MLB

Baseball is a game of superstitions.

It is the only game where teams are damned with century-long curses—curse of the Bambino, Billy Goat Curse, etc.—and failures can be blamed on something that happened two generations ago.

Batters are some of the primary examples of superstitious acts.

We all know about Nomar Garciaparra's rituals when he comes to the plate, and I think it's safe to assume that Wade Boggs was the most habitual man on the planet. 

When the Minnesota Twins out-righted Phillip Humber to triple-A last week to make room for the hard throwing Juan Morillo, they took a gamble on losing the former fourth round draft selection. Out of options, Humber needed to clear waivers to remain with the organization.

What's wrong with the Colorado Rockies?  They started out the season 4-4, but are currently 5-9. They lost five of their last six, and eight of their last 10 games. 

So what's the problem? 

It's not necessarily hitting—the Rockies are ranked seventh in the NL in runs scored.

Fielding? Not exactly. The Rockies have committed just eight errors on the year, seventh in the NL.

One area you can point to is pitching. The Rockies' 5.84 ERA is ranked 14th in the NL, and the Rockies' opponent's batting average is .307, last in the NL.

Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny. Hard to believe a team trotting these guys out on the hill every fifth night would start the year with a 2-6 record.

Especially with the offense anchored by Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia.

But hey, you can't win them all, right? After losing six out of their first eight games, that was one of the most asked questions among Red Sox Nation.

The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 9-7 in 14 innings because of a walk off home run by Melky Cabrera. CC Sabathia started and did not pitch well. He gave up seven runs on six hits in 6.2 innings of work for the no decision.

In a game that should have been won in the seventh inning, Melky Cabrera homered twice—his second being a walk-off homer in the 14th inning.  It's hard to remember that CC Sabathia started the game, but he did, and was less than impressive.  The win makes it three straight heading into Boston for the first of 18 games in the season series.

A Quick 'Cap

In one of his first media interviews back in 2004, then general manager Jim Bowden made it very clear that first priority—his only priority really—was to stock the Nationals' barren farm system with pitching talent. "You develop pitchers," Bowden said, "and you find the bats through trades and free agency."

And so we watched as all those unknown names with a "P" next to their name were taken in the Amateur Draft in 2005, and 2006, and 2007, and we happily waited for them to mature from Minor League prospects into Major League pitchers.

And we waited.

According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs will call up pitcher Jeff Samardzija on Thursday to join the bullpen.

Sullivan speculates that the team could release Luis Vizcaino to make room for "The Shark."

Now, first of all, Paul Sullivan is a real dumb ass. But if this is true, it makes little sense.

One fine day last August, Bradley Campeau-Laurion just wanted to leave his seat and use the bathroom at the old Yankee Stadium. The 30-year-old New York resident had no idea that nature's call would lead him down a road to perdition where he would be accused of challenging God, country, and the joys of compulsory patriotism at the ballpark.

Julio Lugo began a rehab assignment Wednesday for the Pawtucket Red Sox and came away feeling better, physically, than his performance would indicate.

Lugo, who batted leadoff and played shortstop, was 0-for-3 in three official at-bats and drew a walk in an International League game won by Pawtucket, 8-7, over Rochester in 11 innings.

He handled four routine plays in the field and was credited with three assists and one out.