Gene Lyons: I wish politics was baseball

The more I see of politics, the more I love baseball. Not that this is anything new. It's pretty much the story of my life.

One anecdote my wife, Diane, sometimes wishes I wouldn't tell concerns the time I overheard a friend of hers ask why she lets me watch so much baseball on television.

Needless to say, I was in the next room watching the Red Sox. I'd muted the sound. By midseason, I know the beer commercials by heart. I also know the imaginary kingdom I call “Beer World” doesn't exist.

You know, that sports bar in the sky filled with impossibly cute, energetic, flirty young humans?

It's an ad director's fantasy. But that's another column.

A coach's daughter, Diane grew up riding all over Arkansas and Oklahoma on school buses filled with wisecracking teenage ballplayers.

If she hadn't been too young for her father's best player, Baltimore's great third baseman Brooks Robinson, I might never have stood a chance.

Anyway, I overheard her explaining to her friend that I don't tell her which flowers to plant or novels to read, and that she liked baseball.

She added that even if she'd sometimes prefer a nice Emma Thompson movie, when watching baseball I'm also A.) home, B.) sober and C.) not in some sports bar.

Baseball, see, teaches realism. Diane grew up knowing she couldn't be a second baseman, not because she was a girl, but because she's left-handed.

One of my favorite baseball proverbs is attributed to manager Earl Weaver, calming an exuberant rookie after an early season win: “This ain't a football game. We do this every day.”

Baseball also teaches patience and keeping things in perspective. My son called the night of the big stock market sell-off, the same son who'd anxiously sought reassurance during the made-for-TV debt-limit crisis.

“CNN's acting like the world's coming to an end,” he said wryly.

Over on ESPN, I answered, the Red Sox and Twins were tied in the sixth. I'd gotten my fill of CNN hysteria earlier.

Wolf Blitzer was apoplectic. It was all “Standard & Poor's” this and “Dow Jones” that. They even ran a stock ticker supposedly gauging the effectiveness of President Obama's phlegmatic remarks.

Business correspondent Ali Velshi struggled to explain the basics to the excited anchorman. Investors cashing out of stocks were buying U.S. Treasury bills.

Bond yields were dropping — precisely the opposite effect S&P's grandstanding would have caused if markets took it seriously.

Short of dousing Blitzer with a fire extinguisher, there seemed no way to make him understand. Actually, I expect he wasn't confused, but performing.

Cable news channels hype Washington melodrama to boost ratings. Absent real crises, they invent them.

Broadly speaking, Republican operatives understand this; Democrats not so much.

If it were baseball, somebody would have said that asking S&P about U.S. creditworthiness was like seeking nutritional tips from steroid abuser Jose Canseco.

S&P touted subprime junk securities as gilt-edged investments until the day Lehman Brothers chained its doors shut.

Now a baseball announcer who didn't grasp the infield fly rule, or pretended that the Yankees batting order affected their earned run average would be out of work.

Fans demand competence. Sports journalists have their faults, but they do have to get the scores right.

ESPN fielded its A-team for Sunday night's Yankees-Red Sox game. Listening to Orel Hershiser and Curt Schilling analyze Josh Beckett's performance was like a free tutorial in the art of pitching.

It helped that Schilling — whose “bloody sock” performance in Game 6 of the 2004 AL playoffs against the Yankees fans will never forget — was a right-handed power pitcher like Beckett.

Schilling can be a blowhard. I've sometimes found his political pronouncements annoying. But when the man talks pitching, listen. Hershiser was more of an artist on the mound, but his nickname was “Bulldog.”

Announcers once made a big thing of his religiosity, an odd fit with his secondary occupation as a professional poker player. But a good fit with his keen intelligence.

I've never met either man, yet I've known them both for years. Like most fans, I experience baseball as a sort of endless Victorian novel with interludes of high drama, fascinating characters and endlessly diverting subplots.

In the sixth inning with the score tied 1-1, Beckett faces the Yankees' Eric Chavez. Two outs, two on — yet another tense standoff extending in my memory to the heyday of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Full count, 3-2.

The camera shows close-ups of Beckett, then Chavez: both deadly serious, both faintly smiling. They're actually having fun. Beckett freezes Chavez with a perfect curveball. Strike three. Chavez glances toward the mound as if to say, “Wow.” Also, “I'll get even come September.”

Two big kids playing ball, 12 years old forever.

Gene Lyons is a nationally syndicated columnist who appears in The Union.

Carp chasing DiMaggio's record

ARLINGTON, Texas – Someone warn the DiMaggio family – Mike Carp is on his way.

Entering the Seattle Mariners’ 116th game of the season Wednesday, rookie Carp had a 10-game hitting streak that he was pleased about for two reason. First, it meant he’d been hitting well.

And second?

“I don’t think I’d ever played 10 consecutive games in the majors,” Carp said.

Carp has been called up to Seattle for parts of the season since 2009 and been used mostly as a pinch hitter or spot starter. Since his latest recall July 19, Carp has gotten his playing time in left field, first base and designated hitter.

What he’s done since that call-up is bat .351 with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBI with a .375 on-base percentage.

