Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know... That instant replay has been in use in the majors for reviewing homers since last August, but there had not been a single home run taken away until Wednesday.
And then it happened twice.
First, Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche hit a first-inning drive that was initially ruled a three-run homer. After umpires checked the replay, they determined that the ball had not cleared the fence, and LaRoche instead had a two-run double.
A few hours later, in Milwaukee, Marlins pinch-hitter Ross Gload had a would-be solo homer reversed.
All too often we hear of former star athletes who didn't know what to do with themselves after retiring, so when a story like this one comes along, it's worth mentioning. Craig Biggio, a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer who retired after 2007, is coaching the St. Thomas High School baseball team in Houston. His oldest son, Conor (pictured to the right with his father after he collected hit number 3,000), is a sophomore on the team.
Perhaps the best part of the story is how Biggio doesn't believe he's above any of the things "normal" high school baseball coaches have to do, like play groundskeeper to his home field or launder his team's uniforms.
Kent was still productive last year, at seasonal age 40, but injured his knee and played only a small role in the Dodgers' final push toward the NL West title. Could he have been productive again this year? Sure, but given the way the market is treating players his age and with his skillset, Kent probably would have had to take a dramatic paycut to continue his career. It's hard to blame someone who's already set for life for deciding not to spend another year away from his family, especially at a discount rate.
And with that, the discussion about Kent's legacy -- to be more specific his Hall of Fame case -- can begin.
On Sunday night, as I watched Eli Manning's perfectly thrown fade fall gently into Plaxico Burress's hands in the corner of the end zone, three thoughts immediately flew through my head. They were, in order:
1. Holy crap! Plaxico Burress caught a fade in the corner of the end zone!!! (I'm a Steeler fan. This is an issue.) 2. Belichick and Brady are going to lose! There is a God! (Again, Steelers fan.) 3. It's baseball season!
Clearly, that third one is the important one. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to Florida and Arizona in less than two weeks and we can finally put the 2007 season behind us.
2007 was a weird year for baseball. On one hand, you'd think that with the most hallowed record in sports falling, numerous milestones being reached (Tom Glavine won his 300th game, Craig Biggio picked up his 3,000th hit, and Frank Thomas hit his 500th homer), the Rockies' memorable playoff run, and the Red Sox dominant playoff performance, 2007 was a great year for baseball fans.
When I was a little kid, I always hated Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Many of my earliest memories at Three Rivers Stadium involved the two of them terrorizing bad Pirate teams on hot Sunday afternoons in the Pittsburgh summer. These memories probably aren't even that accurate: Biggio doesn't have that great of a career line against the Pirates or in Three Rivers. Still, it's what I remember and that's what matters.
Biggio and Bagwell and two guys that I grew up with. I was never an Astros fan, but being a Pirate fan doesn't leave you with stars to grow up with. Since the Pirates and Astros have been in the same division since 1994, Biggio I've probably seen more of him than any other non-Pirate in the big leagues right now. Everyone will talk this week about his hustle and his grit and his dirty helmet and his willingness to do anything for his team, and all of those are true things about Biggio, but they also irk me. Those are things you say about players that play hard and try hard but aren't particularly good (I'm looking at you David Eckstein). Craig Biggio was a good baseball player.
He's got more doubles than any active player. He's third among active players in total bases, behind only Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. Overall, he's been on base more than any current player not named Barry Bonds, who's in a league of his own when it comes to getting to first base. And yeah, I'm cherry-picking stats, but that's not the point. The point is that under all the pine tar and grit and dirt is a real Hall of Famer. His '93-'99 seasons were about as good as it gets at the plate for second basemen (unless you're Joe Morgan or something). And I know that he's tailed off since about the turn of the century, but things are going to feel seriously weird without him at second base for the Astros next year.
I don't think he gets the national respect he really deserves (and his performance this year hasn't helped any) but Craig Biggio has truly had a remarkable career. He broke into the majors as a catcher before becoming a four-time Gold Glove winner at second base and then a (barely) serviceable center fielder. His career has truly gone full circle, though, as he's been back at second base the last few years and will return behind the plate for at least an inning or two on Saturday. From MLB.com:
Biggio originally had planned to catch Roy Oswalt on Friday, but after the right-hander shut it down for the year, Biggio turned to [Brandon] Backe, for two reasons. He doesn't throw too hard, and he figured Backe would get a kick out of pitching to someone he admired as a young Astros fan in the late 1980s and '90s.
Biggio was right on both counts.
"I guess it's kind of fitting for someone that grew up watching him as a catcher, and basically throughout his career," Backe said. "To be able to pitch to him ... that would be in a way pretty special to me. I don't know who's getting the better end of the deal, him or me, but it should be pretty interesting and I'm excited."
I can understand the sentimentality involved, but it seems a bit contrived. I guess it's really not a big deal considering the Astros are assured of finishing no higher than fourth in the NL Central, and their opponent, the Braves, are also on the outside looking in to the playoffs. But if this game is truly a meaningless exhibition, why not let every player try a different position? Put Carlos Lee on the mound, Lance Berkman at shortstop, Brad Lidge in center field. Heck, hold a fan raffle for the right to play left field for an inning. The final score may resemble a beer league softball game but at least it'd give the fans a reason to show up.
