Video: Phillie Phanatic nailed by foul ball, heads to hospital

Thu Jun 23 11:42am EDT

Video: Phillie Phanatic nailed by foul ball, heads to hospital

By 'Duk

Here's what separates the pros from the amateurs in the world of sports mascots: After being hit with a foul ball at a minor league game on Wednesday, the Phillie Phanatic didn't drop to the ground, writh around in pain or break character in any way.
Instead, the Phanatic hammed up the beaning in usual Phanatic fashion — and only then left the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs game against Indianapolis and headed to the hospital.
Check out the video:

Though you can't see the ball actually hitting the Phanatic, it's reported to have hit the popular green mascot square in the neck — or right where the head of Tom Burgoyne, the man who has played the Phanatic since 1993, is actually located.

Related: The Yankees once had a mascot? Who knew?

With the Phillies on the road in St. Louis, Burgoyne hit the road to Allentown, Pa., for a midweek visit to the team's Triple-A affiliate. But lest you think his good deed will totally be punished, the good news is that he was treated and released from a nearby hospital with only minimal damage.
Said Burgoyne on his Facebook page:

The Phanatic is fine. He took one off the neck last night it the Iron Pigs game. Since we're soooo close, I felt his pain and have a nice golf ball-sized knot just above my eye. Bring on the A's this weekend — the Phanatic will be ready!

It's good to know that the Phanatic will return to Philly and be able to welcome Connie Mack's old team back into town. But the job of a mascot will continue to be a dangerous job for Burgoyne. Not only does he have to face the ever-present threat of fan lawsuits, the Morning Call reports that his nose was broken and his eye socket was shattered when he was hit by a ball thrown by an Atlanta Braves pitcher in 2009.
Bis BLS H/N: The 700 Level

Power Rankings: Twins battle back

By Tim Brown, Yahoo! SportsJun 23, 3:06 pm EDT

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While mulling realignment and the number of teams that would form a line to be included in a six-team division that included the Pirates over the past two decades, we present the latest rankings.
(Records through Wednesday’s games.)
1. Philadelphia Phillies (47-28; Previous: 1) – Phillies can’t score on road, hire consultant Tiger Woods.

2. Boston Red Sox (44-30; Previous: 2) – Like we said, Fenway Park has made Adrian Gonzalez(notes) faster: He’s 10th in the league in triples.

3. New York Yankees (43-30; Previous: 4) – New Yankees edition Ford Explorer has deep bench seat, sturdy back end, good for long drives. On other hand, can mishandle on short stops.

4. Atlanta Braves (43-33; Previous: 8) – In Atlanta, they’re still talking about the Hudson home run. Course, he hasn’t quite gotten around the bases yet.

5. Tampa Bay Rays (41-34; Previous: 11) – Maddon dekes umpires with fake Fuld warm-up. Umps should have known something was up when batboy was catcher, photographer was on field and Fuld wasn’t wearing a glove.

6. Milwaukee Brewers (41-35; Previous: 5) – In ongoing sausage races, Prince likes oversized Bratwurst. And by “like,” we mean with spicy mustard.

7. Arizona Diamondbacks (41-34; Previous: 12) – D’backs wear ties to K.C. that depict Kirk Gibson sitting in a bathtub. In other news, two utility infielders, a reliever and two clubbies found in closet with their hands and feet bound.

8. St. Louis Cardinals (40-35; Previous: 3) – By the time everyone finishes measuring the impact of Pujols’ injury on the Cardinals, he’ll likely have signed a $200 million contract with somebody else.

9. San Francisco Giants (40-34; Previous: 7) – Bumgarner starts game with eight consecutive hits, drives home and hits every red light.

10. Cleveland Indians (40-33; Previous: 6) – Indians decide they need “new voice” at hitting coach, go for tenor with a little of that raspy thing.

11. Texas Rangers (40-36; Previous: 9) – Washington thrilled to be in All-Star game, says he’s always wanted to manage the Yankees.