“He’s giving us the best at-bats of anyone on the club,” manager Eric Wedge said.

As for that streak, 10 games is nice, but he had a 22-gamer in Tacoma earlier this season which ended when he was called up to Seattle and pulled from a Rainiers game in which he was 0-for-1.

“That streak was the longest of my career, anywhere,” Carp said.

Here’s the eerie part: If Carp hits in each of the remaining 46 games, he’d end the season tied with Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game streak.

Carp isn’t planning for the party.

LUEKE LOOKS BACK

After giving up a walk and a home run in Seattle’s 7-6 loss Tuesday, rookie reliever Josh Lueke wasn’t speaking to the media, though he was polite in declining.

“I don’t talk after bad games, I never have, never will,” Lueke said Wednesday. “You wouldn’t want to talk to me after bad games. The next day, it’s forgotten, I’ll talk. Just not right after the game.”

What bothered him most?

“Throwing (Ian) Kinsler a fastball in a 2-0 count when I knew he was sitting fastball,” Lueke said, shaking his head. “Stupid!”

ERRORLESS STREAK

We bring you news which was four days old but news because, until Wednesday, no one realized it had happened.

Say what?

In Saturday’s Mariners-Angels game in Anaheim, Calif., Franklin Gutierrez tied Darin Erstad’s American League record for consecutive errorless chances by an out fielder (723) – but the baseball information department initially overlooked the record.

Gutierrez broke the record Sunday and, entering the game Wednesday in Texas, had 726 total consecutive chances since making his last error Aug. 20, 2009.

The major league record belongs to Darren Lewis (938) and was set with San Francisco and Oakland, from 1990-1994. If Gutierrez matches that, someone is bound to notice.

SHORT HOPS

Adam Kennedy wasn’t in the lineup in part because he felt a “pop” in his right heel while rounding second on a two-run triple Tuesday. He’s fine, but was given a precautionary day off. … Reliever Shawn Kelley, who’d been pitching on a rehab assignment in Tacoma, came off the 60-day disabled list. Activated and placed on the 40-man roster, Kelley was optioned to the Rainiers.

ON TAP

The Seattle Mariners have the day off before opening a three-game series with Boston on Friday at Safeco Field.

You wouldn't want to snatch this old lady's purse

We're talking 98-year-old choppers here, and we don't mean false teeth.

Keiko Fukuda became the first woman — and only the 16th person ever — to achieve a 10th-degree black belt in judo, her hometown San Francisco Chronicle reported.

She began her quest in 1935.

News flash

Dateline Columbus: Ohio State officials ban "JT" wristbands, but tell football players it's OK to keep wearing the Maurice Clarett ankle bracelets.

Just wondering

• So what do you tell NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski for good luck before his next race — break the other leg?

• Is a baseball player who uses deer-antler spray referring to his batting slump or his libido when he remarks, "I've been in a rut lately"?

• Think the next barbershop calendar ought to feature A-Rod playing poker with the dogs?

• Shouldn't Penn State do the right thing and check out Joe Paterno some hip and shoulder pads?

Mail demographic

The first of four baseball greats to be honored on a U.S. forever stamp: Joe DiMaggio.

Or as the stamp is now known in postal circles, The Yankee Shipper.

Bullish on Pats fans

Receiver Chad Ochocinco, announcing he wants to live with a Patriots fan for a few weeks until he gets acclimated to his new city, says he isn't worried he might land with a crazy one.

As he told ESPN.com: "I rode a bull."

Voting absentee

Simply out of habit, you'd assume, the Big 12 asked Colorado soccer coach Bill Hempen if he wanted to nominate any of his players for preseason All-Big 12 honors.

Just one problem: The Buffs are now in the Pac-12.

"As much as we miss the Big 12," Hempen told the Denver Post, "I doubt if any of our players would get any votes."

Quote marks

• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on the NFL's new random tests for human growth hormone: "Why random? I'm no doctor, but wouldn't it be smart to target the guys whose necks are roughly the width of their shoulders?"

• RJ Currie of SportsDeke.com, after the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, a strong advocate for pedal power, drove a tank into a Mercedes parked in a bike lane: "Consider it hitting for the cycle."

• Comedy writer Alan Ray, on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones not taking exhibition games too seriously: "He only interferes during the first quarter."

• Budd Bailey of the Buffalo News, on pizza-chain mogul Alex Meruelo saying he'll keep the Hawks in Atlanta: "Basketball fans were happy he didn't buy it to go."

Just kidding

Real Madrid has signed a 7-year-old soccer prodigy from Argentina who goes by the name of Leo.

Baseball is the talk of the town again

Flying below the radar in Cranbrook these days is Baseball - you know, hardball - the kind Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb played back in the day.

The Home Run Society of Cranbrook and Kimberley, headed by Garry Slownowski has been working diligently to build a top notch baseball facility up at picturesque Moir Park.

I spoke with Ray Chadwick recently about baseball here in Cranbrook. Ray is a former Major league pitcher who now runs the hugely successful baseball program at Thompson River University in Kamloops. Ray is also a baseball coach for Team Canada.

