in television ads that urged viewers to vote against an amendment supporting embryonic stem-cell research. First off, this is a very morally gray area, or at least people are split on the issue. That Haudricourt even mentions this as evidence for Suppan’s “moral character” is irresponsible. If Suppan had appeared along side of Michael J. Fox on the other side of the issue, would he be as good a guy to Haudricourt? Would it be worth mentioning? Or would he have to dig up some other stuff, perhaps about how Suppan doesn’t wash spiders down the drain hole, to support the accolades of Attanasio and Yost? Carlos Delgado is “notorious” for not standing at the national anthem, even though he did so because of how strongly he believed in certain things. I hardly think this is a reason to sign him, or not to sign him. The same goes for Suppan. If the Brewers actually considered this in their analysis of his character or in any way during the contract negotiations, I’d be far more disappointed in Doug Melvin and Co. than I am presently with Tom Haudricourt for even heralding it in his article.

That fact is that the issue at hand is very divisive, very partisan even, and that one can be a good person (i.e. “have character”) no matter where they fall on this issue. Haudricourt makes the mistake of associating particular political stances for character, and tries to hide it by saying that it is representative of his passion (“Suppan doesn’t do anything halfway.”)

I’m not saying that Jeff Suppan isn’t a good guy, or that he won’t help the team, both on the field and in the clubhouse. But the evidence that Haudricourt provides here does little to convince me of his character.

Not that I care, about this whole character thing anyway, because “character” is overrated at best, and probably generally meaningless. I mean, would you honestly not want Manny Ramirez on your team? Would you really want Neifi Perez or Royce Clayton on your team, getting regular playing time because they are “good with the young guys” or spends time with at-risk kids? Granted, you’d like your guys to be handsome and charming and charitable and generous and amiable and passionate about life and all that, but if they post a .950 OPS in 650 PAs, that’s got to be the first thing you worry about, right? The other stuff is secondary at best.

I have to admit that this whole thing caught my eye because I am on the other side of the spectrum as Suppan on this issue. But I have come to realize that there are very few professional athletes who fall left of center, and very few with whom I’d like to make friends, and that regardless of this, I am a sports fan anyway. The lot of them are, of course, over-paid (all of them are this, without doubt), spoiled, conceited, uninformed, disconnected, superficial, idiotic jerks. But I love to watch them play baseball, and I love to analyze how they do that afterwards, and I pay to do both, and I will never stop doing either. I accept all these issues and look past them for the sake of my own enjoyment. Maybe that makes me a bad person, I don’t know. Since I do that, I guess it makes me shallow. (We are, after all, merely the sum of our actions in the world.)

I think that I’ve gotten over the idea of “favorite” players — of truly idolizing a guy for largely irrational reasons. I now think of players as 2-win players or league average starters or 1.000 OPS guys; I think of them as overrated and underrated; I think of how many runs they create per salary dollar. It’s takes some of that “magic” out of the game, but I’ve learned to embrace the cold hard facts, and they are now what I love most about the game. But I’m no robot. Every bit of me was emotionally invested in the Red Sox’s 2004 post-season, and in them signing Matsuzaka this year. Everyday I long to see my young Brewers in action, long to see them win, and know that I will be disappointed if they do not take that next step in 2007.

Still, just once I wish I could find a baseball player that makes mixtapes for his friends and lovers, or really connected with the work of Alexander Payne, or really wishes that Russ Feingold would run for president. Give me the guy who takes a taxicab to the game and rides up front with the driver. Give me the guy who listens to NPR in the clubhouse. Give me the guy who obsessively checks the political blogs every night after the game, or watches CNN for hours. Give me the guy who likes both Jane Jacobs and Patton Oswalt. Unless, of course, he can’t hit.

Thing is, I guess I haven’t stopped wanting to idolize ballplayers. I just realized that none of them are really worth idolizing. Maybe that’s why I turned to the numbers . . .

Brewers must coax Fernando Venezuela out of retirement.

Jeff Suppan added to Brewers…best NL rotation?

As Jonathan Mitchell reported a couple days ago, the Brewers signed veteran starting pitcher Jeff Suppan to a 4 year, $42M contract, pending a physical.

This got me to wondering, could this move give the Crew the best rotation in the National League? I looked up the Brewers’ expected starters ERA’s in the past three seasons, and here’s what I came up with.

Ben Sheets, 3.13
Chris Capuano, 4.17
Jeff Suppan, 3.95
Dave Bush, 4.18
Claudio Vargas, 5.08 (4.37 ERA in his “away” games, which may be a more accurate representation, as Vargas pitched a lot of innings in the offensive confines of Arizona)

That’s mighty solid from top to bottom, to be sure. In an age where several teams are unashamedly going after Joel Pineiro, who was last remotely effective in 2004, it is unusual for clubs to have five decent options in the rotation.