12. Detroit Tigers (40-35; Previous: 10) – Verlander gets first look at Dodgers offense, thinks that by not pitching in Los Angeles this week that, yeah, maybe he left a no-hitter on the table.

13. Cincinnati Reds (39-37; Previous: 16) – The Reds so mediocre they’re thinking of changing their name to the Puces. Or, Reds call up starter, hope it’s LeCure to what ails them.

14. Seattle Mariners (37-37; Previous: 15) – Aardsma admits he once took himself with the first pick of a fantasy draft, later claimed he thought he had to go alphabetical.

15. Colorado Rockies (37-37; Previous: 20) – Weird thing about baseball in Colorado: Whenever the hitters go cold, Coors Field turns blue.

16. Chicago White Sox (37-39; Previous: 17) – Up until now, I didn’t think Ozzie passed kidney stones. I thought kidney stones passed Ozzie.

17. Pittsburgh Pirates (37-37; Previous: 18) – The Pirates, apparently, are not going to go away. Same fear Pittsburgh has experienced for two decades.

18. Los Angeles Angels (37-39; Previous: 19) – McKeon returns to dugout, looks wistfully at Angels, remembers when they were just cherubs.

19. Minnesota Twins (32-40; Previous: 29) – Ozzie says Twins are no longer piranhas, but sardines. Apparently, the dugouts are very, very small at Target Field.

20. Toronto Blue Jays (36-39; Previous: 14) – Bautista loves math so much he calculated that Jays relievers’ ERAs extended in binary code and converted to letters comes out to “RZEPCZYNSKI.”

21. Washington Nationals (37-37; Previous: 25) – Nats at .500 this late for first time in six years, aiming for Gingrich approval rating, then go from there.

22. Oakland A’s (34-41; Previous: 26) – A’s find lucky gold jerseys working much better than lucky offseason signings, lucky home-run trots and lucky gloves.

23. New York Mets (36-38; Previous: 22) – Other stuff David Einhorn could get for a dollar: Dykstra investment advice, 2006 NL pennant T-shirts, Oliver Perez(notes).

24. Los Angeles Dodgers (34-42; Previous: 23) – Attendance at Dodger Stadium so bad foul balls into stands are no longer considered “souvenirs,” but “annoyances.”

25. Florida Marlins (33-42; Previous: 13) – McKeon boldly benches Hanley on first day as manager, later admits he thought that was Chris Coghlan(notes).

26. Baltimore Orioles (33-39; Previous: 21) – In toughest division, O’s decide to challenge elite with unconventional methods: below average offense, defense and pitching.

27. San Diego Padres (32-44; Previous: 24) – GM Hoyer returns to Boston, relieved to discover phrase “you can’t go home again” generally only pertains to Padres baserunners.

28. Kansas City Royals (31-43; Previous: 27) – In order to freshen up “stale” batting order, Yost toasts it and slathers it in peanut butter.

29. Chicago Cubs (30-44; Previous: 30) – Quade suggests lacrosse for those who didn’t enjoy the Cubs-Yankees series. The sport, not the city. Well, maybe the city.

30. Houston Astros (28-48; Previous: 28) – With realignment coming, Astros petition league to go wherever Pirates go.

Ichiro is set in his ways even during a slump

By Les Carpenter, Yahoo! SportsJun 22, 1:46 pm EDT

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WASHINGTON – For most of the year Ichiro Suzuki(notes) has been in a slump. This, in itself, is not unique; Ichiro has been in slumps before. He is no more immune from imperfection than anyone else. But in the past Ichiro’s slides were brief and usually followed by such a ferocious cluster of line-drive singles that everyone forgot the slump ever happened.
But this season the slump has been prolonged, lasting well into June, with only a splurge of base hits coming the last few days. From May 19 to June 9 he hit .149, which is not like Ichiro. So much of his game is built on slapping singles to left field and beating out ground balls to shortstop, but he’s 37 now and doesn’t seem as fast as he once was. On Tuesday night in a game against the Washington Nationals, he grounded into a double play. It was his fourth double play this year. Once second basemen rushed throws to first on routine grounders, afraid they would be too late to catch him. Now infielders are turning double plays on him at a greater rate than ever in his career.