He told me that there is a buzz in baseball circles around B.C. and Washington State that Cranbrook will be coming into the league in the not too distant future. Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Trail, Kelowna, Kamloops, as well as Langley, Burnaby and Victoria comprise most of the teams in the league.These clubs also play a few tournaments as well during the summer when Canadian ball players are home for the summer from the US..

Baseball was very popular here in Cranbrook and Kimberley back in the 1950s and 60s. Alan Fabro, a standout catcher from Kimberley, signed a sizeable bonus contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1960s. Fabby had all the tools to make it to the Majors, a rocket launcher for an arm and an intuitive ability to call pitches on a hitter. He also had complete confidence in his ability behind the plate, and woe to the baserunner who tried to score by running through Alan. The runner always got the worst of it.

Bob OBrien, now a doctor in the area, was a terrific catcher as a teenager growing up in Kimberley, but chose the books over baseball.

Not that i am partial to catchers, but there was also Bob Nizer James who was an awesome catcher in his own right for the kimberley Tempests in Junior Baseball. James could really work the opposing pitcher till he got his pitch. That batting method takes a great deal of patience and smarts. and Nizer certainly had both of these. Bob was not as flashy as Fabro and OBrien but he was very savvy behind the dish, and very aggressive throwing behind runners at first base. With a little more foot speed James could have gone somewhere with baseball.

Eddy Mountain, who ran the Mount Baker Hotel in Cranbrook, had a big influence in town sponsoring promoting and coaching his baseball team. One summer he did the unheard of and actually brought in a ball player from California. Bob Garcia played shortstop and pitched here while working for Mountain at the Mount Baker.

Garcia was a perfect compliment for locals Marv Ferg, Pat Askew, Howie Heggedahl Don Stuart ,and Mike Wheaton, all pretty good local talent. Eddy Mountains brother in law, Danny Sully Sullivan of Kimberley BC was a hot shortstop with serious range, a deadly accurate arm, and a vacuum cleaner for a glove - a pleasure to watch in the field.

Back to the present, baseball in Cranbrook has been making a resurgence with the Bandits playing great ball and a flourishing minor ball program. Senior baseball in Cranbrook is doing well with two teams playing in a league with Fernie, Sparwood and Kimberley.

At the beginning of the article i mentioned Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees.Mr. Gehrig played 2130 consecutive games at first base during the 1920s and 30s. He came out of the lineup with the illness that was to kill him on May 2, 1939.

His position at first base that day against Detroit was taken by Babe Dahlgren, my baseball coach when I played in a California Winter League in 1967 1968 in Arcadia California.

Babe always wore his Yankee ball cap to our practices and games with a great deal of pride. The day he went in to play first for Gehrig, Babe Dahlgren hit a home run. He mentioned that to me one day while we were sitting on the bench after practice.

I recently googled my coaches name and there it was May 2, 1939, a home run against the Detroit Tigers.Babe played 12 years in the Majors and was considered the best fielding first baseman in the American League for three seasons.

A curious fact about the end of Lou Gehrigs remarkable string of 2130 games played with out missing a day was the man Lou went in for, Wally Pipp was at Briggs Stadium in Detroit to watch the game when Gehrig ended his streak. Pipp had a headache when he was the first baseman of the Yankees and lost his job to Lou Gehrig.

Babe Dahlgren was chums with Joe DiMaggio when they played for the Bronx Bombers, and actually went to dinner a few times with Joe and Marilyn Monroe.

Now as a kid from Kimberley BC, I could not believe my good luck to be sitting on the bench hearing all these great true stories from my baseball coach Babe Dahlgren.

An important part of baseball history here in the East Kootenays was the Kimberley Senior teams Hobos and Dynamos. Two of the best hockey players in town were two of the best ball players - - Kenny McTeer and Les Lilley. Ken was a standout centrefielder and Les was a terrific left fielder and was a base stealer par excellence.

Colin Patterson was a really good second baseman for the B.P.O.E.Angels. He played error free ball and hit for average. Colin had a career in hockey, playing and coaching.

An important aspect of a baseball facility and team here in Cranbrook is economic. All of the ball clubs stay in hotels and motels and eat out in restaurants The parents of the ball players come to visit their sons and watch games, and they too spend money in town.

The baseball tournament held in Grand Forks on Labor Day brings in over $100,000 to the community.

Last but not least, probably the best baseball player to come out of Cranbrook would be Tyson Arishenkoff who was a slick fielding short stop at Louisiana State University, playing on a full scholarship. Tyson was also a playing coach for the Lethbridge Bulls and played pro ball in Evansville Indiana one summer, as well as a year in pro baseball in Holland. Tyson would be an excellent choice to throw out the first pitch at the new ballpark at Moir Field . In Cranbrook, we have Wal Mart, Super Store, Home Depot, and a soon to be open Wendys. Can a baseball park and a baseball team be far behind? Hopefully not .

A real card

 The office of New York Yankees majority partner Hank Steinbrenner, at Yankee Stadium. Everything is mahogany, including his coffee cup, the chandelier, and his stainless steel bar fridge. The only non-mahogany items in the room are Yankees memorabilia, including a Joe DiMaggio bat, a game-used Mickey Mantle flask, and the skull of Jack Chesbro, which is used to hold gumballs. Hank is at his desk, feet up, smoking a cigarette. There is a knock on the door.