Other starting staffs of note? I would probably say San Diego would be my choice as the top challenger for this mythical crown. Let’s look at their numbers.

Jake Peavy, 3.13
Clay Hensley, 3.51
Chris Young, 3.93
Greg Maddux, 4.16
Mike Thompson, 5.14
Chan Ho Park, 5.32

I listed both Thompson and Park because I do not know who is expected to be the 5th starter, or even if Park is expected back, though he was offered arbitration. Regardless, since both have similar numbers, it barely matters. I would normally argue that Petco Park may hold down the Padres’ ERA’s a bit, but their splits do not show that.

I would have to give a slight edge to the Padres, though if you use Vargas’ road numbers only, the small advantage could easily shift back to the Brewers. However, it would seem that with the addition of Suppan, the Brewers rotation can now easily be included when you discuss the best in the National League.

Jeff Suppan signs with Brewers for 4yrs $42M

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — NL Championship Series MVP Jeff Suppan reached a preliminary agreement Sunday on a $42 million, four-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Suppan must pass a physical for the deal to be finalized, the Brewers said in a rare Christmas Eve announcement. His contract includes a team option for 2011 with a $2 million buyout.

“He gives us a big-game pitcher. He’s shown that last year,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said during a telephone conference call.

A 31-year-old right-hander, Suppan went 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA for St. Louis this year — including a 6-2 mark with a 2.39 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break. He was 1-1 in four postseason starts, including a win in Game 3 and seven solid innings in Game 7 of the NLCS against the New York Mets. He is 44-26 with a 3.95 ERA over the last three regular seasons, tied for ninth in the major leagues in wins.

Suppan met Tuesday with Brewers officials, and the team made an offer the following day, when Suppan met with New York Mets executives. His agent, Scott Leventhal, negotiated through the weekend with Melvin.

Leventhal said there was no temptation to wait until after Barry Zito decided where to sign — when the teams that failed to get the left-hander might bid up Suppan’s price.

“All along we controlled the tempo of our own negotiations. We understood a marketplace would open up once Zito dropped,” Leventhal said. “Sup’s whole thing was to go at his own pace and make his decision on when he felt was the best time. He felt today was the best time.”

Melvin said Suppan’s durability was an attraction for the Brewers, who struggled last season when Ben Sheets and Tomo Ohka got hurt. Suppan has made 31 or more starts in eight straight seasons, throwing 180 or more innings each time.

“This obviously will be the largest improvement, adding a pitcher of this stature,” Melvin said.

Milwaukee needed a durable starting pitcher after trading Doug Davis to Arizona for Claudio Vargas, catcher Johnny Estrada and pitcher Greg Aquino.

Suppan has pitched for Boston (1995-97, 2003), Arizona (1998), Kansas City (1998-2002), Pittsburgh (2003) and St. Louis (2004-06). He has reached double figures in wins seven times, and has a career record of 106-101 with a 4.60 ERA.

Milwaukee, coming off a 75-87 record and fourth-place finish in the NL Central, has a projected rotation that includes left-hander Chris Capuano and right-handers Sheets, Dave Bush, Vargas and Suppan.

In the NLCS, Suppan pitched eight shutout innings for the victory in Game 3, then allowed one run over seven innings in Game 7, which the Cardinals went on to win 3-1 on Yadier Molina’s two-run homer in the ninth. St. Louis then went on to beat Detroit in five games for the World Series title.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said that kind of performance was important to him as he tries to make the Brewers a “perennially competitive” team.

“What you want to do is add a winner,” Attanasio said.

Leventhal said the pitcher saw the Brewers as a team with potential.

“I think he feels like it’s a team that has tremendous talent — it’s got a mix of young guys and veterans, all with talent,” he said.

Leventhal said Suppan was at a Christmas Eve Mass and could not be reached for comment.

Suppan generated some controversy during the World Series when he appeared in a television commercial and a print ad opposing a Missouri amendment to permit embryonic stem cell research. The amendment passed by a narrow margin.

Attanasio invited the pitcher and his agent to dinner at his home last week.

“It was a very relaxed evening,” Attanasio said. “There was a lot of give and take. I got to know Jeff. I came away impressed.”

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

This is a great move by the Brew Crew. They add a veteran pitcher who knows how to win. Add him to Ben Sheets and Chris Capuano and you have a great 1-3, especially if they reach the postseason.

Merry Christmas to all!

Chill, Dougie Fresh

The Brewers are still mulling the Suppan.