More From Les Carpenter

• Joba's injury leaves dark cloud over Yankees Jun 10, 2011

Ichiro Suzuki’s batting-practice sessions are known for two things: stretching and belting baseballs into the bleachers.
(Getty Images)

He has always appeared ageless with his lithe frame stretched to perfection, a rubber band that would never break. Many are beginning to wonder if his speed is finally leaving him.
And if it has, why doesn’t he use the one weapon he has consistently refused to employ? His power.
Anyone who arrives at the ballpark early is dazzled by the amazing sight of the tiny, slender Japanese left-handed hitter in the batting cage, swirling with that awkward but beautiful swing and smashing baseballs deep into the right-field bleachers. It’s a display as awesome as any of the great sluggers who made batting practice a show, like Mark McGwire, Darryl Strawberry and Albert Pujols(notes). But these are giants, men whose arms ripple with muscle. Their games were built around home runs.
As soon as batting practice is over, Ichiro returns to trying to outrace the throw from shortstop.
“I just saw him hit seven straight balls in the upper deck!” gushed an American League scout Tuesday after watching the Mariners batting practice at Nationals Park. It was something the man had seen before yet was astonished nonetheless.
[AccuScore: Mariners have hope]
Ichiro’s power is not a secret. He hit more than 12 home runs in each of his seven full seasons in Japan before coming to the United States in 2001. Once he hit 25. And Japan’s seasons are some 30 games shorter than those here. Several times baseball people have pushed him to join the home run contest at the All-Star game, certain he would win. But he refuses. His great power remains a batting practice sensation.
Those who have coached or managed him are certain he is capable of hitting 30 home runs in a season. John McLaren, a coach and later a manager with the Mariners for large parts of Ichiro’s career in Seattle remembers how he looked overmatched when he first came to the team, lining foul balls over the third base dugout. One day Mariners manager Lou Piniella came up to Ichiro as they were walking onto the field.
“Do you ever try to turn on the ball [and pull it]?” Piniella asked.
Ichiro nodded.
In the first inning of that day’s spring training game, Ichrio did indeed turn, crushing a long home run to right field that could best be described as jaw-dropping. When Ichrio returned to the dugout, he looked at Pinella and said in his then-awkward English: “Is that turn enough, Lou?”
Why Ichiro doesn’t try to hit home runs is something of a mystery. But then Ichiro has always been a bit of a mystery himself. He is a man of habits, particular about everything, spending his time before games in an array of rituals as fastidious as wiping clean the team-issued vinyl bags for storing wallets and valuables to nearly impossible stretching exercises in the batting cage. He does not discuss his power much and has granted few interviews this season, even to the large contingent of Japanese media who cover every Mariners game. His most famous answer about the subject came in the news conference after he was named MVP of the 2007 All-Star game when he said: “If I’m allowed to hit .220 I could probably hit 40, but nobody wants that.”

At age 37, Ichiro is no longer legging out infield hits like he did as a major league rookie in 2001.
(Getty Images)