Alex Rodringuex you asked to Alex Rodriguez You see me, Mr. Steinbrenner?

Hank Come in, Alex. Have a seat on the mahogany couch over there. Would you like a gumball?

A-Rod No thanks. They always taste a little earthy.

Hank Well, that skull was in the ground for an awful long time, Alex, before we had Howard Spira dig it up. [He stubs out his cigarette in a crystal ashtray filled with Veuve Clicquot champagne, then lights another one with what appears to be a bearer bond.] Look, I need to talk to you about this poker thing. Since Star Magazine reported you'd been seen at high-stakes poker parties with Hollywood stars where cocaine was used and fights broke out, we've been getting calls. ESPN.com says you're being investigated by Major League Baseball. You could get suspended.

A-Rod But I didn't do anything wrong, Mr. Steinbrenner.

Hank You mean, other than allegedly hanging out with highpowered gamblers in a poker ring so rich that Tobey Maguire is getting sued for winning US$311,000 that was taken in a ponzi scheme? Other than hanging out in a poker ring that included Hollywood celebrities, billionaires, drug-takers, and scumbags like Joe Francis, the Girls Gone Wild guy, and Rick Salomon, the Paris Hilton sex tape guy? I'd have to rinse off with bleach if I even shook hands with those scumbags.

A-Rod I dated Madonna, Mr. Steinbrenner.

Hank (shivers)

A-Rod Anyway, don't worry, Mr. Steinbrenner. My publicist already said there were some factual inaccuracies to that story. That should clear everything right up.

Hank What factual inaccuracies?

A-Rod Well, I can't tell you everything, but let's just say that Nick Cassavetes is known for more than just directing The Notebook. Between you and me, he directed other movies, too.

Hank (picks up phone) Get me an intern! Now! (Intern rushes in. Hank slaps intern's forehead in disbelief, then sends intern out.)

Hank I stopped slapping my own forehead after the story about how you had two centaur paintings hanging in your house over your bed with your face on the centaur. Concussions are no joke, Alex.

A-Rod (Squints a little, purses lips.)

Hank Look, here's the problem, Alex. We're the New York Yankees. We -

A-Rod (Interrupting) That's a problem? Maybe we should change our team name, then. How about we call ourselves the Centaurs?

Hank (picks up phone) Intern! (Intern rushes in, a little uncertain on his feet. Hank slaps the intern's forehead, and pushes him back toward the mahogany door.)

Intern It was never like this at Harvard.

Hank (throws ashtray as door closes, It shatters, spraying Veuve Clicquot everywhere)

Hank Alex, here's the thing. In 2007, we agreed to a contract extension with you for 10 years and $275-million. You were 32. You're 36 now, and the rest of your contract looks like this: $29-million, $28-million, $25million, $21-million, $20-million, $20-million. You'll be 42 when it's over, plus we added $30-million in home run mark bonuses, as if anybody cares about home run milestones anymore. We're the Yankees, and we're paying Derek Jeter $33-million the next two years, plus a player option. But you're starting to decline, Alex, and that's a lot of money.

A-Rod I know! It really helps when I'm playing high-stakes poker. Tobey Maguire's really good.

(Hank reaches for the phone, but there's a call. Hank puts it on speaker.) Secretary Mr. Steinbrenner, Bud Selig is on line one for you.

Hank Put him through. Hey, Bud! How much is the suit you're wearing worth? I bet you got it for less that $200. Am I right? C'mon, you can tell me.

Selig Hank, I need to talk to Alex. He may be in trouble.

Hank What, you mean he's not going to get a statue of himself wearing a $200 suit outside a ballpark in Milwaukee? I'm shaking. You're not talking to Frank McCourt here, Bud. Go expand the playoffs or something.

Selig Yes, sir. (Hank hangs up. He lights another cigarette with a custom-made miniature working Apollo rocket engine, mounted to his pen holder.)

Hank OK, Alex, here's the thing. You give me headaches. Like the on-field junk like trying to knock the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove at first base during a playoff game, or yelling "HA!" while running past as Howie Clark tried to catch a fly ball, or running across Dallas Braden's mound. Or the hookers thing, where you dated the madam who dealt with Eliot Spitzer, and the text messages went public.

A-Rod Boy, did I learn the difference between 'your' and 'you're' that day.

Hank Or the steroid admission, where you showed up with lips so pink they looked like sequined pillows, and skin so orange you looked like an Oompaloompa with cheekbones implants, and then claimed you took steroids once or twice to deal with the pressure of your big contract, but didn't take them when you became a Yankee and signed a bigger contract.

A-Rod Yeah, even I can't believe anybody bought that.

Derek Jeter (popping head in): Don't forget Cameron Diaz!

A-Rod Shut up, Jeter! You think you're so cool!

Jeter (cackles, slams door)

Hank (still talking) . getting fed popcorn by Cameron Diaz during the Super Bowl. For God's sake, she went on Letterman and she was asked about it and she said, "I went, 'You know what? I love you too much, I'm going to give it to you. You deserve it.' "

A-Rod Yeah, she's great. I don't even have to pay!

