Thursday's First Pitch - Big hits from batters and teammates

Leading Off
Nyger Morgan might be crazy.
While he had a total right to charge the mound Wednesday, he's also recently been accused of throwing a baseball at a Philly fan.
Morgan apparently belongs to the Mel Gibson School of Anger Management.

Player of the Day

How about Chase Utley?">Gabby Sanchez? He looked like Ray Isom out there.

Regional Roundup

• Who are you and what have you done with the light-hitting Chase Utley? Roy Oswalt looks brilliant.


• The Orioles bullpen pulled a Chernobyl.


• Rob Dibble got the hook.


• Neil Walker did his job.

Best of Rest

• Foget the Wild Card, the Giants are in the hunt for a division crown.


• Just give him the Cy Young already.


• Evan Longoria had a huge hit for the Rays.


• Cliff Lee is having his back worked on.

Batter's Eye

• Comparing collapses.

Wisdom from Springfield

A thought-provoking quote from the Southpaw's favorite animated show, "The Simpsons."

Apu: You look familiar, sir. Are you on the television or something? Homer: Sorry, buddy. You got me confused with Fred Flintstone.

Today in history, from baseball-reference.com

1962-- Stan Musial's 3,516th hit jumps him over Tris Speaker and into 2nd place behind Ty Cobb on the all-time list, but the Mets beat the Cards 4 - 3. Although The Man will continue on to 3,630 hits, he cannot overtake Cobb and, in time, Pete Rose and Hank Aaron will surpass him.

1974-- Boston pitchers Luis Tiant and Bill Lee each allow just one run in a Labor Day doubleheader, yet both lose games to Baltimore. Ross Grimsley and Mike Cuellar toss twin 1 - 0 shutouts

What to watch on YouTube

The Southpaw wastes time finding gems on Youtube so you don't have to. Scroll to 7:02 to watch Ray Isom lay out Michael Irvin.

The Closer

The American League Central is baseball's best division. Every year. It's not because it has the best teams. It's because the race always goes down to the final week.