“When he says that he’s not lying,” said Mariners hitting coach Chris Chambliss, who is in his first year with the team. “Guys like Ichiro can do anything with the bat. There is a way he can hit for more power but his focus is on being consistent, too.”
Through 72 games in 2011 Ichiro is batting .279. He’s a career .329 hitter and has never hit below .303 in any of his 10 full major league seasons.
Those who know him say Ichiro will never change his approach, that he was taught years ago to keep hitting singles, to get his 200 hits a year and steal bases. It is an older style of game. One from a long-ago era, revived at times in the 1960s and 1980s, in which hitters were valued for getting lots of base hits and trying to disrupt pitchers by threatening to steal. In the modern era, where statistical analysis has replaced gut instinct, a bigger value is placed on doubles and home runs. Things like 200 hits and a .320 batting average aren’t perceived as helpful if the hits are only singles.
As time has gone on, Ichiro has been called selfish for his approach. And now that he doesn’t beat out as many ground balls or hit as many line drives into left field – the last week aside – those criticisms have grown louder. Isn’t it time for him to adapt?
Ichiro says nothing. But there is little chance he changes.
“He’s like Wade Boggs, he does what he does best, he’s superstitious,” McLaren said. He did not say this as a criticism, but rather as the frank assessment of a baseball man who has been around Ichiro as much as anybody in the major leagues. Ichiro is Ichiro.
And even if he is in a slump he will not change.
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Rays cut cigars from Tampa Smokers throwback jerseys

Thu Jun 23 06:27pm EDT

Rays cut cigars from Tampa Smokers throwback jerseys

By 'Duk

On July 2, the Tampa Bay Rays plan to pay tribute to the 1951 Tampa Smokers by wearing the uniforms their minor league predecessors wore while winning the International League.
There's just one big difference between the real things (left) and the throwbacks (right):

In case you can't spot it, the Rays have removed the picture of the cigar from underneath the "Smokers" name, causing some consternation from the old-timers in Florida. The Tampa Tribune asked about the omission and the team issued the following statement:

"We have chosen to wear the Smokers jersey to celebrate the rich heritage and traditions surrounding baseball in Tampa Bay and this version of the logo is intended only to be a slightly more contemporary version of that wonderful history."

Current attitudes about tobacco being what they are, it's not surprising that the Rays would scissor the stogies from their shirts. But it's also worth asking why they think they should whitewash history if they're going to use the Smokers name for a night anyway.
As the Tampa Tribune notes, cigar smoking and the Tampa Bay region have been so intertwined that, well, the team once had a baseball team named after the habit:

"It's kind of embarrassing," said Gary Mormino, a University of South Florida history professor and co-director of the Florida Studies Program. "I mean, embrace the past."
Tampa's love affair with the national pastime is equaled by its passion for making and smoking fine cigars, he said.
"Tampa still is known as Cigar City," Mormino said. Prior to the 1950s, dignitaries who came to Tampa got the key to the city along with a box of fine cigars, he said, and mayors always were out in public, chomping on foot-long cigars.

I really don't have a dog in this nostalgia race, so I'm not totally taken aback by the Rays' decision. And perhaps it really was a "darned if you do, darned if you don't" type situation with all the anti-smoking groups that exist nowadays.
At the same time, it seems silly that they would cut the cigars — which really aren't all that noticeable — but still advertise the Smokers name for a game at the same time.
Do they really think kids would be chomping cigars by the end of the night?
Or that Smokers used to mean something else?
What do you think? Should the cigars have been cut from the Rays throwback jerseys?Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day

MLB STANDINGS 06/23/2011

East	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Boston	44	30	.595	-	6-4	L2	22-16	22-14	6/22 vs SD, L 1-5	6/24 @ PIT, 7:05 PM	18-9	10-9	11-8	5-4	28-21	16-9	3-2	9-8	400	313	45-29	N	N	N
NY Yankees	43	30	.589	0.5	7-3	L1	23-17	20-13	6/22 @ CIN, L 2-10	6/24 vs COL, 7:05 PM	13-12	11-10	13-5	6-3	28-22	15-8	4-4	9-11	383	291	45-28	N	N	N
Tampa Bay	41	34	.547	3.5	6-4	W1	18-18	23-16	6/22 @ MIL, W 6-3	6/24 @ HOU, 8:05 PM	15-12	14-10	6-9	6-3	30-25	11-9	4-2	12-6	308	287	40-35	N	N	N
Toronto	36	39	.480	8.5	4-6	L4	17-18	19-21	6/22 @ ATL, L 1-5	6/24 @ STL, 8:15 PM	13-18	13-9	7-6	3-6	25-31	11-8	7-2	11-15	340	342	37-38	N	N	N
Baltimore	33	39	.458	10.0	3-7	L2	20-18	13-21	6/22 @ PIT, L 4-5	6/24 vs CIN, 7:05 PM	10-18	11-9	8-7	4-5	23-24	10-15	3-6	10-7	296	340	31-41	N	N	N