Jeter (ducking head back in) I wouldn't date her on a DARE! (slams door)

Hank And now this, playing poker with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire and whatever other thrillseeking bozos are trying to find the adrenaline spike they lost a long time ago. What am I supposed to do with you?

A-Rod Mr. Steinbrenner, I like poker. I used to get all the way to the end and then fold when it counted, but that's not important now. It's like Tobey Maguire told me once: You owe me money. You're going to pay me my money. Everything else, at the end of the day; well, that's your problem. Not mine.

Brower named men’s hoop coach at Pacific Union

Kirt Brower, who was a team captain for three of his four years at Pacific Union College, is returning to the Angwin campus to lead the men’s basketball team as its head coach. The announcement of Brower’s hiring was made by Robert Castillo, Pacific Union’s athletic director.

“We are very happy to welcome Kirt back as our new men’s basketball coach,” said Castillo.

“Coach Brower’s energy and passion will help continue to push our program forward. He is a man of character who will make that a focal point in our program. We look forward to working with him in this new role.”

Brower takes over for Castillo, who resigned in March to focus his attention on being the Pioneers’ AD. Pacific Union is a small NAIA school that plays in the California Pacific Conference.

Brower becomes the fifth coach in the program’s history. He spent the last three years at the University of Redlands in Southern California. Brower joined the men’s basketball staff there as a graduate assistant from 2008-2010 while completing a master’s degree. This past year, he was hired on in the development office at Redlands while serving as an assistant with the women’s basketball program.

Brower graduated from PUC in 2004 and played basketball for Scott Blunt, who is now the head coach at Napa High School. Brower taught P.E. at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School in St. Helena while also serving as a volunteer assistant for Blunt. During a three-year span, he also coached a variety of sports at St. Helena High School, including baseball, track and field, and basketball.

In 2007, Brower moved to Southern California where he taught P.E. in the Colton Unified School District in the Inland Empire while serving as a volunteer assistant with the University of Redlands men’s basketball team during the 2007-08 season.

“I am excited to be back at my alma mater as well as thankful to our administration for giving me the opportunity to work at such a beautiful and welcoming place,” Brower said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to build on the successes of my predecessors and working with everyone on campus to help provide a great education and experience for all of our athletes.

“It will be our goal to graduate young men with character who are prepared to make a difference as they move on.”

Brower will also be working in the school’s development office as an alumni relations officer.

---

Justin-Siena didn’t play in any passing leagues or tournaments over the summer, but the Braves were still plenty busy as a football program.

“We had a very productive summer,” coach Rich Cotruvo said at Napa Valley Publishing’s annual media day at Memorial Stadium Wednesday. “It’s been a fun summer, more fun I think than we’ve had in the last couple of years. The kids have been showing up every day in full intensity and ready to go and have gotten better and better each week. That’s all you can ask as a coach.”

In past years, the Braves have been in a 7-on-7 passing league at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. But Cotruvo said they weren’t able to do that this summer. However, they still faced Vintage and St. Helena in passing competitions.

“We’re excited,” Cotruvo said. “I think we’re going to have a much improved season.”

Justin-Siena will scrimmage St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo on Aug. 26 at Dodd Stadium and the Braves start the 2011 regular season on Sept. 2 at home with a nonleague game against St. Mary’s-Albany.

---

Mike Neu is leaving his job as the head baseball coach at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill to join coach David Esquer’s staff at UC Berkeley as the Bears’ pitching coach. Cal announced Wednesday that Esquer, who led the Bears (38-23 overall) to their first appearance in the NCAA College World Series since 1992 this past spring, has agreed to a new five-year contract to remain with the school. Esquer was the 2011 National Coach of the Year.

“I grew up in the Bay Area, wanting to go to Cal when I was younger and when I was playing, so it’s definitely an exciting thing for me to be close and to be a local guy, to kind of be involved in that program, now,” Neu told BearTerritory.net

Neu is a Vintage High graduate who pitched in the major leagues for Oakland (2003) and Florida (2004). He appeared in 32 games for the Athletics in 2003 and had a 3.64 ERA.

He won a College World Series title at the University of Miami and was chosen in the 29th round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 1999 by Cincinnati. Neu spent four years in the Reds' organization, making his way up to Triple-A, before he was claimed in the 2002 Rule V Draft by Oakland.

He also pitched at Sacramento City College and in the Napa Valley Joe DiMaggio League. He was named to the All-CWS team at Miami and got the save in the championship game.

---

In his first game since being optioned by Houston to Triple-A, first baseman Brett Wallace went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and a walk, leading Oklahoma City over host Las Vegas, 7-6, in a Pacific Coast League game Wednesday night.

Wallace, a Justin-Siena graduate, had the deciding RBIs for Oklahoma City in the ninth inning.

He batted .388 in April to start the 2011 major league season with Houston, but was hitting just .160 since June 18.

Which Tiger Woods will show for World Golf Championships

When Tiger Woods captured his 10th major before his 30th birthday at the 2005 British Open, the idea of him surpassing Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 seemed a question of if, not when.