Little did I know mustache handlebar man himself, Todd Jones, was penning some words of tranquility over at the Sporting News. In his latest opus, he peeked my interest with how baseball players beat this outrageous summer heat. There's some interesting stuff in there, like how Jason Veritek combats the warmth with applesauce and bananas. Then there's Craig Biggio.
OK, now for my heat story: Way back when I was a rookie with the Astros, we were playing in St. Louis and the turf was like 140 degrees. The Astros always had little trays of ice water for guys to soak their feet when they weren't on the field, but Craig Biggio went one better than that. On this day, he put a cabbage leaf under his hat to act as a heat shield. Well, early in the game, a two-hopper was hit right to him, he followed the ball into what he thought was his glove and, as the ball trickled through his legs, he motioned to the trainer. Despite all of the precautions, he still got dizzy and almost passed out. After he was better the next day, we all got a good laugh and Biggio got a new nickname. If you want to know how tough playing in the heat can be, just ask Cabbage Boy.
See, baseball isn't just all about steroids and cheating. Why, there was a much simpler time when we could all get a good laugh from Craig Biggio and his crazy cabbage ideas.
With 20 big league seasons and more than 3,000 hits under his belt, Craig Biggio announced that he will retire at the end of the season. From MLB.com:
"Retiring is not an easy thing to do," Biggio said. "But it's time. How many guys get the opportunity to do it the way they want to do it? You're pretty much writing your own story here, as far as walking away when you want to walk away. It's not taken away.
"It's just time. That hurts. But you hear bad stories sometimes that guys waited too long (to retire) and I don't want a bad taste in the fans' mouths that I played too long. Then they remember me on the down side, the bad side. It can't get any better than it has been this year.
"I'm going out on top. Other than a World Series, the (3,000th) hit thing was unbelievable. To me, I'm going out on top. It makes me feel great, being able to do it this way. And the fans can remember you on a positive note."
Going out on top? Not exactly -- the guy is hitting just .247 with a .667 OPS this year, down from his career marks of .282 and .799. The 3,000th hit was a remarkable milestone, but the writing is on the wall. Then again, it is nice to see him able to walk away from the game instead of forced out like Jeff Bagwell was with injury.
What are baseball's most unbreakable records? Almost anyone reading this would immediately go with Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak, or Cy Young's astounding career win total of 511 (!!!). I did the exact same thing.
1. Most consecutive batters reaching base safely, an astounding 19, by the Dodgers in 1952. 2. Most hits let up in a 9-inning game, 36 by J. Wadsworth in 1894. 3. Most HR allowed by a winning pitcher, 6 by two guys in the 30s. This could be breakable, but it is crazy to think that it could happen. 4. Least Double Plays hit into: 0 by future (hopefully) Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Can someone hit into negative double plays to break it??
The Craig Biggio mark is perhaps most astounding to me, perhaps because I've honestly never heard of Biggio's double-play prowess before. Is this the least talked-about milestone in this, the seminal year for milestones?
Anyway, go to The Generals for the entire list, and come on stat-heads -- got any refutations or records of your own?
Say you're the GM of a 40-55 team that's found themselves in last place of what is arguably the worst division in baseball. Do you think admitting that you have no idea why your team sucks is a good idea? Because for some reason, Tim Purpura does. From the Houston Chronicle:
"It's totally unexpected," he said while working the phones from Houston. "In some ways, you can't believe that we are where we are given the kind of talent that's on the club."
[...]
"Even at the All-Star Game," Purpura said, "a number of people from other clubs said, 'Don't give up because you're a lot better than you're showing,' and they point to the fact we swept Seattle and they went back and got in the race.
Why are the Astros bad this year? Hmm. It could have something to do with losing Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte and somehow thinking Woody Williams and Jason Jennings would replace them, putting Craig Biggio's run at 3,000 hits before the team's success, starting the season with Hunter Pence in AAA, Lance Berkman getting older, Mike Lamb and Mark Loretta not having regular positions while Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett (when he's healthy) do, and having a crappy bullpen. Or it might just be really bad luck that no one could've ever seen coming. Really, it could be either or. I'm on the fence myself.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
All too often we hear of former star athletes who didn't know what to do with themselves after retiring, so when a story like this one comes along, it's worth mentioning. 
When I was a little kid, I always hated 
I don't think he gets the national respect he really deserves (and his performance this year hasn't helped any) but 
Little did I know mustache handlebar man himself, 
With 20 big league seasons and more than 3,000 hits under his belt, 
What are baseball's most unbreakable records? Almost anyone reading this would immediately go with 
Say you're the GM of a 40-55 team that's found themselves in last place of what is arguably the worst division in baseball. Do you think admitting that you have no idea why your team sucks is a good idea? Because for some reason, 