The idea of Wins is key here. Jeff Sackmann (#1 Brewer Blogger!) marks Suppan as a two-win player. This means that if the Brewers plan to give 30 or more starts to replacement level pitchers in 2007 without Suppan, the addition of Suppan would add two wins to their record. So, in order to figure whether a Suppan signing would be worth it, we have to figure how many games the team might win without him.

Can we really say that we expect the team to win 86-88 games in 2007? I’d like to think it’s possible, and if it is, and Suppan bumps us up to 88-90 and a division title in the still weak NL Central, I don’t think there’s a Brewer fan alive that would say we shouldn’t give him the $11 per year. A division title and a playoff berth would drive the city mad.

However, even in the case that we don’t expect to win 86+ games in 2007, we might ask if it would still be worth it to invest in Suppan now, banking that his “2 wins” will put us over the top in 2008 or 2009 (assuming he’s still a two-win player by then). But then we must also ask if there won’t be better and/or cheaper options to get those two (or more) wins in the 2007-2008 off-season. If nothing else, I don’t think we’re winning it all in 2007, in which case I think it’s better to hold off and see what two wins might do for us in 2008, and to see if we can get those two wins for less commitment, or for cheaper than what Suppan will charge for them.

Thanks to MLB4U, here’s a list of some free agent SP after the 2007 season:

Mark Buehrle
Odalis Perez
Casey Fossum
Kris Benson
Paul Byrd
Matt Clement
Bartolo Colon
Jason Jennings
Shawn Chacon
Freddy Garcia
Livan Hernandez
Rodrigo Lopez
Wade Miller
Randy Johnson
Tom Glavine
Carlos Zambrano
Tim Wakefield
Curt Schilling
Joel Piniero
Kip Wells
Jaret Wright
Jake Westbrook

There are a number of guys on this list that I’d take over Suppan, and if the free agent class is actually this deep (i.e. if half these guys don’t sign extensions/contracts midseason), then we’re looking at a good thing for the Brewers. I’d put in for Buehrle, Westbrook, Zambrano, or Garcia without thinking about it: these are guys that are legit #3 starters at least (think of Sheets, Zambrano, Gallardo, Capuano, Bush for 2008!), and a handful of other guys might be just as useful and cheaper than Suppan. If we get really close in 2007 — like 86-87 wins — hell, we can even think about Schilling if he hasn’t fallen apart.

Really, I’d wait if I was Doug Melvin. Don’t do something just to do it. Let the Pirates do that.

Astros Win 9th Straight: Cards On Verge of Historic Collapse

Houston sweeps the Pirates to take 9th. straight game. Cardinals drop 8th out of last 9 to Brewers, allowing Houston to climb within a half game of the lead in the NL Central.

Now the Cardinals’ NL Central lead is down to a half-game.

Jason Marquis got just six outs and St. Louis fell behind by eight runs in the third inning, losing to the Milwaukee Brewers 9-4 Thursday night.

In a swoon that could become one of baseball’s historic collapses, St. Louis (81-77) has lost eight of nine and wasted nearly all of what was a seven-game lead with 13 to play.

Incredible. The 1964 Phillies are being brought up, who choked with a six game lead late in their season. No one else has collapsed in this way since. In addition, the loser of the NL Central is likely not in the wild card race, so if they lose, they go home.

The suddeness of this collapse has taken the baseball world by surprise because of how improbable it really is. The Astros had been counted out since the beginning of the month – mathmatically alive, but pretty much discounted as a force at all at the end of the season. Roger Clemens must have thought that chances weren’t good, because he asked for a special exception to pitch one last time in front of his home fans (although I suspect he’ll be back next season). Again, because no one expected the Cardinals to collapse quite like this, I can understand Clemens thoughts. Now, he may just get another chance to pitch in the post-season.

There are three games remaining in the season for both teams: the Astros play at the Braves, and the Cardinals continue their four game series at home against Milwaukee. These circumstances seem to favor St. Louis, but that’s what I would have said yesterday (both Milwaukee and Pittsburgh are fairly bad teams, and the Cardinals are playing at home). The Astros seem to be red hot, and the Cardinals ice cold. These are going to be an interesting next few days for both Houston and St. Louis fans, and if the Cardinals do finish this collapse out, it will be a blemish on their organization for years – much like the 1964 Phillies.

Milwaukee Brewer: Pretty in Pink

Milwaukee Brewers shortstop/second baseman/outfielder Bill Hall gave his mother a Mother’s Day gift neither one will forget. It was the bottom of the 10th inning with the score tied at 5 with the New York Mets. Taking part in Major League Baseball’s breast cancer awareness campaign Hall came to the plate with a pink Louisville Slugger. In his four previous at-bats he struck out three times. This time with two outs he launched a Chad Bradford pitch into right field to win the game 6-5.