Even in early June 2009, when Woods had totaled 14 and was returning from reconstructive knee surgery, Nicklaus thought Woods would break his mark within three years. Nicklaus did say winning five more after age 33 would be tough for anyone else, but he virtually conceded his cherished mark to Woods because of his extraordinary focus and work ethic.

That was before a car accident on Thanksgiving night 2009, when Woods' seemingly perfect life came crashing down. A sex scandal ended his marriage. Four surgeries on his left knee and an Achilles problem, along with another swing change, have stalled his career. He turns 36 on Dec. 30 and hasn't won a tournament since November 2009.

Going into this week's $8.5 million World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, Woods has played in only six events this year, missing more than two months to recover from his latest leg ailment. In 2010 on the South Course where he has prevailed seven times, Woods tied for 78th in a field of 80.

Woods said Tuesday upon his return to the PGA Tour that he is the healthiest he has been in years, but doubt has surfaced.

Nicklaus' record of 18 majors is beginning to look more like Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak or Affirmed's 1978 Triple Crown. What once seemed like a tap-in appears more unattainable every day, for Woods or anyone else.

At least to those on the outside.

Some of Woods' peers who were interviewed in June at the AT&T National at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pa., were not so quick to dismiss Woods' chances.

"I wouldn't give up on Tiger just yet. No way," said Australian Adam Scott, whose temporary hiring of Woods' caddie Steve Williams led to a Woods-Williams split. "I've never counted that man out of anything. He proves everyone wrong all the time.

"He's four away from equaling it. I think that's attainable for him at 35 years old. He's well on track. If he were 45, I'd be worried. I think he's got a great chance."

So does Australia's Stuart Appleby, who will be playing at Firestone for the 13th year.

"It's a delay. I wouldn't call it by no means over," Appleby said. "The next five years are critical.

"I think his desire's been dented, his confidence has been dented in all aspects of his life. He needs to have his health, he needs to have confidence in his body and he needs to have confidence in his swing. I think 2012 will be the real decider. But he's got a huge amount of fight and determination."

To no one's surprise, Woods scoffed at the notion that his chase of Nicklaus is over.

"Absolutely not," Woods said at his news conference at the AT&T National, which benefits his foundation. "(Nicklaus) won when he was 46, right? I've still got some time. And on top of that, we're about the same pace, I believe, years on tour and majors won. So I feel pretty confident of what my future holds and very excited about it."

Nicklaus didn't win his 14th major, the 1975 PGA Championship, until he was 35. Woods captured No. 14, the 2008 U.S. Open, at age 32. Nicklaus also claimed the 1975 Masters Tournament and totaled one-third of his majors, six of his 18, after celebrating his 35th birthday.

Woods also looked at Tom Watson's second-place finish at the 2009 British Open at age 59 as evidence that he might be able to compete longer than expected. Watson was coming off hip replacement surgery when he lost a playoff to Stewart Cink at Turnberry.

"I'm 35, I'm not 65," Woods said at the AT&T National. "I've still got some years ahead of me. Golf is unlike any other sport. I mean, Watson was, what, 59 years old when he almost won? We can play for a very long time. And given that we have the health to do it, guys have succeeded for a very long time. I feel like my best years are still ahead of me working with (swing coach) Sean (Foley) and some of the things that we're trying to do."

Before the British Open at Royal St. George's, Watson expressed skepticism about Woods' career with a bad knee, especially if he eventually needs it replaced. Woods said at Aronimink that knee replacement has never been discussed.

"With a hip, you put a new one in and here we go," Watson said, according to the Daily Mail. "The knee takes a lot more stress. It's out there on its lonesome and rotates. Whether he is going to have a total knee replacement, who knows, but that may be a more difficult thing to come back from if he does."

At the AT&T National, Jim Furyk faulted those who rushed to judgment about Woods breaking Nicklaus' record. Woods reached No. 8 when he was 26 at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

"Everyone rushes to put the cart before the horse. Because you get to eight quickly doesn't mean 18 looks so easy," Furyk said. "It would be my guess that the last four for Tiger will be the hardest, whether he's healthy or not, just because as you're closing in it gets more difficult.

"Three years ago it looked very attainable. But now not knowing exactly how healthy he's going to be or where he is and what's in his heart as far as chasing it, I'd be making a guess or an assumption. It looks tougher now. I wouldn't say it's not attainable."

D.A. Points, a 34-year-old Nationwide Tour product who earned a trip to Firestone by winning this year's AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, believes longevity could be less of an issue than when Nicklaus was winning majors from 1962-86.

"Now these days guys are more fit, more aware, take care of themselves, maybe don't play as much as guys used to play," Points said at Aronimink. "Longevity may be easier now than maybe it was back when Mr. Nicklaus was playing."

So Points wouldn't give up on Woods or a youngster like Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open at age 22.

"I'm not going to say it's never unattainable," Points said. "Tiger's still got a lot of good years ahead of him. I don't think it's that far out of reach."

This year Woods came close to adding to his total, tying for fourth at the Masters. But he missed two majors for only the second time in his career, joining 2008, when he sat out the British Open and PGA. The PGA Championship is next week at Atlanta Athletic Club.