Central	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Cleveland	40	33	.548	-	6-4	W1	24-14	16-19	6/22 vs COL, W 4-3	6/24 @ SF, 10:15 PM	12-10	13-12	8-9	7-2	29-24	11-9	4-3	14-10	321	310	38-35	N	N	N
Detroit	40	35	.533	1.0	5-5	W1	22-14	18-21	6/22 @ LAD, W 7-5	6/24 vs ARI, 7:05 PM	12-12	15-7	10-10	3-6	25-28	15-7	2-1	7-7	337	326	39-36	N	N	N
Chi White Sox	37	39	.487	4.5	6-4	W2	18-18	19-21	6/22 vs CHC, W 4-3	6/24 vs WSH, 8:10 PM	11-12	6-11	14-13	6-3	27-29	10-10	4-6	10-10	315	320	37-39	N	N	N
Minnesota	32	41	.438	8.0	8-2	L2	14-16	18-25	6/23 @ SF, L 1-2	6/24 @ MIL, 8:10 PM	6-18	13-10	9-8	4-5	20-31	12-10	5-4	16-17	274	329	30-43	N	N	N
Kansas City	31	44	.413	10.0	3-7	L5	21-23	10-21	6/23 vs ARI, L 3-5	6/24 vs CHC, 8:10 PM	6-7	9-16	14-14	2-7	24-31	7-13	7-6	14-14	329	374	33-42	N	N	N

West	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Texas	40	36	.526	-	4-6	L1	22-14	18-22	6/22 vs HOU, L 3-5	6/24 vs NYM, 8:05 PM	10-12	16-11	9-9	5-4	26-26	14-10	3-4	9-12	352	327	41-35	N	N	N
Seattle	37	38	.493	2.5	4-6	L3	21-18	16-20	6/23 @ WSH, L 0-1	6/24 @ FLA, 10:10 PM	11-8	12-17	9-9	5-4	29-25	8-13	3-3	14-14	260	271	36-39	N	N	N
LA Angels	37	39	.487	3.0	6-4	W1	15-20	22-19	6/22 @ FLA, W 6-5	6/24 @ LAD, 10:10 PM	9-13	13-12	9-11	6-3	25-24	12-15	5-9	13-15	281	293	37-39	N	N	N
Oakland	34	42	.447	6.0	6-4	L2	19-16	15-26	6/23 @ NYM, L 1-4	6/24 @ PHI, 7:05 PM	5-12	13-15	12-10	4-5	22-31	12-11	5-9	10-16	275	287	37-39	N	N	N

National League

East	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Philadelphia	47	29	.618	-	7-3	L1	28-12	19-17	6/23 @ STL, L 2-12	6/24 vs OAK, 7:05 PM	23-13	13-9	8-4	3-3	32-23	15-6	3-4	12-8	315	252	46-30	N	N	N
Atlanta	43	33	.566	4.0	5-5	W4	22-17	21-16	6/22 vs TOR, W 5-1	6/24 @ SD, 10:05 PM	16-14	15-7	7-8	5-4	30-23	13-10	9-7	14-13	295	253	43-33	N	N	N
Washington	38	37	.507	8.5	9-1	W3	22-13	16-24	6/23 vs SEA, W 1-0	6/24 @ CWS, 8:10 PM	13-19	9-7	10-8	6-3	25-28	13-9	7-4	12-13	295	285	39-36	N	N	N
NY Mets	37	38	.493	9.5	5-5	W2	18-20	19-18	6/23 vs OAK, W 4-1	6/24 @ TEX, 8:05 PM	15-15	10-10	8-8	4-5	27-29	10-9	3-4	9-13	314	321	37-38	N	N	N
Florida	33	42	.440	13.5	1-9	L1	16-24	17-18	6/22 vs LAA, L 5-6	6/24 vs SEA, 10:10 PM	11-17	9-10	10-9	3-6	25-29	8-13	4-9	14-16	287	329	33-42	N	N	N

