"My dad was a really good athlete (Kenny Ross, who played safety at New Mexico in the late 1960s)," said Ross, the Marlins' right fielder. "My dad was all right[-handed]. My mom's a lefty, so maybe I got that gene from her."
Ross and St. Louis' Ryan Ludwick are the only two active position players who throw left and bat right. Just 14 such players in baseball history have gotten as many as 1,000 at-bats -- and that list now includes a Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.
Tossing an $8 beer on the head of an opposing outfielder, as happened at Wrigley Field last Wednesday -- that's a waste.
Spending $28 on a Jeff Samardzija t-shirt, which is what it still cost Thursday after Samardzija was sent back to Triple-A -- that's a waste.
Now Cubs fans have to hope the entire 2009 season isn't a waste.
One player didn't hesitate to use the term "underachieving" to describe the team's year, but others stop short of that.
"I'd like to save that for later on, if we don't get in [the postseason]," general manager Jim Hendry told FanHouse. "I'd like to think we've got a good run in us [and] we still get in."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Yes, the Dodgers' solar system revolves around Manny Ramirez. He's their star on the field and their main attraction.
But they wouldn't have Ramirez, nor many of the players who carried the team in his absence, were it not for a farm system that has been remarkably productive.
"It's nice that management kept us all here," ace Chad Billingsley told FanHouse. "There's some teams that maybe just start trading guys away. And believing in us, that's a huge thing."
In the 2002-03 drafts, Los Angeles took Russell Martin, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp and Billingsley. Those five players made their big league debuts within an 11-month span, from July 2005 to June 2006.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."
Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).
We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.
For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play – 129-108 going into today.
Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.
"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.
"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."
For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
When Willy Aybar's home run Thursday in Cleveland was upheld by a video review, it marked the sixth time in six days umpires made use of baseball's instant-replay rule.
So the natural question to ask Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, is why the flurry of trips to the secret chamber to watch replays? Are the umps more willing to consult the tape than in the past?
"These things come in bunches," Solomon told FanHouse.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The cleanup hitters in Thursday's game were Preston Wilson and Carl Everett. They have combined to play in more than 2,500 major-league games, hit 391 homers and make more than $80 million.
Wilson and Everett were on opposite sides in the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago, but this night they were far, far away from U.S. Cellular Field. They were the DHs for the Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears of the Atlantic League, respectively.
And they weren't the only former big-leaguers on the field.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Joe Mauer has done everything he can to singlehandedly kill spring training as we know it.
Everyone else needs seven or eight weeks to get ready. But this guy gets 15 at-bats in minor-league camp, another 15 in Class A, and then shows up in the majors and hits .500 his first 10 games.
"Everyone keeps asking me what's going on," Mauer told FanHouse. "I really don't have any answer for that."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
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