"I'd say right now the odds of him breaking Jack's 18 majors is 1 in 3 or 4," NBC analyst Johnny Miller said on a episode of the Golf Channel's Feherty last month.

At the Memorial Tournament he founded, Nicklaus admitted that he didn't want Woods to pass him.

"Nobody ever wants records to be broken," Nicklaus said. "That's obvious. I don't care who it is. I told Tiger when I was on the phone with him, 'I certainly don't want you not to be healthy and not have the opportunity to break records. I want you to get yourself healthy, get your golf game back in shape and I wish you well."'

Some members of the PGA Tour are just as interested as Nicklaus to see what happens. Stow resident Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, wonders if Woods pushed himself to play through injuries so he could get to 19 majors and retire.

"It's going to get tougher for him now," Curtis said. "It still can be done. If he stays in shape, gets his knee healthy, I'm sure he can play until he's 60. He might have 20 more years. Who knows? It would be cool to see someone you played against have a chance to break it."

California-born Nick Watney, the tour's leading money-winner, lauded 18 majors as "an amazing record, to be sure."

"Tiger, for a while there he was on such an amazing pace that it was almost a given," Watney said at the AT&T National. "Now it will be interesting to see if he does it. I wouldn't count him out."

Barry Zito still has something to contribute to San Francisco Giants

Honorable Giants fans, after reading professor emeritus Glenn Dickey’s scathing indictment of Barry Zito in Tuesday’s San Francisco Examiner, I offer a rebuttal to my esteemed colleague who has mightily tipped the scales of justice against baseball’s highest-paid, under-achieving pitcher.

There is no denying Zito’s dramatic decline since coming to San Francisco. His National League record (43-61) and 4.50 ERA are a far cry from his glory days with the A’s where a 102-63 mark and 3.55 ERA made Zito one of the AL’s best.

But dare I remind the orange and black’s passionate court of public opinion of another embattled Giants veteran who turned the jeers to cheers with an unexpected resurgence just last year?

Following an injury-plagued season which saw Edgar Renteria register career lows in hits, home runs, RBIs and games played, followed by just one hit in four National League Championship Series games, the 34-year-old shortstop was buried by virtually everyone.

However, Bruce Bochy kept the faith and was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams when Renteria won World Series MVP honors after breaking a scoreless tie with a home run in Game 2 and a three-run homer in the clinching fifth game. Renteria joined Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra as the only players in history to have two game-winning hits in the same Fall Classic.

This is not to suggest Zito is poised to make an equally miraculous comeback. However, after returning from his first-ever stint on the disabled list in June, Zito pitched his best ball as a Giant, winning three straight starts while giving up just three earned runs in 21 innings.

Of course, after finally silencing the critics, Zito lost his next three outings while getting rocked for 19 runs in 15²⁄³ innings.
On Sunday, Zito fouled a ball off the same right foot he sprained in April that kept him out of action for more than two months. Perhaps the injury and long layoff contributed to his decline in velocity and terrible tendency to leave “hit-me” curve balls up in the strike zone.

Obviously, with Jonathan Sanchez returning from the disabled list Friday, the 33-year-old southpaw wouldn’t have remained in the rotation anyway. However, should anything happen to the Giants’ other four aces, a healthy Zito is still a better fifth starter than most.

Of course that wasn’t what the Giants had in mind when they signed him to a seven-year, $126 million contract in 2007. But rather than unceremoniously dump a respected former Cy Young winner who has handled the rough times with remarkable poise, keep him around just in case.

Baseball’s $18 million-a-year insurance policy won’t cost you, the jury, a dime. 

Granderson no longer left out against southpaws

CHICAGO | The New York Yankees traded for Lynwood's Curtis Granderson late in 2009 to play their most storied position -- center field.

But due to a recurring hole in his offensive portfolio -- batting against left-handed pitchers -- the enthusiastic Granderson did not appear to be a threat to perform anything like Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

Until now.

T.F. South alum Granderson was tied for third in the majors with 28 homers coming into Monday's Yankees-White Sox game and his surge has come, in part, to a daring maneuver by hitting coach Kevin Long -- changing Granderson's swing last August to make him more effective against southpaws.

"At the time," Granderson recalled, "the way the swing was working, we were in situations to hit and not consistently putting balls in play hard like I wanted to. We decided to make a couple of changes to be down in that consistent position, without too many moving parts so we can go ahead and strike the baseball."

A good all-around player beforehand, Granderson developed quickly into a dominant power hitter. He did waiting to show the home folks his talents Monday, collecting an RBI double off Jake Peavy, then scoring, in the first inning.

Granderson came into the game hitting .273 with a career-high 11 homers off lefties this season, compared to a previous peak of five homers in 147 at-bats against southpaws in 2008 in Detroit. The 11 homers combined with 30 RBIs against lefties lead the majors this season.

All those numbers have boosted Granderson's Most Valuable Player candidacy, endorsed by teammate Mark Teixeira. Closing up a longtime hole in his game has enabled Granderson to lead the majors with 94 runs while ranking fifth with a career-high 78 RBIs.

