Baseball

Philip Humber was absolutely masterful in Saturday's ballgame against the Mariners.

He tossed the full nine innings without allowing a run, a hit or a walk, making him the 21st pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game.

Humber struck out nine in the contest and lowered his ERA to 0.63.

On the season, Humber is now 1-0.

New York Yankees' right-hander Freddy Garcia was shelled yet again in Saturday's game against the Red Sox, allowing five runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings of work.

On the season, Garcia has allowed 14 runs in 12 innings—that equates to a 9.75 ERA.

Voting for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game is underway.  There is nobody more deserving of making the trip to Kansas City for the midsummer classic than Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. 

The Atlanta Braves are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, having won nine of their last 10 games.

And, they've done it with a combination of pitching and hitting.

With their recent success, and the early-season questions of needing to acquire another outfielder to take the place of Martin Prado, I'm wondering if it's best for the Braves to stand pat with their lineup.

Marty Appel, in his latest book. Pinstripe Empire, explains why the New York Yankees fell on hard times following the 1964 season.

The Yankees won five consecutive pennants from 1960-64, but unlike the well-remembered first streak of five when they also won the World Series after each pennant (1949-53), this time the Yankees won only two world championships.

The Chicago Cubs poured it on the Reds 6-1 today as their bats finally came alive to end their losing streak at six.

Paul Maholm earned his first victory in a Cubs uniform, and the Cubs were finally able to prosper with runners in scoring position.

Here is what we learned from this Cubs win.

I'm not going to lie, I'm writing this in a state that is inadvisable for writing. As Virginia Woolf illustrates in her essay about writing called "A Room of One's Own", there is a clear distinction between writing in the "red light of emotion" versus "the white light of truth" and that distinction does not advise the former. Well, after watching game after game without my current favorite player starting, I'll admit right off the bat, I'm freakin' pissed.

The absence of Drew Storen at the end of ballgames is beginning to weigh on the Washington Nationals.

One of the more interesting headlines of the Mariners offseason was the switch of Ichiro from the leadoff role to the No. 3 spot in the lineup.  It was a decision that broke 10 years of tradition.

With that move, Chone Figgins became the new leadoff man, and Dustin Ackley remained in the No. 2 spot.

But with all the experimenting going on in the Mariners lineup, would it make sense to try Ackley hitting third and Ichiro second?

It seems as though Theo Epstein has finally found a suitor for struggling veteran outfielder, Marlon Byrd. Reported by ESPN Chicago, Byrd is apparently shipping up to Boston.