Central	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Milwaukee	41	35	.539	-	3-7	L1	26-11	15-24	6/22 vs TB, L 3-6	6/24 vs MIN, 8:10 PM	13-11	17-16	9-4	2-4	34-26	7-9	3-4	15-13	330	318	39-37	N	N	N
St. Louis	41	35	.539	-	3-7	W1	21-15	20-20	6/23 vs PHI, W 12-2	6/24 vs TOR, 8:15 PM	9-9	16-13	12-11	4-2	30-24	11-11	5-5	12-11	362	337	40-36	N	N	N
Cincinnati	39	37	.513	2.0	5-5	W1	22-19	17-18	6/22 vs NYY, W 10-2	6/24 @ BAL, 7:05 PM	3-7	24-14	10-9	2-7	31-29	8-8	4-3	11-15	364	330	41-35	N	N	N
Pittsburgh	37	37	.500	3.0	6-4	W2	17-19	20-18	6/22 vs BAL, W 5-4	6/24 vs BOS, 7:05 PM	8-12	16-10	9-10	4-5	25-30	12-7	3-3	12-7	279	293	35-39	N	N	N
Chi Cubs	30	44	.405	10.0	5-5	L2	16-22	14-22	6/22 @ CWS, L 3-4	6/24 @ KC, 8:10 PM	5-4	11-22	11-12	3-6	21-33	9-11	4-2	9-12	302	372	30-44	N	N	N
Houston	28	48	.368	13.0	4-6	W1	13-25	15-23	6/22 @ TEX, W 5-3	6/24 vs TB, 8:05 PM	5-13	13-22	7-10	3-3	16-37	12-11	1-3	10-13	303	375	31-45	N	N	N

West	W	L	PCT	GB	L10	STRK	HOME	ROAD	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME	vs E	vs C	vs W	vs AL/NL	vs R	vs L	XTRA	1-RUN	RS	RA	X_WL	wc	dc	po	pl
Arizona	42	34	.553	-	6-4	W3	22-17	20-17	6/23 @ KC, W 5-3	6/24 @ DET, 7:05 PM	11-8	12-10	12-14	7-2	32-23	10-11	5-3	16-9	349	328	40-36	N	N	N
San Francisco	41	34	.547	0.5	5-5	W2	21-13	20-21	6/23 vs MIN, W 2-1	6/24 vs CLE, 10:15 PM	5-11	11-8	20-11	5-4	26-29	15-5	7-4	20-11	257	265	36-39	N	N	N
Colorado	37	37	.500	4.0	6-4	L1	19-19	18-18	6/22 @ CLE, L 3-4	6/24 @ NYY, 7:05 PM	7-5	9-9	17-21	4-2	23-28	14-9	0-4	11-14	333	322	38-36	N	N	N
LA Dodgers	34	42	.447	8.0	4-6	L1	18-22	16-20	6/22 vs DET, L 5-7	6/24 vs LAA, 10:10 PM	8-8	11-16	12-15	3-3	23-33	11-9	5-0	9-10	290	323	34-42	N	N	N
San Diego	32	44	.421	10.0	3-7	W2	14-26	18-18	6/22 @ BOS, W 5-1	6/24 vs ATL, 10:05 PM