His shift into high gear in power prowess coincides with his swing change. Granderson's 42 homers since Aug. 14, 2010 is second-most in the majors behind Jose Bautista's 49.

"As much as I thought it was going to be difficult, the process was really easy," said Long. "He took to, and grasped, the ideas. The aptitude of what he was able to do, he was able to go right in there with them."

Granderson changed from an open to closed stance. He moved his hands back. He did not consider the change significant.

Coaches have long advised lefty hitters to slap the ball to left field against southpaws. But Long realized Granderson was a natural pull hitter and did not desire to tinker with his strengths.

"What Kevin Long said was go up there and be ready to hit," Granderson said. "Whenever you try to guide the ball and force the ball the other way, no matter whether it's a righty or lefty pitching, you're not necessarily in the best position to hit the ball."

Granderson has bonus time at home this season. After visiting Wrigley Field for three games in mid-June, he has four more nights here during this series. He planned to visit with parents Curtis Sr. and Mary Granderson after Monday's game.

Vintage sign by SF Bayview library to be covered

A sign uncovered when crews knocked down a branch library in the Bayview was likely painted before 1921, when the building that covered it for almost 90 years was built.

But history buffs should hurry: The sign, which advertises Boss of the Road Overalls and Workshirts, a long-defunct clothing provider, will be covered again when the construction on the library is finished.

"It's been preserved by a building since somewhere in the 1920s," said Michelle Jeffers, spokeswoman for the library system. "And now we'll just preserve it for the next 100 years."

The sign sits on the wall of a vacant building near the corner of Third Street and Revere Avenue. Because it is on private property, the library has no obligation - or authority - to preserve it, said Dan Sider of the Planning Department.

"I don't know how we would classify that sign under the Planning Code," he said with a laugh. "It isn't really advertising. Maybe I would call it art?"

The city recently decided they wanted to protect vintage signs after an uproar over an old Coca-Cola sign in Bernal Heights. Planners found that sign to be illegal and ordered it painted over, until the Board of Supervisors created a new process to protect vintage signs.

- Will Kane

Yee plan: You don't have to wander far around City Hall to hear grumbling about the "toothless" or ineffective Ethics Commission, the local campaign finance watchdog.

Leave it to state Sen. Leland Yee, a mayoral candidate who has made open government one of his staples and always has a finger in the political wind, to unveil his "Plan for an Independent City Hall," complete with an overhaul of the commission. The 21-point proposal, part of his campaign policy statements, also calls for open hearings on ethics complaints and a crackdown on unregistered lobbyists.

That all sounds pretty good from a transparent government perspective, but it struck us as a tad ironic coming from the guy who spent more than $1 million last year getting re-elected to the state Senate despite having no viable challenger, a move criticized as a way to prepay for the mayor's race and effectively circumvent tougher city campaign finance laws.

Yee wants to remove the power of appointing ethics commissioners from elected officials and model it after the State Citizen Redistricting Commission, where applicants are evaluated on their qualifications and independence and then selected largely at random.

He also wants to take the commission's budget out of the mayor's hands and let the commission decide itself what its needs are, although it will still have to go through the budget process. Complaints, which are currently confidential, would be public, and hearings would be televised.

- John Coté

Library suit: Two groups are suing multiple city agencies to stop the plan to rebuild the North Beach library branch.

The Coalition for a Better North Beach Library and Playground, along with Friends of Appleton-Wolfard Libraries, filed a lawsuit together last week in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging that the city did not do enough to save the 1959 building from demolition.

The construction plan, which the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved in June, calls for the library branch to be rebuilt on a triangle-shaped space at the corner of Lombard Street and Columbus Avenue. A block of Mason Street from Lombard to Columbus would be closed off, turning that area into a park that would connect the new library with the nearby Joe DiMaggio Playground.

"We feel there was no real evaluation of all the best options for the site, which includes keeping the open space on the triangle and restoring the historic building and expanding the historic building," said Howard Wong, a retired architect who is leading the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that using the triangle space would violate the terms under which it was bought, which was for open space.

Miramar Football Player Dies After Drills

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. | Authorities say an offensive lineman for Miramar High School's football team has died after collapsing during conditioning drills.

Broward County School District spokeswoman Nadine Drew told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Isaiah Laurencin died Wednesday morning at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood. She says the high school senior collapsed about 5 p.m. Tuesday while participating in drills with his team.

He was taken to nearby Memorial Hospital West, and then transferred to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

Officials say the cause of death was not immediately known.

Joe Depastino | Catcher

Team:     New York Yankees
Ht / Wt:      6'2' / 210
Age / DOB:      (37) / 9/4/1973
Bats / Throws:     Right / Right
Yankees signed catchers Joe Depastino, Ryan Hankins, David Parrish, Irwil Rojas, Omar Santos and Jon-Mark Sprowl to a minor league contracts and invited them to spring training.
With Dioner Navarro gone, either Depastino, Hankins or Parrish apparently will serve as the Yankees' emergency catcher. Sprowl, who is being re-signed, is the most interesting player here, but his on-base skills still might not get him to the majors.